String Theory set 09

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41. This book, which shares its name with a 2009 Hollywood movie based on it.

42. Fromage de chèvre (such as that seen in this photo), in English.

43. Picturesque phrase, first used by Groundskeeper Willie in a 1995 episode of 'The Simpsons' to describe the French, which has become something of a journalistic catchphrase since.

44. Three-word English name used for this tree, Araucaria araucana, supposedly from an early English viewer's reference to the difficulty the animal named would have in climbing it.

45. The name of the venerable old character in this movie clip (the one doing most of the talking). [Alternative link]

Answers to previous questions
040. Godmen
041. The Men Who Stare At Goats
042. Goat cheese
043. Cheese-eating surrender monkeys
044. Monkey Puzzle Tree
045. To be revealed later

String Theory set 08

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036. The title of this song. [Alternative link]

037. 1946 Arthur Crudup song which in 1954 became the A-side of Elvis's first single, vaulting him to instant fame. He continued to use it throughout his career as the opening number for many of his live performances.

038. A legislation passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005, largely due to the activism of people such as Arvind Kejriwal and Aruna Roy.

039. Legal term used in contracts, insurance policies, etc, for an event that's out of human control, such as a natural disaster.

040. Term used in India for people such as these:

Answers to previous questions

035. Pack That Smack

036. Smack That

037. That's All Right

038. Right to Information Act

039. Act of God

040. To be revealed later

String Theory set 07

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031. A three-word name used for professional barristers' associations in England, whose collective coat of arms is shown here (with the name in question blanked out on top).

032. Legal process common to the films shown here.

033. Imposed in China subsequent to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, in Iran immediately prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1978, in Ireland during the Easter Uprising of 1916 and in Pakistan every so often.

034. An ideal of the Cub Scouts, which reads thus:

The Cub Scout follows Akela.

The Cub Scout helps the ____ go.

The ____ helps the Cub Scout grow.

The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

The word that fills the blank (same word in both cases) is part of the name of this ideal.

035. The name of this Remo song. [Alternative link]

Answers to previous questions
030. Holiday Inn
031. Inns of Court
032. Court martial
033. Martial law
034. Law of the Pack
035. To be revealed later

 

String Theory 06

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026. The two English words I have erased on this logo.

027. The organisation whose logo this is, which releases the annual Failed States Index.

028. A two-word Latin term used for a period of historic calm that reigned in Europe from about 27BCE to 180CE.

029. In which Princess Ann spent an eventful day with expat American correspondent Joe Bradley, and made famous a certain mode of transport.

030. What a sign like this – found all over the US in the 1950s, '60s and '70s (and still to be seen here and there) – would point to (two words I have blanked out).

Answers to previous questions
025. Eye of Providence
026. Provident Fund
027. Fund For Peace
028. Pax Romana
029. Roman Holiday
030. To be revealed later

String Theory 05

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021. Ghost that's supposed to appear in a mirror if you stand in front of it and chant her name multiple times. Some of us would know it better in a different spirit-related context.

022. The commonly-used four-word name of the woman being led to her execution in this engraving, who had earlier succeeded her father James V to the throne.

023. The name of the character (the young guy doing most of the talking) in this movie clip.[Alternative link]

024. What these objects in a Turkish market are meant to protect against.

025. The three-word name of the symbol at the top of the pyramid in this US currency note, which includes the name of the capital of one of the US states.


Answers
020. There Will Be Blood
021. Bloody Mary
022. Mary, Queen of Scots
023. Scott Evil
024. Evil eye
025. To be revealed later

String Theory 04

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016. Since 1975, when it got its current name, this football championship has been won by Brazil 5 times, Uruguay 4 times, Argentina twice, and Peru, Paraguay and Colombia once each. The most recent edition, held in 2011, was won by Uruguay, with Luis Suarez (who else?) being adjudged Player of the Tournament.

017. Name shared by all of these (a movie, two music albums and a book).

018. The film in which this clip is part of the prologue. [Alternative link]

019. The title (the full title, mind you) of this book.

020. Oscar-winning 2007 film loosely based on this book.

Answers to previous questions
015. Calcutta Cup
016. Copa America
017. American Beauty
018. Beauty and the Beast
019. Beastly Tales from Here and There
020. To be revealed later

String Theory 03

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011. This is the logo of an Adidas line of clothing created for 'Wuji', a fitness programme conceptualised by whom?

012. The only Asian player ever to win a singles trophy at a seniors grand slam tennis tournament.

013. The chemical formula for caustic soda.

014. The title of this 1969 avant-garde stage show (be warned, nudity involved), taken from the name of a painting by Clovis Trouille, itself a pun on "O quel cul t'as!" French for "What an arse you have!" [Alternative link]

015. This exotic-looking trophy, awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between Scotland and England (currently in England's possession) and named after the location where the first such match took place.

Answers to previous questions

010. Spicejet

011. Jet Li

012. Li Na

013. NaOH

014. Oh, Calcutta!

015. To be revealed later

String Theory set 02

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006. Christian Bale's debut film – this one.

007. This religious leader with two heavenly bodies in his name, and a penchant for mass marriages.

008. This book, which made popular a libertarian acronym-slogan.

009. This movie, based on a novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

 010. Airline now majorly owned by the Kalanidhi Maran-run Sun Group, through something called Kal Airways Pvt Ltd.

Answers
005. Age of Empires
006. Empire of the Sun
007. Sun Myung Moon (only the full name gets points)
008. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
009. Mistress of Spices
010. To be revealed later

String Theory set 01

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001. The (apposite) name of this movie.

002. The title of this book

003. The name of this movie.

004. The movie this clip is part of the trailer for. [Alternative link]

005. The game this screen grab is from.

Answers
001. Born on the Fourth of July
002. Fourth of July Picnic

003. Picnic at Hanging Rock

004. Rock of Ages
005. To be revealed later

 
 

Weekend Workout (week starting June 23, 2014)

Public Relations
(remember: larger versions of all visuals can be seen by clicking on them)

1. While this person was himself no great shakes – having finished bottom of his class at West Point – and even his famous death was probably the result of poor military strategy, the American public came to see him as a tragic military hero and exemplary gentleman who sacrificed his life for his country. A significant contribution to this image was the work of his wife Elizabeth, who did much to advance this view with the publication of several books about her late husband: 'Boots and Saddles: Life with _______ ______ in Dakota' (1885), 'Tenting on the Plains' (1887), and 'Following the Guidon' (1891). Who?

2. As far as Test cricket is concerned, what uniquely connects these two people?

3. Born in 1922 into a family of landless peasants in Azinhaga, Portugal, , his parents were Jose de Sousa and Maria de Piedade. His father's family was known by a nickname – the Portuguese word for the wild radish – which was accidentally incorporated into his name during the registration of his birth. Identify this author.

4. In 1919, Mahashay Chuni Lal started selling a certain product range at a small shop in Sialkot. His wares soon gained fame, and his family came to be known as "Deggi Mirch Wale" (the Pot Chilli People). After the Partition of India, Mahashay Dharam Pal (the man in the photo), the son of the founder, shifted to Delhi and opened up his shop at Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh under the banner "_________ __ _____ of Sialkot (Deggi Mirch Wale)". What brand – now literally a household name – resulted from this enterprise?

 

5. Hopefully you know whose arm this is. If the first four coordinates stand, respectively, for places in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Namibia, what location do the last two (the most recent ones) represent? One point if you get the country right, two if you get the specific location.

6. What British tradition began in 1301 when Edward Caernarfon was invested with a certain title in London? Interestingly, he himself neglected to fulfill the tradition, but it was later revived by his son and has been followed ever since.

7. Which politician's wife is she, and which other politician's sister? [Half points for each]

8. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took on a federal case to fight a state injunction against this couple, Mildred and Richard Loving. Appropriately titled Loving vs Virginia, the federal case led to a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that state laws that discriminated against such cases were unconstitutional. As a result, what was legalised throughout the US in 1967 (until then it was illegal in 16 states)?

9. On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the largest collection of stars honouring one group of blood relatives is a widely-scattered set of seven representing the Y family: John Y, his brother Lionel Y (who has two), and sister Ethel Y, their uncle Sidney XY, John's son John XY and granddaughter XY. Name this last person.

10. This lady heads 'Gladrags' magazine and is one of the forces behind the Miss India annual beauty pageant. Her family is quite a bit in the news these days. Name her for the full point, or (for half a point) give just her surname.

Answers
1. Lt Colonel George Custer (he of the last stand)
2. The only two third-generation Test cricketers.
Dean Headley's father Ron also played for England, and his grandfather George represented the West Indies. Bazid Khan of Pakistan is the son of Pakistani batsman Majid Khan and grandson of Jahangir Khan, who played for India.
3. Jose Saramago 
4. MDH (which stands for Mahashian di Hatti) Masalas
You can see Mahashay Dharam Pal's photo above the logo on the box.

5. Nice, France
The arm is Angelina Jolie's, and the coordinates represent the birthplaces of her kids. The first four are those of her adopted children; her last two were twins born six years ago at a seaside hospital in Nice.
6. The tradition of naming the eldest son of the ruling monarch as the Prince of Wales. 
Edward Caernarfon was the son of King Edward I, and went on to become Edward II.
7. Sachin Pilot's wife and Omar Abdullah's sister Sara
8. Inter-racial marriages
9. Drew Barrymore
10. Maureen Wadia, wife of Nusli and father of Ness