The New Monday Quiz X

1. In the 15th Century, as shown here, it was the largest state in Europe.  In 1795, it ceased to exist... for a while.  Since then, it has reappeared, ceased to exist, and then reappeared again.  It is the country of ____________.

2. Released in 2001, 2002, and 2003, the broad-based popularity of these three movies is shown by their ranking in the imdb 250: as of this writing, they occupy the #9, #11, and #16 spots.

3. Growing up near a minor industrial port, I saw this flag flying from a lot of scruffy freighters.  What country were these ships theoretically based in?

4. This character from an well-known play has a rough time of it, as can be seen in speeches like:

Alas, then she is drown'd?

Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
And therefore I forbid my tears; but yet
It is our trick; nature her custom holds,
Let shame say what it will

and

Hamlet, thou art slain;
No medicine in the world can do thee good.
In thee there is not half an hour of life.
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenom'd. The foul practice
Hath turn'd itself on me. Lo, here I lie,
Never to rise again. Thy mother's poison'd.
I can no more. The King, the King's to blame.

 What is his name?

5. Meet Cthulu!  What is the source of this mythical creature?

6. What's Element #3?  

No, you don't get any other hints!  It's only #3!  Hydrogen, Helium, then what?


7. This Renaissance painter, a butcher's son, became a Carmelite monk at 16 and a priest at around 20. When he was 50, he is said to have abducted a convent novice who had been sitting as his model for a painting of the Virgin Mary. Their child would grow up to be a famous painter in his own right.  Here's one of his pictures.  Who is he?

8. He was, among other things, one of history's great masters of the epigram. Here are a few:

When goodness is lost, it is replaced by morality.

Try to change it and you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.

When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,
There arises the recognition of ugliness.
When they all know the good as good,
There arises the recognition of evil.

The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness.

When the highest type of men hear Tao,
They diligently practice it.
When the average type of men hear Tao,
They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao,
They laugh heartily at it.
Without the laugh, there is no Tao.

Who was this smart and witty guy?

9. This guy probably just wants a hug.  What is he?

10. Five chapters long, usually placed between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, it is a set of poems about the destruction of Jerusalem.