FJs for the 2/18/13 week

[davey]

Got a stray syllable mixed up in Yerevan on Monday...still not sure where "Yatavan" came from...
Don't recall ever knowing the name of the statue...
Like others, I got stuck ruminating on "chiaroscuro" on Friday.

Misread Her "Unbroken" as looking for a woman's name as part of the title, not the author...Barely heard of Stillwell, and clueless about the org. being referred to.

At least I keep my streak of getting all the Soviet-related FJs...at least as far back as the dreaded "politically incorrect"...!

[davey]

Did anyone else think the Umbria clue was oddly worded? The 'local variation' language led me to thinking about something like the locals calling New Oreleans the big easy. I eventually got it , but the name of the place is Umbria local or no.

I believe the clue is saying that the region can be called "Ombra" locally though the official Italian name is "Umbria."

[CoachP]

I thought the Umbria clue was funky as well-thought they were going for the local nickname at first. My DVR froze (and ultimately crashed) right after the FJ clue was revealed, so I'm giving myself credit for getting the answer, though I'm not positive it was within the 30 seconds (a few seconds of "what the hell is going on" thought processes came first).

[heelsrule1988]

[nserven]

My guess for Tuesday was "that big Jesus statue in Brazil," which I believe was the working title.
For Thursday, tried to think of something arty-cultural that might be drawn down in a time of recession, and all I could come up with was Bolshoi.

[karoliner]

Gee that was brutal. Umbria was the only thing that saved me from going 0 for 9.

[hbomb1947]

Yesterday I went to an exhibit called "Our Global Kitchen" at the American Museum of Natural History. It was a fascinating look at the interplay between food and culture during human history. One small corner of the exhibit was a re-creation of a formal dining room (known as a "triclinium") in a villa of a prosperous individual in the ancient Roman empire. The plaque explained, in part, "If unexpected guests turned up, they sat just behind the reclining diners and were known as umbrae, or shadows." Yes, I took a photo of that plaque just so I would remember its words and be able to post them in this thread.

Well, anyway, my point is: why couldn't I have gone to that exhibit before I watched Friday's seminfinal match? Umbria wasn't even popping into my mind during the think music; I wavered between Tuscany and Campania, even though I was pretty sure that neither of them fit the geographical description in the clue. Now, if I'd known that "umbrae" meant shadows" . . .

And on the previous semifinal, I was so close . . . I guessed "farm collective" (like others here, I would have thought that 5-year plan was a China thing only).

I knew who Laura Hillenbrand was (and had really enjoyed the film adaptation of Seabiscuit), and had heard of Unbroken when it came out, but sadly I'd long since forgotten about it.

[Johnblue]

Tuscany is between Rome & Florence but it doesn't fit the shadow part of the clue plus Florence is in the northern part of Tuscany.

[earendel]

I'm surprised that I've known all of the FJ! responses for the ToC - either they're getting easier or I'm getting smarter. The only question on the list I didn't get was the "Unbroken" author - never heard of her (or the book, for that matter).

[Vanya]

Surprisingly Umbria has nothing to with Northumbria. And the ancient enemy of the Umbri... those darn Etruscans!

[Bamaman]

For the season:
FJ: 61-54
Extras: 30-39
Teacher's 6-4
Teen 8-2
TOC: 2-6
Longest FJ winning streak: 7
Longest FJ losing streak: 6 (active 1)
5/5:1
4/5:4
3/5:8
2/5:6
1/5:4
0/5:0

[TryphonTournesol]

I thought this was a pretty easy week of FJs, until I got to Thursday. I was also pretty surprised none of the three knew the fiery furnace. For the Elks one, I said brotherhood, but after it was missed on the show I realized the right answer before Alex said it. Not that that would have helped me if I was standing up there - I would have to have hoped I'd been beaten to it!