Qonnoisseur 2014 MELA Quiz at COEP, set and conducted by Rohan Danait and Aman Shaikh.

1. Qonnoisseur
Quizmasters – Rohan Danait and Aman Shaikh

2. Mains

3. Rounds
•IR 1
•Written Round
•IR 2

4. Infinite Rebound 1
•17 questions clockwise
•+10/-0 for a direct or passed question
•Onefinite pounce - A team cannot pounce further once it gets a question wrong on pounce
•+15/-0 on pounce
•Teams can pounce on their own directs

5. 1
The word for a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce derives from the French verb "to speak". Beginning in the High Middle Ages with the expansion of monarchs, it was a meeting held between kings and their Chief Retainers and was a part of the many changes in Europe, especially regarding governments. The Pirates of the Caribbean series refers to it as being part of the pirate code. What's the good word?

7. Answer
Parley

8. 2
X dressed as Y and Y dressed as X. Identify both.

11. Answer
David Bowie and Tilda Swinton

12. 3
The name of this song refer to the black U.S. cavalry regiments, that fought in the Indian Wars after 1866. The singer likened their fight to a fight for survival, and recasts it as a symbol of black resistance. The name originiates from the fact the African Americans' hair felt and looked like a particular animal, or how fiercely they fought. Others claim it was in reference to how the troops tirelessly marched. Which song and artist?

14. Answer
“Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley

15. 4
Connect:
Sangharsh
Kyon Ki
Sarkar
Life in a Metro

17. Answer
Bollywood films inspired by Oscar for Best Picture winners

18. 5
This polymath used various pen names in his lifetime like Alice Addertongue, Anthony Afterwit, Benevolus, Caelia Shortface, Martha Careful, Polly Baker and Richard Saunders. His most famous pen name has not been included in this list. Who? And what was his most famous pen name?

20. Answer
Benjamin Franklin and Silence Dogood

21. 6
Sung Kang is an actor best known for playing Han in the Fast and Furious franchise. Han's last name is revealed only in Fast Five, and is set to be a word play on the name of a cult character from a film trilogy and the capital of Sung Kang's native country. What is his last name?

23. Answer
Han Seoul-Oh (Han Solo)

24. 7
"Directors fear casting this particular actor in a major production, or do not reveal his character in the trailers to ensure that the climax of the movie is kept intact." This statement is actually false and is based on a very famous urban legend which is reinforced by X's roles in major film and TV roles. However the urban legend is not completely true and can be refuted by citing movies such as Flightplan, National Treasure, Anna Karenina and theatre productions such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and based on interpretation Maid of the West. What Urban Legend?

26. Answer
Sean Bean always dies

27. 8
"The Good War": An Oral History of World War II, written by Studs Terkel, won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. It is a firsthand account of people involved before, during and after the war. It inspired author Max Brooks to write a novel which was in fact a follow up to one of his earlier works which was a kind of survival manual. It deals with the fictional potentiality of a ______ attack and contains detailed plans for the average citizen to survive ______ uprisings of varying intensity and reach, and describes "cases" of ______ outbreaks in history. Identify the follow up novel which was later adapted into a film of the same name.

29. Answer
World War Z

30. 9
There is a classic Twilight Zone episode, entitled "The ___ ___ ______ Caper", in which criminals cryogenically freeze themselves to hide from a robbery, and wake up hundred years later. It is named after the titular character of a short story published in the early 19th Century. Fill in the blanks.

32. Answer
Rip Van Winkle

33. 10
1Q84 is a novel published in three volumes set in a fictionalized 1984. The author spent four years writing the novel after coming up with the opening sequence and title. The title is a play on the native language pronunciation of the year 1984 and a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The letter Q and the number 9 are homophones, which are often used in wordplay in that language. Which author?

35. Answer
Haruki Murakami

36. 11
For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, this TV show was nominated in the "Drama Series" category instead of the "Miniseries" category. The two lead actors ended up presenting the Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie" which was given to Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock. Which 2 actors? Which TV show?

38. Answer
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson for True Detective

39. 12
During the production of the game Deus Ex, which was released in 2000, the developers forgot the add the Twin Towers to the New York skyline. The discrepancy was explained in-game as a result of what?

41. Answer
A terrorist attack

42. 13
The title of this non-fiction book, later adapted into a film, comes from a phrase once traditional in American prisons, to designate a man condemned to death. Prior to the 1960s, when guards would lead a condemned man down the prison hallway, prisoners used to call out this phrase. What phrase?

44. Answer
Dead Man Walking

45. 14
Identify the book from the excerpt: "X had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With X it was all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was."

47. Answer
Catch 22

48. 15
Galle is a crater on Mars. It is located on the eastern rim of the huge impact basin Argyre Planitia. It is named after the astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. The crater was used as a story location in X after it's similarity to one of the key motifs in X was noted by one of the creators. According to him, the similarity "was almost too good to be true. I worried that if we put it in, people would never believe it." Identify X.

51. Answer
Watchmen

52. 16
In 1974, Uderzo and Goscinny set up their own animation studio called Studio Idefix. Idefix was Dogmatix’s French name. The studio’s logo was a direct imitation of MGM's in which the lion was replaced by Idefix. And MGM's motto "Ars Gratia Artis" was replaced by "Delirant Isti Romani". What does "Delirant Isti Romani" mean?

54. Answer
These Romans are Crazy

55. 17
The English name for this drink is Bison Grass Vodka. It is a dry, herb-flavored vodka that has a unique flavour of woodruff, vanilla, coconut, and almond notes. The original name is the Polish name for bison grass. A fictional country named after this vodka is where the events of a film, inspired by the works of Austrian author Stefan Zweig take place. Which film?

57. Answer
The Grand Budapest Hotel

58. Scores

59. Written Round
•6 questions on Pokémon
•Teams have to write down their answers
•Differential scoring –
•+20 if 1/2 teams gets it
•+10 if 3/4 teams get it
•+5 if 5 teams get it
•No points if all teams get it

60. 1
Gengar is a dual-type Ghost/Poison Pokémon which has a habit of pretending to be a person's shadow and mimicking the person. Which English word (actually a loan word from German) is this Pokémon's name derived from?

63. Answer
Doppelganger

64. 2
This Electric-type Pokémon is simply based on a sheep and its electric aspect comes from how wool builds up static charges. It is inspired from a classic science fiction novel (which was also adapted into a film). Its name is derived from a nursery rhyme. Which novel? Which nursery rhyme?

67. Answer
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Mary Had A Little Lamb

68. 3
This Kicking Pokémon was originally known as "Sawamura" in Japanese, based on Japanese kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura. His English name is derived from the name of X. On the other hand, the Punching Pokémon was originally known as "Ebiwara" in Japanese, based on Japanese former two- time world flyweight boxing champion Hiroyuki Ebihara and his English name is derived from the name of Y. Identify X and Y.

71. Answer
Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan

72. 4
This is the Psychic Pokémon called Girafarig. What does its name signify?

74. Answer
It is palindrome, which reflects the forward and backward heads

75. 5
Heracross is a Bug-Fighting type pokemon which is based on a certain species known for its extraordinary strength and hence named after X. It also has two alternative names after another animal AND another mythological animal, due to one of its distinctive features. Identify the species and X.

78. Answer
Hercules beetle/Rhinoceros beetle/Unicorn beetle
Hercules

79. 6
Milotic is a Water-type Pokémon named after one of the most famous ancient Greek sculptures which depicts the Greek/Roman goddess of love and beauty, and, like Milotic, possesses no arms. The arms of the sculpture were lost following its discovery. Which sculpture?

82. Answer
Venus de Milo

83. Infinite Rebound 2
•17 questions clockwise
•+10/-0 for a direct or passed question
•Onefinite pounce - A team cannot pounce further once it gets a question wrong on pounce
•+15/-0 on pounce
•Teams can pounce on their own directs

84. 18
The author X was posted in Paris as a young Reuters foreign correspondent in 1962 when Y had just granted independence to Algeria to end the eight-year Algerian War, a highly controversial act that had incurred the wrath of the ultra-right terrorist group Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) which then vowed to assassinate him. X befriended many of Y's bodyguards and personally reported from the scene of the failed August 1962 assassination attempt on the life of Y. Identify X and Y.

86. Answer
X: Frederick Forsyth
Y: Charles de Gaulle

87. 19
In the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier, what Biblical quotation is inscribed on the character Nick Fury's tombstone?

89. Answer
Ezekiel 25:17

90. 20
This character's name was inspired by Kim Noonien Singh, a pilot who flew in the Second World War. The creator of this work of fiction served with Singh and eventually lost touch with him. He had hoped that the character's similar name might attract Singh's attention and renew his old acquaintance. Which character?

92. Answer
Khan Noonien Singh

93. 21
Roberto Benigni directed and starred in the 1997 tragicomedy Life Is Beautiful, which is about an Italian Jewish man who tries to protect his son's innocence during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp, by telling him that the Holocaust is an elaborate game and he must adhere very carefully to the rules to win. The film was attacked by critics who accused it of presenting the Holocaust without much suffering, and some who considered that "laughing at everything" was not appropriate. However, some praised Benigni's artistic daring and skill to create a sensitive comedy involving the tragedy, a challenge that X confessed he would not have done with his film Y had he been aware of the horrors of the Holocaust. Identify X and Y.

95. Answer
X: Charlie Chaplin
Y: The Great Dictator

96. 22
Kip Thorne is an American theoretical physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. A long-time friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, he was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) until 2009 and one of the world's leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein's general theory of relativity. What new project is he involved in 2014?

98. Answer
Interstellar (as Exec Producer)

99. 23
When this band released their cassette in Iran, a leaflet in Persian was enclosed which gave the explanation of the lyrics of a certain song as being about a man who has accidentally killed a man, and sold his soul to the devil, much like Faust. On the night before his execution, he calls out for God and with the help of angels regains his soul. Which song?

101. Answer
Bohemian Rhapsody

103. 24
The Inklings was a literary group which started with just authors X and Y meeting on Monday mornings to talk about writing. It went on the become an important group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1940s. Members were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction and encouraged the writing of fantasy. Id X and Y.

105. Answer
CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien

106. 25
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a US scientific research station. Most personnel leave by the middle of February, leaving a few dozen who keep the station functional through the months of Antarctic night. The winter personnel are isolated between February and October. As a tradition, every year, the winter personnel watch two films on the first winter evening. One of them is a 1982 film based in an Antarctic research station. The other is a 1980 film in which the characters are isolated from the outside world for a long period of time. Both films have now gained a cult following. Identify both.

108. Answer
The Thing
The Shining

109. 26
For No Good Reason is a documentary about Ralph Steadman, a cartoonist best known for his work with author X. It stars the actor Y who pays a visit to Steadman. Y was a fan and longtime friend of X, and has acted in two films based on X's works. Y accompanied X as his road manager on one of the author's last book tours. In 2006, he contributed a foreword to a posthumous biography of X and also narrated a documentary film based on X's life. Identify the author and the actor.

111. Answer
Hunter S. Thompson and Johnny Depp

112. 27
Mount Roraima serves as the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. The tabletop mountains in this area are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago in the Precambrian. The production team of which movie went to Mount Roraima and climbed it for inspiration and ideas for the making of it?

115. Answer
Up

116. 28
These are three paintings of three rather famous members of this extremely artistic family. The third artist (third image) left his paintings untitled to "leave the meaning of the painting open to interpretation". Which artistic family?

119. Answer
Tagore. The first is Pratima Visarjan by Gaganendranath Tagore (Sharmila Tagore's great grandfather). The second is End of A Journey by Abanindranath Tagore, his younger brother. The third is by Rabindranath Tagore, their uncle.

120. 29
Screenshot from the game Plants vs Zombies. The character in the image was replaced by a generic disco dancing zombie after the family of a certain deceased personality raised objection. Put funda.

122. Answer
Michael Jackson’s family complained that the Michael Jackson in Thriller inspired zombie was objectionable after the pop star's death and hence was replaced.

123. 30
Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major is a rather popular piece of classical music. It was used as a background scores in movies like Se7en, Battle Royale and The Spy who loved me. Its most popular arrangement, specifically the 2nd movement, was done by August Willhelmj, who titled it what?

125. Answer
Air on the G string

126. 31
The National Front (NF) is a British far-right political party for whites only, opposed to non-white immigration, and committed to a programme of repatriation. While denying accusations of fascism, it has cultivated links with neo- Nazi cells at home and abroad, and the British police and prison services forbid their employees to be members of the party. The NF was founded in 1967. The party has never won a seat in Parliament, and its few council seats have only been obtained through defection and appointment. The National Front were particularly strong in the early 1980s, and their paper is called The Flame. What’s the entertainment connect?

128. Answer
Norsefire from V for Vendetta

129. 32
X is known as the voice of Y, but at his own request, was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films. He said, "When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Y, I said, no I'm just special effects. But it became so identified, I said OK, I'll let them put my name on it." X and Y?

131. Answer
X: James Earl Jones
Y: Darth Vader

132. 33
Season 1 Episode 8: The Pointy End
Season 2 Episode 9: Blackwater
Season 3 Episode 7: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
Season 4 Episode 2: The Lion and the Rose
What's common to this exhaustive list?

134. Answer
Writing credits for George R.R. Martin

135. 34
In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, a hospital nurse who is watching over Dave Bowman's mother throws down a TIME magazine to go and check on her. The magazine cover is supposed to have photographs of the US and the Russian presidents. Which 2 people feature on the magazine?

137. Answer
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke