OT: OK - One more quiz before the season

[KnightBridgeAZ]

These questions are mostly taken from personal experiences over the years, and perhaps some other members of the BY have shared similar interests:

1– I have heard the following famous organs. Where are they located?

• Great Auditorium Organ
• Wannamaker Organ
• Organ Stop Pizza Wurlitzer

2 – Peter Richard Conte is the “Grand Court Organist” at which of the above?

3 – Which state has the most lighthouses?

4 – What distinction does the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse hold?

5 – The East Quoddy Head lighthouse is difficult to visit, at least partly due to a natural phenomenon. What?

6 – One of many lighthouses on the “doomsday” list, Sharp’s Island in Maryland has a unique issue. What’s obviously wrong with this light when you see it?

7 – The last lighthouse to have a (civilian) keeper authorized by Congress just ended the tradition due to rising sea level. Where is this lighthouse located?

8 - My cousin has been doing a “dead President’s” tour of President’s homes and burial sites. Who has he been visiting at:

• Spiegel Grove
• Springwood
• Lindenwald

9 – A famous author wrote a short story solely to create this pun on “Give My Regards to Broadway” - Who?

“Give my 3 hearts to Maude, dear; Dismember me for Harold’s Choir; tell all the Foys on Sortibackenstreet that I will soon be there”.

10 - What do Slithy Toves do? And where?

11 – Connect the Boojum Tree, native to the Southwest, to Lewis Carroll.

12– Who wrote “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” - and no, his name was not Ralphie?

13 – My father was very anxious to see the HMS Victory. Where did we go, and why is it famous?

14 – Walther von der Vogelweide was a name my German teacher from many years ago used to test her students’ pronunciation skills. Who was this fellow (generally)?

15 – Ship Bottom, Harvey Cedars and Beach Haven are 3 of the 6 towns here. Where?

16 – Bonus – Sports Arenas – Where are these, which are 3 of the 75 places my wife and I have attended NCAA Women’s Basketball?

• Yanitelli Center
• Draddy Gymnasium
• Redbird Arena

Good luck - I know some of these are obscure, but, hopefully, interesting.

 

[Jibariqua]

These are mostly too tough for me. But thanks for doing this all I can answer is the bonus.
St Peter‘s Univ
Manhattan College

 

[FeloniousMonk]

10. They gyre and gymble in the wabe.
12. Jean Shepherd.
13. HMS Victory was Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship. He died on it in at the Battle of Trafalgar, in October 1805, after handily defeating the French fleet. Docked in Portsmouth, maybe?

 

[Skeets]

15. Long Beach Island, NJ

 

[pinotbear]

4. Easternmost point in the lower 48, waaay "downeast Maine".
5. I'd guess that the Bay of Fundy tides make the timing tricky.

 

[Waquoit]

3. Michigan

 

[Purduke]

1. mid -- Wannamaker Organ would be in Philadelphia. Think my sister helped pay for it during the 60's.

 

[Skeets]

These questions are mostly taken from personal experiences over the years, and perhaps some other members of the BY have shared similar interests:

1– I have heard the following famous organs. Where are they located?

• Great Auditorium Organ
• Wannamaker Organ
• Organ Stop Pizza Wurlitzer

2 – Peter Richard Conte is the “Grand Court Organist” at which of the above?

3 – Which state has the most lighthouses?

4 – What distinction does the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse hold?

5 – The East Quoddy Head lighthouse is difficult to visit, at least partly due to a natural phenomenon. What?

6 – One of many lighthouses on the “doomsday” list, Sharp’s Island in Maryland has a unique issue. What’s obviously wrong with this light when you see it?

7 – The last lighthouse to have a (civilian) keeper authorized by Congress just ended the tradition due to rising sea level. Where is this lighthouse located?

8 - My cousin has been doing a “dead President’s” tour of President’s homes and burial sites. Who has he been visiting at:

• Spiegel Grove
• Springwood
• Lindenwald

9 – A famous author wrote a short story solely to create this pun on “Give My Regards to Broadway” - Who?

“Give my 3 hearts to Maude, dear; Dismember me for Harold’s Choir; tell all the Foys on Sortibackenstreet that I will soon be there”.

10 - What do Slithy Toves do? And where?

11 – Connect the Boojum Tree, native to the Southwest, to Lewis Carroll.

12– Who wrote “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” - and no, his name was not Ralphie?

13 – My father was very anxious to see the HMS Victory. Where did we go, and why is it famous?

14 – Walther von der Vogelweide was a name my German teacher from many years ago used to test her students’ pronunciation skills. Who was this fellow (generally)?

15 – Ship Bottom, Harvey Cedars and Beach Haven are 3 of the 6 towns here. Where?

16 – Bonus – Sports Arenas – Where are these, which are 3 of the 75 places my wife and I have attended NCAA Women’s Basketball?

• Yanitelli Center
• Draddy Gymnasium
• Redbird Arena

Good luck - I know some of these are obscure, but, hopefully, interesting.

These questions are mostly taken from personal experiences over the years, and perhaps some other members of the BY have shared similar interests:

1– I have heard the following famous organs. Where are they located?

• Great Auditorium Organ
• Wannamaker Organ
• Organ Stop Pizza Wurlitzer

2 – Peter Richard Conte is the “Grand Court Organist” at which of the above?

3 – Which state has the most lighthouses?

4 – What distinction does the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse hold?

5 – The East Quoddy Head lighthouse is difficult to visit, at least partly due to a natural phenomenon. What?

6 – One of many lighthouses on the “doomsday” list, Sharp’s Island in Maryland has a unique issue. What’s obviously wrong with this light when you see it?

7 – The last lighthouse to have a (civilian) keeper authorized by Congress just ended the tradition due to rising sea level. Where is this lighthouse located?

8 - My cousin has been doing a “dead President’s” tour of President’s homes and burial sites. Who has he been visiting at:

• Spiegel Grove
• Springwood
• Lindenwald

9 – A famous author wrote a short story solely to create this pun on “Give My Regards to Broadway” - Who?

“Give my 3 hearts to Maude, dear; Dismember me for Harold’s Choir; tell all the Foys on Sortibackenstreet that I will soon be there”.

10 - What do Slithy Toves do? And where?

11 – Connect the Boojum Tree, native to the Southwest, to Lewis Carroll.

12– Who wrote “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” - and no, his name was not Ralphie?

13 – My father was very anxious to see the HMS Victory. Where did we go, and why is it famous?

14 – Walther von der Vogelweide was a name my German teacher from many years ago used to test her students’ pronunciation skills. Who was this fellow (generally)?

15 – Ship Bottom, Harvey Cedars and Beach Haven are 3 of the 6 towns here. Where?

16 – Bonus – Sports Arenas – Where are these, which are 3 of the 75 places my wife and I have attended NCAA Women’s Basketball?

• Yanitelli Center
• Draddy Gymnasium
• Redbird Arena

Good luck - I know some of these are obscure, but, hopefully, interesting.

I think "Love Ladies" would have been a more obscure clue for #15.

 

[Bigboote]

Thanks for putting this together. I hate to admit, I’ve guessed more than usual.

3 - Maine?

4 – The point is the easternmost point in the US

5 – The tide?

6 – I asuume it’s in the Bay and it’s sinking, so is the base underwater?

13 – The Victory was Lord Nelson’s ship. I assume you refer to the Turner painting. I saw it in the National Gallery, but I assume its home is in the Tate.

15 – the Jersey Shore

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I think "Love Ladies" would have been a more obscure clue for #15.

I was going to, but Loveladies is considered a "neighborhood" and isn't one of the 6 towns. It is part of Long Beach Township. The other towns are Surf City and Barnegat Light.

 

[Waquoit]

9. Isaac Asimov

 

[ed4ourgirls]

13. It's in dry dock at the Naval Museum in Portsmouth. (or at least it was when I visited)

 

[Bigboote]

3. Michigan

DOH! I knew that but saw the two clues about Maine lighthouses. . .

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

A little help on the Presidents - Spiegel Grove is in Fremont, Ohio, the other 2 are in NY state.

We are also looking for Redbird Arena - Rutgers played Purdue there in the Elite 8 (Midwest Region) the year Purdue went on to win the Natty.

The best Organ hint I can give is that we attended recitals in the Great Auditorium periodically before we moved to Arizona, and have gone several times to Organ Stop Pizza since we have been out this way (and no, not Tucson).

Lighthouse hint - the one that had a "keeper", at least during the summer, is on an island in a major harbor area. Sharps Island light got its distinctive look due to an ice floe, if that provides any help.

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

1. mid -- Wannamaker Organ would be in Philadelphia. Think my sister helped pay for it during the 60's.

My wife tells me it’s the largest(and probably the best) pipe organ in the world. We would like to pass on a thank you to your sister for her philanthropy in helping to pay for it; but I think you may have tongue in cheek since the organ is in a huge old former Wannamaker’s Department store which sis may have shopped at a lot.

 

[SVCBeercats]

3 – Michigan

8 - Springwood – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

9 – Isaac Asimov “Death of a Foy”

10 - Slithy Toves are found in Lewis Carroll's “Jabberwocky.” They “gyre and gimble in the wabe.” I guess this means. they dance like Elaine Benes. Seinfeld fans will know!

11 – Presumably the Boojum Tree is named for “boojum;” a word found in Lewis Carroll's “The Hunting of the Snark.” Or was boojum taken from the tree's name?

 

[Waquoit]

9 – Isaac Asimov “Death of a Foy”

It was a guess but I was pretty sure I was right in post #11. My mother loved Asimov, as a kid she made me read the story where a "niche in time, saved Stein".

 

[Jibariqua]

Redbird Arena is at Illinois State?

 

[SVCBeercats]

It was a guess but I was pretty sure I was right in post #11. My mother loved Asimov, as a kid she made me read the story where a "niche in time, saved Stein".

I like your Mother! As a kid and a young man I only read Asimov's non-fiction books. I considered him the Great Explainer. Any applicaion of Gunning's, Flesch's, Kincaid's , etc. methods of measuring clarity and readability will bear this out. Somewhere in my late 20s I was discussing Heinlein and Bradbury with a new acquaintance when he mentioned Asimov's Foundation series. He was appalled at my ignorance. I had never heard of it and furthermore I didn't know Asimov wrote SciFi. Today, too the best of my knowledge, I own a copy of every Asimov work of fiction, including the short story books he editted. He gets beat up a bit relative to character developement but for me his ideas more than make up for any shortfalls. Although I had a bowling buddy who would get quite worked about Asimov's lack of rich character development. Cardboard characters was his description. Oh! I had a customer, Maritz, in Saint Louis area who contracted with Asimov to give a motivational speech. My customer knew I liked Asimov so he invited me to attend. Asimov was an amazing speaker. He was totally extemporaneous. He asked what folks wanted to hear and he was off and running. Funny, he was! Better than any comedian. And yes he came by train!

 

[Purduke]

My wife tells me it’s the largest(and probably the best) pipe organ in the world. We would like to pass on a thank you to your sister for her philanthropy in helping to pay for it; but I think you may have tongue in cheek since the organ is in a huge old former Wannamaker’s Department store which sis may have shopped at a lot.

Yes, a LOT. And with the prices Wannamaker's used to charge I suppose there was some philanthropy involved. I know at the time in the 70's it was the largest organ in the world, and although I protested mightily about my older sister dragging me into Philly Christmas week to hear the Holiday performances, secretly I was impressed by the majesty one felt while there.

But you are correct -- sarcasm it was.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Yes, a LOT. And with the prices Wannamaker's used to charge I suppose there was some philanthropy involved. I know at the time in the 70's it was the largest organ in the world, and although I protested mightily about my older sister dragging me into Philly Christmas week to hear the Holiday performances, secretly I was impressed by the majesty one felt while there.

But you are correct -- sarcasm it was.

While wonderful - and I donate to its upkeep - to be honest the Boardwalk Organ in Atlantic City is technically larger, but is not currently completely playable. It is part way through renovation / repair and recitals there have resumed, apparently. In fact, not to give anything away, but I saw a video of the Macy's Grand Court Organist performing on it.

I will be acknowledging correct answers and providing the rest later today, after my 2nd dentist appointment - neither of which is to actually resolve my failed root canal, only how to treat it.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

And the answers -

1 - As discussed the Wannamaker Organ is in Philadelphia. In Macy's in Center City, to be exact. Several of you knew about the organ and shopping.

The Great Auditorium is in Ocean Grove, NJ - an old Methodist meeting town down the Jersey shore - huge wooden building used in the summer. The organ is top 30 in size and is played for services and recitals during the summer.

Organ Stop Pizza is in Mesa, Arizona. It features a large theatre organ with much of the working parts exposed. Wonderful place to visit.

2 - Peter Richard Conte is the Macy's Grand Court Organist - i.e. the head organist playing the Wannamaker Organ, since 1989. He is also principal organist at Longwood Gardens, which has another magnificent instrument.

3 - Waquot, SVC and Big (belatedly) recognize Michigan has the most lighthouses.

4 - Pinot and Big know West Quoddy Head Lighthouse is at the eastern most point in the US

5 - East Quoddy Head, which is in Canada incidentally, is difficult to access because of the Bay of Fundy tides. The long walkway, including stairs for climbing, are often underwater. Big and Pinot on this.

6 - Sharps Island Light is built in the water. It was hit by an ice floe that tilted it, it leans like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is stable in the "tilt", but it is no longer an active light.

7 - The last civilian keeper was on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor - the Boston Harbor Light.

8 - SVC knows that Springwood is in Hyde Park, NY, the home of FDR. Spiegel Grove, in Fremont, Ohio was the home of Rutherford B. Hayes. Lindenwald is in Kinderhook, NY - the home of Martin Van Buren.

9 - Waquoit and SVC know of Isaac Asimov's love of puns.

10 - Felonius and SVC know about Slithy Toves. Asimov also wrote a short story based on Jaberwockey.

11 - SVC gets the Boojum as well. The discoverer was a fan of Lewis Carroll and The Hunting of the Snark.

12 - Felonius is correct - Jean Shepherd.

13 - He also knows where the HMS Victory is located, as does Ed. Big knows about the painting, which I have not seen. Apparently they are making it seaworthy again. Not sure why, it looked great in the specially designed dry dock.

14 - Walter von der Vogelweide - tricky to pronounce in German because "V" is said "F" and "W" is said "V". He was a German poet from the middle-ages.

15 - Skeets identified Long Beach Island (NJ) correctly.

Bonus - JBariqua got them all - St Peters (NJ), Manhattan College and Illinois State in Normal Illinois. One more anecdote - the reason we went to Manhattan was we attended Holdsclaw's "home" trip - which was a 2 day tourney there. Just wanted to see her in person.

 

[Waquoit]

I had a customer, Maritz, in Saint Louis area who contracted with Asimov to give a motivational speech. My customer knew I liked Asimov so he invited me to attend. Asimov was an amazing speaker. He was totally extemporaneous. He asked what folks wanted to hear and he was off and running. Funny, he was! Better than any comedian. And yes he came by train!

In the early-80's, Asimov came to the Jorgenson and was great like you said. SRO!

As a matter of fact, I checked his "Annotated Bible" out of the library the next day. It's the most I ever read of the Bible, though I was concentrating on the footnotes.