Dear Friends,
Of course, columnists read columns. We look to see how they introduce their pieces, how they turn phrases, and what sources they depend upon for their information they uncover and comment upon.
Every columnist is also a reporter, responsible for breaking the smaller news stories that matter to their sources and their readers. Longtime Washington Post columnist Allan Sloan put it this way:
“Don’t commit to being a columnist unless you’re willing to do it right. Report your behind off, so you have something original and useful to say. Say it in a way that will interest someone other than you, your family and your sources.”
Liberal-turned-conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer believed that the best columnists keep at it: “Longevity, for a columnist, is a simple proposition: Once you start, you don’t stop. You do it until you die or can no longer put a sentence together. It has always been my intention to die at my desk, although my most cherished ambition is to outlive the estate tax.”
I feel that way about my KDVS radio show. Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour is now 24 years old, older than most of my UC Davis students. I’ve hosted more than a thousand episodes, and interviewed perhaps twice that number of guests. Many listeners visiting 90.3 FM while driving down I-80 will call in to share their delight.
My guest this afternoon at 5 PM will be Bob Dunning, the daily columnist who has been read by generations of Davisites during his 54+ years at The Davis Enterprise. I invite you to tune in, or catch thepodcast from our conversation which will likely drop on the morning of Thursday, May 16th.
Dunning’s new home is Substack. The Wary One publishes often. For example, while writing an earlier paragraph in this update, Bob published an essay titled “Davis, California has a street for every season and every reason.” Lucky locals get mentioned by Bob Dunning!
Today at 5:30 there will be a launch party for this new enterprise downtown in that magical alleyway between Peet’s Coffee and Chipotle. Fresh from his hard-hitting grilling on KDVS, Bob will speak around 6 PM.
You could see Bob and still make it to Sudwerk by 7 for the Pub Quiz!
The weather will be delightfully warm tonight! If you are in Davis this evening, please join us at Sudwerk. Recruit a team and join us at the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for everyone. As Saint Augustine allegedly said, “Good times and crazy friends make the best memories.”
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on poets laureate, deep water ports, peace prizes, startup losses, wings, ruptures, magic talisman, scripted primitive TV series, DEI concerns, gold values, GOATs, prohibitions, mixes of boos and cheers, decibels, birthplaces, political actions, drinkers, robot overlords and competitors, X-Men, people in the valley, people who asked Alice, categorized gods, populous countries, earthquakes, free worlds, common names, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare. Sometimes a question is substituted at the last minutes because of the day’s news.
Thanks to all the new players joining us at the live quizzes and to all the patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. Thanks also to Brooke, Jeannie, Becky, Franklin, and More Cow Bell. Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the dependable Mavens, 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
P.S. Here are three questions from last week:
- Great Americans. Living from 1914 to 1995, what medical researcher developed the first successful polio vaccine?
- Unusual Words That Actually Have Nothing to Do with Monster Trucks. Starting and ending with a T, what three-syllable word means “Defiantly aggressive or belligerent; eager to fight or quarrel”?
- The Hundred Years War. Lasting from 1337–1453, The Hundred Years War was fought primarily between what two powers?
P.P.S. May 16th is Poetry Night! Join us at 7 at the Natsoulas Gallery.