Happy Thanksgiving! In last month's newsletter, I said I would have news to share soon, and here it is! 

Eeek!

I'm going to be on Jeopardy! (Yes, that Jeopardy!) Friday, December 5th. I’ve been advised to tell friends and family to check Jeopardy.com/watch for local stations and showtimes, but the website seems to be having issues. If local listings fail you, you can also catch the show on Hulu or peacock on a one-day delay. 

If you're one of the people who have told me over the years that I should try out for the show, I officially apologize for blowing you off. I first took the qualifying test just as it was moving online more than 20 years ago. Never heard anything back and promptly decided I wasn't as smart as I thought I was and should just give up. 

Cut to last year when a friend mentioned she'd taken the Anytime Test, and I thought to myself, "I was on the math-science team in high school. I like taking tests for fun. I’m between jobs; why not?" So, I logged on and took it. 

Within a week I had an email asking me to take another qualifying test, this time with a group of other prospective contestants over zoom so someone from the show  could verify none of us were extremely fast Googlers or actually 47 ferrets in a trench coat. 

A few weeks after that test, I got a call to do a virtual audition. A morning of small talk and a simulated mini-game later, I was in the contestant pool. A few months after that, I got what is known in the Jeopardy! community as The Call. 

And maybe you'd think my take-away from all this would be that 20-something Margaret shouldn't have been so quick to throw in the towel, but honestly, I got a lot more enjoyment out of the experience now than I would have back then. Not to mention, waiting has given me the benefit of twenty more years of random knowledge.  

How much did those years help? Tune in December 5th to find out!

With that, on to the news!

From my Desk

As we wrap up the year, I’ve been working on my own projects. Friend of the NMN, AE, introduced me to Obsidian, a database and wiki builder, and I've been experimenting with it as a way to keep track of the facts I invent while writing. So far, I'm finding it reasonably intuitive to use, and it's nice to have a way to check a character's name without a lot of scrolling. 

(Ever wonder why I write flash fiction? Only having to hold a thousand words or so in my head isn't the only reason, but it's a factor.) 

What I'm Reading and Watching

Walking past a Little Free Library a few weeks ago on my way to lunch, I snagged a copy of Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers. I wanted something to read while I ate, and figured I'd return the book on my way back to the office. But a couple chapters over fried chicken was enough to convince me to hang onto the battered paperback a while longer. I'm a sucker for interesting non-fiction, and Powers' musings as he feels his way through the transition from foreign aid worker to disoriented returned expat make for chewy reading. 

At the movie theater, I was unexpectedly delighted by Predator: Badlands, aka "The Island of Misfit Toys in the Alien Universe." Or: "Thunderbolts: Predator Edition" (so of course I loved it). Because yeah, it's a movie about a Predator hunting his trophy on a planet where even more things want to kill you than Australia, but really, he's just a little guy who makes friends and wants his toxic dad to love him. 

From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia

I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but I asked Eddy what he thought of Wake up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out movie.

Good enough for me!

And That's the Nearly Monthly News! 

Have you checked off any bucket list items recently? Drop me a line! Otherwise, have a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you chose to celebrate), don't forget to watch Jeopardy! on the 5th, and I'll see you next month!