So allow me to preface my reaction by saying that we were listening to the World Cup final on the car radio while returning from a weekend trip, and from the backseat my 9-y.o. stated, with great confidence and apropos of virtually nothing, that the Germans would pronounce the word "Dutch" like this: "Doosh."
Drew Carey really comes off like a doosh in the Esquire piece.
I remember seeing the Carey reaction to the bidding and thinking how odd it was that he just announced that the guy hit it exactly and then signed off. Very cool to get the backstory now that explains it. That said, the writer of that piece needs an editor, maybe two.
Carey comes off as a total doosh (love it, Adam) but also agree that that piece is a bit of a mess. What could have been an interesting investigation slash commentary on how game shows have changed slash editorial on if it's all right to do what these folks do (basically, study up on how the show works to give themselves better odds - which isn't against the rules when folks study trivia type facts to win a show like Jeopardy) ended up being a rather meandering piece which didn't really come to any sort of conclusion. Strange, and less than I expect from a mag like Esquire. Anyone know if there's a better think-piece on the subject out there? It's very interesting...
Agree on both the interesting-ness of the subject and the meandering-ness of the article. I kept thinking that when I clicked from one page to another that I must have missed a paragraph or two. And then you get to the end and the author seems to imply that it's very likely one of the two men is lying. Why? I guess I missed that part... among other parts.
Chris Jones, the writer of that piece, may be my favorite nonfiction writer working right now (he's won two National Magazine Awards) but this was a case of a great topic with very little payoff.
To tie it all back together, Jones' writing for ESPN from the World Cup has been a lot of fun.
Completely agree about feeling like I was missing a paragraph or two. I actually clicked back once because I thought I had skipped a page. I also didn't understand where the lying charge came in either. Never once does the author intimate that either of these guys are lying, except in that one paragraph at the end.
As an objective matter, I'm not sure why it would be likely that either would be lying. Their path of study and the repetition of the games and prizes seems completely plausible to me. Even I remember how often the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup came on; it stands to reason that other, larger prizes would be repeated as well.
Interesting point of convergence between the two is that Drew Carey is also a part owner of the Seattle Sounders and has been tweeting from South Africa for the World Cup. I don't know if he still is, but I know he was moonlighting as an MLS photographer for a while. (And I see now he's on the board of the National Press Photographer's Association.)
The piece mentions Michael Larson, the man who ran the board on Press Your Luck; I just finished listening to last week's This American Life and Ira Glass mentioned at the end that they will have a segment on him this week,
Also, did I gloss by it, or was there some sort of investigation into this thing? It just seems like they said "wow, someone screwed us, maybe we won't air the show"?
So allow me to preface my reaction by saying that we were listening to the World Cup final on the car radio while returning from a weekend trip, and from the backseat my 9-y.o. stated, with great confidence and apropos of virtually nothing, that the Germans would pronounce the word "Dutch" like this: "Doosh."
ReplyDeleteDrew Carey really comes off like a doosh in the Esquire piece.
I remember seeing the Carey reaction to the bidding and thinking how odd it was that he just announced that the guy hit it exactly and then signed off. Very cool to get the backstory now that explains it. That said, the writer of that piece needs an editor, maybe two.
ReplyDeleteRelatedly, you know what else is weird? I predicted the exact score of the World Cup final.
ReplyDeleteWait--Isaac is actually a psychic octopus? This explains SO MUCH.
ReplyDeleteCarey comes off as a total doosh (love it, Adam) but also agree that that piece is a bit of a mess. What could have been an interesting investigation slash commentary on how game shows have changed slash editorial on if it's all right to do what these folks do (basically, study up on how the show works to give themselves better odds - which isn't against the rules when folks study trivia type facts to win a show like Jeopardy) ended up being a rather meandering piece which didn't really come to any sort of conclusion. Strange, and less than I expect from a mag like Esquire. Anyone know if there's a better think-piece on the subject out there? It's very interesting...
ReplyDeleteAgree on both the interesting-ness of the subject and the meandering-ness of the article. I kept thinking that when I clicked from one page to another that I must have missed a paragraph or two. And then you get to the end and the author seems to imply that it's very likely one of the two men is lying. Why? I guess I missed that part... among other parts.
ReplyDeleteChris Jones, the writer of that piece, may be my favorite nonfiction writer working right now (he's won two National Magazine Awards) but this was a case of a great topic with very little payoff.
ReplyDeleteTo tie it all back together, Jones' writing for ESPN from the World Cup has been a lot of fun.
Completely agree about feeling like I was missing a paragraph or two. I actually clicked back once because I thought I had skipped a page. I also didn't understand where the lying charge came in either. Never once does the author intimate that either of these guys are lying, except in that one paragraph at the end.
ReplyDeleteAs an objective matter, I'm not sure why it would be likely that either would be lying. Their path of study and the repetition of the games and prizes seems completely plausible to me. Even I remember how often the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup came on; it stands to reason that other, larger prizes would be repeated as well.
Interesting point of convergence between the two is that Drew Carey is also a part owner of the Seattle Sounders and has been tweeting from South Africa for the World Cup. I don't know if he still is, but I know he was moonlighting as an MLS photographer for a while. (And I see now he's on the board of the National Press Photographer's Association.)
ReplyDeleteAgree that the piece really meanders. I find the PIN number thing to lack credibility.
ReplyDeleteThe piece mentions Michael Larson, the man who ran the board on Press Your Luck; I just finished listening to last week's This American Life and Ira Glass mentioned at the end that they will have a segment on him this week,
ReplyDeleteAlso, did I gloss by it, or was there some sort of investigation into this thing? It just seems like they said "wow, someone screwed us, maybe we won't air the show"?
ReplyDelete