From California, with Love

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Bill, who listens to us on WYSU, writes…

“My wife and I watched the Kisses & Quips taping last night, and Dave asked for feedback. So, here is mine. We loved it and had such a great time! We’ve seen you live two times (Thousand Oaks, CA, and Seattle, WA) and look forward to seeing you live again. Until then, we enjoyed last night’s format. I hooked up my computer to our TV. We enjoyed seeing Dave and the panelists, the onstage banter, and the music. By the way, the pre-show music was great – I wish I had recorded it. We will gladly buy tickets to future remote shows. And have the current Ben Sher do his Pipit and Finch credit after a taping.

Unfortunately, our local public radio station no longer carries Says You. I record the broadcast off of WYSU’s internet stream and listen to it on one of my neighborhood exercise walks. It puts me into a great mood!”

Live Shows to Live STREAMS!

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Steve, a listener from KEMC, writes…

“My wife, son, and I enjoyed the two live stream programs and would be interested in more. Thanks for keeping the show going. We are looking forward to when the live shows are safe to return. Keep up the good work.”

Bottoms Up!

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Bailey, who listens to us on WFSQ, writes…

“In the first bluffing round on this week’s show, Carolyn’s bluff that ‘endover’ could mean something to the effect of ‘capsizing end over end’ provoked much skepticism that (1) such a thing could happen, and (2) there would be a name for it. But it can (I have done it), and there is: it is known as ‘pitchpoling.'”

Hello Huntsville – Do you remember Harry?

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Dale, who hears us from WLRH , writes….

“I love your show.  I listened on WPLN for several years, until WLRH began carrying you.  I have some puzzle suggestions for you. 

The attached file is a scan of a book that is famous at WLRH.  Beginning in 1987, Judy and Harry Watters began THE Saturday morning radio staple in Huntsville.  They hosted a two-hour radio show…right after Weekend Edition Saturday, and right before Whad’ Ya Know…called Sundial.  Judy was a WLRH staffer, and Harry was an engineer, of which there is an over supply in Huntsville.  It was a wonderful mix of music, stories, and Harry’s Word Trails.  He would read them, and listeners would call-in to answer them.  The prize in the early years was a WLRH T-shirts, and I still have mine.  Later on, the prizes included this book.

Judy was a founding WLRH staffer who only recently retired.  Harry died in 2002 after a battle with cancer.  Their two sons, Ken and Harry, world renowned musicians.”

 

To check out the book, click the link below (Make sure to rotate the .pdf file 180 degrees so it isn’t upside down!)

Harry Watters Little Book of Word Trails

Of the Little Rock Lovelesses

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Mark, who hears us on KUAR, writes…

 

“I love the nine-rounders – thank you so much. I was really struggling the first half hour (I did get both bluffs – I know how Richard’s mind works), but then we hit the ‘identify the photographs’ round Ms. Laura submitted – I knocked them all out (except for Spinning At The Loom – embarrassing in retrospect). Then five of the six Frank Ferrel ‘Sing It’ rounds. Ended up with a decent score, and felt better about myself.

 

It is so sweet to hear Richard again, and the rapid fire of the nine-rounders is quite the exercise. Thanks again to the only quiz show worth its salt on radio! I appreciate it, and say so when I give my donations.”

Don’t Ask him for Directions!

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Bryan, a who hears us on KALW, writes,

 

“Please clear up something that has long since puzzled me. Richard Sher used to introduce the teams as ‘the first of which sits stereo left’ followed by ‘to my right,’ which would place him facing away from the stereo listener. (At some point, perhaps with later hosts, this seems to have been changed to the less-mysterious ‘to the right.’) Had I attended a taping, would the stereo-left team have appeared on the left of Mr. Sher to the audience (that is, to his right)?”

Well Bryan, we were hoping we had put all discussions of far left and right to bed with the election!  Seriously, Richard Sher had an uncanny sense of navigation anywhere in the world but never mastered the basics of left and right!  Had you been to a live show, you would see that Richard’s lectern was not positioned in the middle of two teams.  Rather, we typically arrange the cast in the middle of the stage and the host off to stage right and the band off to stage left.  Hence, Barry’s team is both stereo right and also seated to Richard’s right.

Pyrotechnic Prophylactic

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Ralph, a listener on KQED, writes…

“During your recent broadcast involving lists (beers of the world, languages, et al), your listing of various kinds of pyrotechnics (‘Falling Leaves,’ ‘Peony,’ etc.) left out my favorite, that I once found in a catalog of Chinese fireworks. It was translated into english as ‘Monkey Violates The Heavens.’  I’ve never witnessed one of these going off, but I’m sure that it is spectacular (and I would be sure to wear a wide-brimmed hat, just in case.)

But keep up the great work, just the same!”

Betwixt, Between and Beyond!

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Bruce, a listener from NYC, writes…

“My sense of betwixt is that not only does it refer to a physical location, but a very specific one. You wouldn’t say ‘somewhere betwixt the coasts,’ unless you were a true coastal elitist. The thing betwixt other things is probably touching both and maybe wedged in between. The irony of ‘betwixt the cup and the lip’ is that the location is specific to the point of vanishing, like the field of knowledge of a PhD dissertation.”

Step Aside, Tom Brady!

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Neil, a listener on KQED, writes…

“I am so glad to hear that at least someone has declared the “gate” suffix dead, but you missed my favorite – San Francisco’s own “Fajitagate.” It’s as ridiculous and embarrassing as it sounds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajitagate

Thanks for a fun Sunday radio tradition.”

Rudee Behavior?

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Mark, a KUOW listener, writes…

 

“I vividly remember it reported in the Seattle Times that Rudy Vallee wanted to have his street renamed in his name, but was turned down by his neighbors and the city council. Thank God! He really was a jerk. He visited Seattle once and dined at Ivar’s Acres of Clams restaurant and a guest at another table choked… Rudy got up and administered the Heimlich maneuver thereby saving his life, except it was nothing more than a publicity stunt. I remember all this very well even at 75. Your contestant was mistaken.”

Mark is correct that what was renamed was a driveway (essentially a private road), not a city street. But we didn’t say it was a city street. Arnie said, “You know what the name of his street was in Beverly Hills, right? I mean, this is true. He made it — changed it to Rue de Vallee. True.”