My turn on J!

[cheezguyty]

Btw, this got me thinking: Have a pair of twins ever appeared on the show (on different shows)?

According to the Archive, Paula Massengale was a 4-time champ almost exactly one year after her twin sister Phyllis appeared on the show.

[Samer]

Btw, this got me thinking: Have a pair of twins ever appeared on the show (on different shows)?

According to the Archive, Paula Massengale was a 4-time champ almost exactly one year after her twin sister Phyllis appeared on the show.

I stand corrected.

[Samer]

OK. . . . So now is the time for the remaining hopefuls, the returning champion, and Maggie et al. to go to lunch.

I ended up getting a slice of pizza and some beverage to drink, because (A) I can't figure out what taro chips are, and don't want to find out the hard way that my body doesn't like them, and (B) it was the fastest-moving line.

I don't remember too much of what we talked about here, other than sharing biographical information. The one thing I most remember is Robert basically saying that he is definitely NOT a football nut. As I said, I had to explain to him why wide receivers are called that (to be fair, it took me a long time to figure that out too when I was younger).

In any case, my "suggestion" that we could head back to the studio without Mark went unheeded.

When we got back to the studio, it was time for the next drawing for "Thursday's" match. And that's when my name came up . . . so it was time to head back to the green room for some "last" makeup touchups, picking of stories, etc. I think as I headed back I muttered the words "We who are about to die salute you."

Finally, I'll point out that apparently my name is not nearly as easy to figure out as I thought, even when I explained it to Robert multiple times.

[Rafferty Barnes]

Best of retroactive luck to you tomorrow, Samer! I was wondering when I saw the name on the Hometown Howdies if that was you.

[alietr]

(A) I can't figure out what taro chips are, and don't want to find out the hard way that my body doesn't like them

Get yourself a bag of Terra Chips sometime. They're chips made out of taro, sweet potato, yucca, batata, parsnip, and ruby taro. They're delicious (but pretty expensive for a bag of chips).

[trainman]

OTOH, on a really amusing note for those of us on the "distinguished" side of 25 who lived in the Tri-State Area: some of you may remember an ad for Mt. Airy Lodge that featured a couple sitting in a gigantic champagne glass-as-bathtub. One of the other folks at my audition was the guy in the glass.

Or watched (W)WOR on cable. "At beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge/All you have to bring/Is your love of everything."

[Samer]

OTOH, on a really amusing note for those of us on the "distinguished" side of 25 who lived in the Tri-State Area: some of you may remember an ad for Mt. Airy Lodge that featured a couple sitting in a gigantic champagne glass-as-bathtub. One of the other folks at my audition was the guy in the glass.

Or watched (W)WOR on cable. "At beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge/All you have to bring/Is your love of everything."

I forgot that part, but I can still remember the end of that jingle all these years later ". . . at BEAU-ti-ful MOUNT Airy Loooooooooodge. . . ."

[Peggles]

Best of retroactive luck! I shall cross multiple digits for you.

[BuzzABoom]

OK, so a couple of comments on today's episode:

(1) In the green room, Christine was talking about how she INSISTED on wearing a hat. Needless to say, the contestants were unanimously in support. If they had said no, things might have gotten ugly.

(2) Those of us in the audience collectively went "#%@%" when Tom missed that DD.

As others noted, the problem with it was that it just went on and on. One important thing is that on a video DD, only the first part of the text appears on the clue monitor. So if you don't catch the ask in the question, you're SOL. And that's exactly what happened to Tom. If he got that right, things might have turned out very differently.

And an amusing note on the process leading up to The Call: I've had some strange luck in applying for J!

When I applied for the college tournament, I was one of about eight people (it might have been five) who passed in my room. . . . as was a freshman in my dorm who I had never met.

Then, I had an audition in 2007 (after the switch to computer testing) . . . and one of the people in my audition was one of my former TRASH teammates, Jason Keller.

Then, I had another audition in 2009(?) . . . and (A) accidentally went to the hotel where the 2007 audition was held(!), instead of the right one (thankfully, I knew my way around Manhattan, so it only took me 20 minutes to get from one to the other). And guess who one of the people in my audition was? [b]One of my former TRASH teammates, Jason Keller[/b].

OTOH, on a really amusing note for those of us on the "distinguished" side of 25 who lived in the Tri-State Area: some of you may remember an ad for Mt. Airy Lodge that featured a couple sitting in a gigantic champagne glass-as-bathtub. One of the other folks at my audition was the guy in the glass.

You are referring to THE Jason Keller, formerly of Rutgers and Cornell, right? This guy pretty much influenced my current Quiz Bowl buzzing strategy.

Anyway, I like Mark and all, but I'll be rooting for you tomorrow night Samer!

[slam]

Best of retroactive luck, Samer!

[Samer]

You are referring to THE Jason Keller, formerly of Rutgers and Cornell, right? This guy pretty much influenced my current Quiz Bowl buzzing strategy.

Anyway, I like Mark and all, but I'll be rooting for you tomorrow night Samer!

Yep, that Jason Keller.

[Bamaman]

There was an older black lady on about a year ago that wore a hat.

Interesting you mention being a twin and Mt. Airy, which was the home of the Bunker twins.

Congrats on making the show.

[Samer]

So, game time.

As I mentioned on the episode thread, I was amazed at how fast the game moved. But I suppose that's what happens when you have three players all buzzing in on at least 80% of the questions, if not more. [You can't hear it at home, but I could hear/see it in the studio.] IIRC, during the main game, there were exactly THREE questions where the "buzzer is on" lights were on for more than half a second (roil, Phyllis George, and Four Roses. [I didn't buzz in because I didn't know if it was "Four Roses" or "Four Rose" or what have you, and I didn't feel like taking a $1200 flier. Maybe, in retrospect, I should have, but oh well.]

I was just glad to get the very first question, and am still kicking myself over not buzzing in on Ras Lanuf. I honestly wonder how much of a difference that would have made (sweeping the category + keeping the DD away from Mark).

[alietr]

All those "what-ifs" do haunt you for a while.

[John Boy]

So, game time.

As I mentioned on the episode thread, I was amazed at how fast the game moved. But I suppose that's what happens when you have three players all buzzing in on at least 80% of the questions, if not more. [You can't hear it at home, but I could hear/see it in the studio.] IIRC, during the main game, there were exactly THREE questions where the "buzzer is on" lights were on for more than half a second (roil, Phyllis George, and Four Roses. [I didn't buzz in because I didn't know if it was "Four Roses" or "Four Rose" or what have you, and I didn't feel like taking a $1200 flier. Maybe, in retrospect, I should have, but oh well.]

I was just glad to get the very first question, and am still kicking myself over not buzzing in on Ras Lanuf. I honestly wonder how much of a difference that would have made (sweeping the category + keeping the DD away from Mark).

Many congratulations for making it to your own lectern/podium. I kept wondering how it must have felt to finally get there, and find yourself between an established ToC/Top-Ten-All-Time player and another guy who left Mark in his dust with his own superb play. Must have been disheartening. I hope you enjoyed yourself immensely nonetheless.

[Samer]

I kept wondering how it must have felt to finally get there, and find yourself between an established ToC/Top-Ten-All-Time player and another guy who left Mark in his dust with his own superb play. Must have been disheartening.

Yeah, seeing as I've only been wanting to be on J! for about, oh, twenty years. . . .

FWIW, with no offense meant to Mark and Brian, the last thing I wanted was "an eyecandy for the ladies" game (yes, Maggie actually said that to us when we were doing the pregame stuff) where I was the eldest of the group. [Think about it for a second: how often, these days, are the contestants on J! three men under the age of 40?]

OTOH, that said, if you told me that I was going to lose on J!, but let me pick how, losing the way I did—in an ultracompetitive match—is exactly what I would choose.