Almost nothing about the MONTHS TOURNAMENT so far can prepare voters for the absolute chaos, insanity, and downright madness that is the "modern reform" bracket. Voters have only gotten a taste of the weirdness so far, with the "Dreamspell" play-in and its evocations of New Age sentiments.
Folks, to quote both Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Avril Lavigne, "you ain't seen nothin' yet." The "modern reform" bracket is a delightful romp through the French Revolution, positivism, Alfred Jarry's pataphysical philosophy, "Discordianism," and more.
The "reform 3" quadrant is voters' first look at this wonderful bracket. The first voting post/ballot will soon follow, so please don't vote until then! Thank you for your patience, as always.
Welcome to the first round of voting in the "reform 3" quadrant.
To kick things off, we have a 3/62 matchup between French Revolutionary heavy hitter Thermidor and fan-favorite Dreamspell month Self-Existing. Although Self-Existing won the hearts, if not the minds, of over half of the play-in voters, it will be a tough task to take down Thermidor, which is one of the most recognizable month names outside of the Julio-Gregorian calendar, albeit for somewhat "bloody" reasons. Those reasons being, of course, the Thermidorian Reaction, a violent reactionary period during the French Revolution. Don't count out Self-Existing and its tonal resonances with self-control and discipline, not to mention the momentum from winning the play-in, but Thermidor enters this matchup a heavy favorite.
The next matchup doesn't feature nearly the "star power" as some of the others, but voters may find the 30/35 throwdown between Pédale and Frederick to offer an interesting contrast. Pédale is voters' first introduction to the Pataphysical calendar, based on the absurd writings of the French author Alfred Jarry (most famous for Ubu Roi); the name stands for "bicycle pedal" and is associated with the "erection of the supermale" from Jarry's final novel. Frederick, from the Positivist calendar, is named for the Prussian "enlightened monarch" Frederick the Great. Pataphysics and Positivism are very different systems of philosophy, and this will be an interesting bellwether of how voters might value them.
Get ready for more Pataphysical insanity! This 19/46 throwdown features one of the most underrated months on the Pataphysical calendar: Absolu, the first month (early autumn), which represents the absolute or transcendental. Absolu begins on September 8, the birthday of Alfred Jarry, and contains such holidays as Xylostomie and Dilution. Although the organizers of the MONTHS TOURNAMENT do not know enough details about Pataphysics to understand everything going on with Absolu, it is clear that it is some truly wild stuff. The 46 seed is nothing to turn up your nose at either, as Lilius is an excellent introduction to the Meyer-Palmen solilunar calendar. According to the calendar wiki, "This calendar is very interesting and has many other good features." This particular month is named for Aloysius Lilius, an Italian polymath whose reforms were the basis of the Gregorian calendar reform in the 16th century.
The organizers of the MONTHS TOURNAMENT don't necessary try to have matchups between two months from the same calendar in the first (1st) round, but some number of such matchups are inevitable. The 14/51 in this quadrant is one such battle, between the Positivist months Moses (the first (1st) month of that calendar) and Shakespeare (the tenth (10th) month). Shakespeare, named after the innovative early modern English playwright, enters as the heavy favorite, but it remains to be seen whether Moses, known for being a foundational figure in three of the world's most prominent monotheistic religions, can outperform its initial seed.
The 11/54 matchup features a notable French Revolutionary month, Prairial, facing off against the Positivist month Descartes. Prairial is known as a spring month that was the namesake of a 1795 revolutionary revolt in "year III." Descartes is known for its association with Rene Descartes, a polymath who devised coordinate geometry and famously said, "I think, therefore I am."
Crazy matchup alert! The 22/43 showdown is voters' introduction to the Discordian calendar, and what an introduction it is: Bureaucracy vs. Chaos. According to Wikipedia, Discordianism is "a paradigm based upon the book Principia Discordia, written by Greg Hill with Kerry Wendell Thornley in 1963, the two working under the pseudonyms Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst." Some Discordians use its namesake calendar, which is composed of five (5) seventy-three day (73-day) "seasons." Chaos corresponds to late winter and contains the "Holydays" of Mungday and Chaoflux, while Bureaucracy contains the Holydays of Zaraday and Bureflux.
The 27/38 matchup is between Hypatia and Pluviôse. Hypatia is a Meyer-Palmen solilunar month named for a mathematician of antiquity, while Pluviôse is a French Revolutionary month corresponding to January/February whose 30 days were named after plants (27) and animals (3). There is not much to say about this matchup; both are fine months, but don't have a ton of interesting things to recommend them to voters.
Finally, we have the 6/59 showdown, in which Discord, of the Discordian calendar, enters as a heavy favorite over Palotin, a Pataphysical month. Discord does not just share its name with both the Discordian calendar itself and a popular chatting program for "gamers," but it also contains the Holydays of Mojoday and Discoflux. Palotin is no slouch, and may be a bit underseeded at 59; the month is named for one of Ubu's henchmen and has holidays dedicated to crocodiles and the art critic Felix Feneon. Discord will have to watch out, because many observers are suggesting that Palotin is stronger than its seed and have put the #6 seed on upset alert.
BALLOT: COPY/PASTE TO VOTE
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Voting will be open for three (3) days.
EDIT: I apologize for not noting this sooner, but Joe's post made me remember that "Self-Existing" and "Descartes" are in the same bracket quadrant, which is just one of the "fun little garnishes" that the organizers of the MONTHS TOURNAMENT have in store for the voters.
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
While I am not a fan of reactionary months, I cannot abide the excessively individualistic notion of naming a month "Self-Existing". So the Frenchie gets my vote in the first round. Thermidor is also fun to say, and it is named for "heat" (neglected in the write-up!), the best NBA team in Florida.
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
ALl men are trash (myself included of course), but supermales are more trash than one "enlightened" monarch
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
More like Abswolu
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
Shakespeare good
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
The amount of months named for people is wearing me out
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
Choosing to read this as Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
The write-up failed to mention that Pluviôse also has 3 days named for tools! I am wondering if this was intentional malice to favor Hypatia. Nonetheless, the delightful plants, animals, and tools of Pluviôse have won me over
6/59: Discord v Palotin
I think the Quizbowl discord speaks for itself here
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
Quiz bowl once tricked me into reading Ubu Roi and I was not a fan
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Taylor Harvey (he/him)
ACF
University of Florida B.S. Nuclear Engineering '17
University of Florida Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering '21
2021 ACF Nationals Champion
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Kevin Fan
Bell High School '19
McGill University '23
Most of my votes here are inspired by the facts that the French Republican calendar is great and pataphysics is obscurationist and dumb, so I'm always voting for the former and against the latter
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses hamlet is better than the pentateuch don't at me
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos HS Section Warning there's a swear in this video link
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Eric Wolfsberg
Bethlehem Central High School 2016
University of Delaware 2020
Stanford 2025 or whatever
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
I'm not a reactionary
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
I enjoy cycling
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
Absolu sounds like a brand of vodka
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
As a corrective to what's probably going to turn out to be the electorate's overwhelming Bardolatry
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
Insurrections heck yeah
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
Honestly this would probably change depending on whether I'm feeling like an anarchist or an ML from day to day
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
I dislike rain.
6/59: Discord v Palotin
I'm not voting for Discord
Jakob M. (they/them)
Michigan State '21, Indiana '2? "No one has ever organized a greater effort to get people interested in pretending to play quiz bowl"
-Ankit Aggarwal
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
There's no Lobster Self-Existing, now is there
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
I don't know much about pataphysics but this one sounds cooler
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
Naming a month of your new calendar after the dude who proposed the Gregorian calendar is kinda lame tbh
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
religion is OK but Shakespeare's plays are better
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
Philosophy is for nerd
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
I love big government
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
another month named after a person, meh
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Discord reminds me of the quizbowl discord, which is cringe
Sam Rombro
Arizona '20
Maryland '18
Writer, NAQT (inactive)
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing. This was not a hard call for me. Although I respect what Self-Existing was able to accomplish in the play-in, it is simply outclassed by Thermidor.
30/35: Pédale v Frederick. I will be the first to admit that Pédale, like all of the Pataphysical months, eludes me somewhat because of its strangeness and complexity. But in this case, Frederick does not move me to vote for it.
19/46: Absolu v Lilius. This is one of the "quintessential" Pataphysical months, and Lilius doesn't do much for me.
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses. Billy Shakespeare may have written a whole lot of sonnets, but Moses is the traditionally ascribed author of the Pentateuch.
11/54: Prairial v Descartes. I'm going to be honest--Descartes is a boring name for a month. Prairial sounds cool and has a revolt associated with it.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos. As a civil servant, I have to choose Bureaucracy over Chaos.
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse. I have to say, neither of these really gets my juices flowing, but Pluviôse is more interesting a name, and Jonathen makes a good point about the tools.
6/59: Discord v Palotin. I have a hard time with this one. Discord might deserve it more, but I am going to vote for Palotin, because I want to see a big upset.
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing - I imagine my votes will turn against Thermidor in the future, but this was a pretty easy choice. Furthermore, I ALREADY SELF-EXIST AROUND THE CLOCK!
30/35: Pédale v Frederick - a hard choice, and I expect it will face stiff competition in later rounds, but I had to choose Pédale here because <third dick joke not found>
19/46: Absolu v Lilius -
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses - Rather than try to weigh, for example, sonnets against the Pentateuch, I used a much simpler metric--Shakespeare beats Moses in the crucial "canonical your mom jokes written" metric 1-0.
11/54: Prairial v Descartes - bread is good and the people deserve it.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos - Discordianism is a little too cutesy in an annoying 60s way for me, but Bureaucracy I guess is in a more pleasant part of the year?
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse - contains my birthday, obviating any sense of obligation to vote for Chaos for that reason.
6/59: Discord v Palotin -
VSCOelasticity wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:39 pm
I think the Quizbowl discord speaks for itself here
Rob Carson
University of Minnesota '11, MCTC '??, BHSU forever
Member, ACF
Member emeritus, PACE
Writer and Editor, NAQT
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing - it would simply be bad praxis for me to plausibly endorse the events of 9 Thermidor, even though
30/35: Pédale v Frederick - tough choice, as I don’t particularly care for the supermale or enlightened despotism
19/46: Absolu v Lilius - Wikipedia says this about Aloysius Lilius: “ Although he was still alive at the time when his proposal was presented at Rome, it does not seem that he made the presentation; it was handled by his brother Antonio, also a physician and astronomer.[4]” what a let down. Even though there doesn’t appear to be anything on Google Books describing the holidays of Xylostomie and Dilution, their possible non-existence is exciting to me
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes - now we’re cooking with gas. Solidarity forever with the women demanding bread from the reactionary Thermidorian regime.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos - Bureaucracy was essentially doomed from the instant I saw its name and could only be vindicated by a sufficiently interesting Andrew explanation, but it was not
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse - contra Andrew, a month honoring one of the finest minds and tragic martyrs of Late Antiquity is way more compelling than perhaps the least interesting French Revolutionary month
6/59: Discord v Palotin - man, am I going to just vote straight Pataphysics? in any case, the Quizbowl Discord has poisoned the word itself for me
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
thermidor sounds made up, and self-existing definitely exists
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
lame french guy vs great prussian. easy choice
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
math vs france. easy choice.
6/59: Discord v Palotin
abstain - discord is a bad platform and i'm not voting for pretentious french months, even though crocodiles are pretty cool
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
Self Existing is a bad name. Imagine telling someone "I was born on the second of Self-Existing." Then you'd be a "self-existing baby." Would you really wish that upon anyone?
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
I am not entirely fanatical about the term "erection of the supermale."
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
This was the exact reference I was going to make. And if you've played Mystery Dungeon Blue/Red Rescue team or DX, you'd know why Absol is so awesome.
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
Shakespeare is just too long. Think about all the times you're writing out full dates. Would you rather write "Shakespeare 1st, XXXX" or "Moses 1st, XXXX?"
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
I tried thinking of a pun about discarding Descartes to justify this, but in reality I'm just not a philosophy person.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
what even are these words, "Mungday" and "Bureflux." Either way, Chaos is much more fitting as a month name than Bureaucracy, which is too human-fixated for my tastes, and also Chaos is shorter.
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
Hypatia is such an underrated historical figure. It's such a shame we know so little about her, but from what I've read, I'm already sold.
6/59: Discord v Palotin
The Quizbowl Discord isn't that bad...but also whoa we should definitely dedicate holidays to crocodiles.
James Hadley
Chatham High School '18
Rutgers University '22
University of Western Ontario [2022-Present]
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
The Thermidor reaction is a lot more important than "Self-Existing", despite it being one of the more interesting Dreamspell months
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
Sorry but Frederick's just an actual important figure, rather than a random invented French thing.
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
I really don't care about either of these, so why not vote for the one with the less explanatory Wikipedia page.
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
More months named for people.
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
Prairies (the English loanword version) and meadows (the initial French translation, based on a cursory glance at Wikipedia) are both nice places.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
Naming a month bureaucracy feels very chaotic to me.
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
Rain is nice, but Hypatia is important.
6/59: Discord v Palotin
If Discord had been named Eris instead I probably would have voted for it because it sounds better to me.
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
I know what the Thermidorian reaction is
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
Biking is fun
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
Lilius sounds like Lilith
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
I have a friend named Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
Spring is a cool season
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
Chaos is fun
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
Feel like I've heard of Hypatia before
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Discord (both the platform and the concept) is fun
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
I'm one of the few people who voted against Self-Existing last time. I'm not going to start supporting it now.
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
Honestly, "erection of the supermale" kind of scares me.
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
Xylostomie sounds too much like colostomy, which fortunately I didn't have.
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
Moses is associated with Passover, which is a horrible holiday.
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
I'm not a big Descartes fan, but the Law of 22 Prairial was absolutely horrible.
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
obvs
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
Is this the only month named after a woman?
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Not really relevant, but Mojoday sounds like a lot more fun than Discoflux.
Last edited by Stained Diviner on Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DavidReinstein
Head Writer and Editor for Scobol Solo, Masonics, and IESA; TD for Scobol Solo and Reinstein Varsity; IHSSBCA Board Member; IHSSBCA Chair (2004-2014); PACE President (2016-2018)
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing
30/35: Pédale v Frederick
19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing 30/35: Pédale v Frederick 19/46: Absolu v Lilius
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses 11/54: Prairial v Descartes 22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos 27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse
6/59: Discord v Palotin
Tora (she/her/hers)
Wayzata '18
Minnesota '22 (President, '20-'22)
3/62: Thermidor v Self-Existing - Thermidior honors wonderful plants - Gentians, Carline Thistles, Ryegrass, Horsetails, and Lentils.
30/35: Pédale v Frederick - LMAO at quizbowlers supporting positivism. Meanwhile, I rely on my bike to safely transport myself from work site to work site.
19/46: Absolu v Lilius - gonna vote for the Céphalorgie celebrating month
14/51: Shakespeare v Moses
11/54: Prairial v Descartes - Prairie ecology! Acacias! Jasmine! Bedstraw!
22/43: Bureaucracy v Chaos - link
27/38: Hypatia v Pluviôse - The seventh day of Pluvoise is named "Amadouvier," the deer hoof, or tinder polypore. When I take people on hikes, they are wowed by my tales of the tinder polypore, which I lifted from the good Larry Millman.
6/59: Discord v Palotin
IKD
Yale 18
Oakland Mills 14
"I am the NAQT beast I worship."
Folks, mere hours remain in the voting process for the reform 3 "quadrant." If you have strong thoughts about Bureaucracy vs. Chaos, or any other matchup in this "quadrant," you should vote now!
The second "quadrant" to close its first-round voting is reform 3, which delighted voters with matchups of whimsical months. Whether it was because of this whimsy, or for some other reason, voters found it harder to separate these months out than their secular counterparts. This "quadrant" saw three upsets, one of them major, and very few blowout wins, even for the favorites.
Very few months in this matchup looked at the top of their game. Arguably, the only two that were turned out to be from the same calendar, as Thermidor put an end to Self-Existing's hopes of making a Cinderella run out of the Dreamspell play-in, and Prairial made quick work of Descartes from the #11 seed. "I think, therefore I am" may be a classic statement of self-existence, but both Descartes and Self-Existing are heading home after feeble showings.
Things weren't all good for the French Revolutionary calendar, however, with Pluviôse suffering a big loss (19-9) at the hands of Hypatia. Pluviôse was not favored in the matchup, but most expected the vote to be closer than this. Hypatia is looking very strong going into the second round, especially because of major upsets that have tipped the balance of power in its side of this "quadrant." Fans of the Meyer-Palmen calendar will be watching the next round results with bated breath.
The "top" of this "quadrant" ended up playing out mostly as the seeds would have led observers to expect, although Absolu and Shakespeare found surprising resistance from Lilius and Moses, respectively. It's unclear if the #19 and #14 seeds were a little complacent, or if the underdogs were just a little stronger than anyone expected, but one of Absolu or Shakespeare is possibly going to have to take on Thermidor in two rounds, and both will have to be crisper than this if they want to advance past that tough matchup.
Of course, Thermidor has to win in the second round before setting up those matchups, and although the heavily favored month will take nothing for granted, #35 seed Frederick's upset win over #30 seed Pédale does not inspire much confidence, as the Positivist month won a squeaker but did not seem to gain a ton of traction from the voters.
Moving onto the chaos at the bottom of the bracket, and of course, one of the big players was literally Chaos, which scored a commanding seven-point (7-point) upset victory over Bureaucracy in what many observers are calling a bellwether of future rounds. Order and disorder are competing cosmic forces, and by choosing Chaos, voters are signalling that this is a "change" electorate. Anything is possible.
The big upset of the round saw #59 seed Palotin take down #6 seed Discord. Although voters favored Chaos, they reportedly saw Discord's connections to the popular chatting program for "gamers" as a big negative, which allowed the big underdog Pataphysical month to advance on a five-point (5-point) win.
Observers are calling this "quadrant" a major win for the French Revolutionary and Pataphysical calendars, while noting that the Discordian calendar's bid for glory almost certainly fades with Discord's big loss, although Chaos fights on. It remains to be seen whether anyone in this "quadrant" can take down the "big dogs" of Thermidor and Prairial, however, especially after the commanding form that both showed in the first round.
Voting will not return to this "quadrant" for some time, so please hold on and vote in other "quadrants" until that time. Thank you for your patience.
