Exhausted Nihilist Pull Off Shocker at Johnny Goodtimes Autumn Invitational

IMG_2194They were packed to the rafters at the City Tap House on Sunday, and when the dust settled, we had ourselves an upset victory that sent shockwaves through the local nerd community. The game seemed all but over when the villainous Steak Em Up crew took the lead after 3 rounds. Going into the 4th with a lead is usually Mariano Rivera time for the Steak, who almost never lose a lead late. It looked like the winners of the Summer Invite were going to take the Autumn Invite as well and burnish their legend.

But the Exhausted Nihilists had other ideas. The Nihilists, who had finished 9th in the Final JGTAI standings, got 9 out of 10 right in the final round to come from behind and edge the Steak 103-102. It was a startling upset, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been…the Nihilist had knocked off Steak Em Up this past Tuesday at O’Neals. Nonetheless, it was a memorable final round, as they were the only team to answer both the white running back question and the Ebert question correctly (I’ll post 4th round questions later today.) In fact, the one they missed was one a lot of teams got right, the “Slam Dunk” question. Nonetheless, they got the other 9 right, Steak missed the Running back and Ebert question, and we had ourselves a shocker.

They were far from the only winners on this afternoon however. Look Up Look Down won a free Happy Hour for 10 friends at the City Tap House for earning the most physical challenge points. Insert Topical Team Name Here won a $150 gift certificate for winning the drawing. The Inglorious Barristers won a $75 gift certificate for knowing how tall K2 was. But the finest prize went to the last place team, who earned one of the hottest VHS tapes on the market today…It Takes Two, starring the Olsen Twins, Steve Guttenberg, and Kirstie Alley. You want to talk about some wacky misadventures! You don’t even know the half of it!

And of course, it goes without saying that Anthony Riley was a total hit. Philadelphia’s best known busker proved that he has as fine a voice as anyone in the city. And he was happy to do a vocal round, even though I didn’t even hit him up with the idea until Sunday morning. A splendid performance. It’s always awesome to work with someone that talented and gracious.

Finally, I just want to thank everybody for coming out. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the fact that you guys came out to play a little quizzo and listen to a few tunes was really awesome. One of my favorite things about doing this for a living is that we have a really cool community, and it’s always really fun when everybody from all 6 bars are together at one place. Thanks again. Scores are after the jump.

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Harry Potter Quiz Coming Soon, Quizzo Cxled Tonight Due to Birds

Here’s a few notes from Mike Minion, whose got a few fun new wrinkles to add to his quizzes, and an upcoming Harry Potter quizzo.

Due to the Eagles game, there will be NO quizzo at the Westbury tonight.   I guess Eagles fans don’t like being reminded that smart people exist. Anyway, the Westbury has 7 or 8 big screen TV’s, so you might as well head on over to watch the game.  John Edgar of Duane’s World will be behind the bar, and as usual, there are plenty of tap and bottle specials.  The Westbury has a wonderful selection of craft beers, and Chuck (the owner) always puts at least one or two on special at a ridiculously low price.

Tomorrow at Terrace taproom is on.  I will be unveiling a few new features to my quiz, including a challenge round, where teams compete for prizes.  Details tomorrow.  This will be a regular feature from now on.  Also to be added is a pre-quiz “Mike Minion Gives Away his Library and Record/CD Collection” round.  I’ll have details on this tomorrow as well.

In other news, last week’s Harry Potter theme round was so well received that the folks at The Ugly American have asked for an all Harry Potter quiz.  That’s right folks; all forty questions will be about The Boy Who Lived and his world. This special quiz will be on Monday, December 13 at 8 PM. In addition to the standard prizes for 1st and 2nd place, there will be many other cool prizes.  More details as we get closer to the date, but no Potter fan should miss this one.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to the teams from Manayunk who made it to yesterday’s Invitational.  Every Tuesday night, we have a great time out at the Taproom, and some strong teams have started to emerge. Better than Belle and a combined Ebonic Plague/Battlecat and the Transvestite team made the trip in and did themselves proud.  The only team out of over 20 in attendance to get a perfect music round was EP/BatT.  Congratulations!

Stayed tuned this this channel for more announcements in the very near future.  See ya at a quizzo in your neighborhood SOON!!!

The Final JGTAI Standings

autumninviteAfter a wild 8 weeks, here are our final standings. Several things to note. First of all, we are gonna be able to fit 25 teams into this thing (and perhaps one or two more if there are several 4 person or less teams.)

If you are in light blue, you are in and in the top 10, so are therefore eligible for the extra $100. Teams that are in forest green either aren’t playing or are teaming up with another team to make one team. Teams in yellow, congrats, you made the cut and have indicated that they are playing. Teams that are in grey, I do not know yet whether they are playing or not. I will contact them all this evening and see. Therefore, teams that are in olive green (7-10 points), do not give up hope yet.  There is an excellent shot you could get in. I should know for sure by tomorrow morning, so check back then. Also, teams that are going to be 4 people or smaller, please let me know. I might team you up with another team or let another team into the event. We want to maximize our space, but we also want teams to be there who made an honest effort to earn an invite. The latest details on the event are right here. Maximum team size is 8. If you’ve got any questions please feel free to drop me a line or post below in comments.

Deets on the Autumn Invitational

citytaphouseTIME: 3 p.m. Sunday, November 14th.

PLACE: City Tap House. 3925 Walnut. Really cool bar, really good food.

PRIZES: $300 for the winner. $150 for 2nd place. $100 bonus drawing between the Top 10 teams. And plenty of other goofy stuff.

COST: $10 a head.

ENTERTAINMENT: Anthony Riley performing Motown hits between rounds. Comedian Doogie Horner hosting the 50/50 round.  And, needless to say, yours truly dressed in his Sunday finest.

SPECIALS: Yes, and good ones too. Gonna be $3 and $4 craft beers on draft, $3 Sly Fox cans, and app and pizza specials.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE EAGLES?: They don’t play until Monday.

WILL IT BE FUN? Yes, guaranteed.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I QUALIFIED? I will post final standings tomorrow. If you are in the Top 25 and don’t have an invitation yet, contact me here (johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com) or on facebook.

Last Chance Thursday!

french fryHere it is, folks. If you are trying to earn an invite, or trying to sneak into the Top 10 for the Bonus drawing, tonight is your last chance. A whole new quiz. And I gotta admit, the quizzes have really been pretty good lately. I feel like I’m kind of “locked in” right now with questions. The way things are looking now, I think a team can squeak in with 8 points.

Action starts at the Ugly American at 8 p.m. This is your best shot for a win. Things have been kind of mellow lately (Of course I said that Tuesday about O’Neals and everyone living within a 6 block radius came out to quizzo that night), so come on down. If $1 corn dogs can’t entice you to play, then quite frankly, I don’t know what will.

On to the Bards at 10:15 p.m. We’ve been having a lot of fun at a rejuvenated Bards lately. Things have been poppin’ the past few weeks. They have completely rehabbed the place. Swing by if you haven’t lately. $3 Lagers and Miller Lites. And yes, I’ll be giving away fries at both spots. And needless to say, at least one round tonight will be honoring our Veterans. Hope to see ya tonight!

Quizmaster Chris Don’t Need No Stinking Badges!

Picture 9It is no secret that if there one thing we take delight in, it is reading Quizmaster Chris when he goes off on a moral crusade. Who can forget the time he accused a large company of being “morally challenged mother-stabbers and father-rapers” because they made him fill out a W-9? Or the time he got into a rivalry with Big Daddy Graham? Or when he got himself into the middle of the greatest Scotland is/is not a country debate that has ever taken place, on earth, ever?

So when we read that Chris nearly came to fisticuffs while working at the polls last week, and that the brouhaha had shut down the polls for heaven’s sake, we got the popcorn and the hot cocoa ready. We figured that the show was about to begin. Good old fashioned Philly political corruption (at the Mummers Museum no less), and Quizmaster Chris was smack dab in the middle of it? This had Instant Classic written all over it. But so far, nothing on his blog. Thankfully, the Daily News story itself had some real gems in it.

(Quizmaster Chris) Randolph got into a shouting match with the man who was sitting in the seat reserved for the minority judge of elections. Randolph told him to give up the post.

“Shut the hell up!” said the man, who declined to give his name. “I’m tired of looking at your face and listening to your fat mouth.”

The argument escalated when Michael Harrison, a volunteer for the Democratic ward leader Ed Nesmith, asked Randolph to produce a badge or credentials.

“I have a court order,” responded Randolph. “I don’t need credentials. We don’t need no stinking badges.”

“Don’t disrespect me like that,” said Harrison, who leaned close to Randolph’s face. “This court s— here, don’t mean s— to me! I will f— you up!”

Harrison and Randolph appeared eager to take the fight outside, but two police officers arrived about 1:15 p.m. and a sergeant ordered the polls shut down to sort out the dispute.

My favorite part is when the guy says, “Don’t disrespect me like that.” What? Was he wearing a sombrero at the time? Otherwise, how could he have been offended by a line from the Treasure of the Sierra Madre? That being said, great comeback from Quizmaster Chris when asked to produce a badge.

There is somewhat heated back and forth with someone in the comments section of the article, but mostly just between Chris and some guy who just seems keen on ruffling his feathers. QC doesn’t really fall for the bait. Nonetheless, we want to hear, from Quizmaster Chris, what happened on that day. Our popcorn is getting stale.