200 Quiz Answer

The answer: Mozart’s “The Magic Flute"

Here’s the “bird man” in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of the opera, surrounded by Julie Taymor’s birds. 

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "Y" is for "yearning")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.  I wrote the following scenelet, thinking it might remind you of a gorgeous Mozart musical production.  What’s its name? 

“Cathy, I do hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I’m afraid it was a mistake to invite Adam to dinner last night.”

“Yes, it was kind of a jittery evening, wasn't it?  I thought Dad might make an effort to be at least a little polite when I bring a friend home to meet the folks.”

“Well, you know your father.  His idea of a young man for his daughter is someone in the corporate world or in hedge funds or whatever.  He just couldn’t get his mind around what a ‘bird man’ is or what he does.”

“Mom, Adam is just a friend.  I happen to admire him very much.  There aren’t many young guys his age who are openly yearning, yearning for something and probably aren't sure themselves what it is.”

“Well, yearning is okay, I guess.  But I'm a bit like Dad; earning is pretty important too.  What is it exactly that Adam does for a living?  Something to do with birds, evidently.”

“It’s – it’s a bit difficult to explain.  His job is sort of unique.”

“He hunts birds?  He goes into the woods and shoots birds?”

“No, no, not at all.  He goes into the woods but not to kill anything; he sort of collects birds.”

“He collects birds.  I see.  It’s a scientific thing.”

“Well, sort of.  To be honest, I don’t have it perfectly clear in my mind just what he does with them.  I guess he sells them.”

“There can’t be a lot of money in that.”

“You see, Mom, that’s the thing.  He doesn’t care about money.  He has his mind set on higher things.”

“Like collecting birds.”

“I know it sounds odd, but keep in mind that the thing I admire is that he’s so dedicated, so committed, to his work.”

“Yes, you mentioned that he even dresses up like a bird when he’s working.  Dad did find that – strange.”

“Well, Adam says he wants to understand the mindset of birds when he walks among them.”

“H’mm.  I think Dad was worried that you might get serious about this fellow.  He probably could see himself walking down the aisle some day to give his daughter away and waiting there would be the groom – outrageously dressed like a bird.”

151 Quiz Answer

We've had quite a number of folks who came up with the correct answer this week. It's "The Taming of the Shrew." Congratulations to all.

(For Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "A" is for "agony")
Here’s the weekly Berownial Quiz.
I wrote the following, inspired by one of the well-known Shakespeare plays. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is - this is suggestive of which play?

Dear Mom: You wrote that you were sorry you were unable to attend your grand-daughter’s wedding.
Don’t feel bad about it. Missing her wedding was the best thing you could have done. Unfortunately, I couldn’t miss it; as father of the bride I had to be there.
What a shambles! What a disaster! Jeff shows up wearing cargo shorts and some sort of flip-flops instead of shoes, and he was wearing a T-shirt that read “Brigham Young, Tell ‘Em Nothing” on it.
My guess is no one ever showed up for a wedding dressed like that.
The Reverend Hazelton, who we got, at considerable expense, especially for this ceremony, was ready to pack it all in and leave once he got a good look at Jeff. Who - did I mention? - was also very much under the alfluence of inkohol, if you get what I mean. The slob could hardly walk straight.
Now I know that Ellen has gotten some criticism in her life. They say she’s too “difficult.” Well, she’s a beautiful, luscious young woman who is very outspoken and that does seem to rub some folks the wrong way. She sometimes says things she would later wish she hadn’t said – or at least we wish she hadn’t said.
But she didn’t deserve this kind of dismal wedding. It was agony for me to have to watch the ceremony. I was ready to cancel the whole deal, but she waffled; she said that in spite of everything she wanted to go through with it.
I think that secretly she sort of likes Jeff and that she sees some good in him that I can't see. Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do but wish them the best.
After the “I now pronounce you” speech Jeff picked Ellen up like a sack of Uncle Ben’s rice and walked off with her. God only knows how this marriage is going to work out. It’s not going to be paradise, that’s for sure. I give it three weeks, at the most.
Believe me, Mom, missing Ellen’s wedding is the best thing you could have done. Happy new year from your loving son.

Go on; have a go. The above suggests which Shakespeare play?
(Submitted also to Sunday Scribblings.)

150 Quiz Answer

The answer, as so many obviously know, is "Hamlet."
(For Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "Z" is for "Zero.")
Each week I’ve been posting a quiz here. Folks seem to like them so here’s another one.
I wrote the following scene, inspired by one of the better-known Shakespeare plays. Your assignment – should you choose to accept it – is this: the scene is suggestive of which play?

“Come, sit down. Let’s have a little talk.”
“Yeah, Mom. Okay.”
“Mervyn and I are happy to welcome you into our home, Tim. We’re all family and we should be able to get together without any problems.”
“And you think I’m the one who caused the problems?”
“Now, now. Get that chip off your shoulder. Sooner or later you’re going to accept that your mother has married again, to a wonderful man, and that she’s very happy. She would like her son to be happy for her.”
“Oh, I accept it, all right. But happy about it? Not so much.”
“Well, if you’ve made up your mind to be difficult because you never got along with your Uncle Merv, it’s probably better if you don’t visit so often.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
“Your father is gone, Tim, dead and gone. I know that’s a terrible loss for you – it’s a loss for all of us – but I decided to move on and marry again. And now Merv and I are a pair. Nothing you can say or do could destroy the love that your uncle and I have for each other.”
“I’m not trying to destroy it; I’m just focused on trying to understand it. Look at it from my point of view. You, my mother, are now joined up with this – this loser! Merv, for God’s sake! How could you!?”
“Now Tim, I’m not going to sit here and listen to this kind of vacant talk. Be respectful or just – just leave.”
“Your husband, my father, was a MAN! Talk about respect, everyone who knew him respected him, and loved him. And his brother, Merv - just look at him! He’s a nothing, a zero, a small fraction of a human being when compared with my Dad! And now the thought of the two of you rolling around on a sweaty bed together makes me want to puke!”
“That’s enough! I want you to leave now!”
“How could you, Mom? How could you?”

Go ahead; have a go. The previous scene is suggestive of which play?

Berowne's 141

(For Three-Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "P" is for "Paradise")

Ellen: “You’ve got me all excited. You still haven’t told me where we’re going on our honeymoon.”
Bob: “That’s because I want it to be a surprise. Take a deep breath; we’re going to honeymoon in Miami Beach!”
Ellen: “Oh. Good. I’ve never been to Miami.”
Bob: “Oh, you’ll love it. It’s kind of a paradise – even when it’s out of season, like now.”
Ellen: “Bob, I hope you won’t mind my mentioning this, but usually the bride gets to take part in things like deciding on honeymoon destinations and so on.”
Bob: “But then it wouldn’t be a surprise! Not only is it a paradise, but there’s an extra attraction that makes it perfect for us.”
Ellen: “What’s that?”
Bob: “Well, I’m so proud of my new bride I want to show her off to all the members of my family. And my sister Deb lives there, in Miami. I know you’ll love her.”
Ellen: “So we’re actually making a trip to see your sister.”
Bob: “And maybe a couple thousand aunts, uncles, cousins – ha! We’re quite a brood! I want to show you off to ‘em all.”
Ellen: “And they all live in Miami?”
Bob: “Well, not all. Mom lives here, as you know.”
Ellen: “Yes. Bob, I - I felt she didn’t like me very much. Though I really appreciated that she seemed worried about my sallow complexion.
Bob: “Oh, that’s Mom; she's very honest; there's not a false thing about her. And anyway, you know what mothers are like – there’s no girl good enough for her boy, and so on.”
Ellen: “Yes. That makes me feel better too.”
Bob: “Oh, by the way, there’s another reason for Miami. My sis lives in a big house so I figured, why shouldn’t we stay with her?’
Ellen: “What? We’re going to spend our honeymoon in your sister’s house?”
Bob: “Don’t worry; we’ll be all alone. Little Frankie is giving up his room to bunk with his sister, so we get his place. I think that’s really generous of him, actually. You know how kids feel about their rooms.”
Ellen: “Little Frankie must be happy about our visit."
Bob: “Don’t worry; he won’t cause any trouble. There's no risk. Seems there was a problem with the cops last year and they’ve had him on a short leash ever since; I'm sure he’ll be a perfect young gentleman while we’re there.”
Ellen: “This should be a honeymoon like no other.”
Bob: “Oh, there’s one other thing.”
Ellen: “Wait just a second. I want to be seated when I hear this.”
Bob: “Ha! That sense of humor, one of the things I find most attractive in you. Anyway, my mother hasn’t seen the other members of our family for quite a while so she’s planning a trip to Miami too.”
Ellen: “Oh, good; I’ll get to see her again.”
Bob: “You sure will. Uh – I don’t know how to put this – but Mom is planning to be on the same plane we’ll be on.”
Ellen: “I’m glad I was seated.”
Bob: “I know it’s a bit, uh, different. But you know, to illustrate her generosity, she paid for the tickets: she reserved a three-seat row so we can all be together. You’re really going to get to know her better.”
Ellen: “I have a feeling you’re right. Look, Bob, before we go any further, you and I have got to sit down and have a talk. A Long. Serious. Talk.”
(Also submitted to Sunday Scribblings)