To Internet or not to Internet...

People love to get "trivia" info. online, and I do it myself, but I'm a professional skeptic and am very selective about my online sources. I rely on sites put out by universities or recognized scholarly or professional organizations, libraries, recognized experts, individual companies, etc. You just can't afford to get burned wading through "trivia" sites put up by enthusiasts. You have to know that the info. is verified and fact-checked. And you also have to know that it's relevant to the quiz show you're hoping to be on--a lot of the "trivia" sites are soooooo specific and arcane that their stuff would just never be used on Jeopardy or Millionaire...like, in 1969, how many guitar picks did Eric Clapton use in a single concert? Well, I love him and might like to know that, but the chances of your needing it on a general knowledge show are so slim you're better off studying things like where he's from, his famous songs and lines from them, his awards, news-making events involving him, etc. The All-Music Guide (www.allmusicguide.com) is great for that.

A good general knowledge gateway is www.lii.org, the Librarians' Index to the Internet, made available by the wonderful librarians in California (hi to my friend Ida in San Mateo...don't know if she works on it, but she's a wonderful librarian in California...). You can find authoritative Web sites on a vast array of subjects, and they've all been vetted by those same wonderful librarians...