Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
As many of you know, earlier this month I spent almost a week at Disneyland, also known to children and Disney marketers as “The Happiest Place on Earth.” I myself have a rather vexed relationship with Disney, for I have concerns of how Disney films have unduly sweetened the fairy tales that I enjoyed as a child, how Disney films have taught girls to aspire to be princesses, and how Walt Disney’s own brand of conservatism manifested itself in his films and hiring practices. Neal Galber’s book Walt Disney: The Triumph of American Imagination reveals that Disney executives said they would “consider” the requests by 1963 civil rights activists to hire some African American people at Disney theme parks.
I saw plenty of diversity at Disneyland and California Adventures last week, for a cross-section of Americans flocks to the parks, liberally spending the money that many working class families have been saving all year. I also saw some fabulously wealthy families, including some that looked like their Disney adventures were being supported by Middle-East oil money (as suggested by hints such as jewelry and bodyguards). My wife Kate was concerned by how many niqābs we saw, for she sees the face-covering cloth veil worn by some Muslim women as indicative of oppressive patriarchal structures (in countries such as Saudi Arabia). I myself was struck by how out of shape America seems to be, for the rates of obesity of Disneyland guests are much, much higher than that of, say, Davisites or California university students.
With this in mind, I was grateful that at least the Disney theme parks to force Americans to take long walks (those who don’t rent the sort of mobility scooters that sometimes made me feel like I was on the set of the film Wall-E). In a country where, according to the CDC, one third of American adults are obese, the intense amount of walking and standing necessary to participate in the Disney experience means that many Americans will sample northern California personal transportation practices, as well as southern California weather. The huge parking lot that used to sit adjacent to Disneyland had long ago been turned into California Adventures, with actual topography (hills!) added to some parts of the park. The only people I saw on bikes were The Dapper Dans, a barbershop quartet riding a bicycle built for four. I guess Davis itself is a sort of theme park for bicyclists, an attraction that we should do even more to publicize.
I will say more next week about the extent to which the Disneyland experience has become a participatory advertisement for Disney merchandise, while I continue with this advertisement for tonight’s Pub Quiz. Tonight we will feature questions on cars, human anatomy, mobile applications, marriages, stings, mountain ranges, US citizens, red-light districts, net sports, World War Z, horses, superlative baseball pitchers, swamps, police, celebrities over 50, winter resorts, first names, TV shows that I had to discover for tonight’s Quiz, actors whose names are fun to say, people not named Alden or Brandon, noisy roof carnivals in California (anagram), musicians who act, math questions that involve taxicabs and really long numbers, German champions, astronomical portmanteau words, professional basketball, cover-ups, Minnesota radio, and Shakespeare comedies.
I hope to see you tonight. Thanks to Nat from The Wilhelm Screamers (a Hall of Fame team) for guest-hosting last Monday while I was away being happy.
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
1. Mottos and Slogans. According to Time Magazine, what was the top political campaign slogan of 2008?
2. Internet Culture: Modern Acronyms. What does the “mp” stand for in the term “mp3”?
3. Newspaper Headlines. According to National Public Radio, Governor Scott Walker is downplaying presidential buzz. Of what state is Scott Walker the governor?
4. Four for Four. According to the animated series Teen Titans, which of the following are members of the Teen Titans? Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, Talon.
5. Fun and Games. What two letters in the board game Scrabble are worth ten points each?
P.S. I have been asked to read some original poetry with other authors at an event at The Avid Reader this coming Saturday night at 7:30. The event invitation can be found, surprisingly, on Facebook.