Monday, January 25, 2021 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Agrajag]

Had to do an archive-playthrough for the first half of the show

$26,000 Coryat with 34 R / 5 W
Runs: Letter Perfect Trivia & 4-Letter Before & After
Bagels: Colorful Groups
Surprising non-Bagel: World Capital Rivers because I only knew the $1000 Brazzaville (and Kinshasa)
DD: (no guess for Truth)
LT: Flamin' Hot Cheetos
FJ: Mind immediately put Tunisia as the smallest so I went "opposite" to France as the largest

[AFRET CMS]

MEDIEVAL TIMES, $800

For the tropical storms that stopped Mongol invasions of Japan, I knee-jerked with "kamikaze." Most sources I found do pin the kamikaze "divine wind" storm to the 1274 and 1281 dates provided in the clue, so I'm thinking it would probably have received an initial neg, with maybe a 50/50 shot at a later reversal.

[talkingaway]

I was completely lost in the FJ! clue. I went with "Name a big country on the Mediterranean", and predictably fell into the trap of ignoring Africa, so I went with France. I then went far away from France, and landed on....Crete? In my defense, smaller than Cyprus...BUT NOT A COUNTRY! I did know that at the time, but I had nothing else to go on.

Also, never mind that Crete and Cyprus are more "in" the Mediterranean, rather than "on" it.

Anyone notice Elliot give an unintentional hat tip to the board by saying "it could be anything" about his response that kind of trailed off?

Priscilla Barnes led me astray on the "crane" TAE KWON DO clue - she was the replacement for Chrissy/Suzanne Sommers on Three's Company, and her cheesy 80s "smile at the camera while my name appears on the bottom" pose during the opening theme was standing like a flamingo in front of...well, flamingos. I honestly don't know how I remember that, as the last time I watched Three's Company was probably when it was in syndication, but still on the network as well.

Randy Rainbow's recent Fiddler on the Roof spoof video of "Tradition" kept that in the forefront of my mind for the clue in theater. Also, looking at my calendar, a performance of Fiddler was literally the last time I was in any type of group setting - March 4.

[TenPoundHammer]

Can someone explain to me why, despite my fluency in Spanish, they always manage to find the only Spanish words I don't know? "Añejo" this time.

I would have run the Taekwondo category, but my mouth got ahead of my brain and I blurted out "stork" even though I was thinking "crane".

I got only "ambulance chaser" in the OED category. NHO the other four, including "elbow bump".

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

DJ! murdered me with 5R 2W.

Any reason I should know "basar" is sight?

No guess on FJ! I was dead-ass certain that Monaco was landlocked, and Algeria further down Africa.

Lach Trash: Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Beijing

[opusthepenguin]

Can someone explain to me why, despite my fluency in Spanish, they always manage to find the only Spanish words I don't know? "Añejo" this time.

Yeah, I think knowing your tequila was a better way in than knowing your Spanish. That's how I got it anyway.

Any reason I should know "basar" is sight?

None I can think of. It was the obvious guess to pair with hearing, but I wouldn't have rung in. I did spend a little time trying to think of the meaning of the Hebrew word with that pronunciation. Had to look it up later and find out it's the word for "flesh". Had I recalled that, I might have taken a shot with "touch/feeling" and lost some couch-points.

[seaborgium]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

[TenPoundHammer]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

By that logic, our capital is called Potomdam.

[opusthepenguin]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

By that logic, our capital is called Potomdam.

No, by that logic, if our capital were called Potomdam, it would fit the criteria specified by SG and could be arrived at using similar logic when spotted the river Potomac. Or not. Potomdam sounds like another Dutch location. If we can expand to 5 letters for the second part, Thamebridge (pronounced TEM-bridj, of course) sounds quintessentially English.

[soxfan99]

I'm curious if anyone who got one of the two was thrown by the "opposite sides" stipulation? E.g. you guessed Monaco/Turkey or Algeria/Israel.

I guess I was. I got Monaco right away, and immediately looked east instead of south. I ended up with Egypt as my second guess, and that's after I crossed out an initial second guess of Turkey.

I did the EXACT same thing. Started with Monaco, went all the way across the Sea. Considered Turkey, but thought that Egypt is bigger, and went there. Didn’t occur to me to look across the sea in the short direction.

[floridagator]

Behind every water gate, you'll find a mill house.

[Woppy T]

Priscilla Barnes led me astray on the "crane" TAE KWON DO clue - she was the replacement for Chrissy/Suzanne Sommers on Three's Company, and her cheesy 80s "smile at the camera while my name appears on the bottom" pose during the opening theme was standing like a flamingo in front of...well, flamingos. I honestly don't know how I remember that, as the last time I watched Three's Company was probably when it was in syndication, but still on the network as well.

Slight tweak: Barnes was the direct replacement for Jenilee Harrison, who had replaced Somers.

I said flamingo as well.

[talkingaway]

Priscilla Barnes led me astray on the "crane" TAE KWON DO clue - she was the replacement for Chrissy/Suzanne Sommers on Three's Company, and her cheesy 80s "smile at the camera while my name appears on the bottom" pose during the opening theme was standing like a flamingo in front of...well, flamingos. I honestly don't know how I remember that, as the last time I watched Three's Company was probably when it was in syndication, but still on the network as well.

Slight tweak: Barnes was the direct replacement for Jenilee Harrison, who had replaced Somers.

I said flamingo as well.

Yup yup, you're right - I knew there were three blondes, but couldn't tell you the order of the second two. I just looked up "flamingo" and "Three's Company" to see who the flamingo was.

Two years of "intensive" college Spanish here back in the latter half of the 90s, and I knew anejo just from generic absorption of tequila knowledge, not from Spanish - although the "ano" part I did know. (Sorry, too tired to bother with tildes tonight.) The final semester, I remember we had to give little mini-presentations - mine was on the Gipsy Kings, while someone else brought tequila. Yes, we did shots at 11:30 AM in class. Gracias, Senora Pelz.

[opusthepenguin]

I'm curious if anyone who got one of the two was thrown by the "opposite sides" stipulation? E.g. you guessed Monaco/Turkey or Algeria/Israel.

I guess I was. I got Monaco right away, and immediately looked east instead of south. I ended up with Egypt as my second guess, and that's after I crossed out an initial second guess of Turkey.

I did the EXACT same thing. Started with Monaco, went all the way across the Sea. Considered Turkey, but thought that Egypt is bigger, and went there. Didn’t occur to me to look across the sea in the short direction.

Gotcha. I'm convinced. That's at least a mild problem with the clue. My mind automatically went north-south, I guess because I think of the eastern end of the Mediterranean as being the Strait of Gibraltar rather than any land area, so that axis didn't make sense to me. But that's not a solid argument against thinking along east-west lines, just an explanation of why I happened not to. The clue's still solvable if you know which are the largest and smallest countries on the Mediterranean. It's just, if you don't, the "opposite sides" info can either help you or lead you astray depending on how you think. That's less than ideal.

[The Talking Mime]

I'm curious if anyone who got one of the two was thrown by the "opposite sides" stipulation? E.g. you guessed Monaco/Turkey or Algeria/Israel.

I guess I was. I got Monaco right away, and immediately looked east instead of south. I ended up with Egypt as my second guess, and that's after I crossed out an initial second guess of Turkey.

I did the EXACT same thing. Started with Monaco, went all the way across the Sea. Considered Turkey, but thought that Egypt is bigger, and went there. Didn’t occur to me to look across the sea in the short direction.

I've had the idea lately to compile a bunch of short, 7-10 item trivia lists in the hopes that it can help me improve. There's a lot of possible ideas related to geography I've come up with, which is especially beneficial since it's a weakness of mine. One of those is to memorize the 10 largest countries in the world by area. A quick search says that Algeria is number 10. I wonder if it would've helped me if I had started compiling these lists already and had that list written and memorized. The light bulb for switching to North Africa didn't happen until late for me, but maybe I would've had the presence of mind to think "Hey, Algeria's the biggest country in Africa, maybe I'm looking at this wrong..."

[This Is Kirk!]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

I don't see it much anymore, but Amstel Light used to be a pretty popular beer and it was essentially the light version of Heineken.

But, yeah, the name Amstel would certainly seem to point to Amsterdam without knowing this...

[seaborgium]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

By that logic, our capital is called Potomdam.

I didn't say make up a world capital name by that template, I said name a capital.

[alietr]

"Amstel" sounds like it could be anywhere.

How about naming a world capital whose first five letters match the first five letters of the given river, and whose last three letters name a structure often built on rivers?

I don't see it much anymore, but Amstel Light used to be a pretty popular beer and it was essentially the light version of Heineken.

But, yeah, the name Amstel would certainly seem to point to Amsterdam without knowing this...

Amstel was the first beer I ever had. When I was in ... Amsterdam. Regular Amstel (not Light) is a pretty good beer, but it wasn't available in the U.S.

[econgator]

I guess because I think of the eastern end of the Mediterranean as being the Strait of Gibraltar

Standing on your head, are you?

[opusthepenguin]

I guess because I think of the eastern end of the Mediterranean as being the Strait of Gibraltar

Standing on your head, are you?

I claim Antarctic privilege, you north chauvinist!

[twelvefootboy]

I'm just catching up on Monday's thread, but am somewhat surprised at how this FJ tripped up so many boardies. I whiffed on the African country with Morocco, and I guess the geographers had no problem with the Algeria part. I Pavlov'd to Monaco, and groaned about it getting equal status as a country. I don't like gadget countries, planets, etc... It did help me that I've been there and seen the awesome vista across the Mediterranean, otherwise I would have had some doubt. I agree that "opposing" would have been better than "opposite", but I stuck with Morocco even though I knew/think it is somewhat west. I'm sure it is too tiny when I finally look at a map.

Speaking of groaners, Reagan's ranch is just over a mile section. When a Texan brags that it takes him all day to drive from one end of his ranch to the other, I just reply - "yeah, I used to have a truck like that:)"

The Capitol proceedings didn't interfere with our broadcast, but I don't care about watching stuff like that, and if I do, I'll watch it on tape/video/online. I do highly recommend reading the actual document - it is chicken soup for the soul. Not a wasted word, not a bit of spin, and probably under 500 words. Too bad it will be / is being mis-characterized as a witch hunt or a political document, etc..

eta the verbiage, about 650 words:

Spoiler

Resolution impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Resolved, the Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE 1: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment" and that the President "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment, for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Further, section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits any person who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against" the United States from "hold[ing] and office ... under the United States.' In his conduct while President of the United States — and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, provide, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed — Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States, in that:

On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. In the months preceding the Joint Session, President Trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials. Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. There, he reiterated false claims that "we won this election, and we won it by a landslide." He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol, such as: "if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore." Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the Joint Session's solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive and seditious acts.

President Trump's conduct on January 6, 2021, followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Those prior efforts included a phone call on January 2, 2021, during which President Trump urged the secretary of state of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to overturn the Georgia Presidential election results and threatened Secretary Raffensperger if he failed to do so.

In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.