3/08/2011

Got stumped today while doing the ChaCha: What year is the Firebird that Will Ferrell drives in the movie Old School? I searched and searched and couldn't find the answer to this one. Getting stumped bugged me so much that I went back and found the answer to this question after signing out of ChaCha for the night. Will Ferrell played the character Frank "The Tank" Ricard and his car was named "The Dragon". The Dragon was a red, 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

Difficulty: 5 - Stumped!

Theme: Relentless

3/06/2011

Another movie question piqued my interest tonight while doing the ChaCha: What is the name of Balian's father in Kingdom of Heaven? Balian of Ibelin was played by Orlando Bloom in the 2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven. His father was named Godfrey of Ibelin and was played by Liam Neeson. This one got my attention since my last name is Godfrey. Perhaps there is some royal blood in the family, woot woot!

Difficulty: 1 - Slam Dunk!

Theme: Worlds are Colliding!

3/05/2011

Tonight's preferred ChaCha question is: When is the Smurfs movie coming out? This is one of those questions where I learned something from answering it. I didn't even know there was a Smurfs movie due out this year, but there is! "The Smurfs" will be released in US theaters on August 3, 2011 and stars my boy Neil Patrick Harris.

I remember watching the original Smurfs cartoon in the early to mid-1980s growing up. I always thought the evil guy who wanted to eat the smurfs was called "Garganel" but it turns out his name is actually "Gargamel", so I actually learned two things by answering it.

Difficulty: 2 - Ho Hum

Theme: Educational

3/04/2011

I am a total baseball and statistics geek so even the toughest baseball questions don't phase me. I got one of those tonight: What is the Cubs projected 2011 opening day lineup? Luckily, I knew right where to find a depth chart for the Cubs online but it still left me with a lot of typing to do, and some of those names aren't that easy to spell.

Left Field - Alfonso Soriano
Center Field - Marlon Byrd
Right Field - Kosuke Fukudome
Third Base - Aramis Ramirez
Short Stop - Starlin Castro
Second Base - Blake De Witt
First Base - Carlos Pena
Catcher - Geovany Soto
Pitcher - Ryan Dempster

As a die hard Boston Red Sox fan I was very happy to see the Cubs pick up Carlos Pena and Matt Garza. I like Pena but he seems to hit about .500 against the BoSox who are his hometown team. He grew up in Mass. and attended Northeastern. I dislike watching Garza because he spits between every pitch, sometimes multiple times. It is monumentally disgusting to watch him pitch a game.

Difficulty: 4 - Very Challenging

Theme: Baseball Rocks

3/03/2011

Quite often one ChaCha inquiry leads to a follow up question by the same user. We normally have a history of the customer's recent questions which can help figure out what they are asking about when it isn't entirely obvious. Otherwise things can get kind of confusing. The recent history saved me from getting stumped tonight: Who plays Glen Davis in the episode School Dance? I was able to deduce that they were asking about an episode of Zoey 101 based on their recent question history. It turns out that Asher Book played the role of Glen Davis in the Zoey 101 episode titled "School Dance". It was his only appearance on the show.

Difficulty: 3 - Fully Engaged

Theme: Feeling Sleuthy

3/02/2011

Nothing overly exciting today so I will go with this inquiry: Who did Don Rickles play in the Gomer Pyle TV series? Don Rickles appeared on just one episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He played Sergeant Jim Mason on the episode titled "My Buddy, The War Hero" which aired on March 12, 1965. Don Rickles show biz career started way back in 1955 and continues to this day. He provided the voice for Mr. Potato Head in all three Toy Story movies.

Difficulty: 2 - Ho Hum

3/01/2011

Some ChaCha inquiries need to be researched or interpreted before you can answer them. I got one of those tonight: What band is Ridge in from the Bold and The Beautiful? The first step here is to find Ridge's real name. The character Ridge Forrester is played by the actor Ronn Moss. Ronn Moss was indeed in a rock n roll band before he got into acting. He played bass and sang vocals for the 1970s band Player. Their big hit was "Baby Come Back" which went to #1 for three weeks in early 1978.

Difficulty: 3 - Fully Engaged

2/26/2011

One of the beautiful things about ChaCha is that you learn things, whether you want to or not. Tonight I got a question about when Casimir Pulaski Day is in 2011. Offhand, I had nothing so I began to search the net and surprisingly found the answer right away. It turns out that Casimir Pulaski was a war hero from the US Revolutionary War. He was born in Poland and contributed mightily to our victory by training our soldiers and cavalry. As a result of his heroics the first Monday of each March is designated as Casimir Pulaski Day in the state of Illinois. This year it was celebrated on March 7th.

Difficulty: 2 - Ho Hum

2/25/2011

I got a question tonight about whether "Ramble On" is a song by Led Zeppelin. The answer of course is yes. "Ramble On" is on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin 2. It is the second track and is 4:23 in duration. The reason I picked this question as my favorite for the day is because a Led Zeppelin song was playing on my radio as I answered it. It wasn't "Ramble On" playing but I still thought it was a pretty random happenstance.

Difficulty: 1 - Slam Dunk!

2/24/2011

I got a question tonight about what half marathon Todd Faulkner is training for. "Uh,oh" I thought, "another lonely guy is asking a question about himself". But that thought turned out to be totally wrong. Todd Faulkner is actually a TV reporter who works for WPSD, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Kentucky. Todd is a sports reporter and even has a regular series called Todd's Get Fit Reports about eating and living healthy. He started the series in 2009 and has lost 55 pounds and 10 inches from his waist while doing it. He is indeed training for an upcoming half marathon, the Paducah Iron Mom Half Marathon on May 7, 2011. Color me impressed!

Difficulty: 3 - Fully Engaged

2/22/2011

Every so often you get a question that has stumped a previous guide but is so important that it's immediately asked again so you get a chance to find the answer they couldn't. I got one of those tonight: Where was Babe Ruth's first home run hit?

This one took some digging but I eventually determined that the Babe's first home run occurred on May 6, 1915 when he played for the Boston Red Sox. Fittingly, the team they played that day was the New York Yankees and the game was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Yay me!

Difficulty: 4 - Very Challenging

2/21/2011

Got a question tonight about the length of a high school hockey period in Minnesota. I did not realize that high school hockey games are shorter than college or professional hockey games but they are, at least in Minnesota they are. All varsity games, both boys and girls, consist of three 17-minute periods there. Junior varsity periods can be anywhere from 15 to 17 minutes long by mutual agreement. College, pro, and international games consist of three 20-minute periods in case you were wondering.

Difficulty: 3 - Fully Engaged