Search found 50 matches

by BigFlax
Wed May 09, 2007 9:05 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Stuff that is not related to Ghetto Warz or Moon Pie
Replies: 63
Views: 31052

Now, all this shit Dren is saying (and its the sort of stuff you tend to get from the Sorenson/Flaxman [read: trash partisan/cbi apologist] crowd,) is the really awful stuff Uh, what? Not that I really should feel a need to respond to this, but I have long been on the record, whatever record that m...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:04 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Objects of Interest
Replies: 46
Views: 20600

Re: TRASHionals Undergrads and other musings

I see no reason why High Schoolers shouldn't excel at Trash. There are high school teams that do compete (and are competitive)in trash tournaments, though. This past Sunday at UTC we had 3 High School teams who played in the Junior division of the RC Cola, and they all had a good time. The was a te...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: A Criticism of Criticism
Replies: 23
Views: 15555

There's almost no difference between "this tournament sucked and here's why" and "this tournament needed improvement, and here's what I think it should have been" except for the tone. The content of two posts written in those two styles would be nearly identical. I highly doubt t...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Objects of Interest
Replies: 46
Views: 20600

Re: TRASHionals Undergrads and other musings

I'm fairly certain Craig wasn't on the original Keenan team at TRASHionals I because he was at CBI NCT. Back in those days the two events were the same weekend; I missed one TRASHionals due to being at CBI NCT in 1999. But the general point stands. I've been a fairly good trash player but there's j...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Objects of Interest
Replies: 46
Views: 20600

Re: TRASHionals Undergrads and other musings

At TRASHionals II (1999) in State College, an all-undergrad team (but not from the same school) won TRASHionals (Kenny Peskin, Anthony DeJesus, Ryan Seibel, don't remember the 4th). The same year, my team finished 3rd as an all-undergrad team (yes, I was in college once!) I don't think that could h...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:00 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Objects of Interest
Replies: 46
Views: 20600

re:

That's wrong, that team had two graduate students (Nick Meyer and Jon Pennington) on it. The other two were undergrads Steve Kaplan and Ross Ritterman. Hmm. Well, I recall it being mentioned at the time, but obviously that was in error. Or perhaps I accidentally turned "hey, that team has ANY ...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:48 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Objects of Interest
Replies: 46
Views: 20600

Apropos of an earlier post, I believe the Cal team that won TRASHionals in 2001 at Northwestern was an all-undergrad team.
by BigFlax
Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:29 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Ham Sandwich Scandal
Replies: 66
Views: 21122

Levesque said he was bothered not only that the parody took aim at a sensitive issue in Lewiston, but also that Fox and others reported the information as fact without checking.
Fox aired something inflammatory without fact-checking it first? The hell you say!
by BigFlax
Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:19 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

Even if you want to quibble with the exact numbers (which, of course, anyone may do,) an unquestionable fact is that they're of very comparable size. Quoted for re-emphasis? MaS 3.5 times as large - if we accept the Forbes number for Hollywood's overall revenue (and for that matter it's likely to b...
by BigFlax
Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:03 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

In fact, the Wikipedia entry for "video game industry" has this to say: If there's one thing that will change people's minds about video game questions, it's the unsourced opinion of some anonymous person on a Family Guy episode guide website about the pedantic and tangential point of whe...
by BigFlax
Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:59 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

re:

Again, this all gets at the big problem of the generation gap in TRASH. It is very hard to please everyone and not piss off others. This is why I'm advocating for a Division II at TRASH so that the distributions can be changed to reflect the problem of the differences in popular culture amongst the...
by BigFlax
Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

Completely unrelated -- since I've seen it bandied it around a couple of places in this thread, here are some #s: 2004 US Box Office: $9.3 billion 2004 Video Game Sales: $7.3 billion (includes consoles and games) I realize there are more factors here that could be made on either side to inflate one...
by BigFlax
Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

This certainly seems to be a polarizing category. We lamed literally every video game bonus that we could, and only one was stolen all weekend. In addition, most of our opponents lamed or bageled their bonuses as well. It seemed like N% of the teams (where N is a number between 50 and 80) really lo...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:51 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

Re: re:

FWIW, video games were capped at 1/1 for the tournament. This is interesting because, as Coelacanth's post confirms, I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought there seemed to be way more than that. As I noted above, however, this may simply have been because I don't know anything about them, alt...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:18 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

re:

FWIW, video games were capped at 1/1 for the tournament. This is interesting because, as Coelacanth's post confirms, I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought there seemed to be way more than that. As I noted above, however, this may simply have been because I don't know anything about them, alt...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:07 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

Perhaps TRASH (or another group / organization entirely) should consider running a Division 2 tournament a la NAQT. Division 2 would be open to all players affiliated with a university (or I guess a high school) and have a younger skewed distribution than Division 1 (open). This would hypotheticall...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:05 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

I don't see how a single curling question and a single bowling question in a tournament makes it bad. In fact, both questions, IMO, were pretty accessible, especially if you consider that the Scotties Tournament of Hearts is probably one of the two most important tournaments in womens' curling worl...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

I remembered one more thing: I can remember only one question about LOST: the only question was the one bonus part about Mister Eko in the "People who died in 2006" bonus. You might think there could be a tossup, or a whole bonus on such a popular show, since its fanbase is significantly ...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

but who hasn't seen shows like "My Three Sons" in syndication? I haven't, despite watching a fair amount of TV. I've never seen a single episode on the air, although I can't say I ever looked for it. A cursory web search shows the last time they were syndicated nationally was on Nick at N...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:37 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASHionals Discussion
Replies: 111
Views: 49398

I think this is one of the better TRASHionals that I've attended. Some things that they've improved on: -- more and better video game questions. They asked about games that people actually play, and seemingly a much wider variety than usual. Tossups on Time Crisis, .hack, Tecmo and Bionic Commando ...
by BigFlax
Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ABD (and mirrors) discussion
Replies: 13
Views: 6469

Re: "Gimmick" Rules

I think the problem with the "Gimmick" Rules, is that people play so few tournaments, especially trash, that they are reluctant to fool around with them on the limited sets of questions on which they do get to play. While I have played in some sink/steal tournaments (fun, but breeds resen...
by BigFlax
Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ABD (and mirrors) discussion
Replies: 13
Views: 6469

The second one was a first-clue buzzer race among at least four people in the room I was playing. "Figure it out" clues are generally dumb; as leadins, they are completely unacceptable. It doesn't matter if you know a lot about The Postal Service or even have ever heard a single one of th...
by BigFlax
Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: February Avatars
Replies: 37
Views: 10461

leftsaidfred wrote:Also, I'm waiting to hear if Barbaro was eaten by bears to determine relevance to the Super Bowl.
He was delicious!
by BigFlax
Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: exit, voice and loyalty
Replies: 85
Views: 39279

Moving away from talk of editing, I think that one thing that has hurt participation has been the changing electronic media. The shift from mailing list to message board as a preferred electronic forum may have had a negative effect. Casual people will check their email daily and will at least have...
by BigFlax
Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:24 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: exit, voice and loyalty
Replies: 85
Views: 39279

Re: I almost never post here, but...

So, with these faults in mind, I propose another alternative, so radical that I am sure it will meet with rabid hostility: Eliminate the question distribution entirely, at least for tossups. Tossups should no longer belong to any particular discipline (history, biology, literature, pop culture), bu...
by BigFlax
Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: exit, voice and loyalty
Replies: 85
Views: 39279

Based on some posts here, I wonder how the average quizbowl player actually feels about this topic, given that most of them don't read this board. I still think that the most important factor, whether the editor dumps a young/bad team's questions or does his best to salvage them, is making an effor...
by BigFlax
Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASH regs discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 37369

Still, whining about questions to which you didn't know the answer just comes off like sour grapes. That's a really stupid thing to say. Yeah, good trash players have no right deciding what seems reasonable or unreasonable. Once a set has been completed, its fucking shariaa. Nevermind that there wa...
by BigFlax
Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASH regs discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 37369

The problem is not questions on old stuff per se, it's questions on specific old stuff that people in college today have no hope of knowing firsthand. Sure, ask as many questions about Stevie Wonder, Soylent Green, and the Immaculate Reception as you want--just about anyone who will be showing up a...
by BigFlax
Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASH regs discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 37369

Just to add to that, since I can't edit it in, anyone concerned about not knowing enough older information should try writing a few packets based on Mike's distribution requirements. I'm certainly not anywhere near old enough to have watched (much less listened to) "Have Gun - Will Travel,"...
by BigFlax
Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:30 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: TRASH regs discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 37369

I can't say I had much of a problem with them, though it probably helps that I was able to put up my best scoring at a TRASH tournament since Regionals 2003. I think the "TRASH is unfair to younger players" argument is just a variant on the standard "There's too much of [x subject] in...
by BigFlax
Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:47 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: archive of TRASHionals cryfest flap?
Replies: 25
Views: 13293

Dear Dan: Shut up. Seriously, shut the fuck up. Your obsessive, asininely late post is the sort of thing that I would really prefer not to respond to, but since it's obvious by where and how you posted it that you're doing so only to try and rally the troops over what should be a dead issue by this ...
by BigFlax
Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:16 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: double standard?
Replies: 61
Views: 31653

I certainly can't say I'm surprised by the reaction coming out of St. Louis - let's face it, Mike has never had a great reputation around much of the Midwestern circuit and he certainly does little to counteract the perception that a lot of people have of him as an asshole, if not actively encourage...
by BigFlax
Sun May 02, 2004 1:03 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

Re: The Obvious

Not to derail the thread (move it if necessary), but ,well I have to say that I still have the same resentments with TRASH (and maybe not all Trash tournaments, but most). The questions are probably somewhat pyramidal for the most part, but I hate the fact that 95% of the content seems to be either...
by BigFlax
Sat May 01, 2004 9:38 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

Re: The Obvious

I have a question for those of you legitimate players who are forced to deal with trash and CBI peckerheads on a regular basis I hope you're referring to people who are only willing to play Trash (that doesn't make it much better, but better enough) and not to anyone who plays Trash. Trash is, to m...
by BigFlax
Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:22 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

the QB team can either boycott the CBI Intramural Tournament or use it as a potential recruiting tool. Regarding the latter: the reason I say CBI campus is pretty pointless is because its best value is as a recruiting tool. Because here's the thing: there are other ways to recruit that don't involv...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 26, 2004 6:34 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

Yes, that is the apt comparison. What's interesting is that such a situation used to exist: the Big Dance (smaller dance in those days) began by inviting only conference champions and stayed that way for a long time. Did the NCAA championship lack legitimacy? Then, too, CBI can't do much about the ...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

About "the whole intramurals bullshit", I assume you're talking about the prospect of a club team losing its campus tournament, but is it not true at all schools or in all regions (as it certainly is for us) that teams only need be comprised of players who participated in intramurals? If ...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 26, 2004 4:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

StPickrell wrote:It might also be remembered that as the founder of two college programs, I chose NAQT, and would advise anyone who is interested in founding programs at their college to also choose NAQT, if only for the price.
And rightly so.
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 26, 2004 4:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

To be fair, I would say the non-CBI world has hardly been pure in avoiding slamming of CBI. No, but the acceptable comparison here would be R Hentzel standing up at NAQT ICT and going "Hey everyone, doesn't CBI just totally blow?" He doesn't do that for two reasons: 1) he has class, and 2...
by BigFlax
Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI Nationals
Replies: 55
Views: 81134

This business of Richard Reid (whoever he is: been a while since I've played CBI) knocking on other formats (and the people that play them), interests me not so much for being tasteless but more because it seems odd that CBI is actually acknowledging their competition. For as long as I can remember...
by BigFlax
Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:03 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Division II
Replies: 14
Views: 12255

And in response to UFeng (sorry that I don't know your name), what is wrong with forcing people to either move up to D1 or quit? The circuit will not survive if it is plagued by people who only want to play D2 and then quit when it gets to hard. Yes, maybe the amount of teams from year to year woul...
by BigFlax
Tue Feb 24, 2004 2:57 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

While St. Louis is closer to many more teams than Los Angeles, there is also more to do in Los Angeles, the weather is better, and, if a team has to ask some college bigwigs for money, a tournament in Los Angeles sounds more prestigious than a tournament in St. Louis. Add in the fact ICT was held i...
by BigFlax
Mon Feb 23, 2004 11:56 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

I find it cripplingly ironic that NAQT seems to be having as much trouble filling a D1 field in the middle of the country as they did a tournament on the West Coast.
by BigFlax
Sun Feb 22, 2004 5:24 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

What's up with all the declines in D-I? With eight teams still undecided, we're just two more declines away from getting a bid, and considering we went 4-12 - in a pretty strong region, I'd say, but 4-12 nonetheless - this is pretty amazing. Of course last year we got a bid outright at 6-8. Who know...
by BigFlax
Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:11 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

I have to say I really hope there isn't something in this mystical S-value adjusting for historical strength at ICT, especially not in D-2. Last year's strength shouldn't matter at all, because (except for UCLA and CCs), no one in last year's D-2 field is in this year's D-2 field. Well, to reintrod...
by BigFlax
Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

The cap is, at the moment, four per division, if I'm not mistaken, and they did, in fact, have four teams in DivII. Okay. That was my suspicion, but I couldn't remember (obviously it wouldn't make sense to allow one team to show up at a sectional and get an automatic bid). That said, evidently it m...
by BigFlax
Fri Feb 13, 2004 7:09 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

Yes, but there's only one really weak NAQT region, two if you wish to count the UK based on its most recent performances. I fail to see how the tournament would be better by including the 6th place team rom a stronger region as opposed to the winners of those two regions. I assume you mean that you...
by BigFlax
Fri Feb 13, 2004 2:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

Why do we invite the winner of the Big Sky Conference to the NCAA's even though they haven't won a NCAA game in I don't know how long? Actually, the Big Sky Conference won an NCAA game as recently as 1999 when Weber State upset North Carolina. In fact, the Big Sky winner has frequently been one of ...
by BigFlax
Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:29 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Prognostication Time
Replies: 100
Views: 79334

If I recall correctly, I think that NAQT does, on rare occasions, invite a lower-finishing team over a higher-finishing one. I think Northwestern over Minnesota last year was an example. However, NAQT will probably try to invite the higher-bracket teams first. Jason Mueller (Not speaking for NAQT b...
by BigFlax
Wed Feb 11, 2004 2:49 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CBI rules shafted me
Replies: 49
Views: 68493

We actually stopped playing CBI this year because we don't have $600 to spend on lousy questions and none of us really like playing it anyway. Here's my question: it seems that some programs have stopped playing CBI because of the cost. Certainly we have, at least for this year. Yet there are plenty...