Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Bonus Questions

So, I didn't actually post this back in April, I just didn't want it showing up on the front page.

This page is dedicated to questions to which I know the answers, but I believe are so obscure that no one else can answer them correctly. It's an exercise in personal amusement, because I'm quite sure no one can provide the esoteric solutions to these problems.

If you can answer them correctly, however, I'm obliged to award some kind of prize (maybe a release of your choosing? I don't know, we'll work it out if and when someone gets a question right). Beyond that, I'll probably bug you to talk to me about all the ridiculous ways in which our tastes coincide. There's no reason to sugarcoat this: I'm looking for friends as eccentric (scratch that, crazy) as I am.

I'll attempt to update this page continuously with new questions, so check back often and try as many times as you like to speculate on these mysteries.

EDIT: You must supply a name with your answers. No prizes for Anonymous.

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Question One: Answered



What is strange, interesting, or worthy-of-note in the beginning of the first track of the Disgaea 2 Arranged soundtrack?

Edit: Hint #1

You're going to need a pretty good grasp of modern Jazz to answer this question, particularly that of the Latin Jazz movement in the 1970s. I've left clues elsewhere. I admit they aren't the most obvious, but if you're looking, you'll spot them.

Edit: Hint #2

The first four seconds is really all you need to hear.

Correct Answer: The first four seconds of the extended version of Sinful Rose, as found in the Disgaea 2 Arranged album reveal that the song is based on Chick Corea and Return to Forever's 1971 Latin Jazz composition 'Spain.' As such, the melody of Sinful Rose forms a sort of cadence with Spain, putting a very interesting twist on the entire tune. Winner: Viral

(Seriously, I never expected this to be answered correctly)

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Question Two: Answered

In my mind, this one is a lot easier. Any self-respecting nerd, well versed in our vibrant subculture should have a decent shot at answering this one. The prize for this won't be as big as if you can answer Question One, but all the same. Prizes abound.



What do these nine images have in common? And you're going to need to be very specific.

Correct Answer: All characters are voiced by John DiMaggio (fourth image). Winner: Kratos

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Question Three:

This one is definitely more obscure than identifying the representatives of John DiMaggio, but not quite as bad as figuring out the answer to Question One. It's worth a real prize though, I'd say anything short of Vrtra or the Celsius (though the Celsius is obviously on the project list).

...actually, having thought about it for a few minutes, answering this in full detail is just as difficult as answering Question One. Good luck >_>


I have a Pandora Radio station entitled "Peanuts for Goethe." Please explain the name as completely as possible (there are quite a few details that go into this, also you're going to want to have a listen to the station).
Be careful though, the peanuts may make Goethe a little dizzy.

(Sorry about the picture, anything more relevant would've given part of it away.)

Edit: Hint #1

First you're going to need a good grasp of Jazz history and the main genres.

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Question Four: Answered

This is another one that I find funny because it's so God damn nerdy of me to have thought up.



What do these two men have in common?
(You're going to need to know some philosophy for this one)

Correct Answer: Both Democritus and Exdeath are known for their focus on (or even obsession, in the case of Exdeath, with) the Void. Winner: Sabekio

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

regretfully i can say i haven't the slightest idea what you are looking for.

Dornon said...

They are all male things.

Mr. K said...

Going to need to keep guessing.

Kratos said...

For question 2, is that they're all voiced by John DiMaggio?

Mr. K said...

Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
Honestly, I think it was just a question of who saw it first. I gauged this question by asking a handful of friends. They all knew the answer, but some of them didn't realize they knew the answer.

Anyhow, that is correct. Kimahri (FFX), Bender (Futurama, Migelo (FFXII), Himself, Sal (Futurama), the Juggernaut (specifically from X-Men Legends 1 and 2), Gilgamesh (FFXII), Marcus Fenix (Gears of War series), and Wakka (FFX) (among many others) were all voiced by the voice actor John DiMaggio.

Really I only went with this as a question because he's becoming a Square-Enix voice acting regular (hint hint, more questions may be related to this).

So the winner is Kratos, and you get to choose a release as your reward. But this really wasn't a tough one, so nothing spectacular. Send me an email or contact me in one of the instant messengers and we can discuss what kind of prize answer was worth.

VampArtemis said...

The main question of the day is... in ?4 Whats the name of the philosopher XDDDD I cant seem to find him

VampArtemis said...

WOW I'm gonna jump all over the place answering this one... The first question is all jazz and I actually can tell soemthing's about it. LOL I noticed that the next seconds AFTER the 4sec you mentioned had syncopation in it :P Which actually sounded really cool. The main thing is that in Jazz in the 1970's they were all about Acid Jazz that was a combination of jazz with funk and hip-hop to make a new kind of jazz sound. IDK if that's a good answer but I tried my best.

Mr. K said...

For #4: If you know your ancients, the title of the image should help.

For #1: I'm cluing you in about the genre so you have a better chance of identifying a particular song.

Sabekio said...

Answer to #4!!
The philosopher there is named Democritus. He has this Void Hypothesis thing. Saying that movement required a void, which is nothing, but nothing cannot exist. Exdeath was obsessed with the Void because he kept saying something like "Return to the Void" in Dissidia and it was a main part of his character in FFV too. So what they have in common is their belief in the void.

I saw Exdeath and I was like...VOID!!! XD

Is that right? :D

Mr. K said...

Bingo, Democritus attempted to refute the mind-bogglingly rational theories of Parmenides with his Void Hypothesis.

Exdeath (who, for the record, I think should be called Exodus, as per his name's translation in FFXII), is constantly going on about returning everything to the void. Honestly, for a malevolent enemy, he sure is preoccupied with his own inevitable suicide.

Anyway, that's the right answer, shoot me an email or instant message to discuss your prize.

Viral said...

Possible Answer?

Is it just me or does the first four seconds of the first track (Sinful Rose)sound like a sped up version of part of Chick Corea's "Spain"
(latin jazz song of the 1970's)

Viral said...

and just so its clear thats a possible answer for number 1 (probably obvious)

Mr. K said...

Oh my God...That's the right answer. Like...holy...wow.

...

Wow

You need to send me an email or an instant message or something.



God damn...

VampArtemis said...

XD I have a bonus question!! LOL Where was the name Dissidia derived from and how is it connected to the game? >:D

Mr. K said...

That's really just an exercise in etymology. Remember your Latin roots. Think of all the "dis" words: discord, dissonance, disagreement (the list goes on and on). Dissidia is basically the result of playing with the Latin word "dissidium."