A quizmaster’s worst nightmare was barely avoided not once but twice this week. On Tuesday, the magic of Harry Houdini prevented Hurtin Bombs from becoming the first ever team to achieve two perfect scores.  It was a before or after 1923 round, and the question was “When did Harry Houdini die?” They had After, scratched it out and put Before. The answer was After. It was the only one they missed.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Diabetics had me sweating bullets on Thursday at the Ugly American, as they had a perfect score through the first 39 questions. The final question was, “What element melts at a higher temperature than any other metal?” They answered Titanium, the answer was Tungsten, and I breathed a deep sigh of relief. 

Any lady looking for an advanced career in the burgeoning quizzo market is advised to apply for the Kinky Quizmaster post at Valanni. I have to admit, I’ve never played Kinky Quizzo (at the risk of sounding supercilious*, I try to keep terms like Cleveland Steamer and Roman Helmet out of my conversations these days), but I suppose it could be interesting. 

“Got a big mouth, a dirty mind?” asks Karwoski. “Are you quick witted, well-read? Always dreamed of talking Dirty Sanchezes and getting paid? Think you can handle the mic? I’ll be the judge of that. Bring it!  Compete to be the next Kinky Quizzo host at Valanni.”

Anybody ever been to one of these things? Let me know how it was. 

*I suppose using words like supercilious makes me sound supercilious.

 
Well kids, it’s off to Hotlanta for a wedding. The Sandman will be filling in for me tonight. Ugly American at 7:30 p.m., Bards at 10 p.m. Been an interesting week of quizzo, to say the least, with 3 upsets in 4 quizzes. That blues round really seemed to even the playing field. In the soundtrack of my life, the Muddy Waters song above would be playing when I walked down the street. It would all be in slow motion and beautiful women would be making eyes at me as I walked past and dudes would know not to f*** with me. I’d have a toothpick in my mouth. What song you got playing as your “Walk down the street song” in the soundtrack of your life.

A pleasant surprise at last night’s quizzo at the Bard’s as the originator of American quizzo, Pat Hines, made a rare appearance. For those who don’t know, Pat moved to Northern Ireland last year with his wife and two kids. He was back in town for 10 days and decided to check out one of my normal quizzes for the first time ever (he did attend the Summer Slam in 2004.) We had a beer after quizzo, and Pat says that he’s enjoying Northern Ireland, though he does miss Philly. He just finished getting his teaching certificate over there, and is hoping to begin teaching soon. He talked about the very first quizzos in the US, held at a bar in Wildwood called O’Shea’s, with nothing but Irish questions and Irish people playing. Pat, who is not from Ireland, needed an assistant to help him come up with relevant questions about rugby, the Dail Eireann, and so forth. And in case you’re wondering, yes, those are still his questions being asked at New Deck and Fergie’s. Oh, and his team came in an impressive 3rd.

The Jams have won 5 in a row, and thus there will be a Bounty next Wednesday at the Rendezvous. In addition to the gift certificate, teams will win $20 cash if they can finish first and knock off the Jams. This is our first Bounty since February, when the Jams won 7 in a row, and our third of the year (There was a Bounty out on Duane’s World in January.)

Hey gang, as you can see, we’re changing things up a bit on the website, and I’d appreciate your feedback. What do you want to see more of on the site? What would you like to see less of? I have tried to make it more focused on trivia and less of a hodge podge. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? 

A few things to note. First of all, now that I am using WordPress, it is a lot easier to post pics. So I think I will, starting next week, post pics of the top 3 finishers at each bar, not just the winners. Also, the categories have been cleaned up and so the site is much easier to navigate.

I am thinking I might do a pizza hunt again this summer like we did in 2006. I will have more details next week. Also, looking for a spot to do a City vs. City quiz with Denver this summer. Will keep you updated.

Alright kids, this is your chance for unbridled fame, no matter how bad your team is. I’m taking pics of all the teams this week at quizzo and putting them on the site. So get out the Dippity-Do and your $200 jeans, you’re gonna be on the intranets!