“Classic Novel Spoilers” (identify the book): Itinerant workers George & Lennie dream of owning a ranch; Lennie accidentally kills a girl; George kills Lennie
Of Mice and Men
Swiss scientist creates monster that craves bride; scientist makes & destroys bride; scientist dies, monster mourns
Frankenstein
Heathcliff is raised in the Earnshaw home, falls for Cathy; love thwarted; both die
Wuthering Heights
Raskolnikov murders an old woman; Raskolnikov confesses & is sentenced to 8 years in Siberia
Crime and Punishment
Constance marries paralyzed Sir Clifford, has an affair with the gamekeeper, gets pregnant, awaits divorce & new life
Lady Chatterly’s Lover
“Controversial TV”: This singer's hip gyrations on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1957 were not shown because they were deemed too sexual
Elvis
In a speech, this real-life V.P. blasted fictional Murphy Brown for her choice to have a child out of wedlock
Dan Quayle;Quayle
This animated show proved nothing is sacred with the episode "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo"
South Park
She shocked many with her "wardrobe malfunction" in the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show
Janet Jackson;Jackson
It was alien telekinesis that caused TV's first interracial kiss on this show
Star Trek
“The History of Candy”: Originally, this candy bar that debuted in 1932 was made of 3 pieces in 3 different flavors, hence its name
3 Musketeers;Three Musketeers
Peter Paul's 1st candy bar was the Konabar; its 2nd, in 1920, was this chocolate & coconut bar, still popular today
Mounds
The 5th Avenue candy bar was first made by this company famous for its cough drops
Luden’s
The "Clucking Bunny" could tell you that this company hatched its first creme eggs in 1923
Cadbury
The York Cone Co. was best known for ice cream cones before introducing these cool round treats in 1940
Peppermint Patties
“The Indians”: The international airport in New Delhi bears her name
Indira Gandhi;Gandhi
Jamsetji Nata, an important businessman of this movie capital, used his wealth to enrich it
Bombay;Mumbai
As the new leader of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri led it into a war with this neighbor in 1965
Pakistan
The winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature, Rabindranath Tagore was born in this former capital in 1861
Calcutta
"The Father of Modern India", Raja Ram Mohan Roy helped spread democratic ideas & was a member of this highest caste
Brahmin
“The Giants”: On one of his "Travels", this literary character meets rats the size of lions & wasps as big as birds
Gulliver
Champion of Gath in the First Book of Samuel
Goliath
Ymir was the first giant & the father of a race of giants in this ancient people's mythology
Norse
Civil War military leader who lent his name to the world's largest tree by volume, a towering Giant Sequoia
Sherman
A depiction of the giant god Atlas holding up the world appeared on the front of his 16th century book of maps
Mercator
“The Twins’: Catamaran is a term for a boat having twin these
hulls;hull
The constellation we know as this was known in Southern Asia as Aswins, the twin horse riders of the dawn
Gemini
These twin internal organs are composed of closely packed uriniferous tubules
kidneys;kidney
The tallest twin towers in the world, the Petronas Towers are located in this capital of Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
After the twins are born in this Steinbeck novel, Cathy Trask deserts everyone & returns to life as a prostitute
East of Eden
“The Nationals”: One of the most famous festivals in Bangladesh is Id al-Fitr, which comes at the end of this holy month
Ramadan
Mount Jacques-Cartier is a fixture on the Gaspe Peninsula in this country
Canada
The Ubangi River forms part of the northern boundary of this African country that's sometimes shortened to DRC
Democratic Republic of Congo
A 1958 uprising in Algeria threatened this European nation with civil war
France
Fittingly the shape of this kingdom is often compared to an elephant's head; the "trunk" extends into the Malay Peninsula
Thailand
“The ‘A’s”: A liquid under pressure released through a nozzle as a spray or foam
aerosol
A recess or nook for something like a bookcase
alcove
To suspend a legal proceeding
adjourn
It's the mollusk whose shell is a source of mother-of-pearl
abalone
From the Greek for "slope", it's to adjust to a new set of conditions, not just to the weather
acclimate
“It’s Baseball”: Randy Johnson & Curt Schilling were co-MVPs of the 2001 World Series, receiving this award named for a great Yankee slugger
Babe Ruth Award;Babe Ruth;Ruth
In 2005 the Angels changed their full name to the Los Angeles Angels of this city
Anaheim
Inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in July 2007, he won 8 N.L. batting titles during his 20-year career as a Padre
Tom Gwynn;Gwynn
In 1962 this Dodger shortstop stole 104 bases, breaking Ty Cobb's 47-year-old record
Maurice Wills;Wills
Over the past 75 years, only one pitcher has won more than 30 games in a season--this Tiger in 1968
Denny McLain;McLain
“Physical Science”: All 5 elements of the salt-producing halogen group end in these 3 letters (one element purifies drinking water)
ine
Chemical reactions of the paper clip's iron & the copper wire in the acid of the lemon juice draw these elementary particles from one wire to the other
electrons
Hydroscopic substances have a tendency to absorb this from the atmosphere
water;moisture
Stop an egg while it's spinning, and it will start again, because the liquid inside is still moving, exhibiting this property, resistance to change in motion
inertia
When the earth's magnetosphere interacts with this flow of charged particles from the sun, auroras are produced
solar wind
“O Canada”: By population it's the largest city in Canada
Toronto
The 2 creatures that appear on Canada's 5-cent piece are Queen Elizabeth II & this rodent
beaver
Yellowknife is the capital of this political division of Canada
Northwest Territories
It's name is the French form of the Algonquin word for "where the river narrows", a reference to the St. Lawrence
Quebec
It's the "Keystone Province" because of its central location in the country
Manitoba
“Now Playing At The Oedipus Complex”: Mother "isn't quite herself today" in this 1960 horror classic
Psycho
Though only 3 years older than Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury played his mom in this 1962 political thriller
The Manchurian Candidate;Manchurian Candidate
Mel Gibson has a few Mommy issues with Glenn Close in this Shakespearean film
Hamlet
Robin Williams has a few Mommy issues with Glenn Close in this film based on a John Irving novel
The World According to Garp
Johnny Depp's mom is a morbidly obese shut-in who hasn't left the house in 7 years in this 1993 film
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
“Computer On!”: Often used with ctrl & alt, this computer key will remove the letter to the right of the cursor
delete
In 2006 Apple started using this company's microprocessors in its Macintosh computers
Intel
Robert Metcalfe was inducted into the Inventors' Hall of Fame for this computer network that sounds like an anesthetic
Ethernet
To copy video from your camcorder to a computer, use this "blazing" fast connection some call i.Link
FireWire
It's what the "ML" stands for in HTML, used for creating internet documents
markup language
“Banned Books”: This story was banned in California because the heroine was bringing wine as well as food to her grandma
Little Red Riding Hood
Predictably, in 1967, "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes was banned in this country then controlled by a military junta
Greece
England indicted this supporter of the Revolutionary war for his "Rights of Man" & his publisher was prosecuted
Thomas Paine;Paine
In 1929 Italy banned his "Call of the Wild" & Yugoslavia banned all of his books as being too radical
Jack London;London
Viola's crossdressing in this Shakespeare play ran afoul of a N.H. Prohibition of Alternative Lifestyle Act
Twelfth Night
“What Are You Doing”: If you add a scarf or a belt to an outfit, you're doing this, from the Latin for "to adapt"
accessorize
If you're circumscribing a triangle, you're doing this to it
drawing a circle around it
In this Olympic sport, skiers have to slow their heartbeats during the times they have to shoot
biathlon
I'm at Explorer's Hall at the Museum of the National Geographic Society with a rope and icepick used by James Whittaker, who was sponsored by National Geographic in 1963 when he became the first American to do this
climb Mount Everest
“Word In November”: A flowing gown for a judge or for you after getting out of the bath
robe
A smoldering remnant in a dying fire
ember
An alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of certain grains
beer
A part of speech
verb
3-letter synonym for caviar
roe
“You Picked A Fine Time”: Deion Sanders knows this term for the evening hours when the largest audience is available for TV
prime time
Estimated at around 30 years, it's accepted as the average period between birth of parents & their offspring
generation
The time just before sunset or after sunrise on a movie set, or a former L.A. Laker's late-night talk show
Magic Hour
We had pleasant sensations learning about this era in U.S. history covering President Monroe's 2 terms
Era of Good Feelings
This longest division of geologic time doesn't have a fixed period; in astronomy, it's one billion years
eon
“2”: 2 cubed equals this
8;eight
Stoplights are a problem if you've got protanopia, the inability to distinguish these 2 colors
red and green;green and red
The 2 books in the Old Testament with this man's name immediately precede the 2 books of Kings
Samuel
It's the only planet in the Solar System with exactly 2 moons
Mars
Using 2 flags of 2 colors each, the U.S. Navy sends short-range messages by this system
semaphore
“Leaf Me”: "Leafy" cliche meaning "to change one's bad habits"
to turn over a new leaf
Bags of this leafy vegetable from Natural Selection Foods were at the center of a September 2006 E. coli outbreak
spinach
Some consider the Hannibal variety of these, made from 100% Havana seed leaf, the world's finest
cigars;cigar
The Macrocystis genus of this seaweed can grow fronds up to 200 feet long
kelp
This fragrant leaf of the laurel tree is sold commercially as a seasoning
bay leaf
“Loose Wheel”: Engineer Joseph Jaggers made a fortune in Monte Carlo after he found out this game had a faulty wheel
roulette
If the wheel is loose on your computer's mouse, you may find it hard to do this up & down screen function
scrolling
Over-this leads to wear in the center of tires; under-this leads to wear on the edges
air pressure/inflation;inflation
If the wheel is loose on your wheel-lock type of this, popular in the 1500s, you've got problems
rifle
A central cohesive element, or something inserted to keep a wheel from slipping off
linchpin
“Kenny”: Kenny Rogers followed up his TV movie "The Gambler" with the TV movie this person "of the County"
Coward
At 3'8" tall, Kenny Baker was memorable as this alphanumeric character in 1977, 1980, 1983, 1999, 2002 & 2005 films
R2-D2
"Jerry Maguire" inspired his song "You Had Me From Hello"; later he would marry the female lead
Kenny Chesney;Chesney
At 6'6" tall, Ken Howard was memorable as basketball Coach Reeves in this 1978-1981 TV show
The White Shadow
This British director loves the classics; he's directed films about Liszt, Mahler & Tchaikovsky
Ken Russell;Russell
“Rajas”: "Raja" comes from the same root word as this Latin word for "king"
rex
Around 1000 A.D. Rajaraja I expanded his Chola Empire by invading this beautiful island off India
Sri Lanka
Dating from around the 1st century B.C., this title of "Great King" ranks above your ordinary Raja
Maharaja
This state whose name begins with "Rajas" was the site of India's first nuclear test in 1974
Rajasthan
Meaning "queen", this 4-letter word is the female form of "Raja" & is mainly used for a Raja's wife
Rani
“The New Mexico Desert”: The glistening dunes of the White Sands National Monument are part of the northern end of this Mexican desert with a canine name
Chihuahua
Also called the chaparral cock, this bird has 2 front & 2 back toes for extra ground speed
roadrunner
On July 16, 1945 the world's first test of an atomic weapon took place in the desert of New Mexico; J. Robert Oppenheimer gave the site this code name
Trinity
The basin called Jornada del Muerto is often compared to a moonscape due to its barren flows of this
lava
On the third space shuttle mission, NASA found that it does rain in Southern California, so the March 30, 1982 landing of this original orbiter was moved here to White Sands
Columbia
“Mapping The Top 40”: In titles, the Beach Boys went "Surfin'" here & John Mellencamp told us about "R.O.C.K." here
U.S.A.;USA;US
The Eagles: not only are they "livin' it up at" this title lodging, there's "plenty of room" there, too
Hotel California
Appropriately, Manhattan Transfer: "Oo wah oo wah cool cool kitty, tell us about the boy from" here
New York City
Springsteen asked, "Oh brother are you gonna leave me wastin' away on the streets of" this city
Philadelphia
Arlo Guthrie: "I'm the train they call the city of" this; "I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done"
New Orleans
“First Names”: Wild Bill Hickok's real first name was James; this was Buffalo Bill Cody's
William
Jennifer is a form of this other first name made famous by King Arthur's wife
Guinevere
This first name, like that of the guy who married Medea, is from a Greek word for "healer"
Jason
This first name of Miss Marple's creator comes from a word that means "good"
Agatha
As a verb, this first name means to send mail free of charge
Frank
“I Resign!”: In 1996, after 20 years of managing the Dodgers, this man resigned
Tommy LaSorda;LaSorda
His August 8, 1974 speech began, "Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office"
Nixon
In 1869 he resigned his Western Union operator's job to devote more time to his inventions
Thomas Edison;Edison
This Chief Justice resigned in 1986 to chair the commission on the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution
Warren Burger;Burger
She left NASA in 1993 to go into the business of advanced technologies--and she may look familiar
Mae Jemison;Jemison
“Exercise Wear”: Using cotton from women's long underwear, Bennie Russell invented this garment that now may have a hood
sweatshirt
Tennis is one of relatively few sports where you can get away with wearing this sleeveless item (Connors did)
vest
This company follows an "endorsed by no one" principle
New Balance
Dan Empfield competed in this type of event in Kona back in 1981 & created the first wetsuit made for it
triathlon
It's a French term for a one-piece swimsuit, like, say, the one Carol Alt wore on page 187 of Sports Illustrated in 1989
maillot
“’Play’ Along”: A childhood chum, or this month's centerfold
playmate
To treat something as less important
downplay
Alan Ball & Budd Schulberg came up with great ones
screenplays
"Beastly" boisterous behaviour
horseplay
This publication has been "serving theatre since 1884", & its website enthrals theatre fans worldwide
Playbill
“Astronomy”: In 1979 these were discovered around Jupiter; Saturn has them too
Rings
A list of this planet's moons, including Oberon & Titania, reads like a who's who of Shakespeare
Uranus
From the way the arms of the galaxy sweep around, the Milky Way is classified as this type of galaxy
spiral galaxy;spiral
These "quasi-stellar radio sources" are among the brightest & most distant objects in the universe
quasars;quasar
These "quasi-stellar radio sources" are among the brightest & most distant objects in the universe
Leonids;Leonid
“Acting The Part’: His characters include Jack Ryan (don't buzz in with Harrison Ford just yet) & Larry Gigli (see?)
Ben Affleck;Affleck
It was her "Election" to play Tracy Flick & the "Legally Blonde" Elle Woods
Reese Witherspoon;Witherspoon
After playing a general named Maximus, this actor enlisted in the Navy as Captain of the HMS Surprise
Russell Crowe;Crowe
Yo, he played Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, Ray Tango & 2 iconic roles of American cinema
Sylvester Stallone;Stallone
It was no "accident" she played Muriel Pritchett, but she had a bad one as Thelma Dickinson
Geena Davis;Davis
“Alphabetically Last”: ...of U.S. presidents, by last name
Woodrow Wilson;Wilson
“Alphabetically Last”:...of the original 13 colonies
Virginia
“Alphabetically Last”:...of the first 5 players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
Honus Wagner;Wagner
“Alphabetically Last”:...of Canada's provinces
Saskatchewan
“Alphabetically Last”:...of Dumas' Three Musketeers
Porthos
“The Arts”: The Gobelins factory of France was famous for these wall hangings & began manufacturing them around 1600
tapestries;tapestry
Beginning around 1790 in NYC, Duncan Phyfe was a leader in the artful manufacturing of this
furniture
Shakespeare was part owner of Blackfriars Theatre in London & this other one where many of his plays premiered
Globe
Gainsborough's portrait of Jonathan Buttall, known as this, was an homage to Anthony van Dyck
The Blue Boy
Beginning around 447 B.C., this sculptor supervised the making of the sculptures on the Parthenon
Phidias
“Double Talk”: Check it out! It's how I refer to my flashy diamonds & gold chains
bling bling
Numerically, it's normal vision
20/20
In a children's song, "dear little Nellie" is "way down yonder in" this fruit patch
pawpaw
In the 1950s this secret militant movement opposed British rule in Kenya
Mau Mau Movement;Mau Mau