Happy New Year: Movie Edition
1. A Quentin Tarintino directed segment of what movie, set in the fictional Hotel Mon Signor on New Year's Eve, is based on the Roald Dahl short story "Man from the South"?
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2. Ryan Coogler's feature length directorial debut centers around the last day in the life of Oscar Grant III before being killed by a BART police officer early on January 1, 2009 at what Oakland transit station?
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3. Seen receiving eggs provided by Mr. Wilford, in what movie are children in a classroom shown celebrating the 18th New Year, marking that many circumnavigations of Earth by the title conveyance?
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4. The dystopian 1995 movie STRANGE DAYS, which depicts Los Angeles in the last two days of 1999, was directed and written by what pair of future Best Director Oscar winners that had recently divorced in 1991?
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5. More well known for the song that became the bestselling of all time and an unfortunate musical number celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday, what movie also features "Happy Holiday" which is sung as part of a New Year's Eve/Grand Opening celebration at the title establishment?
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6. An undersea earthquake near Crete on New Year's Eve is the catalysis for the action in what 1972 disaster movie starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters?
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7. With a title referencing the contents of a carton, what movie revolves around the guests of a 1981 New Year's Eve party hosted by the Martha Plimpton portrayed Monica? Guests include characters played by Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Gaby Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Courtney Love, Paul Rudd, Jay Mohr, Kate Hudson, Janeane Garofalo, and Elvis Costello as himself.
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8. Leading up to the climax of what sequel, the title group is released from a psychiatric hospital on New Year's Eve to save New York City from a 16th-century tyrant and sorcerer named Vigo who has returned to life via a magical painting of himself?
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9. In a classic comedy, after a barroom dancer he invites to a New Year's Eve dinner doesn't arrive, a prospector played by whom daydreams of amusing the dancer by using dinner rolls on the ends of forks to imitate a comedic jig?
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10. In END OF DAYS, Satan (Gabriel Byrne) attempts to impregnate Christine (Robin Tunney) before midnight on New Year's Eve 1999 to bring about the title event. What actor and politician plays former police detective Jericho Cane who comes to Christine's rescue from both Satan and corrupt Vatican officials trying to kill her?
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Recent Events
1. December 3rd, the China National Space Administration reported the sighting of what has been described via translations as a "mystery hut" on what celestial body?
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2. Released in theaters in 2021, what movie about a trip to Tampa, FL is based on a 148 tweet thread on Twitter written by the real-life version of the title woman played by Taylour Paige?
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3. On December 22nd, PILLAR OF SHAME, a sculpture in a series by Dutch artist Jens Galschiøt, was demolished on order of officials at the University of Hong Kong where it was installed in 1998 after being unveiled the previous year to mark the 8th anniversary of the June 4th massacre at what location?
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4. In December, Megan Thee Stallion graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health administration from what historically black university?
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5. In November, to celebrate the 18th birthday of the Princess of Orange, an official biography entitled AMALIA was published about the heir apparent to the throne of what country?
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6. What national discount retailer recently announced they would be bumping the price of most of their items by a quarter?
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7. Ashley M. Jones, the recently announced Poet Laureate of Alabama, published a collection in 2021 entitled REPARATIONS NOW!, which references the 1963 gubernatorial inaugural address by whom?
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8. Among other firsts in his short career, in November, what Los Angeles Angel became the first designated hitter to be awarded the American League MVP?
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9. The Danakil Depression, considered by some measures the hottest place on Earth, sits at the junction of three diverging tectonic plates in the Afar Region of Ethiopia which borders to the west what other Ethiopian region, the location of an ongoing civil war that began in November 2020?
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10. In a move that means people currently 14 years old and younger will never be able to legally buy tobacco, what country announced that it will begin increasing the legal age for tobacco purchases by one year every year starting in 2025?
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Trivia Grab Bag
1. “Everyone gets it in the end” was the tagline for what 2000 Norm Macdonald movie?
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2. What cartoon cat is often seen eating Gritty Kitty Litter?
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3. Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium are both located in what state?
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4. What is the Hebrew name of the Jewish service organization that translates to English as "Sons of the Covenant"?
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5. The elite soldiers known as Gurkhas are from what country?
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6. What rock group that saw their biggest success in the 1980s took its name from a character in the 1968 movie BARBARELLA?
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7. What US state was named after Queen Elizabeth I?
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8. What British privateer captured the town of St. Augustine, Florida in 1586?
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9. The stab and tumble are shots designed to fall steeply and suddenly in what sport?
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10. What semiaquatic mammal's name is Greek for "river horse" referencing its surprising speed on land?
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Google Maps Road Trip
Instructions: Each question consists of a series of directions for finding a particular location using the Street View feature in Google Maps. Use these directions, some more cryptic than others, to “travel” to the destination using the available controls in Street View. The final answer to each question may be available directly from Street View or may require further research. Internet use (and anything else) is obviously expected.
Note: Street View is updated from time to time, and on some platforms (ex. PC) it is possible to view older images for a location. I double-check everything the day before to make sure the clues are accurate for the most recently available images in Street View. For the week of the email, the hope is that Google will not make changes. However, I make no promises beyond that.
Hint: There is no need to leave the city you start in.
QUESTION #1
a. Start where the Golden Hurricane takes the field.
b. Head east on the Mother Road.
c. After passing a motel with a baby blue ‘57 Chevy out front and a columnar cactus on the sign, take a right at the next traffic light.
d. Continue heading south until you reach a building designed to resemble a train station.
e. In the shopping center across the street is a restaurant with a distinctive facade that has been closed for over 10 years and was once part of a regional chain. The only remaining restaurant in this chain was recently bought by whom?
(Answer)
QUESTION #2
a. Across the street from a production plant that has a 30-foot tall statue of a character that died in a 2020 Super Bowl ad out front is a restaurant with a name referencing a Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert movie. Start here.
b. Take a left out of the parking lot and continue on the road named for the company whose plant is in the first clue and take a left at the next four-way stop.
c. Upon reaching an intersection with a convenience store represented by both a V and a Z, take a left.
d. Continue on this road until you reach a bar with a name that sounds like the opposite of the title of a 1998 movie about mistaken identities.
e. Oops, wrong bar! I meant the one on the opposite side of the restaurant just to the east.
f. Looking at the bar’s sign while facing east, what message is on the letter board portion of the sign?
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QUESTION #3
a. Start at the inspiration for the title of the eighth album by the band whose lead singer once played a sea captain dressed ice cream man who only sold sludgesicles.
b. Head west past the mechanic advertising oil changes and brake service.
c. When you reach downtown take a left onto campus through the structure that appears on the school’s seal.
d. Walk south until you reach a building with an official name that honors a donor who left money for its construction at the time of her death, 14 years before the building’s opening.
e. A vehicle is parked on the sidewalk out front. What is the brand of the product that is sitting on its roof?
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QUESTION #4
a. Start at the roadside marker commemorating a home run hit during a spring training game on St. Patrick’s Day 1918.
b. Head east and take a right when the road reaches a T. Enjoy a nice stroll through the historic district.
c. Take a right on the road in front of a bar named after someone known for saying “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”.
d. When you reach the apartment complex with a shirtless man checking his mail, take the next left.
e. At the first intersection with a road named for a plant, there is a building advertising several events. What is the title of the third event?
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QUESTION #5
a. Start by facing the gold leaf tribute on the exterior of the venue that hosted the second wedding of the singer who won her first Grammy in 1994 thanks to a cover of a song that appeared on her eponymous third album.
b. Head northeast until reach a restaurant named for the state bird. Turn right.
c. Bobby Z! Well, not that Bobby Z. Maybe someone called him that. Keep going.
d. Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads. Keep going!
e. When you are across the street from a building that opened in 2020, look at the ground to your left. If you were to continue heading the same direction you have been, how many minutes until you reach a restroom?
(Answer)
Errors: Please email me (arlo.lyle@gmail.com) with any errors you find within the questions. I will update the page and include corrections in the next email. Please limit these to factual errors that affect the validity of the question. I already know my grammar and spelling is horrible!