Captured Saints: The de Vere’s Irish Pub Quiz Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Thanks to all of you who attended last week’s Pub Quiz, and who stuck around for the birthday party afterwards. I so enjoyed interacting with people from all the different segments of my life (the Pub Quiz folks, the Poetry folks, the UC Davis faculty colleagues, the parents of my kids’ friends, the Arts Advocacy folks, the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble folks, and the City Council members).

I got to introduce some of these folks to one another, and watch them make connections and tell stories about life in Davis. For example, my Mom, visiting from Washington DC, spent an hour talking about geography and other hot topics with Davis City Councilmember Sue Greenwald, who grew up in Bethesda. Sue followed up the next day with a Facebook message offering Mom the use of her electric blanket! We are lucky to live in such a city, and I am lucky to have such adventuresome night owls as friends. Even though my Mom was on East-Coast time, the last of us didn’t leave until the hardworking hosts at de Vere’s were putting chairs up on the tables.

From what I heard, St. Patrick’s Day was a busy time for downtown Davis, and especially de Vere’s Irish Pub, the pub that has helped us all reconnect with Irish Culture. Like so many Americans, I have both Irish ancestry (perhaps 1/64th), and Cherokee ancestry (1/8th), though I must admit that I identify more with the latter than the former. At last week’s Quiz, we learned that St. Patrick did his missionary work in Ireland more than 1,500 years ago. Like Julius Caesar, St. Patrick was captured by raiders whom he later came to know well (and escape from). Whereas Caesar had the pirates who captured him crucified, St. Patrick returned to Ireland as a Roman Catholic bishop to convert the locals to Christianity. As is the case with many religious holidays, today most of us remain unaware of the religious significance of the man, and instead see the holiday as an occasion to drink and, in this instance, to celebrate Ireland and Irish culture.

In addition to questions about Ireland, tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions about rocks, cell phones, empty states, the three major American sports (and I don’t mean the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), astronomy, Egypt, Spanish words, Mercury Prize-nominees, Popes, two questions on rodents, Arizona, elementals, vampires, centripetal forces, Revolutionary War heroes, birds, graceful women, feet, restaurants where I would never eat, reality TV, people named George, Missouri, songs we danced to at weddings, haircuts, Elfin undertakers, the Land Run, retired boxers, crying, raised eyebrows, lobsters, tall actors, special-needs heroes, the IRA, surprises, what we do for the people we capture, POTUS, Eurasia, the University Mall in Davis, fast runners, quality-focused redheads, and Shakespeare plays that you really should have read by now.

See you tonight!

Your Quizmaster

• http://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. Mottos and Slogans.    What deodorant that starts with the letter D has as its slogan “It won’t let you down”? 

2. Internet Culture. Which of the following was the original name of Google, the search engine? Backrub, Gorgon, Keister, RoboSearch. 

3. Newspaper Headlines.  According to 52% of Republicans recently polled in Mississippi, what religion does Barack Obama observe? 

4. Four for Four.  Which of the following French philosophers, if any, died from injuries sustained in a car accident? Roland Barthes, Albert Camus, Francois Derrida, Jean-Paul Sartre. 

5. Silly Celebrities. Which of the Jonas Brothers has the most Twitter followers? 

P.S. Speaking of Shakespeare, the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble has posted a video trailer of their next production, titled Relapse, coming to an art gallery near you in April.