Gideon Day 25 LL72

4/6 Today. See you next season!

1 :) D2 Minions - I didn't see either of those movies, but I spent an afternoon with a 2.5 year old who watched and re-watched many parts of Minions in random order. I think he likes playing with the scroll bar and buttons more than actually watching the movie sequentially. The upshot is that I saw the opening title about five or so times.
2 :( D0 Completion
3 :) D1 Antipodal
4 :) D1 Calipers - I use vernier calipers nearly every day.
5 :( D3 Milan - I think I've heard of The Duchess of Malfi.
6 :) D2 Melba - Peachy!

Ben Day 25

4/6 today. Likkely too little, too late. The real pain came on Day 22 when I knew Christopher Robin and stupidly wrote down Peter Robin, and had Tehran from the nytimes crossword a few weeks earlier and didn't remember it in time for submission. Cost me a W to T. Also leaving a T out of Duterte also cost me a match point. Not to mention my <.600 defense. I do deserve relegation.

Questions were easier. Competition was stiffer.

1 :( penguins

2 :) safety

3 :) Antipodes

4 :) caliper

5 :( San Marino

6 :) Melba.

Jesse day 25

3, maybe 4 right. 

1. What characters are the official mascot of the animation film production company Illumination Entertainment, which released the hit 2016 films Sing and The Secret Life of Pets?
Correct Answer: MINIONS
Your Answer: The California Raisens
Points Assigned: 1

I had idea.

2. In American football, the referee presses his or her palms together above the head, pointed straight up, to signal what play?
Correct Answer: SAFETY
Your Answer: Safety
Points Assigned: 2

I watch enough football that I knew this one.

3. What is the geographical term for two places on the surface of the globe which are diametrically opposite to each other? Example pairs include the North and South Pole; Madrid, Spain and Weber, New Zealand; and the French commune of Gatteville-le-Phare and an uninhabited subantarctic island group that has this term as its name.
Correct Answer: ANTIPODES
Your Answer: Antipodes
Points Assigned: 1

Earth sandwich.

4. A particular device used to measure the diameter or thickness of an object has a name which is also used for the part of a disc brake assembly that presses the brake pad against the disc. What is that term?
Correct Answer: CALIPER
Your Answer: Caliper
Points Assigned: 0

My first though was caliper and I remembered them being a car part.

5. A work by John Webster, an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, deals affectingly and tragically with a disastrous marriage between the titular noblewoman and a commoner. This play, per its title, is set in the court of what duchy on the Italian peninsula?
Correct Answer: MALFI (AMALFI)
Your Answer: Verona
Points Assigned: 3

I have been to Amalfi, but never heard of that book.

6. A dish created by Auguste Escoffier in 1892, that today can consist of poached peach halves placed on a bed of vanilla ice cream and coated with raspberry purée, was named after what Australian soprano?
Correct Answer: DAME NELLIE MELBA
Your Answer: Peach Melba
Points Assigned: 2

Fudge, didn't read the question thoroughly. Not sure if I get credit for this. 

brad day25

2/6 ... got 2 more than last season, at this rate will be in the top group in 20 years ...

1) dogs d1

my 3 yr old probably knew this

2) safety d2

gimme football question

3) digging a hole to china d3

or not ...

4) ruler d2

nope

5) amalfi d1

very lucky guess, visited there 7 years ago

6) georges d0

actually had one of these a few weeks ago and couldnt remember name.  food opponents best category

Dave M day 25

A surprise win on Friday and 3/6 today makes it touch and go whether I’ll be relegated to D next season. Was it just me or was this season much tougher than previous ones?

 

1.      :) I’m saddened I know this and assume most others do too. D0

2.      :( I made a guess of Field Goal but Safety was going to be my second guess. D2

3.      :) A common name for Aussies and NZers in the UK is ‘Antipodeans’. D2

4.      :) Caliper came to mind pretty quickly. D1

5.      :( Total guess of Umbria. D1

6.      :( Of course this is Melba. I couldn’t think of the name so went with Matilda. D3

See you next season!

brad day24

2/6

1) bangers d2

thought these were sausages but has no better guess

2) this is us d1

my wife watches

3) stencil d1

ah, have heard of this before, couldnt think of it at time

4) mr  d3

no idea

5) pelopenesian d0

a guessx but have heard of pelopenesian war before, assume i dont get dinger for spelling

6) sweeney d2

picked up on the clue, but never saw movie/show 

Jesse day 24

5/6

1. In the United States, "bacon" is made from pork belly while "Canadian bacon" is made from the loin of the pig. In Great Britain, the belly bacon is known as "streaky" bacon, while cuts that include both belly and loin can be referred to as "back bacon" but most often appear on British breakfast menus as slices known as what?
Correct Answer: RASHERS
Your Answer: Rashers
Points Assigned: 2

I spent enough to time in the UK where I know the term. 

2. Pictured here is the cast for what television series? LINK: http://www.learnedleague.com/images/art/40958uct.jpg
Correct Answer: THIS IS US
Your Answer: This is Us
Points Assigned: 1

My wife watched it so I recognized some of the actors.

3. Although in common usage the word is now often associated with children, what term is used in fine arts for a preparatory sketch or design for a picture to be transferred to a fresco or tapestry?
Correct Answer: CARTOON
Your Answer: Cartoon
Points Assigned: 1

I initially had Doodle, but adults doodle too. Cartoon came to me right before submitting.

4. Pferd and Ross are German words that both translate to English as what?
Correct Answer: HORSE
Your Answer: Road
Points Assigned: 2

Nope. 

5. The city-state of Sparta was the hegemon of a geographically based alliance that included Tegea, Elis, Corinth, and others, and is known historically as what "league"? The league would emerge victorious in a war against the Athens-led Delian League toward the end of the 5th century BCE.
Correct Answer: PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE
Your Answer: Pelopenisian
Points Assigned: 3

I knew it wasn't Pan-Hellenic because that would be all of Greece. I knew of the Peloponnesian war, so gave it a try. 

6. What London thoroughfare, named for the stream (now subterranean) that used to flow nearby, is synonymous today with English journalism and the newspaper business (and, to a separate degree, demon barbers)?
Correct Answer: FLEET STREET
Your Answer: Fleet Street
Points Assigned: 0

Got it from the Sweeney Todd reference. I saw the movie. 

Dave M day 24

Another 2/6 to end the week.

 

1.      :( I was really confident with Danish Bacon for some reason. D3

2.      :( Guess of Mike and Molly. Never heard of This is Us. D0

3.      :( Guessed infant. Cartoon makes much more sense. D1

4.      :) At last a question I’m confident about with my high school German. D2

5.      :( Correctly guessed it would be a geographic region of Greece but I went with the wrong one (Ionian). D1

6.      :) London gimme. D2

Gideon Day 23

3/6 today. Almost done.

1 :( D2 Chennai - I have a friend who is often going to Chennai to work at the India office of his tech company.
2 :) D0 From Here to Eternity
3 :( D3 School of Hard Knocks - Not sure what kind of object a hard knock would be.
4 :) D1 Lumbar - Lumbar Puncture sounds very unpleasant. Would be a good band name for a mockumentary.
5 :( D2 Tempest in a Teacup - I almost put Tempest in a Teapot Dome Scandal. I feel like xyz might have been mentioned in the Patrick O'Brien novels, but the name rings no bells.
6 :) D1 Eros

Steiny Day 23

A HUGE 6/6 yesterday thanks to thorsten accepting "so" as an acceptable answer to the music question. What a pleasant surprise

1. :) I had it narrowed down to this and hyderabad but this one just kept coming back to my head as tech capital

2. :) I saw the picture, I said, I know that scene but no idea what movie it is from and I put this down as a complete and total guess, I suppose I need to trust my subconscious more

3. :( avante garde

4. :( small

5. :( teapot dome, which I also knew was wrong, but had nothing else

6. :) educated guess

Jesse day 23

4/6 Tough day against a tough opponent. I am sitting in relegation right now...

1. By virtue of its status as a center for the information technology industry—and headquarters of the major IT multinational corporations Infosys and Wipro—what capital of the southwestern state of Karnataka is nicknamed the "Silicon Valley of India"?
Correct Answer: BANGALORE (BENGALURU)
Your Answer: Bangalore
Points Assigned: 1

I just knew this, possibly from creating a classroom presentation for my company's Southern India program.

2. This is a screenshot of an iconic osculation that occurs in what film? LINK: http://www.learnedleague.com/images/art/3y509c80684y45.jpg
Correct Answer: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
Your Answer: From Here to Eternity
Points Assigned: 0

Never saw the movie, but remember this from film school as the iconic scene.

3. Urban realism was the subject matter for what informal group of American artists active in the early 20th century? The name of their "school" was allegedly coined by a hostile critic (but adopted by the artists) and derived from a particular item in a gritty scene drawn in 1915 by George Bellows.
Correct Answer: ASHCAN SCHOOL
Your Answer: Trash Can
Points Assigned: 2

Never heard of it, but he did say an object in a gritty scene that could be insulting. Guessing I won't get credit for this. 

4. What is the anatomic term most often used to describe the area of the human body located at or near the part of the back lying between the lowest ribs and the hips, and also for the five spinal vertebrae in this area? It is where the needle is inserted for a spinal tap puncture.
Correct Answer: LUMBAR
Your Answer: Lumbar
Points Assigned: 2

My lumbar area is all sorts of messed up now. 

5. A diplomatic incident arose between the United States and France in 1797 when three French agents solicited a bribe from American agents sent to negotiate an end to maritime hostilities that were threatening to evolve into a full-scale war. This scandal is known by what name?
Correct Answer: XYZ AFFAIR
Your Answer: Teapot dome
Points Assigned: 3

Nope. Was pretty sure teapot dome was from the 20th century but couldn't think of anything else. 

6. The ancient Greeks had four words for "love": storge (familial love), philia (love in friendship), agape (higher, selfless, transcending love), and what fourth, which is love based on desire and passion?
Correct Answer: EROS
Your Answer: Eros
Points Assigned: 1

This was a guess.

brad day 23

3/6

1) bangalore d2

trading gimme, maybe too high on d?

2) tarzan d1 

no clue, opponent decent at film

3) factory d3

no idea

4) lumbar d1

my wife does these and they are in the tv med shows often

5) barbary incident d0

couldnt remember from high school history, opponents best subject

6) eros d2

somehow remembered this from the one art history class i took in college

Dave M day 23

Well it’s near the end of the league and Ben, Jesse and I are in places 26, 27 and 28, straddling the relegation line. An important few days ahead!

 

A poor 2/6 for me today.

 

1.      :) Geography/business gimme. D0

2.      :( This must be an easy movies question but I had no idea, so went with the other movie with a similar scene – Airplane. D1

3.      :( Guessed miserablists. D3

4.      :) Lumbar. Close to a gimme for an anatomy question? D1

5.      :( My husband learnt about this a few months ago so I have no excuse for forgetting and putting down ‘le scandal’. D2

6.      :( Guessed Lust. D2

Jesse Day 22

3/6 

1. What Jewish holiday, which is also known as the Feast of Dedication, commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks and the 165 BCE rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem?
Correct Answer: HANUKKAH
Your Answer: Hanukkah
Points Assigned: 0

Gimmie for Jews. I am playing a Rosenberg. 

2. What was the first name of the only son of author A. A. Milne and his wife Daphne de Sélincourt?
Correct Answer: CHRISTOPHER (CHRISTOPHER ROBIN MILNE)
Your Answer: Christopher
Points Assigned: 1

Also seemed like a gimmie.

3. The subjects for discussion in the first inter-allied conference of World War II attended by Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill included the coordination of allied military landings in France with the Soviet offensive on Germany, Russian entry into the war against Japan, and a post-war international organization. This conference took place in November and December 1943 in what Asian capital, after which it is named?
Correct Answer: TEHRAN
Your Answer: Damascus
Points Assigned: 2

Never heard of this conference. I figured it would be close to Europe. I had the right idea. 

4. What term is used in music for the fifth tone of the diatonic scale, as well as for the chord with this fifth pitch of the scale as its root?
Correct Answer: DOMINANT
Your Answer: Sharp
Points Assigned: 2

Nope.

5. Name the actor and comedian who appeared as a panelist more than 600 times in the top right seat (from the viewer's perspective) in various incarnations of the game show Match Game?
Correct Answer: CHARLES NELSON REILLY
Your Answer: Lewy Anderson
Points Assigned: 3

Know of him, but I didn't watch the match game.

6. The championship game of the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament, which is credited as ushering in the "modern era" of college basketball, was the last college game for what two now-Hall of Famers? (Note: name both players.)
Correct Answer: LARRY BIRD, MAGIC JOHNSON
Your Answer: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
Points Assigned: 1

Easy for someone that has read a basketball history book and follows the game. 

Gideon Day 22

4/6 today

1 :) D0 Hanukkah - I wonder how many different spellings will be submitted.
2 :) D1 Christopher - Christopher Robin!
3 :( D2 Damascus - Obviously not Yalta.
4 :) D3 Dominant - My limited (recent) music theory studies paid off!
5 :( D2 Rip Taylor - I had to check to make sure that they aren't actually the same person.
6 :) D1 Bird, Johnson - Lucky Johnson!

Brad day 22

2/6

1) hanukkah d2

Jewish gimme, but wasnt sure how to defend for an obvious non member of the tribe

2) george d1

Ugh, in my daughter's bedtime story rotation, need to pay more attention

3) kiev d1

Didnt know and couldnt logically think of a city where the us, british, and russian heads of states would go during war

4) major d2

Nope

5) goldberg d3

Match game = hollywood squares?

6) johnson, bird d0

Basketball gimme

On Mar 21, 2017 5:15 PM, "Brad Belsky" <bbelsky@gmail.com> wrote:

2/6

So i did get dinged for duarte, but made no difference in match and put me only 1 off the dawkins lead (mcwa)

1) proctor and gamble d1

Pretty straightforward biz question

2) love d2

No idea, hopefully mcwa

3) soldier d0

Nope

4) samoa d2

A guess, but why have 'american samoa' if there wasnt another samoa

5) corn d1

Nope

6) who dun it? D3

Definately not me

Dave M day 22

A surprisingly high 4/6 today – which given my run will result in yet another tie given my defense.

 

1.      :) Jewish gimme. D1

2.      :) I was certain Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh was the link here, and I was right. D0 as opponent strong in literature.

3.      :) I knew there was a conference in Tehran and it was the only Asian one I could think of. D2

4.      :( Went with E. D2

5.      :( Never heard of this guy. D1

6.      :) Lucky guess. Thought it would be too early for Jordan but too late for Jabbar, so went with the two most famous names that I could think of in between those two, and based off ‘Lakers vs Celtics’ computer game from the 1980s. That game is now responsible for 2 correct LL answers! Risky D3

Gideon Day 21

?/6 today

1 :) D2 Proctor & Gamble - Proctor, Procter, close enough?
2 :( D2 Trucks
3 :( D1 Salesman
4 :) D0 Samoa
5 :) D1 Lava - A'a is a valid scrabble word, or so people like to say when the use it in Bananagrams (because they can't come up with a "real" word).
6 :| D3 Public Enemy Number One

Brad day 21

2/6

So i did get dinged for duarte, but made no difference in match and put me only 1 off the dawkins lead (mcwa)

1) proctor and gamble d1

Pretty straightforward biz question

2) love d2

No idea, hopefully mcwa

3) soldier d0

Nope

4) samoa d2

A guess, but why have 'american samoa' if there wasnt another samoa

5) corn d1

Nope

6) who dun it? D3

Definately not me

Ben - on emor ething

and I only lost yesterday because I left a T out of Duterte.

Ben Day 21 v Jesse

Well, Based on number correct (4 vs 2), I'm guess Jesse is home, but I haven't played it out yet.

1 :( I guessed Johnson and Johnson. D1 0(0)-1(1)

2 :( I guessed Urban. D2. 0(0)-1(1)

3 :) matadaor. I assume that gets given correct for bullfighter. D3 though. 2(1)-4(2)

4 :) Samoa. D0 for geography v Jesse. Everyone knows that 3(2)-4(3).

5 :( Lava. I guessed snow. Sorta the opposite. 3(2)-6(4).

6 :( I guessed 'Gangster'. 3(2)-6(4)

So Jess wins going 3-1 up in our H2H.  that's 5L in a row for me now and I'm about to break back below 50% correct. .500 D for both of us today. Sloppy.

Jesse Day 17

4/6 in my battle with Ben. I have a feeling a few of us are going to be relegated to D. C has gotten really competitive. 

1. Duracell, Wella, Covergirl, Clairol, Natural Instincts, Nice N' Easy, and Max Factor are among the brands sold off in recent strategic divestments by what American consumer goods giant?
Correct Answer: PROCTER & GAMBLE
Your Answer: Proctor and Gambel
Points Assigned: 0

This was a guess, but there are only so many massive consumer giant companies. Unilever isn't american so that made it a bit easier.

2. The titles of a 2016 country music hit single by Maren Morris and a separate 2016 country hit by Carrie Underwood both contain the last name of the artist who recorded the 2016 country hits "Record Year" and "Kill a Word." What is that word/last name?
Correct Answer: CHURCH
Your Answer: Black
Points Assigned: 3

Ah, that seems gettable, but I don't think Ben is into country music. 

3. The four-part poem by Federico García Lorca, written in Spanish in 1935 as "Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejía," is an evocative elegy of Lorca's friend, who died (per the poem's unremitting refrain) at five in the afternoon. What was Ignacio's occupation, which is included in a common English title of the poem?
Correct Answer: BULLFIGHTER
Your Answer: Bullfighter
Points Assigned: 2

This was a guess. He is Spanish and the occupation is in the English title of the poem, so I figured Bullfighter was distinct enough for Spain to be a possibility. 

4. As a result of an 1899 treaty between Germany, Great Britain, and the United States, the eastern islands of an archipelago once known as Navigator Islands—specifically, those east of 171 degrees west longitude—were assigned to the U.S., while the western islands were assigned to Germany, and since that time the latter have become an independent democratic nation. Give the name that the American possession, the independent nation, and the island group as a whole have in common.
Correct Answer: SAMOA
Your Answer: Samoa
Points Assigned: 1

I know there is an American Samoa and a regular Samoa. Seems easy for an Australian. 

5. Pahoehoe and aʻa are two primary forms of what substance?
Correct Answer: LAVA
Your Answer: Lava
Points Assigned: 1

Both Hawaiian words and lava is a substance I associate with them. 

6. Tom Powers, played by James Cagney and partially based on the real-life mobster and Al Capone-rival Earl "Hymie" Weiss, was the title character of what 1931 talkie? The phrase in question had recently become popularized by law enforcement in reference to organized crime figures of the day.
Correct Answer: THE PUBLIC ENEMY
Your Answer: The Untouchables
Points Assigned: 2

I had no idea. I was hoping the Kevin Costner Untouchables was a remake. 

Dave M day 21

A couple days off commenting as I’ve been travelling. But my dire run continues – two 4/6s, including yesterday, were only good enough for ties. 2/6 today.

 

1.      :) I knew P&G bought Duracell a few years ago. D1

2.      :( I guessed Love. D2

3.      :( This makes sense. I guessed Carpenter. Risky D3

4.      :) German (Western) Samoa later became a NZ colony. D1

5.      :( Guessed Coconut. D2

6.      :( Guessed the Mob. D0

Gideon Day 20

3/6 today

1 :) D1 Duterte
2 :( D1 Louisiana
3 :) D2 Allspice
4 :( D0 France - It was going to be France or Russia; I guessed wrong
5 :) D2 Decameron
6 :( D3 Syd Tha Kyd - I wasn't sure if this was a name I heard, or just made up. I looked him up just now, and he actually exists! (however he is from LA and not Brooklyn).

Brad day 20

1/6

1) duerte d0

Assuming i dont get dinged for the spelling

2) louisiana d1

Thought the cities sounded french

3) cumin d1

Need to cook more often

4) france d2

Almost went for the answer but figured everyone hated the french

5) la giostra d3

Wag remembering a restaurant i ate at last time in florence

6) lady gaga d2

A million reasons why this deserves bwa consideration

Jesse day 20

3/6. We both gave up 3 pointers, but I gave up 5 points total to Steiny and he only gave up 4 to me. Congratulations on the win. 

1. What is the name of the man in this photograph? LINK: http://www.learnedleague.com/images/art/3948c5t0m389tc.jpg
Correct Answer: RODRIGO DUTERTE
Your Answer: Durante
Points Assigned: 2

My wife is from the Phillipines and a few months back her cousin was in NYC. He actually supports Duterte and we spoke about him a bit, but I couldn't get the name right in my head and ended up with Durante. 

2. Grand Island, Fremont, Hastings, Papillion, and Bellevue are among the ten most populous cities in which U.S. state?
Correct Answer: NEBRASKA
Your Answer: Nebraska
Points Assigned: 1

I had an ex-girlfriend from Nebraska, just outside of Grand Island. Never been to the state. 

3. Unripe berries of pimenta genus trees of the Caribbean, Honduras, and Mexico, are ground into a powder that is commonly used to season sausages, pickles, desserts, and Cincinnati-style chili. Known as Jamaica pepper, it is sometimes mistaken for a mixture due to its odor (reminiscent of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves) and is most often sold and marketed under what other name?
Correct Answer: ALLSPICE
Your Answer: Allspice
Points Assigned: 1

Only answer I could think of when he wrote it was mistaken for a mix. 

4. The 1879 Dual Alliance between the German and Austro-Hungarian empires assured "benevolent neutrality" in the case of attack from any power, with the exception of one, an attack from which the alliance guaranteed greater "reciprocal protection." What common foe was that exception?
Correct Answer: RUSSIA
Your Answer: Russia
Points Assigned: 0

I was pretty sure I remembered this correctly.

5. In 1348, the year of the Black Death, seven young women and three young men meet in a church in Florence and escape from the city to the hills of Fiesole, telling stories during ten days of the trip. These stories form the collection of tales that make up what masterpiece of classical Italian literature?
Correct Answer: THE DECAMERON
Your Answer: Inferno
Points Assigned: 3

Nope! And scored it too high for the loss.

6. The chart-topping 2016 single "Panda" was the debut release from Brooklyn-born rap artist Sidney Royel Selby III, who goes by what oddly spelled stage name? (Correct spelling is not required.)
Correct Answer: DESIIGNER
Your Answer: Cozmopolitan
Points Assigned: 2

Never heard of him. I like my rap name better. 

Steiny Day 20

Matchup against Jesse!!!!

1. :( Argh...once I saw the name I recognized who he was but instead I guessed "Park" D1 as Jesse is strong in current events

2 :) I have spent time in both NE and IA so I know the cities out there D1

3. :) Mentioned it was a mixture, so this is the only thing that made sense given the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon and cloves D0

4. :) Pretty random guess of Russia but pleased to see it worked out D3

5. :) One of my all time favorite classics from college, especially the story about putting the devil back in hell (google it).  Thank you Columbia University for forcing me to read every classic piece of literature. D2

6. :( Nope D2

Gideon Day 19

4/6 today

1 :) D3 36 - This D might be a mistake
2 :) D1 OPEC
3 :( D2 Dice - I wonder if Thorsten got here from the Eric Clapton question earlier in the season.
4 :( D2 Nureyev - Nureyev's too young. I spent all day trying to remember a name I've never heard.
5 :) D0 House of Cards
6 :) D1 Habeas Corpus - I even spelled it correctly!

Brad day19

2/6. Opponent living in australia and has almost 0% tv get rate

1) 36 d1

Didnt know what a triangle # was, but followed the pattern

2) opec d0

Wasnt sure what else this could be

3) cards d1

Nope

4) tchaikovsky d2

No idea

5) lucifer d3

UGH!  completely misread the question and thought they were asking for the opening credits ... now i have the song stuck in my head

 

6) bail hearing d2

If its not on law and order or svu, im not getting a legal question right

Jesse Day 19

2/6

1. What number fills the fifth and final blank in this sequence of triangle numbers? 0, 1, 3, 6, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___.
Correct Answer: 36
Your Answer: 34
Points Assigned: 2

I was close!

2. Venezuela was, in September 1960, among the five founding members of what intergovernmental economic association?
Correct Answer: ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)
Your Answer: OPEC
Points Assigned: 1

Venezuela = Oil

3. All Fives, Bergen, Blind Hughie, Cyprus, and Matador are all games using what gaming implement?
Correct Answer: DOMINOES
Your Answer: Dice
Points Assigned: 1

I have never heard of any of those games. 

4. George Balanchine, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Vaslav Nijinsky, Léonid Massine, and Sergei Prokofiev were among the many proteges of what Russian dance impresario and titan of Western ballet?
Correct Answer: SERGEI DIAGHILEV
Your Answer: Barishnakov
Points Assigned: 3

Never heard of him. 

5. The opening scene of a television drama series shows its main character stating into the camera, "There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong. Or useless pain. The sort of pain that's only suffering. I have no patience for useless things. Moments like this require someone who will act. To do the unpleasant thing." He says this as he calmly strangles a dog that has just been hit by a car, foreshadowing behavior and an attitude that would continue through four seasons (so far). What is the series?
Correct Answer: HOUSE OF CARDS
Your Answer: House of cards
Points Assigned: 0

I watched the first season.

6. What is the legal term for the order by a judge that demands that a prisoner be brought before the court to determine the legality of the imprisonment?
Correct Answer: HABEAS CORPUS
Your Answer: Arraignment
Points Assigned: 2

Damn, well this was a bad miss I think. 

Brad d18

3/6 ... d a bit strange today, but opponent european with literally a 0% american history hit rate

1) old maid d2

Havent played this in over 20 years

2) douglass d3

Seemed right

3) mgm d2

Ugh, didnt even think of answer

4) scrooge d0

A guess, but felt right and thought most likely for opponent to get

5) stuff d1

No idea

6) strapping d1

Seemed like a british enough phrase where i didnt know the origin of

Jesse day 18

3/6

1. In the card games Vieux Garçon ("Old Boy") and Schwarzer Peter ("Black Peter"), one black Jack is removed and the loser is the player who ends the game with the other in hand. An Anglophone variation removes the Queen of Hearts. This variation (as well as that card) is known as what?
Correct Answer: OLD MAID
Your Answer: Black Queen
Points Assigned: 1

I have never played Old Maid.

2. Name either the activist and spiritualist who was the Equal Rights Party's nominee for U.S. president in 1872 (despite being 34 years old and ineligible to vote) or the African American social reformer and former abolitionist who was her choice for vice presidential running mate.
Correct Answer: VICTORIA WOODHULL, FREDERICK DOUGLASS
Your Answer: Douglass
Points Assigned: 2

He is doing a terrific job and being recognized more and more. 

3. What company, the largest independent television production company at the time of its 1967 sale and rebranding as Paramount Television, took its name from those of its co-owners, who were themselves the stars of its first successful television project starting in 1951?
Correct Answer: DESILU
Your Answer: Lucy and Desi
Points Assigned: 3

Never heard of the production company so couldn't get the answer, but I did get the right people. 

4. "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone...a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin."<P>This quote, in the author's own words, is describing what iconic character?
Correct Answer: EBENEZER SCROOGE
Your Answer: Scrooge
Points Assigned: 1

Only answer I could come up with. Could be a gimmie?

5. What is the title of the painting being painted in this photograph? LINK: http://www.learnedleague.com/images/art/54986cym08.jpg
Correct Answer: GUERNICA
Your Answer: Guernica
Points Assigned: 0

Art Gimmie.

6. A group of 20th-century British middle- and working-class authors, which included, most prominently, the playwright John Osborne and novelist Kingsley Amis, was known collectively as what sort of "young men"?
Correct Answer: ANGRY
Your Answer: Restless
Points Assigned: 2

Argh, this is probably an easy one that I missed. 

Gideon Day 18

5 or 6/6

1 :) D0 Old Maid - Hey, we had a question about this a few seasons ago!
2 :) D1 Frederick Douglas - I hear he's been doing an amazing job lately.
3 :) D1 DESILU
4 :) D2 Scrooge - I was afraid it would be Jacob Marley
5 :| D2 Guaranica - I think I may have blended the energy drink additive with the Spanish Civil War atrocity.
6 :) D3 Angry Young Men - I was stuck on this for a few hours. I knew I knew it, but it didn't come to mind until I stopped thinking about it for awhile.

Brad day 17

Well done gideon!

1/6

1) flint d0

Current event gimme?

2) ronald and nancy reagan d1

Seriously considered the answer, but had no idea who he was married to

3) cheddar d1

Felt good about this one too

4) sikh d2

Dumb error, should have known better

5) waterseal d3

Nope

6) born d2

Went 50/50 between this and the answer

Dave M day 17

4/6 today.

1 :) I didn't know her name but this seemed like a gimme. D0
2 :( No idea. D1 as opponent reasonably good with this sort of thing.
3 :) Seems like a simple cheese question. D1
4 :) In my wheelhouse. D2
5 :( I have known this in the past but had forgotten it. Guessed buttress, D2
6 :) Dancing Queen did it for me. D3

Gideon Day 17

6/6 today.

1 :) D0 Flint
2 :) D2 - Took awhile to remember Joanne Woodward's name. I'm glad I didn't go with my first thought of Jane Pauley. I also considered Tandy and Cronyn, and Ossie Davis and his wife whose name I couldn't remember (Ruby Dee).
3 :) D1 - Cheese Gromit!
4 :) D3 Tamil tigers
5 :) D1 Caisson
6 :) D2 Dancing - I associate Martha and the Vandellas with Dancing in the Streets, from there I got "in the dark", "on the ceiling" and "Queen". They left out Billy Idol, 1982 "with myself."

Jesse day 17

4/6

1. In September 2015, a research study led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha was released that revealed that the proportion of infants and children in the study group with elevated blood lead levels had nearly doubled since April 2014. The study participants were patients at Hurley Children's Hospital, where "Dr. Mona" serves as program director for pediatric residency, and which is located in what U.S. city?
Correct Answer: FLINT, MICHIGAN
Your Answer: Flint
Points Assigned: 0

I thought this one was easy if you live in the US and follow the news, but myabe I should not hvae scored it 0.

2. The 1958 film The Long, Hot Summer was the first on-screen pairing of what soon-to-be couple, who would wed shortly after filming and appear together in feature films nine additional times while remaining married until the husband's death in 2008?
Correct Answer: PAUL NEWMAN, JOANNE WOODWARD
Your Answer: Tandy and Croyne
Points Assigned: 1

My opponent is really good at theater, tv and movies. 

3. Although there are dozens of French cheeses with protected designations, what blue or white "King of English Cheeses," made under strict specifications in the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, is among the relatively few English cheeses to enjoy certified legal protection?
Correct Answer: STILTON
Your Answer: Stilton
Points Assigned: 2

Only cheese that I could think of that fit that description. 

4. From July 1983 until a final concession of defeat in May 2009, a civil war was waged in Sri Lanka between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority government and the minority Hindu rebels of what ethnicity?
Correct Answer: TAMIL
Your Answer: Tamil
Points Assigned: 2

Easy for people who followed world news, but that isn't my opponent's strength. 

5. In engineering, what is the term for a watertight chamber built to surround an object, such as a bridge foundation, that would otherwise be submerged in the water, allowing for construction in a dry environment?
Correct Answer: CAISSON/COFFERDAM
Your Answer: Tank
Points Assigned: 3

I have heard the word before in documentary's, but could not recall it. 

6. The titles of a 1984 song recorded by Bruce Springsteen, a 1964 song by Martha and the Vandellas, a 1986 song by Lionel Richie, and a 1976 song by AᗺBA all begin with what word?
Correct Answer: DANCING
Your Answer: Dancing
Points Assigned: 1

I started thinking about the most famous ABBA songs and the compared it to Springsteen, who's catalog I celebrate often. Dancing Queen/Dancing in the Dark.  Lionel clinched it with Dancing on the ceiling. I am guessing the last one was Dancing in the Streets.

jaffa???

What is that jaffa chart someone posted?

Steiny Day 17

1. :) Gimme if you follow the news

2. :( I was so confident about my answer of frankie avalon and annete funicello i was shocked that it was not correct

3. :) Only british cheese I could think of 

4. :) Tamil tigers

5. :( No chance, so I guessed vertical somnambulator for fun

6. :( I wrote hello because of lionel ritchie, but this is super weird...yesterday I was at my daughters friend's house and they were playing music including rihanna's dancing in the dark.  One of the kids requested that song and the other dad said "oh you mean the bruce springstein song" and we all laughed.  then when I saw this question and I saw bruce springstein i thought of that conversation and said to myself, no way....and so i put something else...crazy coincidence but didn't help me at all

Gideon Day 16

6/6 today.
Happy snow day, Northeasterners!

1 :) D1 Roosevelt - Late day flash of insight. I considered Shirley Temple Black, but she died only a few years ago.
2 :) D2 Strike Price - Lucky guess. I was originally thinking Futures, but that's not really a specific price, I don't think.
3 :) D2 Tupac Shakur - California Love pointed me towards him, and I kinda remembered that song. I wasn't sure if we'd get an actual Tupac question after the Tupac Amaru question last season.
4 :) D3 2.7 (e) - I plugged in a few values (n=2,3,4) and the results looked like a familiar constant.
5 :) D1 HK
6 :) D0 Mediocre - I went through adequate, sufficient, intermediate, competent, moderate, tantamount and paramount before I finally got there (much later).

Dave M day 16

4/6 today although I could easily have got 5. While it snows in New York here in Park City Utah it is 60 deg F and sunny… not the best week to be skiing.

1 :) Like Ben I didn't know any of these but the timing worked. D1
2 :( Stupid misreading of the question - I went with Call Price. D1
3 :) California, no doubt about it. D3
4 :( Guessed 0.0 D2
5 :) I've stayed in Kowloon before. Feels like a gimme. D0
6 :) Halfway = Medi was the link, although I also considered Middling. So that's where Mediocre comes from. D2

Brad (snow) day 16

3/6 ... but thought they were all gettable today

1) doris day d3

Nope ... but makes sense

2) strike price d0

Gimme for an options trader ... unfortunately opponent also has good biz stats

3) snoop dog d1

Nope

4) 2.7 d2

A guess, but nothing else made sense

5) seoul d2

Should have known this one

6) mediocre d1

Brock and la la land were worse than that

Jesse Day 16

2/6

1. Name the woman who wrote the newspaper column "My Day" six days a week from 1935 until 1962 (the year she died) in addition to serving as the Office of Civilian Defense co-chair from 1941-42, a delegate to the UN General Assembly beginning in 1945, and the inaugural chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, as well as many other roles.
Correct Answer: ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Your Answer: Landers
Points Assigned: 3

Argh, that was very gettable. 

2. In finance, what is the most common term for the fixed, pre-arranged price—also known as exercise price—at which an option to buy or sell the underlying security can be exercised by the option's owner?
Correct Answer: STRIKE PRICE
Your Answer: Trigger Price
Points Assigned: 2

I had no idea.

3. "I Get Around," "Keep Ya Head Up," "Dear Mama," and "California Love"/"How Do U Want It" were among the hit singles released in the 1990s by what hip-hop legend?
Correct Answer: 2PAC (TUPAC SHAKUR)
Your Answer: Tu Pac Shakur
Points Assigned: 1

This was a guess with bad spelling. 

4. What is the mathematical limit of the expression in this image? (Note, the first decimal place is sufficient if expressing the answer as a number.) LINK: http://www.learnedleague.com/images/art/85y093vy9nvy0598vy6098.jpg
Correct Answer: e/2.7/EULER'S NUMBER
Your Answer: 1
Points Assigned: 1

Nope!

5. Kowloon, which comprises the Kowloon Peninsula and a district called New Kowloon, is within the metropolitan area of what major world city?
Correct Answer: HONG KONG
Your Answer: Hong Kong
Points Assigned: 0

Maybe a gimmie?

6. What word, used recently in New York Times articles to describe the singing and dancing skills of the stars in La La Land, the recent performance of investment management company BlackRock's stock funds, and the play of Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler, is derived originally from a Latin word meaning "halfway up a mountain"?
Correct Answer: MEDIOCRE
Your Answer: Lackluster
Points Assigned: 2

Nope, I could not make that guess. 

Ben Day 16

Argh so close to 6/6. 5/6.

1 :) Roosevelt. I didn't know she did this, but given the timing and the types of roles it made sense

2 :) strike. drivatives trading wheelhouse.

3 :( Sir Mixalot. I thought about tupac. Dammit

4 :) e. This was the least fair math question I've seen in LL.

5 :) Hong Kong. Been there.

6 :) Mediocre. Happy guess.

JAFFA JLT Rd 4

JAFFA rd1 match ups using Best 22s from JLT rd 4

Around the Grounds
Rat Pack	1949	100.0%	22/28	1949	67	88.6
Gigantor	1766	0.0%	22/24	1766	35	80.3
Heroes	1827	0.0%	22/32	1827	122	83.0
Boys	2211	100.0%	22/32	2211	273	100.5
All Stars	1604	0.0%	22/27	1604	73	72.9
Beasts	1746	100.0%	22/25	1746	152	79.4
Pansies	1665	0.0%	20/20	1665	127	83.3
KIWI	1673	100.0%	22/29	1673	-22	76.0
Retro	1798	0.0%	22/31	1798	98	81.7
Dragons	2022	100.0%	22/29	2022	408	91.9

Dave M day 15 - Carr matchup #11

Ooh this is going to be a close one. 4/6 for me too. Let's see how we get along.

1 :( Of course it's Fu Manchu. I couldn't think of anything appropriate. D2 and bad start. Carr 2 Mirkin 0
2 :) Not only was this big in NZ too, I even took a look at 'Fuller House' on Netflix, where the daughters are now raising three boys. An abomination. D2 and a terrible defense decision. Carr 4 Mirkin 1.
3 :( Never going to get this and confident Ben wouldn't either. D3. Carr 4 Mirkin 1.
4 :) I went with Elizabeth II. Thorsten must be getting questions of Netflix this season (The Crown in this case - I watch too much TV). I was really confident this was a gimme for Carr. I can't believe I wasted my D0 here. Carr 4 Mirkin 3.
5 :) The second of what I thought were two gimmes this round. D1. Carr 5 Mirkin 3.
6 :) I went with Force. D1 So end score is Carr 6 Mirkin 5.

So I go down again to Carr, now 2-4-5. Poor defense cost me the loss, of course Ben would remember bland 1990s sitcom juggernauts. Hopefully we'll remain in the same Rundle next season for another rematch!

Brad day 15

2/6

1) vidal sassoon d1

Nope, but in hindsight makes sense

2) michelle d0

The much tougher question would have been to name the mom

3) kahlo d2

No idea

4) henry iii d3

Nope

5) settlers of catan d2

Thought would be a risky d2 then smacked myself when i saw the answer

6) force d1

Straightforward enough

Ben Day 15

Face off with Mirkin for our 11th match. I have 2 wins, 3 losses and 5 ties. A big game as we are both hovering just outside the relegation zone. Since the move to Sierra it is clea that I am either a below average C rundler or above average D rundler. Will be very hard for me to claw back to C after a demotion!

4/6 right today.

1 :) Fu Man Chu. D1. In hindsight, maybe this should have been a D2. 

2 :) DJ. No problem naming all 3. There was pinhole risk that this show didn't penetrate NZ culture as deeply as US and Australia, so D1 vs the D0 I would have given it were it not for trivial pursuit.

3 :( I guessed Miro. D3

4 :( Off by one. I wrote VIctoria 1. I don't know much about royal lines, but knew this was recent. I didn't know the numbers of all the kings between Victoria and Elizabeth II, and thought that Elizabeth being a Windsor proculded her, so I went Victoria 1, who was the last non Saxe-Coburg queen. D2 and possibly the game to Mirkin.

5 :) Trivial pursuit. I figure Mirkin must have played this. D0

6 :) mass. Gotta hope Mirkin didn't get this. D2.