BH142: PEN and Feeling Weller

There came a point yesterday when I actually felt like I was going to collapse in a smoking, rubble-like heap and expire from sheer exhaustion. And I wouldn't have minded at all. Of course, it was my own fault, thanks to my decision last weekend to take a three-hour holiday in Norway, then further train travelling, social and dining engagements, and drinking sordid, disgusting cocktails of blackcurrent squash, soda water, gin and vodka at five in the morning.

I have, however, recovered thanks to a much-needed dose of 14 hours sleep and am now ready to take part in my 5th consecutive PEN quiz. The hardship and toil of a journo-quizzer's life! I can feel the pity surge off you like a kind of emotional electricity as I type these words.

Paxo is question-mastering and Will Self is doing the raffle. Yes, it's the kind of star-packed event where editors from The Guardian phone up TV production companies to find quality ringers to compete with the likes of me (which actually happened this year; someone told me). I used to do much better in the years when it was pure general knowledge and they had not decided to shape nearly every question with a literary bent. I may be handy with the literature know-how, but not so good when you have such giants of the craft as Alan Hollinghurst in the room. Writing geniuses with book facts practically popping out of their ears. Yet, having said that, last year also saw myself having to scoot off to Norway for my grandmother's funeral four hours after the actual finishing of the event. I was a bit preoccupied.

So hopefully, I will be on better form this time round (though the markers vexed me somewhat in 2006 with not accepting the answer "Tropicalismo" for "Tropicalia"; it's an alternative name for the Brazilian cultural movement, you ninnies).

Anyway, I have to get my suit on. Wish me luck. (You probably won't, thinking about it)

BH142
1 Condemned by critics in the US and Europe for his homophobic single Batty Bye Bye, which Jamaican reggae artist then released the landmark album 'Til Shiloh in 1995?
2 Exiled with fellow compatriots Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil in 1969, which dictator-baiting Brazilian writer, poet and musician released the bossa nova-influenced album Construcao 18 months later when he returned to his country, and is also known for such books as A Banda/Songbook (1966), Benjamin (1995) and Budapest (2003) and the plays Gota d'Agua (1975) and Opera do Malandro (1978), his adaptation of John Gay's Beggar's Opera.
3 The inventor of the Latin jam session known as the descarga and the form we call mambo, which Cuban "ritmo nuevo" 1930s pioneer won a Grammy for his 1994 album Master Sessions?
4 Which administrative capital city has an alternative name, Chuqiyapu, meaning "gold farm" in Aymara?
5 The Star Trek character Captain James T Kirk hails from which US state?
6 The acronym for which triennial worldwide test of 15-year-old children's scholastic performance is the same as the name of an Italian city?
7 The Frascati Manual is a document stipulating the methodology for collecting and using statistics about research and development in countries that are members of which international organisation of 30 countries that originated in 1948 when it was led by Frenchman Robert Marjolin to help administer the Marshall Plan for European reconstruction after WW2?
8 In football, by what English name do we know the "pedalada"?
9 Which country is home to the only historic wine region to be declared a World Heritage Site?
10 Named after the great-great-grandson of the Unknown Archont who led the Serbs to the Balkans from White Serbia (modern day Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine) during the 7th century reign of Byzantine emperor Herclius, which dynasty first unified the state of Serbia in the 9th century?
11 Created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, which new US sci-fi TV series concerns a titular "average computer-whiz-next-door" - played by Zachary Levi - who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend/rogue CIA agent that embeds the world's greatest spy secrets in his brain?
12 Born Sabri Khalil al-Banna in 1937 (to 2002), which Palestinian political leader, mercenary and founder of Fatah -the Revolutionary was widely seen as the world's most dangerous terrorist leader during the 70s and 80s?
13 Which country's stock exchange is the world's smallest by market capitalisation and is housed in a refurbished children's cinema?
14 Christian troops led by which king of Castile conquered Seville on November 23, 1248?
15 The first example of which machine began operating at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco on November 23, 1889?
16 Also known as 100,000 BC, what is the most familiar name given to the first ever Doctor Who serial which was broadcast from November 23 to December 14, 1963?
17 In 1859, which mathematician and physicist demonstrated that the rings of Saturn could not be solid or they would become unstable and break apart, proposing that they must be composed of numerously small particles independently orbiting the planet?
18 Giving his name to the 6th largest moon of Saturn, which of the Gigantes (the enormous children of Gaia fertilised by the blood of castrated Ouranos) is said to be buried under Mount Etna, whose volcanic fires are said to be his breath and tremors are his rolling his injured side (disabled by a spear thrown by Athena) beneath the mountain?
19 The football team IK Start is based in which Norwegian town?
20 First published in 1780, the Diccionaro de la lengua espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (DRAE) is the most authoritative dictionary of which Romance language?
21 Which Russian weapons designer and deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1941-50) is best known outside the former Soviet Union as the designer of the TT-33 semiautomatic handgun and SVT-40 self-loading rifle?
22 Bertso, a type of musical verse, and the art of singing it, Bertsolaritza, is associated with which historical region?
23 Formed in 1960 and including such members as Joe Ligon, Elmo Franklin, Richard Wallace and the late Johnny Martin, what evocatively-named LA-based gospel quartet is the world's best-selling such act thanks to albums like Steal Away to Jesus (1960), A Bright Side (1961) and The Truth is The Power (1977)?
24 The 1987 BBC TV comedy series Tutti Frutti centred on which "legendary" Scottish rock 'n' roll band?
25 Produced by a tree belonging to the genus Carica, which fruit is called fruta bomba in Cuba, du du in Vietnamese, "tree melon" in Chinese, Guslabu in Sinhalese and lechoza in Venezuela, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic?
26 What fruit, whose two varieties are the European and North American, is called the rockmelon in Australia and New Zealand due to its rock-like skin, and is called a spanspek in South Africa?
27 Which orchestra was founded in spring 1882 by 54 musicians under the name Fruhere Bilsesche Kapelle (former Bilse's Band); its first conductor being Ludwig von Brenner?
28 Formed in 1861 by three Norwegians, Elias Gottaas, Soren Torp and Carl Bjerknes in the eponymous "Gold Fields" New South Wales mining town, the original guise of which ski club is now recognised as the first snow ski club in the world and also carries the distinction of being the longest continuously operating club?
29 What sport is played by the Dundee Stars, Fife Flyers, Paisley Pirates and Solway Sharks?
30 What word for a type of creature can refer to a folding bicycle, the crossing point of two rails when talking about trains, and an ornamental braiding or a specific style of braiding described as "Chinese"?
31 Leader of the First Fleet, which British naval office and later Governor of New South Wales established the first European colony in Australia in 1788 at Sydney Cove?
32 The rock supergroup is made up of ex-Guns N' Roses members, Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland and which guitarist and former member of 80s punk band Wasted Youth?
33 Also the name of a Greek stone or wooden slab and, in plant biology, the central part of the root or stern containing the vascular tissue and sometimes a pith, what is the title of the Romanian-born Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag's 1994 piece for orchestra (op. 33) that is seen by some as his masterwork?
34 Who directed the following films released in the US in 2007? a) Exiled b) Away From Her c) The Host d) Once e) Brand Upon the Brain!
35 Located on the island of St Christopher, which port is the capital of St Kitts-Nevis?
36 Commander of all Warsaw Pact forces 1955-60, which Soviet marshal (1898-1973) liberated Ukraine from the invading Germans forces 1943-44 and in 1945 advanced from the south on Berlin to link up with British-US forces?
37 Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", which Italian forward and later MP (b.1943) won the European Cup twice with AC Milan (1963 and '69) and was named European Player of the Year in 1969?
38 Which Philadelphia-born boxer lost his first pro fight in 1988 to Clinton Mitchell in just six rounds; his next defeat coming against Roy Jones Jr for the vacant IBF middleweight title three years later before he won his first title in 1995, beating Segundo Mercado for the aforementioned crown?
39 Which German athlete won the men's Olympic 5000m crown in 1992?
40 Harold Salomon, Howie Hammer, Wellington Cabrera, Glen Winokur, Jesus Barretto and the twins John and Arty Randon are all major players in the history of which sport?
41 Born in Maribor (then Yugoslavia), which woman is best known for winning the 1977 French Open singles and reached the final once again the next year where she was beaten by Virginia Ruzici?
42 In which city was Greg Rusedski born in 1973?
43 Which side hammered London 52-16 in the final of rugby league's Challenge Cup in 1999?
44 Which Welshman is the only British rugby player and No. 8 ever to have played in four winning teams against New Zealand (twice for Lions 1971 and '77 and for Llanelli and Barbarians in '72 and '73)?
45 Which arachnid of the order Opiliones have very long, thin legs and a small body and are distinguished from true spiders by the absence of a waist or constriction in the oval body?
46 Chandigarh is the capital of which Indian state, part of the Ganges plain and known as a centre of Hinduism?
47 Found in the Himalayas, which large goat - Capra falconeri - has spirally twisted horns and a long shaggy coat?
48 Which Queen of France was wife of Henri IV from 1600 and regent after his murder for their son Louis XIII, leaving government to her favourites, the Cocinis, until Louis seized power and had them executed in 1617?
49 At which key 1806 battle was the Prussian ruler Frederick William III defeated by Napoleon?
50 Said to be the father of Imhotep, which Egyptian god - the divine potter and personification of the creative force - was worshipped at Memphis and often depicted as a mummified man?
51 Which genus of mushroom with hallucinogenic properties includes the Mexican sacred mushroom P. mexicana that contains compounds with effects similar to LSD?
52 Also the translator of Ruskin's books The Bible of Amiens and Sesame and Lilies, which French writer's lesser known works include Les plaisirs et les jours (1896), Pastiches et melanges (1919) and Contre Sainte-Beuve (1959)?
53 Sharing its name with a famous Persian Wars battle, which ancient city on the eastern coast of Cyprus was capital of the island until its harbour silted up c.200BC when it was succeeded by Paphos in the south-west?
54 One of the world's most fascinating natural formations and also known by the name esiKhaleni "the place of thunder", the Hole in the Wall - a 15 metre wide rock arch located c.31 miles south-east of Umtata - is located on a massive dolerite island belonging to which country?
55 Sited in Magallanes Y La Antartica Chilena, which remote but popular Chilean national park, 935 square miles in area, is named after three sheer granite towers and lies at the edge of the southern Patagonian ice sheet?
56 Approximately 6.3 miles in length, which cave system in the Caripe Mountains of Venezuela was discovered in 1799 by Alexander von Humboldt whose first cavern is named Humboldt's Gallery and is home to 15,000 pigeon-sized oilbirds (the largest known colony in the old), who give the caves their name?
57 From November to June every year, thousands of Asian openbill storks gather to breed at which red tile-roofed temple located in Phatum Thani, just north of Bangkok on the banks of the Chao Phraya River?
58 The second largest and deepest lake in the Philippines, which body of water - said by local legend to have been created by a group of "angels", though scientists claim it is the collapsed crater of an ancient volcano - sits 2300 feet above sea level and is one of only 17 ancient lakes in the world estimated to be more than two million years old?
59 Located c.7.5 miles west of Da Nang City, what English name is given to "Ngu Hanh Son" or "Mountain of the Five Elements", five outcrops of limestone each named after a Vietnamese folklord - the highest Thuy Son (water), Moc Son (wood), Kim Son (metal), Tho Son (earth) and Hoa Son (fire)?
60 The Bimini island group, known for two extraordinary underwater features called the Bimini Road and Bimini Wall, is part of which country?

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Answers to BH142
1 Buju Banton 2 Chico Buarque 3 Israel "Cachao" Lopez 4 La Paz 5 Iowa 6 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 7 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 8 Step over 9 Hungary (Tokaj-Hegyalja) 10 House of Vlastimirovic 11 Chuck (surname Bartowski) 12 Abu Nidal 13 Mongolia 14 Ferdinand III 15 Jukebox 16 An Unearthly Child 17 James Clerk Maxwell 18 Enceladus 19 Kristiansand 20 Castilian Spanish 21 Fedor Tokarev 22 Basque Country 23 Mighty Clouds of Joy (aka Bunker Hill and The Temptations of Gospel) 24 The Majestics 25 Papaya 26 Cantaloupe 27 Berlin Philharmonic 28 Kiandra snow shoe club (now the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club) 29 Ice hockey 30 Frog 31 Arthur Phillip 32 Dave Kushner 33 Stele 34 a) Johnny To b) Sarah Polley c) Bong Joon-ho d) John Carney e) Guy Maddin 35 Basseterre 36 Ivan Stepanovich Koniev 37 Gianni Rivera 38 Bernard Hopkins 39 Dieter Baumann 40 Paddleball 41 Mima Jausovec 42 Montreal 43 Leeds 44 Derek Quinnell 45 Harvestman 46 Haryana 47 Markhor 48 Marie de' Medici 49 Jena 50 Ptah 51 Psilocybe 52 Marcel Proust 53 Salamis 54 South Africa 55 Torres Del Paine National Park 56 Guacharo Caves 57 Phai Lom Temple 58 Lake Lanao 59 Marble Mountains 60 Bahamas