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by **Whig's Boson** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:18 pm

This is an announcement for RMP Fest: Apophasis is a False God. This tournament is being run as a side event to the 2008 Illinois Open and will happen after the conclusion of IO proper on Saturday night, presumably in the same set of rooms.

The tournament will consist of 10 packets of twenty tossups. In addition to questions on mythology, religion, and philosophy, there will be a slight (2/0 per packet) distribution of "Other Thought", which might include, but is not limited to, political theory, social science, art and literary criticism, historical theory, etc.

The identity of the tournament director and the fee structure are not yet known, but will be posted ASAP. For the time being, please contact me with any questions or comments you have.

If you are running an IO mirror or another tournament on the weekend of the 15th, I would be very happy to arrange a mirror of RMP Fest with you. Just contact me at barthur DOT jd10 AT law DOT harvard DOT edu.

by **marnold** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:44 pm

I will be the tournament director for this at IO. Either post here or email me at marnold A.T. uchicago D.O.T. edu if you're definitely interested, possibly interested, or interested contingent on showing up to the UIUC IO. Based on the number of people that sign up, we'll figure out what format will work the best and Bruce and I will figure out fees.

by **Ukonvasara** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:50 pm

Definitely interested.

by **Crazy Andy Watkins** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:07 pm

I'm totally up for this if it's mirrored at Brandeis. I will also totally have to learn RMP, but that's fair.

Do you have any preconceived notion of singles/doubles/etc., or would that be based on field size?

by **No Rules Westbrook** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:43 pm

I'll play, it goes without saying.

by **dtaylor4** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:27 pm

I will staff this.

Website · by **tetragrammatology** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:26 pm

dtaylor4 wrote:I will staff this.

As will I.

by **Ukonvasara** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:54 pm

bonghits4mukherjesus wrote:
dtaylor4 wrote:I will staff this.

As will I.

you will play this and like it

by **Whig's Boson** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:57 pm

Bernadette is banned from playing, as she is writing questions for this. Sorry.

Andy: I would recommend a doubles or triples format for this. I think the UIUC site is going to use a mixed doubles/triples format like the Andrew Hart lit tournament did, but other locations (if they come to be) can use whatever format they please.

by **DumbJaques** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:09 pm

I see no reason why Maryland wouldn't mirror this.

by **Whig's Boson** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:33 pm

Update:

In honor of the State of Missouri, the Illinois site of RMPFest will feature a ten-question worksheet. The worksheet will have a theme. Teams will have the entire tournament to fill out this worksheet, and the team with the highest score on it will be recognized at the end of the tournament. It will have no effect on standings.

Also, if you are interested in running a mirror of RMPFest, please respond to the email I sent out a few weeks ago which contained my proposed payment plan.

by **Katamari Damacy** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:47 pm

Fucking awesome.

by **Whig's Boson** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 8:52 pm

Update:

If you are not planning to go to RMPFest and are interested in writing some philosophy tossups, please contact me ASAP.

by **marnold** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:06 pm

Here's an update:

Playing -
Trygve Meade
Ryan Westbrook
Rob Carson
Will Turner
Seth Teitler (probably)
consistent with his policy of playing everything, I will assume Mike Sorice even though he hasn't signed himself up

Staffing -
Bernadette Spencer
Donald Taylor
me

Obviously more people are going to sign up (by either posting here or emailing me at marnold A.T uchicago D.O.T edu), but the most likely format for this tournament will be some sort of round-robin with teams of 2 or 3, so if you want to sign up teams as twosomes, that would great. My plan right now is to set a cap on a reasonable/convenient number of teams on the Thursday before the tournament so I can make schedules beforehand, then the composition of the teams themselves can be set either in advance or right before the tournament to accommodate free agents or the people who inevitably will want to sign up or drop at the last moment. IO will be in Gregory Hall, which is by a bunch of places to eat, so I will claim that registration for this tournament (i.e., paying me the fee that will soon be set by Head Editor Bruce Octavian Arthur, assembling teams, etc.) will begin 45 minutes after the end of IO itself with the tournament beginning 30 minutes after that.

If any of that is obviously stupid and wrong-headed, feel free to tell me.

by **theMoMA** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:33 pm

I'd like to play this. If we're making teams for this, I'm probably best at philosophy and the "other thought" stuff, so I'd prefer to play with someone who likes myth a whole lot.

by **Katamari Damacy** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:43 pm

I'll play this as a "I'm bad at college level RMP" player, so bear in mind I probably won't add much to anyone's team.

by **Ukonvasara** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:02 pm

I believe Trygve Meade and I have agreed to play this together.

by **Captain Sinico** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:32 pm

marnold wrote:consistent with his policy of playing everything, I will assume Mike Sorice even though he hasn't signed himself up

Now you're on the trolley.

MaS

by **Whig's Boson** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:42 pm

I think the original plan was to have teams of 2 (or teams of 3 for novices) with a flat $30 per team. However, since interest seems anemic, we might move to a solo format. We'll see how many people sign up in the next few days.

by **DumbJaques** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:12 pm

Why not just make it $15/person and let individual sites work it out as best suits them?

Website · by **tetragrammatology** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:18 pm

DumbJaques wrote:Why not just make it $15/person and let individual sites work it out as best suits them?

Sounds like a great idea, and if it's three newer people, I would even consider making it $10 per person, but that is up to Bruce.

by **theMoMA** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:24 pm

These events typically are in demand at the tournament a lot more than in these threads. I'm guessing you will have plenty of interested players come Saturday.

by **EncyclopediaCDRom** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:51 pm

As I have free room and board (just for myself) for the upcoming Friday and Saturday nights, I will remain for the R/M/P singles/doubles after the Illinois Open, hoping to secure a spot as a free agent.

Happy early All Saints' Day,
Rom Masrour
CPS/UIC

by **theMoMA** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:12 pm

As a side note, could we get a schedule of IO events?

by **millionwaves** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:16 pm

Sure, you'll find one in the initial post of the announcement thread for IO.

by **Katamari Damacy** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:24 pm

Hey, like, the night before or after IO some of us should totally go see Quantum of Solace.

by **No Rules Westbrook** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:28 pm

Oh, I suppose I'll need a teammate for this at some point. Someone who knows stuff about Judeo-Christian religion would be ideal, since I...you know, don't. My email if interested: CryoBristow@aol.com

by **Cheynem** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 12:22 pm

If I will go to Illinois Open (which is looking more and more likely), I will definitely play this, even though I only have "R" knowlege in RMP.

by **cvdwightw** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 2:42 pm

As I will be playing TRASH Regionals the next day, I will play this if Berkeley chooses to run it.

by **Whig's Boson** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 8:18 pm

Just so everyone knows what kind of teammate they need, here is the per-packet distribution:

1/0 Norse Myth
1/0 Classical Mythology
1/0 Other European Myth
1/0 Hamito-Semitic/Sumerian/Anatolian/Elamite Mythology

1/0 Christianity
1/0 Islam
1/0 Judaism
1/0 Hinduism
1/0 Religions and Traditions of the Subcontinent and Central Asia [other than Hinduism]
1/0 Religions and Traditions of East Asia
1/0 African/Afro-Caribbean/Meso Ameican/Native American

2/0 Religion and Mythology Grab-Bag (more of the above, plus things that don't fit into any of the distributions)

5/0 Philosophy

2/0 "Other Thought" (Economics, Political Science, Political Theory, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Art or Literary Criticism, Historical Theory, etc)

by **setht** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:13 pm

Whig's Boson wrote:Just so everyone knows what kind of teammate they need, here is the per-packet distribution:

This probably doesn't make all that much difference in making teammate selections, but I'm curious: are these tossups roughly comparable in difficulty level (especially of the answers) as the myth singles, or should we expect questions on the hilt of Borvo's sword and the like?

-Seth

by **Whig's Boson** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 12:51 am

The mythology canon, player interest in mythology, and my own appreciation of mythology have all expanded since 2005. This tournament reflects that.

There is a good mix of pyramidal tossups on well-known things and pyramidal tossups on exciting, interesting things. While the tournament will be harder than 2005 Myth Singles, I believe it is entirely appropriate for a field that contains both many of the country's most elite players and several novices.

by **Strongside** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:57 pm

I would like to sign up for this tournament.

I currently don't have a teammate. If anyone wants to play with me, you can email me at byrne111@umn.edu

by **theMoMA** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:02 am

Strongside wrote:I would like to sign up for this tournament.

I currently don't have a teammate. If anyone wants to play with me, you can email me at byrne111@umn.edu

Want to team up for this, Brendan?

by **Strongside** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:23 am

theMoMA wrote:
Strongside wrote:I would like to sign up for this tournament.

I currently don't have a teammate. If anyone wants to play with me, you can email me at byrne111@umn.edu

Want to team up for this, Brendan?

Yeah. Andrew and I will be a team for this.

by **Cheynem** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:48 am

Jeremy Gibbs Free Energy wrote:Hey, like, the night before or after IO some of us should totally go see Quantum of Solace.

Yes.

by **marnold** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:19 pm

Here's some info.

Signed up teams:
Andrew Hart/Brendan Byrne
Rob Carson/Trygve Meade
Seth Teitler/Mike Sorice
Mike Cheyne/Joe Hansen
David Flowers/Billy Beyer
Ryan Westbrook/Will Turner (perhaps?)

Interested but unpaired:
Rom
Carsten Gehring
Shazam Jha
Paul Gauthier

The pricing stuff put forward tentatively above is now confirmed: $15 per person, or $10 per person for the Div II teams that are 3 people.

EDIT: field updated and I'll continue to just edit this post as/if people sign up in the next few days

by **Katamari Damacy** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:24 pm

It doesn't seem like I will be able to play IO.

by **Cheynem** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:21 pm

I think Joe Hansen (from Minnesota) will probably play this, so I'll partner with him if he does. If not, then I'd be willing to partner with anyone who knows something about M or P.

by **OctagonJoe** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:51 pm

Assuming transportation doesn't fail me in getting to Illinois, I'll gladly play or staff this.

by **wd4gdz** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:17 pm

Sign up David Flowers and I for a team, please....and bring on the Elamite Mythology!

by **No Rules Westbrook** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 1:14 pm

Hey, Will Turner, I hear you're interested in this or something. Want to get the Neg Brothers back together?

by **Whig's Boson** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:59 am

RMPFest has been completed. It has been emailed to the TD's at the UIUC, Berkeley, and UMD sites.

by **Whig's Boson** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:05 am

I'm told that a team of Mike Sorice and Seth Teitler won the UIUC mirror. No word from UMD yet.

Website · by **tetragrammatology** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:36 am

Whig's Boson wrote:I'm told that a team of Mike Sorice and Seth Teitler won the UIUC mirror. No word from UMD yet.

Indeed. It was enjoyed by all.

by **grapesmoker** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:28 pm

Whig's Boson wrote:I'm told that a team of Mike Sorice and Seth Teitler won the UIUC mirror. No word from UMD yet.

After a 5-round round-robin, Matt Weiner and Jonathan Magin won the first game of an advantaged final against myself and Ted Gioia to win the UMD mirror.

by **bt_green_warbler** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:38 pm

Results from the five rounds played at Berkeley:

Format was one room of seven solo players. Three negs killed a tossup.

Player (10/-5)
Andrew (49/24)
Dwight (19/4)
Brian (13/1)
Mike (15/8)
Willie (3/1)
Marcus (1/0)
Jon (0/1)

by **marnold** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:16 pm

Whig's Boson wrote:I'm told that a team of Mike Sorice and Seth Teitler won the UIUC mirror. No word from UMD yet.

We kept stats, so I'll eventually get those posted, but for now I'll just add this info: the winning team was Seth Teitler/Mike Sorice/Andrew Ullsperger. We played a double-round robin on all 10 packets, with the understanding that any ties would be broken by the score on the worksheet round(!). Seth, Mike and Andrew cleared the field at 10-0, while a team of Nick Polk/Shantanu Jha/Paul Gauthier finished second at 7-3 and Rob Carson/Ryan Westbrook finished third at 6-4. The top 6 scorers were in order Seth Teitler, Rob Carson, Mike Sorice, Brendan Byrne, Ryan Westbrook and Paul Gauthier. In the worksheet round, Andrew Hart/Brendan Byrne and Seth/Mike/Andrew tied with 50/110 while a team of Billy Beyer, Carsten Gehring and Rom Masrour had 40/110.

Thanks to Selene and Bernadette for reading; Mike Sorice and Rob Carson for use of computers; Seth Teitler for confirming I know how to make a round-robin schedule; Anna, Lauren (I think, sorry if this is wrong) and possibly someone else for score-keeping; and Charles for keeping stats.

by **Whig's Boson** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:21 pm

I would like to thank the following people for writing questions: Michael "Marhola" Arnold, William J. Dix, Dr. Seth Kendall, Evan Nagler, Chris Chiego, Charles Meigs, and Grace Li.

In addition to the writers, I would also like to thank the following groups of people:

(1) Dan Passner, Kyle Haddad-Fonda, and Dallas Simons, who all looked over significant portions of the tournament, helping to edit and in some cases re-write tossups.

(2) Eric Mukerhjee, Auroni Gupta, Guy Tabachnick, Anurag Kashyap, and Zhao Zhang, who spent hours playtesting the tournament on IRC, giving substantive feedback and in many cases suggesting new clues for tossups.

(3) All the people who read, staffed, kept score, or compiled stats at any of the RMPFest locations.

There may (or may not) be a small NE mirror next weekend; thus, I would strongly discourage public discussion of specific questions. If you have feedback on the questions or something else you want to say, please email me and I would be more than happy to talk about it.

by **Cheynem** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:38 am

Thanks for writing this. Despite sucking at it, it was very fun to play and surprisingly accessible. It was worth not sleeping to play.

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