Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Digest for rec.games.trivia@googlegroups.com - 14 updates in 4 topics

msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Nov 28 05:39PM -0600

These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on the dates
indicated below, and should be interpreted accordingly. If any
answers have changed due to newer news, you are still expected to
give the answers that were correct on that date.
 
On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.
 
All questions were written by members of Smith & Guessin' and are
used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of
current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
of other rounds. For further information see my recent companion
posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
 
 
* Game 9 (2017-11-20), Round 1 - Current Events
 
1. Which European country will miss next year's World Cup soccer
finals (tournament) for the first time since 1958 after being
eliminated by Sweden last week?
 
2. The 2017 Cy Young Awards for the best pitcher in each of the
American League and National League were announced this past
week. Both winners are repeat winners. Name either.
 
3. What is the name of the ride-sharing competitor to Über who
announced that they plan to enter the Toronto market by the
end of the year?
 
4. In a Canadian first, a baby was born on whom doctors had
performed in-utero surgery on a baby to repair *what birth-defect
condition* where there is incomplete closing of the backbone
and membranes around the spinal cord?
 
5. The president of what country announced last week to a United
Nations panel that they will cover the US contribution for
climate-science research?
 
6. What African country's military seized control of the government
last week?
 
7. The American Heart Association and several other groups
redefined high blood pressure as starting at what reading?
Both numbers required.
 
8. Christie's New York auction last Wednesday set a record by
selling a single painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci
for approximately $450,000,000 US (including commission).
What's the name of the painting?
 
9. This songwriter, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the band
AC/DC died on Saturday. Give his first and last name.
 
10. Over 500 people were killed and thousands injured when a
powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the border of
*what two countries* last week?
 
 
* Game 10 (2017-11-27), Round 1 - Current Events
 
1. David Cassidy, a teen heartthrob of television and records,
died last week at age 67. What hit TV show launched him to fame?
 
2. 83-year-old cult leader Charles Manson also died last week.
In the summer of 1969, Manson and his followes murdered a total
of nine people, including a well-known actress. Name her.
 
3. To celebrate Canada's 150th-anniversary year, a temporary ice
rink is being specially built on Parliament Hill at a cost of at
least $5,600,000. Not only the price tag attracted attention,
but so did the rules for skaters. Name *four* of the eight
things that will not be allowed. (If you get 3 right I'll
score it as "almost correct" -- an option that not available
in the original game.)
 
4. The Toronto School Board voted 18-3 to eliminate a controversial
program which has been around for 9 years. What?
 
5. The Vanier Cup, symbolizing football supremacy among Canadian
universities, was played Saturday in Hamilton between two
perennial powerhouses. Who won?
 
6. During the week leading up to the Grey Cup, the Canadian
Football League hands out its individual awards. Who won the
Most Outstanding Player award for 2017?
 
7. This past week a Bosnian Serb military leader was convicted by a
UN tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity. In the
1990s he ordered massacres of Bosnian Musliums, and "ethnic
cleansing" campaigns. Name him.
 
8. As usual, US President Donald Trump launched a Twitter attack
this past week. This one was against the father of one of
three UCLA basketball players. Trump claims he got Chinese
authorities to let the trio return home after they were detained
for shoplifting -- and the father *didn't express sufficient
gratitude* to Trump. Name the father, who has another son
playing for the L.A. Lakers. The surname will do.
 
9. The author of a "literary thriller" called "Bellevue Square" took
him the Giller Prize, Canada's richest literary award, last week.
Name him.
 
10. The crypto-currency Bitcoin has been steadily increasing in
value recently. Last week it passed a new milestone, despite
warnings of a currency bubble. In US dollars, what was the
milestone value Bitcoin surpassed?
 
After completing the round, please decode the rot13: Vs lbh fnvq
"Zhfgnatf" sbe gur Inavre Phc dhrfgvba, jr arrq ng yrnfg gur fubeg
anzr bs gur havirefvgl. Cyrnfr tb onpx naq nqq vg.
--
Mark Brader "If cars were designed the same way as software is
Toronto today, they'd all have buggy-whip holders..."
msb@vex.net -- Marcus J. Ranum
 
My text in this article is in the public domain.
tool@panix.com (Dan Blum): Nov 28 11:57PM


> 1. Which European country will miss next year's World Cup soccer
> finals (tournament) for the first time since 1958 after being
> eliminated by Sweden last week?
 
Spain; France
 
> 3. What is the name of the ride-sharing competitor to ?ber who
> announced that they plan to enter the Toronto market by the
> end of the year?
 
Lyft
 
> performed in-utero surgery on a baby to repair *what birth-defect
> condition* where there is incomplete closing of the backbone
> and membranes around the spinal cord?
 
spina bifida
 
> 5. The president of what country announced last week to a United
> Nations panel that they will cover the US contribution for
> climate-science research?
 
France; China
 
> 6. What African country's military seized control of the government
> last week?
 
Zimbabwe
 
> 10. Over 500 people were killed and thousands injured when a
> powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the border of
> *what two countries* last week?
 
Iran and Iraq
 
> * Game 10 (2017-11-27), Round 1 - Current Events
 
> 1. David Cassidy, a teen heartthrob of television and records,
> died last week at age 67. What hit TV show launched him to fame?
 
The Partridge Family
 
> 2. 83-year-old cult leader Charles Manson also died last week.
> In the summer of 1969, Manson and his followes murdered a total
> of nine people, including a well-known actress. Name her.
 
Sharon Tate
 
> 5. The Vanier Cup, symbolizing football supremacy among Canadian
> universities, was played Saturday in Hamilton between two
> perennial powerhouses. Who won?
 
McGill
 
> UN tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity. In the
> 1990s he ordered massacres of Bosnian Musliums, and "ethnic
> cleansing" campaigns. Name him.
 
Radakovic
 
> for shoplifting -- and the father *didn't express sufficient
> gratitude* to Trump. Name the father, who has another son
> playing for the L.A. Lakers. The surname will do.
 
Ball
 
> value recently. Last week it passed a new milestone, despite
> warnings of a currency bubble. In US dollars, what was the
> milestone value Bitcoin surpassed?
 
$1000; $10,000
 
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum tool@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."
Joshua Kreitzer <gromit82@hotmail.com>: Nov 29 05:17AM

msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote in news:EuednZxRsIQ6boDHnZ2dnUU7-
 
> 1. Which European country will miss next year's World Cup soccer
> finals (tournament) for the first time since 1958 after being
> eliminated by Sweden last week?
 
Italy

> 3. What is the name of the ride-sharing competitor to Über who
> announced that they plan to enter the Toronto market by the
> end of the year?
 
Lyft

> performed in-utero surgery on a baby to repair *what birth-defect
> condition* where there is incomplete closing of the backbone
> and membranes around the spinal cord?
 
spina bifida
 
> 5. The president of what country announced last week to a United
> Nations panel that they will cover the US contribution for
> climate-science research?
 
China

> 6. What African country's military seized control of the government
> last week?
 
Zimbabwe
 
> 9. This songwriter, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the band
> AC/DC died on Saturday. Give his first and last name.
 
Malcolm Young

> * Game 10 (2017-11-27), Round 1 - Current Events
 
> 1. David Cassidy, a teen heartthrob of television and records,
> died last week at age 67. What hit TV show launched him to fame?
 
"The Partridge Family"

> 2. 83-year-old cult leader Charles Manson also died last week.
> In the summer of 1969, Manson and his followes murdered a total
> of nine people, including a well-known actress. Name her.
 
Sharon Tate

> UN tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity. In the
> 1990s he ordered massacres of Bosnian Musliums, and "ethnic
> cleansing" campaigns. Name him.
 
Mladic

> for shoplifting -- and the father *didn't express sufficient
> gratitude* to Trump. Name the father, who has another son
> playing for the L.A. Lakers. The surname will do.
 
Ball
 
> value recently. Last week it passed a new milestone, despite
> warnings of a currency bubble. In US dollars, what was the
> milestone value Bitcoin surpassed?
 
$10,000

--
Joshua Kreitzer
gromit82@hotmail.com
Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com>: Nov 21 11:19PM -0800

Mark Brader wrote:
 
> 1. Which European country will miss next year's World Cup soccer
> finals (tournament) for the first time since 1958 after being
> eliminated by Sweden last week?
 
Italy
 
 
> 3. What is the name of the ride-sharing competitor to Über who
> announced that they plan to enter the Toronto market by the
> end of the year?
 
Lyft
 
> performed in-utero surgery on a baby to repair *what birth-defect
> condition* where there is incomplete closing of the backbone
> and membranes around the spinal cord?
 
spina bifida
 
> climate-science research?
 
> 6. What African country's military seized control of the government
> last week?
 
Zimbabwe
 
 
> 7. The American Heart Association and several other groups
> redefined high blood pressure as starting at what reading?
> Both numbers required.
 
135/85
 
 
> 10. Over 500 people were killed and thousands injured when a
> powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the border of
> *what two countries* last week?
 
Iran and Iraq
 
 
> * Game 10 (2017-11-27), Round 1 - Current Events
 
> 1. David Cassidy, a teen heartthrob of television and records,
> died last week at age 67. What hit TV show launched him to fame?
 
The Partridge Family
 
 
> 2. 83-year-old cult leader Charles Manson also died last week.
> In the summer of 1969, Manson and his followes murdered a total
> of nine people, including a well-known actress. Name her.
 
Sharon Tate
 
> UN tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity. In the
> 1990s he ordered massacres of Bosnian Musliums, and "ethnic
> cleansing" campaigns. Name him.
 
Ratko Mladic
 
> value recently. Last week it passed a new milestone, despite
> warnings of a currency bubble. In US dollars, what was the
> milestone value Bitcoin surpassed?
 
$10,000
 
 
--
Dan Tilque
Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com>: Nov 28 03:40AM -0800

I recently created three new wiki-lists:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_names_derived_from_acronyms_and_initialisms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_names_derived_from_portmanteaus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_names_derived_from_anagrams_and_ananyms
 
Ananyms are what I've always called a reversal. That is, a name created
by spelling some other name or word backwards.
 
The distinction I make between acronyms and initialisms is that acronyms
are abbreviations of some specific multi-word term, while initialisms
are from sets of names that can be reordered as needed. That's the way I
used them, anyway, because I couldn't come up with a good term for the
latter group. Acrostic is close, but those are usually the first letters
of words, sentences, lines, or paragraphs of some kind of text (often a
poem), so it didn't seem to quite fit.
 
Anyway, the main problem with them lists is that there are very few
entries from outside North America. The bulk of them are from the US and
there's a fair number from Canada. But there's less than 10 total on the
three lists combined from the rest of the world. (I counted 7, but may
have missed one or two. There's none at all in the anagram/ananym file.)
 
So I'm asking if anyone has any additions. You can either tell me or
make the additions yourself.
 
 
PS Pakistan and Benelux are already there, so I'll save you bother of
looking for those.
 
PPS There's a couple initialisms in recent use for some subsets of
European countries (e.g. PIIGS = Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and
Spain) but those are economic rather than geographic terms.
 
--
Dan Tilque
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Nov 28 09:13PM +0100

> there's a fair number from Canada. But there's less than 10 total on the
> three lists combined from the rest of the world. (I counted 7, but may
> have missed one or two. There's none at all in the anagram/ananym file.)
 
It might be because it is only in that part of the world, you get such
funny ideas. :-)
 
Or at least, such names are much more likely to be found in the New World,
than the Old, since places generally are younger and the history of the
name is known.
 
Over here, names have undergone transformation and reinterpreation
over the years. The most well-known example might be Constatinopel that
became Istanbul. Nearby where I grew up there is a place Åhus, which
you could read as "brook-house". However, I believe the original name
is Aros, which means nothing today, but originally meant "mouth of
brook". (Indeed, one arm of the province's biggest brooks runs to the
sea in Åhus.)
 
So there could be names that initially were for instance portmanteaus, but
you would easily recognize them as such.

I was able to think of one in list of Neighbourhood names. There is one
area in central Stockholm which sometimes is referred to as SOFO, which
would be "South of Folkungagatan". Maybe there also some relation to
Sofia, which is a church and a parish in that area. But it is not in general
use, and I have a sense it's mainly used by real estate agents, which
tends to come up with all sorts of chic names.
Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com>: Nov 21 10:26PM -0800

Erland Sommarskog wrote:
 
> Or at least, such names are much more likely to be found in the New World,
> than the Old, since places generally are younger and the history of the
> name is known.
 
Well, yes, I didn't expect a huge number of them from
Europe/Asia/Adfrica, but a few more than what I have. And maybe some
from Australia. That would be nice.
 
And I expect I'm missing some from Latin America. Don't have anything
from there except Mexicali, which is just across the border from Calexico.
 
 
> Over here, names have undergone transformation and reinterpreation
> over the years.
 
Yes, the preface of one book on place name etymology points out that New
World specialists work much like historians and hunt down primary
records, while Old World toponymologists (is that a word?) work more
like linguists reconstructing a dead language.
 
 
> Sofia, which is a church and a parish in that area. But it is not in general
> use, and I have a sense it's mainly used by real estate agents, which
> tends to come up with all sorts of chic names.
 
Yeah, I've already rejected a couple such which seemed to be only real
estate hype. (Everyone has to copy SoHo in NY. And they copied Soho in
London, but that wasn't an acronym.) There's probably some more that I
should have rejected on that basis, but it's hard to judge unless you
live in that metropolitan area.
 
 
--
Dan Tilque
Marc Dashevsky <usenet@MarcDashevsky.com>: Nov 28 12:36PM -0600

In article <ovjcr7$ngi$1@dont-email.me>, dtilque@frontier.com says...
 
> There may be something wrong with my newsfeed. I never saw the posting
> of this round and only see one set of answers (Pete Gayde's).
 
Me too. I use Eternal September for my news feed.
 
--
Replace "usenet" with "marc" in the e-mail address.
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Nov 28 08:35PM +0100


>> There may be something wrong with my newsfeed. I never saw the posting
>> of this round and only see one set of answers (Pete Gayde's).
 
> Me too. I use Eternal September for my news feed.
 
Yes, there were some hiccup on Eternal September starting Friday or so. I
noted in some other newsgroup when I went back in the thread that the
article number was a lot lower. I then found a similar thread in
rec.games.trivia, and thereby identified a old range with could have new
articles, and thereby I found Mark's for the Australia & Manitoba round.
But since I hardly knew any answers, I did not post any slate.
 
It seems that it is in back in order now.
Jason Kreitzer <jk71875@gmail.com>: Nov 28 03:20PM -0800

On Friday, November 24, 2017 at 7:50:11 PM UTC-5, Mark Brader wrote:
> this one? (Apart from the subject, obviously.)
 
> 10. Manitoba has an estimated population of 1,300,000. Where does
> that rank it among the provinces?
4th
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Nov 28 05:37PM -0600

If Jason Kreitzer had posted his answers on time, he would have
scored 0 on Round 2 and 0 on Round 3.
--
Mark Brader | "I don't care HOW you format char c; while ((c =
Toronto | getchar()) != EOF) putchar(c); ... this code is
msb@vex.net | a bug waiting to happen from the outset." -- Doug Gwyn
"Peter Smyth" <smythp@gmail.com>: Nov 28 04:54PM

Mark Brader wrote:
 
> Game 5 of the NBA finals. But they were all overshadowed
> by one athlete's run-in with the law. What was this event?
> Be specific, don't just name the athlete.
OJ Simpson car chase
> consider one of the most famous finals moments in sports history.
> A movie was made on the subject in 2009. Which country hosted
> the event?
South Africa
> They would meet in 80 matches, including 14 Grand Slam event
> finals. Both have 18 Grand Slam event final titles and have
> been inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. Name both players.
Chris Evert / Martina Navratilova
> 9. "One Night in Vegas" is about Mike Tyson and his friendship with
> this rapper, who was murdered after attending the Tyson-Sheldon
> fight in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. Who is this rapper?
Tupac Shakur
> performance at the 2000 Olympics, and her ultimate fall after
> admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2007. She was
> stripped of all her Olympic medals. Who is this athlete?
Marion Jones
 
Peter Smyth
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Nov 28 08:43PM +0100

> The band stayed in their home city and played at other sporting
> events until the city was rewarded with a new NFL franchise
> in 1996. What city?
 
Dallas

> Game 5 of the NBA finals. But they were all overshadowed
> by one athlete's run-in with the law. What was this event?
> Be specific, don't just name the athlete.
 
O.J Simpson was accused of murder

> consider one of the most famous finals moments in sports history.
> A movie was made on the subject in 2009. Which country hosted
> the event?
 
South Africa

> They would meet in 80 matches, including 14 Grand Slam event
> finals. Both have 18 Grand Slam event final titles and have
> been inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. Name both players.
 
Chris Evert & Martina Navratilova

> performance at the 2000 Olympics, and her ultimate fall after
> admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2007. She was
> stripped of all her Olympic medals. Who is this athlete?

M Jones
Jason Kreitzer <jk71875@gmail.com>: Nov 28 03:19PM -0800

On Monday, November 27, 2017 at 5:50:56 PM UTC-5, Mark Brader wrote:
> their numerical position, interspersed with the rest; answer the
> decoys if you like for fun, but for no points.
 
> 1. "Electric Chair" (1964).
Duchamp?
> 2. Untitled devil's head (1987).
> 3. "The Nightmare" (1781).
> 4. "The Face of War" (1940).
Dali?
> The band stayed in their home city and played at other sporting
> events until the city was rewarded with a new NFL franchise
> in 1996. What city?
Baltimore
> as he decided to directly challenge the NFL in an anti-monopoly
> lawsuit, and was awarded all of $3. What was the name of this
> league? (Short form acceptable.)
USFL
> overall in the 1986 NBA draft. This event would lead to the
> changing of the NBA's view on casual drug use in the league.
> What team was it that selected him in the draft?
Boston Celtics?
> Game 5 of the NBA finals. But they were all overshadowed
> by one athlete's run-in with the law. What was this event?
> Be specific, don't just name the athlete.
OJ Simpson's car chase
> They would meet in 80 matches, including 14 Grand Slam event
> finals. Both have 18 Grand Slam event final titles and have
> been inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. Name both players.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert-Lloyd
> 9. "One Night in Vegas" is about Mike Tyson and his friendship with
> this rapper, who was murdered after attending the Tyson-Sheldon
> fight in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. Who is this rapper?
2Pac
> performance at the 2000 Olympics, and her ultimate fall after
> admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2007. She was
> stripped of all her Olympic medals. Who is this athlete?
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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