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Any Questions #188

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel join for a jaunt about Js.

Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase BEST ACTOR. Change one letter to an A (not the one that's there already, as usual) and you can rearrange the letters to spell a two-word phrase (four letters, five letters) for events that take place on water. What are they?
Answer: If you change one of the Ts to an A, you can spell BOAT RACES.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: PEOPLE WITH THE INITIALS J. J.
On-air questions: On April 3, 1882, the notorious outlaw Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, a member of his gang who hoped to collect a reward. The incident has been dramatized many times over the years, including two films where Jesse James, Jr., played his father, and most recently in 2007 with Brad Pitt portraying Jesse James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford. So, on the anniversary of Jesse James's death, this week each correct answer is the name of a person with the initials J. J.
1. From 1966 to 1968, a period that includes the release of the single "Piece of My Heart," what singer was not a solo artist yet, but rather the lead singer of the band Big Brother and the Holding Company?
2. What American statesman's resume includes Minister to Spain from 1779 to 1782, Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1784 to 1790, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1789 to 1795, and second Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801?
3. What actress portrayed Emma Frost in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class, one year after she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Betty Draper on Mad Men?
4. Filling his early work with simple designs such as targets, numbers, and letters, what American artist is perhaps best known for his 1961 abstract work Map, an impressionist rendering of the United States, and for his large-scale paintings of American flags?
5. What author, referring to his 1939 work Finnegans Wake, specifically, the fact that the book ends with the beginning of a sentence and begins with the end of the same sentence, said the ideal reader would suffer from insomnia so that, after finishing the novel, they would turn back to the first page and start again in an endless reading cycle?

Extra credit
1. What teenage girl lives in Orbit City, has a crush on singer Jet Screamer, and talks to her floating robotic diary?  
2. What acclaimed director has written the screenplays for each of his 11 feature films, including 2003's Coffee and Cigarettes and 2005's Broken Flowers?

This week's challenge
Start with the name ROBERT FORD. Rearrange the letters to spell a four-letter word beginning with F for a structure an army might build, and a six-letter word beginning with B for where they might build it. What are the words?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Janis Joplin
2. John Jay
3. January Jones
4. Jasper Johns
5. James Joyce

Extra credit
1. Judy Jetson
2. Jim Jarmusch
 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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