Think Different 42

[Gneq]

So it made absolutely no difference which question (of #6 and #10) I dropped and which I WCed. Of course, it would have made a difference if I had answered GM there and dropped this one...

[MarkBarrett]

Originally Posted by Reddpen

Can I get odds on Mark Barrett picking the Raiders for the next question? As a longtime (and lately long-suffering) Raiders fan, I fought down an urge to pick things I'm fond of... but gave in on the cat question and it worked out.

I have picked Oakland on many sports questions in TD games and it has worked out well. This time I went with KC hoping that some would lay off it. Either thinking they may have been NFL since they won a Super Bowl or being thrown off by Dallas Texans thinking.

No difference as it turns out.

On the author question I did not fight off the urge to go against the King who weighs down parts of my book and video shelves.

[Randy G]

Forgot to embed this with the AFL question, so I'll just do it here....

Joe Namath/Farrah Fawcett Noxzema commercial, 1973

[sugar]

I didn't realize that Randy had posted his response to me. Many, if not all, of you may agree with his ruling. However, in many scholarly (and not so scholarly) books, papers, and articles written about the Alice books, Bill is described as a servant of the White Rabbit, something which seemed very obvious to me when I read (and reread) the works.

FWIW, here is the rest of our correspondence regarding this subject . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by sugar
While I may wish now that I'd simply submitted Bill (sans "the footman" clarification), I have to disagree with your ruling.

The White Rabbit is Bill's "master" and orders him about the house. Therefore, Bill is a servant. The following sources have somewhat varying definitions of footman, but all of them encompass servant in the most general terms.:

1. ROGET THESAURUS
Footman
Servant (main synonym)

2. Wikipedia: A footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.

3. MSN Encarta

Footman

liveried servant: a man employed as a servant, especially a servant in uniform in a mansion or palace

4. Audio English

Footman

A man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores

To sum up: "Servant", "a male servant", "a man employed as a servant" (OK, Bill is a lizard, not a man, but the book is extremely anthropomorphic), "a man employed as a servant in a large establishment to run errands and do chores" (the White Rabbit seems to be a well-to-do individual with a number of servants, and Bill apparently has to do whatever chores he's given). Just because Bill is not called a footman in the book doesn't mean he isn't one by definition. At least, by some common sources' definition. He is.

As for the clarifications, I wasn't sure whether there were other Bills or Clarks or whatever that others might submit, right or wrong. [unintentional spoiler deleted]

BTW, how are you treating my bonus question comment of "no idea"? Does that negate my estimated score? Not that I think I have any real chance of getting the bonus, but I'm curious.

[Randy replied briefly]

My response:

I know this is a game, and I do appreciate your giving my answer some consideration, but I just don't understand your reasoning. Yes, some characters are labeled with their professions, but others' may be gleaned by what they do and say and how they are addressed and treated (in fiction and in life), whether they are servants, soldiers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, cashiers, etc. Regardless of what others are labeled, the issue here is Bill.

Are you disputing that Bill is a servant? That would be a tough argument. Or, more likely, is your definition of a footman not the common and generic definition of "male servant", which the relatively mainstream sources I quoted use? If so, that is even if Bill doesn't fit your definition or image of a footman, that doesn't make the dictionary definition or my answer wrong.

At this point, I'm certainly not expecting to win you over to my side. However, I do think that this experience will help me when I run and judge my first TD. And no, there will be no carryover if you decide to enter.


(End of response)

If anyone doubts that Bill is a servant, please read my initial challenge and maybe the book.

[Randy G]

10. Identify one of the following authors, who all became well-known in the 20th century. Just the name; you don't need to associate it with a picture.



Y'all identified 13 out the 14 authors, and I suspect that the one potential singleton left will have some of you wondering about what could've been. Not much flocking here toward the more obvious choices, at least who I thought were the more obvious choices. No singletons, but a lot doubletons: 6.

If you caught the few references in the quiz to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- I wasn't really looking for a theme, but the 42* was staring me in the face -- then you might have figured that Douglas Adams would be among these authors, and one brave soul did take a flyer on that. Bravo for ingenuity! But alas, not to be, though I did consider it.

While the game was open Rene#4 suggested that I offer yet another bonus for answering a secondary question related to this one. I couldn't do that -- i.e., offer an additional bonus once the scoring rules were in place and answers had already been submitted -- but I can pose the question now: Which two authors in this question were/are members of the same rock band, and what's the name of the band? If you know or want to take a guess, put it in a spoiler and I'll reveal the answer and "winners" during the final scoring recap.

*Someone here will explain the 42, right?


James Baldwin #5 (9 pts):
Budphrey
CrunchyTaco
dklee12
Francois40
JTrivial
stevec
stooopid
TomKBaltimoreBoy
Woof

Stephen King #12 (8 pts):
Beelzebubba
billiej
hbomb1947
MarkBarrett
Musketeer
NYBookworm
quandaryus
Wimple

Amy Tan #13 (6 pts):
AlbertHall
ClammyJim
Cool_Hand
emr
RackMe
smartypants2675

Ayn Rand #6 (4 pts):
conq
jeffryfisher
kejo
kingrat47

John Updike #2 (4 pts):
bigbor
happybooker
pdano
Vanya

Ernest Hemingway #10 (3 pts):
econgator
immaf
Peggles

Jack Kerouac #9 (3 pts):
BoK
Rene#4
waterloo_guy

Carson McCullers #1 (2 pts):
gargle
raghuveerm

George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) #4 (2 pts):
dhkendall
jwolfe

Isabel Allende #3 (2 pts):
Gneq
Reddpen

Pearl S. Buck #11 (2 pts):
bottomsofmytrousersrolled
Paucle

Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) #7 (2 pts):
cbec
Teapot37

Toni Morrison #8 (2 pts):
kebertxela
xxaaaxx

Correct answers not given:
John Steinbeck #14

Incorrect answers (18 pts):
Agatha Christie: Ivan, rilian
Douglas Adams: AceRimmer
Joan Didion: mackensa
Maya Angelou: LifelongJeopfan
Mitch Albom: hansvon
Ralph Ellison: OntarioQuizzer
Sylvia Plath: sugar
Tennesee Williams: butler77
Woolf (assumed Virginia Woolf): goforthetie

In the order above (and I hope this picture concatenation doesn't destroy your margins):




Drops (0 pts):
efs001


Scores after round 10:

1. Vanya -- 29
2. JTrivial -- 37
3. cbec -- 44
4. Budphrey -- 44
5. Paucle -- 46
6. bottomsofmytrousersrolled -- 47
7. Gneq -- 50
8. pdano -- 51
9. jeffryfisher -- 53
10. billiej -- 58
11. BoK -- 59
11. econgator -- 59
11. quandaryus -- 59
14. waterloo_guy -- 61
15. Francois40 -- 62
16. Reddpen -- 62
16. stooopid -- 62
18. dhkendall -- 63
19. CrunchyTaco -- 64
20. kebertxela -- 64
21. MarkBarrett -- 65
22. goforthetie -- 66
22. xxaaaxx -- 66
24. Teapot37 -- 68
25. stevec -- 71
26. AlbertHall -- 71
27. hbomb1947 -- 73
28. ClammyJim -- 73
29. LifelongJeopfan -- 75
29. RackMe -- 75
31. NYBookworm -- 78
31. rilian -- 78
31. Wimple -- 78
34. AceRimmer -- 79
34. emr -- 79
34. happybooker -- 79
37. Cool_Hand -- 81
37. dklee12 -- 81
39. Musketeer -- 82
40. jwolfe -- 84
41. immaf -- 84
41. Woof -- 84
43. gargle -- 85
44. Rene#4 -- 85
45. efs001 -- 86
46. Peggles -- 87
46. raghuveerm -- 87
48. kejo -- 90
48. kingrat47 -- 90
50. smartypants2675 -- 91
51. Beelzebubba -- 96
52. OntarioQuizzer -- 97
53. Ivan -- 99
54. conq -- 100
55. bigbor -- 105
56. sugar -- 114
57. hansvon -- 115
58. TomKBaltimoreBoy -- 117
59. butler77 -- 118
60. mackensa -- 123

[Gneq]

Re: Bill, the footman

With the capitalization as shown in the responses ("footman" not capitalized), I'd be inclined to accept sugar's answer... but this is clearly a case in which reasonable people can disagree. Once the quizmaster has made a final decision, we need to move on.

[Gneq]

I wasn't sure if the last one was Steinbeck or Tennessee Williams, and didn't connect McCullers' face with her name (and it was driving me crazy). Was hoping (correctly, for a change) that Allende wasn't such a familiar face.

[dhkendall]

Originally Posted by Randy G

George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) #4 (2 pts):
dhkendall
jwolfe

I'm surprised that I got a doubleton here! He and Steven King were the only two I recognized right off - of course it may be because I"m a big Orwell fan, I read "Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" in high school, and they quickly became my favourite books and helped shaped my politics into the left-of-centre person I am today (and yes I'm aware that Animal Farm, and to a lesser extent Nineteen Eighty Four, are books *against* socialism (though they're both more against totalitarianism). Like "Sir Kay" in the earlier quiz, I feel I couldn't live with myself if I didn't answer Orwell. At least this time the results exceeded my expectations.

Originally Posted by Randy G

Which two authors in this question were/are members of the same rock band, and what's the name of the band? If you know or want to take a guess, put it in a spoiler and I'll reveal the answer and "winners" during the final scoring recap.

Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

I know that there is a band composed of authors (I use the term "band" loosely, from what I hear, they shouldn't quit their day jobs) that call themselves the "Rock Bottom Remainders". I'm pretty sure King is in it, I'm even more sure that Dave Barry is in it (but he isn't in the picture), I can't think of the other members. Of those in the quiz, I'm thinking maybe Amy Tan, but I remember it as an all-male band. Oh well, that's my answer.

Originally Posted by Randy G

*Someone here will explain the 42, right?

Do we need to? With this crowd, if we don't know the answer to something (or the life, universe, and everything ) we look it up and learn instead of asking in the forum (or consulting the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy), at least usually. That's what I like about being here, it's like being at a Mensa meeting without having to take out membership! (Besides, last time I tested my IQ I was 5 points off the threshhold anyways. )

[xxaaaxx]

Originally Posted by Randy G

Toni Morrison #8 (2 pts):
kebertxela
xxaaaxx

Wow, wasn't expecting THAT...knew I was a dead duck on cats and Monroe, but still firmly in the top half, still in sniffing distance of the top 20, and.....closing in on my guessed score? I'll take it

[Teapot37]

At the time, I recognized Orwell, Rand, Tan, King, and Seuss. I later picked up Updike and I figured #8 had to be Toni Morrison. I'm really glad I picked Dr. Seuss. Randy PM'ed me that I'd made the right call, and he was definitely right.

[Budphrey]

Urk. I considered Tan, Orwell and Morrison. I don't know why I felt Baldwin would be less obvious. Shrug.

[Woof]

So much for advance planning and strategy. I was sure that Updike would be the sheep given the publicity surrounding his recent demise. Of the other eight that I recognized, I dismissed Hemingway as too iconic, Amy Tan, Toni Morrison and Stephen King as too current and familiar and Dr. Seuss and Jack Kerouac as too popular. So Baldwin ends up as sheep... go figger. I can at least console myself with not having chosen my mistaken identification of Orwell as Samuel Beckett.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Randy G

Miami Dolphins (1 pt):

No freakin' way! The Dolphins are a SINGLETON? I'll never figure this thing out. Sure, maybe the Bungles or the Broncos, but the Dolphins? I am surprised that more people didn't get caught by the Steelers, Browns and Colts, though. I guess folks here know their NFL history.

[ClammyJim]

I think now I'm in a place that will be normal for me in following TDs. That first 4th was a fluke, I'm sure of it. Beginner's luck is nice, but it's a hard act to follow.

[Randy G]

Surprised responses to both Toni Morrison and George Orwell being doubletons, so I'll continue on that thought.....

I figured that those two, Hemingway, Stephen King, and possibly John Updike and possibly Amy Tan would be the most recognizable. Of course that wouldn't translate into actual selections, but it was my thinking in how to pick a range of authors so that there were some "easy" ones, some "hard" ones and of course some in the middle.

I was pretty surprised when Ayn Rand was leading the pack halfway through the balloting..... and then she didn't get another vote the rest of the way. (Kinda like Abyssinian on 7 out of the first 13 submissions and then only 7 out of the last 47.) Baldwin came from way behind to take the prize here, a mild surprise. If I had to pick one that I thought nobody would get, it would be Pearl S. Buck. I also originally had what I thought would be a total stumper, so I dropped it and replaced with Hemingway. Here he is. Answer below.


Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

Wallace Stegner

[pdano]

Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

The Rock Bottom Remainders, and it's Stephen King and Amy Tan.

And yeah, I got that from reading Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

Dave Barry

[Peggles]

Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

Steven King and Amy Tan (also Dave Barry, though not pictured here) are members of a band called the Rock-Bottom Remainders. They perform for charity.

[Randy G]

Since one of my ongoing private conversations was posted on this thread without my knowledge or permission, I guess I'll need to respond, which I will do at my earliest convenience.

I know I shouldn't let this get this get to me, but I was already very tired, and now I'm in a foul mood too. And still tired and #11, with the bonus and all, may take me a while to get all the final formatting to my liking and then #12 and then the final bonus and then the awards ceremony. Ack!

I'm going to finish this up tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel. No way it's all getting done tonight, but I may get #11 up later for you night owls and early risers.

[Peggles]

Originally Posted by pdano

Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

The Rock Bottom Remainders, and it's Stephen King and Amy Tan.

And yeah, I got that from reading Hightlight the text in the box to see the Spoiler

Dave Barry

I admire your taste in authors.

[AlbertHall]

for changing my John Steinbeck to Amy Tan. Got to stop overthinking these!