Tuesday 2 September 2014

The Daily Teaser — 2-9-2014: London’s Burning!

Oooh, but that’s better: a (comparatively) good night’s sleep!

A good night’s sleep … 

And a good read.

Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, so you know: possibly one of the most influential dystopia’s ever written.

Frankly … ?

I’m not sure I was stunned by it: I think 1984 is possibly the better novel.   Although, possibly being able to read it in the original Russian would possibly be an improvement.

‘Not stunned’, thought, isn’t the same as ‘didn’t enjoy’.   Zamyatin’s tale of D:503, his doomed love affair, set against the background of a One State that watches everything?

Does make for an enjoyable read.

~≈Ê≈~
Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: and scoring ten out of ten.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s fiery questions, shall we?

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

Q1) 2nd September, 1666, saw the start of the Great Fire of London.   Which street did it start in: Baker Street, Pudding Lane or Brewer Row?
Q2) The fire itself started in what: a butchers, a baker’s or a candle stick makers?
Q3) The (then) King of England helped fight the Fire: who was he?
Q4) Who would’ve been responsible for fighting the Great Fire of London: a fire brigade, the local Watchmen or parish priests?
Q5) The Great Fire took place in 1666.   London had been hit by the Great what, in 1665?
Q6) Saint Paul’s Cathedral was burnt down during the fire.   Who designed the replacement cathedral, that’s now in its place?
Q7) The (then) Lord Mayor of London — Sir Thomas Bloodworth — was criticized for his handling of the Fire: by which diarist and Naval administrator?
Q8) The Monument To The Great Fire Of London is near to Monument Station: and which London bridge?
Q9) The earliest Fire of London tool place in 60 AD: during the revolt of Queen who … ?
Q10) Finally … The Second Great Fire of London took place during World War 2: during what?
Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) 1st September, 1804, saw the discovery of the asteroid, Juno: in the Main Asteroid Belt.   The Belt is in-between two planets of the Solar System.   Name one of them.
A1) Mars and Jupiter.
Q2) Juno was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding: which European country was Harding from … ?
A2) Germany.
Q3) Juno is what’s called an S-type asteroid.   An S-type asteroid is what: stony, metal-rich or icy?
A3) Stony.
Q4) The novel, Eon, features a hollowed out version of Juno.   Who wrote Eon: Greg Smith, Greg Dyke or Greg Bear?
A4) Greg Bear.   (Fascinating read, I should add: it’s generated some incredible fan-art in its wake.)
Q5) Asteroids are numbered, in the (rough) order of their discovery.   What’s Juno’s (single digit) number … ?
A5) Three.
Q6) Juno is named for an ancient goddess.   In which mythology: Greek, Roman or Assyrian?
A6) Roman.
Q7) Asteroid number 1 is — technically — a dwarf planet.   What’s its name?
A7) Ceres: or 1 Ceres/①Ceres , if you want to be like that.
Q8) The second largest asteroid in the belt is 4 Vesta.   Vesta was surveyed in 2011: by a probe called what?
A8) Dawn.
Q9) Atari released a video game, in 1979: where the player becomes a small spaceship, stuck in an asteroid field, and trying to shoot their way out.   What’s the game called … ?
A9) Asteroids.
Q10) Which 1998 film sees Bruce Willis and his team blowing up an asteroid, to stop it colliding with Earth … ?
A10) Armageddon.
I’ll leave you with the only tune I could leave you with … 


And with this observation …
“We stayed till, it being darkish, we saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from this to the other side the bridge, and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above a mile long: it made me weep to see it” 
Samuel Pepys, 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703.
Enjoy your day.







*        I know, fantastic, wasn’t it … ?   I want to know what happens with Rusty!   (I used to play Asteroids†, as well, Debbi: and Battlezone!   Supposedly, if you reached the volcano in Battlezone, you also reached the enemy tank factory.   Complete twaddle, obviously: but very convincing twaddle, when you’re ten!)

†        Oh, the UK App Store’s got a game called Pangea Arcade on it, Debbi: it’s a three pack with a very distracting update of Asteroids , called Nucleus.   Don’t get it, it’s very distracting! Ummm … *Looks guilty*

1 comment:

Debbi said...

You are an incurable gamer, aren't you? :)

1. Puddington Lane
2. a baker's
3. Charles II
4. the Local Watchmen
5. Plague
6. Sir Christopher Wren
7. Samuel Pepys
8. London Bridge
9. Boudica
10. the London Blitz

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the Daleks, too.