Fit to a Tea

There's nothing quite as satisfying as both a nice cup of tea, and a good quads item, and thankfully both are in abudance this hunt.

Admittedly, I'm not much of a Tea Drinker, but I must say that more than a few tickled my pallette in the right way (Specifically the Apple-Cinnamon, Caramel, Sweet Peach, Mint, and Honey Vanilla Varieties... basically ones that were doing everything in their power not to taste like tea.)

What's more, each teams presentation had its own charm, from the Majestic Tea-House of the Snell-Hitchcock moon, to Colonel Palevsky's Tea Parlour, to the teams with a simple "Tea, Blanket, and cute kimono girls with clever conversation" set, just were great. Though I didn't know many of those presenting, everywhere I went it was like I was amongst old friends. Clever in concept, excellent in execution, and certainly a service to the school. I may be speaking too soon, but this Hunt is awesome!

I guess it's the weather, really... I really don't know how my opinion would change if it were 50 degrees and raining out. I'd probably be more antsy to get back to Judge HQ rather than lounge about the Quads cracking jokes. We praise you Weathorr. May tomorrow bring more of the same.

Bringing the Class

As I sit in my International Politics and Statecraft in Mesopotamia class, I can't help but think just how phenomenally most of the teams came through with the captains' attire. To the captains who read this - uncomfortible as your garb may be in this beautiful, beautiful weather, you all look spectacular.

A bunch of other judges have already chimed in with their thoughts on the list release, but I think it went quite well. All teams had the list within an hour, which is just enough time before people's enthusiasm begins to wane as the clock chimes 1. But yes, it's been great so far and the Hunt is only 12 hours old. 72 hours to go.

More like BALLSgowns

There's nothing like a room full of pretty ladies, and sure enough, the Captains' Ball this morning was nothing like a room full of pretty ladies.

To be honest, the Ball was actually very much like a room full of pretty ladies. I just said that other bit because I'm really cheesy. It was truly a sight to see. Many captains wore make-up or heel to great effect. MacPierce's Cap'n Rob had a particularly stunning pair of earings; they really pulled the outfit together. Fortunately for you all, they'll have to be dressed up at every major event, so there will be plenty of opportunities for ogling and blackmail photos.

Also on the bill this morning was the "Go West, Young Costner!" road trip sendoff. BEWARE! Rattlesnakes! The Clan Costner was impressive, to be sure. The sheer number of sharpie'd-on sideburns was enthralling. True, the Robin Hoods were a little too much "Peter Pan" and not quite enough "highway banditry", but everyone loves generalised pagentry. Some of the Costnerastoga wagons were quite impressive, as well. There was also a mighty fine smoothy, but I was able to name three of the ingredients right away, no problem. They're still secret to you, though.

We also gave them our official Badlands Mix, the one we listened to as we drove through the State Park ourselves. Composed by Jim Ryan, here it is:

Badlands Mix:
1. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
2. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
3. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
4. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
5. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
6. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
7. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
8. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
9. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
10. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
11. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
12. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
13. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
14. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
15. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
16. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
17. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
18. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
19. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands

We wanted to make it a round 21, but this is all we could fit on the CD. It's a great mix, though. If you don't have any of those tracks, I encourage you to acquire them immediately.

As the Fourdays progess, perhaps we'll share some other favorite mixes with you, but right now I'm getting kind of thirsty. I think it's time for a spot of tea, dont' you?

PS. The list and the photo hunt cues are online, for those of our viewers watching from home.

For Stat-Heads like Me...

The Order of Teams Getting the List was as follows:

1. Max P. (Who apparently had the fortitude to have a black light pen WITH THEM AT IDA.)
2. Broadview (Who did us a major solid by offering to help collect the lists from the fountain when it looked like the Police would shut us down.)
3. BJ
4. Shoreland
5/6: Snell/Broover (Showed up at almost the same time)
7. MacPierce
8. The Fist

List: UNLEASHED!

This was easily the most wild and madcap list release in recent Scav history, and from my limited perspective at least this resulted in much joy. Jim has already detailed the basic idea behind this year's release (spy instructions, invisible ink, actual lists in the Law School fountain), so I will just note the particulars of the frantic search. Like an enraged nest of fire ants, the teams swarmed--first through Ida following the photo clues, then, after they received "blank" papers, vengeful pseudopods from the larger teams streamed out from sundry points on campus, engulfing all those unfortunate enough to stand in their way. Myself and Judge Jonathan were trying to drive over to the fountain when a massive contingent of Snell-Hitchcockers surrounded our van. The situation could only be described as zombie movie-esque, with the crazed horde pounding on the windows and positioning themselves in front of the car, doubtless eager to crack open our skulls so that sweet, sweet secrets could flow forth. Eventually we were able to back up without harming anyone and pull out (even then, they clung to the sides!), and after some more shenanigans we made it to the fountain, where we learned that three teams had already received their lists, and indeed, Max actually beat the Judges there. For all the fooferall and how-do-you-do, however, List Release was a happily short affair this year, with most of the teams receiving their lists in well under an hour, and even the straggler, F.I.S.T., picking up the goods only a few minutes after 1:00.

What are the scavvies doing right now?

So just a few points about Junior Pilot. I was pretty much right about everything: the gun-toting scary guy was the Air Marshall, the.... actually, I can't recall any other predictions. Huh.

So, all in all, the first night of the Fourdays is a success. All but one team got their list within three quarters of an hour, and I got to tell a team that the reason their list was blank was because they'd opened it before getting back to headquarters. Awesome.

And now, the sleepy judges drift off to sleep. Except me. I'm burning eight copies of a very special road-trip Scavenmix. The teams will love it.

So what are the teams doing now? They are right now, even now, as the Hot Side Hot slumbers, losing points, never to be regained.

San Dimas High School Football rules!!!

And so it begins...

After what seems to be one of the most successful list releases ever the Judges have retired to their Casa de Amor and are enjoying the pure pubescence of Pilot Junior. The list release involved the following: A recorded message addressing the Scav Captains which told them to open some envelopes that had pictures inside them that led them to the basement of Ida Noyes. They were led into the deep dark locker room where certain Judges were lurking inside lockers with envelopes. These envelopese were marked "Do not open until Xmas ... and by Xmas we mean HQ". The captains were led to believe that inside the envelopes was the list. They were wrong. Inside the list was a packet of papers with the list title page. The rest of the pages were blank. Or at least until they shined a black light on them and noticed that there were secret messages written in invisible ink, such as "Sorry Mario, your list is on another page". The third page of each packet instructed the captains to go to the Law School Fountain. We proceeded to throw the real lists into the fountain where the teams had to wade through knee deep water to secure their lists. As intricate this sounds, and as worried we were that it wouldn't work out, all the teams had their lists by ten after one (within an hour and ten minutes after everything began in Ida).

I must say that we all were incredibly impressed with the way List Release began. It has truly been a credit to the ingenuity of the teams and indeed an incredibly goood omen for what will surely be the most epic Hunt ever. It has begun, but indeed it has only just.