Grundoon59

4/5 with one *. Shakespeare and Abbott & Costello were readily accessible in my brain. Phoenix was a last minute pop in from somewhere I was not even sure existed. My mind whirled around trying to get to Hawking in time - even though I was clearly picturing him, the name was hiding until the very last second. Cartagena would not come to me for love or money {even while I was resorting to my Real Housewives of NYC part of my brain - please don't judge}. Peaches are in season here in Michigan and I do have a great Peach Sangria recipe and can offer some fresh sliced peaches for those who don't drink. I hesitate to admit it but I love lobster and crab in almost any form but soft shells are a particular treat. Blame it on summer visits to Maine to see my dad's family when lobster was cheap and plentiful (Father Grundoon did regret introducing me to it at a young age when he thought I wouldn't like it and he would have extra). As to crab, four years at W&M helped cement that as a preference.

5/5 with 1* - Tuesday-Friday somehow fell into my oddly shaped wheelhouse but Monday was a lucky guess with the guess part being Hawaii - I should know those islands better - my only Hawaiian experience involves deplaning after a flight from Australia to LA (we had to go through customs in Honolulu) and thanks to several hours of mild turbulence {I will never forget the pilot saying " folks we are going to be fine but uncomfortable for awhile due to a large storm we are passing over - get your drinks now because I am ordering the cabin attendants to their seats for the duration"}, I barely registered being there. My Alaska experience is only slightly longer - 48 hours in Fairbanks for a June wedding (mainly thanks to Australian trip frequent flyer miles) and mostly what I remember is the wedding of course and it never got dark the whole time I was there. But somehow that island I knew. My cooking desire is still awol so I will offer up a Detroit dessert treat - Sanders Chocolate Bumpy Cake and hope no one minds store-bought this week.

4/5 with 1* (which I admit I only got by the last minute skin of my teeth). My brain twirled through many possible inventions but never came near a mousetrap. So glad you are back @saber5055 - hope everything is okay. You were definitely missed. My cooking skills are on summer holiday this week so I will offer up a Peach Sangria which may not match perfectly with the food on offer but after a couple glasses you really don't mind.

4/5 - I don't think I would have gotten to U2 if they had given me 30 minutes to come up with it but it made utter sense when I heard it. Popular music of the 90s forward would be a weak category for me since I aged out of a lot of it - have picked up some things from younger friends, coworkers, the media "ether" but I would not be comfortable staking much on any answer. I guessed on Tonkin/Thailand, knew OSU thanks to Michigan/Ohio rivalry, did an educated guess for Rock of Ages and knew Handmaid's Tale thanks to it being published when I was still reading a lot of things that I was supposed to read (post college, pre-oh to heck with it, I just want to read something light like a cozy mystery or if I am being serious, some nonfiction). I am trying out a new pasta salad recipe that I would be happy to bring as a side dish if it works out or more reliably I offer the T4 some sticky sesame chicken wings.

I was raised Unitarian so my direct hymn knowledge is a little shaky but Father Grundoon was raised in the Salvation Army and Mother Grundoon was a Congregationalist so they sometimes sang them on car trips so the answer popped into my brain quickly as a possibility. I also thought of the Rugged Cross but it didn't seem to fit the clue as well so back to Rock of Ages I went.

As a proud Michigander, I knew the answer had to be OSU (to be polite to @BuckeyeLou, I will refrain from any other comments) but I did have an awful moment of thinking "please, Jeopardy gods, don't let it be The College of William and Mary in Virginia".

I was with @Trey - I got Tonkin right away but "leap to faithed" my way to Thailand.

I lucky guessed my way to 4/5 with two * this week. The only one I felt at all confident about was Monday since I had a period where I read intensely about the start of WWI (I recommend "The Guns of August" to anyone interested). Tuesday was a guess based on the only timely war I could come up with was Franco-Prussian (trying to come up with the answer via colors was too much for me). I never read Brave New World and only had a vague idea what it was about so it would have been a month of Sundays before I got anywhere near it as an answer. Desperately trying to picture the map of West Virginia got me to a wild guess of the Ohio, And on Friday Jimmy Carter popped into my brain quickly (I was a teenage volunteer on a Michigan Senate campaign which coordinated with the local Carter campaign office that year so it was the first Presidential race I paid any significant attention to) and it somehow got me the Georgia on My Mind just in time. Aunt Sally's Pralines are amazing - I am currently savoring the last couple from a box I ordered a couple months ago - still good for every delicious bite.

4/5 with one *. Greenfield Village to the rescue again since I pass the house where Noah Webster wrote the dictionary most weekends in the summer (not this one since Base Ball was cancelled due to the field basically being a lake thanks to 7 inches of rain Friday night). I remembered to leave off the Y for Jabberwock in the nick of time and the female cosmonaut's name was one that stuck somewhere accessible in my memory once I learned it. I am embarrassed that I didn't get Twain - when I think of Connecticut Yankee I think of the musical but hey having a Broadway interest made Friday an Instaget. I have no imagination for cooking this week - Detroit is in days long cycle of mugginess and probably more rain then we can handle. I am lucky with no flooding and no power loss but worrying about both has drained my creative juices. Can I just bring some really good local hot dogs and buns if someone is willing to grill?

My problem with FJ (even though I know Twain is a frequent American Authors answer) is that when I think of Connecticut Yankee, I think of the Rodgers and Hart musical and not of the source material. So my brain remained unTwained. But now I have the lyrics of "To Keep My Love Alive" (a wonderfully wicked song) playing through my mind. Oh well worse earwigs have lodged there in the past.

FJ was an instaget for me (it is just one of those names that stayed stuck in my head once I learned it) but I would certainly have been doubting my ability to spell it properly under pressure. Whistler was easy for me - the Detroit Institute of Arts has the Nocturne in Black and Gold in its collection and a local writer did a play about the trial over it that was put on by the Hilberry Theater at Wayne State University. But I can believe that it might not be common knowledge and could trip someone up the way I would be for many science-based clues.

I happily and humbly accept the Honorable Mention. Glad to know the comments/stories are being received in the spirit in which they were intended. @saber5055 I agree with the no bad ice cream theory and do enjoy a wide variety myself although these days I am hitting a good quality vanilla pretty hard to let the strawberries be the star. Thanks again for the Honor.

For FJ, I did think of both Webster and Roget but ultimately went with Webster because I knew he was a New Englander. Also because I pass the house where the dictionary was written at least 4 times a week in summer going to and coming from historic Base Ball games at Greenfield Village (including this past weekend) so I was very glad that was the correct answer.

I have no problem with any kind of berry mix - strawberries just happen to be the ones in season right now here in Michigan. I am already looking forward to raspberry and blueberry season in the near future (although according to my favorite farm market vendor all fruits this year are a bit delayed due to our fairly odd spring weather - but the good news is it looks like all fruits will have good seasons this year - especially peaches - can't wait)

3/5 - one *. Again started the week well (feel like the William and Mary gods pulled me through on the Monroe Doctrine) but could not get the Thursday or Friday answers to come to the front part of my brain even though I know the information existed in the dim recesses of my memory. I would blame on it on golf keeping me from seeing the show and having to read the clues in the archive but if I am being honest, I don't know that I would have gotten them any better as a viewer. I know strawberries and ice cream were already claimed by another table but I just picked up some lovely Michigan berries at a farmers market this morning so I would propose the combo for an all tables dessert this week. You have got to enjoy fresh fruit in season whenever you can.

4/5 this week - I really thought I was on a roll for a perfect week when I read the clue because there is a city called Hamtramck which was essentially a Polish enclave surrounded by Detroit and Highland Park. But could I think of the word enclave - hecky bo becky no! Oh well, it doesn't pay to get cocky - the Jeopardy gods will get you! Seriously though nothing can dampen my spirits this weekend because Greenfield Village hosted its first games of historic Base Ball since August 2019. I got to attend both the Saturday and Sunday matches, see good friends and enjoy a ton of fresh air even in the heat of the weekend. These games are truly my summer moments of Zen so all is well in Grundoon world.

I was very pleased that Belle Isle was included in the Olmstead category - too often it doesn't get mentioned among his projects and it is one of my favorite places since childhood - even went there on a couple of "I gotta get out of the house but don't want to go near people drives" this past year and it always delivers. That said, I wish it had chosen some feature other than the giant slide to focus on and it would have been more fun if the clue said located directly north of Windsor (but that is just me being nitpicky). For FJ, I was toying with lunch break but then from somewhere the song "Coffee Break" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying popped into my brain and I changed my answer in time.

4/5 with no *. Leviathan made total sense as soon as Mayim said it but it was not coming anywhere near my brain while the music was playing. The rest of the week fell pretty well into my oddly acquired bits of knowledge so I will be happy with that result. @Toothbrush - crab cakes with lemon aioli sounds heavenly. I will be happy to contribute a blueberry streusel for dessert with some good vanilla ice cream for those who prefer a la mode.

@proserpina65 - I can easily forgive you since Montreal was Father Grundoon's team of choice and I didn't realize until I read your post that I hadn't spelled Gordie correctly in mine. Oops - brain cells were clearly taking a holiday last night. I enjoyed tonight's show despite what seemed to be more TSs than usual - Inherit the Wind is one of my favorite plays and led to particularly loud yelling at the tv which the contestants oddly didn't seem to hear. I am continuing to enjoy Mayim as host - she seems to be having a blast.

As a native Detroiter of a certain age with the last name Howe, I have spent years explaining that I was not related to Gordie (our families spring from different parts of Canada and even my paternal aunt who was a major hockey and genealogy fan could never find a link) so it hurt my heart that he was a TS tonight (with an additional stab with the reference to Alex). Still a good game and I thought Mayim did well as host.

I somehow stumbled my way to 4/5 this week. Hopper was one of Father Grundoon's favorite artists and like @Clanstarling I had to read Faulkner (thank you W&M's Modern American Lit course). Opera is not a strong suit and my mental rolodex didn't spin quickly enough. A long ago trip to Australia was enough to get me to Botany Bay. For Friday an image of Poland on the map popped into my brain and while I wasn't sure it was the right answer, I couldn't come up with a plausible alternative in time and therefore got lucky.

I knew I would find Tom Lehrer references here ( I think he has been discussed before) - both Grundoon parents were fans and had almost all his records so his songs populated my childhood (even if I didn't understand all the references at the time). I even remember going to a revue of his songs in London in 1980 even though I couldn't persuade any of my other classmates doing the summer abroad to attend and having a blast. I enjoyed the tournament and even though I am not on the Buzzy for permanent host bandwagon, I think he did a good job in a difficult situation. I stand by my comments about Ryan but I was pleased to see in the article from his local paper that was linked above that he realized he should have congratulated Veronica. I don't think he deserved to be called a "villain" but he does need to realize that we are all judged by our behaviors. I think it was telling that he said other contestants said he did nothing wrong (not their job to tell him even if they felt he behaved badly) and that his friends told him to ignore the criticism (I don't think he should let the criticism destroy him but instead use it as a growth experience). He is relatively young and should be rightly be proud of what he accomplished but we can always learn from our past and do better in future.

For me, one of the acid tests of character is not only winning graciously but more importantly losing graciously. I get that Ryan was upset (who wouldn't be) but his behavior was just not right. I can't say I ever lost on national television but I did lose two local political races and did the right thing of going over on election night to congratulate my opponents (in one case through an odd set of circumstances I actually ended up being the one to tell her she had won and somehow being on a stage with her addressing her supporters - a very surreal moment). Did it suck? Yes for a moment but you put on your big kid pants and behave in a way to make your parents proud (crying comes later in private - which is why I can totally relate to your reaction @ams1001). Sorry for the rant but this is a fundamental belief of mine. For some reason Sabin is lodged somewhere in my brain but could I have pulled it out in game conditions? Probably not. I did go back and forth between Faulkner and Baldwin for FJ (thank you again W&M for a wide ranging modern American lit syllabus many years ago) trying to remember in both had won Nobel Prizes. I did finally go with Faulkner because of the county reference in the clue - don't ask me to spell it but I do remember it.

i gave up rooting for any of them when they didn't know Sam Elliott - i have had a massive crush on him since the 70's. Nighthawks was an Instaget. Hopper was one of Father Grundoon's favorite artists and there is actually a print of the painting hanging in the building where I work now. The owner of the building has a variety of artwork hanging around the place - mainly prints but some originals from a gallery on the ground floor. It is nice viewing when I go for a walkabout. Bastet - I think more details are required. Please share with the group!

3/5 with no * this week. Three years of long ago college German got me the armored pig; Yemen was a lucky guess and having seen a couple productions of Lear (including Christopher Plummer's amazing one at Stratford Ontario) got quickly to Poe. I am trying to think of a good dessert to go with the chicken and salad - I am thinking some snickerdoodles and nut brittle (from a recipe that modestly calls itself "the best ever nut brittle"). Is this acceptable?