i promise to never ever make fun of nerds ever again. EVER.
yeah. i told myself that after watching the National Spelling Bee on ESPN.
this is intense shit. and pretty heartbreaking too.
all these pre-adolescent kids getting up in front of a packed auditorium, with photographers and cameras surrounding them, the bright lights, the strict judges. and they're forced to spell all these weird-ass words that they'll probably NEVER use in normal conversation anyway. scary shit.
(FRAN & IGI -- you guys should watch this! there are so many new words you can use for WOTD!!! i swear! read below.)
when they get the spelling right, you can't help but smile. but when they get it wrong, it's so sad. you sorta go "aaww" then you see them walk away, with a forced smile but you can tell that they're crushed. scarred for life!
it's actually very fascinating shit. i'm getting used to the process...
steely-voiced monotonous announcer gives the kid the word.
then the kid takes forever to come up with the spelling. during that alloted time, they can ask questions like:
"language of origin please?"
"can i have the definition please?"
"is that the only pronunciation?"
"are there any alternate pronunciations?"
"use it in a sentence please?"
"part of speech please?"
"am i saying it right?"
then when they use up their thinking time, they have a grace period ('finishing time') to give their final spelling. if they get it wrong, you hear a bell ding then the announcer spells it out for them. if they get it right, the audience applauds and you can see the glee on the kids' face. aaaww.
and i hate to be racist, but out of these 50+ kids, i swear, almost half of them are Oriental. asians are so smart. the white kids are getting eliminated one by one. heehee. the orientals are owning this shit.
OOOOOH!!!! as i'm typing this, there's some controversy going on. the judges misheard the contestant's spelling so they're asking for a tape so they could listen to it again. and while waiting for the tape to be played back, poor little asian girl is waiting in the wings, anxious to find out if she did, in fact, spell it right. (kasi naman. bakit tape pa ang gamit nila? its 2007! mp3's are in!)
...AND SHE SPELLED IT RIGHT!!! GO ASIAN GIRL!!!
so much drama at the National Spelling Bee! i shall go back and watch. in the meantime, here are some of the words they were asked to spell...
melotrope
impuissance
castrensian
furfuraceous
plattdeutsch
burelage
(Fran & Igi -- i'd define these words for you guys, but i forgot the definitions na. hehe.)
p.s. - okay, controversial asian girl's name is Claire Zhang. told ya. orientals are dominating this shit.
p.p.s. - the white boy right now is being asked to spell the word STAFF-A-LOTTA-ME. i have no idea how to spell that fucking word. but that's how they pronounced it. i don't even know what it means! isn't he supposed to be Big Bird's long-nosed brown friend from "Sesame Street"? yeah! Big Bird and Staff-A-Lotta-Me!!
p.p.p.s. - oh. there you go. Staphylotomy. whatever. Staff A Lotta Me.
this is intense shit. and pretty heartbreaking too.
all these pre-adolescent kids getting up in front of a packed auditorium, with photographers and cameras surrounding them, the bright lights, the strict judges. and they're forced to spell all these weird-ass words that they'll probably NEVER use in normal conversation anyway. scary shit.
(FRAN & IGI -- you guys should watch this! there are so many new words you can use for WOTD!!! i swear! read below.)
when they get the spelling right, you can't help but smile. but when they get it wrong, it's so sad. you sorta go "aaww" then you see them walk away, with a forced smile but you can tell that they're crushed. scarred for life!
it's actually very fascinating shit. i'm getting used to the process...
steely-voiced monotonous announcer gives the kid the word.
then the kid takes forever to come up with the spelling. during that alloted time, they can ask questions like:
"language of origin please?"
"can i have the definition please?"
"is that the only pronunciation?"
"are there any alternate pronunciations?"
"use it in a sentence please?"
"part of speech please?"
"am i saying it right?"
then when they use up their thinking time, they have a grace period ('finishing time') to give their final spelling. if they get it wrong, you hear a bell ding then the announcer spells it out for them. if they get it right, the audience applauds and you can see the glee on the kids' face. aaaww.
and i hate to be racist, but out of these 50+ kids, i swear, almost half of them are Oriental. asians are so smart. the white kids are getting eliminated one by one. heehee. the orientals are owning this shit.
OOOOOH!!!! as i'm typing this, there's some controversy going on. the judges misheard the contestant's spelling so they're asking for a tape so they could listen to it again. and while waiting for the tape to be played back, poor little asian girl is waiting in the wings, anxious to find out if she did, in fact, spell it right. (kasi naman. bakit tape pa ang gamit nila? its 2007! mp3's are in!)
...AND SHE SPELLED IT RIGHT!!! GO ASIAN GIRL!!!
so much drama at the National Spelling Bee! i shall go back and watch. in the meantime, here are some of the words they were asked to spell...
melotrope
impuissance
castrensian
furfuraceous
plattdeutsch
burelage
(Fran & Igi -- i'd define these words for you guys, but i forgot the definitions na. hehe.)
p.s. - okay, controversial asian girl's name is Claire Zhang. told ya. orientals are dominating this shit.
p.p.s. - the white boy right now is being asked to spell the word STAFF-A-LOTTA-ME. i have no idea how to spell that fucking word. but that's how they pronounced it. i don't even know what it means! isn't he supposed to be Big Bird's long-nosed brown friend from "Sesame Street"? yeah! Big Bird and Staff-A-Lotta-Me!!
p.p.p.s. - oh. there you go. Staphylotomy. whatever. Staff A Lotta Me.