A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Getting-To-Know-You Quiz

Anyone for an end of year getting-to-know-you quiz, or are we all totally sick of games, quizzes, crossword puzzles, paper hats, mince pies, family arguments and all other things Christmassy by now? You must answer quickly, without too much reflection, and you must give one answer only - no hedging, or giving several alternatives etc! (Of course, it goes without saying that many of the answers will change every time we do the quiz.) 

1.  Best band/rock 'n' roll band?
2.  Favourite pop/rock/whatever single?
3.  Greatest classical composer?
4.  Best novel?
5.  Favourite poem?
6.  Greatest painting?
7.  Just one meal before you die - what would it be?
8.  Cats or dogs?
9.  Town or country?
10. Blogging or jogging?
11. If a famous contemporary or historical figure could accompany you on a long walk, whom would you like that person to be?
12. Favourite film?
13. If you could visit just one country you hadn't been to before, what would that country be?
14. Most sympathetic religion/philosophy of life?
15. Favourite city?
16. The dark wood or the airy hill?
17. Most compelling actor/actress?
18. Most memorable holiday?
19. Solitary walks or walks with a companion?
20. Christmas or Easter?

For what it's worth, my own answers are these:

1. The Rolling Stones 2. Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) 3. Beethoven 4. The Rainbow (Lawrence) 5. The Prelude (Wordsworth) 6. Starry Night (Van Gogh) 7. Thai curry 8. Cats 9. Country 10. Blogging (are you serious?) 11. Krishnamurti 12. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Herzog) 13. India 14. Buddhism 15. Rome 16. The airy hill 17. Vanessa Redgrave (oh, please let me have Nastassja Kinski too!) 18. Rome over Christmas and the New Year - lovely and quiet! 19. Solitary walks 20. Easter (mainly because of the promise of Spring)     

24 comments:

Rachel Fox said...

Lawrence? Cats? Agh... and I thought we stuff in common!
Only jesting - fun to read. I couldn't possibly have a go - I would hedge every question!
x

Alan Sloman said...

1) Stones
2) The Stealer (Free)
3) Mahler
4) The third policeman
5) Ninetieth Birthday (RS Thomas)
6) The Starry Night (VVG)
7) Sausage egg & chips
8) Cats
9) Soho & Country (please?)
10) Blogging
11) Jim Mather
12) Shawshank
13) Iceland
14) None of them
15) London
16) Airy Hill
17) Michael Caine (don't laugh!)
18) Too personal to say
19) With companion
20) Easter. Definitely.

The Solitary Walker said...

Variety is the spice of life, Rachel! Vive la différence. I fear no one will have a go at this as it may be one quiz too many at this time of year when we're all lazy and stuffed. Please have a go, hedging and all (coppicing too, for that matter). I'll bend the rules just for you.

Actually I'm not keen on pets of any description since the hamster ate our carpet and gnawed through our washing machine cable.

George said...

I will give it a shot off the top of my head:

1. No opinion in rock, but in jazz, Bill Evans.

2. No opinion in pop/rock, but in Jazz, Chris Botti's "Caruso."

3. I agree with you — Beethoven.

4. Maugham's "The Razor's Edge."

5. Tennyson's "Ulysses."

6. Mind too cluttered on paintings — perhaps a Joan Mitchell abstract.

7. Pasta with pesto made with a fine parmigiano reggiano.

8. Dogs.

9. Country.

10. Blogging

11. Alan Watts

12. Mind cluttered again with films — perhaps "American Beauty."

13. New Zealand

14. Buddhism

15. Paris

16. The airy hill.

17. Kate Blanchette

18. Skiing in Colorado.

19. Solitary walks.

20. Easter.

The Solitary Walker said...

Hey, thanks guys! Maybe this will prove more popular than I thought..!

ksam said...

Just got home from work....and now you want me to exercise my ...brain!!?? Perfect antidote to the day!
1. Queen!
2. Get out the map, by the Indigo Girls
3. Bach
4. The Sparrow
5. Charge of the Light Brigade (hell I had to memorize it!!)
6. The Cedars by VVG
7. Chicken Tortilla Soup with chiles
8. Cats - low maint.
9. Country
10. Both!! :-)
11. Jesus or Queen Elizabeth I or Bernie Madoff
12. Much Ado about Nothing
13. Australia or China
14. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
15. Nurnberg (Alt Stadt)
16. Both...gotta have one to appreciate the other.
17. Emma Thompson...see#12!
18. Rome in the fall (only time I've been there!)
19. Solitary
20. Easter...gotta love an RC Vigil Mass! :-)

The Solitary Walker said...

Karin - just loved your spunky answers!

The Solitary Walker said...

PS Like the Indigo Girls and Bach too.

Phoenix C. said...

Why is it that my mind always goes blank when folk ask fave band etc???

1. Varies - currently the Black Eyed Peas
2. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
3. Vivaldi is current favo not necessarily greatest, which would be Beethoven.
4. Lord of the Rings
5. As Kingfishers Catch Fire - Gerard Manley Hopkins
6. John Nash - The Cornfield (apart from all mine of course :D
7. My best friend's home-cooked spicy turkey meatballs with root veg and crispy spuds followed by rhubarb crumble and icecream.
8. Cats and dogs!
9. Country
10. Blogging!!!!!!!
11. Tove Jansson or Capability Brown!
12. The Big Bang Theory (TV series not a film but I don't watch many films!)
13. Narnia
14. None
15. Durham
16. The undulating fields at the edge of the sylvan glade.
17. Hardly know any! Whoever plays Sheldon in Big Bang Theory.
18. Staying at a friend's when an art student with the first visit to the Wood I've subsequently painted hundreds of times.
19. Solitary walks and also with the special companions who have a wonderful ability to make you feel both solitude and empathy while walking.
20. Spring.

Phoenix C. said...

I'll be interested to see the time lapse between my comment on your quiz and on your walking no 2 post, because that'll show how long I took answering the questions ... Ages I think!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

I'm terrible at this Robert, because I find it so hard to limit myself to one choice ... however, I'll try ...

1. Beatles, Eagles
2. Wonderful Tonight, Bohemian Rhapsody
3. Mozart
4. Eeeeek ... Lord of the Flies
5. Eeeeek ... The Waste Land
6. The Dance (Matisse)
7. Lobster
8. Dogs!
9. Country - definitely!
10. Blogging
11. Past: Rilke Present: Hitchens
12. Sophie's Choice
13. Japan
14. Taoism
15. Vancouver
16. Airy hill
17. Hopkins/Streep
18. Greece
19. Solitary
20. Christmas

Ask me tomorrow and the answers will be different! :-)

Val said...

1. Best band/rock 'n' roll band? Stones
2. Favourite pop/rock/whatever single? im a believer
3. Greatest classical composer? mozart
4. Best novel? secret life of bees
5. Favourite poem? ancient mariner
6. Greatest painting? monet's water lillies
7. Just one meal before you die - what would it be? roast beef and yorkshire pud
8. Cats or dogs? cats
9. Town or country? country
10. Blogging or jogging? blogging
11. If a famous contemporary or historical figure could accompany you on a long walk, who would you like that person to be? Lady Ruth Khama
12. Favourite film? Walk the Line
13. If you could visit just one country you hadn't been to before, what would that country be?
14. Most sympathetic religion/philosophy of life? buddist
15. Favourite city? London
16. The dark wood or the airy hill? hill
17. Most compelling actor/actress? Dakota Fanning
18. Most memorable holiday? this christmas, holiday at home
19. Solitary walks or walks with a companion? empathetic companion
20. Christmas or Easter? christmas


oo errr, i answered this really fast - maybe if i took it more slow some answers would change? but not many. ha

Harry said...

Just found you, through Loren (In A Dark Time), but I'll throw in my answers anyway:

1. I still go with Beatles
2. Far too many to pick one.
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Lord Of The Rings
5. The Man Against The Sky
6. I once sent a docent at MOMA into a tizzy by saying I didn't "get" Jackson Pollock. Maybe I shouldn't try to answer this.
7. Cheeseburger!
8. Dog, at the moment. But he's 16, this could change.
9. Country
10. Blogging. It doesn't hurt my knees nearly as much.
11. Teddy Roosevelt
12. LOTR.
13. Britain
14. Christianity, but I wish my fellow Christians didn't mess it up so often.
15. Chicago. Or Washington. or New York City.
16. Airy hill? Prefereably at night, with my telescope.
17. Sean Connery
18. There have been so many.
19. Solitary walks
20. Christmas. But really Thanksgiving is close behind.

Loren said...

I stole this and posted it to my site.

So, my answers are there.

fireweed meadow said...

1.  U2
2.  Desert Rose, Sting
3.  Bach
4.  The Crimson Petal and the White
5.  The Summer Day by Mary Oliver
6.  Don't know, probably something Chagall
7.  Roast wild Pacific coho salmon wrapped in lemon sorrel with lemon/almond/tarragon stuffing
8.  Dogs
9.  Country
10. Blogging
11. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
12. Groundhog Day
13. New Zealand
14. Buddhism
15. Toronto so far, could be Vienna if the pastries and music are as good as they say, but I haven't been there yet
16. The dark wood
17. Michael Caine
18. South-East Asia, summer 1991
19. Companion
20. Neither, I like Thanksgiving

gleaner said...

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHH my computer is having a major coronary and just about to die,it keeps turning off so I'm going to be really quick before it does it again
1. Rolling Stones
2. Hallelujah by ONLY Jeff Buckley
3. can't decide
4. Stepppenwolf
5. The Prelude (wordsworth)
6. Blude Nude Matisse (not a painting perhaps)

7. A hearty stew or curry, definitely a dessert too
8. Dogs
9. country
10.Blogging
11. Christopher Hitchens
12. Three Colours Blue
13.Bhutan

gleaner said...

14.Do unto others as you'd have them done unto you
15. Paris
16. The dark wood
17 Daniel Day Lewis
18 None in particular
19 solitary walks
20 xmas

Ruth said...

1. The Beatles
2. "Carey" - Joni Mitchell
3. Bach
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. The Fish, Elizabeth Bishop
6. Oh dear . . .
7. Pad Thai
8. dogs
9. country nudges town out by a bit
10. blogging
11. Emerson
12. Oh dear . . . at the moment "Hobson's Choice"
13. India
14. Buddhism
15. Paris
16. the dark wood
17. at the moment . . .John Mills (Hobson's Choice again)
18. Christmas in Istanbul
19. solitary walks
20. Christmas

Dominic Rivron said...

1. Radiohead
2. Funky Moped.
3. JS Bach
4. Ulysses
5. Briggflatts
6. Don't know.
7. A starter of Heinz tinned tomato soup with white bread followed by Burger King Spicy Beanburger meal with Coca Cola (go large) followed by Trifle, followed by cheese, biscuits and real coffee. Or, more likely, nothing at all - just get on with it.
8. Cats.
9. Both.
10. Jogging.
11. Arthur Ransome.
12. The Gospel According to St Matthew by Pasolini
13. Italy.
14. As Buddha put it, "I look upon the .. rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons". What is best about religion cannot be put into words.
15. London.
16. Airy hill, if forced to choose - but partial to dark woods, too.
17. Patrick Stewart.
18. Cabin cruiser on Norfolk Broads.
19. Both.
20. See 19.

Re 12: TEOKH is amazing, isn't it! Definitely on my shortlist for this.

Anonymous said...

Okay, Solitary, you got me.

1. The Band, if I'm feeling arty. Otherwise Everly Bros.
2. La Mer
3. Haydn
4. Old Goriot
5. Comus
6. Velazquez' Pope Innocent X
7. Fritto Misto di Mare
8. Dogs
9. Country
10. Jogging
11. Richie Benaud.
12. Stagecoach
13. Portugal - but I'm heading there soon, along the Camino Portugues. Otherwise Germany, because Germans appreciate Aussies like me as some kind of gigantic comic relief from being German.
14. Conservatism. (Anyone else out there in pilgrim-land?)
15. Siena
16. The dark wood (yeah, I know: contradicts the Siena thing.)
17. Gong Li
18. Le Puy to Pamplona, 2010. It was so fine, Solitary.
19. Camino walking, solitary alternating with company
20. In Oz, Easter.

I'm such a sucker for lists.

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks for all of these! That response was just fantastic.

The Solitary Walker said...

PS I can't pick a favourite list. They were all so interesting and revealing. (Did love Fireweed's meal and Dominic's Pasolini film, though.)

Mark said...

1. Best band/rock 'n' roll band? Tom Waits - I know not a band. Failing already!
2. Favourite pop/rock/whatever single? 'Hercules' by Aaron Neville
3. Greatest classical composer? Not really qualified to say. Gavin Bryars perhaos because of 'Jesus Blood'.
4. Best novel? Oh..A Suitable Boy
5. Favourite poem? Sonnet 29.
6. Greatest painting? A very gold one by Fra Angelica we saw in Madrid. Or...Heironymous Bosch triptych. Aaaarrgh.
7. Just one meal before you die - what would it be? A very long on with good friends. Curry.
8. Cats or dogs? Are they curried?
9. Town or country? Country.
10. Blogging or jogging? Jogging - if I only could.
11. If a famous contemporary or historical figure could accompany you on a long walk, who would you like that person to be? I'll take someone I know every time thanks.
12. Favourite film? Brazil, Terry Gilliam
13. If you could visit just one country you hadn't been to before, what would that country be? Argentina.
14. Most sympathetic religion/philosophy of life? - too deep for me.
15. Favourite city? Don't think I would go that far about any of them. Maybe London.
16. The dark wood or the airy hill?
Oooooh - good question. Used to be the airy hill, now I'm not so sure.
17. Most compelling actor/actress?
Peter O'Toole in 'Pygmalion' at the Leicester Haymarket about thirty years ago. Spellbinding.
18. Most memorable holiday? Trekking in Peru.
19. Solitary walks or walks with a companion? Both. As often as possible.
20. Christmas or Easter? Easter.

The Solitary Walker said...

A great response, Mark. Despite your flagrant cheating!