Hi, everybody! Item the first: Trivia Jock Scott has a fun night of 1990s trivia ready to drop on your brains tonight! Let’s close out this decade by looking back at the last one – the politics, the music, the technology, the goatees . . . if it happened in the 90s, it’s fair game for the quizzery. Come to Peter’s 19th Hole at 7:00 (Sat., Dec. 5th) for a chance at winning a trophy and gift certificates to the bar. I’ve also instructed Scott to bequeath a set of trading cards to a team of his choosing. These cards bear the likeness of a certain band who were spawned in the 80s, but hung tough into the 90s.

Item the second: Who Dat Ninja? Answer this timeless question Monday (Dec. 7th) at Ella Street Social Club. The 7:00 quiz will take us to the backstage of The Girlie Show, and challenge your knowledge of 30ROCK! Margaret will be your page for the evening, as Kenneth (who has also been known to knit bikinis) isn’t available. Margaret, who has a huge crush on Tina Fey, is also your new weekly trivia jockey at Ella St.! Kyle will continue to work his weekly Triviology gigs at Kenton Club& Wxyz, but the man has a “day job“, and didn’t realize how time consuming it would be to prepare and host quizzery three nights a week (I TOLD you, fool!). Thank you for warming Da Club up for Margaret, then passing the torch, Kyle – you do nice work!

Item the third: the holidays. On Christmas Eve, which is a Thursday, the trivia will NOT go on. On New Year’s Eve, also a Thursday, I will indeed make the trivia at La Merde (not sure about Kenton Clubyet). Also, I am going to visit my family in Cackalacky (that’s North Carolina, y’all) next week, but the quizzery must go on! While I’m gone (Dec. 10th – 19th), my mighty legion of trivia jockeys will keep the Triviology going as regularly scheduled. By the way, if you show up early for La Merde this week, there may be a huge crowd milling about – fear not! There is a private party which is scheduled to end at 8:00, so they will be gone by the time Michele starts the quizzery.

Item the fourth: hiatus from Peter’s 19th Hole. After this Wednesday’s quiz, the next weekly trivia night at this venue won’t be until January 6th. With various holiday shenanigans afoot, we’ve decided it’s better to just ride out the holidays for this venue. I’m sure gonna miss Jackie . . . she’s easily one of the best, not to mention nicest, bartenders in Portland!

Item the fifth: I was remiss in last week’s newsletter by failing to give a shout out to The Portland Plan, while recapping the Stumptown Lowdown quiz. A member of Portlandia’s Robot Angina, who was a very close runner-up in the quizzery, is a city planner who invites us all to learn more about the strategic plan for Portland’s next 25 years at www.pdxplan.com.

And finally, I know it’s a shot in the dark, but I’m hoping that somebody has a copy of last week’sOregonian A&E. I’d love to give my mom the article with the blurb about my quizzery so that she can stick it on her refrigerator. It would make her happy, and she doesn’t do computers. If you’ve got one you’re willing to share, I’ll be your new BFF if you bring it to me at trivia this week! Thanks, folks, and have a great weekend. By the way, if you want to go to one of the Santa-related bacchanals this weekend, I highly recommend Miracle on 82nd Street: A Christmas Misadventure, co-hosted by Triviology’s own Michele – I hope to see you there!

Happy Turksgiving everybody! I’m holed up at home shunning the crowds, but at some point will venture out to grab an Oregonian A& E. Today’s edition contains an article on fun stuff to do in Portland bars as the rains descend upon us . . . shuffleboard, skee-ball, and Triviology – check it out!

Here’s a fresh new way for you to be awesome all next week . . . bring canned foods or toys to any Triviology quiz. Shaver Elementary School has an annual food drive, and we’re helping them out this year. Any non-perishable foods are welcome, OR any toys, whether new or used, for elementary school aged kids. I’ll have a special award for the team that donates the most stuff during the week. Some of you teams have quite a trophy collection . . . in fact, I’d love to see pictures of any “display cases” which surely litter your team lairs. The Industrial Evolutionists (aka Genghis Khan, Motherfucker!) just added a cup to their growing collection, as they triumphed at the Stumptown Lowdown, with their wide and varied knowledge of Portland, Oregon.

I loved this quiz . . . largely because I love this town. Chances are good that I’ll make the Stumptown Lowdown an annual event. In case you missed it, here are a couple of samples from the picture ID round (no hints for picture #1, but #2 is a non-profit organization):

Folks, we have a rare opportunity to see humankind in space with the naked eye, while standing right here on Earth – The International Space Station will be visible from Portland early in the morning onDecember 6th, 7th & 8th! I also just saw it pass by in the south sky a few minutes ago from my front stoop. For some reason, David Bowie music was in my head, and though I was cold, I was imagining how much colder it is in space. Then a cop car drove down my one-way street the wrong way and brought me straight back to Earth.