The Friday Question Set — 24-5-2013

You know, I have to admit, I’m a bit of a science fiction fan.

And it HAS to be said, one with quite a bit of Dr Who and Torchwood backed up on the external drive.

Including Children of Earth, the third series of Torchwood.

Something I still think is a damn fine bit of TV … !

~≈†≈~

At ANY rate, that’s not necessarily why you’re here.   After all, it’s Friday.   Which means, of course, that it’s time for the Friday Question Set.

Here they are, covered, as ever, by the usual Creative Commons License* … 

Online 203

ROUND ONE:  GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) In which African country is the city of Durban?

A1) South Africa.

Q2) What musical note is written in the space above the bottom line of the Treble clef?

Q2) F.

Q3) In which country of the UK was Tony Blair when the 7/7 attacks took place?

A3) Scotland.   (At the G8 conference, in Gleneagles)

Q4) What is East Pakistan now known as?

A4) Bangladesh.

Q5) Packham’s Triumph and Conference are types of what?

A5) Pears.

Q6) According to various newspaper reports about his diary, Prince Charles considers himself to be a political what:conservative, dissident, or radical?

A6) Dissident.

Q7) What’s the name of Sharon and Ozzy’s eldest daughter?

A7) Aimee.

Q8) In heraldry, what colour is Gules?

A8) Red.

Q9) The Dunmow Flitch is awarded to the UK’s happiest Newlyweds.   What is a Flitch?

A9) A side of bacon.

Q10) Which modern brass instrument was developed from the sackbut: the trombone, the trumpet or the saxophone?

A10) The trombone.

ROUND TWO: SENSES WORKING OVERTIME.

Q11) Which part of the eye contains light-sensitive cells?

A11) The retina.

Q12) Which part of the eye gives it it’s colour?

A12) The iris.

Q13) Which German composer wrote much of his finest music when he was deaf?

A13) Ludwig van Beethoven.

Q14) Which sense does the Venus Flytrap use to capture it’s prey?

A14) Touch.

Q15) And which part of the eye gets smaller when the lights go on?

A15) Pupil.

Q16) Are the semi-circular canals in the eye, the nose or the ear?

A16) The ear

Q17) Olfactory nerves are responsible for which of the senses?

A17) Smell.

Q18) How many basic tastes can the human tongue distinguish: two, three, or four?

A18) Four.

Q19) What is the medical term for not being able to smell?

A19) Anosmia.

Q20) Which nerve carries information from the eye to the brain?

A20) The optic nerve.

ROUND THREE: MUSIC AND LIGHTS.

Q21) Which boy band had a 2003 No 1 with Mandy?

A21) Westlife

Q22) What musical instrument was patented by Anthony Faas of Philadelphia in 1854: the accordion, the saxophone or the Moog organ?

A22) The accordion.

Q23) Buddy Holly classic, Peggy Sue, was named after the girlfriend of which member of the Crickets: Buddy Holly, himself, string bass player, Joe B. Maulden  or drummer, Jerry Allison’s?

A23) The drummer, Jerry Allison’s girlfriend, Peggy Sue Gerron.

Q24) The word gamelan refers to a type of music from where; – Indonesia, Africa, or South America?

A24) Indonesia.

Q25) Which Beatles song was the first to be seen and heard around the world on satellite TV?

A25) All You Need Is Love.

Q26) What was the Spice Girls’ debut single?

A26) Wannabe.

Q27) Which guitarist has the nickname Slowhand?

A27) Eric Clapton.

Q28) Earl Simmons is better known as which rapper?

A28) DMX.

Q29) Which bird gave Fleetwood Mac a No 1 instrumental?

A29) Albatross.

Q30) Which very French dance comes from Orpheus in the Underworld?

A30) The Can-can.

ROUND FOUR:  SPORTING CHANCES.

Q31) Who was the first female competitor excused a sex test at the 1976 Olympics?

A31) Princess Anne.

Q32) Who was skipper of Middlesbrough’s 1997 FA Cup Final team.

A32) Nigel Pearson.

Q33) What was the first Grand Slam title won by Kim Clijsters?   (Pronounced CLOY-sters)

A33) The US Open.

Q34) Which Italian said he couldn’t “understand a word Dennis Wise is saying?”

A34) Gianfranco Zola.

Q35) In which city did football legend George Best die?

A35) London.

Q36) Gabriela Sabatini comes from which country?

A36) Argentina.

Q37) The Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded in which sport?

A37) American Football.

Q38) Eric Cantona joined Manchester United from which club?

A38) Leeds.

Q39) In which Spanish city were the 1992 Olympics held?

A39) Barcelona.

Q40) How many attempts at the target do you get per game of Curling?

A40) Two.

ROUND FIVE:  IN THE GARDEN.

Q41) French, runner or broad.   What kind of vegetable are we talking about?

A41) Beans.

Q42) Hybrid tea, Floribunda and American Beauty are all types of which flower?

A42) Rose.

Q43) Cox’s Orange Pippin, Bramley and Granny Smith, are types of what fruit?

A43) Apples.

Q44) If you grew a box, in your garden, what have you just grown?

A44) A hedge.

Q45) Which heap provides fertiliser, for the garden?

A45) The compost heap.

Q46) What are tulip’s grown from?

A46) Bulbs.

Q47) Culinary herbs are usually grown for what?

A47) Cooking/eating.

Q48) What do secateurs do?

A48) Cut.

Q49) What piece of garden equipment can be rotary, or hover?

A49) The lawn mower.

Q50) What is a plant’s foliage?

A50) Its leaves.

ROUND SIX: GENERAL IGNORANCE.

Q51) Who is the longest serving member of the Privy Council? 

A51) The Duke of Edinburgh (appointed in 1951).

Q52) What is the meaning of the word Hypocaust: Annihilation of a town by flood, mass inoculation or underfloor heating.

A52) Underfloor heating.

Q53) What is the collective name for the 9 handmaidens of Odin?

A53) Valkyries.

Q54) Which North African seaport’s name is Spanish for white house?

A54) Casablanca.

Q55) Which is the only vowel on a standard keyboard that is not on the top line of letters?

A55) A.

Q56) What’s the worlds most popular Non Alcoholic Drink?

A56) Coffee.

Q57) Which castle is on the island of Anglesey?

A57) Beaumaris.

Q58) In the USA, what film is celebrated on the 2nd of February?

A58) Groundhog Day

Q59) Westminster Abbey is dedicated to which saint?

A59) Saint Peter.   (It’s formally called the Abbey Church of Saint Peter, Westminster.)

Q60) The Bigbellied Seahorse has been found to be the most promiscuous species of seahorse.   But it lives off the coast of which country?

A60) Australia.

Enjoy those … 

*        Regulars will know already: but for newcomers … all it means is that you’re free to copy, use, alter and build on each of my quizzes: including the Teasers, Gazette Teasers and the Friday Question Sets.   All I ask in return is that you give me an original authors credit on your event’s flyers or posters, or on the night: and, if you republish them, give me an original authors credit AND republish under the same license.

An Interesting Point to Ponder.

You know, I’ve got to admit, there’s times when second guessing a writer, or a TV shows producers, can be fun.

It’s a bit like flirting, out of sight of a partner: fun when it happens, but not something to do on regular basis.

But definitely fun.

•••••

Says I, in the hope that Allison doesn’t read that, she’ll get the wrong impression!

•••••

At any rate, I do know that one service Blogger provides is the ability to follow other blogs on the service that grab your attention.

One of the ones I follow which is Life, Dr Who & Combom.

And — bless ’im — Combom does get the odd bit of hot Dr Who and Torchwood shaped scoops.

On a regular basis!

Bless!!

Bless ’im!

One thing that caught his eye, this morning, was something that also caught mine.

News the the British Government — through Prime Minister Gordon Brown — issued an apology to those who had, as children, been — effectively — deported to various colonies.

NOT one of the old Empire’s brighter moments.

Maybe not up there with slavery, but certainly not good!

But what Combom was wondering was whether this rather nasty little incident — incidents, maybe’s the word, I understand it covered a long period — provided some of the inspiration for Torchwood: Children of Earth.

I don’t know: it sounds plausible, though, doesn’t it?

Mind you, saying that, it wasn’t the first piece of British imperial history I thought of, on watching the series.

Remember, in Day 5, Colonel Oduya of UNIT, asks the 456 representative, why they are stealing ten percent of Earth’s children: and is informed that the 456 are drug addicts, whose drug of choice …

Are children.

Human children.

The idea, now, is as revolting to me as it was on watching the show, then.

But not as revolting as what those who ruled the Empire did to its own, either to those forced to emigrate to the colonies in as part of the Child Migration Programme.

Or to those we sold opium to.

The Empire — through the East India Company — were dealers.

Which, when Oduya learns 456 why the 456 are stealing human children — and told by the 456 they are shooting up on them — I was revolted …

And thinking of the Opium Wars, and the reasons for them.

•••••

After all, Torchwood: Children of Earth, makes it perfectly clear what’s happening, and that the British Government approved.

Indeed, actively cooperated.

You know, now I come to think of it, I’m thinking Combom has a point.

The same applies to both the Child Migration Programme, to Torchwood: Children of Earth, and to the British East India Company’s sale of opium to China.

You know, this could be an interesting area to debate.

Feel free to comment … !

Torchwood Series 3 — Children of Earth — Day Five — A Review: … This Is The End …

10th July, 2009

Day 5 of Torchwood: Children of Earth is the last of the series.

And looks — and dear God, I’m hoping I’m wrong — like the last Torchwood ever.

I hope I’m wrong!

I do know that Colonel Augustus Oduya of UNIT — in one of the early scenes of Day Five — finds out why the 456 are after Earth’s children.

They’re addicted to the chemicals found in young human children.

Oduya realises that the mass handover of Earth’s children is handing heroin to alien junkies.

Junkies.

John Frobisherº comes to a tragic end.

He kills himself, his wife and his two daughters.   After being told by the PM his daughters are to be included in the 10%.

To be that desperate … ?

That desperate and facing the plan the government are putting into action?

He’s a hero.

The other heroes of the piece?

Have been Gwen* and Rhys, the two characters who’ve been the emotional centre of the series since it started; it’s they who, with Ianto’s sister and brother-in-law, manage a brave rescue effort, when the troops go in.

But who don’t find out — ’til after the event — what Jack has had to do to his own daughter and grandson, in order to save the world.

Jack, helped by Johnson and Dekker, has to use a ‘Constructive wave’ to destroy the 456.

But has to kill his own grandson to do this.

You can probably imagine Alice’s reaction to this.

There’s a scene in which Alice meets Jack, in an abandoned corridor, after her son’s death.

She says nothing.

She just turns her back on him and walks away.

The post-script scene to all this is set some six months after the main events; it sees Jack telling Gwen and Rhys that he has to leave Earth.

He still hasn’t shaken the dirt off his feet.

Powerful stuff.

In a series that’s been nothing but powerful stuff.

Can I be frank, here?

I’m actually thinking that Russell T. Davies, in conjunction with the rest of the team, has turned in the best season of Torchwood, yet.

I’m convinced Children of Earth will be a tough act to follow.

It has seriously raised the bar for a fourth series.

Stephen Moffat — should he choose to follow on from this — has work to do.

I also know, amongst tarot card readers, that the Death card isn’t necessarily seen as meaning death; just intense and dramatic change.

That’s Children of Earth.

Intense.

*        There’s a beautiful opening scene, of Gwen making a tape to mark the world’s end: she says that she’s realised why the Doctor hasn’t turned up. He’s turned his head away in shame† …

º        I also know that, having spoken to several fellow fans since this episode aired, that Peter Capaldi as John Frobisher has been viewed as having done extremely well.   I don’t know if it’s an award winner; but I’m convinced on the strength of what I saw, it should be. I’m also thinking much the same of John Barrowman as Captain Jack, actually.   There’s that old line from Friedrich Nietzche, about being careful, fighting monsters.   Day Five showed us that the good Captain didn’t take enough care.   And that the 456 weren’t necessarily the real horrors …

†        I’m writing this in July, of 2020: and that scene has stuck in my mind, even now: as the most powerful in a powerful series.

Torchwood Series 3 — Children of Earth — Day Four — A Review: … Oh My God!!

9th July, 2009

Good GOD … !

I really hope that Lois Habiba is being prepped up as a replacement.

They’ve killed Ianto …

My god’s, they’ve killed Ianto!

Ianto!

And Clement McDonald — this season’s tortured soul — has been killed off, as well! After the life that character’s had, you think a happy ending would be nice!

I don’t think I’ve seen this sort of death rate in a TV science fiction series, since the days of Blake’s 7, I really haven’t.

And that’s at the climax of the penultimate episode; one that’s been more gruesome, more horrific, than the rest of a gruesome series put together.

I also know that, over the course of these episodes, I’ve been frantically texting Cara, an old friend and workmate from my day’s working the bar at the Hutton.

Who — and I’m hoping she won’t mind me saying so — something of a Geekboy’s Poster Girl. Bright, utterly gorgeous, and a rabid Buffy, Doctor Who, and Torchwood fan. (She’s a footie fan as well, but nobody’s perfect! And at, she is 5’11” in her bare feet … I’ve got this thing about gorgeous, tall women, football fans or otherwise!!!)

My point is that we’ve been frantically texting each other, tonight; in sheer disbelief.

Tonight’s episode is moving the plot along at a rapid rate.

What got myself and Cara was a scene about half way through; set in Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, or COBRA, it sees the PM, and the Cabinet discussing what to do about the 456’s demand that the people of Earth hand over 10% of the world’s children. And pretty ruthlessly, at that.

 The cabinet concludes — coldly, mercilessly and quite horribly clinically — that they’ll hand over the children from the bottom 10% of Britain’s schools.

This from an episode that opens with Jack being confronted by Clement and Ianto, about the original 1965 Incident. Which was an emotional one to watch, and gave both character’s some — if not all — of the resolutions they may have needed.

But at, ultimately, the deepest cost someone — anyone — involved with Torchwood can pay.

It’s also an episode that ends with the Cabinet selling out humanity to the 456 …

By seemingly deciding to go with its plans; for what would be the most serious of crimes, in anyone’s book …

Stay tuned, folks.

Day Five will be gruesome …

And big.