tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36018169051066509022024-02-19T02:40:56.157-08:00The Bee Blog from EgoArtIncVictorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11140290130623891180noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3601816905106650902.post-8893741015909518802010-03-17T12:51:00.001-07:002010-03-17T13:16:39.864-07:00Congratulations to Black Kim 3/16/10<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH51p5B6og1lYq0FmAnHXKcTyEo-rE_b788b-82COsoPLJFZOPz016MwzRFoqvqSl_r0VQrKp1nrwG6HQGyMaWKU1yFyFz1_vuOuVAfIk4eg0x-ebdpAVBiqoQUnoS9jQiDCI5Clwnco9T/s1600-h/sign+up+3-16-10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH51p5B6og1lYq0FmAnHXKcTyEo-rE_b788b-82COsoPLJFZOPz016MwzRFoqvqSl_r0VQrKp1nrwG6HQGyMaWKU1yFyFz1_vuOuVAfIk4eg0x-ebdpAVBiqoQUnoS9jQiDCI5Clwnco9T/s320/sign+up+3-16-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449693110513748050" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dEJkPr9-LXJfEhhhnA8fsy50IY0Dw9ytZUnq9_LjHUkYKv76MMewQjBIIj1288fhnnewQMBDzR7tdYsyQRNbLf0NI7UEyxl85Pwg-JMI8yAyRT3qVW9ylI3i9zPDQiluL5IJdbELgWgU/s1600-h/Kim+3-16-10.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dEJkPr9-LXJfEhhhnA8fsy50IY0Dw9ytZUnq9_LjHUkYKv76MMewQjBIIj1288fhnnewQMBDzR7tdYsyQRNbLf0NI7UEyxl85Pwg-JMI8yAyRT3qVW9ylI3i9zPDQiluL5IJdbELgWgU/s320/Kim+3-16-10.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449692987668472802" border="0" /></a>
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<w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">The Bee last night was a chaotic affair.<span style=""> </span>When NP and I arrived at HK, Bronwyn, the host, told us that there were already three big parties who were signing up.<span style=""> </span>The place really started to fill up as we ate some of the delicious fare that they serve up.<span style=""> </span>We couldn’t keep track of the signup sheet as it circulated around the dining room.<span style=""> </span>It was like the crowd had a mind of its own and it was threatening to take over.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There were some former winners there to try to reclaim the glory of taking home the prize.<span style=""> </span>Kim, who was in the most recent Champions Only Night, was there with her entourage and was going by Black Kim this time.<span style=""> </span>Black Kim lost out in the second round of CON2 and I think that it got under her skin.<span style=""> </span>Christine, a two time winner, is a super loyal speller who has brought many people to the bee.<span style=""> </span>She often looks at me like I just made up a word when we tell her what she has to spell.<span style=""> </span>Then she nails it.<span style=""> </span>Last night, she was with J Pat.<span style=""> </span>Now that I think about it, he might be a leprechaun.<span style=""> </span>With the beard and the jocular demeanor, he had a look in his eye that he knew something I didn’t.<span style=""> </span>And Mars was there too.<span style=""> </span>She once outspelled a man in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Reno</st1:place></st1:city>, just to watch him cry.<span style=""> </span>She seems quiet, but determined.<span style=""> </span>She is a heartless speller.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other old faves that showed up were Maria, the kindergarten teacher, Lauren, who says she is a beard blogger, and Tim C., the ‘people’s champion’.<span style=""> </span>Tim has come very close to winning a few times.<span style=""> </span>Even the HK staff is rooting for him, but it is difficult to get passed the third round.<span style=""> </span>We haven’t seen him for a few weeks and he announced why when he stepped up for the first round.<span style=""> </span>He says that he’s been at Spelling Boot Camp where everyday he followed a regimen of early rising, pushups, situps, pullups and all day spelling drills.<span style=""> </span>Now he is fit, clear minded and ready to go.<span style=""> </span>And Lauren is another fave who went head to head but lost the first time she spelled.<span style=""> </span>Undaunted, she will get to the winner’s circle by hook or by crook.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Among the new players, Melanie was such a great speller in grade school that she hosted her 5<sup>th</sup> grade bee when the teacher had laryngitis.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When thirty people sign up, as happened last night, there is more pressure on the players.<span style=""> </span>And it leads to some really bad spelling by really smart people.<span style=""> </span>Dropping or adding syllables is a common pitfall of public spelling.<span style=""> </span>Overspelling is another one.<span style=""> </span>That’s when the speller thinks that it can’t be a simple spelling and turn an ‘o’ into an ‘au’.<span style=""> </span>HK is more crowded, the place is louder and the people are rowdier.<span style=""> </span>Any Tuesday, it is a challenge to make sure the word is heard correctly by the speller and to hear the spelling.<span style=""> </span>It is tougher when we have numbers like this.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The first round was tough on the spellers.<span style=""> </span>Out of the thirty signed up, fourteen went down in round one.<span style=""> </span>Then eight more were out in round two.<span style=""> </span>That left eight standing in round three, including Black Kim, Tim, and Christine.<span style=""> </span>There was also Barbara from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Austin</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">TX</st1:state></st1:place> an avid dictionary reader who brought her purse to the microphone.<span style=""> </span>I guess she figured out in the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> badlands that a spelling bee is an excellent diversion for our band of urchins to slither through the crowd and rob the distracted spellers.<span style=""> </span>Alison, a rookie, lost out on ‘chonolith’.<span style=""> </span>She should have asked for the language of origin.<span style=""> </span>I think knowing it was a Greek word would have clued her in to the ‘ch’.<span style=""> </span>She went with just a ‘c’.<span style=""> </span>Molly (A) was bounced on ‘rasgado’.<span style=""> </span>Same thing.<span style=""> </span>The Spanish origin is the clue.<span style=""> </span>Christine got stumped on an unusual word of unknown origin.<span style=""> </span>‘Slumgullion’ is a meat stew made with meat of dubious origin.<span style=""> </span>Merriam-Webster says that it is ‘perhaps from <em>slum</em> slime + English dial. <em>gullion</em> mud, cesspool’.<span style=""> </span>That loveably coarse <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">English street</st1:address></st1:street> slang.<span style=""> </span>Then Tim lost out on ‘rascette’.<span style=""> </span>As Tim said, it is a word that has been around the block.<span style=""> </span>Arabic then Latin then French.<span style=""> </span>A word used by palmists to describe the line that crosses the wrist below the palm.<span style=""> </span>After a spirited discussion about the proper jurisdiction of palmists, he spelled it wrong.<span style=""> </span>“Spelling Boot Camp is a waste of money!” were his parting words.<span style=""> </span>He will live to spell again.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">That left Black Kim and Barbara.<span style=""> </span>It was a quick end at that point.<span style=""> </span>Black Kim advanced on ‘beguine’ a rhumba-like dance popularized in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> by Cole Porter.<span style=""> </span>Barbara drew ‘perigee’, the point nearest the earth's center in the orbit of the moon or a satellite.<span style=""> </span>Perigee is a tough spell with a Greek origin.<span style=""> </span>Barbara missed and we had a winner.<span style=""> </span>Black Kim became the fourth person to win a second bee, the third to win non-consecutive bees.<span style=""> </span>She told me that losing in the second round of CON2 did bug her and she came to win a place in CON3.<span style=""> </span>Check!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Black Kim paid her bill with the gift certificate from her first victory and walked out with a brand new one for the next time.<span style=""> </span>Excellent job, Kim.<span style=""> </span>Congratulations!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>We will see you all next Tuesday at HK for the Bee.</p> Victorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11140290130623891180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3601816905106650902.post-11903189312341659012010-03-12T06:03:00.000-08:002010-03-12T13:15:04.460-08:00March 9, 2010 Mina from Minnesota<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGaPUC_bs-GNrnRfGXlJsE5C7Rcqy5cBA9EMtcsLKWzgtPJhJXZfHxFFqfVb-1UdipTov4l1-HHm9ROeuChbMU04WVGa0cq7nqmHJWYu7fnP2QCVrdHnsHA800DmjeKniVHRI7Crc_tVs/s1600-h/IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGaPUC_bs-GNrnRfGXlJsE5C7Rcqy5cBA9EMtcsLKWzgtPJhJXZfHxFFqfVb-1UdipTov4l1-HHm9ROeuChbMU04WVGa0cq7nqmHJWYu7fnP2QCVrdHnsHA800DmjeKniVHRI7Crc_tVs/s320/IMG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447759458879684866" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqF1nD6CzrjJfwFYJVDQrFqVwJ-_SW8sAsQyTL3SL_5nf_hNStiOUL_OsdBd-xOnUSWMFYfFvCI_CS2HJZBYY_vZZtttRfiTC-oDxsKaMQz9jfQM4jByK6aY3G4u0px7J9sFYMSSxh5nF/s1600-h/Mina.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqF1nD6CzrjJfwFYJVDQrFqVwJ-_SW8sAsQyTL3SL_5nf_hNStiOUL_OsdBd-xOnUSWMFYfFvCI_CS2HJZBYY_vZZtttRfiTC-oDxsKaMQz9jfQM4jByK6aY3G4u0px7J9sFYMSSxh5nF/s320/Mina.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447748067492667378" border="0" /></a><br />Mina blew in from Minnesota to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">HK</span></span> to be in the Bee this week. Actually, she went to Harvard and is on her way to becoming a surgeon. She says she can do 'little surgeries', huh? Tonsil removal and stuff like that. Shouldn't they have a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Resusci</span></span> Anne for aspiring throat cutters? Like Ton Sal or Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lyp</span></span>? She signs up as the 1995 Minnesota State Spelling Champ. I am impressed. She says she is back visiting and is at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">HK</span></span> to meet a friend. So begins the Bee begins. Among the contestants are an ESL student from Moscow, former winner Will B, plus a math whiz and an engineer. As usual, a very smart group. This night there was a lot of people signing up their friends without them knowing it. This usually means that more drunks will be spelling and that is, in fact, what it meant this week. Something funny happens when someone with a buzz is suddenly facing a crowded bar and they have to think on their feet. Some become combative, some become very quiet, some giggle, some ignore the crowd completely and address Nicole and I exclusively. For the most part, this crowd went the quiet route and spelled wrong. We lost half the contestants in the first round, from 15 to 7 just to get to the second round. Two things became clear: Mina is a formidable speller, confident and loud, apparently not drunk and she is not going to win easily despite her <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">bona</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">fides</span></span>. While we lost many in the first round, the ones left are all good spellers who will give Mina a run for her money. Among them Neil, a quiet speller whose style was reminiscent of Charlie Brown in his worst mood, you know, stiff body with head bent toward the floor. But spell he did. After three rounds, it was down to Mina and Neil. Mina declaiming more than spelling and Neil, with his head down, quietly advancing round after round. They seemed like old friends, but had just bonded over going head-to-head at the Bee. They ended up sitting together at the spelling table and going two rounds of correct spelling before Mina's experience started to show. For round six, Mina drew 'Aileron' and spelled it loud and proud. Neil, at her side, says,"This is where Neil goes down." He draws 'Enfilade' and misses it. Great sports, both of them. You had to love Neil who started out intimidated and ended up testing the mettle of the 1995 Minnesota State Champ. Then he calls the whole <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">HK</span></span> crowd a bunch of 'fucking rubes' over the microphone. And Mayor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Curtatone</span></span> was there! Neil broke two unspoken rules: don't cuss into the mic and don't insult the crowd that has so adoringly supported your against-all-odds run at the bee. Still, we like Neil and think that he could win it one day, especially when we found out from our spies that he was drinking so much that he was still drunk at his mid-term on Wednesday morning. If you can challenge a heavy weight like Mina and only throw one f-bomb in that state then you have a future at the Bee.<br /><br />The only other highlight, or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">lowlight</span>, was when I reverted to my redneck roots and wouldn't pronounce 'Obelisk' correctly until I noticed that many of the people in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">HK</span> were yelling at me. I was saying it with long 'O' and two syllables (<span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span></span><span class="pr">ō</span><span class="pr">-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span></span><span class="pr">b</span><span class="pr">l</span><span class="pr">ə</span><span class="pr"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">sk</span>)</span> like we do down home instead of short 'O' and three syllables(<span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span>ä-bə-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">lisk</span>)</span> like the civilized world. It wasn't until a spontaneous call-and-response alerted me to the yelling. "I say <span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span></span><span class="pr">ō</span><span class="pr">-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span></span><span class="pr">b</span><span class="pr">l</span><span class="pr">ə</span><span class="pr"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">sk</span></span>, you say <span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span>ä-bə-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">lisk</span>, </span><span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span></span><span class="pr">ō</span><span class="pr">-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span></span><span class="pr">b</span><span class="pr">l</span><span class="pr">ə</span><span class="pr"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">sk</span></span>, <span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"><span class="unicode"></span></span><span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"><span class="unicode"></span></span><span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"></span><span class="pr"><span class="unicode">ˈ</span>ä-bə-<span class="unicode">ˌ</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">lisk</span>!" Fortunately the speller got it right and all was well. Some dictionaries, including the real Bee's official dictionary offer the </span><span class="pr">'ō' as an alternate pronunciation, but none of them offer a two syllable version. </span>Mob rule has its rewards.<br />See you on Tuesday night at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">HK</span>.Victorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11140290130623891180noreply@blogger.com1