(Untitled)

[hortonhearsawho]

The great titaniawaking gave me this idea, because I don't think much sometimes. I'm attempting to explain FPS to the common, unenlightened folk who will be reading my college applications. I started writing out all the awards I've won (ohhh would my little "Additional Information" box be sparse with this thing...) and realized it would mean absolutely nothing

Comments

[hortonhearsawho]

Six pages, whether summary or explanation, doesn't seem so much to me. I've tried to explain it in detail to admissions staff, and I think I've taken up that much. After which there's a stare of confusion, pity, and fear on their part while I smile sheepishly in the corner. I am constantly amazed that anyone ever manages to learn how to do it (how coaches even learn in order to teach their students), let alone get good. I tried to teach one of my friends last year and it was a total disaster.

Octopus...? [shudder] The junior ones are always a little weird, but in middle I would think they'd be shying away from octopuses...

I was under the impression Redistribution of Wealth would fit a Robin Hood idea, but then I haven't gotten close to the research yet. What do they mean by it?

I got second place last year, but that's the highest I even hoped to go. My friend Mariam is The Best Writer Ever and did this amazing one about terrorism (made all the more effective because she's Muslim) and freedom of speech and it was just hopeless for me and anyone else. We didn't have a chance. She won fifth after it was judged internationally, too, whereas I totally crapped out in the second round of international judging. My first round was really good, but the second had me ranked really low even with getting 7s and 8s. Tough competition.

[lowfatsourcreme]

I would think it would be more trend-based than "hey I'm going to come redistribute your wealth". And Mariam's is insanely good (it was definitely one of the ones that stood out as I was reading the IC scenario book).

Yeah, the same thing kind of happened to me - I got a great first round but then 6s and 11s second round. I did win state though, but that's only because our state's insanely good scenario writer (1st place IC one year, 3rd the next) didn't write one.

Competition is tough but octopuses? I mean come on . . .or actually, it was some type of oil sensing talking octopus, which is even weirder. And there were some greatly odd metaphors in it. If I had my book, I could actually find some, but alas, I lent it to someone for the moment.

[icklefickle]

I could look them up, but undeadgoat has them on a post-it. And didn't that scenario have oil that like sank immediately after being spilled and there were these like walls of oil? Oil is less dense than water. It floats until it globs together with dirt, becomes denser than water, and sinks in little globs. We studied this for depletion of oceanic species. I should go read that scenario again for a laugh...

[hortonhearsawho]

Hummmm perhaps you could still Robin Hood it if you really wanted to. I had my ideas for both of my scenarios before even beginning to look at the research, and I just sort of made them fit. It's it amazing? They usually just read an excerpt from the first place winners at States, but the lady read all of Mariam's. Which was kind of awkward, because she was just standing there on stage while everyone gaped and cried.

I should have gotten a scenario book from IC; I want to size up the competition because they're apparently freakishly good. I had rather high numbers but was ranked reallllly low in the second round. Scary.

or actually, it was some type of oil sensing talking octopus, which is even weirder.
... I don't really know what to say. Especially coupled with icklefickle's extra explanation. Wow.

[lowfatsourcreme]

They just read excerpts from state? Whoa...I'm always used to them having the top three read their entire things. How long is your state bowl, though?

[hortonhearsawho]

Yeah, just excerpts of the first place winners from each division, and it's not the writer who reads it, which is weird.

Last year's awards seemed to go on forever, because they started late due to a crazy boomerang man they brought in to speak for an hour or two before the ceremony started. Apparently we were all supposed to come in and listen to him, but we went shopping and when we got back for the ceremony, he was still there. And he was there for very much longer than he should have been. However, I don't think they're abnormally long; for each division we've got five places of team, I believe five places for skits, five places for scenarios, and then CmPS is announced.

Now that I think about it, I believe the junior winner was from the point of view of an octopus, or at least largely about an octopus. It was bizarre.

[icklefickle]

Our scenario and CmPS awards get presented at opening ceremonies. Then we go to do the outrageous "zippy challenge" thing which is a dumb get-to-know each other activity. We're divived into divisions for the challenge though, so before that happens, the 1st through 3rd place scanario winners in the division read their scenarios. It's nice to hear, but I sometimes wish I could hear other divisions and opening goes way late the night before we solve.

[lowfatsourcreme]

i like hearing the top scenarios, but the zippy thing sucks. it makes you realize how incompetent some of the new people are...one of the guys in my group was basically like, yeah, i'm an alternate and have no clue what i'm doing, i just thought it would be fun to be at state instead of school, or something like that.

[icklefickle]

Scenarios are nice, but I think they should maybe just read first place and/or start opening earlier. And I like the idea of zippy, but it needs to be improved/shortened with opening starting earlier. It gets over at like 9:30 or 10:00 and then you go back to your rooms and people have to shower and stuff, and if you want to review or do your pre-solving pencil preparing or whatever, it's not good (especially if you're in a room of four trying to use one bathroom all at the same time). And then you have to get up way early for breakfast, so you end up solving on not enough sleep. And I forgot to mention that by the time you finally get to bed, you probably aren't going to crash because A: strange bed, strange place, etc, etc and B: You're solving the state problem the next day.

I need to talk to Martha about this.

[titaniawaking]

do you have any idea who the big man in the yellow shirt was who read the scenarios at state? i was like, who are you, man? why are the writers not reading? :p

the boomerang was getting made fun of brutally by my teammates by the time it was over.

i vaguely remember an octopus...or some sea creature...

i like how someone started standing for the first place teams in everything at the awards last year, i thought it was a nice gesture.

[icklefickle]

Maybe I'll post my explaination here sometime. I wrote it a few years back, so it's not my best writing, but it's a good resource for the clueless.

[titaniawaking]

I gave Mariam's scenario to my English teacher last year to read, and she was reading it as an announcement came on about a hate crime/graffiti that had just happened at my school. ...eerie.