Your Quizmaster — Home of the Quizmaster of Sudwerk Brewing Company in Davis

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

5. Muppets. Who starred in the documentary Being Elmo?

6. Architecture. Rounded off to the nearest 200 feet, how tall is the Washington Monument?

7. Pop Culture – Music. “The Queen of Gospel” sang at the 1963 March on Washington, and had a name that is an anagram of the common phrase KOALAS JAM CHINA. What is her name?

8. Sports. The Boston Bruins are the current reigning Stanley Cup champions, and have been hockey champions six different times. Only one American team has more Stanley Cups, at eleven. Name the city and team.

9. Science – Ornithology. Which of the following numbers is closest to the number of cervical vertebrae found in the neck of an owl? Is it 7, 14, 21, or 28?

P.S. My mentor Alan Williamson will be giving a poetry reading at the Natsoulas Gallery on February 2^nd. Mark your calendar now!

P.P.S. If you know a Pub Quiz participant who hasn’t yet signed up for this newsletter, tell that person to sign up at https://www.yourquizmaster.com.

The Remembering Schmevin Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on January 16, 2012

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

One of the great joys of performing as your Quizmaster on Monday nights is the practice of immediate friendship, or at least of the manifestation of friendship, with so many of the Pub Quiz regulars. For instance, when I hear a remark or a quip as I pass by a table, I might echo that remark, or lightly satirize that person or that remark before the Irish Pub crowd of almost 200 people. Those of us not named Don Rickles usually reserve such light-hearted ridicule for our friends (or for public figures), so I feel privileged to good-naturedly mock you all in this way. I think you can take it.

This practice of “instant friendship” reminded me of one of my closest friends from my college days, Kevin, someone I thought about often during my recent weekend trip to Boston. During my first moments as a college student, before I had taken my first class, before I had even unpacked my first bag, I met a man in Boston who would become a friend, a guide, an inspiration, and a delight, and that man was Kevin Quinn. Throughout our friendship, Kevin communicated these qualities to me in the same easeful, guileless, engaging, joyful, and gracious way that he welcomed me to Boston University, and to this foundational learning experience of Kevin upon which I have built so much since. His offer of friendship was immediate, warm, and absolute. He took risks in the way that he revealed himself to me and to others, treating us straightaway as if we were old friends, close friends. He treated us as if we were all worth the investment in us of his elated wonder, that we would be receptive to the evidence of his practiced belief in discovery and adventure.

What was the result of this investment? Within ten months of that first meeting, on the Fourth of July, Schmevin (as he had come to be called) had joined a group of friends and me in a Washington DC stadium as we danced and swayed and harmonized (attemptedly) to the largest concert I had ever attended, one featuring Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Just over a year after that he was visiting my apartment in London, England. A few years after that, he sat in on one of the first classes that I taught as a graduate student, and explored northern California with my new fiancée and me. A year after that, he stood up in a grassy clearing outside Chicago on a misty day in September to speak at our wedding. And in the coming years he would play goofily on the floor of our homes with our children, my daughter being one of many to call him “Uncle Schmevin.” In the years after hosting my wife, daughter, and mom in a 2008 conference in Boston, he would phone the house and ask to talk to my daughter Geneva about school and her stuffed animals. Presents would be mailed to us on birthdays and at Christmas.

Who was this man who enriched our lives so immeasurably? A man who approached me on that first day in Boston as he approached all new friends and adventures in his rich, rich life. Kevin Quinn was a man without guile, or pretense, or dishonesty, or selfishness. He was the personification of eagerness. He helped to create a community and a life that rewarded him for his selflessness and engaging generosity, a community in turn that celebrated him this past weekend to observe the end of his incredible life, and a community of adoring friends and family that continues to share lessons, and stories, and goofy vivacity with all who might be moved anew by the wide-eyed exultation that was, and forever will be, my friend Schmevin.

In honor of Schmevin, you should expect a Boston question or two on tonight’s Pub Quiz, as well as questions about other things that Schmevin loved, such as baked goods, movies, Martin Luther King, Jr., architecture, gospel music, and sports. We’ll also review questions about Republicans, Muppets, mountains, ornithology, vests, legumes, African-American comedians, a merry jig, Prince, famous Greeks, Persian Muslims, Sailors born in 1932, famous BU professors, taking the T for tea, requests for a motorcycle, Saturday Night Live actors, vans, South America, endangered species, 19^th century novels, college sports, same-sex marriage, patricians, and Shakespeare.

Happy Martin Luther King Day to you! I look forward to seeing you this evening.

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

4. Four for Four. Which of the following Davis streets, if any, intersect both Russell Boulevard / 5th Street and Covell Boulevard? Anderson Road, Eureka Ave, K Street, Oak Avenue.

5. Food and Drink. Bourbon is a distilled spirit made primarily from what grain?

6. The Mafia. The two words that make up the long name of a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy each has an O and an A as its only vowels. What are these two words?

7. Pop Culture – Music. What band made history in Scotland when two of their tracks, "Sunshine on Leith" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" were featured on Scotland's Greatest Album (2011)?

8. Sports. Charles Barkley played for three basketball teams, the most recent being the Houston Rockets. What were the other two?

Two Postscripts:

1) Congratulations to the three winners from last week’s Pub Quiz. Outside Agitators came in first with 24 points, Portraits O' Muhammad came in second with 23 points, and The Whiskey Bonders came in third with 22 points. Hooray! I’ll be awarding a bonus prize at the end of the month to the team that did the best overall.

2) I will be hosting a poetry reading with local writing teacher and poet Rae Gouirand this coming Thursday night at 8 at the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 First Street). We will be returning to de Vere’s for the after party, if you would care to join us. Details on the reading can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/224734354260430/

The Remembering Schmevin Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on January 16, 2012

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

One of the great joys of performing as your Quizmaster on Monday nights is the practice of immediate friendship, or at least of the manifestation of friendship, with so many of the Pub Quiz regulars. For instance, when I hear a remark or a quip as I pass by a table, I might echo that remark, or lightly satirize that person or that remark before the Irish Pub crowd of almost 200 people. Those of us not named Don Rickles usually reserve such light-hearted ridicule for our friends (or for public figures), so I feel privileged to good-naturedly mock you all in this way. I think you can take it.

This practice of “instant friendship” reminded me of one of my closest friends from my college days, Kevin, someone I thought about often during my recent weekend trip to Boston. During my first moments as a college student, before I had taken my first class, before I had even unpacked my first bag, I met a man in Boston who would become a friend, a guide, an inspiration, and a delight, and that man was Kevin Quinn. Throughout our friendship, Kevin communicated these qualities to me in the same easeful, guileless, engaging, joyful, and gracious way that he welcomed me to Boston University, and to this foundational learning experience of Kevin upon which I have built so much since. His offer of friendship was immediate, warm, and absolute. He took risks in the way that he revealed himself to me and to others, treating us straightaway as if we were old friends, close friends. He treated us as if we were all worth the investment in us of his elated wonder, that we would be receptive to the evidence of his practiced belief in discovery and adventure.

What was the result of this investment? Within ten months of that first meeting, on the Fourth of July, Schmevin (as he had come to be called) had joined a group of friends and me in a Washington DC stadium as we danced and swayed and harmonized (attemptedly) to the largest concert I had ever attended, one featuring Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Just over a year after that he was visiting my apartment in London, England. A few years after that, he sat in on one of the first classes that I taught as a graduate student, and explored northern California with my new fiancée and me. A year after that, he stood up in a grassy clearing outside Chicago on a misty day in September to speak at our wedding. And in the coming years he would play goofily on the floor of our homes with our children, my daughter being one of many to call him “Uncle Schmevin.” In the years after hosting my wife, daughter, and mom in a 2008 conference in Boston, he would phone the house and ask to talk to my daughter Geneva about school and her stuffed animals. Presents would be mailed to us on birthdays and at Christmas.

Who was this man who enriched our lives so immeasurably? A man who approached me on that first day in Boston as he approached all new friends and adventures in his rich, rich life. Kevin Quinn was a man without guile, or pretense, or dishonesty, or selfishness. He was the personification of eagerness. He helped to create a community and a life that rewarded him for his selflessness and engaging generosity, a community in turn that celebrated him this past weekend to observe the end of his incredible life, and a community of adoring friends and family that continues to share lessons, and stories, and goofy vivacity with all who might be moved anew by the wide-eyed exultation that was, and forever will be, my friend Schmevin.

In honor of Schmevin, you should expect a Boston question or two on tonight’s Pub Quiz, as well as questions about other things that Schmevin loved, such as baked goods, movies, Martin Luther King, Jr., architecture, gospel music, and sports. We’ll also review questions about Republicans, Muppets, mountains, ornithology, vests, legumes, African-American comedians, a merry jig, Prince, famous Greeks, Persian Muslims, Sailors born in 1932, famous BU professors, taking the T for tea, requests for a motorcycle, Saturday Night Live actors, vans, South America, endangered species, 19^th century novels, college sports, same-sex marriage, patricians, and Shakespeare.

Happy Martin Luther King Day to you! I look forward to seeing you this evening.

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

4. Four for Four. Which of the following Davis streets, if any, intersect both Russell Boulevard / 5th Street and Covell Boulevard? Anderson Road, Eureka Ave, K Street, Oak Avenue.

5. Food and Drink. Bourbon is a distilled spirit made primarily from what grain?

6. The Mafia. The two words that make up the long name of a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy each has an O and an A as its only vowels. What are these two words?

7. Pop Culture – Music. What band made history in Scotland when two of their tracks, "Sunshine on Leith" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" were featured on Scotland's Greatest Album (2011)?

8. Sports. Charles Barkley played for three basketball teams, the most recent being the Houston Rockets. What were the other two?

Two Postscripts:

1) Congratulations to the three winners from last week’s Pub Quiz. Outside Agitators came in first with 24 points, Portraits O' Muhammad came in second with 23 points, and The Whiskey Bonders came in third with 22 points. Hooray! I’ll be awarding a bonus prize at the end of the month to the team that did the best overall.

2) I will be hosting a poetry reading with local writing teacher and poet Rae Gouirand this coming Thursday night at 8 at the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 First Street). We will be returning to de Vere’s for the after party, if you would care to join us. Details on the reading can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/224734354260430/

The Nude Twirling an Azalea Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on January 9, 2012

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Today, of course, is the birthday of J. K. Simmons, the character actor perhaps best known for playing J. Jonah Jameson and Juno’s dad. I was thinking that today would be a fine day to ask five questions about J.K. Simmons, but then I remembered that one team recently accused me of fixating on the film Juno, because of all the questions I’ve asked about that film. Another team once accused me of being obsessed with Carla Bruni, the First Lady who has appeared in a number of questions about the most visited country in the world. Sometimes we need friends to point out the incessant patterns of reflection that might otherwise go unnoticed. “The tongue returns to the aching tooth,” Chaucer taught us six hundred years ago, just as our brains diligently loop back to the images, films, experiences and conversations that resonate with us most deeply. One of the pleasures of quizmastering is the compulsory reflection this job requires, as I take stock of what I have read and remembered over the course of a week, or a lifetime, and then force all of you to grapple with those same matters in a noisy pub. If I were a solipsist, this last part would give me great pleasure, knowing that I was controlling your attention and concerns, if only for a couple hours. As my students would tell you, however, I am much more intent on fostering independent thought, rather than to have them heed what Dylan Thomas, a Welsh (not Irish) poet called “my craft or sullen art / Exercised in the still night / When only the moon rages.”

Tonight expect five questions on books, instead of movies. Also anticipate cause to reflect upon special effects, Davis streets, recovery from tragedy, the great southwest, spirits, criminals, two companies with life, the Pledge of Allegiance, Scottish culture, Irish culture, Rockets, songs with numbers in them, glaciers, American Presidents, children’s literature, psychological challenges, books and more books, a life of sloth and disobedience, architecture, pot smokers, Modernist literature, John Lescroart’s new book The Hunter, rock anthems, Men in Black, a nude twirling an azalea, Africa, nuclei, people named after colors, those Republicans, football, basketball, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There will be no questions on J.K. Simmons, Carla Bruni, Dylan Thomas, or Chaucer. Those were red herrings (at least this week).

Thanks to all of you who attended last week’s Quiz with patience. Our favorite Irish Pub has instituted some new regulations regarding how soon you can arrive to claim a table (5:30), and how much of your team you’ll need to claim that table (half). This means that some of you may have to loiter suspiciously while our hostesses work extra hard to accommodate everyone. Have a drink while you wait!

See you tonight.

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

10. Great Americans. In 1996, the U.S. Congress honored what American by declaring him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces”?

11. Unusual Words that Start with the letter V. What three-syllable word that starts with the letter V means “Relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect”?

12. Art and Art History. “Girl With a Pearl Earring” is the most famous 17th century painting by what Dutch Painter?

13. Pop Culture – Television. Name one of the two hosts of the New Year’s Eve television program that attracted the most viewers Saturday night.

14. Another Music Question. Three body parts are mentioned in the Simon and Garfunkel song “Cecilia”: name two of them.

The Festal Cheer Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on January 2, 2012

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Each age has deemed the new-born year

The fittest time for festal cheer.

~Walter Scott

Happy New Year! A new year brings new opportunities and sometimes new regulations. Let it be so with the Pub Quiz. First, the opportunity! Starting with tonight's Pub Quiz I will be tracking what teams spend the most time in the de Vere's Irish Pub Pub Quiz Winner's Circle (five points for first place, three for second, and one for third), and awarding a generous monthly prize (in the form of a bonus de Vere's gift certificate) to the team with the most points. The name of this team will also appear prominently in the de Vere's Irish Pub Pub Quiz blog, the newsletter, and on YourQuizmaster.com. We may even include pictures.

Because the Pub Quiz has been so popular, a number of you have been coming to claim tables extraordinarily early (4pm, anyone?), thus making it difficult for de Vere's patrons to come by for an early dinner, even if they plan (irrationally, I admit) not to stay for the Quiz. In order to serve the greatest number of patrons, de Vere's ask that Pub Quiz competitors claim tables no sooner than 5:30, and that at least half the members of a participating team be present. This way, Davisites hoping to take advantage of Happy Hour fare can still enjoy the mahogany interior, classic tile floors, and bread pudding of our favorite pub.

Tonight you can expect a question about John Lescroart, the New York Times best-selling author who frequently attends the Pub Quiz. Tomorrow his new novel The Hunter will be released, and he will be celebrating that fact by hosting a free event (with refreshments and music) at 6:30 at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge (415 2^nd Street). To read more about Lescroart, see the recent article in the Davis Enterprise.

In addition toe the Lescroart question, expect pub quiz questions tonight on telegraphy, Australia, Republican hopefuls, California history, buildings in Davis, faraway buildings, British music, baseball, favorite flowers, apes, the US armed forces, inward feelings, Bruce Willis, words that start with the letter V, famous paintings, new year's eve, body parts, Simon and Garfunkel, cork, urchins, oxen and other animals, film (I seem always to ask film questions, and often five questions about film), hedges, sequels, Irish culture, fresh water, astronomy, UC Davis students, matrimony, Shakespeare spoiler alerts, football, and Facebook.

See you tonight, and Happy New Year!

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week's quiz:

16. According to Yale University, the most notable quotation or catchphrase of 2011 was "We Are The BLANK." Fill in the blank.

17. According to an AP poll released last week, what was the top news story of 2011?

18. What six-letter word was the most searched term on Yahoo this year?

19. The 2011 film Bridesmaids was the highest grossing R-rated female comedy of all time, edging out what 2008 film that takes place in New York City?

20. What former US President candidate was indicted with four felonies in 2011?

P.S. Thanks for reading to the end of the newsletter. This Thursday night at the John Natsoulas Gallery I will be hosting a reading that will feature a Pub Quiz diehard: Melanie Madden. I hope you can join us.

The Conviviality of Ed Asner Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on December 26, 2011

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Happy New Year! Tonight's is our final Pub Quiz of 2011, so I've been thinking retrospectively. 2011 marks the beginning of the de Vere's Irish Pub Pub Quiz, so I'd like to take a moment to thank the owners of this family-owned pub, and welcome them again to Davis. In a classy move that shows their commitment to the well-being of their employees, the de Veres closed their restaurants during this past holiday weekend, ensuring that all of them (or us) had time to spend with their families. You can almost sense that appreciation in the attitude of the employees in our overstaffed pub – everyone seems happy to be attend to the needs of their customers. Thursday I lunched at de Vere's with a friend who didn't know about my Quizmaster persona (an identity that I have managed to keep secret from many people who know me casually). He left with the impression that everyone who over-tips cheery waitress Hayley in the de Vere's library will earn a personalized holiday good-bye from every single employee while walking out of the Pub. De Vere's is a convivial place to meet with friends that seems all the more warm when the nighttime weather is so chilly. I look forward to sharing some of that warmth with you this evening.

Tonight's Quiz will feature questions on Apple, illusions, car rental companies, concrete, the gross domestic product, Ed Asner, South America, Sanskrit words, prophesy, farm animals, British bands, big football games (x2), the emperor dragonfly, space exploration, fans, a lame junior, monasteries and hermits, construction equipment, The US Supreme Court, sugar, game changers, unusual words, African journeys, NBA stars, songs with memorable refrains that you would rather not hear again, Ben Affleck, famous Alaskans, fullbacks, the Great Depression, inequality, Greek mythology, Bridesmaids, Yahoo, former Presidential candidates, best-selling books that have been made into movies, Canadian-Americans, counties in Ireland, big cities, and Shakespeare.

Happy New Year!

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week's quiz:

1. Mottos and Slogans. The most interesting man in the world frequently uses the tag line "Stay thirsty, my friends." What kind of beer does he drink? Hint: Some people watch these commercials over and over again on YouTube (where, evidently, people will watch anything).

2. Internet Culture. "LMS" was the fastest growing acronym on Facebook in 2011. What words do these three letters stand for? Most teams didn't know this one.

3. Newspaper Headlines. What Swedish car company's stock plunged to six Euro cents a share after it declared bankruptcy this morning? This question stumped no one.

4. Four for Four. Which of the following four women, if any, are alive today? Indira Gandhi, Lady Bird Johnson, Winnie Mandela, Margaret Thatcher.

5. American Presidents. The US President who lived the greatest number of years (as of today – that is, it's not currently Jimmy Carter) after his presidency died on October 20, 1964. What was his name?

P.S. Congratulations to The Penetrators, winners of last week's Pub Quiz.

The Václav Havel Memorial Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on December 19, 2011

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Happy holidays! Thanks to all of you who have written to ask if I am taking time off for the holidays, and thus won’t be around to host tonight’s Pub Quiz. Of course not! If our Irish Pub is open on a Monday night, I will be here. The two exceptions will be Valentine’s Day (and we are safe until 2022), and January 30^th of next year, when I will be participating in a poetry reading fundraiser for The Mind Institute called “The Sacramento Poetry Reading for Autism,” a cause that is important to me. As someone who hasn’t missed a day of teaching due to illness in the 21 years that I have worked for UC Davis, I don’t expect to take a day off this year just because it’s Darryl Hannah’s birthday.

Speaking of the holidays, during this time of year, many of us experience the magic of anticipation and togetherness by gauging and stoking the enthusiasm of the children in our lives. Already this weekend I have taken one or more of my three kids on a variety of adventures during which time we talked about the decorations we saw, the beauty of South Davis greenbelts, and our eagerness to spend time with visiting grandparents. We’ve also read some Newbery Award-winning children’s books and watched some children’s films, some of them animated; at least some of these experiences will appear on tonight’s Pub Quiz. I’ve had to be careful not to share too much of what we were viewing and reading, however, because my wife will also be joining us for the first time at de Vere’s tonight, and I have a rule that I don’t ask questions that I know she knows the answers to (and she’s very smart). To make up for the potential increased difficulty that this entails (for me, and for you if you join us tonight), I’ve avoided discussing current events with her this week (such as the death of the great poet and playwright Václav Havel), and I added an extra sports question. If you bring the right team, you will do well.

Speaking of which, congratulations to the three first-time winners who played last week’s Quiz. In 2012, I will be establishing a monthly competition whereby we’ll recognize, photograph and reward the most successful team of each month. Here’s an action item for you to consider to ensure the competition is spirited: over this coming break, please write “Pub Quiz with Dr. Andy” on all the Mondays in all your new calendars.

In addition to a few of the topics that I mentioned above, tonight’s Quiz will feature questions on adult beverages, basketball, internet memes and acronyms, Scandinavia, world leaders, venerable Republicans, birds, famous people with short names, hip-hop hits, baseball, butchers, rodents, Las Vegas, inappropriate humor, songs to which many now croon in American fraternity houses, TV hosts, mythological creatures, chemical elements, Oscar-winning actors, James Bond, estranged sisters, 19^th century British poetry, languages, Europe, people who are famous for reasons that I still don’t understand, football, jewelry, and Shakespeare.

See you tonight, and thanks for your support during this holiday season!

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

1. Mottos and Slogans. The Ultimate Driving Machine offers Sheer Driving Pleasure. Name the car company.

2. Internet Culture. What became the 2nd-most-used web browser for the first time last month?

3. Newspaper Headlines. How many presidential hopefuls were on stage at Saturday’s debate on ABC?

4. Four for Four. Which of the following have been locations of the Bravo reality television series Real Housewives? Atlanta, Chicago, New Jersey, Orange County. (Almost every team answered this question correctly)

5. Film. What 2011 legal drama starred Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei & Ryan Philippe? (When will Hollywood make a film based on one of John Lescroart’s books?)

The Taking and Taking Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on December 12, 2011

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Winter is upon us, and that means that we should all get look forward to a vacation, or at least a break. Many Americans are such accomplished consumers that they have taken on shopping as a second job, and our economy is picking up pace because of it. Because we spend so much money on our vacations, however, many Americans are just “pushing through,” mostly because they can’t afford to be frenetic consumers for two weeks a year (and to think that many Europeans can anticipate off a month a year – for most of us, that would bean bankruptcy). Nevertheless, I hope you get a break, if only to maintain your equanimity. As Earl Wilson once said, “A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.”

During my break, I typically research new readings to assign to students in my winter Technocultural Studies class: Writing Across Media. I find new and challenging essays to make students think critically, creatively, and bravely as they imagine themselves working for that Emeryville dream factory known as Pixar. Like my classes, at Pixar the people in charge encourage a culture of dissent, one of my favorite American values. Although we may see less dissent on campus and in the city of Davis over the holiday break, we can look forward to new dramas in 2012, locally and in national politics. Meanwhile, as I conduct my winter break research on creativity and technology, we’ll see how much of it will appear in the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz! I look forward to all our Monday evenings together.

Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on the remaining Republican presidential hopefuls, car companies, Atlanta, courtroom dramas, space travel, New Jersey, baseball, great rock and roll songs, words that begin with Q, Orange County, people with fins, The Brain, nets, people who act phony, television, insects, people with alliterative names, really small things, more Charlie Brown, Academy Award nominated-films, string worms, fondly-remembered prime ministers, water, popular books, football, and Shakespeare comedies.

See you tonight!

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

1. American Inventors. Dean Kamen’s most famous invention was what?

2. Korea. North Korea borders the eighth most populous nation to the northeast. Name the nation.

3. Pop Culture – Television. What current CBS sitcom features Patrick Warburton and David Spade?

4. Big City Mayors. Jean Quan is the mayor of what northern California city of 390,000?

5. Another Music Question. What is the best-selling Outkast song of all time?

The Scrooge vs. Grinch Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on December 5, 2011

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Welcome to December! As I marched with my family in the candlelit parade through downtown Davis last Thursday, and the subsequent visit to The Varsity Theatre for the free showing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I thought of London, and the London wintertimes I spent in 1985 and 1987 watching British and continental shoppers and revelers getting ready for Christmas. I acted in The Christmas Carol when I was a youth, and it was thrilling to me to be walking the same streets that Dickens had walked when inventing that foundational Christmas story 140 years earlier. While our modern American Christmas traditions are sustained by movies and TV shows (and you can expect me to ask A Charlie Brown Christmas question every year), the trees, the images on cards, and many of the carols that we associate with classic Christmas traditions were created or re-discovered in Dickens’ London. Do certain literary works or locales fuel your holiday celebrations?

Of course, not everyone celebrates Christmas, something I remind myself at Christmas time (and also around Easter). Not everyone watches TV, either. I myself actually have to do web research to pose simple questions about shows such as CSI and Dancing with the Stars. That said, tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature a number of TV shows and other entertainments for children. Expect questions tonight on Dr. Seuss, Charlie Brown, microblogging, CPR, bats and boats, art and art history, popular musicians, combat sports, history enumerated, chemical reactions, old actors, inventions, big countries, California cities, Swedes, sitcoms that I had barely heard of, platinum singles from the last decade, emus in October, Muppets, New York Hotels, religious terms, great screenplays, early explorers, insects, Illinois, Newt Gingrich (not Herman Cain this time), French literature, baseball, and Shakespeare.

Some teams grab their preferred tables as early as 4:45. Will I see you inside our toasty and traditional de Vere’s Irish Pub when I arrive at 6 tonight?

Best,

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

10. Great Americans. Who is the current Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court?

11. The US Military. According to a recent report by a group of retired generals, what has become the leading medical disqualifier for military service?

12. Stats You Should Know. Rounded off to the nearest percent, what is the current US unemployment rate? (This number has gone down since last week – I expect it to drop further.)

13. Pop Culture – Television. What is the last name of the contestant who won the most recent Dancing with the Stars competition?

14. American History. The Mayflower Compact, signed on November 11, 1620, was the governing document of what colony?

The Augustus Gloop Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

by yourquizmaster on November 28, 2011

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

It’s always exciting for a Quizmaster to walk into an Irish Pub full of anticipation and trivia wonks, as happened for the first time in Davis last Monday. It must be like attending a TED Conference, only with Guinness. Every time I visit de Vere’s, and I seem to have dropped by a couple times a week since the soft opening, I’m struck by how many friends I run into. What is it about the place that draws crowds of thinkers and laughers? When I told my six-year old Truman that it was the Mayor of Davis that I had just introduced him to, he admitted that he thought Barack Obama was the Mayor of Davis. He and I listen to more NPR together than watch TV, so I suppose such misapprehensions are understandable.

I think one reason de Vere's Irish Pub is so popular is the evident attention paid to the quality of the ingredients in the food. As a July de Vere’s Irish Pub blog entry put it, de Vere's chefs "have sourced the most satisfying ingredients from local growers." By contrast, members of Congress have caved to food industry lobbyists and have allowed American schoolchildren to have access primarily to cafeteria food products that will make them unhealthy.

This article by food writer Kristin Wartman argues that the industrial "pizza" served in America's school cafeterias is not even pizza. And now Congress wants to redefine this frozen chemical concoction as a "vegetable." On some days I feel like the food our schoolchildren eat is being "regulated" by Veruca Salt and Augustus Gloop.

If you read that article by Wartman, you’ll encounter an answer to a question on tonight’s de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz. You can also expect questions on dragons, sandwiches, shopping (America’s Pastime), the roots of American music, horror comedies, prison, bombs, short actors, members of the Baseball HOF, California, liquid resistance, the judiciary, television shows that females in my family never miss, lowered wreaths, Baghdad, Frasier, Kung Fu, scarecrows, Hugo, movies from 2011, Ireland, cities and more cities, Linnaeus, college football, San Francisco, and Shakespeare.

I hope you can join us when we start at 7 tonight at de Vere’s Irish Pub for the Pub Quiz!

Your Quizmaster

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

1. Unusual Words. What C word means “likely to make a grating noise” and “showing signs of age and deterioration”?

2. Animated Movies from 2010. Who was Megamind’s nemesis?

3. State Capitals. What is the capital of South Carolina?

4. Pop Culture – Television. What Freaks and Geeks actor appeared in the 2011 films The Muppets, Friends with Benefits, and Bad Teacher?

5. California Geography. What Orange County city of 190,000 is known as Surf City?