Thank God for netbooks. My computer’s on the fritz, so here I am at McDonald’s because I am so desperate to blog tonight! I have a limited amount of time since they close at 11, but the good news is I’ve successfully attached a mouse to this netbook for the first time, so this should all go faster.
But the best news of the day, week, and month: I got a Jeopardy! audition!!! Kansas City, June 13th. (Weird coincidence – I think that June 13 is David Madden‘s birthday, something I discovered when I was getting ready to interview him.) I just found out about the audition last night. So I’m gonna study and pray my brains out all the way to January 2013, when I will be eligible to take the test again, assuming I’m not on the show before then. I’ve decided, for example, to listen to talk radio in my car again instead of music. It was difficult last time and I couldn’t hang on, but I’m committed. I think it will get easier with time and especially consistency, and I think it won’t be as boring if I can pay attention. Also in the plan: to go to Mass every day that it’s available in my town, even if I have to make a sacrifice. And on days that there’s no Mass, listen to a rosary in my car. I haven’t nailed down a definite plan yet otherwise. I renew my call for suggestions!
Now I want to tell you about a couple of websites. I already mentioned one of them to you in my last post: j-practice.com. The site, which tests both your trivia knowledge and especially your reaction time for the Jeopardy! buzzer, was developed by a contestant, Ben Sack, who appears on the show next month. He’s added pictures to his site of his set-up at home that he hopes replicates the experience at the Jeopardy! studio. (By the way, I don’t necessarily endorse this site. I’m passing it along in case you find it helpful, and I would love to know what you think if you do try it.)
Now for the other site: culturalliteracytrivia.com. Do you remember the trivia book I gave away last fall? Well the author, Steven Ferrill, is releasing an updated version of it. Also, he’s going to tweet a daily trivia question. So check it all out.
Now, for as much of today’s episode as I can cram in (half an hour left!). Today’s contestants:
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| Caitlin Millat |
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| Charley Tinkham |
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| Viki Radden |
These people are teachers, as this is the first Teachers Tournament. The very first clue was a little eerie for me, considering my recent discovery that I got a Jeopardy! audition: In Literary Allusions: “The object of a prolonged quest is often referred to as this Christian cup of medieval legend.”
I’ll cut to the chase in case they try to kick me out in a few minutes: Charley was on a tear from the beginning, and at the first break he had 7400 to Caitlin’s 400 and Viki’s 200. Things didn’t get much better for the women: Charley had a lock on the game after Double Jeopardy, and poor Viki was in the hole! Embarrassing but she handled it very well. The Final Jeopardy category was American Poets, and this was the clue (at least according to the Jeopardy! message boards, as I see I did not write down the clue and of course I’m not at home to watch it): “He wrote ‘Bearing the bandages, water and sponge, Straight and swift to my wounded I go,’ in The Wound-Dresser.” I got it right, as did Charley and Caitlin. Caitlin’s final score was 6401, probably not good enough for a wild-card spot. My Coryat score was 25000. Caitlin‘s was 8400, Charley’s was 30000, and Viki’s was -1600.
Here are some Coryats from recent episodes, including a couple of weekend reruns:
originally aired 3-5-10: Vijay Balse 15200 Todd Aiello 15800 Miriam Carson 7600 Me 38000
originally aired 3-8-10: Vijay Balse 25400 Kirby Nelson 13600 Karen Hoffman 10000 Me 21200
5-2: John Shoe 11400 Dan Crosby 18000 Kathy Casavant 11400 Me 19000
