Who wrote ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas?

This week, Johnny will be hosting his annual holiday spectacular. All questions will be holiday related. Speaking of the holidays, the Trunkadero at the Trocadero was awesome, and I’m not just saying that b/c I got a smooch at the kissing booth from Bawdy Girl/oil wrestler Jenny Balls. But I digress. Oh, yes, JGT will also be playing X-mas tunes (if you know of any good ones you’d like to hear, click here), and he’ll be making spirits bright, if you know what we mean. No? To be honest, we don’t really know what that means either.

Cause here comes the man you all know and love, Jerry Blavat, back on the scene. The Geator with the Heater, the Boss with the Hot Sauce is coming to WXPN. According to Dan Gross, “he starts ‘The Geator’s Rock and Roll, Rhythm & Blues Express,’ on WXPN 88.5 on Saturday Jan. 7.” Here’s how he got the name, according to his website:
Geator came from alligator– gator, or geator, depending on your Florida accent. To hear Jerry tell it, ‘a geator would lay in the mud and bother no one unless you came close. Then it would snatch you up.’ That’s how it was with Blavat. Once you dialed by 1310 and caught his act, he snatched you up like an alligator. He was hot, almost too hot. Like a car heater in the dead of winter, he started out warming you but quickly heated you up to the point that you broke out in a sweat. Some felt it was what he said, others claimed it was the way he said it, but for most it was the music, that mesmerizing sound they weren’t hearing on the popular stations.

This from Bush’s speech last night: “For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of rebuilding and hope,” he said. “For every life lost, there are countless more lives reclaimed.” There are countless lives reclaimed??? Are we bringing people back to life? Are there really not 30,000 dead civilians and 2,100 dead soldiers, because a lot of those people have been “reclaimed”? Was that some sort of strange Orwellian doublespeak, or I am I just out in the cold when it comes to that term? Can someone please explain this to me?

The Trivia Jihad wrote a long, detailed report of their Philly experience, and I think you’ll enjoy reading about it from a foreigner’s point of view. Here is a slice:
Johnny Goodtimes is a real piece of work. For one thing, Johnny G. used to be a dolphin trainer in Hawaii before giving that up and moving to Philadelphia to become that city’s only true man of leisure as well as its best local celebrity. While it is unclear how one determines who is the “best” local celebrity, Johnny’s website suggests that he is just that. Johnny’s game is certainly different from the other quizzoes in terms of how the three rounds are set up. For one thing each round features a random question that is worth double the normal points for questions from that round. Of course, he could just announce, “Hey this is the double point question” but, as Philly’s best local celebrity, there is a certain standard he must uphold. Prior to asking the double point question, he cranks up some old school hip-hop and then, over the music he declares, “Ooooh myyy goodness, looks like question number 6 is the double point question.” Actually, I am not exactly sure what comes after the initial phrase as I am so moved by the “oh my goodness” intro.

Are you having a hard time coming to grips with the possibility that pro wrestling is fake? So is this guy. My favorite part: “Thank you, Mr. Funk, for saying what needed to be said.”

First off, best team name of the week: Free Mumia! (With the Purchase of a Mumia of Equal or Lesser Value). Had a great answer a few weeks ago I forgot to mention also. I had asked “Jessica Pressler ruffled some feathers when in a New York Times article she called Philly what?” The answer was the Sixth Burrough. I had one team at the Good Dog answer, in all sincerity, the Fifth Burrough. This week, in answer to the question, the operation that netted Saddam Hussein shared a name with what 80’s movie. The answer? Red Dawn. Team T & A at O’Neals answered “Biodome”. Finally, congrats to Team #5 at O’Neals, who got their first 50/50 round question right on question #8. In the future I will try to keep better tabs on terrible answers.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a blog in Boston run by a couple calling themselves the Trivia Jihad, who were hitting all of the pub quizzes in Boston and raking in the free booze. Well, they decided to take their show on the road, and hit Philly this week. They played four quizzoes, two of which were mine. They finished out of the running at the Bards, and third at the Rendezvous. More importantly, they were a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to make it up to Boston soon and play a little quizzo with them in Beantown in a few months. They play in Boston like five times a week, proving that their addiction is even worse than the Sofa Kingdom, whose dream a few months ago of winning quizzo seven straight days was crushed on Day #5 at the Bards.

Alright, this is the event (Trunkadero) I’m gonna be a part of on Saturday. I will be entertaining and schmoozing, and it looks like a lot of fun. Basically, the point is to get people to support local vendors while doing their Christmas shopping, so a bunch of unique local vendors will be on hand selling their wares. In addition, the always scantilly clad Bawdy Girls will be doling out kisses, Ginger will be hosting a beer tasting, and there will be several great DJs spinning throughout the event, including DJ Deejay, who does Beatles vs. the Stones, DJ A.D. Amorosi, and the Town Jewlerz, among others. There will be haircuts, massages, and even chess. Providing entertainment, along with me, will be Wang Newton, who, uh, I can’t really describe. You’ll have to click here and then, uh, just see for yourself what Wang Newton is all about. Trunkadero is happening on Saturday from 1-6 p.m. at the Trocadero (1003 Arch Street). Oh, and it’s FREE.

The Jams, who have become the most feared team in quizzo, will not be playing tonight, according to our sources (aka Ern). Apparently the pressure put on them by Johnny last week was a little too much for them to handle. I will own up to the deal next week, should they return.