Blogging the National Spelling Bee

I live-blogged the National Spelling Bee a few years ago, and why not do it again!! Here we go!!

8:01 - Oh the drama begins!!!

8:02 - I bet these kids love the host is the same as "The Bachelor." Yeah, that makes sense.

8:03 - Chris Harrison had the kids circle up and say "spell." We now know who's the stupidest person on stage.

8:05 - Way to nail the first word, Arvind Mahankall. Don't want to get up and spoil it in primetime.

8:07 - Ah, how cute! The Ohio girl says Lebron should stay in Cleveland...because they're the best team. She's obviously not a basketball fan...but her favorite word is "xat" because it's a "curveball." She must like baseball.

8:09 - They're talking about the Canadian in the competition. Ahem, NATIONAL Spelling Bee.

8:11 - We have our first hand spelling!!!! Way to be, Joanna Ye!

8:15 - I always love how they use "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" to explain the rules.

8:16 - Okay, this girl is from Puerto Rico. That's kosher because it's a part of the United States (unlike Canada).

8:18 - And down goes the first contestant. Miss Puerto Rico couldn't nail "gyokuro." Adios, Juliana Canabal-Rodriguez.

8:20 - Next up, Aditya Chemudupaty, from Nolan Ryan Junior High School. Sports tie-in!!

8:21 - His word, "engysseismology," was used in sentence with Dance, Dance Revolution. Boo!!!

8:22 - And there goes the second contestant. See ya next year, Aditya! "Obviously, Nolan Ryan would be proud." What color commentary!!

8:23 - Now we get to meet Andrew Grose, from Sheboygan, Wisc. I'm amazed at how hot his mom is.

8:24 - Andrew's a board writer!!! And he nails the word to end the round. Eight remain!

8:28 - NBA Finals promo! Another sports tie-in!

8:29 - Fun fact: 273 competitors started in Round 1.

8:30 - So we're meeting the Canadian now. She shall not be named. "The Canadian" she shall remain.

8:31 - It's a French word. And she's struggling. And she's from Canada. And she missed it. Au revoir! Now it's just 7 Americans!

8:34 - Fun fact: Ohio has won the most bees, at 8!

8:35 - Adrian Gunawan's style is to always stand with one hand behind his back, wears a lucky blue shirt and gray socks. He's a rebel! And he makes "netsuke" look easy.

8:36 - Now here's Erin Andrews to talk to the first contestant out. Riveting, Erin. Simply riveting.

8:37 - Oh, Lanson Tang walks up acting like he knows "leishmanic" is of German origin. He just got smacked down 'cause it's English. Booyah!

8:38 - And he missed it. There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. And then there were 6!

8:42 - Marky Mark and Will Ferrell are doing a celebrity bee. The word is "supplementary." It's turn into a terrible promo for "The Other Guys." Yawn.

8:43 - Elizabeth Platz says her favorite book is the official dictionary of the bee. She's immediately become my pick to win!

8:44 - Come on. "Gnocchi?" That's like a softball! It's on many Italian menus across the country. Yeah, she scarfed that one down easily.

8:46 - Fun fact: North Dakota has never won the bee. With "infundibuliform," Shantanu keeps the great state's hopes alive!

8:48 - Haha! She asked if she could ask any more questions, which is, in fact a question. Helped her nail the word.

8:49 - Erin Andrews is interviewing the Canadian. She's making excuses. She said she misheard it. She said she knew the real word. If you knew the real word, then you would have realized it when you heard the definition. Liar!! Canadian liar!! Get off my screen!!!

8:55 - Oh, Chris Harrison just shamelessly plugged "The Bachelorette" on Monday nights. Pathetic. If he makes a rose reference, I may through something at my TV (good thing it's not mine!).

8:56 - Joanna Ye has quickly become my second favorite. Now, watch her get eliminated with "tailleur."You can do it!

8:57 - "She visualizes the words right in front of her and grabs the one that's right." And she grabbed the wrong one. Nuts!

8:58 - Now the Sheboygan kid's back. I just like typing Sheboygan, almost as much as I like saying it. Oh, no! "Aguinaldo" just made this kid its punta. Another shot of the hot mom as he sulks to his seat!

8:59 - Two eliminated to end the round. So then there were 4 heading into Round 8. They're dropping like flies. This could be a quick finish. This is making the presence of "gnocchi" here even more ridiculous.

9:03 - There's a promo for an upcoming concert special of Miley Cyrus. Apparently she's a superstar. Sigh....

9:04 - They just had the kids lip-synching to "Staplegunned" by the Spill Canvas. Let's not do that next year.

9:05 - I know what you've been thinking. "What are Adrian Gunawan's other interests?" Now we get to find out! When he's not spelling, he's doing homework or studying for tests. I NEVER would have guessed that.

9:06 - I can already tell he's not going to get "terribilita." But come on, that's an awesome word! It's an art term meaning "the sublime mixed with fear and awe." Use that in a sentence tomorrow!

9:08 - Cracking jokes don't spell words! And Adrian goes down, with his lucky blue shirt hanging out. Only 3 left.

9:10 - Elizabeth Platz always says hello to the pronouncer. They doesn't help you to spell. But it's good to see that all these kids aren't brats.

9:11 - She just said the word's definition is boring. And "rhytidome" struck back, knocking her out of the round. And then there were 2.

9:14 - I don't like that commercial that uses the song from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" because every time I hear it, I get excited and think the movie is on. Then I realize it's just a stupid commercial.

9:15 - I love how most of these bee words come up as spelling errors in blogger. Stupid Google!!

9:16 - A bit of firemen spelling. Yawn.

9:17 - The hosts remind us that if the final 2 spellers of this round both miss their words, the round starts all over with the 4 spellers. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Could make things interesting. But it also means that if someone does spell it right, this could be one quick finals!

9:18 - Erin Andrews is getting the skinny from Elizabeth Platz. I don't understand the sentences she's saying. It's nonsense to me.

9:19 - Can Shantanu hit a grand slam with "ochidore" to be the first to spell this round? We just got a shot of his spelling coach. That's like a batting coach, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cooler.

9:20 - Uh, oh. He strikes out. That's 3 up and 3 down this round. Wow. There's 1 left that can take this thing. And, of course, they go to commercial break. Gotta make their money if this thing ends early!

9:23 - There is something poetic about all these "Wipeout" promotions during the spelling bee.

9:24 - I just realized that if Anamika gets this word, she'll expand Ohio's all-time wins lead to 9.

9:25 - For the round, she gets "juvia." I'll be honest, seems pretty easy to get with the two pronunciations.

9:27 - She nails it. But she has to spell one more word to take the championship. So why not have another commercial break? Ha! You could hear the crowd uproar with disapproval.

9:28 - We'll enter Round 9 with 1 speller. But if she misfires, her 3 adversaries are back in this thing. If not, she is the greatest speller in the land younger than 15 years of age.

9:29 - Commercial for a new spicy chicken sandwich debuting at Chick-Fil-A on Monday. Oh my God!! That's the best news all bee! Totally worth watching!!!

9:31 - They just had a replay of the kid that passed out years ago. Best bee moment ever!

9:32 - Anamika steps up to the mic. She gets "stromuhr" for the win. She asks for the definition. She asks for the language of origin. She asks for the word in sentence. She asks for the word to be repeated. Then she nails it.

9:33 - We have a winner! North Royalton of Cleveland, Ohio!

9:34 - Now ABC has to fill the last 26 minutes. And I'm not going to stick around to find out. Until next year!!

I don't buy Jacob's story

Jacob said Kate was crossed off because she became a mother. I just
don't buy it. She became a surrogate, but not a real mother. And think
of the remaining candidates.

Jack's a father. Sawyer's a father. Sun and Jin became parents. In
fact, Hurley is the last man standing not to have parental obligations.

I don't think Jack is really taking over. Ben is. That would also
fulfill the supposed no parent clause since he lost his daughter.

Mark my words. It will be Ben.

Quick Thought on Lost

Did the EMF chamber that Desmond was put in look like the interior to Jacob's house to anyone else? That lone chair in the middle. Boxed structure. I just felt that for some reason.

A Line for Addicts

Woosh!

While I stir on "What Kate Does" a little more, first a key point.

Have you noticed the change of sound effect when it shifts from the present to flash? I used to be a thundering airplane effect close by. Now it just sounds like an airplane passing by in the distance. Clearly an indication that these flashes are much different than the ones before.

I can't take credit for recognizing this one, but it's cool once you hear it.

NOLA Lives

I have a t-shirt that reads “NOLA LIVES” on the front with the date “August 29, 2005” on the back.

Actually, I have two. I bought them to support the relief efforts in my hometown.

The date marks the worst day in the history of New Orleans, which actually says a lot since it is one of the oldest cities on this continent that has been battered by wars, crime and corruption.

It was the day the rains came that would break the levees from a hurricane rarely ever called by name by the residents of the city. It is simply known as “the storm.”

I cried that day and the days that followed. I shed tears for my hometown as the images of devastation and horror continued to flash across the 24-hour news coverage. I was nearly 1,000 miles away in my apartment in Chicago. But I wanted to be in New Orleans so I could help for I feared my city was dying.

New Orleans didn’t die. No, she has shown her resilience and bounced back. NOLA lives.

Now the city has a new date to remember: January 24, 2010. It is the greatest day in the city’s almost three centuries of existence. It’s the day the Saints became champions of the National Football Conference.

I cried that day too.

It is quite the dichotomy and almost amazing that these two dates occurred less than five years apart. And the Louisiana Superdome figures prominently in both.

I have never seen a community who cares so much about its football team like New Orleans. And I have a lot of experience with football-obsessed towns. I graduated from Jenks.

The apropos team for the fans devotion is “faith” — faith for those heavenly Saints. They often bring joy on Sundays and help us get through the week. They fight on the field to give the city hope for a better day. And the fans pray to them on a regular basis.

In a city tattered by a racial past, the Saints unite New Orleans in such a unique way. It’s no longer about black and white. It’s about black and gold.

The city has literally shut down during the Saints great run through the playoffs. There is nothing better to do except cheer on the hometown team.

The Saints have served as a great allegory for New Orleans. Founded in 1967, the team didn’t have its first winning season until two decades later. The answer to the Cajun-accented question “who dat say gonna beat dem Saints” was anyone and everyone.

It took another 13 years before the first playoff victory. Then nine more until the Saints were no longer on the shortlist of teams never to make the Super Bowl. The Saints, like the city, were always down but never out. The year of the storm, the Saints held the league’s second-worst record. Now they hold the second-best.

I often thought being a Saints fan was akin to being a Cubs fan. The Saints were the lovable losers of the NFL, with the unaffectionate moniker “the Aint’s.” As a kid, I attended games where fans regularly wore paper bags over their heads.

But at least the Cubs have won a world championship, though more than a century ago. Of course, that may soon change.

As Super Bowl XVIV looms, so does another chance for history to be made. If the Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts, February 7, 2010, will become the greatest day in the history of the city.

I’m sure I’ll cry.

And not a single Saints fan will want to be in Miami, the site of the Super Bowl. Nope. They’d rather be three states west on the banks of the mighty Mississippi for the greatest celebration ever seen in Louisiana.

They’d rather be in the City that Care Forgot, but the Saints did not. They’d rather be in the shadow of the Superdome with its past of joys and sorrows. They’d rather be in the city the champions of the National Football League call home.

They’re rather be in New Orleans, for NOLA will be alive.

And we're back...

First off, do you think Juliet's final words were "it worked?" Shame on you if you do! Shame on you! Shame on you! After all we've been through with Lost, how dare you accept Miles' declaration that Juliet's final words were "it worked" so easily? Sawyer was distraught at losing his love, desperate for condolence in his vulnerable time. He thought he could get that from Miles, which Miles initially said wasn't possible. But Sawyer persisted. Miles felt he had no choice and he produced the words "it worked," words that Sawyer could find comfort in that she did not die in vain. Any friend or loyal coworker would act no differently in a situation like that. Do I believe Miles really heard these words? Not for an instant.

Second, I initially thought Jacob had re-manifested himself in Sayid's body. But then I got to thinking more and that would be a little too obvious. That's when I realized it wasn't Jacob that Hurley was talking to beside the van. It was very clear to me that it was Smokey. Obviously he has the power to take the form of the dead, so Jacob would be fair game now. By the Others' response to the news that Jacob is dead, it seems like that Smokey might be coming to infiltrate the Temple. So, as Jacob, Smokey convinces Hurley to take a dying Sayid into the Temple, where Sayid in fact dies. Now, Smokey is free to take Sayid's form, thus infiltrating the Temple. The lingering question is to what endgame.

Now, to my biggest and boldest thought from last night. We seemingly have two points in time that we can accept as reality. Point A is 1977 and Point B is 2007. However, how we get from Point A to Point B is not definitive and there are many tracks that could have taken us there, just like you can take a different route to the grocery and back home. I think one course is the events we saw unfold in the first seasons of Lost. I believe another course will be shown during Season 6. These "flash-sideways" are taking place in 2004, but will eventually lead to Point B and the events we are seeing unfold on the Island.

To me, this is a grander scale of the course-correction that we saw unfold with Charlie. "Ya gonna die, Charlie." Though Desmond saw it happen in various flashes, it eventually did happen, something deemed inescapable. Perhaps what we are seeing in 2007 is fate, something that will happen. Now we are seeing how we are getting to that point, one way or another.

I think the seeds are in place for all the castaways to go back to Sydney on a plane together. Jack has to go back to find his father's body. Kate kidnaps Claire and they get on a plane together to escape the law. Hurley must go back to check on his chicken franchises. Jin and Sun are refused entrances in the U.S. And must fly back. Locke, perhaps emboldened by Jack's thought that "nothing is irreversible," flies to Australia to try the walkabout again.

And I think Charlie's suicide attempt might be the biggest wink to this possibility because, in fact, "Ya gonna die, Charlie." Death is already chasing him.

So maybe they all get on a plane again in the "flash-sideways" only to crash land on the island. Perhaps the crash occurs while Widmore is trying to raise the island from the bottom of the ocean, which sucks the plane to the ground with some sort of electromagnetic shenanigans. Whatever happens, I think the "flash-sideways" will simply show that "nothing is reversible" and that this would all happen one way or another. Thus, the original continuity man simply remain intact.

Food for thought. Here's to a great season!