So what’s it like hosting a Geek Trivia Night? Well, I’m inclined to say it’s “effing brutal”, but truth be told it was probably not as hard on us as our questions were on the people competing for prizes. We got some flack at the end of the evening for our questions being “too hard”. But you know what guys? Most of this stuff we came up with off the top of our head. To me, that’s what being a geek and knowing trivia is all about: being able to call up random esoteric facts about whatever the hell you find interesting, with the hope that nobody else will know it and you will be owner of the most impressive intellect ever. (Okay, maybe that’s stretching it, but you get the point.) We did try to stray from the “usual” questions and topics that get asked… there’s often a ton of Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Battlestar Gallactica, LOST, etcetera etcetera etcetera. We asked ONE Doctor Who question, and ONE Star Wars-related question. SO HA!

Though we did have one abundant topic during our two rounds of trivia: our questions were roughly 25% Joss Whedon-based. This was to help promote the PDX Browncoats and their 5th annual Can’t Stop the Serenity event, which features screening of Joss Whedon’s sci-fi classic, Serenity, as well as The River Tam Sessions, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, and the fan-created film, Browncoats: Redemption! Their event is to benefit Equality Now and the Oregon Food Bank, which we at Sequential can totally get behind.

Since a lot of regular Geek Trivia attendees were unable to attend, and some who did arrived after the question-asking was underway, we thought it would be fun to post our questions online. Now you can play along at home! I also added some links to the answer section, so that you can investigate a little further if you wish… :)

Links:

Things From Another World
Portland Geek Trivia on Facebook
Can’t Stop the Serenity screening and benefit by PDX Brown Coats

ROUND 1

1. In the movie “Serenity”, what does Captain Malcolm Reynolds “aim to” do?
2. Who coined the term “meme”?
3. Which prolific composer worked on the soundtrack for anime titles such as Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop?
4. In what game was the Contra code first used?
5. In the television series “Firefly”, on which planet does Badger make his base of operations?
6. What did the landmark “Made In Oregon” sign, which is undergoing a change soon, ORIGINALLY say? (BONUS: What year was it built?)
7. In the Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 = c2), what does “c” represent?
8. In the “Firefly” episode “Out of Gas”, what is the failed machine part Mal is trying to trade for?
9. In Frank Herbert’s “Dune”, what is the name of the mouse shape on the moon of Arrakis?
10. What was the first “Star Wars” themed song Weird Al recorded? (BONUS: What was the song that it parodied?)
11. What do the acronyms “SNOT” and “BURP” mean to LEGO enthusiasts?
12. In the comic book series “BtVS: Season 8″, what is the name of the thricewise who turned Dawn into a giant?
13. In the multiplayer online game “Team Fortress 2″, what is the name of The Heavy’s favourite gun?
14. In television series “Max Headroom”, what was the breakthru-yet-potentially-lethal advertising technology developed by Network 23 prodigy Bryce Lynch?
15. In the BBC series “Doctor Who”, Leela was a companion to which incarnation of the Doctor?
16. Beyond the series he directed, wrote or produced, what television show did Joss Whedon appear in?
17. What is the name for the process of a solid substance changing into a gas?
18. Geek Trivia sponsor TFAW was originally named what? (BONUS: Where was the first of these stores opened?)
19. On the now cancelled “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien”, the background to the set was rumored to be an homage to what popular video game?
20. For one point each, name the celebrities who have appeared in (American-only) World of Warcraft commercials featuring in-game characters. (BONUS: name the celebrity character’s class)

ROUND 2

1. What does my horse taste just like?
2. Firefly/Serenity character Zoe Washburne favors a custom Winchester rifle called a “Mare’s Leg”. The prop used in Firefly was also used in what other television series? (BONUS: Which character from that series carried Mare’s Leg prop?)
3. Name the model of Nerf gun most commonly used for kitbashing.
4. How long is “Victory Celebration and End Credits”, the last track on Fatboy Roberts’ “Geek Remixed III”?
5. List the hierarchal structure of the seven taxonomic ranks of biology following “Domain”.
6. What other fictional character wore Dr. Horrible’s lab coat?
7. Japanese writer, director, and actor Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi, was not in which of these following movies: The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Battle Royal, Ichi the Killer, Johnny Mneumonic. (BONUS: Who directed the movie Takeshi did not appear in?)
8. In the television series “The X-Files”, what was the name of the child Mulder protected because he was “part alien”?
9. In the comic book series “Transmetropolitan”, what is the name of journalist Spider Jerusalem’s three-eyed cat?
10. Name the real band whose music was used for the fictional band Shy, fronted by Veruca, in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.
11. What is the nickname Portland has become known by due to its large presence in the high-tech industry?
12. In the movie “Hackers”, what trait earned Lord Nikon his handle?
13. Name the four current continents/worlds in World of Warcraft.
14. In the recently released one-off “Serenity: Float Out”, what cheap Asian liquor does Zoe reveal she and Wash drank on their first date?
15. In 1934 Ole Kirk Christiansen named his company LEGO, coined from this Danish phrase meaning “play well”.
16. What mid-90s film by the Watchowski siblings convinced Warner Brothers studios to finance production of “The Matrix”? (BONUS: Name the actor that appeared in leading roles in both films.)
17. Name the teenage actor who achieved cult status for appearing in the series of Encyclopædia Britannica television commercials that aired between 1988 and 1993.
18. In the local movie production ARCHIVES OF THE FANTASTIC: The Ninth Cosmic Convergence, what is hero Alloy’s real name?
19. Musician Chris Vrenna, previous drummer for Nine Inch Nails and current keyboardist for Marilyn Manson, composed the score to what PC video game released in 2000?
20. When Dr. Sidney Zweibel AKA New Jersey meets the Hong Kong Cavaliers for the first time, he mistakes both Perfect Tommy and Reno Nevada for which other team member? (BONUS 1: Where does Reno say this member is currently located? BONUS 2: Why is this mistaken identity funny to Reno and Tommy?)

All done with your answers? Don’t worry if you have blank spots… there are a few questions no one knew the answer to! And we know you gave it your best shot. So swap your paper with a neighbor and lest get on with the points!

ROUND 1 (33 points possible)

1. “I aim to misbehave.”+1
2. Richard Dawkins (1976, The Selfish Gene) +1
3. Yoko Kanno +1
4. Gradius (1986) +1
5. Persephone +1
6. White Satin Sugar +1 (BONUS: 1940 +1)
7. Hypotenuse +1
8. Catalyzer +1
9. Muad’Ib +1
10. Yoda +1 (BONUS: “Lola” by The Kinks +1)
11. “Studs Not On Top” +1 and “Big Ugly Rock Pieces” +1
12. Kenny +1
13. Sasha +1 (“Meet the Heavy” on YouTube)
14. Blipverts +1
15. The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) +1
16. Veronica Mars +1
17. Sublimation +1
18. Pegasus Books +1 (BONUS: Bend, Oregon +1)
19. Super Mario Bros. +1
20. +1 for every celebrity, +1 for every class: Vic Mignogna - Warlock, Verne Troyer - Mage, Ozzy Osbourne - Prince of Darkness, Mr. T – (Night Elf) Mohawk, William Shatner - Shaman

ROUND 2 (28 points possible)

1. Raisins +1 (Weebl’s “Amazing Horse” (NSFW))
2. The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. +1 (BONUS: Crystal Hawks +1)
3. Nerf N-Strike Maverick +1
4. 11min, 38sec +1
5. Domain > Kingdom > Phylum > Class > Order > Family > Genus > Species +1
6. Simon Tam (episode “Ariel” from Firefly) +1
7. Ichi The Killer +1 (BONUS: Takashi Miike +1)
8. Gibson Praise +1
9. Mistgeburt (named by Deric Bernier, from the German “missgeburt” meaning “nasty birth”) +1
10. T.H.C. +1
11. Silicon Forest +1
12. He has a photographic memory +1
13. +1 each: Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Northrend, Outland
14. Un-Ga-Pae +1
15. Leg Godt +1
16. Bound +1 (BONUS: Joe Pantoliano +1)
17. Donavan Freberg +1
18. Alex Roberts +1
19. American McGee’s Alice +1
20. Pecos +1 (BONUS 1: Tibet +1, BONUS 2: Pecos is a woman +1)

Well then! How’d you do? Leave us a comment with your score, and tell us what you thought about our trivia questions. What was your favourite? Which was on the tip of your tongue? What would you like to have seen more of? This was the first time Sequential Art hosted Geek Trivia Night, but certainly not the last! And since next time we won’t be preparing you for the Battle Royale, we will probably go a little easier on ya. ;)

So what were we up to, if we were too gosh darn busy to even go a-tweetin’? While most cities know April as merely “April”, we here in Portland know the month as something entirely different: for the third year running, Mayor Sam Adams declared April Portland’s Official Comic Book Month. That’s right, Portland is so freaking cool and so in love we comic books that we set aside an entire month to celebrate it! I already wrote about the Stumptown Comics Fest art event that kicked off Comic Book Month on April 1, and eventually I’ll work my way to writing about our adventure on May 1, a.k.a. Free Comic Book Day.

When you curate an art gallery with the mission of bringing recognition to the art of comic books, an entire month of comics-related events can be a little time consuming. And by a little, I mean a LOT. Really there’s too much to cover in this blog post, so you can expect to see some very fun entries in the coming weeks.

In steps Derek Stubbs, who showed at the gallery in February (you can read about that show here). He was the first and only artist we asked about creating this custom comic art, and he completed the task admirably! Both Kaebel and I spent some time talking with Derek beforehand about the Mayor, the city, comic art, and what sort of things it would be fun to see in a one-page comic; Derek also showed us some of the sketches he done of the Mayor and possible panels (which you can check out on Flickr). We didn’t get to see the actual comic until the day of the opening reception and proclamation reading… and we thought it turned out awesome!! Derek, we couldn’t thank you enough. :)

Here’s the comic in all its paper, ink, and watercolor glory:
It’s a mayor! It’s a Virgo! It’s… SUPERSAM!

click above to view a more readable version on Flickr

After Mayor Adams declared April 2010 Portland’s official Comic Book Month, Kaebel spoke on behalf of the gallery about the comic art scene in Portland, and told the mayor we had a special gift for the City. Our artist, who apparently once moonlighted as a stand-up comedian, then spoke for a few minutes about his comic, showing it to the audience before presenting it to the mayor. Once he got a chance to see it, Mayor Adams was delighted, stating that he had never had a comic made about him before. Below are some pictures of Mayor Sam Adams and artist Derek Stubbs talking about the work, as well as some group shots after the presentation.

Robyn Williams, Mayor Sam Adams, Derek Stubbs looking at the one-page comic created to commemorate the event

Curators Kaebel Hashitani and Merrick Monroe, Mayor Sam Adams, artist Derek Stubbs, and executive director of PCPA Robyn Williams

The above images and more shots from the evening are available in our Flickr set “The 6th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest Art show“, and we’ll keep adding pictures there as they come in. It really was a wonderful evening, and we at Sequential Art Gallery were so excited to be a part of making the show happen and continuing our mission to bring comic arts to the people of Portland. Go Team Sequential!

I looked at the video description again and yep, this is a video of their busker performance during Lukas Ketner’s May 2009 show “Black Gold and Iron Ore”, which was full of art created for the band’s 2009 album “Salvation is a Deep Dark Well”. The impromptu show was pretty late in the evening so it’s hard to see many landmarks of the area, but you can definitely make out Sequential Art Gallery’s sandwich board sitting on the sidewalk to the (camera-)right the band. Give it a watch:

This video does a lot to exemplify the atmosphere here at the Everett Station Lofts’ First Thursdays, especially during the warm Summer months. Street musicians, spontaneous dance parties, occasionally people in costume… it’s a great time, if not a bit frenzied! The weather is just now starting to warm up again; it’ll be Summer before we know it, and the buskers will again come out to play. And if you liked that video, don’t forget to check out the band’s website, www.thebuildersandthebutchers.com for more videos and info about a great group of Portlanders.

Anyway, Kaebel did a great job on his latest appearance with host Rick Emerson and co-interviewee Chris Haberman. At the beginning of the episode Rick not only tells Kaebel he’s dressed like a supervillain, but he calls our curator an “evangelist” for the comic book arts. An omen for what’s to come? Or comic book appreciation at it’s finest? Tune in and watch this episode of Outlook Portland to find out!

Outlook Portland episode for February 28, 2010, on KRCW NW32TV:

Extra kudos go to the Outlook Portland production for upgrading to HD technology! The videos look great, and it’s wonderful that each episode is uploaded to the Internet so that we might spread that Portland love.

Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Stumptown Comics Foundation, and Sequential Art Gallery are excited to present the 6th annual Stumptown Comics Fest Art Show, coinciding with Portland’s third annual Portland Comic Book Month. The exhibit this year showcases an unprecedented 40+ artists, ranging from local to international professionals and emerging talent, with 80 pieces of comic book and illustrated art.

Opening reception will be hosted at PCPA on First Thursday, April 1, from 6-9pm. Mayor Sam Adams will be in attendance to read the official proclamation of April as Portland’s Comic Book Month, and many of the participating artists will also be on hand throughout the evening. Catering and drinks for the event will be provided by PCPA’s ArtBar and MacTarnahan’s Brewing.

Free guided tours featuring the exhibit as well as other local galleries will be provided to attendees of the Stumptown Comics Fest (April 24-25; www.stumptowncomics.com). The Stumptown Comics Fest Art Show will be available for viewing throughout April and May in the Antoinette Hatfield Hall of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts at 1111 SW Broadway (10am-5pm, Monday-Saturday; www.pcpa.com).

Facebook users can find the event page here: 6th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest Art Show on Facebook. Please invite your friends!

Below is a list of artists whose work will be displayed as part of the show:

• Alexis Fajardo, “Kid Beowulf” – presented by Bowler Hat Comics (www.bowlerhatcomics.com)
• Anthony van Winkle, “Night Zero” (www.nightzero.com)
• Aron Nels Steike, “Big Plans” & “Super Crazy Cat Dance” (www.aronnelssteinke.com)
• Barry Deutsch, “Hereville” (www.amptoons.com)
• Benja Barker, Founder – Alter Egos Society (www.alteregossociety.com)
• Brian Cattapan, “ZEEK… the martian geek” & “Vampires Need Love, Too” (www.cattapancomics.com)
• Catherine Peach, “Catgirls, Vol. 1 & 2″ (www.catherinepeach.com)
• Chris Baldwin, “Bruno” & “Spacetrawler” (www.spacetrawler.com)
• Chris Cilla, “Global Hobo” (ccillaswamp.blogspot.com)
• Chris M. Butzer, “Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel” (www.cmbutzer.com)
• C.L. Dahlstrom, “Captain Donovan on Danger Planet” (www.cldahlstrom.com)
• Daniel DePaolo, “The Brass Knuckle Rituals” (www.neotrashcomix.com)
• Derek Stubbs, “The Min” & “Mr. Popularity” (www.derekstubbs.com)
• Dylan Meconis, “Bite Me!” & “Family Man”, (www.dylanmeconis.com)
• Erika Moen, “DAR! A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary”, (www.erikamoen.com)
• Farel Dalrymple, “pop gun war” & “Wrenchies”, (www.fareldalrymple.com)
• Garret Izumi, “The Big Bang” (www.garretizumi.com)
• Greg Bigoni, “Mudtown” (www.mudtowncomics.com)
• Indigo Kelleigh, “Ellie Connelly” (www.lunarbistro.com)
• James Michael Williams, “White Male Neurosis” (www.jamesmichaelwilliams.net)
• Jonathon Dalton, “A Mad Tea Party” (www.jonathondalton.com)
• Josiane Keller, “Usagi-chan: a feminist graphic novel”
• Katy Ellis O’Brien, “Featherheart” & “Letters from Underwood” (www.trumpetflower.net)
• Lukas Ketner, “Witch Doctor” (lukasketner.blogspot.com)
• Marc Palm, “Lair of the Psychic Creature” (swellzombie.blogspot.com)
• Maris Wicks, “Project Romantic” (dotsforeyes.blogspot.com)
• Matt Metzler, “Copyjerk” & “Exit Only” (www.copyjerk.com)
• Mike Lawrence, “Salamander King” (www.threeredheadstudios.com)
• Monica Toth, “Helper Robots” (www.helper-robots.com)
• Natalie Phillips (www.nataliebluephillips.com)
• Neal Skorpen, “Island of Moths” (www.nealskorpen.com)
• Oxleberry, “Oxleberry” (www.oxleberry.com)
• Paul Guinan, “Boilerplate” (www.bigredhair.com)
• Philip Barasch, “Hand Hewn” (www.dancingchapmanstudio.com)
• Sarah Oleksyk, “Ivy” (www.saraholeksyk.com)
• Shannon Wheeler, “TMCM” & “The New Yorker” (www.tmcm.com)
• Skylar Amann, “Action Bookbinding” (www.skylaaramann.com)
• Susan Tardif, “The Ravens’ Gambit” (www.susantardif.com)
• Terrytoledo, “Sid Love” (www.terrytoledo.com)
• Tom Lechner, “Tales of Inertia” (www.tomlechner.com)
• Tom Neely, “I Will Destroy You!” (www.iwilldestroyyou.com)
• Tony Morgan, “Chicken Leg Bone Boy” & “Throwing Bones” (www.gunbabygraphics.com)

The episode is set to air Sunday, February 28 2010, at 6:30am on NW32. If you’re anything like Kaebel, you probably didn’t realize there was such a thing as 6:30am on a Sunday… the episode will also be uploaded to YouTube, and we’ll make sure to post an update when that goes online.

This was not Kaebel’s first appearance on Outlook Portland; he also visited the studio back in April 2009 alongside Aaron Duraan of Geek In The City. The trio discussed comic book art and their involvement with the Stumptown Comics Foundation, of which Kaebel is the president. Because the Internet is awesome, you can watch that episode now!

Outlook Portland episode for April 5, 2009, on KRCW NW32TV:

Great job, Kaebel! Way to represent the gallery; we look forward to seeing the next interview!

Kaebel, Rick, and Aaron at the studio in April 2009

Acknowledgements

Anyone who’s attended any event at the gallery knows that the gallery has never been a “one man” operation. In fact, over the past four & a half years of First Thursdays and numerous other related events, a veritable legion of friends have volunteered their time, efforts, energy, blood, sweat, tears and love to make sure every event is a success. I’d like to acknowledge them by name, and thank them publicly:
Mary-Suzanne Lamkins, Molly Lindsay, Melissa Armstrong, Vanessa Henerty, Sarah Jane Renner, Courtney Garrison, Christina “Blue” Crow, N. David Owens, Frank Lopez, James W. McHenry III, David Lamkins, Matthew Clark, Charles Kenshol, Kristin Hoffman, Talena Shields, Teressa Barsotti, Daniyel Hicks, Shinichi Moriyama, Susan Moriyama, Nikki Traino, Nick Falbo, Drew Woods, Tricia Beck, Amanda Thorson, Isaias Soto, Brenna Zedan, Chase Allgood, Megan Skye Hale, Myrrh Larsen, John C. Worsley III, Aaron Duran, Angela Kelley, Shannon Stewart, Todd Brabander, and Benja Barker.

Announcements

I’d like to officially announce the arrival of the gallery’s new co-curator, MERRICK MONROE. With a background in graphic design, photography, fine arts, and programming (note from Merrick: Actually, I just code websites… not the same as programming…), she has revitalized the gallery’s online presence, writes our press releases, and is integral in First Thursday preparation & events. And most recently, she has enabled the gallery to live-stream First Thursday events (Sequential Art Gallery + Studio on Ustream.tv). Those of you who follow the gallery’s activity online are already aware of Miss Monroe’s work.

Additionally, I’d like to reintroduce RICH VAIL MACKIN, the new author of The [h]IT List. Mr. Vail Mackin is a musician, performance artist, fine artist, writer, and very active in the “Keep Portland Weird” culture. He inherited the somewhat Herculean duty of compiling all First Thursday activities from Melissa Armstrong, and has risen to the task admirably.

Please feel free to introduce yourself to Merrick and Rich, either at First Thursday or online.

Lastly…

Thank you to every single one of you, patrons and artists alike, for supporting Sequential Art Gallery + Studio all this time. I couldn’t have done any of this without your support. Really, really.

Thanks for allowing me a moment of your time.

- Kaebel JK Hashitani

Also, a brief introduction: Hi, my name is Merrick. I started working with Sequential Art last summer, helping Kaebel get the place organized, prepping for First Thursdays, and making sure he eats dinner on event nights. I’ve also been overseeing much of the social networking–that’s practically a full-time job in itself–and investigating ways we can expand the reach of this humble Portland gallery. It’s an amazingly exciting business to be involved in (also, OMG comic books!), and I was both thrilled and humbled when Kaebel insisted that I was his co-curator(!) and not just his assistant. So, if I haven’t met you yet, come by some day and say hello, play some Magic, and check out the show.

We’ve also had [m]elissa step down from writing the monthly newsletter about First Thursday events, The [h]IT LIST, so that she can go out into the world and accomplish bigger, better things. Adventure into this vast, creative world, Melissa; just, please come see us on the occasional First Thursday! ;) Before she left, Melissa handed her list-making torch on to Rich Vail [M]ackin, who has stepped surely into the role. His first [h]IT LIST and the first list of MMX is already live–I mean, tomorrow is First Thursday–and we’re excited to have him on board for writing newsletters for the next year. At least, we think we’re excited…

Well, knock it off! We’re in Portland! There are all kinds of events going on this weekend will make SDCC-attendees envious! Srsly!

Just download & print out the Portland Bingo Card (antisdcc-bingo), and then go conquer the weekend. Do it!