Swan Song OR Too much (to) bear

So, that was the ultimate one then. Really, this time. Bit earlier than expected, but the Quiky as we know it (or knew it) is history. Over. Vorbei. Aus. This Quiky is no more. It has ceased to be. It's off the twig, it's shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-QUIKY!!
Me, I'm not too shocked, it was only a matter of time anyway, and at least I didn't do a Keegan this time. Or actually, I did. It was more like a case of constructive dimissal tho.
To (mis)quote King Kev's last letter "I've been working desperately hard to find a way to keep this running ... but sadly that has not proved possible. It's my opinion that a quiz miz must have the right to run the quiz as she sees fit and that pubs should not impose upon any quiz miz any drunken tourists that interrupt proper proceedings, or dessicate her through neglect, or make her waste her time. I have been left with no choice other than to leave." (actually it was the suggestion of the manager but same diff :)
Anyroad, as said before, comebacks are never a good idea to start with (unless you're Led Zeppelin or a zombie) and it would have happened sooner or later anyway. Which is a blessing (in diguise?) because now I have more time to prepare the InquiZition and, more importantly, we can move it to Thursday which is a MUCH nicer day than Monday. Unfortunately we can not move it to Mitte but we might find new things to make the trip to Ch'burg worth your while. Once in a while.
As usual, the details, and updates, and previews will appear here as soon as I have them.

Preliminary points of the last Quiky as follows (nice table up here tomorrow)

1. Quiz Quiztofferson 56,5
2. L'Auberge Espagnole (formerly known as Feidclub feat. Pinky) 56
3. Fünfsteins 55
4. Smashing Peaches 55
5. Die Gloriösen Milchschnitten (formerly known as De Muttis) 51,5
6. Tyssia 36,5
7. Ding! I am a Giant Horse! 32,5
8. Leprechauns 27,5

Leftovers, links & much more here soon. Till then, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Seasons au soleil

More info, or rather correct info, on "Seasons in the sun": As I have been made aware of, the man who translated the lyrics, and first sang it, was Rod McKuen, Brel's friend and translator, and a totally fascinating character. His .. somewhat different... version can be found here... thanx dude, for that and l'original :)

I feel a very wicked cover version round coming up in Inquizition #16 ;)

And while we're on the subject of very intersting versions - nochmals heißen Dank Manthe for the Schlager-Beitrag. Der Videobeweis für den singenden Präsidenten hat mich doch total auf die Zeitreise geschickt :)

Dementis/denials & discoveries

First of all, the denial (in German "Dementi" - must have something to do with dementia). The Inquizition #15 next Monday is NOT the last one in November since November has 30 days so I'll see you for InQuizition #16 on Monday, 30 November.

And now the discoveries. As some of you might remember (or know), Bobby Darin was not the man who came up with the idea for "Beyond the Sea". Because the song with re-written lyrics in English was based on Charles Trenet's "La Mer".
And apparently it was not the first or the only time that American or Canadian writers and singers plundered la musique francophone.
I just totally stumbled upon the fact that

• "Seasons in the Sun" was not a 1974 Terry Jacks original. It was not even the English original. Earlier versions had been released by The Kingston Trio in 1963, The Fortunes in 1968 and by Pearls Before Swine in 1970/71. But... Jacques Brel (who happened to be Belgian) wrote and sang "Le Moribond" some 13 years before. Guckst du hier.

• And even more interesting, "My Way" was not a 1969 Sinatra original. Again, the English version was (lyrics by none other than Paul Anka) but.... the song was French to start with. Claude François penned and first recorded the song 2 years earlier. More on that here.That's another two 3-pointers for the next cover version round in the Harp (#17 on 7 December)

And if you want to do your own research or just be entertained and edumacated or guess what I'll be playing next - here's a great website I found... and my first choice blog for the interesting things in music is this one here. Check out the Originals series - amazing stuff.

Alreet quizzers, must get some sleep before tonight's Quiky, and need a few more questions and pictures too. Till then - have a good one.

Did U Know That....

This is the first post of probably many (or at least some) wherein I'll spread some of the interesting, intriguing or just immensely funny facts I've found while looking for something completely different. In no particular order, and most of them very likely useless in real life.
In the quiz universe though they might be worth a point or two. If you can remember them.
So, here goes. (Some of you might know some of these already but then, I bet you'll find something new too.)

Cover/Original versions
In The Army Now - I've always thought it was Status Quo. It's Bolland& Bolland (do NOT listen to the original if you like the song!!! :)
Black Magic Woman - written and first performed (less convincingly) by Fleetwood Mac.

Strange causes of death
Antoni Gaudi (he of the Sagrada Familia fame) - got run over by a tram, died 3 days later.

When playing at home, Olympique Marseille's team run out to Van Halen's "Jump". Every time they score, Puff Daddy's "Come With Me" is played.

And here's another source of useless knowledge.

And this one made me laugh. Not so Paris. She's threatening to sue the advertising agency.

The naked truth

That was the funnest (I know that's not a proper word :) and funniest (yes, there is a difference :) quiz night I had since.... the Mata Hari one. It might have had something to do with the relatively high percentage of T&A on display (and definitely with the 3 pints of Guinness - you evil people made me go back on my promise. Thanx :). And of course it had to do with the quality and sense of humour of the multi-cultural and multi-lingual teams :)
Anyroad, before I cover nude leftovers, here are the points.

Mummy Kazoo, if /when you read this - your boy done good!! Bit lacking in the arts department but I admit he was a tad distracted. Trying to spot the ball. As were the rest of his team.
So - to give yis all more to practise with, here's all you need to know about "what's-her-face-with-the-big-balls"...
yes, her..
Her name, in case you care, is Simona Halep. 17, Romanian. And the rest is here. Take a last long butchers because she's soon gonna be a tad flat.
And if you've just got into the ball-spotting thing, you might want to look here, or here, or here. I'm sure you can do the rest of your research on your own :) But whatever you do, do NOT look here. BTW - the full version of the "points" background - here.

Now, Inquizition # 15 next week is the last one in November as the Irish Harp is closed for a private Veranstaltung on Monday 23 (which gives me almost a whole week off. Yippeeeh!!!! Urlaub!!! :)
And since we don't have a Yogi theme I'm gonna pick one. Let's make it... The Moon. In history, science, technology, music, sports, advertising, film...
Round 1 could be Travel & Geography, Round 2 - Big Screen, Small Screen (aka Movie & TV).
Music is The Name Game. Songs with names in the title. Ya know, Mandy, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Lola, Johnny Walker, Jesse, Daniel, Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, too... and Who TF is Alice??!
Keep swotting, here's an interesting and edumacating source for music trivia. More tips & links up here, demnächst. Watch this space. And have a good week.

Strike One

It was bound to happen and I can't say I was surprised. While the actual quiz was fun and the teams were very knowledgable and well-behaved, the rest of Quiky #293 was less pleasant.
Lack of preparation, drunken gate-crashers and a rather Spartan attendance made it a prime example for how I don't want to spend my Thursday nights. The next two weeks will show if this gig has a future.
Anyroads, the competition was fierce (and sometimes serious :) and in the end it was quite tight. The pretty version of the table might appear here sometime later this week, in the meantime the bullet-point version.

1. Smashing Peaches 56
2. Feid Club Reunited 51
3. Pinkies & The Brain 49,5
4. The Serious Competitors 47,5
5. 3 Zweisteins 36,5

Next week's music might be polyphonic ringtones, haven't had that in a while. Rest up here soon, along with sample questions and more pictures. Till then, have a good one.

BTW - was Schokoladenfabriken angeht - Peaches, ihr hattet Recht, und auch nicht... nicht daß es was am Ergebnis geändert hätte :)
Oompa loompa doompety doo, I've got more perfect puzzles for you...

As for Rose McGowan's .. dubious sense of style... guckst du hier.

Points & Patrick Swayze

Ritualistically, first things first. InQuizition #13 - Punkte.

Leninskij 79
Wilmersdorfer Witwen 53
Föderation Schranke 41
Team Max 31

Zweitens, die Antwort auf die quälende Frage wie groß Patrick Swayze war. Ganze 1,78m. Plus minus nichts :)
Nächste Woche wieder "reguläre" Runden, da Newcastle schon am Samstag gewinnt. Musik könnte polyphone Klingeltöne werden, oder mysteriöse Geräusche. Oder Duos.
Der Rest der Runden entscheidet sich gegen Ende der Woche. Schaut einfach noch mal rein.