That's right, I am back, and now I feel okay telling you I was in Europe for the last two weeks. (Didn't Brian do a good job while I was gone?) The first week was spent visiting my older sister in Germany (my younger sister was there too) and the second was spent walking and climbing stairs all over London. Anyway, that's how it felt! I had a great time. Tonight I'm eager to watch all the Jeopardy! episodes I missed. I can't imagine what the delirium will be like afterward.
Coincidentally, there were two clues on Jeopardy! today that had to do with London or England. In Rebels With a Cause: "The 17th and 18th century Jacobite rebellions attempted to return this royal house to the British throne."* Incidentally, right now I'm reading John O'Farrell's An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (picked it up at Westminster Abbey!), so I felt really bad when I couldn't come up with the correct response in time. Steven Milton got it right. And I almost went ballistic when I needed just a half-second or so more on this clue in Architects: "In 1657, he was appointed Professor of Astronomy at London's Gresham College."* I'll bet the contestants on the show sometimes want to stop play and yell, "I really, REALLY knew that one!!!" I wouldn't have known that particular clue before this trip. Three-day champ Janet Bradlow got it right. She said in her interview today that she is a crossword puzzle fan and that she attends tournaments! The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is the place where I was inspired to start this blog after the man sitting next to me mentioned me in his blog. (I'd guide you to it, but it appears to be defunct now.) It looks like Janet was there this year too, and finished 212th. I finished 283rd. Janet said she finished 8th once, a long time ago, but I don't know if it was at this tournament.
Today's Jeopardy round had two categories after my own heart: All Aboard Amtrak and Bananas. The Daily Double in the round was the third clue selected! In the category Same First and Last Letter: "An invisible emanation, or an intangible quality."* I got that one right, and so did Janet. My dad, a chemistry teacher, nailed the last clue of the category: "A noble gas, atomic number 10."* Steven got this one right, too. But when Double Jeopardy rolled around, my Dad said "Boo hiss!" when he saw the first category, before Mr. Trebek could even finish reading it: Shakespearean Operas.
Going into Final Jeopardy, Steven had 17600, sharply-dressed Christopher Scheeren had 4600, and Janet had 16600. The category was Physics: "Discovered in the early 20th century, these two particles, 1 with a positive charge, the other a packet of energy, differ by a letter."* I got this one before Mr. Trebek was done reading it. Mr. Trebek said Christopher looked unhappy (or at least wasn't smiling), but he got it right too and had wagered all but a dollar. Steven got it right, and had wagered 9100. Janet missed it and lost 1001. Thus a grinning Steven is our new champion! My mom said, "He's a cutie" when he was announced as the winner, but when I asked her several hours later if I could put that in this blog, she asked, "Which one was he?"
As an aspiring Jeopardy! champion myself, I have been frustrated with my inability to get myself to study for the show. I want to be a Jeopardy! champion more than anything, but I'm still a long way from being ready, and it is evident every time I play along. I know that I need to practice NOW if I want to win later. So while I was in Europe, I read Chip and Dan Heath's Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. I got a few ideas, and I'm going to implement them. I'm telling you about them here so that I can update you on my progress and so that I can be held accountable. These are the changes that are directly Jeopardy!-related, with the supporting advice from Switch in parentheses:
Learn one mnemonic a day from Rod L. Evans' Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge: The Book of Mnemonic Devices. (Shrinking the change) There is an endorsement from Jeopardy! legend Brad Rutter inside it, but I'm mostly choosing it because I think I will really learn the material this way.
Listen only to NPR, Catholic radio, or books-on-CD in my car. (Scripting the critical moves) Hearing songs I've heard zillions of times before will not help me learn anything new! I'd might as well put that time to good use. Remove all my CDs from my car. (Tweaking the environment)
No more losses, when playing along with my Jeopardy Challenger. (Pointing to the destination) I'm also modifying how I play, slightly: I used to participate in every Daily Double, but now I'm going to participate only when I've gotten the previous clue right, like it would be on the show.
I hope this didn't bore you to tears, and/or you didn't find it unrelated to the subject of this blog.
Finally, I got a comment on a previous entry from a former Jeopardy! contestant. I had stated that if I were a contestant, I would not respond with something I knew was wrong on a Daily Double or Final Jeopardy. He says he disagrees and that it is better to respond with something than with nothing. I want to know what you think. I'm putting a poll on the home page of this site, and I'll allow one week. I'd also love to read your comments!
*House of Stuart, Christopher Wren, aura, neon, proton and photon
Today was a surreal day for me--Alex was on autotune, Paul finally went down, and I actually knew the final answer--knew it cold!
When I came home today I was horrified to discover that Jeanie had escaped from the bike lock chained to the tree outside my door. It seems my tenure on TheJeopardyFan.com has come near to an end. Perhaps it is for the best--my neighbors were gossiping and Jeanie although making the best of the Canadian summer was not happy with PB&J sandwiches served on paper plates. I hope I'll be able to keep Jeanie away from a computer (and the RCMP) long enough to finish my two week stint.
Today Paul was back for game six--yes game six, like Electric Six (warning: glowing crotches)--Jeanie is going to kill me!
Taking on sixth dan Jeopardy! master Paul was Joey Generoux, a biochemist from San Diego (I'll be there in two weeks by the way) and SharyleDoherty a Canadian program executive from Davie, Florida. Now it is usually my custom to cheer for Canadians but Sharyle is living in Florida and we Canadians are a petty (and cold) lot so I'm going to withhold my Canuck love for the emigre and cheer for the champ. As an aside, I used to work for a Cheryl Doherty and I had to take a close look to make sure that the CEO of Calgary's Boys and Girls Clubs wasn't the contestant.
Jeopardy round one had the fun categories of Literary Tales [yeah!], Alex Meets Auto-Tune [weird but fun], Mattel-ica [fun], Great B-ginnings [broad category], and It's in Argentina [not Evita Peron she's buried in France]. Auto-Tune involved listening to well known songs presented atonally by Alex with the voice synth device made famous by artists like T-Pain (warning: censored version but still objectionable)--Jeanie is really going to kill me!
Here is the $1000 clue, "...The pipes, the pipes are calling from glen to glen, & down the mountain side"*. It seems harder when listening to the auto-tune than reading it. Mattel-ica had this clue with an alliterative answer that I was blissfully ignorant of, "Let's play house" & "Please change my dress" were 2 of the 11 phrases said by this talkative doll introduced in 1959*. Finally I was surprised with this clue from Bread, This unleavened bread is eaten (but not always enjoyed) during Passover*. I like Matzoh bread but then again I also like Russian Bread with the bitter caraway seeds--my friends growing up were all Russian Jew refugees.
After the commercial break Joey had $4,200 to Paul's paltry $1,800 and Sharyle's disastrous -$200. I thought Joey was going to trounce Paul but things got interesting in Double Jeopardy. Categories included Presidential Middle Initials [know your presidents yet again], That Film's a Disaster [B film queries], It's All Sciencey & Stuff, Businesswomen [I failed this category miserably], Unique World Architecture [loved it], It's In Argentina [not a typo a repeat category from the first round but with a twist--the answer has letters of Argentina in it]. The architecture questions were very interesting but the clues were ridiculously easy like, An 80-foot-high aquarium pillar is in the lobby of the Domaquare Building in this German capital*. Unless you haven't read a paper in a while and guessed Bonn how is this a challenge let alone an architecture clue? Presidential middle initials was tough with just a letter to go on and because of it not all the clues were chosen. The one that really stumped me was, E*.
At the end of Double Jeopardy the scores were $11,000 for Paul, $16,200 for Joey, and $2,000 for Sharyle. All three were in the running for Final Jeopardy and the clue was a stumper for all but Joey, The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 took place exactly 5 years after the related death of this man*. Joey usurped Paul and went home with 22Gs.
As a self-important side note I think it is scary that the direct cause of the first world war and the indirect cause of WWII seemed to be a stumper for both the Canadian and American contestant. As a strange macabre piece of trivia the assassination of person was the first political killing caught on film--sorry, I'll show glowing crotches and vulgar affectations of rap personas but not death--besides Jeanie would kill me!
Danny Boy, Chatty Cathy, Matzoh, Berlin, James Earl Carter, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Hello everyone, before I get to today's Jeopardy! recap I want to address a comment from a reader I received today. Jeanie entrusted me with thejeopardyfan.com blog for two weeks and after the first three days I have already got someone hopping mad--sorry Jeanie. The viewer felt that I was insulting the contestants in this blog and this maligning behavior stemmed from a deep rooted jealousy. First off I want to apologize to the anonymous person--as a Canadian I am well disposed to apologize and do so without hesitation. Secondly, I agree that I am indeed envious of the contestants on Jeopardy!--I'd love to be on Jeopardy! and I have no illusions as to why I am not. I am also painfully aware of my odds of every being on Jeopardy. However, I think that my (occasional) lampooning of contestants is in good fun and not malicious. After all I don't even know these people--all I know is their occupations, home state, and their odd anecdotes that Jeopardy! producers deign entertaining. I hope that my humour will be taken in the spirit it is intended and that my mea culpa will satisfy Anonymous (I once dated a girl named Anonymous--any relation?). If you still aren't happy rest assured Jeanie will be back in a week and civility and politeness will reign again, in the meantime I'm studying up on my etiquette.
On today's show Paul Kursky the three day champion with 41 grand to his credit returned to face-off against Arizonian public defender Eric Rau and Terrill Wilkins a high school teacher from South Carolina. Here is a fun game for everyone, guess which candidate once weighed over 500 lbs--talk about a surprise. Paul was looking very confident at the start of the show and got off to a fast start. Paul is a copywriter, married to an improv actress, and lives in San Francisco--one of the most beautiful cities in the world in my humble opinion. Paul has a YouTube bachelor auction video posted online that I can only assume was created before he met his wife.
The first round categories were not united by a central theme and had the disparate categories of Folk Music of the World, Bald is Beautiful, Weiss Guys, Say "Ah", Annual Events, and Driving Safety. The last category was filled with video clues with Alex Trebek (in his business casual) at Ford's headquarters in Michigan showcasing their driving simulator, Virttex. I was a bit put off by the somewhat crass product placement that yeilded few interesting clues and was followed by a PSA where Alex lays down some sobering stats on cellphone use and accidents. The daily double was in the last clue with: To make the driving as realistic as possible, the simulator includes such features as 3D sound, with noises of the road, the engine and the tires, as well as that apparent change in pitch you just heard, named for this Austrian physicist*. How do you feel about product tie-ins and Jeopardy? Imagine a BP Petroleum category with Tony Hayward doing the video clues--for $2000: When I am not sleeping until the spill is taken care of I often retire to my two million dollar ____ for some down time, it is named The Insomniac [answer: yacht].
After the commercial break Paul with $4,800 was ahead by a factor of two to Eric's $2,400 and Terrill's $1,600. But the game was just beginning to heat up...
At the end of the first round I liked the clues of Bald is Beautiful, although it was tilted to pop music heavily. My favorite bald man was featured in this $800 clue: Famous for playing a Siamese king, he also played a royal on film in "Solomon and Sheba"--he had hair in that one*. I answered half of the Weiss clues but must admit I was not familiar with a single Weiss--very educational. Also news to me was how Folk Music of the World ended with the interesting clue: Mexican songs called Narcocorridos glorify those involved in this trade*. I've included a sample below of the genre.
Going into double Jeopardy the three contestants maintained their places but the margins changed substantially to $6,600, $5,000 and $4,600 respectively. The categories again lacked a common thread with Latin Authors, Sports Rules, Monarchs Formerly Known As Prince [awesome title], The Produce Department, Other Grand Canyons, and Anagrams of Colors. Anagrams of Colors made me use any clue other than the color to answer the difficult anagram questions like: A purplish red anagrams to this person of great influence, especially in business*. Aside from the $2,000 clue in Latin Authors I came up dry: The golden age of Roman literature runs from Cicero to this "Art of Love" author*. At the end of the round the players had racked up over 40 grand collectively--Paul with $16,100, Eric with $12,200, and Terrill clawing into second place with $12,400. The final category was After the Presidency--surprise, surprise another President question (I must one day sit down and study the presidents in earnest): One of the 2 presidents to return to elected jobs in U.S. federal government after their final terms* I got it right (I guessed) and so did all three contestants who finished with a grand total of $73,000 combined! But only Paul with $24,800 will return, for his fourth show.
Doppler, Yul Brenner, Drug Dealers, Magnate, Ovid, Adams/Johnson
I can't believe that I took Philosophy as a college major and I can't believe the entire first round was centred around the theme of philosophy. Also coincidental the three contestants today were all involved professionally with the written word, Laura is an English Lit Prof, Paul a writer of copy, and Anne (returning from yesterday) a bookstore manager and screenwriter.
Philosophers, St. Augustine, Immanuel Can't, Neat She, Spin-oza, Confuse Us were the irresistibly named categories to start off the game. The first daily double was behind Philosophers $600 and was Plato and Xenophon left accounts of this philosopher who wrote nothing himself*. If you are still uncertain the same philosopher was executed by a democratic state that thought him to great a threat to their youth--a rarely heeded lesson of paranoia and security in Western history. Later under $1,000 for Immanuel Kant the clue, Immanuel can't stand girls, & yes, it's safe to call him one of these, from the Greek for "woman hater"* reminded me of the original Swedish title of the StiegLarsson bestseller The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo--Men Who Hate Women. I find it odd that the provocative title was translated in English to include the word "girl" for the character beset by sexist and hateful males. I saw the film a few weeks ago and it was a mixed bag for me--Silence of the Lambs meets All the President's men.
Paul was doing well leading with $3,400 to Laura's $2,600 and Anne's $1,200 into the first commercial break. During the anecdotes portion Paul told a story involving public nudity and assault with turkey bacon that tested the usual pedestrian fare of the time. Alex asked keenly if Paul held his audiences' attention after his spectacle--look soon for Alex to strip to his skivvies with a pound of back bacon at the ready. After his story I can't remember anything of the other competitors. I think it was Otto Von Bismark who said "Laws are like sausages [and bacon], it is better not to see them being made"
At the end of Jeopardy round one Anne was tied with Paul at $5,800 and Laura had $3,600. Double Jeopardy had the categories of Science Class, Movie By Cast, Historic Americans, Orange Slices, Are You Well Red?, and Too Much "Sun"--I loved it except for orange slices. Won by Anne was Historic American's clue, In 1976 the U.S. posthumously restored the citizenship of this labor organizer & socialist leader who lost it in 1918*. Lost by Anne was the daily double clue under Are You Well "Red", The title figure of this Steinbeck work is a colt that Jody receives as a gift & names Gabilan*. I love the story and read it as a teenager--I was a little surprised she missed it.
Anne finished the second round with $14,000 with Paul and Laura trailing with $11,000 and $5,600 respectively and looked strong headed into final Jeopardy. The final Jeopardy clue was in the category Modern Materials, Introduced in the '70s to replace steel belting on high-speed tires, it's called stronger than steel & lighter than nylon. I guessed carbon composite (so stupid!) and only after Alex's preamble did I immediately realize the answer*. Apparently the question was not obvious to others since Anne crashed and burned and Laura failed to get a sniff. Paul however knew his radial tires and won with a payout of $11,300--and that is a lot of bacon!
*Socrates, Misogyny, Eugene Debs, The Red Pony, Kevlar
Hello Jeopardy fans it's Brian your guest blogger for a fortnight. I'll dispense with the usual niceties to bring you a breaking story, an exclusive on thejeopardyfan.com. That's right, while Jeanie is taking it easy and the world press is distracted with the BP oil spill this blog (guest) reporter has tackled the biggest news sensation since Watergate. It all started with yesterday's talk about the Jeopardy Challenger and Robert making a comment about a letter from Interactive Television Corporation (ITV) back in 1989 promising a Jeopardy Challenger competition that never came to be. I began to wonder what is the story behind the Challenger--here is what I have dug up.
In 1987 ITV made a deal with Jeopardy to license a product called the Jeopardy Challenger. Although Jeopardy! officials won't comment on the particulars the deal saw the device plugged by piggybacking on the show's syndicated programming time. The device was a popular commodity and within a couple of years plans were made to tie it into Jeopardy! contestant searches via a Challenger competition. Ideally it was envisioned as one day having a network capability that could literally allow viewers to play along. But ITV's plans never materialized, the technology became anachronistic, and Jeopardy! cooled to ITV's proposals.
Today ITV is around in name only or so it seems. The telephone number to the company goes to a tinny sounding voicemail that repeats the number and permits messages but doesn't return my calls. The last known address of ITV is to a vacant commercial building in Florin (Sacramento), California. A view of Google's street view shows a tired set of buildings adjacent to a large empty lot and phone calls to neighbors were met with scepticism (never tell someone you are a Canadian journalist working on a fast breaking story for a Jeopardy! blog) and no memory of the former tenant. Another call, this time to a realtor revealed the fact that the building had been sold to a non-profit group, with the financial dealings only just completed this afternoon.
In 2000 ITV contested and lost a case decided by the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center in which ITV claimed another company improperly used their registered trademarks as domain names. At that time ITV was located in Fair Oaks, California and its only stated business was the Jeopardy Challenger. The trail has gone cold and I can only assume ITV has joined forces with North Korea's iconoclastic leader Kim Jong-il in creating an interactive device for watching political rallies while simultaneously tracking the success of DPRK's soccer team in the world cup. I'll keep you posted regarding this story but I think it is safe to assume it is a dud--but then that's what Woodward and Bernstein thought about Watergate initially.
Well enough of my version of All the President's Men, let's talk about today's show. Today I killed. Easiest Jeopardy ever (excepting Celebrity and age class episodes) -- in my humble opinion. Aesop's Fables (swept it)--try, What the Hare was doing when the tortoise pulled ahead*--, Sports Stars' Memoirs and Bios (swept it), The Food Chain (swept it), Foreign Mayors (struggled with two of them), Here's A Quarter (swept it), and Call Someone Who Cares (4 for 5). I got the $400 clue in Sport Stars' since I knew the book although I haven't read it-- I loved the tidbit, "He talks about wearing a hairpiece during tennis matches in his 2009 Memoir "Open""*. Only slightly better is "Where Men Win Glory: is "The Odyssey of" this man who quit the NFL to enlist in the U.S. Army*. I read the Jon Krakauer book with low expectations and was deeply moved by the story of the footaballer patriot--I'm a bit of a peacenik but I think what he did was one of the bravest and most principled acts I've recently witnessed.
Double Jeopardy had A "Little" Reading, What's On Your iPod, You Gotta Represent, The Current Supreme Court Justice Who, Horse Smarts, and Word Puzzles. Very easy, although the clue, My iPod is rarely without this Motown Man who performed "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" at Michael Jackson's memorial,* left all three looking stunned. The category Supreme Court Justices stumped the field with what could have been a game breaking clue of, ...has a presidential surname and made it to the bench after Robert Bork was rejected*. Very strange lapse of general knowledge--get to know your Supreme Court Justices people (past and present). Word puzzles had the visual interpretation of "win with ease" that stumped all (including me)--who says that?
Marty, the assistant district attorney from Texas was back today to battle Jonah Busch an environmental economist (wearing both a suit jacket and a V-neck as if to demonstrate the incongruity of his job title) and Anne Triolo a screenwriter and used bookstore manager. During the contestant chat portion Anne soberly told Alex about her unique ability to edit music for figure skating (issues of tempo, syncing, and time were critical--yawn). I can only assume she uses the Black Eyed Peas's music liberally:
Jonah's job as an environmental economist was given a look of incredulity by Alex (perhaps he should of said he was a Canadian Jeopardy! blog reporter). I think people have a hard time in this day and age of reconciling economics and environment--must be quite the conversation starter for Jonah. Moreover, Alex seemed to actually believe Marty's claims of being a tap dancing phenom--I was floored by the news. It is like finding out the owlish looking fellow at the library is really a UFC champion. Marty does not look like a tap dancer (a solid football lineman maybe) but then again lawyers often know how to dance well.
Now in his fourth game it was Marty's game to lose and he did so impressively. What happened to Marty? Much like his film namesake Marty's time was short and eventful. Anne wowed me with a slow building momentum and aggressive wagering that was awesome, she gambled big on two daily doubles and it paid off in spades--she had 6 grand before the commercial break. Her final Jeopardy bet of $9,000 of her 18 grand pot was just gutsy--if you want to play Jeopardy! play it like you mean it. Jonah often looked like he was reenacting the Psycho shower scene with his wild buzzer stabbing in the air and his final bet was odd considering he wagered in such a way as not being able to hedge his hedged bet (perhaps like most economists of note math is not his strong point)--but he did capitalize on the second daily double of the second round by betting it all. Also, in Jonah's defense he rolled over Foreign Mayors like a champ.
But overall the questions were ridiculously easy (only one category, Supreme Court justices had more stumpers than successes for me). Both rounds and the final were child's play. Here is my revised clue of, It's the only 2-word state name in which neither word appears in the name of any other state*--When in doubt about a state always go with this one that has the longest name, was the first to outlaw slavery and has the smallest area.
I walked away with $40,000 imaginary dollars that are gaining ground on the American dollar. Our nanny said I was a god among mortals today in Jeopardy.
*Sleeping, Andre Agassi, Pat Tillman, Stevie Wonder, Justice Kennedy, Rhode Island
Hello, Brian here, today is my first day at the helm of thejeopardyfan.com and I am very excited and nervous to be your guest host. I am a Canadian firefighter, writer, and Jeopardy! fan that has hoodwinked Jeanie into trusting me for a fortnight of reportage on your favorite game show. Don't worry Jeanie although I allude to a naughty soccer hooligan song in the title I won't include it. However I will embed Natalie Merchant's pretty and lyrically similar song for the sake of a theme.
Today started with the timely reception of the Jeopardy! Challenger. As regular readers know, Jeanie uses the battery powered toy (to borrow the cruel verbiage of USPS's custom sticker) to play along with Jeopardy! shows and keep score. Jeanie sent it to me by mail a couple of weeks ago (I usually don't keep track of my total preferring to make wild claims) and I had all but given up hope of having it in time for my Jeopardy blogging gig. Needless to say I was elated to find it in my mailbox this morning.
When I opened the package I was shocked to find the Jeopardy! Challenger was sent in its original box with instructions and warranty--it looks in mint condition. I am afraid to touch it. Remind me to buy my next used car off of Jeanie! Made back in 1987 this 23 year old piece of game show technology (that looks suspiciously like a calculator) is now a rare jewel that commands a steep price from the discriminating Jeopardy! fan--this according to williamrob42's current eBay listing for said item. Jeanie included a note explaining that the dollar totals no longer correspond to today's board but thanks to the miracle of mathematics by doubling my score I can participate fully in the game--no more writing on the wall with a jiffy marker for me. Can't someone write an elegant iPhone app for a new jeopardy challenger? You put a man on the moon! For the love of Pete, one of you must be able to make a new Jeopardy Challenger.
I was overwhelmed today with using the Challenger device, taking notes while pausing live TV with the PVR, and trying pair answers to questions. My seven year-old son was not impressed. I don't know how Jeanie does it--I suspect she has a large staff of workers. Add to this frantic scene the fact that the Canadian television carrier of the show delayed the broadcast due to the World Cup Soccer schedule and I was in a mad rush to get to work. Okay, I'm done carping and I'm now ready to give you the lowdown, so without further ado...
Today lawyer Marty Scott squared off against librarian Mark Passarrello and Greek and Latin teacher MariantheColakis. Mark was decked out in a canary yellow shirt, thick black rimmed glasses, and a bow tie that I assume he bought at a librarian store. Marianthe wrote her name almost illegibly and made me wonder whether anyone (else)has ever misspelled their names on the console--I think she should have been summarily disqualified. Marty seemed very confident and relaxed. Their personal anecdotes were (as always) endearing, odd, and involved ants in lungs, fluency fun in dead languages, and family plans for Disneyworld.
The first round was unremarkable except for a questionable buzzer beating true daily double by Mark--I personally think he missed it. My favorite question of the round was in the category Landmarks for $400, Irish Born architect James Hoban designed this Washington D.C. building; he had to rebuild it after a 1814 fire*. I hate to brag but Canadians were the ones responsible for the blaze! I swept Literary Stupid Answers and loved the $400 question, It was the top-selling fiction book of 1986*. Presidential Campaign Slogans was fun and I only screwed up, A kinder gentler nation($800) but the correct answer paid off for me as a punch-line*(first and last political joke, I promise). At the first break Marty was already at $4,600 thanks to great buzzer control, Marianthe was struggling mightily with the buzzer and had $1,400 and Mark was hot and cold with his answers and had only $1,600 for his efforts. By the end of the round Marty had almost doubled his earnings to $8,000 to Marianthe's and Mark's second place tie of $4,400.
Double Jeopardy had the categories of Art and Artists, In an Emergency (easy), 1T,2T (super easy), Alien Invaders, Destination Earth and the very unlikely category of Jones-ing (easy). Jones-ing known slangingly as the craving of a drug and the undesirable side effects from withdrawal seemed an odd choice of expression for a category looking for celebrity Joneses. Mark got the second daily double of the day and bet $3,000 on Art and Artists clue, Dancer Jane Avril & printer PereCotelle are depicted in his 1893 lithograph "L'EstampeOriginale"*. When in doubt about dancers in art always go with Degas is my rule and apparently Mark followed the same maxim but the answer was wrong! Who ever heard of a painting with dancers not my Degas? My favorite question of the round was, In An Emergency's $2000, If you smell the mercaptans that are deliberately added to this, get out of the house--I was just at a three hour call for this very thing*. Mark withered and Marty went Matrix on the board finishing with an impressive $27,600 making Final Jeopardy moot for Mark with $8,200 and Marianthe at $5,200.
Final Jeopardy was a tough nut with the clue being, This planet is named for a Roman god; its only moons are named for the sons of his Greek counterpart. Marianthe, the Greek and Roman teacher nearly got it wrong with her initial guess of Neptune and Mark and Marty both guessed incorrectly with Jupiter and Neptune respectively*. Very odd that Mark chose to bet nothing--strange tactic even in a runaway game--perhaps parting gifts are better for runner ups? I doubt it.
Tomorrow I'll be more succinct, more confident, and less frantic. Please feel free to aim your slings and arrows of outrageous fortune my way. I wonder if Jeanie can come back early?
*the White House, It, George H. W. Bush, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, natural gas, Mars.
As I'd hoped, I watched the show with my parents tonight. You know I love watching the show with them, but as I watch, it feels like I'm recapping what happened in our house rather than happened on the show! (Maybe I should open a "Stuff My Dad Says" account on Twitter. On second thought....) That satisfies me, but probably no one else reading this. Well, except for my dad, of course. I've read that blogs should primarily be for the author's enjoyment, but my enjoyment comes from knowing people are reading this and responding. So I love doing this, but it really is for you. Mwah!
Speaking of my parents, as I said in my last entry, I have been thinking about a Jeopardy!-related nickname for my mom, since I have "Jeopar-daddy" for my dad. I've come up with "Jeop-pretty," which is apt, but is it too easy? I'd still like your ideas.
I did not remember any of tonight's contestants (and I even wrote that down!), until Mr. Trebek said one-day returning champ Brian Levinson was a writer as well as a "performer." (Something tells me this guy writes a blog!) I vaguely remembered him then, and then Mr. Trebek reminded us he imitated Sean Connery on the previous show. Brian performed again today, as when he impersonated Christopher Walken during his interview and he responded to this clue in Rock and Roll in a British accent: "One of my all-time favorite bands is this Johnny Rotten/Sid Vicious group that lasted only 3 years in the 1970s."*
As usual, my dad griped about the categories, especially in the Jeopardy round. After they were announced in the Jeopardy round, he said, "Whatever happened to Chemistry and Geography?" After Mr. Trebek read the Double Jeopardy categories, my dad commented that they were a little bit better, and he even readjusted his position on the loveseat in order to focus more. My dad would probably want me to tell you that he kicked butt today. I wish you could've seen his reaction after this clue in Entombment: "This explorer's Puerto Rico tomb says the valiant lion's 'deeds surpassed the greatness of his name.'"* His eyes about popped out of his head and he seemed to almost jump off the loveseat. I can't help but laugh about it, even now!
I almost swept Spoof Films today, except for this 1000 clue: "This 2000 horror film had the tagline 'No mercy. No shame. No sequel'; the sequel's tagline was 'We lied.'"* Since I was sweeping the category, I put up a prayer and guessed Scream, but I really knew it was wrong.
Brian almost swept Authors' Middle Names except for this 2000 clue: "C.S. Lewis."* Then he swept Rock and Roll. By that time he had 17800, while his nearest opponent, Mark Raabe, had 6600. And by the time Brian found the second Daily Double, he had 21000 while Mark had 7400 and Pam Winters had 5800. Brian wagered only 400 on this clue in "E"gad: "The name of this herb, thought by many to shorten the length of a cold, is from the Greek for 'hedgehog.'"* He got it right.
Did you guys notice Brian's and Mr. Trebek's different pronunciations of "Guyana" in response to this clue in The 20th Century?: "In May 1966 this small South American country became independent, with Forbes Burnham as its first P.M." Not even two weeks ago, they took Jeff Johnson's money away for not pronuncing that word to their satisfaction. I thought they'd do it this time, but no! (?) Weirder still, my dad actually said, "Ghana!" in response to that clue! Talk about (?). That one's never been thrown into that mix!
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Brian had stymied the competition to the point of no return. He had 27800, Mark had 10600, and Pam had 5800. This was the clue in Island Chains: "Before an 1867 sale, this island group was known as the Catherine archipelago."* Brian and Mark got it right. Brian wagered nothing, but of course it didn't matter. Bravo to this "performer."
*the Sex Pistols, Ponce de Leon, Scary Movie, Staples, echinacea, the Aleutians
I swept Facts and Figures today, which was a clever and rather misleading title for the category: Mr. Trebek would give a Fact about a bombshell (the Figure) that was pictured on the screen. Sample clue: "Fact: She co-starred with Tony Randall in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?"*
Okay, I have to admit I picked this clue because it was a triple-stumper. I also have to admit, then, that I just guessed on it, but I did say it out loud, a requirement to give myself credit when I'm playing with my Challenger. I figure (I hear you groaning!) if I don't answer out loud, I would not have been confident enough about it to ring in and answer out loud on the show, either.
I sort-of got these two triple-stumpers, except I didn't say them out loud. In "Last" Chance: "Bravo! It's a final performance or effort before retirement and also the title of a 1958 Spencer Tracy film."* And in Military Firsts: "In May 1783 Elijah Churchill and William Brown became the first recipients of this medal established by George Washington."*
Ken Eberle found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round, also in Military Firsts. At that time he had twice the total of one-day returning champ Marty Scott. Ken said proudly, "I've always wanted to do this. I want to make it a true Daily Double." Sadly, he missed it: "The first battle casualties of this military unit were in 1527 when 147 died defending Pope Clement VII."*
At the end of the Jeopardy round, then, Ken had 400, while Marty and Jennifer Roberson had 4000. Luckily, Ken also found the first Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round, in On the Map. He was tied with Marty at 7200, while Jennifer had 9200. Ken wagered 2000 on this clue: "The name of this South American capital is believed to come from Magellan's exlamation, 'I see a hill!'"* Bravo, Ken! Did you guys come up with it in time? All I could think of in time was Buenos Aires, but I knew it was wrong.
Just three clues later, Marty found a Daily Double in Drop a Letter. This is the kind of category where I'd probably wager a bundle. Marty had 8000, Ken had 9600, and Jennifer still had 9200. Marty wagered 2000 on the clue: Drop a letter "...from a word referring to 2 lines of latitude and you get this word that refers to a subject for discussion."* He got it right.
Going into Final Jeopardy, Marty had 15200, and Ken and Jennifer each had 10000. This scenario reminded me of the only three-way tie that happened on Jeopardy!, several years ago. It could've happened again today, except Jennifer wagered only 1400, and Marty wagered 4801. The Final Category was Flags and Banners. Weird. The clue: "This 15th century person said, 'I had a banner of which the field was sprinkled with lilies"; written on top: 'Jhesus Maria.'"* All I could think of was Cervantes! That was better than Ken's guess of Pope Pius XIII, though, who doesn't even exist. (Maybe he did it on purpose?) The other two contestants got it right. Marty, then is now a two-day champ! Come back Monday when my guest-blogger Brian gives us his take on the show, and lets us know whether Marty has won his third.
Here are my scores from Wednesday and Thursday this week:
Dan Katz Kyle Hutchinson Peter Hall Me
8800 19000 7200 19800
Ilana Cohen Marty Scott Kyle Hutchinson Me
18601 18801 10550 18802
I think tomorrow I'll be watching with my mom and the Jeopar-daddy (if we have time to watch it together). I'll have to come up with a Jeopardy!-related moniker for my mom. Anyone have any ideas? I will ask her, too!
*Jayne Mansfield, The Last Hurrah, the Purple Heart, Swiss Guard, Montevideo, topic (from 'tropic')
Do you remember the end of both Ace Ventura movies, how Ace inhales very, very deeply so that he can explain the solution to the case all in one breath? I feel like I need to do that for this entry!
I watched today's show with my dad and mom. The title of this entry refers to my dad's response when I asked him if he was ready to "Jeop it up." I know, lame, both of us!
My dad likes to give his reaction to each category as it is being read at the beginning of each round. Sometimes he just gives a thumbs-down or a shrug to each category, and sometimes he grunts his displeasure, but he is almost never satisfied. Today's Jeopardy round was no exception. With the revelation of each category, my dad's vocalizations, for lack of a better word, got lower and lower.
I'm happy to say I swept "S"Wonderful tonight, but my dad was quick to point out during the Food Glorious Food category that I did not sweep that one. In fact, I tanked! As we were talking about it, I heard my mom quietly answer this triple-stumper (that's her style!): "Made of coconut or almond paste, these drop cookies are especially popular at Passover."*
My dad seemed rather impressed when 2-day champ J.R. Lind answered this one in You're a Grand Old Flag: "This South Pacific island nation's flag was based on an idea from King George Tupou I."* "How did he know that?" my dad said. Mr. Trebek, incidentally, clarified tonight that Lind reports on business and real estate. I had assumed in a previous entry that he wrote about politics, based on a little Internet search I had done.
At the end of the Jeopardy round, Lind had 3600, Peter Hall had 5000, and Jessica Freeman had 3400. Pretty evenly matched, right? Not by the time Double Jeopardy was over. Peter found both Daily Doubles in the round, one right after the other, and wagered 6000 each time, and got them both right. Quite an endorsement for making big wagers. The first Daily Double, in Art Heists: "In 1976, she sued for the return of 3 paintings, claiming they'd been stolen from Alfred Stieglitz' gallery in 1946."* The second one, in Woody Allen Movie Synopses: "Abused wife seeks refuge in movie theater, falls for the fictional leading man."*
Did you notice that Peter would look like he was clapping a cupped hand over the hand with the ringer in it? It reminded me of the auditions for the show: The Jeopardy! staff admonishes potential contestants not to use two hands when ringing in. I assume this is illegal on the actual show, but I have never seen it addressed on TV. Does anyone know? Any former contestants, maybe?
Speaking of Jeopardy! auditions, last time I took the online test and passed, I found out in June that year. If anyone finds out they passed this year's online test, would you please comment here? I'm hoping to avoid anxiety about it for the rest of the year if I know that other people have found out they passed. (I don't know that it will work!)
At the end of the Double Jeopardy round, Peter led with a whopping 31800, J.R. had 11200, and Jessica had 10200. The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. Military History, and this was the clue: "This general commanded the first official American force to fight on the European continent."* All three contestants got it right! Peter wagered 5000, but it was obviously a moot point to the other contestants. J.R. wagered 9201, and Jessica wagered 10001.
I lucked out that there was a clue about Canada on the show today, as it provides a perfect means to introduce the man who will be guest-blogging here for two weeks. This is the clue in Lake Poet-ry: "Do not go gentle into this 'ursine' Canadian lake/rage rage against the cold; it can be just too much to take."* (And I got this one right!) Brian McAsey, author of the Thin Skin of Culture blog and a Canadian himself (hey, like Mr. Trebek!), will make his debut here on Monday, June 13th. His own blog, in his words, is "dedicated to [his] quixotic attempt to read an arbitrary book list appropriated from a book entitled 501 Must Read Books." He has tried out for Jeopardy! twice. He said on his blog he is "ecstatic" to be guest-blogging here, and I am equally so. Break a leg, Brian!
*macaroons, Tonga, Georgia O'Keeffe, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Pershing, Great Bear Lake
First, I hate to bring this up again, but I fear the "comments" function is still not working properly. I'm trying something else, so, again, if you've commented and it has not appeared on the blog, feel free to try again. It might work this time, and of course I hope it does!
Now for today's episode: J.R. Lind, the newspaper reporter from Tennessee, was back to defend as champion. I like him, but I have to admit I was pulling for Becky Henderson today, because she lives in the Midwest! Joshua Weiss of Chicago was the other contestant today. He found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round in Literary Dedications. He was in the lead with 2600, to one-day champ J.R.'s 1600 and Becky's -1000. Since Joshua is a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature, I was hoping he would let it ride here, but it's easy for me to say while I'm watching from home! He did not get the first two clues in the category right. He may have known the first one but didn't ring in first, and no one got this second one: "e.e. cummings 'dedicated' his book 'No Thanks' to the publishers who rejected it & to this woman who paid to print it."* Joshua wagered 600 on his Daily Double (and women wager conservatively?): "Herman Melville dedicated 'Moby Dick' to this fellow author and mentor."* I remembered this one from American Lit class in high school. Joshua, naturally, got it right.
At the beginning of the Double Jeopardy round, Joshua had a big lead with 9800, while J.R. had 2400, and Becky had 800 after getting herself out of the hole on this final clue in the Jeopardy round, in You Make My "Heart" Sing: "This Springsteen song begins, 'Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack.'"* Joshua continued to command in Double Jeopardy. He picked up 2000 on this Daily Double clue in Double "C," giving him twice of J.R.'s total, who was his nearest opponent: "From the name of an ancient Roman festival, it now refers to any riotous or drunken festivity."* By the end of Double Jeopardy, though, J.R. had made sort of a comeback, and at 15200, he was only 3000 behind Joshua at 18200. Becky had 2800.
The Final Jeopardy category was Meteorology, a category I don't think I've seen before, at least not in Final Jeopardy. This was the clue: "Low- and high-pressure systems and tropical moisture set the stage for a 1991 Nor'easter nicknamed these two words."* All I could think of was El Nino, but I knew that was wrong. Becky got it wrong, too, but didn't lose anything. J.R. got it right and added 9200 to his score, which was like a bonus because Joshua couldn't come up with anything and wagered 12201. J.R., then, became a two-day champion with 52000+! Impressive. Tomorrow I'm expecting to watch the show with Jeopar-daddy and my mom. Yippee!
Did you guys get these two triple-stumpers?: In The Country Where You'd Find: "The longest bridge over water in the world."* I got this one right, but I was actually thinking of a different location than the one Mr. Trebek said the clue was referring to. What about this one in Movie Number, Please: "Sandra Bullock as a journalist who ends up in rehab."*
By the way, this has nothing to do with Jeopardy!, but I can't resist: In my last entry, I told you about a couple of mistakes I'd seen by closed captioners in the past. I was watching the French Open this morning, and I'm glad I noticed this one: Wozniacki, a female tennis player, was transcribed as "Woodsbackky." Wow.
*his mother, Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Hungry Heart," bacchanal, "perfect storm," the U.S. (I was thinking of the Everglades, but the bridge is actually over Lake Pontchartrain), 28 Days
First, in case you missed my previous post, there was an issue with leaving comments where I was not receiving them and thus could not publish them. This seems to have been resolved now. I hope you will resubmit your comments on previous posts! I would still love to see them.
On to today's episode: We found out today what 2-day champ Jeff Johnson, who'd been identified as a "transcriber," actually transcribes: "news shows and TV shows," as Mr. Trebek put it. No wonder Jeff is Jeopardy! champion. I always thought it would be fun to be a closed captioner, and I'd still like to try it one day. If you don't currently use your closed captioning, I recommend it. My family and I have had some hearty laughs from it. For example, during one tennis match we were watching, the closed captioner, obviously not a fan, referred to a phantom let as a "fat up left" and the Bryan Brothers as "the Brine Brothers."
Did you wonder what response the judges were looking for after J.R. Lind (yes, lanky) responded "horse tack" to this clue in Parts of a Whole?: "Cheek strap, snaffle rein." Mr. Trebek looked at the judges, who decided to accept it, but he didn't say what they wanted. I think "bridle."
At the beginning of Double Jeopardy, Jeff was in third place at 2200 and thus selected first again. I believe he only answered one clue in that round until there were the equivalent of two categories remaining. When stay-at-home mom Felicia Ko found the first Daily Double of the round, she had 13000, J.R. had 10200, and Jeff had 3200. It felt a little desperate (but maybe it wasn't!) when Jeff skipped to the bottom of the board and selected a 2000 clue. But the match felt more competitive after that. At the end of the round, Jeff had 10600, Felicia had 14200, and J.R. had 14600.
This was the Final Jeopardy clue, in American Politicians: "Frank Sinatra came out of retirement to sing their praises; "They're both unique...the Quaker & the Greek."* Coincidentally, J.R. had mentioned one of these names in his interview with Mr. Trebek after the first commercial break. Furthermore, after I looked him up on Twitter, I learned this "newspaper reporter" covers politics for the Nashville Post. Naturally, he answered this clue correctly, and so did the other two. Also no big surprise, J.R. wagered more than 13000. He needed to anyway in order to win if Felicia doubled her score. So he is your new champ, and with a healthy haul. I hope he can make it at least two.
I discovered that my comment box was not working consistently. If you left a comment and it wasn't published, it's because I never saw it. Now the comment box is working. I would still love to see your comments if you care to resubmit them. Sincere apologies for the inconvenience.
Come back tonight to see if Jeff Johnson has won his third game!
There were some pretty weird clues on the show today, especially in the Jeopardy round. I suspect that there were more triple-stumpers than usual in that round. Two of the three clues in Let's Be Logical, for example, were quite tricky. I took a class in logic in college and liked it a lot, but I do hate solving logic problems in puzzle books. Do you guys, Jeopardy! fans, like to solve them? I dare you to answer this one in 8 seconds: "Mary's mom had 4 girls; the first was named April, the second June, the third May, and the fourth this."* And even though I am a proud Husker, I know next-to-nothing about football. This one handcuffed me: "An NFL game ended 17-7; the losing team scored no touchdowns but this many field goals."* The only thing I can think of is that there is no way to score one point in an NFL game. Yes, I could look this up, and I will if I don't hear from anyone. After these two triple-stumpers, contestant Greg Lyon bailed and moved to another category.
There were three triple-stumpers in a category as innocent-seeming as Music Class. I got this one worth 400: "Spohr wrote one of these for (start counting) flute, oboe, horn, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass."* I didn't know this one worth 800: "Duets for 2 players at one piano, like Faure's 'Dolly' Suite, go by this numerical term"* or this one worth 1000: "If it found its way into an orchesra, a hurdy-gurdy would be found in this section."* At the end of Double Jeopardy, one-day champ Jeff Johnson had 2000, Greg had 5000, and Susan Thatcher had 3200.
Jeff seemed to sweep the difficult category Colonial Names for Countries, giving him a 2600 lead. He answered two more clues, then found the first Daily Double in English Literature. We found out then that he was going to be penalized for mispronouncing "Guyana." (To which I say, "Really?") Jeff then ALL of his 8400 on the Daily Double! This is the bold action I hinted at my last entry. Even though he had the lead, he didn't worry about protecting it enough that he wasn't willing to risk it for a big pay-off. And pay off it did. Jeff slam-dunked this one and stretched his lead to 11400: "This children's novel begins, 'These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket.'"*
Susan found the other Daily Double in the round. She wagered 2000 of her 3200 on this clue in Name the Speaker, and got it right: "1936: 'A few hours ago, I discharged my last duty as king.'"* Jeff's daring wager on his Daily Double slammed the door on his opponents, though. At the end of Double Jeopardy, he had 19600, Greg had 3800, and Susan had 8000.
The Final Jeopardy category was Film History, and this was the clue: "Written by Thomas Dixon, 1916's film 'The Fall of a Nation' is considered the first of these ever made."* I guessed the same thing as Greg, but everyone got it wrong. Greg lost 1313, Susan lost 7000, and Jeff lost 3500. Jeff comes back tomorrow to try for his third win.
My score for Wednesday's game, compared to the contestants':
Jeff Johnson Gerry Cuddyer Cathy Melocik Me
17400 14401 9999 13998
*Mary, one, nonet, four hands, strings, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII), sequel
At the top of today's show, Mr. Trebek said, "In the old days, the early days of Jeopardy!, women contestants were very cautious in wagering on Double Jeopardy [Daily Doubles?] or Final Jeopardy. Thankfully, that is no longer the case." This was in response to yesterday's Final Jeopardy: Today's champ of one day, the genial Cathy Melocik, had wagered 10401 of her 14000. But that was a traditional bet for the situation, man or woman: Her nearest opponent, Sally Ronald, had 12200, so Cathy wagered to beat Sally by a dollar if Sally doubled her score (assuming Cathy got it right, too). What do you guys think? When I play with my Jeopardy Challenger, I am conservative on Daily Doubles. I don't like to wager much, no matter what the category is, if I have a lead. I want to protect it. And if I am behind, I don't want to do any more damage. I have to admit I try to save a little face, too, although I know that is BAD BAD BAD! My scores compared to the contestants prove my strategy isn't working, and that's not even taking into consideration whether I ring in first. My final score yesterday was 21800, Sally's was 10400, and Aaron Ammerman's was 14000.
Today, Cathy was joined by Cheryl Parrott and Shaun Desmond. Cathy dominated. She found all three Daily Doubles, and she had well over half of her opponents' totals each time she found one. On the first two Daily Doubles she found, she had exactly three times her nearest opponent's total! She wagered roughly 15%, 10%, and 11%, respectively, on the three Daily Doubles she found. (Two thousand was her highest wager.) She got the first two right. Those wagers don't sound so liberal to me, but I think I'd have done something similar. I've said in the past that I think it's classy for a contestant with a gigantic lead to not get greedy or rub it in by wagering huge.
Believe it or not, by the end of the Double Jeopardy round, the game was not quite a runaway. Cathy had 21500, Shaun had 6800, and Cheryl had 10800. The category for Final Jeopardy was The U.S. Military, and this was the clue: "This corps' motto is 'Building Strong.'"* All three contestants got it right. Cathy, as she did the day before, wagered enough, by a dollar, to beat Cheryl if Cheryl doubled and both ladies got it right. Cheryl had wagered 3000.
Two solid performances in a row from Cathy. Can she make it three?
Now, a request for assistance: A gentleman who appeared on Jeopardy! in the 1970s is looking for tapes/recordings of his episodes. Does anyone know how he can get them? Leave a comment or e-mail me (thejeopardyfan@gmail.com) or contact me through Twitter (@vamosdavid) if you can help him, please!
Finally, happy 26th birthday (yesterday) to my little sis, "Peaches." Mwah!
*The Army Corps of Engineers
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