World Quizzing Championships....

As I mentioned earlier in the week I am off to the WQC (World Quizzing Championships) at the Edinburgh venue this weekend. I posted the subjects in a previous post and I had intended to revise certain areas I had little knowledge on.

I have since decided against this. I know for a fact I am going to struggle big time on Saturday, probably scoring low across the board and failing to make it out of the bottom few who are at the venue. I accept this, I am young, still learning a lot and this is my first major quizzing event. I am looking forward to the day and the result is not that important to me yet.....

It will be a great test of knowledge, a good pointer of where I need to brush up and the level I need to get to to be able to do well at these events. I think it will take a few months after WQC for some to take up the Quiz circuit on a monthly basis but where better place to start. I have bought the questions from previous GP's and compared myself on the rankings and performed way better than I imagined but my next main aim is to start league quizzing seriously.

I look forward to meeting any quizzers attending the venue and good luck to anyone taking part. My next blog entry will be after the quiz so Ill have some views and opinions then!

Cheats and more cheats....Beware Rant

I have ranted about this on previous occasions but again one of my favourite local quizzes has sadly descended into something of a farce when it comes to victory and placings. Its starting to ruin what has always been a cracking and busy quiz night and the annoying thing is EVERYONE including the Quizmaster knows whats happening but is powerless to act.


There are a few factors here.....One simple fact is that the pub is set out in a very odd way whereby the quiz is played in both the bar and the lounge. The quiz master is in the bar and has a speaker in the lounge so they hear them. Thus no staff see the lounge during the quiz. And guess where the cheaters sit??

What also contributes is the mere fact that there are about 8-10 20-something studenty types every week who make up the team. Now, if they played fair they may be able to stake a claim for victory given the team size but they have been seen cheating time after time and like I said the quizmaster is fully aware. In his own words though "what can I do??".

He is in a very awkward position. In a quiz with maybe 10 teams, with an average of 4 per team you are looking at 40 players and then the 8 in the cheating team, so for arguments sake say 48 people per quiz night. If he does anything to annoy the big team and they leave the quiz then that's a sixth of the nights audience lost.

Approaches that could be made include, making everyone sit in the bar and lounge but neither is big enough so this would reduce attendance. Refusing to accept their paper, disqualifying them etc risks driving them away....and they are big drinkers so much more vital to the pub than my team of two economically. Its a red tooth "mark your own" (with the tear off sheet) quiz as well so he cannot even mark them down.

I don't envy his position at all and until the 8 start driving away the other 40+ en masse nothing will be done about it. If it was a home grown quiz he could introduce speed rounds etc but the red tooth format is very very cheat friendly.

Last night our score of 46 was an honest one, higher than usual due to there being a Eurovision round for both the Top 5 list questions which is my specialist subject and a good chain on the Trivia Trail.....the winning team scored 55 and seemingly got 5 of the "hard to cheat" pictures wrong meaning a full house on the questions. Even the quizmaster made a joke in the bar that Google had won the quiz and they had been seen on phones all night but no action taken.

I am sure this is not an isolated case but it is a shame as this could be a good competitive quiz if one team were not taking the spoils unfairly week after week

World Quiz Championships - All Signed Up

I mentioned a few weeks ago that the 2012 World Quiz Championships will have a venue in Edinburgh as well as Lichfield and tons of venues across the globe. Thankfully things have fell in my favour and I am now able to attend on Saturday June 2nd north of the border! Having the WQC Scottish venue has helped me massively as its a mere hour or so from Sunderland and not so costly as heading South.

I know full well I am going to have a very lowly placing in the run of things and my expectations are indeed low, but that does not stop me being very excited about taking part. It will be great experience for me as a young quizzer and give me an idea of the level I need to raise my game too. 

The categories are below.....

Culture
Architecture, Fine art, Museums, Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, World cultures

Entertainment
Ballet, Classical music, Film Music, Jazz & World Music, Opera, Pop music, Radio, Television

History
Civilisations, Current Affairs, Exploration, Famous People, History

Lifestyle
Costume, Design, Fashion, Food & Drink, Handicrafts, Health & Fitness, Human Body, New Age beliefs, Products & Brands, Tourism

Media
Comic strips, Comic books, Graphic novels, Film, Language, Literature

Sciences
Exact sciences (Chemistry, Physics etc.), Fauna, Flora, Social sciences

Sport & Games
Games, Sports, Hobbies & Pastimes, Records & achievements (in context of genre)

World
Cities, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Inventions, Space, Technology, Transport

The way the WQC seems to work is that you complete a paper on each of the main subjects and your lowest score is taken away meaning 7 papers count. Having this list has been handy as it means I can do some pre WQC studying. Not that Im expecting to gain any points doing this but it will give a focus to my reading for the next fortnight or so and also give me a good grounding in subjects for future use. There is not a great deal I can do in two weeks but for subjects such as "Graphic Novels" which I know virtually nothing about it will introduce me to subjects I am going to need to scratch up on.

It would be great to hear from others going to the event and here is hoping I just don't embarrass myself too much.

A year of The Quiz Addict

It seemed to escape my attention yesterday but it has indeed been a year since I start The Quiz Addict blog and it has flown over. A lot has happened in the last year in my personal life from redundancy, to a house move and various other bits and bobs. I have really enjoyed posting (despite the blip in autumn) and it has been great sharing my views, setting questions and getting responses from others on quizzing issues!

Thanks to everyone who has read, posted and viewed the blog and here is hoping I am still as keen this time next year!

Mastermind Audition

I was not intending on applying to Mastermind until, as the saying goes, I was a bit older and a bit wiser but after enjoying the series this year I thought there was no harm in trying. Today was my audition process at the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle.

I was in front of three people, who I assume are the production team and the whole process took around 20 minutes. They went through the format of the show (24 heats etc) and rules regarding specialist subjects. I did not actually know some of these rules before hand such as not being allowed to have a specialist subject that is related to your profession  or that you have published work on. Either way it did not effect me and I was ready for my GK questions.

20 were asked in all with no clue as to how you were doing or right answers given. They were a mixed bunch, some of which I remember being asked in the series this year. All in all a balanced set and I got all the questions right I should have got right and did not really have a clue one or two of them but I was pre-warned that "toughies" were coming.

After this there was a brief chat about specialist subjects, I was asked if I could expand a few and one was changed a little bit to make it a wider field but in essence all my subjects remained the same. A quick photo later and it was all over.

The production team were very friendly and it was a simple, relaxed process. I have a 4 week wait or so to find out if I have made it to the first round of shows. I did enjoy my Mastermind audition and have my fingers crossed for a positive call back!

University Challenge Documentary

I am not sure where or when this was first broadcast but I found "I won University Challenge" on Youtube by accident. It is in three parts and once I started watching the first part I was hooked.

Saturday Quiz

15 questions to have a crack at today! Hope you enjoy and as usual answers in the comment box.

1. Which sport was Henry VIII alleged to have been playing when he was informed about he execution of Anne Boleyn?

2. “At the Piano” and “The White Girl” were paintings by which artist?

3. Bud Flanagan famously sang the theme song of which 60’s/70’s BBC sitcom?

4. In the late 1860’s Wimbledon, now best known as a Tennis venue, was first used as a venue for which sport?

5. In The Dictator, currently showing at UK cinemas, Sacha Baron Coen plays the role of the leader of which fictional African state?

6. James Figg is often Credited with setting up the first club for what sport?

7. What Sport has the nickname of “The Roaring Game”?

8. Who invented the vulcanisation of rubber process?

9. Polly James and Nerys Hughes starred in which Carla Line Sitcom?

10. In 1907, Brooklands was the first purpose built type of what sports venue?

11. Which famous brother of a member of the Beatles was in the band The Scaffold?

12. Name the fictional law enforcement agency in the TV sho wThe Professionals?

13. Mollie King is a singer in which girl group?

14. Who was the first team to win the football European Championships on two occasions?

15. A Poll by the UN this week named where as the wettest country in the world based on annual rainfall?

Updates

I mentioned last week I had been to the Fritzgeralds quiz in Sunderland for the first time. The regular quizmaster was off that night but the usual quizmaster was back last night and the quiz lived up the previous week. Easily the best pub quiz in Sunderland I have been to so far. Competitive, good questions and a good atmosphere.

Quiz

Just to keep the brain ticking over, here are a selection of 10 movie based questions (all really from a specific period) with a very loose connection. Answers in the comment box.

1.       Which film directors most celebrated work includes “On The Town”, “Bedazzled”  and “Singing in the Rain”?

2.       Where were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers “Flying down to….” In 1933?

3.       In “Anchors Away” Gene Kelly partakes in a very famous dance sequence with a cartoon mouse. What is the name of that mouse?

4.       Arguably Fred Astaire’s most famous dance routine, entitled “You’re All The World to Me”, in which he defies gravity by dancing on the walls and ceiling features in what film?

5.       In which film does Gene Kelly play Don Lockwood?

6.       What movie, starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and James Coburn amongst others,  was released in 1963 only 2 weeks after the Kennedy assassination (forcing the word assassination to be dubbed from the film twice) and has been called “the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made”?

7.       Who was due to play the lead role in Easter Parade, until a broken ankle incurred during a game of Volleyball forced him to pull out, paving the way for Fred Astaire to take up the role?

8.       The song “Tammy” from Tammy and the Bachelor reached number one in the US music charts in 1957. Who sang the song?

9.       Who made her film debut in “Adams Rib” as Beryl?

10.   Who was Adolph Green’s famous writing partner,  together with whom they produced some of the most beloved Hollywood musicals?

When the Quizmaster helps....

Now, I have raised this issue before on TQA and it has come to light again at a quiz night I have started to attend. The quiz night other than one issue is fine.....that issue being the way in which prior to collecting the sheets in the Quizmaster does the rounds and gives answers out.

I know this goes on a lot and I know why Quizmasters do it, but for me it is ruining what could be a great quiz. There is a huge difference between giving a friendly clue and blatantly giving answers.

Without meaning to sound offensive to anyone, I do not look like the kind of person who would be good at quizzes. Me and my other half are the usual pairing to go to quizzes and the fact that a) we are younger than most entrants and b) there is only two of us means we tend to get help even if we don't want it. The quizmaster never looks at the right answers to give an assessment at how a team has performed, he just looks at the blanks and provides help. This is a terrible way to do things and against the logic I assume he is using to make sure everyone has a decent score.

My problem I guess is I take quizzes too seriously, as I assume anyone reading this blog does. Thats not a bad thing but it does mean we are at odds with others in the pub who don't. I don't mind getting things wrong as long as I can learn from it and Id rather get no points than score points from the quizmasters help. Last night for instance, the Trivia Trail (where the answers begins with the last letter of the last answer) was tricky and I messed question 5 up which set my trail off on the wrong path. I would rather take the wrong path and get an honest score than have the quizmaster tell me what is wrong and what the right answer is.

Other than that a few good questions last night...I messed up on a Star Trek question in naming the characters based on positions held in the TNG crew (confusing Jordi and Data) and also did not realise Roy Hodgson and Mark Hughes were some of the richest managers in the Premier League. A Bugs Life too came up to the fore and caught me out with a question about the enemies in the film. Either way I don't mind getting questions like this wrong as it allows me to go away and learn.

But I guess thats the end of my rant....at least I have found one quiz in the area that is run properly. Now I just need some more.

New blockbusters.....Views

Episode one of the All-New Blockbusters on Challenge TV aired last night and I thought writing this post would be easy but I find that I have very little opinion on the show. I am not sure what I was expecting to be fair but the fact the show has not changed at all makes it hard to form an opinion.

Simon Mayo is on hosting duties and although he did not do a bad job, he did really add anything to the show and he has big boots to fill. The only major difference this time round is that the contestants are adults not merely restricted to students. This does not really change the game much though.

The questions are a mixed bag as with the old series but there were a dozen or so really decent ones in there that will keep me watching. The Gold Run has not changed and remains entertaining and Blockbusters in general is still Blockbusters.

All credit to Challenge for trying to bring back a game-show classic back, but I cannot see Blockbusters being much of a hit for them. It will always get a curiosity viewing for old fans and quiz show buffs, but in the fast paced world of todays TV Blockbusters needed to be reinvented and Challenge have failed to do that.

I do hope it does well and makes it to a second series so I can apply again :) but they could have done so much more with it.

Mastermind Article

An interesting article on the Mastermind winner Gary Grant from The Scotsman today HERE

New Series of Blockbusters starts tonight!

Just a quick reminder that the new series of Blockbusters presented by Simon Mayo starts tonight at 8pm on Challenge. I am quite open minded about this one and am hoping it will prove to be a hit. I applied to be on this series and they left me an answer phone message about an audition but I could never get back in touch with them so if it does prove to be a hit maybe I will have a try the second series.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what they do with the series.

New BBC Show looking for contestants...

I occasionally glance at the BBC's Be On A Show Page and noticed they are advertising HERE for a pilot for a new quiz show. The only information about the show is what I have pasted underneath. Might be worth a try....

"Are you a confident, out-going individual with a good level of general knowledge? Could you take on our challenge?"

Saturday Quiz

After a few days without any quiz questions posted up here, try these 15 out of size. Answers in comment box as usual.

1. What Italian phrase/word, which translates as "in the church style", means a performance of polyphonic musical work by unaccompanied voices?

2. Hui-ing was the capital of which Chinese dynasty which ruled from 1122-1234?

3. What type of knowledge translates in English as "from what is before"?

4. Name this city. A favourite of Charlemagne with the Roman name of Aquisgranium this city was the site of the majority of the crownings of German Kings between the period 936 to the 16th Century?

5. The Ring Canal and Westeinder Lake are found in which country?

6. The Saynatsalo Town Hall is said to epitomize the work of which European 20th Century Architect?

7. The African Ant Bear is an alternative name for which animal?

8. What is the name of the longest River that is contained entirely within Switzerland?

9. Which Biblical figure, according to Numbers 20, died aged 123 on top of Mount Hor?

10. Which Basbeall Hall of Famer broke Babe Ruth all time batting record for home runs in 1974 when he hits his 715th run whilst playing for the Atlanta Braves?

11. Who designed the 376ft Arcelor Mittal Orbit tower?

12. Which film recently broke the US Box Office Opening Weekend record taking over $200 million dollars?

13. US TV giant Fox have ordered a pilot of what UK quiz show?

14. Who composed the Opera "Salome"?

15. Which film, currently showing at UK cinemas, is the eight collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton?