Dear Friends of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz,
One of the regular readers of this newsletter commented on my diatribe against mobility scooters for largely able-bodied people who refuse to exercise, and shared a request that I next take on Paula Deen’s racism. I’ve actually never seen Paula Deen on television, not even when she appeared in a lachrymose state to make and deny confessions on The Today Show. I regret that a 60-something woman from the south has held or shared racist views, but from what I’ve read, she has shown some contrition, and since expressed anti-racist opinions during her apology tour.
Much more important would be Deen’s inimical effect on the health of the Americans who prepare her recipes or purchase her pre-processed foods. When one Google’s Deen’s name, one finds the USA Today headline “Paula Deen: The new face of type 2 diabetes” and the Business Insider article indelicately titled “The 10 Most Disgusting Things Paula Deen Has Ever Put In Her Mouth.” Here’s the first paragraph:
Chocolate pizza, butter cake ice cream, and Krispy Kreme pudding. Welcome to Paula Deen’s recipes, where Candyland gumdrop dreams come to fruition.
The gluttonous impulses that Deen’s (former) empire seemed to depend upon evidently don’t actually lead one to happiness. Today’s Atlantic includes an article titled “Study: People With a Lot of Self-Control Are Happier.” The Atlantic article finishes likes this:
What [the researchers] figured out is that instead of constantly denying themselves, people high in self-control are simply less likely to find themselves in situations where that’s even an issue. They don’t waste time fighting inner battles over whether or not to eat a second piece of cake. They’re above such petty temptations. And that, it would seem, makes them happier … if still just a little bit sad.
Speaking of my addictions, my wife Kate is back from a week in Pittsburgh where she helped to organize a conference to promote medical research into Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome. Finally we will get to enjoy a meal this evening (including fries dribbled with cheese, because one should not deny too many pleasures in this life). As my boy Truman said when Kate was away, “Cupid is a genie who grants just one wish.” For me, that would be accurate.
Paula Deen will not appear on tonight’s Pub Quiz, though some of the topics raised above will appear in different forms. Instead, expect questions on driving, apples, national security, Disney, my brother Oliver, Los Angeles, quiet comedians, basketball superstars, silent Js, small Catholic countries, trials, protein, American women, gathering summons, words that start with M and C, union additions, intrusive hammocks, bays, glacial activities, pop songs from centuries ago, art and artists, superheroes, British girls, dangerous places, fashion designers not know for their fashion designs, astronomy, castles, baseball, bards, and Swiss winter resorts.
Thanks to all of you who expressed surprise that I didn’t include some expected topic or another in last week’s Quiz. I especially appreciated hearing from the Shakespeare scholar who was disappointed that I didn’t include a Midsummer Night’s Dream question on Midsummer’s eve. I will continue to present you with something unexpected at the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz. See you tonight!
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
1. Mottos and Slogans. What business calls itself “The Nation’s Largest Used Car Retailer”?
2. Internet Culture. What is the name of the Twitter-acquired mobile app that allows users to post six-second video clips?
3. Newspaper Headlines. Jeffrey Skilling had a decade shaved from his 24-year prison sentence last week. Of what company was Skilling the former CEO?
4. California Mountains. Starting with the letter T, what mountain range is found southeast of Bakersfield and the Central Valley, and west of Mojave and the Antelope Valley?
5. Pop Culture – Music. Ragtime began as dance music in the red-light districts of African American communities in two American cities years before being published as popular sheet music for piano. Name one of the two cities.