LJ Daily Answers: 5 July 2011

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Sorry about yesterday; it was a holiday, and I spent it snoozing and boozing and eating and goofing off and some other stuff. There were explosions too, somewhere. Now we're back on track. Hooah! The word of the day is "Ark". Or maybe "Arc". Why? I really have no idea. Just kinda popped up in the old synapses and voila, quiz theme!


1. In which 1986 Breakout-style arcade game does a player control a spaceship named "Vaus" against an enemy named "Doh"?

“Asteroids II: Electric Boogaloo" - wiredwizard

“The enemy actually had a name? I'm destroying low-resolution shields, not looking for a fucking plot arc. (yes, you see what I did there)" - etcet

(Erm, no, I didn’t… - LL)

"We're going to have to blow the computer" - n5iln

(+1, Airplane 2. -CV)

"Space Invaders, where they took battle plans from the Revolutionary War as good strategy. Line up everyone and get shot, no wonder you won almost every time" - killabee886

"In 1986, my favorite arcade game was still Centipede. Trackball FTW!" - sskipstress

(Trackball was my worst enemy when it came to video games. -CV)

“Shaka, when the walls fell." - alfvaen

"Given the cigar-like shape of the ship, I would say Vaus Deferens" - i_calql8

(I'd be more worried about putting it in the Vausgina. -CV)

"Vaus is Lost (this joke is funnier if you speak German)" - drbear

(Schweinhund. -CV)

“all Doh's base are belong to Vaus." - florahart's kid

"Arcanoid: Of Pongworks and Reference Obscura. Good luck if you chose to be a science paddle and not a magic paddle..." - johnwwells

(That is a pretty damn obscure reference. Like, ten people played that game? Ever? -CV)

“'Araknoid', also known as 'GOD DAMMIT MY PADDLE WAS THERE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD MACHINE!'" - kenshardik

"" - many_from_one

Correct Answer: Arkanoid



2. Operation Barbarossa had, as its objective, the "A-A Line" connecting two Russian cities. What was the name of the northern city?

(Barbarossa, NOT Barbossa. That goes to 16 of you. -CV)

"I wanted to make a joke about a-line dresses, but figured fashion funnies would be lost on the mods. So instead I'll go for the classic: In comunist Russia, Barbarossa operates you!" - marasca

(Fashion is like our kryptonite. Well, maybe LL knows something. AL&CV are thoroughly useless here. -CV)

"Russianleadergrad" - sskipstress

"'Moose.' The other was 'Squirrel.'" - captainsblog

“Arkham (In Soviet Russia, Great Old Ones summon YOU)" - seferin

"Arkansas" - many_from_one

"Asgard" - thepikey

"AlmostAlaska. (I heard Sarah Palin can see Russia from her back porch.)" - yamx

"Alanisgrad, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it went back to its older name, St. Morrisburg" - herumtreiber

“This question is false. Nobody is in AA in Russia." - drbear
"But where has all the vodka gone?" - kristinmachina

"I read that as Operation Badass. Which would also work. Need more gin. And pudding" - 7tree_hugger

"I have a friend in Minsk,
Who has a friend in Pinsk,
Whose friend in Omsk
Has friend in Tomsk
With friend in Akmolinsk.
His friend in Alexandrovsk
Has friend in Petropavlovsk,
Whose friend somehow
Is solving now
The problem in Dnepropetrovsk." - germankitty, lbmango

"Archelangelo, named after the second-least popular Soviet Ninja Turtle" - johnwwells

"It was either Archangel, or its sister city, Archdevil" - alfvaen

(Goddam archdevils, always teleporting across the battlefield and scything up your weak stacks. -CV)

"Архангельск" - etumukutenyak

Correct Answer: Arkhangelsk



3. According to the Jatravartid people of Viltvodle Six, the universe was sneezed out of the nose of which being?

"Pinnochivartidle" - herumtreiber

"Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" - seekingferret

"chaosvizier" - sticky9fingers

(Technically I have the biggest nose of the three of us. But man, that's just harsh. -CV)

"Alan Rickman" - wiredwizard, wrestlingdog
"Gerard Depardieu" - vayshti

(Now those guys have some serious schnozzes. -CV)

"K'Choolhu" - i_calql8

"The Black Beast of Arrgh" - cmzero

"We're living on some sort of giant celestial meatball. The blue stuff is some sort of cheese. And the meat has gone mouldy-green." - demon_666

"I was about to say, 'It's right on the tip of my tongue,' but then I realized what it sounded like, and I was all, 'Eeeeeeeew.'" - sskipstress

“After looking at this planet, that theory is just as good, if not better than any other. It explains the Jersey Shore kids career." - killabee886

"You should read 'Starship Titanic' by Terry Jones (it's based off of a storyline by Douglas Adams, and OMG, there's hilarious sex scenes in it!)." - holmes221b

(I believe it was also a computer game. Which may or may not have had sex scenes in it. -CV)

"I used to know this. About five Pan Galactic Gargleblasters ago." - copperpixie
“Oh God, I know the answer to this one. I'm such a freaking nerd!!!!!" - mattwolf

"they live in fear of 'The Coming of the Great White Handkerchief'" - nitasee, jmthane, drbunsen, zihuatanejo
"They also believe in coming in a white handkerchief. Most folks use tissues or tp..." - thepikey

Correct Answer: The Great Green Arkleseizure



4. Miskatonic University is located in which town?

"Sunnydale, California" - mattwolf

(All things considered, a pretty valid guess. -CV)

"The same creepy town in Maine where Stephen King lives sets all his creepy stories" - etumukutenyak

“Regrettably, I am not up on my Lovecraft because I've wasted too much time playing World of WarCraft. For the Horde!" - kenshardik

“That one where people keep getting eaten by huge slimy things. You'd think they'd put up some signs. A big line going through a mass of tentacles. Or have a TV commercial with Elmo saying 'And if the ocean starts rising, run bitches!'." - lots42

“The same place where Whatsamatta U is located. The great white north!" - akiyasan

"Whiskey Tonic is a GREAT name for a university! Not dignified, but honest." - yamx

"Miskagin" - drbear, captainsblog
"Miskatumbler, mixed in with the Miskagin" - sskipstress
“I hear 'tonic', and reach for the Hendrick's. And a cucumber. There's your education." - vayshti
“Miskatonic, along with its sister college Miskagin, both reside in the town of Highball, not far from Inebriated State University." - i_calql8

Correct Answer: Arkham



5. Tiger moths belong to which family of class Insecta?

“Kill it, kill it with fire!" - seferin

“2 Man combat biplane" - wiredwizard, 7tree_hugger, demon_666
"the de Havilland family" - etumukutenyak, vayshti, germankitty

"The Woods Family" - seekingferret

"Damn, I knew I should've paid attention to the bug scene in that movie instead of the lock-up serial killer, the woman stuck in a pit and the guy that tucked his junk back!" - killabee886

(Thank you for that fascinating summary of "Silence of the Lambs". -CV)

“Theme fails at helpfulness, so I am simply picturing Archimedes being menaced in his bathtub by a giant moth with a tiger's head." - etcet

“I just recently learned the difference between moths and butterflies is that moths spin cocoons from silk, and butterflies just turn the caterpillar's outer exoskeleton into a chrysalis and metamorphose in there. It's like the difference between sewing yourself a shroud and just tanning your own skin from the inside. Isn't nature wonderful?" - alfvaen

"" - marasca

"I know it's not the Rolling Stones--they gather no moths" - i_calql8

(Keith Richards would totally shake the powdery scales off of moths he gathered and then snort the stuff. -CV)

“Teeaydubleguherr... or maybe that's tigger moths." - cmzero

“Tiger moth, tiger moth, Does whatever a tiger doth..." - johnwwells

"The Sheens" - zihuatanejo

"Lepidoptera, which literally translates to 'scaled wings.' The wings of butterflies and Moths are covered in thousands of tiny scales, which almost look like a powder if you get it on your hands, and also act as waterproofing. FINALLY, TEN YEARS OF WORKING IN A BUTTERFLY HOUSE COUNTS FOR SOMETHING ON THE LJDQ!" - wrestlingdog

(I think Lepidoptera is the order, but the family is further down the line... -CV)

Correct Answer: Arctiidae



6. What's the roundest thing in your life right now?

“My belly. :( " - kenshardik, drbear, chloma, n5iln, kagomeshuko, ifeedformula
“Mah beer belleh!" - mattwolf
“My arch nemesis, also known as my lower midsection." - etcet
”Pretty sure it's my ass right now." - akiyasan
“Alas, me... :-( " - jmthane, germankitty

“My cat: it's like a basketball with legs" - zihuatanejo

“Meowzebub the Demon Cat" - wiredwizard

“My lady humps." - nitasee

“The horizon. Which is the Sea. Curvature of the Earth baby! Can't get more round than that!" - 7tree_hugger, marasca

"The Earth. Anybody who answers otherwise is writing from a Borg cube; kill them." - johnwwells

"my cup of coffee" - herumtreiber

“This burrito I'm eating, I know that technically it's cylindrical, but that shows you where my life is right now." - killabee886

“When a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get sprung!" - thepikey

(Baby got Quiz!! – LL)

"The footpath round my mulberry bush. (It used to be my weasel, but then it went pop.)" - yamx

“My girlfriend's --well. I'll go with this pie over here. No, on second thought, let's make this a watermelon. Look, a basketball!" - etumukutenyak

"My bank balance. 0 is a very round number." - many_from_one, wrestlingdog



And there you have it. The arc has come full circle. Hurr hurr. Marc my words, this wasn't an easy quiz to do. It harkened back to sunny days in a parc, watching a larc pick at the barc of a tree. You think that's bad? I haven't even tried to use that stupid "'How's your new zookeeper job?' - 'It's aardvark, but it pays well'" joke yet. All I have left to say is: 7-Zark-7. I bet no one knows who that is.

Rock on!

AL&CV&LL

Comments

[herumtreiber.livejournal.com]

Those poor tiger moths must be really cold.

7-Zark-7 is the name of the liquor store Zaphod Beeblebrox opens in a small planet in the edge of the Milky Way. Kind of like a 7-11 but with Pangalactic Gargle Blasters.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

They're tiger moths. They're covered with soft warm stripey fur. Keeps them cozy in the arctic.

I'd buy booze from 7-Zark-7's. Especially if a hyperintelligent shade of blue is tending bar.

[vayshti.livejournal.com]

7-Zark-7
... I now have the theme tune from Battle of the Planets stuck in my head.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Every time I hear of 'Silence Of The Lambs' I think of that girl in elementary school who really thought Buffalo Bob chopped his dingus off. I thought she was stupid.

Why an elementary school ever WATCHED that movie is beyond me.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

...Elementary school? Like, 6th grade maximum?

There are a great many things wrong with this. I don't even know where to begin.

[many-from-one.livejournal.com]

Threesies, oh yeah.

That last paragraph reminds me of a poem me and a friend wrote in primary (elementary) school:

I went to the park
it was very dark
I met my friend Mark
and his pet aardvark
near Noah's Ark
we saw a shark
which ate a lark
which had just gone 'hark'
and my terrified doggy went bark
THE END

It impressed the teachers far less than we thought it would.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Fuck, it impressed me. Stupid teachers.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

“The enemy actually had a name? I'm destroying low-resolution shields, not looking for a fucking plot arc. (yes, you see what I did there)" - [info]etcet

(Erm, no, I didn’t… - LL)

I snuck the word "arc" into my answer. SUBTLE LIKE TRUCK, AM I.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

It's not her fault. She probably didn't have her reading glasses on at the time. ;-) Your subtlety is like Optimus Prime in the Tour de France.

[sjl.livejournal.com]

I would just like to say that any suggestion that 7-Zark-7 is a reference to any entity, be it alive, dead, or purely fictitious, is a clear indication that the suggestor is under the influence of mind-altering drugs, and not the good kind thereof.

Thank you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to empty a bottle of bleach into my brain.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

He had a dog, you know. You know what his name was? Incontinentia Buttox 1-Rover-1.

[holmes221b.livejournal.com]

It was indeed a computer game as well. The book was a novelization for the game, written by the guy who played the parrot in the computer game.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

The book was ... written by the guy who played the parrot in the computer game.

So, the parrot parroted the game into a book? That is a damn neat trick right there.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

So I'm reading along through this week's answers. Look! I got quoted on the first question. And the second. Wow, I don't think that's happened before. Wow! Also quoted on the third. AND the fourth. Could I have gotten quoted on all questions? No. And looking back at what I wrote, that's probably a good thing. But so close!

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

That's a lot of quotage! Four in a row! You are a legendary competitor in your own right!

[ifeedformula.livejournal.com]

+1 and a groupthink. Not bad for a week where I knew next to nothing.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

For me, every week is like that. Knowing nothing is my middle name!

[kenshardik]

7-Zark-7 was the robot on "Battle of the Planets" who, with his robot dog 1-Rover-1, provided exposition and kid-appropriate humor. He was not part of the original "Ninja Science Team Gatcheman" cartoons in Japan, but created solely for the U.S. version.

And no, I don't live in my parent's basement.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Your knowledge is stupendous, in a basement-worthy way. ;-)

Oh G-Force, you were so awesome when I was 8. Not so awesome when I was... a lot older than 8.

[cjtremlett.livejournal.com]

Dear kenshardik, make Lovecraft, not Warcraft!

[herumtreiber.livejournal.com]

Ctulhu beats computers anyway, it eats them :)

[wiredwizard.livejournal.com]

2 + 1/2 + 1/3 = dammit, I'm too tired to work w/ f'in' fractions...

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Two and five/sixths, good sir! A veritable plethora of fractiony goodness!

[germankitty]

Three shared funnehs. Fairy nuff.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Sharing is good! It's like kindergarten!

[i-calql8.livejournal.com]

Four! In the words of the awesome Kenny Mayne, I am amused by the simplicity of this game. Life, outside of teaching, is good.

In other news, hot dogs wrapped in bacon.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

The game is simple, and yet so few truly get it. Not everyone can be Jack Burton, I suppose.

[mitchy.livejournal.com]

7-Zark-7! I loved him. I still use the phrase "10 second oil break", usually to confused stares and suggestions that I'm nuts :)

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

I think his oil breaks were a bit more seedy than we imagined... ;-)

[tinamachina.livejournal.com]

One quote...oh well.

No, really, I'm going to read "HGTTG". Right after "Good Omens." And that True Blood book I'm halfway finished with.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

And I'm going to read Harry Potter. As soon as I'm finished with this other book thing. Heh.

[whomajigi.livejournal.com]

+1 to germankitty and lbmango for the Tom Lehrer reference. :)

[germankitty]

Aww! *smooches*

[cholma.livejournal.com]

"Arcanoid: Of Pongworks and Reference Obscura. Good luck if you chose to be a science paddle and not a magic paddle..." - johnwwells

(That is a pretty damn obscure reference. Like, ten people played that game? Ever? -CV)


Yay! I'm one of those 10. (Didn't finish it however) Intriguing concept, but unfortunately, like most of Troika's games, it was rushed out the door before it was properly finished.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Alas, so many games end up that way. Makes it frustrating, especially when they have good ideas coupled with poor execution.

I was so sad when Elemental: War of Magic came out and sucked tremendous donkey balls. Cheeky buggers.

[alfvaen]

3/6, this time not knowing a single answer whatsoever. ("Archangel" was just a wild guess.) By coincidence, I watched "Darmok" again today, too. That's a good episode. Makes me want to talk in nothing but literary metaphors.

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Denmark."
"Sherlock Holmes snorting cocaine?"
"Spock in Kolinahr!"

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

One of my ex-girlfriends had a habit of always answering questions with stories or obscure references to other things that made sense to her. Then this episode aired, and I said "THAT IS YOU!" and she reluctantly agreed. We broke up soon after. I blame Captain Picard.

[drbear.livejournal.com]

Many were shared, but four were chosen, so I'm right happy.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

Your legendary might continues to astound mortal men! Quiz on, and let nothing stand in your way!

[7tree-hugger.livejournal.com]

Two... Three? I forget. Still, that's worth some pudding I say!

[chezmax]

(That is a pretty damn obscure reference. Like, ten people played that game? Ever? -CV)

Haha. I bought the game. Never got around to playing it...

[demon-666.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ... *sigh of relief*
I thought I was the only one who bought games and never got around to playing them. I have over 100 DS games now. I don't think I've played at least 20 of them. But I still buy more...
Plus, the Wii I bought last Christmas. I think I've played it twice. And I have 20 or so games for it...
Gamer fail. X.X