Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[sarah0114]

He also mentioned being one of the biggest stories in Wisconsin, which is where Jerry Slowick was arrested.

I can't remember exactly how he phrased it, but I thought he was talking about being big news in his hometown (Holland, Michigan) rather than Wisconsin, where he lives now.

[zakharov]

Well...with the battle of the titans (Julia and Arthur) under way, two days from now, we're about to find out who will rise to the top and see who will clash down.

The way we talk about these two, it's easy to forget there will even be a third contestant. Whoever it is will seem like the Jose Carreras of the trio.

And even if Julia wins in a runaway, we'll still have a 200 post argument over her "weaker competition," followed by a soul-scarring derail into sexism chat.

[jpr281]

I don't know if this Tweet by Chu was mentioned yet:

Fun fact: Alex originally misspoke & said In Search of Lost Time was by Camus, I corrected him, we re-shot that bit

https://twitter.com/arthur_affect/statu ... 7314483202

[seaborgium]

Has anyone read Proust? Is he as pretentious as he seems?

That's a pretty strong word, but it expresses what I was thinking in slightly different terms. I thought, for him to get this at all was impressive. As you say, has anyone actually read Proust? But to know the what, secondary, or alternate title? And to use it instead of the one that some people have actually heard of? I thought that was beyond a sole get. That was an in-your-face-disgrace slam dunk, "Just so you know I can do this...." I don't know what he was thinking but it seemed like making a statement to anyone who might have crazy ideas about beating him in this tournament.

My $.02

Except Ben used the same title in a response in his initial appearance.

[Volante]

... Zinc I thought were pretty gettable lach trash.)

...
The zinc clue I got at the last second (not sure I would've rung in in time) only because it took me several seconds of looking at the picture to figure out what they were looking for.

Yeah, I realized after the answer the person in the photo probably had that zinc nose stuff on (...did they?)
I got stuck trying to come up with something for the glasses.

[Category 13]

I noticed a still of Julia with her hands over her mouth, which may have not yet happened in this playoff. (Since she didn't win her QF game) I don't recall if she had that surprised look last night when she pulled off the win, but she had to know that she had the correct response, so it's not like she would be gob smacked.....I wondered if it could have been a spoiler to the second finals game.

If someone's being super expressive, it's usually from one of the staged reaction shots like the ones used in the TOC header image. We were a lot more reserved during regular gameplay.

Staged group shots is one thing but staged close-up reaction shots? I would think that was below the intelligence level of most Jeopardy! contestants, let alone ToC players.
Maybe it's because I have Asperger's , but I would refuse to go along with that faux theatrical silliness.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

... Zinc I thought were pretty gettable lach trash.)

...
The zinc clue I got at the last second (not sure I would've rung in in time) only because it took me several seconds of looking at the picture to figure out what they were looking for.

Yeah, I realized after the answer the person in the photo probably had that zinc nose stuff on (...did they?)

Yes.

I got stuck trying to come up with something for the glasses.

Same first thought here.

[Woof]

What was the gesture? I missed it.

She stuck her tongue out at the camera as they were panning past during FJ.

Apparently, it should be cause for public outrage.

Hey, if it was good enough for Einstein...

[Woof]

Has anyone read Proust? Is he as pretentious as he seems?

Insufferably boring. The trauma of having to read it in high school made me repress all memories of it, so it didn't cross my mind at all.

I never understood why most (in my small sample, admittedly) people who like Kafka also like Proust. Yes, they both write about the inner world of a neurotic mind, but in Kafka's works, things actually happen. I'd never finish reading Proust, and I'd eagerly finish reading Kafka only to find that he never finished writing it.

Good for Arthur to put down the correctly translated title rather than the stupid one.

There seems to be the French penchant for long, descriptive prose. I found Proust not worth the effort, though I know people who love him, but also recoiled at the effort required to slog through Flaubert in high school English. Maybe it's less tedious in French? Je ne sais pas.

[OrangeSAM]

Arthur $17800, Rebecca $12800, Mark $8000 at the end of DJ!. Rebecca could have won on a TS with a bet between $0-$2800, but she bet $7000. Didn't matter anyway.

I wasn't even considering Mark in my wagering. I had no faith in the category; I wagered strictly thinking of Arthur wagering enough to cover my double and getting it wrong (yeah, I know, LOL), and that I would be able to pull it out from somewhere. (I think I may also have f'd up my math a smidge.)

But seriously? French Literature? No real idea, no way of getting it, would never have come up with the right answer.

A well-played game by all. As for FJ!:

...Wasn't confident when French Lit came up for FJ, but something clicked when "recalled" showed up in the clue that made RoTP a near-instant get. I don't know if that's the teaser the writers were going for, but it worked for me!...

I certainly didn't recognize the quotation. In desperation, I started looking for a TOM and the word "recalls" stuck out to me.

[Vanya]

What was the gesture? I missed it.

She stuck her tongue out at the camera as they were panning past during FJ.

Apparently, it should be cause for public outrage.

Where's the video?

[Silverfox]

In all of this talk about Julia and Arthur, I am focused on Ben. I had him picked as the final winner from the start.

I was surprised by the clue for Lauren Bacall. Her death was all over the national news, so I thought everyone knew about it.

[periwinkle]

As a theater nerd, Patti Lupone as a TS made very sad. I did appreciate that the next clue selected after that one was about Mandy Patinkin.

I'm not a theater nerd and I was pretty shocked that was a TS. (Also James Taylor, New Mexico, and Zinc I thought were pretty gettable lach trash.)

I agree on Lupone (though as a theater nerd who saw her in Evita, I'm not the best judge). Zinc was tricky because I found it hard to tell what the picture was showing us - were we looking at his glasses? something else? I think I figured out that he had white stuff on his nose and thought 'titanium?' just before the time-out buzzer rang . If the picture had been taken from a little further back, it would've been easier to get.

Edit: I bet James Taylor was a TS only because Arthur started in the middle of that category, so they didn't know clearly that it was asking for the next person to have covered that song.

[periwinkle]

Isn't "scallop" considered pavlovian for Remembrance Of Things Past?

I think "madeleine" is pavlovian for it, but "scallop" makes you go an extra step of knowing that a madeleine is scallop-shaped.

My sense is that Remembrance of Things Past is the name that's been used for decades, but recently they've been using In Search of Lost Time instead (I've seen it discussed under that name in the book section etc. in the past few years). So someone who learned the name recently while studying might be more likely to use In Search of Lost Time.

I've never read it, I just know Proust/madeleine (cookie/pastry)/Remembrance of Things Past/multi-volume book, and that Proust was in poor health and spent years not leaving his room, and that the scent or taste of the madeleine reminded him of his childhood.

[Category 13]

I bet James Taylor was a TS only because Arthur started in the middle of that category, so they didn't know clearly that it was asking for the next person to have covered that song.

This illustrates one of the prominent draw-backs of Arthur Chu's board jumping.
All through that round, I was constantly confused as to which category was associated with the clue being read. I kept thinking: "Oh, I didn't realize there were still clues left in that category".
I did however, get James Taylor quite readily, just because it was a top-40 from my high school days. I submit that it (like Mae West, the previous game) was a very easy clue for anyone over age 50.

[opusthepenguin]

About the only things I know about it are that it's by Proust and it's long.

Here's a helpful summary. (NSFWUYWHOEOMIBJATFMM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwAOc4g3K-g

[opusthepenguin]

As you say, has anyone actually read Proust? But to know the what, secondary, or alternate title?

Alex said "secondary," but that doesn't really communicate the situation. For some reason, Proust's first English translator gave the novel the title "Remembrance of Things Past," a line from Shakepeare's Sonnet 30. This became the standard way of referring to the work in English. But in the past 20 years or so, it has become increasingly common to refer to the novel with an English translation of Proust's actual title, "In Search of Lost Time." That title might be "secondary" in terms of chronology. But it's really just the current common, more accurate rendering. I think the older translation is considered a bit anachronistic these days.


SONNET 30

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.

[opusthepenguin]

I'm not a theater nerd and I was pretty shocked that was a TS. (Also James Taylor, New Mexico, and Zinc I thought were pretty gettable lach trash.)

I agree on Lupone (though as a theater nerd who saw her in Evita, I'm not the best judge).

I own the soundtrack and know LuPone's name from that. I can't say I've encountered her name much outside that context. So I got the correct response but wasn't surprised at the TS.

[John Boy]

As you say, has anyone actually read Proust? But to know the what, secondary, or alternate title?

Alex said "secondary," but that doesn't really communicate the situation. For some reason, Proust's first English translator gave the novel the title "Remembrance of Things Past," a line from Shakepeare's Sonnet 30. This became the standard way of referring to the work in English. But in the past 20 years or so, it has become increasingly common to refer to the novel with an English translation of Proust's actual title, "In Search of Lost Time." That title might be "secondary" in terms of chronology. But it's really just the current common, more accurate rendering. I think the older translation is considered a bit anachronistic these days.


SONNET 30

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.

More stuff I never knew! Thanks for enlightening.

[bomtr]

I never looked at the guy's nose; I was thinking, 'Could they be asking for silicon because of the lenses or is it a coating on the lens?' I wonder if they would have had to accept silicon for the glass since it is a compound, after all.

I started reading Swann's Way once, read a few dozen pages and the thought arose that I could do this later. That later has not yet arrived. An acquaintance at work saw the book and asked to borrow it. I got it back the next day. It's not easy.