Happy New Year, Triviologists! Xmas is over, the Snowpocalypse is behind us, and with the dawn of a new year, there is one question on everybody’s mind: What is the magic number of wins a team must earn to qualify for the Clash of the Trivia Titans?!?! First of all, a quick reminder that on the big day, absolutely anybody can play in the first quiz (the Olympian Open), and that the winning team becomes the wild card to compete in the second quiz (the Titan Invitational). To qualify for the Titan Invitational, a team must have had a certain number of wins at any of my regular trivia nights the preceding trivia season (which began on 2/11/08, right after last year’s COTT). Fear not if you’ve racked up some wins at retired venues – those still count! All wins are recorded on The Hall of Fame. After tallying the team wins thus far, I have decided to guarantee a slot in the Titan Invitational for any team with 11 wins or more (as of 2/8/09, the date of this year’s tournament). Don’t worry if your team hasn’t turned it up to 11 just yet – I might lower the qualifying number in the days to come, but I just wanted the teams who have made the grade to rest assured that they are in. Also, there are 30 more chances to add to your tally before the COTT, so even if you have ZERO wins to date, you can still definitely qualify!

It’s a good idea to check out the Hall of Fame, and keep a tally of your wins yourself – contact me if you’d like to make sure that your count equals mine. At this time of year, folks usually also like to know which venue provides their best chance of winning (i.e., the ones with the lower attendance). I honestly don’t currently have any venues which are doing poorly, but if you seek less competition (in terms of quantity, not quality, of course) at this time of year, I recommend, East Burn, Sewickly’s, and Peter’s. As to the venue for the tournament, I am still looking for just the right place, and open to suggestions! I’ll send you more details each week, and as always, please feel free to call or Email me with any questions or concerns you might have. 

Here are the champions for the week of 12/28/08 – 1/1/09:

Sunday @ 6:00
East Burn
1800 E. Burnside
EVERY WEEK IS SHARK WEEK

Sunday @ 9:00
Ladd’s Inn
1204 SE Clay
I CAME HERE TO CHEW BUBBLE GUM AND ANSWER TRIVIA AND I’M ALL OUT OF BUBBLE GUM

Monday @ 8:00
Hawthorne Hideaway
2221 SE Hawthorne
ZACHARY TAYLORZ

Tuesday @ 7:30
Sewickly’s
4901 SE Hawthorne
I WANT TO GO TO THERES

Tuesday @ 8:00 (next week this venue returns to normal Wednesday night quiz)
The Hutch
4606 NE Glisan
FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ

Wednesday @ 8:00
Peter’s 19th Hole
5701 NE Fremont
*no pub quiz tonight (New Year’s Eve)

Thursday @ 9:00
La Merde
301 SE Morrison
FEAR! FEAR FOR YOUR SAFETY

Thursday @ 9:00
Kenton Club
2025 N. Kilpatrick
*no pub quiz (closed for New Year’s Day)

Thanks so much for playing with me, everybody!

Your trivia jockey,

Shannon Donaldson
ShanRock’s Triviology: Willamette Week Best of Portland
www.shanrockstrivia.com
(503) 957 – 7806

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

Hi everybody! I hope that you had the best Christmas ever – I sure did. I just returned from Kamp Kristmas in the Sisters Wilderness – four days of talent shows, scavenger hunts, sing-a-longs, airing of grievances, pants-off-dance-offs, puppet shows . . . AND I didn’t lose any fingers this year! Returning to work after such rolicking good times is a lot easier when your job is as fun as mine is – thanks for letting me make the trivia for you! In fact, as a thank you, I present to you this Xmas gift – a video by RENEGADE!

You’re welcome.

We didn’t get to make much pub quizzery together last week (rookie team ZACHARY TAYLOR took the night at HawHide and TEAM RAMROD dominated the scene at Sewickly’s), but there is much Triviology to be had this week, as follows (next week brings a return to the normal weekly schedule):

Sunday @ 6:00
EAST BURN

Sunday @ 9:00 PM
LADD’S INN

Monday @ 8:00 PM
HAWTHORNE HIDEAWAY

Tuesday @ 7:30 PM
SEWICKLY’S

TUESDAY @ 8:00 PM (one night only!)
THE HUTCH
*Normally this quiz is held on Wednesdays, but just this once Trivia Jock Scott is going to host it on Tuesday, since there will be no Triviology on New Years Eve!

Thursday @ 9:00 PM
LA MERDE
*There will be no trivia at The Kenton Club on New Year’s Day, but Melissa, your spectacular La Merde bartender, insisted that her bar remain open today, just for trivia! Come on in, and she’ll make you a nice bloody mary for that hangover.

Thanks for playing with me, everybody!

Your trivia jockey,

Shannon Donaldson
ShanRock’s Triviology: Willamette Week Best of Portland
shanrockstrivia.com
(503) 957-7806

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