Category: Pursuit of the Trivial

Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

One

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune;
Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
And watching his luck was his light-o’-love, the lady that’s known as Lou.
— The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert W. Service

The above quote opens a verse by a man known as the ‘Bard of the Yukon’ and the ‘The Canadian Kipling’. What was his name?

Answer: Robert W. Service

Robert William Service, born in Preston, Lancashire, England, was the third of ten children. He lived with his aunts and grandfather in Kilwinning, Scotland, where he composed his first verse at age six before moving to Glasgow with his parents. After an early career in banking in Scotland he travelled to Canada in his early twenties and eventually returned to banking in British Columbia and Yukon. It was during this time that he was inspired to write about the communities he lived in and people he mingled with which led to his best known works. He passed away in France on 11 September 1958 at the age of 84.

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Two

‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet
You’re a slave to money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet yeah

The quote above is the first verse of a song co-written by Richard Ashcroft of The Verve who was born this day in 1971. What is the song?

Answer: Bittersweet Symphony

Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve, released in 1997, samples the Rolling Stones’ The Last Time. Legal issues led to the Verve relinquishing royalties, but in 2019, rights were returned to the Verve’s Richard Ashcroft.

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Three

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

An author, born on 11 September 1885 in Nottinghamshire, England, wrote this as the first line of a controversial book published in 1928. What is the book and who is the author?

Answer: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D. H. Lawrence’s final novel, was first published privately in 1928-29. Its explicit content and an obscenity trial in British courts in 1960 made it notorious.

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Four

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
— The Gift of the Magi

This opening paragraph is from The Gift of the Magi, which was written by William Sydney Porter, who was born on this day in 1862. An author and poet, he is best known for his short stories, which he wrote under a pseudonym consisting of an initial and second name. What is that pen name?

Answer: O. Henry

O. Henry’s stories are renowned for their observations, witty narration, and unexpected conclusions. The Gift of the Magi, quoted above, begins on Christmas Eve. Della realises she has hardly any money to buy her husband Jim a present. Determined, she cuts and sells her beloved long hair to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watch. In turn, Jim sells his watch to buy Della combs. Despite the impracticality of their gifts, they realise the true value of their love.

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Five

Do you expect me to talk?”
“No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

Th sample from Goldfinger (1964) features on a remixed version of the James Bond Theme for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Richard Melville Hall. Hall, born on 11 September 1965, is known by his professional name.

Answer: Moby

Moby produced a remixed version of the James Bond theme for the film Tomorrow Never Dies. The remix, which charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, features dialogue samples from the Bond films GoldenEye—Pierce Brosnan saying “Bond, James Bond”—and Goldfinger.

Today’s questions focus on individuals and words associated with them. These individuals were either born or passed away on September 11th.

One

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune;
Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
And watching his luck was his light-o’-love, the lady that’s known as Lou.
— The Shooting of Dan McGrew

The above quote opens a verse by a man known as the ‘Bard of the Yukon’ and the ‘The Canadian Kipling’. What was his name?

Two

‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet
You’re a slave to money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet yeah

The quote above is the first verse of a song co-written by Richard Ashcroft of The Verve who was born this day in 1971. What is the song?

Three

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

An author, born on 11 September 1885 in Nottinghamshire, England, wrote this as the first line of a controversial book published in 1928. What is the book and who is the author?

Four

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
— The Gift of the Magi

This opening paragraph is from The Gift of the Magi, which was written by William Sydney Porter, who was born on this day in 1862. An author and poet, he is best known for his short stories, which he wrote under a pseudonym consisting of an initial and second name. What is that pen name?

Five

Do you expect me to talk?”
“No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

This sample from Goldfinger (1964) features on a remixed version of the James Bond Theme for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Richard Melville Hall. Hall, born on 11 September 1965, is known by his professional name.

Good luck! I’ll post the answers later today.