The Daily Teaser — 25-07-2012

Just so we can get it out of the way, has anyone got a spare few hundred pounds* … ?

Anyone … ?

No … ?

Drat … !

I’ll be frank, I’m out of a job: and a Mac fan.

One who’s kicking himself as Mountain Lion — going by this news piece — is due out today: although it’s not available on the Apple site, as yet.

And unfortunately, Bruce is right at the bottom end of the upgradability scale.

Hmmm … 

Looks like as and when a job turns up … ?

I’ll be saving up … 

Let’s move on, shall we … ?

☰☲☰☲☰

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Trevor and Debbi putting in their answers: with both scoring 6 out of 6, it also saw Trevor mentioning that Lance Armstrong’s birth name was Lance Gunderson, and Debbi admitting she’s flattered to be mentioned in the same breath as Raymond Chandler.

Let’s see how they — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, license and video … 

Q1) 25th July, 1978, saw the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby: in which city ?

Q2) 25th July, 306 AD, saw who named as Roman Emperor … ?

Q3) 25th July, 1797, saw who lose his right arm in a failed attempt at conquest … ?

Q4) More to the point, in a failed attempt to conquer which Spanish island … ?

Q5) 25th July, 1869, saw Japanese lords return land to the Japanese Emperor: during the period known as the … what … restoration … ?

Q6) And finally … 25th July, 1969, saw who plead guilty of leaving the scene of a crime, after a rather notorious car crash … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 24th July, 1923, saw the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne: that defined the borders of which country, after World War 1?   A1) Turkey.

Q2) 24th July, 2005, saw who win his seventh Tour de France … ?   A2) Lance Armstrong.

Q3) More to the point, who was he dating, at the time … ?   A3) Sheryl Crow.

Q4) 24th July, 1959, saw who have an argument with Vice-President Nixon … ?   A4) Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev: or Никита Хрущёв, if you want it in Cyrillic … 

Q5) 24th July, 2002, saw James Traficant expelled from where, after being tried on corruption charges.   A5) US House of Representatives.

Q6) And finally … 24 July, 1927, saw the unveiling of the Menin Gate war Memorial: in which Belgian town … ?   A6) Ypres.

Enjoy those, everyone.

I’ll leave you with a tune from the late folk singer, Steve Goodman.

And this quote from a noted politician …

“Biography should be written by an acute enemy.”Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930

*        Yes, I know Apple’s advertising the upgrade at £13•99, roughly $20, if I’ve got the exchange rates right.   But Bruce is feeling his age … 

John Carter — What do you mean, it got slated … ?

You know, I have to admit, I’ve had a quiet night in.

And … ?

Well, I’ll be honest.

I’ve seen a movie.

And, yes, before you ask, I’ve just watched the critically panned 2011, Andrew Stanton directed movie, John Carter.

And I have to ask, why WAS everyone complaining … ?

No, seriously … !

‹‹·››

Set in 1881, and based on the 1911book, A Princess Of Mars, John Carter sees Taylor Kitsch as the eponymous hero: a veteran of the US Civil war who — after going prospecting in parts of Arizona that the Arapaho still claim as theirs, hiding in a cave that is more haunted than he’d realised.

As a result … ?

Finding himself somehow transported to Mars — or Barsoom to its inhabitants — in the middle of a rampaging war between the city states of Zodanga, headed by Sab Than — Dominic West — and Helium, led by Tardos Mor ands his daughter, Dejah Thoris: Ciaran Hinds and Lynn Collins, respectively.

In the middle of all this … ?

In the middle of all this, Carter’s expected to learn to fight like a Thark: led by Willem Dafoe, as Tars Tarkis.

Confusing … ?

It shouldn’t be … !

‹‹·››

Now, I said in the title of this post, that John Carter got a lot of bad press.

I’ll be frank, I really can’t see why … !

OK, granted, it’s not exactly Pinter: but then a lot of things aren’t.

John Carter is, after all, something of a Pulp.

So don’t rent or download John Carter if you’re expecting a deeply meaningful movie about man’s place in the universe, and that universes’ relationship to the Immanent Godhead.

DO get it, if you’re wanting an evening of mindless Disney fun, with lots of aliens chasing each other all over Monument Valley.

You won’t be disappointed!

John Carter
★★☆☆

The Daily Teaser — 24-07-2012

Hmmm … 

Well, that seems to have helped … 

Did I tell you I’ve got a … 

Well, I call it a teaspoon: or shovel, occasionally.

But it’s actually a tea infuser, according to Wikipedia.

Basically, I’ve got a spoon-like one: a perforated clam-shell like arrangement that you use in stand of a tea-bag to make a morning cuppa, with loose tea-leaves.

And, my WORD, it makes that first off cuppa taste good … !

But enough, already: let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

‹‹·››

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Trevor and Debbi putting in their answers: with both scoring 6 out of 6, it also saw Debbi mentioning she appreciated the quote from Raymond Chandler†, and Trevorª pointing out — quite correctly — that Greece is correctly known as the Hellenic Republic.

Let’s see how they — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 24th July, 1923, saw the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne: that defined the borders of which country, after World War 1?

Q2) 24th July, 2005, saw who win his seventh Tour de France … ?

Q3) More to the point, who was he dating, at the time … ?

Q4) 24th July, 1959, saw who have an argument with Vice-President Nixon … ?

Q5) 24th July, 2002, saw James Traficant expelled from where, after being tried on corruption charges.

Q6) And finally … 24 July, 1927, saw the unveiling of the Menin Gate war Memorial: in which Belgian town … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 23rd July, 1908, saw the start of what’s called the Second Constitution Era: in which empire … ?

A1) The Ottoman Empire.

Q2) More to the point, what’s the (main) successor state to that empire … ?

A2) Turkey.

Q3) 23rd July, 2005, saw 88 people killed in bomb attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh: in which country is Sharm al-Sheikh?

A3) Egypt.

Q4) 23rd July, 1962, saw the first broadcasts via which satellite … ?

A4) Telstar.

Q5) 23rd July, 1974, saw the military government of which country collapse … ?

A5) Greece.

Q6) And finally … 23rd July, 1829, saw William Austin Bellin patent a very early form of what … ?

A6) A Typewriter: he called it his Typographer.

Enjoy those, everyone.

I’ll leave you with birthday girl, Jennifer Lopez, doing her thing … 

Oh, and a quote from Banana Yoshimoto*.

“Sometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”

Banana Yoshimoto born July 24, 1964

*        She uses Banana, because she thought it sounded both cute and androgynous.   I’m not complaining: I get to quote someone called Banana … 

†       Got to admit, Debbi, I was thinking of you, when I saw his name go past … 

ª        THINK that gets a mention on the relevant CIA Factbook page, Trevor.

The Daily Teaser — 23-07-2012

Blimey, that’s a weekend result … !

I’ll happily admit, I’m no sports fan, really, I’m not.

But the fact Britain’s managed to generate a Tour De France winning cyclist, in the shape of Bradley Wiggins*.

Actually … ?

I’ll be accurate, we managed to generate a winning team: especially when you consider that Mark Cavendish won the 23rd stage and Chris Froome finished in overall second place.

Well done, them … !

Let’s get moving on, though, shall we?   Yes, let’s … 

☱☲☴☲☱

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Trevor putting in his answers: and, along with bagging 6 out of 6, also managing to correct on the date Sir Alec Douglas-Home stood down.

Let’s see how he — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 23rd July, 1908, saw the start of what’s called the Second Constitution Era: in which empire … ?

Q2) More to the point, what’s the (main) successor state to that empire … ?

Q3) 23rd July, 2005, saw 88 people killed in bomb attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh: in which country is Sharm al-Sheikh?

Q4) 23rd July, 1962, saw the first broadcasts via which satellite … ?

Q5) 23rd July, 1974, saw the military government of which country collapse … ?

Q6) And finally … 23rd July, 1829, saw William Austin Bellin patent a very early form of what … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 22nd July, 1706, saw commissioners from which two kingdoms agree on the 1707 Act of Union … ?

A1) England and Scotland.

Q2) More to the point, what was the name of the kingdom that was the result of the Act of Union … ?

A2) The Kingdom of Great Britain.

Q3) 22nd July, 1933, saw who become the first person to complete a round-the-world airplane trip … ?

A3) Wiley Post.

Q4) 22nd July, 1983, saw the end of martial law: in which European country … ?

A4) Poland.

Q5) 22nd July, 1965, saw whom step down as Leader of the Opposition … ?

A5) Sir Alec Douglas-Home.

Q6) And finally … 22nd July, 2011, saw Anders Bering Breivik kill 69 people on Utøya Island: in which country is Utøya Island … ?

A6) Norway.

Enjoy those, everyone.

I’ll leave you with a tune from David Essex, shall I … ?   As it’s his birthday … 

Oh … and a quote form Raymond Chandler: which I’m thinking Debbi will appreciate, once she and Rick get home …

“I bent over and took hold of the room with both hands and spun it. When I had it nicely spinning I gave it a full swing and hit myself on the back of the head with the floor.”Pearls Are A Nuisance, Raymond Chandler   July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959

*        Given the similarity of names, I always think of Randy Wigginton … 

The Daily Teaser — 22-07-2012

Hmmm … !

You know, I’ve got to admit, that seems to help.

Remember, I was telling you I went for coffee, on Friday, with Trevor, Debbi and Rick … ?

Trevor, bless him, happened to mention he’d removed Real Player from his system: he’d found the way it interacts with his default browser† — FireFox — slowed down the speed it took to interact with a lot of Flash based webpages*.

Something I’d certainly noticed.

So, of course, yesterday … ?

I decided to trash my copy of the media player.

My word … 

That don’t half seem to have helped … !

Let’s move on, shall we?

‹‹•››

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Trevor and Mr Strict putting in their answers: with both scoring 6 out of six, it ALSO saw Mr S giving us this photo.

Let’s see how they — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video …

Q1) 22nd July, 1706, saw commissioners from which two kingdoms agree on the 1707 Act of Union … ?

Q2) More to the point, what was the name of the kingdom that was the result of the Act of Union … ?

Q3) 22nd July, 1933, saw who become the first person to complete a round-the-world airplane trip … ?

Q4) 22nd July, 1983, saw the end of martial law: in which European country … ?

Q5) 22nd July, 1966, saw whom step down as Leader of the Opposition … ?

Q6) And finally … 22nd July, 2011, saw Anders Bering Breivik kill 69 people on Utøya Island: in which country is Utøya Island … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 21st July, 1969, saw Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the  moon: who was the second … ?

A1) Edwin Buzz Aldrin.

Q2) More to the point, what was the name of the space flight they’d travelled to the moon on … ?

A2) Apollo 11.

Q3) Even MORE to the point … what was the name of the landing craft … ?

A3) The Eagle.

Q4) Moving on … 21st July, 2011, saw the end of NASA’s Space Shuttle programme, with the return of which shuttle from its last ever mission … ?

A4) The Atlantis.

Q5) 21st July, 1970, saw the completion of the Aswan High Dam: in which country is that dam … ?

A5) Egypt.

Q6) And finally … 21st July, 1977, saw the start of a four day war between two North African countries: name either …

A6) Libya and Egypt.

Enjoy those, everyone.

As it’s George Clinton’s birthday, today … ?

I’ll leave you with The Electric Spanking of War Babies.   You really can’t go wrong with a name like that … 

“He's Soderbergh, we're working for him. It doesn't matter what he's doing; we'll see it at the premiere.”

Terence Stamp born 22 July 1938

*        Even with HTML5 becoming more common on desktop browsers, Flash is still the default for many sites that have lots of media content and animated games.

†        Basically, whatever operating system and browser you’re using, Real Player switches on and offers to download a video so you can play it, locally: as and when you navigate to — say —  YouTube or Vimeo.