Whoa! The newbies outnumbered the regulars last night at Lion & Crown, Allen!
Out of the sixteen (count 'em) teams that played, only seven were among our
usual suspects list. Twelve new teams put themselves on the roster and seven
of those registered! Whoa! What was going on? (Some say it was a teacher's
conference. If it was, that answers a lot of questions about today's educational
system... Moving on.)
Stealth Texas managed to get to the top of the pyramid early and stayed there all
night ending up as a 57 point winner. Street Smarts fought their way to second
in round six while the Bastard Barristers (welcome back, gentlemen) were judged
into third.
On the coinky-dink side of things, team Drunk Teachers mentioned they play KTPQ
out in San Diego, CA. They also mentioned something about playing here in Texas
to the effect of, "Wow. I don't know what it is about Texas, but, wow... Maybe
it's like in the air or something?" Team EXTRA! from Idaho definitely had the
most esprit d corps with the loudest yells whenever scores were announced. The
T-Waffles, a table of four ladies, faired the best of the newbies by commanding
the fourth position just outside the winner's circle. Congratulations!
Of the best style point (thank you Clive Anderson) winners, the cream of the crop
appears as follows:
*Which Meet-the-Press host co-moderated the Democratic Debate? Joe Nobody.
*Round Five's Find-the-Connection connection was thought to be 'You can use them
all in bed' by one wag.
*The Tumblr acronym GPOY was thought by one team to be Go (euphemism for urinate)
on Yourself. (Shame!)
*And the best guess for naming a Noble Gas was Queen Elizabeth's Methane.
That's all the news that fits! Have a great weekend! Quiz Master Lou, out!
This week's King Trivia Recap is a bummer. In light of circumstances, I have
written two. Down below is a second, more usual, cheerful recap. Skip this one
if you don't want your mellow harshed. One of our regulars at the Lion & Crown
in Allen, known by many but only to me as Rob - the Bar Guy, passed away. That
he took his own life is the tragedy. I can only submit my own grief in terms of
how I knew him. Flashes of memory: One contentious evening, I was being harried
by some players who did not like the answer. As we argued loudly, Rob came over
and whispered in my ear that he had my back if things got froggy. On another
occasion, after the quiz had ended and we were playing darts in the game room, my
pub chums (Rob among them) and I stumbling about, Rob locked me in a bear hug and
proclaimed "I love ya, man!" As little as I knew about this man, I knew as much
as I needed to have love and respect for him. The energy was weird last night.
Running a pub quiz in a bar where half the patrons are holding an Irish wake is
strange to say the least. I split my time between being chipper ole Quiz Master
Lou on stage and crying when I wasn't. When I arrived at the L&C, the owner,
Sandra, took me aside to break the news. She said we had to do something. That's
the human condition, isn't it? All of us humans... Doing what we do in this and
all the other situations we humans get ourselves into... Thank you Derek, behind
the bar, shouting for me to mention Rob. So I did. We raised our glasses for a
toast. A gesture, but heartfelt. Suicides happen and we all acknowledge it.
When one happens close to us... Well, that's for each of us to decide.
*******
The Lion & Crown in Watter's Creek last night was packed with patrons as we headed
into yet another King Trivia Pub Quiz! Too bad most of them were there for a
birthday bash and cleared out when the questions began. Actually, with nine
teams, we had the usual time with the usual suspects and a couple of newbies
thrown in. Welcome to the Jon's, who promised to come back with their wives the
next time to add to their brain trust. Also, welcome to S.T.E.A.K. It's an
acronym of their names. Possibly what they like to eat. I said they were rare.
Ahem. Moving on. The Pilarinski's returned after a long absence. Pickles on a
Plate, Beer Logic and IFFY! all gave it their all, but it was Street Smarts who
took home the gold (again!) while the Ninja Turtles grabbed second. Perhaps their
minds were elsewhere as the impending marriage of Kyle and Evelyn (Remember? When
QM Lou sprang their proposal during the Guess Who Round last year?) looms next week.
And of course, Blood, Bath & Beyond/Ship It! got third.
Another great question set from our quiz writers out west! But it was Round
Seven's name the 10 Muppet movies that garnered the best guesses of desperation!
I give you...
Muppets: Unstrung
Muppets go Rogue
Muppets vs. Sesame Street
Muppets: Down Under
Muppets: The Great Escape
Silence of the Muppets
Muppets: Frog Legs or Pork Chops?
Muppets: Ms. Piggy Does Dallas
Muppets: Kermit goes to Rehab
Quiz Master Lou signing off!
As July heats you up, the Lion & Crown cools you down as patrons came to their
favorite pub last night to imbibe a tasty adult beverage and exercise their brains
in yet another Thursday evening's King Trivia Pub Quiz!
In honor of the late Arte Johnson, Quiz Master Lou would like to opine that last
night's question set was "Verrrry interesting!" If there was a zeitgeist at work
it could only be described as, "that thing you used to know so well, but haven't
thought of in a long time and now you can't remember it!" There may be a more
economical way of expressing that thought, but Quiz Master Lou can't think of it.
Such an example would be the Visual Round. Garfield the comic strip. Sure. We
all know who Odie is and maybe Jon. But Lyman?!? I mean, how long has it been
since you were a regular reader? Then there was matching the landmark to its
architectural style. If you weren't an architecture student, you were a guesser!
And finally, there was my fave, the round seven Music Men list. Films about real
life musicians that got best actor nominations?!? Wow. (To his credit, Quiz
Master Lou correctly guessed Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney when he did
his test run!) Great stuff, quiz writers...
The undermanned Street Smarts, despite low turnout, managed a third place win
while the triple alliance of IFFY!/Blood, Bath & Beyond/Ship It! took second.
Stealth Texas, teaming with the Bar Guy, combining themselves into the Stealth
Guy, won first place honors handily, leaping way out in front with an eleven
point cushion.
That's the way it is, quiz fans! Have a great weekend! And if that's too much
pressure, aim for mediocre. You won't be disappointed.
