The Daily Teaser — 21-5-2013

Oh, now that’s sad … !

And possibly a huge coincidence, as well.

I have to admit, I woke up this morning: and one of the first things I did, was turn on the TV.

I’ve had it set to the BBC News channel, by default, for some time, now.

The first thing I find out as a result … ?   Is that Doors co-founder and keyboard player, Ray Manzarek, has died: of bile duct cancer.

That’s sad.

I have to admit, I was never a fan: but do know the band were certainly influential, and came up with some of the better known tunes of the era.

With that in mind … ?

The weird coincidence about it … ?   Is that yesterday, I managed to write a couple of Teasers for the Brentwood Gazette, yesterday: one of which was themed.

Around the death of Brian Jones … And Jim Morrison, Manzarek’s fellow Door.

They’d both died on the 3rd July.

Talk about spooky.

Let’s move on, shall we … ?

While assorted minds boggle … 

≈~‡~≈

Yesterday’s teaser saw Debbi† putting in her answers: along with letting us know she’s a big fan of Dr River Song*, she ALSO managed to bag six out of six.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 21st May, 1904, saw the original founding of FIFA: which sport does it govern … ?

Q2) More to the point, who’s the current president of FIFA … ?

Q3) 21st May, 1674, saw John Sobieski elected as King of which European country … ?

Q4) And of which Grand Duchy … ?

Q5) 21st May, 1936, saw Sada Abe, arrested, after several days wondering around Tokyo: with her lover’s severed what … ?

Q6) And finally … 21st May, 1840, saw British sovereignty declared over what’s now which country … ?

And here’s yesterday’s scary questions …

Q1) 20th May, 1896, saw the collapse of the chandelier in a Paris theatre: which provided the inspiration for the novel, The Phantom of the Opera.   What’s the name of the novel, in French … ?

A1) Le Fantôme de l'Opéra.

Q2) Who was the author of The Phantom of the Opera … ?

A2) Gaston Laroux.

Q3) More to the point, what was the Phantom’s name … ?

A3) Eric.

Q4) Who played the Phantom, in the famous 1925, silent film version … ?

A4) Lon Chaney Sr, the Man Of A Thousand Faces: and, famously, the man who ALSO designed the Phantom’s make-up.   (If I recall correctly, his version’s supposed to be the one that’s closest to Erik’s appearance, as given by Leroux.)

Q5) Which English composer and impresario produced a West End version of the story, in 1986 … ?

A5) Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Q6) And finally … who wrote the Phantom of the Opera sequel, The Phantom of Manhattan … ?

A6) Frederick Forsyth.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll leave you with this thought from Tom Daley … 

“I was World Series champion in individual and synchro for the first time which was awesome.”

Diver, Tom Daley, born 21 May 1994

And as today saw the birth of The Animals’ guitarist … ?

Here’s the riff that made him and the band famous.

Have a good day

*        Oh, bless!   Debbi, someone’s done a River Song timeline: that’s even twistier than the lady herself … !   (That’s on deviantART, by the way, Debbi: some of the fan art on there’s alway’s worth checking out.)

†        Music of the Night, you mean, Debbi … ?   Andrew Lloyd Webber and company can knock out a good one, as and when …