I haven't posted pub quiz questions in a while, but we're still going, and doing well, winning at least three straight. Tonight we eked out a win -- we were down by 6 going into the final, double-points round, and won on the tiebreaker (driving distance from United Center to American Airlines Arena). Lowlights included Dee and I failing to identify the mayor of our own town in the photo round.

If I were to post a FraughtWatch, I'd rank a High Fidelity musical somewhere in the mesosphere.

Movie Log 2006 #37: Children of Paradise/Les Enfants du Paradis
This was every bit as good as a three-hour French-language B/W film involving a mime could be. No, seriously, I know I listed six or seven potential strikes there. I was skeptical myself, having seen some stills that led me to think it was all set in mime-land. But after taking its time setting things up, it was very engaging. Couldn't bring myself to rewatch with commentary, though.

Late 3-Chord Monday #18
It's hard to imagine, in the wake of Beavis & Butt-Head, Jackass, etc., that there was a time when one couldn't say "butthole" on MTV. Actually they couldn't even depict the word -- one of the network's old features was a local concert crawl, and now and again a mysterious act called the "BH Surfers" would play at First Av.
Before they scored a top 40 hit by ripping off the Nails, there was this little ditty, with which I could endlessly amuse my freshman-year college friends...
Butthole Surfers - Lady Sniff

I'm thinking about taking up smoking during the summer months, so I have an excuse to go outside six or seven times during gorgeous workdays like today was.

Anyone who knows me would agree I have a pretty good memory, particularly a head for trivia and minutiae. But I have my blind spots, and they seem more stark because of the company I keep. Poke around on the quizbowl-related blog links at left. You'll see a lot about past game and sports experiences. Myself, though, I'm particularly bad about details of non-artistic events I've attended. A sports highlight of my life was going to two ALCS games, and I could tell you more about skipping school to wait in line for tickets than I could about either game. I only know Jack Morris was one of the opposing pitchers because we chanted his name for 3 hours. Curling? I almost got eight-ended twice this season, but I couldn't relate the details to you. Then there's quizbowl, where I do take notes during matches, but there's still little recall about a game that's all recall.

And then this extends to poker. I played in the weekly not-for-cash game at lunch today, and forgot all about it by mid-afternoon. Because I don't retain anything about my hand I wonder if I'm doomed to mediocrity, since I'm not analyzing my play and looking to improve it. On the other hand, I'm never going to bend your ear with tales of bad beats. So thank goodness for small favors.

Jackie Robinson's number (42) was retired across MLB on 4/15/1997. The only player still wearing that number is Mariano Rivera. How has Rivera fared on that anniversary, now called "Jackie Robinson Day?" Not so hot. Not only has he blown three saves in as many opportunities, but the Yanks are 3-6 on those days:

1997 LAA (1IP, 3H, 2ER) L 6-5
1998 LAA DNP W 6-3
1999 BAL (1IP,3H, 2ER, 2BB) L 9-7
2000 KC DNP W 7-1
2001 BOS DNP L 5-4
2002 BOS DNP L 4-3
2003 TOR DNP W 5-0
2004 no game scheduled
2005 BAL DNP L 8-1
2006 MIN (3H, 2ER, 2K) L 6-5

Of course, the best way for a Yankee to honor a Brooklyn Dodger would be to lose, I suppose.