My Last Quizzo as a Free Man

funny-marriage Great night for quizzo. We kick it off at Ugly American at 8 p.m. If you are wondering where your best chances to win are, this is the place. L. Ron Hubbard has been scarce there lately, and it has created a power vacuum. Last week a team of two guys were winning heading into the final question. Anyone can win at the Ugly American. And certainly anyone can eat and drink there. The corn dogs are a dollar (you heard me right) and the Lagers are $2.

We move to the Bards at 10:15, where we’ve enjoyed quite a renaissance since we scaled back to one quiz a week. We’ve been having a lot of fun there lately. And with my impending nuptuals, tonight’s wild card round will be very, very loosely based on my upcoming marriage. Gonna be a fun quiz. Hope to see ya tonight!

Cliff Clavin on Jeopardy


One of the questions in the “Famous Cliffs” round we did this week to honor Cliff Lee was, “What’s it called when someone blows an insurmountable lead in Final Jeopardy?” It’s called pulling a Cliff Clavin, from one of the most famous episodes of Cheers ever. The segment in question is above. Classic.

Celebrate the Cliff Lee Signing with a Little Quizzo Tonight

raining-moneyYeah, I know it’s awesome. I heartily agree. Let’s talk about it, shall we? If you need to find me, I’ll be at O’Neals at 8 p.m. and the City Tap House at 10:15 p.m.. $50 gift certificate for the winner of O’Neals and $100 gift certificate at the City Tap House. Not to mention great specials. $3.50 margaritas at O’Neals and $3 Sly Fox cans at City Tap House.

In Manayunk, Mike Minion will be hosting his quiz at Terrace Taproom starting at 8 p.m. The Bonus points are now up to 100. Going to be a huge prize for the winner of the challenge round. (It’s a damn tough quiz, but nonetheless my team of heavyweights went into the Westbury last night and crushed Group W. The Westbury last night was a veritable who’s who of Philadelphia geekdom.)

Harry Potter Quiz a Rousing Success

Apparently the Uber-Nerd Super Bowl Harry Potter Quizzo last night was a huge success. 15 teams, over 60 players. Wow. Here’s Mike:

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Harry Potter Tri-Quizard Tournament at The Ugly American last night. That was one of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds I’ve seen at any quiz. Everyone who was there should be proud. It’s the quizzo players, not the quiz,  that make evening like this one a success. P.S. It’s nice to see I’m not the only nerd out there! Even better, you were fun and engaging people, proving that not all nerds have personality issues. Dorks of the world, unite!!

Rocky in the Hall, Foobooz Goes Corporate, and JYD Grabs Them Cakes


In case you haven’t heard, Rocky Balboa is going into the Boxing Hall of Fame with Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez. Today on Comcast I wrote a column arguing that Rocky Balboa does not belong…not because he’s fictional but because he wasn’t that good.

Congrats to our good friend Trivia Art, whose popular blog Foobooz was just acquired by Philly Mag. Glad to see Trivia Art get his hard earned due. (Even though he’s got a girlfriend now and so I don’t get to go to any more cool parties.)

Finally, a Happy Birthday to one Mr. Junkyard Dog (above). He was born on this date in 1952, but sadly passed away in 1998 in a car accident.

Isn’t Anyone Brave Enough to Win an Extra $50?

minionMike Minion is posting a sizable bounty tonight at the Westbury. Here’s a few words about the quiz.

Tonight is a long night of quizzo, as I kick off the evening at the Ugly American with the Tri-Quziard Tournament, mentioned below. Don’t forget to check out the rules as they will be enforced most strictly. Also, the quiz will start ON TIME, seeing as the fun continues immediately afterward at The Westbury with the regular Monday night quiz.  The Harry Potter quiz is 5 rounds, so unless I get a Time-Turner, there won’t be time to dawdle.  Might I suggest arriving early? The UA has a good selection of potions and their macaroni salad is my favorite anywhere.  The chili and veggie pizza are pretty darn good as well. There will be some good specials for the quizzo crowd, so take advantage of them. It a great place to eat and  there won’t be time for dinner beforehand, so why not?

Now, more on the quiz at the Westbury.  Group W has had a strangle hold on the competition lately.  I’m tired of it, and frankly I’m surprised none of the the teams on the circuit has had the guts to try and end the streak. L Ron, where are you? Oh that’s right, you guys only play when you’re sure you’ll win.  The Champs? The quiz now starts at 10 so it’s not past your bedtime. The Jams (aka Phil)? The Westbury is only a few blocks from the ‘Vous- you won’t get lost if you leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Narcotyzing? You’re used to losing to these guys – at least losing at The Westbury will be something different.   Dork Sided? Savage Ear? Missing Heads?  O’Neals is a great place, but other bars serve beer as well. Other Westbury regulars like Duane’s World and the 4 C’s? Maybe if more teammates show up, it would help. I noticed your ranks have been a little thin lately.  Best of all – a team from the rank and file shows up and kick ALL of your collective butts.

Come on out and  demonstrate some team pride and take down Group W. And by the way, earn an extra $50 in the process.

10 PM at The Westbury. Be there or be yellow.

Harry Potter Quiz Tonight!

harry-potter_0As you may know, Mike Minion is crazy about Harry Potter (with the operative word being “crazy”.) Therefore, he is not only hosting the Harry Potter quiz tonight at the Ugly American at 7:30, he also took the time to put this write-up together.  I don’t even have words. Entire spiel written posted after the break for those of you fluent in Potter-ese.

Continue reading “Harry Potter Quiz Tonight!”

Quizzo Bowl, Geek Bowl, and the Coldest Place on Earth

  • Several things to discuss as we head into the weekend. First of all, save the date: Quizzo Bowl VII will take place on Saturday, February 19th. More details to come in the near future.
  • Secondly, anybody that wants to go on the Denver Geek Bowl Trip let me know ASAP. Starting to make plans now. We’re headed out to Denver on the weekend of January 28th. So far we’ve got 8 guys representing Philadelphia. We’d love to round up 4 more and make two full teams (Their team max is 6).
  • Remember: Harry Potter Quiz is on Monday. Also, I am trying to put together a good team for the regular Monday night quiz at Westbury, where the bounty on Group W stands at $50. If anyone wants to play on Monday night let me know.
  • Congratulations are in order for The Missing Chums, who recorded a perfect 120 at the Black Sheep Wednesday night. In other news, Duane’s World for the 2nd straight week won by 1 year  in our final numbers question. This week, the question was “What year was Ulysses S. Grant born?” They guessed 1825, the 2nd Place team guessed 1818, and the answer was 1822. It doesn’t get any closer than that. Finally, great to see Dork Sided back in the building. After a long hiatus, they not only returned to O’Neals, they brought hell with them, as they scored 110 points in a big win.
  • On Thursday, the wild card round was Freezing Cold Weather. One of our questions was, “The coldest inhabited place on earth is Oymyakon, where it once got to -90 F, the coldest any inhabited place has ever gotten. In what country will you find Oymyakon?” The answer is Russia, and the above video is about the small town in Siberia that is so unbelievably cold. Here is an article in National Geographic about it.