Saturday 31 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 94

Connect, again.

1.

ntt-docomo

2.

Super_Mario_Bros

3.

blast

4.

anchor

As usual, filenames have not been changed for your convenience.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***************************

Once again, lotsa answers, but some went off track.

The connection this time is Mushroom.

  1. The mascot of TTN Docomo is a mushroom named Docomodrake.
  2. The entire Super Mario Brothers series is based on how the brothers try to rescue a princess, and gain superpowers by eating a certain type of mushroom. This type of mushroom is actually poisonous, and causes hallucinations when eaten.
  3. Of course, it’s a mushroom cloud.
  4. And obviously, this is a mushroom anchor.

Friday 30 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 93

Connect.

1.

Simon_and_Garfunkel

2.

itchy and scratchy

3.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Number 3 appears because something did not happen in it due to legal hassles. And by the way, I have deliberately kept the filenames unchanged.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**********************

Clearly, not too many takers for this one…

It’s Tom and Jerry!

These guys:

tom and jerry

  1. Simon and Garfunkel had initially decided to call themselves Tom and Jerry.
  2. The Itchy and Scratchy Show, which is a part of The Simpsons, is a tribute to Tom and Jerry. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening wanted this show, which Bart, Lisa and Maggie see on TV, to be a ‘cartoon within a cartoon’.
  3. The producers of Who Framed Roger Rabbit wanted all cartoons, including Tom and Jerry, to appear in the film. However, Tom and Jerry could not be incorporated into the film due to legal hassles.

Thursday 29 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 92

Once again, identify, but only the bespectacled gentleman!

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***************************

Sorry for not having been able to put up this question on FaceBook.

And sorry Shivani, but where did you spot the ZooZoo?

This is Hayao Miyazaki, the animator, often referred to by many as the Walt Disney of Japan.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 91

Another straight question.

Identify…

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**************************

Yes, this is indeed Kevin Carter.

And this is what he is famous for:

child and vulture

This photograph, taken by him in Sudan, and published in the New York Times in 1993, got hundreds of thousands of dollars to pour into the famine-stricken country.

As for how this photograph was taken, it is said that this famished girl was following her parents into a small medical facility where Carter was sitting. After a point of time, she must have become too tired and this is how she began to rest, when a vulture swooped down and waited for the girl to die. It is not known what became of her, but at least this much is known that she made it to her parents that day. After taking the photo, Carter apparently started crying. This, and other similar scenes captured by him on camera, sent him deep into depression, and he committed suicide just about a year after taking this very photograph!

For some reasons, his detractors were not pleased with this photograph. They compared Carter with the vulture, and said that he too was like the vulture because he only looked for a photo opportunity, and did not help the child!

Tuesday 27 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 90

Simple one. Identify…

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*******************************

Lotsa answers. Yes, this is the logo of the 2011 ICC World Cup.

icc lo1

Monday 26 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 89

Connect:

1.

Sonam Kapoor

2.

gurinder chadha

3. A.

66ème Festival de Venise (Mostra)

3. B.

emma thompson

4.

cookies 

It’s like this: connect 1, 2, 3A + 3B, and 4.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

************************

Several answers. And one by Mangai that went off in a totally different direction, although I would not blame him for it.

The answer I was looking for was Jane Austen.

  1. Sonam Kapoor’s next film Aisha is based on Austen’s novel Emma.
  2. Gurinder Chadha’s film Bride and Prejudice was based on Pride and Prejudice, also by Austen.
  3. Ang Lee (A) directed the film version of Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, and Emma Thompson (B), won an Oscar for writing the script of the film.
  4. These are Janeite cookies, part of anything that commemorates or celebrates Jane Austen and her works.

Sunday 25 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 88

Simply identify.

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*********************

Identified by all, except one.

These are indeed the Warner Brothers!

Saturday 24 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 87

Dry connect.

  • 150 characters appear regularly, but only six people voice most of them.
  • These six people earned less than $100,000 per episode up until 1998. Now they earn $400,000 per episode.
  • It holds the record for the most guest appearances.
  • The opening sequences help even out the duration of the episodes. Depending on the episode, the opening sequences can be as short as just five seconds, or as long as 46 seconds!

What am I talking about?

**************

I did not get time to post this question on facebook, so it remains open for another day.

**************

Yes. Despite faltering, correct answers all around! This is The Simpsons!

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this:

simpsons

Wednesday 21 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 86

Since a lot of you chose to simply identify Heath Ledger in the previous question, here’s a question featuring him. Connect:

1.

US NEWS OBIT-LEDGER 1 ABA

2.

2

3.

3

4.

4

5.

5

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

********************************

Sorry for the delay, folks, but my internet connection at home was down, and I never use the office connection for blogging.

And it is heartening to see answers trickling in even before the question has been posted on FB.

Yes, the answer this time is Joker, or some other variant.

  1. Heath Ledger somewhat immortalised Joker in The Dark Night.
  2. Novak Djokovic is called The Djoker for his hilarious and somewhat irritating ways.
  3. Raj Kapoor’s flop magnum opus was called Mera Naam Joker.
  4. Rajeev Khandelwal is going to star in a film with Prachi Desai called Main Joker.
  5. That is the Joker butterfly.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 85

Giacomo X (1725 – 1798) was a great womaniser of his time.

Born in Venice to parents who were both actors, Giacomo was the first of six children.

His first sexual contact was at the age of 11, with his primary tutor’s sister. His first complete sexual encounter was with two sisters together, when the sisters were just 14 and 16 years old!

Strangely enough, Giacomo seemed to feel nothing else when it came to sexual encounters. At one point of time, he even had sex with his daughter! And when the daughter’s mother pointed this out to him, he proposed that they have a threesome! They ended up doing it, and Giacomo even describes it all in great detail in his part autobiography part memoir Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life).

Ultimately, due to his womanising and gambling, his family name X has now become synonymous with anyone who is a womaniser or a playboy.

Identify X.

Hint: Why so serious?

US NEWS OBIT-LEDGER 1 ABA

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*********************************

Quite a few of the answers identified Heath Ledger correctly, but totally forgot about his 2005 film Casanova, which he may have been in real life, given his looks and nature. Yes, Casanova was what I was looking for.

Monday 19 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 84

The titanic was designed to compete in design with X. Ironically, although Titanic sank first, X too sank a few years later.

More specifically, X was sunk by torpedoes from Nazi U-Boats, with the Nazis claiming that X was carrying ammunition for World War I, which was raging then. Their claim was substantiated only in 2008, when weapons were indeed found in the wreck of X. Meanwhile, the Nazis kept claiming that X was not just a passenger ship, as the British kept saying.

In a bid to support their claim, the Nazis even printed medals or coins to ‘expose’ the ‘capitalist’ British. However, the coins said that X had sunk on May 5, while it had actually sunk on May 7. This made USA and Britain think that the attack was premeditated and dastardly, and they ‘punished’ Germany for it by winning the World War.

Identify X.

Hint: Here is one a photograph of one of the coins used in the German propaganda.

coin

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**********************************

Several answers, both here and on FB.

The answer is Lusitania, one of the first Olympic class liners.

Sunday 18 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 83

A single picture for today.

Just identify this. This is the logo of something that is the first of its kind in the country of its origin.

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

Meanwhile, this is the link to the Quizzing Realms page on FB, and this one to the community.

****************************************

Only two answers. One on FB and one here.

This is the logo of Epic web browser, which claims to be the first absolutely Indian web browser.

Saturday 17 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 82

Connect.

A.

 1

B.

 2

C.

 3

D.

4

E.

5

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

Meanwhile, this is the link to the Quizzing Realms page on FB, and this one to the community.

**********************************************

Yes. Four answers here, and some on Facebook. All correct here, but not on FB.

The connect is August 15.

Sri Aurobindo and Napoleon Bonaparte were born on this day, as was Uschi Digard, a famous Swedish porn star.

The Panama Canal was first used on this day, and Mohun Bagan was founded on this day.

Also, the Woodstock Festival began on August 15.

Friday 16 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 81

A dry one.

Which former sheriff of Mumbai was almost exchanged with another child just after his birth, with a single mark on his buttocks helping a doctor identify him and restoring him to his parents?

Hint: He is less known as that sheriff, and more famous in a different field. The above incident is mentioned in his autobiography.

*********************************

Just two answers here! And both correct, though!

It seems the wording made this question too arbit. The answer is someone called Sunil Manohar Gavaskar.

This gentleman:

sunil gavaskar

Thursday 15 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 80

Connect the following with respect to visual entertainment in India.

1. On television:

1

2. In films.

A.

2

and B.

3

The connect is a very specific individual.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*****************************************

Just three replies here! Although I thought this was not all that difficult!

The connect is Vishal Bharadwaj, the polymath. Refer to Partha’s answer for further knowledge.

Wednesday 14 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 79

A dry one here.

  • X was born with the first names Destiny Hope, because X’s parents believed that X was destined for greatness.
  • X suffers from tachycardia, which is not too lethal for X, but apparently bothers a lot.
  • X now shares the middle name of X’s father, but actually kept it in honour of X’s grandfather.
  • X now acts and sings in what can best be described as a sitcom, where X’s family surname is Stewart.

Easy one, and can be cracked without googling. Identify X.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**********************************

I was surprised by just 4 answers to this question! Was it too difficult, or below the dignity of others?

Thanks to those answered. It is indeed Miley Ray Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana. This girl:

miley cyrus

Tuesday 13 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 78

Will try a video clue today.

Not too difficult, this. Connect the video above to the two pictures below.

1.

mumba devi

2.

The Oscar statuette is the copyrighted property of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the statuette and the phrases "Academy Award(s)" and "Oscar" are registered trademarks under the laws of the United States and other countries. All published representations of the Award of Merit statuette, including photographs, drawings and other likenesses, must include the legend ©A.M.P.A.S.® to provide notice of copyright, trademark and service mark registration. Permission is hereby granted for use of the representation of the statuette in newspapers, periodicals and on television only in legitimate news articles or feature stories which refer to the annual Academy Awards as an event, or in stories and articles which refer to the Academy as an organization or to specific achievements for which the Academy Award has been given. Its use and any other use is subject to the "Legal Regulations for using intellectual properties of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" published by the Academy. A copy of the "Legal Regulations" may be obtained from: Legal Rights Coordinator, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90211; (310) 247-3000

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

************************

A lot of answers, and all of them correct!

The advertisement features background music by A R Rahman. It is the theme from the film Bombay.

The city is called Mumbai now, after Mumbadevi, whose photo this is.

And lastly, and obviosuly, A R Rahman has won the Oscar award.

Monday 12 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms - 77

Was experimenting with this post earlier, but looks like the experiments will have to wait for later.

So here’s a tribute to fellow quizzer Padmanabhan Pillai.

Simply identify the actor and the role he is playing.

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*******************************

Lotsa answers, and most of you people got the Kamal Hasan part. But alas! This is not Marmayogi. This is a much older biopic that Hasan had started working on and then shelved. It was on the life of Mohammed Yusuf Khan aka Marudhanayagam, which was also the name of the film.

Kamal Hasan had conceptualised and started this biopic in 1998-99, and it has a lot of similarities with Marmayogi. Both are biopics. Marmayogi is and Marudhanayagam was the costliest films of their own times. Both are about almost-forgotten greats. And both were shelved, for a while, at least. The problem with Marudhanayagam was that it was shelved when foreign investors refused to continue to fund it because the Kargil war had just begun. About an hour’s footage was also shot, but never saw the light of the day. Marmayogi, thankfully, has reportedly taken off, with shooting already underway from January 13 this year. Another major difference is that while Marmayogi is about a saint who lived in the sixth century BC, Marudhanayagam lived in the 18th century AD, a contemporary of Tipu Sultan.

By the way, some websites list this photo as belonging to Marmayogi, but this, and some other pictures of Marudhanayagam have been on the internet even before the shooting for Marmayogi had begun!

Sunday 11 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms - 76

A dry one for the day.

“_____ ___ whisky offers vintage taste of impeccable quality and a product of dedicated craftsmanship.”

“In language terms the words _____ ___ mean ‘nothing’, in whisky terms ‘everything’ may be a more befitting description.”

Further hint, leading to the nomenclature:

“ Ki Pivon Ge? _____ ___,” which translates as “What would you like to drink? _____ ___ (Nothing).”

The first line is from the label of the whisky. The next two quotations from its website. Simply fill in the blanks.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***********************************************************

It was a sitter for Sunday. The answer, obviously, is “Kuchh Nai”. Don’t believe me? Check this out:

1

and…

2

Saturday 10 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 75

Another straight one.

1

Just tell me what special conjecture this is.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**********************************

Yes folks, all of you got it right!

This is a scene from Enter the Dragon, the only one ever where Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan were seen on-screen together!

Wednesday 7 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 74

Simply identify.

1

Hint: He lent his name to something that has become an almost generic phrase in economic offences nowadays. He also has a Facebook game named after him!

**********************************

Sorry for the delay, folks, but my internet connection was working up.

The answer is definitely Charles Ponzi, after whom Ponzi schemes are named.

And it is indeed a great honour to have a certain Mr Kamal Rathi take interest and answer questions in my blog.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 73

After that small one yesterday, here’s another connect.

1.

3

2.

rene higuita

3.

mortal kombat

4.

4

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

**********************

Cracked by almost all who attempted.

The connect is scorpion.

  1. The Scorpions.
  2. Rene Higuita’s famous scorpion kick.
  3. Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.
  4. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in and as Scorpion King.

BTW, in answer to Karthik, I sometimes keep some of the filenames unchanged so that at least the identifying part in a connect is easier. My aim is to involve more people, and so I give out these extra hints.

Monday 5 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 72

Simple one.

Just identify the gentleman who is standing with the ladies.

1

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

*****************************

Looks like I have been bitten by the same blogger bug that has been doing the rounds of blogspot, which makes it impossible for bloggers to moderate comments. A lot of answers had come in, and barring one, which had said this was Subhash Chandra Bose, all the others had been correct.

This is a rare photograph of Narendranath Dutta, who later became Swami Vivekananda.

Sunday 4 July 2010

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 71

Here’s a long connect.

1.

plate06

2. A.

mohanlal

B.

Mammootty

3.

kkr

4. A.

heer ranjha

B.

Udham Singh 

Further clarification:

In 1, the focal point is the connection.

In 2, A and B were part of something that happened for the first time in India in 1998.

Nothing much about 3.

In 4, think of how the creator of A, and how B, have been ‘immortalised’ by the Punjabi film industry.

*************************************************

Looks like this was a tough one. No answers here, and two on facebook which are not correct.

I was looking for Juhi Chawla.

1. She refused the role of Draupadi in B R Chopra’s Mahabharat to play the love interest of Aamir Khan in QSQT.

2. She played the love interest of Mammootty and Mohanlal in Harikrishnans, Indian first film to have two alternate endings, to satisfy the fan bases of both the South Indian superstars.

3. She owns part of KKR through Red Chillies.

4. A. She played pivotal roles in Waris Shah, a film based on the creator of Heer-Ranjha, and another in a film based on Udham Singh.