mc5 - AVMA Take 2

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AVMA Take 2

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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 ....

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Does music come into it?

I am a bit stuck on the idea of a wooden hand-held instrument used in schools for which no plastic version has ever been seen by Simons Mith. So I am asking this question because it worked last time...

Does music come out of it?

Could it typically be maneuvered through a 5cm diameter circular hole?

[music I/O] No, either way.

[5cm hole] Yes!

BTW, I did check on Amazon, didn't find any wooden ones at all any more, didn't spot any hard plastic, but I did spot some foam ones for sale. Hadn't thought of foam. Other than that the rest were all metal.

A broomstick handle?

Is it a piece of sports equipment?

[broomstick handle] No, and expunge any thoughts about Quidditch. :-)

[sports] Yes! Audience applause

A golf club?

Is it used in an Olympic sport?

So it is bigger than a tennis ball, which is 6.7cm in diameter, but can be manoeuvred through a 5cm diameter hole.

A javelin?

[CdM] I assume long'n'thin fits both.

[Golf club] No

[Olympic] Yes

[Javelin] No. Granted, they used to be wooden and are now metal, but y'can't get foam ones.

An arrow?

Hockey stick?

Is it essential for playing the sport in question?

[B] I dunno. I don't think it's obvious that a long thin thing is bigger than a spherical thing (where "long" means greater than the diameter of the sphere and "thin" means smaller than the diameter of the sphere).

[Arrow] No

[Hockey Stick] No

[Essential] After quite a lot of thought, No. It's quite important, but not as essential as, say, the ball in football.

Is it protective equipment?

[Protective] No.

Used in a team sport?

[Team] Yup.

Is it used to hit something with?

[Percussive] No.

Is it used to make a mark on something?

[Mark-making] Nope.

Is it used to poke something?

I'm feel there's a Dr. Seuss poem in here somewhere.

Does it hit things?
Does it mark things?
Does it push and poke and prod things?

No, this object does not hit.
Neither does this object mark
Does it push or poke or prod?
Sadly none of those three gets a nod.

Ski pole?

Hidden text

Bool's question wasn't 'uniquely used in a team sport?'

[ski pole] No.

[uniquely used] I'm not 100% sure what you mean, but the AOTC is not used in any non-team variant of the sport(s).

A cricket stump?

[Stumped] No.

Is it at least as flexible as a rope?

[Flexibility] No, it's rigid.

Can I buy something with the same name in a bakery?

Trying not to take over due to busyness.

[Bread] Yes. I hadn't thought of that foody crossover.

Is "stick" one of the words on the card?

Do you want to rethink your answer to Tuj's question about "is it designed to be held in one hand?" ?

Also avoiding taking over. :)

[sticky] No. Actually I had only put one word on the card, but you're narrowing in on the sporting variant.

[rethinking] No. The circumstances under which two hands are used are a giveaway.

And now you're all just toying with me, I think.

OK then. Is it, perchance, a Relay Handover Cylinder?

[Baton] Yes, it is.

Flouting COVID restrictions, the audience claps one-handed with their neighbours.

It's all yours, CdM, although I'm afraid I haven't got a symbolic object to hand over. Some bugger ran off with it.

All right. This is, depending on how you think of it, either ABSTRACT, or MINERAL and VEGETABLE with important ANIMAL connections.

The world?

The world? No.

Is the MV+A a physical representation of the abstract thing?

Physical representation? I think "physical incarnation" might be a better phrase. In the M&V sense, the AOTC is very definitely real. Indeed, perhaps it is a mistake to call it Abstract; I think what I really mean is that the AOTC is a human construct.

A crucifix?

Radox The Green

Is this a universal concept?

Crucifix? No.
Universal concept? No on both counts. It's not a concept, and it's quite specific.

Is the Animal part one animal or many?

How many animals? Many.

Is it a cycle/circle/feedback loop of some kind?

The Terracotta Army?

Feedback loop? No, much more concrete than that.
Terracotta Army? No (much less interesting than that). :)

A dolls house?

A city?

They're quite concrete. Regrettably.

A motorway?

Is there a single person in charge of this thing?

Doll house? No.
City? Yes! *sustained applause*
Motorway? No.
Single person in charge? Well, it's a city. Do cities have a single person in charge of them? Depends on how you interpret "in charge", I suppose. Wikipedia does inform me that the person nominally in charge of this particular city holds an "uncommon office".

It USED to be boring before the water crisis . . .

Is it Flint, Michigan?

[KS] Flint? No. (I'm not saying this is an uninteresting city; I'd hate you to take offence.)

If you're tired of this particular city, does that suggest you're tired of life?

Oh, say can you say?

Does this city's spelling actually look like how the name of the city is pronounced.

Cdm - It's a joke in the U.S. which isn't really true any more and I'm not sure when it changed - but at one point, Flint, MI was considered extremely boring - peole would say things like they drove through Flint, MI and saw a rock and a flower, nothing else.

Tired of Life? Again without wishing to insult KS, were that true I suspect it would have a rather high suicide rate.
Spelt as it sounds? I'd say yes.

Hidden text

[KS] I lived five years of my life less than 50 miles from Flint; I am well aware of its reputation. :)

Radox The Green

Has this city been the subject of a popular song?

Popular song? Yes -- perhaps several (although that might depend on how strictly I'm supposed to interpret the word "subject"). Googling tells me there are at least half a dozen songs with the name of this city in their titles, and many many more that include the name in the lyrics. Most of these songs I had never heard of, but some undoubtedly qualify as popular songs.

Is this city in the Eurozone?

Is it in Asia?

In the Eurozone? No.
In Asia? No.

[KS] I've only just realised that when I wrote (in reply to your question re Flint) "I'm not saying this is an uninteresting city; I'd hate you to take offence", you quite reasonably understood "this" to mean Flint. I was actually speaking not about Flint, but the AOTC.

Begins with P?

P-initial? Sorry, no.

Noo Yoik?

South American?

New York? No.
South American? No. (*some whispering and a little laughter from the audience*)

Does this city exist today?

On the continent of North America?

Currently in existence? Yes.
North American? Yes.

St Louis?

Come on, you blues.

St Louis? No.
(Speaking of the Blues, Rosie, you missed your chance a few weeks ago when the AOTC, set by Bismarck, was a certain Mr Eden Hazard.)

Chicago?

Does this city have a name derived from Spanish?

(CdM) I've no time for Hazard - he's a deserter.

Is it South of the 40th parallel north?

Chicago? No.
Derived from Spanish? No.
South of 40? Yes.

Is it named after a person?

While I'm at it, is it the state capital of North Dakota?

Named after a person? No.
Bismarck? No. ( 46°48′30″N > 40°00′00″N)

Radox The Green

Is it on an island?

On an island? No.

On a river?

On a river? Yes. (*applause*)

Does it host a team in one of the US' Big 4 sporting leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL)?

ABBFHLLLMNNN (not necessarily in that order)? No.

Is it innnnnnn Texas?

(and do hint if there's a more interesting way we could be hunting it!)

Radox The Green

Is it on Route 66?

In Texas? No.
On Route 66? No.
I'm not sure what to offer in the way of hints beyond saying that there is a reason I chose this particular city; it is not just some random city in the US.

Is its name the same as that of a British city?

Philadelphia?

r/ Philadelphia / Savannah

My bad, it seems that Philadelphia does possess a sporting team.

Brit name? No. (*some audience laughter*)
Savannah? No.

Hidden text

I believe that Philly is actually one of the few cities with a team in all four of the leagues Tuj mentioned. :)

Is it in a state whose name begins with a vowel?

In the title of quite a few songs, hmm.

Is it named after a geographical feature?

Initially stately vowelly? No.

Hidden text

The song route may or may not be helpful. I had heard of maybe one of the songs with the city in its title (and I had not heard of the song that is in fact most famous). The AOTC-related song that I know best names the city in its first line, but not in the title.

Named after geographical feature? I think the best answer is Yes, though I am using a broad definition of “geographical feature”. (It’s not as obviously a g.f. as, say, Little Rock, if that’s what you were thinking of.)

New Orleans.

New Orleans? No. (*Applause, and also some muttered and inconclusive discussion about whether New Orleans had already been ruled out by Radox's island question*)

The old one . . .

Is it in New Mexico?

New Mexico? No. (*a little audience laughter, not so much for the question as for the questioner*)

Hidden text

[KS] Entirely friendly laughter, I promise. :)

If a wall were built between the US and Mexico, would this city be on the side closer to Canada?

It wouldn't happen to be Lake Charles, would it? The city, I mean, not the AOTC.

Closer to Canada? Yes.
Lake Charles? No. (*more applause*)

Recap

City in the US lower 48, on a river but not on an island, south of 40°N, not in a state starting with a vowel nor in New Mexico nor in Texas, does not begin with 'P', is not named after a person nor in Spanish nor a version of an existing British town, but the name is vaguely geographical and there are songs about it. It also possesses no team in any major US league of sporting mayhem, but has a specific reason for CdM to pick it.

Is it in a state that belonged to the Confederacy?

Does its name consist of two words?

[Bismarck] Excellent summary. :)
In the Confederacy? Yes.
Two-word name? Yes. (*applause*)

Radox The Green

Is it the capital of the state?

Baton Rouge?

Don't really want it to be.

Oak Ridge?

[Software] Can't see what is the geographical idea of a red stick...

Feeling near as faded as my jeans

It is indeed the state capital of Louisiana, on the Mississippi, Baton Rouge, so whether he likes it or not, Software now has a new shiny crimson baton to replace the one that somebody apparently ran off with at the end of the last round. Garth Brooks' recording of Callin' Baton Rouge apparently reached number two on the US country charts, and there is also a Lou Reed song with the title Baton Rouge. And then, of course, there's Me and Bobby McGee, which Janis Joplin took to number one.

As for the geographical connection, I did try to give a highly qualified answer. The red stick that Baton Rouge is named after was a boundary marker, and boundaries—even those that don't follow features of physical geography—do fall into the category of "abstract geographical features". But maybe I pushed the definition a little too far, and if so I apologise. :)

Oh right, I see... also I looked it up and the mayor has a sonorous title, as you said right at the beginning.

Oh, bugger, now I'll have to think.

OK, here goes: VEGETABLE and MINERAL with possible ABSTRACT connotations.

Lord Byron's Bicycle?

Bravo to the setter and the guesser, lovely.

Vegetable wood?

Radox The Green

Are the vegetable and mineral parts separate?

A work of art?

Does it begin with P?

Anything to do with batons?

Does it have gigantic silver wings that appear avove my head?

Too silly tired for serious questions

Is it anything to do with software?

Is the mineral metal?

Is it, perhaps, people looking at computer screens awaiting answers?

Tuj - NO
Rosie: wood? - Possibly
RTG: separate - YES
Raak: is it art? - Possibly
CdM: P? - YES!
Bool: baton? - NO
Bismark: software (are you addresing me?) - Not as far as I'm aware
SM: metal? mmmm! - Sometimes
Duj: Sorry for the delay, everyone

Is it a plastic replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace?

(On a plinth?)

A statue?

Bigger than a toaster?

Anything to do with the sea?

Anything to do with food?

SM: Plastic thingy? - NO, not even on a plinth
Raak: Statue? - NO
CdM: Toaster benchmark? - Well, sometimes much larger
Bismarck: Maritime? - NO
Bool: Grub? - Well, again, possibly.

Is there only ever one of it at a time?

Is it vegetibles cooking in a metal pot?

Mmmm . . . aroma.

Agriculture?

Tuj: Unique? - NO
KS: Cookery? - NO
Super: Farming? - In a way, YES

A garden in a bottle?

Weather related?

A bottle in a garden?

Bonsai?

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