A big thank you to everyone who came out Wednesday night for the 4th Annual Trivia Turkey Bowl. Several former teams returned for this special event. Beth, Steve and Shonda from Zoinks! teamed up with Guys & Dolls, and Joe McNew, the God of Fire, made his return after a successful semester of classes.

An even bigger thank you to those who brought in canned goods for the Sharing Center in Sanford. Your generosity had me working overtime hauling all of the donations out to the car. I’ll deliver them to the Sharing Center next week.

As for the trivia, the Dirty Dixies walked away with the Quiz Cash trivia crown for November. The Dixies were in last place after the first week, and Gene found himself in Nancy’s dog house after the team lost 20 points on the Hero or Zero question. But the team battled back in Week Two to take the lead and never relinquished the top spot.

Guys & Dolls had a good month, finished just 1/2 point out of 3rd place.

Guys & Dolls and Empty Glasses won the free rounds of beer.

I need to say thanks to Theo at the Willow Tree Cafe (which was judged as the No. 2 German restaurant in all of America) and Terry at Angelo’s Pizza for donating gift certificates for the night. Your generosity is much appreciated. The teams who won gift certificates include Ecto Cooler, That’s What She Said, Clever Team Name, Simple Minded and Dirty Dixies.

And of course thanks to Rob and Terri at the Black Swan for hosting trivia each week and sponsoring the free shots of Wild Turkey that were passed out Wednesday night.

Trivial tidbits from the night included:

• According to Domino’s Pizza, the company delivers more pizza’s on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day. Domino’s second busiest day is Thanksgiving Eve.
• For their first meal on the moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin ate roast turkey in foil packets.
• A person with Pentheraphobia fears mother-in-laws.
• You will find the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean.

Standings:

1. Dirty Dixies – 365.25 points
2. Clever Team Name – 350
3. Empty Glasses – 331
4. Guys & Dolls – 330.5
5. Simple Minded – 265
6. Wayne’s World – 228
7. Chasin’ Trivia – 186
8. That’s What She Said – 102
9. Team Doc – 81
10. Haddo’s Delight – 62
11. Aged Beef – 59
12. Team Mas – 58
13. Ecto Cooler – 57
14. Don @ the Bar – 34
15. SanJax – 32
16. Flea Bites – 27
17. Team Larry – 14

Clue # 46 is:

Don Mattingly– a man of steel.

Okay, so someone commented on my first post. My first comment! And they seem to know all about the Soul Sense Connection. At least enough to make me feel stupid. But are they going to tell me about it? No. They’re going to ambiguous and tell me that I’m doing something wrong. I tried to figure out the clues, but I;m sorry, I’m not any good at riddles. But it is good to know that the whole thing is more than a random prank or social experiment. There is something more out there. A lot supposedly if someone is mentioning twitter acounts and cryptic webpages. Maybe if that someone could tell me a bit more about their own involvement with the mystery. Maybe just point me in the right direction.

Or I could just keep on wondering what on earth those clues are about and keep my mouth shut and stop complaining. That is an option. But I am new to all of this, and I was just hoping there was an easy explanation. Apparantly the mystery just keeps going. I just need a few more details to be motivated to hunt this thing. But give me a bit of time and I’m going to die of curiosity, at which point I will throw myself into it and actually solve the first clues.

In other news, one of the other guys who found a letter contacted me the other day. We had exchanged numbers at the meet-up spot. He says that I should contact his friend who actually solves mysteries as a hobby. I didn’t know there was such a thing. At least, I didn’t think there were very many mysteries to solve unless you’re dealing with crimes or philosophy which can’t really be solved anyway. But supposedly there are internet mysteries. I don’t what they would lead to. Secret societies maybe. Or virtual communities of hackers and pirates who manipulate media and work on overthrowing major corporations. Okay. So I did some major research. But this is not like that at all. So I don’t think I will contact this guy. I think I will try to figure those clues out on my own. Because I retrieved the letter from the lamp post. I was pulled into this by the words on that scrap piece of paper. I chose to show up and take that first step out of the ordinary.

And to the anonymous commenter, consider this a challenge. Who can solve the clues first? I’m on it. Are you?

Here’s the songs that are topping my playlist this week. As always, a couple of these will be used in the music round on Nov. 25. The link will take you to iTunes to hear a sample of the songs.

• Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang – Dr. Dre
• Radar Love – Golden Earring
• Big Me – Foo Fighters
• I Wish – Stevie Wonder
• Santa Monica – Everclear
• You Only Live Once – The Strokes

Fans of the NBC show “The Office” will recognize the name Creed Bratton, the bizarre Quality Assurance director at Dunder Mifflin. The character is a former hippie who played in a 1960s rock band called “The Grass Roots.”

What you may not know is that the actor who plays Creed Bratton is actually named Creed Bratton. And the real-life Creed Bratton was in fact a member of the late-60s band “The Grass Roots.”

Bratton was born William Charles Schneider in 1943. His name was changed to Chuck Ertmoed when his mother remarried. During college, he changed his name again to Creed Bratton and began a global excursion as a traveling musician.

He returned to the states in 1966 and founded the band, the 13th Floor, which later changed its name to The Grass Roots. With Bratton on lead guitar, the group had a string of hits including two Top 10 songs (“Let’s Live For Today” went to No. 8 and “Midnight Confessions” topped the charts at No. 5).

Bratton left the band in 1969 to pursue an acting career, which was rather unspectacular until he landed the role playing himself on “The Office.”

Here’s a video clip of The Grass Roots singing “Let’s Live for Today.” Creed is the guy in the stripped shirt standing behind the drummer. There’s a close up of him at about 1 minute and 30 seconds into the video, and then again at about the 1:47 mark.

Sunday was the 46th anniversary of President John Kennedy’s assassination. Two hours and 8 minutes after Kennedy was shot, Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn aboard Air Force 1. The hastily arranged swearing-in ceremony marked a number of firsts in American history.

• The ceremony was conducted by Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes, making Johnson the first — and thus far only — U.S. president sworn in by a woman.
• Air Force 1 was still on the ground at Love Field Airport in Dallas when the ceremony was conducted, giving Johnson — a proud Texan — the distinction of being the only U.S. president sworn in on Texas soil.
• Johnson, who was not Catholic, is the only U.S. president to take the oath of office using a Catholic Missal. The Catholic prayer book was used because aides could not find a Bible aboard Air Force 1. Johnson was not the first president sworn in without a Bible. Shortly after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath without using a Bible or any other book. Franklin Pierce affirmed the oath of office in 1853 using a law book, as did, John Quincy Adams in 1825. Adams used a law book that contained a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

The next teaser for the work christmas function was released today, and it has left us stumped… This is the clue:

What do these 3 people have in common?

One suggestion is that their names all begin with M… Triple M… in conjunction with the last clue, Triple M Rocks…

However, this is fairly random (albeit clever!) and doesn’t really suggest what we might be doing…

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated!

I just finished a new manuscript for my German publishers- another “crime/thriller” as they’re called. I had it professionally edited in Australia and one of the comments offered by my editor was that the ending came as too much of a surprise. I needed to include more clues.

This is interesting, because of many different factors.

The standard whodunnit has been dealt a serious blow in recent years by the advent of forensic science. It’s like the villain only needs to fart somewhere in the same suburb and “forensics” will inevitably link them to the crime. Detectives don’t have to interview anybody, do any deductive thinking… Agatha Christie must be rolling in her grave.

It’s a problem for writers unless- of course -you’re Kathy Reichs or someone and the whole point of the novel is that scientific examination of the smallest detail. But forget forensics, if you can, and think about the normal detective novel. The question is, how much do you give away? How many red herrings do you litter the story with? Basically- and this is the crux of the matter -should a dedicated reader of crime fiction be able to determine who the villain is before the end of the book? Is the author writing a story or a puzzle- or both?

I have to say a lot of television crime these days doesn’t give you a chance. Even Christie’s adaptations seem to have been re-written to the point where someone inconceivable is revealed as the murderer in the closing minutes… you’d never have guessed. And don’t get me started on “Midsomer Murders”. I love the show, it’s got a great vibe and everyone enjoys that quaint, English setting- but you’ll never guess the killer, right?

So how do you do it now? As a fiction writer, I mean? Well, in my new book the first thing I did was avoid the forensic thing. I created a situation where forensics are no real help. Then I got on with the job of writing an old-fashioned whodunnit where there’s clues, red herrings and God knows what else to make the ending a surprise.

Too much of a surprise? I DID take notice of my editor’s comments- a good writer always does, because an editor is usually the first person to see a manuscript objectively as a whole. The author has long since gotten too close to the story. So I did a few tweaks, salted a few more clues… hopefully not too many.

Giving away the villain’s identity too soon is a crime itself.

If anyone knows anything about the Soul Sense Connection please contact me immediately! If we share our knowledge, we may both be able to grow closer to discovering the meaning behind it. Chances are though, you don’t know what it is. Because believe me, I have researched and searched for it all over the internet and haven’t found anything. But here is what I do know:

On November 12, this really strange thing happened to me. I found a piece of paper taped to the top of a lamp post. My friends and I could tell that it had lots of writing on it. So for fun, I climbed the lamp post. I got the paper down and we all read what it said. It was written to whoever happened to read it, kind of like a message in a bottle idea. It talked about something called the Soul Sense Connection. Like it was not just a thing, but an actual group or something. And then it included some really obscure clues. I still don’t know what those are about. But anyway, it then asked me to meet at noon on the 13th at this place downtown.

So my friends thought it was just some prank. At least, they joked about it being a blind date or some initiation to some cult or something. But I couldn’t not show. The letter was written in a really interesting way and said I would just meet some strangers. So when I get there, there are two people standing on this balcony. And the balcony is really just a landing between stairs really. But I walk up there not knowing whether these people have anything to do with the letter. And then I find out that they came for the same reason. They each found letters lying around. So I wonder what the hell is going on, right, someone is probably laughing to themselves from some nearby window. It’s stupid though. Why would some make up such an elaborate prank just to waste some people’s time?

But that’s not how it goes. Because I introduce myself to these two others and then a third shows.  We all have the same letter. And we kind of share stories, where we found them etc., and then nothing happens. So then one of them says screw it and goes to leave. And that’s when this other guy, Tim, notices that there are two small letters on the back of his. So I check mine and I have two letters as well. But mine are different. I’ve got ‘VE’. He’s got ‘IN’.

So we check all the others and think maybe they’ve got to be ordered in some way. So the other two are ‘LO’ and ‘SP’.

So we went through a few combinations, but all I can think of is SPIN LOVE. At least, I am rather certain the LO and VE go together. Would make sense. So then that’s it. We stand around and wonder. But now I feel like nothing’s happening cause it’s my fault. There’s some riddle here and we just can’t make it out. Anyway though, the others leave cause they have to go places, but I hang around because I’m wondering about the weird clues that were in the message that had something to do with the meeting place. I want to know what the hell it’s all about. And I know there’s more.

And it didn’t occur to me until a few days later that I bet there were missing letters. I mean, not everyone who finds a piece of paper somewhere is going to follow its instructions! So I think there were some missing. Now, I don’t expect those missing letters to show up on this blog. The chances of that are just far too slim. But, I think that this whole event has happened before elsewhere. There are two many clues that just hint at more.

So if anyone has indeed herd about the Soul Sense Connection, I want to know what you know. And I will share the letter I got. Maybe someone can figure out what those clues are about. Cause I’m stumped. And I don’t know if anything will come from this, but I am stumped and thought I should post this somewhere online and hope for more information. So here it is:

If you thought GodTower is fun but insanely difficult, you might want to give Klueless a try. Klueless is an online scavenger hunt, presented by IIM Indore and is a yearly event.

Some of the questions are catered to the Indian Audience, but nevertheless it’s awesome fun. As compared to Godtower, the solutions are a hell-lot easier and solvable.

Make sure you read the rules, before starting.

• KLUELESS 1 – This started it all. Some of the puzzles were brilliant!
• KLUELESS 2
• KLUELESS 3
• KLUELESS 4 – I didn’t like this
• KLUELESS 5 – Stuck on level 11 at the moment

WARNING: Once you start down this path, it’s difficult to stop. You must inform everyone you know that you will be MIA for a couple of days.

Happy Kluelessing

Hi penguins!

On the membership page, this has been posted!

(Click to Enlarge)

Clues about member events coming soon!

~Lard~

• Ted McDonald, aka “Barefoot Ted,” holds the record for most distance covered in 24 hours at 242 miles.
  

  Barefoot Ted

• On April 6, 2006, Danny Way set the world record Bomb Drop (jumping off a structure on a skateboard and freefalling onto a landing) by freefalling 28 feet from the Fender Stratocaster guitar atop the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, landing cleanly on a ramp below.
• Gary Hardwick set the record for the fastest speed on a skateboard. Hardwick acheived a top speed of 63 mph on September 26th, 1998 during a race in Arizona. Others have claimed faster speeds but have not been recognized by the folks at Guinness.
• Tony Hawk was the first to pull off a mid-air 900. Hawk pulled off the move, which requires completing 2.5 rotations while airborne, during the 1999 X Games.
• On September 17th, 2007, Rob Dyrdek performed 46 consecutive frontside ollies in a half pipe, setting a record.

Here’s the songs that are topping my playlist this week. As always, a couple of these will be used in the music round on Nov. 18. The link will take you to iTunes to hear a sample of the songs.

• Super Freak – Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs
• Don’t Wait Up – Diane Birch
• Island in the Sun – Weezer
• You Get What You Give – New Radicals
• Tell Mama – Etta James
• Slow Down Baby – Christina Aguilera

New Clue # 45:

Das ist doch mal was. Gestern hatten wir das Thema “Musikindustrie und Angst vor dem Netz” und gratis Musik – heute legen wir nach. Insound feier Geburtstag. Es gibt 50 x lecker Musik für null Taler. Wer mag folgt diesem Link.

Wer ist dabei? Newcomer und Einsteiger, welche es nötig hätten zu verschleudern? Weit gefehlt, schaut selbst, denn geschenkt gibts:

Cymbals Eat Guitars, Grizzly Bear, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Japandroids,Sonic Youth, Sunset Rubdown,Cold Cave, Passion Pit, The Antlers, Girls,Wavves, Phoenix, Dan Deacon, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Beirut, Camera Obscura, HEALTH, Woods, Dinosaur Jr., Neon Indian, Deer Hunter, The Dodos, The Vaselines, Fever Ray, Washed Out, Neko Case, M Ward, The Thermals, Yo La Tengo, Isis, The Boy Least Likely To, Thee Oh Sees, Iron and Wine, Handsome Furs, White Rabbits, Jason Lytle, The Tallest Man on Earth, Marissa Nadler, Vivian Girls, Blank Dogs, Black Dice, YACHT, Langhorne Slim, Clues, A.C. Newman, DOOM, Asobi Seksu, Jarvis Cocker…

… ne Menge. Denkste das ist genug? Wenn nicht, hier gibts mehr für umme. Gefunden bei stylespion

Der hier ist für zwischendruch:
Einfach schön: Bic Runga – The Be All And End All

A replica of Sylvan Goldman's original shopping cart.

In New England they call it a shopping carriage. Down South it’s called a buggy, and the Brits refer to it as a trolley. Whatever name you use, the shopping cart is a ubiquitous of the American shopping experience.

You can thank Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma the next time you’re loading up your buggy. Goldman and his brother owned a grocery chain in the Sooner state. In 1936, he had a shot of inspiration – maybe people would buy more groceries if they could carry more groceries. Shoppers at the time toted small wire baskets to collect their items. The major drawback as Goldman saw it was the baskets offered limited space, and you could only carry so many baskets at one time.

Working with a mechanic, Fred Young, Goldman added wheels to a modified metal frame chair that was designed to hold two wire baskets. He was so impressed with his contraption that he formed the Folding Carrier Basket Company.

Customers in Goldman’s stores were less than impressed. When the carts debuted June 4, 1937, at the Humpty Dumpty store in Oklahoma City, men refused to use them for fear of being considered weak. And the utilitarian design didn’t appeal to the fashion sense of the mid-1930s woman. Goldman eventually hired male and female models to push the carts around his stores as if they were shopping. He also hired attractive greeters to stand near the entrance and offer the new devices to customers.

It didn’t take long for customers to pick up the cart habit on their own. By 1940, the shopping cart had become such a fixture in American grocery stores that one was featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

Goldman earned a patent on his cart (#2,196,914) on April 9, 1940.

Sure, your friends will think this giant shopping cart with a V-8 engine is cool - until it rains.

Paarsurrey wrote:

“Quran presents Jesus as a straightforward man; who would say things in an unequivocal terms except when he was talking in parables or allegoric words, which is a form of expressions of the languages all over the world; which is understandable from the clues in the text; it is weird to take such parables as of fact or in real terms.”

Eddie:

Hi Paarsurrey, I am glad to find you replied to my comment.

I am not a student of the Quran, but I have read a little. I have no argument per se with what you write above. I agree that parables are allegorical writings and the meanings of the parables are contained within the text itself. We are not to put “our” words in Jesus’ mouth. So, in essence we are in agreement here.

Paarsurrey says:

Hi friend Eddie

I am really happy to receive your response. Quran is a very small book as compared to the Bible. So you may start reading it. It is an interesting read. The Quran presents accounts of Jesus in a very straightforward manner. I will like to quote here some verses from a chapter of Quran:

[5:117] And when Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?’”, he will answer, “Holy art Thou. I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou Who art the Knower of hidden things.
[5:118] “I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me — ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the Watcher over them; and Thou art Witness over all things.
[5:119] “If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them, Thou surely art the Mighty, the Wise.”
[5:120] Allah will say, ‘This is a day when only the truthful shall profit by their truthfulness. For them are Gardens beneath which streams flow; therein shall they abide for ever. Allah is well pleased with them, and they are well pleased with Him; that indeed is the great triumph.’
[5:121] To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them; and He has power over all things.

http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/showChapter.php?submitCh=Read+from+verse%3A&ch=5&verse=116

I love Jesus and Mary as mentioned in Quran.

Thanks

Hey hey guys its max!!!I Got A Club Penguin Trainer Code and guess what?

Its a beta hat code!!!!No Need for trainers when you can get the code now!im posting a contest,Whoever comments the most Wins the code!It’s a really good code,i got it from some.Anyway Whoever comments the most get the code and if you comment over 1,000 times ill give you the software to get it!Please leave the email!!!You Need the email!!ok Well Happy Winnings!