Whenever someone successfully defends their doctoral thesis at our research lab, we throw them a big party and play games. The games usually involve slides-based quizzes and challenges, such as PowerPoint Karaoke. We try to theme the games around the new doctor’s personal and/or research interests.
My colleague Lucie is next up to defend her thesis. Lucie is doing her doctorate in computational linguistics, and she is a big fan of painting, poetry, music (especially hard rock and heavy metal), and physics. I’ve volunteered to create a game. But I need help!
I’ve settled on a game of puns. I want to take the names of famous painters, poets, musicians, and physicists, and “punnify” them by substituting a similar-sounding word for the first or last name. (Or if the first or last name already sounds similar to the first or last name of some other famous person, I might combine the two names.) For each modified name I’ll then photoshop an illustration and put it on a slide. Lucie’s job will be to guess the pun for each slide.
Example slides:
[ul]
[li]A narwhal wearing glasses and a floppy silver wig. The answer is “Andy Narwhal” (a pun on “Andy Warhol”).[/li][li]A lemon wearing granny glasses. The answer is “John Lemon” (a pun on “John Lennon”). [/li][li]The painting “The Kiss” with Clint Eastwood’s face superimposed over the woman’s. The answer is “Klimt Eastwood” (a pun on “Gustav Klimt” and “Clint Eastwood”).[/li][/ul]
Anyone have ideas for any more? (I’d be happy to credit you at the end of the game!)
A lovely card I got many years ago featured railroad tracks slightly too short to meet each other with two fastening spikes lying on the ground beside them.
You didn’t mention cineastic art, but if we allow for it, I would suggest a triple: this rhino, on rollerskates, slowly bumping down the stairs of a funnel-shaped structure like an amfitheatre.
Is that you? I gave someone a similar card around 30 years ago. I don’t remember exactly what the picture was, something like your description, only it was set in France, and the caption was “Too loose, le track.” If I remember correctly.
A lunch counter with melting clocks everywhere (Salvador Dali/Deli)
-A Van Gogh self-portrait with goat facial features added (Vincent Van Goat)
-A persimmon with Gene Simmons demon makeup (Gene Persimmons)