The Links to Busy Strangers Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

 

I’ve talked to many strangers since I saw you last.

 

In addition to the growing audience of my radio show, to whom I introduced Nina Amir, the writing coach and author of the book How to Blog a Book, Thursday I spoke at the UC Davis Design Museum about my former professor and colleague Sandra McPherson. Sandy, a beloved poet and teacher, had donated all 67 of the quilts she had collected, all of them created by African American female artists, most of them in the southern US. I got to read one of Sandy’s poems, titled “Artists,” and talk about what an important voice she has been for poetry, and for her students.

 

Then Friday I presented a talk at a writing conference in San Francisco, a paper titled “It’s All About the Caption: Understanding and Encouraging Students’ Use of Social Media to Create Multi-Modal Compositions.” Therein I talked about how rewarding it is to work with such talented Technocultural Studies students at UC Davis, and how I love encouraging them to take their knowledge of images, film, animation and sound, and create multimodal compositions in response to my assignments. They repeatedly delight and surprise me with their creativity and originality.

 

Then Saturday I gave a talk before the Ina Coolbrith Poetry Circle in Lafayette about the importance of radio on poetry and literacy. Kate brought the kids to that event, and several people came up to us afterwards to remark on how well-behaved our children are. That was almost as gratifying as hearing people laugh at my impersonations of Dylan Thomas (Born 100 years ago) and the late Amiri Baraka. Speaking of people born 100 years ago, a poet named Ben Slomoff shared a poem with us that had won a prize last year when Ben was 99. Now he is 100. My new friend Ben earned a master’s degree in conflict resolution in 1997 from the University of Massachusetts. What an admirable fellow.

 

And then on Sunday, like Ben Slomoff, I rested. Both Ben and I had earned it. How was your weekend?

 

Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on the following topics: dogs and dog breeds, staged violence, football defense, enforcers and where they come from, gothic novels, Heart favorites, Swedes, big cities, Ireland (the island itself), films that are not titled Shrek, infectious diseases, meadows, radically progressive statements about women, menaces, dudes named Jack, young royals, absent flavor varieties, venerables, the poem “The World is Too Much With Us,” Harvard, alcohols, Julie Andrews, handlers, famous foundings, slides, newspaper headlines, Apples, American rebels, California cities, and Shakespeare.

 

See you tonight!

 

Your Quizmaster

https://www.yourquizmaster.com

http://www.twitter.com/yourquizmaster

http://www.facebook.com/yourquizmaster

yourquizmaster@gmail.com

 

Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

 

1. Great Americans.  Who the first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California?

 

2. Unusual Words. What C verb means “To modify, especially to increase, the rate of (a chemical reaction)”? Verbs only, please.

 

3. American Cities. What American city is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located?

 

4. Pop Culture – Television.     The name of the 1980s TV sitcom title character ALF is actually an anagram for what?

 

5. Another Music Question: Three-Vowel First Names. Who had big 2010 hits with “Dynamite” and “Break Your Heart”? 

 

P.S. Poetry Night returns on February 6 with a reading by Molly Fisk. Stay tuned for more information!