The Six Degrees of Separation Game.

[annecros]

   

This is so good I think it deserves an extra discretionary point. What do you think, Anne?

You should be able to come up with a good one to fill the vacant spot Pontormo!

←

Agreed. Pontormo scored one there.

[MarketStEl]

Martin Luther King, Jr., and lutefisk

Vice President Hubert Humphrey attended Dr. King's funeral in place of the president;

Before becoming vice president, Humphrey was senator from Minnesota;

Minnesota is a major center of lutefisk consumption.

←

Nice work, Andrew, though you got to it without leaving the country the way I had envisioned it:

Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964;

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway;

Lutefisk is a Norwegian delicacy (the word "delicacy" used here advisedly ).

Mahatma Gandhi and bangers 'n' mash

[hhlodesign]

Nicole Kidman and Haggis

←

1. Nicole Kidman starred in Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise

2. Tom Cruise is married to Katie Holmes

3. Katie Holmes starred in The Ice Storm Directed by Ang Lee

4. Ang Lee is Taiwanese

5. Taiwanese are notorious for eating anything

6. No Taiwanese would ever even consider putting Haggis in their mouth

Leonardo Da Vinci and Jello.

[Pontormo]

Nicole Kidman and Haggis

←

1. Nicole Kidman starred in Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise

2. Tom Cruise is married to Katie Holmes

3. Katie Holmes starred in The Ice Storm Directed by Ang Lee

4. Ang Lee is Taiwanese

5. Taiwanese are notorious for eating anything

6. No Taiwanese would ever even consider putting Haggis in their mouth

Leonardo Da Vinci and Jello.

←

1. Clever, Henry!!!!

2. What I like about your reply--besides the humor--is the fact that you actually provided six degress of separation. The challenge for this rest of us to establish more complicated relationships is on!

[The Old Foodie]

Pontormo - we need one from you in return for your Paris Hilton success.

[Pontormo]

1. Leonardo da Vinci continued the long-established tradition of painting The Last Supper on the walls of a refectory in Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, using an experimental combination of oil-based pigments instead of painting in true fresco with egg yolk, thus making the image virtually illegible only a few decades after its completion.

2. The residential community who dined in that room ate a simple, austere diet unlike the ruling Sforza family who paid for the wall painintg.

3. Ascetic diets are also followed outside of the Christian tradition, in the 20th century, for example, by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

4. The Beatles went to India to seek spiritual enlightment from MMY.

5. After his career with the Beatles, Paul McCartney recorded "Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder.

6. Not only did Bill Cosby record a parody of a Beatles album called, "Hooray for the Salvation Army," he also sang "Little Ole Man" on a record to the tune of "Uptight (Everything's Alright)." And we all know that Bill Cosby's about the Jello.

* * *

Number 1 is so detailed so you can take it from there in a different direction, though I imagine Henry wanted you to go with Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code, then maybe a public fountain in Splash and something about college students filling fountains with Jello as a prank?

ETA: Since Anne still wants something more obvious on the Hilton hotels, I'll get back to you in a few days on other obscure combinations. Fun game, Janet!

Edited January 12, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[The Old Foodie]

This is where we are at (I am "moderately sure" - if I'd known how hard it was to keep track, I might not have suggested this!)

Still in Play

Bob Dylan and caviar

Abraham Lincoln and Daikon

Thaksin Shinawatara and injera

Ghengis Kahn and Spam

Brad Pitt and Wattle Seed

Mahatma Gandhi and bangers 'n' mash

Recap of "Rules".

Two points if you get the connection in 3 or fewer degrees, one point if it is in 4-6 degrees.

If two players come up with the same degree of relationships for the same puzzle, then both get the points

If someone else comes up with a shorter path, you lose your points to them.

Extra point if you have the actual food in the actual person's mouth.

Extra point for a connection that is particularly clever (eg Pontormo with Paris Hilton and botargo) - at the discretion of the judges (annecross and me). Judges decision is final etc etc etc.

Top two contestants so far.

mallet with 12 points

annecross with 11 points.

[hhlodesign]

Ghengis Kahn and Spam

←

Nice Pontormo. The challenge has been laid.

1. In the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Ghengis Kahn is the listener to descriptions of various fantastic cities come upon in his travels as described by Marco Polo.

2. Marco Polo is often credited for bringing many things from the east to the Western world, most famous of which being pasta.

3. Pasta comes in many shapes. One of them is fusilli.

4. Fusilli was the pasta shape Kramer used to create a mini Jerry Seinfeld in the TV show Seinfeld.

5. Seinfeld takes place in New York City.

6. New York is the home of the Broadway show Spamalot, which is loosely based a quest for the holy grail, and Spam.

Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda

[The Old Foodie]

UPDATE

In Play

Bob Dylan and caviar

Abraham Lincoln and Daikon

Thaksin Shinawatara and injera

Brad Pitt and Wattle Seed

Mahatma Gandhi and bangers 'n' mash

Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda

Currently at 6 degrees, can you make it 3?

Hirohito and Grits

Lenin and Pemmican

Karl Marx and Parsnips

Da Vinci and Jello

[Pontormo]

Recap of "Rules".

Two points if you get the connection in 3 or fewer degrees, one point if it is in 4-6 degrees.

If two players come up with the same degree of relationships for the same puzzle, then both get the points

If someone else comes up with a shorter path, you lose your points to them.

Extra point if you have the actual food in the actual person's mouth.

Extra point for a connection that is particularly clever (eg Pontormo with Paris Hilton and botargo) - at the discretion of the judges (annecross and me). Judges decision is final etc etc etc.

←

Sorry, I didn't see the rules when I browsed quickly through this thread. Not that I am playing to win, gosh, I'm writing now because I am waiting for my carrots to finish steaming, but I still think it takes more ingenuity to either invent a relationship that has actually six degrees of separation or be long-winded in coming up with a riduculous series of precisely six degrees, no? < that's supposed to be batting its long eyelashes without rolling the pupils.

ETA to make point:

1. In the lunettes above Leonardo's Last Supper, illusionistic garlands hang, filled with references to the Sforza patrons, including blackberries whose name in Italian puns on the nickname of Ludivico Sforza, il Moro.

2. Jello comes in all sorts of berry flavors, including blackberry.

OR

1. Leonardo was into horses, drawing lots while designing the equestrian monument for Ludivico which was never realized.

2. Jello is made with gelatin, a substance derived from hoofed animals, like horses.

Quick, but...

Edited January 12, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

Botarga is made from dried-up mullet roe, i.e. clusters of fresh, young eggs that have aged.

One day, we will no longer have to hear anything about Paris Hilton anymore since all we care about are fresh, young things, and thus, as she ages, her fame, too, shall dry up.

BWAH! That's GREAT! I wish I had the kind of mind that did well with these things.. but I sure am enjoying reading yours!

[Pontormo]

Okay, as I ate my carrots, I came up with the following which is dedicated to Henry, and designed to be completed in six steps, though my hat's off to anyone who finishes in 2-3:

Seal and foie gras

[hhlodesign]

Seal and foie gras

←

"Scoop'a chocolate; scoop'a vanilla. Don't waste my time." - City Slickers

1. Seal is married to Heidi Klum.

2. Heidi Klum is a supermodel.

3. Many supermodels are rumored to be bulimic.

4. Bulimics gorge themselves prior to throwing it all back up.

5. Ducks and geese gorge themselves creating a naturally enlarged liver, known as foie gras.

OR:

1. Seal's third single released in the United States was "Kiss from a Rose."

2. "Kiss From a Rose" was featured in the Batman Forever Soundtrack.

3. Batman Forever starred future governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

4. Schwarzenegger signed the bill to ban both the production and sale of foie gras in California by 2012.

Tinky Winky and Sardinian Maggot Cheese!

[The Old Foodie]

Okay, as I ate my carrots, I came up with the following which is dedicated to Henry, and designed to be completed in six steps, though my hat's off to anyone who finishes in 2-3:

Seal and foie gras

←

I was just about to say - this is two foods. Silly me!

Edited January 13, 2007 by The Old Foodie (log)

[Daniel]

Thaksin Shinawatara and injera

Thaksin met with George Bush..

Bush met with Oprah..

Oprah has gone to Ethiopia where injera is a part of the Ethiopian diet..

Am I getting this came correctly?

[Daniel]

Bob Dylan and caviar

Bob Dylan has a bootlegg CD out called eating Caviar in a king sized bed...

[The Old Foodie]

Thaksin Shinawatara and injera

Thaksin met with George Bush..

Bush met with Oprah..

Oprah has gone to Ethiopia where injera is a part of the Ethiopian diet..

Am I getting this came correctly?

←

You sure are Daniel - four points to you. Now you need to think of two more challenges for the rest of the contestants (or at least one more - we got up to seven challenges somehow).

Remaining Challenges:

Abraham Lincoln and Daikon

Brad Pitt and Wattle Seed

Mahatma Gandhi and bangers 'n' mash

Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda

Tinky Winky and Sardinian Maggot Cheese!

At 6 degrees, can you make it in 3?

Hirohito and Grits

Lenin and Pemmican

Karl Marx and Parsnips

Da Vinci and Jello

[edited to add the points for the Bob Dylan solution]

Edited January 13, 2007 by The Old Foodie (log)

[Daniel]

Rick James and White Castle Clam Strips.

Edited January 13, 2007 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Brad Pitt and Wattle Seed

Wattle seed is from Australia.. On there attempt to adopt a child from every continent, Brad Pitt's child will eventually be from Australia..

or

Wattle Seed is grown in Australia and a lot of Australians would like to sleep with Brad Pitt..

[Pontormo]

Remaining Challenges:

At 6 degrees, can you make it in 3?

Da Vinci and Jello

[edited to add the points for the Bob Dylan solution]

←

Doesn't making it in 2 count?

See my post above in which I offered 2 solutions done in 2. If it's supposed to be 3 and you're not giving me props for my 6-er, then:

1) What I already said about Il Moro and the blackberries in the garland above Leonardo's fresco.

2) Blackberries are used as telephones, agendas & email devices by PC policy wonks in Washington, D.C. who are not down with

3) The way Bill Cosby is presenting himself as a social critic now that he's no longer making Jello commercials.

* * *

Henry, my man! Actually, I was thinking of an ending that included Bob Fosse as choreographer for the original Broadway production of "Chicago" and its ban, but via a route you took with Heidi Klum as a supermodel, a country singer's current girlfriend according to Wikipedia, his ex-wife, etc.

[Kerry Beal]

Mahatma Ghandi and bangers and mash

Mahatma Ghandi's goal was the liberation of india from Great Britian.

Great Britian is the home of sausage and taters known as bangers and mash.

[Kerry Beal]

Brad Pitt and wattle seed

Brad was married to Jen and now is with Angelina

Angelina and Jen (and Brad) will always have access to plastic surgeons

Plastic surgeons will make sure they never have a wattle

Wattle seed does have a wattle (at least in it's name)

[Pontormo]

Rick James and White Castle Clam Strips.

←

Does this involve Harold and Kumar going to White Castle in a movie that incorporates Superfreak in the score?

[Daniel]

Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda

The Hansen Natural Corp makes the Diet Black Cherry Soda

They are now branching out to soy based drinks..

Soybeans grew rich in Sun Tzu's area of China..

Iggy Pop and Fun Dip..

Edited January 13, 2007 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Rick James and White Castle Clam Strips.

←

Does this involve Harold and Kumar going to White Castle in a movie that incorporates Superfreak in the score?

←

I like that.. And when they finally get to White Castle I need a scene in slow motion with Fire and Desire playing too... Taking a sip of the drink "You were as cold as ice"

Edited January 13, 2007 by Daniel (log)