A Different Era Ends

This one being the era of total Blair It's Ac dominance. Thus concludes our runs on both trivia TV shows. Now don't get me wrong--there are still plenty of competitions left, and we're not going to just roll over and let ourselves get trod upon. Still, it would have been nice for us seniors to approach the end having successfully defended our title.

To be somewhat unrelated, it's almost over! Graduation is only a little over a month away. Holy crap!

Make Every Day a Tuesday! It's Ac Fact--June 2, 2009

Today's It's Academic fact can be more science-y, since science bowl tryouts were today as well. And they stole our fourth A-team member. Not good. So, today's fact: The first nuclear powered submarine was named the Nautilus, named after the marine cephalopod. It was commisioned in 1952 and was launched in 1954. The one who supervised the construction was Admiral Rickover. Nautilus is the official state ship of Connecticut and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.

Hey, I almost liked this one!

Washington Post 5/30
And why did I like it?
31A "Type of computer port" --> USB
57A "'Novum Organum' author" --> Sir Francis Bacon (It's Ac guy)
Also fun names like Khachaturian.
Did not like 31D "___-daisy!" because a) its outdated, and b) it should be "OOPSY," not "UPSY."
Oh, and I thought the phrase was "sick as A CAT," not 26A "A DOG." Horrible Histories told me so. Therefore this crossword lies!

OK. I promise to stop boring you now. More may follow Monday.

Crossword Complaints

First in what may become a series.

Washington Post 5/29
So the overall clue was "Mixed Green Salad," which turned out to mean that the four long clues were anagrams of "GREEN SALAD," with the center across word reading "ANAGRAM." It was, shall we say, annoying. Although I did like 28D "Lee at Appomattox." Figure out the answer for yourself. This is also an It's Ac fact. :P
Um. A bunch of clues that took me forever to get, and about 5 which I will admit Googling. Proud to know 42A "Get Yer ___ Out (1970 Stones album)," but that's because I'm an old music junkie like that.

BTW, don't expect complete crossword pictures, because I do these on good old-fashioned newspaper. With a pen.
And I'm too lazy to scan.

EDIT: Hey, look, you can do the crossword for yourself!
Online
Print it out

I've Been Getting Lazy...

Yeah, so I haven't been posting music features or It's Academic facts after I got back. I think I'll make the music a weekly/monthly thing instead of daily so I don't run out of songs too quickly. And there's that huge mound of homework staring at me angrily for procrastinating... *shifty eyes* As for the It's Academic facts, Eliz and I will work something out.

It's Academic Fact--May 22, 2009

Elizabeth is out for the weekend, so I'm doing today's fact as well. She requested that it be about a platypus or a cricket. So, I'm going to see if I can make it about both!

....

Okay, this phails with a ph. Fact of the day: Platypuses are born with spurs on their ankles, but only the males keep them can produce poison. Crickets....do not. There. Both incorporated!

It's Academic Fact--May 21, 2009

If there's a biology choice question, chances are the answer is either grasshopper or earthworm.

Today's It's Academic Fact

Building off of yesterday's: ex-president George Fail Bush is related to Franklin Pierce, a slightly distant cousin on his mother's side.
Frankly, I know which one looks more trustworthy.

Yesterday's It's Ac Fact

Yargh. I forgot to post an It's Ac fact of the day yesterday! So here it is:

The author Nathaniel Hawthorne, known for such works as The Scarlet Letter, The House of The Seven Gables, and The Blythesdale Romance was a friend to president Franklin Pierce. Now, if any of you can say which number president Pierce was and what years he was in office, without using Wikipedia, I will present you an invisible cookie! Oh, and you should very definitely come to It's Academic on Tuesday.

(Ozymandias is not allowed to answer, btw.)

Nuts just got nuttier!

Nuts is making progress! It now has 3 official columns and several supporting columnists. They are:

• "Back Inside" reviews by The Raconteur and eatYourOats
• "Music Notables" by Diana and EmeraldTome
  
• "It's Academic!" by Ozymandias, et. al.
  

"Back Inside" features reviews of the movies and television shows both new and old.

"Music Notables" showcases eclectic music of all genres.

"It's Academic!" provides daily trivia to keep you on your toes.

Indeed, Nuts is now on Facebook! Become a fan today!
Also to keep you up-to-date on on the latest Nuts news, we've set up an Atom Feed. Subscribe now!

We want to hear from you! What do you want reviewed and showcased? What issues do you want discussed and debated? Send us your suggestions, comments, and questions!

We didn't start the fire

As I have been reminded, it's my day for an It's Ac fact.  So I'm going to go overboard.

Everything in there.  :D  There ya go.

It's Ac Fact and Song of the Day--May 17, 2009

Today's It's Academic fact of the day:
The world is round.
Just kidding! Here's the real fact. The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953 by Watson and Crick. They received the Nobel prize in physiology for it 9 years later, in 1962. What few people know is that they in fact shared their Nobel prize with a fellow scientist named Maurice Wilkins.

Today's song is "The Dove's Return" by Aine Minogue. It has no words. It features a beautiful harp melody with Aine's lovely, soft voice humming along. This may be one of the most calming songs I've heard, and yet it doesn't get boring thanks to the variation in the melody. There's a very cliched saying that "music calms the beast within." This song is one that very well could tame any creature, whether an inner beast or otherwise.
Listen to it:

It's Ac update

Today's It's Ac fact:  Our team just had its best run in fifteen years!  You should have come.  If you did not come and do not have a suitable excuse, shame on you.  It was epic.  The previous (semifinal) will air June 20; this taping will be on later that month.  Watch it.

It's Academic Tomorrow!

This is a friendly reminder from your local It's Academic fanatic that tomorrow is the final round! Featuring Montgomery Blair vs. Holton Arms vs. Eubie Blake Taping at 10:15 AM at NBC Studios, 4001 Nebraska Ave NW DC, followed by Super Bowl. This is the first time in quite a while we've come this far, so be sure to pull yourself out of bed and cheer us on!

Props to Raconteur for mentioning McAuliffe in his post. I'll take a leaf from Schafer's book and drop an It's Academic fact of the day: McAuliffe is the general famous for replying with a single word to a demand for surrender from the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. The word? Historians insist he sent back the word "Nuts" but others contend that it was, in fact, a much different four letter word not fit for publication in this blog.