UC Irvine Open - May 1999

Round 1 Tossups by ASU B (Simpsons Theme)

 

1. Bart claimed to be very familiar with the works of this poet after Lisa quoted this poet as saying, "Laughter is the language of the soul." Originally born Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, this political outcast visited the Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, and Mexico, not Italy as depicted in Il Postino. FTP name this Chilean poet, most famous for his 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature and his work 20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair.

Pablo Neruda

 

2. In Lisa the Iconoclast, the episode where Lisa discovers some surprising things about Jebediah Springfield, there is a not so clever joke involving a play on this president's last name. His most noteworthy achievement was the enactment of the Civil Service Exam. He is also known for his funky facial hair, with a distinctive sideburn-moustache combination. FTP name this president who came to office after the assassination of Garfield.

Chester Alan Arthur

 

3*. "Lisa! Get in here. In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" is Homer's response to Lisa's building of one of these in The PTA Disbands. Unlike other classic attempts like Vilard de Honnecourt's overbalanced wheel and Robert Fludd's closed-cycle water mill, Lisa's worked. Superconductivity seems like it should allow one of these, but the energy required to keep the proper temperature exceeds the work done. FTP name this type of machine that just, as Homer says, "keeps going faster and faster."

Perpetual Motion machine

 

4. During a game of Scrabble, Lisa places her tiles to form this word, provoking the objection of Homer, who mistakes it for an abbreviation. This word is the term for the oldest psychic realm in development, containing the most primitive instincts, notably sex and aggression, and is oblivious of the external world and the passage of time. FTP name this, one of three agencies of the human personatlity in Freudian psychoanalytic theory.

Id

 

5. According to Jay Sherman, he and this author are the only Pulitzer Prize winners who can belch louder than Homer Simpson. Born in a poor Mississippi community, most of her work centers on this same area, especially concerning the relationships between people. FTP name this author, famous for Delta Wedding and The Optimist's Daughter.

Eudora Welty

 

6. In a certain play by Tennessee Williams, Marge is cast in the role of a character with a celestial name. FTP what is this play, which inspires Ned's cry of "STELLA!"?

A Streetcar Named Desire

 

7. "You have the ability to shock them, and they have the ability to shock- BZZZT!-you," says Dr. Marvin Monroe in There's No Disgrace Like Home. His shock devices are examples of devices used in this kind of conditioning, often used to treat drug addiction, alcoholism, and sexualä deviance. It is an offshoot of Pavlovian classical conditioning that associates the problem behavior with unpleasant things like electrical shock or nausea. FTP name this type of psychotherapy that doesn't work on the Simpsons.

Aversion therapy

 

8. When Bart had to come up with a face for his mystery lover courting his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel, he chose this man's face. Although now he's Director of player development for the Hartford Whalers, he once was Canada's Athlete of the Year in 1963. He also once played with his two sons when he was President of the Houston Aeros. FTP name this prolific scorer, whose records of 801 goals and 1850 total points were broken by the Gretzsky.

Gordie Howe

 

9. In The Treehouse of Horror VI, Homer unwittingly enters 3D land, and among its abstract landscape are various equations from different branches of science, one in particular catches the eye foår its deceptive simplicity. Though seemingly paltry in appearance, it is actually of paramount significance in computer science. The equation concerns the set of tractable decision problems that can be solved in polynomial time and the set of nondeterministic problems, which may or may not be solvable by a polynomial algorithm. FTP name this unproven conjecture of computer science.

P = NP (accept no variants)

 

10. When Lisa goes to Washington D.C. for an essay contest, she is the only visitor of a memorial to Winifred Beecher Howe, whose inscription reads "I will iron your sheets when you iron out the inequities in your labor laws." Although she really doesn't exist, Howe is a symbol for this woman, born to an Abolitionist Quaker. In the Simpson's episode, more symbolism abounds in that Lisa's reference to the Floormop rebellion of 1910 is an allusion to this woman's push for Suffrage. FDTP name this woman, whose final Simpson's symbol is that Winifred is pictured on the "unpopular 75 cent piece," a not so veiled reference to this woman's personage on the oddly shaped dollar coin.

Susan B. Anthony

 

11. In Bart the Genius, Marge takes Bart to see this opera. It contains such memorable characters as the bullfighter, Escamillo: Homer says "Who's the lardbutt?" Lisa responds "He's the bullfighter." Bart retorts "No way the bull's going to miss a target that big!" FTP name this 1875 French opera, based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée, with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy and music by Georges Bizet.

Carmen

 

12. In one of the only crossover episodes to appear in the Simpsons universe, this man lived with the Simpson clan at Marge's invitation. The episode that he appeared icn was the only one that Matt Groening took his name off the show because he didn't want to appear to be promoting this character's show, which lasted only a few seasons. FTP name this New York film critic who has found his way to Comedy Central, voiced by Jon Lovitz.

Jay Sherman

 

13. In one of the Halloween episodes, Martin finishes his standardized test early and drifts off into fanciful slumber. Dressed as a wizard, he exuberantly announces "I am the wondrous wizard of Latin! I am a dervish of declension and a conjurer of conjugation!" He then rattles off various forms of the verb "morire". Interestingly, the word "Latin" itself refers not only to the language, but to the peoples who inhabited a certain ancient region in west-central Italy that was bounded by Etruria and the Tiber River. This region's history is inextricable from the destiny of anlcient Rome so FTP name this archaic region, now known as Lazio.

Latium (accept no variants)

 

14. In the episode Itchy and Scratchy and Marge, the children of Springfield, in reaction to Marge's butchering of their favorite cartoon, step out of their houses and discover the great outdoors to this famous Classical work. This piece is not unique to the Simpsons, as it also appears as the background to the Centaur section of Fantasia. FTP name this Beethoven symphony, known as "Pastorale."

Sixth Symphony (accept Pastorate on early buzz)

 

15. Homer loves his Duff beer. That wonderful drink dates back thousands of years, along with wine and other alcoholic substances. Over the millennia, other besides Homer have declared these beverages sacred, including those party animals the Greeks. FTP who in the Greek pantheon was associated with intoxicating beverages?

NDionysus

 

16. At Homerpalooza, Sonic Youth raided his cooler and Cypress Hill stole his orchestra. His first band was Humble Pie, before going solo in 1971, releasing a self-entitled album in 1975. FTP name this singer, most famous for one of the best selling albums of all times, " Comes Alive."

Peter Frampton

 

17. Bart gets a cookie and $20 for donating blood. He does this after crossing to the wrong side of the tracks, following a holiday dispute with his family. What holiday did this occur on FTP where even families as dysfunctional as the Simpsons eat a big turkey dinner together?

Thanksgiving

 

18. In Homer the Heretic, Reverend Lovejoy reads from this book (the long version) of the bible in the freezing church while Homer relaxes in comfort. While Lovejoy's long version presumably has more, this Old Testament bookÉ consists of five poems of grief over the Babylonian's destruction of Jerusalem. FTP name this book of the bible that usually attributed to Jeremiah whose name literally means "a crying out in grief."

Lamentations (prompt on Jeremiah)

 

19. In the softball episode entitled Homer at the Bat, Roger Clemens mistakes Homer for this man, number 93 on the Sporting News Top 100 players. In the same episode, he misses the game after an overdose of nerve tonic gives him a case of gigantism. FTP name this centerfielder, who has a candy bar named after him, and recently passed Joe DiMaggio on the all-time homerun list.

Ken Griffey Jr

 

20. In Much Apu About Nothing, there is a scene of Homer's ninth grade history notes which start with this person's name. He was the son of a minister whose name was Increase, and a Harvard graduate. He became a preacher in the 1680's and 1690's, wrote a volu*minous number of books, including Christian Philosopher and Curiosa Americana, and believed in the legitimacy of witchcraft. He was also an ardent proponent of science and put forth fervent effort to inoculate smallpox. FTP name this minister the most celebrated of all New England puritans.

Cotton Mather

 

21. Mr. Burns doesn't just send out the hounds. His array of retrieval beasts includes a flock of flying monkeys. FAQTP name the author who created flying monkeys (with a much better flight record) in his OZ series of books.

L. Frank Baum

 

22. The Simpsons has had visits from several musical groups, and mocked many more. In his younger days, Homer sang lines from a popular 70s tune. FTP what Steve Miller Band song did Homer quote when he said that "some people call me a space cowboy, some people call me Maurice"?

The Joker

 

23. The episode Who Shot Mr. Burns? was a parody of the Dallas episode Who Shot J.R.? The show Dallas wals named for city that was named for the politician and Vice-President George Dallas. FTP what President did Dallas serve under?

James K. Polk

 

24. In the episode A Streetcar Named Marge, the title of the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire is a combination from the aforementioned Streetcar and this musical. The reference is compounded by Homer's question of Marge "Is there any frontal nudity?", as this musical was best remembered for being the first nude musical, but you might pick it up as the second longest running Broadway show of all time. FTP name this musical where we get the "Oh!" in "Oh! Streetcar."

Oh! Calcutta

 

25. According to Homer Simpson, he is the only man to be both a Supreme Court Chief Justice and a stripper. Born in 1891, Los Angeles CA, he was the 14th Supreme Court Chief Justice, during a period of sweeping reform. FTP name t¨his man, chairperson of the committee that examined the assassination of Kennedy, and presided over Brown vs. Brown.

Earl Warren

UC Irvine Open - May 1999

Round 1 Bonuses - No Theme here

 

1. If you feel the same way that I do about vector calculus, then you'll feel fairly indifferent about these questions. Answer them FTPE.

a. This formula defines the line integral of a closed curve as the double integral of the vector field's scalar curl over the region enclosed.

Green’s theorem

b. The general form from which Green's theorem is derived, it defines the flux integral of a region bounded by a closed curve to be equal to the line integral of the curve in the vector field whose curl is equal to the original vector field.

Stoke’s theorem

c. This formula defines the flux integral of a closed surface to be equal to the triple integral of the divergence of the vector field over the volume contained by the surface.

Divergence- theorem

 

2. For the stated number of points, answer the following about currency. I will name the currency, you will tell me the country in which it is used:

a. (5) Lira Italy

b. (5) Peseta Spain

c. (10) Real Brazil

d. (10) Rand South Africa

3. FTPE answer these questions about baseball award winners.

a. Who was the first Rookie of the Year? Jackie Robinson

b. Who is the only player to have won both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same year? Fred Lynn

c, Speaking of MVP'S, who is the only player to ever win the MVP award while playing for a last place team? Andre Dawson

 

4. Identify the author from works. 30-20-10

(30) Sketches by Boz; Dombey and Son

(20) Our Mutual Friend; Martin Chuzzlewit

S(10) A Tale of Two Cities; Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

 

5. Name the authors of books on acting given the books and some other information on a 5-10-15 basis.

a. (5) The author of An Actor Prepares, he was also famous as an actor and director. His method of acting focuses on the use of emotional memory and prior circumstances. He was well known for his incredible productions of the plays of his contemporary Anton Chekhov.

Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky or Stantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev.

b. (10) The author of On Acting, he focused on the reality of a given scene. To wit, "The foundation of acting is the reality of doing." He has trained many famous stage and film actors including Gregory Peck, Joanne Woodward, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Steve McQueen, and Grace Kelly up until his death in 1997.

Sanford Meisnerz

c. (15) The author of the very recent (March 1999) book True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor attacks most every conventional idea on how to train actors, especially attacking Stanislavsky's Method as producing mechanical acting and overacting. He himself is a highly recognized actor, director, writer, teacher, and Pulitzer winning playwright.

David Mamet

 

6. For 5 points per correct answer, answer these questions about events in England from 1483-1485.

a. Who was the much-maligned king of that time period, immortalized by Shakespeare? Richard III

b. Who were the two "princes in the tower"?

Edward V and Richard (Duke of York)

c. The battle at what location ended the life and reign of Richard III?

Bosworth Field

d. Who defeated Richard there? Henry Tudor or Henry VII

e. This was the last official battle of what conflict?

u The War of the Roses

 

7. FTPE answer the following about rivers. I will name the river, you will tell me the country through which it mostly flows.

a. the Zambezi Zambia or Mozambique

b. the Mackenzie Canada

c. the Liffey Ireland

 

8. For five points each and a bonus five for all correct, name the class of starship given the name of a famous one. For example, if I said U.S.S. Enterprise-D, you would answer "Galaxy" class.

a. U.S.S. Enterprise (from the Original Series) Constitution

b. U.S.S Defiant Defiant

c. U.S.S. Voyager Intrepid

d. U.S.S Enterprise-E Sovereign

e. U.S.S. Enterprise-C Ambassador

 

9. Some of our modem days of the week come from the names of Norse gods. FTPE given the day or for 5 if you need more clues, identify the god or goddess.

a. (10) Thursday

(5) He was the son of Odin and carrioed the magical hammer Mjollnir. When he threw this hammer, lightning struck.

Thor

b. (10) Wednesday

(5) The chief divinity of the Norse pantheon, he traded one eye for knowledge.

Odin

c. (10) Friday

(5) She was the wife of Odin, and the patron goddess of marriage and motherhood.

Frigga

 

10. 30-20-10. Name the author from a list of works.

(30) Leafstorm and Other Stories

(20) The Autumn of the Patriarch; The General in his Labyrinth

(10) Love in the Time of Cholera

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

 

11. Answer the following questions about seasons in the Roman Catholic calendar, five points per correct answer.

a. It is the 40 day period preceding Easter. Lent

b. It is the 50 day period following Easter. Pentecost

c. It is the 4 week period preceding Christmas. Advent

d. They are the 2 candle colors of Advent, used in Advent wreaths. Pink and Purple

äe. The name of the other god who is resurrected and born on 25 December, not to be confused with Jesus. Mithras

 

12. Identify the scientist, 30-20-10.

(30) He became chief scientific advisor to the president of Pakistan from 1961-1974.

(20) In 1979, he became the first person from Pakistan to win a Nobel Prize.

(10) This Pakistani physicist, in conjunction with Steven Weinberg proposed a consistent theory unifying electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force.

Abdus Salam

 

13. Name the authors from works, on a 10-5 basis.

a. (10) Oil!; Boston

(5) The Jungle

Upton Sinclair

b. (10) Hike and the Aeroplane; The Prodigal Parents

(5) Main Street, Arrowsmith

Sinclair Lewis

c. (10) Euclid and His Modem Rivals; Curiosa Mathematica

(5) Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

 

14. Worms aren't just found in gardens. Identify the movie by the description of the‰ sandworm or worms within it, for the stated number of pts.

a. (5) Michael Keaton's head, on a black and white striped body.

Beetlejuice

b. (10) Underground sandworms are attracted to vibrations in an isolated

Arizona town.

Tremors

c. (15) Gigantic worms produce a mind-altering substance, which turns people's eyes blue (among other things).

Dune

 

15. Identify these playwrights associated with the "Theatre of the Absurd" for the stated number of points.

a. (5) This man, the author of Endgame and Waiting for Godot, is the one most people associate with the "Theatre of the Absurd."

Samuel Beckett

b. (10) Although he was much earlier than Beckett this Italian playwright of works like Henry IV and, most famously, Six Characters In Search of an Author, is often considered to be a precursor to the theatre of the absurd.

Luigi Pirandello

c. The term "Theatre of the Absurd" was not a spontaneous description. It was coined in 1961, eight years after Waiting for Godot by this8 theater critic.

Martin Esslin

 

16. It's time for a bonus on everyone's favorite baseball player, Cecil Fielder. Not counting his time spent in Japan, Cecil Fielder has played with five different teams in the major leagues. For 5 points each, and a bonus five for getting them all in the correct order, list all five teams Cecil Fielder has played for (Hint: They are all in the American League).

Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels, and Cleveland Indians

Moderator Note: If there is a challenge on CLEVELAND, Cecil Fielder did in fact spend 14 games with the Indians in 1998.

 

17. You couldn't expect a Simpson-theme packet not to include a bonus on the Simpsons, did you? FTPE answer the following related to America's favorite dysfunctional family.

a. When Homer is accused of sexual harassment against their college babysitter, what is the name of the TV show covering the case, a symbol for real-life programs such as Hard Copy and A Current Affair?

Rock Bottom

b. What great American poet's gravesite does Homer mistake for his mother's tomb?

Walt Whitman

c. What is the name of the girl who wins the Little Miss Springfield Pageant ahead of Lisa? If you need help with this one, combine the middle name of a popular Saved by the Bell actress with the last name of a Dodger catcher of the 1980's not named Scioscia.

Amber Dempsey

 

18. FTPEanswer the following questions concerning historical events and their commemoration in artistic works.

a. This work was composed by Tchaikovsky to commemorate the retreat of Napoleon I and his army from Moscow, ending his invasion of Russia.

The 1812 Overture

b. This poem by Tennyson glorifies the blind obedience of the Bråitish soldiers who made a gallant but tragically useless attack on a strong Russian position during the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

c. A painting by Delacroix, it celebrates an 1830 Paris revolution that freed France from absolute monarchy.

Liberty Leading the People

 

19. FTPE answer these questions stemming from one medieval manuscript.

a. This allegorical work has the prominent symbolism of its title object, a precious commodity often set in gold, though not a gem.

Pearl

b. In Pearl, this book of the Bible is frequently referenced, which discusses the end of the world and the new Jerusalem.

The Revelations of St. John

c. Appearing in the same manuscript is this tale of one of Arthur's hapless knights, who enters a beheading contest with a colorful man.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

 

20. 30-20-10, identify this political figure.

(30) Thi3s man received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994, posthumously, and was presented to his wife Helen.

(20) Born in Yuma AZ in 1927, this man organized the 1970’s grape boycott.

(10) This man founded and led the most successful farm worker's union in history.

Cesar Chavez

 

21. FTPE answer these questions about historical figures and their nominal counterparts in Shakespearean plays, in other words the name's the same.

a. One was a Spartan general, politician and admiral, who brought the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta to a successful conclusion by capturing the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami in 405 B.C. The other is the lustful pursuer of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Lysander

b. One was an expatriate author dwelling in Paris who supported the efforts of struggling artists and diKsillusioned writers like Picasso and Ezra Pound, the other is the wife of King Claudius and mother to Hamlet.

Gertrude

c. One was a Babylonian general who was beheaded by Judith in the Old Testament, a much represented story in Western art, the other was a witty and sententious, yet somewhat pedantic schoolmaster from Love's Labours Lost.

Holofernes

 

22. Identify the musical term from a definition for ten points each.

a. The principal first violinist, this person comes on stage directly before the conductor and tunes the orchestra.

Concert Master or Concert Mistress

b. Numerically, it is two-two time, but is usually represented as a c with a vertical line through it. It is commonly used for marches, and is also called marchtime or alla breve.

Cut Time

c. Head, or beginning. Used in the phrase "Da al Fine(FIN-AY)K" to indicate a return to the beginning of the piece, which then continues until Fine is indicated.

Capo

 

23. While they can be changed without difficulty, every intemet protocol has become associated with a given port. For the stated number of points, given the port number, give the protocol that traditionally uses it. For example, if I say 21, the answer would be FTP.

a. (5) 80 HTTP or Hypertext Transfer Protocol

b. (5) 23 Telnet

c. (10) 119 NNTP or Network News Transfer Protocol

d. (10) 70 Gopher

 

24. Star Wars wasn't the only thing that happened in 1977. Identify the following leaders of the following countries at the end of that year for the stated number of points.

a. (5) United States of America Jimmy Carter

b. (10) USSR Leonid Brezhnev

c. (15) Cambodia Pol Pot

 

25. The IndonUesian government has been consistent making headlines in recent months both for the horrifically barbaric oppression of its people, and its abysmal economic indicators. For ten points each, answer these questions about Indonesian politics.

a. Much of the impression of Indonesia as a despotic, militaristic liability is due to this man's uncontested thirty year rule as autocrat and political legacy, who purveyed a so-called "New Order" regime.

Suharto

b. In the 1970's Indonesia seized this small territory just before it was to be granted independence by Portugal, and has recently crushed the region's political uprisings and local independence movements.

East Timor

c. For the past year this man has served as president and despite being a member of the Golkar Party, has demonstrated some willingness to endorse democratic reforms.

Habibie