Brian Day 7 vs Belskey

At first glance, I thought I had a shot at 2 questions, tops.  On a second read, I thought I had a chance at 4.  My first glance was way too optimistic.  And now I have long weekend off from LL to wallow in my misery.
1) Cappuccino.  I love coffee, but only coffee.  I don't go for that fancy shmancy stuff. 1/0
2) Message.  coin flip between mail and message. 0/1
3) Desai. I know a few Desai's. 2/3
4) Meet the Press.  I was a paperboy, watching the news felt like cheating.  1/1
5) Baby British Ballers. I came very close to writing Aussie Joey Jumpers, but I thought my answer might have had a shot. 3/2
6) Houston.  Heard of Nashville, but have never seen it.  2/2

Pelc Day 7

4/6 today - had no chance on the two I missed

1. :) 

Q. Fill in the blank: Starbucks Caramel _________

A: Macchiato D0

2. :) 

Q: Armed with the vague knowledge that TCP/IP and SMTP have something to do with email, guess what the M in SMTP stands for?  

A: Mail? D2

3. :( 

Q: Name a Bengali poet.

A: ....

Q: Fine, name a former Cincinnati Bengal.

A: Chad Ochocinco D3

4. :) 

Q: What's that moderated talking heads show on CBS?

A: Face The Nation D1

 

5. :( 

Q: List a relative age, nationality, and vocation. 

A: Old Australian Singers. I am shocked that the answer was actually in this format.  D2

6. :) 

Q: What's that Robert Altman movie named after a city (not Los Angeles or Albuquerque)?

 A: Nashville D1

Steiny Day 7 v. rando and Ben C

1. :) I am not a coffee drinker and would not have known this had it not had the caramel clue at the end.  The only starbucks drink I could think of that I had heard of with caramel was a caramel machiato and fortunately that was the purpose of the hint. d0/1

2. :( I obviously have heard of SMTP but obviously had no idea what it stands for. I went with modem.  Now that I see the answer is mail, i am facepalming...that would have been a much smarter thing to put given it is always the SMTP setting that screws up outlook.  D1/0 as this is probably a gimme for Ben

3. :( Never heard of him/her and I am sure Ben never has either 3/3

4. :( I fell for it...I saw lesley stahl and wrote 60 minutes.  God I am mad at myself 1/1

5. :( Nope, never heard of this..I put Scottish 5

6. :) Gimme.  I have seen this movie (and it is fucking long) and knew it immediately, It was part of a film course I took in college which has now provided many, many answers for LL so taking it was so worth it!. 2/2

Probably not enough to beat Ben, but I am hoping he gives me more credit than he should for smtp and makes it a zero...maybe enough for a tie.

Ben day 7

3/6

1 :) macchiato. Caramel hint did it.

2 :) mail. Jesse, you still get your mil through smtp I expect, someone's just gone and put a nice UI over the top.

3 :( Kipling. Never heard of him

4 :( 60 minutes. That's an MCW if ever I saw one. 

5 :( young American poets. Never heard of this. Was kinda on the right track.

6 :( Chicago. No idea here. 

Seif Day 7 vs. Jesse (LLL)

2/6, and I'm honestly lucky to walk away with that.  I thought I'd done better, but I could easily have missed the two I did get.

1. Macchiato :), D20.  I was pretty sure the answer was cortado until I read the last part of the question.  Only got it because of the Starbucks reference.

2. Mail :), D32.  This came up recently in other trivia I did.  Otherwise, I'm almost certain I would have put down message instead of mail.

3. Nehru :(, D13.  No clue at all.

4. 60 Minutes :(, D11.  I was basically certain this was right.  Nope!

5. British Boomer Writers :(, D22.  I got one out of three!  Had zero clue here and just took a wild guess.

6. Miami :(, D01.  Another wild guess, and another miss.  I'm thinking this isn't really all that hard a question.  It's just not an area I know anything about.

Jesse Day 7

4/6

1. What is the name of the drink that consists of espresso with a very small amount of milk (the coffee is literally "spotted" or "stained" in Italian)? The Starbucks version of the drink is essentially the reverse of this -- a latte where espresso is slowly poured over steamed milk (and very often topped with caramel sauce). 
Correct Answer: MACCHIATO
Your Answer: Machiatto
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I know this from the Starbucks hint. I don't drink coffee, but caramel macchiatos taste great. 

2. In the ubiquitous TCP/IP computer network protocol abbreviation SMTP, what does the "M" stand for?
Correct Answer: MAIL
Your Answer: Mail
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

I am old enough to remember getting email through SMTP.

3. The collection of poems from 1912 titled Gitanjali (Song Offerings), based on medieval lyrics of devotion, led directly to its author's Nobel Prize in Literature the following year. Name this Bengali poet, who was the first non-European to win that award.
Correct Answer: RABINDRANATH TAGORE
Your Answer: Khan
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3

Never heard of him. I just put down what I thought might be a Bengali last name. 

4. Howard K. Smith, George Herman, Lesley Stahl, Bob Schieffer, John Dickerson, and Margaret Brennan are among the journalists who have moderated what weekly news and public affairs program that debuted on November 7, 1954?
Correct Answer: FACE THE NATION
Your Answer: Face The Nation
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I knew it through John Dickerson and Bob Schieffer. I listen to Slate's Political Gabfest every week so am a fan of Dickerson and I was happy for him when he got the gig. 

5. Rachel Whiteread, Sarah Lucas, Cornelia Parker, Christine Borland, Gillian Wearing, and Michael Landy are among a loosely affiliated group of individuals who have been referred to collectively by what term, based on their relative age, nationality, and shared vocation?
Correct Answer: YOUNG BRITISH ARTISTS
Your Answer: Brit litterers
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I had no idea. Figured they were British, but did not get any further. 

6. While it had characters named L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall) and Albuquerque (Barbara Harris), the 1975 Robert Altman film in which they appeared was actually set in (and named after) what other city?
Correct Answer: NASHVILLE
Your Answer: Nashville
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2  

I saw this in film school. Guessing this is relatively hard. 

Gideon Day 6 vs MeyerE

Thank you for moving the blog. Hopefully this keeps us in compliance. 

4/6 today

1 :( D3/3 Cricket - I was also considering golf, lawn bowling, badminton, and croquet. 
2 :) D2/2 Burlington Northern - I was pretty sure sf was Santa Fe, but I didn’t want to get it wrong when they only needed one answer. I live in freight train country now. 
3 :( D2/2 Range - I was pretty sure this was wrong, but I couldn’t remember domain. 
4 :) D1/1 Recombinant - Not as commonly known as I thought. 
5 :) D0/1 Venezuela - I’ve been waiting for this question all season. I thought we were going to need to name Guaido. 
6 :) D1/0 Limerick - What a delightfully complex way to describe them!

Jesse Day 6

2/6 Brian beat me. I don't do any work on defense other then judging the difficulty of the questions and my opponent's percentage in that category. 

1. The formal name of the club known colloquially as the All England Club, located in the Wimbledon district in London, references two lawn sports, with one being tennis. What is the other—a game for which the club was founded in 1868 (though tournaments are no longer hosted there)?
Correct Answer: CROQUET
Your Answer: Lawn bowling
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I considered Croquet, cricket and badminton, but went with lawn bowling. 

2. BNSF Railway, created via a 1996 merger, is the largest freight railroad network in North America. What do any of the letters in BNSF stand for?
Correct Answer: BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE
Your Answer: Freight
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3

Nope! I considered National and San.

3. What term in mathematics most commonly represents the set of all values that a given function's independent variable (e.g. "x" in y=2x) can have?
Correct Answer: DOMAIN
Your Answer: Variables
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

Ah, I would have known this in high school and then promptly forgot it after graduating. 

4. What adjective, a relative neologism found almost exclusively in scientific contexts, is most commonly used to describe, as a formal term, DNA molecules produced by merging genetic material from two or more different sources via genetic engineering? The word is represented by the first letter in the typical four-letter designation for this type of DNA molecule.
Correct Answer: RECOMBINANT
Your Answer: Crisper
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I could not figure it out. Knew Crisper was not and adjective.

5. Name the country that completes this quote, declared by Juan Guaido on January 23, 2019: "Juro asumir formalmente las competencias del Ejecutivo nacional como el presidente encargado de ________."
Correct Answer: VENEZUELA
Your Answer: Venezuela
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

Gimmiesh

6. Five lines, usually made of amphibrachs and anapests, with two feet in each of the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others, with a strict rhyming scheme of aabba, is a verse form known by a name that is shared with what city?
Correct Answer: LIMERICK
Your Answer: Lymerick
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2  

Looks like this was the easiest of today's questions. 

Brian day 6 vs Jesse

5/6, got one on a guess but missed one I thought I had.  And since I love to give crap to people who don't post, I'd like to point out the benefits of posting (and reading) this blog: Jesse will indubitably remember that I incorrectly answered Limerick last week for the Canterbury Tales question, and therefore he will both answer it correctly and D0 me today.
1) croquet.  A guess. Considered darts, bowling, polo and cricket, but my daughter was in the Alice in Wonderland school play last month and the flamingo mallets won out. 2/2
2) Burlington.  I traded the stock ticker BNI until Buffett bought it. 3/2
3) domain.  mMath gimme. 1/3
4) hybrid.  Gimme.  Wait, there's no hDNA, but what else could it be? This is so easy everyone will get it.  Oops.  I have heard of recombinant, but no way was i going to get there. Not happy with my defense. 2/1
5) Venezuela.  Spanish-speaking country in the news?  no other choice. 0/0
6) Limerick.  As I said on D1Q1:"Limerick.  Poetry seemed too general, so went with a town from a neighboring country." Did Jesse remember this or give me a high literature defense?  1/1

Ode from Steiny

To continue Ben's great work:

Success in the League can be fleeting

But I did not sign up for this mistreating

Thorsten's fears are unfounded

Our site nearly impounded

No one comes to THIS BLOG for the cheating

Dave M day 6

A 3/6 for me too.

 

1 : ( I guessed Badminton on a 50/50 between that and Croquet. D1

2 : ) I misread the question and put down all four words. I know my US and Canadian Railways. D2

3 : ( Went with Range but now I see the answer of course it should be Domain. Risky D3

4 : ( I guessed splicing. D1

5 : ) Seems like a current events gimme. D0

6 : ) Five lines and the rhyming scheme, could only be Limerick. D2

Steiny Match Day 6 v. random and Andy

Well this has been a drama filled day.  perhaps Eric Sumberg, king of forfeits, was correct in insisting that we put a password on this blog many years ago....

1. :) Had to be croquet or bocce and so I went with the more pretentious one 2/1

2. :( Guessed Baltimore 2/2

3. :( Guessed Range 0/2

4. :( Guessed chimera as many others did it seems 3/3

5. :) Gimme

6. :) Total gimme.  I love limericks!

Ben day 6 v random and will

3/6

1 :( lawn bowls. I also thought I had this. D2

2 :( San. Of course it was Santa Fe. I've played enough Rail Baron to make his a bad miss. D1

3 :) domain. Math gimme. D3 v will.

4 :( chimeral. Never gonna get this. D2

5 :) Venezuela. Thanks seif. D0

6 :) limerick. This will trigger a thread of limericks on the message boards. I'm excited. D1

In this league we all play one another

Today I've some Friedland or other

Without sense of smell

It's quite hard to tell

When it's Will from his sister and mother

Seif Day 6

4/6 today.  Got one on little more than a guess, but I missed one I really thought I had.  I'm up against someone in B whose QPct is significantly better than the A average, so we'll see how this goes...

1. Polo :(, D12. Ugh, thought I had this.  I guess maybe "lawn sport" doesn't quite fit.  I doubt I would have come up with croquet either way.

2. Northern :), D01.  This wasn't much more than a guess.  It seemed like a fairly obvious one, except that so did "Southern," which I also almost put.  So, now I'm thinking this actually wasn't that easy, that I got lucky, and that I gave too low of a D.

3. Domain :), D31.  Gimme.

4. Hybrid :(, D23.  I doubted this was right.  I would never have come up with recombinant and have never heard or rDNA.

5. Venezuela :), D22.  One of the countries I've lived and breathed recently, so super gimme even if I didn't understand the Spanish.

6. Limerick :), D10.  Once it came to me, this was clearly the only choice.

Gideon Day 5 vs Brad

5/6 today

1 :) D2 Uranus, Neptune - whew!  I was pretty sure Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants and the first four from the sun aren’t very giant. 
2 :) D2 Love - Seemed right.
3 :) D0 Keeping Up With The Joneses - I feel like I’ve seen this recently in a crossword. 
4 :( D3 Laos, Cambodia
5 :) D1 Mubarak
6 :) D1 Scrivner

Brian day 5 vs Steiny in private

4/6

1) Neptune, Uranus. I know Saturn and Jupiter are gas giants,  Neptune had to be ice giant, and I hoped Thorsten wouldn't be cruel enough to ask for "all" if there were only one answer, so I added Uranus.  Didn't think this would run so easy.  1/3

2) summer.  2/1

3) keeping up with the joneses 0/1

4) Bangladesh,Burma.  No idea 3/2

5) Mubarak gimme 1/0

6) Scrivener.  This came up recently, perhaps in a 1DS, else it would have been a tough one. Hoping to pick up 3 lit points here. 2/2

Ben day 5 v Andy and seif

Back home. Cold this morning. 4/6 which felt good but alarmingly is the worst score posted so far. 

1 :) Uranus neptune. Lucky Thorsten asked for all or I likely would just have put Neptune as I was in the fence about Uranus. D11

2 :) love. It fit pretty well. D22.

3 :) keeping up with the joneses. Seems very gettable. D01

4 :( China, Myanmar. I almost put North Korea Russia. Still would have been wrong. I feel like I should hav element this from crosswords as it is an obscure 4 letter word. D22.

5 :) Mubarak. D10.

6 :( journalist. I had to google what a scrivener is/was. No shot here. D33

Jesse Day 5

6/6. First of the season

1. Of the eight planets of the solar system, name all of the planets that are typically classified as "ice giants."
Correct Answer: URANUS, NEPTUNE
Your Answer: Neptune, Uranus
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I knew Neptune and Uranus were Ice Giants. Saturn and Jupiter are gas giants, substantially larger than Neptune and Uranus. 

2. Billy Wilder had it in the Afternoon, Andrzej Wajda had it in Germany, François Truffaut had it on the Run, and Franco Zeffirelli's was Endless. What is "it"?
Correct Answer: LOVE
Your Answer: Love
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I have never seen any of these films even though I was a film major, but I think I heard of them and love just seemed to fit with all the titles. 

3. The title of a comic strip by Arthur R. "Pop" Momand, which debuted in the New York Globe in 1913, is the source for what idiomatic phrase, roughly defined as maintaining one's social level in relation to proximate lifestyles? Momand's inspiration for the strip was his own rivalry with his neighbors.
Correct Answer: KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Your Answer: Keeping up with the Joneses
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

Seems like a gimmie

4. The Yalu River, also known locally as the Amnok, provides a border between what two sovereign states?
Correct Answer: CHINA, NORTH KOREA
Your Answer: China and North Korea
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I have heard about it from korean world war history and a podcast episode on smuggling between the two countries. 

5. Name the man who ascended to the presidency of Egypt following the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981, and served in that position until his resignation during the Egyptian revolution of 2011.
Correct Answer: HOSNI MUBARAK
Your Answer: Hosni Mubarek
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

Gimmiesh.

6. While most of his famous and enduring characters have occupations relating to seafaring, Herman Melville's Bartleby held what other specific, titular profession?
Correct Answer: SCRIVENER
Your Answer: Scrivener
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3  

The only reason I know this is I just started a DnD campaign and named my charecter Gregg Bartelsby, after current world champion disc golfer Gregg Barsby.  I had looked up Bartleby in Google to see if I could use that character as part of Gregg's backstory. 

Seif Day 5 vs. Ben (LLL)

First, as I seem to have to do every season, I need to knock a few people (such as those whose names rhyme with Glen, Glandy, Grad, and Grom) for their lack of posting.  C'mon, gents.  With that out of the way...

5/6, in the first day this season that really had questions up my alley.

1. Uranus, Neptune :), D21.  Phew.  Based on how the question was written, it seemed like Uranus and Neptune were both definites, and the only question was whether to include either just Saturn or both Saturn and Jupiter.  I couldn't recall that term ever being used for the latter two, so I left them out.

2. Tea :(, D12.  Nope!

3. Keeping up with the Joneses :), D12.  Came to me immediately, and once it did, this seemed like the only possible answer.

4. China, North Korea :), D31.  Gimme for me.

5. Mubarak :), D20.  Gimme.

6. Scrivener :), D03.  I read this in high school.  I'm really not sure how easy this will be, and my D is indicative of this uncertainty.

Gideon Day 4 vs Andy

5/6 today

1 :) D2/2 Lee - Lucky guess. I was hoping that Brenda Mae was Brenda Lee and that 李振藩  was Bruce. I was also considering Roe or Doe from court cases. 

2 :) D1/0 New Zealand - When finally I got this, it seemed so much better than the other answers I was considering. 

3 :) D0/1 My So-Called Life

4 :( D3/3 The Cat - I should have figured this one out from the Talented Mr Damon movie.  Instead I went with the Lillian Jackson Braun series that fills up several shelves in mystery section of the library. 

5 :) D2/1 Feathers

6 :) D1/2 The Seven Year Itch - Like NZ, this also took me a long time to get but was obviously right when I finally got there. 

Ben day 4

3/6 advance access.

I've advance accessed all the questions so far. Back to reality tomorrow.

1 :( I dismissed Lee having thought of it as a possibly name for Caucasians and Asians. I think the advance access version of the question didn't specify the Asian name as a man so I assumed woman which hurt. Also, the lit question below made me think none were authors which also steered me away from Harper.

2 :) NZ. 

3 :) my so-called life. There's an Australian tv show called secret life of us and I wasn't sure which show was which, never have watched either, but his felt right.

4 :( Amy. 

5 :( nose rings. I don't think the word biological was in the advance access version.

6 :) 7 year itch. I was pleased to get this.

Pelc Day 4

4/6 today but should have been 5

1. :) - Looking at all your answers so far, I'm way less impressed with myself than I was when I saw that my somewhat educated guess was correct. D2

2. :( - I didn't have a chance here (guessed Luxembourg) and not sure how this isn't a YEKIOYD but geography has never been my forte. D3 - might regret this. 

3. :) - Gimme for TV fans of a certain age. This would have been a better question without the Claire Danes hint. D0

4. :) - Haven't read any of them but my mother has so I'm familiar with the series. D1 

5. :( -  I usually check the questions on my phone when I first wake up and then actually answer them when I get to a comp later in the day. I got to this one this morning and said to myself "it's feathers" and moved on to Q6. I had a crazy morning and when I got to a comp, I quickly listed the answers and defense without much thought. For some inexplicable reason, I wrote 'wings' for this one. I'm good for at least one or two of these brain farts a season. 

TLDR: I'm an idiot. D2  

6. :) - Another familiar question that I've seen either in a previous LL or somewhere else. I think pretty easy even without this familiarity, though it is a nice piece of trivia. D1

Brian Day 4 vs Friedland MJ

3/6, but very disappointed in myself, left two on the table

1) Lee.  So happy about this guess.  Bruce Lee was my first thought for the Chinese man, and it fit as a pseudonym for actresses of an earlier era.  2/1

2) Suriname.   I though I was so clever to come up with this.  oh well. 3/2

3) My So Called Life.  Gimme. I'm curious if you young folk get this.  0/3

4) Quigley.  I remember a Tom Selleck movie Quigley down under, and 'under' was in two of the titles.  But I should have got it from Ripley's Game. 2/1

5) antennae.  It didn't seem right, chitin can't be considered epidermis, can it?  But the only other thing i could think of was nipple, so I couldn't get away from it.   I know vane is part of the wing, kicking myself.  1/2

6) Seven Year Itch.  no other option here, plus I think this was in an old LL season.  1/0

Jesse Day 5

5/6!

1. Brenda Mae Tarpley, Norma Delores Engstrom, Rose Louise Hovick, and 李振藩 are names of three women and a man who are (or were) known by pseudonyms/transliterations that all have what last name?
Correct Answer: LEE
Your Answer: Lee
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I was able to reason this one out. The english names were all old people names. I tried to think of pseudonyms people of that era had and Lee was the only one that came to mind. The Chinese male name confirmed it. 

2. What independent country is named after the province in the southwestern corner of the Netherlands?
Correct Answer: NEW ZEALAND
Your Answer: New Zealand
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I knew Zeeland was a dutch province, but not where in the Netherlands it was located. I was hoping there weren't multiple countries named after dutch provinces. 

3. What television series received numerous Emmy nominations in 1995—including for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Claire Danes)—but was nonetheless cancelled after its single, critically acclaimed season?
Correct Answer: MY SO-CALLED LIFE
Your Answer: My So Called Life
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

This all depends on the age of my opponents. I was the right age to know this. 

4. What name is missing the from the following titles of novels by Patricia Highsmith? ______ Under Ground, ______'s Game, The Boy Who Followed ______, ______ Under Water.
Correct Answer: RIPLEY
Your Answer: Ender
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3

Never heard of this series.

5. A vane, rachis, calamus, and barbules are among the components of what biological epidermal appendages?
Correct Answer: FEATHERS
Your Answer: Feather
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I knew vane and barbules were from a feather. Considered tentacle. 

6. What phrase, which originally referred to actual prolonged skin irritation, is believed to have first been used in its current and more common form—as a psychological and interpersonal condition—in a 1952 play by George Axelrod (and subsequent 1955 film)? 
Correct Answer: SEVEN YEAR ITCH
Your Answer: Seven year itch
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2  

Total guess, but seemed right. 

Dave M day 4

Just the 1/6 today, not looking good for a win against Will Friedland who presumably worked out I'm a NZer (which is the one question I got right). Other poor answers  included Ai instead of Lee, Chasing Amy instead of My So-Called Life, Ears instead of Feathers, and Get Under the Skin instead of Seven-Year Itch. Ugh.

 

 

Seif Day 4 vs. Steiny (LLL)

4/6 with some rare pop culture/movie/entertainment gets for me.  This bodes especially well for me given that I should get a lot of points for these answers.

1. Lee :), D11.  I had no clue, but what else was I going to guess?  If I'd known it was right, I would have given D00.

2. New Zealand :), D02.  This took me a surprisingly long time to come up with.  Once it occurred to me, though, it was clear.

3. My So Called Life :), D20.  This came out in the roughly 3 year window that allowed me to get it.  Mid-90s TV is something I remember pretty well.  Before or after, not so much.

4. Charlie :(, D12.  No clue here.

5. Hair :(, D23.  I'm annoyed here, as this was clearly gettable.  Not sure why I didn't think beyond people.  In the end, I ended up debating between hair/fur and nails.  Worried about D here.

6. The Seven Year Itch :), D31.  Weird that I knew this, but it came to me immediately.  I think I'd read the exact phrasing of the question somewhere else before, and that made it come to mind right away.  If I were defending against myself here, I'd give this at least D2 and maybe D3, so I'm hoping to pick up a lot of points here.

Gideon Day 3 vs Jesse

4/6 today. Jesse and I tie, with the same correct answers.

1 :) D2/1 Somalia
2 :( D3/3 Brooks Brothers - A few months ago I got a few pages into Kate Atkinson’s new-ish book Transcription, before I had to return it to the library. What I read involved the main character starting a new job at the BBC, and there were a lot of references to Broadcasting House. I didn’t get far enough into it to form any associations with Marylebone.
3 :) D1/2 Smokey Robinson
4 :) D0/0 Baked Alaska - I remember as a kid wondering how it was possible to make without completely melting the ice cream. I’ve never actually tried it.
5 :( D2/2 Versacci
6 :) D1/1 Potemkin - Battleship Potemkin!

Brian Day 3 vs Ben

2/6  Not looking good, especially vs Ben who will optimally defend me.

1) Somalia. I've been sporcling Africa. 1/0

2) brooks brothers.  Almost put Hogwarts.  3/1

3) robinson.  Gimme. I'm also a big fan of When Smokey Sings, by ABC.  0/2

4) tiramisu.  i've never had nor known what baked alaska is.  I always thought it was a salmon dish. 1/1

5) louis vutton.  no chance.  2/3

6) minsk.  have heard of the battleship potemkin, never knew what it was.  2/2

Dave M day 3

Pretty happy with 5/6 today, lots of questions in my wheelhouse.

 

1. : ) Wheelhouse number 1 = geography. I spent a while wondering if this was a trick question. D2
2. : ) Wheelhouse number 2 = UK. Also interested to see how many know this. D2
3. : ( Guessed Ray Charles. D1
4. : ) I had a baked Alaska for the first time about 6 months ago – albeit a slightly different to traditional one where it was flambeed. D0
5. : ) Miu Miu must be Miuccia Prada so Prada seemed the right one to go for here. D1
6. : ) Wheelhouse number 3 = world history. D3 which seems risky given answers so far, although world history is my opponent’s worst category, film is in the middle.

Jesse Day 3

4/6 Battling Levinson in regular and my brother Gideon in private. I am guessing Gideon goes 5/6. 

1. What country, due to its shape, could accurately be described as having its northern coast on the Gulf of Aden and its southeastern coast on the Indian Ocean? 
Correct Answer: SOMALIA
Your Answer: Somalia
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I knew the Gulf of Aden was between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and borders Yemen and Somalia. 

2. The Dimbleby family of England, in particular brothers David and Jonathan, are most closely associated with what company, headquartered in London's Marylebone district?
Correct Answer: BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (BBC)
Your Answer: Sainburys
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

I had absolutely no idea. 

3. From the group's founding in 1955 as The Chimes, through its debut Motown release in 1963, and until his departure in 1972, the legendary R&B band The Miracles was led by what vocalist?
Correct Answer: SMOKEY ROBINSON
Your Answer: Smokey Robinson
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

Seems like a gimmie. 

4. A classic version of what dessert consists of a sponge cake soaked in liqueur with ice cream on top, all of which is covered in meringue and served immediately after cooking in a hot oven to caramelize the meringue?
Correct Answer: BAKED ALASKA
Your Answer: Baked Alaska
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I love baked meringue, yet I do not think I have ever had a baked Alaska. 

5. Miu Miu is a fashion brand started by—and still today a subsidiary of—what luxury house? The brand's name is taken from the nickname of the house's head designer (who is also Miu Miu's founder).
Correct Answer: PRADA
Your Answer: Gucci
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3

I had no idea. This is very much guessable. 

6. What was the name of the battleship whose crew mutinied in 1905 during the Russian Revolution, subsequently bombarding Odessa before retreating to Romania, where the surviving crewmembers were granted asylum?
Correct Answer: POTEMKIN
Your Answer: Potemkin
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

Only Russian battleship I can name. Pretty sure my brother is familiar with the film. 

Seif Day 3 vs. Andy (LLL)

3/6.  Didn't hit on any guesses, though I considered and didn't put the correct answer in two cases.  But I didn't miss anything I should have gotten.

1. Somalia :), D11.  Gimme.

2. BBC :), D32.  I wouldn't have been able to come up with the name if asked about brothers who work at the BBC if it the question had been written that way, but I've been watching so much UK news over the past few months, that I was able to recognize it right away.  I think this is likely very hard for Americans, and I'm curious to see what the get rate is.  I would not have gotten this even six months ago before Brexit heated up.

3. Wonder :(, D02.  The only two people who came to mind were Stevie Wonder and Smoky Robinson.  I just guessed one of them, figuring both were likely wrong.  Too bad, though I can't really complain.

4. Turkish Delight :(, D20.  Now that I see the answer, I realized I have heard of Baked Alaska.  But I was never going to come up with it.

5. Mikimoto :(, D23.  I thought about Prada, but I really had no idea.

6. Potemkin :), D11.  I didn't know any of the history other than the mutiny and the 1905 year, but I knew the answer right away.  I spent a while trying to decide whether the spelling was "Potemkin" or "Potempkin," though I suspect it would have been marked right either way.

Gideon Day 2

5/6 today

1 :) D3/2 Baguette - I’m a professional jeweler, among other things.

2 :) D2/2 Whig - Did you know that William Henry Harrison’s VP, President John Tyler (b. 1790) has two living grandchildren?  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-two-of-president-john-tylers-grandsons-are-still-alive/

3 :) D1/1 Architecture - I recognized Eisenman and Graves.

4 :) D0/1 Atari - I’ve played both Go and the 2600.

5 :| D1/0 Squid Ink - Hope this wasn’t too specific.

6 :( D2/3 The Breaks -

  

Steiny Day 2

1. :) chalk this up to what do they serve in french bakeries? 1/1

2. :) 1/1

3. :( No idea, I put law professors 2/2

4. :( No idea, I put hot seat 3/3

5. :) Too easy! 0/0

6. :) I knew they were basketball players and so I put basketball...two pretty lucky guesses today! 2/2

brad day2

2/6

vs steiny lll

1) baguette d0/2

would have gone for emerald if not for the food clue

2) whig d1/0

simple enough

3) psychology d2/2

nope

4) betamax d2/1

dont play go, but imagine would be a gimme if so

5) silk d1/1

nope

6) slam dunk d3/3

didnt like this question, went for the d3 as figured the name of the song had to be more obscure than the sport (and this otherwise is in my wheelhouse), think a lot of people may get this as a wag

Brian I Day 2 vs Steiny (LL) and Andy

Very happy with 4/6, as I only had 1 for sure at first glance.  Identical defenses for the two.

1) Baguette.   Came back to me after I relived my ring shopping experience.  I assume anyone with a wife would get this; doubly so if your in-laws are jewelrers.  0/0

2) Whig.  Educated guess.  This was pre-Lincoln, I figured it had to be one of the extinct old-time parties. ​I learned yesterday that Adams was the only Federalist party president, leaving Whig as my only guess. 1/1

3) economists.  no idea 2/2

4) Atari.  Took me much longer than it should have. I went through every 1970s electronics product  could think of, and almost went with Pong before I thought of Atari, and remembered that Go is where it got its name.  2/2

5) ink.  Gimme.  I like consuming cephalopods for lunch, with shrimp and mussels, at the local cuban place.  Didn't we just have a question on sepia ink coming from cuttlefish?  I gave 1/1 based on that. 

6) Roxanne Roxanne.  Potentially could have backed into this via Wilkins and Sampson, but all I know about Kurtis Blow is that the Virginia AG is a big fan.  While I love 80s music, rap is a big blind spot. Hoping some zeros got wasted on me here.  3/3

Jesse day 2

4/6

1. A small diamond step cut with straight or tapered edges, popular in engagement ring accent stones, shares its name with a boulangerie staple. What is that name?
Correct Answer: BAGUETTE
Your Answer: Princess
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3

I have never heard of a Baguette cut. Also, I was not positive as to what a Boulangerie is. 

2. American political figures Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, William Henry Harrison, and Zachary Taylor were all members of what political party (the latter two winning the presidency as this party's nominee)?
Correct Answer: WHIG
Your Answer: Whig
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

I knew harrison was whig. 

3. Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, Jeanne Gang, and John Hejduk are/were all fellows of an American Institute for individuals in what profession?
Correct Answer: ARCHITECTURE
Your Answer: Architects
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

Peter Eisenman graduated from my high school. 

4. In the game of Go, what term is used to describe stones that are threatened with imminent capture? While the term is ancient, it entered the English vernacular in the 1970s thanks in large part to electrical engineer and electronics entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell.
Correct Answer: ATARI
Your Answer: Atari
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I have never played a full Go game, but 1970s electronics led me to Atari as a Japanese sounding guess. 

5. Highly concentrated melanin is the primary component of what cephalopodic effluence?
Correct Answer: INK
Your Answer: Ink
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I know what effluence is and I know what a cephalopod is. Ink made sense. 

6. "Dantley and Wilkins are on the scene, and Ralph Sampson is really mean!" This is a line from a 1984 song by rapper Kurtis Blow. What is the name of that song?
Correct Answer: BASKETBALL
Your Answer: The Message
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2  

This one kills me. I knew all three of those people were basketball players. I just assumed I would not get the answer because it was a rap question and threw out the name of one of the only songs from that era that I knew. 

Dave M day 2

A little bit better today than yesterday’s disaster, with 3/6. Better than I was expecting when I completed the last question – a couple of lucky guesses.

 

1 : ( I guessed Éclair. Now I see the answer I think I might have come across this before, but it was a complete guess otherwise. D1

2 : ) A lucky guess of Whigs. I assumed they were early presidents so parties would be closer matches to the UK ones at the time, which led me to a choice between Whigs and Tories. Tories seemed unlikely so went the correct way. D2

3 : ) A completely lucky guess, was tempted to go for some type of surgery but figured Architects generally find more fame and renown than other professions. D1

4 : ( I had no idea. Suspected it would be Japanese sounding though. Good question. D3

5 : ) The only Cephalopodic Effluence that came to mind was Squid Ink. D0

6 : ( The only 1984 rap songs I could think of was Fight For Your Right and Walk This Way (I think), so I put the first of those down, knowing it was almost certainly wrong. D2

Seif Day 2

A far better 4/6 today.  I got one wrong that I was pretty sure was right but got another that was a stretch.

1. Baguette :), D10.  Gimmeish

2. Whig :), D12.  Gimme for me.  Not sure how easy this is in general.

3. Architect :), D21.  Not sure if this was just a lucky guess or if one of these architects actually rang a bell.  Either way, without really recognizing any name, architect came to mind pretty quickly upon reading this.

4. Atari :), D21.  I knew the Go term but had never heard of Nolan Bushnell.  Now that I Google him and see that he created the video game system, I think it's a pretty cool question.

5. Pearls :(, D32.  I was almost certain I had this right.  I wonder how many people will fall into this trap.

6. Reagan :(, D03.  No clue at all.

Gideon LL80 Day 1

Hey everyone, welcome back!  Would anyone mind if I invited a friend in Citidel to join the blog?

6/6 today

1 :) D3/3 The Canterbury Tales - I came up with a whole bunch of types of contests that might occur in or around an English inn, including drinking, fighting, singing, sword from stone pulling, horse racing, and storytelling. Read Canterbury Tales in high school, but I couldn’t remember if it involved a contest.  Went with it for lack of any other guesses.

2 :) D1/2 Rubella - I got German Measles  (I mean I came up with it as an answer, not came down with it as an illness), and from there half-remembered/figured that Rubella worked as an illness and virus name.

3 :) D1/0 Bulgaria - I always liked the place-name Sophia. I hope someone puts Slovenia as a joke answer.

4 :) D0/1 A Hard Days Night - I remember liking this movie.

5 :) D2/1 Athens - Same reasoning as my brother, only it took me longer.

6 :) D2/2 Billy Jean King - I considered some other women atheletes but remembered that there is a movie about BJK with Steve Carell and Emma Stone (that I haven’t seen), which might have put her on Thorsten’s radar.

Ben day 1

Playing Jesse in regular and Andy in LLL. Jesse and I are 3-3

1 :) Canterbury Tales. For a while I was thinking about A type of literature rather than a work of literature, but Thorstens wording got me to a work and Canterbury Tales just felt right. D22.  2(1)-0(0)

2 :| measles (German). Not sure if Thorsten pays that answer as correct. D11 2(1) or 4(2) - 0(0)

3 :) Bulgaria. I'm on vacation so I had the luxury of trawling through all the European countries and capitals until I hit Bulgaria. Shouldn't have gone west to east. D01.  2(2) or 4(3) - 0(1)

4 :) hard day's night! What a get. I had no idea it was a comedy but knew it was a Beatles movie. I was afraid it might be yellow submarine but have actually seen bits of that and I thought it was later. D22. 3(3) or 5(4) - 2(2)

5 :( Carthage. I confused Punic and Peloponnesian. D10. 3(3) or 5(4) - 3(3)

6 :( Irvin Johnson. Embarrassingly, a woman never crossed my mind. D33. 3(3) or 5(4) - 3(3).

So the question is whether measles (German) is marked as correct to decide between a draw and a victory. 

LL80 Day 1 Brian vs Seif

Welcome back everyone.  A hard fought 5/6 to start the season, could come down to defense vs Dave.  

1) Limerick.  Poetry seemed too general, so went with a town from a neighboring country. No chance here. D2(LL)/2 (LLL Seif)

2) Rubella.  Was fairly certain rubella is German measles. I embarrassingly flubbed an easy biology question last night in pub trivia with Dave, he threatened to D3 me if we had a science question today, though I doubt he'll follow through.  Anyone who's taken their kid to get immunized should get this.  1/1

3) Bulgaria.  On purely a geography basis, David would D2 me. However, he knows my daughter's name is Sophie.  How are you going to play this, Dave?  Do I know about Sofia?   How clueless do you think I am?!?   Clear zero for Dave.   1/0

4) A Hard Day's Night.  What else could it be?  I think Dave will make the Beatles' connection, but not know the movie.  He's spent too much time listening to Thank U, Next.   0/3

5) Athens.  As I told Dave last night, I have been brushing up on history in the off-season. I just finished a Big Bang through Alexander volume last week, so this was fresh on my mind.   3/1

6) Billie Jean King.  This was a toughie, and I decided Thorsten was trying to throw us off by requiring the full name. I couldn't think of a famous Moffitt, so my mind went to potential half-brothers (Curt Flood fits the bill), and then to married sisters.  I came up with Mary Decker (a 1980s runner who could fit the trail blazing in a literal sense) and Billie Jean King.  Decker was too young, but I didn't know if Billie Jean had married a man, and if so, taken his name.  Ultimately, BJK fit the clue best, it was a nice surprise to see I was correct.  2/2

Let's read Dave's post.... Oh Dave. Dave Dave Dave. France?  Really?  You said you would wait to submit! 7(5)-2(2)

Pelc Day 1

Welcome back everyone. I was pretty absent last season, and as punishment for my lapsed involvement, I missed out on LLL this year. Anyway, I'm hoping to post more this season - it's my LL80 Day 1 Resolution. 

Opened with a 6/6 this season - no complaints here. 

1. :) - I've seen a similar question asked somewhere, I'm not sure if it was a previous LL season or mini or somewhere else but the memory was enough to combine with the little I know/remember about The Canterbury Tales (story telling contest, England) to get me there. D2

2. :) - Wouldn't have gotten this if I didn't know that rubella = German measles. D3

3. :) - This took me longer than I care to admit but I got there. D1

4. :) - Name a Beatles movie. Guessed right. D0

5. :) - Knew the two sides and (mentally) flipped a coin. D1

6. :) - Love this question and really happy I got it. 'Trailblazing' = female or minority athlete (or both). I'm pretty well versed in sports trivia so, when the name Moffitt didn't jump out at me I assumed we were talking about a woman. King is near the top of the list of trailblazing female athletes and the time period worked so I went with her. Good piece of trivia. D2

Tom Day 1

4/6, thanks to a few good guesses

1.  Limerick, didn't read the question through, probably wouldn't have gotten it anyway.

2.  Rubella, german measles, thought my kids had this last year despite being vaccinated, turned out to be Fifth disease.  

3.  Bulgaria, "the name and its cognates..." narrowed me in on Sophia, which led me to Bulgaria.

4.  The Beatles, a guess.

5.  Athens, a lucky guess.

6.  Billy Jean King, a lucky guess, trailblazing being the key word.

Dave M day 1

I forgot to sign up for the LLL this season! So just playing in the regular Rundle E Div 1 with several of you anyway.

 

A terrible 0 to start. I should have got Peloponnesian War and name of capital, both of which were great questions, but in a hurry went with Greece for the girl's name one (Athens/Athena etc) and, ironically enough for a question whose answer was Athens, guessed Britain, my mind somehow went to modern wars only.

 

 

Jesse day 1

3/6. Facing Ben.

1. Harry Bailly, the host of the Tabard Inn in the English town of Southwark, serves as a sort of master of ceremonies for a contest that frames what work of literature?
Correct Answer: THE CANTERBURY TALES
Your Answer: Bleak House
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

Never read it. Never read Bleak House either. 

2. What is the name of the infection, shared with its namesake virus, that was first identified as a disease distinct from other disorders such as scarlet fever in 1814 by George de Maton, a German physician?
Correct Answer: RUBELLA
Your Answer: Influenza
Points Assigned: 2
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 2

Nope. I ignored "scarlet" being a clue. I don't think I would have pulled Rubella anyway.

3. In what European country is the name of its capital and largest city also its sixth-most popular name for baby girls (per 2017 data)? The name and its cognates are also very popular elsewhere, including Russia, Germany, Italy, and the United States. Note: Name the country.
Correct Answer: BULGARIA
Your Answer: Bulgaria
Points Assigned: 0
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 0

Sofia was the first city that came to my mind. I can't tell if this is easy or not. And I haven't been there, but plan on going to Romania and Bulgaria in the next few years.

4. Dozens if not hundreds of squealing British youths are among the cast (though they were probably not acting) in what lively 1964 musical comedy directed by Richard Lester?
Correct Answer: A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
Your Answer: A Hard Day's Night
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I also think this was easy. I saw it while in film school.

5. Of the two chief belligerents in the Peloponnesian War, which was primarily a maritime power?
Correct Answer: ATHENS
Your Answer: Athens
Points Assigned: 1
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 1

I was pretty sure it was Athens v Sparta, and I did not think of Sparta being a maritime power.

6. Former MLB pitcher Randy Moffitt, who played for the Giants, Astros, and Blue Jays during his 12-year career that began in 1972, is the younger brother of what trailblazing sports legend (full name required)?
Correct Answer: BILLIE JEAN KING
Your Answer: AJ Moffitt
Points Assigned: 3
Points Assigned to Private Opp: 3  

I thought about this for a while and had no idea. Cool bit of trivia. 

Seif Day 1 vs. Brian (LLL)

Welcome back all! It feels like it's been a long time. Frustrating 2/6 today because I didn't follow my own rule of waiting a couple of hours to submit, which caused me to leave one on the table and screw up my defense. Tomorrow I'm waiting...for real. 

1. Poetry :(, D22. Didn't understand the question, but I wouldn't have gotten it anyway. 

2. Rubella :), D22. Happy to get this. I spent a long time deciding between measles, mumps, and rubella. Then I remembered that rubella can be called German measles, and that made it clear. 

3. France :(, D00. I'm too annoyed to write much about this. I think I was so happy to get the preceding one I just blew through this one without thinking about it. 

4. Oliver! :(, D31. I figured this had something to do with the Beatles, but I couldn't come up with it. Wasn't going to happen. 

5. Athens :), D11. Not sure how easy this is in general. I knew the two sides and that Sparta wasn't much of a naval power, so that only left Athens. 

6. John Moffitt :(, D13. Great question, but no clue.