We're late and my word stands imperiled. Wherefore? is the question of the moment. I defer to the hard-won, world-weary wisdom of Harold Macmillan. What happened? "Events, dear boy, events."

Case in point: I logged on last evening finally ready to publish this post only to be thwarted by "routine maintenance" to the Blogger website. The outage was promoted as lasting a sixth of an hour, but time and again when I attempted to publish I was told that Blogger was temporarily off-line. Prevaricating fiends! So, I am surely to blame, but I am not solely to blame.

Who Used To Own It? East Indies Edition - Round Two
Individualized scoring to Round One of the East Indies Edition may be found in the commenting section of this very post. My deepest thanks to all who participated, and I humbly beseech your forgiveness for the delays.

East Indies - Round One Answers
1) Indonesia - The Netherlands
2) Singapore - Great Britain
3) Burma - Great Britain
4) Malaysia - Great Britain
5) Vietnam - France
6) The Philippines - Spain & the United States
7) Thailand - sovereign, 'twas never a colonial possession of a greater power

East Indies Edition - Round Two Scoring
The Watergirl 7 1/2/7 = 107%
Skeeter 6/7 = 86%
The Guy 4/7 = 57%
Dr. Hee Haw 4/7 = 57%

Holy Tahiti, our first score of over one hundred percent! How did it happen, you ask? Our players universally knew that Spain had been the colonial suzerain of the Philippines, but The Watergirl alone also mentioned the colonization of those islands by Uncle Sam, a curious and nearly unique chapter in our history; for this, I awarded her an additional half-point. Thank you all for playing. My thanks also to a chap named "Andrew" who provided a specific, if jaundiced, account of Indonesia's history. Lastly, my compliments to The Professor, who, having just returned from a weeks-long grand tour of Southeast Asia, politely recused himself, as would any proper gentleman. Good show, old bean.

Round Two
And now to test your mettle once again against the cunning subtleties of Round Two. And now, remember back to the distant past of the Spring and recall that "Who Used To Own It?" isn't a test, but a game of skill, a game of knowledge. A game of contextual guesses and educated inferences. As ever, "East Indies" is meant as more of a flourish than an exacting descriptor of the portion of the globe in question. And I remind you that we concern ourselves mostly, though not exclusively, with the world between the discovery of the New World and the outbreak of the Great War, rather than the pause between the wars or after the Second World War. Last in our parade of refreshers, "Who Used To Own It?" is a quiz of your knowledge, not of your ability to utilize reference materials. Please play in accordance with the honor system, or don't play at all.

I salute all those with the audacity to play, I thank you also for your participation, it is my hope that you find the experience both pleasant and enriching, and I wish you all the best of luck!

1) Korea

2) Sri Lanka

3) Cambodia

4) Brunei

Tricky
5) Taiwan

Tricky
6) India

Tricky
7) Papua New Guinea

I would apologize for the many tricky items, but the twists, turns, and treacheries of history are the largest portion of its appeal. Just do your best and you'll be fine. There is naught at stake but pride and the chance to learn something, which is to say that there is naught at stake but the only things worth having. Bon chance!

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Avril Lavigne, "Keep Holding On" from The Best Damn Thing (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "I will fight and defend."

Dienstag, 14 Oktober
The Blues Brothers, "Hey Bartender" from Briefcase Full of Blues (T.L.A.M.)

Montag, 13 Oktober
Lenka, "The Show" via iTunes, Single of the Week (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I downloaded this song some months ago, whenever it was the Single of the Week, but only in the last week or so have I really fallen in love with it. A silly little song along the lines of "The world is just awesome."

Sonntag, 12 Oktober
Reel Big Fish, "Somebody Loved Me" from Cheer Up! (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary:

"I think somebody loved me once,
I think somebody loved me once,
I think somebody loved me once,
But I cannot remember why."

I cannot for the life of me remember why.

Samstag, 11 Oktober
Reel Big Fish, "Somebody Hates Me" (live) from Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album, Disc 1: More Shtick Than You Can Shake a Stick At (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The album version of "Somebody Hates Me," from Why Do They Rock So Hard?, was the second song of the "somebody" theme cycle; so, it struck my fancy to make it also the second-to-last.

Coming Attractions
Tomorrow, "The Explorers Club" and "Believe." Answers and scoring to Round Two of "Who Used To Own It? East Indies Edition" in one week's time.

A thought has just occurred to me: Without a certain knowledge of the life and career of Harold Macmillan, the quote "Events, dear boy, events" loses some of its cachet. Bollocks, back to the drawing board.