Barret grunted. “Shoulda known
You’re just a useless bum
So we’ll do it my way
Let’s just charge in, start a scrum”

“That’s your plan?” scoffed Tifa
As she firmly held her ground
“Fight your way through ev’ry floor?
Let’s find a way around

“What about those stairs?” she said
While Barret’s path she blocked
“I know it sounds impossible
But maybe they’re unlocked”

Barret: “Take the long way ‘round?
No! Go straight for the throat”
Tifa: “Cloud, it’s up to you
You’re the deciding vote”

Now, in these situations
Cloud’s choice oft was bright and clear
But this time . . . “Sorry, Tifa
Gotta go with Barret here”

At Comiskey Park it did begin
Neither team’s lineup could be called thin
But the best of the lot
Was the Sultan of Swat
He hit one out and kept one more in

Event: The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played
Year: 1933
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game

A. 北　B. 西　C. 東　D. 南

A. 上　B. 下　C. 左　D. 右

Okay, so there wasn’t much challenge in the first part of the challenge this week.  You all figured out that the cardinal directions were on top.  But it seems I haven’t completely lost my touch, because none of you were able to pick out North.  Shirley was the closest, briefly considering A, the correct choice, before being lured away by the subtle, intoxicating stuff going on at the very top of B, which in fact points due West.  We can also give her some credit for identifying A and B of the second line as up and down, respectively.  A Fan and Dragon, meanwhile, fearing the cold winds of the North, fled South to D and took refuge beneath its all-encompassing roof.  If A Fan had known a little more about Hokkaido, he might have remembered that its name is written with character A, thus providing him with a key clue.  And Dragon has learned that it is not “x,” nor “squished t” that marks the spot, but, er, . . . “capital H that has been ripped down the middle and flipped inside out . . . with a couple extra lines.”  C, the East, unlike it is every year in the world of U.S. sports, was completely ignored.

Oh, and Bottom C is left and Bottom D is right, but as Shirley pointed out, they’re not really important anyway.

Since it went pretty well last time, this week we will be taking a look once more at animals.  These ones are going to be somewhat more exotic, because this time my source is the Chinese Zodiac, or as we refer to it in Japanese, the jûnishi.  Just for reference, the twelve animals involved are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar.  While you’re free to attempt to identify the entire zoo, the specific challenge is to pick out the tiger, far and away the best of the lot.

A. 猪　B. 兎　C. 龍　D. 虎　E. 鼠　F. 羊　G. 蛇

The party clasped on to the wire
It held their weight quite well
The punks cheered, jeered, told them they’d fall
Cloud shot back, “Go to Hell!”

The wire twisted up and up
Through wreckage of the plate
Cloud’s batt’ries proved so useful
That it almost seemed like fate

Finally they reached the top
Cut through alley and street
‘Til o’er their heads rose Shinra Tow’r
At least eight hundred feet

“Okay, Mr. SOLDIER”
Barret said without delay
“Since you should be the expert here
I’ll let you lead the way”

Cloud tried to mask his ignorance
In truth, he’d never been
“I know this place like back of hand
Now . . . how do we get in?”