July 30, 2008

I have lots of trivia-geek friends


Monday's show was another big, huge, tremendous hit, regardless of the fact that I cannot tell the difference between China and Japan. (To explain: I asked the question, "The Tale of Genji, written in China in about 1010, is sometimes considered the world’s first what?" Turns out it was written in Japan.) Faux accusations of racism abounded. I got called "Whitey." People were asked why they hated America. Good times, great oldies.

The debut of A Completely Cool Color Cwiz was fun too, though again Crash Mansion's projector bedeviled my well-laid plans (apparently, light beige is invisible on those screens). But it was successful, and don't be surprised to see it again (especially if you click here now).

Also some good Smart-Ass points: Tilly and the Wall don't use a drummer, they use Meg White; the color that shares its name with a duck is l'orange; in older times, a sham marriage between homosexuals was called Anderson Copper (you probably had to be there for that one). You people are fucking funny!

The results…

1. Even Cowgirls Get the Poos (yes, a large team, but only their second appearance at the BQT, I believe)
2. Strippers for Stephen Hawking
3. Ich Bin Ein BQTer (formerly Robin Hood and His Merry Meningitis)
4. Sugah Titz
5. Jokebat Mountain (Cinderella story; came from way behind thanks to a perfect score on the audio round)

Next show: The return of one of my proudest pieces of trivial work, The Pop Music Thesaurus. All new, of course. And no blasted DVD projector necessary!

July 26, 2008

(Gig) Salad days

We just joined this…
But no, there's no piano playing involved. As you may know, the BQT does a lot of private quiz events for various and sundry clients, but we're always looking for more, and this little service looks like it might help (and didn't cost a whole lot). Check out our Gig Salad profile here. And as a great crime fighter has said, bring 'em on.

But the best part is when I signed up for the service, it gave me a wide variety of "Talent Categories" to register under. I opted for "Game Show for Event," under "Variety & Specialty." I would've loved to have gotten more specific (something with "Trivia" in it), but this was as close as they offer. Which is odd, because some of their choices are awfully specific. I mean, I have no doubt there are plenty of escape artists, martial-arts performers, stilt walkers, and square-dance callers, but couldn't they have lumped them all together under "Acts You Had No Idea Still Existed in the 21st Century but Might Be Interested in Hiring Anyway"?

But crazier is that there are two separate classifications of "Tribute Bands" and "Impersonators," each broken down into some insanely specific options. Yeah, sure, Beach Boys tribute bands and Groucho Marx impersonators, but is there really anyone in the market for a Gin Blossoms tribute band? Shit, how many times can you hear "Hey Jealousy" sung by a guy who works nights at a Kinko's? And how in Lord's name are there enough people who even remember the show Columbo to create a market for a whole category of Columbo impersonators?

But apparently, as this and this prove, these things exist. Maybe the BQT should specialize more; only trivia about Joanie Loves Chachi. Or Seals & Crofts. Or the 1976 lineup of the Philadelphia Eagles. Or maybe nothing but analogy questions relating to Lewis Cass, 1848 Democratic nominee for President. If people like this get hired, I will never, ever believe there's a recession going on.

July 23, 2008

How Batman might continue

It's probably not much of an exaggeration to say that I owe much of my quizmasterhood to Batman. As a kid, I was a comics geek with a mean streak, so it was only natural that I became a major fan of the Dark Knight Detective; the fact that I turned 13 the summer of the first Tim Burton Batman film certainly didn't hurt. So it's incumbent upon me to at least comment on some aspect of the current Bat–cultural moment.

First of all, I liked The Dark Knight a lot; liked it more than Batman Begins, in fact, and I've seen it twice already. It had its problems (I went to a screening with this guy, and while I enjoyed it more than he did, he's mostly right on), but it was a whole lot of fun, and got a number of key things right (the Batman-Joker dichotomy and Jim Gordon, most notably). And yes, Heath Ledger was great, alas alack.

But the question now: What next? Another entry in this series is a no-brainer, but what could we expect? Allow me to game out a few scenarios… (SPOILER ALERT! I'm going to reveal a few minor details about The Dark Knight; not enough to impede your enjoyment of it, though, unless you're one of those extremist geeks who's violently allergic to hearing even the barest hint of a plot detail before you see a film. But you people have almost certainly already seen the film, and besides, how are you going to deal with Watchmen?)

SCENARIOS FOR THE NEXT BATMAN MOVIE:

(1) Batman is reviled by the Gotham public and hunted by the police. But he continues his crusade, encountering another outsider vigilante, the ex-hooker feminist Catwoman. Romance presents itself, but soon it becomes obvious that Catwoman is willing to cross some lines that Batman will not and a showdown becomes inevitable. In the process, Batman is redeemed in the eyes of the public and Gordon reinstalls the Bat-Signal. Somewhere along the way, there's a battle with a scary villain like Killer Croc or a crazy one like the Riddler.

(2) Batman is reviled by the Gotham public and hunted by the police. In the process of their manhunt, the GCPD consults a prominent abnormal-psychologist, Professor Hugo Strange. However, Strange is secretly a lunatic who dreams of manipulating Gotham's populace for his own mad-scientist ends. In the process, Batman is redeemed in the eyes of the public and Gordon reinstalls the Bat-Signal. Somewhere along the way, there's a battle with a scary villain like Man-Bat or a crazy one like the Mad Hatter.

(3) Batman is reviled by the Gotham public and hunted by the police. Meanwhile, Gotham's economy is revived by the investment of a shady businessman named Oswald Cobblepot, otherwise known as the Penguin. Cobblepot and Batman never really fight, but form an uneasy truce by which the Penguin's unethical yet not evil activities may continue, and Batman is redeemed in the eyes of the public (and thus Gordon reinstalls the Bat-Signal). Somewhere along the way, there's a battle with a scary villain like Clayface or a crazy one like the Ventriloquist (actually, I'd love to see the Ventriloquist—I think it could be really clever and get at some of the fun weirdness that the best Batman stories do so well).

(4) Batman is reviled by the Gotham public and hunted by the police. Seeing opportunity, Egghead, Louie the Lilac, and Marsha Queen of Diamonds team up to steal a rare ruby-encrusted trampoline from the Gotham Museum. Batman intervenes, and though he nearly has his memory erased, is almost devoured by man-eating flowers, and comes close to marrying against his will, he triumphs and is redeemed in the eyes of the public, and Gordon reinstalls the red Batphone. Somewhere along the way, there's a cameo appearance by a C-list actor leaning out the window of a high-rise.

I also think it's likely that Two-Face didn't really die in The Dark Knight, so we might see Aaron Eckhart again. And while I consider it a remote possibility of happening, I guarantee you that some movie exec is suggesting that Robin appear in the next film. But I think my scenarios are all plausible; it could be any of these, or a combination of them, or—probably the best bet—something completely different (part of me wants them to use Mr. Zsasz, even though he made a minor appearance in Batman Begins, played by the guy who sang, "This bed is on fire with passion and love").

Your thoughts? Am I way off? Any way they can even mention the Joker again? I'm waiting, Bat-buddies…

July 16, 2008

And a happy one indeed…

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July 6, 2008

Be my QT

Regulars know all about the B-Cuties. Or at least sort of: We periodically have a couple of attractive young women, clad in BQT T-shirts, helping us out onstage, passing out pads, scoring (answer sheets, that is). I make the occasional poor-taste joke about a casting couch, etc.

Where do these people come from: B-Cutie Nicki was our intern. She's an NYU student who helped us out with a lot of strategizing/promo stuff, before leaving for L.A. for the summer to intern for Jimmy Kimmel and hang with her boyfriend. (Yeah, fancy that, I can't compete with ABC or 21-year-old romance.) The other ladies were her friends, who have traveled to the four winds now that schoooool's out…for…summer!

Anyway, for the time being, we are B-Cutie-less. So how about you? Anyone itching to help Quizmaster Noah, EDP and DJ GB onstage? Here's what you get…

-- A free BQT T-shirt. Come on, it's free!
-- You get to be on stage! You're a star!
-- I'll buy you a drink or two.
-- How about free admission to the show the next time you come to play the game?
-- My eternal thanks.
-- Think of some other favor I can do for you and I'll consider it.

Give it to me: noah@bigquizthing.com…

July 2, 2008

Before the joke gets old…

I wanted to show you this:



All right, this is silly, yes (I would never allow a backward apostrophe in my logo). And I'm sure you'll have heard about it 34 million times by the end of the weekend. But it dovetails with the joke I referenced at Monday night's show, something I've been repeating for many years: I will be President one day. And all of my friends will have positions in my cabinet and staff. So I waste a lot of time asking people what job they want. Some people are actually qualified (my world traveler friend with a Harvard law degree will be Secretary of State). Some aren't (I'm giving Secretary of Agriculture to a friend who spent a summer on a farm when she was 14).

BUT… one part I didn't mention Monday: All BQT regulars get an ambassadorship. So pick your country, folks (sorry, my No. 1 and 2 stoner friends have already claimed Netherlands and Jamaica respectively).

July 1, 2008

"Recap" is kind of a silly word when you think about it

Hey! Thanks for coming to the BQT last night! I had fun, DJ GB had fun, and our guest sidekick, Eric Kirchberger, told me he had fun.

And the video round, "The Silliest Words in the World," was a crapload of fun; I'm so doing that again. Boomslang, plinth, blunderbuss, hobbledehoy—oh, the English language provides hours of fun. And mark my words, at the next BQT, there will be a team called "Wenis Flong."

The audio round, "Keep on Rockin' in the Land of Socialized Health Insurance," was in honor of Canada Day, which commenced only two and a half hours after the quiz ended. It was a little tricky—come on, you don't know Sloan!—but I was impressed with the semi-obscure dorky Canadian bands some of you did guess: Triumph, Honeymoon Suite, April Wine. As a former misfit Canadian teenager, I appreciate the nostalgia.

Our winners last night, William Hussein Macy's Splendatits, were apparently an ad hoc formation, but they scored a commanding six-point victory. They racked up 72 points (out of a total possible 78), so they really need to join a church or some kind of social organization or something.

The standings:
1. William Hussein Macy's Splendatits
2. Gerard Depardouche
3. Oh Noah You Didn't
4. Suck It, Trebek!
5. Verne's Jewels