Dear Friends of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz,
We were lucky to have the internationally acclaimed poet and playwright James Ragan visit Davis this past week, performing at the John Natsoulas Gallery and on the UC Davis campus. Ragan impresses audiences with his stories, with the many movie-stars and heads of state with whom he has worked and performed, and the quality of his poetry, much of which he has memorized.
One of my favorites of the poems Ragan keeps in his head is titled “Rilke on the Conveyor Belt at Los Angeles International” (found at the website of the journal Rattapallax):
RILKE ON THE CONVEYOR BELT
AT LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL
A rick of pages, it falls hardly noticed
into motion, and down the track, unspined,
it cycles time between a rucksack and laundry.
A book no thicker than a wallet or a comb,
it is the unworthy carry-on, newly bought,
colliding with a carpetbag and steamer
on the unlikely navigation into being
where it’s not. Each passenger has watched it
circle more than once, a bold intrusion
into the archipelago of things familiar.
There is no fixed point of concentration,
no laughter, no elation when the eyes dissect
the slow descent of baggage into orbit
as if in taking up an armstrap, each handler
slews a body to the spars of his shoulder.
Had Rilke himself fallen, unbound,
lying in united state, he would have passed
unnoticed by the baggage check or porter
who fail to think it odd or such a pity
to tag him at the lost and found.
How many miles had his words trespassed,
how many cities, alive, unread
among so many ports of authority, a gold leaf
of art so grand in the pall of memory
it gives the mind encouragement to survive.
Unless, unsung like a soldier’s duffel, duty bound,
fear spreads its tarp along the spine of language.
Creation can end this way, abrupt and final,
like travel to the ends of the world
with no intent, or vision, but destination.
(from LUSIONS, Grove/Atlantic)
I hope you are making time in your life for great performances.
Tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on U.S. Presidents, the Dalai Lama, football, early film pioneers, nearly defunct companies that start with the letter S, illuminated readings, California companies, A-List celebrities such as Johnny Depp, the cities where famous events took place, mountains, star-gazing though the centuries, meditation, sports that surround, Star Wars, people who have appeared on Seinfeld, British poets with whom you are familiar, political parties, prime numbers, Hamlet’s ethic, knights, big arrivals, the Boston Consulting Group, John Lescroart’s original fiction to be performed by a talented Sacramento actor Saturday night at the Pence Gallery, genetics, South American, and the topics of a few questions that I haven’t written yet, including the Shakespeare question.
If you bring a new person or a new team to the Pub Quiz tonight, which I encourage, make sure to introduce me to the newcomers. See you tonight!
Your Quizmaster
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
- Mottos and Slogans. Starting with the letter P, what Japanese company founded in 1955 uses the slogan “Ideas for Life”?
- Internet Culture. What successful American international commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington has revealed plans to open its first ever brick and mortar store in New York City?
- Newspaper Headlines. According to the ranking firm Interbrand, what is the world’s most valuable brand?
- Four for Four. According to the most recent polling, which of the following Republican governors, if any, has greater than 50% approval rating by voters in his state? Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Scott Walker. If for some reason you don’t know which US State one of these governors is from, that would be embarrassing.
- Oscar-Winners. What do the following Oscar-winning actresses have in common? Julie Andrews, Jennifer Hudson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anna Paquin, Barbra Streisand. We know it is not country of origin, for Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico.
P.S. What are your Halloween costume plans this year?