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24 November 2009

Who wants to play Boticelli? →[More:] It's the last day before a holiday. Let's play!

Previous thread here, for a refresher or as a crash course for anyone who hasn't played before.

The basic rules are these:

-- I'll give you the first letter of a famous person's name. (Either first or last. Usually last.) Let's use the example letter N.

-- You may ask a question about that person, phrased like "Are you a Russian novelist?"

-- I will answer, "No, I am not Nabokov."

-- If you stump me and I can't come up with a Russian novelist whose name begins with an N, you get to ask a yes/no question, such as "Are you living?"

-- We keep going until y'all guess who it is.

Aaaaaaand, the letter is S. Go!
post by: mudpuppie at: 14:34 | 93 comments
Are you a man?
posted by The Whelk 24 November | 14:40
Can't ask a yes/no question yet, Whelk. You have to ask something like "Are you a fibbity who dances the tango?" (Only make it intelligible.) And if I can't answer that question, THEN you get to ask a yes/no.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 14:46
(Meaning, you have to have a specific person in mind when you ask your first question, and then refer to them in a roundabout way. Sorry for not making that clear.)
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 14:47
Are you an elderly, cranky Broadway legend?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 24 November | 14:48
Are you a classic, complicated Swedish playwright?
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 14:49
Are you a French writer?
posted by danf 24 November | 14:49
Are you a Beat poet?
posted by box 24 November | 14:50
TPS, I am not Barbra Streisand. (Hey, she counts!)

Danf, I am not deSade.

Box, I am not William S Burroughs.

Rainbebe, you stumped me. Ask a yes/no.

(Box, I guess you probably get to as well.)
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 14:52
August Strindberg.

Are you ALIVE?
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 14:56
Gary Snyder.

Are you FEMALE?
posted by box 24 November | 14:57
I am DEAD. And was MALE.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 14:57
(And now the questions have to be about dead males.)
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 14:59
Carl Sandburg

Are (were) you a writer?
posted by danf 24 November | 14:59
Danf, I came up with a French writer, so no yes/no question for you!
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:00
Are you a recently deceased conservative columnist/grammar snob?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:00
Also, Carl Sandburg wasn't French.
posted by box 24 November | 15:01
Are you Sarte?
posted by danf 24 November | 15:02
Aren't all writers technically French?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:02
Bad danf! Bad question!

AtomEyes, I am not Wm Safire.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:03
Guyz you're guessing specific too early - oh never mind, she's gonna let it go till we get it.

Were you a jealous Musician?
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:03
I am increasingly confused. I'm going to run an couple errands, but I'll be back.

Did you play at Woodstock? (If pup doesn't get this one, please give the question to rainbaby.)
posted by box 24 November | 15:05
OK. . .I obviously don't get it. I'll have to read the rules, and once I do, watch out!

(Also have a lunch date with spouse.)
posted by danf 24 November | 15:06
Box, I can think of a few Woodstock musicians (Santana, Ravi Shankar, Sly Stone), but none of them are dead.

Rainbaby, vague enough to stump me, so ask a yes/no.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:09
Were you an Italian-American anarchist?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:09
Aww. I've turned into Boticelli buzz kill. I'm sorry.
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:09
AtomEyes, not Sacco. (I used to work in the office that their lawyers worked in. The safe was still there. Too big to move!)

Rainbaby, no buzz kill. Ask a yes/no!
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:11
Salieri. I should have said classical, sorry.

Were you Greek and write a very famous work leading to Freud naming a complex after the title character in said famous work?
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:11
Oh shit, now I took box's turn instead of my own!
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:12
Rainbaby, I'm not Sophocles. And you still get to ask a yes/no. Box gave you his turn, too. It's all good!

Here's a hint, because I'm getting hungry: Early American.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:13
Did you found your own religion?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:14
Were you a PILGRIM?
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:14
Atom Eyes, no Joseph Smith.

Rainbaby, very much not a PILGRIM!
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:15
Did you assist Pilgrims?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:16
Stump me, Atom Eyes (or say the person's name) so that I can answer that question!
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:17
Are you Squanto?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:18
Oh no, wait, I'm supposed to say it. Yes, I am Squanto!

Whew.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:18
I had it! Thank you, Squanto, for all you did and do.
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:19
Huzzah!
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:20
Or is it, (Buzz Kill Baby) - you say "Yes I assisted pilgrims" and then people try to jump in and say are you Squanto, etc.

Yay Atom Eyes!
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 15:21
Thanks y'all. Lunchtime now.

Sorry that was kind of tortured. I guess we're rusty.
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 15:21
What holiday?
posted by essexjan 24 November | 15:26
YAY BOtticelli's back!!

Sorry that was kind of tortured. I guess we're rusty

Hey, we're warmed up now. Let's keep it up. Such a great game.
posted by Miko 24 November | 15:32
I'd start a new one, but I'm supposed to be working :(

However, I promise to participate if someone else wants to go!
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 15:48
I'll play if someone else starts. Being the starting-person is hard work!
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 16:16
It's almost quittin' time here, so I can't start one either.
posted by rainbaby 24 November | 16:27
If nobody else wants to start, I'll take a stab at it. Uh, C.
posted by box 24 November | 16:47
Were you born on Christmas Day?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 24 November | 16:51
Nope, I'm not Jesus Christ.
posted by box 24 November | 16:53
Are you a visual artist famous for wrapping things in ribbons and such?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 16:55
Were your last words "Et tu, Brute?"
posted by taz 24 November | 16:55
I am neither Christo nor Julius Caesar.
posted by box 24 November | 16:56
Did you write about a Yaqui shaman?
posted by taz 24 November | 16:58
No, and the degree to which Carlos Castenada is a big fraud is a fascinating and complicated question.
posted by box 24 November | 17:00
Did you famously shout "I shook up the world" on national TV?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:00
Hmm. Um, no, I'm not Cassius Clay? That might not be right.
posted by box 24 November | 17:02
Did Marlene Dietrich play you in a film based on your diary entries?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:02
Yup.
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:02
That was replying to box
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:03
You got me, taz. I've got a couple guesses, but they're just guesses, not even half-educated ones like Cassius Clay.
posted by box 24 November | 17:04
Haha! Catherine the Great.

Are you female?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:05
Are you a septuagenarian Canadian singer-songwriter now on tour to recoup his stolen fortune?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:06
No, I'm not female.

And danf, I have no idea who you're talking about.
posted by box 24 November | 17:07
Then I get to ask a question?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:08
Yup, that's correct. Thanks to taz, we already know that I'm not female.
posted by box 24 November | 17:10
Oh, danf, you should say who you had in mind with your question, too.
posted by box 24 November | 17:11
Leonard Cohen.

Um, are you currently alive?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:11
Yes, I'm alive. (I should've totally thought of Leonard Cohen. I had some kind of mental block. Thanks a lot, Gordon Lightfoot!)
posted by box 24 November | 17:13
Did you conduct a series of interviews with a 2000 year-old man?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:13
Nope, I'm not Carl Reiner.

(Just a reminder--now that we know I'm not-female and alive, future questions must be about people who meet those criteria.)
posted by box 24 November | 17:15
Are you a legendary comedian who graduated from Temple University?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:16
Did you train revolutionaries in Mexico?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:17
No, I'm not Bill Cosby.
posted by box 24 November | 17:17
Hey—Carl Reiner's alive!
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:17
Did you miss that I was alive, taz? Because if you didn't, I've got no idea.

No female, yes alive.
posted by box 24 November | 17:18
Castro!

Are you in the entertainment industry?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:19
Upon further reflection, that not-female thing seems confusing, so I will just add that I'm also not transgendered. Male male male.

Yes, I'm in the entertainment industry.
posted by box 24 November | 17:20
Are you the marginally sane, 'roided up pitcher who threw a piece of broken bat at an opposing baserunner in the World Series?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:21
Oh strike my question (I think).
posted by danf 24 November | 17:21
Do you have a famous aunt named Rosemary?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:23
danf: Whew.

And taz, I'm not George Clooney.
posted by box 24 November | 17:25
Did Stephen King write of you: "He's better than I am now"?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:25
Atom Eyes: But that could be anybody! Just kidding, ask me a question.
posted by box 24 November | 17:27
Clive Barker.

Are you an actor?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:29
Nope, not an actor. For those keeping track, I'm male, alive, in the entertainment industry, and not an actor.
posted by box 24 November | 17:30
(Danf was going for Roger Clemons, I think.)

Box, does sailing take you away to where you're going to?
posted by mudpuppie 24 November | 17:33
Are you best known as an accordian player from the bayou?
posted by danf 24 November | 17:34
Did you win an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film when you were still an undergrad at USC?
posted by taz 24 November | 17:34
Do you play a woodwind instrument in a rock 'n' roll band?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:34
No, I'm not Christopher Cross, Clifton Chenier or Francis Ford Coppola. And yes, Atom Eyes, I do.
posted by box 24 November | 17:36
So, you're Clarence Clemons?
posted by Atom Eyes 24 November | 17:37
I certainly am. Nice work. Wanna go next, or, if you're working, does somebody else want to go next?
posted by box 24 November | 17:38
Yay, Atom Eyes!

after midnight here, going to bed after I finish my tea. But that was fun! Thanks pupps, for bringing it back.
posted by taz 24 November | 17:47
thanks for playing taz, pups, AE, box, and the rest.
posted by danf 24 November | 18:43
← The divorce parody of that famous YouTube wedding dance video. || Some jokesters tricked a bunch of hapless Twilight fans →

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