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Here’s a the first of several short clips from a reading of Trebekistan I did for the Mensa World Gathering in Orlando in the middle of August.

(I’m not in Mensa, btw.  And why were we in central Florida in the hottest days of August?  As I’ve noted before: because Mensa is full of geniuses.)

If you’re from the midwest, you’ve probably shopped at one of these stores in a neighborhood like the one I came from.  I hope this brings back a few fun memories.
 

More on the way.

The fun videos are here.  Should be another one up later today.

Thanks for stopping in!

How about less than $1900, including taxes? 

Just want to point out the travel links at Trebekistan.com.  When I tell people you can travel a lot more cheaply than people realize, they often don’t quite believe me.  But believe me.  The time is usually a lot harder to find than the money.

If there’s one thing I want people to take from Prisoner of Trebekistan, it’s to start getting excited about how small and interconnected and accessible much of the world really is.

It’s the weekend.  You have the time.  Go.  Click.  Play.  Daydream.

Then do.

Now that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has made Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony and Survival a surprise best-seller, here’s a sampling of what Chavez had to say about other recent books in various speeches before the United Nations.

On Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck:

On James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia:

On John Grogan’s Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog:

Next week: speaking at the Organization of American States, Hugo Chavez reviews the season premieres of Grey’s Anatomy and The Office.

We’re getting a bunch of new visitors of late, so if you’re unfamiliar with Friday pudublogging, you might want to click on "Pudu" in the main menu (or just click here) and scroll around, enjoying the numerous cool species we’re fond of here.

I’ve been busy, so this week, let’s look back at the South African rock hyraxes I photographed on Table Mountain a while back:

These are not to be confused with their distant relative, the jazz hyrax:

Here’s a big shock: O’Reilly again.

Via Raw Story.

Hello, sudden flood of StumbleUpon visitors!  Wow.  Lots of you.

Where you are: Prisoner of Trebekistan is my new humor book about not winning on Jeopardy! a total of five times.  (Yes, you read that right.  So far, in fact, I have played for and not won a total of over $3.1 million.  Which is something not many people can say.  Or probably would.)  This page is a blog about Trebekistan and related events, with a lot of free stuff to enjoy.

If you’re smiling at the idea of somebody losing on Jeopardy!
not just once, but over and over, or you’d like to learn how people actually study the vast range of
material, or you’ve always been curious about what Alex and the game and its best
players are really like to be around — all while laughing at my
expense — you might enjoy clicking around here, and you’ll probably love the book.  At left are early blurbs from the Wall Street Journal, Ira Glass, Entertainment Weekly, and even Joss Whedon, the guy who created Buffy. (Neat!)

Whether you want to pick up your own copy of Trebekistan right now, fans of Jeopardy! will find a lot to play with here on this site anyway.  For starters, this video
explains how a guy with little real knowledge of classic books
(me) can pull British Literature out of the
netherest of regions:

And this video reveals an unexpected result after your first nine games — more Some Contestants Also Receive! crap than I’d have ever believed:

If you’re smiling, you’ll probably have fun with the book and this site.

Poke around the Trebekistan Menu to the upper right, and you’ll find chats with many of Jeopardy!’s
greats, a bunch of travel stuff (the show led me to get more
excited about seeing a lot of the world, a feeling I hope
you’ll ultimately share) including some cool pics further down this
page, and a trove of extra material I’ll be adding to
regularly, all designed to be
fun for fans of both Jeopardy! and Prisoner of Trebekistan.

Thanks for stopping by!  Amazon is always open if you decide you want to get a copy for yourself or as a gift.  Either way, come back soon for new videos and more.

But, um, when the actual name of your company is "Natural Selection Foods"…

Wanted to post a YouTube or Google video of Ken’s appearance on Colbert last night, but it doesn’t seem to be online yet.  So instead, here’s a classic Ken moment, in case you haven’t seen it:

I’m getting asked in interviews every day if Ken and I are rivals, since Brainiac and Trebekistan came out at almost exactly the same time.  Nah.

Truth is, I saw this particular game when it happened, and the same exact thought came to my head, too. 

So you can figure we get along just fine.

Video here.  Executive summary here.  Full research paper here.