Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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Andromus
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Andromus »

I came up with the correct response on FJ, but it felt like a WAG to me until the reveal. I wasn't that surprised people would want to see something like that, but was more surprised they had the nerve to admit it to the author. Also, I was under the impression for some reason that the story was written in the '60's.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Austin Powers »

Boy was Leszek given a gift on that ridiculous e=mc^2 question. There were harder math questions on last weeks' shows.

Surprised no one aggressively did the Chu Bounce. Such standard, workmanlike play!
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by MarkBarrett »

I have never seen a complete episode of Friends, but somehow over the years I have picked up enough to know Ross & Monica were the siblings. TV Characters was my only 5/5, so I got the $6000 even if the clues felt out of order.

My ranking would be:
Spock
Murder She Wrote
The Black List
Luther
Ross & Monica (the only one of the five I need a sec to think about)

Capture was pretty benign for a reality show and not even close to Fear Factor, The Hunger Games or The Lottery. I guess the host Luke Tipple did all right since he has a new gig hosting Opposite Worlds on Syfy with split housing for teams having one in futuristic digs and the other in caveman surroundings. It even gets two airings a week.

The DD wagers went up the scale: 2000, 4000, 10000
Was that some kind of Jeopanacci thing?

My precalls off the FJ! category were:
Plath
Buck
Mitchell
Grafton
Cather
Lee
Susann

Even though the category did not limit the responses to Americans my instincts told me to keep it domestic. The clue put me in the insta-club for having read the story, knowing the name of the story and knowing first and last name without doubt for the author. I agree with the assessment for woman short story writer Pavlovian to Jackson.

Leszek had to wait almost nine years to get a better taste in his mouth than his defeat in the UTOC. With a game under his belt he becomes even more dangerous in the next round. So that is 0/1 for the Fan Favorite with two left to play.

Jim got the Groundhog Day story yesterday in his interview segment and I thought it would have been funny if Alex & Leslie did their own version to have it repeated.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Figured that FJ! would be someone I'd never heard of before. I had to look her up just to see what event the clue was referring to.
Simpsons referenc...oh, right.

I instagot the title, took me about 5-6 seconds to get the author. And I was extremely confident because people are that twisted.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Woof »

Another barn burner of a game with all three players showing their stuff. Only The Pixies for Lach Trash tonight, but I was amused that most of my clams were TSs (Friends, hah!) I thought that Leszek's late DD bet was gutsy, but Leslie's DD bet earlier in the game was well-played, too. Frankly, I'm sorry to see any of them go, it's been so good so far. FJ was close to an instaget tonight. I'm not sure whether I read the short story in high school, but I have a distinct memory of watching a film made from the story in school.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Austin Powers »

Woof wrote:Another barn burner of a game with all three players showing their stuff. Only The Pixies for Lach Trash tonight, but I was amused that most of my clams were TSs (Friends, hah!) I thought that Leszek's late DD bet was gutsy, but Leslie's DD bet earlier in the game was well-played, too. Frankly, I'm sorry to see any of them go, it's been so good so far. FJ was close to an instaget tonight. I'm not sure whether I read the short story in high school, but I have a distinct memory of watching a film made from the story in school.
Did Alex explain what the story was, even? He seemed to just acknowledge that Jackson was correct without giving the audience any context.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Woof wrote:Only The Pixies for Lach Trash tonight
Only saw the finals couple minutes of DJ, but did pick up that one as well.

Thought FJ was surprisingly easy for this tournament.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by MarkBarrett »

From the Haters thread:
Austin Powers wrote:
Golf wrote:
Austin Powers wrote:I could see clearing a category where the DD obviously won't be - such as "NFL Football Stadiums,"
I'm sorry, but how in the hell do you know that a DD won't be in a certain category?
Because I'm less stupid that you, apparently.
Tonight there was a DD hidden with two categories in play:
RUN EMC
SURREALISM

In this case I would have no instinct for the DD in being in one more than the other. Absolutely, in other games a regular viewer who pays attention to the placement of DDs could assign lower and higher percentages to categories for the possibility of a DD being there.

Pick any old game in the archive. Look at the categories and before scrolling down take a guess where the DD/DDs will be. Yes, it's 1 in 6 or 2 in 6 although not really. Hunters should know where to hunt.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by hanzz »

Edit: move along...
Last edited by hanzz on Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by trainman »

Volante wrote:Simpsons referenc...oh, right.
Image
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by MarkBarrett »

Bamaman wrote:
Sorry, but movies are not my thing. I was much more saddened by the passing of Mr. Olsen than I was over the junkie actor that OD'd himself.
I did not know until reading your post that actor Richard Bull, 89, died today. Mr. (Nels) Oleson was a terrific character on Little House on the Prairie played so well by Richard Bull. PSH's passing was shocking because it was unexpected.

By coincidence Katherine MacGregor who played Mrs. (Harriet) Oleson is also 89.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by leszekp »

Golf wrote:No surprise Leszek went big on the late DD in a category he was confident in, but still managed to shoot himself in the foot.
Wouldn't say "shoot himself in the foot", but not an optimal wager. Wanted to bet enough that I would be in control of my destiny in FJ, but 10K was too high. Should have bet either 7.5K, or gone whole hog with a true Daily Double. But you try doing the math with Alex Trebek staring at you waiting for a response. And it was a good category for me, so it worked out.
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Shmuel »

FJ was an instaget, but it probably helped that I read this article about letters received about the story a few weeks ago.

(At the time when The New Yorker first published it, the magazine didn't designate pieces as being fact or fiction, which perhaps helps explain some of the confusion.)
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Rex Kramer »

Like several other posters here, I knew the answer to FJ instantly. Does that say something about our dark, cynical view of humanity?

Rex
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by dhkendall »

Rex Kramer wrote:Like several other posters here, I knew the answer to FJ instantly. Does that say something about our dark, cynical view of humanity?

Rex
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by El Jefe »

alietr wrote:I can't be the only one who could come up with the name of the story, but clueless on the author, could I?
Me too, and I live in the author's eventual state (Vermont, though she lived in a Podunk of our at times Podunk state). I also undertook a Wiki adventure and noted with amusement that her page had a staunch defense by her literary-critic husband (in response to angry mail) that the story was reflective of any sort of neurotic fantasies of hers, only to scroll down the page and find out her life for the following 17 years was marked by...wait for it...neuroses and psychosomatic illnesses.

To the boardies shocked by the popularity of attending US executions: SRSLY? Do you how big a deal they were, concessions and all, group photo-worthy (and not just the genteel Southern lynchings, by the way). Edify thyselves! We loved ourselves a good hangin' for quite a while!

Concurring w/ econgator about the board easiness. The DJ DD required you to take E=MC2 and *solve for M*????!!!
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by econgator »

El Jefe wrote:The DJ DD required you to take E=MC2 and *solve for M*????!!!
That was almost a TPH moment for me: it can't be that simple, can it?
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by opusthepenguin »

naurae29 wrote:
TenPoundHammer wrote:I forgot about the Hunger Games movies even with "Katniss Everdeen" staring me in the face, possibly because that series didn't seem of particular interest to me.
This is my point. Trivia isn't about capitalizing on what's of interest to you. It's about intentionally learning things that are of no particular interest to you because they have some impact on culture or history or the environment or technology or any other aspect of the world in which we live.
That sounds like an absolute drag. If I didn't find this stuff interesting, I can't imagine forcing myself to learn it.

[EDIT: Wait. Yes I can. It's like when I try to learn Sports trivia. For other people it might be Opera or Chemistry or whatever.]
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by opusthepenguin »

MarkBarrett wrote:Jim got the Groundhog Day story yesterday in his interview segment and I thought it would have been funny if Alex & Leslie did their own version to have it repeated.
Yes!! What were they thinking? Didn't want to repeat a too-similar story? That's the POINT, numbskulls!
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Re: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by opusthepenguin »

FireAntsDefense wrote:
Bamaman wrote:
Golf wrote:No surprise Leszek went big on the late DD in a category he was confident in, but still managed to shoot himself in the foot.
How did he shoot himself in the foot? You think he should have bet more?
I think Leszek should have bet more. He didn't bet enough to cover twice Leslie plus the $2,000 left on the board, did he?
Perhaps the kindest thing to say about the wager is that it could have been worse. This was the situation:
  • Leszek: $16000 + his $10000 bet = $26000, minus it would = $6000
    Leslie: $13800
    Andrew: $12400

    Two Clues remaining on board: $800, $1200
If he had lost his $10K bet, he'd have been locked out with less than half Leslie's score. He would have had to get at least the $1200 clue AND have Leslie not get the $800 one OR he could get either remaining clue AND have Leslie ring in on other and miss. Yuck.

He could have made the wager worse by betting, say, $11500. Then on a miss, he'd have to get both remaining clues right AFTER having Leslie miss at least one. And on a get, he STILL wouldn't have a lock against Leslie's current score.

But if he tried to make the bet much worse by betting even more, it would suddenly become a much better wager. Here are his options to consider (and yes, I know he was under a lot of pressure and they don't like you to take your sweet time and all that):

1. Go Small - $199 or less will ensure that he has the lead going into FJ, even if Leslie picks up the remaining $2000. He should do this only if he dislikes the category. If he bets small now, he'll have to bet huge in FJ (and get it right) to win. He needs a good reason to postpone that huge bet rather than getting it over with.

2. Go Big - $15601 will pretty much get it over with then and there. Either he'll have a lock that Leslie can't overcome even if she picks up the $2000 still on the board. Or he'll have a deficit that means he loses unless Andrew makes an insane, but not out of the realm of possibility, over-wager in FJ. There's no point in trying to hedge by making a lower bet that will lock her out unless she gets both remaining clues or something. That still won't leave him with enough on a miss to get back in the game. If Leszek likes the category (and he seems to), he should consider this. Why not end the game here rather than taking his chances on FJ in a category he doesn't even know yet?

3. Split the difference INTELLIGENTLY - There is a via media, but it's not just some random number in the middle. If Leslie enters FJ with less than 2/3 of his score, she can't win on a miss (assuming Leszek doesn't over-wager). He can accomplish this by betting $7701 and getting it right. That will enable him to safely make the shutout bet against Leslie in FJ without falling below her score on an FJ miss. But if he loses that $7701 DD bet, he'll still have $8299. That will leave him still very much in contention going into FJ, with even a long shot at having more than 2/3 of Leslie's score by then (and thus able to win on a miss). This might seem all shrewd and whatnot. But I suspect in most cases he's better off picking one of the first two options and taking his lumps right away.
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