Stand and deliver

     I've mentioned that I want to practice playing Jeopardy! standing up, in an attempt to mimic what it's like on the show.  Well, check this out:

   

   









     I got it at Walmart, and for only $15!  Now I can keep track of my Coryat, keep notes for the blog, and play standing up.  I think it is even light enough for me to take home each time I go, when I can play a whole bunch of recorded weekend episodes.  I wish I'd known this thing existed sooner.  The only minor (I hope) problem is that it's low enough that it makes my back hurt when I try to write.
     Today's contestants:

Balaji Narain

Jennifer Dockter (yet another stay-at-home mother, and a PhD!)

Gabor Vari (a psychiatrist!)

     At the beginning of the show, Mr. Trebek mentioned that the Tournament of Champions begins next week already!  That was fast, but I'm sure it doesn't feel like it to the participants.  I'm so excited.
     I was also excited about some of the categories today, including the very first one revealed: Car Talk.  I bought a car in August, and my dad gave me some books about car care (at my request).  I just read a couple of them (they're small) last week.  I got all three clues right that were revealed, but time ran out and two were left covered.
     I was also sweeping Libros en Espanol when Gabor found the Daily Double there.  He had 1400, Balaji had 0, and Jennifer had -600.  Gabor wagered everything on this clue: "A bestselling memoir: 'Come, Reza, Ama.'"  I had the order of the words wrong at first, but I fixed it before Gabor gave his correct response.  I would've swept the category, but I said "The Mouse on the Motorcycle" instead of "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" on this clue: "Beverly Cleary: 'El Ratoncito de la Moto.'"
     By the first break, I had clammed on one, negged on one, and gotten the rest right.  Jennifer gave a fist-pump and a "whoo-hoo" that she got out of the hole on the clue before the break.  She had 0, though, while Balaji had 1600 and Gabor had 5600.
     What did you think of Balaji's story about sleeping three nights in an airport terminal?  That seems cruel of the airline to me.  But anyway, I'd pay what I had to.  Three nights in an airport?  No, thanks!
     I liked Gabor's story of Hungarians thinking he was mentally challenged because of his American accent.
     Now, remember how I've been talking about reading the books that Best Adapted Screenplay winners were based on?  And the first selection was Accidental Billionaires and The Social Network?  Well, how about this clue today in Million Dollar: "This co-founder of Facebook agreed to donate $100 million to Newark Public Schools."  I'm pretty sure I'd have gotten it right anyway, but I just finished the book last week!
     At the end of the Jeopardy round, Balaji had 1600, Gabor had 10000, and Jennifer had 5000.
     The Double Jeopardy round started well for me: World Geography!  Normally this would elicit a groan from me, but I'd just been looking at a globe today and yesterday while answering geography clues in a Trivial Pursuit book.  I would up clamming on 4 and only getting 1 right, but there should've been more (of course).
     Jennifer said "Awesome!" when she found the first Daily Double, in If You Can Read This.  She had 8600, Gabor had 10800, and Balaji still had 1600.  Jennifer wagered 3000 on this clue: "If you can read this, you know this ancient language of the Bhagavad Gita, but may have trouble keeping up your conversation skills."  Jennifer said "All right!" when ruled correct.
     Mr. Trebek gave the "less-than-a-minute-to-go" warning just before Gabor uncovered the second Daily Double, in Prime Ministers of Great Britain.  He had 21200, Balaji had 6000, and Jennifer had 17200.  Gabor wagered 2000 on this clue: "This early 1830s PM lives on in the name of a popular tea."  Gabor and I got it right.
     Two clues were left covered again this round.  Balaji ended with 6000, Gabor with 23600, and Jennifer with 17200.  To complete the awesome category day, the final one was Classic Games!  This was the clue: "Monopoly creator Charles Darrow's sole quote in 'The Yale Book of Quotations' includes this 3-digit number."  Mr. Trebek said, "This should be a piece of cake for anyone who has played games."  But I didn't get it right, and I'm a game-lover.  Gabor and Jennifer both got it right.  Balaji lost everything.  Jennifer added 16000 to her score, but Gabor wagered enough with 10801.  We'll see him tomorrow!
     My Coryat today was 27000.  Balaji's was 6000.  Gabor's was 21800, and Jennifer's was 15800.
     Recent Coryats:
10-20: Jay Peterson 14400     Jessie Christensen 14800     Lloyd Caesar 12600     Me 19800
10-21: Balaji Narain 16600   Heather Anstaett 8800    Jay Peterson 17800    Me 24400
10-24: Laura Bulkin 15400    Francisco Maldonado-Ramirez 13400    Balaji Narain 8800    Me 28400

The Ls don't have the Eyes

     The names of all 3 contestants began with "L" today.  Even more surprising, Mr. Trebek didn't mention it.  Maybe it was because we had co-champions today, sort of a rare occurrence.

Lanny Timan

Lloyd Caesar (Cool name)

Liz Greenwood

     By the time Liz found the Daily Double in America Before the Revolution, I had only missed (clammed on) one of the previous nine clues, this one in Biolo"g": "From the Greek for 'stomach,' this 7-letter adjective means pertaining to an organism's stomach."  At Daily Double time, Liz had 2800, Lanny had 1800, and Lloyd had 400.  Liz wagered 1200 on this clue:  "It remained a separate colony for most of its 71 years until it was absorbed by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691."  Liz's response of "Plymouth Plantation" was ruled incorrect.
     Lanny reminded me of Vijay Balse (just briefly now!) when she said she watched Jeopardy! in college after coming from a foreign country.
     I got two triple-stumpers in TV Private Eyes: "She portrayed ex-model Maddie Hayes." And "This late actor drove a T-Bird as Dan Tanna."
     At the end of the round, Lanny had 3000, Lloyd had 2200, and Liz led with 7200, though she appeared to struggle to ring in at first.
     In the Double Jeopardy round, Lloyd left Patron Saints for "Right" or "Left."  Luckily for him he was the one to come back to it - The Daily Double was the next clue there.  He and Lanny both had 6600 while Liz had 12000.  Lloyd wagered 2000 on this clue: "Born in 1225, this Italian is the patron saint of Catholic schools, universities, and colleges."  It was the only clue in the category I missed, having guessed "Ignatius."  Lloyd got it right.
     I got this triple-stumper in Bestsellers: "In 2011 this son of a president published the moving memoir 'My Father at 100.'"
     Lloyd found the next Daily Double, too, in It's in the Papers.  This time he had 11400, while Liz still had 12000 and Lanny had 9000.  Lloyd wagered 4000 this time on this clue: "The full title of a Dickens novel is 'The Posthumous Papers of' this club."  Lloyd got it right, and so did I, although I have to admit I really didn't know what I was talking about.
     At the end of the round, Lloyd trailed Liz slightly.  He had 19800 and Liz had 20400.  Lanny had 8600.  The Final Jeopardy category is The 20th Century.  This was the clue: "In the 1940s Franklin Roosevelt coined this term in reference to all the countries allied against the axis powers."  Lanny and Liz missed it, and so did I.    Lloyd got it right and added 2559 to his total. ?  Lloyd, then, is your new champ.
     I noticed that in the Jeopardy round, I'd gotten 5 of the highest-dollar amount clues.  In the Double Jeopardy round, I'd only gotten one.  My Coryat, nonetheless, was 24000, which is higher than it's been in a while but still not as good as I'd like.  Lanny's Coryat was 8600, Liz's was 21600, and Lloyd's was 17000.
     Now, you may remember that I had thrown out the idea of reading the works from which "Best Adapted Screenplay" nominees came, then watch the movie.  I haven't forgotten about it, but I was still deciding if I was going to do it.  (There are so many books that lure me away!)  I did see Accidental Billionaires at the used bookstore ($2!), which turned into "The Social Network," and would be the first one on the long list.  I bought it and started it today.  It's a fast read!  So if you want to join me, maybe now's a good time to start.

     Today's contestants:

Liz Greenwood

Lanny Timan

Ray Crosby

     I swept Sports by Champion.  I got this triple-stumper in The 2011 Fortune 500, but I did consider Lanny's response of "AIG": "Fannie Mae, No. 5, was delisted by the NYSE; this company, No. 20, got '$64 billion in...bailout money.'"  How weird that AIG came up in a different category (Remember 2008?), in the same round?  Ray got this one right: "After getting an $85 billion bailout, this insurance giant added to its bad PR when execs went to a swanky resort."  The next clue, also the last clue in the round, was the Daily Double.  Ray had a big lead with 6800, while Lanny had 1200 and Liz had 2800.  Ray wagered 2800 on this clue in Remember 2008?: "The world court prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant against this African country's president Al-Bashir."  He and I got it wrong.
     Ray found the next Daily Double, too, in World Geography.  This time he found it just four clues in.  He had 5200, Lanny had 1600, and Liz had 3600.  Ray wagered everything on this toughie: "The name of this large port city on western Europe's Schelde River literally means 'at the wharf.'"  He and I got it wrong, again.
     I hadn't gotten any right in Fiction when Lanny found the Daily Double there.  She had 3200, Ray had 2800, and Liz had 5200.  Lanny wagered, seemingly randomly, 1600 on this clue: "'The House of the Dead' is a fictionalized version of this 19th century Russian's prison experiences."  Lanny and I guessed the same thing, Solzhenitsyn, and we were wrong.
     Before I watched today's episode, I saw a tweet from Ken Jennings saying that something was going to happen in today's Jeopardy! final that has not happened before.  Later, but still before I saw the whole show, Ken tweeted that people felt the final didn't live up to his hype.  What did you think?:
     Lanny had 6800 at the end of the Double Jeopardy round, while Ray had 6000 and Liz had 7600.  The Final Jeopardy category was Foreign-Born Inventors.  This was the clue: His 1922 New York Times obituary mentions that his patent No. 174,465 'has been called the most valuable patent ever issued.'"  Ray incorrectly guessed Zales and lost all but 2 dollars.  Like Lanny, I guessed Morse, and was wrong.  (I've looked it up and I find he was born in Massachusetts.)  Lanny lost 5201.  Liz incorrectly guessed Edison and lost 6001.  Lanny and Liz, then, were both left with 1599.  Apparently Ken was referring to the fact that the "non-winner" (as Mr. Trebek has called them) left with more money as a second place contestant, 2000, then the two champions.
     Now, a reader tells me (see Clinton's comment) he has a modified way to track his Coryat score.  I decided to total my Coryat both ways today to see how they compare.  My Coryat was actually 17800, but I came up with 20400 using his way!  Therefore I cry "foul!" ;-)  And whoever put today's episode on j-archive.com today, I cry, "Wow!"  (If "wow" can be cried.)  Super-speedy.  Liz' Coryat was 7600, Lanny's was 8400, and Ray's was 14000.
   Speaking of Coryats, a reader, Thomas Park, has created a free app designed to make it easier to keep track of your Coryat score.  He tells me it can be used in your web browser or on an iPhone or iPad as long as you add it to Safari from your home screen.  (I hope this makes sense to you, because it does not to me!  If you have any questions, though, I can ask him.)
     My Coryat yesterday was 14600.  Joe Koster's was 8000, Lanny's was 9600, and Jeff Dufour's was 14800.

Auk!

     Today's contestants:

Katie Proctor

Joe Koster

Megan Benitz

     Before 2-day champ Katie found the Daily Double early in the Jeopardy round, there had been just one clue I didn't know, in You'll Need Some Backup: "& the Revolution."  Megan got that one, which gave her 400 as Katie wagered for the Daily Double.  Katie, who defeated Joon Pahk earlier in the week, wagered all of her 1400 on this clue in At 33: "On May 29, 1953, he literally found himself on top of the world, along with his guide."  Katie and I got it right.
     Before the first break, there were two more clues that Megan knew and I didn't.  In At 33: "And to think he was 33 when he published his first book, 'And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street.'"  And in Shop Talk: "The home store of this gourmet cookware retailer uses the pineapple logo seen here, long a symbol of hospitality."

     At the first break, Katie had 3800, Megan had 2200, and Joe had 1800.  At the end of the round, Megan and Katie were tied with 5000, while Joe had 4400.

     Megan found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round, in "V" is for....  With 6600, Megan was giving Katie, at 6200, a run for her money.  Joe was in the mix, too, with 4800.  I kind of hoped Megan would wager big, but she wagered 1600 on this clue: "[V is for t]his South American ruminant that's related to the guanaco."  Megan got it at the last second.

     Joe found the last Daily Double, in Architecture.  I was doing poorly in the round.  I had 10 clams, 2 negs, and 7 correct up to that point.  I clammed on four The Sherlock Holmes Files clues, and wound up clamming on every Architecture clue.  I negged on two The No-Fly List clues, and clammed on another two.  I guessed "auk" on this clue in that category: "The name of this large extinct flightless bird of New Zealand may come from a Polynesian word for 'fowl,'" only to have "auk" be the correct response to this next clue: "The 'great' species of this arctic seabird, now extinct, was flightless; living species like the razorbill can fly."

     Anyway, Joe had 6400 when he found the Daily Double.  Katie had 11400 and Megan had 9400.  Joe wagered 5000 on this clue: "Cupolas are small domes, but can be pointy instead of dome-shaped when found on these mosque towers."

     There was less than a minute to go with one category left, probably thanks to the lengthy but fun clues in The Greatest in Sports with Mike and Mike.  At the end of the round, Megan led with 12600, Katie was nipping at her heels with 12200.  Joe led them both with 18200.  The Final Jeopardy category was The Western Hemisphere.  This was the clue: "This nation lost its direct access to the Pacific around 1880, but retains a navy that now patrols its rivers and a large lake."  I didn't really have a prayer on this one.  I felt better when Katie and Megan missed it, too, losing 10000 and 6000, respectively.  Joe, though, got it right, and added 7001 to his score.  The new champ!

     My Coryat today was a disappointing 13000.  Joe's was 14000, Katie's was 11600, and Megan's was 12600.

     I'm finally back to the blog!  It's been like a month since I last blogged, and even longer since I blogged about an episode.  I only got to write about two of Justin Sausville's seven games, and I haven't gotten to write about any of Joon Pahk's episodes...til today.  Very special thanks to Brandon, who covered for me while I was gone.
     I actually knew of Joon because he is a fellow crossword puzzle enthusiast.  Inspired by the movie "Wordplay," I participated in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2010.  I didn't realize it til now, but Joon won in the "B division" that year, and not only that: He was a rookie, too!  He, naturally, finished first among 160 rookies, and I finished 31st.  Joon finished 16th overall, and I finished 283rd.

Katie Proctor

Joon Pahk  (in a tie that reminds me of Harry Potter)

Leigh Wishner

     Joon had won 7 times coming into today.  Mr. Trebek noted that this was the first time he has played against two women.
     The show started scary-slow for me.  At the first break, I had equal numbers of negs, clams, and correct responses!  (Joon had 3600, Katie had 1600, and Leigh had -200.)  I ended up with 2 negs and 3 clams in Buchanan, James Buchanan, 1 neg and 3 clams in Disneyland Songs, and 3 negs and 2 correct responses in World of Words.  I swept Childhood Health, doubtless helped by my being an RN.  I also got 4 correct responses and 1 clam in Shapes & Sizes.
     The last clue of the round was the Daily Double, which Leigh found in Childhood Health.  I had a bad feeling about Leigh when I listened to her interview.  She told Mr. Trebek she told her neurosurgeon (!) a couple of years ago that she wanted to be able to "do well, or at least get on Jeopardy!, in the future."  She didn't strike me as the gutsy type at that moment, despite having survived brain surgery.  When she found the Daily Double, she had 2200, Katie had 3600, and Joon had 6400.  She seemed like she was trying to play it safe when she bet "just" 1000 on this clue, read by Dr. Oz: "Kids will feel full and maintain energy if they eat 7 to 10 grams each morning of this part of a balanced diet; It doesn't have to be in cereal -- 1 pear alone has 5 grams."  Leigh immediately guessed "carbohydrate," and was wrong.
     Unfortunately, Leigh didn't capitalize on the next two Daily Doubles she found, either.  The next one was in National Anthems.  She had 3200, Katie had 6800, and Joon had 7800.  Leigh wagered just 500 on this clue: "Vatican City's anthem says, 'O noble Rome, you are the seat of' this Apostle, 'whose blood was shed in Rome.'"  Leigh got it right and so did I, after briefly considering St. Paul.
     Leigh found the next Daily Double just 3 clues later, in Century of the Crime.  By this time Leigh was grimacing and saying, "Good Lord!"  Mr. Trebek said, "Think positive!"  This time, she wagered 1500 of her 4500.  (Joon had 8000 and Katie had 6400.)  I'd rather have seen her go for the lead.  The clue: "The assassination of Jean-Paul Marat."  She got it right.
     Things seemed to take a bit of a turn for the worse when Joon missed two clues and Katie got one of those right.  By the end of the round, Joon had 13200, Katie had 17600, and Leigh had 5600.  The Final Jeopardy category was Art and State Capitals.  The players all got this one right, and so did I: "The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, home to the largest permanent collection of her works, is in this state capital."  Leigh wagered all of her 5600 ("Now you bet big," said Mr. Trebek, which were kind of my sentiments.)  Joon wagered 4400, tying him with Katie before she added 8801 to her score.  She is a giant-killer!  We'll see her tomorrow.  How long can she last?
     My Coryat today was 17400.  Joon's was 13200, Katie's was 17600, and Leigh's was 6600.
     As for the episodes that aired while I was gone, I had planned to watch them five at a time and standing up, as had been recommended to aspiring Jeopardy! contestants on the Sony message boards as a means of building stamina.  I only watched five in a row once, and it probably doesn't count because I fast-forwarded commercials and also put myself in various positions (never sitting, though!) to relieve the discomfort of standing still.  I also intermittently "watched" the show with my eyes closed, relying completely on listening to the clues.  I'm going to continue doing that with every rerun I watch, like on Game Show Network and also on the weekends, rather than keeping track of my Coryat.  Now I want to acquire a simple lectern of some kind (not very easy to find), so that I can watch Jeopardy! every day standing up, and still keep track of my score.  I like posting my score on the Jeopardy! message boards and also reading those of other people, although not many are doing it anymore.  I think it's helpful for aspiring contestants to compare themselves to others watching the show.
     Recent Coryats:
10-4: Megan Johnson 9000     Elaine Ricci 10600     Joon Pahk 23200     Me 18800
10-5: Daniel Okobi Jr. 2200     Katie Baker 13000     Joon Pahk 22000     Me 15200
10-6: Franny Howes 17000    Ted Simmons 7400    Joon Pahk 12600    Me 18600
10-7: Adam Perrotta 7000     Bret Jacobs 8200     Joon Pahk 21600     Me 27200
10-10: Jared Balkman 10200     Hannah Wachs 11200     Joon Pahk 21400     Me 28600
10-11: Ashley Shannon 11800     Michael Stewart 11400     Joon Pahk 23800     Me 20400

On A Tuesday Long Ago...

So it only took me, let's see, nearly 2 weeks to get that next day's post up...many apologies about the wait. You'd think it wouldn't be that difficult to get a short post up about a Jeopardy! episode (one that I even took notes on), but I guess it's harder than it looks. (Add to that the fact that I took a short trip of my own last weekend, up to Utah, and you've got a recipe for a long-delayed recap.) I'll try to keep this short, and probably fail miserably, but let's give it a (bulleted, as my last post was) shot.

• The handy-dandy J! Archive tells me that Tuesday, September 27th played host to the following three contestants: Susan Miller, a college student from Stow, OH (and the beloved Jeopardy! boardie I was excited to watch this episode for), Joe Iriana, an exterminator from Wells, ME, and the returning champion Matt Douma, a standardized test scorer from Minneapolis, MN, whose 1-day cash winnings at the time amounted to $14,100.
• The Anaheim Angels Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who I inexplicably but passionately love (they spring train here in AZ, and a game when I was little where they played my dad's favorite team, the Mariners, and I got a pennant flag to put up in my room, might have been a factor...I liked their logo), were the subject of the first clue in Baseball Logos. I got it right, and was very excited. I actually ended up sweeping Baseball Logos (I switched from the Cleveland Indians to the Atlanta Braves on the $800 clue at the last second), which is strange for me, since I'm definitely not a sports enthusiast. It does help, I guess, that baseball's always been a fave of mine.
• My notes say "shoulda pulled the trigger on homeopathy." That must have to do with the $1000 clue in "There's No Place Like 'Home'." (Thank goodness for the Archive, because after this long it's hard to remember the details...oops. :))
• Very interesting interview segment subjects: talking like a pirate, an asthmatic Siamese cat, and standardized test scoring. You may not see the likes of that combo again, really.
• I almost swept Fast Food (I do enjoy it very much, to be honest), but I said Whataburger for Arby's. Which is strange, since I've certainly eaten at the latter more than the former (and I like Arby's better, for sure).
• Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem School Zone, was a reader for the $800 clue in Education, and he was probably one of the more...ahem, deliberate clue readers I've seen. (My notes were a bit more blunt: "Geoffrey Canada was slooow." He could give Oprah's notoriously lethargic clue-presenting skills a run for their money. Sorry I'm nitpicking, it's just better as a viewer--and probably as a player--when the clues are read more efficiently.)
• At the end of the Jeopardy! round, Matt had more than twice the scores of his opponents combined...he was at $7800, while Sue was trailing with $2000, and Joe with $1500.
• I made short work of the $400 clue in Celebrities' Favorite Movies, as it was about "North by Northwest," sadly one of the few Hitchcock films I've seen (and I haven't seen it in years, to tell you the truth), but one I very much enjoyed. (I think the only other of his films I've had the chance to see is "Rear Window," which was terrific. I need to remedy this Hitchcock-viewing deficiency...)
• Matt swept the Before & After category, which is quite impressive, seeing as that category's usually an interesting one, but often pretty difficult to get a grasp of when you're under the pressure-cooker situation of being a contestant.
• I was a bit thrown off guard at the end of the round by Alex's product placement spiel for Aleve, but I guess they're making that a regular thing now (having the consolation prizes explicitly sponsored). I haven't been able to catch the show in a while, so I'm not sure if they're still doing that, but that's what I've heard.
• At the end of the DJ! Round, Matt had a lock (awww, Sue!) with a whopping $32800, with Joe at $7900, and Sue at $7600.
• The Final Jeopardy! clue was in the category of English Writers, and went thusly: "English poet Thomas Hoccleve, a contemporary of this man, called him the 'firste fyndere of our fair langage'." My guess was Alexander Pope. It actually turned out to be Geoffrey Chaucer. I suppose the spelling should have tipped me off that it wasn't Pope...my first thought was actually Robert Burns due to that. (I hated reading "The Canterbury Tales" in high school English, to be frank, so that might have been a factor in me not thinking of Chaucer. :))
• Matt garnered $40,000 for a 2-day total of $54,100 (since it's been a while after that game, I guess I can safely reveal he lost the next day, and finished with that total plus $2,000 for 2nd place on his third game). Joe's final score was $15,600, and Sue's was $8,000, so they each went home with $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. All 3 players answered Final Jeopardy! correctly.

That's the game! That also concludes my last guest post here at The Jeopardy! Fan...Jeanie's back and ready to take over once again. I apologize for my very sporadic appearances and countless delays, but it's been fun moonlighting here for a little while. (If you've somehow enjoyed my writing, I recommend possible psychological help, but if you insist, you can find me at my music blog, Harmony Avenue, or my Tumblr, which I actually think may be finding its footing and will hopefully have some more actual posts soon. :)) To close, the Coryats from this game:

9-27-11: Matt $26200     Joe $9400    Susan $7600    Me $17200


And now back to you, Jeanie!