chickenfeet: (death)
2006-11-07 12:35 pm
Entry tags:

Film quiz update

The following answers to yesterday's film quiz have been provided (with the name of first identifier).

1. Marquis - [livejournal.com profile] damiel

2. Paths of Glory - [livejournal.com profile] damiel

3. Ran - [livejournal.com profile] kalypso_v

4. Metropolis - [livejournal.com profile] gnimmel

5. Meet the Feebles - [livejournal.com profile] gnimmel

6. Virgin Spring - [livejournal.com profile] damiel

8. Margaret's Museum - [livejournal.com profile] c_mantix

This is fun because I can almost always rely on [livejournal.com profile] damiel and [livejournal.com profile] gnimmel to identify odd cultish films and [livejournal.com profile] c_mantix and [livejournal.com profile] globetrotter1 to spot the mandatory Canuckistani flick. Plus, of course, much general cinematic erudition from all sides.

Naturally I think all these movies are worth seeing and could maker a case for all but Marquis and Meet the Feebles being genuine classics. Those two however are a bit different. Lord of the Rings fans will want to see Meet the Feebles because it was directed by Peter Jackson. It's much better than Lord of the Rings because it wasn't shot in the pitch dark and only the rabbit has pointy ears. Marquis is very weird but definitely worth a look.

Now, additional clues for the three remaining flicks.

7. Is a very long, star studded, over worthy and rather dull WW2 flick.

9. Is a less well known but much better WW2 flick.

10. has a star studded cast and an A-list director but still manages to be thoroughly unsatisfying.
chickenfeet: (casablanca)
2006-11-06 04:13 pm
Entry tags:

Film quiz

It's been a while bit I was feeling bored so here's a quiz. Ten stills from ten films. Identify the flick!

On with the show )
chickenfeet: (isobel)
2006-08-30 08:00 am
Entry tags:

Opera lyrics - more

So far eight out of ten have been identified (see below). That leaves:

5. The wind is from the west, a lazy sea, the sky overcast, a stagnant smell from the lagoon

10. If the water is deep we will swim. If it is too fast we will build boats

Both are works from the 1970s and both libretti are in English. One has been recorded and one, as far as I know, hasn't.

Opera - Composer - Cleverclogs )
chickenfeet: (enigma)
2006-04-21 01:29 pm
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Pointless trivia answers

Where would you find a pub named after the author of The 39 Steps?

I imagine that there are quite a few answers to this one. There may even be one in Buchan. Edinburgh does seem plausible but Broadstairs? [livejournal.com profile] coughingbear please enlighten us. There is a Buchan Hotel in Vancouver but it would be hard to describe it as a pub. Then there is the one I was thinking of, The Lord Tweedsmuir in Tweed, Ont. This one is unquestionably a pub and unquestionably named for the former governor general and novelist.


Which American general was also an Olympian?

One of the easier questions I think. George Patton represented the USA in modern pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.


Which French historian was executed by the Gestapo in /near Lyon?

Marc Bloch of course. Soldier, scholar and patriot. All those medievalists on the f-list and only one of them knew.


Which soccer player finished an FA Cup Final with a broken neck?

I was surprised no-one knew this one. Bert Trautmann, Manchester City goalkeeper and former POW, in the 1956 final. No substitutes in those days!


Which English cricketer was offered the throne of Albania?

I'm not sure how this sort of thing used to work. Nowadays one would call up Heidrick and Struggles or someone like that. It appears in those days the process was to stick a pin in Wisden. Anyway the answer is CB Fry. He was probably being quite sensible in turning the offer down.


Which Australian artist painted a series of pictures on the theme of Ned Kelly?

No [livejournal.com profile] f4f3, not Rolf Harris. As both [livejournal.com profile] oursin and [livejournal.com profile] australian_joe knew it is Sidney Nolan. If you ever have the misfortune to be in Canberra go see them. They really are quite striking.


Who was the last winner of the Heisman trophy not to play in the NFL?

This was supposed to be a trick question! "Everybody" knows about Pete Dawkins of the USMA, the 1958 winner, who chose to remain in the army, became a brigadier general and ultimately ran for the senate. Unfortunately "nobody" did. Anyway it's not the right answer. As [livejournal.com profile] dherblay points out, the last Heisman winner not to go to the NFL was Charlie Ward of Florida State who won in 1993 but chose a career in the NBA instead.


Which Bordeaux cru classé is named after an earl of Shrewsbury?

Spot the claret drinkers; [livejournal.com profile] gillo and [livejournal.com profile] shezan! Ch. Talbot, a 4th growth, is named for John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who was killed at Castillon in one of those HYW battles that aren't considered memorable.


Why might one want to give Captain Danjou a hand?

So [livejournal.com profile] shezan and [livejournal.com profile] coughingbear decided to get as cute with the answers as I was trying to be with the questions but obviously knew of what they spoke. Captain Danjou's wooden hand is the thing you see being paraded around by the Légion Etrangère. It was about the only bit left of the good captain after his suicidal defence of a rather irrelevant farm at a place called Cameroun which is in Mexico where the Légion was trying unsuccessfully to install a Bonaparte as emperor on behalf of the French government. It is thus the perfect symbol for the LE combining suicidal tendencies, slaughter and the pointless interference of the French government in places it has no business to be.


Who was the last English person to be executed for treason?

This is a bit tricky too. William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) was the last person to be executed for treason in England but by no reasonable definition could he be considered English as he was born an American of Irish descent and subsequently became a german citizen. He almost certainly wasn't guilty of treason either and the government of the day, abetted by the Law Lords, twisted the law of treason probably further than it had been twisted since Henry VII ante-dated his accession so he could pin a treason rap on the those who had fought for the legitimate king at Bosworth Field. So the answer is John Amery, son and brother of Tory cabinet ministers, who was hanged a couple of weeks before Joyce for trying to recruit for the Waffen-SS among British POWs.
chickenfeet: (enigma)
2006-04-05 01:29 pm
Entry tags:

Quiz answers

You lot should do really well in an education system that values imagination and creativity over actually knowing anything. Well, I got a good laugh out of some of the answers. Anyway, I realise that some of the nicknames I used may have more than one usage so the following is what I intended when I devised the thing.

Pongo: British and Australian navy slang for a soldier. "Where the army goes, the pong goes". I don't think it's derived from the genus of the orangutan. No-one got this one which surprised me. The closest was perhaps [livejournal.com profile] ajhalluk with "military policeman". However, in my experience the normal slang for an MP is "redcap" though several less polite terms may also be used.

Monsters of the Midway: As [livejournal.com profile] albionwood says, the Chicago Bears of the NFL.

The Grey Funnel Line: Lots of you got this one. It's the Royal Navy. It's a sort of play on the fact that many merchant shipping lines are/were known by their funnel decorations, eg the White Star line of Titanic fame.

Los Merengues: [livejournal.com profile] rhythmaning claims there is a Peruvian soccer team with this nick name. He may well be right. I was thinking of the rather better known Real Madrid.

Toonie: A Canadian two dollar coin, as many of you know. The one dollar coin has a loon on the reverse and rapidly became known as a "loonie", so when they introduced a two dollar coin it was inevitable.

Nobody: Odysseus is an erudite and excellent suggestion but it wasn't the sneaky Greek that I had in mind. [livejournal.com profile] lunar_affinity got what I was driving at; John Eales, former Australian rugby captain, who was so called because Nobody's perfect.

The Tart with the Cart: Almost everyone got this which amazed me. It's a statue of Molly Malone near the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin.

The Silver Ferns: The NZ netball team as most of the southrons knew. FWIW, the cricket team is "The Blackcaps" (and who came up with a stupid name like that) {ETA the men are the "blackcaps", the women are the "White (not siver) Ferns"} and the rugby team is the "All Blacks". The Silver Ferns are famous for being the only major sports team to sell advertising space on their underwear.

Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard: [livejournal.com profile] rhythmaning was so close but not quite with "The Royal Scots Guards". Unfortunately there is no such regiment. The correct answer is The Royal Scots, formerly the 1st of Foot, and in continuous existence since 1633 though apocryphally descended from Caledonians in Roman service. The Scots Guards are something quite different. As of this year the Royal Scots will cease to exist as they are to merge with KSOB to form a battalion of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The Hedgehogs: Noone got this. It's the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA. Geddit?
chickenfeet: (enigma)
2006-04-04 02:07 pm
Entry tags:

A bit of distraction

So I made up a wee quiz to keep me distracted. It's all about nicknames. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to define the following terms when used as a nickname. It's a mix of things, people, sports teams and other stuff.
[Poll #704117]
chickenfeet: (mew)
2006-03-16 07:58 am
Entry tags:

Movie quiz - answers

6 and 10 are still up for grabs.

1. Decline of the American Empire - [livejournal.com profile] globetrotter1
2. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman - [livejournal.com profile] minx_minx
3. My Cousin Vinnie - [livejournal.com profile] anayajay
4. Farinelli - [livejournal.com profile] globetrotter1
5. The Witches of Eastwick - [livejournal.com profile] globetrotter1
6. Lady Jane (well duh!) - [livejournal.com profile] rosinarowantree
7. Straw Dogs - [livejournal.com profile] kalypso_v
8. Ridicule - [livejournal.com profile] globetrotter1
9. Shaolin Soccer - [livejournal.com profile] nanila
10. Slaughterhouse Five - [livejournal.com profile] thidwick
chickenfeet: (death)
2006-03-15 02:29 pm
Entry tags:

Another movie still quiz

The usual, ten stills from ten movies. You guess the movies.

pictures )
chickenfeet: (Default)
2006-01-17 11:09 am
Entry tags:

King William's Quiz

Last month [livejournal.com profile] lunar_affinity posted the annual King William's Christmas Quiz and a bunch of us made a valiant stab at it. Today The Grauniad publishes the answers. I think we did quite well.
chickenfeet: (enigma)
2005-12-27 07:28 am
Entry tags:

Fiendish questions

[livejournal.com profile] lunar_affinity has posted the 101st King William's College General Knowledge Paper. It's quite fun and [livejournal.com profile] frankie_ecap and I have made a decent start but there's much to do. So head on over there and help!
chickenfeet: (isobel)
2005-12-08 08:23 am
Entry tags:

Last chance

Three questions in the music quiz still unguessed.

I've added another word for each plus this general clue; the original languages are Italian, Welsh and English, not necessarily in that order, and one of them has a connection with one that has already been solved
chickenfeet: (isobel)
2005-12-07 08:40 am
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Lyrics quiz

Extra clues added to the quiz.
chickenfeet: (Default)
2005-11-21 11:34 am
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Stills quiz - clue time

There's a connection between (1) and (10)
chickenfeet: (death)
2005-11-21 08:10 am
Entry tags:

Another film still quiz

OK, it's the usual deal; ten stills from ten movies. Name the movie!

On with the show, this is it! )
chickenfeet: (Default)
2005-10-14 01:04 pm
Entry tags:

Film quiz

The film still quiz seems to be working now
chickenfeet: (death)
2005-10-14 11:45 am
Entry tags:

Film still quiz - again

You know the drill. Ten stills from ten movies. Name the flicks.

1230 EDT: As far as I can tell crappy Rogers/Geocities/Yahoo is FUBAR and won't serve up the pics. Service will be resumed as soon as they get their heads out of their arses.

1300 EDT: Seems to be working

clicky clicky )
chickenfeet: (Default)
2005-09-27 08:53 am
Entry tags:

Film quiz - update

The first three in the film quiz are still up for grabs.

Clues:
1. Is a German language production
2. Is set in Scotland
3. Is Australian