I can't wait

42

1. One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it - it was the black kitten's fault entirely

A: Opening lines from Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll.

2. I can see by my watch, without taking my hand from the left grip of the cycle, that it is eight-thirty in the morning. The wind, even at sixty miles an hour, is warm and humid. When it's this hot and muggy at eight-thirty, I'm wondering what it's going to be like in the afternoon.

A: Opening lines of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig.

3. She gathered herself together. No one could describe the scorn of her expression or the contemptuous hatred she put into her answer.
"You men! You filthy, dirty pigs! You`re all the same, all of you. Pigs! Pigs!"
Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood

A: The last lines of the Somerset Maugham short story, Rain.

4. I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my ____

A: Last lines of Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. Yes, I am devious. Yesser, I am very obviously devious - most of you got this right anyway !

5. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

A: Opening lines of One Hundred Years of Solitude (or as put it, Cien Años de Soledad), by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

6.

Prologue
Part I: The Marsten House
Ben (I)
Susan
The Lot
Danny Glick and Others
Ben (II)
The Lot (II)
Matt
Part II: The Emperor of Ice Cream
Ben (III)
Susan (II)
The Lot (III)
Ben (IV)
Mark
Father Callahan
Part III: The Deserted Village
The Lot (IV)
Ben and Mark
Epilogue

A: A personal bias, Stephen King has always been a favorite. This is from Salem's Lot, one of his best, IMO

7. 1801-- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord -- the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with.

A: Opening lines from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Sounds very Bram Stoker-ish, I know.

8. `This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer, `I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'

A: In between line from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. To use 's words:
8 is, of course, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the book, not the series. It is said after Arthur has been extracted from the mud in front of the bulldozer trying to knock down his house in order to build a bypass, and just before he is transported onto a ship of the Vogon Constructor Fleet destroying the Earth in order to build a bypass.

9. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.

A: Opening lines of The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler.

10. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

A: Last lines of The Old Testament. Malachi 4:6, as put it so very accurately


Well, that was fun again !

I am not listing out scores here, suffice to mention and got pretty much all correct. Well done ! The comments are now visible to all, by the way.

I got quite a bit of "you should do more of this" this time round too. Maybe I really should do more of this. I've been thinking of creating a community for posting quizzes. There are quite a few of them on LJ already, but I haven't seen any that posts stuff which I enjoy. Hmmm....

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Am not really at a loose end, but I thought this was as good a time as any to set a quiz. This is on books and features opening lines, ending lines, reading between the lines and general phrases which should ideally start you thinking along the lines of "Hmm, where have I read that before ?". There is also a short story thrown in, by the way.

Off we go. I'm looking for the name of the book, unless specified otherwise


1. One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it - it was the black kitten's fault entirely

2. I can see by my watch, without taking my hand from the left grip of the cycle, that it is eight-thirty in the morning. The wind, even at sixty miles an hour, is warm and humid. When it's this hot and muggy at eight-thirty, I'm wondering what it's going to be like in the afternoon.

3. She gathered herself together. No one could describe the scorn of her expression or the contemptuous hatred she put into her answer.
"You men! You filthy, dirty pigs! You`re all the same, all of you. Pigs! Pigs!"
Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood

4. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

Madhav's note: Don't bother. I just threw that one in there since it was a lovely opening line. The real 4th question is the next

4. I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my ____

5. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

6. Madhav's note: This is the contents page of the book:

Prologue
Part I: The Marsten House
Ben (I)
Susan
The Lot
Danny Glick and Others
Ben (II)
The Lot (II)
Matt
Part II: The Emperor of Ice Cream
Ben (III)
Susan (II)
The Lot (III)
Ben (IV)
Mark
Father Callahan
Part III: The Deserted Village
The Lot (IV)
Ben and Mark
Epilogue

7. 1801-- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord -- the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with.

8. `This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer, `I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'

9. Madhav's note: Getting the book here might be tough. Just give me the name of the author:
I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.

10. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.


Comments will be screened, by the way. The screen will be lifted after I unveil the answers. Kindly excuse.

[Update]Googling for answers is of course, frowned upon. Whats the point of a quiz if you google ? [/Update]

Two Questions

1. Should I buy an internal or an external modem ?


2. Whats a good price for a 56kbps modem ?

No, I do not get broadband through cable in my locality.

Remakes, remixes...aarrgggh !

Why, dammit, why ? Why is everything these days a copy ? Look at this now - a remake of Run Lola, Run, for crying out loud ! Why do we keep churning out these imitations ? Its only in India that a movie called Ssshhh... could turn out to be a remake of a movie called Scream ! Sheesh !

Well, whaddya know

The Communist Manifesto does have a better plot !

Matrix Revolutions - tomorrow at Innovative Multi...

Matrix Revolutions - tomorrow at Innovative Multiplex, first day, first show ! Muhahahahahaha....