New Scaratings

Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, 14 seconds to answer after posting of Question & 5 Choices; No Clues):

1. The archipelago at the end of South America is called:_______________________.
[Choices: Cristo Redentor, Machu Picchu, Tierra del Fuego, Chichen Itza, Easter Island ]

2. If something is described as feasible, that means:_______________________.
[Choices: It is invisible, It is weak, It is too old, It needs money, It can be done ]

3. Hurricane Harvey dealt a harsh blow to this city's metropolitan area in 2017:____________________.
[Choices: Houston, San Jose, Columbus, Jacksonville, Raleigh ]

4. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a controversial _____________________ General.
[Choices: Prussian, Spanish-American War, Confederate, World War I, Revolutionary War ]

5. Which of these creatures is a bird?______________________
[Choices: Capybara, Egyptian Mau, Binturong, Wobbegong, Least Bittern ]

6. "Anatomy of the Human Body" is a famous textbook popularly called:______________________.
[Choices: The Double Helix, The Mismeasure of Man, What is Life?, One Two Three....Infinity, Gray's Anatomy ]

7. "Iacta alea est", meaning "The die is cast", was said by which famous leader?______________________
[Choices: Julius Caesar, Benito Mussolini, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Patton, Nebuchadnezzar ]

8. Where is the Sea of Tranquility?_______________________
[Choices: Central Asia, Jupiter, The Moon, Arctic Circle, South America ]

9. "Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen" is a lyric from this hit musical:________________________.
[Choices: Hair, Rent, Sweeney Todd, Brigadoon, The Phantom of the Opera ]

10. A junket is a ____________________ made at someone else's expense.
[Choices: Wound, Trip, Course, Prank, Meal ]




Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 16 seconds, and with 3 Clues):

11. "Ecce homo" is a circa 1930 fresco painting by Elias Martinez that depicts:__________________________.
[Choices: Adam, Jesus, Da Vinci, Moses, Stalin ]

12. What kind of medical condition is "Pica"?_________________________
[Choices: Influenza, Purblindness, Pigment loss, Eating disorder, Artery blockage ]

13. Of the Wonders of the Ancient World, which is oldest?_________________________
[Choices: Roman Colosseum, Lighthouse at Alexandria, Temple of Artemis, Great Pyramid at Giza, Colossus of Rhodes ]

14. For 70 years, this state was home to Platt National Park:______________________.
[Choices: South Dakota, Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Oklahoma }

15. What African-American singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018?______________________
[Choices: Mary Wells, Leslie Gore, Maria Tallchief, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone ]

16. D.H. Lawrence's "The Plumed Serpent" concerns an attempt to revive the ancient ___________________ religion.
[Choices: Cretan, Mayan, Shinto, Egyptian, Aztec ]

17. Which U.S. war took place at the same time as the Napoleonic Wars?__________________________
[Choices: War of 1812, Mexican War, Spanish-American War, U.S. Civil War, French and Indian War ]

18. Joy Harjo, the current poet laureate of the United States, is a:______________________.
[Choices: Mexican American, Japanese American, Swedish American, Native American, Korean American ]

19. What institution did billionaire art collector Patrick Drahi purchase this year?_______________________.
[Choices: Metropolitan Opera, Sotheby's, Central Park, Bulgari, Mme. Tussaud's ]

20. Which entity's mint stopped making pennies in 2012?_________________________
[Choices: Canada, Australia, United States, Gibraltar, Isle of Man ]

21. Saltimbocca is an Italian dish made of veal wrapped with prosciutto and:_____________________.
[Choices: Sage, Pho, Onions, Thyme, Broccoli ]

22. James Marape became Prime Minister of ______________________ earlier this year.
[Choices: Papua New Guinea, Austria, Zambia, Mauritania, Suriname ]




Category Round (6 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease from 4 to 20 seconds, & with 3 Clues; Category chosen by majority vote at each Site):

23.(a) European geography v LANGUAGES: Hassaniya is a dialect of ____________________ that is spoken in parts of Africa.
[Choices: Arabic, Urdu, Sicilian, Portuguese, Spanish ]

24.(a) Panda bears v CLASSICAL COMPOSERS: Anton Bruckner was an ________________________ composer known for his symphonies and masses.
[Choices: Iranian, Austrian, Estonian, Italian, Algerian ]

25.(a) IT HAPPENED IN 1989 v Japanese culture: Which world leader was overthrown by a coup in 1989?___________________________
[Choices: Daniel Ortega, Alfredo Stroessner, Juan Peron, Tony Blair, Boris Yeltsin ]

26.(a) CLASSICAL COMPOSERS v European geography: Which composer is known for composing four Ballades between 1831 and 1842?___________________________
[Choices: Benjamin Britten, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms ]

27.(a) JAPANESE CULTURE v Panda bears: In Japan, the ritual of admiring the "sakura" means appreciating:__________________________.
[Choices: Tea ceremonies, Snow formations, Naked people, Cherry blossoms, Kite flying ]

28.(a) Languages v IT HAPPENED IN 1989: All of these events happened in 1989 except:_________________________________.
[Choices: Calgary wins Stanley Cup, Wrestlemania III, Oliver North convicted, Tiananmen Square protest, Exxon Valdez oil spill ]




***Because I worried my camcorder battery might run out after the SHOWDOWN game, I switched batteries; unfortunately I may have wiped out the last part of the SHOWDOWN game recording. Therefore the remaining Q&A are reconstructed from brief written notes, and I cannot supply the exact 5 Choices for all Questions.***

Lightning Round (7 Questions: 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 Points, but time to read & answer decreases from 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5 to 4 seconds):

29. Archimedes lived in this century:______________________________.
[Choices: 6th Century BC, 5th Century BC, 4th Century BC, 3rd Century BC, 2nd Century BC ]

30. In boxing, what weight class includes 122 to 126 pounds?__________________________
[Choices: Bantamweight, Featherweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, Flyweight ]

31. Aaron Eckhart and Tommy Lee Jones played what character in the Batman movies?____________________________

32. What is the largest satellite in the Solar system, which orbits the planet Jupiter?____________________________

33. What is the title of Bruce Springsteen's new album?_______________________________

34. What is a common name for the horse chestnut tree?____________________________

35. What word means "to travel or wander, on foot"?____________________________




Dreaded Pyramid Round (5 Questions: 12000, 7000, 4000, 2000, 1000 Points for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Right out of 5; Time from post of Question & Choices = 16 seconds; No Clues):

36. "The Lady of Shalott" was written based on the _______________________ legend.

37. Papal, patriarchal and ______________________ are types of crosses.

38. Which of the following is ***FALSE*** about the element Rhenium?___________________________
[Choices: Is named for a river, Is shiny and silvery, Is common in the Earth's crust, Has a high boiling point, Is element number 75 ]

39. Which capital city is located in the Bight of Benin?__________________________

40. Josef Breuer worked with what other investigator for his 1895 "Studies in Hysteria"?__________________________




Final Jeopardy Question on INSECTS (50% Bonus if Right Immediately; Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 20 seconds, and with 3 Choices; 50% Deduction if Final Choice is Wrong):

41. What is the only insect with 3D vision?_____________________________






Answers:

1. Tierra del Fuego [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierra_del_Fuego ]

2. It can be done [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/feasible ]

3. Houston [I (REACH) at Whispers Bar, Ottawa ON called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Harvey ]

4. Confederate [I pre-called "Civil War"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest ]

5. Least bittern [I pre-called this one, mentioning it's a heron; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_bittern ]

6. Gray's Anatomy [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray's_Anatomy ]

7. Julius Caesar [Jean (LESTER) was maybe first among many to pre-call this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est . I am not a Latin scholar (Dai, who was not present this evening, might have known this), but maybe a better answer for who said "Iacta alea est" would have been "Yoda". ]

8. The Moon [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_Tranquillitatis ]

9. Hair [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) and Sue (SWIFT) pre-called this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3qhle8Oy9s ]

10. Trip [Myfanwy pre-called this one; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/junket ]




11. Jesus [Chris (CEEZED) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_homo ]

12. Eating disorder [Chris pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder) ]

13. Great pyramid [I called this one, although others guessed other Choices; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Won ... ient_World ]

14. Oklahoma [I pre-called "Nebraska" (from the Platt River), but as soon as I saw the Choices (which did not include Nebraska), I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickasaw ... ation_Area ]

15. Nina Simone [amid other calls, Jean (LESTER) called this one; see the section "Honors" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone ]

16. Aztec [I called "Mayan" (Choice #2) because I knew it was in Mexico, but then saw that Choice #5 (Aztec) was better; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plumed_Serpent ]

17. War of 1812 [I pre-called this one from the years of the Napoleonic Wars; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812 ]

18. Native American [I guessed this one, others not; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Harjo ]

19. Sotheby's [I guessed this one; on typing the Question, I noticed the clue "art collector" which I did not note at the time. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby's ]

20. Canada [Sue pre-called this one, perhaps a tad obscure for our friends from the USA. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(Canadian_coin) . In its last days, the coin was not even solid copper, but only copper-plated zinc, and schoolkids used them as ninja stars. ]

21. Sage [one of the members of the other group in the room (BPBOOM?) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltimbocca ]

22. Papua New Guinea [Phil (BSLXPN) suggested New Zealand (perhaps from the English name, James), but this was immediately nixed by Myfanwy, so we went with Papua New Guinea. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea ]




23.(a) Arabic [an early wrong call for "Urdu" threw us (it takes time to clear your mind of an obviously wrong call, as you have to fight off anger), so we lost most of the Points on this one which should have been obvious from "Hassan", an Arabic name; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassaniya_Arabic ]

24.(a) Austrian [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Bruckner . Depending on your tastes, his loooong symphonies are either boring & repetitive, or monumental & powerful. For the latter view, try Otto Klemperer's versions on CD played on a full frequency stereo system set at "11" for volume, for example, Bruckner's Symphony No. 6. You can sample it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCDohcWOPps (1st movement Maestoso from 0-16:55; 3rd movement Scherzo from 31:44 to 41:00; 4th movement Finale from 41:08 to 54:50, especially the last 2 minutes). For a short sample, try the 3rd movement Scherzo of Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, from 36:53 to 41:53 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56VBDwujEJc . Klemperer's slooooow tempi may not be exciting compared to other conductors, but IMO are better suited to Bruckner's instruction "nicht zu schnell". Otto's son, Werner, became famous for playing Colonel Klink on "Hogan's Heroes". ]

25.(a) Alfredo Stroessner [I stupidly switched from the former dictator of Paraguay on a wrong call for "Daniel Ortega", losing most of my Points; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Stroessner ]

26.(a) Chopin [Chris called this one first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballades_(Chopin) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkPLDoZXlHQ ]

27.(a) Cherry blossoms [Jean (LESTER) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom ]

28.(a) Wrestlemania III [Phil pre-called "not 1, 4 or 5", and Patrick (MRRED) called "Wrestlemania", but I was too slow to switch from "Oliver North". See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_III (from 1987, not 1989). ]




29. 3rd Century BC [Phil called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes (288 BC to 212 BC). ]

30. Featherweight [I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_class_(boxing) ]

31. Two-Face [Patrick pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Face ]

32. Ganymede [I wasn't sure if Triton is bigger, but Ganymede was the only Choice which was a moon of Jupiter; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganymede_(moon) ]

33. Western Stars [We all missed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Stars ]

34. Conker [Myfanwy called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum ]

35. Peregrinate [I called this one; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/peregrinate ]




36. Arthurian [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_Shalott ]

37. Maltese [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross_variants ]

38. Common in Earth's crust [Bin (ACE), Sue's guest from Denmark, called this first. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhenium . I knew that Rhenium is named after the river "Rhine"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(Schumann) for Robert Schumann's "Rhenish" Symphony; the Latin "Rhenus"="Rhine". ]

39. Lome [I called this one, as the only Choice in the bend in Africa on the Western side; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lome (the capital of Togo) ]

40. Sigmund Freud [I called this one; see the section "Anna O." at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Breuer ]




41. Praying mantis [I pre-called this one; see the section "Vision" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis . I mentioned the "pseudopupil" (dark spot on each eye, where no light reflects outward when the segment of the compound eye is directly in line with you; other segments reflect light at glancing angles and do not appear dark): see the photo showing "Head of Archimantis latistyla".
I remember intelligent people laughing at the eyes of the giant 8-foot ants during a showing of the 1954 science fiction movie "Them!", because they showed pupils, but insect compound eyes can show pseudopupils. And 3D vision is an asset, maybe a necessity, for an ambush predator like the praying mantis.
Admittedly, human-like eyes on insects, as shown on the posters for "Them!" are all wrong. Insect compound eyes do not have to show sharply focussed images (so the multiple focussed images in the 1958 movie "The Fly" are wrong), but are more useful in detecting movement (for example, moving shadows of predators) which rapidly switches the output of each segment used as an On-Off pixel. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them! and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1958_film) .]

...................................................…………

Congrats to our friends at Big Guys in Winnipeg MB for their #1 Site standing; we at Whispers in Ottawa ON had to settle for #3.

As explanation for the use of "conker" in Q34, see https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conker .

Once again I would like to thank REACH. For him to complete his Showdown Recaps, all typed in and fully annotated, in time for my morning coffee, and before Buzztime's automated system has posted the results from the previous night, is nothing less than heroic.



I'm not sure "anger" is the word I would use, but I know where REACH is coming from. 23.(a) was an easy pre-call for me, and I believe everyone at my table got max points. So when the Languages category came around again, I was sure I'd get another shot at the subject. But no, the voting split 3-3, defaulting to the timeline question. "I'm listening, People," I told them. "Who among you is especially strong with thirty year old timeline questions?" None of them claimed to be, which was the only accurate information I received on Q 28.(a).

As for the question itself, only Tiananmen Square has a historically significant date. The others simply happened, and could have happened whenever. That the quiz writer who framed this question thought to provide a joke answer doesn't make it funny. So yes, Q 28.(a), did leave me angry.

I'm sure some of you did laugh it off - or possibly even have a timeline for Wrestlemania at the ready - but I'll never be that enlightened.

The Fellowship struggled with WiFi issues all evening due to an abundance of restaurant guests who were (apparently) all on their phones. We were lucky to finish as high as we did.

Anyone know what happened to Mad River? Looks like they did not play last night.

For me, Bruckner stands out for being the only major composer I know to have a "0th" Symphony. He was apparently insecure, and when he received what he perceived to be critical comments on what was going to be his 2nd, he decided it was worthless and did not want it numbered in his catalogue. It was only published posthumously.

It's really not all that bad. Here is the Solti version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf_NN97etgc

_________________
Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

To ANON: Thanks for the link to the great version of Bruckner's Symphony No. 0 (die Nullte). Solti and the Chicago Symphony perform it in 37:53, whereas the version I have on CD is by Guennadi Rojdestvenski and the Orchestre Symphonique du Ministere de la Culture d'URSS (French title used on the Le Chant du Monde label), which takes 44:31, mainly because the first two movements are way slower. Now I'll have to get the CD of Solti's version.

Rojdestvenski's version comes in a 2-CD set, with Bruckner's early Symphony in f minor called Symphony No. 00 (Double Zero). You can sample this early work on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNlbYSgzDkQ , with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra. Die Nullte is more accurately Bruckner's Symphony No. 1.5, for it was composed between No. 1 and No. 2, and has obvious similarities with Nos. 1-9, unlike the early Symphony in f minor.

Solti's fast tempi have made me reconsider my statements about Klemperer's slow tempi. I do not know if Klemperer ever recorded Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 (http://www.arkivmusic.com/ lists only Nos. 4-9), but it would be hard to beat George Szell (Mr. Fast Tempo himself) and the Cleveland Orchestra, whose version of Symphony No. 3 is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOEPTqKKros . My hope is that more people will buy CDs of these great performances to support and encourage the arts around the world.

Thanks, REACH, for the link to the 00th. I'll have to give it a listen.

I have found that I like the faster tempi on some of these classics. Compare, for example, Szell's Molto Vivace section of the third movement of Dvorak's 8th with just about any other mainstream recorded version. It is actually hard for me to listen to other versions now because it sounds like they are dragging.

_________________
Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

As you may know from a separate thread, Teaser's was off line Tuesday so I missed Classical Composers as a topic.

Your discussion of Bruckner makes up for it. Real music!!!!

_________________
Merkin

To ANON: Yes, I agree with you about fast tempi making all other versions appear plodding, less exciting, etc. For that reason I prefer George Szell's versions of almost anything he and the Cleveland Orchestra recorded (the last movement of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony excepted - it's way too fast; I like Karajan's version). These include the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn (too bad Szell died before he could record the last 6 Symphonies, Nos. 99-104), Schubert, Mozart's Posthorn Serenade, etc.

OTOH I have found that the first really good version heard of any piece sticks in my mind as "the right version", and all others fail to shape up, a psychological effect. Maybe that's why I like Klemperer's versions of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony, the first movement of Schumann's First Symphony (the "Spring" Symphony), the last movement with Coda of Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony (but beware of Klemperer's version where he decided not to play the Coda), for the slow tempi extend the pleasure. Klemperer's clear highlighting of individual instruments also reveals details of familiar compositions (e.g. Beethoven symphonies).

BTW I would have replied earlier, but for the last 3 days I have not been able to log onto the scaratings website. Fear entered my heart, for I do not want to record the Questions & Answers only for myself, for the same reason I do not play Trivia games solo. It's a lot more fun sharing answers and knowledge with other people, even if our politics differ.