Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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TenPoundHammer

Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

0/5 in Metal. Ozxy was there but I couldn't pull it out. I always thought Guns & Roses was a duo composed of Axl & Slash, so "Axl" didn't trigger anything.

Surprised that $400 was the only stumper in Directors, considering I've heard of absolutely none of those guys.

Particle physics does not give me a hadron, so I tuned out of that category.

Russian History? I can at least come up with some names in most other countries' history, but I'm completely high and dry on Russia. Not a chance here; never heard of "five-year plan".
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Frank Hardy »

Has "Almost Before and After" ever been a category before? Alex was right: the contestants did an excellent job with it.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by gsn93 »

Frank Hardy wrote:Has "Almost Before and After" ever been a category before? Alex was right: the contestants did an excellent job with it.
A quick search in the J-Archive shows that it was only used once before on March 28, 2008.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Vanya »

"... amid growing hunger" makes it sound like the end of the plan was in response to that. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I was tempted to put Holodomor.

Said collectivization although 5-year plan was in the back of my mind. What stopped me was the fact there were several 5 year plans.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Vanya »

Dr. J wrote:
ElendilPickle wrote:Sorry to see you go, Stephanie. I'm guessing that's a shot of Mother Russia in your avatar?
Actually, it's the Marquis de sod house where Alex and I go for giggles. My new rank will be Marquise de Sod, thankyouverymuch! For the record, Colby (and Dan) were crazy fast on those buzzers. I knew a lot of those boards (save the LHC), but I just couldn't get in. I felt like an old hag at the end of that game, taken to the cleaners by a bunch of whippersnappers. "Get off of my lawn, ya damn hooligans!" Unless my reflexes got faster, I wasn't going to win that game.
My father was born in a sod house.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Andromus wrote:
dhkendall wrote:Hmmm, and here I thought Dr. J's new avatar would be Alex with the aforementioned pitchfork ... (I think I like this one better though ;) )

(Thought 5 year plan, but ruled it out because, if memory serves, the timeline was 5 years (or close enough). Went with "Great Leap Forward" even though I was pretty sure that was China.)
I was waffling on 5 year plan as well. I wasn't sure if the bit about being cancelled early was supposed to lead me to a much longer program of some sort. But not having anything better, I stuck with it.
Same here. The "launching" kept me wondering if it was some exploration boat/base in Antarctica, but threw down the 5YP due to not having anything else.

And I, too, am sorry to see Dr. J go. Stick around here, if you can!

Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Woof »

Wow, what a great game to watch. I thought that these boards were the most TOC-like of the TOC so far, with the DJ board being the toughest I've seen in the tourney. Having said that, I felt quite chuffed to run the Almost Before and After and Heavy Metal cats. I agree that the the $2K denouement for The Year That Was was ridiculously simple. FJ had me scratching my head, too. I knew that collectivism didn't make a lot sense, but I too had to keep pushing "Great Leap Forward" out of my consciousness the whole time. Congrats on the great runs, Stephanie and Dan! Colby is a very tough J! contestant.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

I pre-called pogrom and stuck with it because I couldn't think of anything better. When Dan also said it I had a brief glimmer of hope! I feel like I'm pretty good at history, but have to say never even thought of five year plan.

Good game tonight. I thought Colby got some really tough clues.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by PatMorrison »

Spaceman Spiff wrote: Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
Soviet history IS Russian history, it's a part of a whole.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by MarkBarrett »

Heavy Metal Music must have been too easy as I would not expect to run that in a TOC. The players were all over that and just about everything else with a great combined Coryat of 50,000 on the nose.

I get why Alex asked for the BMS on Van Halen, but is there even one person who would mess up and say Alex? Did Alex think Stephanie misunderstood the clue and was naming the group?

Colby handled his business so well that Dan caught a break to get out without having to regret his wager on the Griffith DD.

I tried one precall off Russian History with Alexander Nevsky and was only off by a "few" years. The clue was not for me and just a big nyet. Even if I would have figured out the span was five years I still would not have solved it since I did not have the necessary information. With time almost out I scribbled Food Bank in trying to recall the name of that World Seed thing whatever it is called.

I like the Teachers Tournament and thanks to Colby's showing that should give it another run. If he had been Temple-Quinned then that may have ended it or at least eliminated the automatic TOC slot.

Tomorrow is Jason Keller, Keith Whitener and Paul Nelson.

Winner, Winner, Winner
9, 7, 5x Champ
Gold, Gold, Bronze

Paul surprised me in his first game and I'm not convinced yet as I don't think he can do it again. A final with Kristin, Colby and Jason -or- Kristin, Colby and Keith sounds good to me. If one of they guys can lead and get a sole solve on the FJ clue that is my preferred path instead of a trailer being left with enough money after a brutal clue.

Paul, Jason and Keith will bet the DDs they find based on 5000, 4000, 5400, 5000 wagers in the QF games. It may take 40000+ for a final score to play next week.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Paucle »

Very sad to see you go, Dr J, but you fought the good fight. tough to win with no DDs in your belt.

I had a GREAT J! board- 29/30- but bombed badly on DJ, including 3 wrongs, and missed FJ (guaranteeing me a sub-.500 week, as well as at least one guaranteed miss in the extras).
Dr. J wrote:
econgator wrote:And the "What year are we talking about" clue, right after the "Surrender of Japan" clue. Really? Could you make it any easier?
You're right about that being an easy lead-in, but at that point, I had TOTALLY forgotten the building up of that category to the ultimate final clue. Dan was clearly lying in wait, while I was all, "what, now?" I often lose track of the category for the clue, and that one hurt me.
Yeah, about that category-- I was pretty sure I knew the year after clue one and was positive after clue two. Had I control of the board at that point, could they REALLY have stopped me from going to the bottom clue, suspecting that's what it was going to be? After all, why give my opponents more ammo to answer it?
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
More a point of clarification, yes? Been a long time since I took debate class. :)
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by jeff6286 »

PatMorrison wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote: Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
Soviet history IS Russian history, it's a part of a whole.
In Soviet Russia, history learn you!
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bomtr »

I hesitated momentarily on FJ because of the fact there have been many 5 year plans, so could it be as simple as '5 year plan?' Is it necessary to specify first? Nowhere else to go though. The TOC FJ's have been an order easier this year; I don't remember being 7/7 in previous years. I know, I know; three to go and now I'm doomed.

'Himalayan kingdom' is direct to Nepal, but 2011 kicks you right back out, and Bhutan is the only place to go.

If JK wins tomorrows game, let's hope he's put in the middle, so he can be the calm center of a twitching panel.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by MarkBarrett »

bomtr wrote:
If JK wins tomorrows game, let's hope he's put in the middle, so he can be the calm center of a twitching panel.
Jason has a lean forward like there is an invisible mike to speak into from game shows of an earlier era. He would fit right in with Kristin and Colby.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by reddpen »

PatMorrison wrote:An Eisenstein question and a Russian history final? Oh yes, now I am being taunted.
While sitting in the audience, no less. So cruel...

My grandmother was born in a sod house in North Dakota in 1902... but not my father. Vanya, where was yours born?

LOVED the Almost B&A cat. Ran that, Metal (yes, it was easy), "B" Nice, American Lore and Directors' Farewells... though I thought David Lean was maybe the toughest in that cat. Only miss was positron for proton -- overanalyzing the tiny bit of physics I know.

As for the Mildred Pierce clue, is restauranteur even in standard usage? Yes, I see hits for it, but it's far more common without the n. I wonder which spelling would have generated more outraged posts to the Sony board... or perhaps I badly misapprehend our nation's obsessions.

Between the Eisenstein answer and "launched" in the FJ clue, did anyone else lean toward the Battleship Potemkin for a moment? Not that it made sense for long.... I too got Great Leap Forward stuck in my head but knew that was China. The answer (if I knew it at all) was buried far too deep, so I scribbled Food Natlzn Prog with scant hope. When Dan missed and wagered wisely, I thought he might slip in on a TS... but our man from Chicago nailed it and sails onward.

Kudos to all three on a terrifically fought game. Colby ties it up with bandwagon, they see-saw a bit, Dr. J snags passive-aggressiveness, and with one clue left it's 20000-19200-10600 and it all seems to ride on the last buzzer battle. Dan's frustration was evident when Colby outbuzzed him on "dissonance" -- not that it ended up making a difference. Just a fantastic end to what I've gotta call the best game of the tourney... so far. Well done, all of you.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

bomtr wrote:'Himalayan kingdom' is direct to Nepal, but 2011 kicks you right back out, and Bhutan is the only place to go.
Gee, I guess so if you knew the monarchy ended in Nepal in 2006. I didn't.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

bpmod wrote:Yes, we don't see too many discussions about horrible wagering in the ToC, do we?

Brian
I don't know -- we've seen two pretty ugly late-game Daily Double wagers in two consecutive semifinals...
Dr. J wrote:You're right about that being an easy lead-in, but at that point, I had TOTALLY forgotten the building up of that category to the ultimate final clue. Dan was clearly lying in wait, while I was all, "what, now?" I often lose track of the category for the clue, and that one hurt me.
Not to kibitz too much, but you were the one to switch out of the category in the first place. When you did so, I thought you had done so deliberately because you'd wanted to see if you could throw your opponents off the track of the year...
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by dhkendall »

PatMorrison wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote: Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
Soviet history IS Russian history, it's a part of a whole.
It is, but how would you feel if the category was, say, "Spanish History" and the clue was "The Euro was introduced in this year". True, Spain is part of Europe, but would a more apt category be named "European History"? (So sue me if the analogy isn't that great, tried to come up with something quickly.)

Besides, Jeopardy! has a long history, both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union, of referring to, and accepting as a response, "Russia" for the USSR.
Paucle wrote:Very sad to see you go, Dr J, but you fought the good fight. tough to win with no DDs in your belt.
If your opponent(s) get them wrong, it's a lot easier to win with no DDs. ;)
bomtr wrote:'Himalayan kingdom' is direct to Nepal, but 2011 kicks you right back out, and Bhutan is the only place to go.
Am I the only one here who got it as an insta-get because I remembered that Jigme [Sigme] Wangchuck (spelling from memory) is the King of Bhutan? The name sticks in my head because it's so euphonious!
reddpen wrote:My grandmother was born in a sod house in North Dakota in 1902... but not my father. Vanya, where was yours born?
My grandmother (and most of her brothers) was born in a sod house in Saskatchewan in 1914. (My grandfather was born around the same time in North Dakota, but I don't know if it was in a soddie or not). On a family reunion about 15 years ago one of the things I saw was the spot where the sod house once stood (now on the family farm of one of my relatives)

Finally, want to chiime in that I also loved (and ran) the metal category, but then that kind of music is right up my alley. 80s metal puts me in my happy place.
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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by heelsrule1988 »

It's moments like these that make me sad to see Stephanie go...

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Re: Thursday, February 21, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by PatMorrison »

dhkendall wrote:
PatMorrison wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote: Finally, a point of order -- this category was about Soviet history, not Russian history. While sometimes overlapping, they aren't interchangable.
Soviet history IS Russian history, it's a part of a whole.
It is, but how would you feel if the category was, say, "Spanish History" and the clue was "The Euro was introduced in this year". True, Spain is part of Europe, but would a more apt category be named "European History"? (So sue me if the analogy isn't that great, tried to come up with something quickly.)

Besides, Jeopardy! has a long history, both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union, of referring to, and accepting as a response, "Russia" for the USSR.
I think a more apt analogy would be a category of "European History" with a question about Spain. I don't have a problem with broad categories like "American History" or "Classical Music," though this generally makes it harder to gauge what a good wager would be.
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