Consider this scenario – you’re out for a Sporcle Live solo trivia game, which winds up going straight into the toilet because of missing questions in categories such as racing, kids’ TV, franchises, video games and even candy. Oh yeah, and you miss an entire mystery round about Norwegian book covers (I am not kidding about that category). You realize that winning any prize money is beyond hope at that point, and you even know you’re going to fail the last final question of the night (and your prediction turns out to come to pass). So you figure out your wager, and see what your score for the night will be if you bet it all and miss. Without burying the lede any further…SIXTY NINE, DUDES! Sure, I COULD have wagered zero on the final question in game two, which would have put me at 89 points for the night. But I wanted to have the final say in the matter – and I wanted 69 to be my score (I’m nothing if not a bit immature)!

And so it was that I wagered 20 on that final question and missed it (it was rough animated TV question that, I believe (maybe Sporcle Live with Lauren can confirm this) all teams wound up getting incorrect, which meant the zero betters wound up taking prizes.

Original Gravity Brewing Company was more crowded than usual on this Thursday night, I was lucky to find one open spot at the bar when I arrived about 25 minutes or so before game time. Gradually I was able to move down the bar (and closer to the host) and by the time the last questions in game two were being asked, I FINALLY got my “favorite” seat at the end of the bar (patience is a virtue). Us lanky folks can have a bit of a rough time walking up answer slips when we’re “landlocked” at a bar! “Sorry I bumped your seat with my leg again!”

And here come the questions!

Game One
1. Actors – What actor’s film roles include title roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Meet Joe Black and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? And with this correct answer for 10 I earned about 1/6 of the points I would earn on this trivia night!
2. Lyrics – What three words complete the line, “At first I was afraid” in Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive? 5
3. Heroes -Al Simmons is the alter ego for what Image Comics character whose main nemesis is “The Violator,” aka “Clown?” Yay I’m married to a nerd, 9.
4. Sketch Comedy – President Obama and Luther, Meegan and Andre, and Mr. Garvey are recurring characters on what sketch comedy series that aired between 2012 and 2015? Miss for three, I couldn’t quite remember the first part of the name…I did not care for this series, but the 2017 film directed by one of the actors in this series was REALLY good!
5. Flags – Three countries in Europe have flags with red, white and green stripes. Name the capital city for one of those countries – two for an extra “nerd” bonus. Got this for 2 plus the bonus (I thought my guess was too obvious since their soccer uniforms are differently colored so I wasn’t too confident).
6. Bleeding – What is the 10-letter word for an item that stops bleeding through compression? 8
7. Polls – Since Gallup began tracking presidential approval ratings in 1945, which president received the highest approval rating ever – at 90 percent – on his 245th day in office? My more politically minded teammates would have helped here, I missed for 4. I can tell you who all of the presidents are, which ones died in office and roughly what years they were in office, but Mike and Brad are better at this kind of “political” stuff…(teamwork)!
8. Games – Chicken foot, cypress, Mexican train and matador are various games played with what equipment? Mike likely would have helped with this one (he played with this “equipment” quite a bit in college). Miss for 6.
9. Food – What condiment is made from fried sesame and can be used as a dip in addition to being an ingredient in hummus and baba ganouj? 7
10. Sports Venues – PNC Park, PPG Paints, and Heinz Park are professional sports venues located in what U.S. city? And two weeks in a row I get a sports arena question correct.What an utter waste of my one-point slip! And here is yet another trivia question I got correct because of a blog I wrote for this site a while back…
Mystery – GJ initials – Identify the people who have the initial GJ based on the following clues
1. New Mexico politician who ran as a Libertarian for president in 2012 and 2016
2. TV father of Judy and Elroy
3. President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015
4. Actress playing Britta Perry on Community and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix series Love
Missed #3 and #4.
I really, really tried to come up with at least the correct first name for #4. My list of “G” names for females did not include the correct one! I’m guessing #3 stumped most of the teams in the room.

Scores: Eleven teams, 48 to 64 with Big Heads Big Hearts (aka Mind the Gap) in first. I was in second to last with 49 playing under the doomed moniker “The Wreck of the Zelda Fitzgerald.” I told Mike after the game that in addition to being F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, she was also the partial inspiration for the Legend of Zelda video game series. He thought I was just trying pass off an alternative fact as real which I sometimes attempt to do. But I wasn’t doing that this time!

I may have some things in common with Zelda Fitzgerald! Let’s see – we both took ballet lessons, we both love the outdoors, we both raise a middle finger to convention, and we both say f— you to being delicate, docile and accommodating (which is how Southern women were “supposed” to act). This is disturbing stuff! I should try steering myself on the right path so as not to end up a schizophrenic in a mental hospital (that winds up burning down)! Such a tragic figure. She was also considered to be the “first flapper.” I am not as big of a fan of swimming (she wore a skintight flesh colored bathing suit to fuel rumors that she swam in the nude). Those things are NOT like me at all! She and her husband were quite the party animals, apparently…

Final category – NBA History
Yikes! I wagered zero on this…
There are two states that have each been home to three different NBA franchises during the seasons in which those franchises won an NBA Championship.
Name both of those states.
Strangely enough. I made one correct guess (another player said I was probably the one to guess this state).
Standings: BHBH (#2), Here for the Cheese, (#1). I didn’t catch their scores.

Game Two
1. Novels – What four words complete the line in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island: “Yo ho ho and (four words)?” Hint: “brass monkey” are not the last two words! 10
2. Racing – Single, double, quad and coxswain are terms used in what type of racing? Visual capability for this question probably would have aided me – seeing the word “coxswain” probably would have given me a clue , whereas just hearing the word didn’t ring any bells for me (and it just made me think, “Hee hee – she said cock”). Miss for 1.
3. Franchises – What animated franchise began in 2010 had its first sequel in 2014 and will have another sequel in 2019 called The Hidden World? Miss for 2. This was one of two questions in this game that did not favor those who are “childless…”
4. Rocks – El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in which U.S. National Park? 9
5. Commercials – Bill Heder and others appeared in a 2018 Super Bowl commercial for what snack where they are amazed by the different flavors created by stacking what snack item?
6. Kids’ TV – What Playhouse Disney series aired from 1998 to 2000 and featured what type of animals, – all named Peanut, Butter and Jelly? Miss for 3.
7. Video Games Marvel’s Spider-Man video game was released in September, 2018 exclusively on what specific console? For an extra “nerd” point, on what console was Spider-Man released in 1982? Missed this for 4, but got the bonus point.
8. Musicals – Audio clue of Tony-winning musical from 1979, got for 5.
9. Treaties – The treaty ending the first opium war required ceding what territory to the United Kingdom? 7
10. Candy – After Halloween, what holiday sells the most candy based on revenue? Again, I was cursed for not being a parent (LOL)! Miss for 6, but dumb, dumb, dumb! Bad brain! Bad brain! Now to go back to killing you with beer (JK)!

Missed all of these. I showed these to Mike after the game, and he would have helped with a couple of them (he was cozy on the couch watching Avengers – Infinity War while I was at the game).
Scores: Ten teams, 30 to 61, with BHBH in first. I was in eighth with 40 points.
Final Category – Animated TV
There are three TV series that are currently in production or airing new episodes on Adult Swim that premiered in the decade of the 2000s (2000-2009).
Name two of those three series.
Got one, but not both.
Zero wagers took the game – Smokin’ Aces, 47 BHBH, 61.
Until next time, which is ??? Sometime next week! As for which day, that is currently being discussed. As always, Go Pods and stay classy, Long John Silver!