June 19, 2004

ALOPECOID
Click the main link and see why you shouldn't drink the night before the spelling bee. This dude rocks.
posted by forksclovetofu 20 years ago
  • That kid's gotta real low voice for someone so young. Good show!
  • That kid's gotta real low voice for someone so young How do you think he passed for 21 the night before?
  • I went to the Spelling Bee a few years back, and I could see how one might get a little nervous. The kid's up on a stage in front of the ballroom of the Capital Hilton in D.C., which is about the length of a football field and packed to the brim with reporters and gushing parents. A much funnier Spelling Bee video could be obtained, however, by placing a hidden camera inside what is known as the "Comfort Room." This is the room to which contestants are ushered immediately following their elimination. Here, they can drown their sorrows in punch and pretzels, or vent their frustration on an inflatable punching clown thing featurig the stunning likeness of one Randy Savage. The kids may look cool and collected onstage, but most of them lose it moments after leaving the stage. Or maybe even funnier: hidden camera in the annual Spelling Bee dance...
  • I saw this spelling bee on TV, and it was impressive to see him get up and keep going. But then when it's down to two, he goes and mispells schwarmerei? Geez... I kid, of course. Mr. Buddiga was not looking (or sounding) well at all from the time he fainted. I suspect he didn't feel too well, either, given that he did mispell that word so badly when he was told (twice I think) that it was German in origin. It was a great display of will for both finalists to endure that long and quite an emotional ending for the winner. I was surprised to be moved by such a strange activity. Anyone know what other countries hold spelling bees?
  • I saw Spellbound last year in a second-run theatre. Quite a fascinating look into the whole American spelling bee scene. Not to mention a gripping tale of the eight kids the filmmaker followed (one of whom wins). I highly recommend it.
  • I thoroughly enjoyed that movie, too. It's probably what sensitized me to this year's bee. That or my own imprinted experiences with the school spelling bee. I will always remember "occurrence"--that damn extra "r". Those eight kids were great. The "energetic" one cracked me up.
  • Oh, Harry? Harry is the single coolest kid in the world. Watching him flip out on stage ranks as one of the best moments I've ever seen on film.