Yesterday’s battle (Philip Roth vs. DJ Jazzy Jeff) was pretty low-key. It seems that this blog isn’t packed with fans of ethnic literature or hip-hop. Nobody in comments even picked up on my use of the line, “Does anyone know these people? Do they exist or are they spooks?” Isaac gave a good argument in favor of Roth: “Given how often Uncle Phil threw DJ Jazzy Jeff out of the house, it seems like he should win here,” but I’ll have to give it to Jazz, based on Jrc’s comment: “From what I hear, Roth was only like the 14th coolest Jew at Weequahic High School (which, by my math, makes him about the 28th coolest kid there). And we all know DJ Jazzy Jeff was the second coolest kid at Bel-Air Academy.” Good point.
Our next contest features two legendary TV variety show hosts who, at the very least, can tell first-hand stories about Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and many others. Should be fun.
The full bracket is here, and here are the rules:
We’re trying to pick ultimate seminar speaker. I’m not asking for the most popular speaker, or the most relevant, or the best speaker, or the deepest, or even the coolest, but rather some combination of the above. I’ll decide each day’s winner not based on a popular vote but based on the strength and amusingness of the arguments given by advocates on both sides. So give it your best!