Mark Brader:
> In each case give the person's full name as usually used --
> typically this will be a first and last name, but it might involve
> a nickname, title, or stage name.
> Each question this time will be worth the same number of points --
> I'll use the smallest number that allows scoring in integers --
> but those points will be *divided equally* between all entrants
> who get it right. This means there is effectively a large bonus
> if you can answer a question that nobody else gets.
Since there were 7 entrants, and LCM(1,2,3,4,5,6,7) = 420, each
question was worth 420 points divided equally between everyone
who got it.
And the winner is STEPHEN PERRY with a score of 1,618 points.
Hearty congratulations, sir! And please set RQ 252 at your
earliest convenience.
> * Entertainment
> 1. This actor who lived 1894-1974 was 39. He played an actor in "To
> Be or Not To Be", a comedy about the Nazis' occupation of Poland.
Jack Benny (whose comedy shtick in later life included a permanent
claim of only being 39). 140 for Dan Blum, Marc, and Stephen.
> 2. This singer who lived 1919-65 appeared in a duet with his
> daughter in 1991.
Nat King Cole. (Through the magic of special effects.
"Unforgettable".) 70 for Dan Blum, Gareth, Peter, Marc, Calvin,
and Stephen.
> 3. This woman who started her career as a hip-hop singer was
> nominated for an Oscar for her role as a prison matron in
> "Chicago" (1992).
Queen Latifah. 105 for Dan Blum, Gareth, Calvin, and Stephen.
> 4. Movies directed by this man in the 1930s and 1940s included
> "Stella Dallas", "The Citadel", "Duel in the Sun", and "The
> Fountainhead". He also directed part of "The Wizard of Oz",
> but did not receive screen credit for that. He had 5 nominations
> for the Best Director Oscar, but never won.
King Vidor. 210 for Gareth and Stephen.
> 5. This actor who died at age 50 was was a motor vehicle enthusiast
> and did some of his own stunt driving on cars and motorcycles,
> including parts of one of the most famous chase scenes of all
> time. He had an Oscar nomination for "The Sand Pebbles" (1967).
Steve McQueen. (The white one. "Bullitt", "The Great Escape", etc.)
84 for Dan Blum, Gareth, Marc, Calvin, and Stephen.
> 6. This man has directed only a few feature films so far, starting
> with "Hunger" (2008), but he has already won the Oscar as Best
> Director, for a 2013 movie.
Steve McQueen. (The black one. "12 Years a Slave".) 105 for
Dan Blum, Gareth, Calvin, and Stephen.
> * History
> 7. After many unsuccessful prosecutions, this advocate of assisted
> suicide was imprisoned for murder in 1999.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian. I accepted "Kevorian". 84 for Dan Blum, Gareth,
Peter, Stephen, and Dan Tilque.
> 8. Over 50 people were killed in rioting after Stacey Koon, Laurence
> Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Brisenio were acquitted of
> using excessive force against this man.
Rodney King. 60 for everyone -- Dan Blum, Gareth, Peter, Marc,
Calvin, Stephen, and Dan Tilque.
> 9. This British monarch tried to have a child at least 17 times, but
> 12 pregnancies ended in a miscarriage or stillbirth and none
> of the 5 living children made it to adulthood. In the end
> the heir to the throne was the second cousin of this monarch.
> Name this monarch.
Queen Anne. (Ruled 1702-14.) 140 for Dan Blum, Peter, and Calvin.
Her successor, King George I, was not her closest relative -- in fact
more than 50 people who would in the ordinary way have been in the
line of succession were skipped over. In 1701, however, Parliament
had passed the "Act of Settlement" for the purpose of ensuring that
the throne would remain in the hands of Protestants rather than
Catholics such as the deposed King James II or his descendants.
To this end, as well as prohibiting Catholics from taking the
throne, the act also specified explicitly who would be next in line
to inherit if neither then-King William III nor then-Pricess Anne
had any children. King James VI, Anne's grandfather, had had a
daughter Elizabeth who moved to what is now Germany and married
into royalty there; Elizabeth's daughter Sophie von der Pfalz,
known in English as the Electress Sophia of Hanover, now became
the designated successor. Sophia actually died just before Anne,
so it was her son, who incidentally did not speak English, who took
the British throne as George I.
> * Literature
> 10. This author wrote the time-travel novels "Time and Again" and
> "From Time to Time", as well as the novel that the various
> movies titled "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" were all based on.
Jack Finney. 210 for Dan Blum and Stephen.
> 11. This character should have trusted Cordelia instead of the
> other two.
King Lear (in the play of that name). 60 for everyone.
> * Sports
> 12. This man, now 77, was one of the leading players of his sport.
> Although American, he has been commemorated on a £5 note by
> the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Jack Nicklaus. 70 for Dan Blum, Gareth, Peter, Calvin, Stephen,
and Dan Tilque.
> 13. The first all-star game in the NHL was a benefit event held
> in 1934 for this player, who had suffered a career-ending
> injury during a game. His player number was retired, but in
> 1968 he asked for it to be reactivated and given to Ron Ellis,
> who wore #6 for the rest of his career.
Ace Bailey. 420 for Stephen.
Scores, if there are no errors:
<---------Ent---------> <---His---> <-Lit-> <-Spo->
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 TOTALS
J K Q K Q Q J K Q J K J A
Stephen Perry 140 70 105 210 84 105 84 60 0 210 60 70 420 1,618
Dan Blum 140 70 105 0 84 105 84 60 140 210 60 70 0 1,128
Gareth Owen 0 70 105 210 84 105 84 60 0 0 60 70 0 848
"Calvin" 0 70 105 0 84 105 0 60 140 0 60 70 0 694
Peter Smyth 0 70 0 0 0 0 84 60 140 0 60 70 0 484
Marc Dashevsky 140 70 0 0 84 0 0 60 0 0 60 0 0 414
Dan Tilque 0 0 0 0 0 0 84 60 0 0 60 70 0 274
420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420 420
And as for the contest title...
With a hand consisting of 4 jacks, 4 queens, 4 kings, and one ace,
most people today would open the bidding with a strong articificial
bid, probably either 1 club or 2 clubs depending on their system.
However, in traditional natural methods 4 no trump was the opening
bid for this 28 HCP balanced hand.
And it's also possible that someone in whose methods a 4NT opening
bid had no other meaning would try it on this hand with the intent
that it would be whatever version of Blackwood they played, despite
the significant probability that if partner has less than two aces
then the auction will end at an unmakeable contract.
--
Mark Brader | "This is the most unreadable book I've ever seen. ...
m...@vex.net | I can imagine someone wanting to assassinate the author,
Toronto | but not for religious reasons." --Peter Moylan