By Juan Rodriguez
The music comforts me like Linus’s security blanket. I know it’s time to quit when I start scribbling a question about Monk’s middle name (Sphere). Gee, I wish we could do an all-jazz edition, but, alas, I must content myself with Elvis, Beatles, Madonna, Michael. I close the books. I decide to wind down by watching tonight’s taped editions of Beavis & Butt-head.
The maximum number of characters per question line is 45, no more than three lines per question. Two-liners are preferable to three-liners, because they look better on the card.
What disease did Muhammad Ali contract after years of catching blows? (Parkinson’s syndrome.) Seems innocent enough, but Blewett’s in his what’s-wrong-with-this-picture mode: ‘Develop’ might be preferable to ‘contract,’ which implies ‘catching’ it from somewhere. Columbia Encyc. calls it ‘Parkinsonism’ but allows ‘Parkinson’s disease.’ ‘Disorder’ might be preferable to ‘disease.’”
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Often when you can see the answer in advance, a question looks better than it is. I was very proud of this one, with its cute irony–What Greek U word means “nowhere”? (Utopia)–until Walbert threw a wet blanket over it: “Does anyone know this? Does anyone care?” Or: What are the only two values in a form of algebra called Boolean logic? (True and false.) DW: “Should we save this one for the Boolean edition?”
While I like to include some easy questions to keep players in the game when they’re brain-dead at one in the morning, some are deemed too easy: What was Elvis Presley’s character’s occupation in the movies Speedway, Spinout, and Viva Las Vegas? (Race car driver.) Walbert wisecracks: “Duhhh! Does a hobby horse have a hickory dick?” What Italian actress once noted: “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti”? (Sophia Loren.) Walbert: “Name an Italian actress is a choice of two–Gina or Sophia.” Hey, what about Anna Maria Alberghetti, Virna Lisi, Claudia Cardinale, Giulietta Masina?
A: Read on.
