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CLIS J746 - Problem Sets
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University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science |
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Problem Set Questions CLIS J746 Fall 2003
1. Can you tell me how Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia?
2. I just bought a Lowcountry basket at a roadside stand. I tried to tell my friends about it, but don't know much "background".
3. I know that English is a "Germanic" language, but does it sound like German to speakers of other languages?
4. How do languages start, spread and decline?
5. What were the "language incidents that changed the world"?
6. What is the symbolic meaning of the sand dollar?
7. I am trying to find out the name of the book in which two Scottish children have an adventure. The story is set in the 1950's and the adventure involves a scarab beetle set in amber. The unusual thing about the story is that the dialogue is all printed phonetically. The author might have been English.
8. I'm trying to find a book for a friend of mine. She was in her teens when she read it, which was most likely between 1978 and 1983 (although it was probably not a new release). She thinks it was a murder mystery. All that she can remember is the family: a mother, a son, and a daughter whose name was Kit. This family had either purchased a new house or were vacationing in a rental, possibly a house near the ocean.
9. I'm looking for the title of a poem recited at Ted Hughes's speaking engagements that deals with the suicide of Sylvia Plath and the blame the author of this poem placed on Ted Hughes's shoulders.
10. I am attempting to help a friend locate a publication from 1948 or 1949. This was published in the Annual Anthology of the National High School Poetry Association.
11. A friend is
traveling to Czechoslovakia, Austria and Switzerland
12. I'm looking for
the name of the author of a series (?) in which
13. I read Book 2
of a Fantasy series about 6 yrs. ago. The series is
14. I have a patron
who is trying to remember the title and author of a book she read. It is a
millennium novel set in Jerusalem. The Messiah comes and is female.
15. I need to
compile a list of fictional works (presumably novels, but significant
shorter works would be good to know of too) in which a president of the
United States figures as an important character. These could be presidents
who are completely made up -- like President Lyman in Fletcher Knebel's
"Seven Days in May," President Dilman in Irving Wallace's "The Man," or
President Ryan in Tom Clancy's "Executive Orders" -- or real presidents
placed in fictional events or settings. I am mainly interested in characters
who occupy the presidency but could also use references to stories involving
presidential candidates or
16. A patron had a
book on tape checked out and it was returned before she
17. Who said something like "The important thing about music is the silence between the notes"?
18. I read Angela's Ashes and 'Tis. I'm now looking for an historical fiction novel about Irish Americans and the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
19. Patron is
looking for a book read in the past 5 years or so Detective/Police Officer
living in or around Las Vegas. Has his mother living with him who is dying
of cancer. The mystery he is involved in revolves around the nuclear testing
done near Las Vegas in the 50's. It turns out that his mother went to see a
nuclear test with her high
20. Patron read a
new book within the last 3 months; thinks the author is a
21. Someone is looking for a short story in which a soldier catches a bear and puts him in a sack and throws him in the back of the sleigh. After he visits a pub he comes out and the bear has escaped.
22. We are looking for two fiction books we think were published in the late 1990s and translated from an Eastern European language. The subject matter is Scythians and there is a male version and a female version. We have no idea of the titles or the author.
23. Who said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island . . . and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life"?
24. Who said "TV is great, won't complain about it, but it's great to turn off the TV and have a book as a companion when you're alone on the road"?
25. I got a book for my husband several years ago. It is a series and the author's name is in the first part of the alphabet. It is about an American Indian tribe and it is told from the Indians' point of view. I think the tribe is located in the Midwest or the East. The book takes place in the 1700's.
26. Looking for a book with the following plot: "...about a woman raised by wolves ... meets escaped psycho and the two create a colony of their own blood children, grandchildren ... they began their own slaughter house ... their great grandchildren are grown now and they kidnap people and slaughter them ... know the teenage people have to get away ... they found a lot of cars from all the people missing..." Think it may be called "Fang" or that it has "fangs" in the title.
27. I remember a fiction book about a British woman, who during WWII, goes to Poland on an intelligence mission, insinuates herself into Polish count's confidence, and later falls in love with him. What's the author and title?
28. What Confederate regiment was called "The Whistlin' Jack Regiment" during the War Between the States?
29. A patron is looking for the total cost to America of the Korean War?
30. The Chapel of the Four Chaplains is at Arlington National Cemetery. These gentlemen gave up their life jackets so others might live. Is there a book on the Dorchester or the Four Chaplains?
31. Who said "Drama is life with the dull bits left out"?
32. What is the name of the fast Tahitian o'te'a (drum) style dance that they always save for the end of the luau?
33. "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb..." is supposed to be a quote from a John Fletcher book. Is that phrase all there is to the entire quote? Is the phrase part of a larger poem or exposition?
34. I was sent the following email: Microsoft's ad for their Internet Explorer email program uses the musical theme of the "Confutatis Maledictis" from Mozart's Requiem. "Where do you want to go today?" is the cheery line in the ad while the chorus sings "Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis" which translates as, "The damned and accursed are convicted to the flames of Hell." Is this true or is it an urban legend?
35. Who said "There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly the meaning of the Universe, the Universe will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened"?
36. I'm looking for the date of Trinity Sunday (the first Sunday after Pentecost) in 1500. Or the date of Easter for that year, and then I can figure it out for myself.
37. A 3-year old boy is having trouble learning "boundaries." He is hugging and kissing his classmates (not in a sexual way - but because he likes them) and his classmates run away because they don't want that contact. Mom is trying to teach the boy when it is appropriate (and not appropriate) for him to touch others. All the books the children's librarian has found explains touch from the other way around, i.e. from the viewpoint of the child being touched inappropriately by an adult. This 3-year-old is not sophisticated enough to transpose the message to apply to his situation. Is there any book out there that teaches boundaries, personal space, and appropriate behavior towards others on a really young level?
38. We have a patron asking why a bustier is also called a merry widow. We can define bustier and merry widow, but so far we have not discovered why a long-line brassiere came to be called a merry widow. One site on the Internet suggested that Warner's bras named it after Lehar's operetta (circa 1951). We were under the impression that the term merry widow was older than that.
39.I am looking for the quote "for whom thirty pieces of silver is bounty."
40. Who said, "Service to mankind is service to God"?
41. I am trying to identify a book a friend read in the mid-70's. He is certain the book was by Michael Crichton. He has also told me that he remembers that a main character was called Cantrell, and he thinks the word "Devil" or "Devil's" was in the title.
42. Who said, "I will have seen when I see an elephant fly"?
43. I'm looking for the game played by characters on Comedy Central show "South Park." It sounds like 'row-sham-bow.'
44. I'm looking for the lyrics or score to the song "When I Grow Too Old to Dream", by Romberg (lyrics) and Oscar Hammerstein II.
45. Who said, "I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library"?
46. A patron has a painting signed P. Vitolante. On the back is a short typed description which someone added before they purchased the painting that Vitolante was an artist from Italy, and exhibited in Holland, and passing reference to 1920. I'm looking for information on the artist.
47. Looking for the address of J.M.S. Marketing Services, a company which deals with board games.
48. Need to find out the names of the Broadway musicals made from the following (may be a book or play): Love is Just Around the Corner.
49. Someone wants the source of the following, which was found unattributed among her father's things after he died: "There is but one rule of conduct for a man: to do the right thing. The cost may be dear in money, in friends, in influence, in a prolonged and painful sacrifice. But the cost of not to do right is far more dear. You pay in the integrity of your manhood, in your honor, in strength of character; and, for a timely gain, you barter the infinite."
50. We are seeking a microfilm copy of "Diogenis Laertii de vitis" 1692 (full citation below) to ILL for a professor who needs to verify section numbers in that edition for some research he is doing. There appear to be a number of copies of this work around, but we need to know if any are microfilmed.
=========================================== AUTHOR: Diogenes Laertius. TITLE: Diogenis Laertii de vitis, dogmatibus et apophthegmatibus clarorum philosophorum, libri. Graece et Latine. Cum subjunctis integris annotationibus Is. Casauboni, Th. Aldobrandidni & Mer. Casauboni. Latinam Ambrosii versionem complevit & emendavit, Marcus Meibomius. Seorsum excusas Aeg. Menagii in Diogenem observationes auctiores habet volumen Ut & ejusdem syntagma de mulieribus philosophis; et Joachimi Kuhnii ad Diogenem notas, additae denique sunt priorum editionum praefationes, & indices locupletissimi. PLACE: Amstelaedami, PUBLISHER: Apud Henricum Wetstenium, YEAR: 1692 PUB TYPE: Book FORMAT: 2 v. illus., ports. 28 cm. NOTES: Title page of volume 2 reads, In Diogenem Laertium aegidii menagii observationes & emendationes, hac editione plurimum auctae. Quibus subjungitur historia mulierum philosopharum eodem menagio scriptore. Accedunt Joachimi Kuhnii I Diogenem Laertium observationes. Ut variantes lectiones ex duobus codicibus Mss. Amstelaedami, Henricum Wetstemium, 1692. SUBJECT: Philosophers, Ancient. Philosophy, Ancient. OTHER: Casaubon, Isaac, 1559-1614.
52. Who said, "Love, and you cannot but do well"?
53. We're trying to identify a cartoon sweeper character (possibly from Rocky & Bullwinkle, or that era, "He was a small man with a large broom and a can on wheels. He had a bushy mustache and an oversized uniform, the sleeves were longer than his arms and a cap that always fell into his face".
54. Looking for any available information on painter Molnoir Sandor. He was an eighteenth-century United States artist. I got the name off of one of his paintings (name of painting not supplied), but I saw the name in Sotheby's database.
55. I need info about Thani Amer [female] for a multiculturalism class.
56. What is the source of the quote:
We would rather be ruined than changed We would rather die in our dread Than climb the cross of the moment And see our illusions die.
attributed to W.H. Auden
57. Patron wants to know what the first AND second suburbs in America were.
58. What's the legend of the candy cane (the symbolic meaning)?
59. I need anything on colonial puzzles and games. 4-5 grade level.
60. Who said "The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas."
61. A student here is desperately trying to find a favorite poem which focuses on a child growing up while being watched by his/her parents. A bicycle metaphor is used: the child learns to ride a tricycle and then a two-wheeler and rides off down the road while the parents watch and wave. The student would like to be able to read the poem in her upcoming speech class and needs a copy.
62. Who said, "Meet every man or woman as you find him, for we're all made the same under habit, or robe or rags. Some better made than others, and some better cared for, but on the same pattern, all."
63. I heard about a book on public radio that was written by a man with a Jewish last name. The book took place during the Reagan era and was about how the CIA gave information to the Church to help bring down communism in Poland. I think it was published in the 1990s and the author is noted for writing about historical events in recent times.
64. Who said, "Entropy - the hammock of God"?
66. I'm trying to find the origin of "History is Written by the Winners".
67. Who wrote the play "Kiss or Make Up." Think it was a 70's production.
68. Who said, "Man will destroy the world because he does not obey the laws of nature and pretends to know the laws of God"?
69. Looking for the text of a poem which was read on NPR (possibly the program ALL THINGS CONSIDERED) about 5 years ago. The poet was interviewed on air. She is an Asian immigrant (possibly Chinese?) with a slight accent. Her poem deals with the disorienting effects of the immigrant experience in a large city like New York. Each stanza of the poem ended with the same line: "No sense of direction."
70. Would like to see a reproduction/plate of Pablo Picasso's "Minotaure Violante une Femme", June, 1933, from the "famous" Vollard Suite series of etchings. Found small scan at http://www.intlartnetwork.com/picasso.htm, but not big enough.
71. Want the music and lyrics to a song from the television show, Hee Haw. The lyrics go something along the line of, "I searched the world over and thought I found true love, Then Pffft [a raspberry] you was gone."
72. Lucy Maud Montgomery mentions a house with "dubbed gables" in her book BLUE CASTLE. What is this?
73. A patron wants to know something about the lyrics to "The Green Fields of France" written (or performed) by John McDermitt. Specifically, there is a word that sounds something like "farthing" that may mean "battle" or "fight" or "war" or some such. His remembrance of the phrase is "went to join the (farthing) in 1916".
74. Who said, "In a time of drastic change it is the learners who survive; the 'learned' find themselves fully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists"?
75. Who said, "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities"?
76. I am looking for information about John (Jock) Murray VI, specifically birth and death dates. I know that "Jock's" father lived from 1884-1967. Also, John Murray (I) established the publishing firm John Murray in London (in 1768?) and the firm has been run by John Murrays ever since. (John G. Murray is the VII John Murray to run the firm...)
77, 78, 79, 80 [see below] Four poems by Shel Silverstein are wanted by a library user. The poems are
77. "I am running in a circle"
78. "My younger brother's appetite"
79. "Jellyfish stew"
80. "Louder than a clap of thunder"
81. I am looking for an old saying which I cannot completely remember. Something about "a bad penny that keeps turning up." What's the rest of the saying? How is it usually used and what does it mean?
82. I know that there are no "official" words to Dvorak's "Humoresque", but I'm looking for an "unofficial" version. A friend says that she learned it years ago and that it began: "Shadders am a-creepin'..." That is all that I can remember.
83. Looking for words and music to a 1970's vintage R&R song, "Desiderata."
84. A patron who is doing research on the shoe industry is looking for the source of a quote that says "A good pair of boots (or shoes) is worth more than all of the art in the world". He believes that the author is probably Bakunin (or, less probably, Kropotkin), but it could also be another Russian nihilist / anarchist from the late 19th or early 20th century.
85. Our patron saw a movie on TV "quite a few years ago" that was about an astronaut who is filming the eclipse of the sun. He looks away and when he looks back, he gets rays of sun that affect his brain. When he gets a little sun, he can remember everything. If he gets too much sun, his head will explode. The patron would like to read the book or story this movie was based upon (if, indeed, it was based on a story or book!).
86. I am looking for the Latvian word for clothing.
87. Would like the sheet music for the song "Fairy Piper" which was performed by Danny Kaye on a '78 record probably from 1940's. May be composed by Weatherly-Brewer.
88. Is it appropriate for a bride to receive something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue when she is getting married for a second time?
89. We have a patron who wants information on the Royal Halsey China Company. She owns a demitasse cup and saucer (miniature) that has Victorian figures (women) painted on it. The bottom of the saucer has a crown with L.M. on each side. She would like to know where the china was made.
90. Who said, "Over my head I hear music in the air ... There must be a God somewhere"?
91. A friend has been singing the song she thinks came from a TV show based on the children's book ELOISE by Kay Thompson ("Who is the little girl who lives at the Plaza? Me! Eloise! I'm six!"--insert "raspberry" here). We can find no trace of a TV show. Was it a series? A special? A Broadway show? A hallucination?
92. Who said, "It's difficult to concentrate on art when there's an angel pissing on your flintlock."
94. We are looking for a monologue or short essay titled "Why God made/created boys" (or "Why boys were made/created"). The desired item is NOT "What is a boy?" by Allan Beck. Think the author may be Arthur Knight and that, like the one by Beck, there is a companion piece about girls.
95. Institute staff member arrives with piece of paper in hand. On it, a quotation (of sorts); he needs to find its source, as he is going to use it in a book he's writing. On the piece of paper is the following:
[Yes, the reader] must be won over, so much is fact; and they are to be won, that must be a fact too, since they are not bad, but only proud and stiff-necked, and prone to shuffle their feet.
The first three words (those in brackets) are crossed out, and handwritten below the quote it says:
(Speech delivered in Berlin 1931?) Thomas Mann
96. A patron recalls hearing or reading an interview with an author of a 1990s? book who had an elder brother who died as an infant before the author's own birth. The author was then given the name of the brother, and had to walk past the cemetery where his brother was buried and see his own name on a tombstone. Who is the author?
97. Who said, "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, And -- every -- single -- one of -- them -- is -- right!"
98. The "American Book of Days", Third Edition, page 1146, states that "In 1659 the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 a penal offense; Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans were subjected to a five-shilling fine for "observing any such day as Christmas."' I want the exact text of this law to use in a term paper.
99. Originally, they were called "rotunda men." What were they? What are they called now?
100. Who said: "1. Out of clutter, find simplicity. 2. From discord, find harmony. 3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
101. Need a children's book about several talking animals, possibly derivative from 'The Wind in the Willows'. Had the word 'Meadow' in the title.
102. I'm looking for numbers (gate receipts, concessions, etc.) from all the pro sports teams in the US from the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB. I haven't had any luck outside of the June 1997 issue of Financial World. I'm looking for something more up to date.
103. Who said, "You can hear a lot by listening"?
Need authors, titles, publishers, and copyright dates of 5 childrens' books (preschool and primary-grades level) from the past 10 years on each of these topics:
104. "[5] books that support development of gender identity by portraying males and females in diverse roles."
105. "[5] picture books that deal with the human reproductive process."
106. "[5] books that deal with separation, divorce, remarriage or blended families."
107. A patron wants to know the reference for the lines And the Turtle spoke, And the people listened. It was given out as a religious quotation, possibly Buddhist. It's not in the old or new testaments.
108. I am doing some research on a 19th century American inventor who was born in Wellington, OH in 1862. The name he used for most of his life was Thomas B. Lambert (he went to Cornell University) but I found out that his original birth name was actually: Devillo Levi Bennett. Both of his parents, Sarah Lambert and Levi Bennett) were born in England and emigrated to Ohio in the 1850s, so I am at a loss to explain what seems like an odd first name - "Devillo" for their son. The father's occupation was a "turner", apparently some reference (in the Census) to a woodworker... Is "Devillo" a Spanish name, or does it have some other meaning that would have made sense to English parents at that time, in Ohio?
109. What's the meaning of the term "rastafied?"
110. Who said: "Say not you know a man until you have shared his inheritance"?
111. Who said, "The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it"?
112. Patron is wanting to know symbolism in Sondheim's song Send in the Clowns and in what context it was sung in Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music.
113. Would like to know the etymology of the word "mandalay."
114. Is there an English translation of a book (or pamphlet) called "Der Sieg der Judentums u(oomlaut)ber das Germanentum" Bern, 1879? I need it for a paper I'm writing.
115. It would be most helpful to have a citation for this aphorism often used by the subject of my article: "It's difficult to concentrate on art when there's an angel pissing on your flintlock."
116. Patron said she heard about a book by Ricky Nelson's widow on the radio. She thinks it was published in the last 3 or 4 years. She thinks it is called "Death of a Girlfriend". She needs help finding the book.
117. What is a nine-baby multiple birth is called? All I can find is "supertwins" which denotes any multiple birth over 4.
118. Need information on a copy of the Constitution or Declaration of Independence that was found at some kind of garage sale or flea market. I recall hearing about something like this on the news - a person bought a picture and then tore the back off to reveal one of these documents. Is this an urban myth?
119. Need the title, exact citation and or copy of an article that appeared in Sports Afield sometime between 1974-1976. The article was written by staff writer John Jobson about his moose hunting trip to the Yukon Bonnet Plume area.
120. In 1780, Jefferson proposed that land that is now in western Kentucky be renamed. What name did he propose? Actually, I'm not sure that Kentucky was even officially recognized at that time, but evidently Jefferson wanted to relegate a new name to the western territory.
121. Patron asking for info on a celery/relish shaped dish with white roses w/orange centers, marked on back Prussia (over a 5-pointed crown, which is over a curve-sided v or antler shape with a capital B inside the v shape, with Royal Rudolstadt underneath, curving around the bottom of the v. Also an embossed six-pointed star, "Earnst Bohne" and "Johann Frederich von Schwarzburg/Rudolstadt", according to the illus we received.
122. I want to read a review of Peter Sellers' controversial production of Mozart's opera Cosi fan Tutti.
124. I'm translating a book from French to English. The Russian physiologist/psychologist P.A. Bernstein refers to a neural device he calls the "comparateur [comparator?]" that works to reorganize action according to unforeseen events. "One property of the comparator is its capacity to detect variations in sensory information thanks to the central nervous system's use of [what the author in French calls] 'traces fraiches.'" Bernstein adds that these "traces fraiches" are what the brain uses in reconstructing the velocity of a moving organ, for example.
I would guess that this is "fresh traces," but I cannot find talk of it anywhere in the psychology literature. The book the author cites is N. A. Bernstein (1967) The Coordination and Regulation of Movement, New York, Pergamon, which I have not been able to locate in any library, even Harvard.
Can you confirm the equivalent of "traces fraiches" in English? Also, is "comparateur" "comparator"?
125. I'm translating a book from French to English. The author makes the point that the superior colliculus is a very old structure that is called the "toit optique" [optic roof?] in birds. I have combed Medline and the Web for "optic [or optical] roof," but cannot find anything. Possible to confirm?
126. I'm translating a book from French to English. The author has written the following charming passage: "Even before crawling out of the water and having to construct mechanisms to compensate for the mechanical effects of gravity – 'this sticky force,'[cette force collante] in the words of an astronaut returning from a space voyage and a little forlorn at finding himself 'glued' to Earth – marine animals used gravity as a reference."
My question is simply if the astronaut's quote is well known. It could in fact have been uttered by any one of dozens of astronauts from around the world on landing. But if it's a well-known English quote, I'd like to have it exact. Otherwise I'll leave it as translated.
127. I've seen the phrase "birth name" several times recently. Where did this inaccurate phrase come from? At birth a child has at most a surname.
128. What's the source of this quote? "Is there class warfare in America? Hell, yes -- and WE didn't start it!"
129. Our school has used the motto "Integer Vitae" for decades, and it has come to be translated as the "integrated, whole life", indicating that the best education is a balance between academics, athletics, community service, the arts, and self-esteem.
I received an e-mail from someone who advocates that "integer" does not mean integrated, but rather "whole, pure, virtuous, or blameless." My thinking is that since the word "integrate" means "to bring parts together into a whole," the word "integer" could be translated as "integrity" or the "whole, integrated life." Can you tell me the origin of the phrase and its translation?
130. Seeking words and music to the following (if it is a song), words if it is a poem:
"One sat alone beside a highway begging, His eyes were blind, the light he could not see. He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows - Then Jesus came and made the darkness flee..."
131. Would like information about Cookie Jarvis. Think Cookie Jarvis might be a cartoon or comic character and might be related to advertising. On the web I found a reference to Cookie Jarvis in a list with the heading Freakies/Ralston, which I think might be a cereal.
132. Looking for the words AND music to the song "Keep Right on to the End of the Road" by Harry Lauder.
133. A few years ago I heard on National Public Radio a program discussing man's ability to "hold two opposing viewpoints simultaneously." There was a one-word reference to the ability. It wasn't "cognitive dissonance," "paradoxicality" or "irony" in a Socratic sense. It was a derogative/pejorative term which may be applied to "fence-sitters." What's the word?
134. I have been asked to find out what air ferns are, with the possibility of them being more than one thing. I have found them referred to a a type of fern: polypodium polypodioides, possibly an epiphyte. I am looking for an additional meaning. OED gives fern other definitions than the usual as: feather, crime, huge quantity, and a windlass (crank piece used for raising or hauling objects such as a well bucket) Could air fern have anything to do with those?
135. Who said, "The depiction of nasal discharges in prominent public contexts is alien to Western religious traditions"?
136. When she was a lot younger, my wife -- nee Christina Bevard -- appeared on a week's worth of episodes of Romper Room, probably early in 1957. She doesn't remember exactly when, but there was a blizzard at the time in Denver, where the shows were filmed. I'd love to obtain videotapes of those shows, but I haven't got the slightest idea how to go about finding them.
137. I'm looking for information about the artist Paul de Songpre and, in particular, about a print of one of his paintings---"Black-Eyed Susans." Two dates are on the picture---1894 and (c) 1895, along with the title and "Published by J.F. Hall & Co. Gast, Ny Augusta Maine." Any further information or sources which might provide information would be greatly appreciated.
138. Trying to find the meaning of Bagster Bible. It was used in the 1800's. An author is trying to do research on Ira Stankey.
139. A popular computer font is called "Algerian"; for a sample display (under a variant name) see http://www.fontage.com/apage/algrbasn.html It was popular also (though perhaps under quite a different name) as a display typeface in England in the nineteenth century. Question: what was it called then? What are its origins?
140. I am trying to find out who Leporello is. He makes a brief appearance in a recent poem by Anthony Hecht, "Death The Whore."
Your mind begins Its little paltry Leporello's list Of former girlfriends who pass in review As images, stripped even of their names.
I do not know if Leporello is an historical figure or a character out of literature or opera.
141. I am looking for a photograph of a painting that was in many one-room schoolhouses. The painting may date from the early 1800's. It is called "unjust judge." in the painting is a judge, who is a monkey, two kittens, and the scales of justice.
142. Patron read a book 25 years ago about a woman with 23 sons, all named Jim. She wants to know the title of this book.
143. Someone has asked the exact source of Booth's words on stage after he shot Lincoln - "Sic semper tyrannis."
144. Info on a celery/relish shaped dish with white roses w/orange centers, marked on back Prussia (over a 5-pointed crown, which is over a curve-sided v or antler shape with a capital B inside the v shape, with Royal Rudolstadt underneath, curving around the bottom of the v. Also an embossed six-pointed star, "Earnst Bohne" and "Johann Frederich von Schwarzburg/Rudolstadt", according to the illus we received.
145. Patron recalls seeing a poem in the newspaper perhaps 10-15 years ago and wants to find it again. The theme is members of clubs or organizations who criticize and complain but don't contribute anything positive, and that everyone should do their part, share the work.
He doesn't recall any specific line(s) or keywords although "leader" and "follower" may appear.
146. Looking for the definition of the term "basionym." It has something to do with taxonomy, most probably having to do with the naming of new species.
147. I need to know the origins of the quote "life is the thirteen inch journey from the head to the heart."
148. Why did southern stores and banks used to close on Wednesday afternoons? I assume it is probably because of church services. This custom is referred to in the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture but not specified as being because of church.
149. Who said, "To prohibit the reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves"?
150. Request for the sheet music for a hymn that has these words (as remembered by the patron).
Many happy returns (of on) the day of thy birth May sunshine & gladness be given And may the dear Father prepare thee on earth for a beautiful birthday in heaven
151. What is the name of Reverend Scot Sloan's church in Doonesbury?
152. Who wrote, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large; I contain multitudes)"?
153. Looking for a children's poem from the 1920"s (?) that begins with the following:
"The little cricket slipped (or crawled) under my chair With one wing gone, lay resting there. At first I thought, "You are so small".....
154. I have been trying to track down information on the performer Charlotte Arren. She was in vaudeville and, less so, in film. She is featured in “Broadway Melody of 1940” (MGM). Although she is uncredited in the film, she does a version ala Beatrice Lillie and Fanny Brice of “Il Bacio” by Luigi Arditti.
155. Why is the average, or regularly published, room rate in a hotel or motel called the "rack rate"?
156. A patron is looking for biographical information about William Burroughs Swisher, a minor artist who was working in the early part of the 20th century. Apparently, one of his claims to fame was the painting of a portrait of Pancho Villa. Also, he spent at least a part of his life in Cecil County, Maryland
157. Patron is looking for a book called Curses to Blessings (she thinks). She doesn't know the author, but her Dad said she should read it. It's about a family who has had a lot of problems in the past, but finally one of the family members makes good and is a hero, or something like that.
158. Need the address and telephone number for Tom Selleck Productions.
159. Patron wants to know what the meaning of the fruits of life is. She bought a Lennox China Keepsake box and it has the design of the fruits of life on it and she says that it symbolizes something and wants to know what that is?
160. Patron is looking for information on Guy Fox, a revolutionary from the 1600s who tried to blow up the British Parliament. Evidently, his birthday (next Friday, Nov. 5) is celebrated by some in England, and it is unclear if the event celebrates his birth or his execution for the above attempt on Parliament. The festivities, according to the patron, may include bonfires. She also believes that the Fox family was so upset over his actions that they changed the family surname to Fuchs.
161. Patron looking for a biographical sketch for commercial artist Taylor Lewis (1930's & 40s) she swears came from Who Was Who in American Art.
162. The patron has a set of bronze coins--21 coins--that is dated 1969 and titled man in space series. Glen Dinning co. inc. is listed on the envelope and the year 1969. He says they commemorate the Apollo missions and have astronauts names on them. He wants to know the number of sets made and the value of the set. He bought the set at a garage sale.
163. I'm in the process of designing a poster for an antiquarian book fair – and except for one element, all is going well. It's that one object that's got me stumped. It's a b&w picture of a man looking at a wall of books, taken in Britain during the Second World War in a bombed out building - possibly a bookstore or private dwelling. The browser is (I think) reaching for a book on the wall and is oblivious to the fact that he's standing in a bomb crater. I've seen it more than than once but it now eludes me.
164. I'm looking for information on the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. It is mentioned in the Brother Cadfael mysteries.
165. Patron is 60+ yrs old & remembers a song from childhood about six or eight horses; three are named Cabbage, Gertle (sp), and Beetlebaum. Looking for the names of the other horses.
166. In his book The Professor and the Madman, which is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, Simon Winchester uses a term I've never seen before, and can't find in the O.E.D., or anywhere else. It occurs at the bottom of page 177, at the end of the following sentence: "But what was most obviously similar about the men were their beards --in both cases white, long, and nicely swallow-tailed -- with thick moustaches, sideburns, and ample buggers' grips."
I'm totally baffled. Can anyone throw any light on the meaning and derivation of "buggers' grips"?
167. Who said: "Well, sometimes I see strange stuff, but distinguishing reality from fantasy isn't always my strongest suit."
168. Where I would go to obtain permission to reprint the following lyrics (no song title available) by Basque singer Mikel Loboa of San Sebastian, Spain:
"Si yo quisiera podria cortarle las alas y entonces seria mia Pero no podria volar y lo que yo amo es el pajaro"
169. Person interested in buying a print of "The Guardian Angel," a painting of a small boy curled up asleep on an oval rug with a sheepdog beside him. Patron is seeking the name of the artist. First name is believed to be "Ron."
170. Patron needs a copy of the sheet music for We Are Family .
171. Who said: "Now when I die I don't want wings, a golden halo or a harp that sings. Give me a book, a fire, and someone who brings chocolate chip cookies all day."
172. What two days a year do sports teams not play?
173. I am looking for an easy way to locate the names of the Games/Puzzle Editors for major US Newspapers. I do NOT want the names of the Crossword Editors, I'm interested in columns where logic puzzles would be posted, this may be a Sunday recreations column, a Mensa column etc.
174. We're looking for a short (about 4 pages) work by Walter (or Wuther?) Crue, entitled "Ordeal by Cheque." According to our patron, it consists of graphic reproductions of personal checks (about eight per page) made out by different persons, to different payees, on different dates. "The Ordeal" is (at least sometimes) used as a spur to writing creativity it was given to students who were to write a story based on the people, payments, and dates named in the checks.
175. Patron is looking for a story which he remembers reading in a book of children's Halloween tales. He believes the title began with the words "Mr. Brown." The story was about a group of young children at a Halloween party; the children were blindfolded and then invited to put their hands in bowls of various substances--spaghetti was supposedly intestines, grapes were eyeballs, etc.
176. I am reviewing a charming collection of poetry for children, and in it what is called a traditional Irish verse has a phrase rendered as "A lyan van o" described as an endearment for children. I am curious as to what it means, literally or figuratively.
177. Who said: Wizards do not lie; words are their tool and currency, which they dare not devalue.
178. Who said: "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
179. Who said: "It isn't what happens to you, it's how you interpret what happens to you."
180. Looking for a children's book/story with a character Princess Amethyst. Patron read about 12 years ago when about 3rd grade, and cannot remember anything about the story/book, except fascinated with one of the characters, Princess Amethyst.
181. Person was watching "CBS Sunday Morning" show late in October 1999. Saw or heard something about a woman who writes mystery stories containing a character named "Tess." The authoress' father apparently is a newspaper columnist. What would be the authoress' name?
182. What is the term for the process of leaves changing colors?
183. Patron is teaching a HS literature course using John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. He anticipates parental objections about content and wants to have a alternative book on the reading list. Criteria: Novel dealing with the period of the Great Depression in America. Should not be an easy read but does not have to be as long as G of W.
184. Who said: "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in."
185. What do the words In-a-gadda-da-vida from the Iron Butterfly song of the same name mean?
186. Who said: "The church is near, but the road is icy. The bar is far, but we will walk carefully."
187. What is the special name for the person who rides lead mule?
188. Who wrote: The one-L lama, he's a priest. The two-L llama, he's a beast. And I would bet a silk pyjama There isn't any three-L lllama.
189.There was a picture book published within the last ten years that showed what was happening in different countries around the world at the same moment; a clock-face in a corner of the page showed the time in that time-zone. I believe that it began with an American child sitting up in bed, wondering what other children were doing at that moment. I need the author and title.
190. Who said "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
191. What’s the origin of snickerdoodle? Some suggest that it is German (Pennsylvania/Hudson valley) in origin.
192. What is the derivation of two derogatory French terms for Germans: "chleuh" and "fridolin" -- patron would like to know where these terms came from and why they are derogatory terms for Germans.
193. Who is the "to my Rini" dedication in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man?
194. Where can I find information on Tatwala Baba?
195. Patron would like to know what style of chair James A. McNeill Whistler's Mother is sitting on in the famous portrait "Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother". It is not a rocking chair and the reproduction I have shows faint indications of "ladder-type" cross braces in the back of the chair, and legs that are angled back and possibly tapered. It also seems that the top of the chair extends out from the uprights in small wings.
196. Where is the clothing "indigo sheshes" worn? What is it?
197. Patron seeks a picture of what he is calling "The end of the trail," which is a sculpture--I think--of a Native American and his horse, both in a pose of serious fatigue.
198. I need a list of Jewish journals and newspapers, that include names, addresses, email addresses and Web sites if possible. But mainly names and email addresses will do.
199. I'm looking for a definitive source for the quote which goes something like "the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man." I've found it on the internet attributed to at least three different people, but would like to find something in a book.
200. University president is looking for the source of the quote "there is no limit a man can do if he does not care who gets the credit."
201. Request the text of Rainer Maria Rilke's French poem, "Dirait-on," which was made into a choral piece by Morten Lauridsen.
202. I'm looking for a picture (prefer colored) of a statue of Audie Murphy which is in Texas. It might be at the San Antonio Hospital which is named for him.
203. Who said, "Librarians are the secret masters of the universe. They control information. Don't ever piss one off?”
204. I need a copy of a song that begins "This is the way we (wash our clothes, etc.) all on a (day of the week) morning.
205. Patron says she's heard that there's a version of Kipling's "If" ("if you keep your head while all about you are losing theirs...if you can walk with Kings but not lose the common touch...you'll be a Man" etc) but for girls/women.
206. What is the symbolic meaning of Jordan almonds at the wedding? The almonds I ordered for my daughter's wedding came with an explanation, but it's been lost.
207.A patron wants to know the origin of the honor of giving someone a key to a city.
208. Who said, "I’m not a saxophone, but I play one on TV!"
209. Patron has asked for a translation of the phrase "Odium humani generis," and also for the single word "Romanitas."
210. Want to find a book that was written about the hidden meanings of the Wizard of Oz. I remember in undergrad school a history professor talking about there being hidden meanings throughout the whole story. Unfortunately I taped over those lecture notes.
211. A patron has asked for assistance in identifying a wooden object which resembles the stocks used for punishment during pre-colonial times. The wood appears to be very old and is very ornately carved with plants and with many geometrical patterns including hexagrams. The dimensions are 46" wide by 18" high.
212. Who said, "When prosperity comes, do not use all of it."
213. What was Arne Korsmo’s last position before his retirement?
214. Did Sassetta (that is, Stefano di Giovanni) paint “The Meeting of St. Anthony and St. Paul”?
215. How can I tell if the crystal necklace I have is real rock crystal or just glass?
216. Is a Betty lamp a fat lamp?
217. Who is the art editor for the Orangeburg, SC, Times Democrat?
218. I have an old plate which I think was made in West Virginia. There’s a stamp on the bottom that has two circles, one inside the other. Around the outer circle it says “Adamantine China.” Inside the second circle it says W.P.C.” Was it made in West Virginia?
219.I have a piece of Royal Delft that has the letters AA next to the mark. What does that mean?
220. I want to see a picture of Edward Lamson Henry’s painting “Days Before Rapid Transit.”
221.Where is the original of George Morland’s painting “Inside of a Stable”?
222. I want to buy a print of a painting my mother once had of the heads of two Irish setters. Where could I get it?
223. Where is the mural for which H. A. Oberteuffer won a Treasury Art Project Award?
224. Did Plautilla Bricci design the chapel in the Roman church San Luigi dei Francesi?
225. When did they start using index numbers on the corners of playing cards?
226. How did Alexander Woollcott, the model for Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner, feel about the character?
227. Is William John Grayson’s “The Hireling and the Slave” a poem or an essay?
228. Who wrote the Freaks of Cupid?
229. Hilda Doolittle published two poems in Poetry under the catch title “Two Poems.” What was the name of each poem?
230.Who were the Angry Young Men?
231.What was Sang Picker’s key to a long life?
232.Were any poems by Paul Hayne included in Christmas Snowflakes: Illustrated Poems by Favorite American Authors which was published in 1879? If so, what were their titles?
233. Who said, "Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood."
234. I'm looking for a current address for Sandra Dee.
235.I am trying to find any "history" on the bouquetiere, a hand held bouquet holder usually made of silver or gold and used during the 1800's by ladies carrying bouquets. Patron has one that belonged to her great grandmother and wants to know about it and its uses.
236.Patron is writing a book and wants to have characters talk authentically "Irish" - I think he's actually looking for dialect. Needs dictionaries that will help with slang and dialect.
237. A patron is trying to find a particular version of the legend of the Holy Grail. As he recalls, he read a reference to a book in which Arthur's knights found the Grail, and each knight saw a different vision when he looked at it. He did not actually read the book, just the reference to it. He wonders if it might be "le Roman de Merlin."
238. A patron is trying to locate information on a game she knows as "Cuban dominos." She played this as a child about seventy years ago, using dominos and pennies, and now wants to find the rules to surprise her siblings at a family reunion.
239.A young patron is curious about the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, hopes to find other stories about it.
240.A patron wants sheet music for a song performed by Beatrice Lillie. The song is "Paree" (from the musical AT HOME ABROAD).
241. Patron searching for information on "The Woman's Tonic! Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription" (scrawled on an old Cache Valley barn used as a 1920's billboard in Utah).
242. A patron is interested in quotations that are in the public domain. She is especially interested in quotes or humor about cats or quotes about values or morals. The quotes all need to be in the public domain. She is aware of what constitutes public domain and was hoping that there would be some sort of anthology (like Bartletts) that either was completely comprised of public domain quotes or indicated if particular quotes were in the public domain. She already has quotes from the Bible, Shakespeare, etc.
243.A patron has asked for the definition of "benna" as mentioned in a book by Jamaica Kincaid. Doesn't remember the title. The patron's paraphrase of the quote is "Do you sing benna on Sundays? No, we don't sing benna on Sundays." The patron thinks the term may be related to Voodoo.
244.A patron has asked for a copy of the poem by Lewis Carroll which parodies the Song of Hiawatha by Longfellow.
245. What is the source of the name "green card" (as in green cards for immigrants)? Are they named for someone by the name of Green?
246.Andy Wharhol said a quotation something like: "Everybody is famous in five minutes sometime in their life." What is the correct quotation?
247.What is a Cornish Galyflower? There could possibly be a connection with Stirling Castle and Lord Lambourne.
248.Need information about "Count Grischnack" and his black metal band: "Burzism" (Burzum?) He is a Norwegian musician and satanist who has burned down churches in Norway a couple years ago. He spends his time in prison - for the next 21 years in fact - sentenced also for the murder on another Norwegian called "Euronymous" (August 1993).
249. Who was the last actor to play Toby in the Toby shows?
250. On what date was the women's basketball finals played in the Montreal Olympics? How many nations entered?
251. Why is third base called the hot corner?
252. What is the scoring system in a Stableford competition?
253. In the 1932 Olympics, how many male rapid-fire shooters were still perfect after the second series of shots?
254. I understand that the first U. S. play on "Red Indian" life was produced at New York's Park Theatre. Who was the playwright and what was its title?
255. What is a burla?
256. Was Kaj Harald Leininger Munk's first play well accepted when it was first introduced?
257. What were the names of Ma Perkins' children?
258. Who were the people responsible for the excellent sound effects on the radio version of Gunsmoke?
259. What were the words to the theme song for Shell Chateau? Who sang it?
260. A patron wants to know the name of the show that was the predecessor of Fibber Magee and Molly. He thinks it ran on a Chicago station in the early 1930s.
261. What is the weight of the clubs used in rhythmic gymnastics?
262. Is there a national governing board for aikido in the U. S.?
263. In professional football, how far are the inbound lines from the sideline?
264. Who did the stage design for Birgit Culberg's "The Moon Reindeer"? Was his/her design used in the American productions?
265. Where was the Spider's Banquet first performed?
266. What is/was Commedia dell'arte?
267. Who was the only one of the Crazy Gang that wasn't a member of a double-act team?
268. How is/was a glass crash simulated on stage?
269. Who played the part of Ruth on Nichols?
270. What was the Munster's address?
271. I think Jamie Lee Curtis played an Army nurse in an old WWII series, but I can't remember its name. What was it?
272. Who was the real Paul Bunyan?
273. What are noodle stories?
274. How many horns does Yehwe Zogbanu have?
275. Are there any stories about snipe hunts?
276. How are the Mooinjer Veggey related to the Ferrishyn?
277. My great grandmother used to say "Black Christmas, full graveyard." A friend said they'd heard the line "Green Christmas, full graveyard"-- which is right?
278. I'd like to read a brief description of experiments with Ingo Swann's psychic perception. Where could I do that?
279. Why is the baptismal font eight-sided?
280. What should I do to be sure my baby won't be bald?
281. I'd like to see some major studies of the rukh. Which ones are likely to be best?
282. Were/are fishermen fearful of the Kraken?
283. What will make the Black Dog of Finstock appear?
284. Where can I find a list of Anansi stories?
285. Why is Fiesta San Antonio always held in late April?
286. Where could I find a detailed description of Rutot's spirit indicator?
287. When is Old Christmas? Is it still celebrated anywhere?
288. When was/is Nutcrack Night?
289. What were/are fantasticals?
290. Is it good or bad luck to borrow from new neighbors when you move into a neighborhood?
291. Are Bogles good or bad?
292. Is the concept of the black cat as a familiar of witches ancient in origin?
293. Patron wants to see a list of Pidgeon and Creole languages which tells where they are spoken and how many people speak them.
294.Who is/was Harriet Lane?
295. What's a Wellerism?
296. What is cant?
297. What is the more common term now used for motherese?
298. How do you make dyspepsia coffee?
299. Why is the great blue heron sometimes called "forty gallons of soup"?
300. What is a hatpin plant?
301. Along the coast of South Carolina is there any remarkable difference among the social classes in the way they pronounce the vowel sound in creek?
302. What are "houses of the double log pattern"?
303. Why are men named Murphy often nicknamed Peeler?
304. Where is the long trail [a seafarer's term]?
305. What's a green handshake?
306. What are chuck horrors?
307. What are/were diesel digits?
308. Would you be more likely to encounter people who pronounce the vowels in stairs to sound like those in head in the Charleston or the Greenville area of South Carolina?
309.Who was the Jim Crow for whom Jim Crow laws were named?
310. Who taught Edward Withers to make violins?
311. What are some examples of eye music? I'd like to see a picture.
312. What's an estilo?
313. Who choreographed Lehman Engel's "Transistions"?
314. When was Arthur Bliss' composition "Meditations on a Theme of John Blow" published?
315. For what crime did David Allan Coe do time on Death Row?
316. Is it true that Joni Lee's father was also famous? Who was he?
317. On a pipe organ, is the stopped flute rounded in shape or squared?
318. What's the official name for the Christmas Concerto?
319. Who wrote the words to "Miles Away"? On what album did it appear?
320. What year did "Forever and Ever, Amen" win the award for Country Song of the Year?
321. Who sang "Coca Cola Cowboy" in Every Which Way But Loose?
322. When and where was the first national school band contest?
323. Did Tiny Grimes record with Charlie Parker?
324. For what label did Gordon Jenkins record "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"?
325. When did "Bye Bye Bonnie" open on Broadway?
326. Why did Henry Dike Sleeper resign his position at Smith College?
327. What happened to the remaining stock of the Society for the Publication of American Music after it dissolved?
328. When was the song "When I Fall in Love" composed?
329. What was Byron Berline's favorite music style?
330. What does the symbol of the haloed dove with the halo marked by a cross mean?
331. Did Gennadius of Marseilles believe in the necessity of grace for salvation?
332. Is there any special approach to Sacramental preparation for people who are mentally retarded or learning disabled in the Catholic Church?
333. Does the Catholic Church's right of sanctuary have status in U. S. civil law?
334. Is it true that Sister Mary Corita once painted a rainbow design on a liquified natural gas storage tank?
335. What is the U. S. Catholic Conference's position on AIDS as a punishment for sin?
336. Who was the first resident priest in what is now South Carolina?
337. On what activities do the Sisters of St. Casimir focus?
338. Who is the Bishop for the Synod of Metropolitan New York of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America?
339. Who is the nuncio for the Holy See in Albania? Does the nuncio hold precedence among diplomats in Albania?
340. Where could I find a list of the encyclicals of Pius IX?
341. Is Lincoln Christian College and Seminary accredited?
342. Is it true that the Rhemes New Testament was the first to be bound in black cloth?
343. Why did Luther omit the commandment against graven images from his list of the Ten Commandments?
344. What are he seven rules of Rabbinic exegesis, according to Hillel?
345. Did the Epistle of Barnabas use allegory?
346. Why is the lion considered an appropriate guardian for the doors of churches?
347. Patron wants to find the Prayer of Maimondes.
348. Is the question of man's obligations to future generations a recent concept?
349. What is the slippery slope argument?
350. What is the general attitude of religious groups toward punitive sterilization?
351. Who was Kipling's Aunt Rosa?
352. Was Ted Allan, the playwright, ever an actor?
353. Where did Arnold Ginrich get the idea for Esquire magazine?
354. Who wrote, "There are those in South Carolina, and Mr. Pickens among the number who do not 'sneeze when Mr. Calhoun takes snuff'"?
355. Was Earl Lovelace ever the Writer in Residence at Howard University?
356. Is it true that Wace was the first to use the Round Table motif in the Arthurian legend?
357. Where are James Herlihy's manuscripts?
358. I've heard that Abe Weatherwise had a better track record than the U. S. Weather Bureau for predicting the weather. Is that true?
359. Why has Lu Hsun's "K'uang-jen jih-chi" been called China's first modern story?
360. What form does the devil take in George Beranos' The Star of Satan?
361. Who was the real Dean Moriarity?
362. Was there a real Viscount Thrift?
363. What's the evidence that H. G. Wells modeled Rupert Catskill after Winston Churchill?
364. What were W. C. Minor's crimes?
365. Who called Ronald Reagan "a triumph of the embalmer's art"?
366. Where did Bill Mauldin get the idea for Willie and Joe?
367. How did we come to have the Easter bunny? I've found a few offhand remarks in folklore books about how the hare was associated with a German goddess named Eostre, and that like so many things associated with Easter, it is really a fertility symbol. Know of any books that give in-depth info?
368. I need information on Ridha Rahman, an Iranian artist who specialized in Islamic metal works.
369. I need help identifying a painting of a girl in a pink dress, wearing a white bonnet, holding a puppy. There are several puppies in the painting. Probably an American artist from the Victorian era.
370. Which 19th century Pope was believed to have the evil eye?
371. Need instructions for making a fancy knot called the monkey fist.
372. Note from a faculty member found on a reference desk: Bell? ed. Shakespeare? Col. Boyle
373. What angel is considered to be the conqueror of Satan?
374. What is the name of the tree from which people were forbidden to eat according to the Efe tribe?
375. Who was the father of Sitting in the Sky? Of what tribe was Sitting in the Sky leader?
376. Is Alabama Cream suitable for sculpting?
377. I'm looking for the instructions to two variations on the game of dominoes "Chicken Foot" and "Mexican Train."
378. A patron needs to find the proper contacts to ask for permission to use segments of a Simpson's episode in a presentation. The Fox network website has a form for comments but the patron wants to send his request on letterhead.
379. A while back there was thread about movie references on Simpson's. Bart & Homer are in a dark room watching TV. Lisa walks in and sees the eerie looking scene, Homer says to Lisa, "Come join us Lisa, Room for one more". This must be a movie reference. What could it be?
380. I need information about slavery during New Testament times.
381. Looking for a copy for the rap CD, "Maitresse du Temps" or Mistress of Time by Jeanne Calment when she turned 121 in 1996. Ms. Calment has since passed away at the age of 122. Have found reference to this CD which is a four-song album of recorded anecdotes from her life and they are mixed over techno and rap beats. The proceeds from the sale of the album were used to buy a minibus for her Provence nursing home.
382.A patron has a painting signed P. Vitolante. On the back was a short typed description which someone added before they purchased the painting that Vitolante was an artist from Italy, and exhibited in Holland, and passing reference to 1920. Need background on this artist.
383. I thought the name of Sir Lancelot's sword was "Joyeux" -- referenced in T.H. White's 'The Once and Future King' which I believed to based on Mallory's account of the Arthurian legend. Another source, " Encyclopaedia Mythica", tells me that it is "Arondight". What do I believe?
384. Who said, "The universe is crazy, anything else would be redundant"?
385. I need words and music to the song "No Letter Today", 1943, w.m. Frankie Brown. Song begins: "No letter today, I've waited since dawn..." Would like a full arrangement but will accept a fake book if that is available.
386. Looking for a poem titled "A Child Never Born" by Rebecca J. Spencer, and I've had no success at finding the poem or the author.
387. Trying to find out the name and artist of a piece of sculpture that stands in the Cortile della Pignio in Vatican City. Photos can be found at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fiatlux/art/frames/vat14.html and http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fiatlux/art/frames/vat13.html It appears to be a large (circa 10' diameter) globe of the earth, mounted at the intersection of two crossing sidewalks. Another photo the globe (if it is so) has a belt of material "stripped off" to reveal clockwork-like inner workings.
388, 389 [see below] Searching for two movie titles.
388. First movie is about a teenage girl in Australia or New Zealand running away from family problems and a crime suspect who is running away from the law. Their paths meet, they become friends and criss-cross the continent together. The setting is 1920's or 1930's Australia, and the title (to the best of my memory) was something like Starlite(light) or Twilite(light) Motel/Hotel.
389. The second movie takes place in the early 1900's and is about a man with two very large families. Neither family is aware of the other until one day the children from the first family meet some of the children from the second family, realize they have the same father, and, of course, chaos results. Movie was a comedy.
390. We are searching for a poem called "Billy's Rose" by George R Simms. Father is dying & would like to hear it again before his final day.
391. Need a copy of the sheet music for Dvorak's Slavonic Dance Opus 72 #10 (Piano Duet).
392. Looking for an "unofficial" version of Dvorak's "Humoresque." I learned it years ago and it began: "Shadders am a-creepin'..." That is all that I can remember.
393. Would like the words to a poem by Mona Lake Jones called "Being the Mother of a Black Child" or perhaps "It's Hard to Be the Mother of a Black Child." It begins: "Being the mother of a black child, It ain't no easy thing. You got to call on Jesus and listen to the angels sing."
394. Looking for biographical information on an artist named Baron Van Doran (sp?). Apparently he made the redwoods famous by his paintings of them. There is a house called The Taylor Home which is on the national Historical Register that houses a number of his paintings. I am unable to identify where this Taylor Home is located.
395. I am trying to get info on the boxer Ebenezer Vildozola who boxed primarily in the Philippines but also in Asia. He was sponsored by the Williams Lines, a cruise/shipping line, and trained with Mohammed Ali when he traveled to Asia. Vildozola's opponent died in the ring during one of their fights and our patron believes this was reported in the press. He is currently deceased and patron believed he boxed during the 1960's.
396. A friend plays his guitar once a month for ladies at a local nursing home. They have been requesting "Be Honest with Me," as sung by Gene Autry. He is in a rush for a copy of the lyrics so that he can learn them by next week.
397. Want the lyrics to a song entitled: Dammit Isn't God's Last Name. It was sung by Frankie Lane, written by Dick Monda, released 5-16-69, charted pop 7-5-69, reached #86.
398. Please tell me the meaning of the cultural practice in Czechoslovakia on Easter: the father of the home puts his children in the bathtub of cold water with their pajamas on and boys come to the homes of the girls, hit them with sticks, and spray them with water.
399. The following poem has been attributed to Francis Scott Key. What is the answer to the riddle?
I made myself, and though no form have I, Am fairer than the fairest you can spy; The sun I outshine in his mid-day light; And yet am darker than the darkest night; Hotter I am than fire, than ice more cold, Richer than purest gems of finest gold, Yet I am never either bought or sold; The man that wants me, never yet was seen; The poor alone possess me; yet the mean And grudging rich oft give me to the poor, Who yet are not made richer than before; The blindest see me, and the deafest hear; Cowards defy me, and the bravest fear; If you're a fool, you know me; if you grow In knowledge, me you will soon cease to know. Get me -- and low and poor thy state will be; Forget me -- and no equal shalt thou see. Now catch me if you can -- I'm sometimes caught, Though never thought worth catching, never sought. Am I still hid? then let whoever tries To see me, give it up, and shut his eyes.
400. Can you find out the names of the Broadway musical made from the following (may be a book or play):
Breath of Spring
401. Need to know the first electric sign in Boston.
402. Who said, "And music lifted up the listening spirit Until it walked, exempt from mortal care,
Godlike, o'er the
clear billows of sweet sound"? |
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updated 09/07/2003