Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 30-5-2020: The Waltz of Joan of Arc

30th May, 2020.

I often get earworms: songs playing their way through my head.

Right at the moment?   I’m drowning out the one I woke up to, with OMD’s Architecture and Morality LP.

Possibly one of the best they ever recorded.

Ignore everything after The Beginning and the End, by the way: those songs weren’t on the original track listing.

At any rate … ?   I work up with the word, ‘antagonist*,’ floating around my head: in the same way an earworm would.

The thing that got me?   Is that it sounded — to me — like the title of a bad western† … 

Or possibly a Greek play.

Yeah … 

It’s a bit early, isn’t it … ?

~≈†≈~

Let’s move on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Trevor‡, Olga^ and Debbiª putting in their answers: with all three scoring five out of five.

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

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

Q1) 30th May is the feast day of Joan of Arc.   She’s the patron saint of France.   And who else: prisoners, sword makers or butchers?

Q2) What’s the French version of her name?

Q3) She’s also the patron saint of martyrs.   In other words, a person who’s died for their what: technological possessions, religious beliefs or philosophical ideas?

Q4) She’s traditionally depicted with what: a badger, a bonnet or sword?

Q5) Famously, Joan helped lift the Siege of where?

Q6) The Siege was during which war: the Six Day War, the One Hundred Years War or the War of the Roses?

Q7) Joan claimed to have received visions of which Archangel?

Q8) She was burnt to death after being tried in Rouen: and died on 30th May of which year: 1430, 1431 or 1432?

Q9) Which of Shakespeare’s plays does Joan appear in?

Q10) Finally?   The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc was directed by Luc Besson.   Who played Joan, in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc: Eva Green, Audrey Tautou or Milla Jovovich?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1) 29th May, 1975, saw the birth of which member of the Spice Girls?

A1) Melanie Brown: also known as Mel B, and Scary Spice.

Q2) 29th May is Oak Apple Day in England.   It marked who’s restoration to the throne: Charles 1st, Charles 2nd or James 1st and 6th?

A2) Charles 2nd.

Q3) Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin tested a theory on 29th May, 1919.   Whose theory? 

A3) Albert Einstein’s.

Q4) The Byzantine Empire finally fell: on 29th May, 1453.   When which city fell to an Ottoman army?

A4) Constantinople.   (The city had been called Byzantium: and is now Istanbul … Istanbul, not Constantinople)

Q5) Finally … ?   The last of the original Thirteen Colonies to join the US, Rhode Island, joined on 29th May of which year?

A5) 1790.

Here’s a thought …

“Children say that people are hanged sometimes for speaking the truth.”

Joan of Arc.

And a playlist … 

Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.

Have a good day.

*        Putting it simply?   In any given story — a book, TV show or film — the protagonist is the hero of the story.   The antagonist is his enemy.   In any given Dr Who story with the Master, the Doctor’s the protagonist, the Master’s his antagonist.

†        Which reminds me … when I was young, you could walk into Brentwood Library, the old one that’s now Clever Clogs Nursery: and pretty much guarantee there’d a whole rack of Louis L’Amour novels by the front desk!

‡        Are you with TalkTalk, Trevor?   Only they were having issues, at the same time you had trouble getting through, here.

^        I can see what you mean about the broadband vs mobile deals, Olga.   It’s similar in the UK, and I suspect, the US: there’s mobile deals that are a lot better than BT’s Basic offering.   Still it’s the basic principle, I think: you should be able to get an ‘at home’ deal, especially as the public desktops in the library aren’t available.

As for Amazon … ?   Blast!   Why didn’t I think of that?   I did know about the Windows screen recorder, but guessed it was there: that puts macOS and Windows ahead of Ubuntu and Android: had to download one for the Ubunutu laptop, Jude still hasn’t quite figured out the one on Mummy’s phone!

Live screencasting … ?   I’ve never got the hang of it … but if you can sneak onto the Quizmasters Facebook page I’m on, I know a lot of the guys are using various shades of live streaming that may help: you’d possibly need to have a word with Dr Paul, the chap in charge.

Design wise … ?   I got someone I knew to design the Jesters for me — the originals ar on the wall to my immediate right — and the beer glasses I got from various free places.   If it’s any help, look up CC Search: it looks through stuff licensed under the various Creative Commons license.

I can safely say I look like a million dollars: I’m green and wrinkled.   (Oh, feel free to use the Teaser videos, if you need to.   My mouth movements may also help, especially as students would be able to see the questions in their written form.   One doesn’t necessarily follow the other — sometimes I have to reword them, so they make more spoken/written sense — but I try and make sure they correspond.)

Now … about the electricity discount?   Did you ever see Brazil?

ª        Pleasure, as ever, Debbi!   Oh, I’ve got a few five question sets coming up: that should make things easier on the hand.      (How are you with westerns, by the way?   The Antagonist would make a great title!)