(I only just realized that my recap of Kobe didn’t get posted when I wrote it, but it’s up now, so scroll down to read it, if you would.)
Is it really geeky that I just did a Google search for “spelling bee torrent” to see if anybody had (for whatever reason) decided to tape this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee and put it online?
(Yes, it really is. And that’s okay!)
I’ll admit it–one of the things I miss here is the spelling bee on ESPN (or on ABC during primetime this year!). It’s one of my annual traditions. I’m a big spelling bee geek–I won our county spelling bee in 6th grade (on the word “pagoda,” ironically!) and would’ve gone on to the Georgia state bee if we hadn’t had an idiot proctor at the district round who, after reading off incredibly simple words, gave me the trickiest word in the entire bee and mispronounced it (pacificism, which has the same meaning as pacifism). (I came in 3rd place. Second place lost on “podunk,” and first place won on “disappoint.” I have to admit that it still burns a bit…making it to the state bee, and maybe beyond, would have been an awesome experience.)
I can’t find anything, unfortunately. Maybe I can look for copies of Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound to appease me, though. I’ve seen the latter (the Indian boy featured, Neil…that poor kid. I watched this with my parents, and my dad was getting so pissed off at that kid’s dad for being such an egotistical showoff–it was pretty funny), and have heard a lot about the former and am dying to check it out.
At any rate, congrats to this year’s winner, who spelled “ursprache” (a parent language)–the first girl to win in 7 years! The second-place winner lost on “weltschmerz” (sadness over the evils of the world), and the third-place winner lost on “icteritious” (of a jaundiced color).
(Yeah, this had nothing to do with Japan. Though it makes me wonder if they have spelling bees in Japan…how would those work? I can definitely picture some kind of kanji-driven thing, where kids are quizzed on the most difficult kanji…)