Sunday, November 2, 2008

Landmark '08 - Bangalore Edition

Hi !

Last year, eleventh hour antics ensured that we were in the Chowdiah Memorial Hall with seats to boot. This year though, owing to an impulse of mine I can't quite slot now, the hours leading up to the event were laden with ennui. As is customary with us, we hadn't thought of a team name beforehand. After considerable deliberation, we came up with 'We don't believe in Bengalooru (Bangalore sounds better)' and it seemed like the three of us were finally happy with a team name after ages. From there, it was roses all the way, to borrow a cliché.

To begin with, Naveen Jayakumar was the quizmaster for the evening and that in itself augured well for the quiz. It also gave me something to look forward to for I hadn't been to his quiz before. He didn't disappoint and hit all the right notes, to the delight of a rapturous audience. He also managed the quizmaster's boomerang, where a question passes all and sundry (including the collective might of the audience) and the answer is revealed by the quizmaster quite palpably gung-ho.

As events unfurled, 'We are like this only' won it by the meagre margin of 3 points. The unfortunate team in question was 'Obama Satyabhama' whose rare blunder on a buzzer that pulled them back by 5 might have made the difference. QED, whose presence on stage nearly everyone present takes for granted, weren't far behind either tailing OS by 2 points. 'We ...' and 'OS' get to participate in the Grand Finals at Chennai on the 15h of August next year.

There was a round involving 20 visuals connected by one word. The degree of connection would get more direct and simpler as the visuals progressed from the 1st to the 20th. Points were allotted based on the number of visuals remaining when the connection was worked out by a particular team. Can't remember the order of the visuals and there are about 16 of them here.














Zed

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Hints for Visuals - Quiz 6

1. Crafty, this guy who came up with something pretty fast

4. The connection is a movie. I'm adding another class of snake to the 4 in the collage, this time with the name - Viper.

5. "Don't fight in here gentlemen, it's the war room"

9. The woman in the B & W pic is Audrey Hepburn. The lady in black is a fashionista.

10. Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar


Zed

Monday, October 20, 2008

Correction in Visuals - Quiz 6

Hi !

I've not kept abreast of the updates. So there's a mistake in Question 6.

6. What happened twice a day (once before and once after noon) between 1919 and 2004 at the premises of this firm ? (This firm has stepped out of the business)

Zed

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Visuals - Quiz 6

October 18, 2008

Hi !

A motley bunch of visuals again ...

1. What 'term' (now an English word) connects the two pictures ? It features twice on the name board of the bus. I've blanked it out.

Hint - Hawaii




2. The plaque below the sculpture proclaims "Innocent Victims". Which duo does this sculpture depict and where can it be found ?







3. Which character in contemporary Indian cinema was modeled on the person seen in the picture ? The other images are connected to this person.





4. What connects the images in the collage ?





5. Connect the two brands to the person in the picture.




6. What happens twice a day (once before noon and once after) at the premises of this firm ?




7. What is the claim to fame of the cricketer shown below ?



8. Straightforward. Identify this dance form. It's name literally means "song of a nature-spirit".




9. Connect these four women.



10. Identify the person (head encircled with white) in the painting.

(Hint - Priory of Sion in 'The Da Vinci Code')



Have fun !

Zed

Answers - Wikimapia Visuals - Quiz 5

Hi !

These are the answers for the Wikimapia Quiz

1. O2 Arena, London (Formerly the Millennium Dome)

2. Atomium, Brussels

3. Louvre Pyramid, Paris

4. CN (Canada's National) Tower, Toronto

5. Red Square with the Kremlin and Lenin's mausoleum, Moscow

6. Saint Peter's Basilica (in Saint Peter's Piazza), Vatican City

7. Burj Al Arab, Dubai

8. Stonehenge, Wiltshire

9. Tower Bridge, London

10. Marina Bay Street Circuit / Singapore Street Circuit


Here's the gist of the scores,

Prithvi - all correct except for Atomium
Saravanan - all correct except for Atomium
Vasanth - got atomium, louvre, burj, stonehenge, singapore circuit
Venkatesh - all correct except singapore circuit


Zed

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Answers to Visuals - Quiz 4

Hi !

Here are the answers for Quiz 4.

1. Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down
The painting is 'Pollice Verso' (Often misspelled as Police Verso. In Latin, this translates to 'with a turned thumb) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. It refers to the hand gesture used by ancient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator.

2. Munich Air Disaster of 1958
The British European Airways Flight crashed on its third attempt to take off from Munich Airport. This plane contained the Manchester United Football team along with supporters and journalists many of whom were killed. This team was nicknamed 'Busby's Babes' (hence the clue) owing to the fact they were all hand-picked from various levels by legendary ManU Manager Matt Busby.
The 1st pic shows a young Bobby Charlton recuperating after the crash.
The 2nd pic shows Duncan Edwards who survived the crash but died due to injuries 15 days later. This was the man people still refer to fondly as 'our lone equal to Pele'. In his brief career, he was considered to have been that good.
The 3rd pic shows the journos and supporters about to board the ill-fated flight.

3. Viagra

4. Bruce Wayne (alter-ego of Batman)
Named after Robert the Bruce and 'Mad' Anthony Wayne
The former is probably Scotland's most famous king. He led them in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England and ruled from 1306-1329.
The latter was a 18th century US Army General whose exploits during the American Revolutionary War earned him the nickname 'Mad Anthony'

5. Newman's Own
Paul Newman's food company whose proceeds will go entirely to charity.

6. To Kill A MockingBird (novel by Harper Lee)
The 1st pic shows a MockingBird.
The 2nd pic shows a Woodpecker pecking. The actor Gregory Peck played the role of the novel's hero Atticus Finch.
The 3rd pic shows a Finch.

7. The Coldplay album 'Viva La Vida or Death and all his Friends'
The 1st pic shows Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) who is married to Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay.
The 2nd pic shows Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter (portrayed in the film 'Frida' by Salma Hayek) who painted 'Viva La Vida'. The painting is used as the artwork for the album cover.

8. South Park

9. Didgeridoo (an Aboriginal wind instrument)

10. Sydney Opera House


Zed

Wikimapia Visuals - Quiz 5

October 11, 2008

Hi !

The last visual from the previous set got me thinking and here it is ... a Wikimapia Quiz

If there are multiple monuments in a screen-shot that you are think are worthy of being named (very unlikely in this set), focus on the ones with an orange border except for the last visual. Those are the ones that I want you to name.

1.


2.

3.

4.

5. Probably the most nondescript of the lot. So here's a hint - It's considered an offence to have your hands within pockets when you visit this place.


6.


7.

8.


9.

10.


Have fun !

Zed