Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on the dates
> indicated below, and should be interpreted accordingly. If any
> answers have changed due to newer news, you are still expected to
> give the answers that were correct on that date... For further
> information see my 2016-11-26 companion posting on "Questions from
> the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
> * Game 3 (2017-01-30), Round 1 - Current Events
> 1. Donald Trump issued a proclamation after his inauguration,
> stating that January 20, 2017, will be known by what title?
"National Day of Patriotic Devotion"! 4 for Don.
> 2. Trump announced an investigation into "widespread" voter fraud,
> reportedly based on a conversation he had with a "very famous
> golfer" who now lives in Florida. The golfer is not a US
> citizen. Name him.
Bernard Langer. 4 for Peter and Pete.
> 3. Hollywood is gaga for "La La Land". The film starring Ryan
> Gosling and Emma Stone tied "All About Eve" and "Titanic" for
> most-ever Oscar nominations. How many Oscar nominations did
> these three movies each receive?
14. 4 for Peter, Pete, and Joshua.
> 4. After protests by women's groups, this director stepped down
> as president of the César Film Awards in France. Who is he?
Roman Polanski. 4 for Peter, Pete, Marc, and Joshua. 3 for Dan Blum.
> 5. The biggest entertainment news in current events last week was
> the death of Mary Tyler Moore -- someone who actually deserves
> the descriptor "iconic", for her role as Mary Richards. In what
> city did this character ply her trade as an associate producer
> at WJM?
Minneapolis. 4 for Dan Blum, Dan Tilque, Don, Pete, Marc, and Joshua.
> 6. For safety reasons, Butchart Gardens, the popular British
> Columbia tourist spot, is banning its customers from bringing
> this device to the attraction. What device?
Selfie stick. 4 for Peter, Pete, and Joshua. 3 for Dan Blum.
> 7. A former interim mayor of Montreal has been found guilty of
> 8 criminal charges that involve kickbacks from developers.
> He'll be sentenced next month. Who is he?
Michael Applebaum.
> 8. This well-known foreign leader has been questioned for a third
> time related to corruption investigations, including possible
> bribes for more favorable coverage from a media outlet.
> Name the foreign leader.
Benjamin Netanyahu. 4 for Dan Tilque and Erland.
> 9. The Blue Jays signed this 31-year-old backup catcher who hit
> a whopping .171 last year. His most distinctive feature is his
> 6-syllable surname, the longest in major league baseball. Who?
Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- as you will remember from Game 6, Round 9, in
the last season that the Usual Suspects wrote. 4 for Pete and Marc.
> 10. As the NHL headed into its All-Star break, which player had
> the most individual points?
Connor McDavid. 4 for Don.
Sidney Crosby was second.
> * Game 4 (2017-02-06), Round 1 - Current Events
This was the second-easiest round in the original game, after the
audio round.
> 1. A Facebook-owned company was ordered to pay $500,000,000 in
> damages to Zeni Max for improperly using code related to
> what device?
Oculus Rift.
> 2. Which technology-driven automobile company has officially dropped
> "Motors" from its corporate name as it looks to the future?
Tesla. (What, they don't think electric motors are motors?)
4 for Dan Blum, Dan Tilque, Don, Peter, Pete, Marc, and Joshua.
> 3. Which pop music star announced on Instagram last Wednesday that
> she is pregnant with twins?
Beyoncé. 4 for Dan Blum, Dan Tilque, Don, Peter, Erland, Pete,
and Joshua.
> 4. The newsmagazine show "60 Minutes" said that a well-known
> "special contributor" will be providing the occasional report,
> starting this fall. Who?
Oprah Winfrey. I'm generously accepting either name. 4 for Pete
and Joshua.
> 5. This comedian took to Instagram to defend her father's second
> cousin, who happens to be the US Senate minority leader,
> after the latter was insulted on Twitter by Donald Trump.
> Name the comedian.
Amy Schumer. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Pete, Marc, and Joshua.
> 6. She was the acting US attorney general, but she was fired by
> Donald Trump after refusing to defend his "Muslim ban" on the
> grounds that it is illegal. Name her.
Sally Yates. 4 for Dan Tilque and Joshua.
> 7. Which veteran NHL coach has been fired after 6 years in charge
> of the St. Louis Blues?
Ken Hitchcock. 4 for Erland and Pete.
As usual, if you give a first name, you have to get it right.
> 8. Speaking of St. Louis, the Cardinals baseball team was ordered
> to give up two draft picks and pay $2,000,000 to the Houston
> Astros. Why did they incur this penalty?
They hacked into the Astros' computers, accessing email and the
scouting database. I scored "stole the Astros' private information"
as almost correct, since that was the essence of what was wrong.
4 for Dan Tilque, Don, Peter, Marc, and Joshua. 3 for Pete.
A former Cardinals executive is already serving a 46-month jail sentence.
> 9. Conservative Party leadership candidate Kellie Leitch's campaign
> manager has resigned. Controversial in his methods, he also ran
> the mayoral campaigns for Rob Ford in 2010 and John Tory in 2014.
> Who is he?
Nick Kouvalis.
> 10. The head of the TTC's largest union was removed from his post
> last Friday by the union's head office in Maryland, as part of
> an internal union battle. Name him.
Bob Kinnear.
Scores, if there are no errors:
GAMES-> 1 2 3 4 TOTALS
Joshua Kreitzer 8 24 16 24 72
"Pete" -- -- 24 23 47
"ArenEss" 20 24 -- -- 44
Marc Dashevsky 4 12 12 12 40
Pete Gayde 16 16 -- -- 32
Peter Smyth -- -- 16 16 32
Dan Blum 4 4 10 12 30
Dan Tilque 0 4 8 16 28
Don Piven -- -- 12 12 24
Erland Sommarskog 0 8 4 8 20
--
Mark Brader | (As you might imagine, the "difficulties" are all
Toronto | bureaucratic and competential, not technical.)
m...@vex.net | --Steve Summit