Man, I love science... Economics really pales in comparison... Don't believe me... Proof.
Showing posts with label Trivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trivia. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
What I Was Reading... and Watching... and Listening
I had some interesting reading and watches this week... well actually over the last few weeks but I'm only getting to writing this now.
Salman Khan (no not our beloved drunk driver), but the founder of Khan Academy gave a fantastic commencement speech at his alma mater, MIT in 2012.
Next, "the worm", returns to the world of Chaos - Dennis Rodman on his visit to DPRK. Rodman, who was once the member of perhaps the greatest Basketball team of all time (and less famously the husband of the "Baywatch thespian" Carmen Electra), spoke to George Stephanoppolous about his recent tete-a-tete with Kim Jong Un on The Week.
A fantastic read on the processed food industry and the science behind junk food addiction in the New York Times. A must read.
This afternoon I had two conversations, where as per standard rules, I ended up doing most of the talking. The conversations reminded me of a bunch of "things" that I had stored in the back of my attic brain which I divulge to you now.
The first was regarding the conspiracy theory behind the Moon landing. Somehow the conversation drifted from Physics HL to astronomy, dark matter, telescopes and finally... the "fake" Moon landing. It reminded me of a brilliant sketch by the genius British comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb from their sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Look. Have a gander.
The second conversation, started with a girl with a guitar, meandered around mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, and The Infamous Stringdusters and The Goat Rodeo Sessions (The collaborative album by Chris Thile (mandolin), Yo-Yo Ma (that's right!), Edgar Myers (double bass), ans Stuart Duncan (violin)). While I was talking, two distinct images entered either side of my head: Eddie Izzard talking about Tigers and Banjos, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain covering "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Have a hark.
I also recently had a conversation with a few people about Formula 1 racing as the season started last Sunday. We got around to the topic of drift racing, and someone mentioned The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. I was reminded of Keiichi Tsuchiya - the original "Drift King" who made the sport popular. But who I want to write about today is the master of the Gymkhana - Ken Block! Kudos to BBC Top Gear for another brilliant set. Enjoy!
Till more, excelsior!
A fantastic read on the processed food industry and the science behind junk food addiction in the New York Times. A must read.
This afternoon I had two conversations, where as per standard rules, I ended up doing most of the talking. The conversations reminded me of a bunch of "things" that I had stored in the back of my attic brain which I divulge to you now.
The first was regarding the conspiracy theory behind the Moon landing. Somehow the conversation drifted from Physics HL to astronomy, dark matter, telescopes and finally... the "fake" Moon landing. It reminded me of a brilliant sketch by the genius British comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb from their sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Look. Have a gander.
The second conversation, started with a girl with a guitar, meandered around mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, and The Infamous Stringdusters and The Goat Rodeo Sessions (The collaborative album by Chris Thile (mandolin), Yo-Yo Ma (that's right!), Edgar Myers (double bass), ans Stuart Duncan (violin)). While I was talking, two distinct images entered either side of my head: Eddie Izzard talking about Tigers and Banjos, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain covering "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Have a hark.
I also recently had a conversation with a few people about Formula 1 racing as the season started last Sunday. We got around to the topic of drift racing, and someone mentioned The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. I was reminded of Keiichi Tsuchiya - the original "Drift King" who made the sport popular. But who I want to write about today is the master of the Gymkhana - Ken Block! Kudos to BBC Top Gear for another brilliant set. Enjoy!
Till more, excelsior!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Comic Quotient 2012!
So Delhi hosted the 2nd Comic Con this weekend. Among other things, my friend Aniruddho Chakraborty launched his new comic book company: Chariot Comics with three titles: V.R.I.C.A., Damned, and Eklavya: Godslayer. Do check them out.
We were going to host the Comics Quotient Quiz too, but due to "technical difficulties" we did not, so I thought I would just post all the questions here. Be warned this is some cold, hard, geeky stuff... not for the comically causal ones.
I'll put the answers in the comments section in a week or so.
COMICS QUOTIENT QUIZ
1. The Wachowski Brothers claimed that a Masumane Shirow manga - which was also made into a movie and an anime series, was responsible for the visual aspect of The Matrix. Name the manga series.
2. Which graphic novel is the only comic book ever to win the Hugo Award for Science Fiction?
3. Sherlock Holmes lives in 221B Baker Street, in the English translation, where does Tintin live before he moves to Marlinspike Hall?
4. In 1989, the creator of Lucky Luke, Morris, won an award from the World Health Organization. Why?
5. William Moulton Marston, famous as the creator of Wonder Woman, is also famous for inventing a well known instrument which was used to question Nazi POWs in WW2. What was this device?
6. Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, The Daily Planet, and Kryptonite all appeared in a particular format before they became regulars in the Superman comic books. What format are we talking about?
7. In the 1940s on the Superman radio show, a journalist called Stetson Kennedy helped Superman use "Truth, Justice and the American Way" to fight a real world menace in the US. The Radio show put the bad guys on the same moral plane as Lex Luthor and the Nazis. Who did Superman fight?
8. In 1983, Judge Jack Love of New Mexico was inspired by a 70s Spider-Man comic strip where Kingpin was tracking Spidey's movements via an electronic bracelet. What gadget did this inspiration lead to?
9. Masashi Kishimoto, an award winning manga-ka became the 9th highest taxed individual in Japan back in 2006. Name his most famous creation.
10. In 1981, DC and Marvel together trademarked a much used phrase in the world of comic books. What phrase is this?
11. In 1994, in X-Men Unlimited #4, which former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was revealed to be Nightcrawler's mother?
12. In 1979, Vince McMohan and Marvel comics struck a sort of a deal linking two of their respective superstars. What kind of a deal was this?
13. Kevin Smith in his acclaimed run on the Daredevil title killed off a major Spiderman villain without notifying the Spiderman editors who were using the same villain in their next Spiderman title. Who was this villain?
14. In the 1978 cartoon adaptation of The Fantastic Four, the character of The Human Torch was mysteriously replaced by a robot. What was the robot's name? Bonus point for the full name. More points if you can tell me why the Human Torch did not feature in the TV show.
15. Joe Carter created the Marvel character The Human Torch, but is much more famous for creating another character for DC, under a different name. What character and what name?
16. Along with Jack Kirby, and Carl Barks, who was the third inaugural inductee of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame?
17. The Joker made his first appearance in Batman#1 in 1940; which is the first issue of Batman in which the Joker dies?
18. The Hulk's alter-ego's name started as Bruce Banner, but mysteriously changed to Bob Banner a few months later due to Stan Lee's forgetfulness. How did Stan Lee bridge this discrepancy?
19. In Amazing Spider-man #573, writer Mark Waid and artist Patrick Olliffe re-created the iconic Amazing Fantasy#15 cover (where Spiderman makes his first cover appearance); with a television funny man rescuing Spider-man. Who is this famous television funny man?
20. Name the five male Green Lanterns in order of appearance.
21. What is the real name of Lee Falk's quintessential purple clad hero - the 21st Phantom?
22. What is the name of the Archie gang's hometown?
23. In the standard cannon name the three people who have donned the Robin cape.
24. Name the seven original members of the Justice League of America.
25. In Pran's Chacha Chowdhury comics, when Sabu gets angry, what natural phenomenon occurs somewhere?
26. Which Raj Comics character was taught martial arts by Haldi Khan, boxing by Dhania Khan, and marksmanship by Kalimirchi Khan?
27. Which superhero has an Egyptian snake called Saudangi living inside his body?
28. I am the son of trapeze artists Shyam and Radha. I was raised under the tutelage of the different artists of Jupiter Circus. I have the ability to speak to animals and sea creatures. Who am I?
29. Connect the following: the movie The Matrix, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, the newspaper comic strip Little Nemo, and the video game Resident Evil: Dead Aim
30. I was born in 1957 to an Irish Catholic family in Maryland. My formative years in Hell's Kitchen, New York, influenced my 80s work on Daredevil. My lesser known works include Ronin and Holy Terror. I have won six Eisner Awards, four Kirbys, and three Harveys. I have also made cameo appearances in Robocop, The Spirit, and Daredevil. Who am I?
31. Todd McFarlane wrote and drew Spiderman#1 in 1990 which went on to become one of the largest selling comic books of all-time. After a tiff with Marvel, he started his own publishing company and introduced a new character. The debut comic sold over 1.7 million issues and spawned a feature film and an HBO TV series. Name the character.
32. His first drawing was published in Ripley's Believe it or Not in 1947. His first strip was called "Li'l Kids". His primary character was based on himself, but he borrowed the name from a friend. Another one of his main characters is the mascot of a major insurance firm. Who and which comic strip?
33. The 2005 Keanu Reeves movie "Constantine" is based on which Brian Azzarello Vertigo Comics series?
34. In which Eisner and Harvey award winning comic book would you find The Dog, The Bastard, The Wolf, The Point Man, The Rain, The Monster, and The Saint?
35. Which Nordic Marvel character first made his appearance in Journey into Mystery#83 as disabled medical student Donald Blake?
36. What distinction does the comic strip character "The Yellow Kid" created by Richard Outcault hold in the history of comic books?
37. Which comic strip holds the Guinness Book of World Record for being the world's most syndicated comic strip?
38. This series of comics was created by Anant Pai and published by India Book House. In 2007, the imprint and all its titles were acquired by ACK Media which is digitizing the entire collection. Which well known imprint are we talking about?
39. The last unfinished story had a plot involving the world of modern art, and the story ends as the main protagonist is about to be killed, encased in Perspex, and about to be presented as a work of art. Unfortunately, the creator died on the 3rd of March 1983, leaving the comic unfinished and the protagonist's fate unknown. Name the character and the comic.
40. In Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #390 who dies of the Legacy virus?
41. What is J'onn J'ozz, the Martian Manhunter's one weakness?
42. Name the 7 original members of the West Coast Avengers.
43. In the Spider-Girl comics, why did Spiderman give up being Spiderman?
44. Matt Fraction, the Eisner award winning writer of The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men, once took out a restraining order on fellow Eisner award winning writer Ed Brubaker. Can you tell me why?
45. In DC Comics, Clark Kent has had 3 loves in his life. Name them. Hint: they all start with the letter "L".
46. In DC Comics World's Finest #258 what is the Kryptonian Curse and what does it do?
47. In 1991, Jim Lee and Chris Claremont released a spin-off series starting with X-Men#1 which holds the Guinness Book of World Record for what particular distinction?
48. In 1992, Jim Lee drew and co-wrote a new series for Image Comics called WildC.A.T.s. What does the acronym C.A.T stand for?
49. In DC's Adventure Comics "Dial 'H' for Hero", what was unique about the Heroes Chris and Vicki turned into?
50. Jamie Hewlett created the cyberpunk comic book called "Tank Girl" in the 1980s, but he is more famous for another cartoon creation that he came up with Blur front man Damon Albarn - a creation that would take the music world by storm. What was this creation?
51. In the Calvin and Hobbes comics, what space faring persona does Calvin take on when he is day dreaming? Extra point if you can also tell me what the name of the alien species he is usually fighting in these dreams.
52. Name the comic book that features a 3-eyed cat, cancer-free cigarettes, and a character who likes to say "I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's dick".
53. Name the fishmonger, blacksmith, and bard of Asterix's sleepy little village.
54. Which famous Defender of the Earth's arch nemesis was Ming the Merciless?
55. This famous Padma Vibhushan winning cartoonist's work adorn the walls of Cafe Mondegar in Colaba. The creator of characters like Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonesca, he had a long and illustrious career with R.K. Laxman and The Times of India. He passed away on the 11th of December 2011 in his house in Mumbai. Name him.
56. Name the single panel newspaper cartoon strip that made R.K. Laxman a household name in India.
57. Which famous webcomic, created by Randall Munroe has the tagline "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language"?
58. This video gaming driven webcomic, first launched in 1998, features John "Gabe" Gabriel and Tycho Brahe as the alter egos of the creators. Name the webcomic.
59. In the DC and Marvel worlds, what is the one universal law that separates the "good guys" from the "bad guys"?
60. Which comic book publication contains characters such as Kalia the Crow, Shikari Shambhu, and Suppandi?
61. In the newspaper comic strip "Hagar the Horrible", what is the name of Hagar and Helga's son? The names of everyone in Hagar's family start with an H.
62. Which superhero was born with the "Curse of Kordax"? Bonus point if you can tell me what physical feature of the character denotes the curse.
63. What super villain was created when Emil Blonsky, a spy assigned to steal the research of Dr. Bruce Banner, accidentally exposed himself to a concentrated burst of gamma rays?
64. What Chester Gould character made his first appearance in the Detroit Free Press on October 4, 1931?
65. Which super-hero grew up on the planet Tamaran?
66. Edwin Jarvis serves as a butler to which super hero team?
67. Which super-heroine was inhabited by the soul of an ancient Egyptian princess after attempting suicide?
68. Who is the Scarlet Witch's twin brother?
69. Which super-hero gained his powers after being exposed to the Orb of Ra?
70. T'Challa, the king of Wakanda, is also known as what superhero?
71. When Bucky was wounded in combat, who became Captain America's new sidekick?
72. Which writer/director of Buffy, and Firefly, also wrote Astonishing X-Men?
73. Which comic book character is named after a physiological test devised by a Swiss psychologist in the 1960s?
74. In which Marvel franchise does Wolverine make his first ever appearance?
75. Which famous comic book author, whose many graphic novels have been made into movies, requests that his name be removed from the credits of movies based on his work?
76. Which X-Men character is Remy LeBeau better known as?
77. Dark Claw is an Amalgam Comics superhero. He is a combination of a Marvel Comics' and a DC Comics' comics character. He exists only in the temporary Amalgam Universe created when the DC and Marvel Universes combine. Name the individual characters.
78. In which fictitious city do the events of Frank Miller's Sin City take place?
79. Which countries are these two X-Men characters from: Wolverine, Nightcrawler. I want both countries.
80. In the events of Batman: Knightfall, after Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back, who takes on the role of Batman?
81. In the Wildstorm universe, Jenny Sparks aka The Spirit of the 20th Century forms which super team with Swift and Jack Hawksmoor after the end of Stormwatch Black?
82. Which famous 1996 DC comic book by Mark Waid starts with the prelude of The Joker massacring the staff of The Daily Planet including Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Lois Lane? Hint: The Joker is then killed by a new super hero named Magog.
83. This inter-company crossover DC comic series by Brad Meltzer (with Rags Morales and Michel Bair), starts with the murder of Sue Dibny, the wife of super-hero Elongated Man and the JLA investigating to find the killer.
84. Which Vertigo comic book written by Garth Ennis tells the story of Jesse Custer in the small Texas town of Annville?
85. Which Vertigo title deals with various characters from fairy tales and folklores that are forced out of their homelands by "The Adversary"?
86. Which manga and anime characters signature finishing move is the "kame-hame-ha"?
87. In the extended Star Wars universe of the Legacy series, which decendant of Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist?
Enjoy!
We were going to host the Comics Quotient Quiz too, but due to "technical difficulties" we did not, so I thought I would just post all the questions here. Be warned this is some cold, hard, geeky stuff... not for the comically causal ones.
I'll put the answers in the comments section in a week or so.
COMICS QUOTIENT QUIZ
1. The Wachowski Brothers claimed that a Masumane Shirow manga - which was also made into a movie and an anime series, was responsible for the visual aspect of The Matrix. Name the manga series.
2. Which graphic novel is the only comic book ever to win the Hugo Award for Science Fiction?
3. Sherlock Holmes lives in 221B Baker Street, in the English translation, where does Tintin live before he moves to Marlinspike Hall?
4. In 1989, the creator of Lucky Luke, Morris, won an award from the World Health Organization. Why?
5. William Moulton Marston, famous as the creator of Wonder Woman, is also famous for inventing a well known instrument which was used to question Nazi POWs in WW2. What was this device?
6. Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, The Daily Planet, and Kryptonite all appeared in a particular format before they became regulars in the Superman comic books. What format are we talking about?
7. In the 1940s on the Superman radio show, a journalist called Stetson Kennedy helped Superman use "Truth, Justice and the American Way" to fight a real world menace in the US. The Radio show put the bad guys on the same moral plane as Lex Luthor and the Nazis. Who did Superman fight?
8. In 1983, Judge Jack Love of New Mexico was inspired by a 70s Spider-Man comic strip where Kingpin was tracking Spidey's movements via an electronic bracelet. What gadget did this inspiration lead to?
9. Masashi Kishimoto, an award winning manga-ka became the 9th highest taxed individual in Japan back in 2006. Name his most famous creation.
10. In 1981, DC and Marvel together trademarked a much used phrase in the world of comic books. What phrase is this?
11. In 1994, in X-Men Unlimited #4, which former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was revealed to be Nightcrawler's mother?
12. In 1979, Vince McMohan and Marvel comics struck a sort of a deal linking two of their respective superstars. What kind of a deal was this?
13. Kevin Smith in his acclaimed run on the Daredevil title killed off a major Spiderman villain without notifying the Spiderman editors who were using the same villain in their next Spiderman title. Who was this villain?
14. In the 1978 cartoon adaptation of The Fantastic Four, the character of The Human Torch was mysteriously replaced by a robot. What was the robot's name? Bonus point for the full name. More points if you can tell me why the Human Torch did not feature in the TV show.
15. Joe Carter created the Marvel character The Human Torch, but is much more famous for creating another character for DC, under a different name. What character and what name?
16. Along with Jack Kirby, and Carl Barks, who was the third inaugural inductee of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame?
17. The Joker made his first appearance in Batman#1 in 1940; which is the first issue of Batman in which the Joker dies?
18. The Hulk's alter-ego's name started as Bruce Banner, but mysteriously changed to Bob Banner a few months later due to Stan Lee's forgetfulness. How did Stan Lee bridge this discrepancy?
19. In Amazing Spider-man #573, writer Mark Waid and artist Patrick Olliffe re-created the iconic Amazing Fantasy#15 cover (where Spiderman makes his first cover appearance); with a television funny man rescuing Spider-man. Who is this famous television funny man?
20. Name the five male Green Lanterns in order of appearance.
21. What is the real name of Lee Falk's quintessential purple clad hero - the 21st Phantom?
22. What is the name of the Archie gang's hometown?
23. In the standard cannon name the three people who have donned the Robin cape.
24. Name the seven original members of the Justice League of America.
25. In Pran's Chacha Chowdhury comics, when Sabu gets angry, what natural phenomenon occurs somewhere?
26. Which Raj Comics character was taught martial arts by Haldi Khan, boxing by Dhania Khan, and marksmanship by Kalimirchi Khan?
27. Which superhero has an Egyptian snake called Saudangi living inside his body?
28. I am the son of trapeze artists Shyam and Radha. I was raised under the tutelage of the different artists of Jupiter Circus. I have the ability to speak to animals and sea creatures. Who am I?
29. Connect the following: the movie The Matrix, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, the newspaper comic strip Little Nemo, and the video game Resident Evil: Dead Aim
30. I was born in 1957 to an Irish Catholic family in Maryland. My formative years in Hell's Kitchen, New York, influenced my 80s work on Daredevil. My lesser known works include Ronin and Holy Terror. I have won six Eisner Awards, four Kirbys, and three Harveys. I have also made cameo appearances in Robocop, The Spirit, and Daredevil. Who am I?
31. Todd McFarlane wrote and drew Spiderman#1 in 1990 which went on to become one of the largest selling comic books of all-time. After a tiff with Marvel, he started his own publishing company and introduced a new character. The debut comic sold over 1.7 million issues and spawned a feature film and an HBO TV series. Name the character.
32. His first drawing was published in Ripley's Believe it or Not in 1947. His first strip was called "Li'l Kids". His primary character was based on himself, but he borrowed the name from a friend. Another one of his main characters is the mascot of a major insurance firm. Who and which comic strip?
33. The 2005 Keanu Reeves movie "Constantine" is based on which Brian Azzarello Vertigo Comics series?
34. In which Eisner and Harvey award winning comic book would you find The Dog, The Bastard, The Wolf, The Point Man, The Rain, The Monster, and The Saint?
35. Which Nordic Marvel character first made his appearance in Journey into Mystery#83 as disabled medical student Donald Blake?
36. What distinction does the comic strip character "The Yellow Kid" created by Richard Outcault hold in the history of comic books?
37. Which comic strip holds the Guinness Book of World Record for being the world's most syndicated comic strip?
38. This series of comics was created by Anant Pai and published by India Book House. In 2007, the imprint and all its titles were acquired by ACK Media which is digitizing the entire collection. Which well known imprint are we talking about?
39. The last unfinished story had a plot involving the world of modern art, and the story ends as the main protagonist is about to be killed, encased in Perspex, and about to be presented as a work of art. Unfortunately, the creator died on the 3rd of March 1983, leaving the comic unfinished and the protagonist's fate unknown. Name the character and the comic.
40. In Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #390 who dies of the Legacy virus?
41. What is J'onn J'ozz, the Martian Manhunter's one weakness?
42. Name the 7 original members of the West Coast Avengers.
43. In the Spider-Girl comics, why did Spiderman give up being Spiderman?
44. Matt Fraction, the Eisner award winning writer of The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men, once took out a restraining order on fellow Eisner award winning writer Ed Brubaker. Can you tell me why?
45. In DC Comics, Clark Kent has had 3 loves in his life. Name them. Hint: they all start with the letter "L".
46. In DC Comics World's Finest #258 what is the Kryptonian Curse and what does it do?
47. In 1991, Jim Lee and Chris Claremont released a spin-off series starting with X-Men#1 which holds the Guinness Book of World Record for what particular distinction?
48. In 1992, Jim Lee drew and co-wrote a new series for Image Comics called WildC.A.T.s. What does the acronym C.A.T stand for?
49. In DC's Adventure Comics "Dial 'H' for Hero", what was unique about the Heroes Chris and Vicki turned into?
50. Jamie Hewlett created the cyberpunk comic book called "Tank Girl" in the 1980s, but he is more famous for another cartoon creation that he came up with Blur front man Damon Albarn - a creation that would take the music world by storm. What was this creation?
51. In the Calvin and Hobbes comics, what space faring persona does Calvin take on when he is day dreaming? Extra point if you can also tell me what the name of the alien species he is usually fighting in these dreams.
52. Name the comic book that features a 3-eyed cat, cancer-free cigarettes, and a character who likes to say "I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's dick".
53. Name the fishmonger, blacksmith, and bard of Asterix's sleepy little village.
54. Which famous Defender of the Earth's arch nemesis was Ming the Merciless?
55. This famous Padma Vibhushan winning cartoonist's work adorn the walls of Cafe Mondegar in Colaba. The creator of characters like Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonesca, he had a long and illustrious career with R.K. Laxman and The Times of India. He passed away on the 11th of December 2011 in his house in Mumbai. Name him.
56. Name the single panel newspaper cartoon strip that made R.K. Laxman a household name in India.
57. Which famous webcomic, created by Randall Munroe has the tagline "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language"?
58. This video gaming driven webcomic, first launched in 1998, features John "Gabe" Gabriel and Tycho Brahe as the alter egos of the creators. Name the webcomic.
59. In the DC and Marvel worlds, what is the one universal law that separates the "good guys" from the "bad guys"?
60. Which comic book publication contains characters such as Kalia the Crow, Shikari Shambhu, and Suppandi?
61. In the newspaper comic strip "Hagar the Horrible", what is the name of Hagar and Helga's son? The names of everyone in Hagar's family start with an H.
62. Which superhero was born with the "Curse of Kordax"? Bonus point if you can tell me what physical feature of the character denotes the curse.
63. What super villain was created when Emil Blonsky, a spy assigned to steal the research of Dr. Bruce Banner, accidentally exposed himself to a concentrated burst of gamma rays?
64. What Chester Gould character made his first appearance in the Detroit Free Press on October 4, 1931?
65. Which super-hero grew up on the planet Tamaran?
66. Edwin Jarvis serves as a butler to which super hero team?
67. Which super-heroine was inhabited by the soul of an ancient Egyptian princess after attempting suicide?
68. Who is the Scarlet Witch's twin brother?
69. Which super-hero gained his powers after being exposed to the Orb of Ra?
70. T'Challa, the king of Wakanda, is also known as what superhero?
71. When Bucky was wounded in combat, who became Captain America's new sidekick?
72. Which writer/director of Buffy, and Firefly, also wrote Astonishing X-Men?
73. Which comic book character is named after a physiological test devised by a Swiss psychologist in the 1960s?
74. In which Marvel franchise does Wolverine make his first ever appearance?
75. Which famous comic book author, whose many graphic novels have been made into movies, requests that his name be removed from the credits of movies based on his work?
76. Which X-Men character is Remy LeBeau better known as?
77. Dark Claw is an Amalgam Comics superhero. He is a combination of a Marvel Comics' and a DC Comics' comics character. He exists only in the temporary Amalgam Universe created when the DC and Marvel Universes combine. Name the individual characters.
78. In which fictitious city do the events of Frank Miller's Sin City take place?
79. Which countries are these two X-Men characters from: Wolverine, Nightcrawler. I want both countries.
80. In the events of Batman: Knightfall, after Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back, who takes on the role of Batman?
81. In the Wildstorm universe, Jenny Sparks aka The Spirit of the 20th Century forms which super team with Swift and Jack Hawksmoor after the end of Stormwatch Black?
82. Which famous 1996 DC comic book by Mark Waid starts with the prelude of The Joker massacring the staff of The Daily Planet including Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Lois Lane? Hint: The Joker is then killed by a new super hero named Magog.
83. This inter-company crossover DC comic series by Brad Meltzer (with Rags Morales and Michel Bair), starts with the murder of Sue Dibny, the wife of super-hero Elongated Man and the JLA investigating to find the killer.
84. Which Vertigo comic book written by Garth Ennis tells the story of Jesse Custer in the small Texas town of Annville?
85. Which Vertigo title deals with various characters from fairy tales and folklores that are forced out of their homelands by "The Adversary"?
86. Which manga and anime characters signature finishing move is the "kame-hame-ha"?
87. In the extended Star Wars universe of the Legacy series, which decendant of Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist?
Enjoy!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
John v. Fredrich (It's Goin' Down Yo)
Sometime ago, two people, an economics professor at Geroge Mason University, Russ Roberts and film-maker John Papola started a website called Econstories.tv to try raise awareness about the economic paradigm we live in and the policies our governments subscribe to.
Their first endeavor was a rap battle between two opposing stalwarts, John Maynard Keynes (father of Spending Theory) and F.A. Hayek (father of the Austrian perspective).
After the resounding success of the first video, they released a sequel recently:
Enjoy!
Their first endeavor was a rap battle between two opposing stalwarts, John Maynard Keynes (father of Spending Theory) and F.A. Hayek (father of the Austrian perspective).
After the resounding success of the first video, they released a sequel recently:
Enjoy!
Monday, November 26, 2007
"My Name is Harry Meadows, But You Can Call Me Death"
So I am doing a little news segment on Asian Affairs for our weekly Asian Cultural Society meeting. Of course, there was no way I am going to use the common current affairs material, because, like Canada, who cares. So I dug around trying to find some interesting stories from the past, present, and the foreseeable future of Asia, and I found the following stories on the BBC website of QI (Quite Interesting).
The first story is about Cats in Boxes, continuing my cat theme from previous posts:
Between 1959 and 1961, a British/WHO project accidentally killed lots of cats when treating malaria with DDT in the Sarawak area of Borneo. The DDT also killed cockroaches, which were eaten by cats, which also died and the area became thus infested with rats. Now Sarawak is quite a dense forest region and fighting rats the conventional way was problematic, so the British/WHO team decided to parachute in cats in boxes into the region to fight off the infestation. The boxes had little springs attached to them which would open the box when it hit the ground. Forget about whether it worked or not, the whole concept boggles the mind!
Second story, Adding 2 Feet to the Everest:
Radhanath Sikdar a Bengali mathematician, was the first to measure the peak as 29,000ft, but because he thought people would think he just rounded up to 29,000 feet, he "added" 2 feet to make it 29,002 feet to make it seem legitimate. This was the accepted height of Everest up until 1955, when it became 29,028ft. Incidentaly, Mt. Everest is named after George Everest, the Surveyor General of India at the time, and he pronounced his name as "EVE-rest".
On a side note, apparently the most dangerous sport in the world, purely in number of related accidents and deaths, is kite-flying! Apparently the "manja" string causes many people to lose fingers, and in a few cases, arems and heads! Falling kites have also known to fall in front of motorists causing road accidents and such...
I have a few more, but if any of you have heard anything interesting of late, let me know...
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Who Da Man?
Hillary or Obama? With all the mudslinging, methinks, neither. Besides, I don't think the US is ready for a woman or a black president. So who do we have left? Giuliani? McCain?
Speaking of men, here's saying Happy Birthday, to President Robert Mugabe. May his inflation be with him. He is the man! What do you do when you want to spend $65,ooo on a birthday party when there's 1600% inflation and the country is on the verge of civil war? Simple, you make inflation illegal and you go on state-controlled TV and ask to be relected for another 6 year term to add to the glorious past 27 years. It works.
Who's excited about Britney's hair?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
For The Mother's Pride
It seems like I am the only remnant active member of this blog, but no matter, I shall continue to spew my genius on this site, albeit seldom. This sudden surge was sparked off by certain events: the new Hritik Roshan ad "Cock uthale, dhoom machale", sequel to the disastrous "Find me with cock", in the early 00s; the death of one of the legends of the animation industry, Joseph Barbera; the entire Mamta Banderjee-Singur-Tata episode etcetra etcetra. Not to mention India's first man and lady, the cute couple of Laloo and Rabri are off the hook after swindling the government of $2.8m. And what's the buzz about these days? Abhishek Bacchan angry about Hritik kissing Ash in Dhoom 2, now ain't that fitting. It seems like India has finally realized that sex sells. By the way, the new Motorolla flip phone ad has to be one of the best ads I've seen in recent times.
Well on a brighter note at least the Jessica Lall murder case is over with... yeah take that Ram Jethmalani! The Indian cricket team cruise to a 123 run win over the Proteus claiming our first win in South Africa... I didn't really care, watching Sreesanth dancing after hitting Nel for a six was worth my time. And the dada is back, silencing his critics with a gritty half century. Of course as one bong rises, another must fall, so we bid adieu to Jagmohan Dalmia. Of course, things haven't been so peachy for the Indian Hockey Team failing miserably at the Asian Games in Doha this year, looks like Gagan Ajeet Singh's two cell phone strategy wasn't so bright after all. By the way, anyone seen the video of "One Love" from the movie "Rakht" with Little B and Bips, good god, I don't know what to make of it - "...for the mother's pride"?. Brilliant like Guinness!
Oh, for the non-believers (read: Jae and Pragyan), the Kolkata Tornadoes were kicking ass in the IFA Shield till they were beaten by some second rate Chinese Club called Shenzen in a freak match... well sometimes the best can falter. The Deep Purple performance in Bangalore was great, but these guys look so old, none of that old spark that rock bands of the 70s had. I was afraid someone was going to have a heart attack on stage. These guys looked so fragile.
And the Buddhist chanting fad, wonder how long that will last? Yoga shoga, even pilates was fine, but Buddhist chanting, really? We only pick that up once the west has huh, just like everything else. Seriously, it's high-time we got over our inferiority complex and our post-colonial hangover.
This evening I went shopping in my local market. Apparently the police is going to demolish the entire joint and is moving everyone to a newly made concrete fish market. While I understand that this is probably a good thing in terms of hygiene and all those things we care about, I'm really going to miss tip-toeing my way through the various vendors, dodging the odd cart and coolie carrying a jhori of chicken. Who knows, in a few years this is probably going to be replaced by a Wal-Mart and Tesco - they've already started making cracks in the Indian grocery market scene. Woe the day when even in Kolkata, full blooded bongs will have to buy packaged fish. Heresy I say.
And then there was the trip to Amsterdam. The Last Samurai and other friends with Nepal and bright Northern Lights. For those who want to know, Absinth tastes like Pastis, not cool at all. Before I leave, I have to recount a rather interesting story. Another little adventure that took place on the eve of my departure from London.
A couple of nights before I left for Kolkata, I went to watch "The Woman in Black" with Elena. The play was excellent, although there were a bunch of school girls in the theater screaming at random moments... bimbos. Anyway, after the play I went to Elena's place and chilled over some wine and cheese. By the time I left it was rather late and the tube was no longer running. I asked Elena for directions and tried to navigate my way back to my part of town but got hopelessly lost. I asked a rickshaw-walla for directions but he just pointed me in the wrong direction... diplodocus. For a while I was worried, then I said, oh fuck it and just walked around...
So I was wandering about the streets of north London (Grover St. et al) when I met this really drunk girl at a bus station who claimed she knew the way to Kingsway and since she was in a good mood, she would show me the way. At first I insisted she just show me the way but she would not be swayed, so we went walking, singing (nah we didn't sing) and enjoying the night air although I was aware I'm supposed to talk to strangers. I wasn't even sure we were walking in the right direction. I don't think she knew which direction we were walking in at all.
Suddenly she says that she needs to pee. At my wits end I say ok there's a phone booth, use that I'll keep watch. She does that but then as she walks out of the booth she passes out. Now I don't know her name or where she lives. I only gather she's from UCL from her chic hat. so I try to slap her awake. Hey, wakey, wakey. A brown guy slapping a white woman in the middle of the night in a deserted street...something's gotta give.
Along comes a cop car. I shuddered. It was "thank you god" moment along with "I hope they don't shoot me" kind. Lucky for me they understood what was going on. Apparently there are a lot of drunk students scattered about London on a given Thursday night. They checked her creds and mine and gave us both a ride to our respective dorms. An interesting turn of events. A normal 40 minute walk turned into a 3 hour odyssey. I ended up reaching home at 4:30 or thereabouts.
Hope this keeps you all occupied for a while.
Well on a brighter note at least the Jessica Lall murder case is over with... yeah take that Ram Jethmalani! The Indian cricket team cruise to a 123 run win over the Proteus claiming our first win in South Africa... I didn't really care, watching Sreesanth dancing after hitting Nel for a six was worth my time. And the dada is back, silencing his critics with a gritty half century. Of course as one bong rises, another must fall, so we bid adieu to Jagmohan Dalmia. Of course, things haven't been so peachy for the Indian Hockey Team failing miserably at the Asian Games in Doha this year, looks like Gagan Ajeet Singh's two cell phone strategy wasn't so bright after all. By the way, anyone seen the video of "One Love" from the movie "Rakht" with Little B and Bips, good god, I don't know what to make of it - "...for the mother's pride"?. Brilliant like Guinness!
Oh, for the non-believers (read: Jae and Pragyan), the Kolkata Tornadoes were kicking ass in the IFA Shield till they were beaten by some second rate Chinese Club called Shenzen in a freak match... well sometimes the best can falter. The Deep Purple performance in Bangalore was great, but these guys look so old, none of that old spark that rock bands of the 70s had. I was afraid someone was going to have a heart attack on stage. These guys looked so fragile.
And the Buddhist chanting fad, wonder how long that will last? Yoga shoga, even pilates was fine, but Buddhist chanting, really? We only pick that up once the west has huh, just like everything else. Seriously, it's high-time we got over our inferiority complex and our post-colonial hangover.
This evening I went shopping in my local market. Apparently the police is going to demolish the entire joint and is moving everyone to a newly made concrete fish market. While I understand that this is probably a good thing in terms of hygiene and all those things we care about, I'm really going to miss tip-toeing my way through the various vendors, dodging the odd cart and coolie carrying a jhori of chicken. Who knows, in a few years this is probably going to be replaced by a Wal-Mart and Tesco - they've already started making cracks in the Indian grocery market scene. Woe the day when even in Kolkata, full blooded bongs will have to buy packaged fish. Heresy I say.
And then there was the trip to Amsterdam. The Last Samurai and other friends with Nepal and bright Northern Lights. For those who want to know, Absinth tastes like Pastis, not cool at all. Before I leave, I have to recount a rather interesting story. Another little adventure that took place on the eve of my departure from London.
A couple of nights before I left for Kolkata, I went to watch "The Woman in Black" with Elena. The play was excellent, although there were a bunch of school girls in the theater screaming at random moments... bimbos. Anyway, after the play I went to Elena's place and chilled over some wine and cheese. By the time I left it was rather late and the tube was no longer running. I asked Elena for directions and tried to navigate my way back to my part of town but got hopelessly lost. I asked a rickshaw-walla for directions but he just pointed me in the wrong direction... diplodocus. For a while I was worried, then I said, oh fuck it and just walked around...
So I was wandering about the streets of north London (Grover St. et al) when I met this really drunk girl at a bus station who claimed she knew the way to Kingsway and since she was in a good mood, she would show me the way. At first I insisted she just show me the way but she would not be swayed, so we went walking, singing (nah we didn't sing) and enjoying the night air although I was aware I'm supposed to talk to strangers. I wasn't even sure we were walking in the right direction. I don't think she knew which direction we were walking in at all.
Suddenly she says that she needs to pee. At my wits end I say ok there's a phone booth, use that I'll keep watch. She does that but then as she walks out of the booth she passes out. Now I don't know her name or where she lives. I only gather she's from UCL from her chic hat. so I try to slap her awake. Hey, wakey, wakey. A brown guy slapping a white woman in the middle of the night in a deserted street...something's gotta give.
Along comes a cop car. I shuddered. It was "thank you god" moment along with "I hope they don't shoot me" kind. Lucky for me they understood what was going on. Apparently there are a lot of drunk students scattered about London on a given Thursday night. They checked her creds and mine and gave us both a ride to our respective dorms. An interesting turn of events. A normal 40 minute walk turned into a 3 hour odyssey. I ended up reaching home at 4:30 or thereabouts.
Hope this keeps you all occupied for a while.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The World’s Worst Job
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Rajnikanth, Chuck Norris, and Chow Yun-Fat faced off – end of the world? Do goons have nightmares about these people? Do they check for Van Damme under the bed when they go to bed at night? Questions such as these have kept me up since I watched The Killer, Hard Boiled, God of Gamblers, and the A Better Tomorrow trilogies.
Moreover, how does one become a goon? Do you just walk into a Triad office and hand in your resume? Do you need job experience or a degree from MSG [1]? After all for most of these goons, it looks like this is the first time they have held a gun/driven a motorbike/car/helicopter/tricycle/auto etc. Seriously, I cannot think of anything worse than being a goon in a John Woo movie, except for maybe lawyers (no offence Nisha).
[1] MSG: Ming School of Goons, Hong Kong – the main bad guys usually graduates of this place.
Friday, June 23, 2006
"If You Don't Give My Football Back..."
In a mixed setting of World Cup fever and boredom at work, here's the complete Adidas Jose+10 video. One of the best ads out there, as good as, if not better than Eric Cantona's Joga Bonita Nike commercials. The music for part 1 is "D'allouette" by RJD2 and for part 2 is "Eanie Meany" by Jim Noir.
I may have missed a couple (or made a mistake) but here's a list of players, country and club (as of 2006, of course) on the ad:
Jose's Team:
Michael Ballack, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Franz Beckenbauer, Germany
David Beckham, England, Real Madrid CF
Du-Ri Cha, Korea Republic, Eintracht Frankfurt
Damian Duff, Ireland, Chelsea FC
Steven Gerrard, England, Liverpool FC
Kaká, Brazil, AC Milan
Oliver Kahn, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Juan Román Riquelme, Argentina, Villarreal CF
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Patrick Vieira France, Juventus Turin
Pedro's Team:
Djibril Cissé, France, Liverpool FC
Jermain Defoe, England, Tottenham Hotspur
Kevin Kuranyi, Germany, FC Schalke
Frank Lampard, England, Chelsea FC
Michel Platini, France
Shunsuke Nakamura ,Japan, Celtic Glasgow
Alessandro Nesta, Italy, AC Milan
Lukas Podolski, Germany, FC Köln
Raúl, Spain, Real Madrid CF
Arjen Robben, The Netherlands, Chelsea FC
David Trézéguet, France, Juventus
Zinédine Zidane, France, Real Madrid CF
Not my dream team (1 Brazilian?), but I wouldn't complain...
I may have missed a couple (or made a mistake) but here's a list of players, country and club (as of 2006, of course) on the ad:
Jose's Team:
Michael Ballack, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Franz Beckenbauer, Germany
David Beckham, England, Real Madrid CF
Du-Ri Cha, Korea Republic, Eintracht Frankfurt
Damian Duff, Ireland, Chelsea FC
Steven Gerrard, England, Liverpool FC
Kaká, Brazil, AC Milan
Oliver Kahn, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Juan Román Riquelme, Argentina, Villarreal CF
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Patrick Vieira France, Juventus Turin
Pedro's Team:
Djibril Cissé, France, Liverpool FC
Jermain Defoe, England, Tottenham Hotspur
Kevin Kuranyi, Germany, FC Schalke
Frank Lampard, England, Chelsea FC
Michel Platini, France
Shunsuke Nakamura ,Japan, Celtic Glasgow
Alessandro Nesta, Italy, AC Milan
Lukas Podolski, Germany, FC Köln
Raúl, Spain, Real Madrid CF
Arjen Robben, The Netherlands, Chelsea FC
David Trézéguet, France, Juventus
Zinédine Zidane, France, Real Madrid CF
Not my dream team (1 Brazilian?), but I wouldn't complain...
Sunday, April 16, 2006
I Hate Starbucks?
It's been a while since I last wandered through these woods. A combination of extreme laziness, m*ther fu*kin' modern algebra and total addiction to "Knights of the Old Republic".
This weekend I finished my fellowship program with Yale, Wharton, Colombia and NYU with a presentation of the four month consultancy project I was doing for Starbucks. The results of the Social Innovation Competition (as it was called) demonstrated that there is no place for second best. I was second best. While the winner gets to fly to Seatle and meet the board of directors, I was seen off the premises with a gift hamper and a pat on the bottom...
Last weekend I went to present a paper on inherent computational errors in math modelling softwares at the Hudson River Math Conference. It was a truly incredible experience...albeit some of the undergraduate talks really sucked. For instance, there was Pierre Bordeux (honest) from Williams who gave a talk on how Neo is a Goedel identity. Alright. Fine. But he was talking like one of those people who have a little earpiece and are constantly being told what to say... it was horrible. And then there was a certain Major Whatsit, from the US army who modelled a, I quote, "a better killing system"! It was a hillarious talk, although the mathematical modelling aspect of it was pretty impressive. The keynote speaker gave a really impressive talk on Ramanujan and Partiton Theory, but that doesn't make me like modern algebra any better...
I'm still jobless for the summer. I had two job offers, one as an economic research analyst for an Environmental Agency in DC and another as a consultant at MassMutual Denver, Colorado. In the first case, my mentor decided to take a sabbatical this summer after offering me the job and in the second case, the recruiter suddenly realised that there's a no international students policy after offering me the job... bastards! So as of now, I'm jobless... pretty sad considering this is going to be another wasted summer.
So I find there are a total of six Hamilton students going down to LSE next year. Another six to UCL and a few more to Queen Mary and some other shady schools of London. There's going to be a Hamilton village out there.
Tonight was the opening night of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" at Hamilton, directed by Luke Forester and myself. It was fantabulous. Period. Nothing to do with the direction, it's just that the play is brilliant. I recommend you all read it. Stoppard is the same guy who gave us "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead"", "Shakespeare in Love" and "Brazil".
In other news, an old school friend, Pranav Prakash was made major bakra...that kid had it coming.
Shoutout: a very Happy Birthday to Theo and Happy Anniversary to Ashwan and Miyuki. My Starbucks Case Study Team... it was great working with you guys.
"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art." ~ Tom Stoppard, Artist Descending a Staircase
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