Showdown Recap for 19 Sep 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
The game is afoot! Twelve Ragged Rascals arrived to continue their quest for their 15 seconds of fame by perhaps winning this game.
BLZBUB continues his retrospective of his relationship to Nicholls State U. and its namesake BGen Francis Tillou Nicholls
As BLZBUB discussed last week, Francis Tillou Nicholls became the first Governor of Louisiana at the end of the period known as the Reconstruction. But what, you ask, did he do for the state he loved so well he would sacrifice a left arm and left foot? The historical record on the internet is pretty sparse. Clearly, much of the unsavory stuff has been left out of the popular reports of his first tenure (1877-1880). An official Louisiana historical internet site euphemistically states, “Francis R.T. Nicholls embodied the bourbon or planter approach to less government-low taxes, few official services and little involvement by blacks in the political processes.”
Worn-up Round
1. What was the late Glenn Campbell’s show business nickname? RHINESTONE COWBOY.
2. In which country is the huge Three Rivers Gorge dam located? CHINA.
3. A depredation is a: DESTRUCTIVE ACTION.
4. Jorge Luis Borges was an acclaimed 20th Century writer from: ARGENTINA.
5. In which sport does Aric Almirola excel at a high level: STOCK CAR RACING.
6. Which social leader went on a fast for 36 days in 1988 to protest the use of pesticides: CESAR CHAVEZ.
7. In the world of big business, ADM stands for Archer Daniels ___: MIDLAND.
8. Which term is Greek for the masses of common people: HOI POLLOI.
9. Which U.S. state is the largest producer of cheese in the United States? WISCONSIN.
10. The saiga is a critically endangered: ANTELOPE.
{The team had 8 of 10 correct without trouble, while WU’s 5 and 10 provided difficulties resulting in plits.}
The record also sites F.T. Nicholls as a reformer who was stymied by powerful interests within the state. He battled the State Treasurer for control of the state’s finances, fought the operator of the convict lease system, and opposed his Lt. Gov., a supporter of the corrupt Louisiana Lottery. Nicholls must have been a pain in their backsides, because the Lt. Gov. convened a constitutional convention which rewrote the (Reconstruction) Constitution of 1868, and not coincidentally moved up the election date to curtail Nicholls’ term early.
Ground-down Round
1. The Maronite Church is a Christian Church which is headquartered in: THE MIDDLE EAST.
2. Born in 1750, John Andre made his name in history as a: SPY.
3. The Hoba Meteorite, one of the largest known, is found in this country in southern Africa: NAMIBIA.
4. Which make of automobile was founded in 1897 and discontinued in 2004: OLDSMOBILE.
5. ‘Water Margin’ is one of the great classical novels of ___ literature: CHINESE.
6. Collagraphy is a process of making: PRINTS.
7. The United Arab Emirates is a country that was once known as the ___ States. TRUCIAL.
8. In Greek mythology, the Dioscuri were: CASTOR AND POLLUX.
9. Lake Baikal, located in___, is the world’s deepest and oldest lake. SIBERIA.
10. Who started America’s first lending library in 1731? BEN FRANKLIN.
11. Lungfish, leaping bennies, and eel catfish are classified as ___ fish. AMPHIBIOUS.
12. Born in England in1901, Donald Bailey became famous by inventing a type of: BRIDGE.
{The team also did well on this round, scoring 8 of 12 perfect, and splits or third-clue saves on four more: GD’s 1, 3, 5, and 11.}
After a four year stint out of office, Gov. Nicholls ran for a second term in 1888 and defeated a crony of the Louisiana Lottery in a contested election. He persuaded the loser not to contest the result by appointing the loser to the state’s Supreme Court. Nicholls’ second term was predominated by his fight against the Louisiana Lottery. He got the legislature to agree to dissolve the lottery, but lost the battle when the state’s Supreme Court overturned the law. Nicholls fought back and won the war when he persuaded the federal government to outlaw the use of the mails to sell lottery tickets.
Scatology Round
S1. WARS OF LONG AGO v Charles Dickens
In the Punic Wars from 264 – 134 B.C., the ___ destroyed the Carthaginian Empire: ROMANS. {DUFF conquered this one.}
S2. ETHNIC FOOD v What is it?
This Mexican stew is usually made with goat or mutton. BIRRIA. {This one was a third-clue save, as we were on Caldo Gallego.}
S3. GENERAL SCIENCE v European geography
This branch of medicine deals with the study of obesity: BARIATRICS. {Answering this one was a collaborative effort.}
S4. What is it? v WARS OF LONG AGO
What leader died at the Battle of Lutzen? GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. {DUFF strikes again.}
S5. EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHY v ethnic food
Which French city is a seaport on the Mediterranean coast? TOULON. {CHILL spoke French with a funny NM accent here.}
S6. Charles Dickens v GENERAL SCIENCE
A rocketsonde is a device used in the field of: METEOROLOGY. {SCOOTR was the first to launch on this answer. At the close of this round, we have scored 5 for 6, with the one 3rd-clue save on S2.}
After leaving the Governor’s office in 1892, Nicholls was appointed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, a post he held until 1911. BLZBUB could not (easily) find any info on this part of his career. Nicholls retired from the position on the court in 1911 and moved back to his sugar cane plantation, Ridgefield, near Thibodaux, LA. He died in 1912.
Frightening Round
1. ‘Moana’ is a 2016 animated movie about a young ___ girl. POLYNESIAN.
2. The activist group now called Unidosus was formerly known as: LA RAZA.
3. The first American to win the Tour de France, he went on to win two more times: GREG LEMOND.
4. Which superheroine uses a weapon known as the Lasso of Truth? WONDER WOMAN.
5. Which word would best describe a person who is hard to please? FASTIDIOUS. {Calls from the team of “BLZBUBian,” somewhat marred His joy at seeing the correct answer was called.}
6. In the world of food product, Bovril is a ___ extract. MEAT.
7. LED, as in LED lamp, is short for Light Emitting: DIODE.
{Hooray! The team made good calls on every question of this round.}
During the times of Nicholls, Ridgefield was upstream of the town of Thibodaux on Bayou Lafourche, but by the end of WW II, the town had grown to encompass this land. Here is where the story of F.T. Nicholls and BLZBUB converge. The old plantation was subdivided for home building shortly after the war. In the mid-1950’s BLZBUB’s father bought a house on this land about a mile behind the old Nicholls plantation home.
Py-Ram-It Round
P1. A history buff should know that Mangas Coloradus was the father-in-law of:
Choices: Sacajawea, Sitting Bull, Cochise, Montezuma, Pocahontas
A: COCHISE. {DUFF extracted this from his fevered brow at the last instant, and almost all of the team got onto it in time.}
P2. ‘Songs without Words’ is a series of musical works written between 1829 and 1845 by:
CHOICES: Jean Sibelius, Felix Mendelssohn, Antonio Vivaldi, J.M.W. Turner, Anton Bruckner
A: FELIX MENDELSSOHN {DUFF and MEERA harmoniously deduced this answer.}
P3. The Saint John River forms part of the border between ___ and ___.
Choices: Vermont – Quebec; Minnesota – Manitoba; Maine – New Brunswick; Wisconsin – Ontario; Montana – Alberta
A: MAINE – NEW BRUNSWICK {SCOOTR, JAX, CHILL & BLZBUB SHARE credit.}
P4. Who had an encounter with a group called the Laestrygonians?
Choices: Hercules, Alice in Wonderland, Odysseus, Veruca Salt, Lemuel Gulliver
A: ODYSSEUS. {DUFF pre-called this one, saving BLZBUB the embarrassment of calling Gulliver.}
P5. This common metal has a boiling point of 5,182 degrees Fahrenheit?
Choices: Zinc, Krypton, Iron, Potassium, Chlorine
A: IRON. {SCOOTR got this one correct in the last three seconds, upon realizing the question said ‘boiling’ rather than ‘melting’ point.}
[Nearly all of the team managed to get all five of these punched in for points, although a few stragglers settled for four of five.]
BLZBUB’s childhood, growing up near Ridgefield Drive, was 50’s near-idyllic, and by the time he was pedaling bicycles the lure of the Nicholls house was strong. By that time it was in disrepair and surrounded by dense woods and underbrush. But there were some bicycle paths through the grounds, where BLZBUB and his friends would rat-race through the woods and torment the reclusive owner.
Also of note during this era was the founding of Francis T. Nicholls Junior College in 1948. It would be upgraded into a four-year college by 1956, and then into Nicholls State University in 1970. BLZBUB would enroll as a math major that Fall Semester.
FINAL TRAGEDY
Topic: LITERATURE
‘Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Surprised’is the title of the first chapter of this 1908 novel:
1. The Bostonians
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Heart of Darkness
4. Jo’s Boys
5. God’s Little Acre
The order of the eliminations was 1, 5, 3, and 4, leaving #2, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, as the correct answer.
The top individual scores for the night were 60520, 60433, 60321, 50776, 48027, and 43255 points
The team average score was 53,888 points.
The team’s ranking was SIXTH Place.
BLZBUB has a couple final notes on F.T. N. and Nicholls State U.
1. The Nicholls plantation house was purchased by NSU in the early 70’s. It was restored and served as a meeting place for special functions of the Alumni Association
2. The nickname of the sports teams for NSU is the Fighting Colonels, and the school’s mascot is Tillou, a colonel. From the school’s inception, he was stylized as a Confederate Colonel, reflecting F.T.N.’s history. Of course, over the years this became ever more controversial, as about 40% of the schools registration is comprised of African Americans. A brave university president changed the mascot to a generic (some say fascist-looking) colonel about ten years ago.
BLZBUB would have preferred that they go in a totally different direction and chosen a new mascot. He favored the Nutria.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 094624.htmThe Nicholls State Nutrias would have been unique in the NCAA world.
Top honors for tonight’s game goes to Tailgate Sports, Minneapolis, MN with 60,302 points. At a relatively close Second was the group at West Park Station, Cleveland, OH at 58,994 points. Then there was Borg, so Third Place honors go to the Stained Glass Pub, Elkridge, MD at 55,204 points. Then there was another Borg unit, so The Ragged Rascals finished FOURTH in the wetware-only division of play.