My Weekend In Vermont - Part Two

Continuing my week's theme of looking at two days spent in the Green Mountain State, we're going to actually take a closer look at the program Says You! and my experience seeing the two shows.

My Weekend In Vermont

After the untimely death of Richard Sher, I wasn't sure my favorite radio program Says You! would be doing any more new episodes.  Would one of the panelists take over his duties?  Would it be a rotating position?  Would anybody be able to match his ability to make terrible puns and draw the most obscure guesses from the panelists?  

Glancing through their website a few weeks ago, I noticed two shows were announced.  One was a "memorial" show in Bennington, Vermont, and the other was happening the next day down in Dorset.   The second was simply being advertised as a standard show.

For weeks I mulled over whether or not I should attend.  As a fan, I wasn't sure I'd ever get another chance to see the show again.  I also wanted to be there to show solidarity for the program, and show that I, like many others, would miss Richard.

On the other hand, it wasn't going to be cheap.  There were tickets to buy, a hotel room to book, gas for the car, dinner to get, and other, unknown expenses.  I pondered this a lot up until I glanced online two weekends ago and saw that the tickets to the first performance were sold out.  Well, I decided, that settled that.

...or did it?  On a whim, I sent an email to the show asking if any more tickets might be released.  I said I'd be willing to sit anywhere, be it in a balcony, off to the side, or in a folding chair just outside the auditorium so I can listen.  The next day I received notice that there were two tickets available.  I sought out anybody interested in going with me, but since it was such short notice for a radio program most of my friends have never listened to (thanks, MPBN), I soon found myself replying that I would love one ticket if they still had it.

I purchased a ticket for the second show, booked a hotel room, and planned out what to pack.

On Friday, I left work early, climbed into my car, and headed off into the wild green yonder.  I went to somewhere that still has patches where I can best describe the quality of my cell phone signal as "Ha-ha, no."

For the remainder of this week, I'm going to be doing some observations from my trip, starting with something a bit more personal than the others.

In Memorium: Richard Sher

(Yes, I'm aware that Terry Pratchett also just passed away, but I've been working this tribute out in my head for a while and finally submitted it to the "Says You!" site.  I also figured I'd post it here.)

I've seen "Says You!" recorded twice in my life, once at the Camden Opera House and once at USM in Portland.  I've listened for years, off and on at first, but then became a truly die-hard fan as time went on.  It's not uncommon for me to simply play episodes while I work all day, struggling to THIS time remember all of the words, trivia, and fun I hear so I can spread it to others (which they're undoubtedly sick of).

There aren't many entertainers that I consider a true "influence" on my life.  A few writers have certainly inspired my love of writing and heavily influenced my writing style.  A few entertainers have taught me ways to tell jokes, relate a story, or simply talk to people.  Richard Sher, and by association, the panelists of his show, taught me something about myself that I was in danger of losing.

Says You!

Word games, to me, are some of the most fun people can have.  Trivia, puzzles, puns, stories, they all stem from the core attribute of a civilization: a shared language.  No matter what your interests, you tend to express your enthusiasm and appreciation through the use of words similar to everybody else, so when something is willing to take something that everybody shares and has a natural experience with and breaks it down into its own source of enjoyment, I love it.

That previous paragraph was a fancy way to say that one of my favorite things in the entire world is the radio program Says You!  It airs on NPR stations across the country (but, sadly, not the one I get to listen to here in Maine be- whoops, almost went on a rant).

Hosted by Richard Sher, the program started in Boston but frequently shows up in cities across the United States.  He has a regular panel of contestants who have been long time friends of his (with one exception, Carolyn Faye Fox, who they met on the first day of auditions and whom Richard calls "the best break the show ever got."  It shows, with a level of familiarity with each other that can only come from not just performing a regular show together for at least fourteen years, but for having been friends for years before.

The contestants/panelists themselves are an eccentric and fascinating group, with each having a history that somehow ties into language.  Whether it's a history of performance, broadcasting, or writing, each manages to bring an educated and appreciative view to the game, and seem just as eager to learn the answers to the questions as they are to attempt to puzzle them out.

Each show consists of five rounds, three of which can consist of anything from "definitions and derivations of words and phrases" to games based off of whatever Richard and his crew can put together.  Rounds in the past have included such things as "what's the first song on side A of the following albums," "what's the difference between the following," "name the local town from these terrible clues," and my personal favorite "odd man out" where Richard presents a list, and the contestant has to figure out what all but one have in common and pick the one that doesn't belong.

For instance, if you were presented the following list: Comet, Cupid, Pharaoh, and Pip, would you know that all but Cupid was the name of back-up group members of rock and roll bands?

Or how about if you got: life, heart, toes, and underwear, could you figure out that toes is the only one you can't have "a change of?"

Or how about if you got Adam's apple, tin ear, spare rib, and water on the knee, tin ear is the only one not part of the board game Operation?

The other two rounds consist of attempts of one team of contestants to bluff the other team by presenting multiple definitions of a word, only one of which is correct.  I've learned so many new words (and laughed so hard at fake definitions) that the show has already become invaluable in my life.

For example, I'm not proud to call myself a "nelipot" since that's a person who walks around barefoot.

A tuzzy-muzzy is a small garland of flowers.  To "hoon" is to drive recklessly and without concern for others in Australia.  Hoove isn't a failed heimlich maneuver (as was presented by one contestant) but is in fact a disease in cattle.  Orgle is the sound a male llama makes when...well, "copulating" is the best way I can think of describing it.

I try to use these in daily conversation whenever I can.

I encourage everybody to check out the program's website.  You can even go to the store and download a free hour long episode for your own enjoyment to see if you like it.  Sit back, spend some time with a group of friends who not only love to have each other around, but help you feel like they're your friend as well with the intimacies and personal facts they share.  You might learn something.

Podblast! Ask Me Another

I love games. 

Actually, I think I said this before.  I did a whole spiel about all the different types of games I like, so I'm not going to do it again.  If you want to read it, go read my talk about Apples to Apples. 

One of my favorite types of games?  Mental games.

Nnnnnnot that type of mental game.  I mean more like puzzles, word riddles, and things that you have to write clues down and figure out the puzzle.

One of my personal favorite radio shows of all time is Says You! which, it appears, my local NPR station just decided to remove from its schedule, thus confirming that I'll never give them another dime of my money.

Seriously, people, you couldn't take one of the more clever and educational programs on the air and give it priority over programs that air more than once in a weekend?  Do we really need to hear This American Life twice, or have seventy-three hours (or so it feels) of classical music in a week?

I suppose this is what happens when the population of your state just keeps getting older and older, they don't like being challenged with hard thinking.

Where was I?  Oh, right.

Anyway, Says You! will get its own article soon, but for now, I'm going to discuss one of NPR's national programs called Ask Me Another, which is a similar style puzzle game where you have to do anything from name things that start with "a" and end in "z" or figure out world cities based on what their McDonald's menus sell.  It's not quite as high-thinking as Says You! but I suppose it is more accessible to a wider audience.

The host of the program is Ophira Eisenberg, who is a bit like Peter Sagal if still a bit raw (I expect experience hosting the show will improve that), and she usually has one puzzle guru to assist her, though it rotates.  Contestants from the audience are brought up and presented with puzzle games, the winner gets to move on to the final round at the end of the game.  There are also frequent special guests who get their own game, much in the style of "Not My Job" on Wait Wait.

Overall, I enjoy it.  There are frequently trips to reruns which are a little disappointing, but hearing Michael Ian Black talk like a valley girl as he gives clues never gets old.  Again, the topics are frequently a bit more mainstream, and there isn't quite the same focus on the English language that I enjoyed so much in Says You! (seriously, where else am I going to learn the definition of a word like "nelipot" so I can realize that I am one?), but as far as mainstream puzzles go, it really is enjoyable.  With a bit of clean-up and perhaps a tighter bit of editing, it could really become one of my favorite shows.

Especially now that I either have to tune in online to other ratio stations around the country for my favorite program, or I have to pay money to get their episodes.  Seriously, Maine, no love for Boston-based programming?