Search found 1951 matches

by Auroni
Mon Apr 17, 2023 4:17 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion
Replies: 59
Views: 35956

Re: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion

I missed the first half of the first round so didn't hear it played, but reading over the packets now I feel that The Cloud-Capped Star in the Scorsese world cinema bonus is too difficult a hard part. This seems to be backed up to a degree by the conversion data from the Northwestern site, where no...
by Auroni
Mon Feb 27, 2023 6:18 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: General discussion
Replies: 35
Views: 14529

Re: 2023 BHSU: General discussion

Auroni Gupta edited the Other Academic and the popular music, two of the essential categories that set this tournament apart from others. Auroni also freelanced across many categories, including writing many truly outstanding questions for the World Literature distribution. The Tagore, We Need New ...
by Auroni
Fri Mar 18, 2022 4:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - Errata
Replies: 8
Views: 1010

Re: Errata

For the sake of clarity and lack of confusion, the tossup has been edited since the MIT mirror to replace every clue pertaining to Giulio Cesare.
by Auroni
Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:50 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - Specific Questions
Replies: 16
Views: 2149

Re: Specific Questions

I acknowledge that the Jacob/Esau kiss is difficult to isolate given the scriptural reference, but I would have to disagree about the Deuteronomy clue. Moses having received the kiss of God at the moment of his death is reasonably well known and seemed suitable for a late power clue.
by Auroni
Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 12
Views: 2036

Re: General Discussion and Thanks

The aforementioned burnout prevented me from proactively seeking the help of Will or others to shore up the econ content in the set, and for that I'll accept responsibility.
by Auroni
Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:31 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 12
Views: 2036

Re: General Discussion and Thanks

knowingly planning to include spoiled content One note of clarification -- this is untrue. A player at the main site spoiled three answers in the main quizbowl discord server before deleting them, and I replaced all three questions before the set ran for the second time. I was a bit slow to do it, ...
by Auroni
Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - Specific Questions
Replies: 16
Views: 2149

Re: Specific Questions

Thank you for your comments on the Korean-American Christianity bonus, Jon. I thought that the name of the person regarded as the founder of the Vineyard movement (Kenn Gulliksen) in combination with the Biblical passage that gives the movement its name was sufficient information, but I see now that...
by Auroni
Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:11 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 12
Views: 2036

Re: General Discussion and Thanks

Just updated the opening post with the 2/26/22 version of the set that was played at MIT.
by Auroni
Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:17 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

Re: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)

I don't think I will have enough time or energy to personally coordinate this project, but I believe that it is a worthwhile idea and has plenty of people already on board, so I would hate to see it not happen. I am looking for a volunteer to take it over from me.
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 11:38 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

We will be holding an online mirror, to be announced in the future. We're also in the process of working out the details of a Northeast mirror at MIT next semester.
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:35 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open Southeast Site (11/13)
Replies: 3
Views: 2312

Re: Illinois Open Southeast Site (11/13)

A subforum for set discussion now exists. Request access to it through Board Index -> User Control Panel -> Usergroups.
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 11/13 - Illinois Open main site
Replies: 17
Views: 6686

Re: 11/13 - Illinois Open main site

A subforum for set discussion now exists. Request access to it through Board Index -> User Control Panel -> Usergroups.
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:28 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - Errata
Replies: 8
Views: 1010

Illinois Open 2021 - Errata

Point out errors with questions here. Keep the commentary/philosophical discussions of the questions in the Specific Questions thread. If you want to save two seconds navigating to another thread to download the packets, here they are yet again. Do not share these packets with anyone who does not ha...
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:27 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - Specific Questions
Replies: 16
Views: 2149

Illinois Open 2021 - Specific Questions

Discuss specific questions here. If you have factual or technical errors to point out, do that in the Errata thread. In case you don't want to navigate outside this thread to download the set, here it is again. Once again, do not share these packets with anyone who does not have access to this subfo...
by Auroni
Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:25 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open 2021 - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 12
Views: 2036

Illinois Open 2021 - General Discussion and Thanks

Thanks to everyone for playing Illinois Open. This was a big undertaking, as these things usually are, and it could not have happened without the efforts of a lot of people. First up, my co-editors: Iain Carpenter (physics/other science minus computer science/arts minus film), Mitch McCullar (litera...
by Auroni
Mon Nov 15, 2021 1:39 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TELEOLOGY: a hard hybrid side event (available now)
Replies: 11
Views: 6753

Re: TELEOLOGY: a hard hybrid side event (available now)

This was quite probably the most fun I've ever had playing a tournament with hard academic questions, and definitely the most enjoyable time I've ever had playing tough pop culture questions. Highly recommend if you share any subset of Taylor's interests.
by Auroni
Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:27 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

At the time of writing, we're at 86.5% written (for a 13 packet version of the set), so I can confirm that we won't be postponing the first round of mirrors. Thank you very much to an array of people who have stepped up in the last few days.
by Auroni
Sun Oct 31, 2021 11:09 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

Hi all, Two weeks out from the tournament, only 70% of our set is written. At this point, we are seeking collaborators who can write significant numbers of questions, particularly in literature, science, and the "miscellaneous" categories, right away. If we don't make significant progress ...
by Auroni
Wed Oct 06, 2021 3:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

Slight distributional change: Social Science is now a full 1/1, with Other Academic being grouped in with the 1.5/1.5 geography/current events/modern world/multi-category distribution
by Auroni
Tue Sep 28, 2021 3:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

Re: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)

This tournament will be run in-person if at all possible in Spring-Summer 2022 (ideally as a side event paired with a tournament at which enough people are in attendance). If there's no such tournament, I will run it online on an open weekend toward the end of that time frame.
by Auroni
Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:03 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Specific Anecdote Discussion
Replies: 9
Views: 766

Re: Specific Anecdote Discussion

For ACF Nationals 2019, JinAh wrote a tossup on "property" that clued the article "Whiteness as Property" by UCLA Law School professor Cheryl Harris. In a groupchat conversation sometime after the tournament ran, William Golden excitedly noted that Harris is the mother of rapper ...
by Auroni
Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

Re: WOOLF (TBD)

I've made a poll for aspects of WOOLF logistics -- if you are interested in playing, writing for, or staffing this set, then please take a second to fill it out: https://forms.gle/HaNvr2Z8QLLWetgg9
by Auroni
Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:34 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

That is the idea, although the campus has not opened event registrations for clubs yet, so we can't confirm a date for the main site.
by Auroni
Sun Jul 04, 2021 5:27 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)

As an update, we will have this set ready to host starting November 13.
by Auroni
Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:54 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2021 WORKSHOP: Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 43
Views: 4991

Re: 2021 WORKSHOP: Specific Question Discussion

The lesbianism in literature tossup was much appreciated but I thought that the clues about "A Room of One's Own" were a little imprecise: "The narrator of an essay contemplates Cleopatra’s jealousy of Octavia and says, “Do not blush” before discussing this characteristic." "...
by Auroni
Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Songwriter Packet
Replies: 3
Views: 3057

Re: Songwriter Packet

I sent this over to be included with the main Festivus set, but that hasn't happened. So I'm attaching it here.
by Auroni
Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:06 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

Re: WOOLF (TBD)

By my count, we have 18 claimed packets now, so I will cap submission offers for the moment. A few people who have claimed a packet have expressed openness to collaboration, so if you would still like to write, contact me and I may be able to pair you up with another writer.
by Auroni
Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:23 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

Re: WOOLF (TBD)

I am floored by the magnitude of interest that has already been shown for submitting packets to this event. I am going to tentatively cap expressing interest in packets after 20 ; if we do actually end up with all those submissions, then I'm heavily leaning toward running this as either a day-long e...
by Auroni
Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 4628

WOOLF (Spring-Summer 2022)

I’m pleased to announce WOOLF (Written Officially by Obliging Literature Fans), an open-difficulty (similar to previous CO literature tournaments such as It's Lit and RILKE) guerrilla packet submission literature side event that is intended as a spiritual sequel to the 2014 Gorilla Literature tourna...
by Auroni
Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:58 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Songwriter Packet
Replies: 3
Views: 3057

Re: Songwriter Packet

I am scheduling another reading of this for those who missed it on Sunday, December 27 at 6 PST in #packet in the main quizbowl discord.
by Auroni
Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:11 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Songwriter Packet
Replies: 3
Views: 3057

Songwriter Packet

I will read a packet of at least 20 tossups highlighting the work of some of my favorite songwriters/lyricists on Wed, December 23 (the traditional date of Festivus) at 6:30 PM Pacific . The questions will mostly (though not entirely) be post-1990 indie rock and singer-songwriter music; it will be a...
by Auroni
Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:12 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (postponed to fall 2021)

After speaking with the writing/editing team and several groups of people, we have decided to postpone this tournament to the fall, so that we can bring you a more polished/thoroughly head-edited set that could potentially be played in person. Look for a later announcement of a specific date by whic...
by Auroni
Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:52 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 FLopen - Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 55
Views: 19264

Re: Specific Question Discussion

The only question I remember not liking was the tossup on Tlön, because the way it played it out in all instances I was aware involved early recognition of what story was being described (since there's a limited pool of details from which the question could draw), followed by a testing of the player...
by Auroni
Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 FLopen - Thanks and Set General Discussion
Replies: 9
Views: 2892

Re: Thanks and Set General Discussion

This was a great set -- it consistently felt very academic, providing us with no shortage of cool things to go read about or look up, without ever feeling punishingly difficult even for a fleeting moment. It also exhibited a remarkable amount of polish given that only two people edited, one person e...
by Auroni
Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:11 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [FINALS, SUBMIT BY 1/5]
Replies: 420
Views: 2144479

Re: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [WILD CARD ROUND THREE; SUBMIT BY 11/24

1 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "The Message" vs. 16 INXS, "Need You Tonight" 8 Rick Springfield, "Jessie's Girl" vs. 9 Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing" 5 Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car" vs. 12 Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" 4 Geor...
by Auroni
Thu Oct 22, 2020 3:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Modernist Literature Packet
Replies: 0
Views: 1877

Modernist Literature Packet

I'm 1.5 tossups into writing a challenging packet on "literary modernism" in the broadest, most all-encompassing senses of the term. That is, the questions won't just be about Anglo-American literature from the early 20th century, though of course that will be amply represented. I'm postin...
by Auroni
Mon Sep 07, 2020 6:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: LIT Mid-Atlantic Mirror @ Discord (9/5/20)
Replies: 55
Views: 22822

Re: LIT Mid-Atlantic Mirror @ Discord (9/5/20)

Why would anyone agree to host anything if they knew that one of the risks was being publicly excoriated because they didn't optimally handle that incredibly challenging situation? I'm impressed with Annabelle and others' performance under intense pressure and I hope that the lessons learned here c...
by Auroni
Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:23 am
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: Y'all need to pay attention to your own community
Replies: 51
Views: 64105

Re: Y'all need to pay attention to your own community

During the past few years, I have participated in a number of relationships with younger people in quizbowl, mostly undergraduate women, and have hit on some others. These relationships were categorically wrong on an individual level given the inherent age and power dynamics, and reinforced power st...
by Auroni
Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:11 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Paired Tossups and Bonuses
Replies: 52
Views: 28720

Re: Paired Tossups and Bonuses

These are the primary arguments that I would put forth in support of bouncebacks (which, to be clear, I support implementing for a tournament “every now and then” as opposed to establishing as any sort of standard or new norm that college quizbowl should adopt): 1) This is a game produced and played...
by Auroni
Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:25 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: Forward-Thinking Trash Tournament Seeking Writers
Replies: 15
Views: 5766

Re: Announcement: Forward-Thinking Trash Tournament Seeking Writers

100% of the video games questions will be on broadly popular games since 2010 (there will be no "classic gaming" or niche JRPG content in this tournament). Why are culturally-significant video games from before 2010 unworthy of being asked about in the same way as culturally significant T...
by Auroni
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: Forward-Thinking Trash Tournament Seeking Writers
Replies: 15
Views: 5766

Re: Announcement: Forward-Thinking Trash Tournament Seeking Writers

100% of the video games questions will be on broadly popular games since 2010 (there will be no "classic gaming" or niche JRPG content in this tournament). Why are culturally-significant video games from before 2010 unworthy of being asked about in the same way as culturally significant T...
by Auroni
Fri May 29, 2020 2:28 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (3/6/21)

We will make this set available for hosting starting on March 6th, 2021. We will monitor the SARS-CoV-2 situation to see if it is feasible to run this tournament in person at UIUC on this date.
by Auroni
Thu May 07, 2020 2:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Nationals Cancellation Discussion
Replies: 21
Views: 6435

Re: ACF Nationals 2020: August 8-9, Northwestern

Speaking not on behalf of ACF, but as a member of a strong team that Will does not speak for, I applaud this obviously morally correct decision. ACF had contacted us and other college teams about the possibility of postponement and has given serious consideration to that option before they reached t...
by Auroni
Fri May 01, 2020 3:23 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Illinois Open (open to mirrors starting 11/13/2021)
Replies: 14
Views: 11665

Re: Illinois Open (Spring 2021)

Opening post edited with more details, since we have begun the process of putting this set together.
by Auroni
Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:19 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146914

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

I believe I anticipated this objection in my original post (portion not quoted). If we're essentially arguing over whether cheating is, in fact, widespread, would you acknowledge that the best way to find out who is right would be to create an environment in which people feel comfortable talking ab...
by Auroni
Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:49 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146914

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

I take exception to this bit: He is now admittedly the kind of person who would succumb to the temptation of looking up a handful of things online during an online tournament, but quite frankly, I thought he was that kind of person before this, not because he's particularly dastardly, but because I...
by Auroni
Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:26 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146914

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

I don't think we will get rid of that problem by responding to admitted misbehavior with draconian punishment. I would object to characterizing a ban on playing online quizbowl as “draconian.” There are several more severe possible punishments, ranging from in-person tournament bans to bans from pu...
by Auroni
Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:30 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146914

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

So, while I must condemn Eric for cheating, I still welcome him to future online events, and hope he continues to bring the knowledge, wisdom, and play skill that he has shown for so many years. He's done the right thing and I encourage others to do the same. I am glad that Eric decided to come cle...
by Auroni
Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:01 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Internet Charity Tournament (April 4th, 5th)
Replies: 81
Views: 25592

Re: Internet Charity Tournament (April 4th, 5th)

I thought that this tournament was a triumph! Thank you to Will, Emily, and the many writers/readers for what was a very enjoyable weekend of quizbowl and something of a logistical marvel (at least for the portions I was present for), given all of the moving pieces involved. Naturally, I hope that ...
by Auroni
Sun Apr 05, 2020 3:24 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Best Song of the 1970s Bracket - Born to Run wins!
Replies: 788
Views: 1351162

Re: Best Song of the 1970s Bracket

Surrender vs. Right Place Wrong Time Short People vs. Closer to the Heart - normally I'm all for manlet oppression, but "Closer to the Heart" is a better song La Grange vs. All Right Now - "La Grange" brings back memories of Guitar Hero III, but sadly I never really liked it Onl...