Who Used To Own It? East Indies Edition
West Indies - Round Two Answers
1) Antigua and Barbuda - Great Britain
2) Belize - Great Britain
3) Cuba - Spain, America
4) Guyana - Great Britain
5) Saint Kitts and Nevis - Great Britain
6) Brazil - Portugal
7) Trinidad and Tobago - Spain, Great Britain, France, The Netherlands, Latvia (as the Duchy of Courland)

West Indies - Round Two Scoring
Skeeter 5:7 = 71%
The Guy 4 1/2:7 = 64%
Dr. Hee Haw 4:7 = 57%

I gave The Guy half a point for his answer of Russia as Cuba's former suzerain, assuming that he was poking fun at the Soviet Union's role as Fidel Castro's sugar daddy between approximately 1960-1990. Hee hee! This is a clearly incorrect answer given the tenor of Who Used To Own It?, but Who Used To Own It? is a game, after all, and are not games supposed to be fun?

Belize's colonial-era name would have given away the answer: British Honduras. As both Skeeter and the good Doctor gave The Netherlands as the former master of Antigua, I wonder if they were both mistakenly thinking of the Dutch (or Netherlands) Antilles. Antigua, Antilles. Just a guess. And since just about everyone and his uncle has owned some portion of Trinidad and Tobago since 1492, almost any answer would have been accepted.

As ever, thank you all so much for playing!

East Indies Edition
And just as all the countries in the West Indies Edition were not strictly in the "West Indies," neither are all the countries in the East Indies Edition strictly in the "East Indies." But as before, I hope you accept the spirit of the name, not to mention its symmetry with the West Indies Edition. Have fun, thanks for playing, I hope you come away from the experience with a greater appreciation for the wondrous splendor of the world, and good luck!

1) Indonesia

2) Singapore

3) Burma

4) Malaysia

5) Vietnam

Tricky
6) The Philippines

Tricky
7) Thailand

Addendum Added at 11:09 P.M.

The Irrevocable Shackles of Matrimony: Matrimania - D.C.
The wedding is very nearly upon us! I am very much looking forward to seeing my sister and welcoming into the clan (as small and dubious as it is) my new brother-in-law. By the same token, I am sure seeing other members of my family will rouse my ire sufficiently for the continuation and conclusion of the too long delayed "The Wedding Album." I am going to be so happy and so furiously angry at the same moment that by the time we get home I'm sure I'll want to sleep for a week. Banzai!

Believe: Red Wings 3-1 Avalanche (2nd Period)
I shan't stay awake late enough to witness the end of the game. Indeed, there is no television in my bedroom; so, sitting here at my HAL I am already not watching the action from Colorado. But I am confident that the Red Wings shall prevail. And a reminder, "we" lose, but only "the Red Wings" win; solidarity in defeat, gratitude in victory.

I was not raised as a hockey fan, and the Red Wings have been one of the most dominant teams in the N.H.L., if not the single most dominant team, the entirety of my fandom. And I must confess there is some small part of my that is eagerly awaiting a serious decline in the Wings' fortunes so that I might have the opportunity to prove that I am not that most detestable of creatures, the fair weather fan. Of course, it has been six long years since my boys hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup; so, I am willing, perfectly willing to wait a decade or three to prove my foul weather fidelity.

Go Wings!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Yolanda Hayes" from Traffic and Weather (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Who can you trust with your love these days?"