The Daily Teaser — 04-04-2012

Now, I know I normally do this, anyway: but can I ask you a quick question … ?

If that’s ok … ?

Do I sound … um … slightly mad … ?

Just a bit potty … ?

Like I may be about to suddenly start dribbling … ?

I hope not … !

But I swear that, this morning, just before my alarm went off, I could’ve sworn somebody knocked at my front door.

Strange, but true.

And possibly a result of that just waking up stage.

It was very convincing, though: enough to actually getting me checking the spyhole in my front door, just in case.

Hmm … 

Let’s get moving on, shall we?

If it turns out it was Edgar Allan Poe’s pet raven*, I’d rather not be in … 

‹‹•››

Yesterday’s teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers: and, along with admitting she found the ability to fake an accent rather impressiveª, also bagging 4 out of 7º.

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) 4th April, 1721, saw who become the head of Her Majesty’s government … ?

Q2) More to the point, what name is usually given to this post … ?

Q3) Equally to the point, what actual title did the head of government then — and still — hold … ?

Q4) 4th April, 1958, saw CND introduce its peace symbol: a branch of which tree is a traditional peace symbol … ?

Q5) 4th April, 1984, saw women evicted from a peace camp in which part of Berkshire … ?

Q6) 5th April, 1960, saw France grant independence to Senegal and French Sudan: how is French Sudan now known … ?

Q7) And finally … 4th April, 1923, saw the birth of English actor, Peter Vaughan: which character did he play in Porridge … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 3rd April, 2008, saw Texan law enforcement officials cordon off a ranch: one owned by a schismatic branch of which church … ?A1) The Latter Day Saints, or Mormons: the group concerned still practiced polygamy.

Q2) 3rd April, 2000, saw US courts rule who had violated US antitrust laws … ?A2) Microsoft.   (Say no more to Microsoft Tax!…)

Q3) 3rd April, 1987, saw the sale of whose jewelry … ?A3) The Duchess of Windsor’s: wife to the late Duke of Windsor/Edward 8th.

Q4) More to the point, which auctioneer’s handled the sale … ?A4) Sotheby’s.

Q5) 3rd April, 1968, saw Dr Martin Luther King make his last public speech: in which Tennessee city was he, when he made that speech … ?A5) Memphis.

Q6) 3rd April, 1888, saw prostitute, Emma Smith attacked: that attack and her eventual death, were linked to which notorious criminal … ?A6) Jack The Ripper.   (Or the Whitechapel Murderer.   Or Red Jack.   Or Jolly Jack.   Or Leather Apron.   Or The Ripper.   Yeah, him … !)

Q7) And finally … Friday, 3rd April, 33AD, is the generally agreed date for whose death … ?A7) Jesus’.

Enjoy those, everyone.

As the Teaser’s enter their fourth year, I’ll leave you with a quick bit of guitar work from the Late Gary Moore, and his equally late cohort, Phil Lynott.

Oh, and as the Teasers enter their fourth year† … ?

I’ll leave you with 4 Non-Blondes, feeling a little peculiar … 

*        Terry Pratchett’s raven, Quoth, refuses to pander to the stereotype: and doesn’t “… do the ‘N’ word.”

º        Was it me, or was that a rough one, yesterday, Debbi … ?

ª        What surprised me, Debbi, was the fact James Marsters — Spike, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer — is American: his RP accent was fairly impressive.   On top of THAT … ?   Christian Bale, star of the recent Batman movies, is Welsh: although I’m none to sure if his’s accent’s good, it had me convinced.   Oh … !   And Gary Oldman‡, in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy … ?   Well … !

†        They actually predate the start of the blog by some five month: as I originally used them as table rounds for the pub quizzes I used to run.   There were times when the whole thing could turn on those …

‡        Actually … ?   Gary Oldman in anything is pretty impressive, accentwise.

Zodiac: Blood, Guts and Seriously Uncaught Murderous Maniacs

3rd April, 2012.

Hmm … 

Now, I’ve got to confess, usually — if I’m seriously impressed by a film — I’ll usually be itching to start writing about it, straight away.

As you’re no doubt VERY aware, if you’ve read my write-up of Pontypool*.

At any rate, I have to admit to having had a quiet night in, last night.

Along with quite a lot of tea … and a copy of the 2007 David Fincher directed whodunnitº, Zodiac.

Which, despite not getting the Immediate Post treatment, is definitely worth watching.

~≈†≈~

The Daily Teaser — 03-04-2012

Hmmm … 

Well, that seems to work, I think … 

I’ve got to admit to having switched over to the new Blogger interface, yesterday.

I THINK I’m getting used to it, already.

I think the big difference that got me slightly thrown, yesterday … ?

Is the simple fact that — in their wisdom — Google have change the way photos are uploaded to Blogger, and get arranged.

Always a pain, relearning these things, isn’t it … ?   Still, I THINK I’ll get used to it: and possibly be able to get  slightly creative with it … !

After I show you the slide show of Jude I mentioned, yesterday …

‹‹«·»››

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting her answers: and, along with admitting she liked French accents*, also bagging 6 out of 6º.

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) 3rd April, 2008, saw Texan law enforcement officials cordon off a ranch: one owned by a schismatic branch of which church … ?

Q2) 3rd April, 2000, saw US courts rule who had violated US antitrust laws … ?

Q3) 3rd April, 1987, saw the sale of whose jewelry … ?

Q4) More to the point, which auctioneer’s handled the sale … ?

Q5) 3rd April, 1968, saw Dr Martin Luther King make his last public speech: in which Tennessee city was he, when he made that speech … ?

Q6) 3rd April, 1888, saw prostitute, Emma Smith attacked: that attack and her eventual death, were linked to which notorious criminal … ? 

Q7) And finally … Friday, 3rd April, 33AD, is the generally agreed date for whose death … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 2nd April, 2005, saw the death of Pope John Paul 2nd: what name had he been born with … ?        A1) Karol Józef Wojtyła.

Q2) More to the point, he was the first non-Italian pope since which year … ?        A2) 1523.

Q3) 2nd April, 1977, saw Red Rum win the third Grand National of his career: who was his jockey … ?        A3) Tommy Stack.

Q4) 2nd April, 1851, saw Rama 4th crowned as King of where … ?        A4) Thailand.   (Bad Joke Alert: “Majesty, are you truly the King of Thailand … ?”   “Yes: Siam … ”.   I did warn you … )

Q5) 2nd April, 1912, saw which ship begin sea trials … ?        A5) The RMS Titanic.   (The ship did fine with these: although I think the crew could have maybe done more iceberg spotting training.   The Health and Safety Executive gets worse.)

Q6) And finally … 2nd April, 1914, saw the birth of Sir Alec Guinness: in which film did he play Colonel Nicholson … ?        A6) The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll leave you with a few words from Doris Day.

*     Remind me to post up Chanson D’amour at some point, then, Debbi: I think that might just appeal.   That’s if you don’t mind English people trying to fake it … ?

º     And got me double checking my answers: would you believe I had 1532 down, Debbi … ?

The Daily Teaser – 02--04-2012

Hmmmm …  

I was going to tell you about THAT photo of Jude.

Bless him, he was completely fascinated by an episode of Top of the Pops 2, a Girl Groups special: and more to the point, by The Supremes.   There’s probably a whole slide show about it, at some point!

But I’ve ALSO got to admit, I’ve switched over to the new Blogger interface.

And I’m thinking ‘Hmmm … ’, to be perfectly frank.

I’m not sure I like it.

I’ll probably get used to it: but it’s going to take a while … 

Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

Yes, let’s … !

‹‹·››

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Debbi and old friend, Tim, putting in their answers: with Debbi telling me she agrees with Terry Pratchett — and putting in a quote from Willem de Kooning* — it ALSO saw both of our players bagging 7 out of 9.   (Matter Transmission and Fool on the Hill were the correct answers, folks: I know it’s a little late, but … ?   APRIL FOOL!!!!!)

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) 2nd April, 2005, saw the death of Pope John Paul 2nd: what name had he been born with … ? 

Q2) More to the point, he was the first non-Italian pope since which year … ?

Q3) 2nd April, 1977, saw Red Rum win the third Grand National of his career: who was his jockey … ?

Q4) 2nd April, 1851, saw Rama 4th crowned as King of where … ?

Q5) 2nd April, 1912, saw which ship begin sea trials … ?

Q6) And finally … 2nd April, 1914, saw the birth of Sir Alec Guinness: in which film did he play Colonel Nicholson … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) Which Beatles song was first performed live … by Wings … ?

A1) The Fool On the Hill: originally recorded in 1967, after the band had stopped touring.

Q2) What’s the nickname for Iron Pyrite … ?

A2) Fool’s Gold.

Q3) According to a 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated, which pitcher and Tibetan yogi was to play for the New York Mets … ?

A3) Sidd Finch.

Q4) Which British newspaper published an article about the (fictional) resort of San Seriffe?

A4) The Guardian.

Q5) In 1993, April 1st saw RFC 1437 deal with the internet version of what: matter transmission, the Splurge Gun or the TARDIS … ?

A5) Matter Transmission: the internet version of the Star Trek transporter.

Q6) Ken Goffman — Editor in chief of Mondo 2000 — is better known how … ?

A6) R. U. Sirius.

Q7) Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero have all played whom … ?

A7) The Joker.

Q8) In a Tarot deck, what number is The Fool … ?

A8) He’s either unnumbered, or has 0 or 22.

Q9) And FINALLY … 1st April, 1976, saw the founding of Apple Computers: which of its three founders ran a successful Dial A Joke service … ?

A9) Steve Wozniak.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll leave you with La Chanson de Prévertª, by birthday boy Serge Gainsbourg.

*      ‘Takes up all your time’ … ?   Debbi, doesn’t he just have a HELL of a point, there … !

ª      It could’ve been worse … it could’ve been Je T’aime.

The April Fool’s Day Teaser - 01-04-2012

Hmmm …

You know, it actually LOOK’S like I’ve managed to get started on this post a LOT later than I intended to.

Which is sort of a shame, in a way.

I WAS going to try and pull off a complicated April Fool’s Day joke, involving Snow White, the Seven Dwarves, half a dozen trolls, a Banana Daiquari, and a plate of fishfingers.

Actually, now I come to think of it … ?

That would’ve meant a later start.

I think it would’ve taken another half an hour to find a fresh packet of fishfingers …

Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

»»•««

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Debbi and Mr Strict putting in their answers. With Debbi telling us the lucky Maryland ticket holder wasn’t her‡, it saw Mr S bagging 6 out of 6, with Debbi trailing him on 5.

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) Which Beatles song was first performed live … by Wings … ?

Q2) What’s the nickname for Iron Pyrite … ?

Q3) According to a 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated, which pitcher and Tibetan yogi was to play for the New York Mets … ?

Q4) Which British newspaper published an article about the (fictional) resort of San Seriffe?

Q5) In 1993, April 1st saw RFC 1437 deal with the internet version of what: matter transmission, the Splurge Gun or the TARDIS … ?

Q6) Ken Goffman — Editor in chief of Mondo 2000 — is better known how … ?

Q7) Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero have all played whom … ?

Q8) In a Tarot deck, what number is The Fool … ?

Q9) And FINALLY … 1st April, 1976, saw the founding of Apple Computers: which of its three founders ran a successful Dial A Joke service … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 31st March, 1990, saw 200000 people take to the streets of London to protest against what … ?

A1) The Poll Tax.

Q2) 31st March, 1986, saw the abolition of the Greater London Council: who was the final council leader … ?

A2) ‘Red’ Ken Livingston.

Q3) More to the point, name any of the other Metropolitan councils abolished that day.

A3) West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

Q4) 31st March, 1921, saw the founding of the Royal Australian Air Force: which marsupial is featured on RAAF aircraft … ? (On what’s called it’s roundel, rather than the coat of arms.)

A4) A red kangaroo.

Q5) 31st March, 1972, saw the Explorer 1 probe re-enter Earth’s atmosphere: after how many years in space … ?

A5) 12.

Q6) And finally … 31st March, 1992, saw the last US battleship decommissioned: what was its name … ?

A6) The USS Missouri.

Enjoy those, everyone.

I’ll leave you with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, with their big hit, Why Do Fools Fall In Love?*.

Actually, talking of video … ? Today’s Teaser video is a bit special: there’s a joke at the end of it. There’s also a variation I’ve heard, recently.

The barman says, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve sub-atomic particles.” A tachyon walks into a bar.

I’ll leave that alone, shall I … ?

* Why Do Fools Fall in Love? Fools … ? All Fools Day … ? No … ? Never mind …

‡ Yes, I know, Debbi, it is only money … But I bet it would’ve been nice, though … ! (There’s an old quote from Terry Pratchett I always think of in these situations: along the lines of “You’re right, money can’t buy happiness: but I wouldn’t’ve minded being able to rent it for a bit …”)