JEOPARDY Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

JEOPARDY! advice

A friend of mine wrote to me. Actually, a very good friend, one of my oldest, who was present at the tapings of my JEOPARDY! appearances.

Her nephew, who has a major in International Relations and Political Science, is trying out for the show! So, she sought my advice:

1) Watch JEOPARDY! A lot. Know how to play the game. (There were some who tested who obviously didn’t.) If it’s on in reruns somewhere, watch it twice a day. Not only do you get a rhythm for the game, you’ll find certain questions are often repeated in one way or another. (The painting Blue Boy by Gainsborough – seen above, or the opera Hansel and Gretel by Englebert Humperdink, e.g.) If he wants to study just the questions go here. Know what Before and After and Stupid Answers mean.

2) Read stuff. The newspaper, especially. Also, be aware of current events, both hard newsworthy stuff and the Entertainment Weekly type of stuff. (I actually started watching – ugh! – Entertainment Tonight for the cause.) It may not help with the test, but it may in the actual game.

3) He’s not gonna know everything, so he should concentrate on boning up on stuff he may already know. Based on his majors: World and State Capitals, US Presidents (the years are VERY useful), significant heads of state. Knowing roughly the times of British and French rulers (royalty and democratically elected) wouldn’t hurt. Second wave, if he has time, US Vice-Presidents (I don’t know how many times Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln’s first VP has shown up, and is often missed;, FDR’s VPs are often popular), states where the Presidents/VPs were from, First Ladies, members of the Cabinet (esp. Sec’y of State, Attorney General), US Supreme Court, esp. Chief Justices; UN Secretaries General (home country and years served). They’re not going to ask any of these questions straight out. It’ll be more like. U Thant was S-G of the UN during these three US Presidencies. (Who were JFK, LBJ, RMN?)

4) When he takes the test, answer all of the questions. If he has one on the tip of his brain, mark it on the sheet – maybe it’ll come. If he passes the written test, they’ll give him a screen test, a simulated game. Keep clicking until they call on someone – think playing with a ballpoint pen. Be upbeat without being phony. They’ll ask for an anecdote – have one.

I didn’t mention, I realize, that at least a perfunctory knowledge of award-winning films, books of the Bible, and the order in which the 50 states entered the Union wouldn’t hurt, but just trying to memorize stuff will probably just stress him out. He should go with what he knows. I’m wishing him good luck this week.
***
So I wrote all that in an e-mail, then I discovered this on Ken Jennings’ blog for May 10, 2007:
From Becky, a Tuesday Trivia fan:

I’m preparing for an audition on Jeopardy! Do you have any study recommendations? Thank you!

I always hear the same recommendations when I ask this question of Jeopardy! veterans (I almost said Jeopardy! vets, but that sounds like the people that give Alex Trebek’s Chow his heartworm medicine). And I concur with their expert advice:

Don’t try to master the Jeopardy! subjects that intimidate you because you know nothing about them (opera, baseball, whatever). Forget those. Instead, look at Jeopardy! standbys you know but might be a little rusty on (world capitals, presidents, kings of England, etc.) and get them fresh in your mind.
Spend some quality time with The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, which has pithy, what-you-need-to-know capsules on thousands of Jeopardy! subjects. Mike Dupee’s How to Get on Jeopardy! . . . and Win! is also full of great lists and quizzes, but it’s sadly out of print.

So Ken and I agree: don’t try to cram in stuff you don’t already know.
***
According to the Language Log, overaggressive spellchecking in Word has been dubbed The Cupertino Effect.
ROG

Roger (Finally) Answers Your Questions, Scott

On the top of your web site, under the title, there reads: “B1 d- t- k+ s– u– f+ i o x- e- l c–” What does that mean?

Why thanks for pointing it out! It now reads B6 d- t k+ s+ u- f+ i o+ x- e+ l c– Good catch!

What is your favorite baseball memory?

I had a hard time with this. Certainly, the 1962, 1977, or 1995 Yankees, or the 1969 or 1986 Mets winning the Series, or the 10-inning Jack Morris win in 1991 or the game I saw on 6/14/91 between the Red Sox and Angels. But the first thing that actually came to mind was Sid Bream sliding into home in the 1992 NLCS. Maybe it was because I hadn’t gotten sick of the Braves yet, since they’d been so bad for so long. But I think it was just such a terrible slide against his old team, and how Barry Bonds’ throw beat him to the plate but was just a little off line. The unlikely hero.

What is the last good book of fiction that you read?

Seldom read fiction at all at this point. Probably A Handmaid’s Tale.

Do you think that finding an alternative fuel will become a government priority in the next ten years?

Yes, if some palpable disaster strikes. Don’t know what that is yet.

Name something that you like that others think is uncharacteristic of you.

I don’t think it’s true across the board, but there are lots of people who think of me as a sweet, laid back, easy-going kind of guy. These people have never played cards with me. Or racquetball. Or softball. Or volleyball.
To that end, I seem to be in the minority of people who thought that the guy on JEOPARDY who had the lead, then initially bet to finish in a historic three-way tie bugged me. To use a sports example, it’d be like someone coming up in the 9th inning of a baseball game, already having hit a double, triple and home run, therefore needing only a single for the cycle, hitting the ball into the gap so that he’d surely get a stand-up double, but instead stopping at first.

What former (dead or alive) US President would you like to sit down and talk with?

Well, I’ve answered this before, and picked Jefferson and/or Lincoln. I think this time, I’ll pick Teddy Roosevelt. He was an environmentalist. Maybe he has some ideas about how to create the political will in this country to actually fight global warming. I’m not sure Al “He’s A Movie Star” Gore’s recent visit to Capitol Hill will do the trick.

If Lydia had been a boy, what name did you and your wife have picked out?

Well, we had a bear of a time with boy’s names. I think the only one that one of us hadn’t yet vetoed was Micah. Not so incidentally, the snowperson is one she and Carol did after the Valentine’s Day that resided in our front lawn. It was gone, though, by the time of the St. Patrick Day’s storm.

I’ll bite, but am interested since you brought it up) What is your favorite verse from the Bible?

We sang last week in church Stainer’s God So Loved the World, which is based on John 3:16, what one former pastor described as “the Bible in a nutshell”. I’ve been more partial to the next verse, also in the Stainer piece: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” It speaks to me about those finger-pointing “gotcha” people.

***
Since you’re a sports guy, I’ll note it here:
All four of my teams are in the Final Four. Can’t remember that happening, ever. I’m in first place in my pool, and only the commissioner (who picked Florida) or I (who picked Georgetown) can win. If Florida wins the championship, I lose. If Florida wins and Georgetown loses on Saturday, I can still win if Ohio State beats Florida on Monday, because we both picked Florida to beat UCLA. If both Florida and Georgetown lose on Saturday, I win. So, I’m still in it.

Oh, you wanted to know the MEANING of the code. You don’t remember that I described it in July 2005? I don’t either. Anyway, here’s the translation.

ROG

The Lydster, Part 36: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today’s Lydia’s 3rd birthday! Yet I have pictures from 2005. The best-laid plans…

Friend TFox says:
She’s a tall drink of water, as my mom would have said. You’ll have to start screening boyfriends before you know it! 🙂
What about a link to other famous folks born on her B-Day?

OK, here it is Who do we find?Poets, such as A. E. Housman (1859) and Robert Frost (1874)Other writers such as Joseph Campbell (1904), Tennessee Williams (1911), Erica Jong, (1942), and Bob Woodward (1943)Musical folks such as Rufus Thomas (1917), Diana Ross (1944), Steven Tyler of Aerosmith (1948), and Teddy Pendergrass (1950)
Performers such as Strother Martin (1919), Bob Elliott of Bob & Ray (1923), Leonard Nimoy (1931), Alan Arkin (1934), James Caan (1940), Vicki Lawrence (1949), Martin Short and Ernest Thomas (both 1950, same as Teddy Pendergrass), Jennifer Gray (1960), and T.R. Knight of Grey’s Anatomy (1973)Athletes such as Marcus Allen, football (1960, same as Jennifer Gray) and John Stockton, basketball (1962)But I was most interested to note that her birthday coincided with women of note:
Sandra Day O’Connor, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1930)
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House (1940, exactly the same age as James Caan!)
Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor (1953)So, what does she want to do when she gets older? I’ll be fascinated to find out.
***
Final JEOPARDY!, 3/13/07:
According to the Mayo Clinic, allergies to these are the USA’s most common cause of life-threatening allergic reaction.
All three contestants got it right.
The correct response: What are peanuts? I knew that, actually.

ROG

(1) Foster Dulles; (2) and George Michael; (3) and Bernie Taupin

In honor of someone’s 60th birthday today, I found these clues on the J-Archive for whom the answer is “Who is…” and the birthday person in question, except for the last three, for which the answer is this person, added to the footnoted person in the title of this piece.

HOT TUNES $600: He’s recorded “Burn Down the Mission”, “Flames of Paradise” & a big hit about a candle.
RAY CHARLES & FRIENDS $600: (Hi, I’m Larry King.) In 2005 I talked to this pop legend about his duet of “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” with Ray Charles
THE 1970s MUSIC SCENE $800: He sang “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” about a suicide he attempted when engaged to an onion heiress
DUETS $200: In 1994 he charted a new version of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, this time with RuPaul
POP STARS A.K.A. $200: “Rocket Man” Reginald Dwight
THE OSCARS $200: Though he’s acted on screen, as in “Tommy”, his first nomination & win was for a song in “The Lion King”
ROCK MUSIC $100: Although his 1974 hit “Bennie And The Jets” hit No. 1 in the U.S., it only reached No. 37 in the U.K.
NICKNAMES $800: This rock star, nicknamed “Captain Fantastic”, has over $50,000 worth of eyeglasses
PEOPLE $400: When he auctioned off his wacky wardrobe, his Pinball Wizard boots sold for over $20,000
(1) BEFORE & AFTER $800: He sang “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” when negotiating a peace treaty with Japan & as Ike’s Secretary of State
(2) POP MUSIC $400: These 2 singers, with 4 first names between them, had the 1991 No. 1 hit “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
(3) THEY WROTE THE SONGS $300: “Honky Cat” & “Crocodile Rock”

This doesn’t count the clues where the person’s name is in the clue, including a whole category on 4/11/2006.

Unfortunately, the J-Archive doesn’t have out yet my favorite Final JEOPARDY! clue, about a musician who has had a Top 40 song every year from 1971 to 1995. Interestingly, this person didn’t have one in 1996, but had his biggest hit in 1997.

And if you don’t know who he is, then write to me. Privately.

ROG

Myths, Hoaxes, and Misinformation

So what IS that holiday we just celebrated on the third Monday in February? Presidents Day? Presidents’ Day? President’s Day? The answer, technically, is none of the above.
***
From an-e-mail, which cites Tom Joyner’s Morning Show as the source of information about NUD (Non Urban Dictate), “the acronym for a very subtle and little-known marketing term specifically directed toward people of color. ‘Non Urban Dictate’ – These three words essentially mean that a company is not interested in the Black consumer. A NUD label means that a company does not want their marketing and advertising materials placed in media that claim an urban audience (black folks) as their main target.

My reply: I doubt it. I could find no mention on Tom Joyner’s website and this company has to waste its time refuting its involvement with the claim. This group, breakthechain.org, busts the myth:
“BreakTheChain.or recommends against participating in boycott campaigns organized via e-mail chain letters. As you can see, this letter has failed to keep up with developments in the issue, has acquired incorrect information (and caused a great deal of hardship for the Urban Institute) and is even recommended against by former supporters. Break this chain.”
***
From friend Dan:

The “Pharisee Jew Big-Bang Conspiracy”. The last line is the best:
“I am convinced that rather than risk teaching a lie, why teach anything?”
***
From friend Don:

Masterpieces Or Fakes? The Joyce Hatto Scandal February 15 2007

“It was already one of the strangest stories the classical music world had witnessed. But the discovery of the late English pianist Joyce Hatto as the greatest instrumentalist almost nobody had heard of, appears to have taken a bizarre, even potentially sinister turn.

It was around a year ago that Gramophone’s critics began to champion this little-known lady, whose discs – miraculous performances, released by her husband William Barrington-Coupe on the tiny label Concert Artist – were notoriously difficult to get hold of. Such was the brilliance of this pianist across Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Dukas and more in a dizzying range – that it was worth making the effort to seek out Concert Artist to get these discs, and they became much sought-after. By the time she died in June 2006, Joyce Hatto was not only a sudden widespread success, she was a cause célèbre. To love Hatto recordings was to be in the know, a true piano aficionado who didn’t need the hype of a major label’s marketing spend to recognise a good, a great, thing when they heard it.

See and hear for yourself the incontrovertible evidence of an audacious recording hoax. Here we examine a track from [a CD], released under the name of ‘Joyce Hatto’, but containing 10 tracks originally released in 1987 and played by Simon Laszlo on a BIS CD.

The fourth Hatto track has been quite subtlely doctored: digitally shrunk in time by 0.02% – just enough to alter overall timings, and with no shift in pitch; re-equalised to alter the piano tone slightly; panned slightly to the left, where the original piano was central.
***
In response to an e-mail I received:

There is no deadline to register cell phones to the Do Not Call List, despite what you might have heard. Here’s some info.

You can also register by phone (1-888-382-1222) or online.

Read more about this.
***
Mark Evanier disputes whether Wile E. Coyote’s middle name is Ethelbert, even though it was the Final JEOPARDY! question last month.
***
Even the Wall Street Journal needs to comment on Anna Nicole Smith (by Tunku Varadarajan. Feb 13, 2007. pg. A.24)

“Anna Nicole Smith was also a lowbrow (or really, a narcissistic) version of the American dream — the American dream of only bravado and guile, bereft of character or principles or talent. She was proof that the dream applies even to people with nothing to offer but themselves. If she is a tragic and cautionary tale to Americans, evidence that the American Dream requires substance and character, she may be evidence of the opposite to outsiders who see only the magic of wealth and fame won through the mere presentation of self. She inflates the reputation of American possibility abroad, making it seem like anything is possible in America — even reward without merit.”

Ouch.
***
Finally, this bugs me, too.