Question: The War of 1812 (18121815) was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.

Since the outbreak of war with Napoleonic France, Britain had enforced a naval blockade to choke off neutral trade to France, which the United States contested as illegal under international law. To man the blockade, Britain impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy. Incidents such as the "ChesapeakeLeopard" Affair inflamed anti-British sentiment. In 1811, the British were in turn outraged by the "Little Belt" Affair, in which 11 British sailors died. British political support for a Native American buffer state, which conducted raids on American settlers on the frontier, hindered American expansion. On June 18, 1812, President James Madison, after receiving heavy pressure from the War Hawks in Congress, signed the American declaration of war into law. Senior figures such as Lord Liverpool and Lord Castlereagh believed it to have been an opportunistic ploy to annex Canada while Britain was fighting a war with France. The view was shared in much of New England. 1. Who signed a declaration for America?
2. When did he do it?
3. What specific declaration was it?
4. Which war did this begin?
5. Who was it between?
6. Did the Brits view it as part of a larger engagement?
7. Which one?
8. What other country was a major player in that conflict?
9. Which country had a naval blockade imposed on them?
10. Did the US believe this was legal?
11. What did the Brits do to keep the blockade running?
12. How long did the American war last?
13. Did people believe this conflict was an attempt to add more territory to the US?
14. Which people in particular?
15. Was this opinion common in much of the South? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. James Madison
2. 1812
3. American declaration of war
4. The War of 1812
5. he United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies
6. Yes
7. the Napoleonic Wars
8. Canada
9. France
10. No
11. impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy
12. 3 years
13. Yes
14. Senior figures such as Lord Liverpool and Lord Castlereagh
15. No

Question: Pester came running into the room. He came to a fast stop when he saw the dog. He'd seen a dog before, every cat has, and he used to live with a black dog named Henry, but he'd never seen a brown one before. It seemed strange to him, but not as strange as it was to see Linda the brown chicken in the living room last spring. That still confused him.

He thought he liked this dog, not because of the color, but because it was small. And it was so hairy. It was a like a mop that could run around. He jumped on his favorite chair and looked down as Maggie ran under it. She was kind of cute for a dog, Pester thought to himself. He layed down on the chair and pawed at her as she ran in a circle under it. He tapped her ears as she went by, and waved his tail like a flag trying to get her attention. After a little more of this, Pester curled up in a ball on the chair and took a nap. 1. Who came running into the room?
2. Is he human?
3. What is he?
4. What did he see?
5. was that the first one he saw?
6. what color is the dog?
7. who else did he see that was brown?
8. is she a dog?
9. what is she?
10. does he like this dog?
11. why?
12. anything other reason?
13. from where did he look at the dog?
14. did he like this chair?
15. does the dog have a name?
16. what is it?
17. do they play?
18. did the dog like that? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. Pester
2. No
3. a cat
4. the dog
5. No
6. brown
7. Linda
8. no
9. a chicken
10. possibly
11. because it was small
12. because it was hairy
13. a chair
14. yes
15. yes
16. Maggie
17. yes
18. yes

Question: (CNN) -- When Hugh Jackman first called his director for "The Wolverine," James Mangold told him that he had had an inspiration after reading the script. Mangold wanted to make the set-in-Japan film similar to "The Outlaw Josey Wales" by making the mutant a Josey Wales with healing powers. Jackman hadn't seen the classic Clint Eastwood film, so Mangold sent him a copy.

"I felt like tonally, it would give him a clue of what I was talking about," the director said.

The director started thinking about the deep affinity between gun-slinging Westerns and swordfighting samurai films. Mangold thought that drawing upon both of them would help "The Wolverine" stand apart from the rest of the X-Men series.

This installment takes place after "X-Men: The Last Stand," as Wolverine retreats from killing the love of his life, Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix, and heads to Japan. It is based on the comic by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, and Mangold thought of it as Hugh Jackman in a Western in Japan, without the horse. To make sense of this movie mashup, the director tweeted images from the top ten inspirations for "The Wolverine," daring fans to identify them.

Astute fans of Mangold's body of work (which includes "Cop Land," "Walk the Line" and "3:10 to Yuma") might have spotted the 1959 Yasujiro Ozu film "Floating Weeds," since the director has cited it as one of the best films of all time as well as a major influence on his first film, "Heavy."

"Ozu is the most underappreciated Japanese director, in my mind," Mangold said. "For me, the whole trip that Logan takes south to the Nagasaki area, it's almost the reverse train trip that the older couple take in 'Tokyo Story.' " 1. When does the installment take place?
2. What movie had Jackman not seen?
3. Where is Wolverine headed in the film?
4. Who is the director?
5. Where was the film set?
6. What is the Wolverine based on?
7. Who is the comic by?
8. Who tweeted images?
9. Who is Yasujiro Ozu?
10. Did Mangold send Jackman a copy of a film?
11. What film? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. after "X-Men: The Last Stand,"
2. The Outlaw Josey Wales
3. Japan
4. James Mangold
5. Japan
6. a comic
7. Chris Claremont and Frank Miller
8. the director
9. a Japanese director
10. yes
11. The Outlaw Josey Wales