LJ Daily Answers: 9 July 2007

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

And back to our omnidirectional summer themes we go!



1. What John Steinbeck novel follows the lives of the Trask family in World War I-era California?

(Steinbeck hate weighed in at 20%. Pretty good. -CV&LL)

"Trask sounds like it should be the name of some relative of the Yeti. Or of the Morlocks. Y'know, fuzzy, vaguely human, eats people... that sort of thing." - kadharonon

"Wrath of Grapes? GGGRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAPES!!" - thans4thefish

"Grapes of Wrath. Mmmmm...wrathy grapes make the best bathtub wine." - whiski_sour

"Don't Trask if you Don't Know the Answer." - drbear

"Did it involve sending a crudload of Sentinels into the sun? Because thats the only Trask's I care about." - umbralcorax

(And this week's X-Men shoutout goes to Geek of the Week, umbralcorax! Your mutant power is -1, but you can share with angrysunbird, schizospider, and sphynxlike. -CV)

"Back to the Future 17. This plot would probally make more sense than any of the other movies." - niroby

"I keep mixing up this book, Grapes of Wrath and Travels with Charlie. I know one of them has a poodle in it." - writersblock_va

"In this little-known sequel to The Grapes of Wrath, the Trask family stars in The Pineapples of Lust, shortly followed by The Kumquats of Apathy." - 3_foot_6

"Seventh Law of Modern Fiction: Every Steinbeck novel has the same plot; only the names change." - fax_celestis

"John Steinbeck's foray into the genre of 'Everybody Dies!'" - skfromstamford

"East of James Dean's Furrowed Brow. I mean, seriously, the guy had some serious brood going on. He could have been a vampire with that level of visible internal angst and woe." - miladygrey

"East Of was-banned-in-my-public-school Eden. I wish I was kidding." - sestree

"I was always hoping East of Eden would be about Adam and Eve getting some Molotovs and making God sorry for deliberately tempting them so badly. Stupid Steinbeck." - woap

"I knew I shoulda taken the East at Albequerque!" - ntlespino

"No, it's not a retelling of Genesis. Really. Honest." - deza

(Genesis is metaphor forbidden. -CV)

Correct Answer: East of Eden

"Later, Steinbeck wrote a little known novel called 'South Central of Eden', where the Trask family learns to survive in the barrio." - slave_to_anime



2. Who performed the title theme to the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only"?

"Probably not a bunch of people with bad eyesight, which would have made it 'You Four-Eyes Only.'" - etcet

"I also refused to watch any Roger Moore versions of James Bond -- I mean, c'mon. A Bond that didn't smoke? I'm as anti-cigarette as the next person, but even to me that seems slightly sacreligious." - dorei

(Who cares if he smoked? The key question is, did he boink a hottie? That's what Bond films are all about, after all. -CV)

"Is this the obligatory Sting question? I have never seen any James Bond film. Nor have I seen the Godfather trilogy. Nor Star Wars. I am, however, able to quote any and all the Harry Potter books. Do I get points for that?" - gaaak

"I do not know who sang For Your Eyes Only. I am comforted by my consistency. I get this wrong in person at the weekly Pub Quiz I go to, when I'm at home. " - shogunsquirrel

(Maybe you should ask someone in the pub in SCOTLAND you're in now. – CV&AL&LL)

"You know, that's also the title of a porn film. I wish I hadn't discovered this by renting what I thought was the Bond movie..." - puredeadthingy

(Live and learn, I suppose. -CV)

"Wouldn't it be really appropriate if it was 'The Guess Who'? And look! Who's on first, Watt's on second!" - uncut_diamond

"I bet it wasn't Duran Duran." - hawkorhandsaw

"One of those '80s singers with terrifying hair." - miladygrey

"Sheena Easton or Sheila E. I get those two confused." - whiski_sour

"I was in a summer marching band thing where we played James Bond music. so dorky." - elvellon
"I had to play a piccolo solo to 'For Your Eyes Only' at center field in our James Bond-themed marching band show. That song still makes me feel like the Pied Piper of Assholes." - 3_foot_6

"Was she the woman dancing naked in silhouette during the song? Enquiring minds want to know!" - mark_laura

(Surprisingly enough, she's the only woman who is fully visible and not silhouetted in any Bond opening sequence. Also, not naked. -CV)

'Please tell me I'm not the only one making a Ray Charles joke here." - fizrep

(Actually, most folks went for Stevie Wonder instead. -CV)

"Sheena Easton, Scotland's answer to Pat Benatar." - i_calql8

"Sheena Easton, one of Tipper Gore's 'Filthy Fifteen.' I'm not the only quizling old enough to remember albums without parental advisories, am I?" - deza

(No, you are most definitely not. -CV&AL&LL)

Correct Answer: Sheena Easton

"Worst. Prince. Protege. Ever." - elbiesee



3. What company was founded by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker?

"Bricker bracker, Rickenbacker, sis boom bah, LJDQ Rah Rah Rah!" - elbiesee

(Well said, Karnak. -CV)

"Is that the guy who Fights Snoopy in the Red Tri-plane?" - writersblock_va and many others

(::headdesk:: - LL)

"Schwan Foods, makers of Red Baron Pizza." - faeriedragon, jrho, lafourchette

"Orville Reckenbacker popcorn" - uncut_diamond, mercuryblue144, 3_foot_6
"Rickenbacker Popcorn? The popcorn that keeps on popping?" - domestik_fucker
"In Nazi Germany, popcorn pops *you*!" - mark_laura

(And successfully combining all the above themes is etcet! -CV)

"I'm trying to picture Orville Reddenbacher popping corn in the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel while wearing a red-and-white striped apron with Snoopy's face on it, which is nowhere near the right answer, but the giggling is keeping me awake for the time being..." - etcet

"ACME, Makers of rocket skates and birdseed shaped buckshot." - kittikattie

"Amerikan Airlines" - lightning_rose

"Eddie's Cropdusting & Divebombing Emporium" - wiredwizard

"World War One pilots always make me think of Mutley, which make me think of Whacky Races, so Hanna-Barbera?" - niroby

"Rickenbacker Guitars. After a hard day flying planes east there was nothing he liked better than wandering onto set drunk, slur his way through a few songs, then urinate all over the crowd." - angrysunbird

"I've been playing System Shock 2 recently. The only thing I can think of when I hear 'Rickenbacker' is 'scary UNN ship full of hiveminded alien life out to eat my guts and assimilate me into the Many.'" - fax_celestis

(+1 for playing one of the greatest games ever made. -CV)

"He partnered with the Wicked Witch of the West to form a company called 'I'll Get You, Red Baron! And Your Little Dog, Too!'" - unamundamour

"Eastern Airlines...Many of their earliest flights were delayed due to the need to dogfight those bastards from TWA!" - blindgeoff

"The late Eastern Airlines. The company went belly up after Rickenbacker made his second ace by shooting down his own planes." - slave_to_anime

Correct Answer: Eastern Airlines



4. What holiday takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox(approximately)?

"Zombie Jesus Day!" - ten cheers for our zombie messiah

"The Superbowl!" - droptheleash622

"Night of the Lepus" - i_calql8

"Flying Spaghetti Monster Day" - david192

"New moon on Monday, and a firedance through the night." - mark_laura

(+1, Duran Duran. -CV)

"I read that as Venereal Equinox, so I'm going with Valentine's Day." - fox_gloves
"I read that as 'virginal equinox'. I don't even want to know." - unleashedfreak
"Vernal always sounds so very sexual to me. If you've never gotten vernal, you don't know what you're missing." - judith_s

"If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses." - ceemonster

(Maybe syringes. They're easier to replicate. -CV)

"The one that the mother of all spoilers refers to -- 'Frodo lives. Caesar dies. Jesus does both!'" - germankitty

"The day that celebrates the highest church attendance of the year." - tweeti

"This is why I can wear a t-shirt and shorts one year for Easter, but I need a freaking snow parka the next year." - jrho

"I have tried telling my friends there is a logic to the date of easter but they don't believe me." - b_hulsmans

(It's a complex and convoluted brand of logic, but yes, it's there. Somewhere. -CV)

"Easter, and don't think these calculations don't confuse the Easter Bunny. He's hopping mad at whoever came up with this nonsense." - liliana76

"The one where they killed Jesus, and turned it into bunnies and chocolate. Murder is murder, no matter what delicious candy coating you put on it." - palapaloozaa

"Easter! Unless you're orthodox, or it's a leap year, or the Pope sees his shadow when he wakes up in February." - rikchik

"Oh, Cadbury Eggs and Peeps. You have bought the collective souls of humanity after they got freed from Satan." - kadharonon

Correct Answer: Easter



5. What Division I-A conference does West Virginia University play in?

"Sorry, I got lost trying to divide A by I..." - blindgeoff

"The East something something FUCK YOU SPORTS" - woap, speaking for many of you as always
"Who cares about 3rd World sports?" - lightning_rose

"How do sports have conferences? I'm picturing a bunch of tall guys with basketballs standing around discussing the merits of different net materials." - clare_dragonfly
"The Sports Conference, dedicated to solving issues between the different breeds of '[verb]ing a ball'." - fax_celestis

"The Diet of Worms. Best conference name ever!" - judith_s

(I'll give you that. Full credit. -CV)

"The 'Special' East Conference, where everyone's a winner" - therealchon

"I knew a girl named Virginia once, she got cancer and had a rod of titanium put into her leg, so now she sets off metal detectors. Funny thing was I never made the virginai=virgin connection, I always went with Virginia=Vagina, and after I hit age ten could never look her in the eye." - niroby

"West Virginia has a university? Shit, I didn't think they ever went beyond fourth grade. I figured they're all either too dumb to go higher or they had to quit school 'cuz they got married to their cousins." - thepikey

"I have no idea... I am a failure as a West Virginian. Though, since I can't answer, I will give you some interesting trivia about our great state- one of the names considered for it was "Kanawha", which would have been soooooo much more interesting than "West Virginia." We could've had an awesome Native American name, instead we got a direction and a brilliant piece of sucking up (Virginia was named to suck up to Elizabeth I, called the Virgin Queen, even though she probably wasn't. A virgin, I mean. She was a queen, and a damn good one, too)." - allie_the_neko

"There's a West Virginia now?" - theninth

"if it's not in the SEC, it's not really football." - jrho

"The Big Easy. Why they have Balconies and Boobies on display for a basketball game I'll never understand. Sure makes sports more interesting though." - writersblock_va
"No, wait, that's the cheerleaders." - ceemonster

"I take back all of my cheering for WVU during the Kevin Pittsnogle years. Dude, his name was *Pittsnogle*!" - illogicalvulcan

"The Big East. Being Canadian, how many Americans do you think I'm going to embarrass by knowing more about their collegiate basketball system then they do?" - thanks4thefish

(Only you. -CV)

"The Big East, though that's really stretching it when you have Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati in football..." - spotts1701

"Big East...Little East is Division I-AA." - pride4u2

"Now this here's the story of WVU,
the poor Mountaineers could barely lose to Syracuse,
but then one day they were shooting at a beast,
and up came scholarships for the Big East" - captainsblog

(+1, The Beverly Hillbillies. -CV)

Correct Answer: The Big East



6. If young men should go west, who should go east? Why?

"What am I, a philosopher?" - thanks4thefish

"So is this reverse aging? The sun rises in the east with the old people and as it heads west the people get younger? This is too deep for me." - akiyasan

"Supermodels. Oh no wait, you said go EAST, not go EAT. My bad." - umbralcorax

"Their parents. I'd certainly move to the opposite coast if I had a teenage son." - 3_foot_6

"If young men should go west, they should return east as dalmation striped parakeets, for the purpose of trying out the newest slinkies in the market square, but proceeding in an orderly fashion, they must not pass "Go", they must not collect $200." - David Davison

(And the spiffington Award for Total Gibberish goes to... David Davison! -CV)

"That never made much sense to me. I mean, isn't the west where elves and the like go when they're done living among men? So really, it should be, 'Go east, young man, for I am an elf, and I am going to take my fabulous hair and wealth of knowledge and just-plain-superiorness and go into the west, and all you mortal, power-hungry, inferior beings can suck it.'" - knight_errant

(I can, in fact, picture Hugo Weaving with his hair and robes looking at the race of man and saying "Go suck it." Well played. -CV)

"Not me, the Atlantic is churning up for some nasty stormage this summer." - lots42

"East coast girls are hip, I really dig those styles they wear..." - deza

"I'm not exactly sure who should go east but I think that all the old people should go, or better yet, STAY, north each year." - halo4

"African Swallows. So they can bring me some coconuts." - falar

(+1, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. -CV)

"Gunslingers. To fight the Good Man." - woap

(+1, The Dark Tower. -CV)

"Sinophiles because [insert Bangkok joke here]" - mark_laura

"Everyone should go far east for the sushi and the nifty electronics." - elfie_samurai

"John Candy and his covered wagons." - ladyiapetus and several others

"Those big stone heads on Easter Island should go east...or are they just facing east???" - tweeti

"Mark Twain should go east to see Adam West. Why? Because east is east and west is west and never the Twain shall meet, and I'd like to prove that wrong." - girl_who_is1337

"Stupid, irritating, self-important customers. Go east, kiddies. And don't stop when you get to the Atlantic, oh no. Dive right in and drown or get eaten by sharks or assaulted by jelly fish or something. Just leave me the hell alone." - whiski_sour

"Oprah Winfrey, the WNBA, and mapmakers...most young men have no use for those anyway." - i_calql8

"The answer for people who do go east, despite my pleas that they don't for DC in the summer is tourists... DC Tourists: Killing my cheerful disposition since 2003." - kestrel127

(Long ago, I offered a few suggestions on proper in-city behavior for tourists. You should distribute fliers. -CV)

"
Please stop sending the handsome young men west. Vibrators only do the trick for so long." - artsy_freak

"Personally, I'd go east for Barbara Eden. But maybe I just have a thing for harem outfits." - thepikey

(Full credit. Rawr. -CV)

"Phileas Fogg. So he can win the bet." - faeriedragon

Correct Answer: "No one should go east: in the east there be dragons." - fax_celestis


And there you have it. East was the theme, and... well, that's it. Tune in tomorrow for our next foray into directionality. That's right, we're not even being subtle about the themes at this point. Or are we? Is it a trick, to lure you into a false sense of security? We would never do that. Except for those times when we did. Hmmm.

Anyway, happy summer to all, hope some of you had a pleasant 4th of July, and maybe some of you will have a pleasant Bastille Day this week, and everyone else can just... do whatever it is you do.

Thanks for playing; welcome new people; thanks again lovellama; see you all tomorrow!

Rock On!

AL&CV&LL