Your Humble Blogger is back from a lovely week-long vacation with old college buddies and their spouses and children. Twenty-five of us in a magnificently idiosyncratic ramshackle house in Vermont. There was kite-flying, canoeing, playground trips, swimming, pedal-boating, frisbee-tossing, bubble-blowing. Cooking and dishwashing. Games, games, games: Dominion, Word-O-Rama, Clue, the Name Game, poker, Botticelli, Martian Fluxx, Dixit, Categories, Once Upon a Time, Shakespearean Charades, Guillotine. Others played bridge, Magic: The Gathering, other kinds of Fluxx, the Bean game. I’m forgetting some, I’m sure, and there were likely games that started after I went to bed (or while I was playing something else, or at the playground). And there were still, I would guess, more games brought and left unplayed than we played: I know I didn’t get to play Carcasonne or the Princes of Florence or Pandemic or Milles Bornes or Loot or Outpost or Apples to Apples, among the other ones in the big stack on the table. And I wanted to play Oh, Hell; I kept forgetting to get a gathering together.
One reason we all got along so well was that so many of us are games players. Not gamers, I’m afraid, which has a different connotation, but games players: we could be happy with Monopoly or Careers, playing The Minister’s Cat or Going on a Picnic (we did, in fact, go on a picnic and brought people with names from A through H and J, but not I, due to poor planning amongst Some People), playing Hearts or Bullshit, playing Settlers or El Caballero. While there certainly could be problems with that, as it turned out the week went very well indeed.
And now I am home again, jiggity jog, and find myself wanting to get another round of Botticelli together. I am thinking of a B.
Tolerabimus quod tolerare debemus,
-Vardibidian.
Did you paint a picture of Venus rising?
No, I am not Botticelli.
Thanks,
-V.
Did I pull a long-standing record out of thin air?
Are you probably a clergyman?
I’m going to give up on both of those—I suspect that Bunbury was probably a clergyman, but I don’t know. So that’s two questions y’all have earned.
Thanks,
-V.
Does my work provide a prelude to the consumption of (arguably) an abomination?
Did you slay three Children of Cain?
I’m trying to figure out why someone would need a prelude before eating shrimp. I mean, shrimp are the appetizer, aren’t they? I will give up Jim’s, and Matt’s too, about which I am just baffled.
Thanks,
-V.
Mine was Robert Burns, whose “Address to a Haggis” is recited before the consumption of that questionable “food” at any Burns Supper.
So let’s start with a simple question: Is your B living?
Beowulf, and I’ll wait for your answer to Jim’s question 🙂
Mine is Bob Beamon, who set a world record in the long jump that stood for over 20 years in the 1968 Olympics in mile-high Mexico City.
Is your B fictional?
Yes, I am alive. Yes, I am fictional. Which gives me the opportunity to say that for fictional characters, alive means alive at the end of the work, yes? David Copperfield is alive for the purposes of Botticelli, even though if he were real, he would have been dead a hundred years ago. Right?
I owe Matt and Dan questions.
Thanks,
-V.
Are you of the twentieth century?
Are you asking if I am (fictionally) of the twentieth century or are you asking if I am a creation of a twentieth century artist?
Thanks,
-V.
Have I been accused of playing in the absence of light?
Yes?
I was really asking if you are the creation of a twentieth century artist.
Hmph. I don’t think I can count ‘Bogus’ Ben Covington as a B. I give up.
Thanks,
-V.
Yes, I am the creation of the twentieth century.
Thanks,
-V.
Hey, I got a Barry Bonds question past you. (The book accusing him of steroids use being “Game of Shadows.”)
Oh right, question. Originally created for movies?
Oh, that book. I didn’t read it.
No, not originally created for movies.
Thanks,
-V.
The Reverend Thomas Bayes, who published early and now-famous work on probability theory, was himself probably a clergyman.
Um. I get a question, now?
Is your author/creator still living? In the case of joint creation, answer for the primary creator — if no primary creator can be identified, answer for the first alphabetically by name. In the case of corporate creation/ownership, well, a) shame on you, and 2) go with the better-known of the corporate identity (still in business) or original author.
Yes, author/creator is still alive (according to your qualifications and guidance).
So: Alive, fictional, not created primarily for the movies, a creation of the twentieth century by a living artist.
Now somebody ask an easy one.
Thanks,
-V.
Did my meeting with a large lizard lead to unfortunate consequences?
No, I’m not Matthew Broderick. I’m not certain that’s who you were intending to ask about, but I would certainly consider that movie an unfortunate consequence. Or at least my watching it was.
Thanks,
-V.
Is your car eponymous?
No, I’m not Bentley. Or Batman, for that matter.
Thanks,
-V.
Ok fine, let’s try this.
Am I a fictitious character whose meeting with a large lizard led to unfortunate consequences?
Are you a member of the League of the Scroll?
Hmmmm, I could probably think for a while and come up with a B. Princess Ben, for instance, involves a meeting with a Dragon, and if Bilbo Baggins hadn’t met Smaug (more of a worm than a lizard, but still) then the Battle of the Five Armies would not have taken place and Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror might have lived. However, I have no idea about the one you are really looking for, so I am going to give up on that one.
And I am sure I have read/seen whatever the League of the Scroll is from (unless it’s some SCA thing, which wouldn’t be fair, right?) but I can’t bring it to mind, so I give up on that, too.
Thanks,
-V.
Did I lose my horse at Tharbad?
Binabik from the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, by Tad Williams.
Are you a humanoid male? We all seem to be laboring under such an assumption…
Oh, right, Tad Williams. I read those. No, I am not a humanoid male. By the way, I don’t require that y’all’s questions match your current state of knowledge of my B; some folk play that way, but I’m a big-category guy.
Losing my horse at Tharbad sounds familiar, too, but I’m not coming up with anything. Possible Norse? Does Brunhilde have a horse? No, I’m giving up on this one, too.
Thanks,
-V.
Boromir lost his horse crossing the Greyflood at Tharbad as he sought for Imladris.
Are you a character who appears in one or more novels?
You actually had the right large lizard the first time. I was thinking of Bambi in “Bambi Meets Godzilla.”
Are you female?
Hmph. Sounded familiar. Yes, one or more novels. Yes, female.
So: Alive, female, fictional, not created originally for the movies, appearing in one or more novels, a creation of the twentieth century by a living artist. And not a humanoid male, although the female bit very likely precludes maleness, but still, best to eliminate the unlikely stuff, too.
Thanks,
-V.
As the second of six, could I be blamed as the one who started the trouble, if it wasn’t so obviously his problem?
Very well, Miss Kitten, are you humanoid?
No, I’m not Marcia Brady?
And I am humanoid, Matt.
Thanks,
-V.
I’ll certainly accept Marcia Brady as an answer to my query, though I admit that the person I had in mind was Ann Boleyn.
Did I once re-set a page of Horace, to the confusion of my enemies?
Did I have an on-again, off-again engagement with a noted newt-fancier?
Stephen’s doesn’t even sound familiar, but I’m not Honoria Bassett.
Thanks,
-V.
Adjudication–the precise answer is Madeline Bassett, not Honoria. The Honoria with whom Bertie Wooster has occasionally to avoid engagement is Honoria Glossop. Do I get a question, or is the answer close enough since it contains the correct “B” name?
Was my completion of my mother’s portrait delayed for nearly a decade?
Judges say I lose this one: I was wondering if I had the right Bassett (one of the females in those stories has a sister who, if I am remembering correctly, also is briefly engaged to Bertie), and got all confused. So yes, I owe Chris an answer.
As for Matt, I am not coming up with anything at all, so I owe another answer there.
Thanks,
-V.
Were my plans not as sneaky as I liked to think?
No, I’m not Baldrick.
Thanks,
-V.
Lily Briscoe, of Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.
I seem to be in the hole for my humanoid question, so I think you’ve already paid your question debt. My poor accounting.
Did I say yes I will Yes?
No, I’m not Molly Bloom.
Thanks,
-V.
Am I a character in Young Adult fiction?
Did you lock your friend’s dog in the bathroom?
Chris: this is actually a tricky one, and I will try to answer completely, which may give more information that I ought to give. Or misleading information. At any rate: I am a character in fiction that could be shelved in YA or not—a quick examination of nearby libraries seems to show something like 20% in YA/Teen collections, 80% in Fiction (presumably grupp fiction).
Matt: I give up, unless Marcia Brady qualifies for this one, too…
Thanks,
-V.
Was I a forgotten warrior queen?
Am I a middle manager of earthly divinities?
No, I’m not Boedicea. Am I spelling that right? Anyway, not her. But I don’t know Dan’s.
Thanks,
-V.
Sure, Marcia Brady qualifies, inasmuch as I got the character wrong. I was thinking Beezus, but in fact Ramona locked Harry’s dog Ribsy in the bathroom.
Please tell me you’re not having an angsty relationship with a sparkly vampire?
No, I am not what’s-her-name, but as I cannot remember her name (I was about to type ‘alas’, but not so much, really), you get a question.
Question for the Adjudicators and Invigilators: is Beezus really a B, anyway? Or is she a Q? I am of two minds about this, and as a Big Category Guy I would be inclined to accept it under the Madonna rule, but others may think that is a stretch too far.
Thanks,
-V.
Beezus’s first name is Beatrice, and since we’d mentioned Boadicea, Beowulf, Bambi, Baldrick, Boromir, and Binabik, I was thinking it was fair game. Of course, I don’t know that any of those characters has a *last name* per se. Also, whats-her-name’s B name is her first name: Bella; I have no idea what her last name is. Given all this as the backdrop, I was presuming first OR last name could be a B.
Did your fiendish guardian attempt to marry you in the guise of a staged theater performance?
Shoot, that’s Count Olaf, and I can’t remember her name. I give up.
In general, I play that the last name is the initial that counts. However, there is the Madonna rule, which says that Madonna is an M, not a C. If you are famous under one name, and your surname is obscure (or nonexistent), it’s the famous name that counts. Now, Beezus is Beatrice Quimby (and Ramona is Ramona Quimby, and loves making a Q into a cat, so she‘s definitely a Q), but she is Beezus, and that may make her a B.
Also: the Madonna rule may become important later in this round. Just saying.
Thanks,
-V.
There’s multiple spellings for Boudicca (unsurprisingly).
Did I write my own violin cadenza for West Side Story?
Violet Baudelaire. I think I have a question credit, which I will spend thus:
Are you from fantasy or speculative genre fiction?
I’m not Leonard Bernstein—or is this a trick question?
Thanks,
-V.
Oops, missed Matt: Yes, I am from fantasy or speculative genre fiction (with the caveat that these things are not necessarily consensus matters).
Trick question.
Violinist Joshua Bell, in the old classical tradition, composed the cadenza that he played with an arrangement for violin and orchestra of West Side Story.
Aren’t cadenzas by definition supposed to be improvisational? Admittedly, it’s been a long time since I paid any attention to classical music, but that was what my memory tells me.
Did you foil the wicked Duran Duran with your unstoppable sexuality?
Nao, you got me, and I owe you an answer. Matt, am I by any chance James Bond? It’s a wild guess, but something tells me it’s worth a shot. If it’s not that, I give up and you get an answer, too.
Thanks,
-V.
Barbarella, so I guess you’re close 🙂
Mine was Beetle, from Stalky & Co.
Outside the stories, Beetle was better known as the young Rudyard Kipling, but within the stories, he’s just Beetle.
Let’s see…
Alive, female, fictional; not created originally for the movies; appearing in one or more novels; a creation of the twentieth century by a living artist; the novel(s) would probably be classed as speculative genre fiction, and might be filed in YA.
Not a humanoid male, but given that the character is female, it’s unclear whether they are humanoid. Let’s determine that.
Are you humanoid?
Here’s one: are you more of the heroic or the villainous type?
Did I claim, “he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him”?
Stephen: I have already answered I am humanoid; take another question. This Tohu Bohu is not an ideal platform for Boticelli. Also, I still haven’t read Stalky; I keep meaning to.
Matt: No.
Chris: My lovely and talented houseguest suggests that I am not Beatrice, but she is not part of the Brain Trust, so I owe you another answer.
Thanks,
-V.
Beatrice indeed. I’ll wait for an answer to Matt’s question before posing mine.
OK, I am on the Good Guys side, not the Bad Guys side.
In addition to Chris (Beatrice) and Nao (Bell), I believe I owe Dan P (middle manager of earthly deities) an answer.
Thanks,
-V.
Well, and now I’m not sure whether you’d accept Bosley on *two* counts (question fairness and first initial).
Dan–Is that John Bosley of Charlie’s Angels? That definitely would count, and I should have guessed it. Phooey. So I owe you, Chris, Nao, and Stephen answers. That should get y’all a little closer to me.
Thanks,
-V.
OK, here’s my question:
Is the author of the novels in which I appear female?
Chris: No.
Thanks,
-V.
Oh, funny — I always thought Bosley was his first name.
Do you have a significant comic book presence? (i.e. that the average fan-but-not-fanatic of yours would know about?)
No, I am not a comic-book character (as far as I know, which I think answers your question).
Thanks,
-V.
Have I lost my momentum?
I’m going to have to give up on this one.
Thanks,
-V.
Once upon a time, cadenzas were supposed to be improvised. It doesn’t happen so much any more, so far as I know.
Hm. Are you older than 13?
For the bulk of my fictional career, yes, I am older than thirteen.
Thanks,
-V.
Are you then in any sense a grupp?
Oh, and did I once steal a sugar bowl?
Yes, I would say I am a grupp.
And this sugar bowl business sounds very familiar, but I’m not coming up with it quickly, so you can have another answer. Y’all seem to be spiraling in on it.
Thanks,
-V.
Beatrice Beaudelaire (from the Series of Unfortunate Events) once stole a sugar bowl from Esme Squalor, IIRC.
I’m considering the other question.
Could my main adversary be mistaken for a rabbit?
Er, I’m not Bre’r Bar? Although Bre’r Rabbit was (notionally) a rabbit, and wouldn’t be mistaken for one, although one could easily mistake him for a human. So unless you were thinking of Bre’r Bar, I give up.
Thanks,
-V.
Encyclopedia Brown’s main adversary was known as Bugs, but it was Bugs Meany, not Bugs Bunny.
Hmm, not sure where to go on a question, but let’s try this: Are books involving me still being written?
I’ll assume that the midnight anonymouse was a GR that I owed a question, and I will rephrase slightly: books involving you are not still being published.
Thanks,
-V.
P.S. where ‘published’ includes commercial distrubition of works by the author; you weren’t talking about fanfic, and I’m not either.
Whoops, that was me with that question, and yes I wasn’t talking about fanfic or the like.
Do y’all want a hint? Or do y’all give?
Thanks,
-V.
Or have y’all been killed by my over-aggressive spam detector? Should I start a new post for the game?
I give. *sigh*
I give.
I give, too. I stopped contributing partly because, knowing what I knew about the “B” under discussion, I couldn’t think of anyone who fit the description.
As you wish.
Thanks,
-V.