At the moment there is the Scripp's National Spelling Bee on TV and how boring does that sound? But! It is riveting. The dramatic pauses, the tension, the looks of horror when a word comes out they have no idea about, the mummur of the crowd - honestly it has all the hallmarks of great TV. Of course it is crap but that is what makes it so great!

One kid gets a word - has no idea what it means. Asks for the definition, asks for alternate pronunciations, asks for the language of origin, asks for it to be used in a sentence and then asks the same questions again. His regular time runs out and he asks for bonus time. Thinks a bit longer and then he faints!!! He falls to the ground and before anyone can get to him he jumps up and correctly spells the word. What a champion - I want this kid to win so badly!

And the commentators are wonderful too - 'John's sister Mary won the title three years ago and if he goes on to win it, it will be the first time a sibling of a champion has won the title also. He could be making history here today!".

I love it!

Round seven and the little bloke who faints comes back on! And they bring him a stool which is just too gorgeous. He gets the word "lyophilize" (huh?) and gets it right! Yay! He looks like he would prefer to be getting his fingernails pulled out in hell than to be on that stage but he's a trooper!

The kid who fainted goes to middle school where I teach. His older brother won the whole thing a couple of years ago. I had the older kid in a reading class, and I would have to make sure and have my dictionary handy when I read his book reports! They are really smart kids who read a lot, but they're also just regular kids who play ball and run around with their friends, too.

Awww, he (Arkshay) came second! Great achievement considering they said that the whole competetion starts with ten million kids at the local level! (thanks for not saying the result MrBandman, I would have been disappointed to know before the end).

I really admire those kids - it was just great - I couldn't spell 'cat' without writing it down first and they just come out with correct spelling of words no one has ever heard of

David, the winner, was sobbing away spelling 'autochthonous' in the last round with proud Mum with tears in her eyes. It was great.

And if you ever talk to him, MrB, tell him at least one person from the far flung corners of the world was rooting for him


*useless information - VERNISSAGE is the name of the opening day of an art exhibit.

I'll be sure to pass that along if I see him. Those kids enjoy some celebrity status around here--they've been featured in the local media, etc... It's been a pretty big deal!

Well, I was surprised how big a deal it was - so many cameras going off (and I don't just mean from the parents) and David getting interviewed straight away by ESPN. I can imagine all the kids in the final stages would have been made a big deal about back in their home areas. I've been to major sport events that haven't had that much attention.

I LOVE the National Spelling Bee!! Every year my friends and I pop some popcorn and sit glued to the television, often cheering them on/throwing popcorn and generally acting as if we're at a football game. Extremely dorky, but it's true! My gifted education class is what started the whole thing...that group would drop everything and run towards the nearest radio or television at the mention of "Scripps."

Much more exciting than some soap opera, a game of golf, or that other junk you find on TV these days