Woo hoo, a rather quiet, intense one at the ol’ Belmont Inn last night.

Quiz writer Dave’s quiz was tough, and the top 10 teams or so were separated by only a few points up until the very end. In round 2, the “Name that Brand” round, it was fun listening to the different advertising jingles and other recorded slogans created in the name of capitalistic greed; however, the erratic nature of the clips combined with their short running times forced people to clam up and listen very closely. The result was a tomb-like silence (well, the Belmont Inn’s version of tomb-like, which is more like half-full-arena-like), as people put the burgers down and tuned in. Afterwards, while grading the round twos, Executive Assistant Renee and I were shocked by how many random brand name advertising jingles everyone recognized. I mean, Beggin’ Strips? I didn’t even know that product existed until last night, yet pretty much every team playing the quiz got it right. I guess that’s what I get for not owning a television, or a dog for that matter. Though I do own a cat! My lil’ Squeak! She’s so cute! I love to pet her and hug her and love her and…

Sorry about that. Back to business. Congrats to team Mysterious Buttplugs, who took the first place prize with an amazing score of 5 points! I kind of like it when the final round question is so obscure nobody gets it right, if only because it’s funny when teams win with such tiny scores. Ha ha! Seriously, though, the Buttplugs played a great game, especially considering they were a team of only two. In fact, the final round contained TWO two-person teams tonight, with the duo of the Fujis nearly nabbing the prize as well, coming in third. I have yet to see a ONE-person team get into the finals, but I look forward to that day. I will buy that person a pitcher on that day, for them to drink all by their lonesome.

Yours always, Justin