Learned League 89 - May/Jun '21

[Don't Think Twice]

I don't belong to your league, so I hope it is okay for me to post that The New Yorker magazine has an article about the Learned League. I think NYer lets you read a few articles each month for free. https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporti ... -of-trivia

If this has already been posted, I will delete this post.

[twelvefootboy]

I don't belong to your league, so I hope it is okay for me to post that The New Yorker magazine has an article about the Learned League. I think NYer lets you read a few articles each month for free. https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporti ... -of-trivia

If this has already been posted, I will delete this post.

Thanks for the link. The smith of the American Revolution mini-league was quoted at the end of the article. She thinks it was just right if only 3% of people knew what kind of tea was at the Boston Tea Party. Some of the players may beg to differ .

[alietr]

I don't belong to your league, so I hope it is okay for me to post that The New Yorker magazine has an article about the Learned League. I think NYer lets you read a few articles each month for free. https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporti ... -of-trivia

If this has already been posted, I will delete this post.

Thanks for the link. The smith of the American Revolution mini-league was quoted at the end of the article. She thinks it was just right if only 3% of people knew what kind of tea was at the Boston Tea Party. Some of the players may beg to differ .

Yeah, Thorsten's comment about aiming for just under 50% so everyone will enjoy certainly was at odds with her comments on difficulty. I'll take Thorsten's attitude any day.

[MattKnowles]

I missed Mare of Easttown being in Philadelphia even though it keeps reminding me of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia when Charlie spoofs Serpico and leaves a tape "4 THE MARE".

[StevenH]

I still would have won, but I don’t think that I should have received credit for Oldsmobile. And I doubt that I would have got that one if it hadn't been a recent FJ clue!

I was just reading about Mare of Easttown on another message board that I frequent on Monday evening. I thought to myself that this sounds like a show that may come up in an LL question. I was pleasantly surprised to see it come up the very next day!

My opponent's two best categories were theatre and film, so West Side Story was the easy choice for the 0. They ended up missing it.

[Johnblue]

I’m pretty familiar with the Philly accent and I answered Allentown. I’ve watched the show (it’s a bit dull, frankly) and it seems like it takes place outside a smaller city.

Good article on LL. That American Revolution scribe is delusional. I actually won my rundle but it was a joyless victory. I was so glad when it ended.

[ouachiouat]

Tied the estimable BarrettM yesterday, 5(4) - 5(4). Was sure he'd get the TV question, of course, but gave him 1 because I figured West Side Story was easier with the hockey angle as well. Looks like I was right, as he missed it. I missed the Mare question too (went with Hastings, because SE England, and I thought it may have been a touch of irony) and the CA county. No idea there, but Mark got it.

Our overall record remains tied at 4-4-3. Here's hoping we tie again at season's end to bring it to 4-4-4. Good game, and see you again on MD 23!

[MarkBarrett]

Tied the estimable BarrettM yesterday, 5(4) - 5(4). Was sure he'd get the TV question, of course, but gave him 1 because I figured West Side Story was easier with the hockey angle as well. Looks like I was right, as he missed it. I missed the Mare question too (went with Hastings, because SE England, and I thought it may have been a touch of irony) and the CA county. No idea there, but Mark got it.

Our overall record remains tied at 4-4-3. Here's hoping we tie again at season's end to bring it to 4-4-4. Good game, and see you again on MD 23!

Yes, we were on the same page for zeroing each other on West Side Story. My bad for answering and defending on the art as I wrote "point". After I submitted and saw the answer I was shaking my head at missing an easy one and worse thinking it was hard by assigning a 3. You are welcome.

I watched one episode of Mare and only retained it was in PA. I was sure the city was not Pittsburgh. I thought of Philly though thought how could than be unusual for an accent. West Coast disadvantage. I went with Scranton over Erie and Harrisburg.

I have a friend who lives in Placerville and more than once he has told me about it being "Hangtown". It was in the news recently locally when the noose was removed from the city's logo. No way I was missing that one. Not that I would expect to matter again in trivia things, but Placerville strangely is in El Dorado County and not Placer County that has places such as Auburn and Rocklin.

Okay, we'll see if we can make it 4s wild in the rematch to even our career head-to-head.

[mahatma]

I don't belong to your league, so I hope it is okay for me to post that The New Yorker magazine has an article about the Learned League. I think NYer lets you read a few articles each month for free. https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporti ... -of-trivia

If this has already been posted, I will delete this post.

Thanks for the link. The smith of the American Revolution mini-league was quoted at the end of the article. She thinks it was just right if only 3% of people knew what kind of tea was at the Boston Tea Party. Some of the players may beg to differ .

Ms Leonas is well-known for her desire to expand the trivia canon beyond its historical 'white Boomer dudes' focus. Thorsten has expressed the same desire, but his approach may be viewed as more incremental and hers as more...revolutionary.

I'm down with the 'breaking eggs to make an omelette' approach, especially in the 1DS/ML realm. I do, however, take exception to presenting this as a ModKos PG-13, with only occasional forays into R territory. This raises a larger question about ModKos rankings, and the social pressure smiths feel to attract a large player base, thus underselling the difficulty of the material.

[Volante]

I don't belong to your league, so I hope it is okay for me to post that The New Yorker magazine has an article about the Learned League. I think NYer lets you read a few articles each month for free. https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporti ... -of-trivia

If this has already been posted, I will delete this post.

Thanks for the link. The smith of the American Revolution mini-league was quoted at the end of the article. She thinks it was just right if only 3% of people knew what kind of tea was at the Boston Tea Party. Some of the players may beg to differ .

Ms Leonas is well-known for her desire to expand the trivia canon beyond its historical 'white Boomer dudes' focus. Thorsten has expressed the same desire, but his approach may be viewed as more incremental and hers as more...revolutionary.

I'm down with the 'breaking eggs to make an omelette' approach, especially in the 1DS/ML realm. I do, however, take exception to presenting this as a ModKos PG-13, with only occasional forays into R territory. This raises a larger question about ModKos rankings, and the social pressure smiths feel to attract a large player base, thus underselling the difficulty of the material.

The overall rating application I think is the bigger crux. If it was -just- the tea question and a couple other NC-17s in a sea of ~50-60% get rates, it wouldn't have been an issue.

[morbeedo]

I’m pretty familiar with the Philly accent and I answered Allentown. I’ve watched the show (it’s a bit dull, frankly) and it seems like it takes place outside a smaller city.

Dull!? Did you see the most recent episode? I bet Kate snatches the Emmy. Do they still hand out Emmys?

Winnie the Pooh!? Kanga meant nothing to me. I thought he was asking about a human character. Was going to put Robin on a WAG but landed on Jane instead.

Predictably, no dice for REO (Speed Wagon). Not sure if I could have made the leap to an O guy

Tough start to the season in B Taiga. I hate losing a bunch of matches early and then having to claw my way out of the danger zone

[Ironhorse]

For some reason, I got into my head that the young kangaroo was named Joey, while being aware that Roo was a character. So I assumed Roo must be the mother.

On the Olds question, I remembered the April 21 FJ asking about the classic car that was last produced in 2004 (the same year in the LL clue), and I *still* missed it, misremembering the answer as Chrysler.

I only actually got the Cubism question right, and this was still enough to win.

[Armandillo]

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's very telling that the American Revolution ML decided to stop posting daily recaps since they couldn't handle all the criticism being levied at them.

Although it's noble to try and expand the canon, just using random obscure facts probably isn't the best way to do so.

If you can't handle feedback, you probably shouldn't be posting something for the public to consume.

Just my opinion.

[morbeedo]

Unsurprising quote from Thorsten in the New Yorker article: “I get very little unsolicited positive feedback during the season.”

[mahatma]

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's very telling that the American Revolution ML decided to stop posting daily recaps since they couldn't handle all the criticism being levied at them.

Well, I'm bummed that that happened. I didn't have it in me to do too many 1DsS or MLs this time around, so I wasn't aware. In general, I do think the LL community is way harsh in their criticism of the questions, especially when they're set by volunteers.

[badgerfellow]

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's very telling that the American Revolution ML decided to stop posting daily recaps since they couldn't handle all the criticism being levied at them.

Well, I'm bummed that that happened. I didn't have it in me to do too many 1DsS or MLs this time around, so I wasn't aware. In general, I do think the LL community is way harsh in their criticism of the questions, especially when they're set by volunteers.

Agreed on the harshness occurring unfortunately. It's a lot of work to be a smith for even a 1DS, and usually it's in a category you are either well-versed or passionate about. It can be demoralizing if people get overcritical but then don't step up to the plate to volunteer as well. If people want to criticize, they should playtest and provide feedback ahead of time.

[This Is Kirk!]

Predictably, no dice for REO (Speed Wagon). Not sure if I could have made the leap to an O guy

I guess you're not paying enough attention to the game discussions!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6103&p=353791&hilit ... le#p353791

[morbeedo]

Predictably, no dice for REO (Speed Wagon). Not sure if I could have made the leap to an O guy

I guess you're not paying enough attention to the game discussions!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6103&p=353791&hilit ... le#p353791

Oh no! This is not the first time I've been burned on LL for not keeping current with J! I still have a few weeks of episodes to get through for March-April :/

[Johnblue]

I’m pretty familiar with the Philly accent and I answered Allentown. I’ve watched the show (it’s a bit dull, frankly) and it seems like it takes place outside a smaller city.

Dull!? Did you see the most recent episode? I bet Kate snatches the Emmy. Do they still hand out Emmys?

Winnie the Pooh!? Kanga meant nothing to me. I thought he was asking about a human character. Was going to put Robin on a WAG but landed on Jane instead.

Predictably, no dice for REO (Speed Wagon). Not sure if I could have made the leap to an O guy

Tough start to the season in B Taiga. I hate losing a bunch of matches early and then having to claw my way out of the danger zone

I have not, in fact, watched this week’s episode! I’m now looking forward to seeing this!

[totebags]

Placer County resident here! That question excited me to no end! I probably would have been 80% certain based on the description of placer mining but obviously Placerville / Placer County put me over the edge.

More questions specific to my life, please!