This is the 566th and final post of The Mighty Quinn Media Machine for 2011. It's been another successful year for this blog, but I did notice a trend here recently: I've been writing less as the years go on.
I wrote a high of 713 posts in 2008, but they have been declining every year since. Last year I did 635, but this year it's down by 69. My guess is the more time I've been spending on Facebook has taken away some of my writing here at the blog. And I also think that the Red Sox bomb-out last September probably entered into the decline as well.
Hopefully I'll beat 566 posts for 2012. We shall see.
(And today, we will most likely break the all-time record for the most number of hits on this blog in one single day. I write this at shortly after 11 AM, and we've had a staggering 435 hits here already, and the record is 583 for one day. We usually get about 100-120 per day. I'll have an update on that tomorrow.)
I want to thank each and every one of you who stop here and check on my ramblings from time to time, and especially to those of you who come here a little more often. You make it all worthwhile, and I wish you all the best for 2012.
New Year's Eve is generally a quiet time for me. I usually spend it at home with family and friends and watch the ball drop on TV. I have been to Times Square on New Year's Eve just once: in the movies. (I have been told that you can see me as a reveler in the new Garry Marshall film "New Year's Eve" that came out earlier this month. I haven't seen it yet, but I worked on it for six days as an extra this past March, April and September. And I pop up early in the film.) I have always said there are three types of people who go to Times Square on New Year's Eve: tourists, cops and pickpockets.
I will be watching the Twilight Zone and Honeymooners marathons today and tomorrow. My DVR will be getting the workout of its life over the next 48 hours! The Twilight Zone has already begun on SyFy and will run until the early morning hours of Monday. The Honeymooners will start at 11 PM tonight and run until 6 PM on Sunday on WPIX here in New York. It wouldn't be New Year's without them both. But one thing I can now live without is "New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC. I was always a fan of Dick Clark, but since he suffered his stroke and insists on appearing on it, I can't watch him try to speak. It's more sad than anything else. And don't get me started on the musical "talent" they usually parade in. Totally unwatchable.
So in honor of New Year's, here's my favorite Honeymooners clip, from "The Golfer," as Ed Norton tries to teach Ralph Kramden how to play golf. It's known as the "Hello Ball!" clip. (The episode will air at exactly midnight tonight.) Enjoy:
A Happy and Blessed New Year to all of you for 2012.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Turnovers Doom The Irish
Notre Dame's season ended last night with a thud as Florida State came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half and won, 18-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.
The game looked promising for the Irish from the start, as Tommy Rees led a drive that unfortunately ended with a tipped pass in the end zone that was intercepted. But Florida State fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and Zeke Motta returned it 29 yards for a TD. It remained 7-0 until early in the third quarter.
Rees hit Michael Floyd, playing in his last game for the Irish, with a 5-yard TD pass to cap off a 62-yard drive to open the third quarter. It was a tough game for Rees overall, as he and Andrew Hendrix were shuffled in and out throughout the game.
Florida State scored twice in the third, on a 42-yard field goal and a 18-yard pass play. They tried a two-point conversion to cut the score to 3, but failed. Early in the fourth, Hendrix was intercepted, and on the next play, Florida State took the lead for good with a TD pass to make it 18-14. Notre Dame had a shot near the end, but Rees was picked off in the end zone with just under three minutes to play, and FSU ran out the clock. (ND got it back with 24 seconds left, but they were too far from the end zone to be a serious scoring threat.)
Notre Dame finishes 2011 with a 9-4 record, and will begin the 2012 season on September 1st in Dublin, Ireland against Navy.
And after the Notre Dame game, was the Washington-Baylor matchup in the Alamo Bowl. One of the most incredible football games I've ever seen. Baylor won 67-56, and the teams had no interest in playing defense: they set a bowl record for TDs (17), total yards gained (1,397) and missed the all-time record for points in a bowl game by just 2. It sure wasn't dull.
The game looked promising for the Irish from the start, as Tommy Rees led a drive that unfortunately ended with a tipped pass in the end zone that was intercepted. But Florida State fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and Zeke Motta returned it 29 yards for a TD. It remained 7-0 until early in the third quarter.
Rees hit Michael Floyd, playing in his last game for the Irish, with a 5-yard TD pass to cap off a 62-yard drive to open the third quarter. It was a tough game for Rees overall, as he and Andrew Hendrix were shuffled in and out throughout the game.
Florida State scored twice in the third, on a 42-yard field goal and a 18-yard pass play. They tried a two-point conversion to cut the score to 3, but failed. Early in the fourth, Hendrix was intercepted, and on the next play, Florida State took the lead for good with a TD pass to make it 18-14. Notre Dame had a shot near the end, but Rees was picked off in the end zone with just under three minutes to play, and FSU ran out the clock. (ND got it back with 24 seconds left, but they were too far from the end zone to be a serious scoring threat.)
Notre Dame finishes 2011 with a 9-4 record, and will begin the 2012 season on September 1st in Dublin, Ireland against Navy.
And after the Notre Dame game, was the Washington-Baylor matchup in the Alamo Bowl. One of the most incredible football games I've ever seen. Baylor won 67-56, and the teams had no interest in playing defense: they set a bowl record for TDs (17), total yards gained (1,397) and missed the all-time record for points in a bowl game by just 2. It sure wasn't dull.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Red Sox Acquire Bailey
The Red Sox appear to have landed a new closer in Andrew Bailey, as according to Buster Olney, the Sox will send Josh Reddick to Oakland as part of a deal to get the Athletics' closer.Bailey is 27, and has been the Oakland closer the last three years. He has had some elbow problems in the past, but I'm guessing that's not worrying the Red Sox brass.
The Red Sox will also acquire outfielder Ryan Sweeney, and they will send two single A players, first baseman Miles Head and pitcher Raul Alcantara, according to Extra Bases.
And also, old friend Hideki Okajima reached a minor league deal with the Yankees, and will be invited to spring training to try and make the club. The Yankees were about five years too late on Oki, as his pal Hideki Matsui recommended that they sign him before the 2007 season, but they passed on him. The Red Sox grabbed him, and he was a vital part of the 2007 championship team.
Trivia Q&A: December 27
When I got to Professor Thom's early Tuesday night, I discovered that the Celtics were playing the Heat on TNT at 8 PM, and I knew that could be the cause of potential trouble on a Trivia Night.
Fortunately, the rain and the fact the game was broadcast locally on cable kept the Celtics fans to a lower number, and we were able to get Trivia Night going, at halftime around 9:30 PM. We had a good crowd of Trivia folks, as 18 teams took part.
The scores for the first three rounds were rather low, and I feared I might have made this week's Trivia a bit too hard. But the scores rebounded nicely in the General Knowledge round.
The team of Old Lang Sign! did well all night, and had the highest score in the IQ Trivia round, and wound up winning with 41 points and by seven points. Another nice job by my favorite group of teachers!
Second place went to Sandusky: Great Babysitter or Greatest Babysitter? who had 34 points (and also won Best Team Name), and third place was a tie between Chocolate Breast Milk and Adrian Peterson Didn't Tear His ACL, It Just Went Ghost Protocol, both with 33 points.
An important message about next week: Because of Michigan's bowl game next Tuesday night, tons of Wolverine fans will be in Thom's, so we have to move Trivia Night next week to Monday, January 2nd, at 9 PM. We will return to Tuesdays on January 10th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. Travel and Leisure magazine named what New York place "the best new landmark in America" for 2011?
2. The Associated Press selected what NFL player as their "Male Athlete of the Year" for 2011?
3. What rock band announced last week they will have a tour and new album in 2012 with their original lead singer, who left the group over a quarter-century ago?
4. The Green Bay Packers were recently picked in a recent poll by Public Policy Polling as "America's Favorite NFL Team." What NFL team was selected as the least favorite team?
5. Former President George H.W. Bush unofficially endorsed which of the Republican presidential candidates last week?
6. Jordan Romero, 15, last weekend became the youngest person to climb the highest mountains on all 7 continents when he climbed Mount Vinson on what continent?
7. What new movie release topped the Christmas weekend box office with over $26 million to become the number one film in America?
2011 Trivia
1. What deceased rock legend, a three-time Grammy winner, received a Grammy nomination for a box set released in 2011?
2. What European country banned the words "Facebook" and "Twitter" from being spoken on TV and radio unless they are part of a news story?
3. The world's largest bridge over water, nearly 26 miles long, opened last June in what Asian country?
4. Apple opened their largest store last month at what famous New York City location?
5. What rock band concluded their latest world tour in Canada last July, grossing over $736 million, the highest grossing tour of all-time?
6. According to Forbes magazine, there are now 3 countries in the world that have more than 100 billionaires. The US and China are two. Which one is the third?
7. According to the Wall Street Journal, which company passed McDonald's in 2011 as the world's largest restaurant chain?
Name The Month Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Seal Team Six kills Bin Laden in Pakistan.
2. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns.
3. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies.
4. The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Lower Manhattan.
5. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in Arizona.
6. Christian Lopez returns Derek Jeter's 3000th hit ball, a home run, to him.
7. Japan is struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami off the Tohoku coast, killing nearly 20,000.
8. Bruce Springsteen's sax player, Clarence Clemons, dies after suffering a stroke, at the age of 69.
9. American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
10. The sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss Kahn is officially dismissed.
General Knowledge
1. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" comes from what 1979 film? ( 1 pt)
2. Who was the first US president born in the 20th century? ( 1 pt)
3. As of 2011, what is the world's largest online marketplace? ( 1 pt)
4. What country does the legend of William Tell come from? ( 2 pt)
5. Stars die when they run out of what element? ( 2 pt)
6. What future US president watched Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession in 1865 from the second-floor window of his home in Manhattan? ( 2 pt)
7. Currently what is the color of British passports? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. What 19th century novel was the first American novel to sell one million copies? ( 4 points)
2. Clinophobia is the fear of doing what, something a person normally does every day? ( 5 points)
3. What Oscar-winning director is the godfather of actress Drew Barrymore? ( 4 points)
4. The Transamerica Pyramid is located in what city? ( 3 points)
5. Mount Godwin-Austen or "K2" as it sometimes called, is the world's second-largest mountain and located principally in what Asian nation? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. 9/11 Memorial; 2. Aaron Rodgers; 3. Van Halen; 4. Dallas Cowboys; 5. Mitt Romney; 6. Antarctica; 7. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol.
2011 Trivia
1. Elvis Presley; 2. France; 3. China; 4. Grand Central Station; 5. U2; 6. Russia; 7. Subway.
Name The Month Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. May; 2. February; 3. October; 4. September; 5. January; 6. July; 7. March; 8. June; 9. November; 10. August.
General Knowledge
1. "Apocalypse Now;" 2. John F. Kennedy; 3. eBay; 4. Switzerland; 5. hydrogen; 6. Theodore Roosevelt; 7. red (burgundy).
IQ Trivia
1. "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" 2. Going to bed; 3. Steven Spielberg; 4. San Francisco; 5. Pakistan.
Fortunately, the rain and the fact the game was broadcast locally on cable kept the Celtics fans to a lower number, and we were able to get Trivia Night going, at halftime around 9:30 PM. We had a good crowd of Trivia folks, as 18 teams took part.
The scores for the first three rounds were rather low, and I feared I might have made this week's Trivia a bit too hard. But the scores rebounded nicely in the General Knowledge round.
The team of Old Lang Sign! did well all night, and had the highest score in the IQ Trivia round, and wound up winning with 41 points and by seven points. Another nice job by my favorite group of teachers!
Second place went to Sandusky: Great Babysitter or Greatest Babysitter? who had 34 points (and also won Best Team Name), and third place was a tie between Chocolate Breast Milk and Adrian Peterson Didn't Tear His ACL, It Just Went Ghost Protocol, both with 33 points.
An important message about next week: Because of Michigan's bowl game next Tuesday night, tons of Wolverine fans will be in Thom's, so we have to move Trivia Night next week to Monday, January 2nd, at 9 PM. We will return to Tuesdays on January 10th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. Travel and Leisure magazine named what New York place "the best new landmark in America" for 2011?
2. The Associated Press selected what NFL player as their "Male Athlete of the Year" for 2011?
3. What rock band announced last week they will have a tour and new album in 2012 with their original lead singer, who left the group over a quarter-century ago?
4. The Green Bay Packers were recently picked in a recent poll by Public Policy Polling as "America's Favorite NFL Team." What NFL team was selected as the least favorite team?
5. Former President George H.W. Bush unofficially endorsed which of the Republican presidential candidates last week?
6. Jordan Romero, 15, last weekend became the youngest person to climb the highest mountains on all 7 continents when he climbed Mount Vinson on what continent?
7. What new movie release topped the Christmas weekend box office with over $26 million to become the number one film in America?
2011 Trivia
1. What deceased rock legend, a three-time Grammy winner, received a Grammy nomination for a box set released in 2011?
2. What European country banned the words "Facebook" and "Twitter" from being spoken on TV and radio unless they are part of a news story?
3. The world's largest bridge over water, nearly 26 miles long, opened last June in what Asian country?
4. Apple opened their largest store last month at what famous New York City location?
5. What rock band concluded their latest world tour in Canada last July, grossing over $736 million, the highest grossing tour of all-time?
6. According to Forbes magazine, there are now 3 countries in the world that have more than 100 billionaires. The US and China are two. Which one is the third?
7. According to the Wall Street Journal, which company passed McDonald's in 2011 as the world's largest restaurant chain?
Name The Month Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Seal Team Six kills Bin Laden in Pakistan.
2. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns.
3. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies.
4. The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Lower Manhattan.
5. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in Arizona.
6. Christian Lopez returns Derek Jeter's 3000th hit ball, a home run, to him.
7. Japan is struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami off the Tohoku coast, killing nearly 20,000.
8. Bruce Springsteen's sax player, Clarence Clemons, dies after suffering a stroke, at the age of 69.
9. American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
10. The sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss Kahn is officially dismissed.
General Knowledge
1. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" comes from what 1979 film? ( 1 pt)
2. Who was the first US president born in the 20th century? ( 1 pt)
3. As of 2011, what is the world's largest online marketplace? ( 1 pt)
4. What country does the legend of William Tell come from? ( 2 pt)
5. Stars die when they run out of what element? ( 2 pt)
6. What future US president watched Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession in 1865 from the second-floor window of his home in Manhattan? ( 2 pt)
7. Currently what is the color of British passports? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. What 19th century novel was the first American novel to sell one million copies? ( 4 points)
2. Clinophobia is the fear of doing what, something a person normally does every day? ( 5 points)
3. What Oscar-winning director is the godfather of actress Drew Barrymore? ( 4 points)
4. The Transamerica Pyramid is located in what city? ( 3 points)
5. Mount Godwin-Austen or "K2" as it sometimes called, is the world's second-largest mountain and located principally in what Asian nation? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. 9/11 Memorial; 2. Aaron Rodgers; 3. Van Halen; 4. Dallas Cowboys; 5. Mitt Romney; 6. Antarctica; 7. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol.
2011 Trivia
1. Elvis Presley; 2. France; 3. China; 4. Grand Central Station; 5. U2; 6. Russia; 7. Subway.
Name The Month Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. May; 2. February; 3. October; 4. September; 5. January; 6. July; 7. March; 8. June; 9. November; 10. August.
General Knowledge
1. "Apocalypse Now;" 2. John F. Kennedy; 3. eBay; 4. Switzerland; 5. hydrogen; 6. Theodore Roosevelt; 7. red (burgundy).
IQ Trivia
1. "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" 2. Going to bed; 3. Steven Spielberg; 4. San Francisco; 5. Pakistan.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Wrapping Up 2011 On Tuesday Night
We will have our final night of Trivia for 2011 this Tuesday night at Professor Thom's at 9 PM with the Special Category of "2011 Trivia," seven questions about the year just coming to a close. The Q Train lightning round will be "Name The Month Trivia." I will give you ten events that occurred in 2011, and you have to tell me the month of the year it occurred in. Every event will be a different month of the year.The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"Stars die when they run out of what element?"
We will get going shortly after 9 PM tomorrow. I hope to see many of you then, but if I don't, I want to wish you a very Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you for more great Trivia in 2012!
It Couldn't Get Any Worse. But It Did. Much Worse.
The first two plays of the second half of last Saturday's Vikings road finale in Washington brought a monumental disaster to the team in this train wreck of a season.Adrian Peterson took a shot to the knee after a three-yard gain, and left the game with what he later said at the time was a serious injury. An MRI later revealed that AP suffered a torn ACL and MCL, and may very well miss the start of the 2012 season.
The Vikings will talk more about Peterson's injury in a press conference later today. Injuries of this nature normally take up to nine months to recover.
And on the very next play, Christian Ponder was knocked out of the game with a concussion after he was sacked. He did not return, and his status for the finale next Sunday against Chicago remains uncertain.
With these two disasters happening around them, the Vikings showed lots of character, as they went out there and beat Washington, 33-26. The two injured players' replacements, Joe Webb and Toby Gerhart, provided a needed spark. Webb ran for one TD and threw for two more, and Gerhart ran for 107 yards, including one 67-yard run that set up Webb's rushing score.
The Vikings win now means they will not be getting the number one pick. That honestly doesn't matter to me, as they will be getting a top three one for sure. They can now do no worse than 1984, when they went 3-13. They are now 3-12, and face the Bears at the Metrodome to conclude this awful campaign.
And it looks like it would be the last game played in Minnesota, as the Vikings appear to be close to getting a new stadium deal done. It looks like a move to Los Angeles won't be happening. I'm so glad to get this bit of good news, as over the last few months it gave me some idea what it was like for my dad back in 1957 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Linus Knows The Score
Here is Linus, telling us all the true meaning of Christmas. It's the best part of my favorite Christmas special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". And I'm glad Charles Schulz fought hard to get it in:
Not to put a damper on the Christmas spirit, but last night I watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that I DVR'd from early in December, and I simply appalled by the chopped up version ABC presented. In recent years they've showed a 35-minute version to accommodate all those commercials they have to show, but this year they went back to the 30-minute version. They cut Linus hitting the can with a snowball, Charlie Brown looking for Christmas cards in his mailbox, Schroeder playing "Jingle Bells" and Shermie's immortal line: "Every year it's the same. I always end up playing a shepherd." I was simply appalled by this butchered version, and ABC should be ashamed for what they did to my favorite holiday classic.
OK, enough of the ranting. It's Christmas.
Enjoy the holiday everyone!
Not to put a damper on the Christmas spirit, but last night I watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that I DVR'd from early in December, and I simply appalled by the chopped up version ABC presented. In recent years they've showed a 35-minute version to accommodate all those commercials they have to show, but this year they went back to the 30-minute version. They cut Linus hitting the can with a snowball, Charlie Brown looking for Christmas cards in his mailbox, Schroeder playing "Jingle Bells" and Shermie's immortal line: "Every year it's the same. I always end up playing a shepherd." I was simply appalled by this butchered version, and ABC should be ashamed for what they did to my favorite holiday classic.
OK, enough of the ranting. It's Christmas.
Enjoy the holiday everyone!
The Beatles Wish You a Merry Christmas
Here's a very cool "mashup" video of the Beatles Christmas messages they sent exclusively to their fan club members, combined with a few bits from their songs.
Every year from 1963 until 1969, the Beatles recorded a message combined with music for the fan club, and I remember WNEW-FM here in New York would broadcast the messages during the holidays. I haven't heard them in ages, but this is really cool. Enjoy:
Every year from 1963 until 1969, the Beatles recorded a message combined with music for the fan club, and I remember WNEW-FM here in New York would broadcast the messages during the holidays. I haven't heard them in ages, but this is really cool. Enjoy:
Just Wish I Had Some Music To Go With It
Traditions are a way of life here at The Mighty Quinn Media Machine, and here's one of my favorites, which I post here every December 24th.Here is The Yule Log, which is a tradition on New York television, too. The burning log airs with Christmas music on WPIX Channel 11 every Christmas morning, from 9AM-1PM. (And followed of course by "March of the Wooden Soldiers.") And this year, Antenna TV (a new cable channel owned by WPIX), will be airing in the middle of the night this year also, from 3AM-7AM. I will be fast asleep dreaming of Santa Claus' arrival, but I'll watch the Channel 11 edition as I open my gifts.
I wish all of you readers of this blog a very Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Festivus: A Time For Miracles!
Yes, it's that day again. When we get the pole out, perform feats of strength and air our grievances.
It's Festivus!
I hope you all enjoy the day, whether it's showing just how strong you are or yelling at your relatives.
For the uninitiated, here's all you need to know about Festivus.
And it wouldn't be Festivus without a clip from the godfather of the holiday, Frank Costanza:
And it's also the great Jerry Koosman's birthday today, too...
It's Festivus!
I hope you all enjoy the day, whether it's showing just how strong you are or yelling at your relatives.
For the uninitiated, here's all you need to know about Festivus.
And it wouldn't be Festivus without a clip from the godfather of the holiday, Frank Costanza:
And it's also the great Jerry Koosman's birthday today, too...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Red Sox Add New Coaches For 2012
Red Sox fans won't have to worry about Tim Bogar screwing up sending base runners to the plate anymore, as he will become Bobby Valentine's bench coach in 2012. DeMarlo Hale, the former bench coach, will be the Orioles third base coach next season.Other coaches joining his staff will be Bob McClure, the long time reliever who was the pitching coach in Kansas City last season, and Jerry Royster, a 16-year veteran utility man, who will become the third base coach.
As a member of the Braves back in the early 1980s, Royster made one of the greatest catches I've ever seen, reaching high over the wall at Fulton-County Stadium to steal a home run. "This Week In Baseball" used to show it on their opening montage every week. (And that was a huge wall they had in that park.) Unfortunately, I couldn't find a YouTube clip or a still shot of it, so his baseball card here will have to do.
Unfortunately, Bill Buckner will NOT be on Bobby Valentine's staff, as he accepted a position as a coach with the Cubs Single A affiliate in Boise, Idaho, where he currently makes his off-season home.
Still no word on who will become the Red Sox' closer next season, with Daniel Bard moving to the rotation. They are still talking with free agents Ryan Madson and now Francisco Cordero, but nothing seems imminent with Christmas fast approaching.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Trivia Q&A: December 20
We had a festive crowd in for the Christmas edition of Trivia on Tuesday night, and 20 teams took part. The popular name for team names were for the late, and not-missed-at-all Kim Jong Il. So for Best Team Name we picked "Live Free Or Dietician." ("You 'Kim' folks all canceled each other out," I explained.)
Current Events was a tough round, as the high score was just five of seven. But we had some strong scores in two Christmas Trivia categories. It was two-team race heading into IQ Trivia, but the team of One Less Bad Driver: RIP Kim took the crown, garnering 53 points and winning but just two points. The team that was running with them, I'm So Ronrey (another Kim Jong Il reference, I think) took second with 51 points.
Third place went to The F-Dash Dash Dash Word with 49 points.
Our final edition of Tuesday Night Trivia for 2011 will take place next Tuesday, on December 27th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. Former French president Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended jail sentence after he was found guilty of what crime?
2. Moncef Marzouki was elected president of what North African country last week?
3. More than 400 people were killed last Saturday when a tropical storm struck what Asian country?
4. Joe Simon, a comic book writer and artist, died last week at the age of 98. In 1941, he co-created what comic book superhero, his most famous creation?
5. Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who helped bring down communism in Eastern Europe, died last weekend at the age of 75. What country did he become the first democratically elected president of?
6. New York City will top the 50 million mark in 2011 in the numbers of tourists coming here. From which foreign country do over 1.1 million of them come from, the most?
7. What Oscar-winning actor was punched by security in China when he attempted to visit a blind activist lawyer in that country last week?
Christmas Trivia
1. On the sixth day of Christmas, what does my true love give me, according to the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas?"
2. On December 25, 1776, George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to attack Hessian mercenaries in what New Jersey town?
3. In "A Charlie Brown Christmas," what Christmas song does Lucy ask Schroeder to play for her on his piano?
4. What type of pipe does Frosty the Snowman have?
5. The carol that begins with the line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" is called what?
6. What Tchaikovsky ballet is a favorite during the Christmas season?
7. "The Night Before Christmas" was written anonymously in 1823 but it attributed to whom?
Christmas Films Trivia By Decade ("The Q Train")
1. The Santa Clause
2. White Christmas
3. Home Alone
4. Love Actually
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. A Christmas Story
8. Miracle On 34th Street (original)
9. Scrooged
10. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
General Knowledge
1. Dave Thomas founded what fast-food restaurant chain? ( 1 pt)
2. "Get Down Tonight" was a hit song from what 1970s disco group? ( 1 pt)
3. What US president is on the far right of Mount Rushmore? ( 1 pt)
4. Hispaniola is the name of the island shared by Haiti and what other country? (2 pt)
5. What is the second book of the Old Testament, after Genesis? ( 2 pt)
6. What European country was the first to adopt the metric system? ( 2 pt)
7. What was the first color film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. What country singer, who had his first hit in 1981, holds the record of 58 Billboard number one country singles? ( 5 points)
2. In 1930, what Minnesota-born novelist was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature? ( 4 points)
3. Which King of France was executed during the French Revolution? ( 3 points)
4. What NFL team plays their home games in Raymond James Stadium? ( 4 points)
5. "The Fatherland Liberation War" was another name for what 20th century conflict? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. embezzlement; 2. Tunisia; 3. The Philippines; 4. Captain America; 5. Czechoslovakia; 6. United Kingdom; 7. Christian Bale.
Christmas Trivia
1. Six geese-a-layin'; 2. Trenton; 3. "Jingle Bells;" 4. corncob; 5. "The Christmas Song;" 6. "The Nutcracker;" 7. Clement Moore.
Christmas Film Trivia By Decade ("The Q Train")
1. 1990s (1994); 2. 1950s (1954); 3. 1990s (1990); 4. 2000s (2003); 5. 1990s (1993); 6. 1940s (1946); 7. 1980s (1983); 8. 1940s (1947); 9. 1980s (1988); 10. 2000s (2000).
General Knowledge
1. Wendy's; 2. KC and the Sunshine Band; 3. Abraham Lincoln; 4. Dominican Republic; 5. Exodus; 6. France; 7. "Gone With the Wind."
IQ Trivia
1. George Strait; 2. Sinclair Lewis; 3. Louis XVI; 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 5. Korean War.
Current Events was a tough round, as the high score was just five of seven. But we had some strong scores in two Christmas Trivia categories. It was two-team race heading into IQ Trivia, but the team of One Less Bad Driver: RIP Kim took the crown, garnering 53 points and winning but just two points. The team that was running with them, I'm So Ronrey (another Kim Jong Il reference, I think) took second with 51 points.
Third place went to The F-Dash Dash Dash Word with 49 points.
Our final edition of Tuesday Night Trivia for 2011 will take place next Tuesday, on December 27th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. Former French president Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended jail sentence after he was found guilty of what crime?
2. Moncef Marzouki was elected president of what North African country last week?
3. More than 400 people were killed last Saturday when a tropical storm struck what Asian country?
4. Joe Simon, a comic book writer and artist, died last week at the age of 98. In 1941, he co-created what comic book superhero, his most famous creation?
5. Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who helped bring down communism in Eastern Europe, died last weekend at the age of 75. What country did he become the first democratically elected president of?
6. New York City will top the 50 million mark in 2011 in the numbers of tourists coming here. From which foreign country do over 1.1 million of them come from, the most?
7. What Oscar-winning actor was punched by security in China when he attempted to visit a blind activist lawyer in that country last week?
Christmas Trivia
1. On the sixth day of Christmas, what does my true love give me, according to the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas?"
2. On December 25, 1776, George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to attack Hessian mercenaries in what New Jersey town?
3. In "A Charlie Brown Christmas," what Christmas song does Lucy ask Schroeder to play for her on his piano?
4. What type of pipe does Frosty the Snowman have?
5. The carol that begins with the line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" is called what?
6. What Tchaikovsky ballet is a favorite during the Christmas season?
7. "The Night Before Christmas" was written anonymously in 1823 but it attributed to whom?
Christmas Films Trivia By Decade ("The Q Train")
1. The Santa Clause
2. White Christmas
3. Home Alone
4. Love Actually
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. A Christmas Story
8. Miracle On 34th Street (original)
9. Scrooged
10. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
General Knowledge
1. Dave Thomas founded what fast-food restaurant chain? ( 1 pt)
2. "Get Down Tonight" was a hit song from what 1970s disco group? ( 1 pt)
3. What US president is on the far right of Mount Rushmore? ( 1 pt)
4. Hispaniola is the name of the island shared by Haiti and what other country? (2 pt)
5. What is the second book of the Old Testament, after Genesis? ( 2 pt)
6. What European country was the first to adopt the metric system? ( 2 pt)
7. What was the first color film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. What country singer, who had his first hit in 1981, holds the record of 58 Billboard number one country singles? ( 5 points)
2. In 1930, what Minnesota-born novelist was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature? ( 4 points)
3. Which King of France was executed during the French Revolution? ( 3 points)
4. What NFL team plays their home games in Raymond James Stadium? ( 4 points)
5. "The Fatherland Liberation War" was another name for what 20th century conflict? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. embezzlement; 2. Tunisia; 3. The Philippines; 4. Captain America; 5. Czechoslovakia; 6. United Kingdom; 7. Christian Bale.
Christmas Trivia
1. Six geese-a-layin'; 2. Trenton; 3. "Jingle Bells;" 4. corncob; 5. "The Christmas Song;" 6. "The Nutcracker;" 7. Clement Moore.
Christmas Film Trivia By Decade ("The Q Train")
1. 1990s (1994); 2. 1950s (1954); 3. 1990s (1990); 4. 2000s (2003); 5. 1990s (1993); 6. 1940s (1946); 7. 1980s (1983); 8. 1940s (1947); 9. 1980s (1988); 10. 2000s (2000).
General Knowledge
1. Wendy's; 2. KC and the Sunshine Band; 3. Abraham Lincoln; 4. Dominican Republic; 5. Exodus; 6. France; 7. "Gone With the Wind."
IQ Trivia
1. George Strait; 2. Sinclair Lewis; 3. Louis XVI; 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 5. Korean War.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Two Categories of Yuletide Trivia This Tuesday
This week Tuesday Night Trivia will have its annual round of Christmas Trivia, with the Special Category being "Christmas Trivia," seven questions concerning the great holiday that is fast approaching. The Q Train lightning round will be "Christmas Film Trivia By Decade." I will give you the names of ten famous Christmas movies, and you have to tell me in which decade they were first released. And it will be a double-points category, because if you know the exact year, you will get a bonus point.BTW, our other three categories will NOT include any Christmas Trivia, just the two revolving categories.
The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"What European country was the first to adopt the metric system?"
We get going shortly after 9 PM on Tuesday night. Sorry for you Frank Costanza fans, but there will be no Festivus Trivia. Maybe next year!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
The Race For The Number One Draft Pick Is On
The Vikings and their defense were taken out to the woodshed today by the playoff-bound New Orleans Saints, 42-20 at the Metrodome.
Drew Brees threw for 412 yards and five touchdowns, while Christian Ponder had a tough day against the Saints. He still shows a lot of promise, but he missed a lot of open receivers and threw another interception. The Vikings defense was simply a horror show, allowing 570 yards to the Saints.
Ponder threw two TDs to Toby Gerhart, and that's about the only good news I can say about the Vikes today. Adrian Peterson rushed for 60 yards in 10 carries on his return from injury.
Indianapolis got their first win of 2011, and St. Louis lost to Cincinnati, so the Colts are now 1-13, and the Vikes and Rams are both 2-12. All that remains for the Vikings this season is where they will draft in April: first, second or third. (I will NEVER root against the Vikings when it comes to getting a higher draft pick. They are my team, and always have my support.)
A loss next week to Washington and the Vikings will tie the 1984 team with their 13th loss of 2011.
It can't end quick enough.
Drew Brees threw for 412 yards and five touchdowns, while Christian Ponder had a tough day against the Saints. He still shows a lot of promise, but he missed a lot of open receivers and threw another interception. The Vikings defense was simply a horror show, allowing 570 yards to the Saints.
Ponder threw two TDs to Toby Gerhart, and that's about the only good news I can say about the Vikes today. Adrian Peterson rushed for 60 yards in 10 carries on his return from injury.
Indianapolis got their first win of 2011, and St. Louis lost to Cincinnati, so the Colts are now 1-13, and the Vikes and Rams are both 2-12. All that remains for the Vikings this season is where they will draft in April: first, second or third. (I will NEVER root against the Vikings when it comes to getting a higher draft pick. They are my team, and always have my support.)
A loss next week to Washington and the Vikings will tie the 1984 team with their 13th loss of 2011.
It can't end quick enough.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
25 Favorite Odd Couple Episodes
A few years ago, I put up a post on my blog about my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, and it seems like just about every day I get someone googling about the classic show and winding up on my blog. Another one of my all-time favorite TV shows is "The Odd Couple." It is one of those shows I never get tired of watching, even if I have seen just about every episode 100 times. The quality of the show has stood the test of time.I even had the pleasure of speaking to Ron Friedman, the esteemed TV writer who wrote a number of Odd Couple episodes. (His most famous is the Christmas episode from the first season.) His son-in-law is one of the BLOHARDS, and we were together at my friend Joe's house last Thanksgiving, and he called him and we chatted for a few minutes. A very nice man.
Anyway, here is my list of my favorites from the catalog of 114 shows, that ran on ABC from 1970-1975. Like I did with The Twilight Zone, they will be in order that they were first broadcast. (And I had a tough time narrowing down my favorites, so extended this list to 25.)
#6 "Oscar's Ulcer": Oscar has an ulcer, and Felix prohibits him from chasing women and playing poker. (Any show involving Oscar's ulcer was hysterical, in my opinion.)
#11 "Felix Is Missing": Felix gets a rush call for a job in Canada, and Oscar doesn't realize it and thinks Felix is missing. The great Albert Brooks makes one of his early appearances as Rudy Mandel, one of Felix' clients.
#12 "Scrooge Gets An Oscar": The only Odd Couple Christmas show, as Oscar refuses to act in a Christmas play, and has a terrible nightmare he's Scrooge.
#13 "The Blackout": $50 goes missing when the boys are playing poker, and Felix is certain Oscar stole the money.
#23 "What Does a Naked Lady Say To You?": Felix is dating a librarian, but Murray discovers she's really an actress in an all-nude play.
#27 "Hospital Mates": Felix and Oscar end up in a hospital together, Felix with an operation on his nose and Oscar with an injured foot.
#32 "The Fat Farm": Felix and Oscar check into a health spa together, where Oscar cracks.
#33 "The Odd Couple Meet Their Host": Oscar goes on a talk show with David Steinberg and ridicules Felix, and he demands equal time.
#37 "Felix The Calypso Singer": Felix and Oscar go down to a Caribbean island, and when Oscar's girlfriend Nancy announces she can go while they're down there, Felix has to leave.
#41 "You Saved My Life": Oscar saves Felix's life, and Felix won't stop thanking him for it.
#58 "Password": Felix and Oscar go on the TV quiz show "Password" together. One of the all-time best.
#63 "The Ides of April": Felix gets called into the IRS office and is convinced he's on his way to jail.
#64 "Myrna's Debut": Myrna is convinced she can become a tap dancing star and enlists Felix's help in making her dream come true.
#66 "My Strife In Court": Felix and Oscar get nailed for ticket scalping and wind up in court, which features the infamous "assume" moment.
#67 "Let's Make a Deal": Felix and Oscar go on "Let's Make a Deal" to try and win Felix a new bed.
#69 "Take My Furniture Please": Felix gets the great idea to bring in all-new furniture to the apartment, but Oscar hates it and brings in his idea of "new furniture."
#70 "The Murray Who Came To Dinner": Murray walks out on his wife, and moves in with Felix and Oscar.
#75 "The Odd Holiday": Another flashback episode, when Oscar, Felix and their wives take a vacation to the Caribbean island of Hockaloma, and it costs Felix his marriage.
#78 "The Songwriter": Felix writes a song, "Happy and Peppy and Bursting With Love" for actress/singer Jaye P. Morgan.
#79 "Felix Directs": Felix makes a documentary "Mondo Filth", about Oscar, and a friend of Oscar's suggests he direct his movie.
#83 "A Barnacle Adventure": Oscar's inventing dentist gets the boys to invest in his barnacle glue invention.
#86 "The Flying Felix": Felix is suddenly afraid to fly, and Oscar does all he can to get him back on an airplane.
#93 "The Rain In Spain": Felix tries to change Myrna to get her back with her old boyfriend Sheldn (yes, with no "O", as it was left off his birth certificate). Features one of the show's funniest moments at the end, when the boys meet Myrna's brother and sister.
#108 "Felix The Horse Player": Oscar finds a sure way of winning at the horses, and brings in Felix as his partner.
#114 "Felix Remarries": In the show's final episode, Felix and Gloria get back together and get married again.
With thanks to both Jack Klugman and the late Tony Randall. They made magic for five years together.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Lowrie & Weiland Sent To Houston
The Red Sox traded Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to the Houston Astros for one-time Yankee prospect Mark Melancon.
Houston used Melancon as a closer for most of 2011, and he had 20 saves, and 2.78 ERA in 74 1/3 innings.
I would guess the Red Sox will use him as either the 8th inning or closer next season.
After last season's debacle in September, I figured Weiland had no future in Boston. And Lowrie not gets a chance to play every day in Houston, if he can ever stay healthy.
And to take Lowrie's place, the Sox signed utility infielder Nick Punto to a two-year deal, at a total of $3 million.
Houston used Melancon as a closer for most of 2011, and he had 20 saves, and 2.78 ERA in 74 1/3 innings.
I would guess the Red Sox will use him as either the 8th inning or closer next season.
After last season's debacle in September, I figured Weiland had no future in Boston. And Lowrie not gets a chance to play every day in Houston, if he can ever stay healthy.
And to take Lowrie's place, the Sox signed utility infielder Nick Punto to a two-year deal, at a total of $3 million.
I Guess The Mets Aren't Very Good At Arithmetic
The Mets are having their 50th anniversary season in 2012, and will be wearing the patch on the bottom left. That's all well and fine, as teams should honor their major anniversaries. (Don't know if the Red Sox will wear a patch for their 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, but I bet they will.)
This got me to thinking that the Mets wore a 25th anniversary patch for the 1986 season, but wasn't something wrong with that? If 2012 is the 50th anniversary season for the Mets, shouldn't 1987 have been their 25th anniversary year? When I went to school, 1962 + 25 = 1987. 1986 was the Mets 25th season, and their 24th anniversary year, just as 2012 is the Mets 51st season, and their 50th anniversary year.
Using the logic they did back in '86, 2012 should be the Mets 51st anniversary.
As any Mets fan can tell you, Mets management just doesn't seem to be very good at math these days.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tek: Please Retire
Shoppach didn't hit much for the Rays last season, but he did throw out 41% of all the base runners attempting to steal in 2011. (Wouldn't be nice to actually see some opposition guys thrown out at second next season?)
This surely means the road has ended for Tek. And I really hope he doesn't do what many past-their-prime athletes have done: hang on for one more year with another team after spending a successful career with just one. Think of when Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas and Dwight Evans limping to end of the line with another club instead of the one they should be remembered for.
I really hope Tek calls it a career, and begins his next one as a coach or manager. I remember Peter Gammons once saying he would definitely be managing an MLB team one day, and I tend to agree with him. Tek will be 40 in April, and it's really time he step away.
I can only thank him for being One of the 25, and his contributions to the Red Sox will live forever. I hope the Captain uses some sense and walks away with his dignity in tact, and doesn't go somewhere else just to hang on and get a paycheck. He's better than that.
And Captain, thanks always for this lasting image:
They Need To Be Saved From The Savior
It's really tough sledding being a Mets fan these days.
As a matter of full disclosure, I come from a family of devoted Mets fans, and my earliest years were filled of memories seeing the Mets at Shea Stadium. I was a huge Mets fan, but an act of heresy committed on June 15, 1977 pushed me away as a fan. You remember that: when the Franchise, Tom Seaver, was run out of town by the infamous M. Donald Grant and his minions in the press.
The Red Sox came into my life, but that's story for another time.
In the late 1970s I said I would take the Mets back when the team was sold to someone who had the first clue as to how to run an MLB franchise. And the Mets saviors appeared in the form of Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon. It seemed like a new day had dawned for the Mets, as they brought in Frank Cashen as GM, who had been the brains behind those championship teams in Baltimore in the 1970s.
The Mets won a championship in 1986, and were the toasts of New York in the mid-to-late 1980s. It was great to see the Mets on top of the city again, and the Yankees be little more than an afterthought. But it didn't last, as Doubleday was bought out by Wilpon, and the Mets went horribly off the rails in the early 1990s, and they really haven't regained any of the magic that made them special a quarter-century ago.
Today the Mets have become just a bad joke. And they remind me so much of the darkest days of the franchise of the late 1970s. Remember when the daughters of the late Joan Payson, a very good baseball person, tried to run this team after Grant? I've done my best to forget them also.
The Mets need to be saved from the savior. And right now.
A dark cloud has descended on the once-proud franchise. It will not be lifted until the Wilpons have been run out of town. I won't go into all their misdeeds, as the Ponzi scheme they were involved in is well-known. But it was revealed yesterday that the Mets were granted another loan, and for $40 million. This after they couldn't pay back a $25 million loan from MLB earlier this year. They made no attempt whatsoever to sign Jose Reyes, and let him sign with the Miami Marlins. Sandy Alderson also revealed that the Mets lost a staggering $70 million last season.
It's 1979 all over again. Is this anyway to run a franchise in the nation's largest market?
Fred Wilpon and his idiot son Jeff have run the Mets into the ground and made the club a laughingstock. But since they are good pals with MLB commissioner Bud Selig, don't bet that MLB will do to them what they did to Frank McCourt and his destruction of the Dodgers. I fear that the only way the Mets can be saved is if they lose the lawsuit by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme victims. They might finally be forced to sell the club entirely.
New York will only become a two-team town again with the Wilpons in the rear view mirror.
It simply can't happen soon enough.
As a matter of full disclosure, I come from a family of devoted Mets fans, and my earliest years were filled of memories seeing the Mets at Shea Stadium. I was a huge Mets fan, but an act of heresy committed on June 15, 1977 pushed me away as a fan. You remember that: when the Franchise, Tom Seaver, was run out of town by the infamous M. Donald Grant and his minions in the press.
The Red Sox came into my life, but that's story for another time.
In the late 1970s I said I would take the Mets back when the team was sold to someone who had the first clue as to how to run an MLB franchise. And the Mets saviors appeared in the form of Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon. It seemed like a new day had dawned for the Mets, as they brought in Frank Cashen as GM, who had been the brains behind those championship teams in Baltimore in the 1970s.
The Mets won a championship in 1986, and were the toasts of New York in the mid-to-late 1980s. It was great to see the Mets on top of the city again, and the Yankees be little more than an afterthought. But it didn't last, as Doubleday was bought out by Wilpon, and the Mets went horribly off the rails in the early 1990s, and they really haven't regained any of the magic that made them special a quarter-century ago.
Today the Mets have become just a bad joke. And they remind me so much of the darkest days of the franchise of the late 1970s. Remember when the daughters of the late Joan Payson, a very good baseball person, tried to run this team after Grant? I've done my best to forget them also.
The Mets need to be saved from the savior. And right now.
A dark cloud has descended on the once-proud franchise. It will not be lifted until the Wilpons have been run out of town. I won't go into all their misdeeds, as the Ponzi scheme they were involved in is well-known. But it was revealed yesterday that the Mets were granted another loan, and for $40 million. This after they couldn't pay back a $25 million loan from MLB earlier this year. They made no attempt whatsoever to sign Jose Reyes, and let him sign with the Miami Marlins. Sandy Alderson also revealed that the Mets lost a staggering $70 million last season.
It's 1979 all over again. Is this anyway to run a franchise in the nation's largest market?
Fred Wilpon and his idiot son Jeff have run the Mets into the ground and made the club a laughingstock. But since they are good pals with MLB commissioner Bud Selig, don't bet that MLB will do to them what they did to Frank McCourt and his destruction of the Dodgers. I fear that the only way the Mets can be saved is if they lose the lawsuit by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme victims. They might finally be forced to sell the club entirely.
New York will only become a two-team town again with the Wilpons in the rear view mirror.
It simply can't happen soon enough.
Trivia Q&A: December 12
Whenever we move Trivia over to a different night, it is always problematic as to how many folks will come out. But I was really pleased to see many of the regulars in the house on Monday night, as we had 13 teams in on a special Monday night edition of Trivia. (The bar will be hosting a private party on Tuesday night, hence the switch.) I thank all of you for rearranging your schedules and coming out.
We seemed to have nothing but ties in all of the first four rounds, and going into IQ Trivia, first, third and fifth place were all knotted up. But one of the teams tied for third, Santa-dusky Is Coming To Town (the Best Team Name winner), ran the table and got all five correct in the last round to jump into first place and win with 56 points. It was their first ever win on Trivia Night.
Second place went to Insert Belgian Joke with 50 points, and third place went to The Real Vicious Felony Is That Mariska Hargitay Didn't Get To Kiss John Quinn with 49 points.
We will return to Trivia on its regular day and time next week: Tuesday, December 20th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. What TV actress slammed Newt Gingrich and his plan to have poor kids serve as janitors on her Twitter account last week?
2. Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was recently kicked off a plane after getting into an argument with a flight attendant from what airline over his using his iPad?
3. South Carolina Republicans briefly considered selling the "naming rights" to its 2012 presidential primary after TV talk show host?
4. What European country finally swore in a new government last week after 541 days of negotiations?
5. Randy Babbitt, the head of what federal agency, resigned last week, three days after being arrested for drunk driving?
6. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was one of three people to win the Nobel Peace Prize last weekend. What African country is she president of?
7. What TV series attempted to film an episode in Lower Manhattan last Friday based on the Occupy Wall Street movement, but real OWS people shut it down and forced the NYPD to revoke the show's filming permit?
Q-Tip Trivia
1. Which of the following countries are located in the continent of Africa? a. Guyana; b. Mozambique; c. Mynamar; d. Benin.
2. Which NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl? a. Tampa Bay Bucs; b. New Orleans Saints; c. Jacksonville Jaguars; d. Philadelphia Eagles.
3. Which of the following states has been the site of the birth of a US president? a. New Jersey; b. Connecticut; c. Wyoming; d. Kentucky.
4. Which of the following bands were recently elected to the 2012 class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? a. Guns N' Roses; b. Kiss; c. Rush; d. The Moody Blues.
5. Which of the following films from the 2000s were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award? a. Erin Brockovich; b. Gangs of New York; c. The Queen; d. Avatar.
6. Which of the current TV shows are broadcast on HBO? a. Boardwalk Empire; b. Hung; c. Mad Men; d. The Closer.
7. Which of the following planets are smaller in size than Earth? a. Neptune; b. Uranus; c. Saturn; d. Mars.
True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
2. Almost half the paper currency in the circulation in the US at the end of the Civil War was counterfeit.
3. The US is the second largest country in area, after Russia.
4. "The Godfather Part II" was the first sequel to win the Best Picture Oscar.
5. Tornadoes rarely move at speeds greater than 40 MPH.
6. Pasta originated in Italy.
7. Elvis Presley had a black-belt in karate.
8. The abbreviation for the state of Missouri is MS.
9. Ludwig van Beethoven composed only one opera in his lifetime.
10. The "S" in Harry S. Truman stands for nothing.
General Knowledge
1. Who was the fifth President of the United States? ( 1 pt)
2. If the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, how many degrees Celsius is it? ( 1 pt)
3. Prague is the capital of what European country? ( 1 pt)
4. What rock band disbanded in 1980 after the death of its drummer John Bonham? ( 2 pt)
5. What is the term for three consecutive strikes in ten-pin bowling? ( 2 pt)
6. What is the only city in the world located on two continents? ( 2 pt)
7. The 2010-11 "Jasmine Revolution" took place in what North African country? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. Until 1841, what country maintained a settlement in Sonoma County, California called Fort Ross? ( 4 points)
2. The alter-ego of what superhero worked as a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle newspaper? ( 3 points)
3. What object does a selenologist study? ( 5 points)
4. Charles Carroll, the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, represented what US state? ( 4 points)
5. Ganymede is the largest moon of what planet? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. Eva Longoria; 2. American Airlines; 3. Stephen Colbert; 4. Belgium; 5. FAA; 6. Liberia; 7. "Law and Order SVU."
Q-Tip Trivia
1. b,d; 2. c,d; 3. a,b,d; 4. a; 5. all; 6. a,b; 7.d.
True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. true; 2. true; 3. false, Canada; 4. true; 5. true; 6. false, China; 7. true; 8. false, MO; 9. true; 10. true.
General Knowledge
1. James Monroe; 2. zero; 3. Czech Republic; 4. Led Zeppelin; 5. turkey; 6. Istanbul; 7. Tunisia.
IQ Trivia
1. Russia; 2. Spiderman; 3. The moon; 4. Maryland; 5. Jupiter.
We seemed to have nothing but ties in all of the first four rounds, and going into IQ Trivia, first, third and fifth place were all knotted up. But one of the teams tied for third, Santa-dusky Is Coming To Town (the Best Team Name winner), ran the table and got all five correct in the last round to jump into first place and win with 56 points. It was their first ever win on Trivia Night.
Second place went to Insert Belgian Joke with 50 points, and third place went to The Real Vicious Felony Is That Mariska Hargitay Didn't Get To Kiss John Quinn with 49 points.
We will return to Trivia on its regular day and time next week: Tuesday, December 20th at 9 PM.
Current Events
1. What TV actress slammed Newt Gingrich and his plan to have poor kids serve as janitors on her Twitter account last week?
2. Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was recently kicked off a plane after getting into an argument with a flight attendant from what airline over his using his iPad?
3. South Carolina Republicans briefly considered selling the "naming rights" to its 2012 presidential primary after TV talk show host?
4. What European country finally swore in a new government last week after 541 days of negotiations?
5. Randy Babbitt, the head of what federal agency, resigned last week, three days after being arrested for drunk driving?
6. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was one of three people to win the Nobel Peace Prize last weekend. What African country is she president of?
7. What TV series attempted to film an episode in Lower Manhattan last Friday based on the Occupy Wall Street movement, but real OWS people shut it down and forced the NYPD to revoke the show's filming permit?
Q-Tip Trivia
1. Which of the following countries are located in the continent of Africa? a. Guyana; b. Mozambique; c. Mynamar; d. Benin.
2. Which NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl? a. Tampa Bay Bucs; b. New Orleans Saints; c. Jacksonville Jaguars; d. Philadelphia Eagles.
3. Which of the following states has been the site of the birth of a US president? a. New Jersey; b. Connecticut; c. Wyoming; d. Kentucky.
4. Which of the following bands were recently elected to the 2012 class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? a. Guns N' Roses; b. Kiss; c. Rush; d. The Moody Blues.
5. Which of the following films from the 2000s were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award? a. Erin Brockovich; b. Gangs of New York; c. The Queen; d. Avatar.
6. Which of the current TV shows are broadcast on HBO? a. Boardwalk Empire; b. Hung; c. Mad Men; d. The Closer.
7. Which of the following planets are smaller in size than Earth? a. Neptune; b. Uranus; c. Saturn; d. Mars.
True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
2. Almost half the paper currency in the circulation in the US at the end of the Civil War was counterfeit.
3. The US is the second largest country in area, after Russia.
4. "The Godfather Part II" was the first sequel to win the Best Picture Oscar.
5. Tornadoes rarely move at speeds greater than 40 MPH.
6. Pasta originated in Italy.
7. Elvis Presley had a black-belt in karate.
8. The abbreviation for the state of Missouri is MS.
9. Ludwig van Beethoven composed only one opera in his lifetime.
10. The "S" in Harry S. Truman stands for nothing.
General Knowledge
1. Who was the fifth President of the United States? ( 1 pt)
2. If the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, how many degrees Celsius is it? ( 1 pt)
3. Prague is the capital of what European country? ( 1 pt)
4. What rock band disbanded in 1980 after the death of its drummer John Bonham? ( 2 pt)
5. What is the term for three consecutive strikes in ten-pin bowling? ( 2 pt)
6. What is the only city in the world located on two continents? ( 2 pt)
7. The 2010-11 "Jasmine Revolution" took place in what North African country? ( 3 pt)
IQ Trivia
1. Until 1841, what country maintained a settlement in Sonoma County, California called Fort Ross? ( 4 points)
2. The alter-ego of what superhero worked as a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle newspaper? ( 3 points)
3. What object does a selenologist study? ( 5 points)
4. Charles Carroll, the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, represented what US state? ( 4 points)
5. Ganymede is the largest moon of what planet? ( 4 points)
Answers
Current Events
1. Eva Longoria; 2. American Airlines; 3. Stephen Colbert; 4. Belgium; 5. FAA; 6. Liberia; 7. "Law and Order SVU."
Q-Tip Trivia
1. b,d; 2. c,d; 3. a,b,d; 4. a; 5. all; 6. a,b; 7.d.
True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. true; 2. true; 3. false, Canada; 4. true; 5. true; 6. false, China; 7. true; 8. false, MO; 9. true; 10. true.
General Knowledge
1. James Monroe; 2. zero; 3. Czech Republic; 4. Led Zeppelin; 5. turkey; 6. Istanbul; 7. Tunisia.
IQ Trivia
1. Russia; 2. Spiderman; 3. The moon; 4. Maryland; 5. Jupiter.
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