Thursday’s Sporcle Live trivia game was a flashback game of sorts! Two things about the game referenced a couple of games we played in 2013 – one was the “Man of Steel” theme trivia night in June, 2013, where we won first place and a Superman logo tank top, and got free tickets to see “Man of Steel.” The other was a “zombies” theme trivia night (movie pairing with World War Z). I wore the Superman logo T last night (I always think it’s kind of good luck to wear an item of “trivia swag” to a trivia game now and then), and I remembered something for the final question in game two which was part of a topic I’d studied for the zombies theme night! Though I’ve never seen any of the “Resident Evil” movies, I still managed to remember just enough about their titles to get the final question correct in game two! The “studying” I did for those theme nights in 2013 still pays off to this day, especially when the subject is comic books! Though I’m certainly not an expert in this category, I would say I’m “above average.” And hanging out with nerdy folks who yammer on quite a bit about comic book characters/etc. doesn’t hurt either! Osmosis? I’m looking at you, Brad! And while we’re on the subject of comic books, when will they finally get around to making a movie featuring the character Lobo? Buff alien bad- boy biker, what’s not to like? He sounds like DC’s answer to Wolverine, if you ask me! And yes, he has a way with the ladies (hello, motorcycle).

I want my Lobo movie, dammit!

As for the game, I finished in second for the night at Original Gravity Brewing Company in Milan with 103 points, I flunked the final in game one about streets in New York City (one team managed to get it right). We are in fifth place in the bar’s overall standings going into next week’s venue tournament. We have two possible spots to qualify for the league championship lined up, let’s hope we don’t blow both of those chances! And without further ado, the questions…
Game One
1. Birds – What word refers to a specific type of claw found on a bird of prey? 10
2. Shakespeare – What Shakespearean title character is killed, as prophesied, by an enemy who was born via Caesarian section? FB clue, 9.
3. MLB Hall of Fame – Which of the following positions has had the fewest players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? I ALMOST put down the right answer for this, but went with the position Linus played in the “Peanuts” comics. Should’ve gone with the position Pig-Pen played, dammit! Yes, that’s something our team has been talking about lately…Peanuts!
4. Nicolas Cage Movies – What Tennessee city is also the nickname of a Nicolas Cage character in “Gone in Sixty Seconds?” For an extra “nerd” bonus point, in which decade did the original version of this film have its release? Got the nerd bonus, missed the question. Never saw this movie. But I have seen the one pictured below…

Oscar winner Cher and Nicolas Cage post-sex in “Moonstruck.”

5. Stores of the Past – Founded in 1922 by the Kaufman brothers, what retail chain had more than 1,000 locations in malls across the United States at its peak before closing all of its stores in 2009 and being acquired by Toys ‘R Us? Bought a giant Super Soaker here with a 2.5 gallon water reservoir in a backpack back in the ’90s. My husband Mike actually used it to help douse a barbecue fire from a distance! And he brought it to some Ultimate Frisbee games as a means of helping cool off players! That thing was fun! But with all plastic toys, eventually they wear out, stop holding water, yada yada, meet their maker. Now let’s have a moment of silence for that wonderful Super Soaker! Got this for 8.
6. Musical Terms -The term “fortissimo” means to play softly, loudly, quickly or slowly? Multiple choice, got for 7.
7. Europe – The Great St. Bernard Pass runs through Italy and Switzerland through what mountain range? 4 points,.
8. Current Video Games – What side-scrolling video game released in 2017 for Windows and XBox is inspired by 1930s cartoons and features hand-drawn animations? A whole lotta no clue on this one, miss.
9. Newscasters – Since 2015, who has been the main weekday anchor for NBC Nightly News? I wrote down a description of the guy which trivia host Lauren said was pretty accurate, lol! And I just saw this guy reporting on the Manhattan bicycle path deaths last week! Just didn’t know his name.
This next question is going to (spoiler) be terrible, a couple of teammates may have helped with this one!
10. Medical Tests – The Tine Test is a multiple puncture test used to aid in the diagnosis of what disease? Nope, and I didn’t even pick something that’s an actual “disease!” Fail…
Mystery – Add ’em up – The sum total of all correct answers will be the number of karats in pure gold
1. NFL jersey worn by Len Dawson, Frank Gifford and Joe Montana (bet  Brad would have known this one)
2. Number of chambers in a mammal’s heart
3. Number of members of the Fugees
4. Number of times Neil Patrick Harris has hosted the Oscars
I was really stumped on most of these, so I rolled my d4 (the die that looks like a pyramid) on the NPH question and tried to deduce the answer from there. Fail…only managed to get #2 correct.
Scores – Thirteen teams, scores 14 to 62, with Big Heads Big Hearts (current venue leaders) in first. I was in eighth with 44 playing under the moniker “That’s no moon, Charlie Brown.”
Final Category – New York City
I rolled a d20 to determine what to wager on this one, and rolled a 9. So I wagered 9. I really don’t know much about New York City, so I accepted what the die had to say here! Turns out this question sunk a few teams who wagered big, so maybe the d20 had my back here, lol!
Place the following streets in order, from west to east, according to where they cross 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan:
Park Avenue
5th Avenue
Broadway
Madison Avenue
Ugh, a dreaded “put these in order” final! I lucked out on a NYC “put these in order” final at Johnny’s Grill a few months ago by making lucky guesses, but obviously I used up all of my luck in that game! Nope, getting this right was not to be! However, I did roll a d4 to determine the order of the streets, and it picked two of them correctly!
Two teams wound up in a tiebreaker for first/second, Tasty Pork and Bad Moms Club (Bad Moms won). The question was Laura Bush and Kathy Griffin share a birthday how many years apart? I played along with it and actually nailed this! Hey…Lady Luck – yeah, I’m talking to you – where the hell were you when I did those two die rolls just now? Were you on a hot date? Oh well, it’s still fun to mix up the trivia routine every now and then and let probability do the thinking for you! Moving on!
Game Two
1. Letters – Which letter sits between T and U on a standard keyboard? 10
2. Game shows- In 2016, Anthony Anderson became the host of what rebooted game show featuring celebrity panelists? There was more to this question, but I didn’t write it all down. Miss.
3. Running – What 13-letter word describes any foot race that is more than 26.2 miles long? 9
4. Singers – Audio clue of a Mario Paint version of an 80s song, had to identify the artist.
5. Cars – What Asian automaker manufactured a mini multipurpose vehicle called “Cube” from 2009 to 2014? I think these are UGLY! Mike and I have joked that the reason they even exist is because someone lost a bet. The assymmetry just offends my OCD too much. I can’t even with this vehicle, lol! Got this for 7.
6. Sequels – The 2005 sequel “Armed and Fabulous” was a sequel to what 2000 film? For an extra “nerd” bonus point, what was the main character’s first name in that movie? Got this for the points plus the bonus. special thanks to “Krogerman” for his little lifeline!
7. State Names – The same number of states start with the letter N as there are states that start with the letter M. How many total “N” and “M” states are there? Worked really hard to list them all and it paid off, now to get cracking on when all of these states joined the union 😉 Got for 3.
8. Literature – The dead body from The Da Vinci Code” is found in a position resembling what painting by Leonardo Da Vinci? Nope, miss.
9. Math – What is the smallest number besides zero or 1 to be a perfect square or a perfect cube? Miss.
10. Hot Dogs – What restaurant chain hosts the annual hot dog eating contest on Coney Island? Funny, apparently some of the remaining Arthur Treacher’s fish and chips restaurants are paired with this restaurant in “combo” forms, which I had just read earlier before the game. I always wondered what it would be like to have a combo menu at these places that feature items from both menus. Hot dogs and hush puppies? Fish slathered with relish and coney sauce? Hot dogs topped with tartar sauce?
Is this getting too gross? Tartar sauce on hot dogs doesn’t sound TOO bad! A couple of guys sitting near me joked that hot dog eating contests should be the way all disputes/arguments between men be settled. Ah the camaraderie of sitting at the bar! Maybe I should write my own version of “Piano Man” and talk about the different cast of characters at OG, lol…
Visual Mystery:

Missed #4.

Scores – 10 teams, scores 21 to 53, with Woods in first. Big Heads was in second with 52, ‘Pods were in third with 51.
Final Category – Movie Series
Between the 2002 film Resident Evil and the 2016 film Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, there were four other films in the series, each with a single-word subtitle. Give the subtitles to two of those four films.
One of the correct ones came to me after a bit. And Krogerman (a horror movie fan, apparently) helped come up with the other one.
Final scores: Tasty Pork, 64; ‘Pods, 71. Until next time, which will be Saturday at Oscar’s Sports Grill. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Nicolas Cage (though you are more funny when you are not trying to act classy)! God I LOVE the scene in Moonstruck where Cher slaps him, never fails to send chills down my spine! 🙂