J. Michael Andresen

Question 9. Peace (October) For the past 21 years, the Nobel Committee has formatted its press announcement for the Peace Prize to include a brief description of why the prize was awarded. What key word will be used to announce the Nobel Peace Prize? a. “Democracy” (5) b. “Rights” (6) c. Any specific geographical region (6) d. “International” (5) e. “Peaceful” (6) f. None of the above (4) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman win this year's Nobel Peace Prize "for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work." This makes the answer to Question 9 in the 2011 Prognostication Quiz is B. Rights. Kudos to the eleven who lean a bit to the right: Adrian Megan Valerie Jan Jeff Claire&Craig Cameron M. Rich Eric Sarah Keila That's two years in a row the Peace Prize has gone for rights. (Last year Liu Xiaobo won it for his struggles for human rights in China.) That makes it suc...

By popular demand (viz. Leanne) here are a bunch of cute baby pictures. Prepare for the happy! 0.2 months: Sorry I'm a little yellow. The bilirubin was still on its way out. 0.3 months: Maxwell is very gentle holding my hand. 0.5 months: Don't you wish you could still get away with sleeping 20 hours a day? 0.8 months: Not sure why I don't get to wear bright colors. 0.8 months: Daddy drills me every day on my penmanship. 1.0 months: Daddy doesn't look as tired as he is feeling. 1.0 months: Posing for the camera. 1.4 months: Maxwell likes to give me hugs. 1.5 months: I'm a little grumpy today. 1.7 months: Family photo. Maxwell taught me how not to look at the camera. 2.0 months: I love how the Minnesota grass has been so green for my entire life. 2.2 months: Bathtime with Mommy. 2.4 months: Hanging out in the vibrating bouncy chair. 2.7 months: Maxwell orchestrates a brother-brother nap in the living room.

Question 8, Golf. Tiger Woods has won 14 Major Championships in the past 14 years, but he has not won any in the past two years. Will he ever win again? Or is he washed up? Pick only one answer. (Ties are possible.) Which Major Championship will Tiger win? a. the Masters in April (4) b. the US Open in June (3) c. the British Open in July (3) d. the PGA Championship in August (4) e. Tiger will win no Championships Tiger had an awful year and didn't even make the cut for the PGA Championship last weekend. This will not surprise the 19 entrants who realized that Tiger was no longer capable of finding his happy place. This makes the answer to Question 8 in the 2011 Prognostication Quiz e. Tiger will win no Championships . The Elin sympathizers: Jo Marcus Ryan Adrian Jeff Jan Liz Ron Matthew Grant Megan Tina Zhiqi Rachel H. Cameron M. Rachel F. Craig Stacey Gloria The 19 votes for this question was the biggest voting bloc of the entire quiz for...

Question 7. Olympics Only three cities have bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Which city will deliver the winning presentation to the International Olympic Committee? a. Annency, France b. Munich, Germany c. Pyeongchang, South Korea The Olympic committee went with South Korea, putting in great jeopardy Tokyo's bid for the summer Olympics in 2020. That means that the answer to Question 7 in the 2011 Prognostication Quiz c. Pyeongchang, South Korea . Nine people correctly predicted that the Olympic Committee would avoid the tired old cities of Western Europe this time around. The just-outside-of-Seoul-mates: Cherie Russell Ryan Michael Adrian Matthew Grant Katie Megan Seventeen people in the Quiz rooted for France, while twenty-three pulled for Germany. The nine of us who went with Pyeongchang are feeling rather smug right now and move strongly up the pack. Ted was alone in thinking the answer would be D. Sadly for him, no country felt safe in submitti...

Max has been a wonderful older brother to Calvin, now a month old. Here are the videos documenting their first encounter, in the hospital when Calvin was just two days old: Max sees his baby brother Calvin for the first time. Max seems particularly interested in Calvin's nose. More attempts at the nose. Eventually Max moved on to investigating Calvin's feet, mouth, and umbilical cord remnant. Then he gets bored. He is only two. Aunt qua babysitter Tina seems more interested in Calvin's cheek. Max's boredom is allayed with periodic forays into the shower.

I apologize to everyone for being so tardy in posting this blog post. The 2011 prizes were announced at 8:30 a.m. on April 18. As it turns out, that was 6 hours and 8 minutes after my second son was born, so I have been somewhat busy with the toddler-infant combo in recent days. Question 6. Writing Which newspaper will win the most Pulitzers? a. The Washington Post b. The New York Times c. The Wall Street Journal d. The Los Angeles Times e. another paper will be named the most times It was a close one this year! The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times each won two Pulitzers this year, besting the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, with just one prize apiece. That means the answer to Question 6 in the 2011 Prognostication Quiz is a tie between answer answers B and D. Details are at the Pulitzer Prize website. Times readers of the New York variety: Ekrem, Marcus, Jo, Paul, Pete C., Russell, Cherie, Claire&Craig, Michael, Zoe, Cameron L., Jan, Liz, Matthew, Tina, Bet...

Introducing our second son, Calvin Lawrence, born on April 18 at 2:22 a.m. and tipping the scales at 8 pounds and 1 ounce. He sleeps and eats in large portions, unlike his rascally brother Maxwell did when he was the same age. Mother and baby are recuperating nicely despite some abdominal surgery and a touch of jaundice, respectively. Father is a little tired but doesn't feel like he has much cause to complain. Welcome to our new addition!