Dear Friends,
Today I am thinking of John Poirier, a regular pub quiz attendee during all the years that I quizmastered at de Vere’s Irish Pub, a kind soul, and a good friend.
Regular attendees of my previous pub quiz will remember John and his team Quizimodo grabbing a table near my booth that accommodated his wheelchair. I would always stop to visit John’s table, and his team made up of Lynne, another John, and a cast of other substitutes, including Anna, Gretchen, and sometimes Cathy.
Sometimes players would stick around to thank me for the show or to discuss individual pub quiz questions, but none took the quiz as seriously as John. He always had suggestions for questions, onetime bringing a printout of great LGBTQIA figures from history so I could increase the diversity and queer representation in my pub quiz. We also talked about independent living for wheelchair users, Boston culture, scuba diving, and his life as a pharmacist.
I so valued such trivia question suggestions, as well as his trivia enthusiasm and his compassionate humanity, that I dedicated my first Pub Quiz book to him, writing “To John Poirier and all the other pub quiz participants who never miss a week of community, competition, and fun.” To me, John was always a winner.
Over our ten-year friendship, I have talked with John at cultural events, memorial services, and poetry readings, including a few that I hosted at the Natsoulas Gallery. I was grateful to see John at my crowded first pub quiz at Sudwerk, but he preferred playing with his regular group of Patreon subscribers via Zoom every Monday, their group welcoming players from around the country and even Canada. I’m grateful to my friend Lynne for keeping that group going and finding use for my weekly trivia content all through the pandemic.
As Lynne wrote me on Monday, “We had our virtual pub quiz tonight and John did not chime in. One of his neighbors on the team went to check on him and he has passed away.”
I’m thinking this week about John, his family, and the locals who loved him. He loved to talk to me about his team’s struggles with my unfair anagrams, so in honor of John, part two of tonight’s pub quiz will start with five easy anagrams. For example, if I were to ask you “What natives of ancient Etruria are the best kind of CENTAURS?” You would, of course, respond, that ETRUSCAN centaurs are the best kind of centaurs. I think John would have appreciated the silliness of questions about Etruscan centaurs.
Rest in Peace, John Poirier. I appreciate the humanity that you brought to our every interaction.
Speaking of humanity, Pub Quiz participants and fans, including those who support this effort on Patreon, have contributed about half the $2,314 that I have raised so far for the Smith-Lemli-Opitz Foundation to support medical research that will help families of people who have Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, such as my son Jukie. Thanks so much for that support! If you would like to participate, please check out the fundraiser on Facebook, or make a donation to the Foundation via its website.
If you are in Davis tonight, please join us for the Pub Quiz at Sudwerk. Recruit a team, dress for a January sunset when the temperature drops five degrees in an hour and a half, and join us at the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for everyone. We will have some bonus friends joining us at Sudwerk tonight, friends and admirers or Natalie Corona (see below).
In addition to topics raised above, such as Etruscan centaurs, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on index funds, video games and other consumer electronics, sea travel, ornithology, raincoats, diseases, admirers, meteors, disco mainstays, breakfast cereals, knitting projects, cable cars, people named George, California taxpayers, secondary characters, World Series titles, unexpected appearances, hips and shoulders, carbohydrates, Black quarterbacks, bands not named Kayak or Racecar, electricity, optimization movement founding fathers, meditators, rare languages, the Persian Gulf, bills, animated films, transparency, long poems, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare.
Thanks to The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, and others who support the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of supporters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Best,
Dr. Andy
- Mottos and Slogans. Starting with the letter A, what is the trade name of a combination drug that contains four salts of amphetamine and is regarded as effective in treating symptoms of ADHD and narcolepsy? Hint: For years, advertisements for this drug used the slogan, “Schoolwork that matches his intelligence.”
- Internet Culture. We recently learned that the page for ChatGPT was the most visited Wikipedia page in 2023. If you think for a moment, you will quickly determine what is the most visited Wikipedia page of all time. Name it.
- Four for Four: The Four Tallest Buildings in California. Which of the following buildings is found in San Francisco: The AON Center, The Salesforce Tower, The U.S. Bank Tower, The Wilshire Grand Center?
- British Comedians. Born in 1961, what recent Golden Globe winner starred in the Hollywood films For Your Consideration (2006), the Night at the Museum film series trilogy (2006–2014), Ghost Town (2008), and Muppets Most Wanted (2014)?
P.P.S. Today is the five-year anniversary of the death of Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona. Considering her life, her sacrifice, and our gloomy weather recently, I wrote this poem in her honor.
An Elegy for Natalie
Corona (astronomy): the rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars.
We are all tales etched in stardust,
Echoes of a celestial choir,
A transient brilliance, a cosmic spark
That kindles hereafter a heavenly fire.
Our heavy hearts cloud the day,
Overcast, like our abiding grief;
Nevermore will her kindness inspire;
The morning is cold; the sun weeps.
We admire the few who answer the call
And note the beaming smile of the new recruit.
We will seek to shine here where she shone,
Each of us sharing a memorial salute.