. . . w i t h | a r m s | s w i n g i n g . . .

Wednesday, March 02, 2005 · posted at 3:13 AM

gambling makes fun

Round 3 question: What is a surefire way to liven up a dull party?

Jessica Shaw: My mother buzzed in first and...speak up, Mom!...say something...I'm begging you...ANYTHING! But she blanked.

Dan Snierson: My mom swooped in and said alcohol. Wait a second — is my mom cool? And we were on a roll. . .until Jennifer uttered the word strip. I was so bummed — or was it embarrassed? — but somehow, it was up there on the board! ''I'm going to your parties,'' cracked [Richard] Karn. In a million years, I never thought I'd witness the Tool Time sidekick hitting on my little sister.

JS: We went into huddle mode and Danny came up with another winner: Tell jokes! We knew we'd steal... Here's where my memories go slo-mo and the Platoon soundtrack kicks in. Our team had agreed on jokes for the steal, but at the last second, [my boyfriend who was pretending to be my fiance] Steve whispered drugs. Maybe it was my guilt for dragging him into this mess. Maybe it was because I looked at the board and saw exotic dancer and alcohol. But I chose love over logic and proudly exclaimed, drugs!The audience went silent. Karn's face went white. The answer was tell jokes. Our fake engagement was off.

~ EW writers Jessica Shaw and Dan Snierson on their experience on the gameshow Family Feud

Of all the award shows, the Golden Globes are definitely my favorite. It honors both movie and television and doubles the movie awards by separating drama from comedy/musical. It's always unpredictable - from the clothes, the winners, the whereabouts of the winners (Christine Lahti's 2001 bathroom break), and the "I'd like to thank..."s (see Natalie Portman's, among others, giggly drunk acceptance speech). And of course, how can I not love a ceremony that honors oft overlooked talents such as Felicity's Keri Russell?

But this year, I was absolutely glued to the 77th Academy Awards. Not because every minute was riveting (although there were less of them this year due to the hyperspeed pacing that brought statuettes down the aisle to the winner), or the acceptance speeches were more amusing - Charlie Kaufman's "I don't want to take my time. I want to get off the stage"), or to look for the subtleties (e.g. Tim Robbins flipping the bird to Chris Rock), or to wait for the next goof (e.g. stagehands running around, mic feedback).

What made the Oscars so exciting this year? A wager.

James and Jon started up an Oscar pool. Five bucks buys you in and the pot goes to the person with the most correct award wins, meaning it'd be advantageous to guess a winner for all 24 categories - even the ones you aren't even sure what they mean (e.g. sound mixing). I don't know much about this life, but if there's one thing my years of pop culture study has taught me, it's how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes.

There's something a little bit wrong about cheering during the Oscars, especially if your "wahoo"-ing and "aww yeah!"-ing is uttered during a speech like Robert Richardson's dedication to his ailing mother. The kind of raucous yelling that was going on seems more aptly suited for watching a championship game in a peanut shell-littered sports bar... not for a black tie affair at the Kodak theater...

Still, I'd never been as engaged and emotionally invested (financially too I suppose) in categories such as "Best Documentary Short Subject" and "Best Makeup" before. Events are so much more interesting when you have something to root for - whether it's the underdog baseball team, the hometown basketball team, or the cute but talentless reality show contestant.

Though Elton John pronounced, "This was the most predictable Oscars ever!" at his post-bash fundraiser and most of the frontrunner nonimees ended up taking statuettes home, I still take pride in the fact that I came out with the most wins. Though some of the other Oscar Parlay participants (e.g. the ones who didn't win), complained about my gambling strategy (i.e. read EW's predictions and go with those I didn't have a moral objection to, such as Spider-Man 2), I say:

(1) It was never stated in the rules that you couldn't rely on outside resources. Even if there was a rule to not follow professional advice, there's no way anyone could have been completely blind to predictions. That would require having not heard about Jamie Foxx's teary Golden Globe acceptance, aka having lived in a bubble for the past year.

(2) Anytime you put money into anything, you should do some research. Whether it's in a stock portfolio, a movie ticket, a pair of shoes, or even a $5 wager, you should know what you're putting your nickels and dimes into. You can't rely on just "a feeling" or a "cool-sounding name" to win - I learned this at the racetrack last summer (though I did win $15 or so voting on my ani's name - thanks Brad!)...

(3) This...

anything + money = fun. Gamble on.



	Wednesday, March 02, 2005 · posted at 3:13 AM gambling makes fun Round 3 question: What is a surefire way to liven up a dull party? Jessica Shaw: My mother buzzed in first and...speak up, Mom!...say something...I'm begging you...ANYTHING! But she blanked. Dan Snierson: My mom swooped in and said alcohol. Wait a second — is my mom cool? And we were on a roll. . .until Jennifer uttered the word strip. I was so bummed — or was it embarrassed? — but somehow, it was up there on the board! ''I'm going to your parties,'' cracked [Richard] Karn. In a million years, I never thought I'd witness the Tool Time sidekick hitting on my little sister. JS: We went into huddle mode and Danny came up with another winner: Tell jokes! We knew we'd steal... Here's where my memories go slo-mo and the Platoon soundtrack kicks in. Our team had agreed on jokes for the steal, but at the last second, [my boyfriend who was pretending to be my fiance] Steve whispered drugs. Maybe it was my guilt for dragging him into this mess. Maybe it was because I looked at the board and saw exotic dancer and alcohol. But I chose love over logic and proudly exclaimed, drugs!The audience went silent. Karn's face went white. The answer was tell jokes. Our fake engagement was off. ~ EW writers Jessica Shaw and Dan Snierson on their experience on the gameshow Family Feud Of all the award shows, the Golden Globes are definitely my favorite. It honors both movie and television and doubles the movie awards by separating drama from comedy/musical. It's always unpredictable - from the clothes, the winners, the whereabouts of the winners (Christine Lahti's 2001 bathroom break), and the "I'd like to thank..."s (see Natalie Portman's, among others, giggly drunk acceptance speech). And of course, how can I not love a ceremony that honors oft overlooked talents such as Felicity's Keri Russell? But this year, I was absolutely glued to the 77th Academy Awards. Not because every minute was riveting (although there were less of them this year due to the hyperspeed pacing that brought statuettes down the aisle to the winner), or the acceptance speeches were more amusing - Charlie Kaufman's "I don't want to take my time. I want to get off the stage"), or to look for the subtleties (e.g. Tim Robbins flipping the bird to Chris Rock), or to wait for the next goof (e.g. stagehands running around, mic feedback). What made the Oscars so exciting this year? A wager. James and Jon started up an Oscar pool. Five bucks buys you in and the pot goes to the person with the most correct award wins, meaning it'd be advantageous to guess a winner for all 24 categories - even the ones you aren't even sure what they mean (e.g. sound mixing). I don't know much about this life, but if there's one thing my years of pop culture study has taught me, it's how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes. There's something a little bit wrong about cheering during the Oscars, especially if your "wahoo"-ing and "aww yeah!"-ing is uttered during a speech like Robert Richardson's dedication to his ailing mother. The kind of raucous yelling that was going on seems more aptly suited for watching a championship game in a peanut shell-littered sports bar... not for a black tie affair at the Kodak theater... Still, I'd never been as engaged and emotionally invested (financially too I suppose) in categories such as "Best Documentary Short Subject" and "Best Makeup" before. Events are so much more interesting when you have something to root for - whether it's the underdog baseball team, the hometown basketball team, or the cute but talentless reality show contestant. Though Elton John pronounced, "This was the most predictable Oscars ever!" at his post-bash fundraiser and most of the frontrunner nonimees ended up taking statuettes home, I still take pride in the fact that I came out with the most wins. Though some of the other Oscar Parlay participants (e.g. the ones who didn't win), complained about my gambling strategy (i.e. read EW's predictions and go with those I didn't have a moral objection to, such as Spider-Man 2), I say: (1) It was never stated in the rules that you couldn't rely on outside resources. Even if there was a rule to not follow professional advice, there's no way anyone could have been completely blind to predictions. That would require having not heard about Jamie Foxx's teary Golden Globe acceptance, aka having lived in a bubble for the past year. (2) Anytime you put money into anything, you should do some research. Whether it's in a stock portfolio, a movie ticket, a pair of shoes, or even a $5 wager, you should know what you're putting your nickels and dimes into. You can't rely on just "a feeling" or a "cool-sounding name" to win - I learned this at the racetrack last summer (though I did win $15 or so voting on my ani's name - thanks Brad!)... (3) This... anything + money = fun. Gamble on.	Recent Posts I'm not only the Hair Club president, I'm also a m... Just not that into you. Every season I pick one re... Hair-raiser. At the risk of sounding like a Long H... Retract those claws.Evelyn: Well, I wonder where M... Beautifully Human. I went to the Jill Scott conce... Author's Note: Usually I renounce Valentine's Day ... Allow me to introduce you to my pukey face.And it ... One night stand. Most women think it's completely... Just say no and other taglines. Let me introduce y... Anything you can do I can do better. I can do any... Morning news babie goose ryan bluemouse daves son dawntaught desiree diorama emily escadawg galveric high entropy invisible cube jepgato kyellow lilly mhuang mogbert nudream starfish + coffee verbivore Archives March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 January 2007 March 2007 April 2007 November 2008

	all humiliation © by author