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Happy New Year, everyone! Come back tonight (yes, Saturday) for some exciting news to ring in the new year that you won't want to miss. (The news, not the year.)
Here are the contestants from yesterday's episode (And for what it's worth, I had this entry scheduled to publish automatically this evening and it did not. Now I feel a little better.):
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| Ellen Kimmel |
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| Lyn Thomas |
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| Allysen Meijer |
The episode started off with a bang (well, a crash) when I dropped one of three remotes I was trying to manipulate at my mom and dad's today. Of course it fell apart and it made a sound almost like glass breaking, causing my sister " Peaches" to ask what it was. Before I knew it we were at the first commercial break, and I still didn't have the battery cover back on because I was trying to watch the show at the same time. Thank God I was still able to record it on the VCR.
Peaches got a few triple-stumpers today. The first was in Counting Down to "Midnight." This was the clue: "It's the 'swift' '80s band that gave us 'Come On Eileen.'"* However, when we watched the clue again later so I could write it down, Mr. Trebek had an "s" on the end, and she objected. She told me to look it up, and it seems like Mr. Trebek was right. So I don't know if they would've accepted her response!
She also got one in Element-ary School, as did my dad, who is a chemistry teacher and by that time joined the game. Here it is: "Of 75, 90, or 105, the closest to the number of elements that occur naturally on Earth."*
Finally, Peaches got a triple-stumper in Words in European Countries. The clues were like this: Mr. Trebek indicates a word that will be found within the country's name, also indicated in the clue. Here's an example from the show, although it's not exact. (My family's watching "Law and Order" and I already interrupted them to write down one the category for this clue!): "An ache in Pamplona." So the correct answer they were going for was "pain" (which is in the word "Spain"). Here's the triple-stumper my sister got: "Intense enthusiasm in Bucharest."*
Ellen found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round in A Year Ending in Zero. She had 3200, Allysen had 1600, and Lyn had 800. Ellen wagered 2000 on this clue: "Lord Roberts commands British troops in Africa during the Boer War."* She got it right.
Lyn found the Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round, in Lost. She had 4200, Ellen had 5200, and Allysen had 7000. Lyn wagered 1300 on this clue: "Completes the Gertrude Stein quote about post-WWI young people: 'You are all a' this 2-word phrase."* She got it right. Then she had to be cued to make the next selection. Like yesterday, Ellen was sssslllllooooowwww to select, but Lyn was too this time! In fact there were two clues left at the end of the Double Jeopardy round, and I'm pretty sure one was a Daily Double. I don't care how you feel about the categories. Just select.
The Final Jeopardy category today was Political Terms. Ellen had 7200 going in, Allysen had 10200, and Lyn had 7100. This was the final clue: "A 1912 speech said the Bull Moose Party 'comes from' these; 'it has grown from the soil of...people's hard necessities."* Ellen and Allysen got it wrong, while Lyn got it right. Allysen wagered 4201, enough to lose to Lyn even if she hadn't wagered anything. (She wagered 6000.) So we will see Lyn back on Monday. I have to say I wish Allysen had won today. She seemed bright, she selected quickly, and she seemed to be looking for the Daily Double (as opposed to Ellen) when time was short at the end thanks to her two opponents. It's kinda too bad.
*Dexys Midnight Runners, 90, mania, 1900, lost generation, grass roots
Okay. I hate to be so blunt, and it's not like I don't care, but I have to rip through this today - I need to be two hours from my current location in less than four hours so I can watch the Holiday Bowl with my folks. I might add that the weather outside is frightful, and I'll probably have to stop for gas, and I'd like to stop for dinner. If anybody cares. (Go Big Red!)
First, here are some scores of mine from random games the past week or two:
Dennis Loo 13400 Ester Murdukhayeva 9599 Tom Nissley 26801 Me 7598
Samantha Barry 20401 Corey York 1 Tom Nissley 24401 Me 16400
Anthony Curtis 10799 Alice Jackson 4999 Marissa Goldsmith 10800 Me 20600
Ellen Kimmel 25600 Raghuveer Mukkamalla 5999 Marissa Goldsmith 13700 Me 8602
Today's contestants:
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| Ellen Kimmel (She's a nurse!) |
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| Whitney Manzo (She played a Jeopardy! video game with fellow freshmen and only lost once!) |
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| Matt Creamer (I don't really have anything to say about him!) |
Here are the triple-stumpers that I answered. How did you guys do on these?: In I read it on a bumper sticker: "'Does the name' of this physiologist 'ring a bell?'"* In Ballpark Franks: "In 2007, this DH nicknamed 'The Big Hurt' hit his 500th career home run."* I was surprised that no one got this one. The "Frank" in question was the first one that came to mind as soon as I heard the category! What about this one in County Culture: "For 37 years, Ole Miss has held an annual conference on this writer and Yoknapatawpha."*
By the first break, Ellen and Matt were tied with 1200, while Whitney had 3000 and I had 5400. Whitney found the Daily Double in the category as the last clue of the round, in Birdology. She had 5200, while Ellen had 4800, Matt had 600, and I had 10000. Whitney wagered 1000, a wager that would appear two more times in the episode! Kind of a lame wager in my opinion when it's randomly thrown out like that, but what are you going to do about it (besides moan and groan). Here was the clue, read by Kelly of the Clue Crew: "When fishing, a heron spears the water to grab its prey, while this bird sweeps for food using its uniquely shaped beak."*
Whitney missed it. I added a word to the response that Mr. Trebek said was correct, so I was torn and I don't know if I'm right or not. Judges? Whitney found the next Daily Double, too, in County Culture. She had 5400, Ellen had 10800, Matt had 6200, and I had 18000. Whitney wagered 2000 on this clue: "The Oscar-winning documentary 'Harlan County USA' depicts a strike by these workers in Kentucky."* She got it wrong. The last category chosen was A "Bach" of Clues. Ellen, who clearly hated the categories and selected as slowly as another contestant earlier this month, started at the top of the category, and when Matt got that first clue right, he skipped to the bottom, where the Daily Double was found. By then, he somehow was looking listless and disinterested. He had 6600, while Ellen had 14400, Whitney had 1800, and I had 19800. He too wagered a weak 1000. This was likely to be the last clue of the game, as Mr. Trebek had already warned that there was less than a minute left to go in the round. Why not go for the kill, since you have less than half of someone's total? Anyway, this was the clue: "Made famous in 1945, it's an extinct volcano on Iwo Jima."* Admittedly, this was tough, and I, like Matt, did not have a response. This was in fact he last clue of the round, so the game was a lock for Ellen going into the final. The category was Music and Movie Superstars, one of my strengths! This was the clue: "These 2 are the only Best Actress Oscar-winners to have number one hits on the Billboard Top 40."* Ellen and Matt missed it, while Whitney got it right. Not that it mattered to the outcome, but Matt once again wagered 1000 for seemingly no good reason. We will see Ellen again tomorrow! (Done in half an hour!) *Pavlov, Frank Thomas, William Faulkner, spoonbill (I added "platypus"), coal miners, Suribachi, Barbra Streisand and Cher
I hope it was a happy one for all. Among my Christmas gifts was a book about blogging that I have not read yet. I can't wait to dig in to it!
There was no shortage of Jeopardy! in my house, as I watched Friday's episode (Goodbye, Tom) and my parents and I caught up on 3 Saturdays' worth today. I decided to just watch them without intending to blog on them. BUT I didn't want you to think I've disappeared. So please consider this an update, and I will blog about the next episode that I can (probably Thursday). Peace!
The scores from Monday:
Bob Fulmer 5000 Julia Carlis 1010 Tom Nissley 36799 Me 1198
Oh, that Tom. He had a run for his money Monday with Bob. Bob led with 21000 going into Final Jeopardy, while Tom had 18400. The Final Jeopardy category was 20th Century Novelists. I remind you, Tom is an editor. (To be fair, Julia is a librarian.) Tom was the only one to come up with the correct response to this clue (that I wouldn't have gotten in a million years): "A critic said that a character of his, "yearning for the moon...never saw the sixpence at his feet"; he made that into a title."* Thus the result you see above! I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Bob, but that's the way it goes.
Now, I like Tom okay. But I have to admit I was sort of hoping he would not win today. Call me selfish (and delusional!), but I want there to be as few "superchamps" (people who've won six or more games) as possible until I have a crack at the stage myself. Here's a link to facts about superchamps that is well worth your time from, you guessed it, the Jeopardy! message boards.
Speaking of superchamps, I was pleased when Mr. Trebek mentioned Roger Craig at the top of the show, in reference to his record-breaking one-day total and kind of in comparison to Tom's achievements.
Here are today's contestants:
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| Tom Nissley |
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| Andrew Sullivan |
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| Danni Steiner |
You know someone looks young when I'm saying it: Andrew looks too young to me to be an attorney. I can't believe Mr. Trebek didn't mention it; he thinks everybody looks young!
Believe it or not, the Daily Double was the second clue of the round today, and in the 400 spot! Tom had answered the first clue, so he got the Daily Double. He wagered 1000 on this clue, in 4-Letter World Capitals: "This city is in the fertile northern foothills of the Alps, on the Aare river."* He got it right, and so did I. I only missed one in the category, in fact, this one: "It serves as the capital of a Baltic republic."* Andrew got that one right.
I got just one triple-stumper today, though, and it came in the category "B" Keeping: "If you're pondering your pupik, you're staring at this body part, for which 'pupik' is the Yiddish word."*
At the first break, Tom led with 4600, Danni had 2000, Andrew had 2600, and I had 4000. At the end of the round, Tom still led with 8600, while Danni had 2200, Andrew had 4600, and I had 9400.
Tom found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round, too, in Have a Drink. He, of course, was leading with 11000, while Danni had 3400, Andrew had 6200, and I had 13400. Tom wagered 3000 on this unbelievable gimme: "It was the sanguine moniker of the Virgin Queen's sister."* Tom got it, too.
Danni found the next Daily Double, in Alliterative Lit. She had 4600, while Tom had 17600, Andrew had 11800, and I had 18400. Her wagers here and in Final Jeopardy aggravate and sadden me: 1000 on this Daily Double. The fact that she missed it aside, the wasted opportunity! And she was so casual. I have to wonder what she was thinking. I don't want to be mean, but didn't she want to win? This has inspired me to beg you aspiring contestants to visit the Jeopardy! message boards regularly for sound advice on wagering. Unfortunately, these words of wisdom are not all compiled in the same place, although someone did ask. At any rate, this was that Daily Double clue: "Title peak in a Thomas Mann work."*
At the end of the round, Tom had 19600, Danni had 7200, and Andrew had 16200, and I had 25400. The Final Jeopardy category was The 19th Century. This was the clue: "Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce were among the Oxford Museum speaker debating this theory June 30, 1860."* I thought this one was pretty easy, and all three contestants got it right. Danni added nothing to her total (sigh!). I have to say that she was lucky that her wagers didn't matter either time that she had the chance. I didn't like Andrew's wager, either, though: 1500. I wonder what he was thinking, too, but it wound up not mattering for him, either: Tom, our hero, wagered enough to win if Andrew doubled (hooray!), and he is Jeopardy!'s newest superchamp. How far is he gonna go?
*Maugham, Bern, Riga, belly button, Bloody Mary, Magic Mountain, evolution
Remember how I said I asked Jonathan Corbblah on the Jeopardy! message boards to explain his Final Jeopardy wager on Tuesday's episode? (He wagered 2200 of his 10800 while Judy had 12400 and Tom had 18600.) This is what he said: "I was thinking by FJ I only had a winning chance if the other two were wrong so in that case I figured that I would also have to get it right. I started to wager a big chunk but the decided to wager less in case of a massive miracle of huge overbetting and I figured since I needed luck, I would repeat the 13000 that I won yesterday." By the way, Jonathan, if you're reading this, did you story for your appearance on the show?
Here are my scores for Wednesday and Thursday:
Anthony Flores 0 Alexis Hawley 6100 Tom Nissley 23201 Me 23202
Jen Huff 6594 Tim Klein 13600 Tom Nissley 23201 Me 23198
Today's contestants:
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| Tom Nissley |
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| Teresa Lane |
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| Nina Kiekhaefer |
You can see over the past three days that Tom has been at least a threat. Today he was a full-out menace. By the first break, he had 5000, Nina had 200, and Teresa had 2800. I was struggling and had 0! After the break Tom swept the category Musical Lodgings, a category that at least Mr. Trebek thought was tough, and it was for me, too! Sample clue: "This '80s group reminisced that 'our house was our castle and our keep.'"* I know the song but not who sang it (til now). But it gets worse: "Led Zeppelin's alliterative fifth album title, it referred to the large stadiums where the band played."*
The Daily Double didn't come until the very last clue of the round, in The Winter Of. By then, Tom had 9000, Nina had 2600, and Teresa had 3800. I had 4600. Nina wagered 2000 on this clue: "...1939 and 1940 was when the USSR fought this country in 'The Winter War.'"* I didn't know it, and neither did Nina.
How did you guys feel about this clue in A + 4 (where each word begins with an A and has four more letters after it): "It's a saying that sets forth a general truth and has gained credit through long use."* I thought of two appropriate responses while the clue was being read, and I couldn't decide which one they could've been looking for! I finally went with the one they initially accepted, but poor Teresa went with the other one and was counted wrong. They credited her later, and Mr. Trebek said he didn't know why they hadn't thought of the possibility of both correct responses. The next clue in the same category was a triple-stumper that I got: "It can mean passion or zeal, or the intense heat or flow of a fire."*
I just couldn't catch up to Tom. I was sweeping Scott Land, but Tom got 3 of 4 right before finding the Daily Double in that category. He had 19800, Nina had 2600, Teresa had 7000, and I had 12400. Tom wagered 6000 on this clue: "Campbell was the middle name of this actor who refused an Oscar in 1971."* This one should've been a "duh," but I missed it, I think because I forgot the category. Tom, of course, got it right, pretty much slamming the door on his two opponents. Before the round was over, though, Nina did find the other Daily Double near the end of the round in A Hint of Spice. Tom had 29800, Nina had 3400, and Teresa had 7800. I had 5000. Nina wagered 2000 on this clue: "It's used medically to treat colic (oh, and in Japan to cleanse the palate."* Nina and I got it right. I went out in a blaze of glory: I got this triple-stumper right in the same category: "This spice resembles an onion seed (oh yeah, the hint - it shares its name with TV chef Lawson."*
So the scores going into Final Jeopardy: Tom had 29800, Nina had 5400, Teresa had 7800, and I had 21800. So it wasn't a runaway for me. The Final Jeopardy category was Americana. This was the clue: "Riding the subway in 1908, Jack Norworth saw a sign for the polo grounds and was inspired to write this song."* I threw out a wild guess, and I'll just say I'm glad I wasn't on the show, having given that response. But I never would have guessed what Tom and Nina correctly did. Nina added 2401, giving her a one dollar lead over Teresa until she lost 3001. After revealing that Tom had answered correctly, Mr. Trebek said, "I hope you wagered a bundle." Weird, I was hoping he had not wagered anything! I just think it's a classy move. Not "in-your-face" to your opponents, you know? Anyway he wagered 14000, and we will obviously see him Monday!
*Madness, "Houses of the Holy," Finland, adage/axiom, ardor, George C. Scott, ginger, nigella, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
I had my camera poised ready to take pictures of the contestants today, but I got a surprise. No, not some electronic failure this time! Mr. Trebek announced that, this February, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter are coming back to Jeopardy!, this time to play against a computer ("Watson"). Thanks to Twitter, I've known about this "Watson" for quite some time. Apparently some people are way more excited about it than I am. I wondered whether I'd even mention it here, but Mr. Trebek's announcement really decides that for me. Here is some more information. I am going to be happy to see Rutter and Jennings again. I have to say I'm proud of Ken for facing Brad again, even though Brad beat him in 2005's Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Here are today's contestants:
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| Jonathan Corbblah |
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| Tom Nissley |
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| Judy Arnold (Yes, she has green hair.) |
I was eager to see Jonathan today. He impressed yesterday, and he is a Jeopardy! message boardie! And you know I love an enthusiastic contestant. Jonathan appeared so relaxed, all the time. Tom was a threat from the beginning, though. He had a small lead (200 over both Jonathan and Judy) when he found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round. At that point, it sounded like he had a more passionate cheering section than Jonathan did yesterday! The category was The Flu Fighters. He wagered everything on this clue: "This U.N. agency issues annual recommendations for the composition of new anti-flu drugs."* He got it right! At the end of the Jeopardy round, Tom had 6200, Jonathan had 3200, Judy had 3000, and I had 8000. The Double Jeopardy round featured a "Puff, the Magic Dragon" theme. Like yesterday, both Daily Doubles were found rather early in the round. Jonathan found the first one in Lived by the Sea. He wisely wagered all of his 3600. Judy had 2200, Tom still had 6200, and I had 8800. This was the clue: "The fur seals of the Pribilof Islands not only live by this sea, they also live in it."* I didn't know it, but Jonathan did, and just like that he led by 1000.
Judy found the next Daily Double in Sealing Wax. Judy had 3400, Jonathan had 7600, Tom had 9000, and I had 9600. Judy wagered 3000 on this clue: "These rings sound like young swans, but they're actually used to seal letters with wax."* She got it right, and so did I.
After this, I noticed that Jonathan seemed to have trouble ringing in first, which is too bad. By the end of the round, he had 10800, Judy had 12400, and Tom had 18600. I had 26000. The Final Jeopardy category was Olympic History. This was the clue: "In 1988, this country boycotted the Summer Olympics after its demand to co-host the games was refused."* All three contestants got it right, and I did too. Jonathan wagered only 2200. My guess is that he expected Tom to wager just enough to beat Judy if she doubled, then hoped he answered incorrectly. (This way, a third-place person doesn't have to risk it all when it doesn't really matter because he's in third place and not second.) I've asked Jonathan to explain his wager on the message boards, and I will let you know if he responds to that. Judy wagered 10000, which I thought was kind of an odd choice. Tom wagered 6201, which was enough to beat Judy even if she had doubled. So he wins, and we'll see him tomorrow!
*the World Health Organization, the Bering Sea, signets, North Korea
I was excited for today's show, because a Jeopardy! message boardie was appearing! And it was no disappointment. Here are today's contestants:
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| Sandra McClellan |
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| Keri McConaghy |
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| Jonathan Corbblah |
Jonathan was out of the gates very quickly. When he found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round before the first break, Mr. Trebek said he "came to play." He had 3800, Sandra had 1000, Keri had 200, and I had 1200. Jonathan wagered 2200 on this clue in Education: "It was originally called the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 and provided free education for vets."* Jonathan looked like he was just waiting for Mr. Trebek to get done reading the clue to bust out the right answer. At the first break, he had an already-impressive 6800, while Sandra had 2000, Keri still had 200, and I had 3200. I had to pump my fist on this triple-stumper in 1901-1910. All three contestants even rang in and guessed wrong!: "On January 1, 1902, the firt postseason college football game was played in this city; Michigan beat Stanford 49-0."* I needed that correct response, as you can see by the scores! At the end of Double Jeopardy, Sandra had 3200, Jonathan had 8200, Keri had 2200, and I had 5600. And Jonathan was far from done - He found the first Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round, too, at the end of the first category chosen (State Capital Attractions). He had 11000, Sandra had 4400, Keri still had 2200, and I had 9600. (I was sweeping the category.) Jonathan wagered 7000 on this clue: "Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks and Green Mount Cemetery."* Jonathan and I both got it right. But I got this triple-stumper in Astronomers, where Jonathan had answered incorrectly: "His 'belt' about 4.65 billion miles from the sun may contain more than 70,000 objects."* When Sandra found the second Daily Double of the round, it was still rather early; the clues were less-than-half gone. (Incidentally, Sandra only sighed once today. That's an improvement over Friday, but she had reason to do it more often today!) Sandra had 7200 when she found the Daily Double. Jonathan had 18800, Keri had 2200 (still?!), and I had 15200. Sandra wagered 5000 on this clue: "In 1609, using a weak 9-power telescope, he discovered that Venus has phases just like our moon."* She got it right. Jonathan then benefitted from a clue about chess, since he was introduced as a chess teacher. The category was Go, as in the game, and this was the clue: "In Go, 2 players take turns placing stones of 2 different colors on a board; unlike in chess, this color goes first."* I got this triple-stumper in the same category. I rang in thinking I knew the answer, then thought it was wrong, then decided to go with it at the last second: "A stone that is threatened with capture is said to be 'in' this; the makers of Pong chose it for their company name."* Was it just me or did Jonathan seem to slow...way...down when selecting clues from the final category? It felt like he was trying to keep his lock on the game. It didn't quite work out that way, but it was close. The gap closed a little because Sandra got this final clue correct in They Call Me Mr...: "In a 1960s cartoon series, Jim Backus voiced this bald, irritable, and dangerously myopic man."* Jonathan ended the round with 20000, Sandra had 13400, Keri had 7800, and I had 28000. The Final Jeopardy category was Countries. This was the clue: "In only 2 cases can you add 2 letters to one country and get another country: Austria/Australia and this pair."* This was a toughie that I tried but could not solve in time. The contestants all got it wrong, too. Jonathan said, "Duh!" when Mr. Trebek revealed the correct response. Keri lost 7200, Sandra lost 6601, and Jonathan lost 7000, still leaving him with enough to win, luckily, as he deserved it! I can't wait to see what he does tomorrow. I wanted to share something else with you: Tonight I was at Goodwill and I found TWO books that were related to recent Jeopardy! clues. This one was from today, in fact, in Education: "In 1955 Rudolph Flesch wrote "Why Johnny Can't" do this, attacking current teaching practices."* I didn't pick that one up, but I did buy the one that this clue is about, because Oprah made it sound so appealing! The category was Oprah's Favorite Books: "When I got up to 800 pages in this author's The Pillars of the Earth, I had to slow myself down because I didn't want it to end."* I didn't know the book had been chosen for her book club, but the seal was right there on the cover. Have you guys read it? Til tomorrow.... *the G.I. Bill, Pasadena, Montpelier, Kuiper, Galileo, black, Atari, Mr. Magoo, Niger/Nigeria, read, Ken Follett
Yet another snafu during today's episode: For some reason the image on the screen was stuck on that of a commercial that aired before the show started. At this point I don't know the correct spellings of the contestants' names (except for yesterday's champion, of course), and they don't appear on j-archive.com yet, so we'll just have to go with their first names. Isn't it cool that Eugene's name appears in his photo? But that was referring to a different guy, so I don't know if that's how this contestant spells his name. Eugene had been talking about a time that his name was the response to a clue on the show.
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| Liz Maziarz |
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| Eugene |
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| Sandra |
I got two triple-stumpers today. Here's the first one, in Real Names of Celebs: "The voice of Marlin in 'Finding Nemo,' he was born with the name Albert Einstein."* The second was in The Greatest in Sports with Mike and Mike. This category featured the two Mikes from "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN. In these clues, one would make a case for something and the other would refute it, which, as you can imagine, made for some loooonnngg clues again. But this time the players were still able to clear the board. Incidentally, they went to this category last! Anyway, here is the triple-stumper: "The greatest NBA player ever has to be Michael Jordan with his six championships." "No way, it's this superstar who scored more than 50 points in a game 118 times."* Eugene found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round. He had 4200 while Liz had 1800, Sandra had 2800, and I had 6800. The category was Zoo Land, and the idea is to give the country where the zoo is located. This was the clue: "Attica Zoological Park."* I didn't know this one, and Eugene didn't either. He lost 2300. At the end of the Jeopardy round, Liz had 2200, Sandra had 3800, Eugene had 4900, and I had 12000. My second lucky day in a row! Sandra found the Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round. (I believe it was the only one uncovered.) This marked the only time til then that she had looked happy. (See her picture above.) Not only was her face sad, she sighed frequently as though she'd rather be somewhere else. Sandra had 9800 when she found this Daily Double in The War of Art. Liz had 7800, Eugene had 11300, and I had 20000. Sandra wagered 2000 on this clue: "A dismembered hand clutching a sword in black and white is part of this 1937 work inspired by the bombing of a city."* She got it right. At the end of the Double Jeopardy round, the game was tight: Liz had 9800, Sandra had 12200, Eugene had 10100, and I had 25600. The Final Jeopardy category was Movies and Language. This was the clue: "A 2010 article from Slate called this language created by Paul Frommer 'the new Klingon.'"* I had no idea until Mr. Trebek said something about a recent, popular movie. Then I knew the movie but not the language. (I haven't seen it.) Two of the three contestants, Liz and Sandra, identified the movie in their responses but not the language. Eugene got it wrong, too. He seemed to be thinking of Harry Potter. All three wagered big, but I would have too. Liz lost 9000, Eugene lost 9901, and Sandra lost 8001. She was left with the most money, then, and she smiled for the second time! Laughed, even. We'll see her Monday. *Albert Brooks, Wilt Chamberlain, Greece, Guernica, Na'vi (from 'Avatar')
First, call me weird but I wonder if we could get something started - ABC is taking suggestions for the cast of their next season of Dancing with the Stars. I do think that show is over-the-top, but somehow it is growing on me. Anyway, I've already suggested both Mr. Trebek and Ken Jennings. Wouldn't it be cool if at least several of us suggested these two? Maybe they'd get a look from those doing the casting. Click on "suggestions" above to make your own. (And please let me know if you do!)
We said goodbye to Josh Powell yesterday, and welcomed Adam Bibler as the new champion. So today's contestants:
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| Adam Bibler |
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| Steve Meer |
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| Liz Maziarz |
(Hey, I just discovered I can add captions to these images! That's much better than what I had been doing. Gotta love improvement.)
There were tons of triple-stumpers today, and I have to admit I didn't get many of them either. The Coryat scores should be telling. (Do let me know if you got any of them, including the many I didn't mention here.) I felt good getting these two before the first break, though: In There's a Sexy Category: "Sofia Vergara has Ed O'Neill remarried with children of all ages on this ABC sitcom."* I'm happy to say I only knew this one because of a "Got Milk?" ad I saw today that featured Vergara and included the sitcom's title in the text. That makes me feel better about taking the time to read People magazine.
And what about this triple-stumper in In the Doghouse?: "From the Latin for 'dog' comes this word that refers to a shelter for one dog or many."* And this one in Creatures of the Night?: "The 222 members of the avian order strigiformes, better known as these, are all nocturnal."* And finally, this one in The Golden Boot Awards: "In 1985 this singing cowboy and sports owner got one of the first golden boots, given for work in westerns."*
At the first break, Adam had 2600, Liz had 200, Steve had 400, and I had 3000. I have to admit I was pulling for Steve a little bit after his interview with Mr. Trebek. He told some kind of story about his wife, then mentioned his children's names: John Paul, Gianna, and Charlie. He sounds like he might be Catholic, like me!
Adam, who in my opinion never looks happy to be there, found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round. He had an enormous lead with 7800, compared to Liz's 400 and Steve's -600. I had 7400. Adam wagered 1000 on this clue: "For a brief time in the 1860s, this 'Great Compromiser' appeared on the $50 U.S. Note."* He got it right. In my opinion, Adam should've wagered more. I'm learning that when you have a big lead like that, you shouldn't necessarily try to protect it, but rather make it grow. It's not about greed. It's about the win. See, Liz already gained 2800 before the end of the Double Jeopardy round, with three clues remaining.
I groaned when I saw that Oprah Winfrey would be reading clues in the Double Jeopardy round. I like her alright, but she reads the clues notoriously slowly. I pondered right away how many clues were going to be left at the end of the round, because surely there were going to be some. (Turns out there were two.) The contestants went straight for those clues in Oprah's Favorite Books (which I admit is an intriguing category).
Adam found the first Daily Double of the round, in Middle Names. This time he wagered 2400 of his 11600. He still led by a wide margin: Liz had 4000 and poor Steve had -1000. I had 11400. Here was the clue: "A U.S. President: Birchard."* Adam missed it. Liz found the next Daily Double in, what else, Oprah's Favorite Books. Surprise, she was leading by this time, with 9200. Adam had 7200 and still-hurtin' Steve had -2200. By the way, I was discouraged when Mr. Trebek pointed out to Steve after a miss that he had -3000. It wasn't even his turn to select. I mean, like he or anyone else can't see he's doing poorly? Anyway, Liz wagered 1000 on this clue, read by Oprah: "A book I chose for my book club in 2000 was this Toni Morrison novel about a young black girl who prayed for different features."* Liz missed it.
At the end of the round, Adam had 8800 (which is what he started the round with), Liz had 9400, and Steve had 200. I had 22800, but I'm not sure how! I didn't really feel like I was on a roll, but that is a very good score for me.
The Final Jeopardy category was State Capitals, a category I like to see because I was born and raised in one (Lincoln, NE). This was the clue: "Forget Me Not, Glacier Avenue, and Glacier Highway are streets in this state capital."* Turns out I waaaaayyy overthought this one. So did Adam apparently. He missed it and lost 8300. Steve redeemed himself somewhat and got it right, and doubled except for one dollar. Liz got it right, too, making her the new champion, then. She wagered 9000! And we'll see her tomorrow.
Here are the scores from Tuesday and Wednesday:
Jamie O'Hagin 9996 Rich Zayatz 10001 Josh Powell 14400 Me 20000
Kate Palladino 4600 Adam Bibler 12000 Josh Powell 3100 Me 3202
*Modern Family, kennel, owls, Gene Autry, Hayes, The Bluest Eye, Juneau
To follow up on Saturday's post: My dad was a little disappointed that I "cut off his head" on his photo wearing the same sweater as Gregg. He even brought it up the next day, while we were at a Husker basketball game. So I took his picture then and there and said I'd post it in my next entry. Here it is:
I got to watch Jeopardy! with him and my mom again today, always a pleasure. Both my parents were actively participating in today's show, which makes me even happier! Here are today's contestants:
 
(from left to right; Josh Powell, Christine Barley, Will Durbin) Josh won his first episode Friday. The contestants started with Movie Verbs, which I thought was too easy, even for the Jeopardy round. For a change, the Daily Double wasn't found until after the first break, at which point both Josh and Will had 2800 and Christine had 1000. Christine had 2400 when she found the Daily Double in The Anheuser-Busch Brewery. She had done well in the category to that point (and it was still relatively early in the game), so I think she did well to wager everything. Josh still had 2800 and Will had 3400. Here was the clue, spoken by Jimmy of the Clue Crew: "To complete the maturation process of lagering, Anheuser-Busch uses wood chips from this timber tree to assure a mellow blend."*
Unfortunately, Christine missed it. At the end of the Jeopardy round, she had 1200, Josh had 4200, and Will had 5600. I interrupt this report to bring you two triple-stumpers. In Painters: "This female impressionist helped Americans collect art, like the Havermeyers, whose collection went to the Met."* I couldn't believe no one got this one right. Come one, with the words "female," "impressionist," and "American" in the same clue? I was proud to pull this one out later in Chris and Tell: "The film 'Chris and Don: A Love Story' is about painter Don Bachardy and this author of 'Goodbye to Berlin.'"* After the show was over, I asked out loud, "Do you know how I knew that one?" And my mom goes, "You met him at a cocktail party?" I don't know why really that cracked me up, but it did. Anyway, NO, I vaguely remember reading about him in the L.A. Times several years ago when I lived in Los Angeles. So it was a bit of a lucky guess, but I'm still proud of it. Christine found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round, in What Happened to the "Mother"s? She had 3600, while Josh had 5000 and Will had 4800. This time she wagered 1200 on this clue: "This Missionaries of Charity copyrighted her name in 2003 in order to protect it."* I thought this one was easy. Christine got it right. Will found the next Daily Double, in Chris and Tell. (Call me slow but it just occurred to me that this is a play on "Kiss and Tell." All I could think of was "Show and Tell," so I really didn't get the title of the category!) Will, in third place at the time, wagered 3000 of his 5600 on this clue: "Christopher Lash critiqued our society of self-lovers in the 1979 bestseller 'The Culture of' this -ism."* Will and I guessed something different, and we were both wrong. But by the end of the round, Will had 9400, Josh had 5400, and Christine had 11200. The Final Jeopardy category was The Bible. I liked the clue: "This happens several times, as in I Kings 17 and Acts 20; the most famous time, it's done by Jesus in John 11."* All kinds of answers flew around our den, and my mom said what wound up being the correct response. Josh got it right, too, and added 5000 to his 5400. Will got it wrong and lost all but 2 dollars. Christine got it wrong and had wagered 7600, which was too much to lose if she was going to win. Josh, then, pulls it off again. We'll see him tomorrow.
*beech, Mary Cassatt, Christopher Isherwood, Mother Teresa, narcissism, raising from the dead
Saturday's contestants:
(from left to right; Andy Srinivasan, Gregg Bingham, Jessica Hawks) When I looked at j-archive.com, I noticed this episode first aired on my birthday in 2009! Why, by the way, do you suppose they have aired Andy's episodes after Dave Belote's, which were more recent? I was looking forward to watching both Stephen Weingarten and Ryan Chaffee, both of whom I had the privilege of interviewing for this blog. As for this episode, my dad noticed immediately that he was wearing the same sweater as Greg. (I was too busy trying to take the contestants' pictures that I didn't notice.) My dad said, "That's something for your blog, Jeanie." And he eagerly stood up for me to take his picture. It does look identical. What do you guys think?: (my dad)
(Gregg)
We were able to watch the show live, but I'm still happy to report that the recording worked - timer, sound, everything. I didn't keep track of my score this time, but I wished I had. I felt like I was kicking butt, but probably not like Andy, who was a two-time champ coming into this episode. Wow. He was dominant, especially in the Double Jeopardy round. He was a pleasure to watch. Andy found all three Daily Doubles. He found it in Haunted America in the Jeopardy round. He wisely wagered all of his 1800 on this clue: "The spirit of Marie Laveau reportedly utters voodoo curses to trespassers at a cemetery in this city."* I took a guess and got it right, and Andy got it right, too. At the end of the Jeopardy round, Andy had 5800, Gregg had 7200, and Jessica had 3000. Andy found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round in "A" in Science. By that time, he had 19400 while Gregg had 6800 and Jessica had 3000. Andy wisely wagered big, 5000, on this clue: "Metabolic imbalances can cause this, an electrical disturbance that alters the heartbeat."* Andy got it right, and so did I. Andy wagered 5000 again on the next Daily Double, this one in Charity. He had 28800, Gregg still had 6800, and Jessica had 3400. This was the clue: "It was founded in 1887 to coordinate 22 Denver charities."* I thought this one was tough. Andy and I both missed it. Not that it mattered in the end when it comes to the victory, but I felt like Gregg should've gotten credit for this one in Hope, and my dad seemed to agree: "Francis Bacon opined that 'Hope is a good breakfast but a bad' one of these."* (Both Gregg's response and the "correct" response are below.) It wound up being a triple-stumper. At the end of the Double Jeopardy round, Andy had 29000, Gregg had 9200 (a pretty good score any other time!), and Jessica had 1400. The Final Jeopardy category was Music Halls of Fame. Interesting, and it sounded fun. It was probably the most fun for Jessica, though, as she was the only one to get a correct response! Here is the clue: "2 of the 4 Country Music Hall of Fame acts who are also in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as performers."* I agreed with Mr. Trebek when he said that one of the answers would be pretty easy to get, and the other three possible answers would be more difficult! That was the case for me and all of the contestants, as we all had the (arguably) most obvious of the correct responses. I didn't come up with the second correct answer. Jessica added 100 to her final total. Andy lost 9000 and Gregg lost 57 (not 5700, just 57!). So Andy's fourth episode should air next Saturday.
*New Orleans, arrhythmia, United Way, supper [Gregg said dinner]
Today's episode featured:
(from left to right; Ariel Schneider, Andy Holt, Josh Powell) Ariel was a two-time champion coming into today's episode. She said in her past Jeopardy! interviews that she is 20 years old and a molecular biology student. She said today that she is getting married! Did you guys like that there was a category devoted to Green Food, when Charlie Penrod said earlier this week that he won't eat green food? This episode was close enough to his that he could well have been a contestant today. He probably would've done well, since he might think about green food more than the average person.
Josh found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round before the first break, which seems to be happening a lot lately! The category was In the "O" Zone. He had 1400, Ariel had 2600, Andy had 200, and I had 2400. Josh wisely wagered everything on this clue: "Known in 1886 as Smithfield, Washington, it was renamed in 1850 for some nearby mountains."* Unfortunately, he missed it and lost everything.
I was a little bit surprised that the category TV Sitcoms by Family was visited last by all the contestants. The contestants and I were stumped by the last two clues: "The Heffernans (of New York)"* and "The Scanlon Kids (Lennox and Ryder, whose aunt hired a 'manny')"*
At the end of the Jeopardy round, Ariel had 6800, Andy had 4000, Josh had 1400, and I had 7200. Not surprisingly (after hearing her interview with Mr. Trebek yesterday), Ariel went to the Sewing category as soon as she had the chance to select. She had said that she quilts, knits, sews, and cross-stitches. I have to say that as an avid cross-stitcher myself, I was a little discouraged by both Mr. Trebek's comment (that these are not hobbies expected of a 20-year-old) and especially Ariel's comment about it: "I'm kind of a little old lady at heart." It's too bad. She really had the chance to celebrate those hobbies and maybe make someone interested in them!
Did you guys know these triple-stumpers? In Plane Crazy: "Each side was painted differently to look like a different aircraft when this plane was used in a film about this B-17 named for a Tennessee girl."* And in Hollywood to Broadway: "Playing Desiree in 'A Little Night Music' was the Broadway debut of this Welsh-born movie star, and won her a Tony."*
Josh found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round, in Poetry: Fill in the (Blank). He had 7400, Ariel had 7200, Andy had 8800, and I had 12000. Josh wagered 1400 on this clue: "What evil looks had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the (blank) about my neck was hung."* I didn't know that one, but Josh did, right away.
Andy found the next Daily Double aftering answering one of the clues in Sewing. The Daily Double was in What's That War? He had 9200, Ariel had 7600, Josh had 8800, and I had 13600. Andy wagered 1500 on this clue: "1937: German planes bomb Almeria."* I thought this one was a toughie, and Andy missed it, too.
When it was time for the last clue of the round, Mr. Trebek said, "Shall we look at it now?" and paused as though waiting for a response. ? Ariel had 7600, Andy had 7700, and Josh led with 8800, which was strange because it seemed like we hadn't heard from him in a while. I had 12400.
The Final Jeopardy category was The Cabinet. Here is the clue: "These 2 cabinet departments both depict 19th century plows on their official seals."* (The seals are pictured below.) All three contestants and I all guessed the same thing and were wrong! Ariel wagered everything but 50, while Andy had wagered all but a dollar. Josh wagered 6700 and thus had enough to win. He raised his arms in triumph, but it wasn't exactly a victory worthy of it! He might have been sarcastic. We'll see him Monday.
I'm expecting to be able to watch and blog about tomorrow's weekend episode. Last time I watched, Andy Srinivasan was in the middle of his run.
*Olympia, "The King of Queens," "Melissa and Joey," Memphis Belle, Catherine Zeta-Jones, albatross, the Spanish Civil War, agriculture and labor 
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