Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
As a Quizmaster, I always appreciate this time of year, for most of our irregular Pub Quiz participants (and I suppose that would be most of us) have a decreased workload at work or school this week, and thus can (ir)responsibly packed for the Pub Quiz, spreading noisy good cheer in anticipation of the winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s celebrations. Tonight’s Pub Quiz will sell out, so you should plan to come early tonight, even if you have to wrestle others for a barstool or a spot for your team on the floor near the Christmas tree. When my family and I stopped by yesterday for some dinner, my youngest son Truman was excited to see mini Christmas trees on each of the tables. The youngest eyes are always the widest. On the way home, the family minivan parked in front of author and movie critic Derrick Bang’s house to see his award-winning decorations, and to listen to his low-energy pirate FM radio station whose signal can be heard only within about 10 yards of his Cowell Street home. He plays Christmas jazz, a topic that he knows well, and delights cartoon-loving children with displays that use far less electricity than those on Candy Cane Court in Wildhorse. Impressively, one of the Candy Cane / Henri Court homes is collecting canned goods for STEAC, or the Short Term Emergency Aid Committee, for not everyone in Yolo County will be eating as well as the Cratchit family does on Christmas Day. For more on STEAC, visit http://www.steac.org/, and for more on the displays on Candy Cane Court (including a map), see http://www.lightsofthevalley.com/Properties/Detail.asp?i=513.
At the Farmers Market Saturday I discovered from one favorite Pub Quiz participant that, according to the hit TV show 30 Rock, “Happy Holidays” is what the terrorists say. Do you agree?
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature Christmas questions. Always in the past I have made a point of reflecting a diverse array of cultural and religious practices at the Pub Quiz (for example, this evening you will hear two Israel-related questions), but tonight we shall focus a bit more closely on the culturally-dominant practice of celebrating Christmas. Of course, the extent to which the crass commercialism of current rushed holiday practices should actually represent the Christian holiday has been long debated, famously on television every year by Charlie Brown and his friend Linus:
Charlie Brown: I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn’t have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about.
[shouting in desperation]
Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
[moves toward the center of the stage]
Linus Van Pelt: Lights, please.
[a spotlight shines on Linus]
Linus Van Pelt: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'”
[Linus picks up his blanket and walks back towards Charlie Brown]
Linus Van Pelt: That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
I’m sure Derrick Bang would appreciate some Peanuts questions, but instead tonight you should expect questions about sugarplums (well, candy), viral videos, s’mores, Benjamin Franklin, celebrity gossip, volunteers, funny horror movies, funny caper films, staggerish synonyms for drunkenness, ballet, female athletes, phobias, Bill Clinton, Robert De Niro, liberal vocabulary words, Sesame Street, reindeer, dogs, business partners, oceans, winter wonderlands, Israel, big books, superheroes, Truman Capote, poems that you’ve actually heard of, football, Shakespeare, and France.
I send you and your families holiday cheer, I look forward to seeing you tonight for the pre-Christmas edition of the Pub Quiz!
Your Quizmaster
https://www.yourquizmaster.com
P.S. Here are five questions from last week’s Quiz:
10. Great American Cities. What one-word east coast city of about 100,000 that U.S. News and World Report called one of “America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up” has as its city nickname “Birthplace of the Modern World”? Hint: Like most of you, I have never visited this city.
11. Unusual Words. What four-syllable adjective starting with the letter V as in victory means “marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry”?
12. Another Music Question. Which four-word title Abbey Road song has been downloaded on iTunes more than any other Beatles song?
13. Pop Culture – Television. Tuvok and Neelix were characters on what specific TV show?
14. Know Your Attorney Generals. Who did Alberto Gonzalez succeed as Attorney General in 2005?
Friends of the Pub Quiz, and those curious about all the fun and fuss associated with the Pub Quiz, should come to de Vere’s Irish Pub in Davis (217 E Street), the highly esteemed pub and restaurant that fills up every night because of the superb quality of food, drink and company that can be found there. The de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz takes place every Monday at 7pm, though players are encouraged to arrive early to claim a table. As always, find out more about the Pub Quiz by visiting https://www.yourquizmaster.com. For more on de Vere’s Irish Pub, visit http://deverespub.com/.