… took the form of trivia night at Willie McBride’s. Sadly, I did not listen to the rules AT ALL, and so when the first question was read into the microphone: “Who was the first black actress to win a Best Actress Oscar?” I shouted out “HALLE BERRY” much to the consternation of the entire bar. I was roundly scorned. The guy running the trivia night said, with a kind of weary patience, into the microphone, “Obviously somebody wasn’t listening to the directions…” Uhm. No. I was not listening at all. My bad.
We pretty much could not compete with some of the other teams who had a freakish level of knowledge. We are freaks in some ways, but not in others.
I brought our team to glory with the memory of the name of the cloned sheep. Well, well, helloooooooo, DOLLY … well hellooooo DOLLY
However, I brought our team into shame and misery when I insisted that Sally Quinn was the name of the first US female astronaut. I INSISTED on it. I was CERTAIN I was right. OH well. I was half-right, but half-right don’t count in trivia. And the guy running the show found my answer amusing enough to read it to the entire bar. “And, uhm … no. Sally Quinn is not the first US female astronaut … but Sally Ride is.” I heard all the trivia-geeks around me burst out laughing at the stupidity of whoever put down “Sally Quinn” as an answer.
We enlisted the help of my dad at one point, and put in a call to him, screaming the question above the noise of the bar. My parents, trying to have a nice quiet night at home, being interrupted by the trivia-rumspringa of their eldest.
We also enlisted the help of Mitchell. The question came: “Who wrote this song?” And then, blasting through the bar was: “If you like pina coladas … and gettin’ caught in the rain …” etc. Who would know that? Mitchell. We BOTH called him, so he rightly thought that some disaster had occurred on the East Coast or something – why are they both calling me at the same time? The question was repeated: “Mitchell – who wrote Pina Colada?” (No, “Hey, how are ya, what’s up, how are you?” No. Mitchell answers the phone. “Hello?” A screaming voice comes: “Mitchell – who wrote Pina Colada?”) Mitchell answers without a moment’s hesitation: “Rupert Holmes. He also wrote Edwin Drood.” HAHAHA Just the immediacy of it … too funny. Also that he had to give us yet another piece of biographical information about Mr. Holmes.
However. We did not win. We had a couple moments of team-glory and pride, but in general. We totally did not win.
Despite the help of our call-in friends and family – thanks, all!
//Sadly, I did not listen to the rules AT ALL, and so when the first question was read into the microphone: “Who was the first black actress to win a Best Actress Oscar?” I shouted out “HALLE BERRY” much to the consternation of the entire bar. //
Hee heee. So you’re that girl.
Yup. I was laughed at (in a good-natured way) for the rest of the night.
And actually, it became a joke – No matter what the question was, SOMEONE would yell out “Halle Berry”. hahahaha
Well, when in Minneapolis next, you need to join the NARN guys for Trivia at Keegan’s (the one Irish joint not in Saint Paul that IS worth going to).
But…er, you can help out the guys from Fraters Libertas. Yeah, that’s it…
Brilliant. Brilliant. Makes me wanna be there!!!!!
Alex – I left you an embarrassingly inarticulate message as well – did you get it?
I blurted out: “WHO WROTE PINA COLADA” and then I actually sang a couple of bars of it.
I apologize for what it must have sounded like.
I remember Sally Ride because of the Wilson Pickett song. I believe she came along well before the song, otherwise I would have thought she just had really cool parents.
Sally Quinn I would like to forget.
CW – I should have put in a call to you on that one, then. Except that I was so SURE it was “Sally Quinn”. Until I heard the name “Sally Ride”, and I realized: Oh damn, of COURSE that’s her name.
Yeah, it is an awesome name. :)
I couldn’t forget Sally Ride if I tried. A woman I used to play in a band with wrote a song, “Ride Sally Ride”, recorded it in a cheapo studio, and sent a tape out to a bunch of radio stations. She got scads of airplay around the country. It was a minor-league novelty hit of sorts back in (I think) 1981 or so…
Let’s just say that the Wilson Pickett song is a better mnemonic.
I remember reading somewhere that Sally Quinn slept her way to the top at the Washington Post. But now can’t remember where I read that or who she was involved with. Ben Bradlee?
hello! ok, I’m interested in hering about the Amish… Ummm… I don’t like sounding rude, but, it’s true, so, if anyone could tell me about it, that would be awesome!