Editor’s note: I was strapped for time earlier after having to type UP A GAME RECAP FOR A SECOND TIME BECAUSE FACEBOOK WAS BEING AN UTTER…MOTHERZUCKER.  Did I just make up that word? Feel free to use it at will! I don’t normally do “just the questions” posts, but I just didn’t have time earlier to put in any commentary. And, since it’s probably the last decent weather day we’re going to have here in SE Michigan for a while, I wanted to squeeze in a walk before it started getting “icky” outside. All of that said, now that I’m done with my annoying Sunday errands, yada yada…I’m going to attempt to resurrect the original game recap I had written earlier. If you’re one of those people who likes “commentary,” read on!  Answers in the comments.

It was pretty much trivia business as usual for the ‘Pods when we visited Ashley’s Westland for the Sporcle Live League Championship Saturday. We were in “about” the middle of the herd in terms of scores heading into the final, blew a few big points slips, but we got the the final question correct! We have gotten a bit better about getting final questions correct in Sporcle tournaments – I would say now our record is about 5 for 10 as opposed to our old 1 for 10 record. I attribute this fact mainly to one of our newer “recruits” Evan, whom has been very, very helpful in quite a few tournaments for us!

Though we didn’t manage to land in the “money” zone for prizes, we wound up in a tie for eighth after the final question. Finish in the top 10 at a regional tournament? That’s not bad for a team like ours! We certainly wouldn’t want to throw off anyone’s betting pools by managing to land in the cash prize zone, would we?

Back to the subject of Evan, I was concerned when he was a bit later than usual, so I called him – call went straight to voice mail. I checked my phone a couple of minutes later, and saw I had a missed call from him. So I called him back – he told me that his GPS had directed him to a DIFFERENT business called “Ashley’s” – which in this case, was an Ashley’s HomeStore, which sells furniture and things. Thankfully this “other” Ashley’s was only about .3 miles away from the Ashley’s he was supposed to be driving to! All was well, he managed to show up before game time.

Now what if…what if – our trivia tournament were held in a furniture store? Hmmmm – comfy recliners with cup holders, sectionals, dinette sets with plush chairs. Why not just plop my whole team on a couple of king size beds pushed together? Knowing some players on my team (I’m looking at Brad here), we’d probably just end up turning the mattresses into a fort – or they would jump up and down on them.

Walking into Ashley’s, it was almost as if some kind of weird magicks that I just kind of found our table within seconds. And perhaps because of this stroke of luck, our luck ran out on us when answering THAT question…the one about Schoolhouse Rock (read on to find out more about it).

Maybe one day Rufus will become a popular baby boy’s name again!

Game One

1. Spring Break – According to AAA, what southern U.S. city is the most popular tourist destination for spring break in the United States? It is also the fourth most populous city in its state. A bit of discussion about “beach” cities, but Mike suggested the answer which would wind up being correct, and I knew that it was “about” that populous in its state (I have attempted to study populous cities). But I had to convince Brad, and here’s how I did it: “Spring break isn’t just about drunken teenagers. It’s also about parents taking their kids to (destination).” I added that I knew someone who took her kids here for a FIVE DAY trip last Spring (I honestly don’t know how she survived, I could barely stand one day at this place). Read more about those experiences in this blog I wrote. Long story short, Brad was convinced. Sigh…I really should think about studying law!  4

2. Legal TV – What TV series that debuted in 2015 centers on the activities of the law firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill? The words “Hamlin” made me think of L.A. Law, which starred Harry Hamlin (pictured below). Nobody on our team had any clue on this one. I have never seen one single episode of L.A. Law, but I think Laurie Partridge might have been on this show (JK!).  Miss for 1.

Harry Hamlin was one of the earliest “Sexiest Men Alive” as named by People magazine in 1987. Apparently, advanced brooding skills are required for getting this honor from People.

3. Art – What two-word term for a type of painting style favored by Jackson Pollock – among others – was also referred to as “action painting?” 6

4. High Honors – What actor – who has experienced many, many broken bones – has been acting since the early 1960s, appeared in more than 200 films and has received numerous Kids’ Choice and MTV movie/TV awards? Miss for 2.

5. Seals – What cabinet-level department’s seal depicts a picture of scales- depicting justice – and a key – depicting authority? This department was first established in 1789. Miss for 3, though we did consider the right guess.

6. Recent Commercials – What company’s holiday ads for 2018 feature boxes singing Can You Feel It by the Jacksons? God, sitting here typing this, I’ve already seen a few of these (they are getting annoying).  10

7. Capitals – Name both the easternmost and westernmost sovereign European countries with capital cities beginning with the letter “V.” A bit of discussion on this one – Brad – our “Euro Capitals Guy” – performed wonderfully under pressure! I was kind of grilling him a bit “(blank) is the capital of what?” It’s not the first time I’ve quizzed him on capitals! When he was in the hospital in 2012, I quizzed him on Euro capitals while he was in his hospital bed (we had a trivia tournament coming up soon). He enjoys it! 7

8. Music Lawsuits – What 2013 hit song was the subject of a lawsuit because of claims it copied the Marvin Gaye single Got To Give It Up? Do not ever, ever try doing the song Sexual Healing on karaoke night! It will be a true test of keeping a straight face (the lyrics go to some strange places…believe me)!  9

9. Stadiums – What National League team plays its home games in the newest stadium in use by the MLB? Miss for 3.

10. Scientists – Lothar Julius Meyer shared Davy Medal honors in 1882 with what other scientist for their studies of periodic relations of atomic weights? Miss for 8.

Mystery – If they were alive – given the names and ages of celebrities when they died, within two years – how old would they be if they were alive today?

M1 – Amy Winehouse, 27

M2 – George Burns, 100

M3 – Notorious BIG, 24

M4 – James Dean, 24

Missed Burns/BIG, nailed James Dean and Amy Winehouse dead on. The George Burns miss was on me. I thought he died earlier than he did. The BIG miss was on Dave/Evan. I don’t know rapper deaths that well.

We had 40 points going into game two.

Game Two

1. Grammar – Which specific part of speech is being referred to in a Schoolhouse Rock segment using the names Rufus, Xavier, Sarsparilla? This was really more of a Schoolhouse Rock question than an actual grammar question – if you didn’t know the context of the SH Rock cartoon, then you would not know this answer. Miss for 10.

2. Stars – Within two, how many stars were on the U.S. flag when John Quincy Adams left office in 1829? I tried studying statehood a while back and started writing down states I knew were admitted earlier than 1829. I gave Mike my list and said, “Add two to that – I know I’m missing a couple.” Wound up getting it within 1 (pardon me while I fist bump myself, LOL)! Dammit, I just fist-bumped myself in the eye!  3

3. Creators – J.J. Abrams has created four TV series airing 80 episodes or more, including Lost. Name any one of the other series. 4

4. Buildings – Besides New York and Chicago, there are three other U.S. cities east of the Mississippi River with buildings 700 feet or higher, not including antennas. Name two of those cities. 5

5. Science Terms – What nine-letter word meaning “two eggs” is used to describe the scientific name for fraternal twins? Dave and I teamed up well here, Evan wanted to put “two babies” (LOL)! 7

6. NBA Teams – The Lakers and  Celtics have both won twice as many NBA finals games as the next team on the list, which has won 32 NBA finals games. Name that team. Miss for 1.

7. Children’s Books – Name three of the first fruits eaten by the Very Hungry Caterpillar in the book of the same name.  When Evan came up with one of the correct fruits at the last second, one of my teammates joked, “How did it feel pulling a (blank) out of your ass?” 6

8. Actresses – Which actress has played the following characters in films that have grossed more than $200 million at the U.S. box office? Betty Brant, Wyldstyle and Effie Trinket? Miss for 2.

Here’s that actress in a 2008 film, which only grossed $31.4M domestically. We have occasionally parodied this movie’s title by playing under the name Zack, Miri and Cthulhu Make a Tentacle Porno. Show of hands who would want to see THAT movie?

9. For Pets – Which was the first cat-specific pet food launched in the 1950s – and was a subsidiary of Nestle? We were torn between two different possibilities, neither of which was correct.  Miss for 8.

10. Words – Hundreds of new words were added to the most recent Scrabble dictionary, including one describing a provocative squatting dance. Gimme for 10.

Mystery – Before and after – all correct answers will have either the word “before” or “after.”

M1 – First film to win the Academy Award for best visual effects

M2 – Meaning of AF abbreviation in Brave New World

M3 – Name of 2006 single which describes karaoke, pool and a Louisville Slugger

M4 – Title of 1998 Drew Barrymore film based on Cinderella

Missed 1 and 3.

Scores heading into the final:

37 – ???

36 – JFKFC, 62

35 – Think Tank, 64 (they were sitting right by us and said aloud, “Yay we’re not in last.” I remembered being in second to last going into a final question in a 2013 tourney where we wound up winning a bit of money by getting the final right (those Cinderella stories certainly don’t happen all of the time).

33 – Two teams (????), and (????), 67

31 – Beef Supreme/Let’s Get It/70

29 – Bamboozled Again/This is Sparta, 72

27 – Trivia Newton John/Mellows, 73

26 – Your Resume Sucks, 74

24 – Cool People & Jeff/Uncles With Benefits, 75

23 – Better Late Than Never – 76

19 – Sabretooth Crotch Crickets/Don’t Take it for Granted/Art Thou Feeling it Now Mr. Krabs/BB-3s, 77

17 – Becki’s Beards/Miskatonic University Fighting Cephalopods, 78

14 – Credible Hulks/Greenhills Chess Club, 81

12 – Prune Tracy/Who Cares, 82

11 – Crumbums, 86

10 – 5,000 Candles in the Wind,  88

9 – Notorious QUIZ, 90

8 – Salt ‘N Pepa – 91

7 – Homoerotic Trivia Montage, 98

6 – One is the Loneliest Number – 99

5 – Teamy McTeamface, 101

4 – Club Baseview, 102

3 – Umbrella People, 103

1 – Average Joes/What the Shibboleth, 104

We weren’t at the bottom in terms of Ypsilanti-based teams, so there was that! Moral victory for being ahead of our old Corner Brewery rivals Cool People and Jeff and Your Resume Sucks!

Final Category – Streaming Music

As of November 26, 2018, only one non-American band – not a solo artist – ranked among Spotify’s top 20 most streamed artists, hitting the top 20 in the past few weeks for the first time. Name that band.

Evan all over this instantly.

Cash prize winners: