Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
“Education is the best provision for old age,” said Aristotle, who lived into his early 60s. Did he mean that thinking people live longer, or that the elderly will have more to reflect upon if they can look back on a life full of rich learning experiences? According to a recent study from the US Census titled “Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earnings Estimates” (by Tiffany Julian and Robert Kominski), pursuing a higher education is also the greatest way to guarantee making a comfortable living. We’ve been thinking about this because of the debate about how to support, encourage and employ the 14 million Americans (a number larger than the population of Illinois) who are unemployed and looking for jobs. Investing in educating our current and future workforce will certainly make those people more employable, and our country more productive and competitive.
As a poet, I try not to think much about productivity and competition, but as a teacher and a Dad visiting Harper Junior High School on Back to School Night, I found myself wondering how well our schools are preparing our teenagers for the improved job market that I hope is waiting for them. Fortunately, this year my wife Kate and I were especially impressed with the teachers we met as we rushed through an abbreviated version of my daughter Geneva’s schedule. One Spanish teacher used the book she had written as a graduate student as a prop. Another math teacher talked so excitedly about algebra that we almost wanted to enroll ourselves. I’ll be copying Geneva’s homework assignments a few times this quarter to see how well you do with some of the word problems that have been giving me pause. I was only three years older than my daughter the last time I took a math class, and the rust is showing as I “help” her with problems about the calories in apples and pears. As an always-curious autodidact, I have some work to do.
I hope you can join us for tonight’s Pub Quiz. In addition to two questions about unusual fruits, we’ll learn about and discuss hotels, internet companies, general changes, Corpus Christi, Texas and other faraway hotspots, Japanese words that we hear every week, London streets, famous people not known by their original first names of Alfred, people who thrive in their 50s in fields dominated by youngsters, German inventors, people you wouldn’t expect to have PhDs, weights and measurements, confetti wilds, chawbacons, singers known by their first names, animated television, food herders, deduction, Star Wars, musical instruments, two-syllable colors, Canadian actors, Latin words, OPEC, patents, the western US, football, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Shakespeare.
There will also be one question on September 11th, 2001.
People are moving to Davis! If you bring a new team to the Pub Quiz tonight, I shall reward both of you. See you tonight!
Your Quizmaster
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
1. Mottos and Slogans. “Hello Moto” is the commercial slogan of what telecom company?
2. Internet Culture and Video Games. What is the name of the character portrayed by Angelina Jolie in the 2001 film subtitled Tomb Raider?
3. Newspaper Headlines. What Italo-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model, born in 1967, announced today that the media will never get photos of her baby (after it is born)?
4. Four for Four. Subcategory – Turtles. The earliest known turtles date from 215 million years ago. This makes this reptile group older than which of the following, if any? Crocodiles, Humans, Lizards, Snakes.
5. Actors and Actresses. What Oscar-nominated actor and comedian is the frontrunner to host the Academy Awards next year?
P.S. I am hosting a poetry reading at the John Natsoulas Gallery on Thursday. You are invited!
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/.