- "I just hope God has a place for him where
he can run again. Where he can play practical jokes on his teammates
and smile that boyish smile, 'cause God knows, no one's perfect. And
God knows there's something special about heroes," was the
conclusion of Bob Costas' famous eulogy for this slugger. Although
leading the major leagues in home runs four times, his best power season
was overshadowed by that of a teammate. For 10 points--name this
sixteen-time all-star, an American League Triple Crown winner who
spent all 18 years of his career with the New York Yankees and fell
short during his race with Roger Maris for the single-season home run
record in 1961.
answer: Mickey Mantle
(prompt on early answer of Bob Costas or eulogy or any reasonable
combination of the two)
- This 1919 novel describes a self-deluded man who
adopts a blind orphaned girl of about 15 years of age. The man
proceeds to teach her words, concepts and the principles of music. He
soon finds that not only has he fallen in love with her, but so has
his son. The girl soon realizes that their companionship distresses
the man's wife, and discovers that the world isn't as carefree as
Beethoven's symphony would suggest. After undergoing surgery to
restore her eyesight, the girl throws herself into a river in anguish
for having fallen in love with the wrong man. For 10 points--name this
book written by Andre Gide, whose namesake is a famous piece of
music.
answer: La Symphonie Pastorale
or The Pastoral Symphony
- Born December 31, 1815 in Cadiz, Spain, he would
become "noted for his firm justice" as commander of the 3rd
military district in the South after the American Civil War. His
primary claim to fame, however, is as the first effective commander of
the Army of the Potomac--though in this he was eclipsed by Grant who
became de facto commander of his army toward the end of the war. For
10 points--name this Union general who repulsed Robert E. Lee at
Gettysburg.
answer: George Gordon Meade
- D. A. B. F sharp. G. Low D. G. A. Back to D.
For 10 points--this series of notes, repeated over and over, forms one of
the many layers of melody in what classical piece, whose title
refers to the type of composition which commonly employs such
layering, written by Johann Pachelbel?
answer: Canon in D
(prompt on Pachelbel's Canon)
- Herodotus believed that they descended from
invaders from Anatolia before 800 BC, whereas Dionysius of
Halicarnassus believed that the they were of local Italian
origin. They established their capital at Felsina, modern-day
Bologna. For 10 points--name this civilization that is best
known for their Tarquin Dynastry from 616 to 510 BC.
answer: Etruscans
- Born in 1879 to Icelandic parents, he lived for a
year among the Eskimo in 1906 and learned their ways. On his second
expedition he discovered a race of mysterious blond, blue-eyed Eskimo,
and on his third expedition he discovered the last unknown Canadian
islands. For 10 points--name this explorer and author of The
Friendly Arctic who proved it was possible to cross the Arctic
Circle without carrying food supplies.
answer: Vilhjalmur (Vil-hyal-mer)
Stefansson
- The name's the same. The plant genus containing
the seedwell and the officinalis. The saint, according to legend, who
gave Jesus Christ her kerchief to wipe his brow as he was carrying his
cross to Golgotha. Lodge was a pampered rich girl, much to the
chagrin of her blonde counterpart Betty. For 10 points--what first
name is shared by Chase, whose "closet" featured in an NBC sitcom
starring Kirstie Alley?
answer: Veronica
- "He grabbed his umbrella, and her
attention." This is an example of--for 10 points--what six-letter
figure of speech, wherein a word is used to refer to two words but is
appropriate only to one of them, or is appropriate to each but in a
different way?
answer: zeugma
- This queen aroused the wrath of Aphrodite by
comparing her beauty to that of the goddess, and was cursed with a
penchant for bestiality. In order to fulfill her desires, she enlisted
the aid Daedalus, who constructed a mechanical
cow suit she could wear to approach prize bulls. For 10 points--name
this wife of King Minos of Crete, and mother of the Minotaur.
answer: Queen Pasiphae
- She married Charles Stetson, an artist, but she
was ill-suited to marriage and eventually moved to Pasadena,
California, and divorced him. Best known in her life for works such
as Women and Economics, this writer and relative of Harriet
Beecher Stowe is now known for her short story which depicts a woman's
descent into insanity. For 10 points--name this author of "The Yellow
Wallpaper."
answer: Charlotte Perkins
Gilman
- This film drew much of its premise and content,
including its pivotal shoot-out scene, from other films such as
Lain and Ghost in the Shell, Japanese animes which
lend their surreal character to this 1999 film. All references to
street corners, such as "Wells and Lake," are real intersections in
Chicago, but the movie was filmed in Sydney. For 10 points--identify
this cyber-thriller which contains a rather unusual product placement
for Duracell batteries, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers
and starring Keanu Reeves.
answer: The Matrix
- Yellow and black were its government's official
colors. Secessionists, however, took up the red and white coat of arms
of the Crosslands family. They eventually lost the fight for control
in--for 10 points--what state, whose modern flag combines both coats
of arms, those of the paternal and maternal families of George
Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore?
answer: Maryland
- The scene is of a grassy lawn flanked on the left
by a waterway busy with various boats, and a stand of trees appears in
the background. The figures are mostly women and children, clad in
typical Victorian dress and several clutch sun umbrellas. Everyone is
enjoying a pleasant day of strolling or picnicking; no one seems to
notice that the entire scene is composed of confetti-sized dots of
color. For 10 points--name this painting that resides at the Art
Insitute in Chicago, painted by Georges Seurat.
answer: A Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La
Grande Jatte (there are several variations on the
title, but the bold words are required)
- Most modern buildings are equipped with these
devices; there may even be some in the room you are in right now.
They are the descendants of an invention made developed in 1860 by the
French scientist Alexandre Becquerel. He applied a chemical that
glowed when electricity passed through it to the inside of a glass
tube. For 10 points--identify this popular alternative to incandescent
lights?
answer: fluorescent lights
(accept equivalents)
- Sir Hugh Walpole. Dashiell Hammett. John Dos
Passos. William Somerset Maugham. e. e. cummings. Ernest Hemingway. During
World War I, all of these authors shared--for 10 points--what other profession?
answer: ambulance driver
- Alan Strang is a disturbed young man whose
feelings about his overly religious mother and atheist father drive
him to develop a religious passion for the title animal. Martin Dysart
is the psychoanalyst who treats Alan after he blinds several horses
with a spike in--for 10 points--what 1974 Tony-Award-winning Peter Shaffer
play?
answer: Equus
- This system, whose name is derived from Buddhist
philosophy, was confirmed by the discovery of the omega-minus
particle, earning Murray Gell-Mann the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics,
and eventually led to the discovery of quarks. For 10 points--name
this system that uses group theory to classify sub-atomic
particles.
answer: The Eightfold Way
- When God looked down on the souls that had
been created, he noticed some were a bit, well, cracked. So he
sent an angel to collect the cracked souls in a large sack, and
carry them back to heaven for repair. The angel collected the
souls, but as he flew back to heaven, the sack caught on the peak
of a tall mountain and ripped, spilling the souls down the
mountain into the valley below. For 10 points--his is the story of the
creation
of which town of fools, popular in Jewish folklore?
answer: Chelm
- Although it was originally intended as the first
in a trilogy, the author released this novel as a stand-alone work after
adding only a page-and-a-half-long coda. It became her most critically
acclaimed novel, earning her a Pulitzer Prize. Eventually, it was
turned into a motion picture starring Oprah Winfrey. For 10
points--name this novel by Toni Morrison.
answer: Beloved
- Its flag features a red field with an emblem
consisting of three legs joined at the hip in the center. With its
capital at Douglas, it is situated midway between England, Scotland,
Ireland, and Wales. For 10 points--name this part of the British
Isles, the island where a breed of tailless cats is believed to have
originated.
answer: The Isle of Man