Alrighty, folks, we’re going to eaaaaaase into the “returning to real quizzo” thing this Sunday, with a quiz at Frankford Hall at 6 PM. We’ll have quite a few restrictions in place to keep things safe but still a chance for you and the friends in your social bubble to have some fun. Here’s how it will work:
First of all, the quiz is outdoors. (If you haven’t been to Frankford Hall before, it’s a large space and it’s almost entirely outdoors). Teams of up to 6 can play together. Those teams will be separated by 6 feet from all other teams. Anyone getting up to get a drink or going to the restroom will need to wear a mask. You’ll play the quiz on your phones through playbigquiz.com, so no exchanging of papers or pens, etc.
As for specials, they’re going to have $4 half liters and $8 liters of Weihenstephaner 1516. They’ll also have $6 currywurst with fries. (It’s a popular street food in Germany…it’s a curry spiced sausage.
Hey gang, if you’d like to play the quiz this week, we’d love to host it for ya! We’ve got a fun quiz this week, hope to see ya there. Here are the sign ups. Each game costs $35, with $5 of each sign up going to a local organization called PPEHRC who work tirelessly to feed and house our city’s most vulnerable residents.
We had a great time with SUMMER SLAM! and we thank everyone who played. 35 teams, all of them trashing JGT in the chat room while praising Carl. Jerks. Our finals were an instant classic, as Smells Like Quarantine Spirit emerged with a thrilling overtime win over Boyz II Menehune. Lambda Lambda Lambda finished in 3rd, a single point behind the top two. Here are the final scores:
Instagram Account I’m Digging This Week: Suffer_Decay_Damnation. The pictures on here are some of my favorite in Philly. The skyline in the midst of lightning storms, ruins porn, Philly icons. It’s all there, such a great follow.
Favorite Person I Met This Week: Without question, it was Bamm Rose. A brilliant stripper/activist, she spoke with us on the Blunt on Wednesday night, and talked about the current conditions of strip clubs, and the changes she’d like to see when we emerge from the pandemic. She also discussed her events in which she turns the tables on colonialism by walking white men down the street on all fours like dogs (!) Trust me, this is a fascinating interview.
Who I’m Inspired By: I went to the PPEHRC Rally on Monday (you can read about it here on WHYY). Several mothers got up in front of the crowd and told their stories of losing their sons. It was heartbreaking, a reminder of the reality of our gun violence. These aren’t just names in the papers. They’re sons, they’re mothers getting the worst phone call of their lives, they’re communities being torn apart, they’re brothers and sisters facing a lifetime of PTSD. It’s a reminder of the strength of the human spirit that these mothers are willing to tell a story that must break their heart every time they tell it. And it’s a reminder that while we’re disgusted and outraged by what garbage Trump is, we live in a city that’s 90% Democrat and incapable of solving the very real problems that face our city. Follow PPEHRC here.
What I’m Listening To: The Speck in the Sea. This is the reading of a Times article from 2014, about a fisherman who fell into the sea, and miraculously kept himself alive while awaiting rescue. It’s a great listen.
What Mystery I’m Following: This one on reddit, about a guy who found an old blank cassette tape in a neighbors trash. He listened, and the band sounded really good. So he’s trying to find out if anyone knows anything about them. It would be really cool if he found out what band made the tape 35 years ago. Give them a listen and see if the lead singers voice rings any bells.
Well the SUMMER SLAM is over but the Summer is not, and so we’ve got some more quizzing to do. Hope you’ll join us over the next three weeks. You can sign up here. We’ll keep track of our highest scores each week and we’ll have some new official rankings along the way. Sign ups are still $35, with $5 of each one going to the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. Hope to see ya again soon!
Our topic this week: True Crime. Famous crimes, crime podcasts, true crime on TV, you name it, we’ll have it. Hope to see you this week!
This week, to wrap up the JGT SUMMER SLAM, we honor those who ALMOST made it to the top. We honor those who won the pennant, but lost the World Series. People who won their primary, but lost the general election. Couldn’t quite pull off the win in some crappy reality show? We’ll see ya on this week’s quiz! Should be a fun quiz.
And then, on Sunday, we wrap it up with the SUMMER SLAM Main Event! We’ll have more details tomorrow.
I had a nice little roll going with the Friday Five until everything went to hell in March. I think it’s time to bring it back. Here’s what I’m doing, reading, and where I’m eating these days.
Bought The Regulars a few weeks ago, and oh man is it awesome. It’s by Sarah Stolfa, who was a bartender at Philly’s legendary dive bar McGlinchey’s. She decided to take photos of the regulars as they sat at the bar. The pictures are beautiful, and the writing is terrific too.
In the old days, you had brunch at your favorite bar on the weekends. Nowadays, it’s all about grabbing a picnic lunch and heading to Fairmount. As for the lunch, we’ve been going to Woodrow’s for our hoagies lately, and they never disappoint. I’ve become a vegetarian for the most part, so I no longer get their Italian, which is awesome, but the shrimp Po Boy is fantastic. As for where to sit and eat? It’s REALLY tough to beat the view at Lemon Hill (below).
Been really into Missing in Alaska podcast. Crazy story I had never heard before. In 1972, two Congressmen boarded a Cessna in Alaksa and were never seen again. It was believed that the plane went down in bad weather. But there’s a twist: a mobster would marry one of the men’s widows a year later. And in the 1990s, that mobster would state that the plane had been bombed. So the podcast tries to figure out what the truth is. I haven’t quite reached the end yet, and it drags a bit at times because it’s sooooo comprehensive, but it’s really interesting. You can read more about the case here.
Reading a book about about William Dampier. One of the coolest people ever. Scientist, philosopher, oh yeah and pirate. He circumnavigated the globe three times, was court martialed, marooned, and introduced the words barbecue, avocado, and chopsticks to the english language. This is the book. Really good.
Not sure why in the world the CEO of Jefferson Health would agree to sit down with three goofballs like us, but that’s part of what’s so great about Stephen Klasko. The guy is passionate about radically changing healthcare, and he explained the changes he’d like to see in this candid, funny, and fascinating interview we did with him on Wednesday night. If you’re not already following the Philly Blunt on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you should be.
