Grundoon59

As a history major (from a long ago degree), I too was dismayed by the UN answers. Okay true confession- I yelled at the television. But as part of my New Year's resolution to be more sane, I thought about all the FJ answers I would miss that would be obvious to others and tried to smile. Nope not working. Still amazed at UN.

I will always remember "I, Claudius" and Livia describing rubbing poison on the figs to kill Augustus so her son could become emperor. I knew FJ wasn't the Monitor or the Merrimack but couldn't think of Hurley. I would rather have left a blank than said cotton gin since I would have been thinking of what will the previously forum say.

Kristen bugged me from her finger popping entrance and then being a Yankees fan didn't help. She did well in the first half but then seemed to stall out once she got her first wrong answers. I was of two minds for Cindy making TOC - I was so happy she won but it makes it so much sadder that she won't be around for TOC. I know the information is available somewhere but do we know which specific cancer charity she chose for her winnings. I agree it would be great if the Jeopardy fans made donations in her name. It might help her loved ones at this difficult time of year.

Thanks for the info Sugarbaker Design (loved that show). Still impressed with the math skills in a pinch. Not that there was anything he could do but Alec must have miscalculated given his disappointment level.

I enjoyed the final far more than I thought I would - I think it started in the first night interview when Sharath admitted he had just finished reading Lord of the Flies which helped him win his semi-final. I agree Michael took his loss well and that Alec was getting a little too cocky approaching FJ but if I were a teenager facing the possibility of winning $100K, I have no clue how I would act (heck as an almost 57 year old, I might act like an idiot). I am stunned by Sharath's math skills in a pressure cooker - to calculate that bet to the $ by remembering the first day totals just amazes me. All in all, I am glad we are back to grown-ups but what a finish.

I admit I am a terrible person but as soon as I heard Gandhi, I said "please let him bet big." I also admit I knew not a single answer in the game category and felt old so I do admire how much the young men know.

The eddy must be getting crowded because I was right there with you all. I was sorry that the young lady smart enough to get the answer for FJ didn't get to move on - I will always root for Agatha Christie fans. But she did have some ups and downs in the game. I will probably watch the finals but won't really care who wins.

I agree with you SierraMist. As a proud Detroiter, I am always glad to hear it's name as a legitimate answer on Jeopardy but we are nowhere near Lake Michigan. Also if I am not mistaken, she got a question wrong in the preliminary rounds by saying Detroit as the answer when it should have been Chicago. I realize they are kids but learn your Great Lakes people and know which side of the Mitten the Motor City is on. :-)

I have missed this forum where Sondheim and Sarah Vowell get cited so easily. He is one of the few people I ever wrote a fan letter to (back in long ago college days) and for her 1st book, I pulled off the road to call in a pledge to my NPR station to make sure I got an autographed copy.

I assume they were looking for Obi-Wan since the off-Broadway awards are the Obie and pale people are wan. Add me to the list of Obama answerers even though it made no sense. I didn't mind the Gnome lady until she said McArthur instead of McCarthy and seemed so sure of it - couldn't root for her after that.

At the risk of being unpopular (just kidding, I'm a big girl), I wasn't really a fan of the now ex-champ and the new champ doesn't bother me. Once she said Otis Redding for Ben E. King, I was rooting against her. Also since the Puritans actively disliked every religious groups other than their own, I didn't find the points for Catholics to be that out of line. Now ducking out of the line of fire... :-)

By the end of the interview, I was screaming "stand still and stop saying you know". I got my hopes up when he had a slow start in DJ but but I wasn't surprised that he won. I need him to lose soon though - my vocal cords won't stand much more screaming.

My all time favorite work by Herman Melville is Bartleby the Scrivner. I work "I prefer not" into all sorts of conversations and smile inside. I was heartbroken that it was a TS. That being said, I wouldn't have come up with Brigham Young in a month of Sundays.

I stopped rooting for the dude on the Malta answer - he had been doing reasonably well up till then. I wasn't a Sally fan - I was a little put off on her Ken Jennings fangirl routine on the first night. I missed the accent issue with Laurie but will listen tonight. FJ was an instaget for me - I was almost 10 when the Manson murders happened and was fairly freaked out by them, then I became kind of "true crime" obsessed for awhile. I agree with M. Darcy - Helter Skelter is a great book but don't let anyone sneak up behind you while reading it.

Buzzy didn't bother me before the tournaments. Now he just seems smarmy - kind of like Eddie Haskell if Eddie were winning on Jeopardy. I am really rooting for him to at least have a close scare where he actually has to come up with an FJ answer instead of "whatever, Trebeck" or that he gets smacked with a loss. He ain't all that and a bag of chips, except in "Buzzy World". Having vented enough, I will acknowledge that he is a good player and might very well wipe the floor with me in a studio with lights, cameras and an audience.

I haven't been able to watch the whole tournament but did see Jill in her original game and the two night finals. I am sure she is probably an excellent teacher and she certainly enjoyed being a contestant, but I had too root against her because her running commentary made me nuts. She needs to know that having an unexpressed is allowed and even to be encouraged.

He was referring to Olivia. LIEU as in Lieutenant.

I didn't like Sam's design and I find his personality annoying. However I thought Ken was out of line. Ken can have all the opinions he likes but he also doesn't have to confront every individual he dislikes with them. He should learn that unexpressed thoughts won't kill him (especially given he can do Talking Heads to his heart's content). Confronting Sam because he was pissed at the judges was petty and vindictive. It only reminded me why I didn't like him in his season. I did like Kini his season but his Mean Girl routine this time is making me ill. Their beef is with the judges- in their own words, show some balls on the runway, don't just roll your eyes. I know this will probably be an unpopular opinion here but hey if It is good enough for Ken and Kini, I can handle the heat.

I confess I never have read or seen Wuthering Heights - certainly have heard of it and might have gotten there eventually from the clue. However the Yorkshire Moors sent me down a worm hole to one of my favorite comedy routines of all time, "The Frog and Peach" by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and I spent all the answering time giggling at lines from it that were playing in my head. I felt it was good game with three strong players but will miss the defeated champ who seemed like a genuinely decent person who was pleasantly surprised that he did so well for so long.

My take on the Trixie/Sister Julianne discussion was that Trixie was coming at it from the viewpoint that her activities were important to her well-being in a similar way that the nuns' religious duties were important to their well-being. Sister Julianne seemed to me to be upset about the photos and publicity and not seeing the Keep Fit class as that vital to Trixie - she used a poor word choice for her AA remarks but I was not seeing her as downplaying the necessity of Trixie keeping going with that. I think Sister Julianne (and probably the other nuns) just took for granted that the midwives would rearrange their schedules for the nuns' religious duties but she had a "lightbulb" moment with Trixie that the street had to run both ways sometimes.

Judy Dench was the first answer in my head (probably because I still watch "As Time Goes By" most Saturdays when my local PBS isn't fundraising) but then I started second guessing down the Streep/Mirren pathway. Under pressure in the studio, I hope I would have answered correctly and had the guts to bet correctly but in my own little corner, in my own little chair, I confess I am not sure I would do so. One version in my head has me being the next Ken Jennings and the other has me flaming out so badly that a Hazmat team is needed for the clean up.

Megan - you had an amazing comeback and I too was rooting for you. Sports would likely be my downfall too except in limited circumstances and from the way the clue read for FJ, my brain was drawn to the entertainment field - looking at "the wit", not the percentages. Also you did what you needed to do with your bet for FJ so take pride in that. Hope you had a great experience and can look at it as an accomplishment (I can't even get past the on-line test stage so good on you!).

My ears are still ringing from Tarzan Trebeck. I agree it was a good game but the champ's missing "a moveable feast" could have been what cost him the game. I am not a Hemingway enthusiast (had to read too much of it in college) but I am fond of his stories of his Paris years.

With regard to the hockey question, I am from Detroit and my last name is Howe. I have spent a great deal of time saying Gordie is no relation. But still fun to see him pop up as an answer.

Well at least the rule change makes his strategy makes sense. Until I came here, I thought he had lost his freaking mind. I loved the Mel Brooks category but the left out one of my favorites "The Twelve Chairs".