TOSSUPS – THE CURIOUS GERBIL OF BENJAMIN BUTTON TRASHMASTERS 2008 – UTC
Questions by Mark Coen, Chris Rosenberg, Greg Sorenson and James Quintong
1. This two-word phrase is the on-air brand of KDND 107.9 in Sacramento, as well as 107.7 KNDD, Seattle. In a 2006 book by this name, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire discover their family history on an unnamed island, and are finally are rid of Count Olaf. In film, it's the title of a 1978 movie directed by and starring Burt Reynolds. It's also the title of Track 16 of Abbey Road, which asks, "Are you going to be in my dreams tonight?" as well as track 11 of The Doors' self-titled debut; a song which Francis Ford Coppola notably used in the opening scenes of Apocalypse Now. FTP, give this phrase which would not be found in the middle or beginning of this question.
Answer: The End
2. Among its stories not yet filmed are "Strawberry Spring" and "Gray Matter." "The Ledge" and "Quitters, Inc." were filmed for the anthology Cat's Eye, while "The Woman In The Room" and "Sometimes They Come Back" were shot as features. "Trucks" has been shot twice; once as a 1997 TV movie starring Timothy Busfield, and in 1986 as the author-directed Maximum Overdrive. "The Mangler," "The Lawnmower Man," and "Children of the Corn," appear in, FTP, what 1978 collection of short stories by Stephen King?
Answer: Night Shift
3. She lost her son to illness when he was 12, and nearly died herself in the episode "Live Alone and Like It" due to an accidental overdose of arthritis medication. She kept her retired husband, Gil, on ice for nearly a decade after he died so she could continue to receive his pension checks. Her house collapsed during a tornado, killing her best friend, Ida Greenberg, but she was at least able to honor Ida’s last wishes by spreading her ashes on a local baseball field. Also on the plus side, her ratting out of Bree Van de Kamp helped her stave off alcoholism, and she prevented Edie Britt's fake suicide from becoming real. Now Edie's husband David is trying to get people to think she's suffering from dementia. This is some of the twisted life of, FTP, what elderly resident of Wisteria Lane played by Kathryn Joosten on Desperate Housewives?
Answer: Karen McCluskey
4. A member of the Manatee East Little League Team that was runner-up in the 1997 Little League World Series, he was the 12th player drafted in the 2003 amateur draft. When he reached the major leagues in 2006, he was the youngest player in baseball. His first major league home run came in the bottom of the 10th to tie a game with the Giants, and his high-fiving of fans gave him the reputation of a hot dog. Traded by the Mets for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider after the 2007 season, he has yet to show his flashes of brilliance are worth the lack of fundamental skills. FTP, name this Nationals outfielder, so named because his mother decided she would have no more children.
Answer: Lastings Milledge
5. A small Illinois town is mysteriously destroyed and all inhabitants are missing. Investigative reporter Audrey Aimes follows the story to a lab run by Dr. Ed Wainwright. The two discover that the town was destroyed by grasshoppers that had grown exponentially after feeding on radioactive wheat. The grasshoppers then menace some very realistic postcards of Chicago before Wainwright, played by Peter Graves, gets them to drown themselves in Lake Michigan while chasing a motorboat broadcasting a cricket mating call. A sixth season victim of Mystery Science Theater 3000, FTP, name this 1957 sci-fi movie, whose title refers to what could be the start of the elimination of mankind.
Answer: The Beginning of the End
6. The namesake of an asteroid discovered in 1995 by Petr Pravec and Lenka Sarounova, he would contemplate retirement in 1999 after his team lost the Stanley Cup finals, a move that would further alienate him with teammates already mad about his role in the ouster of coach Ted Nolan. He would retire in 2002 after winning the Cup with a different team, but return in 2004, only to see that season mostly lost to injury. He'd then join Ottawa as a free agent, only to return to his previous team the next season, and would win his second Cup two years later as the second-oldest player in the league. Along the way he also won a 1998 Olympic gold medal, six Vezina Trophies and two Hart Trophies as league MVP. Name, FTP, this "dominating" Czech goalie who won both of his Cups with the Detroit Red Wings.
Answer: Dominik Hasek
7. This color's most well-known institutional user represents it with hexadecimal FFCC33 on the Web, and in print with Pantone 143 or 129 depending on paper coating. Of the eight colors retired from the standard box of Crayola crayons in 1990, it was the only shade with a one-word name.In quizbowl, its namesake "pages" refer to a resource portal including a directory of teams and organizations.FTP, name this shade of yellow which, with blue, are the colors of the University of Michigan.
Answer: Maize
8. The name's the same, first and last. One, a womanizing tennis pro in Dunn's River, Connecticut, was found murdered in 1978. Jessica Tate was convicted at the time, but the true killer's identity was the cliffhanger of the season-one finale. The other is first seen in 1960 jockeying for position at Sterling Cooper and leaving his own bachelor party for a booty call with new secretary Peggy Olson. FTP, give the name shared by these two television characters, the first played by Robert Urich on Soap, the second by Vincent Kartheiser on Mad Men.
Answer: Peter Campbell
9. Reissues of this band's catalog were issued in spring and summer 2008, and included rarities such as "A Toe Needs A Shoe" and "If Only You Were Lonely," but the news was tempered by the death of second drummer Steve Foley. The song "The Last" fittingly turned out to be the final track on their final studio album, 1990's "All Shook Down", though they did reunite to record two new songs, "Pool & Dive" and "Message to the Boys," for the 2006 compilation album, "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was?" FTP, name this Minneapolis indie band led by Paul Westerberg, best known for 1984's Let It Be and its single, "I Will Dare."
Answer: The Replacements
10. It was announced at a press conference led by Pete Estes, who told those assembled that they were all members of the Society to Extinguish Panthers from the Automotive World. Originally designated the XP-836, reporters who asked what its name meant were told that it stood for "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs." Unveiled in 1966 to make up for sales lost by the discredited Corvair, it would be based on the F-body platform during its entire initial run. Its third generation unveiled the most changes, including a hatchback model and the sportier IROC-Z variant. Retired in 2002 due to low sales, it was unretired for the 2009 model year, and this fifth generation will replace the first-gen model that was used to portray Bumblebee in the 2007Transformers movie. Name, FTP, this revived pony car from Chevrolet.
Answer: Chevrolet Camaro
11. David Wills calls himself one of these when performing as a member of Negativland, and a 2005 Gore Verbinski film starring Nicolas Cage has one as its titular character. Real life examples include Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's brother Tom; Pat Sajak before getting gameshow gigs, and David Letterman. Fictional ones include Ron Burgundy's sidekick Brick Tamland, and Harris K. Telemacher, played by Steve Martin in LA Story. FTP, name this broadcasting position best exemplified by Willard Scott or Tom Roker, the colloquial term for male meteorologists.
Answer: weathermen (acc. singular or plural, prompt on meteorologist but do not accept it; the first clue is very specific)
12. His first stab at head coaching was a brief six-game interim gig with the Calgary Stampeders in 1976. He started making a name for himself as offensive coordinator at Washington State from 1987-90, where he helped mentor Drew Bledsoe. That led to a six-year run as Wyoming's head coach, where he won 10 games in 1996 thanks to his innovative high-powered offense. He took that "basketball on grass" spread offense to the Big Ten in 1997, reviving a former power house and earning 10 bowl bids in 12 years before turning the reins of power to Danny Hope. FTP, name this recently retired head coach at Purdue.
Answer: Joe Tiller
13. In it we learn that the title character owns a restaurant named for his wife, who died of cancer in 2002. He is drawn to the climactic event of the movie due to several things, including a strained relationship with his son, played by Milo Ventimiglia, and a computer simulation of the event run by a cable network. That event, a fight for charity in Las Vegas, is against Mason "The Line" Dixon, the reigning heavyweight champ whose popularity has faded due to fighting a string of tomato cans. Not sure how a bout with a 60 year old would help. This is the very basic plot of, FTP, what series-ending film that shares the name of its main character, played by director Sylvester Stallone?
Answer: Rocky Balboa
14. A bonus track on its album's 1992 release, it would get listed on the 2001 re-release and is still its final track. Among the people named in the song is Mandy May, an apparently underage woman who the singer has relations with, resulting in six months behind bars. Trina recorded a reponse song in 2000, while Lil' John included a version on Crunk Juice, but it’s best known for the cover that was retired after this year's Bonnaroo festival, only to be unretired at Glastonbury two weeks later. This cover hit the Billboard Hot 100 after being made the B side of "Landed," a single from Songs for Silverman. Calling out Eazy-E as one of the title people, name, FTP, this song first appearing on Dr. Dre's The Chronic but more widely known as a Ben Folds live performance staple.
Answer: Bitches Ain't Shit
15. It was the first in its series to feature a soundtrack not solely created by Nobuo Uematsu, and was the title that saw the Active Time Battle system replaced by the Conditional Turn-Based Battle system. It also marked the series' first foray into 3D backgrounds and voice actors, and the replacement of experience points with a Sphere Grid that allows for less linear character improvement. Taking place on the planet Spira, it features the blitzball player Tidus, who leads a group to defeat the creature Sin, whose cycle of death and rebirth leads to the repeated destruction of cities on Spira. This is some of the background of, FTP, what entry into a long-running video game series by Square Enix?
Answer: Final Fantasy X
16. In reality, it names a group of vacation cottages along Stanley Lake in Iron River, Michigan. In its most well-known iteration, its motto is "Living has no limits" and is located just north of St. Augustine, Florida. Among its denizens are Mabel Choate, who moved from New York after she was mugged for a marble rye, and fitness freak Izzy Mandelbaum. Frank and Estelle Costanza lived here briefly despite being told there no units available here, while an incident walking barefoot in the clubhouse cost Kramer a shot at being its president. FTP, name this retirement community that was a home to Morty and Helen Seinfeld.
Answer: Del Boca Vista
17. A founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, she was a favorite of James Whale, but a lack of starring roles caused her to retire from the movies in 1946, focusing on making decoupage furniture and oil painting. She would return to the screen 30 years later in a TV movie about Lizzie Borden, and would get back to the big screen in 1982's My Favorite Year, where she danced with Peter O'Toole but had no lines. She made her last film appearance in Wim Wender's Land of Plenty, but would be best known for a 1997 role that saw her snag her first Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award nods, of which she only shared the last with the winner of the other two, Kim Basinger. Name, FTP, this actress who hit the big time as an 89-year-old playing 101 year-old Rose Calvert in Titanic.
Answer: Gloria Stuart
18. This person's "Machete" blog claims "Ockham had his razor. He shaved with Delicacy. I Sever with Blunt Force." It's been dormant since February 2008, so it didn't cover his June comeback win over Orlando Jordan to claim the NWE belt, but has lots to say about Vince McMahon, who unsuccessfully claimed to own the rights to this character's makeup and persona. FTP, name this wrestler from Parts Unknown, who defeated Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania IV for the heavyweight title, and legally changed his name from Jim Hellwig.
Answer: The Ultimate Warrior
19. Among the final recipients were George C. Scott, Glenn Close, Alfre Woodard, Judd Apatow, Sandra Oh, Emeril Lagasse, and Kel Mitchell. The first time they were awarded on television was in 1982, when Cloris Leachman hosted at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. The 1983 broadcast on WTBS was interrupted by a backstage fire. Paula Poundstone was the first woman to win one for stand-up comedy. FTP, name this goofy 9-inch silver spade statuette on a black base, first awarded by the National Cable Television Association, then by the National Academy of Cable Programming, and last awarded in 1997.
Answer: Cable ACE Awards
20. Derived from a 1961 composition by Paul Leka and Dale Frashuer, it was originally recorded to be a B-side for a single by Gary DeCarlo, who sings lead vocals on the song. However, the original recording would be attributed to a fictional band whose name came from an incident with a manhole the day the song was recorded. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in December 1969 but it wouldn't become a pop cultural icon until 1977, when Comiskey Park organist Nancy Faust used it during White Sox games when an opposing pitcher was taken out or the home team was going to win a game. FTP, name this now staple song of sporting events performed by Steam.