Captains Courageous VI: Off the Wall Quiz

Answer: "99 Luftballons" by Nena

"Nena" is the name of a band, and also the stage name of lead vocalist Gabriele Susanne Kerner. "99 Luftballons" was written by the band's guitarist Carlo Karges, who sadly passed away in 2002.

For some reason the title of the English version of "99 Luftballons," which is not a direct translation and has somewhat different lyrics, is rendered as "99 Red Balloons." Nena's members did not approve of the English version, written by Irish keyboardist Kevin McAlea, saying it "loses something in translation and even sounds silly."

Answer: Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua von Überwald

Although biologically a human, Carrot Ironfoundersson was adopted and raised by dwarfs and so thinks of himself as, and is considered to be, a dwarf. Angua von Überwald is a werewolf.

Of the incorrect choices, only one of each pair is a member of The Watch: Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, and Cheery Littlebottom. Nobbs is a corporal and the other two are sergeants.

Havelock Vetinari is the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork and Moist von Lipwig is a con artist. The other choice is actually two people: Rincewind is a wizard, and Cohen is a barbarian warlord known as Cohen the Barbarian.

Answer: James "Biggles" Bigglesworth

Johns' writing career covered 46 years, from 1922 to 1968. He had served in World War I as a pilot and was shot down and captured in 1918.

In addition to his Biggles books, Johns also wrote a "Warrels" series, a "Gimlet" series, and a "Steeley" series. The 11 "Warrels" books were about WAAF Flight Officer Jane "Warrels" Worralson, the 10 "Gimlet" books featured a British commando named Captain Lorrington "Gimlet" King, and the 6 "Steeley" books told the adventures of a crime fighter named Deeley Montfort "Steeley" Delaroy, who had, incidentally, been a pilot in World War I.

Answer: Pro wrestling

After his career as an active professional wrestler from 1953 to 1969, Albano became a manager, which he continued doing until 1995. He managed four wrestlers to championships in the WWF, and also guided tag teams to another 15 titles. Using his entertainment connections in gigs like Cyndi Lauper's videos, Albano ventured into other areas, such as becoming an actor and voice performer as Super Mario in "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!"

Answer: A Hockey Alphabet

Published in 2002 by Sleeping Bear Press, "Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet" was written by Matt Napier and illustrated by Melanie Rose. Although the publisher is located in Chelsea, Michigan, my copy was printed and bound in Canada.

The Zamboni machine is an ice resurfacer used by ice hockey teams between periods. It was pioneered and developed in 1949 for the Iceland Skating Rink in Paramount, California, by Frank J. Zamboni, an inventor and engineer who was originally in the refrigeration industry.

Answer: Monk

Tony Shalhoub plays Adrian Monk who was, in the show's plot line, a former detective in the SF Police Department until his wife was killed by a bomb Monk felt (incorrectly) was aimed at him. After suffering a nervous breakdown, he left the force. Three years later, with the help of a nurse and program regular played by first Bitty Schram (first three seasons) and then Traylor Howard, Monk becomes a consultant.

As such, he solves crimes each week in spite of the roadblocks laid by his OCD and a myriad of phobias and idiosyncrasies.

Answer: Captain John Yossarian

Believing that everyone was out to get him, so to speak, Captain Yossarian vowed to "live forever or die in the attempt." This contradictory goal is typical of the type of thinking Yossarian evolves in response to the dictates of Catch-22, a paradoxical set of rules that make his escape from military service unachievable.

Joseph Heller has said that he created the name Yossarian as a combination of the last name of a friend of his in the Air Force whose name was Francis Yohannon and this friend's Assyrian heritage, hence "Yossarian."

Answer: Jimmy Cagney

"Mister Roberts" pulled down three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Jack Lemmon was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the role of idler Ensign Pulver, who steps into Roberts' shoes at the film's end, much to the consternation of Captain Morton, well played by Cagney in another supporting role, although he starred in great many films as a leading personality in the Hollywood of the Thirties through the Sixties. Cagney played plenty of gangster roles in his career, which was highlighted by an Oscar-winning performance as George M. Cohan in 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy." He was also nominated for Best Actor Oscars in 1938's "Angels With Dirty Faces" and 1955's "Love Me or Leave Me."

Answer: Lannister

Prior to his service to the Baratheons, Ilyn Payne was Captain of the Guards for Lord Tywin Lannister. The Payne family's loyalty is to the House of Lannister.

Answer: Disko Troop

Disko Troop is a Portuguese fisherman in the North Atlantic. Wealthy 15-year-old Harvey Cheyne, Jr., is washed off a transatlantic steamer on the Grand Banks in the North Atlantic and is rescued by Troop, who takes the youngster on as a cabin boy until such time as they can return to port. The rest of "Captains Courageous" is Harvey's coming-of-age story.

Captain Troop relates that he received his name as a result of being born on his father's ship while it was sailing near Disko Island west of Greenland.