Darn good thing I stopped by A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago five minutes ago... or else I might’ve slept (literally) on the Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinals later this morning.I had no idea the Bee was back upon us! I am so happy now!
(Shonda Rhimes, creator of “Grey’s Anatomy,” has been live-blogging the early rounds at ALOTT5MA.)
So... 45 kids have reached the semifinal round. At 11 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. Pacific), ESPN will broadcast all the action and the drama LIVE from Washington, D.C. ... with ABC presenting the finals tonight in prime time.
And guess what, y’all? There’s a Jamaican girl still in the mix! Yep, a little racial rooting interest for those who might need it. Her name is Sade Dunbar.Go, Sade! Don’t let the South Asians intimidate you.
(Oh, you know those 45 semifinalists include little Shiva, Sameer, Sidharth, Samia, Akshat, Arushi, Kavya, Jahnavi, Mouctika and Vaibhav. The Indians don’t bullshit!)
Lordy... it’s gonna be like trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve now...
UPDATE (05/30/08): They’re dropping like flies, and it’s only 8:30! Canadian crew’s getting wiped out by words like tonneau and hooley.
10:02 a.m. (Pacific Time) – They’re down to the Top 24... and the black girl’s still in it. ...
10:34 a.m. – Yeah, girl! Sade Dunbar just advanced to the next round. She nailed galbulus... a devilish word I’d never heard of. Look like she struggled with it, too. But she got it! She is one of the Top 16. ...
11:22 a.m. – Aw crap. Sade’s gone. She missed hidradenitis, talkin’ about “H-Y...”
But that’s all right. She finished No. 15 out of 288 competitors this year. And she bore the hopes and dreams of a people on her wee shoulders. I salute you, Sade Dunbar.
There's also a girl from Ghana, Maria Isabel Yirebatiya Kubabom, who is the first speller from Africa, I think. I don't know if she made it to the final rounds.
ReplyDeleteUBM most of the words I can't pronounce but I like watching especially when the kids get stuck an ask the judge what's the root of the word.
ReplyDeleteHow about when they write on that imaginary paper? They are so cute.
My girlfriend works for the Bee. She's there now working backstage. I'll tell her to let the spellers know they have your support!
ReplyDeleteKelly, she did not. Her first word? The name of the ritual Passover meal. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteKellybelle: I didn't know about the African speller. Very cool, even though she didn't make the semis.
ReplyDeletejjbrock: The invisible writing is adorable. Poor kids... the stress is intense!
Cool!
ReplyDeleteI know "tonneau" (because I have a watch fetish). I actually spelled "guillouche" right one year (because I have a watch fetish).
I purchased that "Spell Bound" documentary the other day. I've been wanting to see it for some time.
Hey! Didn't they flip-the-Scripps after a Jamaican girl won in 1998? I thought there was some controversy, that folks was upset because a black child had won and the rules were changed.
ReplyDeleteUrban legend?
^ "Spellbound" is a great documentary... you'll love it.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall reading about any controversy regarding the last Jamaican champ.
Too bad about Sade. Thanks for the play-by-play, UBM!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the ESPN broadcast - Watching the kids creepily stare at Erin Andrews while being interviewed.
ReplyDeleteDave - thanks for the play by play! I imagine you cheering Sade on and can totally hear the OOOOOOOOhhhh! when she missed it.
ReplyDelete11:22 a.m. – Aw crap. Sade’s gone. She missed hidradenitis, talkin’ about “H-Y...”
ReplyDeleteDavid, you know you need to sit down somewhere and just stop it!
^ I didn't mean to give her a hard time... :^)
ReplyDeleteI imagine you cheering Sade on and can totally hear the OOOOOOOOhhhh! when she missed it.
ReplyDeleteYah... you know me well.
Are you seeing this Justin Song? He sounds like Keanu Reeves.
ReplyDeleteSatyagraha. tough word kid.
^ The West Coast feed is gonna be delayed, so it won't start here for another couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteWhich means I better not check these comments, lest I get spoilered.
ahh. okay, okay. I won't tell you who wins then. Right now I'm watching the final 3!
ReplyDeleteI'll just say the winner had me at numbnut*.
ReplyDelete*Well, that what it sounded like. It was actually "numnah."
Congrats!
just couldn't help yourself huh brklyn6? lol
ReplyDeleteCome on now, like you weren't thinking it too, wanda. :P
ReplyDeleteIt was fun! I had my pad and pen too. I got some right like, "basenji", "sinicize" and "thymele." (But, I got more.) Some I missed by one or two letters. Others I missed horribly (like the championship word).
I don't know if annoys anyone when the kids repeatedly ask for clarification. I don't mind because it really helps them a lot. And it gives me a little extra time to get it wrong. :P
(But, I got more.)
ReplyDeleteBut, I got more wrong.
Nietzsche is a tough one for me. So, I was rooting for the girl with the mustache to get "Nietzschean" right.
yea i was rooting for that word too. almost thought she would mess it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat hurt were the kids in the final rounds who missed really difficult words by one letter!? Oh man, talk about a hit to the gut!
Prosepoposia? (sp?) Hell I still can't spell that word!
Yeah, I spelled it, "presoprepeia." WT....?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that I didn't get to see this!!! I'm especially proud of the little Jamaican girl. 15th is nothing to sneeze at.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing academic kids being praised. There is not enough of it. If any of you haven't seen "Spellbound" yet, rent it! I was actually crying at the end I was so happy. I especially loved seeing the Indian kid who had a roster of tutors being bested by the white girl from Philly who just sat at home on Saturday night with her dictionaries.
I also liked "Akeelah and the Bee" and am saving it for when my daughter is old enough to appreciate it. (The Angela Basset character was a bit too over the top though.)
Dave, can we expect a play by play for the National Geographic Geography Bee?
Dave, can we expect a play by play for the National Geographic Geography Bee?
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that. Is it televised?
Ha ha. Jamaicans take this ish seriously.
ReplyDeleteA few years back a Jamaican girl won it - Jody Ann Maxwell. It was like she had won an Olympic medal. I think last year (or the year before) the Jamaican girl came second.
These enthusiasms of the Jamaican populace - track and spelling bees - are kind of hard to explain to outsiders