Jeopardy! Season 32 (2015-2016)

[NorthstarATL]

24 minutes ago, Trey said:

I felt badly for Cory that he couldn't come up with the DD answer, both for his own sake and because the game became a runaway.  But then I was annoyed with him for going to the lowest value clues when he really had to make up lost money.  Lauren's going to the highest clues first was extremely annoying.

I wrote down four TS's: Rosetti, Cavalier,  arc and George Strait but I'm pretty sure I had a few others.  I couldn't believe three teachers couldn't come up with a section of a circle that started with A and had two more letters.

I did get FJ, just by thinking of a large(ish) city that rhymed with gore.

My problem with the arc was that the woman had chosen the last clue in the category, and I hadn't quite figured what the A++ meant yet. I cannot imagine pineapple mead in any version of Valhalla or Asgard. That's mighty tropical for the Norse. FJ was easy, and now I am deeply interested in Maryland's state song, as it makes mine in Georgia seem really dull.

[secnarf]

1 minute ago, NorthstarATL said:

My problem with the arc was that the woman had chosen the last clue in the category, and I hadn't quite figured what the A++ meant yet. I cannot imagine pineapple mead in any version of Valhalla or Asgard. That's mighty tropical for the Norse. FJ was easy, and now I am deeply interested in Maryland's state song, as it makes mine in Georgia seem really dull.

AT did explain what the A++ meant when reading the categories. 

 

I was shouting Eugene McCarthy at my TV. I had had brain farts in every other question in that category and blanked, but that was the one I didn't have to think about beyond "Kennedy wasn't from Minnesota"

[CarpeDiem54]

Lauren starting with the high dollar clues annoyed me no end.  Especially since it didn't seem like she was able to answer any.  

I got in situ, Eugene McCarthy (Cory!  WTF?!), arc and maybe another TS.  I was busy eating dinner and yelling at the TV.

Here's a giant nitpick, even though it didn't affect the outcome.  As I learned last week in Jeopardy, that pineapples originated in Brazil, how the hell did ancient Norse gods drink pineapple mead?  And since when would mead be refrigerated?  Cory should not have received credit for his answer.

"Pineapples are thought to have originated in Brazil and Paraguay in South America.

They were first discovered by Europeans in 1493 on the Caribbean Island now known as Guadeloupe. Pineapples arrived in the Caribbean after centuries of Indian migration and commerce."  http://www.kingoffruit.com.au/origin-of-pineapples.html

I slapped my forehead when FJ was revealed.  All I could think of was Bangalore.

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, NorthstarATL said:

My problem with the arc was that the woman had chosen the last clue in the category, and I hadn't quite figured what the A++ meant yet. I cannot imagine pineapple mead in any version of Valhalla or Asgard. That's mighty tropical for the Norse. FJ was easy, and now I am deeply interested in Maryland's state song, as it makes mine in Georgia seem really dull.

Oh my goodness the controversy in the MD state legislature, with proposed changes between Republicans and Democrats on the wording, plus a compromise to keep the original version as the "historical" version and a new version. With the Preakness coming up this month where "Maryland My Maryland" (first verse only is sung), it's all too amusing.

Looking forward to the Finals tomorrow.

[Mondrianyone]

17 minutes ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Here's a giant nitpick, even though it didn't affect the outcome.  As I learned last week in Jeopardy, that pineapples originated in Brazil, how the hell did ancient Norse gods drink pineapple mead?  And since when would mead be refrigerated?  Cory should not have received credit for his answer.

Yeah, when he got credit for that, I was thinking that just because a thing exists, that doesn't mean it satisfies the clue as a correct response.

And here's another nitpick:  Not every camel is a two-humped beast of burden.  Dromedaries have only one hump--it's the bactrians that have two, so if they were just going to accept simply "camel,"  why did they specify hump number?  (This is a joke waiting to happen, but I'm going to resist.)  BMS.

[operalover]

Forget the mead argument - yes there was no such thing but that is not the problem- He didn't say WHAT IS!!!! I thought that was why originally Alex said no. I rewound it 6 times and just "Mead" no "what is mead' HOW did they miss this? 

Also even though Alex explained the meaning of A++ to them before the round started, that was a prime example of why you never start at the bottom of a new category! They would have gotten "arc" had the category gone from the top. They get nervous, they are playing, so often it's easy to not really have what the category means sink in to the brain until you are there. She was so annoying starting from the bottom and she never got any of them right! That made it even stupider. I also got "in situ" but I said "in sito" maybe they would have excused my accent..close but no cigar. I also was screaming Hawaiian Punch to the TV.

Edited May 12, 2016 by operalover

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Oh my goodness the controversy in the MD state legislature, with proposed changes between Republicans and Democrats on the wording, plus a compromise to keep the original version as the "historical" version and a new version.

I didn't know about this controversy. Anyway, I couldn't come up with any city that rhymed with gore. Frankly, all I could do was focus on the horrible lyric "patriotic gore."

As for TSs, I got arc (which I hesitated about because I thought it was too easy for a $500 clue) and in situ, which was basically a guess.

Instead of McCarthy, I said Mondale, though I was pretty doubtful.

Hated the woman picking from the bottom of the categories. It didn't work for her, and she should have given up on this 'strategy.'

[Clanstarling]

I managed to come up with Baltimore (and then Maryland) but was so focused on the number of syllables in "patriotic gore" that I thought I was wrong. Now I'm just fascinated by that phrase. I  had to look it up. Here's the first verse:

Quote

The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!*
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!

Count me in on the pineapple controversy. No way that was a Norse God thing. What was the actual answer/question?

[just prin]

Sweet song, clan!

 

?

Edited May 12, 2016 by just prin

[Prevailing Wind]

Until clanstarling posted the lyrics, I was hoping the state was Tennessee and they were singing about Al's family - the patriotic Gores.  But then, neither Memphis nor Nashville fit the rhyme scheme.  <shrug>

Starting at the bottom & then getting them wrong was more than annoying.

[tom87]

I have never seen a player more mad  than that guy for losing that much that clsoe to the.

 

I got Maryland.

8 hours ago, clanstarling said:

I managed to come up with Baltimore (and then Maryland) but was so focused on the number of syllables in "patriotic gore" that I thought I was wrong. Now I'm just fascinated by that phrase. I  had to look it up. Here's the first verse:

Count me in on the pineapple controversy. No way that was a Norse God thing. What was the actual answer/question?

Nectar.

[operalover]

No comments on the no "what is" when he said Mead? Isn't this an immediate wrong answer?

[peeayebee]

I'll have to rewatch in a few minutes.

Just watched. I believe he kind of slurred over the 'What is' part and also said it more quietly than 'mead.' 

I think the judges really f'd up with the statement that the Norse gods drank pineapple mead. I put it down to inattentive googling.

Edited May 12, 2016 by peeayebee

[ABay]

I thought mead was made from honey. Why would it have pineapple in it, Norse or not?

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, ABay said:

I thought mead was made from honey. Why would it have pineapple in it, Norse or not?

Mead can also have fruit or spices in it, in addition to honey.

[Scott]

16 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Lauren starting with the high dollar clues annoyed me no end.  Especially since it didn't seem like she was able to answer any.  

So much this.  It's bad enough (to me, YMMV of course) when you start at the bottom, but if you can't get the $2000 questions right, maybe take the hint and try a $400.  

[proserpina65]

Quote

In other news, I was sad that no one could name Jaime Escalante.

I knew exactly who they wanted - even said to my mother "that guy Edward James Olmos played in the movie" - but couldn't come up with his name, which made me sad.  I love that movie.

17 hours ago, chessiegal said:

As soon as I saw the category for FJ I thought of Maryland because of the current controversy and rewriting of the second verse which refers to "Northern scum". Hee.

Admittedly it's my state song, although I couldn't tell you the lyrics to save my life (I just sing along with the words on the tv screen for the Preakness), but I was flabbergasted that only one contestant got that Baltimore was the major city which rhymed with gore.  Possibly even gobsmacked.

Quote

I also knew it was Eugene McCarthy, so that costly miss was painful to watch

I had just this week read something about McCarthy and Humphrey and the 68 election, and still could only say "the Mc guy" at the tv set.  I hate political categories/questions.

Edited May 12, 2016 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, secnarf said:

AT did explain what the A++ meant when reading the categories. 

 

I was shouting Eugene McCarthy at my TV. I had had brain farts in every other question in that category and blanked, but that was the one I didn't have to think about beyond "Kennedy wasn't from Minnesota"

I wasn't in the room when the categories were revealed and missed the explanation of A++.  Figured out all the clues, but hearing the explanation would've made it a little easier.

I was surprised that cavaliers and the Rossettis were TSs.

14 hours ago, clanstarling said:

I managed to come up with Baltimore (and then Maryland) but was so focused on the number of syllables in "patriotic gore" that I thought I was wrong. Now I'm just fascinated by that phrase. I  had to look it up. Here's the first verse:

Count me in on the pineapple controversy. No way that was a Norse God thing. What was the actual answer/question?

I looked it up too.  I had no idea it had six verses.  I think we should have to sing all six for the Preakness, lol.

[YoureSoUrban]

I'm so petty I let out a big "womp womp!" when Cory blew that DD. I thought he was acting like a super competitive jerk, especially in the sports category, while the guy who won just seemed to be having fun playing. It was like watching a yappy chihuahua challenge a yellow lab.

FJ was an instaget. Maybe because I loved The Wire.

Quote

Yeah, when he got credit for that, I was thinking that just because a thing exists, that doesn't mean it satisfies the clue as a correct response.

Word, word, word.

Edited May 12, 2016 by YoureSoUrban

[operalover]

6 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'll have to rewatch in a few minutes.

Just watched. I believe he kind of slurred over the 'What is' part and also said it more quietly than 'mead.' 

I think the judges really f'd up with the statement that the Norse gods drank pineapple mead. I put it down to inattentive googling.

I can't hear it -- - I think possibly he said UH for what is, slurred as fast as possible under his breath, then I guess he did say it. He said "uh Mead"...for What Is Mead. So I guess "Uh" can be "What is" but I would have not given him credit for that. 

[SeanC]

I knew that Final Jeopardy had to be either the Congo or Algeria; I guessed the former.

[Browncoat]

Aw, man!  I hope Kaberi can make a great comeback tomorrow night.  Jason's rocking and gesticulating is distracting, and I really noticed Jill's "commentary" tonight.

I could not for the life of me come up with the actual name of Strunk & White's book.  I've mostly called it just Strunk & White!  But I did get threatened and precycling. 

I also blanked on FJ.  Boo hiss.

[tom87]

On 5/12/2016 at 6:06 AM, tom87 said:

n/m

Edited May 14, 2016 by tom87

[CarpeDiem54]

I'm certainly hoping Kaberi has a big comeback tomorrow, too.  I was screaming at the TV when they said her answer of "cooling rods" was wrong.  I'm glad they eventually gave her credit.  Now I remember why I had made a note that Jason is annoying last week.  Hold still and stop acting so smug.  Jill, STFU with the noises!  Sheesh!

I got the Empire State Building and Elements of Style.  I guessed the Congo for FJ.  I really need to get a big, current map, tack it on the wall and study it.

[mojoween]

Please someone make her stop with the noise.  Stop it stop it stop it!

I was really surprised at The Empire State Building TS.

The byte DD was ridiculously insulting.

[Trey]

I also got Empire State Bldg. and Elements of Style - I think it was a question on the show not too long ago. 

Didn't get FJ - I guessed Egypt with no real hope of being right.  A big, current map is a good idea:)

[mojoween]

Oh!  What the hell was Alex talking about with "immigrants want to become American" or however he put it? Yes basically everyone who comes here wants to leave their native culture behind.

[CarpeDiem54]

7 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Oh!  What the hell was Alex talking about with "immigrants want to become American" or however he put it? Yes basically everyone who comes here wants to leave their native culture behind.

I have no idea what he was going for with that dumb ass interview question.  Jason couldn't even answer it coherently and Jill sounded like a politician.  Kaberi said immigrants seem to respect teachers and from that Alex came up with the "Americans" comment.  All in all, a very weird tournament.

[chessiegal]

My husband turned to me tonight and asked why they were dumbing down the questions for the Teachers Tournament.

[peeayebee]

I got a few TSs tonight: The Empire State Building, threatened, precycling, and Boston (the Hub). I also got Elements of Style, and I was very surprised Jill didn't get it. I hope she's not an English teacher.

I was tickled when Jason figured out Sydney Harbour. 

I said Nigeria for FJ. Will I ever brush up on my geography?

[dcalley]

2 hours ago, SeanC said:

I knew that Final Jeopardy had to be either the Congo or Algeria; I guessed the former.

I said DRC. I should have known that wasn't the answer, just because it's complicated with the whole name being so long & having an internal article/would they accept "DRC"/is "the Congo" OK (I don't think it should be, but then Alex went and said "no, not the Congo"). Anyway, DRC and Algeria are close in area: 2,344,858 and 2,381,741 km^2, respectively.

[operalover]

You don't need the big map rather Lizard Point geography quizzes. I've worked on Africa, there are 55 countries, and you can break it down into 4 smaller quizzes. You keep testing yourself until you know all of them. They have all the countries of the world and also the bodies of water and capitals etc. It was really helpful to me to learn Eastern Europe too- the old Yugoslavia gives me issues.

Anyway Im proud of myself for coming up with Democratic Republic of the Congo because before Lizard Point quizzes I didn't know anything about the African countries. The thing is with old age I have to keep going back and retest because I forget so easily some of the smaller ones. 

http://lizardpoint.com/geography/africa-quiz.php

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, SeanC said:

I knew that Final Jeopardy had to be either the Congo or Algeria; I guessed the former.

I had no real idea and just started trying to picture African countries on the map ("South Africa?  No, maybe Libya?  Or Tunisia?  Or Algeria?  Let's go with Algeria although it's probably wrong.") - imagine my surprise when Algeria was correct.

[TaraS1]

I'm really rooting for Kaberi to somehow make a huge comeback and pull off the win tonight, she seems so nice.

And my lack of world geography knowledge is pretty staggering for someone with a college education - hell, make that a high school education.  I am SO bad at it.  That would be one of my major nightmare categories if I was ever on the show (along with Opera, Composers, Math and Mythology).

[proserpina65]

I don't know what I was doing during the interviews - probably trying to figure out which NBC-affiliated channel is running the Arsenal match on Sunday - so I didn't hear any of that.

I seem to be alone in my delight that Kaberi was very far behind after game 1 of the final.  Don't know why, but for some reason she bugs me.  I haven't noticed Jill making noises/commentary and Jason was okay to me.  But overall, none of the contestants this time have seemed particularly impressive on what have mostly been very dumbed down clues.

[Scott]

Let's go with how glad I'm going to be once I don't have to hear Kaberi pick any more questions. Although, as mentioned previously, Jill's "Oh!" every time she learns something and Jason's doing whatever it is he's doing mean I'm pretty much 0-for-3 with this bunch.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Scott

[vibeology]

14 hours ago, mojoween said:

Oh!  What the hell was Alex talking about with "immigrants want to become American" or however he put it? Yes basically everyone who comes here wants to leave their native culture behind.

The show turned into Miss America for an instant and I felt bad for Jason having to go first. He had no time to think of an answer to that silly question and he did about as well as a Miss America contestant. I mean, what was he supposed to say? "No, Alex. Teachers continue to be underpaid and underappreciated and I'd feel a lot more valued if I didn't pay for school supplies out of my pocket every year." I thought Kaberi did a nice job dealing with Alex's remarks considering but the whole interview section was stupid. I get that this has been a few weeks now and we know the players but there's a way to have a conversation about education without it being quite so pageant-y.

[Browncoat]

It made me a little sad that no one knew Easy Rawlins, and that Jill missed her DD of Toni Morrison. 

FJ completely stumped me, though. 

[SeanC]

Woo, my poli-sci background comes in handy for Final Jeopardy.  I knew McGovern was an airman and from the Dakotas.

[mojoween]

Do you think Jill's friends are going to tell her how annoying that was?

My husband declared the ending to be anti-climactic and I have to agree.  Nothing against Jason, he wasn't objectionable, but a fight to the end would have been more fun.

[YoureSoUrban]

Quote

It made me a little sad that no one knew Easy Rawlins

Same here. I thought Walter Moseley had gained a pretty broad readership after the shoutout from President Clinton.

Yay - my least favorite crashed and burned and my favorite won!

[Trey]

Quote

It made me a little sad that no one knew Easy Rawlins

I remembered Easy but couldn't remember his last name.

Didn't get FJ.  Since it was about "Candidates" I figured it would not be someone who actually became president but I just didn't know it.

Only one more week before we're back to regular games.

[CarpeDiem54]

Jill's weird noises and commentary were so annoying I was hoping she'd finish in the red.  Shut up, already!   Jason was an underwhelming champion.  I didn't even bother writing down the TS as there were so many of them.  What a disappointing and dumbed down tournament.

[Grundoon59]

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.

[peeayebee]

I caught that Jill is an English teacher, so her missing 'Elements of Style' is inexcusable.

I didn't get FJ. I figured the key was knowing who was from the Dakotas, but I didn't know, so I just bowed out.

TSs I got were block printing, Easy Rawlins, and Toni Morrison, which was an educated guess.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Just catching up on the Thursday and Friday shows

That islands category was pretty easy.  Shakespeare fill in the blanks -- really ?

Empire State Building was a TS -- that building they showed was so obviously the same design.

The French highway speed question -- come on.  

Was that sydharb clue for real ?  Surprised that Jason got it because that seems like a rather vague indeterminate value for a category called 'weights and measures', and where would it even be used ?  I was out drinking at the pub and downed a sydharb or two.

Who determined that Kaberi had said 'cool rods' ?  Because I was pretty sure she said cooling rods which still seems to be wrong -- control rods slow down the reaction, but they definitely don't 'cool' anything down.

FJ on Thursday was pretty easy.  Nigeria ?  I don't think so.

On to Friday's show.

Mandarin orange was a $1000 clue, seriously ?  When they even mentioned clementines in the clue ?

Missed FJ on Friday.

[Red Bridey]

Why couldn't Jason be bothered to shave for the tournament?  His grey patchy bear was annoying me every time I looked at him.  I didn't care that Charlie helped him with his tie...someone needed to say SHAVE, dammit.

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm still waiting for female leg stubble to become "in."

[peeayebee]

In my house, you know summer is here when you hear the buzz of my razor.

[Browncoat]

I start when the time changes -- change the clocks, change the batteries in the smoke detectors, shave legs......