FJs for the 3/5/12 week

[Woof]

Never got close to Harpo on that one, not even knowing what his real name was (sorry, Budphrey!) And I learned that a hallmark is more than just a mark of identity. Great...

[seaborgium]

I knew that Harpo was originally named Adolph and was a harpist. But I still went Adolph->German->accordion. Bad clue IMO.

The clue implied to me that I had to figure out the entertainer to figure out the instrument. I don't think looking at the given name and saying, "Oh, it's probably some German I've never heard of" and working from there gives one license to call it a bad clue. (BTW, Germans use "f" far more often than "ph.")

Even for one not knowing Harpo was Adolph, there was a lot to work with in that clue. "Entertainer" suggests that the person is not specifically (or is not solely known for being) a musician. The year of birth gives a time frame. Very important is "original first name," which implies not just a stage name, but one in which only the first name is pseudonymic. For those who didn't know the facts cold, solving this was a matter of making the right inferences. I'm going to call this my favorite recent FJ.

[Bamaman]

For the season:
FJ: 74-51
First third:46-29
Extras: 31-44
TOC: 5-5
College: 4-6
Teachers: 5-5
Longest FJ winning streak: 8 (active 1)
Longest FJ losing streak: 3
5/5:2
4/5:4
3/5:10
2/5:9
1/5:0
0/5:0

I liked this week because I enjoy FJs more if they are ones you have to puzzle out by connecting the dots rather than "know it or you don't" types. I had no chance on Thursday as I did not know Phantom was French and Les Mis never even came to me.

I knew Hallmark is in KC, but am surprised it is such a well known bit of information.

I was expecting the reversal on cigarette card and would have been upset had they not given her credit.

Any good mnemonic for remembering his wives' names in order?

The quote was easy, but sank in the Hudson.

[Budphrey]

Well, how about that.

Reverting to my old avatar just to gloat.

[TenPoundHammer]

"Entertainer" suggests that the person is not specifically (or is not solely known for being) a musician.

It didn't to me. Someone who's known solely for being a musician is often called an entertainer.

Very important is "original first name," which implies not just a stage name, but one in which only the first name is pseudonymic.

I don't pick up on subtlety at all, and any TOM other than "Adolph" was totally invisible to me. A lot of these clues often seem to be Gordian knots of tightly wound, microscopic TOMs that I just can't untie. (Not blaming the clue, but blaming me. My mind just doesn't work that way — I'm too blunt.)

For those who didn't know the facts cold, solving this was a matter of making the right inferences.

And for someone who did know the facts cold, I still had no friggin' clue.

[Sage on the Hudson]

I had no chance on Thursday as I did not know Phantom was French and Les Mis never even came to me.

What would be interesting is if they weren't French, but the former still took place at the Paris Opera House and the latter during the Paris Commune of 1871...

[nserven]

Yep.

[reddpen]

Started well and ended badly. I was quite certain that they'd reverse "cigarette card".

Ditto, to all of it. Mumbled out loud that they'd have to accept cigarette card just after she was negged.

Wed: Thought mostly of gold terms (carat? purity?) and office products companies (Office Depot? 3M?) before taking a wild swing with Elmer's.
Thu: Had Les Miz right away, thought of and dismissed Phantom, "reasoning" that most opera venues were probably in Italy. Said Rent instead.
Fri: Had to pause the DVR for a few extra seconds to even come up with accordion... which was not a good use of the time.

[seaborgium]

"Entertainer" suggests that the person is not specifically (or is not solely known for being) a musician.

It didn't to me. Someone who's known solely for being a musician is often called an entertainer.

"Entertainer" connotes showmanship and "musician" connotes virtuosity. Jeopardy will never call Harpo Marx a musician (though he may be considered a harp virtuoso), and they will never call, say, Yo-Yo Ma an entertainer. A J! Archive search for "entertainer" reveals only one person I'd sooner call a musician, and that's Max Weinberg, drummer for The E Street Band and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." And tellingly, one clue calls Victor Borge a "pianist/entertainer."

For those who didn't know the facts cold, solving this was a matter of making the right inferences.

And for someone who did know the facts cold, I still had no friggin' clue.

You knew he was born in 1888?

[Lefty]

I read a magazine article about Hallmark a few years ago, and I remembered Kansas City from it. I had not known the gold-specific meaning of "hallmark", but it seemed plausible enough. I can't imagine "consumer products" was much help to anyone.

Yes, I anticipated the reversal on "cigarette cards", and was rooting for that woman (sorry, I have a short memory for contestant names) from the point of that response.

[TenPoundHammer]

and that's Max Weinberg, drummer for The E Street Band and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." And tellingly, one clue calls Victor Borge a "pianist/entertainer."

<Joel Godard>WITH MAX WEINBERG AND THE MAX WEINBERG SEVEN!!!!! NOW HERE'S YOUR HOST, CO-NAN O-BRIIIIIIIIIIIYUUUUUUUUUUHN!!!!!!!!"</JG>

(Seriously, how did Joel Godawful get that announcing gig? He sounded like Gilbert Gottfried after about five gallons of Monster.)

In any event, I wasn't aware that "entertainer" had a different connotation than "musician".

You knew he was born in 1888?

Okay, not that fact. But the fact that Harpo is a harpist who used to be named Adolph. I knew THAT cold, and 1888 as a birth date for a Marx Brother makes perfect sense NOW.

But I just suck suck SUCK at putting two and two together. My mind doesn't work that way, and I don't know how to make it so.

[Vanya]

I had no chance on Thursday as I did not know Phantom was French and Les Mis never even came to me.

What would be interesting is if they weren't French, but the former still took place at the Paris Opera House and the latter during the Paris Commune of 1871...

That would be a neat trick, since Les Miserables was published in 1862.

[trainman]

A J! Archive search for "entertainer" reveals only one person I'd sooner call a musician, and that's Max Weinberg, drummer for The E Street Band and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Well, when he appeared in a comedy bit on "Late Night," it was usually pretty entertaining.

(But I agree that I wouldn't consider him an "entertainer.")

[seaborgium]

and that's Max Weinberg, drummer for The E Street Band and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." And tellingly, one clue calls Victor Borge a "pianist/entertainer."

<Joel Godard>...</JG>

I thought I could post that without you doing that again. Whoops.

[andreaborn]

Any good mnemonic for remembering his wives' names in order?

Not a mnemonic per se, but here are a few tricks I learned on the old board -- it always gets me to the answer, most of the time quickly enough for Jeopardy:

The Catherines and Annes are in alphabetical order (Aragon, Boleyn, Cleves, Howard, Parr). You know where to put Jane if you know she's the odd one out in "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived."

The initials make a sort of question mark if you put the Cs and As in columns (C - A - J - A - C - C).

C..A..J
....A
C
C

Lastly, the ones who were divorced are Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves -- if you're important enough to be "of something," you're too important to be beheaded.

[debramc]

Never heard of cigarette cards.

Knew Hallmark was in KC, and the meaning of hallmark as a sort of certification stamp, but couldn't put it together (I discussed this on the daily thread.)
Knew that Phantom & Les Mis were set in Paris and on Broadway in the mid-80s, but never in a million years would have gotten that one. (I haven't seen either. I did see an old Phantom movie. When I think of Phantom of the Opera I think of Toccata & Fugue in d minor, not the ALW music though I heard the latter a million times because my 1st husband was a high school teacher at the time and every high school marching band was playing it for the next several years. Yes, quite often both bands at the same game. Aaarghhhh!) Best I could come up with was La Cage aux Folles.
Had no clue Harpo was a harpist. I still can't really fathom it. I said sax.
Might have gotten the East river, but I was distracted by something in the middle of the clue and really didn't start processing it until they were saying the response. Might have said Hudson, NYC is not a wheelhouse for me. I couldn't even draw you a decent map of the boroughs. Manhattan & LI, maybe, but not the rest.

Any good mnemonic for remembering his wives' names in order?

Not a mnemonic per se, but here are a few tricks I learned on the old board -- it always gets me to the answer, most of the time quickly enough for Jeopardy:

The Catherines and Annes are in alphabetical order (Aragon, Boleyn, Cleves, Howard, Parr). You know where to put Jane if you know she's the odd one out in "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived."

The initials make a sort of question mark if you put the Cs and As in columns (C - A - J - A - C - C).

C..A..J
....A
C
C

Lastly, the ones who were divorced are Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves -- if you're important enough to be "of something," you're too important to be beheaded.

Excellent tricks! I like them.

[heelsrule1988]

Tweety'd.