Last month was June, and amongst other things it was my birthday!

I enjoy my birthday in general and had a good time this year as well.

A big highlight are the cards from my family. It’s a bit of a thing for us that most people draw or make their own cards (I am the sad exception to this), and this year my family did a great job.

From my wife:

Apparently, she found this headline in a magazine upwards of a year ago, and has been saving it for this occasion.

From my eldest daughter and her husband:

This is, I assume, based on some idea she saw online, but adjusted slightly (with the word “never”) to make it a bit more honoring.

My middle daughter produced this, a festive Doctor Who-themed offering, featuring myself as the Doctor.

And my youngest daughter made this, which is based on a photograph of me, but re-imagined with as my super-hero alter ego (from some never produced stories), “X-Ben”, who has the mutant power of making a grain of sand appear in someone’s eye.

The little triangle over my shoulder is Iglip, a character I made up as a kid and have drawn many times in lieu of smiley faces. There is some confusion over how big Iglip is supposed to be–my daughter thought he was a tiny thing, like he’s almost sitting on my shoulder. But in my mind he’s about about a foot and a half tall, which would mean the picture is showing him floating somewhere behind me.

Anyway, they were all super-cool, and it’s funny that all three of my kids basically drew me in different levels of detail, in connection with different nerdy things that I like.

My presents were cool too. My wife bought me this used desk for me to use in my writing and other work, now that we have a spare bedroom (thanks to my oldest daughter getting married).

This “office” is beginning to be lightly decorated, including by this little souvenir from the film Doug Three Doug Two, which I directed and edited last year.

And on the wall is this birthday present as well, which is a piece of art bought off of Red Bubble, but inspired by the TV series Detectorists, which is one of my favorites.

Also for my birthday, my wife and did a Japanese cooking workshop which was really fun. We cooked a whole bunch of things, including my favorite, okonomiyaki, which is a kind of savory pancake.

Of course, one of the highlights is that everything we cooked, we also got to eat!

I also got this “Exit the Game” (little escape rooms in a box, basically).

I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve done others and I always enjoy putting a few hours into things like this.

And with some birthday money I bought one of my highlights, the Legion of Super-Heroes Five Years Later Omnibus, vol 1.

This reprints a significant chunk of one of the most unusual era of my favorite comic book title, the principle architect of which were Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum and Al Gordon. I’ll do a little summary in my forthcoming “What I did in June” post, but the quick summary is that I really enjoyed revisiting it.

In addition to presents and cards, I also had a little party with my family and some friends. That featured some delicious low-carb snacks (one of which is pictured up top) and also a low-carb lemon cheesecake made by my wife.

And later that night I had dinner with my family and watched my favorite movie!

For this party I also created a trivia quiz! Most of it was general knowledge questions, but surrounding topics of particular interest to me. I thought I’d share it here. The goal was not to make it too difficult; see how you go!

Ben’s 47 Question Birthday Trivia Quiz!

(Because 47 is my favorite number–see here for the reasons why).

Round One – Movies

Question 1 – In which movie from 2006 did Emily Blunt play a supporting character named Emily Charlton?

Question 2 – What classic film from 1942 has a title which literally translates into English as “White House”?

Question 3 – Which are the only two movies on this list which have the same director?

Australia (2006)
Dune (2021)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Ready Player One (2018)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2016)
The Wolverine (2013)

Question 4 – Which of these two movies is a collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks?

A. The Terminal
B. Hook
C. Captain Phillips
D. Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Question 5 – Which classic silent film is pictured here?

A. Modern Times (with Charlie Chaplin)
B. Safety Last (with Harold Lloyd)
C. Three Ages (with Buster Keaton)
D. Battleship Potemkin (with Soviet cinema pioneer Sergei Eisenstein)

Question 6 – Which Batman actor is this?

A. Christian Bale
B. George Clooney
C. Michael Keaton
D. Robert Pattinson

Question 7-9 – Which Disney renaissance movie do each of the following lyrics come from?

Question 7 – “Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun…”

Question 8 – “Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within, once you find your centre, you are sure to win…”

Question 9 – “Ever just the same, ever a surprise, every as before…”

Question 10 – Who is this (the actress, not the character)?

Question 11 – Defined as being at least 70 minutes long, the first feature film ever was produced in Australia in 1906, and was about which famous Australian historical figure?

Question 12 – In 2023, the 33rd movie featuring what famous Japanese film character was released, proving to be the most successful one yet?

Round One – Movies – Answers

Question 1. The Devil Wears Prada

Question 2. Casablanca

Question 3. Australia and Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann)

Question 4.The Terminal

Question 5. B. Safety Last (with Harold Lloyd)

Question 6. B. George Clooney

Question 7. The Little Mermaid

Question 8. Mulan

Question 9. Beauty & the Beast

Question 10. Grace Kelly

Question 11. Ned Kelly (The Story of the Kelly Gang)

Question 12. Godzilla (Godzilla Minus One)

Round Two – New York & the Bible

(That’s two different categories, put together in one round).

Question 13. To the closest million, what was the population of New York State in 2024?

Question 14. Aside from the resurrection, what is the only miracle specifically described in all four gospels?

Question 15. Which New York professional sports team has played in over a third of its sports’ annual championships, and has won 27 times, more than any other team?

A. The Giants (football)
B. The Knicks (basketball)
C. The Yankees (baseball)
D. The Riptides (lacrosse)
E. The Islanders (hockey)

Question 16. What was the name of King David’s son who, when David was extremely old, briefly proclaimed himself king of Israel before ceding the throne to Solomon?

Question 17. Which celebrity was born in Ben’s hometown of Peekskill?

A. Mel Gibson
B. Olivia Newton-John
C. Nicole Kidman
D. Hugh Jackman

Question 18. What name is shared by a landowner, a disciple in Damascus, and a high priest, who all appear int he same book of the Bible?

Question 19. Which political party has New York State voted for in the US presidential elections for Ben’s entire adult life?

A. Democrats
B. Republicans

Question 20. What is the only book of the Bible which is exactly two chapters long?

A. Nahum
B. Habakkuk
C. Zepheniah
D. Haggai

Question 21. Who is this musical duo, originally from New York City?

Question 22. To the nearest hundred thousand, how many words do English translations of the Bible generally consist of?

Round Two – New York & the Bible – Answers

Question 13. Twenty (19.87 million, according to the US Census Bureau)

Question 14. The Feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6)

Question 15. C. The Yankees (baseball)

Question 16. Adonijah

Question 17. A. Mel Gibson

Question 18. Ananias

Question 19. A. Democrats

Question 20. D. Haggai

Question 21. Simon & Garfunkel

Question 22. 800,000. I actually gave a wrong answer to this one, and had 400,000. But when I just checked it, it looks like 800,000 is more accurate. It actually changes one team’s score, giving them almost enough to move up from second place! Oops!

Round Three – Chemistry & English

Question 23. What William Shakespeare play features characters named both Robin Goodfellow and Robin Starveling?

Question 24. How many elements are there on the periodic table of elements?

Question 25. Which of these classic works of science fiction was written by Ray Bradbury?

A. 2001: A Space Odyssey
B. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
C. Fahrenheit 451
D. Slaughterhouse 5

Question 26. What is the common word for the smallest unit of matter which retains the properties of an element?

Question 27. What punctuation mark is commonly used in English to indicate a pause, typically between two independent clauses, or to separate two independent but related clauses?

Question 28. What element is named after the Greek word for “green”?

Question 29. What is the name of G.K. Chesterton’s most famous detective character?

A. Sherlock Holmes
B. Father Brown
C. Inspector Morse
D. Miss Marple

Question 30. NaHCO₃ is more commonly known by what household name?

Question 31. Both Little Women and Emma feature as part of their plot the surprise gifting of what musical instrument?

Question 32. What is the process of iron combining with oxygen commonly called?

Round Three – Chemistry & English – Answers

Question 23. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Question 24. 118

Question 25. C. Fahrenheit 451

Question 26. Atom

Question 27. The semicolon – ;

Question 28. Chlorine

Question 29. B. Father Brown

Question 30. Baking Soda / Bicarbonate of soda

Question 31. A piano

Question 32. Rusting (I also accepted “oxidation”)

Round Four – Things Ben Likes

These questions are still general trivia questions, but all the answers are things that I personally like.

Question 33. What were depicted as supernatural entitles in Japan, were the only things of their type allowed to enter temples in Russian Orthodox Christianity, and were referred to in Ancient Greece by the word ailouros, which means “thing with the waving tail”?

Question 34. What is the common word for the mathematical study of continuous change?

Question 35. What TV series included characters named Toby, Kelly, Ryan and Mose, were all played by members of the show’s original team of writers?

Question 36. What is the name of the savoury pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a flat griddle, whose name translates to “grilled as you like it”?

A. Chapati
B. Okonomiyaki
C. Enchilada
D. Calzone

Question 37. What rock band had a top-selling album in one out of every three weeks during their most active periods nd were the first pop act ever to be awarded MBEs?

Question 38. What character’s creators met in high school Cleveland (38 years before Ben was born there), and went on to feature in multiple media, including a radio series that ran for over 2000 episodes/

Question 39. German designer Klaus Teuber created what, which became one of the first of its type to achieve popularity outside of Europe, and had its first world championship in 2002?

Question 40. What country has four red stars on its national flag and was the first in the world to ensure worker’s were paid a minimum wage?

Round Four – Things Ben Likes – Answers

Question 33. Cats

Question 34. Calculus

Question 35. The Office

Question 36. B. Okonomiyaki

Question 37. The Beatles

Question 38. Superman

Question 39. The Settlers of Catan

Question 40. New Zealand

Bonus Round (Ben himself)

These questions are actually about me, so if you don’t know me you might be at a disadvantage. But on the other hand, if you’ve read my thousands of rambling blog posts, you might know me better than you think.

Question 41. Which of these best describes how Ben likes his coffee?

A. Ben doesn’t like coffee
B. Strong and bitter and first thing in the morning
C. With cream, multiple times through the day
D. With artificial sweetener, and never after 4:00 pm

Question 42. Which of these characters has Ben never provided the voice for?

A. A talking dog
B. A talking duck
C. A talking rabbit
D. Aviation pioneer Orville Wright

Question 43. Why did Ben include a round about “Chemistry & English” in a trivia quiz that is mostly based around himself?

A. Something to do with his parents
B. Something to do with his college studies
C. Something to do with a screenplay he’s working on
D. Something to do with his unfulfilled dreams

Questions 44-46. When Ben turned 50, he made a list of the 101 Movies He Loves the Most. Here are his Top 10 Movies from that list.

1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
3. L.A. Confidential (1997)
4. The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
5. Pearl Harbor (2001)
6. La La Land (2016)
7. Jaws (1975)
8. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
9. Toy Story 3 (2010)
10. The Truman Show (1998)

Except this list has been corrupted! Three of the movies listed are not only not in the Top 10, they aren’t even in the Top 101.

Which three movies do not belong?

Question 47

Now, my actual question 47 was a simple puzzle about a secret code, based on clues given in the slideshow for this quiz, and on the answer sheet people were working with. Given the impracticality of that for this format, I will replace it with his final question, also about me. The original question was worth three points, so I’ll make this one worth three points as well, by giving it three different parts:

Of the following seven countries, which three have I never visited?

Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand, Peru, Wales

Bonus Round (Ben himself) – Answers

Question 41. C. With cream, multiple times through the day

Question 42. A. A talking dog. (I played a talking duck in both True Blues and The Hanna Jo Stories, and a talking rabbit in The Hanna Jo Stories, both of which are on this site. I played Orville Wright’s voice for a couple of lines in a documentary that my brother’s brother-in-law edited which was about how the Wright brothers get more credit for investing heavier-than-air flight they deserve.)

Question 43. A. Something to do with his parents (My dad was a chemistry professor, my mother was an English professor).

Question 44. Pearl Harbor – the real #5 was Jaws (1975). Truth be told, Pearl Harbor would be a strong contender for a list of movies I like the least.

Question 45. Toy Story 3 – the real #9 was Dark City (1998). One friend of mine was flabbergasted that Toy Story 3 wasn’t anywhere in my list of 101 movies. I don’t have any particular dislike for the movie, and my general sense is that it was quite good. But it just hasn’t lingered in my memory very well, maybe because I’ve only seen it once (we never got the DVD for that one, which means we didn’t watch it repeatedly when my kids were small).

Question 46. The Truman Show – the real #10 was The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.

Question 47. Denmark (although I was in an airport there at least once), Peru and Wales. I’d love to go to all three!

So…how did you do? You can add up your scores and see how you compared with the people at my party. Each question is a point (aside from the last one), and they also got 1 bonus point for just naming their team, so if you have a name, you can also give yourself an extra point. That makes 50 points possible all together.

There were five teams of people at my birthday party, 2-3 adults in each. I made a rule that my wife and kids had to split up in different teams.

The top score was 39, which included two media-savvy friends and my middle daughter. They thought that number 8 was Pocahontas (not Mulan), underestimated the population of New York, the number of words in the Bible, and the number of chapters in Nahum, and had a few others wrong. The lowest score was 26 from a team of just two friends, the only team that didn’t have a family member of mine in it. I think that’s still pretty good.

Thanks for playing!