Dear Friends,
In the film Taken, Liam Neeson’s character Bryan Mills tells a kidnapper that he as a “particular set of skills” that will enable him to recover his daughter. The movie then reveals how he uses those skills. Considering that the film has two sequels and a spinoff TV show, we can surmise that Bryan Mills succeeds.
As a faculty member and academic director at Academic Technology Services at UC Davis, I have the skillset that you would expect: I know how to grade papers, speak about writing and literary topics before a room full of students, and sit patiently in long meetings.
All that said, it has come to the attention of leadership that I have an additional particular set of skills that can come in handy on rare and celebratory occasions: I have no fear of microphones, I can lightly roast (almost a “toast”) strangers in front of a large crowd, I can disperse humorous quips on the fly, and I can introduce speakers with the enthusiasm of Bruce Buffer.
This week these two worlds – the genteel and bureaucratic world of academia and the energetic and sometimes edgy showmanship of the pub quiz – collided at the California-wide UC Tech conference at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, where I was the Master of Ceremonies.
Although not as ebullient and irreverent as the Quizmaster, as MC I still brought a lot of optimism and humor to the job. I suggested at the start that I had been recruited for this position because of my poetry skills, that half the tech wonks were there mostly for the polka band, and that one of the keynote speakers I was introducing has been published in the Washington Post so many times that I was considering restarting my subscription. I had to clear that instance of political humor with one of the lead organizers of the conference. I did not have to clear my MC clothing choices, even my paisley shirt.
More than half the 800 conference attendees were still present to fill the first floor of Jackson Hall yesterday afternoon when I closed UC Tech with a poem, one I had offhandedly promised when I introduced myself at the start, and that I had written while the conference was ongoing.
I will close that this newsletter with that same poem. Enjoy.
“The Paisley Poet Closes the Tech Conference with Images Stolen from the Theoretical Physicist”
Thank you to keynote speaker Professor Raissa D’Souza for her work on Explosive Connectivity
It might be said that we are all percolating.
Socially, intellectually, if we are lucky, also playfully,
We evolve at a comfortable pace;
HR would say, with mild approval, that we are meeting expectations.
In a remote world of pathways, we are unhurried vertices,
Nodes in a network, for some of us, an obligatory network,
Fingers in contact with mediating keyboards,
Zoom tiles with Zoom tiles,
Rather than eyes in contact with eyes.
The debugging action items don’t care if we are smiling.
Our work from home Covid cocoons curtailed water cooler kinship,
And since then, our connections have become more economical.
Without fear of offending, we sometimes cut Slack short
Or respond curtly to the troubleshooting ticket
Without concerns about ourselves making trouble.
As UC Tech comes to a close, let’s hope time spent
In this grand wine-funded palace for the performing arts
Led you to percolate not like coffee, but like eager volcanos.
Sometimes you have to travel far away to find yourself.
Abrupt phase transitions need catalysts, such as a Crackerjack Polka Band!
Perhaps Mariachis Bonitas de Dinorah horns and castanets
Have lowered the activation energy needed for your involuntary reaction.
Ice is ice, baby, until suddenly, because of Davis October heat, the ice is broken!
We crafty organizers succeeded if a shared cookie
In the Mondavi courtyard became your critical connection threshold.
Your node is nodding; your point is tipping,
And now, raffle prize or no; Crackerjack Polka Dance Floor dance moves or no;
Your rapidly evolving network has hot new broken ice nodes!
You have optimized for the timeline of this ephemeral moment.
We see you, eye to eye; we greet you, handshake to handshake.
Let the exploding social network percolations
Remind you, tonight and often, how it feels to step free from your cocoon.
Please plan to partake in the Pub Quiz festivities on this pleasant evening at Sudwerk in Davis. Bring your team to the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for almost everyone. The temperatures are joyfully dropping, though the rain doesn’t come until tomorrow. Surely the jollity will be unfiltered. As Albert Schweitzer said, “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.” I encourage you to come early to snag a table. We filled the restaurant and patio last week, and I expect that we will continue to do so throughout the school year and beyond. Also, tonight I plan to move the quiz along quickly — the entire quiz is only 937 words long! Do you ever notice that the word count changes every week? Sometimes I make extra work for myself.
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on Joe Biden’s pumpkins, detectives, transformations, the loyal opposition, actors, Irish culture, famous sorceresses, grouchy lumberjacks, book genres, heavenly songs, auspicious beginnings (but not endings), country names, going home to Oakland, Miller settings, on-air courtships, adorable teddies, musical chaos, bears who swim, British partial retreads, screams, people who share names with superheroes, March events, captivating people, candy that talks back, Swedes, shoes, the connection between Dickens and Freud, vampires, lineups, fermentable sugars, physical ideas, famous creeks that no one has visited, old studies, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare.
Thanks to all the new players joining us at the live quizzes and to all the patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. Thanks especially to new subscribers Janet, Jasmine, Joey, Carly, and The Nevergiveruppers! Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the conversationally entertaining dinner companions The Mavens who keep attending, despite their ambitious travel schedules, and others who support the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of supporters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Happy Halloween!
Dr. Andy
P.S. Here are three questions from last week:
- Mottos and Slogans. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, KFC suspended the use of what slogan out of safety concerns?
- Internet Culture. The following video game subtitles have what titular fantasy setting in common: Age of Sigmar, 40,000, Space Marine?
- Newspaper Headlines. Which 2024 hurricane caused more power outages, Hélène or Milton?