Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
The end of August marks a significant transition for most renters in Davis, as well as for the Pub Quiz. One reason (among many) that it is so difficult to find an available table at the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz over the summer is that many renters have few summer responsibilities outside of preparing for moving from their beloved adopted hometown. As a result, July and August provide ideal opportunities for them to relish time with friends, enjoy a beverage, and prove to themselves and to the other teams that they have learned something during their years of instruction at UC Davis. Vibrant people who choose not to subordinate their leisure time to one (shrinking) screen or another often prefer to look their friends in the eyes as they rack their brains for a tip-of-the-tongue response to something they feel they should know. The competition, laughter, element of chance and camaraderie provide many summer Davisites moments of instant nostalgia that they can carry to their next lease or to their next adventure outside of our entirely relevant city.
Once September rolls around, we will see who has remained. Will the fall months pack our Irish Pub the way the summer months have? Will Dr. Andy choose valuable items of swag from the free-for-all yard sale goods found outside every apartment complex in Davis this week? Find the answers to these and many other questions at the de Vere’s Irish Pub Quiz. To September and beyond!
And speaking of our obsessions with screens, I’m just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to reaching for a smart phone whenever I am off walking by myself, or when I am taking my children trick-or-treating, as portrayed in a famous October 2009 cover illustration of The New Yorker. Because I have impulsive children, I consider myself especially aware of my surroundings, for my first job is to keep them safe. Nevertheless, after Pub Quiz last Monday I didn’t hear that bicyclist speeding down D Street without a light. I was also distracted, while crossing the street, by my cell phone, for I was texting my wife Kate that I’d be right home to help put the kids to bed after their day at Stinson Beach. When the unapologetic cyclist slammed into me, I was just about to hit “send” – instead, I watched my beloved iPhone skirt down the block, the screen facing upward and clearly visible in the crepuscular evening. Of course, it didn’t help that I wasn’t watching where I was going, and that I was dressed like a ninja. Fortunately, like a ninja, I walked away from my conflict without a scratch. At least I didn’t end up like that woman who stumbled into the mall fountain while texting. Be safe out there, folks! The Pub Quiz is not the only time when you should take a break from your smart phone.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on many of the expected topics, including a great deal of film questions. Expect to be asked about blockbuster films, online films, sequels, and action-adventure films. Expect also to be asked about otters, people of European extraction, bicycles, Republicans, millionaires, the people of Davis, intelligibility, Unitarians, Hannibal, hockey, Boston, caimans, Dutchmen, New York Times bestsellers from the 1950s, petty stringed instruments, tears, geode notches, iMAX, screws, People Magazine, countries that import their fish, final fantasies, botany, great poets, jazz, incredible pitchers, and Shakespeare.
I hope you will join the capacity audience for tonight’s quiz, and that you will help me in September to recruit new players to replace the departed renters. Thanks for all your attention this summer!
Your Quizmaster
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz, this time with a few answers.
1. Mottos and Slogans. What company proclaims that you should “Leave the driving to us”?
2. Internet Culture. Not adjusted for inflation, what is the most valuable company in history?
3. Newspaper Headlines. Swimmer Diana Nyad is currently attempting a swim between what two countries? Cuba and the United States (she didn’t make it)
4. Four for Four. Which of the following actors, if any, were born in Russia? Yul Brynner, Kirk Douglas, Peter Falk, Natalie Portman. (YNNN) At the end of his life, I got to see Brynner play The King on stage.
5. Sports. What NFL quarterback holds the record for career completions?