Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
This morning I woke to a dream that I found to be so hilarious and engaging that I said to myself, “There’s a book in that.” Of course, I can’t exactly remember it now, but there was something about a six-year-old girl unexpectedly taking the mic at a Mike Bloomberg rally to give her opinions on what should be changed about America.
“There’s a Book in That” might work as the motto of the 2020 San Francisco Writers Conference, where I have spent most of this long weekend (instead, the official motto is “A Celebration of Craft, Commerce, and Community”). Speaking of community, a little bit like summer camp, this conference has provided me a yearly opportunity to reunite with friends that I typically see in only one place (not counting Facebook), and an opportunity with them to “play” with the ideas of inspiration, writing systems and habits, and revision. In addition to these craft concerns, we also spend a lot of time talking about audiences, markets, marketing, and book cover designs.
On the one hand, lessons that I have learned from this conference have made me much more thoughtful, ambitious, and productive. I get to learn from great speakers such as Rusty Shelton, the founder of Zilker Media, and Walter Mosley, creator of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, such as Devil in a Blue Dress. And I learn strategies to improve my writing and my understanding of independent publishing in a rapidly-changing industry.
On the other hand, insofar as I have attended this conference every year for the last 15, I see how many of my friends and colleagues have lapped me in terms of their own productivity, processes of discovery, and book titles. Of course, many of these folks are full-time writers, while I have many irons in many fires. When strangers asked me what book I was working on, I have to decide which of the four to mention first (or solely). Like my writing projects, my days are chopped up into multiples. I should remember what Alexander Graham Bell’s advice: “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
Even though you may be distracted by the remnants of San Francisco pillow fights at dawn, or by a jubilant City French bulldogs named “Marcello,” I hope 2020 is full of clear vision and bright focus for you. Meanwhile, as today is a holiday, I’m going to write you some hints and then dine on a holiday breakfast with my family.
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on the following topics: Missouri, living languages, one-way radios, early Apple additions, Bay Area cities, notable marriages, art and art history, the 2010 Census, musical anniversaries, regrettable injuries, an offer of latitude, American cities, that which follows thievery, confederations, rules that are unknown to me, Pulitzer bookends, Silicon Valley, WS Merwin, Modern Library rankings, received signals, human anatomy, Abraham Lincoln, writers conference discoveries, comparisons to Delaware, neighborhoods in New York City, blue streaks, unread books, mail service, faddish demises, and Shakespeare.
Thursday is Poetry Night in Davis. John Brantingham is our featured poet, and we would love to see you there. Check out the Facebook event! He is also running a workshop at the Davis Arts Center all morning and part of the afternoon on February 22nd – what an opportunity!
Happy Presidents Day to you. See you tonight at 7!
Your Quizmaster
https://www.yourquizmaster.com
Send Pub Quiz questions and recommended question topics to Dr. Andy at yourquizmaster@gmail.com
P.S. Here are three questions from last week.
- Science. True or False: Sharks can get cancer.
- Books and Authors. In her book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, the American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön writes that “We can use our personal suffering as the path to BLANK for all beings.” Fill in the blank with a three-syllable word.
- Current Events – Names in the News. What Democrats were the two top vote-getters in Iowa last week?
P.P.S. “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge