by Howard Rachelson
1. Pictured, left: This Gothic revival house, built in 1879 as a gate and guest house for a nearby mansion, was donated in 1905 to the city of San Rafael by what prominent San Rafael family? (Since 1959 it’s been the home of the Marin History Museum, at Mission Avenue and B Street.) 2. What form of poetry is named after an Irish city? 3. Translate these common Latin phrases into English: 3a. Per cent 3b. Et cetera (etc.) 3c. In vitro 4. To defuse the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia agreed to remove its missiles (threatening the U.S.) from Cuba, as long as the U.S. offered to remove missiles (threatening the Soviets) from what country? 5. Here are some sports movies, but what sports? 5a. 1992 Mighty Ducks 5b. 2004 Million Dollar Baby 5c. 1981 Chariots of Fire 5d. 2012 Crooked Arrows 6. Give a two-word name for the science primarily focused on the most elementary building blocks of life. 7. Riding a ski lift in 1974, John Denver composed in 10 minutes what song that he named for his wife? 8. When the young United States conducted its first census in 1790, which state had the largest population: Massachusetts, Pennsylvania or Virginia? 9. Pictured, right: Identify these profes9 sional sports venues in Oakland (one with three names) that begin with “O.” 10. What is the fifth largest planet in our solar system?
1
BONUS QUESTION: British Queen Elizabeth can speak fluently what foreign language? Howard Rachelson invites you to live team trivia contests on Wednesdays at 7:30pm at the Broken Drum in San Rafael, and a Team Trivia Fundraiser for the Marin History Museum on Saturday evening, Aug. 18, at the Boyd Mansion (current Elks Club) in San Rafael. Contact howard1@triviacafe.com and visit www.triviacafe.com.
HERO
ZERO
VIt’s terrible when a dog is missing. It’s downright distressing when a dog is missing and the guardians must relocate due to foreclosure. What if the pooch finds her way home and her people are gone? Well, when you’re a regular at the Sausalito Dog Park, you have Heroes on your side. Dozens of dog-park folks mobilized to look for Nellie the Husky, who’s been missing from Tam Valley since July 10. Search parties are hiking trails in Mill Valley and the Marin Headlands and hitting the pavement in Nellie’s neighborhood. Although volunteers are posting hundreds of fliers and offering a substantial reward, Nellie remains missing. If you spot a lone white husky with red markings, please call the Marin Humane Society at 415/883-4621.
Answers on page 27
WIs Marin losing its idyllic charm to idiot criminals? Last week, it was a Marin City cell phone snatcher. This week, in Novato, we have one man allegedly assaulting another man. Another drunken fistfight? Not this time. The Novato Police allege that Sender Catzim, 28, used a machete to cut his alleged victim— allegedly. (I wonder if he bought it on the Internet.) Apparently, a machete isn’t the only weapon in his arsenal, as reports indicate that Novato officers also found nunchucks in Catzim’s possession. (I wonder if he bought those on the Internet.) Machetes and nunchucks have no place on the streets of Marin, even when the weapons are available for purchase with a few keystrokes. Marin, let’s have zero tolerance for these Zeros.—Nikki Silverstein
Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to e-mail nikki_silverstein@yahoo.com. Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeros at ›› pacificsun.com
›› TATTOO TALES
Eve r y p i c t u r e t e l l s a s t o r y — e s p e c i a l l y t a t t o o s !
The scribble of life Larkspur woman inspired by nature’s rebirth, notebook doodles... by Co l l e e n B i d w i l l COLLEEN BIDWILL
›› TRiViA CAFÉ
A symbol of Gaynor’s ‘life journey’—a journey which has included a $60 trip to Whatever Tattoo in the Village.
S
amantha Gayner first saw it scribbled in her notebook: a wavy line with six dots. “I drew the line and dots and thought, ‘That’s actually a really interesting design,’ and I was thinking about what it means to me,” Gayner said. “And one day, I decided, ‘I need that.’” Once a doodle on a notebook page, she now wears the design as a tattoo on her ankle, a reminder of both the consistent and inconsistent aspects of her life. Gayner, who grew up in Larkspur and is now a senior at Sarah Lawrence College in downstate New York, describes the tattoo as a symbol of her life as a journey. The undulating line represents the ups and downs in life. The six dots, constants in her life, remain grounded throughout the highs and lows: herself, family, impact (she is influenced by past events, people), life, music and uncertainty (the future is unknown, but pushes her forward). She got her first tattoo in September 2010, a decision she didn’t always consider. After pondering it for a while, Gayner found herself at Whatever Tattoo, a place she’d been before to get her cartilage pierced, haggling the price of a tattoo from $80 down to $60. In about 45 minutes, after a light pain she described as a “cat constantly scratching at you,” she exited the New York parlor with the ink. Over a year later, it wasn’t walking out of, but rather into a stamp shop in Russell Square that triggered the inspira-
tion for her second tattoo. A stamp with four leaves stood out and brought to the surface what a leaf symbolized to her. She was drawn specifically to a maple leaf ’s shape and design, due to the veins that run through it, almost as if it were alive. “I feel like nature is alive, I know that sounds philosophical,” she said and smiled. “But, I really believe that nature is a living thing...I feel that I am very connected to nature.” Gayner, a vegan, is fascinated by how the earth naturally dies and comes back together through the change of the seasons. Thus, it’s represented in the green and brown coloring in the small maple leaf near the top of her right rib cage. After nearly two hours in Camden Lock Tattoo, she got the tattoo that also shows the transformation she went through in London—of self-discovery and what was important to her—at the price of around 160 English pounds (nearly $300). For Gayner, both tattoos were worth it because of their important, even related, meanings. Although a form of expression and self-proclaimed “great conversation starter,” she likes their strategic placement; one doesn’t automatically notice them, a precaution just in case potential employers may not like them. “It’s a great way to relate to other people, even though mine are hidden so well,” Gayner said. < If you’d like to show off your tattoo, call me at 415/485-6700 ext. 304 or email cbidwill@embarcaderopublishing.com. JULY 27 - AUGUST 2, 2012 PACIFIC SUN 7