JAQR - September 24, 2023
The paintings The Night Watch and The Milkmaid, Bellini operas, James Thurber, the Boy Scouts, and more...
Thank you for reading another issue of the Jeopardy Answer & Question Recap, or JAQR [“jacker”] for short. This recap includes two clues from each episode of Jeopardy! between Monday 9/18 and Friday 9/22. The recap will include Daily Doubles, Final Jeopardy clues, and Triple Stumpers. The first half of the recap will include just the clues so you can quiz yourself if you want. The second half will give you some (hopefully) interesting information about the clues and/or some related info.
DAILY DOUBLE #1
IT BELONGS IN THIS MUSEUM
On Museumstraat, "The Night Watch" & "The Milkmaid"
DAILY DOUBLE #2
OPERA
The title character of this Bellini opera set in ancient Gaul is a Druid priestess
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
AUTHORS
He dedicated books to each of his 4 wives, including Hadley Richardson & Martha Gellhorn
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY
Of Spain's colonial possessions in the Americas, this 3,400 square mile one in the Antilles never gained independence, but did change hands
FINAL JEOPARDY #3
COMPOSERS
A fireworks display followed the April 27, 1749 premiere of a work by this man that had been commissioned by George II
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
PHRASES & IDIOMS
A James Thurber character who's full of expressions not only uses "the catbird seat" but "tearing up" this garden area
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
"HIGH" NOTES (notice the quotation marks)
Fittingly, Swoosie Kurtz, Joel McCrea & Tuesday Weld are alumni of it
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
FROM "S" TO "Y" (notice the quotation marks)
Stonehenge is about 8 miles from this city that lies on the River Avon
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
COUNTRY MUSIC (name the artist)
"Just two good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm, beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born"
TRIPLE STUMPER #5
MAY WE QUOTE YOU?
This Boy Scouts founder said, "The Scouts' motto is founded on my initials, it is: Be Prepared"
DAILY DOUBLE #1
IT BELONGS IN THIS MUSEUM
On Museumstraat, "The Night Watch" & "The Milkmaid"
***RIJKSMUSEUM***
The Rijksmuseum [RYKES-”museum”], whose name is Dutch for "State Museum," is located in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands. The museum was founded in 1808 by Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon. The museum's main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers, who also designed Amsterdam's largest railway station. Taco Dibbits is the museum's current director (Taco is a somewhat common first name is the Netherlands). The museum displays many works from the Dutch Golden Age, including:
The Night Watch (1642) - large painting (12 x 14 feet) by Rembrandt whose common title is a result of varnish and years of dirt, which darkened the piece; its official title is Militia Company of District II Under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq; a girl (or possibly a dwarf) dressed in gold has a dead chicken tied to her waist
The Milkmaid (1658) - painting by Vermeer of a kitchen maid wearing a yellow top (specifically, lead-tin yellow) and blue apron (specifically, ultramarine), pouring milk into a container on a table that also contains an array of breads; the bottom right of work depicts a foot warmer
DAILY DOUBLE #2
OPERA
The title character of this Bellini opera set in ancient Gaul is a Druid priestess
***NORMA***
Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) created the opera Norma, whose libretto was written by Felice Romani. The two-act opera was based on a tragic play by French author Alexandre Soumet [soo-meh] and is an example of the bel canto genre (Italian for “beautiful singing”). The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1831 with Giuditta Pasta as the title character. American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas performed the title role 89 times in total.
Norma is set during the Roman occupation of Gaul around 50 B.C. In the opera, Pollione [pohl-YOH-nay] is the Roman proconsul in Gaul who confides to a centurion that he no longer loves the title character, with whom he secretly has two sons. Pollione now loves Norma’s young subordinate and friend named Adalgisa, who agrees to go to Rome with him, but she changes her mind when she learns about Pollione’s history with the title character. The priestess Norma admits to a crowd that she broke her chastity vows by having a relationship with the enemy Pollione. She then dies by being burned on a pyre, but is joined by Pollione, who is moved by her sacrifice. The opera Norma is known for the aria “Casta diva” (Italian for “chaste goddess”), in which the title character prays to the moon goddess for peace (heard below).
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
AUTHORS
He dedicated books to each of his 4 wives, including Hadley Richardson & Martha Gellhorn
***ERNEST HEMINGWAY***
Hemingway’s four wives were:
Hadley Richardson (1921-1927) - The Sun Also Rises was dedicated to her; Paula McLain's 2011 historical fiction novel The Paris Wife is about her
Pauline Pfeiffer (1927-1940) - journalist at Vogue who went with him on a hunting safari in East Africa, which provided material for Hemingway's nonfiction work Green Hills of Africa
Martha Gellhorn (1940-1945) - reporter for Collier’s who covered the Spanish Civil War; by stowing away on a hospital ship, she was the only woman to land at Normandy on D-Day; For Whom the Bell Tolls was dedicated to her
Mary Welsh (1946-1961) - correspondent for Time and Life; they lived together in Cuba at Finca Vigia (Spanish for “Lookout Farm”); she edited Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast using his unfinished manuscript and notes after he committed suicide in 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho
For more about Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises, check out Triple Stumper #1 from this previous recap: https://jaqr.substack.com/p/jaqr-may-21-2023-7ef
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY
Of Spain's colonial possessions in the Americas, this 3,400 square mile one in the Antilles never gained independence, but did change hands
***PUERTO RICO***
Puerto Rico (roughly 100 miles long and 35 miles wide) is the easternmost island of the Greater Antilles, which also includes Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Hispaniola (the Lesser Antilles start with the Virgin Islands in the north and extend to Grenada in the south). On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus anchored at Boriquén (what the indigenous Taino people called Puerto Rico), renamed it San Juan Bautista (in honor of St. John the Baptist), and claimed it for Spain. The term Puerto Rico (Spanish for “Rich Port”) was originally used for a specific town, but was eventually applied to the whole island.
A few hundred years later, the United States gained Puerto Rico from Spain following 1898’s Spanish-American War, which ended with the Treaty of Paris. The U.S. instituted civil government in Puerto Rico in 1900 with the Foraker Act (also known as the Organic Act). That act was named for Ohio Senator Joseph B. Foraker, written by Secretary of War Elihu Root, and signed into law by President McKinley. Puerto Ricans were given U.S. citizenship in 1917 after the passage of the Jones Act. The U.S. allowed Puerto Rico to elect its governor by popular vote starting in the late 1940s, after which Luis Muñoz Marín served four 4-year terms (1949-1965). In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists (who wanted the island to be independent) attempted to assassinate President Truman. In 1952, the people of Puerto Rico established their own constitution and became a commonwealth.
FINAL JEOPARDY #3
COMPOSERS
A fireworks display followed the April 27, 1749 premiere of a work by this man that had been commissioned by George II
***GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL***
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed the five movement orchestral suite Music for the Royal Fireworks. It was composed to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle [eks lah shuh-pel], which ended the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Its five movements include an overture, a bourrée [boo-RAY] (French dance), La Paix (meaning The Peace), La Réjouissance (meaning The Rejoicing), and a double minuet. The piece is also referred to as HWV 351, which refers to the modern numbering system for his compositions, and stands for Handel-Werke-Verzeichnis. Several old-timey instruments can be seen (and heard) in the performance below:
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
PHRASES & IDIOMS
A James Thurber character who's full of expressions not only uses "the catbird seat" but "tearing up" this garden area
***PEA PATCH***
American humorist James Thurber (1894-1961) is probably best known for his story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” He also wrote the 1942 story "The Catbird Seat," which first appeared in The New Yorker. In that story, the head of the filing department at F & S, the vice-free Erwin Martin, decides to "rub out" (AKA kill) his co-worker Ulgine Barrows, who is the special adviser to the president of the firm. Ulgine Barrows is described as having a “quacking voice and braying laugh” and often says unusual expressions such as:
“Are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch?”
“Are you tearing up the pea patch?” = going on a rampage
“Are you hollering down the rain barrel?”
“Are you scraping around the bottom of the pickle barrel?”
“Are you sitting in the catbird seat?” = sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes
Erwin Martin eventually learns that she heard those expressions from Red Barber, an announcer for the Dodgers who was from the South. Erwin finds the expressions very annoying and is fearful that Ulgine will convince the firm’s president to reorganize his department, potentially resulting in him getting fired. Erwin decides to visit her residence one evening and kill her, but is unable to find a weapon to use in her apartment. He then decides to make her seem insane by saying that he uses heroin, wants to blow up the firm’s president, etc. Ulgine reports this to the firm’s president, who thinks she is delusional, resulting in her getting sent home from the company.
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
"HIGH" NOTES
Fittingly, Swoosie Kurtz, Joel McCrea & Tuesday Weld are alumni of it
***HOLLYWOOD HIGH***
Hollywood High is a school in Los Angeles whose mascot is the Sheikh, in honor of the 1921 movie The Sheikh starring Rudolph Valentino as the title character. Its many, many famous attendees include Brandy, Carol Burnett, Cher, Laurence Fishburne, Judy Garland, John Huston, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Ritter, Mickey Rooney, Sharon Tate, and Fay Wray. Three more alumni of the school include:
Swoosie Kurtz - pictured below and named for a B-17 bomber known as "The Swoose," which was flown by her father; she played Alex, the eldest sister on the NBC drama Sisters, and Molly’s mother on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly
Joel McCrea - starred in Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 thriller Foreign Correspondent (as an American reporter who uncovers a spy ring in London prior to World War II) and Preston Sturges' 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels (as a director tired of making comedies) before appearing in almost exclusively westerns near the end of his career
Tuesday Weld - "cinematic sex kitten" who starred in the 1970s movies Play It as It Lays and Looking for Mr. Goodbar; her husbands have included English comedian Dudley Moore and Israeli-born violinist Pinchas Zukerman
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
FROM "S" TO "Y"
Stonehenge is about 8 miles from this city that lies on the River Avon
***SALISBURY***
The city of Salisbury (formerly called New Sarum) is located in the county of Wiltshire in southern England. The city is home to a Gothic cathedral that has the tallest church spire in the UK and was painted several times by John Constable (including "from the Bishop's Grounds" and "from the Meadows"). Salisbury Cathedral contains one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta (two are in the British Library and one is in Lincoln Castle). Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain, which is a largely treeless 300 square mile area.
Salisbury is on the River Avon, which is also known as the Salisbury Avon or Hampshire Avon. It is not to be confused with the many other rivers named Avon (which is derived from the Welsh word for “river), such as the Warwickshire Avon, where Shakespeare’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon is located. Sergei Skripal, a double agent for Britain, and his daughter Yulia, were nearly killed in 2018 in Salisbury after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. In case you were wondering, Salisbury steak is named for the American physician James H. Salisbury.
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
COUNTRY MUSIC (name the artist)
"Just two good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm, beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born"
***WAYLON JENNINGS***
Country musician Waylon Jennings (1937-2002) was a member of the outlaw movement, which sought to escape the formulaic constraints of the Nashville sound. Another member of the movement was Willie Nelson, with whom Jennings sang a cover of “Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” Other singles by Jennings that hit number one on the country music charts include "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and “Luckenbach [LOO-ken-bakh], Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” Jennings was The Balladeer on the show The Dukes of Hazzard, for which he composed and sang the theme song (titled "Good Ol' Boys" and featuring lyrics contained in the clue). Along with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, he was part of a country supergroup named The Highwaymen.
Waylon Jennings notably gave up his seat on a plane to The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) on "The Day the Music Died,” which refers to a 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens (Jennings was playing bass for Holly on the Winter Dance Party tour at the time). Jennings was married to Jessi Colter, who sang "I'm Not Lisa” (about dating someone who has not gotten over a previous lover). Colter appeared with Jennings on the 1976 compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws (which also included Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser). His backing and recording band was known as The Waylors (and later on, Waymore's Outlaws).
TRIPLE STUMPER #5
MAY WE QUOTE YOU?
This Boy Scouts founder said, "The Scouts' motto is founded on my initials, it is: Be Prepared"
***ROBERT BADEN-POWELL***
British army officer Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) founded the Boy Scots in 1908 and co-founded, with his sister Agnes, the Girl Guides, in 1910. He turned the techniques he used to train army troops into manuals for training groups of boys. His work inspired Juliette Gordon Low to found the Girl Scouts in the United States. He held the first Scout Rally at the Crystal Palace in 1909. Earlier in life, Baden-Powell served in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). He became a national hero for his 217-day defense of a town in the Siege of Mafeking [MAF-uh-king], during which he pretended to plant landmines and erect barbed wire. Later in life, he served as a spy during World War I in the Balkans while pretending to be a butterfly collector.