Trivia

Man, it's a good thing I didn't promise to post a blog entry everyday! It's been awhile, but I've been busy, and haven't had a whole lot to say. However, Trivia was this past weekend, and that is always an experience :) For those who have never played, I shall describe as much of the wackiness as I can to give you a sense of how awesome Trivia is:

The Great Midwest Trivia Contest begins at 10:00:37 pm on Friday, and lasts until 12:00 am on Monday. There are on-campus teams who play from rooms in Lawrence, and off-campus teams who play from around the world! The students from Lawrence University who host the contest are called Trivia Masters, with the leader is dubbed the "Grand Master". It all starts with the first question, which is the question that is asked last the year before. (The "Super Garruda"; more on that later.) This question is worth 100 points, and everyone gets it. From then on, almost all of the regular questions are worth 5 points.

I say almost all, because there are "Action Questions" - worth 10 points - which are for on-campus teams only. (Off-campus teams are given an additional 5-point question because of this.) Action Questions can be anything: create a comic. Dance your team name. One year, there was a parade. This time, the on-campus teams had to reenact parts of Pokémon Snap.

The rules are simple: The Trivia Masters ask a question. You are given 3 minutes to find the answer. When you call in, you are given 3 guesses. If none of those guesses are correct, you may call in again with the time that is left. If you are right, you give the Phone Answerer your team name and number (which they assign you when you register before the contest.) 5 points are added to your score.

One of the best parts of the game is Jamming. Once you have gotten the right answer, you call again, give the answer, give a higher (fake) team number, and proceed to give a Jam Team Name. These are read on the air, along with the actual team names. The funnier, the better ;)

There are Theme Hours during the contest: Zombie Hour (where all the questions and music are zombie-related, natch), Alumni Hour (Lawrence-related questions), Disney Hour, Death & Destruction Hour (which is actually nice at about 4 am when most of us are falling asleep, because the Trivia Masters are loud and hyper), Viola Hour, Batman Hour, Church Hour, etc. Not every Hour has a Theme, but they are all fun just the same.

The team I'm on, "We Need More Cowbell, Martha" has never had a ton of people, but we seem to make due. We go in shifts: some of us answer questions, some of us sleep, and some go to answer phones at Lawrence. This is another great part of the game.

Being a Phone Answerer is just as fun as playing. There's a "basement" radio station where the contest used to be broadcast from. There are two big tables together in the center, and about 15 (?) phones around it. Trivia Masters and team member alike sit there and take the calls from those who are playing. There are slips of paper with a line for the question number, and more for team names and numbers. The tables always contain plenty of food for those who answer phones - a motivator that the Trivia Masters use to lure more of us down there when there aren't enough people to man the phones. (This happens quite often. If our team had a nickel for each time in the contest when a TM asked for more Phone Answerers, we could put ourselves up in a nice hotel for the weekend. [If any TMs are reading this, I kid. We love you guys!]) Plus, it's just fun to hang out with the Trivia Masters. They're really cool people, and I give them a lot of credit for doing this every year. Little sleep, people complaining to them throughout the weekend, etc.

Usually, our team starts going our separate ways in the afternoon on Sunday. Some of us go home to sleep, and some of us go back to Lawrence to answer phones.

When the contest is drawing to a close on Sunday night, the TMs have "Bad Question Hour". Basically, they ask weird questions, and whoever calls in what they deem the best answers gets them read aloud. I'm not sure if points are given for these answers...

There is a period of time where the contest ceases to be about answering questions, and all that's played is music. This is when the Trivia Masters come up with the really hard questions, called "Garrudas", and the last, hardest question of the contest, the Super Garruda. I have read that these questions are not prepared ahead of time for security reasons. There are a few Garrudas, worth various amounts (I actually got the answer to a Garruda a few years ago, worth 30 points!). Finally, the Super Garruda is asked. This question is worth 100 points, and there are some years when it goes unanswered.

*I will say that this year there was an incident which one player referred to as "Garrudagate" (clever name, btw), however, I will not get into that here.*

After the Super Garruda is answered (or not answered), the Trivia Masters announce what time the Closing Ceremonies will take place. For the past two years, my cousin Whitney and I have been present. It takes place right outside of Lawrence. Many - if not all - of the on-campus teams show up, and some of the local off-campus teams as well. It's like one big party. Then, the Trivia Masters arrive. The Grand Master gives a speech, announces the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for on/off-campus teams, and hands out prizes. The prizes are nothing extravagant: things such as bacon, a box of hangers, and one year, when the Action Question was to retrieve human hair, the prize was...the hair. Lastly, there is the "crowning" of the new Grand Master, who will be the leader of next year's contest. All in all, it's fun to be a part of this, even though it's often very early on Monday morning.

And that’s Trivia in a nutshell. You really have to participate to get the full experience, and I look forward to it every year. It’s a time to get together with friends and family, and just be weird! It also makes you feel like you’re part of something.

One last thing for my fellow Trivia players: SKULL SQUADRON!

Favorite Short Stories

Favorite Short Stories

Here is a list of my favorite short stories, in no particular order, save for “Drawing The Moon” being my all-time favorite. I highly recommend these!

(I tried my best to include where they are from, and if they were published somewhere else first.)

1.       “Drawing The Moon” by Janni Lee Simner, from Bruce Coville’s Book Of Nightmares

I have loved this story since the first time I read it. It’s about a boy named Andrew who knows that his parents are not dead – they were stolen, by the Moon. It’s chilling and very well-written. Janni Lee Simner is one of my favorite authors, and was nice enough to sign my book containing the story!

2.       “Murder Mysteries” by Neil Gaiman, from Smoke And Mirrors (originally published in Midnight Graffiti)

As an atheist, it says something that this is one of my favorites.  An angel tells a man the story of the first murder in heaven. It’s beautiful and sad. The story was made into a graphic novel (which I own, but, have yet to read…).

3.       “Early Sunday Morning” by Isaac Asimov, from Tales Of The Black Widowers (originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine as “The Biological Clock”)

As famous as Mr. Asimov was for his science-fiction works, it’s his mysteries that I really enjoy. The Black Widowers are a group of men who meet monthly at a local restaurant, and as of late, have had guests with quandaries. In “Early Sunday Morning”, having no guest that night, the members try to stir up a mystery to solve. One member, Mario Gonzalo, tells them of his murdered twin sister. It’s amazing and compelling.

4.       “Alien Promises” by Janni Lee Simner, from Bruce Coville’s Book Of Aliens II

As someone who considers herself a geek/nerd/reader/etc., I know the importance of wanting to belong, and the feeling when you don’t. Courtney doesn’t have any friends, and yearns to be with those from beyond the stars. When she makes a promise to the class bully, she has no idea how much she’ll belong one day. It’s touching and uplifting. I do know what it’s like to belong to something: Fake Moon Chat, the anime community, Trivia. It’s a great feeling J

5.       “Snow, Glass, Apples” by Neil Gaiman, from Smoke And Mirrors (originally published in Love In Vein II)

As Mr. Gaiman says himself in the Introduction, “I like to think of this story as a virus. Once you’ve read it, you may never be able to read the original story in the same way again.” This is very true. It is the story of Snow White, but not as you know it. The Queen herself tells the tale, wherein Snow White is the evil one. It’s gripping and unsettling. Kudos to Neil Gaiman for making a fairy tale creepy ;)

6.       “Windwood Rose” by Janni Lee Simner, from Bruce Coville’s Book Of Magic

While Miranda Windwood Rose has a beautiful name, she knows it carries magic. And sometimes, magic is a heavy burden. It’s haunting and well-told. (It should be apparent by now that Ms. Simner is awesome.)

7.       “October In The Chair” by Neil Gaiman, from Fragile Things: Short Fictions And Wonders

A story within a story that begs the question, “And then what happened?” The months of the year are personified, and it’s October’s turn to host their monthly meeting. It’s funny and interesting.

8.       “Amanda’s Room” by Janni Lee Simner, from Bruce Coville’s Book of Nightmares II

Brenda and her sister, Amanda, were always fighting. Now, Amanda is gone, but she isn’t too happy about Brenda being in her room…among other things. It’s unique and heart-breaking.

9.       “One Chance” by Charles de Lint, from Bruce Coville’s Book Of Spine Tinglers (originally published in Werewolves)

It has been ages since I’ve read this story (the book is misplaced), but I still know how good it is. Susanna and Billy are friends who don’t have it easy. Susanna gets picked on by kids at school, and Billy is abused by his father. So, when they get the chance to escape from it all, will they? It’s emotional and spellbinding.

10.   “In Our Hands” by Bruce Coville, from Bruce Coville’s Alien Visitors

Written in journal form, this story tells of aliens who come to Earth offering our species solutions to ending war, hunger, and poverty. However, the price is not to be taken lightly, and it’s up to the people to decide. It’s poignant and thought-provoking.

I have many more stories and collections to read, and perhaps soon I will have more favorites.

Since it's 2013, here's a list of things I'm looking forward to this year:

The Great Midwest Trivia Contest ("Trivia"): Nearly every year, my cousins and I get together and participate in Trivia. Our team is We Need More Cowbell, Martha, and we've been together since 2003. I love being up at all hours (though sleeping in short spurts does take its toll after awhile), making up Jam Team Names, eating tons of junk food, and answering phones. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, I've provided a link to our team page above.

Kitsune Kon: Appleton's first anime convention. Can I just say how much I love/appreciate that there is an anime convention 10 minutes away from where I live? Don't get me wrong - I love Anime Reactor and Anime Central/ACEN - but they're 3 /12 hours away, and it's great to finally have a con in my own backyard! The staff is great, the location (the Paper Valley Radisson) is amazing, and the other con-goers are fun, crazy people. I feel like I'm among My People there. And it's something my dad and I do together, as he is an anime fan, too. Enjoy the "kone"!

Movies: There will be some great films coming out this year. I'm looking forward to (in no particular order):
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark Worlds
Catching Fire
The Host (yes, I know, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, blah blah blah. It looks good. So sue me ;)
Oz: The Great And Powerful
Carrie (They need to get the ending right!)
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Man Of Steel (Which, hopefully, is better than Superman Returns)
Kick-Ass 2
The Lone Ranger
Despicable Me 2
The Wolverine
Red 2
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Noah's Ark: Every year, my cousins and I pick a day in the summer, and we go to "America's Largest Water Park". We pack our own lunches and snacks to share, and from roughly the time the park opens to the time it closes, we spend the day going on water rides. What could be better? :)

Family Vacation: Usually in the summer, but sometimes later, my family and I travel to California for about a week. We go to Disneyland (!), do wine tasting (well, my parents and sister taste, I enjoy the beautiful scenery), hit the beach, good restaurants, Seaport Village, etc. It's relaxing and it's fun spending time with my family. It's really the only vacation I go on, and I look forward to it every year.