WWTBAM Bored

Donna Hinckley
New Milford, CT
Legal Secretary

Donna's two children, Elena and Peter (who are teenagers) are in the audience with Donna's mot her-in-law (whose name I didn't catch). They're advice to Donna is "Go mom!" Peter wants a car with her winnings, and Elena wants a little puppy she can carry around with her.

Donna's category tree:

Bring a Sweater!
LBJ
Crime Fighters
Under One Condition
December March
Animal Offspring
Bourne Again
Keep 'Em Separated
Ice Lands
Pop Sensations
Seeing the Future
Dining Out
Take a Whiff
Man-Made
High Def

$100 (High Def): Dictionary.com defines "Hollywood" as the "center of the American" what?
A. Automobile industry B. Motion-picture industry
C. Farming industry D. Teeth-bleaching industry



$200 (Man-Made): Which of these U.S. landmarks is man-made?
A. Brooklyn Bridge B. Niagara Falls
C. Grand Canyon D. Yellowstone National Park



$300 (Take a Whiff): Which of these plants is named for the fact that it smells like a common type of beverage?
A. African violet B. Tea rose
C. Morning glory D. Tiger lily



$500 (Dining Out): Which of these "colorful" terms refers to a restaurant meal served at a lower-than-usual price?
A. Orange-plate B. Green-plate
C. Blue-plate D. Yellow-plate

Donna chooses to ATA (9):





$1,000 (Seeing the Future): Astrologists believe that human events can be predicted by interpreting the positions of what?
A. Animals B. Clouds
C. Rocks D. Stars



$2,000 (Pop Sensations): Which of these pop singers shares her first name with the fourth month on the French calendar?
A. Kelly Clarkson B. Ashlee Simpson
C. Avril Lavigne D. Beyonce Knowles

Donna isn't sure, and decides to ATE (12).





COMMERCIAL BREAK

Since Meredith asked what Peter and Elena wanted to do with the money, she also asks Donna, who says she wants a new laundry room (N.B.: is this a new trend?) Her current laundry is scary.

$4,000 (Ice Lands): The logo of the NHL's New York Islanders features a silhouette of what island?
A. Long Island B. Nantucket
C. Hilton Head D. Key West

Donna, who is from Connecticut, chooses to PAF (18). Standing by are her husband, John (New Milford, CT) and her friends Michael (Fairfield, CT) and Jim (Madison, CT). She elects to call John.





$8,000 (Keep 'Em Separated): On a standard QWERTY computer keyboard, which of these letter keys is not positioned directly above the space bar?
A. M B. B
C. P D. V

Donna chooses to DD (8). Her first choice is D. V, which is incorrect. Her second choice, B. B is also wrong, and she leaves with $1,000.



THE HORN SOUNDS.

Ms. Expert, somewhat to my surprise is indeed a journalist of Canadian extraction, but did all her pre-American work in the wilds of the Canajan west. She is a Winnepegger and according to Wiki went to the (one) private girls school Balmoral Hall, which means she probably didnt grow up anyplace close to Aberdeen and Main.

And as for Avril Lavinge, despite her Fr-Canadian roots, she is from very small town Ontario, not from Quebec, and is not fluent in French.

A clean stack for me.

I will give her the benefit of the doubt, because she looked very flustered and uncomfortable in the hot seat. However, did she think the French used a different calendar so the fourth month isn't April? She also seemed to think the Islanders logo question was really sports and not simple geography, judging from her comment about her "sports fan" husband PAF. But does a legal secretary not type as part of her work? It's either that or acute hotseatitis that left her unable to figure out that last question. Her second choice was obviously panicked as time ran out, but really, it should have been simple for her.

This is something like the third question this season about the keyboard layout. One of the question writers has gotten a little obsessed!

This was one of those contestants who just makes my blood boil. When I think of all the brilliant people on this bored who have been overlooked because they don't have some damn hook, I just want to scream.

Why the hell would the NEW YORK ISLANDERS have Hilton Head, Key West or Nantucket on their logo? This was not a sports question - it was a simple geography question.

And Avril? It's one letter away from April. Doc is right. She's from the Kingston, Ontario area and doesn't speak French.

Stepping off my soapbox now. Hopefully, I can get my BP down soon.

what...What...and WHAT???

Are you kidding me? One of the Dumbest. Contestants. Ever.

Just for the record, there was no correct answer in this question. Astrologists (erroneously) believe that it is the position of the planets against the relatively unmoving background of stars that provides their predictions.

Bourne Again looks like a Jason Bourne question. I saw only the first movie, so unless it's about that one, I'll probably be using lifelines there.


E. Silicone industry, of course.


E. Donald Trump's toupee


Oh, come on, Donna! This is basic U.S. geography! Pick the only island up there that is in New York! <grumble>®!

Nihil obstat®

What she said.

Now you can all see why I need to leave CT...

Doesn't look like we need MBFFB® to provide the insults on this one......

lb13

Uhh, christie1111 lives in CT . . . .

Me thinks they chose the wrong Donna from CT.

So do I...

You got that right!

LOL, I caught Marley in an edit!

lb13

OK-but the answer they wanted was pretty obvious.

Well, I thought sunflower was responding to christie's response, but she wasn't, and what she said doesn't warrant the "Very Mad" emoticon.

At least I finished the edit before you caught me with a quote!




Edited: Before the Spelling Police catch me, too!

Sure. But wrong is still wrong!

When I figured out how you messed up, I was going to try to catch you with a quote.... but I checked by hitting refresh first and you'd already changed it....

Not that I'm an evil person or anything......

lb13

I know, I was thinking, but I do live in CT! Why are you mad about it? Lol.....

You oughta hook up with MBFFB. At least you are more succinct in your analysis.

Except when the other answers are wronger.

I look at this like the capitals question all the way back in PT-BAM. The question may have been "wrong" given the way it was phrased and the answers given...but the "correct answer" wasn't one of the choices.

There was a "most correct" answer amongst the four given...so the question was right...even though it was wrong.

WHEW! I oughta work for GOVERNMENT.

This could be trouble. I guess there aren't many restaurants serving a "blue-plate special" these days. One of the restaurants that elwing and I patronize has a brunch blue-plate special.

This shouldn't have taken a lifeline - if you can think about April being the fourth month, it's no difficulty to figure out which one is the right answer.

Hmmm...Hilton Head is in the Carolinas, Nantucket is in CT, Key West is in FL. Doesn't take much to figure out which island is appropriate.

She's a legal secretary and can't figure this one out? Well, maybe she doesn't type (or keyboard), but I can't think of any excuse.