Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
Some people who follow history, or who read historical novels, gravitate to one time period over all others. For example, my friend Christy English, an author of historical novels and romances situated in distant lands, has written about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who spent most of her intriguing life in the 12th century. Others spend their time imagining the wild west, Jane Austen’s England, or the Nara period of Japan. Some prefer to read about revolutions in America, France, or even Ireland, looking for lessons from times of tumult that we as individuals have been spared. While it’s fun to visit the past, eventually we have to let it go, lest we be dragged.
When we gravitate to these faraway time periods, do we do so because of what the age offers, or what the age could not yet offer? For example, Tolkien’s Middle Earth depends upon medieval technologies, but also magic, while a Victorian novel will rarely involve people being interrupted at dinner by telemarketers. Once I interviewed the prominent novelist Joyce Maynard on my radio show, and she revealed that she situates all of her novels in the 1990s or before so that none of her characters would keep disappearing to send or receive texts, Google the context of topics that come up in conversation, or insistently show their friends hilarious YouTube videos.
How many of us make decisions according to what we wish to avoid, rather than according to what we wish to do? As a high school student, did I limit my college search to city schools because I wanted big-city culture or because I wanted to avoid small-town parochialism? When Kate and I consider where we eventually might want to retire, do we choose Davis because it is bikeable and because we have so many friends here, or another location because it is more affordable? You might ask yourself a question like this every Monday night: Do we attend the Pub Quiz because we love the competition, the hubbub, and the time with friends, or do we, like readers of a Joyce Maynard novel, appreciate the break from gadgets and pixels for a couple hours?
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was choosing the “Four Freedoms” he wished to emphasize in his 1941 State of the Union Address, 11 months before Pearl Harbor, he settled on two freedoms “of” preferred practices (speech and religion), and two freedoms “from” unwanted burdens (want and fear). America’s formal involvement in World War II would test our relationship with these freedoms, and subsequent presidents have had vexed relationships with all four of these American concerns, but I think they give us a helpful framework for understanding how we gauge freedom in our own personal choices and pastimes, our obsessions and our phobias, our obstacles and our motivations.
I reread speeches by Lincoln, Roosevelt(s), or King from time to time to help remind myself how I want to spend my day, my year, or my life. As Zig Ziglar says, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.” Thanks to all of you who bathe before joining us at the Pub Quiz on Monday nights. I’m expecting way more than 100 motivated people tonight, each of us embracing or escaping something, together.
Tonight’s Quiz will feature questions about topics raised above, as well as the following: The Journal of Nutrition, sweetness, name confusion, the orders of heroes, sporting bullies, current events, colorful book titles, magpies, ways back, menus in national parks, American royal families, M for Mendelssohn and masks, people who know Avogadro’s number, dogs not named Rover, romantic hammers, smart as a post, actors who have won Oscars in unexpected categories, superheroines, strong countries, rocks, art galleries, ethical syringes in politics, pansexuality, SoCal acronyms, news or information, three-word titles, prominent universities, stories on stage, right angles, two verb hits, storytelling, metal plates, roaming examples, Chicago ends, silly Siri, special deliveries, and Shakespeare.
I hope you can join us tonight at the Pub Quiz. So many people moved around or moved away at the end of August. We may need to recruit some new players!
Best,
Your Quizmaster
https://www.yourquizmaster.com
P.S. Here are three questions from a previous quiz:
- Great Americans. David Strathairn played Secretary of State William H. Seward in what 2012 film?
- Unusual Words: Three six-letter P words with pretty much the same meaning. The first word is “priest,” and the second is “pastor.” What is the third?
- Pop Culture – TV. What show features Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Olivia Wilde, & Amber Tamblyn?
P. P. S. Tomorrow night, the 10th of September, at 7:30, I will be hosting a read-through of some scenes from an upcoming production of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors with members of the Davis Shakespeare Festival. Please join us at the Avid Reader bookstore for this casual preview of what promises to be a marvelous presentation of the classic comedy.