Berowne's 169 Quiz

(Also for ABC Wednesday: "S" is for "Stan")
This week's prompt reminds me of a certain well-known motion picture.  So I wrote the following.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: name the movie.

Dear Jen:

You know that old TV show “Let’s Make a Deal”? 

Well, we made one – (a deal not a TV show).  And what a deal!

It seems we’re now caretakers.  You know the tough time we’ve been having what with Stan out of work, and you know how we were forced to give up our apartment and little Danny had to leave that great school we worked so hard to get him into.

Well, the times they are a-changing.

Some time back I happened to run into an old high-school pal and after I unloaded my various troubles on to her, she casually mentioned that if we wanted to act as caretakers we – the whole fam damily - could get free room and board for the winter.

Well, that sounded interesting, at the very least.

It seems there’s this resort hotel upstate which has to close down during the winter months because the snow piles up to ten feet or so around it.  They needed someone, preferably a small family, to live there during that time, taking care of things.

It sounded almost too good to be true.  Well, it was both good and true; we’re now comfortably ensconced in this beautiful palace, enjoying life, something we haven’t done for quite some time.

Little Danny has been getting exercise and making his moves by riding his tryke up and down the hotel corridors.

And Stan now has the time to work on his novel.  He’s sure he’ll be able to finish it in two months.  It’s a pleasure for me to listen to him working away; if energy, dedication and enthusiasm mean anything he’s in the process of creating a masterpiece.

Even if it doesn’t turn out to be a work of art but just some shallow mass-market best seller – that will make us a huge fortune – I could live with that too.

There’s just one thing.  The feeling of cabin fever here is really strong; we’ve got to be sure none of us goes nutcakes because of it.  I’ll keep you posted.

Yours, Anne.

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)

168 Quiz Answer

Here's the answer to this week's quiz.
“The Metamorphosis”  is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect.

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "R" is for "Roger")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz.

A novella is a type of writing that is normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.  I wrote the following scenelet to suggest one of the most famous and most popular novellas ever written.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: give us its title.

Hannah:  “Thank God you’re here.  I’ve been going out of my mind.”

Bob:  “Well, I got here as soon as I could.  The traffic was incredible.  Now, again, what’s the problem.  Roger is sick?”

Hannah:  “I don’t know.  There’s something awfully wrong with him.  He’s locked himself in the bedroom.  He’s already very late for work.”

Bob:  “And what’s wrong with her?”

Hannah:  “Oh, Ruth has had kind of a shock.  She seems to have trouble talking.  You know how vigilant she is; she got a look at him before he locked the door.”

Bob:  “Come on, Ruth.  He’s your brother; you two usually don’t keep things from each other.  What’s the matter with Rog?”

(Ruth does not respond.)

Bob:  “Hannah, how come you haven’t called the doctor?”

Hannah:  “Well, it doesn’t seem that he’s sick; it’s just that he’s -  well, changed.  You’re his best friend; we thought maybe you could talk to him.”

Bob:  “Through a locked door?”

Hannah:  “Oh, he can hear you.  But he doesn’t answer.  He just makes, like, weird noises.”

Bob:  “This is incredible.  (Takes Ruth by the shoulders and shakes her.)  Come on, Ruth!  I don't mean to trample on your feelings for your brother, but what’s wrong with him?  How has he changed?”

Ruth (distraught):  “I can’t…  You wouldn’t…”

Bob:  “I wouldn’t – what?  Understand?  Try me.”

Hannah:  “She’s helpless; she had quite a shock.”

Bob:  “Ruth, tell me!  You mean that what’s happened to Roger is so awful that you can’t even describe it?”

Ruth:  “Yes.  That’s it.”

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)

167 Quiz Answer

The answer to this week's quiz: William Shakespeare's "Henry V." 

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "Q" is for Quentin.)
Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.

As you know, Shakespeare wrote a number of plays named for English kings.  I wrote the following, basing it loosely on one of his most famous “king” plays.   Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh starred in two of the famous films made about this king.

So your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is this: give us the name of the Shakespeare king suggested by the following.

Quentin is a young guy with a top job. 

When his father passed away, Quentin became CEO of the family’s huge corporation.  He’s well aware that there’s a possibility that because of his youth some people are not going to be taking him seriously.

Today’s a big day.  He has a meeting scheduled with another CEO to discuss a possible merger.  The man who shows up for the meeting has brought a gift.  Because lanky young Quentin has a reputation as a tennis player, the gift is a box of tennis balls.

Quentin:  “Tennis balls?”

Visitor: “You bet.  A full box of the best.  They’re Dunlop Professional tennis balls, especially created for performance and durability.  You’ll love ‘em.”

“I – I guess I’m a bit confused.  My meeting today was with your CEO.”

“Well hey, you understand, the guy’s a very busy man.  He’s always juggling three or four deals around.  I’m his personal assistant and he wanted me to convey his warm and fuzzy best wishes to you and, most important, to discuss your reaction to his idea of a possible merger.”

“And your name..?”

“Just call me Phil.”

“Ok Phil, let’s see if I understand.  I set up a meeting to discuss your CEO’s idea of a possible merger of our two corporations – it was his idea - but he’s too busy; he sends his personal assistant.”

“I assure you I’m fully qualified…”

“And he also sends me a gift, a box of tennis balls – something you might give a high-school kid.”

“I see you’re getting a bit upset.”

“Upset?  Well, you see, on a subject as important as a possible merger of two corporations, I can meet only with another CEO, not a personal assistant.”

“I’ll report back to him that…”

“Yes, report to him that I enjoy the game we’re playing.  Tell him I’m just an adolescent he doesn’t have to take seriously.  But here's my ultimatum: tell him I’ve got a terrific forehand and an even more powerful destructive backhand.  And tell him that his serve - the idea of a merger of our two firms - has gone straight into the net!”

By the way, the tennis balls were not my idea.  Shakespeare wrote a scene about tennis balls; it’s an important part of this play.

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)

 

166 Quiz Answer

The answer to this week’s quiz is The Catcher in the Rye, a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger.  Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation.

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "P" is for "Paul")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.

It’s about a book that had a total sale of more than 65 million copies; over a quarter of a million copies are still sold each year.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: name the book.

My friend Paul recently told me about a dream he had, a dream that seemed to me to be pure surrealism.

In his dream, he explained, he could see quite clearly that there was before him a field of rye grain, a field that was almost covered with a huge group of children, playing and having fun.  They were of different ages and sizes; nothing special about any of them, they were just a lot of kids.

But somehow, and he didn't know how, Paul believed he had been put in charge of them, like a lifeguard at a beach.

It seems they were in danger, or at least the possibility of danger existed for them.  And he was the one who was supposed to save them.

As I say, it was a very strange dream.  He went on to add that at that time he knew (and maybe cared) little about children.  He rarely thought about them.  But the situation made him, still in that dream, nervous and anxious.  He felt he was acting like a penitent, being punished for some imaginary sin.  He was resistant to the idea because saving them would be a huge responsibility.

As the dream progressed, he learned what the danger was.

It seems that the field they were playing on was next to a steep cliff.  It was obvious that while they were cavorting about they might possibly fall over the cliff.

And the dream made clear that he, Paul, was supposed to catch them!

It was evidently a really scary experience for him.

Then suddenly it occurred to me that he had been influenced by a book that was quite famous some time back.  And perhaps now you can pay tribute to the book by giving us its name?

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings) 

165 Quiz Answer

Here’s the answer to our weekly quiz.  Happy Days was an American television sitcom that aired first-run from 1974 to 1984 on the ABC network.

In one episode, the character named the Fonz, on water skis, literally jumped a shark, leading to an idiom that has entered our language.  If you’ve “jumped the shark,” you’ve reached your peak and now you’re on your way down, or out.  The phrase is now often used in other areas besides entertainment: politics, business, sports, etc.

(Also for Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "O" is for "Orv")
Here is this week's Berownial quiz.
The following little piece of fiction I wrote might suggest to you a certain highly successful TV series of a few decades back.  In its eleven seasons on the air, it was one of the longest-running prime-time sitcoms in television history.  Your assignment, should you agree to accept it, is: name the series.

The way this came about was that we all went down to the beach to watch Orv.

We weren't really surfer dudes; it's just that Orv - we called him Orv because his name was Orville - was bragging about how great he had become with water skis.
 
Since he was always telling us how great he was at something, we decided to call him out on it.  Some of us even put up some money, five bucks each, as a bet that he would screw up as a water-skier.

(That doesn't seem like a huge amount these days, but at that time - keep in mind that we were just a bunch of kids with what you might call little in the way of ready funds - five clams represented money.) 

Well, we were all a little embarrassed because we had to wake up; the guy was not only not putrid, he was good.  I don't mean Olympic Gold Medal-type good, but good enough.

To see him zipping about out there on the water on his skis, wearing his famous leather jacket, was a blast. 

And then something happened, something incredible.  Right smack in front of him a shark rose up, a huge son of a gun as big as he was.  I was doing nothing but watch but still I shuddered a bit when I saw it.  But Orv, believe it or not, handled it. 

He crouched down and then just leaped with his skis over the big fish.  Holy guacamole!  We could hardly believe our eyes.  Instead of cracking wise about it we were cheering Orv.  We could understand why he craved water-skiing.

Later, we could also hardly believe how this event got talked about by so many people and even how it worked its way into common everyday speech.

But perhaps by now you know the name of theTV series?
(Submitted also to Sunday Scribblings)

  

164 Quiz Answer

Here's the answer to this week's quiz.

"Madame Bovary" is the story of a woman caught in the dull and stultifying country life of the 19th century that she leads with her equally dull husband.  Written with a detached irony and beautiful wit, and playing on the audience's affection for its central character as well as showing up her desires and hopes, Gustave Flaubert's book is listed as one of the world's great novels.

(Also submitted to Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "N" is for "Newt")
Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.

Since Magpie Tales is a writers’ blog, I thought folks might be familiar with a certain highly acclaimed book.  Published way back in 1856 by a guy named Flaubert, it has long been established as one of the greatest novels ever written.  Six movies were made of it.

So, without apology, I submit the following, which I thought might possibly suggest the original.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: name the novel.

Dear Mom:

Always a real pleasure hearing from you.  How are things out there in the wild West? 

As for us, we’re okay here.  We had lots of snow, but that’s gone now.  You asked about my friend Elsa.  Believe me, you open a can of worms, or a Pandora’s box, or whatever, when you ask that question.

You know how much I hate gossip, so I’ll tell you only the basic facts – along with anything else I can think of.

One thing is certain.  As you know, Elsa lived for quite a while rather high on the hog.  Upper East Side in Manhattan; shops, restaurants, theatre.  Then she marries this fellow named Newt (just like that guy Gingrich).  He is from a town in the Midwest named Tipover Junction or something like that.

So, amor vincit omnia (assuming I have that spelled right); she moved out there for the start of a new, or Newt, life. 

In a way it was kind of a “Green Acres” rerun.  She soon learned she had a hard time enduring small-town life.  As for local entertainment her attitude is, if you’ve seen one tractor-pull you’ve seen them all.  She coped with boredom by doing a lot of shopping - not always a wise idea - but basically she figured she didn’t have things too bad.  She was married to a doctor, after all.

Well, this is where things turned sour.  She wrote me that in New York she had originally been introduced to a man (Newt) as a doctor visiting the Big City from the great Midwest.  Having put her trust in this introduction she was to learn, once she got out thataway, that ol’ Newt wasn’t really a doc; he was his town’s “Health Officer.”  His job, among other similar things, was to travel about checking dumpsters and such to see they were closed properly.

Soon after she got established in the place, she learned that her husband worked hard to get the citizenry there to think that the phrase “Health Officer” actually meant a type of MD – though he had little medical training – and believe it or not he had actually operated on the lame leg of some poor farmer.

Talk about destruction; the operation had turned out badly.  As did the leg.  As did the farmer.  As did Newt - he is being sued.

In short, Elsa now feels that no Newt is good Newt and she wants out.  Know of any inexpensive apartments to rent out your way?

My love to all, Sylvia

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)  

 

163 Quiz Answer

The answer to this week’s quiz is “Glengarry Glen Ross,” the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning David Mamet play that also became a famous motion picture.

(Also submitted to Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "M" is for "Martin")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.  I wrote the following little scenelet which is based, loosely, on a famous play that was made into a famous movie.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: name the play. 

“Quite a resume you got, Martin.  We may have a spot for you here.”

“That’s wonderful, Mr Collins.  I’ve got a couple of letters of recommendation too.  Here, let me give them to you.”

“Not necessary.  Fact is, I’m not interested in what others have to say about you.  I’m just a facts and figures guy.  In other words, since this is a sales job all I want to know is how successful you’ve been as a salesman – in dollars and cents.”

“Well, I basked in the title of top salesman for my company, got a raise every year.  As you may know, the firm came to grief because of government over-regulation, among other reasons…”

“No need to go into all that.  We’re going to give you a shot.  We’ll find out if you’re sharp enough to handle the type of work we do around here.”

“Well, if you’re looking for a dedicated, hard-working employee who knows what the word loyal means, you’ll find…”

“Yeah, yeah; keep in mind I’m interested in only two things: can you sell and can you close?  Ever sell real estate?”

“Uh – not actually, no.”

“It’s not all that important.  A good salesman can sell a plot of land as well as a used Toyota.  We’ll find out.”

“Good.  And I certainly appreciate the opportunity.  I’ll be selling tracts of land?”

“Right.  You, my friend, are now an officially-appointed real estate agent and you’ll be selling your prospects, your potential buyers, on what we claim is one of the finest real estate developments in the country, located in the golden paradise of Arizona.”

“Sounds great.  That’s quite a distance from here.  Do we fly them out there to view the property?”

“Ha.  We’d be broke in a week if we ever did that.  No, they’ll ‘view the property’ by listening to what you say about it and the way you say it.  And we have a beautiful video you can show them – it’s not exactly of the property but it is of Arizona.”

“I see.”

“When we send you a prospect it will be someone who has already expressed interest, so all you have to do is close.  If you can’t do that, if you can’t close the deal, you’ll be out of here and maybe you should move on to a different profession.  I hear Taco Bell is hiring.”

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)

 

162 Quiz Answer

The answer to this week’s quiz is the opera “Don Giovanni,” by Mozart, the colorful story of Don Juan, the legendary libertine – who gets his come-uppance at the end.

(Also for Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "L" is for "Lance")

This week’s Berownial quiz question has to do with – grand opera!  (I wonder how this is going to go over.  :-) )

I wrote a little scenelet loosely based on a well-known opera.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: give us the opera’s name.

Seems a famous international film star, Lance R., well seasoned in the arts of seduction, is visiting a small town in the American Midwest.  He spots a beautiful girl there, Ellie, who is getting ready to be married. 

He introduces himself and chats with her.  She is bowled over by this chance meeting with such a celebrity.  He invites her to come over to his place...

Lance: “There you’ll give me your hand.  Look, my place is not far, right over there.  Come, dear friend, let us go.”

Ellie: “Wow, this is so cool.  To be talking with a real star.  Truth is, I’d love to, but I don’t dare.  Ritchie, he’s my boyfriend – we’re engaged, after all – he’d practically kill me.”

“Don’t let's argue about Ritchie; whoever he is he’s nowhere near good enough for you.  You deserve much better.”

“I’m so nervous.   But it’s true, what you said; I often wondered if Ritchie was the right guy for me.”

“Ritchie!  You shouldn't care a lick for him.  What can he do for you?  I can change your life!”

“What’s going to happen if we do go over there?”

“Why, we’re going to be together, to share life’s pleasures.  We’ll talk, we’ll get to know each other.  We’ll experience the exquisite scintillating miracle that is the beginning of true, innocent love.”

“You talk real good.  Not like Ritchie, that’s for sure!”

“Come, let us begin what will be for both of us a wondrous new chapter of our lives.  Shall we go?”

“All right.  Okay, let’s go.”

Mozart put it this way:Là ci darem la mano,
Là mi dirai di sì:
Vedi, non è lontano,
Partiam, ben mio, da qui.

Vorrei e non vorrei,
Mi trema un poco il cor,
Felice, è ver, sarei,
Ma può burlarmi ancor!

Andiam?

Andiam!

Now have a squint at it in English: “There I'll give you my hand,
There you'll say yes:
See, it is not far,
my love, let's leave from here.”

“Should I or shouldn't I?
My heart trembles at the thought.
It's true, I might be happy;
I could anyway have fun!”

 “Let us go?”

“Let’s go!”

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)