Bube's: What's a Mondegreen?

Pat and Jen from Lady Mondegreen proudly display their can of Savory Vegetables from the Trashbag of Deelite. They had another cause for pride, since they placed second, right behind Britney Is Now Balder Than the Fool Monkey's Bum. One point behind them were the Pogue's biggest fans, The Chubby Stubbies. In fourth, due to a disastrous last round were the Jelly Roll Mortons. They chose Jethro Tull as their theme. In fifth was a scaled down version of Team Discovery Channel, as Tom and Seth chose Futurama as their theme.

Despite the ice and the absence of a few of the regular crews, we still had 14 teams battling it out. The Complete and Utter Bastards thought they show started at 7, but still stayed for the whole shebang. Worthles vowed to come back and Mike Horn of Williamsport (see above) vowed to bring reinforcements. The Slick Willies were out of practice and Nadine and Wilay hated the picture round. Tom, however, loved his Action heroine's Handbook, while the Chubby Stubbies left their opened box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. Now, how am I supposed to re-gift that?

Kem and Vern vowed to come back, as long as I didn't ask any more "Saved by the Bell" questions.

Meanwhile, Back at Bube's

Last night I had a fantastic time judging a karaoke contest held by fellow trivia host J up at Bube's. Competition was fierce, with over 20 singers. At the end of the evening, it was a tie between good friends Skott (on the left) and Nathaniel (the one with the hair). They called themselves the Kirk and Spock of karaoke. Skott's high energy Loverboy song had put him in the final, as did Nat's spot-on "Strutter." To break the tie, J had them both sing the rock anthem known as "Piano Man." (which was a lot more entertaining than it sounds). Skott once again made the song his own, and won the top prize (a medieval feast for two). Rock on!

Chuckles: Yo!

It was a nice holiday-sized crowd at Chuckles tonight, as a bunch of folks braved the ice-choked streets of Lancaster. Paul of the APM team gathered his troops and drove in from King of Prussia. But the farthest travellers were the Michiganders (actually it was one Michigander and one Michigoose), who regretted that they had no trivia in their hometown.

It looked like The Price Is Right were going to make it two in a row, acing two of the four rounds (they were the only ones who remembered Adrian Zmed), but they flamed out in the last round and took fifth. Lori Jo's past musical crush Bon Jovi was chosen as their theme. Jay' past occupation came into play for the Lethal Amoeba's fourth-place theme choice: embalming.

The top three spots went to teams that steadily improved in each round. In fact, the big story of the night was the third-place finish of Poor Charlie. It's great to see some new faces in the winners' circle! Skirtland, led by "I'll Show You A..." Lee, beat Charlie by a point. And Ubersmack Now With Beth! leapt from fourth to first. Congrats to all! And congrats to the Tidy Bowlers, who brought along all their Bowlettes, forcing Chuckles to add a new wing to the building.

Afterwards, I had to bolt up to Mount Joy for more good times (see above post).

NO SHOW TONIGHT AT THE VFW!

Due to potentially hazardous driving conditions, there will be no show tonight at the VFW. (I'm starting to sound like a broken record!) Also: Happy V.D.!

NO SHOW TONIGHT AT BUBE'S!

Due to the winter travel advisory, there will be no show tonight (Feb. 13th) at Bube's. Stay warm and see you next week!

Chuckles: Playing by the Numbers

It was a controversial night at Chuckles, as odd numbers affected the scoring. First was the whole "how many Earth days does it take Mercury to make one orbit" brouhaha. Out of the Vortex and Ubersmack put down 88 days, whereas my source said 87.96. So I gave it to Laffy Taffy (who had 86). Deric threatened to call his sainted grandmother (pictured at right), who used to sing him to sleep with a planetary year lullaby. Apparently I was calling her a no-good lyin' ho (or something like that). I'm 97.82% sure I'll never hear the end of this.

The other number controversy was my aging of LeAnn Rimes by ten years. Luckily that question had no effect on the outcome. The Price Is Right were well rested, since we all had last week off. They ended up in first, followed by Skirtland and the hard-charging Amoebas. In fourth was the aforementioned Vortex, who picked an astronomical topic: the moons of the solar system. Uberbittersmack chose the Rocky series of films as their topic.

On the prize front, Allan said that he is giving his puppet kit to one of his well-deserving students. The Tidy Bowlers, meanwhile, are anxious to try out their harmonica.

Save the Date: Earth Day 2007!

What's Curtis been up to lately? We'll find out April 7th as he makes his annual excursion from sunny Florida to Mount Joy.

VFW: Duking It Out

I'm writing this blog entry on Sunday, so my memory is a little fuzzy about this week's show (and it's the day after my annual FeBREWary party, so that's not helping anything). I remember that Four Minus Bill had chosen Duke basketball as their theme, but they failed to crack the top five. (This just in: it was Sheila from Shitz and Giggles and not the Bill team that picked Duke. My bad, as they say) That honor went to Dennis and Melanie, who made up for lost time in the last round. They chose cereal characters as their theme. In fourth were Kirk and Bruce and the Lincoln Road Gang, who went with the Brady Bunch as their theme. Shitz and Giggles and Room Two failed to match Chicks and Dicks' impressive last round, as the Chicks made it to the top spot two weeks in a row. (I think Annie made it two in a row for the Ladies Auxiliary 50/50, too). And I do remember that there was a big difference of opinion on how great or horrible the kettle-cooked chips were.

Bube's: In Our Cups

Here's a team of trivia virgins known as the B, C, D Cups (I think they're in reverse order in the picture). They came very close to the top five, only missing it by one point. The fifth place spot went to the Chubby Stubbies, who chose the great band The Pogues as their theme for next week. It was a tie for third, with Brent of We're So Good, We Don't Need a Name falling to the Tesla Death Rays. They then chose "Saved by the Bell." The Fool Monkey on a Budget led the entire evening, but they were blindsided in the last round by the Hey Baby, Wanna Warm My Ovaries? team. The Os squeaked by the Monkey by a mere one point. Trashbag highlights included an unpopular bag of coleslaw and an extremely popular Sock Puppet kit.

Reminder: No Trivia Super Bowl Sunday!

See you Chuckles folks next Sunday, February 11th!

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!

VFW: Be Afraid...

Steve's choice of "Steve McQueen movies" as We're Here for the Beer's theme was a good one, since they led most of the evening. but it was a come-from-behind victory for Room Two, as they had a stellar last round and took first. I think Clyde still can't believe it. The Bill team, this week known as Four Minus Bill, continued their winning ways and took third. Shitz and Giggles and Friends finally got their mojo working in the last round and took fourth. They chose "golf" as their theme. In fifth was Heavy Petting Zoo. They chose "70s porn" as their theme, even though none of them were even in existence in the '70s. (They must have raided their fathers' video collection). And that's the end of this week's blog entry - I have to start researching next week's themes...

Bube's: Full House Holiday

Heather, Joanne and Shannon, a tiny team of three, took on our largest team ever, Hammer Time and defeated them in the crucial final round. It was a packed house, with holiday visitors checking out the Christmas scene at Bube's. The house sound was not working, so we had to make do with my tiny sound system, but Sam the owner is working on it. That did not deter the crowd from having a blast, however. And I finally got to to give away last week's poinsettia!

My immediate family is fairly small, but I have a boatload of first cousins (15 on my dad's side and 23 on my mom's!) The largest branch is the Grab family, who played tonight as Hammer Time! (The name was in honor of their dad, my Uncle Hammer). What you're seeing pictured is maybe one quarter of their team, as they took over the entire balcony. Usually teams this size collapse upon their own weight, but they managed to take second. If only they had listened to Mark, they might have won! Also, Happy Birthday to "little Bobby."

Displaced from their usual spot on the balcony, the super-sized Nutsacks could only find seats for half their team, so Josiah and crew, AKA Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nutsack, became nomads, in search of available seating. This pic of the third-place winners was taken after the usual post-trivia exodus, when they finally found a spot and rested their weary sacks.

Screw Loose did really well, tying for second. Hopefully they'll come back next week, since they got to choose one of the themes: the Philadelphia E-A-G-L-E-S! Their fellow fourth-palcers, Schworze Be With You, chose the other one "Sex and the City."

Eric shoots mind bullets at his trivia opponents.

Next Up: The Grammys!

May your holidays be issue-free!

Here's my award-winning entry to the Lancaster Intell's Holiday Song Parody Contest. It didn't win first place (they preferred someone's song about crows pooping on children), but it was good enough for second! (The prize was a holiday CD).

Online Sales
by Mike Horn
(sung to the tune of "Silver Bells")

City sidewalks, empty sidewalks
Where did all the folks go?
They're at home
Shopping online for Christmas

Mama's typing
Dad is griping
Searching site after site
As on everyone's keyboard you'll hear:

Send e-mails! Online sales!
It's Christmas time on the PC
It's so quick! Hear them click!
Soon we will look on eBay!

Strings of search terms
Filling out forms
Blinking cursors on screen
As they all rush to beat order deadlines

Dot com hunting
Mailman's grunting
This is retail's new scene!
And above all the bustle
You'll hear:

Send e-mails! Online sales!
It's Christmas time on the PC
It's so quick! Hear them click!
Soon we will look on eBay!

VFW: Moved by the Holiday Spirit

That's a pic of Tom being seized by the spirit of Henry Mancini and doing his best Will Ferrell from A Night at the Roxbury. I kept seeing him dance throughout the evening, so I captured a brief clip of his performance, which you can view here. I think Nick has since disavowed any knowledge of Tom.

All that shaking failed to shake things up for Major Nix Lix and Son and Love, since they came in seventh, one point behind Dennis and Melanie, who were one point behind Four Minus, Make that Plus Bill. They chose "recent college football" as their theme. ("Recent" meaning after 1980). Steve and Darla and Dave chose "Steve McQueen movies." In third was the always formidable Room Two. Chicks and Dicks placed second, but it was Shitz and Giggles and Friends who took home the gold, along with the coveted snowman deelyboppers, which brought out a new side to Mark (see below).

Paul is unsure whether it's a holiday or an insult pillow.

Carmen thought her newly acquired magic elfin hat would help, but the Chicks and Dicks failed to catch up to the Shitz crew.

Andrew introduced trivia virgin Ashley (AKA Looooove) to the joys of the Trashbag.

I'm supposed to send this action shot of Mark and Leroy to Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Bube's: Too Much Egg Nog?

That's definitely a pic of Mike the bartender, with Ralphie's glasses carefully photoshoppped in, despite his vehement denial. It was part of our Extra Special Christmas Show. What made it so special? How about the 2 and a half pound box of chocolate moose taffy that was to be one of the special Grand Prizes? Oh, wait, I forgot about it (I ended up passing it out to the stragglers post-show). What about the other Grand Prize, a beautiful poinsettia? I forgot that, too, and in fact left it at Bube's (consider it my gift to Sam Allen).

I also forgot that we had just had "Broadway musicals" as a theme last week when Bube's Wenches picked it for next week. It was their highest placing ever, so in the spirit of Christmas, I'll let them keep it. The Wenches tied with the Tesla Death Rays, who chose "Young Frankenstein" as their theme in honor of the late Peter Boyle. (Trivia about trivia: this is the first time ever that two teams at two different venues have chosen the exact same theme.)

In third place was last week's champs, It Takes a Village Full of Ovaries. The Fool Monkey, fresh off their victory at J's Saturday night show at the Tilted Kilt, took second. Speaking of J, great thanks to him for getting the sound system to finally work right (Someone at Bube's had been rearranging wires, preventing the sound from reaching the front room). By the way, J and Big Bald Sean will be doing a special karaoke show at the Bottling Works on Christmas Eve. And tonight's victory went to Team Discovery Channel, who brought along some extra power in the form of trivia alumnus West Coast Sam. Welcome back, Sam! And thanks go out to Mark, who ably filled in for Mike, whose picture that definitely is.