Archive for February, 2010

Ye Trivia Titans Shall Clash Tomorrow!

Sunday, February 28th, 2010
As you Titans prepare to Clash, the world is watching – behold this spectacular illustration created by Lukas Ketner for the Head Out section of the current issue of Willamette Week (they wrote a great little feature, too)!



Bubo will NOT be delivering drinks at The Spare Room tomorrow, but they will have plenty of human wait-staff on hand to serve you food and drink. Human mortals are actually quite good at bartending – vote for your favorite (as well as your Favorite Venue, Best Shit-Talkers, Underdogs, etc.) right here on this short survey. Vote online by about noon tomorrow, or cast your vote with a paper ballot in person before the Olympian Open. You’ve also still got a good 24 hours to prepare for the Spirit Bunny Award half-time show! This is really just a chance to introduce your team and get some well-earned applause. If you want that trophy though, they key word is showmanship – entertain us! The champion will be determined by your applause.

There will be all kinds of trophies and prizes awarded throughout the evening, including a special Donkey Prize trophy for the lowest scoring Titan team. Also, everybody gets a cute little leprekey beer cozy just for playing, so even if you don’t win anything else, you can totally lie to people and say that you “won them in a trivia competition!” As for champion teams, they will choose from a variety of different prizes. In addition, the winning Olympians and Titans will all receive ShanRock’s Triviology T-shirts (or tank tops for the ladies!). And the champion of you all, at the end of the day, will also win Barfly bus tickets, a private, customized ShanRock’s Triviology quiz, and coveted hand knit scarves – wear them proudly! Virginia of Dr. Spaceman, last year’s Titan champs, said of her scarf – “it warms my neck AND my heart!”
Here are some of your trophies:

Here are all of the Titan competitors for the 2010 Clash of the Trivia Titans:

Barbarians At The Gates Foundation



I Smell A Clambake

Linda Is A Whore

Pimp Sticks

There’s No “I” In Meat

Release The Kraken


Todd Bridges of Madison County

*Olympian Open Chamiopns (insert your name here!)


Here is the schedule for the day’s events:

5:00 REGISTRATION
*Come early and grab a choice table!

5:30 OLYMPIAN OPEN
*Anybody is welcome to participate in this quiz – trophies and prizes for the two highest scoring teams. The champion team becomes the wild card seed who will participate in the Titan Invitational. (Titans can play in The Open just for fun, or as a warm-up – they will not win anything, nor will they be able to oust Olympians out of the wild card slot!)

7:30 NON-COMPETITIVE AWARDS
*Trophies for Best Bartender, Favorite Venue, Best Shit-Talkers, Favorite Foes, Underdog Team, etc. These categories will be decided by your votes!

7:45 HALF TIME SHOW
*This competition started out as “Best Costumes,” but it has evolved into “The Spirit Bunny Award.” Any team, whether Olympian or Titan, will introduce themselves in any way they see fit. It could be as simple as saying “Hurray for our team!” into the mic, or as elaborate as Nomi Malone Dance Academy, last year’s champions. Trophy to the champions, as determined by applause!

8:00 TITAN INVITATIONAL
*Only Titan teams official compete in this quiz – trophies and prizes for the three highest scoring teams. Titan teams are those that have won 12 times or more at ANY of my quizzes over past year, AND the Olympian wild card team. Please contact me if you think you’ve qualified, but you haven’t received an invitation to participate. A list of this season’s champions is on the Hall of Fame page. (Olympians can play in The Invitational just for fun!)

10:00ish FINAL AWARDS

I can’t wait to see all of you there, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!
On a final note, my apologies to the Crackhead Boxers – last week, I accidentally listed a different team as the Ella Street Social Club champions, when in fact they had reigned victorious! And speaking of Da Club, this Monday is Canuck Quizzery – challenge your knowledge of The Great White North!

Upcoming special events:
Canuck Quizzery!
Monday, Mar. 1st @ 7:00
Oscar Quiz Night!
Sunday, Mar. 7th @ 3:30
East Burn (w/ShanRock)
*Stick around to watch the Academy Awards after the quiz!


Triviology champions for the week of 2/21/10 – 2/25/10:

Sunday @ 6:00

1800 E. Burnside
CHILI CON CARNIVAL

Monday @ 7:00

714 SE 20th Place
LINDA IS A WHORE

Monday @ 8:00

2221 SE Hawthorne

Tuesday @ 7:30
Sewickly’s (w/cash prizes & ShanRock!)
4901 SE Hawthorne
RELEASE THE KRAKEN

Tuesday @ 8:00
9920 NE Cascades Parkway
THERE’S NO “I” IN “MEAT”

Wednesday @ 8:00
4606 NE Glisan
FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ

Wednesday @ 8:00
4515 SE 41st
HUNGRY ORCAS

Wednesday @ 8:00
5701 NE Fremont
MILLS’ BIRTHDAY

Thursday @ 9:00
2025 N. Kilpatrick
PIMP STICKS

Thursday @ 9:00
Thanks for playing with me, everybody!

Your trivia jockey,

Shannon Donaldson
ShanRock’s Triviology
(503) 957-7806


“Materialism is a disease of the mind starved for ideas.” Jacob Needleman

Cast the Votes for the 2010 Trivia Season!

Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Election Day is nigh – it is time to cast your votes for The 2010 Clash of The Trivia Titans! This is a fun, short survey which gives you the chance to tell me who your favorites are – teams, bars, bartenders, etc. The polls will be open until about noon next Sunday, February 28th, which is also the day of the tournament. You may vote at any Triviology venue this week instead of completing the online survey, if you prefer – my TJs and I have ballots. However, the paper ballots are merely a condensed version of the full voting process – if you vote online instead, you’ll be able to offer more input.

I will hand out many an engraved trophy, not to mention all kinds of prizes (Barfly bus tickets, oodles of gift certificates, a free, customized ShanRock’s Triviology quiz, and more!). Oh, and everyone who shells out the $5 to play will get a lovely green ShanRock’s Triviology beer cozy! That $5, by the way, is for the whole day – Titans can come early and play the Olympian Open (at 5:30) as a warm-up, and Olympians can stick around after their competition to play in the Titan-ship (at 8:00), just for fun. Here is a small sampling of the trophies I will award:

You definitely want to be in the house for the “half-time show” (around 7:30) – this is easily one of my favorite portions of the day. This is your chance to introduce your team, in any way you see fit, to compete for the “Spirit Bunny Award” (determined by applause). This trophy used to be called “Best Costumes,” but that title just didn’t properly convey the team spirit inherent in this category. The names is inspired by the Spirit Bunny Pep Squad from Fast Times At Ridgemont High. A quick note on The Underdog Award, the only category in which I will cast a vote. You may certainly vote for any team you wish, but you should know that I am very unlikely to bestow this trophy upon a Titan team, as the award is intended to honor a stalwart team who continues to compete despite their lack of victories.

In next week’s newsletter, I will send out the final list of this year’s Titans – you still have four more chances this week to qualify for the Invitational, and there are at least a couple of teams who are very close. All you Olympians out there should take heart – remember that only YOU have the chance to win TWO sets of trivia trophies and prizes, since the champion of The Open becomes the wild card in The Titan Invitational!

Everyone be sure to grab a Willamette Week on Wednesday – they are doing something special for the COTT in the HeadOut section!

Upcoming special events:
Sunday, Feb. 28th (w/ShanRock)
*Olympian Open at 5:30; Titan Invitational at 8:00
Canuck Quizzery!
Monday, Mar. 1st @ 7:00
Ella Street Social Club (w/Margaret)
*Challenge your knowledge of The Great White North!
Oscar Quiz Night!
Sunday, Mar. 7th @ 3:30
East Burn (w/ShanRock)
*Stick around to watch the Academy Awards after the quiz!


Triviology champions for the week of 2/14/10 – 2/18/10:

Sunday @ 6:00

1800 E. Burnside
KEN JENNINGS LOVE CHILD

Monday @ 7:00

714 SE 20th Place
CRACKHEAD BOXERS

Monday @ 8:00

2221 SE Hawthorne

TEAM EVIL JESUS

Tuesday @ 7:30
Sewickly’s (w/cash prizes & ShanRock!)
4901 SE Hawthorne
BUTTONED LIKE EINSTEIN

Tuesday @ 8:00
9920 NE Cascades Parkway
THERE’S NO “I” IN “MEAT”

Wednesday @ 8:00
4606 NE Glisan
FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ

Wednesday @ 8:00
4515 SE 41st
XANADU

Wednesday @ 8:00
5701 NE Fremont
PONIES WITH AXES

Thursday @ 9:00
2025 N. Kilpatrick
PIMP STICKS

Thursday @ 9:00
Thanks for playing with me, everybody!

Your trivia jockey,

Shannon Donaldson
ShanRock’s Triviology
(503) 957-7806


“Materialism is a disease of the mind starved for ideas.” -Jacob Needleman