170 Quiz Answer

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

In the play “Hamlet,” Laertes loves his sister Ophelia but like most Elizabethan males he seeks to control her. Before he leaves for France he gives a speech instructing her on the importance of proper behavior.

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "T" is for "Tom")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz.  I wrote the following scenelet, which should remind you of one of the Shakespeare plays.  Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is: which play?

Sue: “You’re still packing?  You’ve been running around all morning.  I thought you’d be all set by now.”

Tom:  “I’m just about ready.  Have you seen my beret?  It's my badge of honor for a visit to France.”

“Oh God Tom, you didn’t have to buy a beret to make a trip to Paris.  That’s really overdoing it.”

“Well, I wanted to fit in.”

“My understanding is that most French folks stopped wearing berets around the time of Louis Fifteenth.  Just buy a baguette first thing you get there and walk down the street with that skinny loaf of bread tucked under your arm; you’ll fit in nicely.”

“I guess I’m about ready to leave.  Don’t forget to write; let me know what’s going on around here.”

“What’s going on around here will be the usual – not much.”

“Come on, cheer up.  Why do you let your mood darken so much?  After all, you live like a princess in an actual castle; not many girls have a lifestyle like that.  So you should just be happy that your bro got a chance to go to Paris.”

“Yeah, it’s great.  It’s just that whenever Dad decides to spring for something really expensive, like a chance to leave these northern climes for a trip to France – with all those luscious meals at Parisian restaurants – it’s for you.  I get to sit home and watch.”

“Listen.  I know your relationship with Dad is a bit...”

“Strained?”

“Well, yes.  Why don’t you make a bit more effort to be...”

“The dutiful daughter?  What century is this?  I should be able to live as I want to live.  You certainly do.”

“Anyway, you know very well this is an educational trip.  I’ll be studying most of the time while I’m in Paris.”

“Yeah, and I think I know what you’ll be studying.”

“Hah, witty to the last.  Sis, you have to face it, Dad’s old school.  He loves his daughter, wants the best for her.  I know that's something of a liability for you.  If that means keeping you here in a castle so he can watch over you – well, I have no idea how to get him to change such ideas at his age.  Talk about conservative, I believe he thinks Herbert Hoover was the last great president.”

“No, for him Hoover would have been too much of a leftist.  Well, anyway, bon, as they say at the Deux Magots, voyage!”

(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings.)

 

 

169 Quiz Answer

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

The Shining is a motion picture produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.

(Also for Three-Word Wednesday and 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 a silky-smooth 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 he doesn't finish with a work of art but just a clever-but-shallow 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)