Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
As someone who has been teaching writing at UC Davis for more than 20 years, I have great faith in the practice of writing as a means of edification and transformation, a means of becoming who we wish to be. If we agree with Socrates’ statement that “an unexamined life is not worth living,” then writing because existentially necessary, for it is the way (outside of a therapist’s office) that most of us conduct such self-examinations, even if we don’t realize it at the time.
As the father of a wordless son with Autism, I am grateful for the opportunity to turn off my fast-connecting and fast-processing problem-solving brain on weekends, and spend some time on a walk, in the park, or on some other adventure in unconcerning activities that might have caused Socrates concern. My weekend respite is both the reason I can do so much over the course of any particular week, as well as a reason why I must scramble during the week in order to accomplish it all. These Monday morning stints of writing for you, in the form of these oddly-titled newsletters that I publish on The Davis Patch, represent my re-entry into a thinking person’s world. On Mondays I am suddenly required to make sense in a first draft, and perhaps to make sense of my previous weekend, or even of myself. As E.L. Doctorow once said, “Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.”
One of my favorite local authors often attends our Pub Quiz, which makes sense because before he hit the big time as the creator of Dismas Hardy and many other endearing literary characters, he used to augment his income with game show winnings. I think that would be a much more pleasant way to earn writer’s time than, say, filling out applications for fellowships at various writers’ retreats sponsored by small colleges and other non-profit organizations. I mention this because the author in question, John Lescroart, has a book coming out tomorrow titled The Ophelia Cut, and he deserves props for his productivity, and all the work he does to keep his readers entertained (and reflective). John will be feted at an event tomorrow evening at the nearby Odd Fellows Hall (415 2nd Street). Capital Public Radio’s Donna Apidone will be hosting the event, which will include appetizers, live music, and a brief reading and book signing by Lescroart himself. If you care about writing and writers, as I do, perhaps I will see you tomorrow night at this event, or at one of the other readings and book-signings as John launches his 24th novel, The Ophelia Cut.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature talk of writers and writing, including a question about an American novelist born in the 19th century (so that excludes John Lescroart). Expect also questions about cones and rails, women in sports, famous Italians, film franchises, cruelty, pianos, Marx, human villains, mononyms, basketball, medical terms that you should know even if you have no doctors on your team, John Kenneth Galbraith, unforced errors, youth, Twitter, football, keys, Nosey yogis, musketeers, democracies, London trains, millionaire actors who once attended Julliard, romantic comedies that may appeal to your demographic, words that start with the letter M, Victorians, famous sophomores, and the plays of William Shakespeare. There will be three musical questions this evening, one of them the anagram.
I hope to see you tonight. You might do better on the Quiz if you were to reflect on the topics mentioned above. Consider doing so with a pen in your hand.
Your Quizmaster
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
1. Internet Culture: Internet Memes. What television personality famously and repeatedly said “We’ll do it live”?
2. Newspaper Headlines. Of the 20 best-read cities in the US (according to Amazon.com), only one California city makes the list, and, shockingly, it’s not Davis. Name the California city.
3. Pop Culture – Music. What country music start who passed away recently appeared often on the TV show Hee Haw, as well as on 150 albums?
4. Four for Four. Which of the following counties, if any, border part of Yolo County? Amador, Colusa, Napa, Solano.
5. Sports. What athlete has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated the most times, at 50?