Speaking of Ancient Pictures

Any guesses as to what year *THIS* quiz team picture is from?

This was state of the art digital at the time it was taken.

I will award a special "big money prize" (value at least $10) to the first Quizzer (not Jim or Matt or Michelina) who can identify everyone in this photograph. Click on it for a larger (though not MUCH larger) view. All guesses should be placed in the COMMENTS section attached to this story. Each quizzer gets ONE GUESS. Please be sure to include your nickname or last name + last initial, so I know who is entering each time.

Time Machine: Quiz Team 2003-2004

I was just noticing that I did not have any quiz team photos up on Flickr from 2003-2004 (except for Midwinter 2004). So I have uploaded the remainder of the photos I only had on my local computer, and you may not enjoy them here.

Pal, then


Pal, now


It is amazing how much we change in 3 years (and how far our camera technology has come)!

Future Narnia Movie Plans

It is being reported that Disney plans to produce at least three more films in the series.

First up, its certain that the fourth book "Prince Caspian" will be the next adventure. Despite its shorter length than 'Wardrobe', there's no plans to fuse elements from the other novels into it..."Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair", will be done next with the studio planning to use Caspian and these two as "an interlocking trilogy that will be shot in that order".

Having just bought the DVD for the first movie, I must say I am REALLY looking forward to seeing some more cut from the same mold.

ANNOUCEMENT: Sneak Preview - ACTS

Where: The Sarris House, 601 White Plains Road, Trumbull

When: Starting Wednesday, May 3, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

What: A chance to get a jump start on next year's Quiz Team. The Sarris family will be hosting a reading thru 4 or 5 chapters of the Book of Acts each week, have some kind of game, and some kind of refreshments (like popcorn or ice cream). This is NOT a formal practice, there will be no quizzing on the pads, and no one is required to come. But all quizzers are welcome.

Special Thanks to Dave Hansen

Trumbull wishes to express its thanks to Dave Hansen for leading up High Gear 2006, and ensuring that the event went off without a hitch!

We hope he enjoys this moooo-ving tribute.

Mark's Pictures from High Gear

You've now seen High Gear thru the eyes of Matt. Now you can see it thru my eyes (no special glasses required.) Click here to relive the experience one more time!

Matt's Pictures from High Gear 2006

All of Matt's pictures from High Gear 2006 are now up and ready for your perusal. Click here for the full list. Mark's will probably be up tomorrow, and Steven's later in the week. If you have pictures online you'd like us to link here e-mail me!

Congratulations to the Victors!

Trumbull would like to congratulate the first and second place teams from this year's High Gear. Both were worthy opponents who showed excellent knowledge of the text. We had a great time quizzing against you, and hanging out in general both on and off the pads. CONGRATULATIONS!

First Place, Upper & Lower: Essex Fells


Second Place, Upper & Lower: Lancaster


(If you would like a full-sized version of those team pics, stop back tomorrow for the links!)

We're Home!!!

We're Home!!!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

At the Tappan Zee Bridge

At the Tappan Zee Bridge
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

So about an hour to go.

Leaving Cabella's Now

Leaving Cabella's Now
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

The GPS says we'll be home after 10 pm, but there has been a LOT of

construction delays.

At Cabellas!

At Cabellas!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

We have reached Caballa's. Neat place. The thing in the picture is a

seaplane suspended from the ceiling!

Heading home... Very slowly...

Heading home... Very slowly...
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

We left rhe church at about 4 pm, and are moving VERY slowly toward

home. We plan to stop for lunch in about 15 minutes for about and

hour. Then a straight shot home.

Everyone has a down day here and there

And we're off!

And we're off!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

The rally has begun and the weekend now kicks into High Gear with

Festivals and Worship and the Speaker.

At Chocolate World

At Chocolate World
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

We're at Hershey Chocolate World enjoying the fresh baked candy

cookies. The rally is at 6:30 pm.

Lunchtime!

Lunchtime!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

So far 2 quizzes down, 2 quizzes to go!



Upper 0-2, Lower 1-1

PIctures from High Gear

Well, the event has barely begun and already the paparazzi are out in force. If you were wondering what your child/friend was been doing yesterday on the ride down to Hershey, PA (or if you are in a host home now wondering what blackmail the coaches have for the future) wonder no longer! Click below to see the pictures taken so far...

Pics Taken by Mark


Pics Taken by Matt

Trumbull is on the way!

Trumbull is on the way!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

We left shortly after 3 pm, and hope to be at the church around 8:30

pm. Right now doing a mean 5 mph on I78|.

REMINDER: Be at church by 2:30 PM

Just a quick reminder to all parents and teens. Be at church today at 2:30 PM, so that we can be FULLY PACKED and LEAVE by 3:00 PM.

Last-Minute Packing Checklist

Last-minute packing checklist for everyone. (Hopefully, you are all packed by now. But make sure you adhere to this list.)
1. New official Quiz Team t-shirt for Friday (DO NOT wear on Thursday for the trip!)
2. Long pants (not shorts, not skirts) for Friday during Quizzing
3. Romans & James scripture portion for study on Thursday night
4. Questions Binder for study on Thursday night
5. Money for food:
- Dinner at Pott's/Vassi's on Thursday night ($5 recommended)
- Dinner on Friday night at Fuddruckers or similar restaurant ($10 recommended)
- Dinner on Saturday on the way home, if needed, at Wendy's or similar restaurant ($5 recommended)
- Any souvenirs/candy from Hershey Chocolate World (entrance and the ride are free)
6. Any performance clothes required (remember that your personal presentation is factored into points awarded at Festivals)
7. Any instruments or CD/Tape players required for performance
8. Any CDs or Tapes required as accompanyment for your performance
9. Pillow and Sleeping bad for your host homes
10. CRUSHABLE luggage. Hard-top luggage just makes it harder to fit everyone and everything
11. Small notebook, if you want to take notes at any of the workshops
12. Comfortable travel clothes for the trip back on Saturday

Electronics (GameBoy, PSP, iPod) are allowed in the van and host homes, but NOT in the church without permission. Same with SMALL sports equipment (i.e. if you want to bring a frisbee or tennis ball to toss around outside between events). If you are bringing medication, please advise the coaches before we leave on Thursday so that they are aware.

Remember, DO NOT bring any fireworks/matches/lighters, pocket knives, skateboards, baseball bats, large sports equipment, tobacco products, or anything that will be hard to fit into the vans.

One more address for drivers

We'll probably hit this place on the way home on Saturday...

Cabela's (Website)
100 Cabela Drive, Hamburg, PA 19526
610-929-7000

Final Road to Round Up Scores

Here are the final scores for the Road to Round Up competition. The Top 5 quizzers for each division will start at Round Up.

Lower Division
1 Special J 1370
2 Darth Nader 1050
3 The Brain 690
4 Quirky 640
5 Chit-Chat 240
6 Green Chuck 170
7 Pinky 150
8 Frizzle 40
9 Specs 30


Upper Division
1 Super K 1620
2 GJJane 550
3 Froggy 420
4 Josh R 370
5 Smiley Phantom 230
6 Pal 100
7 Dan H.
8 Shaggy

Important Addresses for High Gear Drivers

If you are a parent or sponsor coming along, here are a few other places/addresses that might be handy to have along. These are places we have stopped in the past for food or tourism. Click on the address to get directions from Google Maps.

On the way down to Hershey...
Vassi's Drive-In (formerly Potts Doggie Shop)
1661 Main St, Hellertown, PA 18055

While in Hershey
Hershey EFCA Church
330 Hilltop Rd, Hersey, PA 17036
(717) 533-4848
Map at Church Website: http://www.hersheyfree.com/map.htm

Wendy's Restaurant
625 E Main St, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036

Comfort Inn, Hershey
1200 Mae St., Hummelstown, PA 17036
717-566-2050

Fuddrucker's Restaurant, Hershey
1221 W Chocolate Ave, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036

Hershey Chocolate World
800 Hershey Park Dr, Hershey, PA 17033

High Gear Festival Schedule

Once Quiz Team is done, it will be time for the other talent competitions/reviews to begin. Below is the schedule of ALL of the events for the Trumbull folks of which we are aware at this time. Please note that a lot more events are scheduled for Friday Night this year over Saturday morning. So note your time and bring along any clothes/instuments/etc. that you may need in order to perform at your time! Please be sure to check the schedule when we get there on Friday, as well. Last-minute changes are the norm at High Gear!

(This schedule does not show all of our friends from other churches who will be performing. During time between Trumbull players, you will want to stick around to cheer on others.)

SCHEDULE BY EVENT
FRIDAY NIGHT
Vocal – Room 301/303
8:00p - Brasile/Hovan
8:20p - Calvary Teen Ensemble

Instrumental – Room 302/304
7:20p - Brake/Brake

Drama – Room 401/402
8:20p - Taylor/Backus
8:40p - Sarris/Ramalho


SATURDAY MORNING
Written Review with Judges
9:30a - Backus

Interpretive Dance – Catacombs (downstairs)
9:40a - Master’s School of Choreography


SCHEDULE BY TIME
FRIDAY NIGHT
7:20p - Brake/Brake - Instumental (302/304)
8:00p - Brasile/Hovan - Vocal (302/303)
8:20p - Calvary Teen Ensemble - Vocal (302/303)
8:20p - Taylor/Backus - Drama (401/402)
8:40p - Sarris/Ramalho - Drama (401/402)

SATURDAY MORNING
9:30a - Backus - Written
9:40a - Master's School of Choreography - Dance (Catacombs)

Directions to Hershey EFC

Here are directions for those who may be going to High Gear in Hershey, PA from CEFC in Trumbull, CT

Trumbull to Hershey (254 Miles)

Rte 15 South (Merritt Parkway South) to Exit 26W (I-287 West)
Once off the exit move immediately to the left to merge on I-287 West
Rte I-287 West to I-287/87 West
Go Over the Tappan Zee Bridge

I-287/87 West to I-287 West
I-287 West to Exit 21 I-78 West (Joins I-78 West at exit 29 in New Jersey)
I-78 West into Pennsylvania
I-78 West to Exit 1 (I-81 South)
I-81 South to Exit 80 (Rte 743 South)
Take a left off the exit onto Rte 743 South
Stay on Rte 743 South as it goes through town and near Hershey Park (approx 9 miles)
Rte 743 South to Fishburn Ave. (Also Rte 743 South)
Take a left on Fishburn Ave. (Near Giant food store)
Take a Right onto Church St.
Take a Right on Hilltop Rd.
The Hershey Evangelical Free Church will be on the left and is 330 Hilltop Rd.

High Gear General Schedule

Here is the general schedule for High Gear, this coming weekend. Please be aware that if you are involved in Festivals (i.e. performance), your activity will probably be Friday night, rather than Saturday morning. Bring along any performance clothes you may want to change into on Friday! (We'll have up the performance schedule tomorrow.)

Thursday, April 20, 2006
2:45 PM: Quiz Team arrives at church to pack vans
3:00 PM: Quiz Team Departs from Church
6:00 PM: Dinner at Potts Doggie Shop
8:00 PM: Depart from Hershey EFC with Host Families

Friday, April 21, 2006
9:00 AM-4:00 PM: Bible Quizzing
6:30 PM: Greeting
6:40 PM: Worship
6:55 PM: Dismissal to Festivals
7:00 PM-9:00 PM: Festivals
9:00 PM: Worship
9:30 PM: Speaker
10:00 PM: Groups
10:30 PM: Housing Pick ups

Saturday, April 22, 2006
8:30 AM-10:30 AM: Festivals
10:30 AM-10:45 AM: Break/Movement
10:45 AM-12 PM: Workshops
12 PM-1 PM: Lunch
1:15 PM-3 PM: Worship, Speaker, Closing

Important Packing Reminder

Quizzers must wear long pants to Quiz on Friday. No Shorts, Skirts, or dresses are allowed. You may change into other clothes on Friday after quizzing is done.

Time to Get Serious

If you are like most quizzers, now that Easter is over it is finally dawning on you that High Gear is only 4 days away! Hopefully, you have been studying all along, and now you just need to sharpen your skills for the Big Event. Otherwise, you may need some Extra Help to get you ready. Either way, the coaches have put together 5 Sample Quiz Meets for your studying pleasure. These are in RTF format, which should be readable by anything that read MSWord files (Wordpad on the PC, TextPad on the Mac, OpenOffice on Linux). You can download them individually, or the whole group in the ZIP file.

• Sample Quiz 1
• Sample Quiz 2
• Sample Quiz 3
• Sample Quiz 4
• Sample Quiz 5
• All Sample Quizzes in one ZIP file

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Road to Round-Up Comes Down to the Wire

Here are the updated scores for the Round to Round Up.

Lower Division
Special J 1160
Dath Nader 830
The Brain 670
Quirky 550
Chit-Chat 190
Green Chuck 170
Pinky 160
Frizzle 40
Specs 20

Upper Division
Super K 1540
GJJane 560
Stephanous 410
Josh R 370
Smiley Phantom 220
Pal 100
Dan H
Shaggy

Remember, this is the last week to make the top 5.

Did you notice...

...that Calvary Evangelical Free Church has a newly redesigned website? Check it out!

Good Friday

Luke 23:32-49
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[e] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

38There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[f]"

43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." 48When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

What is "Maundy Thursday"?

Today is the part of Holy Week called "Maundy Thursday" and there is a special service at church. Wondering what that means, exactly? Click here for the full story.

In the Christian calendar, Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, is the Thursday before Easter, the day on which the Last Supper is said to have occurred.
The Middle English word Maundy, used only in this context, derives from Old French mandé from Latin mandatum novum do vobis, "a new commandment I give unto you, love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34), words spoken by Jesus to the Apostles after washing their feet in preparation for The Last Supper.

If you want the story from scripture, click here

ALERT: Some T-shirts Still Not Picked Up

If you are one of the few who has still not paid for and picked up your t-shirt, please bring the money tonight and be sure to be at practice. At this stage, there are only 3 I am aware have not paid or picked up their shirts:

1. Shaggy

2. Palindrome

3. Dan H.

Remember, as indicated when you placed your order, they are $15. If for some reason you absolutely can not pay or do not want a t-shirt, please contact me ASAP.

Keep an eye on Pastor Dave next Sunday

Pictures from Will & Amy's Wedding

For those of you who missed ex-quizzer Will "PureNard" Sarris's wedding, you can see a set of pictures from the weekend, here at Flickr. From the trip to Minnesota to the bachelor party to the rehearsal dinner to the wedding, it is all here.

(Well, everything except the wedding ceremony, since I was not allowed to take pictures while standing beside Will as a groomsman. Where do they get these quaint traditions?)

TheKristo.Com is an interesting gospel presentation

If you have a friend who is interested in the gospel, but who is not generally open to traditional church stuff, you may want to direct him or her to TheKristo.Com. It is a flash movie presenting the basic gospel message in a format that teens may find especially interesting.

Timing is everything

Congratulations Pure Nard!

Congratulations today to former quizzer Will "Pure Nard" Sarris on his marriage today to a very brave lady, willing to put up with him for the rest of her life.

Road to Round Up Heats Up!!!

With one more week in the books, the race for the last starter spot in the Lower Division for High Gear is heating up with three quizzers within 20 points of each other. Study well these last few weeks. It could make a huge difference.

Lower Division
1. Special J 860
2. The Brain 650
3. Darth Nader 580
4. Quirky 320
5. Pinky 130
Chat-E 120
Green Chuck 110
Frizzle 40
Specs 20

Upper Division
1. Super K 1230
2. GJJane 350
3. Bronx Boy 350
4. Stephanous 300
5. Smiley Phantom 210
Shaggy
Pal
Dan

Photo Caption Contest

I took this picture this past weekend and just think it is TOO CUTE. Can anyone suggest some captions for this photo?

Best photo caption wins a prize at the next Quiz Practice.

Me Spelle Gud

The Bible Experience coming soon to a CD near you

The Bible Experience is a new project by Zondervan publishing (the ones behind the New International Version translation of the bible). This will be a 70-hour audio production of the Old and New Testaments by prominent black celebrities. Complete with music and special effects, it might be a fun way to study the Book of Acts next year, for those who don't find the version recorded by Will Sarris for us to be good enough.

The Race to Round-Up

Wondering where you stand in the Race to Round-Up. Here are the scores after last Wednesday night. Remember, the special prize is only available to the starting 5 of each team.

Lower Division
1. Special J - 660
2. The Brain - 410
3. Darth Nader - 340
4. Quirky - 320
5. Pinky - 120
6. Emma - 110
7. Green Chuck - 90
8. Frizzle - 30
9. Specs - 20


Upper Division
1. Super K - 720
2. GJJane - 350
3. Josh R - 310
4. Smiley Phantom - 210
0. Palindrome - 0
0. Stephanas - 0
0. Shaggy - 0
0. Dan - 0

Toledo Chaplains preach to Prisoners

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Hebrews 13:3

One group of chaplains is putting these words into action in downtown Toledo

he Lucas County Jail Chaplaincy Committee, a nondenominational group that provides for the inmates' spiritual needs, trains chaplains with a rigorous six-month program. Volunteers must take classes and sit in on jail services led by veteran chaplains
"We could use 50 or 55 chaplains," says the Rev. James Jackson, chairman of the chaplaincy committee.
His predecessor, the Rev. George Hairston, led the chaplaincy committee for 25 years before "retiring" in January. He still visits the jail three or four times a week.

And prisoners are often those most open to the word of God, because they know they are sinners and seeking a savior.

Sin is sin no matter what you call it

Just for fun

Here is another fun Flash game to give your brain a break now and then from studying for Quiz Team. (Remember, *THIS* is the break. The studying for quiz team should not be the break from THIS.) This game is in the spirit of Tetris, and the idea is to rotate the blocks and try to completely clear the board. My top score so far is 25690. What is yours?