Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
[Raak] Mount Vernon it is!! I've just been reading a biography. Interesting that his greatness is as much about when he gave up power as when he wielded it. Here, have this branch of a cherry tree I've just cut down as a baton.
Ah, so this is why my memory failed to conjure up a vision of a wooden house.
Q: Is the mansion at Mount Vernon built of wood or stone? A: Mount Vernon is of frame construction, and the sheathing is beveled and covered with a mixture of paint and sand to give the appearance of stone.
Never actually been there, so I just went straight to Wikipedia, which just says 'The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style'.
Unique? Yes. But, oddly enough, also No. Primarily Rock/stone? Yes. *applause* On/in the earth? Yes. Incidentally, there is also an animal connection, but I was unaware of it until I started reading Wikipedia, and I suspect it won't be useful.
Smaller than Kylie? No. Begins with P? Yes? Human construction? No. (*a few members of the audience whisper among themselves about some technicalities, but agree with the conclusion*) Meteoric remains? No. ( *a few members of the audience applaud the insight of the question*)
Natural geographic feature? Well, yes and no. The spirit of the question points to Yes, but I am not sure it really qualifies as a geographic feature, and there is some potential quibbling about natural (see "Human construction?"). Pyramid of Cheops? No.
Geographic location modified by man? I am really having trouble knowing how to answer this. The answer does not refer to a geographic location as such, though it does refer to something associated with a particular geographic location.
I think you just asked this that so you can get revenge on my quibbling about your previous one. :-)
Does it move? Not in general, no. A jewel? No. This is one of those topics that i thought would be relatively straightforward when I thought of it, but was a bit more complicated once I did a bit of research. You might find the best route is to think in terms of the geographic location.
Never having been there, I had always assumed it was just this place on the coastline. But no. Turns out it is a smallish rock (though bigger than Kylie!) that has been split into two (not to mention having lots of smaller pieces chipped off it), and both pieces have been moved. One is still in Plymouth, and one is in Brooklyn.
[Phil Human association? YES and NO. There are multiple animal associations and at least one of them is human. [Boolbar] Just sayin'? NO. [NJ] Prayer and stuff? NO [Tuj] Artful? YES *applause*
[Software] Fish story? NO [Boolbar] English language? YES To recap, The AOTC is both an English language story and a non-musical, black-and-white film made between 1959 and 1999. It has won 3 Academy Awards, but none of those were for Best Picture. There is at least one human association (hard to imagine a story or film without one) but there may be other animal associations, as well. Oddly, the audience perked up at the mention of a leading man not connected to the film--perhaps because the players were getting warm in some way. It could also point to another productive line of questioning. :-)
[CdM] TKAM, surely? YES. A favorite film. I came perilously close to naming a kid Atticus. *hands CdM the severed leg of a busted up chiffarobe* Careful now, don't get yourself a splinter.
Well, once we know we were looking for a multiple-oscar-winning B&W movie post 1960, it was pretty easy, even without the answer to Boolbar's question.MINERAL with ANIMAL and VEGETABLE connections
Might this be an expanse of water? Yes it might. Source of precipitation? Only in the sense that an expanse of water is an indirect source of precipitation.
Panama Canal? No. Bigger than Wales? Yes. In the possession of a single country? No. *some laughter* A glacier? No. (And, yes, that is I guess a legitimate question/complaint. I think that in this game we generally take a broad definition of "mineral". For example: 4 : something neither animal nor vegetable. The answer on the card certainly wouldn't fit the more narrow definition of mineral, which includes the word "solid". I am not sure how else I should classify a body of water, though. In any case, you (the group) have correctly figured out that this is a body of water, bigger than Wales, more than 65 million years old, with some muttering about whether or not it is a Pacific Ocean.)
Panthalassa is correct! Three hundred million years ago (give or take a decade), our current continents were joined in the single landmass of Pangaea. Panthalassa was the ocean surrounding that continent. Or, if you prefer, the giant salt lake in the middle of it. It can be thought of as the precursor of the current Pacific Ocean. I had originally planned to make Pangaea the word on the card, but when I checked some sources (ok, ok, wikipedia) I learned about Panthalassa, and thought that sounded more fun.
*passes NJ some empty space with a baton-shaped hole in the middle*
[GL] Unreal? - NO [Raak] Group of creatures? - NO [CdM] Group of creatures? - NO [Tuj] Just the one? - YES (though not a very meaningful question or answer)
[Software] EU? - NO [Tuj] Is the association a particular country? - NO (but I'm not quite sure what the question is asking) (*the audience is still attentive at this line of questioning*)
I should probably have been slightly less dismissive of Software's question wrt a nation. There is a bit of a link there, but I'm afraid it might lead you astray. The answer is still NO.
[Quendalon] Bubonic Death? - NO [CdM] Judicial killing? - NO (Remember - associated with a specific location) - let me re-answer Tuj's earlier question - the association is not a specific country, but is in a specific country. Also, I should probably have answered Phil's question about Politics a bit more positively - there is a link, but that's not the essence of the answer.
I was briefly sure that the answer had to be the My Lai massacre because INJ started this AVMA on its 45th anniversary. Then I was convinced that was wrong because of the lack of a P-word. Then googling revealed that My Lai was codenamed "Pinkville", which I hadn't known. So now I am convinced I am right again. :-)
[Chalky] It is indeed The battle of Dien Bien Phu where a small French force held out for weeks against overwhelming Viet Minh forces before being comprehensively defeated. The French inability to relieve or effectively resupply the garrison spelt the end of French colonial ambitions in Indo-China. Since I got this round as a bit of a lurker I feel disinclined to step into this quarrel, but the answer is specifically the battle, not the place.
Throws a baton in the air to see who will catch it.
Thank you NotJohn for a splendid AVMA - spookily not dissimilar to a subject that'd crossed my mind a few weeks ago - should the chair beckon. So this is not that one, NotJohn - it's this one ..
Surely #2. [NJ] And well done for not getting impatient as the team worked at getting there! Bit worried about those black-humoured audience members chuckling near the end...
(CdM) Linked to a particular culture? - Erm ... N0 - well maybe a small 'yes' but am not sure if that's helpful. Am struggling with the culture word to be honest. (NotJohn) Medical condition/syndrome? - NO (Software) Pleasure? - NO. (Tuj) Location location? - NO (Quendalon) Prefixed word? - NO (Phil) Pedantry? - NO but *appreciative sounds can be heard in the audience*
(Dujon) An attitude? - YES it is. And more. *audience has perked up* . (Quendalon) Philosophical? - if you scratch the surface, the AOTC might be ascribed to various philosophies - so I'd say more Yes than No. However, this could apply to most attitudes so my answer may not be too helpful. (NotJohn) Language? - NO
*contemplating an earlier question by Quendalon regarding mathematics - perhaps I should have replied 'Yes, but only obliquely'*
(Software) Perfect? - NO more than when Phil asked the same on 28th March :)
I chose this 'P' word because it has a succinct definition. A human trait, which we have established, which can easily be arrived at given some judicious questioning. However, this word has another use which necessitates a change to a couple of my replies. Mathematical/Scientific/Philosophical links are rather stronger if this path to the solution is chosen.
--- begins with a P and also contains the letters m, s and i within. One word. A human trait which is neither gender nor geographically related. Desirable to some but probably rather annoying for others. This particular word has another use and is key to a scientific/mathematical/philosophical principle which was the subject for an AVMA in 2005.
Thank you and well played NotJohn - was hoping for an early solution today as I am in need of rescue ... For me - Parsimony is frugality or excessive economy which was my starting point all those days ago. As for the secondary meaning - Occam's Razor was the subject of the AVMA (with the principle of parsimony at its technical core).
And I used the word 'rescue' advisedly. My daughter has just gone into early labour and I may needed at the hospital ... *swiftly hands over baton to NotJohn on way out*
[Chalky] Hope it all goes well Yes, the mathematical and philosophical connotations did come to me after I'd thought of the word. Now maybe I can remedy the unsatisfactory end to the previous game by suggesting that Raak gets his belated turn.
Thanks for all the good wishes! Bad News - daughter poorly. Good News - 32 wk foetus staying where it is for the time being.) Sorry to interrupt your game Raak. I have a question .. coming up shortly
[Raak] To be clear, is this simply a flamboyant way of saying no to the question that was asked, or are you providing additional information to the effect that the letter 'P' does not appear anywhere on the card?
Hmm. Related to both politics and money. Each instance involves one human, and the people associated with this have something in common. Could be said to be connected with a philosophy.
[GL] *more applause* Yes, an increase in individual wealth. [S] Not shareholders. [NJ] *laughter* Legally speaking, it is not classified as unearned income.
Sorry for the delay, I was at a friend's funeral and couldn't get to the net. [NJ] A + B? No [cfm] liquid? There shouldn't be, No. [Tuj] The Earl of foods? Yes [Chalky] A meal in itself? No, its a sandwich, see Tuj's question above. [Raak] Do you want fries with that? No.
[Raak] ON a hill? There is some undulation but contour lines indicate the AOTC isn't actually ON a hill. *audience applauds the question* [Rosie] A range of hills? NO
[NotJohn] A Henge? YES! [Gusset Login] A stone circle/not technically a henge? NO - the AOTC is both [Raak] NO ... therefore [Quendalon] NO - not Stonehenge.
[NotJohn] Brodgar? Not in Scotland .. staying with my county of residence - Wiltshire - and Phil scores a stunning lurker's victory with the correct [more-or-less] AOTC - Avebury Ring. *gently passes neolithic baton to Phil* ,
[NJ] Manufactured? YES [Raak] Stainless Steel? YES, that's what it's made of *a ripple of applause* [Quendalon] Unique? NO [Tuj] Art? NO [cfm] An iron? NO [Chalky] < phone box? YES [GL] Bridge? NO
[NJ] Leatherman? NO *some audience members explain to others what a Leatherman is, after which some of them make appreciative noises* [Raak] Hole punch? NO
[Rosie] Tin opener? NO (I wouldn't move that out of the kitchen when tidying) [Raak] Garden Shears? NO (I'd call them bigger than a breadbin) *appreciative applause* [NJ] A kitchen tool? NO (again, I'd keep that in the kitchen).
[Q] No picture. [NJ] *applause* A container. [P] A witty thought goes up on the laser display board. Laughter in the audience. Not used for a leisure activity.
[CdM] Yes! Rosie was nearly there, but you have nailed the exact answer! Have this recycled wooden planter. Ignore the rotten apple juice seeping out of it. And it can now be revealed that the Witty Comment on the laser display board was about the undemanding leisure activity of shooting fish in one.
.. thought it might be that - was rather hoping that Rosie might get a turn 'in the chair'. May I respectfully suggest a slight change to the non-rules of this game, ie. you need to have asked at least one question before guessing the AOTC? Or is that altogether too regimentatious? < made up word alert >
I am more than happy for Rosie to take the chair if he wishes. He definitely got 98.2 percent of the way to the AOTC. Mind you, I think this game has had its share of lurker victories, and I'm not exactly a lurker in the grand scheme of things. :-)
(Chalky, CdM) Generous, but let's play by the rules. In any case, if a lurker wins, their "punishment" will be to host the next one. That'll teach 'em not to just jump in and out.
(CdM) Couldn't you have made it 98.4 - body temperature, the percentage of H2SO4 in conc. sulphuric, the number of feet in 30 metres . . . . I could go on.