300 Carbon Credits To Fortune & Fame

We are inching closer to 300 Carbon Credits and a giant prize extravaganza, it's just around the corner. And you know what else is just around the corner? The rapture. I suggest you make peace with our Christian Lord and start flying straight, as it stands now, I might be the only Mitchievillian to even reach the pearly gates. That doesn't bode well for you. Sinners.

In order to figure out the newly revised scores of the contest, we have to dial it back to June 6 when we had our last trivia game. I remember the day well. The corn was high in the fields, there was a gentle breeze on my cheeks, the sun was shining and a local radio station played happy songs with the word love in it each and every time. Those are what we refer to around here as the *good ole days*. Yes sir.

The answers from the June 6 trivia are thusly: 1) Never 2) Rainbow 3) Pink

Shocking, oui?

Here is how the standings have been affected:

Chris Taylor --2/3 = 245 carbon credits
Todd --0/3 = 220 carbon credits
Larry--3/3 = 210 credits
Dmorris--1/3 = 140 credits
Nancy 1/3 = 95 carbon credits
Rhebner 0/3 = 85 carbon credits
Linds 1/3 = 95 carbon credits <----- VERY pregnant
Reg--0/3= 75 carbon credits
Mech Eng--0/3 = 45 credits
J.M. Heinrichs 0/3 = 45 carbon credits
Darren 0/3 = 45 carbon credits 55 carbon credits
Cudgel--0/3= 53.18409 carbon credits
Mr Fortner--30 Credits
Daily Bayonet--0/3 = 30 credits 30 credits
Fenris Badwulf--0/3 = 30 credits
OMMAG 0/3 = 30 carbon credits
Polska 1/3 45 carbon credits
Frozen Tex 20 carbon credits
Dave (new player) 1/3 20 Credits
Dino 1/3 20 credits

For the first time since the contest started, Todd has been removed from the top spot and Chris has moved right in. Not only did Chris move right in, he took all of Todd's belongings, poured gas on them, took them to the curb and lit everything on fire. He also sang showtunes while doing it.

Let's get you three new questions, each with a value of 10 points:

1) I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for much more than a minute. What am I?

2) Peter decided to walk to the local waterfall, 10 miles away. At the moment he started, his dog ran off from his side and proceeded to the waterfall at a constant 8 miles per hour. As soon as the dog reached the waterfall, it started the return journey to Peter, keeping to the same speed. The dog continued this odd behaviour until Peter reached the waterfall. If Peter kept to a constant 4 miles per hour, how far did the dog run in total?

3) At the annual dancer's ball a number of very experienced dancers performed their favourite dance with their favourite partners. Alan danced the tango, whilst Becky watched the waltz. James and Charlotte were fantastic together. Keith was magnificent during his foxtrot and Simon excelled at the rumba. Jessica danced with Alan, but Laura did not dance with Simon. Can you determine who danced with whom and which dance they each enjoyed?

I find that my copy and paste technique is pretty much unrivaled in the blogging world. I really should get a medal for that.

Good luck to all that participate this week. Even if you are not in the contest but would like to play, feel free to jump in and leave your answers. We love seeing new players, this isn't the Royal family, we have no intention on having relations with our sisters and brothers. Wow, you just creeped me the hell out.

Origins Friday

Last week, I was informed by Franky, that the previous week's MindTrap Friday was no more than a farce. Franky was good enough to point out to The Mayor that it was Tom Hanks and not Woody Harrelson that was the voice of Woody from Toy Story.

Never in the history of MindTrap Friday have we ever had a colossal cock-up like the one we had last week. I'm ashamed, I'm mortified, but most of all, I'm not horny in the least.

Seeing as though Tom Hanks was the correct answer and not Woody Harrelson, I revoke the winnership of the previous winners and have put a stop payment on the cheque that was issued to them. Therefore, for only the eighth time in MindTrap history, there were no winners....two weeks ago.

As for last week though? There was one winner: Franky.

Typically, Franky would be entitled to a myriad of wonderful gifts and cash prizes. However, seeing as though Franky thought it wise to embarrass The Mayor in front of his constituents, Franky will actually have his personal property taken away from him. He will also lose three privileged tokens, and Fenris has restricted Franky's Victory Coffee intake to just one cup a week.

Sure, Franky is last week's MindTrap Smarty Panted Winner of the Week, but not without a cost. Congratulations, Franky, and sorry for your loss.

Let's face it though, Franky will know better next time not to call The Mayor out on things.

This week we are slipping back into the Origin's game. We've always had a good time with that, why wouldn't we this week? The answer is that we will have a good time this week. Man, I must be nervous, I can't stop typing.

Let's git 'er dun!

1) Invention--The first recorded use of this concept was in early Egypt. The original mixture was a combination of honey and crocodile feces. Whether it worked or not is open to speculation, but it certainly shows the extent to which people will go to obtain the pleasures, while avoiding possible consequences.

2) Name--The world famous American military corps, was once part of the British army. It was formed in 1740, in the present day territory of New York city. At the conclusion of the American Revolution, the newly formed nation simply adopted this branch of British military for its own.

3) Name--Under certain conditions, a shaved head is a prudent head. For years, military personnel, embroiled in combat, shaved their heads to avoid problematic head lice. This particular bird is virtually bald for the same reason. It is constantly poking its head into places that breed mites, lice, and other disease carrying bacteria.

Before you go guessing that the answer for #3 is Sandra Bernhardt, it isn't, please refer to my award-winning Sandra Bernhardt post from two days ago.

Good luck with those questions, and let's see what you are made of this week. Ya, I'm talking to you, Franky.

MindTrap Friday

I went to the bank yesterday morning to exchange a little cash into some American greenbacks, and the damnest thing happened. I went to the teller and asked him to exchange $150 Canadian for American--currently the Canadian buck is worth about $1.01.32 American. I knew there were going to be fees, so I figures I'd get a little less American than Canadian for the transaction.

So, buddy works out the figures and says to me, "that works out to $147.50 Canadian, is that okay with you?" Without hesitating, I looked him straight in the eye and said, "No, that isn't okay with me, I'd like the preferred rate". And this is the part that slays me, the little bastard looked at his screen, pondered, and then said to me, "Okay, how about $148.75?" I asked him if that was the best he could do and he said yes, there isn't anything more he can do.

Isn't that bizarre? I wasn't even serious when I said I wanted the preferred rate, those words just fell out of my mouth. However, had I not mentioned it though, I would have gotten some rate that it used squarely for farmers and tourists or something. Just something or you to think about the next time you exchange money.

We had a lot of participants last week, yet we only had two winners. Folks, I'd like to introduce you to dmorris and The Daily Bayonet. They are Mitchieville's Smarty Panted Winners of the Week.

You may not have heard of dmorris before, but he's actually been to this site once or twice before, mostly under the cover of darkness. I hear that he hails from British Columbia and he seems like a decent fella. You all know The Daily Bayonet, he's been here thousands of times, leaving great comments, participating every week, and just being an all-around super dooper kind of guy.

Congratulations, I am so proud of both of you. If you were here with me right now I would squeeze your cheeks and say something to the effect of, "Momma so proud of you". And it's true, momma is so proud of you, with me being your momma.

As for this week, I am offering up four questions, MindTrap questions. You are killing the Origins, in a positive way, of course. You seem to need something harder, something that will stretch the limits of your gray matter. I have chosen four questions this week because I believe I have already asked one, possibly two, of these questions before.

Without further ado, let's git 'er dun!

1) A new medical building containing 100 offices has just been completed. Hardy Pyle was hired to paint the numbers. 1 to 100 on the doors,. How many times will Hardy have to paint the number nine?

2) I am a man. If Jason's son is my son's father, what relationship am I to Jason?

3) Something extraordinarily unusual happened on the 6th of May, 1978 at 12:34 p.m. What was it?

4)How would you rearrange the letters in the words new door to make one word? Note: There is only one correct answer.

Good luck with that pile of crap I just unloaded on you, it will be fun to see what you came up with.

New players are welcome and even encouraged. Regular participants are cherished and admired. Basically, anyone who plays will be rewarded with riches beyond their imagination. That's if you imagine riches as not in a monetary form but in a verbal form from The Mayor of the 49th fastest growing community in N.E. Durham Region, Ontario, Canada, North America, The World, The Universe.

MindTrap Friday

I was at Timmy's yesterday ordering a steeped tea, and I was lined up behind two ladies at the counter. Just for the record, they were ordering coffees, donuts, and bagels with cream-cheese--they could ill afford to, but that's another story. They were both wearing long black jackets and, if I had to guess, were secretaries, or worked in a capacity similar to that.

Since they were in front of me, my view was of their backs. And it made me chuckle when I saw, that on both their backs, were dusty footprints--dozens of them. It looked as if someone took both ladies jackets and did an Irish jig on them with dirty shoes. It's funny enough to see one or two dusty footprints on someone's jacket, but honest to Allah (pbuh), there were dozens.

Playing Origin's won't get you stepped on, no siree. Playing Origin's will get you respect and adoration from fans, bloggers and commencers' alike. While you may not get stepped on, you may do some stepping on. YES, did you see how I brought that all around? That, my friends, is the mark of a professional blogger.

Jonmas, Reg, Andy, the pregnant Linds, rhebner, Polska, dmorris, JANOOSA (via email) and Nancy were all so very tuned in last week and are all declared Mitchieville's Smarty Panted Winner(s) of the Week.

While i can't give you an all expense paid vacation to the Carribean with $2500 spending cash (Fenris is very tight with city funds), I can offer you this: My congratulations. And when all is said and done, that's what really matters. Yup. A whole bunch.

Here are this week's questions--

1) Cliché--During the 1930's, this term was coined for use in an advertising campaign. The premise behind the term, was that regular use of their product each morning, would prevent this from happening in the late afternoon.

2) Custom--This tiny crustacean, the murex sea snail, has a spiny shell that contains a substance ideally suited as a base for dyes. This discovery was made by a Phoenician who turned this knowledge into one of the most lucrative trading goods. This dye was used to colour cloth and this colour was originally word exclusively by royalty.

3) Word--The concept of this outdoor bazaar originated in Paris, and shortly after spread throughout Europe. It was a collection of second hand clothing, curious and antiques at fire sale prices. The name suggests the merchandise would attract everything from paying customers to insects.

The second question is sure to cause fits, but I'm confident most of us will get #1 and 3.

Good luck to all this week, I look forward, as always, to all your answers. I also encourage anyone that has been straddling the sidelines to jump right in and play. We are a happy bunch of guys and gals that welcome all new players. Well, most of us are happy, some of us not so much, but overall it should be a great experience for you. Or not. I'm not Julie McCoy, this isn't the Love Boat. Pervert.

Origins Friday

Generally, on Fridays I like to start off Origin's with a little story. Little stories put smiles to your beautiful faces which, in turn, makes you a happier worker. A happy worker is a more productive worker, and a more productive worker puts more money into the Mitchievillian coffers. However, there will be no little story to happify you this week, as last week there were 10 winners, the most in Mitchieville history. Which means that I have no time for little happy stories.

Who are the 10 winners, you ask? I like the cut of your gib, or possibly jib, you like to get to the meat of the action. The Godless Commie, Steyr, OMMAG, Linds, Rhebner, JustanotherJayBird, Polska, mungman, Nancy and Andy.

10 Smarty Panted Winners of the Week. Multiple winners. Many, many winners. We don't have a podium big enough to put all the winners on this week. This is a great day for Democracy...and it doesn't even matter that the Godless Commie is here to celebrate it or not.

I've made this week's questions considerably harder, your collective depth of knowledge is hard for me to take:

1) Cliché: This expression of describing a particularly cold night comes from Eskimo folklore. During one of these cold nights, when bear skins and blankets were not enough to keep warm, it was a matter of survival to huddle up with the sled dogs.

2)Name: The name of this liquor comes from the Scottish, meaning "Water of Life".

3)Product: When this product was first launched in the low-calorie food section of the supermarket, sales were anything but instant. Rather than discontinue the item, the manufacturer placed it in the cereal section as a breakfast substitute. This product enjoyed market success ever since.

Put that in yer pipe and smoke it.

We will be starting the Origin's/MindTrap, Mensa/General Knowledge contest next week. I know I have been promising this for some time, but Fenris has finally secured the financing, and we're online, to use a technical term you may have never heard before.

Good luck to this week's participants, everyone is welcome to play. Even commies, like the Godless Commie. He's welcome to play. Bloody commie.

Origins Friday

One way to determine if you have good neighbours is to get your car stuck in the snow outside your house and see who comes to help. This happened to me yesterday and I had two neighbours come over with shovels to help dig me out. One guy was about my age, and the other lady was about 65. Any time you have one, let alone two, people come by and help you shovel out snow, you're doing well.

Contrast this with the neighbours from my moms street. When my father was alive, he was the neighbourhood snow angel guy. He would shovel out every one on the street. If someone was sick, my old man was there in a pinch. My father use to shovel out both neighbours that lived beside him, just because it was a nice thing to do. Now that he's dead, do you think that either one of those two neighbours, who both have ploughs, would shovel out my 76 year old moms drive? Of course not, why should they, my father only helped them out for 30 years.

I hope you have good neighbours that aren't scumbags like the lazy pricks on my ma's street. I hope you help your neighbours out and they help you out. I hope you all grow old together.

The end.

So, have a good day and I'll...what? Right, you want some trivia questions.

Linds (Three or four time winner), Steyr (four or five time winner), and Nancy (Two or three time winner) were all winners again. And why are they winners? Because they guessed Giraffe, Pop, and Feminine products.

That is an awful lot of multiple winners. That is an awful lot of prizes I must now come up with in order to award them to all the special people with the giant brains that play this game. That is an awful lot of frames I will have to purchase so I can out their pictures in them and hang them from Mitchieville's Wall of Fame.

That's awful.

Anyway, I'm proud of you all, for thou art Mitchieville's Smarty Panted Winners' of the Week.

Here are this week's questions:

1) Superstition--This ancient superstition dates back to the days of primitive tree worship. Trees were believed to harbour protective spirits. It was believed that tapping a tree would summon the spirit who would in turn offer protection against impending misfortune.

2) Word--This word was originally used to describe the perimeter around a military prison. If an inmate attempted to cross this boundary, he could be shot dead. Today this word is more commonly used to describe a period of time in a which a given task must be accomplished.

3) Name--The original name of this company was the Computing Tabulating Recording Company. It started out by manufacturing meat scales and punch clocks. In 1924 it changed its name. Today this company's nickname is *Big Blue*, due to its reputation as being the bluest of all chips on the stock market.

#3 is a walk in the park, and I'm pretty sure I know #2, but I'll be damned if I can figure out #1.

Good luck to all participants, may the wind be at your back. As always, we welcome all new players, just jump right in an answer away.

Origins Friday

Some people say that chivalry is dead. I hope that's not the case, I enjoy being chivalrous, it does the heart good. I do notice however, the expression on the faces of old women when I hold a door open for them. Lately it seems, they are genuinely surprised that a man actually held a door for them instead of letting it slam in their face. That worries me, it's a man's duty to hold doors, no matter what feminist piggies say.

The thing I've noticed more than men not being chivalrous (or having manners), is women that don't say thank you when a door is held for them. That happened to me twice yesterday. Mind you, I never let an opportunity pass without reminding someone that manners are necessary in a civilized society. I also happen to be scary looking and rather large, so when I remind people to mind their manners, they listen.

When a woman doesn't say thank you when I hold a door for them, I always--ALWAYS--lean into them and with a louder than normal voice say, "YOU'RE WELCOME". 95% of the time I will get a "thank you", but then there are the 5%. For those people, I wait until they are 10 feet from me and make sure there are people around them, then I say even louder, "I SAID YOU'RE WELCOME, YOU NEED TO MIND YOUR MANNERS".

Usually they will keep walking, but my point has been made. Maybe that's not the right way to approach things, but I'm not Miss Manners, I only do what I can do. Why can you not feel my pain?

The answers from last week's trivia questions are thus: 1) The general ratio of boys to girls won't change 2) Coffin 3) Oil and vinegar don't mix so she could draw them out separately from the bottle

Emily (who must be at least a 5 time winner), rhebner, kton (hehe) and the Godless Commie were all winners.

To all the winners: Although today may indeed suck the fat one for you, this is still a great day. Maybe some homeless dreg will puke on your loafers and the snowflakes will make you cold as they fall down the back of your shirt. Even though everything will fall to shit today, you will always have the knowledge that you are Mitchieville's MindTrap Winner of the Week!

I'm so very proud of all of you. If you were here with me, I'd give you as firm handshake and a knowing wink.

This week I'm changing it up a little and going back to Origins. For those of you that aren't familiar with this game, I tell you whether you are looking for a word, name, or cliché, and ask you a question. Easy peezy. Let's git 'er dun!

1) (NAME) When seeing this animal for the first time, the Greeks believed it resulted from cross breeding a leopard and a camel. Accordingly they named it Cameloparalis.

2) (WORD) This word originated from carbonated soft drinks. A characteristic noise was heard when early style bottle caps were removed.

3) (Product) One of the trickier tasks of the century would have been marketing this product. Half the world needed it, yet nobody wanted to talk about it, least of all the manufacturer! To further compound matters, retailers wouldn't stock it, and magazines refused to run ads. It finally begun to sell in stores under the "Silent package plan". The customer picked up the unmarked package, dropped off their money into a box and left the store without uttering a word.

Those are some filthy good questions.

I'm starting a MindTrap contest next week. I'm working out the final details in the next few days, and should have everything ready by next week. I'm going to give out prizes and all sorts of fun and interesting shit to you. Consider yourself blessed, because that's exactly what you are. It is like an angel is sitting right on your shoulder, but you are not aware enough to acknowledge said angel. Good job, angel ignorerer.

MindTrap Friday

I'm curious as to whether any of you other blogger types have experienced a readership downturn the last few weeks. I'm curious because I see that Mitchievillian readership seems to have gotten flat since about the second week of January. Winter blahs? Perhaps the internets is broken? Suicide at an all-time high? A combination of the three? Maybe it's just Mitchieville? Can I ask six consecutive questions and still retain your attention?

We had so many Smarty Panted Winners last week that I am going to have to construct a whole new Wall of Fame to accommodate all the new framed winners that I will be displaying this week. How many winners were there, you ask? Was there two winners? Three winners? Four hundred and seventeen winners? Yes, there were 417 winners. Now how about this: How about you start getting a grip on yourself a little bit tighter. You sound as if you're coming unglued. 417 winners. Sheesh.

The Godless Commie was a winner. Rhebner was a winner. Emily was a winner. Robert (who I believe played for the first time) was a winner. Enig-Mac was a winner. Polska (another first time player) was a winner.

Six winners. That is incredible. I'm sure if you could harness the brain-power of those six winners, you would have enough power to run my ITouch for a month.

Congratulations to the Fabulous Six, you are the Smarty Panted Winners of the Week.

It's too bad I couldn't have some kick-ass parade music start when I announce the whole smarty panted thing. But alas, we don't have the technology to engage in something so far-fetched as that.

Ready for this week's questions? Let's git 'er dun!

1) Governor Mugs loved the sight of women so much that he decided to pass a law that would ensure the birth of even more females. The law he decreed stated that every couple was to have children until they had a boy, and then they were to stop producing. What effect would this have on the proportion of males and females to the population?

2) The maker doesn't want it, the buyer doesn't use it, and the user doesn't see it. What is it? (the answer is NOT Rosie O'Donnell's Big Mac and Large fries)

3) When Mama Emily boils pasta she adds three drops of oil and two drops of vinegar to the water. While at the market Emily accidentally dropped and broke the vinegar bottle. Undaunted she instructed the shopkeeper to put both the oil and the vinegar in the same jar. How could Emily pour exactly three drops of oil and two drops of vinegar into the water using just one bottle?

And with that, another MindTrap Friday comes to a close. Always the saddest part of early Friday morning between 6am and 8:30am.

Good luck to all that play, and remember, new players are welcome. Just jump on in and leave your comment in the appropriate spot. The comment section would be that appropriate spot.

MindTrap Friday

The credit card bills are starting to roll in from Christmas, it's not the most wonderful time of the year. It's always at this time of the year that my regrets, yes, I've had a few, start coming on hot and heavy. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten mom that gold plated 40 cup coffee maker. In retrospect, maybe it was a bad idea to give the mailman a $500 gift certificate to Casey's.

Now it's time to pay the piper. Which means, now it's time to hold up a convenience store. Only problem is that convenience stores have less money than I do. I guess I'll have to do what I do every year: On the credit card bills, there's a space where you are suppose to fill in with the amount of your total payment. I suppose I'll just write in, "Eff you", and be done with it.

Last week's MindTrap Friday worked out very nicely. There were plenty of players, fun was had by over 74% of you, and one of the questions posed was rather tricky, which made for interesting, fun and most importantly, edumacational, times.

Here are last week's answers:

1) Thursday

2) A hole

3) The water level would fall

I know that most of you thought you nailed those questions like a hopped-up sailor on a hooker in a port somewhere in the Philippines, but that wasn't the case at all. We did have a few winners though, and their names are something like this...

Enig-Mac (who I believe is a multiple winner now) and CanuckJack. I had to look over OMMAG's answer thirty-five times thanks to his anti-matter comment, but the quasi-judicial panel ruled against him. sorry.

So, when all the crying is over and the dust has settled, Mac and CanuckJack are Mitchieville's MindTrap Friday Smarty Panter Winners Of The Week.

It's pretty incredible that CanuckJack, a newby to Mitchieville, can prance in here like he's cock of the walk and run away with the coveted smarty panted prize. That should be word to anyone thinking of playing MindTrap Friday for the first time. You can be a giant wiener just like CanuckJack. Oh, and Mac.

Congratulations, Mac and Jack, you're MindTrap winners and that's a fact. You are nothing short of a pack of whack, you give The Mayor a happy attack.

Here are this week's questions:

1) There is a cage at the *Electron City Zoo* that contains both peacocks and wild pigs. If there is a total of 30 eyes and 44 feet, how many of each are in the cage?

2) Captain Bumf was passing through a small town when he decided to get a haircut. There was only one barber shop in town, and it employed two barbers. One of the barbers had a nice, neatly trimmed head if hair, and the other looked like his hair had been cut with a pair of hedge clippers. Which of the two barbers should Bumf choose to cut his hair?

3) Dr. Richard Evans, the famous magician, claimed to be able to throw a ping-pong ball so that it would go a short distance, come to a dead stop, and then reverse itself. He also added that he would not bounce the ball against any object or tie anything to it. How could he perform this feat?

And that, as they say in showbiz, is a wrap. Or a rap. Whichever, I'm eating steak tonight.

So there you have it, three questions that are sure to stretch the inner-workings of your brain. Good luck to all, and as usual, any and all are encouraged to participate in MindTrap.

Origins Friday

Has this year just flown by, or what? I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I suppose the main reason I can't believe it's almost Christmas is because the malls have given me no indication that's it's Christmas.

Sure, I know it's the *Holiday season* and I get wished seasons greetings, but other than that there is no sign that Christmas approacheth.

I went to the Markville Mall in Markham, Ont yesterday and I walked the entire mall, from top to bottom, to see how many stores had the word Christmas on their signs. Out of 186 stores, exactly three gave any hint that it was Christmas, and only ONE store had the word Christmas on its window.

For the record, the two stores with Christmas signs were owed by Canadian-Chinese, and the only guy with the word Christmas on his window was from El Salvador, his name is Rico and he's a good guy.

That's depressing, isn't it? Well, don't give up hope, from here on in you should say Merry Christmas to every single person that you see. It may seem that the illiberal liberals have taken the joy out of Christmas, but they haven't, they have only awaken our spirit.

What I thought were three very hard questions last week, weren't. the many contestants had a field day and treated those questions like Ike Turner treated Tina. The answers for last weeks questions were:

1. Camp David, Maryland
2. platonic relationship
3. bogie in golf

Jack Coupal, Andy, Mungman (I use to know a Mungman from the Drunken Stepfather site), and Ommag answered all three questions correctly. That's pretty impressive, they're pretty impressive, and from what I hear, cute as a bugs ear and hung like some sort of stallion.

You, gentlemen, are Mitchieville's Smarty-Panted Winners Of The Week!

The crowd goes wild!

That was last week, however, what have you done for me lately? Here are this weeks questions:

1) Custom

Military trousers were once of such a tight fit that buttons were sewn on the outside leg to facilitate putting them on. These buttons were camouflaged by a stripe of cloth which gives a military uniform's trousers this characteristic look.

2) Cliche

For every new invention to fight crime, it's almost certain the criminal element will find a way to circumvent it. In the 17th century, criminals on the run learned to throw pursuing blooghounds off their trail by dragging a cured fish across their tracks. This cliche refers to any effort to directly mislead it.

3)Invention

It was first made by Oscar Tschirky at the Waldorf Astoria as a hangover cure for one of his customers. After arranging the ingredients, he covered it with hollandaise sauce, and as an afterthought, he named this medicinal creation after his *patient*.

Again, I got 2/3. That's not bad, in my book, 2/3 is close to 90%.

Good luck to all players this week. As always, we encourage new faces to play, we are an inclusive group, of course. Haha, just kidding, no Presbyterians!

Origins Friday

The general sentiment around Mitchieville last week was that the Origin questions were too easy. I'd like to see the good citizens of Mitchieville try to pull off that shit with Alex Trebec. "What is, Put up your dukes, Alex--and, do you think you could make the questions a little harder for me?"

Trust me on this, if you tried that nonsense on Alex Trebec, he would punch you in the throat and hork in your eye. But I'm not Alex Trebec, I'm The Mayor of Mitchieville, and I would be honoured to make this weeks Origins questions a little harder for you.

Last weeks answers were: 1) Gotta frog in your throat, 2) General Hooker, 3) Put up your dukes.

There were quite a few winners last week, plenty of people that will share in the giant pool of cash and prizes. People such as Andrew, Rhebner, Just Another Jaybird, the hardest working blogger in the universe, Steamboat McGoo, who, until last week, I never knew had a site, go visit it and give the Steamboat a little Mitchievillian love. Also among the winners are sweet Emily and Enig-Mac.

It's exciting when there are that many Smarty-Panted Winners of the Week. It's refreshing to see that everyone had all cylinders firing last week.

But that was last week, let's see what you have this week:

1) Name

This famous place was originally built for President Roosevelt during the second World War and was called Shangri La. In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name to that of his grandson.

2) Cliche

Plato once said; "The more the pleasure of the body fade away, the greater to me the pleasure and charm of conversation." Even today, a certain brand of love is attributed to that phrase.

3) Word

This sports term comes from the old English word *bugge*, which means demon. Although there's room for improvement, many weekend players are happy to get one.

Ya, good luck with those questions, that's a step up, at least in my book.

BTW-Reg will be posting the remainder of his great series, *The Week of Death*. Unlike other series which were started by me, this series is different in the sense that Reg will actually complete his series. Also keep in mind that Fenris and I will be posting this weekend, too.

So stay inside this weekend, don't even leave your house for supplies. Just hang around your computer and act cool.

Origins Friday

There wasn't a soul who answered all three Origins questions correctly last week, therefore, I declare there is no winner. Harsh.

Everyone got the first and third answers correct (Jeep & Charlie Horse), but missed #2 (meal ticket). I would award everyone the prize this week, but I feel that would weaken the game, plus, I'm kind of scared to award a prize to The Marginalized Action Dinosaur, as he's probably going to jail after writing this post. I'm going to miss the guy, he was a good shit.

I don't think that Origins Friday really caught on, I think that quite a few players that usually play, decided to take a pass last week because they found Origins to be either too stupid, too lame, or maybe they were so intimidated they didn't want to take a chance and look like a tool for answering everything wrong. Fair enough, no one wants to look like a tool. Hey, Dino, the first thing you need to do when they throw you into prison is to walk up to a really big guy and punch him right square in the face. Trust me, you need prison cred.

Anyway, one thing I have learned over three years of blogging, is if something doesn't work and proves to be unpopular with the readership, continue doing it over and over again until they appreciate your efforts.

So, welcome to Origins Friday! Let's get started, amigos:

Cliche/Expression

This cliche takes its roots from an old English cure for Thrush and Whooping cough. A live amphibian was covered in a cloth and its head put into the patients mouth. It was believed the amphibian would contract the disease, and the patient cured. Today we use this expression to describe a gagging or raspy voice.

Word

During the Civil War, soldiers stationed in Washington, D.C., were upset by their General's decision to put the hook on their visits to the *red light* district. In a curious paradox, the soldiers started calling the prostitutes they weren't allowed to visit, by the surname of the General responsible for their abstinance.

Cliche/Expression

This terminology originated with the Duke of Wellington who boasted an extremely large proboscis. His nose was so large, people began to substitute his title for the word as in; "Look at the duke on you." The evolution then turned to a man's fist being a duke buster and finally synonymous with "get ready to fight".

I'm pretty sure I got all three of those questions right, I'll have to wait until next week to find out, but I'm fairly confident I'm a brilliant guy.

I look forward to your answers, new players are always welcome, and remember to send a file in a cake to our brother, Marginalized Action Dinosaur.

I sure hope they have the internet in the slammer...

Origins Friday

I've decided to change things up this week, I'm trying to add a little spice into your life. I don't want you to get bored of the trivia related Friday's, so i have taken away MindTrap this week and replaced it with Origins, an equally exciting game. You'll be very happy with this temporary change, I can feel it, yup, you're going to be pleased.

There were so many winners last week that I'm thinking of either adding an addition to the Wall Of Fame to accommodate all the brilliant minds, or, I may have to resort to plan b--making the frames smaller to put on the wall.

That was badly worded, I'm slightly ashamed, yet too lazt to fix it.

Here are the answers to last weeks questions:

1) 9 years

2) Sid Shady was just starting to cross a bridge when he saw the police car. He ran toward the car to get off the bridge before running into the woods.

3) 82 pounds, plus the weight of the bar.

And the winners are...The Marginalized ACTION Dinosaur (again), The World Traveller, Emily, my buddy, Richard, Steamboat MCGoo (who is on fire again).

Four winners, how exciting is that? Congratulations to all four winners, you will be pleased as punch to know that you are all the Smarty-Panted MindTrap Winners of the Week.

Pick up your $10 gift certificate to Casey's and your skid of Rice A Roni, the San Francisco Treat, as you leave.

This week we are playing a little game called Origins. It's pretty much a game where I tell you the subject and question and you answer. If it was any easier we'd let the folks from The DailyKos play, but we won't, because we hate them. Let's go!

1) Name

When first introduced during the Second World War, they were known as General Purpose vehicles. For practicality it soon came to be known by this name.

2) Cliche/Expression

This phrase originates homeless being given free meal tickets for soup kitchens.

3) Name

Stiff legged, older horses were called by this name. Injured athletes frequently complain of having one.

I didn't get number 2, it was somewhat of a bitch for me, but I sailed through the other two questions.

How are you feeling? Are my American friends stuffed with all the Thanksgiving crap they ate yesterday? I'm sure you are. Remember, turkey milkshakes kick ass, and, nothing goes to waste.

Good luck to all, and to all a good night!