Category: Happenings

The Wire Quizzo This Sunday

That is correct folks, we’re headed back to the street of Baltimore this weekend. Last year’s quiz on the Wire was an instant classic, and this one promises to be great as well. It’s going down this Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Trestle Inn. Drink specials, great mac n cheese, great prizes, and plenty of questions about Omar, Bunk, and Bubbles. See ya there on Sunday!

Drinking Water and Ordering Nothing

Originally posted this a couple of years ago. Gonna repost, since I saw a large team recently send their waitress scrambling for waters all night while spending about $10 combined between the 6-8 of them. This typically isn’t a major problem at my quizzes, but I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page. 

A team played this past week at one of the bars with like 8 people on their team. I like this team. They’re a young team, really nice, really cool, and I don’t want to call them out, so I won’t say which bar or which team. But they ordered, for the entire table, 2 or 3 beers (total between the 8 of them) and 2 apps total. And lots and lots of water.

That’s not the way it works. Don’t get me wrong. You don’t need to order any beers if you don’t want to. There is no two drink minimum, and I have never pushed booze on anyone at my quizzes. But everyone on the team has to order something. That doesn’t mean you need to order caviar and foie gras either. It just means that if you go to a bar, you need to be prepared to spend something. That’s the way the thing works. If you don’t have at least $5, then stay home and play Trivial Pursuit. Quizzo is more fun, and don’t act like you don’t have 5 bucks in change in your couch. I’ve seen your couch. I’ve searched it when you weren’t home. There is A LOT of change in there.

And this not just at quizzo, that’s a good rule of thumb in general. Get a Coke and an app if you don’t want to drink. That’s fine. But you just can’t go to a bar or a restaurant and order nothing. It’s just not good form, and it’s disrespectful of your server to have her running around grabbing you waters that you won’t be tipping her for.

I’m not saying this stuff to be a jerk. Hey, I was young once too and didn’t know better. And Rick from the Champs is over 50 and he still doesn’t know it*. But it’s something that everyone who plays quizzo really needs to be aware of.

*just busting your balls, pal. I know how worked up you get over stuff like this so I couldn’t resist.

JGT Power Rankings

With the Summer Invitational kicking off this week, I thought it would do us some good to see who our top teams have been the past few weeks. This was tough to do. Except at the Bards, we’ve had incredible parity the past couple of months (6 winners in 7 weeks at UA, 5 straight different winners at O’Neals,

1. Steak Em Up. Nobody is even close. These guys are winning every week by 30 points. It’s getting ridiculous. Is there anyone out there who can put together a superteam to try to knock these guys off? There is a bounty on their heads at the Bards, where they’ve won the past 7 weeks. Anyone who beats them this week gets $20 from me as well as their $40 gift certificate. Come on, people, invite your damn smart friends out.

2. The Jams. The Jams are in the midst of one of the strangest streaks we’ve ever seen at quizzo. They’ve won every other week since April 14th. They lost last week, which means they’re due for a win this week.

3. Duane’s World. Also on a strange every other week streak. They’ve won every other week since May 11th. Wednesdays are weird. Regardless, still the team to beat at Black Sheep, although the 5th Estate took them out last week and Blaizng Sea Nuggets continue to be a thorn in their side.

4. Interim Team Name. These new kids on the block have made quite a name for themselves, winning twice in one week two weeks ago. Is this team ready for the big time or did they just hit a hot streak? We’ll see during the JGTSuI.

5. Dukes of Fire Hazzards. Knocked off the Jams a few weeks ago, then won at O’Neals last week. If only they could scrub that last place finish at Seinfeld quiz off their record.

6. The Sidecardigans. Have cooled off a bit lately, but recently sported a 4-week winning streak at Sidecar. The nerdiest staff in quizzo, I’ll put them up against any bar in the city.

7. Popesack Resurrected. Have made themselves scarce since their huge JGTSpI win in overtime, but did return long enough to notch a win at North Star last week.

8. FFSF. This team has nothing if not resilience. Each week, they come to City Tap House and fall to Steak Em Up, but always put up respectable scores that would make them winners at a lot of other bars. This team needs to make a free agent signing to get them over the top.

9. Mr. September. In the last three weeks, went from 3rd to 2nd to first at the Vous. An impressive climb to the top.

10. L. Ron Hubbard’s Diabetics. Two 2nd place finishes in the last 3 weeks. This once perennial top 5 teams has fallen on hard times lately. They’re kind of the Phillies of quizzo. Once powerful and proud, but due to injuries just a shell of their former selves.

Others receiving votes: Sharktoberfest, Quizasters, Blazing Sea Nuggets, Catdog, 5th Estate, Quiz Markie, Magnus ver Magnusson, Mysterious Mr. Mapother, Tempura House, Five FInger Ass Print, Avenue Hustlaz,

 

A Little Light Reading

If you missed it yesterday, please be sure to check out my latest in the Post. It’s a piece on the new Pizza Museum that’s gonna open in Fishtown next month.

In sports, here is a pretty crazy story I stumbled across yesterday about how two events that happened within a week of each other in 1913 completely destroyed what might have otherwise been a Phillies dynasty.

Be sure to follow me on twitter, and you can follow my quizzo goings on on facebook. Or, if you want to put up with all of the crazy nonsense I post regularly on facebook, friend me on it.

Oh yeah, and remember….I do private parties. Wanna have quizzo for a wedding, a birthday party, or a corporate event, hit me up at johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com.

This Just Made My Day

Just came across this. Thought I’d share: The Barbie Liberation Organization or BLO…gained notoriety in 1993 by switching the voice boxes on talking G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls. The BLO performed “surgery” on a reported 300-500 dolls and then returned them to the shelves of stores, an action they refer to as “shopgiving.” This action resulted in girls opening their new Teen Talk Barbie to hear it say phrases such as “vengeance is mine” and boys hearing their G.I. Joe say “the beach is the place for summer.”

Not allowed to embed this video, but you can watch a news story on it here. It was done by a group who was outraged by Barbie saying such obnoxious nonsense as “Math is Hard!” There is more in a 1993 New York Times article:

The group, which asserts it has surgically altered 300 dolls, says its aim is to startle the public into thinking about the Stone Age-world view that the dolls reflect.

The result is a mutant colony of Barbies-on-steroids who roar things like “Attack!” “Vengeance is mine!” and “Eat lead, Cobra!” The emasculated G. I. Joe’s, meanwhile, twitter, “Will we ever have enough clothes?” and “Let’s plan our dream wedding!”

Included with each doll is a leaflet from the group, claiming credit and calling itself, appropriately enough, the Barbie Liberation Organization. The leaflets list the group’s telephone number, as well as those of television stations and newspapers in the area where the doll was purchased. Buyers who agree with the group’s anti-sexist, anti-violent agenda are urged in the leaflet to call these news organizations.

I also thought it was interesting to read the word “twitter” in a 1993 news article.

Breaking Bad Quizzo on Sunday

Breaking Bad quiz is coming this Sunday at the POPE as part of Beer Week. We’ll be honoring this phenomenal show with questions not just about the show itself, but about the chemistry on the show, the actors, and even a few questions about crystal meth. Going to be a very, very interesting quiz. Action starts at 8 p.m. at the POPE (1501 East Passyunk) and is sponsored by The Lost Abbey. Hope to see you there.