There are times wherein we wish we have a remote control to stop and rewind our life just to erase or correct any remark, comment or question we made that is so idiotic, that its embarassing.
I had mine last week when I had a chat with our Belgian neighbor. He has been using the threadmill in my house and to say thanks, he gave me a bottle of merlot. Then we had a chat about the difference between living in Belgium and in the Philippines. Then suddenly, trying to make a good impression about my knowledge about Belgium I remarked, “Leopold III is still your king, right?” My Belgian neighbor, who is such a nice fellow, had blank stare, perhaps thinking how he can correct me without offending me. He just said that their current monarch is Albert II but Leopold III is his father. Then he went on and said that after Leopold, he was succeeded by Baudouin then he was succeeded by the current king.
Damn, here I am, a self confessed quiz enthusiast and was looked up by some as one of the best quizzers during my time and I don’t know who’s the reigning monarch of Belgium. Perhaps the repeated blows to my head (because of my sport) has taken its toll and erased a few megabytes of memory.
Beck and I had a good laugh when I told her about this incident. But to equalize things I reminded her about her own stupid moment. She’s also into quiz and trivia and competed in the TV show, The Weakest Link way back 2002. She was asked, “What P is the river that can be found near the White House?” And she answered, “Pasig River”. This of course is on camera and this clip was used numerous times to advertise the show. It was even quoted by Nestor Torre in his column in Phil. Daily Inquirer. Needless to say, that thousands if not millions of Filipinos have watched this. Beck defended that she answered Pasig River upon hearing the worrds “What P is the river” and didn’t finished the question. She of course know that the correct answer is Potomac River. Well, how can you argue with your wife. (My daughter is also teasing her mom because she knows that Potomac is near the White House and added that Theodore Roosevelt would take a daily swim, naked, in the said river)
August 4, 2008 at 3:12 am |
Pardon me for waxing nostalgia but I have been reading your blogs for the umpteenth time now with gusto especially your stint as a quiz champ on BOTB and as one of the representatives on World Quiz Championship.It reminds me of my short stint as a contestant on Mindmaster portion of the BOTB.Anyway,your anecdotes here especially about Baudouin put a smile on my face (with apologies to Joker)because the first thing that came across my gray matter is the well acclaimed and Academy Award nominated movie entitled “Quiz Show” that tells about the true story of the rigged Twenty One quiz show of the 1950’s.Being a quiz champ and incorrigible spermologer yourself, I am sure you have seen this movie already.The main character here was Charles Van Doren who was skillfully portrayed by Ralph Fiennes.After gaining national prominence,he eventually and deliberately lost to a female contestant named Vivienne Nearing. The answer to the last question,of course, was Baudouin.And it was ironic loss because he knew King Baudouin and King Leopold II because he and his well renowned father talked about them during a family dinner on their estate.What makes it worse is the fact that the lawyer who was tasked to investigate the scandals was invited for that dinner party.
August 6, 2008 at 10:26 pm |
Hello Anthony,
Thanks for visiting my blog. Yeah, I remember that scene. I remember watching that movie way back in 1994 together with Oliver Tungol, Richard Pante and other quizzers and we are answering the questions that are being asked in the movie. One group actually told us to shut up. He he he.
Are you still active in quizzing?
August 8, 2008 at 12:11 am |
That was a funny scene indeed!Maybe those guys got dumbstruck and flabbergasted because they were incognizant of the questions and I can imagine how easy it was for you guys to answer those questions.Knowing your caliber and that of Richard and Oliver whom I watched religiously on BOTB, I am sure those guys in the theater must have turned green with envy.
By the way,I am currently based here in California working as a registered nurse and instructor.I chanced upon your blogs because I was searching for your name in friendster and I guess you don’t have an account there.I have Butch Lorenzo,Leo Gapol,Orion Dumdum,Richard Pante,Alfonzo Gonzales and Percival Biadora on my friend lists.You and those guys I mentioned above are some of the people I admired most and held with high esteem back in the days.Because I couldn’t find your name in friendster,I decided to type in your name in google and that’s how I found out about your blog.I actually saw you in person during the taping of BOTB and watched you on TV how you annihilated your opponents on the grand finals.For God’s sake,you didn’t even give your Asean counterparts a good fight!Hehehe.That’s why even the great Lorenzo commented on his blog that he was not expecting to win when he saw your name and that of Gapol ( I met him while I was auditioning for Mind Master) .I wish I joined that contest in college so I had a chance to meet you guys personally.Anyway,good luck to all of you guys on the World Quiz Championships next year.I know you already have all the reviewers you need but in case you need some books that are not available there,just let me know.Right now, I am reading the latest book of Ken Jennings aptly titled,”Trivia Almanac.”
August 12, 2008 at 2:55 pm |
Hello Anthony,
What a coincidence. I’m currently working for the recruitment arm of the largest hospital group in the US and we send medical professionals like nurses to the hospitals owned by the mother company. We might even be working for the same company, who knows.
Thank you very much for your kind words but really, I’m just an ordinary guy who likes to read. Yup, I don’t have a friendster account because I prefer a blog wherein you can write and express yourself. And I really appreciate you reading my blog. It inspires me to post some more.
Are you planning to visit the Philippines soon? If ever you’re here please do contact me so we can invite you to our regular get together-cum quiz competition. Don’t worry, its more for fun and everybody’s welcome.
I think the World Quiz Championship also have a quiz venue in California and you can join it. I’ll send you words if I have confirmed this. I hope to do better next year but I’m also preparing for another competition.
Please do keep in touch, bro.