Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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JFanForever
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by JFanForever »

Bamaman wrote:I liked the literary character category. I burst out laughing on the one calf line. But I did get mixed up later when he said a Hugo novel. My mind went straight to Quasimodo (before reading the rest of the clue) and had all sorts of weird pictures of him trying to work out at a gym with his hunchback. Plus I always have trouble getting the Les Miserables guy's name right.

JFan......you only needed one name, so Mitchell gives you the whole thing.
You thought Quasimodo too eh? Glad I am not alone.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Miss Mellie »

thejeopardyfan wrote:
dhkendall wrote: I found it quite interesting with Dan's interview stating how he "won more money than he's earned in his life" - that shows that he would have *had* to have written his card comment that day (whereas I thought you had to write 5 when you first get there, then if you turn out to be a superchamp they have you write more, and if you turn out to be Ken Jennings, they eventually say "ah screw it, we'll find something to talk with you about.") Anyone else have insight as to how many topics you had to write, and how often you have to supply new ones?
The packet I was sent had what felt like a million questions to answer about myself, for the interviews. A contestant coordinator called me the week before and talked to me about it. Then when I arrived to tape, a coordinator sort of acted like Mr. Trebek and started me talking about three of my stories. The coordinator asked us which one *we* want to talk about on the show, and he highlights it. But Mr. Trebek ultimately chooses. That's as of last month, anyway!
That packet of questions was intense. I answered about 10-12 and after I sent them, I felt like I was going to get "matched" with my ideal mate. Incidentally, the 3 that Robert had on my card were not all from my initial 5 - they obviously liked one of my extra factoids more.

I got Pearl Buck but never, ever, would have gotten Mitchell. Hated that book.
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CGeditor
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by CGeditor »

I got Pearl Buck right away - my other guess was Gwendolyn Brooks (although it turns out she didn't win her Pulitzer until 1950). Never thought of Margaret Mitchell, and I agree with those of you who don't think of "Gone With the Wind" as prize-worthy!
I also said "flexible."
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Turd Ferguson »

Didn't a 1938 nomination seem a bit "late" for Margaret Mitchell to anyone else? (Granted, I know nothing of how the Nobel nomination process works). I thought of GWTW, but figured the book had to have been out years before that (I'd have thought earlier than 1936), given how long the production was. Buck was the only other female author I could come up with that I thought was from that era, so was my couch response. If I'd needed to give both answers, I suppose Mitchell would've been my other, since she'd have been better than _blank_
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Turd Ferguson »

Miss Mellie wrote:
thejeopardyfan wrote:
dhkendall wrote: I found it quite interesting with Dan's interview stating how he "won more money than he's earned in his life" - that shows that he would have *had* to have written his card comment that day (whereas I thought you had to write 5 when you first get there, then if you turn out to be a superchamp they have you write more, and if you turn out to be Ken Jennings, they eventually say "ah screw it, we'll find something to talk with you about.") Anyone else have insight as to how many topics you had to write, and how often you have to supply new ones?
The packet I was sent had what felt like a million questions to answer about myself, for the interviews. A contestant coordinator called me the week before and talked to me about it. Then when I arrived to tape, a coordinator sort of acted like Mr. Trebek and started me talking about three of my stories. The coordinator asked us which one *we* want to talk about on the show, and he highlights it. But Mr. Trebek ultimately chooses. That's as of last month, anyway!
That packet of questions was intense. I answered about 10-12 and after I sent them, I felt like I was going to get "matched" with my ideal mate. Incidentally, the 3 that Robert had on my card were not all from my initial 5 - they obviously liked one of my extra factoids more.
Hmm... are there implicit "spoilers" here, given that David's question about having to come up with "additional" stories was not addressed by either of you? Or is it deliberate subterfuge from future TOCers? "Oh, of course I didn't have to give more stories"... :)

I'm guessing Dan probably made an off-hand remark to someone (perhaps even to Alex in a post-game chat) about the significance of the money he'd won, and that led to Alex asking him about it. It seems like an odd thing to write down as a whole new story (and it didn't seem to me to have the feeling of a pre-canned "story")
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

Turd Ferguson wrote:Hmm... are there implicit "spoilers" here, given that David's question about having to come up with "additional" stories was not addressed by either of you? Or is it deliberate subterfuge from future TOCers? "Oh, of course I didn't have to give more stories"... :)
Once the three stories on my card were used up, Alex's interview questions were extemperaneous. My fourth game, he asked me about testing video games. My fifth game, he asked me about being a camp counselor. My sixth game (notwithstanding a replenishment of card stories after the summer hiatus), he asked me about the money.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

xxaaaxx wrote:Would flexible work for pliable?

More early LTaM warnings...I know I said a few days ago that it's almost not worth mentioning, but come on guys, these aren't slow rounds

Instaget FJ, with Mitchell, based on the year alone. If I had to name both, I don't know if I would've gotten to Buck.
I also said flexible, and have to assume it would work, as long as you don't spell it f-l-e-x-a-b-l-e. :)
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

billy pilgrim wrote:"...Wang Lung could not cease from his thought of what his youngest son had said of Pear Blossom, and he watched the maid incessantly as she came and went, and without his knowing it, the thought of her filled his mind and he doted on her. But he said nothing to anyone.
One night in the early summer of that year, at the time when the night air is thick and soft with the mists of warmth and fragrance, he sat at rest in his own court alone under a flowering cassia tree and the sweet heavy scent of the cassia flowers filled his nostrils, and he sat there, and his blood ran full and hot like the blood of a young man.
Through the day he had felt his blood so and he had been half of a mind to walk out on his land and feel the good earth under his feet and take off his shoes and his stockings and feel it on his skin.
This he would have done but he was ashamed lest men see him, who was no longer held a farmer within the gates of the town, but a landowner. It was then that he decided to go to Walmart and buy the orange Crocs like Mario Battali wears."
OK, seriously, man...LOL on this one.

Thank you for my good laugh to start the morning!
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

After a truly lousy three days of FJ, I was more than pleased to come up with Pearl Buck instantly, and have enough time and mental energy left to write (in parentheses) Margaret Mitchell as my second choice.

There. I'm back on track.

Congrats to Dan on a nice run, although the way this season is going I have major doubts that this will be good enough to get him into the ToC.

Both Brandon and Stephanie bet way more on FJ than was optimal. Brandon in particular should have been thinking about how he might win on a TS; if he had, his best bet would have been no more than $400. Of course you can say his actual $8K wager vastly improved his winnings on the sole get, but c'mon, if a clue is tough enough to stump the other two, it MIGHT be tough enough to stump you also, in which case his effort to maximize his winnings would have lost to Dan on the TS.

I want to see what Brandon does in his second game, to see (among other things) if he wagers any better.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by oddsox »

TenPoundHammer wrote: What do I need to know about Alexander the Great? All I know is that he was great in some way.
off the top of my head: associated with Macedon/Macedonian Empire, died young (30s?), "there are no worlds left to conquer", fought with Persia.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by davey »

Turd Ferguson wrote:Didn't a 1938 nomination seem a bit "late" for Margaret Mitchell to anyone else? (Granted, I know nothing of how the Nobel nomination process works). I thought of GWTW, but figured the book had to have been out years before that (I'd have thought earlier than 1936), given how long the production was. Buck was the only other female author I could come up with that I thought was from that era, so was my couch response. If I'd needed to give both answers, I suppose Mitchell would've been my other, since she'd have been better than _blank_
Nobels are given for a body of work, not for a single novel. So the only way one can be too late is if the writer dies first. But it's all the more implausible that Mitchell would be considered after publishing one book, whoever nominated her. Pearl Buck ad published at least 8 books by 1938.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by alietr »

dhkendall wrote:I found it quite interesting with Dan's interview stating how he "won more money than he's earned in his life" - that shows that he would have *had* to have written his card comment that day
I disagree. I think it's far more likely that he mentioned it to Alex in the previous post-game chat ("Gost! I've won more than I've made in my whole life!"), and Alex ran with it to start the next game.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by dmleach »

dhkendall wrote:Anyone else have insight as to how many topics you had to write, and how often you have to supply new ones?
Between the original five story nuggets from the audition, the five you pick as part of your selection paperwork (which don't have to be the same), and the questionnaire that's also part of the application, I probably gave them about twenty different things to work with. Some were better than others, of course, but before each game Robert had a new card for me with three story ideas. As for throwing things in at the last minute: my mention of being a cancer survivor in my last game was a spur-of-the-moment choice. In retrospect I think I still had other good stories to use, but decided to offer it up since a then-recent show that had aired included a contestant that mentioned being a survivor. Robert agreed that it was a good one, so it made the card a few minutes before the show started.

I can't remember whether or not I've mentioned it on this board, but one of my story nuggets was on the card for my entire run and Alex ignored it every time. Three years ago, on my second day ever skiing, I wiped out and busted my knee. To be clear: I was NOT on the bunny hill (right beside it). We're already planning a return trip to Steamboat Springs in March, though, so I remain a fool / optimist. At any rate, Robert thought Alex might not have wanted to talk about it due to his own recent injury, even though we both liked it as a story.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Volante »

dhkendall wrote:
thejeopardyfan wrote:jpsultan: I figured it wasn't acceptable because the category was "World Potpourri." I'll take it if I can...
Actually, personally I'd side with it being a neg, for the exact reason you gave (and was why I was careful in the phrasing of my response). It *could* be argued thusly, as the category is sufficiently vague, but as I'm not a real Jeopardy! judge, nor do I play one on TV, "neg" is my verdict.
I'd say 'Google Maps' still works. They're maps of the world, no?
oddsox wrote:
TenPoundHammer wrote: What do I need to know about Alexander the Great? All I know is that he was great in some way.
off the top of my head: associated with Macedon/Macedonian Empire, died young (30s?), "there are no worlds left to conquer", fought with Persia.
Founded Alexandria of library and lighthouse fame in Egypt. Gordian knot. I think his mother was Angelina Jolie, too. 8-)

Got Buck for the final, no clue on Margaret Mitchell.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Miss Mellie »

Turd Ferguson wrote: Hmm... are there implicit "spoilers" here, given that David's question about having to come up with "additional" stories was not addressed by either of you? Or is it deliberate subterfuge from future TOCers? "Oh, of course I didn't have to give more stories"... :)
You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?! ;)
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by one-nil »

Continued success to the champ. He has fine taste in baseball clubs.

Good spin on it:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/blo ... lphia.html

Best wishes!
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by vellore »

Anyone else notice that the Hugh Hefner response was the precise moment that Brandon's fortunes began to turn?
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by jkbrat »

davey wrote:
Buck ... [is] a given for Nobel Prize for Literature in the 1930s. She was so obvious I was confused.
Yup.

I immediately wrote down Buck (again, J! 101 - Any Answer, However Far-Fetched, Has A Higher Probability Of Being Correct Than No Answer).

But I really did think it was too obvious to be right,

[very minor spoiler for FJ! categories (but not answers) in previously aired games]
Spoiler
especially given the writers' recent streak of nominees-but-not-winners for FJ! (which, like someone [Alietr, I think] mentioned, are extra tricky -- like trying to prove a negative).
I knew Buck won the Nobel Prize, so I thought it might be a trap because the clue specified that the person was (possibly just) a nominee.

So, Plan B - I wrote down the female author that I most associate with 1938, Margaret Mitchell.

But this didn't feel right, either - a Nobel Literature nomination for GWTW :? ?

Now, I don't like either of my options, but the music is running out and I don't have any third guesses at this point, so I'll just flip a coin and cross one of them out.

I thought for sure I would lose the coin toss; very gratifying to realize that the coin didn't matter. :lol:

In other news .... also said flexible and counted it correct. Like Stephanie, negged with Ghengis Khan (pronouncing it Jenjis in honor of John Kerry ;) )-- I thought Kublai Khan was too busy hanging out in his Pleasure Dome to have any time for conquering.

But lost to Brandon as he came up with both Shania Twain and Shreveport, which I, alas, did not. (Congrats on the win, Brandon!)
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

Volante wrote:
oddsox wrote:
TenPoundHammer wrote: What do I need to know about Alexander the Great? All I know is that he was great in some way.
off the top of my head: associated with Macedon/Macedonian Empire, died young (30s?), "there are no worlds left to conquer", fought with Persia.
Founded Alexandria of library and lighthouse fame in Egypt. Gordian knot. I think his mother was Angelina Jolie, too. 8-)
Pupil of Aristotle too.
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Re: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by vellore »

TenPoundHammer wrote: What do I need to know about Alexander the Great? All I know is that he was great in some way.
Horse = Bucephalus
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