VFW: Won't Someone Think of the Children?

Wouldn't you know that the night someone chooses "venereal diseases" a s a theme that we would have three kids in the audience? (Welcome back to Lucy Loo, by the way). And once again, everyone did well on a topic that they seemed to be familiar with (although I did get many creative answers to "What does HSV stand for?")

The last round did many teams in. Major Nix Lix went from second to off the radar, for example. Alice in Wonderland and D and M almost made the top five, but it was We're Here for the Beer in fifth (choosing American vice presidents as their theme), followed by Shitz and Giggles and Friends (choosing Duke basketball). Room Two managed third, followed by We're No Biscuits, who missed first by one question. The top spot went to the warbling Chicks and Dicks.

Bube's: "I Would Not Beat Them With a Tooth...

... I Could Not Beat the 'Sacks Forsooth!"

So said John-I-Am of the Fool Monkey, after failing to beat Josiah of the Two Wise Men + Two Nutsacks = Victory team in the tie for first place. It was a night of missing members on various teams. Josiah and Nathan teamed up with Keith and Brent and lived up to their ambitious name by sneaking up on the Monkey in the last round during Dr. Seuss night. The Jelly Roll Mortons (sans Jackie and Brian) once again missed first place by only one question. Green Eggs and (Exploding) Ovaries (sans Lisa) placed fourth and chose the TV Series "The West Wing" as their theme. They were closely followed by Total Disagreement, who chose the fine state of Massachusetts. Bob of the Tesla Death Rays was missing his entire team, but led the first two rounds. And the Chubby Stubbies wished that there were more Ronnie questions.

Also: prizes from the Trashbag tonight included 6 ounces of cilantro and a wooden "L."

FYI: New Pennsylvania Driving Laws

I'm passing this along from Lethal Amoeba Jay:

Two new driving laws went into effect throughout Pennsylvania today. First, drivers must turn their headlights on if windshield wipers are in use due to inclement weather. Violators face a $25 fine, which could jump to $100 with court costs.The law applies if wipers are either fully engaged or in the intermittent mode, but not if they are simply being used to clean the windshield.

Second, drivers can now be fined if snow or ice falls off their cars and someone is injured or killed as a result. The fine is anywhere between $200 and $1,000.Previously, state law only required that the windshield be cleared.

Chuckles: The Invasion of the Tidy Bowlers

Teams were bringing in some reinforcements tonight. Above we see that KC had ditched the Sunshine Gang, bringing along the Jersey Girls instead. And the Tidy Bowlers brought along so many extra people that they got their own P.O. Box! I forgot to bring along my wide angle lens, so there is no pic of the horde.

Other teams, such as the Rainmakers, had to make due with some defections in the ranks. The loss of Deric did not affect Ubersmack, since the duo placed third. Once I shook off the effects of my barbituates and did some re-scoring, it was announced that the Lethal Amoebas tied for first. And another small team, Skirtland's favorite, AKA Out of the Vortex, ended up winning the tie-breaker and took home the gold. Speaking of Skirtland, they came in fourth and chose the original 1968 version of "The Producers" as their theme. And the ever creative KC team chose "diseases of the foot." All together now: Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!

Don't forget that there will be no trivia next week, due to the Super Bowl (I hear tell that it's been around a little longer than trivia), so see you in two weeks!

The AZN Hotties had to leave early, but not before scoring a bunny mask from the Trashbag of Deelite.

VFW: Sheila Power!

Sheila May, Sheila Diane and Sheila Claire were all winners tonight! First, Sheila H. from Shitz and Giggles won a trashbag prize. Then Sheila from We're Here from the Beer pulled Sheila from the B52s' number. Then, to top it off Sheila O (or, as they used to sing in the '80s, "O, O Sheila...") predicted that she would return the favor and used her frightening psychic super-power to make it so. Next, Sheila will attempt to read Paul's mind...

Tonight was another tight race, with only one question separating the top four teams. Room Two returned to the winner's circle, squeaking by Chicks and Dicks. D and M + 2 was right behind, followed by Nix Lix, who chose venereal diseases as their theme, and Shitz and Giggles, who chose the timely topic the Bears (as in "da Bears"). The Foreplayers, meanwhile, chose not to discuss their spectacular fourth round.

Bube's: Trivia for Trivia's Sake

Tonight's themes were less pop-oriented than usual: the Cold War and 20th century art. What's the Fool Monkey Doing Here When He's Supposed To Be Doing the State of the Union Address called on Charles, their only member to have seen the entire Cold War, to assist and they led the entire evening. The United Soviet Socialist Nutsack got their collective minds together in the last round to place second. And the Wise Men, who need to change their name now that they have a distaff member, had a good night, coming in third.

Once again the Jelly Roll Mortons missed the money by one point. They chose Dr. Seuss as their theme. And the FJ Chubby Stubbies!! used their secret weapon to come in fifth. They chose our fortieth president.

Chrissie models her Junior Mints baby bib, which she "accidentally" left at her table. Luckily I found it and tracked her down!

Tonight's best team (name, that is): Robot Zombie Pirate Ninjas!

Chuckles: Braving the ''Blizzard''

At first, the Bowmans (above) were ecstatic that the Great Blizzard of '07 and the Pats/Colts game were causing cancellations. But the teams kept coming in, and their prize-winning prospects dimmed. We had our usual two themes, along with several that Chris Ivey had solicited from teams last week (that's where Allen Ginsburg came from). KCC began the night with a perfect score, but then fell to a respectable sixth. The Tidy Bowlers placed fifth and chose "Little House on the Prairie" as their theme (this caused howls of delight for some and growls of dismay for others). The fourth-place Lethal Amoebas put their two heads together and came up with the movie "Kingpin." Way in the back of the room was the third-place Harpo team. The last two times Harpo had played were substitute host nights, so they were beginning to think that I was avoiding them. In second was the always formidable Ubersmack. And in first place the entire evening were the Talent Scouts, who were so satisfied with their victory that they decided to go on a two-week vacation.

At the bar, it was a battle of the sexes between Texas Pride ...

...and the 30 Somethings, who look nothing like their name.

The Laffy Taffy crew enjoyed their new corner nook.

Where's Donkey Kong?

For fans of Super Mario Brothers, check out this YouTube video of a live version.

Themes for Chuckles

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) and the movie Spacecamp (which I saw close to 20 years ago, this ought to be fun).

VFW: Dearly Beloved...

Ta-DAH! I finally debuted the new podium! It is a lovingly handcrafted wooden sculpture by renowned artist Stacy Norwood of Orlando. Stacy and her dad Ron had visited my Tuesday show several months ago and had mentioned to Earth Trivia founder Curtis that it was odd that I didn't have a podium. So Curtis commissioned Stacy to build me one from scratch (Stacy had previously restored Curtis' podium) and he gave it to me for Christmas.

The podium (or, more correctly, the lectern) has a gazillion hand-carved question marks, along with a big M.H. on the back. Frank of We're Here for the Beer said that stood for "Mental Health." It also features a blue light in the bottom and lip on the top. (Lipless Curtis is suffering from podium envy.)

The podium comes apart for easy transport, so I put the top and bottom in my suitcase and we lovingly wrapped the post with layers of bubble wrap. Then the fine airport folk lovingly threw the post onto a pile, breaking off a piece in the process (Nothing a little wood glue couldn't fix). I meant to debut it at Bube's on Tuesday, but forgot the top (Jet lag fogs the brain, you know).

The folks at the VFW loved it and a big THANK YOU to Stacy, Curtis and Ron the Transporter! Alex Trebek is seething with jealousy!

VFW: Who Needs Bill?

Tonight was a fine night for trivia. The Maguires got their first taste of it, but had to leave early. Thanks to the two little Macuires for helping me score the first round! Paul needs to learn how to distinguish rice from chips. Tom needs to learn the difference between St. Pauli and Miller. And everyone needs to learn that Vivian Vance is not Marlene Dietrich.

Room 2 and We're Here for the Beer tied for fourth, so Matt chose "Name That Tune" and TV-western obsessed Steve chose the Richard Boone series "Palladin." The Shitz and Giggles trio took third, close behind Chicks and Dicks. The big story was the final-round surge of Five Minus Bill, who had eight right in the last round. Some people thought maybe this was due to the "Minus Bill" part of their name.

(That's a pic of Wyatt Earp at the right, in case you were wondering)

Bube's: Os v. Moes

Scooby Doo and his cousin wonder what happened to the new addition that was supposed to be unveiled at Bube's tonight. It will just have to wait until next week (he said mysteriously). In the mean time, I was finally back after a two-week hiatus and it was a great to be back! Thanks again to Chris Ivey for minding the store.

There were many folk who were exposed to Earth Trivia for the first time, including the mega-sized Chuck Norris team (of whom death is afraid); I started adding some mini-packs of Dee-lite in an effort to get rid of some of the little crap-lets that no one picks in the Trashbag; and I got to do some creative wiring in order to get sound into the back room.

On the competition front, it was another Battle of the Balcony as the Exploding Ovaries took on the always formidable Flaming Moe-rons. The Os imploded in the last round, (and fell to third) however, as the Moes romped to victory. Team Discovery Channel claimed second and there was a tie for fourth. Total Disagreement chose the Cold War as their theme and last week's victors, the Jelly Roll Mortons, chose 20th century art.

"Total Disagreement" managed to agree enough to tie for fourth!

Adam and Lisa Frederick (and friend) make a rare Bube's appearance. The last time Adam was at Bube's, he had considerably less clothing on. For the fearless, if you search the Internet, you might just find the pic.

The Jelly Roll Mortons, with a new addition, Pocket Jaffar!

Dirty Shame was happy to have more fun with their brain than their classes.

Table 22 enjoyed their first foray and kept changing their name from round to round. They also had some fun with the camera, none of which, alas, are printable.

It looked like the Toxic Olives were not going to make it tonight, but they squeaked in before the first round was completed.

Themes for this week

Gotta love modern technology: I left a message on Chris' voicemail, he responded to me this morning via text and now I relay the message via blogging. And no one has to look at each other!

Bube's: UFC; Keanu Reeves and I Love Lucy
VFW: Penn State football, Wyatt Earp and Country Western Music after 1990
Chuckles: themes to come.

I'm Baaaaa-ack!

As I'm recovering from my first day back at work and starting to write questions for tomorrow, it dawned on me that I haven't blogged in over a week! First things first: special thanks to Curtis and Monica for having me at their home in Orlando for my vacation. It was a week of new beginnings, as we welcomed Monica's first nephew, went home shopping and unveiled a new addition to the Earth Trivia show, which will remain a secret for now. Let's just say that it was a challenge to get the new addition onto the plane!

Also, big thanks to the most active member of the league of Substitute Hosts, Chris Ivey! He filled in for me at all three shows, but I have yet to get in touch with him. Therefore, I do not know what the themes are yet. Stay tuned to this spot!

Chuckles: Feats Don't Fail Me Now

The Eagles game prevented some teams from attending, but it didn't prevent those who came from enjoying the first Chuckles game of 2007. There was a tie for fifth as Phil of the Lethal Amoebas took on Alan of Skirtland. Phil was a seasoned vet against first-timer Alan, so the Lethal Amoebas won and chose "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" as their theme. Keeping it a movie night, the Rainmakers chose "To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything. Love, Julie Newmar." (That has to be the longest theme title ever). That's also the movie starring a cross-dressing Patrick Swayze, by the way. The Tidy Bowlers, who were ecstatic at the smaller number of teams, took third. The Price Is Absent, which had multiple scoring problems with the befuddled host, placed second, one point behind Out of the Vortex, who were also ecstatic about their performance in the picture round. After the show, I had fun hanging out with former Amoeba Lisa and her beau, who I know from Barryoke, Victor.

VFW: Behind the Porn Door

That's Rob, Louise, Melanie and Dennis celebrating their record-breaking victory of a whopping 97 points! (I believe the previous record for my shows was 94 by the Fool Monkey up at Bube's last year. ) Congrats on that impressive achievement.

It was a generally high-scoring night at the VFW. Perhaps the theme of 70s porn had something to do with that? The newly reformed Posse took second and We're Here for the Beer took third. The B52s returned to their favorite spot, fourth and chose "sewing" as their theme. Room Two and Shitz and Giggles tied for fifth, so they chose "classical music" and "TV westerns" as their themes. Yes, that's right, there will be three themes next week!

Bube's: But Is It Art?

Since J's Cat's Meow show was still on holiday, he asked if he could do my Bube's show this week. So he had a grand time. And so did I (eventually). I first attempted to go to the Lucky Dog, only to find it closed for an employee Christmas party. So I got on the cell to start a phone chain and said we would meet at Tobia Frogg's. When I got there, they, too were closed for an employee party. On the cell again, we rendezvoused at Stubby's, ate and headed to American Bar and Grill for karaoke. But the hosts called in sick! So we ordered chocolate fondue instead. It was excellent, and brought out everyone's artistic side (see above).

PS: J forgot to get theme choices for next week, so it'll be a surprise.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Time to wake up!