Winner of the April 24th Durham Spelling Bee!

Hello spellers,

I have been remiss in my reporting duties.  It is one of those cases in which a person gets busy, a certain amount of time passes, and then the person gets kind of embarrassed by how far behind he got on his reporting duties.  I am happy to report that the person is well beyond the embarrassment stage, past the ashamed stage, and resting comfortably in the "just post something" stage, so the person can update now.

The winner of our April 24th Durham Spelling Bee is Jen Poole!  Jen stayed in for 10 rounds, spelling every word given to her seemingly effortlessly.  Jen made a last-minute decision to join the roster of spellers, and look what happened!  This proves something...  something about snap decisions changing the course of history.  Yes, the world is a better place because each of the thirteen spellers decided to spell and have fun.  You don't even want to think about what the world would be like now had they not made their decisions.  Keep this important lesson in mind.

I don't have the list in front of me at the moment so I will have to come back later to tell you the winning word.  Joe Nofziger is our 2nd place winner for the 2nd time in a row.  Will he be a contender in our next Bee?   Will you?  Let's find out!

Spelling bee tonight

The Durham Spelling Bee is tonight, Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  Spellers from 15 to 115 are welcome to compete.  Support local Durham.  Cheer for your favorite spellers!

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so sign up early if you want a spot.  There will be prizes!


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Bonus for Durham Spelling Bee blog readers

Faithful readers get a tiny bonus just for reading.  One of the following words will be included in the pool of words we will use at the third Durham Spelling Bee this Saturday night:

palisade
tempestuous
resilient
scurvy
inclement
trough
buckwagon
begonia
irony
recommend
obstreperous
dingo
pernicious
quagmire
tamale
surrogate
abdicate
adulation 

And there you have it.  Cheers.

So you think you can spell?

The kind folks over at SO YOU THINK YOU CAN SPELL? have written a nice blog post about us.  It's an honor to be included in the same sphere as the Williamsburg Spelling Bee, the AARP National Spelling Bee, and the Scripps National Spelling Bee (the big kahuna).

Their book is So You Think You Can Spell?: Killer Quizzes for the Incurably Competitive and Overly Confident.  The subtitle says it all. 

I have worked my way through about half of the book, and I can say it is simultaneously fun and humbling.  For example, pick the correct spelling: herculian/herculeian/herculaean/herculaean/herculean.  How about bonnehommie/bonhommie/bonhomie/bonnehomie?  Back in October, I wrote a one-line review of it elsewhere: "You think you know... but you don't know."  Don't let that discourage you; think of it as a brain-tickler.  The authors, David Grambs and Ellen Levine, have included plenty of variety in the quizzes and games, and the book is interspersed with interesting facts about words, lexicography, and language.  There is also a brief history of the spelling bee in America (and remember: you can be a part of that history this coming Saturday night!).

One week until the next bee

Come on out to the next Durham Spelling Bee on Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  Spellers from 15 to 115 are welcome to compete.  Spectators of all ages are welcome, too.  Cheer for your favorite spellers.  Support local Durham.  Maybe become famous on the Internet!

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so sign up early if you want a spot.  There will be prizes!


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Another gem from Quite Interesting, this time about lost languages:

There are about 6,900 languages being spoken in the world today. Unesco estimates that half of these will have disappeared by the end of the century as the languages of world commerce – English, Chinese and Spanish – spread. 

 And my favorite bit:

The last speakers of Zoque, a language from Tabasco, Mexico, are two elderly men who refuse to speak to one another. Relatives claim their mutual silence isn't motivated by personal animosity but by the fact that they have little in common.

Next Durham Spelling Bee coming up!

The Durham Spelling Bee is coming up on Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh.  It's a game of zest and test!* 

     Sign up at 6:00 p.m.
     Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

You have more than two weeks to hone your spelling skills.  If you'd like some pointers, scroll through this here blog; you'll find lots of spelling lists to choose from.

We are limited to 25 spellers, so you'll want to arrive early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy a beverage.  Everyone likes rooters, too.


*From Paul Wing's Spelling Bee (Thanks, Jen!)

More from the March 13th Bee

My apologies for the delay in posting. Here is our winner, Colie Hoffman!

Colie's winning word was "schism."  Colie and Joe Nofziger used up all the really difficult words (e.g. zugzwang, bouquiniste, lagniappe, estaminet, vichyssoise), so we had to revert to the merely difficult (e.g. muumuu, exchequer, mulct, troglodytic, asceticism).  Several of the contestants went many rounds this time.  Yippee!

2nd Bee results! DSB in the news.

Congratulations to Colie Hoffman, winner of the 2nd Durham Spelling Bee!

What a great time we all had!  While there were fewer in attendance this time (I neglected to account for Spring break and some kind of basketball tournament thingy), there were more — far more — words than before.  The Bee went 26 rounds, the final 16 of which added up to a head-to-head suspense-fest between Colie and Joe Nofziger, our 2nd place winner.  There was a wonderful spirit of camaraderie in the air.

The event was covered by a reporter and a photographer from The Herald-Sun.  They did a fine job of summing up the competition.  Check out the story and photos.  Thanks to Joe Van Gogh for providing prizes and for being such a delightful place to have fun and meet new friends.

Tonight's the night

 

I'll see you all tonight.  Have fun.  Good luck!

Durham Spelling Bee next Saturday!

The second Durham Spelling Bee is next week on Saturday, March 13. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m.   Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

Something new: there will be a limit of 30 spellers, so please get there early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy a beverage.

The Bee will be at the excellent Joe Van Gogh, 1104B Broad Street.  They have great beans.  And they are providing great coffee prizes!

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I look forward to seeing you there!

Scripps regional qualifier results

The regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee was exciting!  Congratulations to Jessia Connelly, who will go on to represent the Durham/Orange County region at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC.  Congratulations, also, to Amber McDonald for winning 2nd place.  All the spellers were very impressive.  What a great bunch of kids!