i'm watching the national spelling bee right now, and this is some good stuff. it is very dramatic, since it only takes one letter of an impossible word to hear the bell ring, and be escorted off the stage. no music, a lot of silence, and a timer.

there's nothing like watching a bunch of nerds extremely nervous on stage. some of them squirm, looking like they are about to pee in their pants. some have confidence, but it's the haughtiness of those we all hated while growing up. some try to get as much of an edge as possible by asking a lot of questions.

pronouncer: "ipseity" (sounds like 'ib-see-idy')
kid: can i have a definition?
pronouncer: individual identity, self-hood
kid: can i have the origin?
pronouncer: latin and an english combining form
kid: can i have it in a sentence?
pronouncer: individuals in an extended prison-sentence seem to lose their ipseity.
kid: ibseity
pronouncer: ipseity
kid: ibseity
pronouncer: IPseity
kid: IBseity
pronouncer: IPseity
kid: ipseity?
pronouncer: ipseity
kid: ipseity
pronouncer: yes.

other questions:
is the first part of the word greek? is the "di" of the word greek, and does it mean two or god? would it be from the diminuitive suffix "et"? does it come from the greek word "g" meaning earth? part of speech? can i have the definition again? altenerate pronounciations?

so after thinking that these kids have no clue how to spell the word, they just belt it out in one try without stopping.

one kid even imitated napoleon dynamite, which nobody understood except for some audience members. i'm sure he feels dumb.

watching this gives me hope for the future - knowing that some of today's youth still choose brains over beauty.