MELAS

Interrobang: NALSAR Quiz Festival 2016

MELAS Quiz(Movies, Entertainment, Literature, Art and Sports)Prelims

Conducted by Lokesh Kaza

acknowledgementsAgranee KapoorAmritha KumarAnna Thomas Balaji SubramanianDebarpan GhoshPallavi BalakrishnanRibhu MukherjeeSiddharth Rajeevan

And our sponsors

And..VolunteersNALSAR alumniAdministration

Rules30 questionsNo negative markingTop 8 teams in the finalsPart-points applicable as and when mentionedQuestions 11-20 are star-marked and will be used to break ties, if anyPhones to be switched off/or in silent modeQuizmasters decision is final

1.

This is a picture of steam locomotive no. 5972 Olton Hall which is a 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive. Built in April 1937 at Swindon railway works for the Great Western Railway, it last shed allocation was to Cardiff East Dock, after which it it was withdrawn in December 1963, and sold as scrap. More than three decades later, the locomotive was put to use for something else. What use?

Hogwarts express

2.

X represented the U.S.A. at the Pan American Games in Sao Paulo and his team reached the finals. However, his promising career in soccer was cut short due to a severe knee injury. While at the Games, he started for the U.S. team and, as usual, established himself as the locker room joker. He created a little bit of levity, says David Coonin, one of his teammates, but everybody was always a little afraid of messing with him because he was so quick-witted.

Identify X.

Jon Stewart

3.

The ______ family can be traced to the Irish clan Pronntaigh, which literally means "grandson of Pronntach". They were a family of hereditary scribes and literary men in Fermanagh.The name is derived from the word pronntach, which is related to the word bronnadh, meaning giving or bestowal. It was suggested that it derives from proinnteach (a refectory of a monastery). The word was later anglicised to what we know it to be today.

What word?

Bront

4.A popular story is that X has been depicted using sign language with his hands to represent the initials in his name. The National Park Service has denied this calling it an urban legend. However, historian Gerald Prokopowicz writes that the sculptor Daniel Chester French had intentionally done this because he was familiar with American Sign Language, and he would have had a reason to do so, i.e., paying tribute to X for having signed the federal legislation giving Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf, the authority to grant college degrees.The National Geographic Society's publication, "Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C." states that French also had a son who was deaf, which gives further legitimacy to the story that it was an intentional tribute.

Whose sculpture is being described here?

Abraham lincoln

5.

This is a team sport on horseback where each rider uses a cane or fibreglass stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in which the ball is carried. The ball is made of sponge rubber and is approximately four inches across. The objective is to score goals by throwing the ball between the opposing team's goal posts.

What is the exact name of the sport?

polocrosse

6.

I think in terms of another one, the story of this guy's search for his identity is over, because he's got all the answers, so there's no way we can trot out the same character, and so much of what makes him interesting is that internal struggle that was happening for him, am I a good guy, am I a bad guy, what is the secret behind my identity, what am I blocking out, why am I remembering these disturbing images? So all of that internal propulsive mechanism that drives the character is not there, so if there was to be another one then it would have to be a complete reconfiguration, you know, where do you go from there? For me I kind of feel like the story that we set out to tell has now been told. We could get the band back together if there was a great idea behind it, but in terms of now and this story,the story's been told...

This statement made in 2007 seems to be oddly serendipitous considering that the speaker is in fact getting back to the story nine years after the last instalment featuring him was released. Who talking about what?

Matt Damon on Jason bourne

7.

I Will Never Be a Star is a song sung by Bjarte _____ker and was uploaded onto YouTube in 2014. The lyrics of the song go like this:

They're amazing, don't you think?So incredibly talentedSo many hits on YouTubeSo many things to live up toThey've had a wonderful careerBut I was never asked to join themOh God, how can it be?Those two did not ask me?

Looking at these screen grabs from the music video, fill in the blank. (in Bjartes surname).

yLVIS

8.These are illustrations from the 1976 Soviet edition of which book?

The Hobbit

9.

There was initially some confusion as to which of these two works by Gottfried Helnwein was the source of inspiration for this song, as both works were called by the same name. The lead vocalist of the band later confirmed that their inspiration had been the James Dean poster, and not the painting (a spoof of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks) which featured Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, James Dean and Humphrey Bogart. However, it is understandable as to why the painting was given the title. It reflected how all rose to mega-star status but had their lives and aspirations dashed later. In the original Nighthawks painting, the four figures seem equally isolated and alone.

What song was this, which was also the title of both the poster and the painting?

BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

10.X (in the centre) was very close to his cousin Y (on his left) and the two kept in regular contact despite the geographical distance between them.When Xs team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, won their first National Rugby League premiership in 43 years in 2014, Y was one of the first to tweet his congratulations. And before last year's Cricket World Cup, Y warmly recounted how he celebrated New Year's Day 2015 with his cousin in Australia.

X and Y?

RUSSELL AND MARTIN CROWE

Starred questions followQuestions 11-20

11*.Dorian Leigh Parker started modelling in the 1940s at the late age of 27 but, with a face that was classically-boned, eyes of hypnotic blue and an air of feminine mystery, she quickly became one of the most famous models in the world.During her long life , Dorian Leigh (who dropped her surname when she first started modelling) had several husbands and a legion of A-list affairs. X became fascinated with her, and was a frequent visitor to her New York apartment. He learned to gain entry through the fire escape, and she would come home to find him playing with her cats. X coined a nickname for her, "Happy-go- lucky", and inside his head a character began to form a woman with a more than liberal take on the rules of life, who later become one of the most memorable characters of 20th century fiction.

Identify X and the character based on her.

Truman capote, Holly golightly,

12*.'American Pie' is a song by American folk rock singer Don McLean. Recorded and released in 1971, the single was a number-one US hit for four weeks. Except to acknowledge that he first learned about it more than a decade ago when he was folding newspapers for his paper route, McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song lyrics.But February made me shiverWith every paper I'd deliverBad news on the doorstepI couldn't take one more stepI can't remember if I criedWhen I read about his widowed brideBut something touched me deep inside___ ____ ___ _____ ____.Fill in the blanks.

The day the music died

13*.The X Foundation, known in French as Moulinsart is the official organization that looks after the world of X and his creations. The name Moulinsart (better known to us through its English translation) was chosen as the name for the foundation's commercial and copyright wing, set up to actively work to protect and promote the work of X.In 2006, the Dalai Lama bestowed the International Campaign for Tibet's Light of Truth Award upon the X Foundation. The award was the Dalai Lama's recognition of Y, X's most personal adventure, which was based on his recurring dreams of whiteness and his desire to create an adventure based around it. Accepting on behalf of the Foundation, X's widow Fanny Rodwell stated, "We never thought that this story of friendship would have a resonance more than 40 years later."X and Y?

X-HERGE, Y-TINTIN IN TIBET

14*.This painting was the subject of a book written in 1999 by Tracy Chevalier, an American historical novelist. Named after the painting, the book presents a fictional account of X (the painter), the model, and the painting. In the novel, X becomes close with a fictional servant named Griet (based on Chevalier's close friend Georgia Kendall), whom he hires as an assistant to sit for him as a painting model while wearing something belonging to his wife.The novelinspired a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson as Griet, and subsequently got nominated for several awards. Johansson dyed her eyebrows to better resemble the subject of the painting and cinematographer Eduardo Serra employed diffused lighting and different film stock when filming scenes to reflect the "magical luminosity" of X's artwork.What is the name of the painting/book/film?Name the artist.

Girl with a pearl earring, Johannes vermeer

15*.In this 2005 commercial, X returns from practise to see a policeman issuing a ticket to him. The conversation between the two of them is as follows: X: Is there a problem, officer?Cop: Its (Xs car) is parked outside the space.X: Its on the line. Cop: Im sorry, sir. Its out.X: Its IN!Cop: Calm down, sir. Its out.X: ITS IN! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY CALL THAT? I MEAN, ITS CLEARLY IN. Cop: Its out.(goes on a few more times)X: YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS. Who is X?

John mcenroe

16*.Arthur Everett Scholl was an American aerobatic pilot, flight instructor and educator based in Southern California. He died nearly three decades ago when his Pitts S-2 plane failed to recover from an intentional flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. Observers watched the plane continue to spin as it descended past the planned recovery altitude.Scholl's last words over the radio were "I have a problem I have a real problem", after which the plane impacted the ocean. The exact cause of thecrash was never determined. Neither the aircraft nor Scholl's body were ever recovered.

Why was Scholl attempting these intentional flat spins?

Shooting for top gun

17*."In the last couple of years the media has kind of had been really fixated on kind of painting me as this psycho-serial dater girl. It's been awesome. I loved it. And you know, it got pretty out of control there for a couple of years, because every article would be like '______ _____ standing near some guy. Watch out guy!' Every single article had these desriptions of my personality, which was very different from my actual personality.... My first reaction was like, 'Man, that's a bummer. This isn't fun for me.But my second reaction was 'Hey, that's actually kind of a really interesting character you're writing about....like she jetsets around the world collecting men, and she can get any of them but she's so clingy that they leave, and then she cries, and then she gets another one in her web and she traps them, locks them in her mansion, and she's crying in a marble bath tub surrounded by pearls'. So I figured, I could use this."Who talking about what?

Taylor swift, blank space

18*.

The story X, by Y has a somewhat autobiographical element to it by virtue of the fact that Y, like the character in the book had also crashed his plane in the Sahara desert in 1935. In Y's autobiography Wind, Sand and Stars, he recalls how he had survived the crash, only to face extreme dehydration, mirages and vivid hallucinations.

It has also been suggested that the eponymous hero's home Asteroid B-612 was derived from a progression of one of the planes Y flew as an airmail pilot, which bore the serial number A-612.

a) What is the title of this story, which also had an animated fantasy film adaptation last year? b) Who is Y?

The little prince, antoine de saint-exupry

19.*This is a clip from Shalimar, a 1978 Bollywood film starring Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman. X, an English actor appeared in a supporting role in this film and is seen here playing the role of Sir John Locksley.

However, X is known most famously to us for having won an Academy Award for the movie Y.

Identify X (or) give me the name of the character he played in Y.Which film is Y?

Rex Harrison/henry Higgins, my fair lady

20*.

He was the main character in the 16-bit video game released for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1992. The only game ever made by Kaitsu Software, the game is a beat-em-up similar to Battletoads or Streets of Rage.

a) Who are you playing this game as?b) What is the game called?

Lemmy, motorhead

Starred questions end.

21.The title of this British sitcom is a play on the title of a 1941 Orson Welles film. The sitcom is centered around a Pakistani Muslim, played by Adil Ray and it follows the trials and tribulations of his character, a loud-mouthed, patriarchal, cricket-loving community leader. The character's first name is never revealed.

What is the title of the sitcom?

Citizen khan

22.Who is Harley Quinns spirit animal?

Shah rukh khan

23.While the stories themselves are quite depressing, and the author has, on multiple occasions discouraged the reader from pursuing his books, what adds to the general bleak feel of the story might be a few of the literary allusions that are made. Some of them are: The protagonists are named after a 19th century poet who is most famous for his morbid poetry collection The flowers of evil. Other characters in the story include Mr. Poe, with histwo sons called Edgar and Allan, obviously named after our beloved writer of the macabre.The story also features Virginia Woolfsnake, a slithery creature that "should never be allowed near a typewriter". The books also introduce briefly an Esme Squalor, who draws her name from J.D. Salinger's short story , "For Esme-With Love and Squalor".Which hapless set of books seem to be revelling in such despair, which also had a film adaptation in 2004?

lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events

24.This is an artist's imagination of how Disney classics would look like if they were directed by whom?

Tim burton

25.Whose stage presence is this?

Romeo and juliet

26.

In 1980, the brothers X founded Percy Main Productions, named after the English village where their father grew up. In 1995, the duo renamed the company, with the new name X Y Productions, a wordplay on their surname. Together, they've given us Thelma and Louise, Enemy of the State, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and The A-Team, among other films. The most recent X Y movie was released in November last year and was a contender for Best Picture at the Oscars last week.

Give me X Y, the wordplay on the X brothers' surname.

Scott free productions

27.

X was the title of the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Y. It premiered on Showtime on November 1, 2015.The episode title refers to the necessity of the lead character in Y (played by Claire Danes) getting in touch with her mentor, a character essayed by Mandy Patinkin. X is also a reference to another television series of the same name, whose second season premiered on February 15, 2016. The lead role in this series is played by Bob Odenkirk.

X and Y?

Better call saul, homeland

28.

On Pretty Little Liars Season 2, Episode 18: A Kiss Before Lying, the girls discovered one of Alisons (the protagonist) biggest secrets: she had an alternate identity named Vivian Darkbloom. Vivian was a bit older and was friends with quite a few people in the town of Rosewood, the place that the show centers around.This revelation, as per TV audiences cast a very different light on relationships in the show, from how they had viewed them before. Spencer, the antagonistquickly realized that this alternate identity was a character often used by X to make cameo appearances in his novels.

Who was X or what is unique about the alternate identity?

Vladimir Nabokov (Vivian darkbloom is an anagram)

29.This is a track from the 2004 Telugu romantic comedy film Malliswari starring Katrina Kaif and Venkatesh. What has the song been inspired by?

Stayin alive- bee gees

30.

In 2013, more than 5,600 official entrants were stopped and sent back and were therefore, unable to finish. Therefore, they were all invited to do so the next year and were issued with a non-transferable, unique code. "The opportunity to do so amid thousands of spectators is a significant part of the entire experience," said Tom Grilk, the executive director, in a press release when asked about this.

Where was this happening and why were they sent back?

Boston marathon, due to the 2013 bombings

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