Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Leaper]

The "mare's milk" clue just rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed poor, especially for the Jeopardy round. I'm not sure I could defend this opinion if asked, but I had an immediate dislike to it.

I stopped watching the screen after a while for fear of seasickness.

And I knew the Icarus legend, but I just couldn't pull Daedalus's name out of my memory in time (it hurt also that I was on the phone at the time, and only "saw" the clue - I wasn't stunned that there were wrong answers, but I was at least mildly surprised that neither of the wrong answerers were even on the right track and having memory problems like me).

[bomtr]

Oddly--and I say oddly--I find my position articulated by TPH this day. If the final clue had said 'the island where this man's son was said to have washed up...', I might have left the plane of reality in my search. As it was, I was desperately reviewing the catalog of REAL fathers and sons for a castaway or somesuch, despite the presence of Ikaria in the clue and knowing perfectly well who the father of Icarus WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN. (Once wrote a poem titled 'Three Incarnations of Icarus; Three Incarnations of Daedalus.') Ah, well; mythology of any type seems to be my bane. Guess I don't go there unless expressly directed.

Good get on FJ, debramc; I was struggling on the sofa to get you to mare's milk. Might have been a different game if you had. You didn't seem to win many buzzer battles though.

[davey]

OK, am I the only one who spelled it "Dedalus"? Never thought about the other spelling. I guess Stephen Dedalus looms larger for me as a literary figure, though I think Icarus' story was the first Greek myth I ever heard. And I've always pronounced it that way too, not with the long A as Alex did.
Like others I was thrown for a second with the "washed ashore" - I have a fault of latching on to an early TOM and not grasping the rest of the clue, so it took me a another second to see "Ikaria"...

In any case "Dedalus" is acceptable, right?

I loved the story of the knitted body parts, and Alex's reaction. More pure weirdness on Jeopardy!

[opusthepenguin]

I also thought of Edmond Rodstand for Cyrano De Bergerac but Rodstand didn't sound French.

Just as well. You would've had to stand and smile after the break while Alex explained that they reviewed the tape and clearly heard you pronounce a "d" in the middle of "Rostand" so they're taking your money back and penalizing you besides.

[bomtr]

I also thought of Edmond Rodstand for Cyrano De Bergerac but Rodstand didn't sound French.

Just as well. You would've had to stand and smile after the break while Alex explained that they reviewed the tape and clearly heard you pronounce a "d" in the middle of "Rostand" so they're taking your money back and penalizing you besides.

Yeah, but he said rodstand. Heh heh heh.

[xxaaaxx]

OK, am I the only one who spelled it "Dedalus"? Never thought about the other spelling. I guess Stephen Dedalus looms larger for me as a literary figure, though I think Icarus' story was the first Greek myth I ever heard. And I've always pronounced it that way too, not with the long A as Alex did.
Like others I was thrown for a second with the "washed ashore" - I have a fault of latching on to an early TOM and not grasping the rest of the clue, so it took me a another second to see "Ikaros"...

In any case "Dedalus" is acceptable, right?

I loved the story of the knitted body parts, and Alex's reaction. More pure weirdness on Jeopardy!

I've heard it pronounced both ways. Given some of their...generous rulings in the past, I can't imagine them ruling that spelling incorrect.

[eureka]

I don't say this often -- lord knows I miss my fair share of gimmes -- but when spotted an island named "Ikaria", how was this not a triple-get?

I've heard the myth, obviously not in full detail. I've never come across the name Ikaria before. I was stuck on looking for a real life person.

[thenextofken]

Congrats to Debramc for getting on the show. Love to see people from the Metroplex make it on. Incidentally Deb, I lead the worship service at a church in a town not far from you (Blue Ridge). On the first DD, I had no clue, and Icarus would've made it to the Sun before I came up with Mare's Milk. I said "Malted Milk" just to have something to say.

Loved Zack's story about meeting his wife. I also met my wife online, although it was near impossible to lie about it, since she lived 4000+ miles away.

Anyone else notice Oklahoma was an answer two straight days? Has any state ever been a correct response two days running? Not sure I would've gotten both clues if I hadn't gone to college in the state.

In "symbology," I negged myself for saying "State capitals" instead of just capitals, kinda like negging myself for "blue whale" instead of whale a day or so ago.

Congrats to Amy on the win, and hope none of your friends get prostate cancer.

[bpmod]

Congrats to Amy on the win, and hope none of your friends get prostate cancer.

I couldn't help but think of ED when she told the story.

Horrible horrible nasty me.

Brian

[opusthepenguin]

OK, am I the only one who spelled it "Dedalus"? Never thought about the other spelling. I guess Stephen Dedalus looms larger for me as a literary figure, though I think Icarus' story was the first Greek myth I ever heard. And I've always pronounced it that way too, not with the long A as Alex did.
Like others I was thrown for a second with the "washed ashore" - I have a fault of latching on to an early TOM and not grasping the rest of the clue, so it took me a another second to see "Ikaros"...

In any case "Dedalus" is acceptable, right?

I loved the story of the knitted body parts, and Alex's reaction. More pure weirdness on Jeopardy!

I've heard it pronounced both ways.

BTDTGTTS

[reddpen]

I was struggling on the sofa to get you to mare's milk.

Best I came up with was yak yogurt. Doubt that would pass the judges' sniff test.

I spelled it Daedalus but have always pronounced it Dedalus.

[barandall800]

A tough break today, Debra. Great job on the sole FJ solve, though...even the best of the J! champs sometimes don't have that to their credit, so that's something to be proud of. That was definitely a pretty brutal DD you got there. (I said "malted milk" myself.)

Sign that my fantasy-football knowledge definitely does NOT translate into real-football knowledge: I got the Cam Newton clue wrong. And he was my star quarterback the entire fantasy football season this year. I had no idea what team he was on.

My train of thought on FJ: "Ikaria...hey, Icarus! Who was his dad? Oh yeah, Daedalus, wasn't it? Good." This all happened before Alex finished reading the clue...I don't know how it clicked so fast, but I'm glad it did.

[xxaaaxx]

A tough break today, Debra. Great job on the sole FJ solve, though...even the best of the J! champs sometimes don't have that to their credit, so that's something to be proud of. That was definitely a pretty brutal DD you got there. (I said "malted milk" myself.)

Sign that my fantasy-football knowledge definitely does NOT translate into real-football knowledge: I got the Cam Newton clue wrong. And he was my star quarterback the entire fantasy football season this year. I had no idea what team he was on.

My train of thought on FJ: "Ikaria...hey, Icarus! Who was his dad? Oh yeah, Daedalus, wasn't it? Good." This all happened before Alex finished reading the clue...I don't know how it clicked so fast, but I'm glad it did.

I don't think I even heard Alex read the rest of the clue; my eyes went straight to Ikaria, and I was done. It seems clear to me, but the other two contestants went for real people too, so...hm.

I'm a huge footbal fan, and managed 4 (terrible) fantasy teams this past season, and Cam Newton gave me a bit of pause. I could see his face, uniform, and a couple of his highlights, but pulling the name took me a second. If they had just asked for "this former Auburn QB", or didn't mention Carolina, I don't think I would've pulled Newton's name in time. So don't feel too bad.

And the best I could come up with was "mule milk". Yeah, it wasn't a banner day for me

I've heard it pronounced both ways.

BTDTGTTS

[whoisalexjacob]

Well I'll fess up and say and I was in the wrong area on FJ, trying to think of someone historical. I recalled that Hudson was set adrift with his son, so my mind went there. I guess combined with having no clue on the lobster-steak clue ("hmm, those are delicious foods that any president would want to eat, no help there"), this means I need to pay more attention to TOM in FJ.

Tough luck for Debra, she looked sharp up there. Mare's milk seemed very difficult to me. That's the kind of thing that I bet the writers figured would be fairly gettable, but in actuality is really freakin' difficult. Just for my knowledge, is mare's milk something that people have heard of, or is that just something you're supposed to figure out from "alliterative"? (For anyone interested, the phrase does show up in one clue on J-archive, in a clue about kefir).

Mmm, some yogurt-like liquid originally made from camel's milk would really hit the spot right now.

[TenPoundHammer]

Well I'll fess up and say and I was in the wrong area on FJ, trying to think of someone historical. I recalled that Hudson was set adrift with his son, so my mind went there. I guess combined with having no clue on the lobster-steak clue ("hmm, those are delicious foods that any president would want to eat, no help there"), this means I need to pay more attention to TOM in FJ.

Oh good, I'm not the only one on either of those.

Mare's milk seemed very difficult to me. That's the kind of thing that I bet the writers figured would be fairly gettable, but in actuality is really freakin' difficult.

Agreed. I locked onto milk right away, but couldn't put another M word to it to save my life.

[dhkendall]

Grr, second day in a row (can't remember if the previous instance was one of the online tests or the show) that I mixed up Madison and Monroe! And after the first time, I realized it was a silly mistake and promised never to do it again! :headslap:

2. Whatshisname wouldn't STAND STILL!!!!

Yeah, Zach's fidgeting really bugged me too, maybe it was because I just recently came from my weekly Toastmasters meeting, where we try to work on getting those things out of our presentation style. (Note: after 21 years (this week) of membership, I still get feedback from my club members that I rock a bit too (though not nearly to Zach's extent), so it is hard to get rid of, especially when you're nervous like he no doubt was.)

I saw "Ikaria" and thought Icarus->Daedalus right away, but backed away because the clue gave literally no hint that they were looking for someone fictitious. Evil evil clue.

Hate to be a necrohippoflagellophiliac *yet again*, but did you put down *anything* at least, or do you still think "nothing" is better than "something that's wrong"?

I'm surprised WNEM hasn't seen fit to cut in for weather reports. These guys panic every time it's below freezing. As if they've completely forgotten that Michigan is really, really friggin' cold half the year.

Michigan really friggin' cold? Please. Call me when you routinely get two month stints where it's -20F for the entire period, to the point that people wonder what's wrong with the weather when it's 0F ... (Go ahead, check the temperature here right now! Don't forget the windchill for the added "WTF?" factor!)

In "symbology," I negged myself for saying "State capitals" instead of just capitals, kinda like negging myself for "blue whale" instead of whale a day or so ago.

I think that this would be the kind of response that would be negged originally, but credited later, after "our researchers have done some checking and have found some maps that have a state capital with that symbol, so we are crediting Ken with the money ... "

Way to represent the board, Debra! (Sole get in FJ!? That's gotta go on the resume!) I will take the opportunity to say something, though:

Looks like I'm the first Bernadette. Though I have aspects of Amy & Leonard as well. And when I was a lot younger I did have trouble talking to the opposite sex without being under the influence of alcohol, but that's my only Raj-quality. And I got over it.

Sorry, Debra, but I totally got an Amy Farrah Fowler vibe all the way tonight.

[xxaaaxx]

Hate to be a necrohippoflagellophiliac *yet again*

If that isn't a real word, it absolutely should be

[TenPoundHammer]

Hate to be a necrohippoflagellophiliac *yet again*, but did you put down *anything* at least, or do you still think "nothing" is better than "something that's wrong"?

I put down nothing.

[seaborgium]

I got mare's milk okay. I think I was helped by one of Stephen Weingarten's interviews where he talked about milking a horse (complete with miming!) in Kazakhstan or thereabouts. And Daedalus was darn near an instaget (instead of "Oh, Daedalus," my thought process was, "Oh, Icarus's father. Daedalus").


Good showing, Debra. I don't know if it makes it better or worse to think you'd have won if you'd gotten the DD right, but at least the wager itself didn't make the difference between winning and losing. (That's why I find it sort of a blessing that I missed a lock in my ToC final by $4,001; it prevents me from regretting the $3,800 I wagered and lost on the first FJ of the finals.) P.S. Speaking of wagers, I loved your FJ wager! Beats Zach's smallest "attempt to win" wager if you're right and he's wrong, beats 2,399 of his biggest "attempt to win" wagers if you're both wrong.

[davey]

I don't know why, but mare's milk came very quickly, and I knew it was right. The "alliterative" clue was important.