Popocatépetl. What Else Can You Say, It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Popocatépetl indeed. Good luck if you can pronounce it let alone answer the question about it.

But don’t let that put you off. There are a lot more easier questions than that in today’s quiz. And of course a few harder ones just to make it a little bit challenging.

As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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quiz 10

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Q.  1:  Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?

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Q.  2:  In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?

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Q.  3:  What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?

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Q.  4:  In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?

 

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Q.  5:  What is the home of a squirrel called?

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Q.  6:  Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?

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Q.  7:  In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?

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Q.  8:  What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?

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Q.  9:  What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?

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Q. 10:  George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?

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Q. 11:  Who is the Greek Goddess of love?

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Q. 12:  What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?

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Q. 13:  Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?

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Q. 14:  What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?

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Q. 15:  Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?

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Q. 16:  Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?

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Q. 17:  Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?

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Q. 18:  Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’

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Q. 19:  What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?

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Q. 20:  What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?

A.  1:  John Steinbeck.

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Q.  2:  In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?

A.  2:  Orienteering.

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Q.  3:  What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?

A.  3:  Cairo.

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Q.  4:  In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?

A.  4:  A dance and the music to accompany it.

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Q.  5:  What is the home of a squirrel called?

A.  5:  A Drey.

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Q.  6:  Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?

A.  6:  Attila the Hun.

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Q.  7:  In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?

A.  7:  Mexico.

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Q.  8:  What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?

A.  8:  11.

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Q.  9:  What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?

A.  9: Building his Dream House. The original 1948 movie starring Cary Grant called ‘Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House’ was remade in 1986 as ‘The Money Pit’ starring Tom Hanks.

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Q. 10:  George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?

A. 10:  Horses.

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Q. 11:  Who is the Greek Goddess of love?

A. 11:  Aphrodite.

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Q. 12:  What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?

A. 12:  Semicircles.

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Q. 13:  Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?

A. 13:  Geyser.

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Q. 14:  What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?

A. 14:  Velvet.

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Q. 15:  Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?

A. 15:  String.

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Q. 16:  Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?

A. 16:  Fetlock.

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Q. 17:  Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?

A. 17:  Sir Robert Walpole.

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Q. 18:  Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’

A. 18:  Keanu Reeves.

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Q. 19:  What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?

A. 19:  Edible seaweed.

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Q. 20:  What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?

A. 20:  Jane.

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Maine, Minnesota and Missouri? – It Must Be Fasab Fact Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes it is fasab fact day. Another random selection of interesting things, some of which you may know some you may not.

The only way you will find out is by taking a look.

Enjoy.

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did you know5

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Maine is the only state that

borders on only one state.

Maine map

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The only person ever to decline a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

was Sinclair Lewis for his book Arrowsmith.

Sinclair Lewis Arrowsmith

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Michigan was the first state to plow it’s roads

and the first to adopt a yellow dividing line.

Michigan road with yellow line

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The word ‘byte’ is a contraction of ‘by eight.’

byte

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The roads on the island of Guam are made with coral.

Guam has no sand. The sand on the beaches is actually ground coral.

When concrete is mixed, the coral sand is used instead of

importing regular sand from thousands of miles away.

roads on the island of Guam

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The shortest verse in the Bible

is “Jesus wept.” John 11:35

John 11.35

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Zaire is the world leader in cobalt mining,

producing two-thirds of the world’s cobalt supply.

cobalt mining Zaire

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The St. Louis Gateway Arch had a

projected death toll while it was being built.

No one died.

missouri-st-louis-gateway-arch

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Vincent Van Gogh comitted suicide

while painting Wheat Field with Crows.

Wheat Field with Crows

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Jelly Belly jelly beans were the first jelly beans in outer space

when they went up with astronauts in the June 21, 1983 voyage

of the space shuttle Challenger

(the same voyage as the first American woman in space, Sally Ride).

Jelly Belly jelly beans

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A flea expert is a pullicologist.

pullicologist

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The Dodge brothers Horace and John were Jewish,

that’s why the first Dodge emblem had a star of David in it.

first Dodge emblem

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Ham radio operators got the term “ham”

coined from the expression “ham-fisted operators”,

a term used to describe early radio users who sent Morse code

(i.e. pounded their fists).

Ham radio operators

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The word “hangnail” comes from Middle English:

ang- (painful) + nail. Nothing to do with hanging.

hangnail

 

 

It’s almost hard to believe it,

but the quintessential Tom Hanks role

as Forrest Gump was initially offered to

John Travolta who declined to take part in the film.

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Yesterday The Super Bowl – Today The Super Quiz!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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First of all congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks who won their first Super Bowl by crushing the Denver Broncos 43-8, in a rather one-sided game yesterday.

Today it’s the super quiz and this won’t be so easy.

Yes, another random selection of questions, a lot of which will set you a challenge I think.

As usual if you get stuck the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz 07

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Q.  1:  Who won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anthropophagus?

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Q.  2:  The Komodo dragon takes its name from as island in which country?

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Q.  3:  Which car company built the classic ‘1962 250 GT Berlinetta Boxer’ automobile?

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Q.  4:  Name the country from which the soup ‘Gazpacho’ originated?

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Q.  5:  Name the fictional detective associated with ‘Miss Felicity Lemon’?

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Q.  6:  In which famous movie would you find  a robot called ‘Marvin’?

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Q.  7:  ‘Winter’, ‘Secret’, ‘Dirty’, ‘Pastry’, ‘Cola’, ‘Pig’, ‘Honey’, ‘Football’, ‘Rif’ and ‘Cod’ are all examples of what?

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Q.  8:  What sauce is made from the plant ‘Armorica rusticana’?

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Q.  9:  Which of these is a comic character who appears in three plays by Shakespeare?

           a) Rifle            b) Musket            c) Pistol      

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Q. 10:  Rather appropriately for this month, the following line ‘February made me shiver‘ is found in which song?

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Q. 11:  Contestants from which South American country have won the most Miss Universe titles?

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Q. 12:  Which of these actors has won the most Best Actor Oscars?

            a) Tom Hanks        b) Kevin Spacey        c) Daniel Day Lewis        d) Jeff Bridges

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Q. 13:  John James Audubon is famous for his paintings of what?

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Q. 14:  Which large sea in the south-western Pacific Ocean is named after a German?

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Q. 15:  ‘Monique Delacroix’ was the mother of which debonair hero?

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Q. 16:  What is the name and the color of Jim Henson’s most famous creation?

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Q. 17:  This word is the name for a magnificent palace, a variety of apple and a person or thing without equal, what is it?

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Q. 18:  Name the movie in which Michael Caine plays ‘Lt Gonville Bromhead’?

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Q. 19:  What does a woman raise and hold up in a ‘Pabana’?

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Q. 20:  Which very famous soothing English song uses the melody from Mozart’s ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Who won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anthropophagus?

A.  1:  Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, an anthropophagus is a cannibal.

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Q.  2:  The Komodo dragon takes its name from as island in which country?

A.  2:  Indonesia. (Probably because of the name a lot of people guess Japan.)

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Q.  3:  Which car company built the classic ‘1962 250 GT Berlinetta Boxer’ automobile?

A.  3:  Ferrari.

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Q.  4:  Name the country from which the soup ‘Gazpacho’ originated?

A.  4:  Spain. (You also get a point if you said Portugal.)

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Q.  5:  Name the fictional detective associated with ‘Miss Felicity Lemon’?

A.  5:  Hercule Poirot.

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Q.  6:  In which famous movie would you find  a robot called ‘Marvin’?

A.  6:  ‘A Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’.

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Q.  7:  ‘Winter’, ‘Secret’, ‘Dirty’, ‘Pastry’, ‘Cola’, ‘Pig’, ‘Honey’, ‘Football’, ‘Rif’ and ‘Cod’ are all examples of what?

A.  7:  They are all names of different wars.

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Q.  8:  What sauce is made from the plant ‘Armorica rusticana’?

A.  8:  Horseradish.

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Q.  9:  Which of these is a comic character who appears in three plays by Shakespeare?

           a) Rifle            b) Musket            c) Pistol            

A.  9:  c) Pistol. (Pistol (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is married to Mistress Quickly, and is a soldier in conflict with Fluellen, in Henry V.)

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Q. 10:  Rather appropriately for this month, the following line ‘February made me shiver‘ is found in which song?

A. 10:  American Pie (Don McLean).

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Q. 11:  Contestants from which South American country have won the most Miss Universe titles?

A.  11:  Venezuela (6, in 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008 and 2009).

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Q. 12:  Which of these actors has won the most Best Actor Oscars?

            a) Tom Hanks        b) Kevin Spacey        c) Daniel Day Lewis        d) Jeff Bridges

A. 12:  c) Daniel Day Lewis

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Q. 13:  John James Audubon is famous for his paintings of what?

A. 13:  Birds.  (An original copy of his book ‘Birds of America’ sold in London at Sotheby’s for a record £7,321,250 (approximately $11.5 million) on 6 December 2010.)

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Q. 14:  Which large sea in the south-western Pacific Ocean is named after a German?

A. 14:  The Bismarck Sea.

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Q. 15:  ‘Monique Delacroix’ was the mother of which debonair hero?

A. 15:  James Bond.

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Q. 16:  What is the name and the color of Jim Henson’s most famous creation?

A. 16:  Kermit the Frog and he is green.

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Q. 17:  This word is the name for a magnificent palace, a variety of apple and a person or thing without equal, what is it?

A. 17:  Nonsuch.

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Q. 18:  Name the movie in which Michael Caine plays ‘Lt Gonville Bromhead’?

A. 18:  Zulu.

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Q. 19:  What does a woman raise and hold up in a ‘Pabana’?

A. 19:  Her skirt. The Pabana (or Peacock dance) is a solemn and stately Spanish dance.

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Q. 20:  Which very famous soothing English song uses the melody from Mozart’s ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’?

A. 20:  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

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Clever Celebrity Caricatures

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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As most of you know, the main focus of this blog is on the stupidity of the politicians and bureaucrats who do all that they can to make our lives less enjoyable and free than they could be without such unwanted and idiotic interference.

Occasionally, however, I like to feature quite the opposite, things and people who are exceptional in their chosen field, whether that be science, sport, engineering, music or whatever.

Today’s post is one of the latter and is a wonderful selection of caricatures that I received in a recent email. Unfortunately I don’t know the names of the exceptional artists who did these drawings, otherwise I would be more than happy to acknowledge them. Nonetheless I think as wide an audience as possible deserves to be able to view their work and what follows I hope will be a small part of that.

Enjoy, I think you will. And if you feel the urge please let me know you favorite or favorites.

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Caricatures.

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Einstein

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Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown

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Barack Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Benedikt XVI and Prince Charles

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George W Bush and Vladimir Poetin

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Bill Clinton and Gerhard Schroder

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Donald Trump and Bill Gates

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Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali

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Pablo Picasso and Karl Lagerfeld

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Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock .

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Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski

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Angela Jolie and Brad Pitt.

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Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich.

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Bill Murray and Bruce Willis

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Christopher Walken

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Clint Eastwood and George Clooney

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Humphrey Bogart and Harrison Ford

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Jack Nicholson and Jamie Lee Curtis

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John Wayne and Klaus Kinski

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Lee Marvin and Marilyn Monroe

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Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage

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Paul Newman and Orson Wells

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Penelope Cruz and Robert de Niro

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Rowan Atkinson and Sarah Jessica Parker

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Sean Connery and Sophia Loren

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Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise.

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Tom Hanks and Uma Thurman

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Whoopi Goldberg and Bruce Lee

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Bjork and David Bowie

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Chet Baker

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Dolly Parton and Duke Ellington

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Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton

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James Brown and John Lenon

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Keith Richards and Kylie Minogue

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Lou Reed and Michael Jackson

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Madonna

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Mick Jagger and Neil Young

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Paul McCartney and Steve Tyler

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Tina Turner and Katarina Witt

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THE END

(Copyright to all drawings belong to the original artists)

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The Terminal Man

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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In case you were wondering, this post has nothing to do with Michael Crichton’s mind control novel with the same title. Rather it is about people with no minds trying to control the rest of us.

Strange, as well as stupid, people feature on the fasab blog.

None come stranger than Mehran Karimi Nasseri, also known as Sir, Alfred Mehran (yes, including the comma).

Nasseri is an Iranian refugee who was expelled from Iran in 1977 for protests against the Shah. After a long battle, involving applications in several countries, he was awarded refugee status by the United Nations High Commission for refugees in Belgium which permitted him residence in any European country.

He claimed to have one British parent, although he produced no evidence to support this, and decided to settle in the UK in 1986.  But en route to there, in 1988, he claimed that he was mugged and his shoulder bag stolen while waiting at the RER platform to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport to take a flight to Heathrow.

When he tried to go to the United Kingdom, Nasseri managed to board the plane, but when he arrived at Heathrow, London without the necessary documentation, immigration officials sent him back to Charles de Gaulle airport.

Unable to prove his identity, or his refugee status, to the French officials, he was initially arrested and moved to the Zone d’attente (waiting zone), a holding area for travelers who do not have papers. However, due to the fact that his entry to the airport was legal he was released, but, since he had no country of origin to be returned to, he began his residence in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport on August 8, 1988.

Mr. Nasseri’s predicament was made into a movie in 1993 entitled ‘Tombes du Ciel’, starring Jean Rochefort, Ticky Holgado, and Marisa Paredes. And he was reportedly the inspiration behind the 2004 movie ‘The Terminal’, starring Tom Hanks.

However, unlike Hanks’ character in the movie, and since at least 1994, Nasseri did not live in the duty-free transit area, but simply in the departure hall, in the circular boutiques and restaurants passage on the lowest floor.

Theoretically he could leave the terminal at any moment, although, since everyone knew him, his departure might not remain unnoticed. He did not seem to speak with anyone normally.

With his cart and bags, he almost looked like a traveler, so people either did not notice him or ignored him as if he were a homeless person. Airport workers were kind enough to give him food.

In 1992, his case was taken on by French human rights lawyer Christian Bourget. However, in one of those absurd rulings that idiot bureaucrats and judges can only dream up, the French courts ruled that, having entered the country legally, he could not be expelled from the airport, but neither could it grant him permission to enter France.

Attempts were then made to have new documents issued from Belgium, but the authorities there would only do so if Nasseri presented himself in person. However, under Belgian law a refugee who voluntarily leaves a country that has accepted him cannot return.

In 1995, the Belgian authorities granted permission for him to return, but only if he agreed to live there under supervision of a social worker. Nasseri refused this on the grounds of wanting to enter the UK as originally intended.

In July 2006, eighteen years later (yes, that’s 18 years!) Nasseri’s stay at the Charles de Gaulle Airport ended when he was hospitalized and his sitting place dismantled.

Towards the end of January 2007, he left the hospital and was looked after by the airport’s branch of the French Red Cross. He was lodged for a few weeks in a hotel close to the airport.

On March 6, 2007, he transferred to an Emmaus charity reception centre in Paris’s twentieth arrondissement. As far as I know he may still be there.

And you thought US immigration took a long time!

The Terminal Man - Mehran Karimi Nasseri
The Terminal Man – Mehran Karimi Nasseri