Who are Harry, Henry, Homer, and Lizzie? Recap of The Blind Pig for May 22nd

May 25, 2012

By Matt

On my ninth attempt to finish EngWr 300 (college level writing) at ARC. I sat in the front left corner of the class room. We were going around and all announcing our final research topics. I had already planned on writing mine about the need for reform within the community college financial aid system. I had a lot of ideas, but as the other 27 students in the class were  saying theirs, I started to get depressed. People were going to be writing their’s about “Children with AIDs” or “Breast Cancer” or “The Prejudiced Treatment of Immigrants  in America”. These are all things I feel strongly about, and that are important issues to discuss. But amid the sea of important, but somewhat saddening social issues, I decided then and there to change my topic.

Well, when it finally came to me, and right after the person next to me was gung-ho about tackling the issues of “Child Endangerment in Foster Care”, I said the first thing that came to my head. “The evolution of zombies in popular culture, through media and religion.” This got some laughs from the class, some dirty looks from others, and my professor asking me to stay after class. She then thanked me for giving her something she had never read before, and a fun topic for her to read about.

Needless to say I know a lot of facts about zombies in general, so when Warner Brothers contacted me about having this week sponsored by their new film Chernobyl Diaries (now open in theaters nationwide), I jumped at the bit faster than a horde of zombies would devour the succulent brains of a Harvard dorm room.

Tasty, tasty, Ivy League brains…

All I had to do was ask a few questions about zombie, so I made a full round of it at The Blind Pig. And it happened to be the first round.

So the first round was about zombies, and I had shirts for the top score of this round from the film. It was a close round too. The zombie questions that seemed to stump most people were about the show Deadliest Warrior (What television ended their third season with a pairing of Zombies versus Vampires?) and about “meat pie” (According to the film Shawn of the Dead, “There is no I in team, but there is an I in” what?)

But a lot of people missed those, and after careful review, the question that made it for the winning team was this one:

In the zombie music video “Thriller” Michal Jackson is shown dancing with the undead. What are the first four words to this song?

Two teams would have been tied for this if they had the correct answer “It’s close to midnight” but they didn’t and put “It’s after midnight, and” so they only got half point on the question and were destined to take a tie for second on the round. The top score was 8.5. Take a picture of you guys wearing the shirts.

The General Drunkenness round proved to be a little tougher than weeks past. The top score for the round was an 8. Turns out people don’t know about the American farming scene as much as I do. Why? Because the question everyone missed was about the state that grows roughly 2/3rds of the world’s eggplant. It’s New Jersey.

New Jersey Egg Plant…wait…

Best moment of the night came from this round, when the whole bar, playing or not, joined in singing the JG Wentworth opera song.

In the end there was a three-way tie for 1st with 14.5: “It Doesn’t Fuckin’ Matter” “99 Problems…” and “One More Day Off”

The final round, to coincide with the best movie ever released (to be based on the game off the same name), Battleship, the final round was Board Games.

The questions were pretty straightforward, no curve-balls like a question about Michael Jackson in a zombie round. And it was pretty good scores all around.

This round had the best answer of the night going to new team “Cinnamon Sauce” with their answer to this question:

What board game is similar to Scrabble, but you can place letter tiles on top of others?

Their answer? Dirty Scrabble. (Band name)

The bonus questions didn’t come into play, but it was a twist ending.

In third, the come from the lowest score of 7 but getting 10 right in the final round and a bonus question. With 19, it was “Cinnamon Sauce”

In second, the reigning champs who were looking for their 4th win in a row (which would tie the record for most wins in a row), but coming up just slightly short. With 21.5, it was “99 Problems But a Pub Quiz Ain’t One”

And the winners, they left champs, and came back champs. They said they couldn’t miss Zombies and Board Games, and they were right. With 24.5, “One More Day Off”!

Welcome back…winners.

Well, that’s it. Remember to study for this week’s May of 2012.

See you next Tuesday.

Trolling (And The Trolling Trolls Who Troll Them), Recap of Kilt Pub for May 21st

May 24, 2012

Our proud sponsor

By David
(Notes by David)
<Notes by Matt>
[Collective Id]

Barricade the doors; we’ve been overtaken. The dead and the damned have risen from their graves, and their first stop on their tour of horror is a little bar on Eastern and Arden.

Kilt Pub.

And, now that I think about it, I can’t blame them: if I were a freshly reanimated corpse, I’d probably be dying for a pint, too. But what beers pair well with brains? I couldn’t begin to guess.

It’s been a good week, so far, for Questionable Trivia. We picked up a sponsor (for last night, at least) from a major motion picture (“Chernobyl Diaries”, which is a film I have no problem pimping out because it looks promising), and we added a new bar to our weekly roll-call of trivia (“The Couch” on Madison Avenue, starting on Sunday, June 10th) <Yeah, we did>.

…And Questionable Trivia is celebrating its first year in the business, next month! There’s an announcement relating to that issue, after the monthly standings in this entry.

Now, let’s get to why you’re here: the recap.

We started off by pulling an Oprah. We gave out tons of free posters for Chernobyl Diaries, just for taking our quiz. Fabulous.

Every week in the mill room, I get to read questions to a lovely myriad of people. They tend to ask important follow-up clarification questions, as I read the quiz, like:

“What’s the answer?”
“Can you tell me the answer before I turn in the sheet?”, and…
“Does anyone give a shit?” <We do…>

The third one was rather timely, as one of the questions tonight was about trolling (or flaming). It was, however, asked by a man who wasn’t part of a team. But he was a nice guy (despite how that question makes him seem), and a good sport about the whole “I’m going to speak loudly while you have a quiet, private conversation with your friends/family/associates” thing.

I usually try to keep my voice lower when nonparticipants are in the room since it’s a smaller space, and my voice tends to reverberate a lot, but still; good form on his part.

Fun topics of the first round: zombies (of course), Decoupage, real beef not taken from real animals, Gilgamesh, Karl Malone, Leo Tolstoy and Jimmy Stewart’s movie “Harvey.”

We have varied bunch of interests, we do.

Standings after the first round:

1st Place: Paps Blue Waffle (17 Points)
2nd Place: Swedish Mafia (16 Points)
3rd Place: Hotydie (15 Points)

Round 2. Fight.

The CDC released, relatively recently, a guide for how to handle a zombie outbreak – it’s a bit ominous, but as one contestant said, why not? In the extremely far-off chance that it ever happens, it’s useful to know what to do.

Especially when we’ve already got zombies in our world.

Rob Zombie, for one. Or Robert Bartleh Cummings, if you know his birth name. Between he and tetrodotoxin (known colloquially as “zombie powder”), there’s still hope that one day I’ll be fending off hordes of the undead from the roof of a large warehouse (In that off-chance that it happens, don’t choose a mall. Choose a nice, secure spot with lots of cement and few windows. Rooftops are always nice, for lookout spots).

Ahhh yeah. Pure paradise.

We also asked a question about the fish, and the answer was puffer fish, we added after grading that blowfish and puffer fish are both correct. We gave credit for either answers by the end of the night. (We added to scores afterwards to those who also put blowfish – the top 3 standings were not affected by the change, nor were any other placing, but we added them for the month).

And since I brought up the standings, here are the results for the night:

Third Place (lost a tie-breaker for second): I’ll Have Another On Purpose (32 Points)
Second Place (Won that tie-breaker): Hotydie and Danny Stiffri ft. John (32 Points)
First Place: Pabs Blue Waffle (33 Points).

Best Team Name of the Night: Matt, Did You Dye Your Hair? <Yes, I did.>

And my-oh-my, how the rankings for the month can change in a week’s time. We now have a tie in first place for the month, between I’ll Have Another On Purpose and Pabs Blue Waffle. Meanwhile, Clown Baby has dropped from first to third.

MONTHLY STANDINGS:

  • I’ll Have Another On Purpose (98 Points)
  • Pabs Blue Waffle (Google It) [DON’T GOOGLE IT] (98 Points)
  • Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin (96 Points)
  • The Swedish Mafia (Den Svenska Mafia) (93 Points).
  • I Quizzed A Girl And I Liked It/Insert Shitty Name Here/Let’s Get Quizzical (87.5 Points)
  • Lark Tarhar Parrarts (86.5 Points)
  • Two Dudes About To Eiffel Tower Noah (54.5 Points)
  • Hotydie (31 Points)
  • Just Methin’ Around (30 Points)
  • River City Pistol Whips (26.5 Points)
  • The Smart Ones Flaked (22.5 Points)
  • The Late Comers (19 Points)

Fun Note: Chef Noah and his band of merry quizfits, for the month, have gotten 99 Points so far on our last three quizzes.

But, even going into the last week of the month, it’s still not too late to pull out a big win. You never know what could happen. And if you’re too far out, it’s still 35% off your tab (or twenty dollars, whichever is higher), if you take the weekly win. That’s never a bad prize, ‘eh?

But now? Announcement time!

Since June is the one-year anniversary of Questionable Trivia, we’re kicking it old school. Mr. Tyler Bazlen is going to be taking his old spot back for a week, as co-host, and I’m taking the night off. I, as I traditionally used to do on Mondays, will be there with my laptop, writing. Writing what? I have no idea. <Event to be posted soon>

But I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you are too.

Until next week, folks!

And don’t forget: Chernobyl Diaries comes out on May 25. <Tonight at midnight!>

Double Blind Recap, Recap for the Blind Pig for May 8th and 15th

May 18, 2012

Man, I hate it when something you care about gets taken away from you. For me it was this blog. But, then again, when it comes to websites, who am I to say what is fair when I partake in the most common lie in the US. “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.” I didn’t. But I have now.

But that is beside the point. We are back.

So here is the recap for the Blind Pig for the past two weeks (May 8th and 15th)

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May 8th

Stupid college. Having finals week and making people need to study for a quiz they don’t even win medals and drinks for doing well. But whatever they’re nerds. (Says they guy whose job is to make quizzes about pop culture, science, history, etc. for a living)

Whatever the reason, it was the lowest turnout we have had in a long time. But what did that mean for the four teams who did play? A higher probability of winning…or the same, I don’t know how to make betting odds.

The four teams though were four of the most loyal teams at The Blind Pig, so the night went swimmingly and was a lot of fun.

The first round of the night was the promised anatomy and physiology round to the teams of a nursing student, and another with masseuses.  We have done a round of A&P round before, but the human body is huge, so there were quite a few questions still available for the asking.

Surprisingly, only one team got that the liver was the largest internal organ, but even then it didn’t matter much for scoring the spread over the four teams was only by 2 points. I could tell right away this would be a close night.

The closeness of scores continued into the General Drunkenness, all of the team’s rankings changed at the end of this general knowledge round. In my experience I can almost know who will win at The Pig by end of this round, but jeezum crow, this would be a tough one to call.

The final round was 80s music. I know a lot about a lot of stuff, but music has always been my weak point, so writing this round was a little tougher. It explains why most of the questions about 80s music, were really about 80s music pop culture. But that is still music trivia, so still good.

The bonus questions, this week were a 50/50. One about Brisco County Jr. that no one got right, and a Mount St. Helens question everyone did.

With a tie break between 99 Problems and Lark Tarhar, in the end it was a second win for 99 Problems, But a Pub Quiz at One. (Spelling? I lost my notebook, and I will correct when I find it or if someone tells me.)

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May 15th

This was more like it, a packed house, all ready for trivia. And I was glad to see it, because I was really proud of the quiz.

CNN is the nationwide, and a worldwide leader in true and honest news coverage. The Onion is not, instead it is the nationwide leader and fake news. But can the general public be able to tell the difference between headlines from both? This past Tuesday, we found out.

I always tell people they have a 50/50 chance on any question: Right or Wrong. On this round they did. And half the crowd was able to tell the difference, the other half couldn’t. I could say more or I can just see how you do. (Answers will be available next week)

  1. FIRED STRIPPER CHARGES GENDER DISCRIMINATION TO BE CAUSE
  2. KANYE WEST IN FEUD WITH NATION OF SYRIA
  3. MOSQUITOES DON’T EVEN NEED TO BITE US, STUDY SHOWS
  4. OCTOMOM SAY SHE IS OPEN TO PORN, BUT NO TOUCHING

As we went into the second round of the night, the scores seemed somewhat insurmountable after the first round, but this round seemed to be an equalizer of sorts. Some customers have been saying that my questions tend to not be as current as other places, so I have been trying to save one or two questions to be written until the day of the quiz, because they want current, how about current events from a few hours ago?

The final category was one that quite a few have been wanting me to write for some time: Cartoons. Who would have thought people could forget about Snagglepuss, or Launchpad McQuack, or Boris and Natasha (or as one team put Dmitry and Svetlana)? But apparently some people had.

The bonus round questions were a little tougher this week, but if you had to pick between a question about the study of flags or the virus that make babies and toddlers have diarrhea for a group of people in a bar to get correct at a quiz, it of course will be the one about diarrhea.

In the end here are the standings:

3rd Place – Tie between “Just Chad, Nick, and JD” and (forgot their team name and can’t find my notebook so I will just call them this) “The BMC without Bob” each with 22

2nd Place – “Kick Ass Team” (A new team) with 23 ½

1st Place – “99 Problems But A Pub Quiz Ain’t One” (Three-peat) with 24 ½

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So it was a fun couple of weeks, if you have the pictures or any corrections to team names, please let me know or send them to me at QuestionableTrivia@gmail.com.

See you next Tuesday…and good luck to “Boom Boom & The Kitty Fucks”. Your time is coming, I can feel it.

And we’re back! Kilt Pub Recaps from May 7th and May 14th

May 17, 2012

So guys, been having some troubles with the blog (locked out from posting because of apparent spam and fishing allegations, which were false) but we are back!

We will be back to posting recaps regularly from here on out again. as well as posting the winners pictures from the month of April until now.

Before we go any further here are a few things about last month that you may have missed:

A come from behind first place victory for the month of April for “Smoother Than a Scandinavian Vulva” over the early favorites “Clown Baby”
New teams and challengers coming in from all sides.
And David being my official replacement co-host for Tyler (at least until next month, but more on that later)

Also David will be taking over as the recaps for Kilt Pub (with my little notes through out) while I will continue to do Blind Pig’s recaps. So without further ado, here are David’s recaps from the last two weeks!

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May 7th:

By David DeMola
(Notes in these are from David)
<Notes in these are from Matt>
[These are our collective id]

I love this job.

Between the alcohol, the atmosphere, and the rotating cast of contestants I get to meet every week, I have to say: I’ve got it good.

You all have smartass remarks, and I don’t resent that for half a second. It’s actually one of my favorite parts of the job, which calls back to my short-lived standup stint in an obscure hole-in-the-wall place that, I’m sad to say, doesn’t exist anymore.

Last week, I was singing Taking Back Sunday, and this week I was able to herald the good old days of music – back when you could be mainstream and artistic at the same time. (Insert Justin Beiber joke here) <”Baby” was okay. In a this is pop music take it or leave it kind of way.>.

We had lyrics questions about Bob Dylan, a hint with lyrics from The Darkness, and…a question about Soundgarden’s return. Some of you pointed out that Soundgarden was a ‘90s band. You’re right; they got big in the ‘90s, but the band was formed in 1984, and their first album was released in 1988 (preceded by an EP in ’87). And that album, Ultramega OK, earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Metal performance. <For those of you who said 90′s band, face>

I’ll say this: I wrote that question, and hadn’t actually listened to the song until this morning. Without turning this into a music blog, I just want to say this:

Two years ago, when “Black Rain” was released, I was excited. I heard Chris Cornell wailing again, like he used to, and I literally replayed the song for 30 minutes-straight. It was the perfect return. It was immaculate. It was…

An old song that had been rejected, and finally released.

Shit.

“Black Rain” was from a different era of music, back when Cornell could belt out notes with that shrill voice of his.

Hearing “Live To Rise,” and comparing that to any of their 1990s hits is just unfair. The band has changed; Cornell did his solo bit and Audioslave. He’s long since risen up from his black days, broken out of his rusty cage, and the black hole sun that used to fuel his work has clearly collapsed in on its singularity a long time ago.

I want to like it, because Soundgarden was part of the soundtrack of my childhood, but it just isn’t the same.

And, as I wrote that last sentence, I felt “old”. Or, at least, “older”.

But, anyway, let’s get back to the recap.

It’s not often that I get to say the word “scrotum”. I love the word because it’s just so abrasive. It doesn’t roll off the tongue – it skids off the tip and crashes into peoples ears; a proverbial Wile E. Coyote of the English language.

I try to work scrotum into conversations, but it’s just a tough word to find appropriate context for.

“Nice weather outside. So, how about scrotum?”

“Buy stock in Facebook! I hear it’s gonna be scrotum!”

“Hey ma, that meal was great. It tasted like scrotum.”

Scrotum, of course, was the hint for our question about Honoré de Balzac. Let it be known: Matt and I are children. Tall children, with facial hair and a license to drink.

Anyway, enough about scrotum. Let’s get to the standings for the first round.

1st Place: Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin with 17 Points
2nd Place: I’ll Have Another On Purpose with 16 points & Insert Shitty Name Here also with 16 points & Paps Blue Waffle (Google It) also with 16
(DO NOT GOOGLE THIS. Seriously. Biggest mistake of my life. What is seen cannot be unseen.) <I told you>

And the standings for the second round <after a tie-breaker about the second greatest radio-program of all time This American Life>

3rd Place: I’ll Have Another On Purpose 30 Points
2nd place: Paps Blue Waffle (Google it) with 31 <Missing the tie break but getting some pretty cool swag from the prize bag)
1st Place: Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin with 31 <winner of tie break>

Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin!

…which brings me to the next subject: team names.

I don’t have a long rant; I just want to say this:

I love the names that people come up with. It seems like, every week, it’s edging more and more toward vulgarity. I won’t be surprised when, one day, the team name of “SHITTY FUCK AND THE ASSHOLES” comes up (as a side note, that’d also be an awesome punk band name) <We are starting one>.

So, by the end of the night, fun was had, drinks were drank, and we kicked off a new month of trivia with some hot competition. And I, of course, made short work of getting myself drunk so I could ignore the pain in my shoulder (Tip: If you’re thinking about breaking up a fight, don’t do it without help. It never ends well.)

On the bright side, here’s a fun fact, folks: if you can’t afford pain killers, or you just want to have fun when your shoulder’s hurt, chug alcohol.

Any alcohol. Pick your favorite.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: These statements have not been approved by the FDA. Questionable Trivia is not a medical service, and does not employ doctors of any kind, and accepts no liability for anyone taking this advice.]

Truly, alcohol is a miracle cure for anything that ails you.

[No it’s not. Don’t listen to him]

Got a cold? The flu? Syphilis? There’s an alc for that.

[…I hate you.]

And, with that, cue the monthly standings!

  • Pabs Blue Waffle (Google It) [DON’T GOOGLE IT] (31 Points)
  • Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin (31 Points)
  • I’ll Have Another On Purpose (30 Points)
  • River City Pistol Whips (26 ½ Points)
  • Insert Shitty Name Here (23 ½ Points)
  • Lark Tarhar Parrarts (23 ½Points)
  • The Swedish Mafia (Den Svenska Maffia) (22 Points).

Until next week, my lovely Quiztestants!

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That read like it came from a man who didn’t take English 300 9 times. Now for the more recent one:

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May 14th:

By David DeMola
(Notes in these are from David)
<Notes in these are from Matt>
[These are our collective id]

I learned a new term on Monday. It’s a verb. It was part of a team name.

More importantly, it’s an American pastime:

Eiffel Towering (v.): The act of exchanging high fives while tag-teaming a (wo)man.

I put (wo) in parentheses because, despite the fact that most definitions place a woman in the middle, it’s technically possible to perform the act on either gender.

…and we’re moving on.

Monday was a night of primitive desires, with team names and questions colluding into one big mixing bowl of antediluvian delight. Topics like boxing, MMA, death, war, and David Arquette steeped through the collective id of the world and found themselves splayed across the two-round battle between eleven teams.

Mustache

In the end, beer was drank, questions were answered, and phony mustaches were worn. <This team received them for getting last place. We wanted them to hide their shame>

This week, the attrition rate was only 1. We lost one team because they had to leave early. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Even better: I got to try out my new category for Kilt Pub. We call it “Movie Mashup”, wherein we describe a film, but replace the characters’ names with other famous roles that the actors have played in.

It’s easier just to show you the question.

“Name this sequel. Mr. Rourke tries to exact revenge on TJ Hooker by using the first book of the Bible.”

So we have Mr. Rourke (played by Ricardo Montalban) trying to get revenge on TJ Hooker (played by William Shatner) by using the first book of the Bible (Genesis).

Ricardo Montalban played Khan Noonien Singh, Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk, and the Genesis effect was the crux of the movie (Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan).

I like the category because it appeals to both hemispheres of the brain. Part of it requires the left hemisphere’s knowledge, and the other part requires the right hemisphere to make connections between items. It’s not just a recitation of facts – it’s a thought experiment (much like Schrodinger’s Cat; which was the subject of our fourth question of the night).

I also like it because it’s weird. And I’ve long ago accepted the fact that I’m a weird guy who likes weird things. Namely, Dungeons and Dragons (the subject of another question that night) – or, as one team called it, “Nerds and Dorks”.

Which brings up an age old question: what’s the difference between nerds, dorks and geeks? I don’t think there’s a definitive answer to this, but here’s my view on it:

Dorks (n.) : A person with eccentric traits that could label them as “goofy” or “silly”.
Geeks (n.): A person with extreme interest in subjects that fall outside of typical social norms.
Nerds (n.): Successful geeks or dorks, who make money off their eccentricities (read-as: Bill Gates)

But, as usual, I stray from the main point.

Let’s get back to Monday night. Specifically, the food. The food I forgot to take photos of, because I was too busy shoving it down my throat. <That’s what she said>

The kitchen made us chicken and sirloin kebabs, with a kick, alongside some chilled couscous that offered a nice reprieve from the heat of the meat. If you’re thinking “hey, this isn’t typical bar food,” you’re right. If you think that detracts from the meal whatsoever, you’re damn wrong.

Why?

To start, Kilt Pub has an amazing kitchen roster. There’s just something so gratifying about pulling meat and vegetables off of a stick. It’s that visceral, primal urge I mentioned earlier – a return to the Wild, but without a drop in civility

Or, like Matt put it, “Everyone should, once in their lives, sit at a high table and eat meat off a stick.” <Actual quote…also Chef Noah’s looked better>

So we reached the end of the night. Surprisingly, despite having a perfect score in the second round, “Pabs Blue Waffle (Google It)” [Editor’s Note: DON’T GOOGLE IT] didn’t place this week.

And so, when the grading was done, and the answer sheets handed back, these are the top three teams that made it out on top:

Best Team Name: The Smart Ones Flaked <They won a Topsy Turvey, which is this thing which grows peppers upside down>

3rd Place: Two Dudes About To Eiffel Tower Noah (35.5 Points)

2nd Place: I’ll Have Another On Purpose (36 Points) <They won a giant fly swatter>

1st Place: Clown Baby On Purpose (37 Points)

Don’t let the jazz hands fool you. They’re quizzical killers.

I know what you’re thinking, “But Dave! Where does that leave us for the month?!” CUE THE MONTHLY STANDINGS!

  • Clown Baby’s Conjoined Twin (68 Points)
  • I’ll Have Another On Purpose (66 Points)
  • Pabs Blue Waffle (Google It) [DON’T GOOGLE IT] (65 Points)
  • The Swedish Mafia (Den Svenska Mafia) (64 Points).
  • Lark Tarhar Parrarts (60.5 Points)
  • I Quizzed A Girl And I Liked It/Insert Shitty Name Here (56.5 Points)
  • Two Dudes About To Eiffel Tower Noah (35.5 Points)
  • Just Methin’ Around (30 Points)
  • River City Pistol Whips (26.5 Points)
  • The Smart Ones Flaked (22.5 Points)
  • The Late Comers (19 Points)

If you’re not in the top 3, don’t worry! We still have plenty of quiz time left.

Until next time, adieu!

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Well done everyone. It is good to be back in it with the blog again.

-Matt

New High Score! Recap for Bliind Pig

April 6, 2012

Blind Pig is a fun and swanky bar located of Mission and El Camino. Great staff and good drinks. And also trivia on Tuesdays. Hosted by me. And this last week we hard two things happen, a new record for teams (11) and a new high score for trivia (28).

So lets cut the small talk and get to the meat of the recap shall we?

The first round was about 80s television. When most people think of 80s television they think off the shows they grew up watching on Nick at Nite, or on Cartoon network. My goal with this round was to find the gentle balance between the older crowd and the younger. And I feel I succeeded.

The questions that seemed to throw everyone off though were not about the shows or actors, but about certain specifics of some of the most iconic episodes of all time. The first was about Knight Rider.

While many know the famous car from Knight Rider as KITT, but do you know what the name is an acronym for? No? Neither did anyone at the Pig.

KITT

Knight Industry Two Thousand/Three Thousand

The other was about the NBC crossover collector known as St. Elsewhere. This forerunner of the medical dramas of the 90s (Chicago HopeER, and later Grey’s Anatomy) had one of the most WTF moments of all time when the finale aired. Not gonna ruin it here, but if you want to see it, here is the clip:

Okay couldn’t find a clip, so instead I will just spoil it. It all took place in the mind of an autistic child, Tommy Westphall, while looking at a snow globe. Because of this it can be argued that a majority of television takes place in this boys mind, but that is a discussion for another time.

In the end the average score was 7 for the round and Beautiful Man Club taking first with 10.

Round Two, General Drunkenness, was again the equalizer. After this rond there was a tie for first, second, and third places, each only one point between them. Hardest question by far though was about a little thing called an Octothorpe, or this

#

Yes, the pound sign or number sign is called an octothorpe. Why? couldn’t find a Latin explanation either. All I know is that is what it is called, and this * is called a sextile. And that the best response to it was a drawing of a penis with eight legs, or spider-penis.

Also here is the promised picture from the Hello Kitty hospital in Taiwan

Yes, this is a thing.

Average for the night to this point was 15, tie for top score between BMC and GiggleFarts each with 18.

Final round of the night was Food.

This round was just about food in general, no specifics. This opened up possibilities for wrong answers though, and for most teams, that is exactly what didn’t happened.

The one that almost everyone got wrong though was about Australian pizza preferences, where it is commonly eaten for breakfast. Kangaroo wasn’t introduced until recently as a topping there, same with shell-fish, the correct answer for most popular topping along with bacon, is of course eggs.

Oh and yes, the vein we remove from shrimp is the intestine, but I accepted, as so many of you colloquially put, “Poop Shoot” (4 teams, those exact words)

The bonus questions didn’t come into play, but no one got that Lincoln, aside from being a bad-ass vampire hunter, was also a licensed bartender. And when you think about it who doesn’t want a tall, bearded, and charming man with a slightly high voice serving you drinks?

But in the end, one team proved victorious above all others. Here are the final standings:

3rd) When’s Alyss Going To Get Here (New Team) – 21 (Bouncy balls, dinosaurs, and frogs)
2nd) Beautiful Man’s Club – 26 (Dollar Store DVD)
1st) GiggleFarts – 28 (Free drinks, medals, and the honor of dethroning the  BMC)

GiggleFarts

So congrats, oh and two things:

First, we will be postponing the beat the quizmaster night until April 17th, some scheduling stuff is going to make it difficult to do it this Tuesday.

Second, because he said he has never appeared on this blog, and I am to lazy to check, is a picture of Dan.

Here you go.

Alright, see you next Tuesday

Honesty and Reactions; Recap for Kilt Pub for April 2nd, 2012

April 6, 2012

Don’t know what it was, but something I had done had decide it would take my head and face, and swell it like a balloon. But being the professional that I am, I didn’t just power through what was apparently an allergic reaction to something I had imbibed, I bitched and complained a bit and then did what I do best, host a trivia. My co-host for the night was Chantel, she had been asking to co-host since the first time she had come and taken the quiz, and luckily she had brought someone who had Benadryl. This helped considerably. She gets points for that one.

We had a full house this week, about 15 teams, and they were all ready and revving for what is the normal trivial goodness that is Kilt Pub Trivia. The turnout at first was light, but to be expected seeing as it was the Final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but by 7:55 the place was packed, we even had a team outside for the first time in a while.

Seeing as it was a new month, and we would be continuing to do a monthly prize as well as nightly, the usual people were there (Clown Baby, Large on Purpose, Ferris, etc.), however there was some changes to the teams. Clown baby and Drool Happen switched up their line-ups and brought in their parents to play, Ferris split up into two teams as did Large on Purpose. But once it was all squared away, the fun started, as it always should, with a question about a teenager and a killer. I mean about Leon, The Professional.

The first half went rather well with most people scoring in the mid-teens, but there was a few question which confused some people. With us going to an eight hint total, as opposed to eight in a single round, none in the other, people were being a little more conservative with which they would need help on. That being said, quite a few teams used the hints on the same ones.

The first being about this guy:

"Rage Comics" Star: Forever Alone

With internet memes becoming more and more enveloped into pop-culture and mainstream media, I assumed that most people would know who this guy was. I guess in my assumption, I was “forever alone”. (See what I did there?)

The other question that seemed to give people the most trouble without a hint was about philosopher turned scientist, Sir Francis Bacon. He created the scientific method and shares a last name with both one of the greatest foods and one of the greatest American Actors.

For the most part however, round one was uneventful, with the exception of me looking and feeling like I was going to keel over. The average score was 14.5, with a low of 8 (they weren’t really wanting to play to win, but figured they were there, why not try)

Standings after Round One
T-2nd) McArcher “Right On Target” (New Team) – 16
T-2nd) Clown Baby,with a Vengeance – 16
1st) Techie-Nical Difficulties (Newly formed team from half of Ferris) –  17

With the second beginning, and the post NCAA crowd clearing out, it got serious.

The first question of round two went back to being “Today in History” and it was about one of my favorite storytellers, and Danny Kaye’s best role, Hans Christian Anderson! It would have been his 207th birthday, and to honor him I asked people to figure out who he was by just the year he was born, his occupation, and where he was born. Most people didn’t get it.

Question 10 was the “I Told You Moment” of the night. When we asked one of Chantel’s questions:

Who was the Karate Kid in Karate Kid 4?

Now I am a huge fan of this question, seeing as most refer to this film by its subtitle The Next Karate Kid, it makes people question “Did Ralph Macchio do two or three Karate Kid films?” The correct answer to that question is three films with Daniel-san and Miyagi. The fourth one was not Jaden Smith, that was a reboot of the series. Thus making number four be this one:

Karate Kid 4: The Next Karate Kid (Yes I realize this is the cover from the Spanish version.)

A fresh-faced, young actress named Hillary Swank. She would later forget her martial arts training when she needed to be trained how to fight in Million Dollar Baby, and I only say that because I believe all films to be documentaries about the actor/actresses lives.

Anyhoo, when I read that was the answer, the gentleman who gave me what I love, slammed his chair back, and did the pointing pose and proclaimed the three words “I Told You!”

Now while grading the final papers, I finally felt the Benadryl work its magic, and that apparently distracted me from marking one teams question incorrect. This lead to me believing there was a tie for first, between Clown Baby and McArcher. But after announcing the tie, a player from McArcher, actually named Archer but will be called “Mr. Honesty” from now on, raised his hand asking me to repeat the answer to which Tropic goes through Australia and then asking me to mark his answer (Tropic of Cancer) wrong. Thus making Clown Baby the winner for the night. Needless to say this guy earned my respect and everyone in the bar that night. I also went without giving a best team name prize, and didn’t bother with a second place tie-breaker,and just gave him the two prizes for the night. Third place team Techie-Nical Difficulties agreed.

Respect and kudos to you, sir. Enjoy your egg puzzle and carrot baseball set.

Not to be overshadowed though, Clown Baby did legitimately win the night with a score of 35. Making this the first win for the team. So congrats!

Winners!

So at the end of week one of April here are the top 12 for points:

12th) Beefcake Airways – 23.5
11th) We <3 Chef Noah – 26
10th) Pi R Triangle – 28
9th) Newbies – 29
8th) Swedish Mafia – 29.5
7th) Fabio and the Bystanders – 30
6th) ………vooommmmmmmm – 30.5
5th) Chef Noah (Can’t Win but He Plays Alone) – 31
4th) Smoother than a Scandinavian Vulva – 31.5
Tie – 2nd) McArcher “Right on Target” – 34
Tie – 2nd) Techie-Nical Difficulties – 34
1st) ClownBaby – 35

Still any teams game, as this month there are five weeks. And once again a big thank you to Chantel, excellent job. See you on Monday.

Double Blind; Recaps for The Blind Pig March 20th and 27th, 2012

March 30, 2012

Sorry for not posting the recap for Blind Pig last week. Computer problems and what not. But now you get both weeks recaps and I get to use the term “Double Blind” as my title. So enjoy.

March 20th

So here is the deal, I wanted to try something new for the Blind Pig, and for me that was an audio round. I found 12 covers of famous songs, and I simply asked the quiz-takers to name the original singer. I realized around the fourth cover that some were not loud enough on the iPod dock speakers I had brought.

Especially on this cover, by one of our writers, Johnny “TheAlmostGenius” Sittisin.

But none the less the round was a hit. It was one of the highest scoring rounds in the history of hosting at Blind Pig, with the lowest score being eight and the top being eleven.

The second round, however, not so much.

The General Drunkenness round is intended to be a round of general knowledge facts, but some I guess were a little tough. In particular this little gem of a question no one got correct:

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter make up which music group?

Now despite right before asking it one guy even saying that he hasn’t heard them in a long time, and is a huge fan, even he got it wrong. Who are they? won’t say but here is their picture:

Who are we?

Needless to say for a place that did so well in the prior music round, seeing them all miss this was kind of a surprise. But than again, every one knew that Lisa Ann, Nikki Benz, Shyla Stylez, Aletta Ocean, and Phoenix Marie all work together in the adult film industry, for whatever that is worth.

The average score for this round was 5, leveling out the playing field as we went into round three: Young Adult Fiction.

With The Hunger Games coming out that Friday, I figured it would be a fitting round of questions.

Best answer of the night went to a team who responded to this question:

Phillip Pullman is best known for The Golden Compass. What are the titles of the other two books in that series?

With this answer:

Who the f*ck would know that?

I responded on their answer sheet:

Some who has read them, like team (forgot the team name, can’t find notes) who got it right.

The correct answer was The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

In the end though the two bonus questions again came into play. No team got them right, except the team that needed the point for it. And they got that a pompootie was a type of shoe with a guess.

Winners for the night were a combination of two old teams Oi Nothan and The Glue Crew, both winners from past nights, and the drinks were theirs. A second place finish for the returning champs, forgot their team name this week, but it was Roy’s team, allowed them to get a pair of giant black dice. They were very pleased. Third went to the team of Boom Boom and the Kitty F*cks.

Here are the winners from March 20th:

Winners of March 20th, AKA The Beautiful Man's Club

March 27th -

You’d think I’d have learned my lesson and when editing the audio files I would have made them louder and gotten a new set of speakers or found another way to play an audio round. Nope. I mean I did do both, but still it was hard for people to hear one of the tracks. This weeks audio round was a movie based round.

Quiz taker Sarah told me the idea an I loved it and ran with it. I took twelve famous movie scenes, put them into MP3 form, and all you had to do was tell me the film.

Again A high scoring round, except for the quote from Little Shop of Horrors. Most thought the scene I played, where Arthur Denton goes to the dentist was from What About Bob? and said that they should have gotten the points for it. but here is the rub my friends: there wasn’t a giant talking plant in What About Bob?

But I can see how someone would mistake this for Richard Dreyfuss.

Again a high scoring round high of 11, low of 7.

Again the General Drunkenness round seemed to be the field leveler.

Let me start with this, the Maillad reaction. Don’t know what it is or what it is used for in cooking? Here is the chemical formula for it:

Maillard

Complex as sh*t

Didn’t help? Let me show you the tool used to make it happen:

Maillard

A Maillard Reactor. Or a toaster.

So there you go, the Maillard reaction is fancy talk for toasting.

Oh, and for the record, the Matt Russell Cult, as one team put, didn’t kill themselves to get onto the spaceship following Hale-Bopp Comet. That was Heaven’s Gate. The Matt Russell Cult is waiting until after The Avengers is in theaters.

As it was the final week of the month, the final round was about the past month’s events. I found out that I may be the only person in California who only looked up that Dallas Seavey was the youngest to win the Iditarod, solely for the age thing, not because I didn’t know he had won, or that the Iditarod is an actual thing.

But in any case the ones that mattered were answered correctly. Leading this week to not needing the bonus questions to have to come into play, and since no one got either right, that is a good thing.

Average score for the whole quiz was 19, with a low of 15.

3rd) Y, as in Unicorn – 22 (bouncy balls, and frogs)
2nd) B*tch Face Killahs – 22.5 (Some foamy building material.)
And, for the second week in a row, 1st) The Beautiful Man’s Club

Figured I would just use the same picture. Just pretend the guy in the blue shirt and hat on the far left was the guy who was there. (/laziness)

I would like to note that this was the first week since Blind Pig’s second week of hosting trivia that Boom Boom didn’t place. They are valiant and shall be back with a vengeance next week. As Will I. See you next Tuesday.

The Finals, Recap for Kilt Pub for March 26th, 2012

March 30, 2012

So with March coming to an end, as does the tournament. It was fun and we saw some rivalries form, and (surprisingly) study groups form. Even with all of that, we still had a few surprises going in. Out of the top six teams, two teams didn’t show, but be sure that they told me they wouldn’t be there in advance, an it had nothing to do with the contest.

Some teams took to playing up the pageantry that goes along with a contest. here are two favorites moments:

Team: Clown Baby
Form of Pageantry: Team Uniforms
Awesomeness Rating: High

Look ma, we got shirts! We're officially a team...or a gang.

Team: Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden
Form of Pageantry: Effigy of all the other top six.
Awesomeness Rating: Creepy as hell.

The Clown Baby's Bib is this Large on Purpose. (While holding Glue and Fake Tears)

That last one was just wow.

Okay now onto the recap.

I was surprised at how many people were not present due to the band “fun” having a concert. I didn’t realize that many of the quiz takers were into that band. Now the teams were still present, but the were lighter.

The first half included a few questions which some felt to be almost to difficult. But only one actually did everyone need the hint on, and that one was written by Kilt Pub owner, John Gourlay.

With Peyton Manning joining the Denver Broncos, only one player from the 1998 NFL draft class remains with his original team, long snapper Patrick Mannelly. For which team does Patrick Mannelly play?

Now, I knew the answer (Matt lied), but the correct answer is the Chicago Bears. As does everyone at the Kilt now.

After this question a family who had been there for dinner with their son, came up and said the young guy (maybe 9 or 10) wanted to riddle with me for a while. This kid was awesome. He knew some riddles I hadn’t heard before, and I knew some for him as well. The kid left smiling, as the parents thanked me.

The other question of note was about Carroll Spinney, a documentary about whom was just released. I was surprised that the voice of two of the most influential characters in children’s television was such a mystery. Here are some photos of other answers as well as the correct one:

This is Tom Kenny, known best for his voice of Sponge Bob.

This is Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo.

The correct answer is of course this guy:

Carroll Spinney, the only ever voice actor and the primary puppeteer of Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird.

I know, I am a Muppet-phile, but it doesn’t take a fan of my magnitude to learn facts. Case in point, I have never seen an episode of The Sopranos, but I know it was on HBO for 6 seasons, starred James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, they went to the “Bada-Bing” gentleman’s club, and more. I wasn’t looking to write a Muppet question, but rather a question that would truly see if people know the subject about which I am asking, in this case children’s television.

At the end of round one, low score of 9, average of 14. The standings were:

3rd) Fall of Clown Baby, But We Don’t Give a F*ck
2nd) Small Sixteens
1st) Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden

I kept the scores secret until the end, as it was the finals and I wanted the score to be a surprise. But the Small Sixteens, which is a team who usually only stays for the first part, enjoyed their placing, and stuck around until the end. Lets see how they do in the second half shall we?

For the first time ever at Kilt, I did one at the Pig the week prior, I did an audio round. I played 10 television theme songs, and all you had to do was write the correct answer. One team (the Small Sixteens) got them all right, others had trouble with these three in particular.

and believe it or not Lost did have a theme

But overall the highlight was when everyone in the bar, whether playing or not, young or old, joined in with singing of the Cheers theme.

We had two questions from the verbal part go into the redemption category, one about the late King George Tupou V and the other about where Smirnoff is manufactured currently. Tonga and Britain respectively.

The rest of the round went smoothly and I need to say how much I love when this happens: The “I told you” moment. This is when team member A says “I told you” loudly and usually hits team member B who convinced the team to instead of putting down the right answer, the one that B thought was correct. For this moment it was after I said that Chevy Chase has returned to host SNL 8 times making him the most returning cast member, and that Steve Martin was never on the cast.

In the end the average score was 24 with a low of 19. Here are the standings for the night.

3rd) Drool Happens on Your Pillow (Hair Clips and Bouncy Balls)
2nd) Small Sixteens (Two Illustrated Children’s Classics books. Remember those?)
Best Team Name: Pub-Lic Enemy #1 (Tiny Titans Coloring Book)
1st) Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden (Trophies, 35% off and picture.)

Winners

Winners (Two have their backs turned as place holders for team members at the concert.)

But who won for the month? After grueling calculations (none at all) the scores were tallied for the final four, and what I have been calling them.

In Fourth with a score 105.5…Clown Baby!

In Third with a score of 112.75…This Large on Purpose!

In Second with a score 113.75…Drool Happens!

And winning it all. The Kilt shirts, the Questionable Trivia shirts, the ice cream sandwich, the Weihenstephan mugs, and $40 in tokens to Kilt Pub…Ferris Bueller!

Work it!

But here is a true question…can they do it again this month? That is right, we are now making this a monthly thing! And we are allowing hints in the second round, but only to a total of eight per night. So get the band back together and come and show how smart you are. Oh and rumor has it Mary, co-host and member of Ferris won’t be able to make until late April, and will be starting her own team.

Thank you to all teams and see you Monday.

Can You Picture That?; Kilt Pub Recap for March 19th, 2012

March 21, 2012

In the course of trivial events, there comes a time when quiz makers want to change the way they do things; not only for the sake of change, but also to do things that others do not. Over the next few weeks, along with the final of March Madness at Kilt Pub, we will be trying some new rounds, like the Picture Round this past week. Going forward, expect to see that one return, as well as a few others.

Now onto the recap.

It was a fun night at Kilt on Monday…but it almost wasn’t. Why? Because someone, not going to say who, forgot to set their clocks properly.

Definitely not this guy.

When he finally showed up, I got what I am going to call Pie-Beer (Guinness and Fox Barrel, and tastes like pie)  and David grabbed a glass of wine (like the classy SOB he is) and we got started.

Round one started with “Today In History” about the Iraq War. Tomahawk missiles were the first ones used in the war, and despite everyone thinking they were going to be incorrect, everyone did get this right.

The questions that got everyone scratching their heads in the first round were both about television. One was about cartoons, the other about The Hoff.

Let us start with “Cartoons”:

A blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby, are employed as groundskeepers in what cartoon?

Now I enjoy watching childish cartoons as much as the next person. Also, for personal reasons I also enjoy clever, random, and silly cartoons too. They remind me of what I enjoyed when I was younger.

Regular Show

Regular Show, which is the answer, is exactly my kind of show. The art is similar to mid-90s Nickelodeon, specifically Kablam!

Also seeing that it is one of the most watched shows on Cartoon Network, and currently in its second season, this little show is slowly going from being popular among kids and having a cult following among twenty-something adults, to being a full on pop culture phenomenon. So, yes, you should know what is popular among kids, and watch this show.

The other question was about Baywatch Nights. ‘Nuff Said.

At the end of the first round the average score was 15, with a low of 11. The top three teams were as follows

3rd) This Large On Purpose – 15.5
2nd) Drool Happens…Again – 16
1st) Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden – 19

So it appears as though Ferris is back in form.

The second round was the first appearance of a picture round.

I have seen these before, and I actually enjoy them. It shows that people don’t only know the facts but can recognize what the facts are about.Or draw something awesome.

The one that everyone seemed to have trouble with was about a little plant called yucca or yukka. For the record here is what it looks like:

Remember this!

This round served to be the equalizer for the second half, because this is where the biggest points were either gained or lost for the round.

Also during this round we were introduced to the Kilt Reuben. I will go on record as saying this is the most amazing reuben I have had. Care to prove me wrong? Then make me a sandwich.

In the end the average score was 25, with a low of 15. And yet again we had a tie. And yet again Drool Happens, happened to be in it. Here are the prize and place roll out.

3rd) This Large on Purpose – 32.5 (Bouncy Balls, Butterfly Clip, Top and a Frog)
2nd) Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden – 34 (Lost Tie, Giant Purple Foam Dice)
Best Name: Clown Baby Says: “Watch your butt as we continue to rise, literally and figuratively” #We got badass t-shirts ##It gets real. (Baby Rhino toy, which they claim just became their totem)
1st) Drool Happens…Again (35% off, Medals, and Picture)

Fun Fact: These guys were so certain they would lose they didn’t open a tab. Lesson here? Believe in yourself!

Alright here are the standing going into the last week of the tournie:

6th) The Glue Crew, featuring Noggin’s Revenge – 51
5th) Tears For Lubrication – 74
4th) Rise of Clown Baby – 81.5
3rd) Drool Happens – 88.5
2nd) This Large On Purpose – 89.5
1st) Ferris Bueller is Cameron’s Tyler Durden – 94

It all comes down to next Monday. Evan if you are not in it to win it, be there to see the jaw-dropping conclusion, and the Theme Round!

Bags and Staples; Blind Pig Recap for March 13th, 2012

March 15, 2012

So last week I was upset with the fact that a team was cheating. This week I tried something out to deter this. It is simple. Take a brown paper bag. Put the team’s phones in the bag. Staple it shut. Leave it on the table.

Now the players are not only unable to use their phones and they are right there for them to see. The bar and I are not responsible for loss or damage, there you go. I will do this again next week.

Smaller night at The Blind Pig, but that didn’t deter people from having a good time and playing hard. Especially since, with St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I made the firt round about a hard drinking island-nation, Japan.

So a few things:

Japan still has an emperor. It is this guy:

Akihito. Looks like a normal dude. Rules like an Emperor.

Also, Japan has many prefectures, 47 in fact. And there is a difference between Tanuki (Japanese raccoon-dog) and kabuki (traditional Japanese dance-drama.)

It was a fun round with an average score of 7, and a few answers that were extremely wrong (Emperor of Japan is not Godzilla, nor did Japan beat to Atlantis in the Women’s Soccer World Cup). In first place this round though, the top score was 9, went to Team Name: “TBD”

The General Drunkenness round led to my favorite things of trivia. People getting excited when they know they answer, and flipping out when their team didn’t believe them. The hardest questions, meaning the only two which not a single team got right, were about the Tour de France’s current champion and about the game cheirosphaira

Must be a real thing, it is on a commemorative coin. Those things have never lied.

It was questions about Protestantism’s country of origin (Germany) that flipped one team out, while the artist of “We Are Young” was the other (fun). The score now tied between top two making the top score 14. Between “Blinded By The Pig (Ayshun)” and Team Name: “TBD We Fuckin’ Suck”

With it being March, basketball fever is everywhere, so the final round of the night was Basketball.

Recently the NCAA added three more play in games, bringing the team count to 68, so there is the answer to question number one. Also Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki ain’t got shit on these two:

Stockton/Malone, the best duo in Basketball. Take that Jordan/Pippin. And sorry, Dad, you know, for not choosing Kemp/Payton.

Lastly about this round, Lenny Wilkens lost out to Don Nelson for most career wins. Nelson surpassed him by two, and then retired.

Two random bonus questions, about Sweden and Vaudeville respectfully, made the difference between first and second. 19 points for second, and the bonus questions, each worth double points, pushing the first place score to 22.

But in the end “Blinded by the Pig (Ayshun)” took second to “Team Name: TBD We Fuckin’ Suck…with JTT in a Tanuki Suit.”

Fun fact: These guys are the first full team to win at both Kilt and Pig.

Also they drew this guy for the bar.

Alright see you next Tuesday, and have a safe St. Patrick’s. Cabs are your friend.

 


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