Well, today was the audition/exam to be on Jeopardy. I drove down to Atlanta last night and stayed in the hotel where the exam was being held. It was pretty nice, and should have been for $170 for a single room and parking.
The exam was at 11:00, so at about 10:30 I went down to the lobby to scope the situation out, and saw bunches of people hanging around, all talking about how good they were at Jeopardy. I'm not much for that, so I went upstairs and just looked out the window (I was on the 34th floor, so the view was great). I went back down about 10:50, and was soon ushered into the testing room.
There were about 150-175 of us in the room. We listened to the contestant coordinators give their spiels, watched a video from Alex Trebeck, and got prepared to take the exam. It had 50 questions, and you had 8 seconds after each question was asked to write down your answer. The questions really ran the gamut, both in categories and difficulty.
Here are a few I remember:
Who wrote Of Human Bondage? (I got this one wrong; I wrote down the correct answer then changed it.)
What do you call a form of government with two houses of legislators? (I got this one right; I wrote the wrong answer then changed it.)
Name the former Miss Tennessee who started her own magazine in 2002. (I don't have a clue about this one.)
His second term as president began eight years after his first.
He wrote Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom. Who was the Greek goddess of wisdom?
This is the southernmost city in the contiguous 48 states, and it has a Hemingway museum.
Name the body of water between Spain and France also known as the Gulf of Gascogne.
Who wrote Gotterdamerung?
Even though he wasn't his father, Mozart and other musicians of the time called him "Papa."
Who wrote Moon for the Misbegotten?
Well, I can't remember any more of them. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was one of 12 people to pass the exam, so I was invited to play a mock game.
That was pretty interesting, because one of the people I played with was the anchor person for one of the news stations in Georgia. She had a film crew along, because they had been promoting this story for months, the fact that she was auditioning for Jeopardy. So after the mock game (which only put three questions in any category, and when a category was completed, another one was put in) the anchor asked to interview me. It'll air this Friday. I asked her what she would have done if she hadn't passed the exam, and she said that she would have just had to tell her audience that she did' make it. To be honest, that's kind of the way I felt going down there, like there was a huge burden on me to pass the exam.
The last person I spoke to in the room was the producer, who thanked me and chatted a bit. But I told him that everything after passing that exam was gravy, because that was the thing I was worried about, with so many people knowing I was taking it.
So I feel very good about making the cut and qualifying. But now for the bad news. Out of about 25,000 people who try out, about 800 make the contestant pool. But the show only needs about 400 contestants a year. So I've still only got about a 50/50 shot of making the show. I think I did well enough in the mock game (I got a number of the questions), and I think I told a cute enough story, so I hope I get called. They start filming the new season in July, and they'll call with a month or so of lead time if they want me out in L.A. And here's another bit of bad news: contestants have to pay for their own airfare, housing, and meals while competing. Of course, the goal is to win it all back and more.
22 April 2003
17 April 2003
Hitting your wife (i take)
Over the past two nights a drama has played out upstairs here. The couple who lived there had a huge fight two nights ago, whihc went on from 2 to 4 am, and spilled out into the parking lot. All day yesterday and last night, the woman was moving out. I was outside doing some work on the car when I saw her with a bruise on her face. I asked her how she was doing, and she said she'd be better soon. I asked if I could help and she said no. I jumped to the conclusion that she was leaving because her husband gave her that bruise.
While I'm glad that there will be no more fights and stomping and storming around up there, I wonder how she'll survive, and what he'll do, too. Believe me, I'm no model husband, so I can understand what pushed him and how he reacted.
Anyway, here are some serious links on dv:
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
This looks like the big player int he field. It's also been chosen as one of the 100 most worthy charities.
Men Against Domestic Violence
This one goes both ways, looking at violence perpetrated by men and sufferd by men.
The Domestic Violence Handbook
This is a good primer for the field.
While I'm glad that there will be no more fights and stomping and storming around up there, I wonder how she'll survive, and what he'll do, too. Believe me, I'm no model husband, so I can understand what pushed him and how he reacted.
Anyway, here are some serious links on dv:
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
This looks like the big player int he field. It's also been chosen as one of the 100 most worthy charities.
Men Against Domestic Violence
This one goes both ways, looking at violence perpetrated by men and sufferd by men.
The Domestic Violence Handbook
This is a good primer for the field.
10 April 2003
We're in (i take)
Well, we just got approved. Our loan, that is, for the house. So we'll be closing on May 15 and moving in during the two weeks after that. I spent a couple hours there today with the inspector, and the place is starting to grow on me. I'm still not a big fan of the stairs, but I'll get used to the space, I'm sure.
It's nice, being able to afford something this costly. And it's all due to Amanda, who knows how to manage money far better than I do. This also gave us a chance to review our financial situation. I've really taken a beating in my IRAs, but I hope to make that up in the next 20 years. Of course, given the fact that I'm a workaholic, I really can't see myself retiring anyway.
You know, I'm never far from a rant about money in academia, and this would be the perfect opportunity to engage in one, but I'm just tired of it. I just got back in touch with a very old friend, from my Duquesne days, and catching her up made me write a bulleted list of my life the past few years. One thing I said about EKU is that I'm watching from a distance as it burns in slow motion. That used to make me angry, but now I'm just glad I got out.
This friend, Marcia Wratcher, is now a VP at Art Institute Online, a web-based venture by a for-profit Art school. I knew her when she was the tutor coordinator in the Learning Skills Program at Duquesne. Now it's a Center. Marcia employed me as a tutor, and when she left to go to Pitt, I took her job. Then she was at CMU, then Nova, and now at AIOnline. She was always a good person, and a good friend. She's had a ton of heartache in her life, but doesn't let it rule her.
I remember when I was in the Jesuits and working on my long experiment at St. Joe's University in Philly. Marcia called late one night, to tell me that her soulmate, the man she was born to be with, had just died. I can't remember the details of the conversation, but I remember the details of that cramped room I was in, and wondering, as I listened, how such a small space could hold so much pain coming through the phone line.
Through cancer, through death, through other great losses, Marcia has remained a wonderful person. I hope I can see her when I get to the Burgh this summer.
It's nice, being able to afford something this costly. And it's all due to Amanda, who knows how to manage money far better than I do. This also gave us a chance to review our financial situation. I've really taken a beating in my IRAs, but I hope to make that up in the next 20 years. Of course, given the fact that I'm a workaholic, I really can't see myself retiring anyway.
You know, I'm never far from a rant about money in academia, and this would be the perfect opportunity to engage in one, but I'm just tired of it. I just got back in touch with a very old friend, from my Duquesne days, and catching her up made me write a bulleted list of my life the past few years. One thing I said about EKU is that I'm watching from a distance as it burns in slow motion. That used to make me angry, but now I'm just glad I got out.
This friend, Marcia Wratcher, is now a VP at Art Institute Online, a web-based venture by a for-profit Art school. I knew her when she was the tutor coordinator in the Learning Skills Program at Duquesne. Now it's a Center. Marcia employed me as a tutor, and when she left to go to Pitt, I took her job. Then she was at CMU, then Nova, and now at AIOnline. She was always a good person, and a good friend. She's had a ton of heartache in her life, but doesn't let it rule her.
I remember when I was in the Jesuits and working on my long experiment at St. Joe's University in Philly. Marcia called late one night, to tell me that her soulmate, the man she was born to be with, had just died. I can't remember the details of the conversation, but I remember the details of that cramped room I was in, and wondering, as I listened, how such a small space could hold so much pain coming through the phone line.
Through cancer, through death, through other great losses, Marcia has remained a wonderful person. I hope I can see her when I get to the Burgh this summer.
05 April 2003
Buying a house (i take)
Well, we did it, took the plunge, etc. We're going to buy a house, if we can qualify on the loan. We made an offer today, signed the offer sheet and began the wait for a counter-offer. We meet with the money next Wednesday, and it doesn't seem like that's going to be a problem. Here's a look at the place, with picture from the realtor's web site.
I have to say, it feels very strange for me to be signing this mortgage knowing that I'm not bringing in the cash to pay it. I used to joke that I wanted to be a kept man, but now, the closer I get to that state, the more terrifying it is. I'm sure that any huge mortgage like this would worry me a bit, but knowing that I am so out of control on this one really makes it more difficult.
Amanda is fine with it all, and I guess that's what swayed me about the place. I've got a litany of things that I think are wrong with it, but in the end, it's all about compromise, and this seems to make A very happy. She likes the location, the style, the number of bedrooms, the fact that they're pretty small, and the deck and pool. That's a pretty good list, one worth honoring.
I have to say, it feels very strange for me to be signing this mortgage knowing that I'm not bringing in the cash to pay it. I used to joke that I wanted to be a kept man, but now, the closer I get to that state, the more terrifying it is. I'm sure that any huge mortgage like this would worry me a bit, but knowing that I am so out of control on this one really makes it more difficult.
Amanda is fine with it all, and I guess that's what swayed me about the place. I've got a litany of things that I think are wrong with it, but in the end, it's all about compromise, and this seems to make A very happy. She likes the location, the style, the number of bedrooms, the fact that they're pretty small, and the deck and pool. That's a pretty good list, one worth honoring.
01 April 2003
Used by the truth (i take)
This whole Arnett fiasco has many sanctimonious journalists up in arms. The former editor of the Scripps Howard news service has this editorial on the Nando site. In it, he claims that journalists in this war shouldn't be used by enemies of a journalist's nation. Putting aside the petty and small-minded thought behind this, let's just examine the claim about being "used."
Yes, many journalists have been used by enemies of the state, some willingly and some unsuspectingly. But this use, it goes both ways. What we have in this war is massive use of journalists by the American state. Do you really think that these "embedded" journalists are telling you all they know? Do you really think you're hearing unfiltered reality? I'm not talking about giving away operational security, or endangering missions. I'm talking about the fawns at the Pentagon who hang on every word of operational briefings, damn glad to be allowed to play vicarious soldier. I'm talking about the men and women in the desert and on the ocean who satellite link everything that they're fed, from fawning interviews to news about nothing. Even if there is no intent to deceive on the part of the military (which I doubt), there is still an inevitable filtering and biasing of the facts. Is it just me, or is the entire press corps aware of their compromised positions, as they are willing to call themselves embedded, without even dinner and drinks beforehand? Don't sell yourself short, kids; your integrity is worth at least a good Meal Ready to Eat.
Our former editor calls the Iraq's Ministers of Defense nothing but propagandists. I'll give him this point, as long as he'll admit that we're doing nothing but the same in our daily Pentagon briefings. But he doesn't, because that would mean acknowledging the weakness of his implied claim, and suggests that his jingoism is the only thing he's got for support.
Yes, many journalists have been used by enemies of the state, some willingly and some unsuspectingly. But this use, it goes both ways. What we have in this war is massive use of journalists by the American state. Do you really think that these "embedded" journalists are telling you all they know? Do you really think you're hearing unfiltered reality? I'm not talking about giving away operational security, or endangering missions. I'm talking about the fawns at the Pentagon who hang on every word of operational briefings, damn glad to be allowed to play vicarious soldier. I'm talking about the men and women in the desert and on the ocean who satellite link everything that they're fed, from fawning interviews to news about nothing. Even if there is no intent to deceive on the part of the military (which I doubt), there is still an inevitable filtering and biasing of the facts. Is it just me, or is the entire press corps aware of their compromised positions, as they are willing to call themselves embedded, without even dinner and drinks beforehand? Don't sell yourself short, kids; your integrity is worth at least a good Meal Ready to Eat.
Our former editor calls the Iraq's Ministers of Defense nothing but propagandists. I'll give him this point, as long as he'll admit that we're doing nothing but the same in our daily Pentagon briefings. But he doesn't, because that would mean acknowledging the weakness of his implied claim, and suggests that his jingoism is the only thing he's got for support.
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