I was recently asked to take an exam in order to earn a position on the news team which gives hourly live updates. Out of sheer boredom I sent 10 of the 25 questions to Ms. Nicki Hulec to give her something to do when she should have been working. Those 10 questions along with her answers are posted below. Some answers are actual attempts, while other's were just damn entertaining.
1. What is the job of Jose Manuel Barrosso?
Jose Manuel Barrosso is the keeper of the book of secrets.
2. How many countries are in the United Nations? How many in the Security Council? How many permanent? What are their powers?
There are 28 countries in the United Nations, 15 in the Security Council, all are permanent, and their powers are that of levitation, x-ray vision, super strength, and fist of Buddha
3. Who are the members of the G8?
The G8 is a notorious street gang that started in the Bowery district in NYC. Their name is derived from the original crew whose names were George, Gavin, Gerald, Gary, Gus, Gargimel, Gibson, and Goliath.
4. Elections are held every __4__ years for the _______Bundestag____ (Bundestag or Bundesrat) and there are currently 145_____ seats there. (145, 234, or 614)
5. Robert Mugabe is the president of what country.
South Africa
6. China's Hu Jintao and Japan's Shinzo Abe had a meeting. What are the surnames of the two men?
Smith
7. What team won the Bundesliga last season?
FC Munchen
8. What is the Kosovo?
A dance similar to the Macarena in style, but is intended to bring about the end of the world. It’s globally banned for said reason.
9. Where are Janjaweed militias located?
Sierra Leon
10. Who is the title and name of the head of the United Nations?
This one I knew, but have forgotten.
Now for all of you super geeks, like Paige (see that Paige, I put you in here) who want to know the real answers, here they are:
1. What is the job of Jose Manuel Barrosso?
Jose Manuel Barrosso is the President of the European Council.
2. How many countries are in the United Nations? How many in the Security Council? How many permanent? What are their powers?
There are 192 countries in the United Nations, 15 in the Security Council, 5 are permanent, and the 5 permanent members have veto power over any SC resolution.
3. Who are the members of the G8?
The United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, the Russian Federation, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
4. Elections are held every __4__ years for the _______Bundestag____ (Bundestag or Bundesrat) and there are currently ___614__ seats there. (145, 234, or 614)
5. Robert Mugabe is the president of what country.
Zimbabwe
6. China's Hu Jintao and Japan's Shinzo Abe had a meeting. What are the surnames of the two men?
Hu and Abe
7. What team won the Bundesliga last season?
VfB Stuttgart
8. What is the Kosovo?
The Kosovo is a province of Serbia which has declared itself as an independent republic. It has an Albanian majority.
9. Where are Janjaweed militias located?
Sudan
10. Who is the title and name of the head of the United Nations?
Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon
Ok, so how many did you get right? If you have come up with more entertaining answers than Nicki, which is, let's face it, highly unlikely, kindly email them to me at themadox31@hotmail.com.
26 July, 2007
28 April, 2007
What's in a name?
I've had a lot of trouble with my name throughout my life. Born as the first son to middle class Americans it was only natural that they would want to pass on my father's nomen to me. However, they seemed to have messed up somewhere. For instead of given my my father's full name, which is Mark Dennis Mattox, they decided to mix it up a bit by giving me a different middle name. This is all well and good, but then they took it a step further and decided that not only would I get a different middle name than my father, they would use it to refer to me for the rest of my life.
This worked out okay for me up until about the age of 14, when I felt I should rebel. Every year up to that point was the same. The first day of school would come and the teacher would read out our names, saying, "Now if any of you prefer to use a middle name or a shortened version just make sure and tell me." And every year they would get halfway through the class and say, "Mark Mattox?" And I would reply, "I go by Ryan." I just had to be different. There were only ever 2 or 3 other kids who would want to be called something else, and even then it was usually just a Jake instead of Jacob, or Tom instead of Thomas. No one went by their middle name.
So when 6th grade rolled around I decided to challenge the status quo. Mr. Geyer went through the names, marking down abbreviations. When he got to me I simply said, "Here". There was an audible gasp in the room. Everyone there except for poor, unknowing Mr. Geyer, had always known me as Ryan. My decision to claim my birth name flew in the face of everything they had ever known. Throughout the day I was asked countless times why I did it. I never really had a good answer. I'm not sure that I have one now.
A year later, the first day of 7th grade, there was a palpable tension in the room when Mrs. Hartmeyer came to my name. She had always known me as Ryan, having taught 3rd grade at the the first elementary I attended before moving to the middle of nowhere. So instead of saying my name and looking around the room she simply said, "Mark, oh wait, no, you're Ryan, and I see that you're here." And just like that I was back to being Ryan, and I stayed Ryan until I graduated from High School.
It was as Ryan that I went off to college, but that soon changed. I tried to maintain my identity, but when the class size grows from 30 to 150 it becomes a little difficult to convince people that you're name isn't the one they have on their roster. It would have been simpler if I had been named Marcus and wanted to be called Mark. That they would have understood, but to be named Mark and want to be called Ryan was just ludicrous. So I gave up. I became a Mark and embraced it.
Most of my friends now know me as Mark. My boyfriend has never called my anything other than Mark. Though there is an interesting phenomenon among both my friends and relatives. When my relatives speak to my friends they refer to me as Mark, but when my friends speak to my relatives they refer to me as Ryan. It's almost as if everyone sub-consciously goes out of their way to make those around them more comfortable.
After moving to Germany my name didn't change, but the way it is pronounced did. I was no longer Mark Mattox, pronounced Maddox, no I had become Mahrk Mat-tox. And not just Mahrk Mat-tox, but Herr Mahrk Mat-tox. It got to the point that when I would have to say my name to a German I would just give in and pronounce it like they do, if only to facilitate spelling. My German boyfriend has managed to get it right, so maybe there's hope for the rest of the country.
Since becoming a journalist my name has changed even more. When the hosts read my name on the air it always ends up coming out as Mark Mat-tox. So I changed the way it is spelled in the leads that they read. When they, as well as other people, don't have my name right in front of them, they often call me Matt or Mike. Matt I can understand because of my last name, but Mike? Really? Recently I wrote a story about the scandal at Siemens. A Dutch woman, who speaks English like an odd mix between a Brit, an Aussie, and a New York socialite said that following sentence: "The scandal comes on the heels of the departure of CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. Max Mattox has the details."
Max?
Max?
My name was right in front of her face! This is just getting out of control.
This worked out okay for me up until about the age of 14, when I felt I should rebel. Every year up to that point was the same. The first day of school would come and the teacher would read out our names, saying, "Now if any of you prefer to use a middle name or a shortened version just make sure and tell me." And every year they would get halfway through the class and say, "Mark Mattox?" And I would reply, "I go by Ryan." I just had to be different. There were only ever 2 or 3 other kids who would want to be called something else, and even then it was usually just a Jake instead of Jacob, or Tom instead of Thomas. No one went by their middle name.
So when 6th grade rolled around I decided to challenge the status quo. Mr. Geyer went through the names, marking down abbreviations. When he got to me I simply said, "Here". There was an audible gasp in the room. Everyone there except for poor, unknowing Mr. Geyer, had always known me as Ryan. My decision to claim my birth name flew in the face of everything they had ever known. Throughout the day I was asked countless times why I did it. I never really had a good answer. I'm not sure that I have one now.
A year later, the first day of 7th grade, there was a palpable tension in the room when Mrs. Hartmeyer came to my name. She had always known me as Ryan, having taught 3rd grade at the the first elementary I attended before moving to the middle of nowhere. So instead of saying my name and looking around the room she simply said, "Mark, oh wait, no, you're Ryan, and I see that you're here." And just like that I was back to being Ryan, and I stayed Ryan until I graduated from High School.
It was as Ryan that I went off to college, but that soon changed. I tried to maintain my identity, but when the class size grows from 30 to 150 it becomes a little difficult to convince people that you're name isn't the one they have on their roster. It would have been simpler if I had been named Marcus and wanted to be called Mark. That they would have understood, but to be named Mark and want to be called Ryan was just ludicrous. So I gave up. I became a Mark and embraced it.
Most of my friends now know me as Mark. My boyfriend has never called my anything other than Mark. Though there is an interesting phenomenon among both my friends and relatives. When my relatives speak to my friends they refer to me as Mark, but when my friends speak to my relatives they refer to me as Ryan. It's almost as if everyone sub-consciously goes out of their way to make those around them more comfortable.
After moving to Germany my name didn't change, but the way it is pronounced did. I was no longer Mark Mattox, pronounced Maddox, no I had become Mahrk Mat-tox. And not just Mahrk Mat-tox, but Herr Mahrk Mat-tox. It got to the point that when I would have to say my name to a German I would just give in and pronounce it like they do, if only to facilitate spelling. My German boyfriend has managed to get it right, so maybe there's hope for the rest of the country.
Since becoming a journalist my name has changed even more. When the hosts read my name on the air it always ends up coming out as Mark Mat-tox. So I changed the way it is spelled in the leads that they read. When they, as well as other people, don't have my name right in front of them, they often call me Matt or Mike. Matt I can understand because of my last name, but Mike? Really? Recently I wrote a story about the scandal at Siemens. A Dutch woman, who speaks English like an odd mix between a Brit, an Aussie, and a New York socialite said that following sentence: "The scandal comes on the heels of the departure of CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. Max Mattox has the details."
Max?
Max?
My name was right in front of her face! This is just getting out of control.
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