Irrelevant City Council Handicapping: The de Vere's Irish Pub Quiz

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

The Davis City Council election is right around the corner, so I think it’s my duty to inform you the extent to which, if any, the candidates for election or re-election have participated in the de Vere’s Irish Pub Quiz. I don’t see why this information would have any bearing on the choices that you make in the voting booth, but I did want to publicly thank the public officials who spend time solving anagrams and arguing about Australian species of lizard with their teammates.

1)   . Lucas Frerichs has the second most difficult name to pronounce of all the regulars at the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz (after New York Times best-selling author John Lescroart). Not only has Lucas attended the Pub Quiz more than other candidates for the Davis City Council, combined, but he also did so long before considering a run for elected office. I should add that Lucas has a delightful wife named Stacie who, like Lucas, appreciates art in downtown Davis (or so I learned at Flourish Davis this past Saturday night).

2)   . Dan has attended the Pub Quiz on occasion, and he was also an active participant in this year’s Pub Quiz-themed fundraiser for local Rotary Clubs. He joined his mom on the winning team this year, thus raising sizeable bank for local charities. He plans to attend more often after the election. Many people think he will make it to the winners’ circle this election cycle.

3)   . I remember Sue attending a Pub Quiz a few years’ back. She also stayed latest at my March 12 post-Quiz birthday celebration, which I appreciate, for she spent at least a few of those hours entertaining my Mom. Rather than trivia, Sue’s game of choice is Scrabble, and she can often be seen playing with her Scrabble buddies Wednesday nights at another restaurant. Especially well-read, Sue would make a great addition to any team.

4)   . Steve Souza also attended my birthday party, and he has also been spotted in after the Quiz, sharing a brew with friends. I look forward to a regular team recruiting Steve to participate in the Quiz. He’s a hard worker, so perhaps 7pm is too early for him?

5)   . When I wrote Brett to inform him that I’d be talking about City Council candidates in today’s newsletter, he responded immediately with regrets that he works in the Bay Area on Monday nights. He offered to make amends, so I recommended Poetry Nights. I was impressed with the quality of his writing, and look forward to see how Brett does in the coming election.

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While I especially appreciate Lucas Frerichs’ ongoing participation in the Quiz, as an impartial Quizmaster (and a journalist), I won’t be formally endorsing anyone in this election, though I’d be curious to know which candidates you support.

Tonight’s de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz will feature questions about cleansers, mythical creatures, musicians, seadragons, annoying people, Ohio cities, spinners and spitters, the music of 2011 (remember 2011?), stadia, kitchens, oblate spheroids, The Taking of Pelham 123, long explanations, unfair math problems, Revolutionary War heroes, the SCOTUS, aliens, taxicabs, humorous helpers, gnawing pugs, David Letterman, men in black, ferocious dogs, A-List actors, cable TV shows that I don’t watch, Ashton Kutcher films, people born at Times Square, The Avengers, Columbus, Europe, Texas, anatomy, Republicans, the letter “T,” the San Francisco Giants, and Shakespeare!

See you tonight.

Your Quizmaster

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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:

1.         Internet Culture. Today is the birthday of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. With a one year margin of error, how old is he today? 

2.         Newspaper Headlines.  It was announced today by the BBC that Americans consume what percentage of the world’s painkillers? Is it 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100%? 

3.         Four for Four. Which of the following countries, if any, are found within the area called “The Fertile Crescent”? Bulgaria, France, Iraq, The United States. 

4.         Film. In the 2011 film Colombiana, a young woman, after witnessing her parents' murder as a child in Bogota, grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. What actress played the title role? 

5.         Unfair Math Problems Involving Sheep. Why do white sheep eat more than black sheep? 

P.S. Congratulations to Fred Wood of UC Davis. Fred has just been named the new Chancellor of University of Minnesota, Crookston!