Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
I was honored this past Monday to present an original poem at an event commemorating the life of a UC Davis student, Karim Abou Najm, who was killed a year ago at age 20. Everyone local knows the story of Karim and David Breaux, two original and visionary Davisites who shared messages of compassion, curiosity, and uplift.
Rather than sharing a long newsletter on the many other topics that I’ve been thinking about this week, I will just share the poem and ask you to keep their memories in your heart.
Binary Stars – a poem in honor of Karim Abou Najm
“Najm” is the Arabic word for “star.”
Our first stargazers beheld the brightest stars with wonder,
not knowing until handed the eventual telescope
that sometimes twin stars depended upon each other,
gravitational forces keeping them in mutual orbit.
Such it is with our children.
They ply and test and challenge
the familial gravitational pull,
the parent star loosening and tightening the cosmic tether,
knowing that at some point the stellar companion
must find his own orbit.
Oh but how the universe is vast
when the tether is cut too soon!
We look to the skies,
imagining the form,
the face,
the smile,
the brilliant eyes of our bright star.
We look for signs, imagining wonders.
The corona remains.
Behold now the halo of light around the absence.
Sailors can still guide their ships from the celestial ring,
this exoplanetary symbol of eternity,
this steadfast corona.
To this day, the companion star’s light enlightens our eyes.
The captain gives a nod of thanks
to the supernova first mate
who keeps watch while the captain sleeps,
sometimes visiting dreams with a smile and a salute.
We know the light of that companion star.
The corona does not fade.
We still feel the gravitational tug.
The weather will be pleasant on this Wednesday night, and the wind will have died down by 7 PM. If you are in Davis this evening, please recruit a team and join us at the beautiful outdoor patio at Sudwerk where we have room for everyone. Even though it is more work for me, we always have more fun with the bigger crowds and more voices. As Saint Augustine allegedly said, “Good times and crazy friends make the best memories.” This may also be true of crazy times and good friends.
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on constant improvement, inexpensive assistance, compromising leaders, American places named after American places, memorable pairings, soccer stars who leave the field, crypto (hello crypto-bros!), American theatre, frightening underwater encounters, gin, eastern countries, expensive hobbies, people who try, Pennsylvania exports, Oscar-winning actors, people who sit at the captain’s table, Lake Michigan, Arizona happenstances, the sort of food that New York novelists enjoy at final luaus, recognizable people with many names, liberal bias, platinum albums, Apple interfaces, human anatomy, unlikely VIPs, soul trains, plans for discouraging litigation, animal species, cities that start with a single letter and where you likely have never lived, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare. Because Lois Wolk may join us tonight, there will be no questions about NFL football.
Thanks to all the new patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. Thanks also to Brooke, Jeannie, Becky, Franklin, and More Cow Bell. Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the dependable Mavens, and others who support the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of supporters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Best,
Dr. Andy
P.S. Three questions from last week:
- Books and Authors. Born in Indianapolis in 1977, who authored books that have sold more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including The Fault in Our Stars, one of the best-selling books of all time?
- Current Events – Names in the News. People Magazine revealed recently that the actress who won an Oscar for 1983’s Terms of Endearment and has starred in classic films such as The Apartment, Postcards from the Edge and Steel Magnolias, will be coming out with a new memoir titled The Wall of Life, to be published October 22. What is her name?
- Sports. Nicknamed “Prime Time,” what head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder is the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series?
P.P.S. May 2 is Poetry Night at the Natsoulas Gallery. Join us at 7 for dynamic Sacramento performance poets Mario Hill and Bill Carr.