John Ratite's Custodia Islands Getaway [Qaqaq declared champ

[mole]

Okay, I think I know enough of these:

Hanging Rings

then turn around and enter Parallel Bars.

Then (hope I got that last one, don't want to be stuck in the room with the nasty Art door), Vault

And finally Floor.

Stop me if I get one incorrect, of course, I just hope to end up on the right side of the door...

[T McAy]

Endgame

Tahnan deposits 25 Struthio coins in the slot. He is able to pass through the turnstile and board the ferry.

mole enters "Rings" on the Sports door keypad. A green light flashes on the screen and 1 Struthio coin is dispensed from a slot near the door. mole collects the coin and passes through the doorway. He turns around and enters "Parallel Bars" on the Sports door keypad. A green light flashes on the screen and 2 Struthio coins are dispensed from a slot near the door. mole collects the coins and passes through the doorway. He turns around and enters "Vault" on the Sports door keypad. A green light flashes on the screen and 3 Struthio coins are dispensed from a slot near the door. mole collects the coins and passes through the doorway. He turns around and enters "Floor" on the Sports door keypad. A green light flashes on the screen and 4 Struthio coins are dispensed from a slot near the door. mole collects the coins and passes through the doorway. Visitor mole sashays through the trapdoor and down the stairs to the Harbor. The ferry to Closewasha is waiting at the end of the pier. Between mole and the ferry is a turnstile with the following message etched near a coin slot "Please deposit 25 Struthio coins." mole deposits 25 Struthio coins in the slot. He is able to pass through the turnstile and board the ferry.

"All visitors are accounted for," cries the ensign of the ferry. "All right," says the captain, "next stop, Closewasha!" The ferry emerges from the cove beneath Klinbresta and cuts through he Nonspacific Ocean toward the next island.

mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan note that there are no brochures describing Closewasha on board the ferry. "What can we expect on the sixth island," Tahnan asks the ferry captain. "You’ll find all of that out when you arrive," the captain replies cryptically. The visitors sit in the ferry lounge and enjoy happy hour refreshments while they wait for the ferry to reach this mystery destination.

Evening has begun to creep over the seascape as the ferry cruises into Closewasha harbor. Even before reaching shore the visitors begin to hear the sound of drums coming from the island. The ferry pulls next to dock and the gangplank is positioned for disembarkation. As mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan walk off the ferry the drums become louder with more frenzied rhythms. There are a few modest huts near the harbor, probably storing maintenance equipment, but beyond these huts is dense tropical jungle. The sun has long since dropped behind the horizon, and the visitors can make out the glow of torchlight some distance within the jungle brush. "I guess that’s where we need to head," proposes Qaqaq.

The visitors carefully navigate the jungle trail, which is a bit treacherous with the lack of light. As the visitors approach the torches, they can clearly tell that they are heading in the same direction as the drumming. The three visitors reach the edge of a steep ravine, and discover that a rickety rope bridge is the only way across. The visitors inch their way across the bridge and detect a number of additional percussion instruments—rhythm sticks, xylophones, cowbells, etc.—have joined the drums the frantic tropical fugue. On the other side of the bridge, mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan find a staircase that meanders up the slope of the ravine. They climb the stairs and spy a pair of torches marking the entrance to a clearing at the top of the slope. The visitors move more quickly, anxious to see what awaits them.

The three visitors arrive at the clearing simultaneously. The sight of the festivities taking place in the clearing takes their breath away. Torches of various heights mark the perimeter of the clearing. In the center of the clearing, three tall, caramel-skinned women beat flaming sticks on huge sharkskin drums. The rhythm has become so rapid that the drummers’ arms are little more than blurs of color. Glowing embers on the drumsticks spark with each collision of the drum’s surface and shoot in high, magnificent arcs toward the edge of the clearing. Island children playing the other instruments surround the central drum platform.

In a circle surrounding the orchestra, a throng of islanders perform a dance. The men are bare-chested and bedecked with gold rings and bracelets while the women wear sarongs and floral headdresses. Some dancers fling streamers in the air. Others perform flips, handsprings, and other feats of gymnastics. An audience seated in semicircular gallery watches this amazing spectacle along with mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan. Among the audience members are all of the visitors that had been sent home earlier in the getaway. Apparently they were all returned to the Islands to watch the endgame. Pi and Sofis wave to the three finalists. Dragon Phoenix signals them to enter the clearing. Hitchhiker, Mentat and Tablesaw are on their feet dancing to the frantic rhythms. Duphrates and Saxifrage, who were escorted directly here from Klinbresta rather than going home first, start a round of applause when they spy mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan entering the clearing. Duphrates signals someone behind a curtain while Saxifrage cues a group of male dancers that the game can proceed.

The male dancers blow a fanfare on conch shells and the curtain looming over the semicircular gallery parts. An imposing figure emerges from behind the curtain. He wears island shorts that appear to be embroidered from gold lame panels and Swiffer Sweeper cloths. His sandals have bristled soles and he is crowned with a bonnet of macaw feathers, orchids and curtain wand attachments for a Hoover WindTunnel. The crowd goes wild with applause. John Ratite has arrived.

The applause tapers off and the performers take their seats at the perimeter of the arena. John Ratite indicates that the three finalists should take positions at the drums on the central platform. mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan stand behind the drums and realize that these will act as contestant podiums for the endgame. John Ratite addresses the final three.

"Congratulations, mole, Qaqaq and Tahnan, for making it to Closewasha. This is the final island in the Custodia Islands Getaway. The three of you have performed extremely well thus far, but now it is time to determine a single champion of the Getaway challenge.

In the initial rounds of the Endgame I will post a set of three trivia questions numbered "1", "2" and "3". The first player to respond to a round’s set of questions, may give an answer to any one of the three questions. The second player to respond can answer one of the two questions that the fist player didn’t answer. The third player to respond can answer the remaining question. When you answer a question, please post in boldface and include the question number.

Each round will last a maximum of 48 hours. At the end of the round, any player who has given an incorrect answer or no answer earns a strike. A player who earns three strikes is out of the game.

When there are only two players left, I will only present two trivia questions. When the second player strikes out, the remaining player will be declared the champion. If all active players simultaneously strike out, each will have the final strike nullified and each will proceed to the next round.

The first set of Endgame questions will be posted on Monday, July 21."

[Duphrates]

Damn I wish I was still in this. Best of luck to all of you

[Tahnan]

I'd like to take this lull in the questioning to observe that I much, much prefer caramel-colored women and male dancers to clowns. The islands should have had more of these.

[Qaqaq]

My goodness. We're in the presence of John Ratite himself? I thought he'd always be a mysterious offstage figure, like Charlie of Charlie's Angels. I have to say, I'm awed by his majestic presence and grandeur.

Best of luck to mole and Tahnan. And I hope my conspirators in the audience remember that coughing code we discussed. Oh, rats, I didn't mean to give that away. Forget I said that.

[mole]

Wow... This is all very impressive - can't wait to see everyone again at the after-game party!

[T McAy]

Endgame: Round 1

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the first round of the Endgame.

1. Chernobyl, the site of nuclear power plant radiation exposure in 1986, is a town currently located in what nation?

2. Which Hollywood motion picture studio produced the first Woody Woodpecker animated short?

3. What type of pie, containing candied fruits, nuts and Maraschino liqueur, is named for a 19th-century Russian count?

mole: 0 strikes
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 0 strikes

[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 07-21-2003 11:07 AM).]

[mole]

I'll get in early - classes start next week so I don't think I'll be staying up late to get first pick (I know I said that last time, but I'm serious now... really!)

1 - Ukraine

[Qaqaq]

Well, I don't remember a Count Coconut Cream of Russia ...

3. Nesselrode

[Tahnan]

Ah great. I wake up at 12:15 and this is what I get stuck with. Um...well, one studio is as good a guess as another, I suppose, so I might as well say United Artists.

[Tahnan]

(Or, er, sorry, I assumed the 2 went without saying, but I suppose I should say it.)

[T McAy]

mole answers question 1 with "Ukraine." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Tahnan answers question 2 with "United Artists." John Ratite dips his head slightly and says, "United Artists is not correct. The correct answer is Universal. Tahnan has one strike." The crowd gasps in worry and mutters among one another.

Qaqaq answers question 3 with "Nesselrode." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Endgame: Round 2

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the second round of the Endgame.

1. Physicists studying separation phenomena within mixtures of granular solids have named an effect after what type of nut that tends to rise to the top of a can of mixed nuts when the can is shaken?

2. What elder member of the beat generation literary movement penned the surreal novel "Naked Lunch"?

3. What Chinese city lends it name to a darts game that can be won by scoring a single, a double and a treble of the same number in one round?

mole: 0 strikes
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 1 strike

[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 07-21-2003 02:18 PM).]

[Tahnan]

2. William S. Burroughs

[Qaqaq]

Ah crap, Tahnan (the most intelligent GL member, as we all know now) took the only one I was sure of. Do I have a better chance guessing a nut or a Chinese city?...

3. Shanghai

[Tahnan]

Heavens, how did that happen?

[Qaqaq]

Don't ask *me*. I tried bribing voters on my behalf with nicely arranged fruit baskets, but to no avail.

[mole]

Bah! I should know this!

Well, the larger nuts would rise to the top... so I'll pick Brazil Nuts, they're the largest I can think of. Well, they're not, but I'm pretty sure it's not the Coconut Effect.

[Werebear]

*cough cough*

[referee]

Hey, greetings to all contestants! Glad to see all of you again!

[T McAy]

mole answers question 1 with "Brazil nuts." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Tahnan answers question 2 with "William S. Burroughs." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Qaqaq answers question 3 with "Shanghai." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Endgame: Round 3

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the third round of the Endgame.

1. What artist’s controversial paintings "The Naked Maja" and "Maja Clothed" caused him to be brought before the Inquisition in 1815?

2. In the Mother Goose rhyme, how did Simple Simon attempt to catch a dicky bird?

3. In 1964 Che Guevara assisted Congolese rebels in a failed attempt to overthrow the regime led by Moise Tshombe and what army leader/future president?

mole: 0 strikes
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 1 strike

[Qaqaq]

I only know one of these, so thank goodness I got here at the right time.

1. Goya

[Tahnan]

I don't know where my memory found the answer 2. Pouring salt on its tail, but I hope it's right.

[mole]

Pass

No idea. I hope John forgives me.

[Werebear]

You can't even guess?

[T McAy]

Qaqaq answers question 1 with "Goya." John Ratite replies that the "Francisco de Goya" is correct. The crowd applauds.

Tahnan answers question 2 with "Pouring salt on it tail." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

mole passes on question 3. John Ratite replies that the correct answer is "Joseph Mobutu, also known as Mobutu Sese Seko." The crowd moans sympathetically and chatters in speculation.

Endgame: Round 4

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the fourth round of the Endgame.

1. Who participated in the Bank of America Colonial open in May 2003, becoming the first female golfer to play in a PGA Tour event since 1945?

2. What British film director was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 for directing "Black Hawk Down"?

3. What type of environmental manipulation is one of the chief applications of the chemical compound silver iodide?

mole: 1 strike
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 1 strike

[mole]

I'm just going to grab all the science ones from now on, they're the only ones I know. I hope you two are okay with that.

3. Seeding clouds to make rain

[mole]

Oh, now I remember the first one... guess I was a little hasty.

[Qaqaq]

And now she's forced to do lousy fried-chicken commercials with Jason Alexander. So sad...

1. Annika Sorenstam

[Tahnan]

Once again, my sleep schedule undermines my best intentions, not in fact that I knew the first one anyway. Nor do I know this one, so I'll just pick a director who I know has been nominated recently, which would be 2. Soderburgh.

[mole]

At least you get to sleep. I've been staying up past 2am waiting for questions.

[Tahnan]

Don't kid yourself--I was up until 5 am. I just knew that T McAy wouldn't be.

[T McAy]

Qaqaq answers question 1 with "Annika Sorenstam." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Tahnan answers question 2 with "Soderbeurgh." John Ratite coughs and replies that the correct answer is "Ridley Scott. Tahnan receives a second strike." The crowd gasps again.

mole answers question 3 with "Seeding clouds to make rain." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Endgame: Round 5

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the fifth round of the Endgame.

1. What advertising mascot for a suntan lotion was created by commercial artist Joyce Ballantyne Brand from a drawing of her 3-year old daughter Cheri

2. What adjective beginning with "a" is used to describe a pair of integers in which the sum of the proper divisors (all divisors except the number itself) of one integer is equal to the other integer?

3. What world capital would you depart from if you have booked a tour of the Karen Blixen Museum and Giraffe Center?

mole: 1 strike
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 2 strikes

[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 07-23-2003 02:17 PM).]

[Qaqaq]

Not sure how specific I need to get here (really hope the girl and dog don't have specific names that are required...)

1. The Coppertone girl who's having her bathing suit pulled down by that little dog

[Tahnan]

I've got a couple of different guesses for 3, so let's hope 2. amiable is right.

[Tahnan]

Post-answer comment: I think I misread the question for #2 because of its phrasing--I read it as meaning "numbers (a,b) such that the sum of the divisors of a = b", but I gather now it's supposed to mean "...and the sum of the divisors of b = a". If there were money at stake I might try to argue that that actively threw me off; but there's not (I don't think), so I shan't try.

[mole]

I will take a guess this time, just to make Werebear happy...

3. Nairobi

[Werebear]

*cough coughkenyacough*

[T McAy]

Qaqaq answers question 1 with "The Coppertone girl who's having her bathing suit pulled down by that little dog." John Ratite looks up for a moment, pensively. He then replies that the answer is correct. "Little Miss Coppoertone was the official answer, but Qaqaq’s description will suffice." The crowd applauds.

Tahnan answers question 2 with "Amiable." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct, and that the answer "Amicable" was also acceptable. The crowd gasps again.

mole answers question 3 with "Nairobi." John Ratite replies that the answer is correct. The crowd applauds.

Endgame: Round 6

John Ratite presents the following three questions for the sixth round of the Endgame.

1. The fitness regimen once called "contrology" is now known by the last name of what German boxer who developed the regimen in a British internment camp during World War I?

2. According to most gambling experts, what two card ranks should always be split (played as two hands when initially dealt as a pair) in the game of blackjack?

3. If you were a visitor in the Middle East and hired a dragoman, what services would you most likely rely on him to provide?

mole: 1 strike
Qaqaq: 0 strikes
Tahnan: 2 strikes

[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 07-24-2003 12:34 PM).]

[Qaqaq]

2. Aces and eights

[Tahnan]

I'm worries--it doesn't sound German, but 1. Pilates is the only fitness regimen I can think of. Think well of me when I'm gone...