Tag: music

Cream of the Crop | Answers

The Dirty Mac.
Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards performing in the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968.
(Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg in the foreground.)
Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below..

  1. The Dirty Mac—The Dirty Mac, a supergroup featuring John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mitch Mitchell, performed Yer Blues and Whole Lotta Yoko on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968. The special, featuring other notable acts, was not released until 1996.
    Secret Service agents cover Press Secretary James Brady and the police officer Thomas Delahanty during the assassination attempt of Reagan.
    Wikipedia
    John Hinckley Jr. Wikipedia
    Jodie Foster, 1989. Wikipedia
  2. Jodie Foster—On 30 March 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded US President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. Reagan underwent emergency surgery and recovered, while White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty were also injured. Driven by erotomania and an obsession with Jodie Foster, Hinckley attempted to assassinate the President to impress her. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent time in a psychiatric hospital until 2016, when he was released to the care of his mother and under supervision. He was granted an unconditional release in 2022.
    Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.
    Wikipedia
  3. Alexander II—In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase, negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, was ratified by the Senate in May and became effective in October. Despite initial scepticism, Alaska became a state in 1959.
    Glamis Castle.
    Wikipedia
  4. Glamis Castle—Glamis Castle, in Angus, Scotland, is the ancestral home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. It has been the Lyon family residence since the 14th century, and it holds significant historical importance as the childhood home of Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, better known as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Notably, it was also the birthplace of her youngest daughter, Princess Margaret in 1930.
  5. Berwick-upon-Tweed—a border town between England and Scotland, changed hands 13 times before being surrendered to England in 1482. Its ramparts, originally built by Edward I and rebuilt by Elizabeth I, are in good repair.
19th-century engraving of Berwick Castle by William Miller after J. M. W. Turner, with Berwick Old Bridge from 1624 in the background.
Wikipedia

Cream of the Crop

Eric Clapton.
Wikipedia

All of the following have a connection to today, 30 March.

  1. On this day in 1945, British rock musician Eric Clapton was born. In 1968, Clapton appeared in a temporary supergroup with John Lennon. Which of the following was the name of the supergroup?
    • The Dirty Mac
    • The Dirty Look
    • The Dirty Laundry
  2. On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan was the victim of a failed assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. An obsession with whom was the motivation behind Hinckley’s attack on the President?
    • Carrie Fisher
    • Jane Fonda
    • Jodie Foster
  3. William H. Seward, the Secretary of State under U.S. President Andrew Johnson, signed the Alaska Purchase on 30th March. This treaty ceded Russian North America to the United States. Who was the Russian Tsar at the time of the purchase?
    • Alexander II
    • Catherine II
    • Nicholas II
  4. Today in 2025, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, passed away in her sleep at Windsor at the age of 101. She was the queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1936 to 1952 and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Where was her childhood home and the birthplace of her second daughter, Princess Margaret?
    • Edinburgh Castle
    • Glamis Castle
    • Eilean Donan Castle
  5. On this day in 1296, England’s King Edward I sacked a town that had changed hands over a dozen times from the 12th to the 15th century. Which town was it?
    • Carlisle
    • Kelso
    • Berwick-upon-Tweed
Edward I of England.
Wikipedia

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Confused to Start With | Answers

J. M. Flagg’s recruiting poster, 1917
Wikipedia
  1. Luc means—is an anagram of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam, a national personification of the United States, represents the federal government and is a symbol of patriotic emotion. The character, popularised by a 1917 recruiting poster, originated during the War of 1812 and is distinct from Columbia, representing the nation, and Brother Jonathan, representing the populace.
    Lonesome George.
    Wikipedia
  2. Pinta—Pinta Island tortoise, a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, was hunted to near extinction by the end of the 19th century. A single male, Lonesome George, was discovered in 1971 but died in 2012, leading to the subspecies’ presumed extinction.
  3. Yesterday—Yesterday was the only “solo” Beatles Track.

    “He [McCartney] played it to John, George and Ringo, who approved but didn’t think it required them to play on it. Yesterday would be a Beatles song with only one Beatle on it.”

    – The Sunday Times, 23 March 2025 © Ian Leslie 2025. Extracted from John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs.

  4. AA Milne—Heffalumps and Woozles appear in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories
  5. Galahad—Sir Galahad, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot and Lady Elaine. He is renowned for his gallantry and purity, replacing Percival as the hero in the quest for the Holy Grail.
  6. Arachnophobia—fear of spiders. Shelob is a spider featured in The Lord of the Rings. Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting and pogonophobia is having an extreme dislike of beards.
Piglet dreams of the Heffalump. E. H. Shepard’s original illustration, from Winnie-the-Pooh.
Wikipedia

Confused to Start With


Nothing to do with today’s date just a selection of questions.

Flag of the US
Wikipedia
  1. Which one of the following can become a personification of the US government?
    • Clean Sue
    • Muscleman
    • Luc means
  2. Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies, died in 2012. His subspecies, now extinct, was named…
    • Niña Island tortoise
    • Pinta Island tortoise
    • Santa Maria Island tortoise
  3. The only Beatles song featuring just one Beatle was…
    • If I Fell
    • This Boy
    • Yesterday
  4. Heffalumps and Woozles appear in books by…
    • AA Milne
    • CS Lewis
    • JRR Tolkien
  5. One of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table; the son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic; renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights, is…
    • Bedivere
    • Galahad
    • Percival
  6. An irrational fear of the fictional Shelob is…
    • Arachnophobia
    • Emetophobia
    • Pogonophobia
The Arming and Departure of the Knights,
one of the Holy Grail tapestries, 1890s, figures by Edward Burne-Jones
Wikipedia

Good luck! The answers will be posted later.

To Boldly Go…to a Musical—Answers

Montreal.
Wikipedia
  1. Montreal, Quebec – William Shatner, a Canadian actor, is renowned for his prolific output and self-deprecating humour, which have solidified his place in North American pop culture. He is best known for his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk in the science fiction television series Star Trek (1966–69) and several Star Trek films.
  2. Amerigo Vespucci—is best remembered for the place named after him. He believed Brazil was part of a new continent, inspiring Waldseemüller to name it “America”—the Latinised Amerigo—in 1507. This name became standard on maps of the New World.
    Ruins of the Great Dam of Marib, Yemen.
    Wikipedia
  3. Yemen—The Arab League, formed in Cairo in 1945 with seven members, is a regional organisation in the Arab world. It now has 22 members and its main goals are to strengthen relations, safeguard independence, and consider the affairs of Arab countries.
  4. 1934—The 1934 Masters Tournament, the first of its kind, was held at Augusta National Golf Club. Horton Smith won the event with a 284 (−4), one stroke ahead of Craig Wood.
  5. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat—the following quote is about Lloyd Webber and Rice’s collaboration: “The names of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are, of course, forever bound together in musical theatre history, like those of Gilbert and Sullivan.”—Theatre critic Mark Shenton on the partnership of Lloyd Webber and Rice.
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Wikipedia

To Boldly Go…to a Musical

All of the following are about today’s date, 22 March, but in a variety of years.

William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk.
Wikipedia
  1. William Shatner was born today in 1931 in the Canadian city of…
    • Montreal, Quebec
    • Toronto, Ontario
    • Vancouver, British Columbia
  2. On this day in 1508, Ferdinand II of Aragon commissioned a new chief navigator of the Spanish Empire. Born in the Republic of Florence, he was…
    • Amerigo Vespucci
    • Vasco da Gama
    • Christopher Columbus.
  3. The Arab League was formed this day in Cairo by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan) and…
    • Tunisia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Yemen
  4. The first Masters Tournament took place at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on this date in…
    • 1934
    • 1938
    • 1941
  5. The 22nd March 1948 saw the birth of the English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is well known for his collaboration with Tim Rice. The first of their works to be performed publicly was…
    • Evita
    • Jesus Christ Superstar
    • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Amerigo Vespucci. Wikipedia

Good luck! The answers will be posted later today.

Historical Milestones and Cultural Icons: From Bach’s Birth to Twitter’s First Tweet—Answers

Field of Battersea.
A print caricaturing the Wellington–Winchilsea duel
by William Heath.
Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier pot are shown in bold below.

  1. 1685—Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, blended northern and southern German styles in his early compositions. He composed numerous cantatas, including the St. John Passion, and is known for his mastery of counterpoint and harmonic organisation.
    Jack Dorsey, 2014.
    Wikipedia
  2. $2.9m—Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is a social networking service that allows users to share short text messages, images, and videos. It was created in 2006 and quickly grew to over 100 million users by 2012.
  3. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington—The Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea engaged in a duel at Battersea Fields, with Wellington firing first and missing, and Winchilsea firing into the air. This act of deloping cleared Winchilsea of cowardice allegations, allowing him to apologise unconditionally. The duel was the second, and last, fought by a sitting Prime Minister following the 1798 Pitt–Tierney duel on Putney Heath.
  4. San Diego, California—San Diego Comic-Con, founded in 1970, is a multi-genre entertainment event showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy media, and pop culture. It is the largest convention of its kind, attracting over 130,000 attendees annually.
    Stanley, a newspaper reporter and tireless self-promoter, was hired by the New York Herald to find the missing Livingstone in 1871, winning himself wealth and reputation. Kalulu is in the backgound.
    Wikipedia
  5. 700 miles (1,125 km)—Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871, claiming to have outfitted an expedition with 192 porters, though his diaries suggest a smaller number. After facing challenges including the death of his horse and desertion of porters, he found David Livingstone in Ujiji, Tanzania, famously greeting him with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”; this phrase was probably made up by Stanley after the event. Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, later recounting his experiences in a book.
Routes of Henry Morton Stanley.
The Red route is the 1871-1872 is the expedition to find Livingstone.
Wikipedia

Historical Milestones and Cultural Icons: From Bach’s Birth to Twitter’s First Tweet

Johann Sebastian Bach
Wikipedia

All questions relate to today, 21 March.

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer of the Brandenburg Concertos and The Well-Tempered Clavier, was born this day in…
    • 1685
    • 1745
    • 1815
  2. Twitter, now X, was founded today in 2006 and Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder, sent the first public tweet, “just setting up my twttr.” Fifteen years later Dorsey auctioned this tweet as a nonfungible token (NFT) with the proceeds going to charity. It was bought using ether cryptocurrency for the equivalent of…
    • $1.4m
    • $2.9m
    • $5.8m
  3. 21 March saw the last time a serving UK Prime Minister fought a duel. Who was the Prime Minister?
    • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
    • William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
    • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
  4. A Comic-Con held its inaugural event on this date in 1970 and is now described by Forbes magazine as being “the largest pop and culture festival in the world”: it is held in…
    • Red Rock, Arizona
    • San Diego, California
    • Las Vegas, Nevada
  5. Henry Morton Stanley set out to find Dr David Livingstone today in 1871. His expedition was successful, finding Livingstone after trekking through tropical forest for…
    • 300 miles (482 km)
    • 450 miles (725 km)
    • 700 miles (1,125 km)

“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”, an illustration from Stanley’s 1872 book How I Found Livingstone. Wikipedia

Sheelah’s Day—Answers

Here, in bold, are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.

Sophie Myles, 2007.
Wikipedia
  1. Sophia Myles—Wikipedia describes her as “an English actress… best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds(2004), Isolde in Tristan & Isolde (2006), Darcy in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Erika in Underworld(2003) and Underworld: Evolution (2006), and Freya in Outlander (2008)”.
  2. Caldwell, New Jersey—Stephen Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th US President, was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War and the first to serve two non-consecutive terms. Known for his honesty and principled approach, he blocked legislative excesses during his first term and championed political reform, fiscal conservatism, and classical liberalism, gaining support from both Democrats and Republicans. His presidency saw significant legislation such as the Interstate Commerce Act and the Dawes Act. However, his stance on government intervention during the economic collapse and the legacy of the Dawes Act have resulted in mixed assessments of his legacy.
    Wilfred Owen
    Wikipedia
  3. Wilfred Owen, an English poet and soldier, expressed anger at war’s cruelty and waste through his poetry. Based on his World War I experiences, his war poetry was about the horrors of trenches and gas warfare. At only 25 years of age, he was killed in action at the Battle of the Sambre on 4 November 1918, exactly a week before the war’s end. His best-known works— most of which were published posthumously— are Anthem for Doomed Youth, Dulce et Decorum est, Futility, and Spring Offensive. 

    Final draft of Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen, penned by the author.
    Wikipedia
    Honoree Queen Latifah speaks at the Kennedy Center Honors dinner at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Saturday, December 2, 2023. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
    Wikipedia
  4. Queen Latifah—American musician and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album, All Hail the Queen, which blended diverse styles and feminist themes. The name Latifah is Arabic for “delicate” or “sensitive”.
  5. Neville Chamberlain—Prime Minister of the UK from 1937 to 1940—is known for his policy of appeasement towards Hitler’s Germany. He served in various government positions, including Chancellor of the Exchequer, before becoming Prime Minister. Despite signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler in 1938, the latter’s invasion of Poland less than a year later compelled Chamberlain to declare war on Germany.
Chamberlain holding up the paper signed by both Hitler and himself on his return to Great Britain from Munich, Germany.
Wikipedia

Sheelah’s Day

Sheelah’s Day is celebrated on 18 March, the day after Saint Patrick’s Day, and is observed in the Irish diaspora in Australia and Canada. Although there are no Sheelahs included in my post today, all of the questions are about people born on 18 March.

Sheelah’s Day

Shamrock
Wikipedia

Sheelah’s Day is celebrated on 18 March the day after Saint Patrick’s Day and is observed in the Irish diaspora in Australia and Canada. No Sheelah’s included here today but all of the following are about people born on 18 March.

  1. Born 1980. Actress who links the following roles: Penelope (in 2004), Isolde (2006), Erika (2003 and 2006), Darcy (2014) and Freya (2008). Who is she?
    • Rose Keegan
    • Sophia Myles
    • Lucy Russell
    Grover Cleveland
    Wikipedia
  2. Born 1837, Grover Cleveland, served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Where was he born?
    • Amherst, New Hampshire
    • Brighton, New York
    • Caldwell, New Jersey
  3. Anthem for Doomed Youth was written by a war poet born this day in 1893. Who was he?
    • Rupert Brook
    • Wilfred Owen
    • Siegfried Sassoon
  4. Who is Dana Elaine Owens, born 18 March 1970, a musician and actress, better known as?
    • Lauryn Hill
    • Missy Elliott
    • Queen Latifah
  5. Born today in 1869, this British prime minister returned from Germany with a “piece of paper” promising to “have brought you back peace — but a peace I hope with honour.” Who was he?
    • Stanley Baldwin
    • Neville Chamberlain
    • Winston Churchill

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.