Mindgames ed. 10

In which I scour Open and other news sources for questions based ONLY on recent events.

Q1. Shilpa Shetty was called “An acting phenomenon” by this person. (Really.) Who spoke so highly of the shapely Indian non-actor? Clue: Brown-nosing

Q2. Who turned twenty just recently? Clue: The parent doesn’t get along with Steve Jobs’ baby.

Q3. This new leader is singing a different tune. Clue: Lord Brahma

Q4. Knight in shining armour stripped the innerwear off their backs in order to not hurt the sentiments of the people. Who and what am I alluding to?

Q5. Coming soon: Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga representing opposing teams. Question: Where?

Q6. Name the sport

Q7. This famous chap’s dog is named after a currency. Name him and his dog. Clue: No budget issues

Q8. 45 billion pairs of what exported annually from China are seriously depleting their forest reserves?

Q9. In the USA, it is estimated to be 8% of GDP. In China, 14%. In South Africa, 29%. In Sri Lanka, 45%. And in India, around 24% of GDP. What is?

Q10. This version of Silas Marner was a real quack. Who?

Your first task in this round is to identify the person/thing shown in the picture. Then, connect a, b and c to another well-known person, your final answer. All three ‘connections’ have to be explained for an entry to qualify as a ‘final answer’.
Note: The picture clue a) is not the final solution.

a)

b) Ashok Amritraj

c) George Clooney

Q: Who or what is connected to A, B and C?

Solutions to Mindgames 9 and the winner/s: After last week’s winning entry from Anand Kadkol, it’s back to business as usual in the ninth edition of Mindgames with no all-correct entries. But John Mathew did come close. He scored eight (8) correct answers out of a possible 11. Mr Mathew, take a bow. Thanks for playing (all of you) and do keep playing.

A1. The large birds lift and point their bottoms towards the SUN, making their bright white tail feathers more conspicuous. Clue: ALLCAPS. Answer: Male great bustards.

A2. Originally, I lacked any flavour and was made for what I am called. It took almost 20 years for this to change. What am I called? Answer: Chewing gum.

A3. Why were the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies held indoors? Incidentally, they were the first ever to be shunted in. Answer: The rainy weather in Vancouver.

A4. Still on the subject of the five-ringed ones, Olympic gold medals are made out of? Answer: Mostly not gold, but 92% Silver

A5. Roman being, the toast of Germany. Who and what are in hiding in the question? Answer: Roman Polanski and his latest film, ‘Ghost Writer’, which won the ‘Silver Bear’ at the Berlin Film Festival. (Also known as ‘Berlinale.’)

A6. Name the strip and the cartoonist. Answer: The very funny ‘Animal Crackers’ by the very talented Fred Wagner

A7. A rare animal was spotted in the Himalayas recently. Clue: Spotted in the Himalayas. Answer: The clouded leopard

A8. India’s most famous temple of quality is in south India. Please name it. Answer: The Kapaleeshwar temple in Chennai is readying itself to apply for an ISO 9000: 2008 certification

A9. Like Phoolan Devi. Unlike Phoolan Devi. (Anagram) ‘Jai Grey Kasab’ (6, 6) Answer: Jagari Baskey, one of the most dreaded members of the Maoist strike force operating in Jharkhand, Odisha (the state formerly known as ‘Orissa’) and West Bengal.

A10. Last week’s award for ‘idiotic behaviour’ goes to him. Clue: Flip-flop Answer: Aamir Khan for resigning and, almost immediately, joining back the panel set up by the Union Minister (HRD), Kapil Sabil, to suggest changes in the Copyright Act. It needs to be mentioned here that the Union Minister requested Aamir Khan to reconsider his decision to resign. The ‘idiotic’ word was used on as a clue. (Just saying.)

a) The clue: Perfect. The picture is of Bo Derek from the Blake Edwards’ film 10, starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. ‘Bo’ is also the name of the language from The Andamans that recently became extinct;

b) Black Water—‘Black water’ is an English transliteration of the Hindi words ‘Kala Paani’, which was the name given to the notorious prison run by the British in pre-independence India at Port Blair, The Andamans

c) Tsunami hit – The Andamans were in the year 2004

Final answer: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

In which I scour Open and other news sources for questions based ONLY on recent events.

Q1. Shilpa Shetty was called “An acting phenomenon” by this person. (Really.) Who spoke so highly of the shapely Indian non-actor? Clue: Brown-nosing

Q2. Who turned twenty just recently? Clue: The parent doesn’t get along with Steve Jobs’ baby.

Q3. This new leader is singing a different tune. Clue: Lord Brahma

Q4. Knight in shining armour stripped the innerwear off their backs in order to not hurt the sentiments of the people. Who and what am I alluding to?

Q5. Coming soon: Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga representing opposing teams. Question: Where?

Q6. Name the sport

Q7. This famous chap’s dog is named after a currency. Name him and his dog. Clue: No budget issues

Q8. 45 billion pairs of what exported annually from China are seriously depleting their forest reserves?

Q9. In the USA, it is estimated to be 8% of GDP. In China, 14%. In South Africa, 29%. In Sri Lanka, 45%. And in India, around 24% of GDP. What is?

Q10. This version of Silas Marner was a real quack. Who?

Your first task in this round is to identify the person/thing shown in the picture. Then, connect a, b and c to another well-known person, your final answer. All three ‘connections’ have to be explained for an entry to qualify as a ‘final answer’.
Note: The picture clue a) is not the final solution.

a)

b) Ashok Amritraj

c) George Clooney

Q: Who or what is connected to A, B and C?

Solutions to Mindgames 9 and the winner/s: After last week’s winning entry from Anand Kadkol, it’s back to business as usual in the ninth edition of Mindgames with no all-correct entries. But John Mathew did come close. He scored eight (8) correct answers out of a possible 11. Mr Mathew, take a bow. Thanks for playing (all of you) and do keep playing.

A1. The large birds lift and point their bottoms towards the SUN, making their bright white tail feathers more conspicuous. Clue: ALLCAPS. Answer: Male great bustards.

A2. Originally, I lacked any flavour and was made for what I am called. It took almost 20 years for this to change. What am I called? Answer: Chewing gum.

A3. Why were the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies held indoors? Incidentally, they were the first ever to be shunted in. Answer: The rainy weather in Vancouver.

A4. Still on the subject of the five-ringed ones, Olympic gold medals are made out of? Answer: Mostly not gold, but 92% Silver

A5. Roman being, the toast of Germany. Who and what are in hiding in the question? Answer: Roman Polanski and his latest film, ‘Ghost Writer’, which won the ‘Silver Bear’ at the Berlin Film Festival. (Also known as ‘Berlinale.’)

A6. Name the strip and the cartoonist. Answer: The very funny ‘Animal Crackers’ by the very talented Fred Wagner

A7. A rare animal was spotted in the Himalayas recently. Clue: Spotted in the Himalayas. Answer: The clouded leopard

A8. India’s most famous temple of quality is in south India. Please name it. Answer: The Kapaleeshwar temple in Chennai is readying itself to apply for an ISO 9000: 2008 certification

A9. Like Phoolan Devi. Unlike Phoolan Devi. (Anagram) ‘Jai Grey Kasab’ (6, 6) Answer: Jagari Baskey, one of the most dreaded members of the Maoist strike force operating in Jharkhand, Odisha (the state formerly known as ‘Orissa’) and West Bengal.

A10. Last week’s award for ‘idiotic behaviour’ goes to him. Clue: Flip-flop Answer: Aamir Khan for resigning and, almost immediately, joining back the panel set up by the Union Minister (HRD), Kapil Sabil, to suggest changes in the Copyright Act. It needs to be mentioned here that the Union Minister requested Aamir Khan to reconsider his decision to resign. The ‘idiotic’ word was used on as a clue. (Just saying.)

a) The clue: Perfect. The picture is of Bo Derek from the Blake Edwards’ film 10, starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. ‘Bo’ is also the name of the language from The Andamans that recently became extinct;

b) Black Water—‘Black water’ is an English transliteration of the Hindi words ‘Kala Paani’, which was the name given to the notorious prison run by the British in pre-independence India at Port Blair, The Andamans

c) Tsunami hit – The Andamans were in the year 2004

Final answer: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

About The Author

Avinash Subramaniam