Sometimes, a person lives their whole life not knowing what lies outside their little world.  Dorothy had never left Kansas, and was amazed by Oz.  Katniss left all she had ever known in District 12 and discovered the wonders of the Capital.  Kermit left the swamp and found his friends and a new career in Hollywood.  It’s a good thing to see what else is out there.  I would tell you that I am the best Quizmaster in Arizona, but you already knew that.  What you may not know is that there are other venues for Quiz.  I QM at two of them.  Some of my teams have been crossing the lines and checking out what the other club has to offer.  Sans Pants Dance Party made an appearance last night at the Crown.  They were amazed to find that the drunken bros at the Dub are replaced by drunken older folks who are slightly better behaved at the Crown.  They weren’t sure what to do in Round 7, since they heard actual sound clips from their seats.  I’m guessing we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of those guys. 

The Crown has been attracting all kinds of new people lately.  We had a new guy with some kind of accent last night.  I asked him where he was from and he made me guess.  France? No.  Scandinavia?  No.  Turns out he was from Mexico.  I suck at this game.

Speaking of sucking, how did 3 people in a row get the wrong answer for the email bonus question?

I have on occasion regaled you guys with various impressions.  Sean Connery, Paul Linde, Arnold Schwartzeneggar, and others have been hits.  Last night was a round that was supposed to be and old Jewish grandmother describing movies.  I really did not do well at the grandmother thing.  Then, a Quizzer suggested that I do it in the style of Sol Rosenberg.  Anyone remember the Jerky Boys?  Suddenly, all was right with the world.  Sol Rosenberg, I can definitely do.

A special thanks to everyone who did not point out how extra ugly I was last night with my fresh black eye.  Pro tip:  Don’t go into a mosh pit at a Cannibal Corpse show if you want to look nice the next day.

The most interesting thing I heard last night was that one regular team referred to another regular team as “the older us”.  I wonder how many of you can figure out who these time-traveling teams are…

So, what did we learn last night?

-          Flowers produce egg cells in their spatulas.

-          Mary became pregnant with Jesus on Thanksgiving.

-          One team didn’t know the name of one of the ‘shake’ songs, but they did keep shaking their iPod to try to skip it.

-          In the movie ‘Misery’, Kathy Bates made friends with people in a nursing home.

-          Mary Magdalene was a man who was raised from the dead.

-          The Roman emperor who was in power when Jesus was crucified was KHAAAAAAAN!!!!

-          Scott Thompsen is the birth name of a prop comic named Office Space.

-          The O. Henry story in which a couple sacrifices everything to buy each other gifts is called ‘Ill Communication”.

End of Blog.  Now go to www.geekswhodrink.com and  www.facebook.com/pages/Geeks-Who-Drink-Pub-Quiz-At-Canyons-Crown/483388135009881 and do what you do.  See you next week.  Cheers!

It’s been a year since I started doing this whole Quizmaster thing at the Canyon’s Crown.  Last night we celebrated by handing out twice the number of free drink coupons, through Facebook questions and extra bonus questions all about my history at the Crown.  You probably should have written down the answers so you’ll know them for the two-year anniversary.

I’ve had such a great time and met some really great people doing this job.  I often say I wish I could make a living at it.  From my original audition with a round on hair metal bands, to my first themed Quiz on Arrested Development complete with a team of gay pirates, to training Jan, our new Tempe QM, to everyone breathing a sigh of relief when I went back to running things.  My first private event, the Tucson Celtic Festival and all the craziness involved with that.  The series of Quizzes where teams split and everyone recruited friends so that we could get three weeks of twenty teams and get a scorekeeper.  The endless opportunities to make fun of all your wrong answers.  The incredible artwork submitted on answer sheets.  The drunk weirdo who decided to take a seat in my chair behind my table and wouldn’t leave until I threatened to kick his ass.  Michelle dancing again, and again, and again. 

You are all fantastic people, and I can’t wait to spend another year harassing you with questions.

So, what did we learn last night?

-          Sports Illustrated is a well-known video game manufacturer.

-          The makers of the game MLB 2K have a million-dollar challenge for a player to either get Pete Rose back in the game or hit a pigeon with a fastball.

-          Grady Stiles was a circus freak known by the stage name ‘Crabs Galore’.

-          A phreak is a hacker who uses vibrators to do his work.

-          Sean Connery is best known for playing Khan in Star Trek II.

-          Bill the Cat’s best friend in the comics was a penguin named Penus.

-          A Prius is a British sports car.

-          Uncle Remus is St. Nick’s partner who punishes bad kids at Christmas in Europe.

-          Arnold Schwartzeneggar is Australian.

Well, thanks everyone for sticking with me for a great year of Quiz at the Crown.  Here’s to many more years to come of stupid answers, offensive team names, and complaints about the lack of sports and Star Wars questions.  As usual, go to www.geekswhodrink.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Geeks-Who-Drink-Pub-Quiz-At-Canyons-Crown/483388135009881 for all your geeking and drinking needs.  See you next week.  Cheers!

Many years ago, I went to a ska-punk show featuring Less Than Jake opening for Reel Big Fish.  I love both of those bands.  I have never seen either of them play and not had a great time.  So, this time, Less Than Jake came onstage with a guy in a skull mask who breathed fire over the crowd.  Confetti cannons blasted over us.  The skull guy dove into the crowd and rolled over us all the way to the back of the club, then back to the stage.  The band was running around like crazy people onstage.  A huge mosh pit broke out, and people all through the club started dancing their asses off.  A little way through the show, they pulled a kid up and let him play guitar.  He knew the whole song and played it perfectly.  They brought out a leaf blower with a paint roller taped to the end and rolls of toilet paper on it.  This was used to cover the entire crowd with toilet paper.  A kid dove off the balcony into the crowd and everyone caught him.  Finally, during their last song, Reel Big Fish came out and covered Less Than Jake with various condiments.  It was amazing.  Then Reel Big fish played.  They played every song I wanted to hear.  We all danced through their whole set.  They sounded great, and we all had a great time.  When I got home, my roommate at the time asked me how the show was.  I must have talked for a half an hour straight about Less Than Jake’s set.  “How was Reel Big Fish?” he asked.  I said, “They were great.”

In the words of Bill Cosby, “Now, I told you that story to tell you this one.”  I absolutely love my job as a Quizmaster.  I love both of my clubs.  Every single night is a great time.  I get to hang out with great people, have a lot of laughs, eat great food, drink great beer, and the Quiz itself is always a ton of fun.  But I have to write a blog afterwards.  Last night was fantastic, as it always is.  I spent a bunch of time talking to a bunch of you guys.  We had a sports round, which, when combined with last week’s Star Wars round, satisfied the two most popular requests from Quizzers.  But guys, you should go read my blog from Wednesday night.  You will not regret it.  After that night, and after writing that blog, I’m reduced to this:  Last night at the Crown was great.

So, what did we learn last night?

-          Polish asparagus is a thing.

-          So is blood rice.  Ew.

-          Irish people use a wooden stick in a sport they call ‘wife-beating’.

-          The little-known 9th movie in the series, “Harry Potter and the Queen of San Francisco”, features drag queens at Hogwarts.

-          Scott Pilgrim had to fight Kriss Kross and Johnny Cash.

-          You’re gonna like the way you look…the Men In Black guarantee it.

-          “Big White Booty” and “The Blasé Honky” were movies released this month.

-          The soundtrack to “Wayne’s World” won a Grammy for Best Album.

Oh, you know, now that I think of it, there was one moment of note last night.  John found out the hard way what a ‘titty-twister’ is.  Poor guy.  And I played Slayer at a family restaurant.  Hey, Jeff Hanneman died yesterday.  I was allowed to pay tribute.

Well, that’s all for this week.  Until we meet again, go hang out at www.geekswhodrink.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Geeks-Who-Drink-Pub-Quiz-At-Canyons-Crown/483388135009881.  See you next week.  Cheers!