A Clue To My Riddle
'Mong myriad min. moieties: Unmanifest motley crews.
This picture shows part of the subject of my riddle. I did not take this picture myself. I found it after searching the web. To my amazement, I actually found exactly what I was looking for! Please refer to the comments to the previous post. I have given some other clues in my responses. I hope this picture will heighten your curiosity and stimulate your creative problem solving skills. :)
posted by David | 2/19/2005 12:08:00 AM
12 Comments:
Lasagna?:)
David, I've been thinking about your riddle for a while and reading everyone's comments. It's a tough one, but I'll give it a try: Is it a Swallow?
Two more guesses and I'm done. I'll take the pacifist route like Dariush:
- Wood paneling
- Corals
Actually a 3rd one:
-Woodpecker
Dariush, thank you for visiting. You are welcome to wait if you like, but why not try a guess or two, you might have more fun that way. :)
Jamak, I suppose this picture might look like lasagna that had been left out of the refrigerator for several days. :) The answer is not wood paneling or coral. Does this picture really look like either of those? A woodpecker? Hmmm, I suppose that this picture does look a bit like feathers. However, these are not feathers. Not a bad guess, though.
Khodadad, you are right, it is not an alligator. :) Very nice job on your second guess! This picture is indeed reminiscent of Brigandine Armor (aka Scale Mail). When I originally composed the riddle, I had something like this picture in mind when I wrote the line "Brigandine occults crystal". This is actually one of the more obscure clues of the riddle. However, if you consider the next line, "Sans aegis reception;", you might draw a different conclusion about what this picture actually represents.
Ehsan, I would like to congratulate you on being the first person to discover the clue from the Monty Python movie. The clue is indeed a Swallow (a type of bird for those of you who are ornithologically challenged :) ). The subject of the riddle is not a swallow. Indeed, the subject is not any sort of bird. However, "swallow" is a very important clue. Now I would like to share with everyone the source of this clue. Here is a brief transcript of the first scene of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" which I found at this interesting web site dedicated to the movie. Enjoy! :)
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail": Scene 1:
[opening music]
[wind]
[clop clop clop]
KING ARTHUR: Whoa there!
[clop clop clop]
SOLDIER #1: Halt! Who goes there?
ARTHUR: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!
SOLDIER #1: Pull the other one! (***refering to his leg; meaning: you are kidding me***)
ARTHUR: I am,... and this is my trusty servant Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot. I must speak with your lord and master.
SOLDIER #1: What? Ridden on a horse?
ARTHUR: Yes! (***Arthur is pretending to ride a horse***)
SOLDIER #1: You're using coconuts!
ARTHUR: What? (***Arthur's servant is clapping coconut husks to sound like a horse***)
SOLDIER #1: You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.
ARTHUR: So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through--
SOLDIER #1: Where'd you get the coconuts?
ARTHUR: We found them.
SOLDIER #1: Found them? In Mercia? The coconut's tropical!
ARTHUR: What do you mean?
SOLDIER #1: Well, this is a temperate zone.
ARTHUR: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
SOLDIER #1: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
ARTHUR: Not at all. They could be carried.
SOLDIER #1: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?
ARTHUR: It could grip it by the husk!
SOLDIER #1: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
ARTHUR: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
SOLDIER #1: Listen. In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?
ARTHUR: Please!
SOLDIER #1: Am I right?
ARTHUR: I'm not interested!
SOLDIER #2: It could be carried by an African swallow!
SOLDIER #1: Oh, yeah, an African swallow maybe, but not a European swallow. That's my point.
SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah, I agree with that.
ARTHUR: Will you ask your master if he wants to join my court at Camelot?!
SOLDIER #1: But then of course a-- African swallows are non-migratory.
SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah.
SOLDIER #1: So, they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway.
[clop clop clop] (***Arthur and his servant "ride" away***)
SOLDIER #2: Wait a minute! Supposing two swallows carried it together?
SOLDIER #1: No, they'd have to have it on a line.
SOLDIER #2: Well, simple! They'd just use a strand of creeper!
SOLDIER #1: What, held under the dorsal guiding feathers?
SOLDIER #2: Well, why not?
(***David's Note***)
For a moment there I thought you were writing the entire movie script. In case you weren't aware, Swallows and WoodPeckers are in the same family of birds. They all have wings and beaks and chirp and peck.
yeaaay! problem sollved. It was entertaining to read your riddle and people's guesses. It was also entertaining to make silly guesses. I sill like my Air-India Jet ;-).
I will get the movie at some point, after I am done with all these deadly deadlines.
Have a great rest of the weekend,
Sima
Jamak, I am aware that Swallows and Woodpeckers are both birds. However, I am not sure that they are closely related. Is there a woodpecker in the Monty Python movie? I can't remember. I haven't rented it yet.
Sima, thanks for taking a little time to visit. I know that you are very busy right now. Actually, the problem hasn't been solved yet. Ehsan figured out an important clue, but the subject of the riddle hasn't been guessed yet. I am sure that you will really enjoy the movie when you see it. :)
David, this is a tough one. I had put my bets on the Swallow, but now I am thinking it should be something totally different. The picture you put up is not helping much. I am sure when you look at, it makes perfect sense, but to me it doesn't resemble anything. Maybe we need more time, or maybe we need another clue :)
Ehsan, the subject of the riddle is something that many people have seen. However, the picture shows a part of the subject that few people are aware of. Think about the subtitle of the picture and the words "min." (miniature) and "unmanifest". Maybe you are right, another clue may be just the thing. In fact I have something in mind. :)
Howdy, 2 more guesses:
- Butterfly
- Butterfly Cocoon
Btw, in case you didn't notice the explanation of Woodpecker and Swallow was purely humourous.
Jamak, you are getting close. The answer to the riddle is a very specific thing. Your two guesses are general categories. Btw, your humor was quite subtle. :)
the picture shows th declaration of independence
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