Quintessence

Thread Games
261

Salad

  • people eat it even if they aren’t vegetarian
  • also vegan if you prepare it right
  • first thing people think of eating when they “cut out meat”
  • also represents the low calorie feature people think of with vegetarianism

Next Up:

Quintessential PC Adventure Game

262

Minecraft

  • 2nd highest selling video game behind Tetris
  • has won multiple awards
  • spawned merchandise toys and Legos
  • considered a CAD app for purposes of designing structures
  • does not require complicated controller sequences for successful gameplay

next: in recognition of the recent cold snap, quintessential film or TV show that takes place in winter weather

263

Frozen

-The title alone says it all
-Based on a classic Hans Christian Anderson story
-Extremely well done
-Great soundtrack
-Inspired a Broadway musical

Quintessential Hans Christian Anderson story

264

The Emperor’s New Clothes

  • has become a common idiom
  • has ramifications for adults and kids
  • just a very far reaching story, much more than his others

Next up:

Quintessential Discworld book

265

Hogfather

–A perfect balance of standing on its own as well as adding nice touches for those who are familiar with the rest of the series.
–Also a balance between the darker elements of the series and the more lighthearted parts.
–DEATH, ONE OF PRATCHETT’S BEST CHARACTERS, WHO EVEN CROSSED OVER INTO GOOD OMENS, IS THE MAIN PROTAGONIST.
–Death, who evolved over the series to become one of the greatest defenders of life, once again gets an opportunity to preserve something that is important to the living, even though he doesn’t quite “get it”.
–Death finally gets to stick it (literally) to the Auditors–his bosses–who hate life and would prefer the entire universe extinguished.
–Ranked 137 in the most beloved British books of all time
–Adapted into a TV miniseries

Quintessential Christopher Guest film

266

This is Spinal Tap

  • first of many improvisational mockumentary films that became his forte
  • memorable lines such as “Volume 11” and “He choked on vomit. It was somebody else’s vomit at the time”
  • showed his talent as a musician and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to any role

next: Quintessential Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy moment

267

The moment when the smartest computer in the universe announces that “42” is the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

  • one of the most poignant moments of absurdism in modern literature/entertainment
  • pokes fun at that most serious of human occupations - philosophy
  • the fact that most readers are probably aware that the correct answer to the question is in fact “43” underscores the absurdism

Quintessential resulting aftereffect of colonialism

268

Rwandan Genocide

  • German and Belgian rule established the minority Tutsis as the ruling class
  • Hutus rebelled and killed over half a million Tutsis and Twa in 1994
  • Rwanda declared independence and established Hutu rule
  • tens of thousands of Rwandan refugees still live outside the country

next: Quintessential misspelling

269

Alot for a lot.
– It’s annoying to see but people use it a lot.
– People conflate the spelling “a lot” with another word “allot.”
– Autocorrect should show that it’s wrong a lot.
– A lot of people throw their lot with alot.

Next: Quintessential natural disaster

270

Earthquakes

-Cannot be predicted
-Happen everywhere
-Cause incredible damage
-Cause incredible loss of lives
-Can also cause a tsunami, leading to more damage

Quintessential TV crime drama series

271

Dragnet

  • first of its kind: was originally a radio drama, then adapted to TV
  • established the TV detective as a diligent, no-nonsense public servant
  • model for future procedural shows
  • “Names were changed to protect the innocent” still used in conversation

next: Quintessential personality that embodies wisdom

272

Merlin
– “Wise wizard” character who predates Gandalf, Yoda, and Dumbledore
– Appears in the Arthurian Legend and medieval Welsh poetry.
– Featured in numerous storied including movies based on Arthurian fiction, television shows, books, comic books, and other movies that require a wise wizard from the Great Britain area.

Next: Quintessential underdog character

273

Rocky

  • series of movies that are all about the underdog conquering ostensibly superior opponents
  • Rudy was only the one movie
  • David didn’t have to get his face all smashed and broken when he beat Goliath
  • the cartoon Underdog didn’t have abs

next: Quintessential road trip

274

Chicago to LA

  • time honored road trip dating back the time when Route 66 was the route
  • it’s a nice loooong trip through several different types of environments
  • famously depicted on film
  • Sure it’s not all about the destination… but, yeah, it’s really all about the destination.

Quintessential blue collar job

275

ditch digging

  • old saying, “the world needs ditch diggers too”
  • type of job that can be given to newest worker without looking too oppressive
  • gets hands dirty, mark of a real man

next: Quintessential mountain range

276

Rocky Mountains

-Largest USA/Canadian range
-Nickname of The Rockies used for sports teams
-Rocky, a common name and film series
-Rocky Mountain High, John Denver’s most favorite song

Quintessential Wild West outlaw

277

William H. Bonney “Billy the Kid”

  • killed eight men
  • was a cattle rustler who fought in the Lincoln County War
  • was captured by the law and escaped
  • shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett
    Quintessential activity associated with hippies in the 1960’s
278

Smoking weed, man

-The whole drug culture thing
-Gave Cheech & Chong a career
-Lead to a lot of changes in stupid drug laws
-People realized that marijuana does not always lead to other drugs
-We all toked, and very few people committed crimes to do it.
-Now considered arelatively harmless, recreation drug. FINALLY!

Quintessential activity associated with rappers

279

Getting shot and killed

  • over 40 rappers suffered that fate since 1987
  • notable homicides include Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jam Master Jay, and XXXTentacion
  • before 2000, 5 of those murders took place in NYC

Quintessential musician not of Earth

280

Sun Ra

  • claims to have psychically travelled to and interacted with beings on Saturn
  • sometimes the term ‘avant garde’ gets thrown out lightly. Not so in connection with this dude

Quintessential service organization