New Scaratings

The team at Buffalo Wild Wings on Gibson Blvd in Albuquerque managed to pull together 11 players for this week’s edition of Showdown. It was a Herculean feat, because it meant tearing away four players from the grasp of Las Vegas, NV. The small squad had gone to the land of booze and blackjack ostensibly to attend a concert of the band Rush. Of course, the hijinks of which shall not be mentioned, the group fancied themselves lady-killers. But in reality they were more dinner entrée-killers than anything else. Still, they were in their seats for Tuesday’s rituals, starting with the…

Worn-up Round

1. If you mix oil, lemon juice, egg yolks, salt and pepper together, you’d have: MAYONNAISE. 2. Kid leather is made from the skins of: GOATS. 3. His slapping of a private at an Army hospital in Sicily landed him in hot water: GEORGE S. PATTON. 4. Which term is used for the hiring of employees in other countries? OFFSHORING. 5. The new and fourth ‘Mad Max’ film is titled: FURY ROAD. 6. Which state is bordered by Idaho and Oregon? NEVADA. 7. The R-34 was a British ___ that made history for lighter-than-air craft in 1919: DIRIGIBLE. 8. His name is Joel Osteen and he is currently one of America’s most successful: TELEVANGELISTS. 9. It is generally believed that the Earth’s core is composed mainly of: IRON. 10. The evil Bowser kidnaps Princess ___ Toadstool in the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ game: PEACH.

The team had no trouble with questions 1 – 5, but failed miserably on WU #6. Chalk that one up to a bad pre-call and lack of communication when the expected answer did not appear on the list. There was also a minor uncertainty on WU7, as hot air balloon had to be eliminated in favor of dirigible. WU 8, 9 and 10 posed no major problems.

When you’re well into middle age, you don’t have as much fun drinking as you did in your early years. The Las Vegas squad decided on a little trivia playing time at Torrey Pines Pub as an antidote to real carousing. While there, they met some really nice people, got onto the local leaderboards, and confirmed a nasty rumor about some of the other trivia players from this establishment. Then it was off to dinner and a poker tournament, where they had no better luck than they usually have back at home on the…

Ground-down Round

1. Annatto seed pods are used mainly to make: FOOD DYE. 2. You might need a dictionary to know that a furfural is a: COLORLESS LIQUID. 3. Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow are the central characters of this musical: CAROUSEL. 4. The Okavango River empties into the: KALAHARI DESERT. 5. ‘The Iron Heel’ is a novel by ___ that was first published in 1908: JACK LONDON. 6. Takata is a Japanese firm known for making: AIR BAGS. 7. This incredibly popular app tells you everything you need to know about the night sky: STAR WALK. 8. He was crowned World Chess Champion in 1975 after Bobby Fischer defaulted: ANATOLY KARPOV. 9. It is the principle language of Ivorians: FRENCH. 10. ‘The Family of Charles IV’ is a famous 1801 court painting by: FRANCISCO DE GOYA. 11. The weekly news magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ has been published in this city since 1947: HAMBURG. 12. Who quipped, “A fool and his money are soon elected”? WILL ROGERS.

The team fared a bit worse than average for this round. There was hesitation on GD2 and third-clue saves on GD 3 and 4 to contend with. There was also a frenzied discussion on GD11 and 12 before the team selected an answer (well before the third clue.)

As that round showed us no love, BLZBUB was reminded of last Thursday’s Vegas excursion to the ‘Cirque’ tribute to the Beatles, ‘LOVE’. The music and the choreography carried the squad of four through the night. It was a fantasy performance, and way better than the Ragged Rascals’ performance on the…

Scatology Round

S1. ERNEST HEMINGWAY v Amusement parks
Which Ernest Hemingway work is non-fiction? GREEN HILLS OF AFRICA. {Unfortunately nobody was really familiar with this work, so the team was saved by the third clue.}

S2. CARS v baseball traditions
Which of these cars is made by Hyundai? SONATA. {DUFF drives one and chauffeured us to the correct answer.}

S3. World geography v U.S. HISTORY
America’s first ___, which became known as the ‘T’ opened in Boston in 1897: SUBWAY. {Many voices were heard on this one…just short of a Greek chorus.}

S4. BASEBALL TRADITIONS v Ernest Hemingway
It’s a tradition for Red Sox fans to sing this song in the middle of the eighth inning:
SWEET CAROLINE. {Bom, bom, bom…we got it right.}

S5. U.S. HISTORY v cars
The first ___ Party was formed in 1912 by Republicans who opposed William Howard Taft: PROGRESSIVE. {Several people contributed, but CHILL and DUFF were first callers.}

S6. Amusement parks v WORLD GEOGRAPHY
Which River originates in the country of Zambia? CONGO. {Ulp, we nearly drowned on this one, only to be saved by the third clue lifeline.}

That was a tougher round for the team than we anticipated. The first and last questions stymied us. We did well on the other four. That salvaged some of our dignity.

But dignity was not something the squad of four was concerned about when they had lunch at one of Las Vegas’ top Thai restaurants. I’m no expert, but if Anthony Bourdain likes it, who am I to argue. The menu at the Lotus of Siam restaurant was challenging, but delicious. As a Cajun, BLZBUB is used to eating spicy hot foods, but this stuff could result in a gastric…

Frightening Round

1. The creatinine blood test is done to see how well your ___ work: KIDNEYS. 2. In what year was the original Social Security Act passed? 1935. 3. In what constellation is the Crab Nebula located? TAURUS. 4. Which of the following lasted from the 10th Century until 1806? HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. 5. Dyspepsia is frequently called: INDIGESTION. 6. Before becoming Poland’s President, Lech Walesa won the ___ Prize: NOBEL PEACE. 7. On what day is Boxing Day celebrated in Canada? It’s on DECEMBER 26.

The team was lost in space on F3’s Taurus. Other than that, the team bulled through the rest of these queries.

Bulling through a round of breakfast at Bouchon in the Venetian was a repeat experience for BLZBUB and the rest of the squad of four. Some tried the famous chicken and waffles, others a more traditional breakfast of hash and eggs, and the most adventurous had salmon rillettes accompanied by breakfast sausages. This was wonderful stuff to share around the table. Not so comfortable to share around the table was the check, which reminded BLZBUB of the pounding frequently taken in the…

Py-Ram-It Round

P1. Which dog breed was developed in Germany?
GREAT DANE. {Gadzooks, the team exhibited Hamlet-like indecision on this one, and it cost us. Although entirely our fault, that dog question is one to bitch about.}

P2. An immigrant named Jurgis Rudkus is the main character of this early 20th Century book: THE JUNGLE. {This was a great call by DUFF.}

P3. Haaretz is Israel’s oldest:
NEWSPAPER. {This was an excellent call by JAX.}

P4. The Gulf of Tonkin separates Vietnam and:
CHINA. {BLZBUB made this call.}

P5. Kenya’s Lake Nakuru is noted for the flocks of ___ that feed here:
PINK FLAMINGOES. {JAX deserves the credit for this one.}

Other than being dogged by the first question, the team did very well on this round. The Ragged Rascals finished with five boxes on 5 for 5, and 11 on 4 for 5.

Having returned from Las Vegas late on Sunday, BLZBUB was resting up on Monday when he became aware of a throaty rumbling coming roaring out of the west Texas plains. It was the newly purchased vehicle being driven by Mrs. BLZBUB. This Furious Fuchsia fabulosity was a Dodge Challenger. The following went thusly:
BLZBUB: “Gee honey, what kind of engine does that thing have?”
Mrs. B: “SRT8, 6.1 Liter V-8 Hemi. Can you say Hemi?”
BLZBUB, timorously: “hemi”
Mrs. B: “That’s my boy.”
BLZBUB…feeling man-parts shriveling… just like in most rounds of the…

FINAL TRAGEDY
Tonight’s Topic: WRITERS

Which famous author was also a medical doctor?

1. William Saroyan
2. Anton Chekhov
3. Herman Melville
4. Joseph Conrad
5. F. Scott Fitzgerald

The order of the eliminations was 3, 5, 1, and 4, leaving #2, ANTON CHEKHOV, as the correct answer. This answer was called by DUFF with such rapidity that hardly any team members lost points to the clock for this round.

The team scores going into the Final Tragedy were noteworthy, and the final scores for the top six all broke the 50,000 point barrier. The top six were 56142, 55188, 54195, 52188, 51439, and 50033 points. The team tally was a gratifying 53,197 points.

This score would place the Rambunctious Bunch at FIFTEENTH place for the game. That was actually a little surprising, as the group expected a Top Ten performance for the night. It had to have been the missed calls in the early rounds that handicapped our scores. Still, the team was grateful for a Top 20 finish.

Congrats go to The Fellowship at #1 with 62,127, Houlihan’s at #2 with 60,066 and Teaser’s of Chicago at #3 with 59,290 points.

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}}}--( (x) (x) )--->
Oh my gawd, they killed
Ken Z.
You bastards!

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liljol, still residing in a humble lil abode in Buzztime's Backyard, San Diego County, in The Horribly Site-Poor Golden State, California...

<--805 NTN Buzztime sites visited as of 11/13/2018...

F CUBS!!!!! FBOSOX!!!!!

FPDRES!!!!! FCHGRS!!!!!

The first "Amusement Parks" question basically asked what state Cedar Point was in. As probably everyone in the room at BWW-Kent had been there at least once (and WRATH and I actually worked there for a couple of summers way back when in Sandusky, Ohio), this one was a gimme for The Fellowship.

The second Hemmingway question asked in which city "A Moveable Feast" was set (PARIS)

The second cars question, I believe, gave a model (which I can't remember now--Outlander?) and asked for the make. Anyway, the answer was MITSUBISHI



Thanks! For reasons we still can't figure out, we've been a bit off our game this year compared to years past. It felt good to be clicking on all cylinders again for a change. Congrats to Houlihan's, Teaser's, Concert Pub, and Tailgate for making an all-wetware Top 5.

Thanks, too, to the content team at Buzztime for wording the final question in such a way that it was difficult to borg. A few pyramid/final questions like that every week, and I think the Borg might opt to pack in their computers.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

I just Googled "author medical doctor". A row of photos appears, of which that of Checkhov is sixth. (Michael Crichton is first, followed by Atul Gwande, Arthur Conan Doyle, Albert Schweitzer, Abraham Verghese, Antov Checkhov, Deepak Chopra, [going off first screen] Joel Fuhrman, Jose Rizal, Tess Gerritsen, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Hippocrates, Andrew Weil, Mehmet Oz, Barron Lerner, Mark Hyman, Christiane Northrup, Ben Carson, William Carlos Williams, Eben Alexander, Galen, Robert Atkins, Ben Goldacre, Oliver Sacks, Joseph Mercola, Robin Cook, Paul Farmer, Sigmund Freud, John Sarno, Charles Krauthammer, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Khaled Hosseini, Michael Palmer, Danielle Ofri, Ron Paul, and more.)

So it wasn't that difficult to Google. (And, frankly it's fascinating how far down the list are such notables as Hippocrates & Freud.) I really think the only way to make un-borgable questions is to ask, "Which of these wasn't a ________?" (which also kills our ability to pre-call an answer where our human brains would know).

--Rick Magnus
RickM, Blue Goose

I think the point is by the time you have worked down the list, seen which of the names match what you've pulled up, and relayed the information to your team, you will have bled enough points to knock you out of the top positions. The lag is less if you have a person who actually knows it. When the question came up, various of us precalled Michael Crichton and Arthur Conan Doyle, but when the choices came up another one of us immediately shouted out Chekhov, and we were able to get all or virtually all of our wager as a result.

Looking at how it played out elsewhere, it certainly seemed to stymie most of The Borg this week: None of them managed to crack the top 5, and then after Specatators at 7, for example, Milano's was at 17, Chicago Loop at 26, and McGillacuddy's at 106.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

Second Hemingway was another decent question, and asked which city is described in detail in "A Moveable Feast". Since Hemingway moved a lot, it at least required a passing knowledge of his work to answer, as did the first.

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Please forgive any strange typos or grammar errors. I am typically using voice recognition software to enter text, and sometimes editing works differently from how I expect.

the first world geography question asked: the taklamakan desert is northwest of what country. china

the last amusement park question asked: the amusement park in montreal is the largest in quebec. la ronde