Both the Jams at the Locust Rendezvous and Duane’s World at Black Sheep try to move up the rankings tonight. If your team can stop either one, then you will certainly get consideration on the power rankings, in addition to the gift certificate and the glory. Rendezvous starts at 6:15 p.m., Black Sheep starts at 8 p.m. See ya tonight!

Why I Want YOU at This Charity Bowling Party on Saturday

As you probably know, I am helping to put together a charity bowling party for this Saturday for the Urban Youth Association’s Rising Stars Program, a group I work with throughout the year. As you also know, there is currently an impasse in the state budget. These two things are related. Money we thought we were getting for this program has not been OK’d, and we don’t know if we’ll get it or not. Therefore we need a good turnout on Saturday to ensure that we can continue running this program and others like it at the Marian Anderson Center. Your help is vital.

The teens have been working on a number of things during the summer program. We learned about Chinatown then took a tour of it to learn more, we studied science then went to the Franklin Institute, and we studied mummies and Ancient Egypt and then went to the Anthropology Museum. They’ve written extensively, and Garbo and BMT have been helping the guys with their math skills. To learn more about the program, and to see some of their writing, click here. They are not huge writing fans yet (I wasn’t either when I was 14) but if you wouldn’t mind leaving a comment on some of their entries so they know people are reading it, it would be awesome (Please no profane or smartass comments. Make those on this site all you want, but not that one). I think that once they see that people care what they have to write, they’ll be more excited about it.

The Rock ‘n’ Bowl party is Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., and runs until 11:30. There will be bowling, live music by Kristy B and the South Philly Yoots, and beer. All for only $20. 100% of the proceeds go to the Urban Youth Association. It goes down at St. Monica’s Lanes on 16th and Shunk (for a map go here). If you take the Broad Street Line, get off on Oregon, walk one block North and then Two blocks west. Easy Peezy. Hope to see you there. Your attendance would be greatly appreciated.

Toughest Questions From Last Week

It’s not just a type of fish, it’s also the name for the winds on the eastern slopes of the Rockies.
The ratio of partial pressure of water vapor in a parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature is known as what?
Whose memoir was called My Prison Without Bars?
Sheila Dixon governs a more populous city than any other current female mayor in the United States, a city of 635,000 people. What city does she govern?
This player, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005, played the first 13 games of his career as a Phillie before being traded in 1981.
What South American country’s flag looks like Canada’s without the maple leaf and borders Ecuador.
On the day that he married Anne of Cleves, July 28th, 1540, Henry the VIII had this man put to death at the Tower of London.
What is 5.88 trillion miles better known as?
This mineral, mined in Death Valley since the 1880s, is found in many detergents and is also known as sodium tetraborate.
Fill in the blank: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are _________.

Continue reading “Toughest Questions From Last Week” →

Back in Town, Quizzo Tonight

Hey kids, just got back in the big city after a harrowing trip to the Eastern Shore which nearly resulted in my untimely demise via lightning. Story forthcoming. In the meantime, celebrate life with me at quizzo tonight. We start at O’Neals at 8 p.m., where things have been pretty wide open as of late. A few regulars could get up on the Power Rankings if they make their triumphant return (Dorksided and Same Name as Last Week, I’m looking at you.)

As I’ve stated before, there is still a power vacuum at the Bards, where it has quickly gone from Sofa Kingdom -Hurtin Bombs-Dysfunktion lockdown to a pretty wide open competition. If your team is looking to make a name for itself, this could be the place to start. Action starts at 10:15 p.m. Hope to see you tonight!

Question of the Week

Many people believe that Andrew Hamilton’s defense of John Peter Zenger in 1735 gave rise to what expression?

The Mysterious Death of Warren G. Harding

President Warren G. Harding Everyone seems to have a conspiracy theory surrounding the JFK assasination, and most people even know that mysterious circumstances surround the death of Zachary Taylor. But did you know that there are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the death of Warren G., which happened on August 3, 1923?

Within minutes of Warren G. Hardings death at either 7:10, 7:20, or 7:30 p.m. on August 2, 1923, rumors began to circulate. No one present at his demise could give the correct time of death. No one seemed to be sure who was on hand in the San Francisco hotel room when he breathed his last. Most of all, the four physicians who had been caring for Harding for the previous week could not agree on the cause of death. It had something to do with his heart. On the other hand, perhaps it was a stroke. Alternatively, it could have been both, exacerbated by the ptomaine poisoning that he may or may not have experienced a few days earlier in Vancouver. Despite the confusion over the time of death, surely an autopsy would resolve the uncertainty about what killed Warren G. Harding.

Except — there was no autopsy. Mrs. Harding — the Duchess, as her husband called her — would not permit it. Within an hour of his death, he was embalmed, rouged, powdered, dressed, and in his casket. By morning, he was on a train, headed back to Washington, D.C.

It is little wonder that newspaper reporters, servants, and minor attending officials speculated about the circumstances of the death of the 29th President of the United States. How could an event so important to the life of the nation be so shoddily handled? Or was there some secret, something about this death that needed covering up?

The entire affair was so bizarre that it was inevitable that conspiracy theories arose. Was it suicide? If so, why? Was it murder? If so, who did it?

Quizzo Power Rankings!

Wow! What a week! First of all, Quiz on Your Face won in their first ever appearance at the Bards. Then we had one of the biggest upsets in quizzo history, as the Barstool Racers, who finished last two weeks ago (and have the My Little Pony coloring book to prove it), knocked off the Jams at the Rendezvous. Duane’s World (going by Eschaton) crushed the opposition at the Black Sheep, winning by 32. That perhaps got them fired up for THursday night, when they came from behind in the 4th round to edge the L. Ron Hubbard’s Diabetics at the Ugly American, 108-104, and end the Diabetics 8 game winning streak. That did not, however, affect our power rankings all that much. Here’s how they currently stand:

L. Ron Hubbard’s Diabetics-They won 8 straight and carried a perfect score into round 4 last night, only missing two questions all game. This is simply the best team in quizzo.
Duane’s World-To be the man, you gotta beat the man, and Duane’s World did just that. In addition, they blew the other squads out of the water at the Sheep. Of course, I’m a little bitter I had to pay them $35 last night. These Bounty Bowls are hurting my net income.
Hurtin Bombs-A nice win Thursday, but whither the future of the Bombs? Rene (the guy who looks like Erik Estrada with a moustache) leaves town today, leaving the future of the squad up in the air.
The Jams-Their worst performance in years drops them in the rankings. 74 points was a fluke, however. I expect them to bounce back big next week.
Stimulate Your Prostate-The artists formerly known as the Sofa Kingdom simply haven’t been the same since Swanson left town. Koob and Nate are on the Atkins Diet: is it affecting their brains?
Why’s John’s Rum Gone-There is a lot of parity at O’Neals, but out of several teams that are very close in talent, John’s Rum gets the edge.
Quiz on Your Face-Have proven to be a real rival for the Jams, then went on the road and won at Bards. This is a team on the rise.
Narcotyzing Dysfunktion-They could swing either way: Becoming the team to beat at Bards or take the rest of the summer off. We’ll see.
Sir Lancelost-The team that always changes their name didn’t play this week, but in the two weeks previous they won at O’Neals and then Rendezvous, so they crack the top ten.
Barstool Racers- An honorary degree, as their persistence and refusal to quit after numerous last place finishes finally paid off in a startling upset. An inspiration to us all.