Playoff to determine biggest story of 2015

It's the end of the year and competition is healthy. Which means it's time for my annual story-of-the-year tournament.

Unlike other media outlets, who merely rank the top stories of the year without letting you know exactly how they decided, I believe in letting them decide it on the field.

Also unlike other media outlets, I add personal events of 2015 to the tournament. The biggest stories are those that affect you (or, in this case, me) right?

So let the tournament begin. Eight stories in a three-round, single-elimination tournament to decide the biggest news event of 2015.

Quarterfinals
Mrs. Brad and I travel to Hawaii vs. Drought continues.

Every few years (nine, in this case), Mrs. Brad and I return to Hawaii for a week of relaxation and fun. We did it in November, for the first time since our kids became adults. Aloha, right? Meanwhile, the rain stayed away for a third straight year and we finally got what we feared: Horrific fires in Northern California. The Hawaii trip was fun, but the drought description includes the word "horrific." Drought advances.

Paris terror attacks vs. Installation of "trashketball" hoop in my cubicle.

On the surface, this seems ridiculous – how can a Nerf basketball hoop that's attached to the wall of my cubicle at work be important? Well . . . I used it nearly every day this year. It came into play frequently, while the Paris terrorist attacks were a news story that reminded me of what I already knew. So . . . oh, I can't do it. Terror attacks were a huge story. They advance to the semifinals.

Supreme Court decision on gay marriage vs. Warriors win NBA championship.

These have more in common than you think. Both happened this summer. Both prompted big celebrations in the Bay Area. Both angered right-wing Cleveland Cavaliers fans. (OK, the last one was a stretch.) However, anyone paying attention saw the gay marriage decision coming. No one saw the Warrior big season coming until things got rolling. Therefore, for winning their first championship since 1975, the Warriors advance.

2016 presidential race gets off to a fast start vs. Caitlyn Jenner saga.

Rand Paul's hair. Donald Trump's bluster. Hillary Clinton's emails. Ben Carson's biography. Caitlyn Jenner's interviews. The presidential race and the Jenner gender identity change got more media coverage than merited, but both were so fascinating we couldn't take our eyes off them. However, the presidential race will affect us for the next four or eight years, while Caitlyn Jenner will likely be a footnote to reality TV history. The presidential race advances.

Semifinals
Drought continues vs. Paris terror attacks

There's no way to say this without sounding insensitive, so I won't. Drought wins. (Send your complaints about my insensitivity to kelvinsbrother@sbcglobal.net.)

Warriors win title vs. Presidential race starts

Which is more compelling TV: Steph Curry's jumper or Donald Trump's facial expressions? Which seems more otherworldly: Draymond Green's energy or Ted Cruz's face? Which family dynasty is greater: Mychael and Klay Thompson or Bill and Hillary Clinton? I know my answers and I'll put it this way: I didn't watch every presidential debate in 2015. I watched every Warriors playoff game. Dubs win. Again.

Finals
Drought continues vs. Warriors win title

This one's tough, but here's the difference: The rain drought has lasted a few years. The Warriors' title drought lasted 40 years. If it continues to be dry until 2051, we'll talk. Until then . . . Splash Brothers win another title.

Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.

Get ready to prove your local knowledge

Hello and welcome back to the annual Solano County knowledge test. You live here (or have some connection to the county) and should know a lot about Solano, one of 18 original California counties (from 1850, of course. You already knew that.).

That's where I come in. Consider me the DMV of Solano knowledge, giving you a test to allow you to keep your knowledge license. Remember, next year you can make an appointment!

What follows are 20 questions. Write down your answers on a separate piece of paper (or on the margin to the left of the community calendar) and see how you do. And as always, only Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils are counted.

Let's.

Get.

Started!

1. Within 50,000, how many people live in Solano County?

2. Name the four interstate freeways in Solano County.

3. Name the five state highways in Solano County.

4. The man who dominated the world land-speed record book 50 years ago lives in Solano County. Who is this legendary driver (the Beach Boys wrote a song about him!) and in which Solano County city does he live?

5. Name the seven Solano County cities.

6. Name the seven dwarfs.

7. What is the largest park in Solano County?

8. What was the most valuable agricultural product in Solano County in 2014?

9. Who is Sem Yeto and why is he in this quiz?

10. If you started at the West Texas Street exit in Fairfield and drove 1,000 miles east on Interstate 80, in what state would you be?

11. Within 1,000, how many people (military and civilian) work at Travis Air Force Base?

12. What company is the largest private employer (in terms of number of employees) in Solano County?

13. What is the largest family owned newspaper in Solano County?

14. Name at least four of the five Solano County supervisors.

15. In what month is the Dixon May Fair?

16. What two Solano County cities were once the capital of California?

17. What is the only city in the county with more men than women?

18. Within two, how many fingers am I holding up right now?

19. What was Travis Air Force Base called when it was founded in 1942?

20. How did you do on this test?

ANSWERS

1. The 2014 estimate (most recent available) was 425,169.

2. Interstates 80, 680, 780, 505.

3. Highways 12, 29, 37, 84 and 113.

4. Craig Breedlove, Rio Vista.

5. Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo.

6. Sleepy, Doc, Grumpy, Bashful, Happy, Sneezy, Dopey.

7. Rockville Hills Park (633 acres) in Fairfield, which edges out Pena Adobe/Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville (470 acres).

8. Tomatoes, with a crop value of just more than $46 million.

9. Sem Yeto is the real name of Chief Solano, the county's namesake.

10. Wyoming (Specifically, 4 miles east of Fort Steele, Wyoming).

11. Travis' workforce is listed as 13,414. That includes 7,200 active duty personnel.

12. Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, with nearly 4,000 employees. Another 1,000 Kaiser employees work in Vacaville.

13. Daily Republic, brother!

14. Erin Hannigan, John Vasquez, Linda Seifert, Jim Spering, Skip Thomson.

15. May. Of course.

16. Benicia (1853) and Vallejo (1852, 1853).

17. Vacaville, which is 53 percent male – due to the approximately 6,300 inmates at the two major prisons there.

18. Four.

19. Fairfield Army Air Base

20. OK.

SCORING

16-20: An expert. Tell the folks at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo that I said to let you in free.

12-15: Pretty solid. Treat yourself to a free tour of the Jelly Belly Factory on me.

8-11: Well, it was tough, but you tried. Ride around Fairfield-Suisun City on the bus for an hour and contemplate how you could get better.

0-7: Go watch a film at the drive-in theater on North Texas Street. You remember it, right? You don't? Well, it's not there anymore!

Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.

'Star Wars' movie is going to be fantastic!

When the new "Star Wars" movie comes out this week, no one will be more excited than me. It's Star Wars!

Who doesn't like stars? Or wars? Put them together? Fantastic.

While some may accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon of a hot cultural phenomenon, I've been a fan of "Star Wars" since I was a kid. I've always loved Captain Kirk. The relationship between Kirk and Hans Olo was one of my favorite aspects of the first movies.

When Disney announced that it was adding three new films to the series, I was thrilled. I, of course, enjoyed the first three movies (particularly "Luke Skywalker and the Temple of Doom") but unlike a lot of other fans, I was also enthralled by the subsequent trio of films, which were actually prequels.

"Star Wars" fans know that, of course.

Like many people, I enjoyed "Episode I: Prince Caspian" and "Episode II: Shaft in Africa," but the highlight of those films was undoubtedly "Episode III: Yoda and the Goblet of Fire." I still have the special cup I stood in line to get at Taco Bell when Episode II came out. Shaft in space? Nothing better.

The anticipation of the new film (called, of course "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" because it parallels Chuck Norris's 1979 masterpiece "A Force of One" and features Norris in the role of a silent, terrifying assassin), reminds many of us of the excitement of earlier blockbusters. A huge group of "Star Wars" fans in costume (I hope someone dresses up as Neo!) is expected to flood theaters overnight Thursday to be the first to see it.

The closest I can think would be the electricity when "Three Men and a Little Lady" came out in 1990.

Greatest.

Sequel.

Ever.

The thing that a lot of people don't realize – but those true "Star Wars" fans among us do – is the impact the George Lucas series has on other parts of culture.

For instance, the iconic TV show "Star Search" probably was inspired by "Star Wars." They're both two-word titles and both start with "Star." Do the math.

Similarly, "Storage Wars," "Cake Wars," Wedding Wars" and "Cupcake Wars" all bring "Star Wars" to mind. And what would our world be like without them? Like a world without Princess Layla, Obi Juan Canopy and Garth Mall, three of my favorite "Star Wars" characters.

What about Star Jones?

Seriously: What about Star Jones? Does anyone know what happened to her? I hadn't thought of her until I wrote the previous paragraph.

Anyway, "Star Wars" isn't just a great film, it has made a huge impact on our culture, since the first scene in the initial movie, when Luke Skywalker says, "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat!" As someone who has watched each movie very closely and who tries to live his life by the mantra said by famous "Star Wars" actor Leonard Nimoy ("Live long and prosper"), I hope this episode is just as good as the first six.

If you go to an opening-night showing, please don't spoil it for me. I want to find out for myself whether the boy wizard lives.

I just love "Star Wars." And Star Jones, in case she Googled her name and is reading this.

Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor who actually saw "Star Wars" in a theater, long ago and far away. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.

'It's a politically incorrect life' and other notes

Emptying out my notebook with just 25 days left in 2015 – after which we start an election year!

Which means, of course, we're still in the presidential preseason. Yikes.

On to the topics du jour . . .

• I love "It's a Wonderful Life," the iconic 1946 film that celebrates the impact of one man's life: George Bailey, played by James Stewart. I'm old enough to remember when the movie was in the public domain and every TV station could play it as often as it liked, leading to a funny scene in one "Cheers" episode when Woody explained that the local station was hosting something it called "It's a Wonderful Month."

Still . . .

There are elements in the film that would be considered laughable in a current movie. And I'm not talking about George's ear problem keeping him out of the military or the crazy idea of putting a gym floor over a swimming pool (mold problem, anyone?).

How about George's abusive relationship with store owner Mr. Gower? First of all, George seems too young to be working. Secondly, when Gower slaps him in the ear, it was workplace abuse, right? Right? The owner basically punched a kid!

In 2015, Bailey would file a lawsuit and be a social media star.

Then there's the idea that Mary's life would be wasted in a non-George Bailey world because she would be an unmarried librarian. What? A woman not getting married at 18? A woman with a career? And of course, working in a library changed Mary's personality from a bubbly girl to a haggard old maid.

Finally, there's the elephant in the room: Uncle Billy's alcoholism. Oh yeah, it's charming as he loses people's money and gets drunk. Charming Uncle Billy. While he wasn't George's responsibility, George sure was his enabler. Both could use some counseling.

Yeah, it's a wonderful life. One with workplace abuse, sexual discrimination and alcoholism.

• One of my favorite Facebook pages launched about a month ago and is called "Fairfield Memes."

It's filled with Internet-friendly photos that have sayings about Fairfield and Suisun City. A warning: If you're sensitive to the reputation of the cities, you might get offended. OK, you will get offended.

There are plenty of images of crime, drug abuse and disrepair. But the spirit of the page's founder (who remains anonymous) is actually one of pride, echoed by most of those who visit the page.

It's more of a feeling of "sure, there are problems here, but it's my town." Kind of like embracing the dysfunction in your life. To be like George Bailey.

Fairfield Memes, the "blogger" version. Check it out.

• Am I the only person who wonders whether the makers of the old Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils had an illegal monopoly during the fill-in-the-blank school-test days of the 1960s and 1970s?

Why did the tests require No. 2 pencils? What was wrong with other numbers? Did the Dixon Ticonderoga leadership pay off the education officials to make their pencils the only acceptable lead for those early tests?

That would be like having online tests now, but saying they can only be taken on Dell computers, right?

• There's plenty of season to go, but this seems obvious: This year's Golden State Warriors are the greatest team in the history of Bay Area pro sports.

They're coming off a championship, they seemingly can't lose and they have the reigning league MVP in Stephen Curry.

If you're not a sports fan, consider adopting the Warriors. They're likable, entertaining and keep winning. And in Curry, they have the greatest shooter in the history of Earth.

Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.