Durham Spelling Bee

Primitive Spelling Bees

2011-02-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

Spelling Bee tonight!

2010-11-20T11:46:00.000-05:00

We'll see you tonight at Joe Van Gogh Durham. Sign-up at 6:00 p.m. Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m. The first 25 spellers get a spot. Every speller gets a prize! Everyone else achieves total enlightenment.

Prizes!

2010-11-18T16:43:00.000-05:00

The kind folks at Joe Van Gogh are providing the big prizes for the Bee!

1st place wins a 10-cup Melitta Pourover pot, #6 filters, bag of coffee, and a travel mug

2nd place wins a bag of coffee and travel mug

There will also be consolations for everyone because, let's face it, everyone's a loser except the last person standing! Not the best motto for the Durham Spelling Bee? Come with your suggestions on Saturday night.

Durham's Spelling Bee for Grown-Ups this Saturday!

2010-11-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

Come on out to the Durham Spelling Bee on Saturday, November 20th at Joe Van Gogh. Cheer for your favorite spellers and give it a try, yourself. Support local Durham. Achieve enlightenment. Become happy forever.

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

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so come out and sign up early. There will be prizes!

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Want to be in a documentary? Filming the Spelling Bee

2010-11-12T15:38:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

A Duke student contacted me about filming the Durham Spelling Bee for a documentary film class. He would like to get some interviews with participants before the bee. Would you like to be interviewed before the upcoming Nov. 20 Bee?

Kyle Kunkle will be filming the Bee at Joe Van Gogh on the 20th. He is interested in talking to you beforehand about how you are preparing (or not) for the spelling bee and why you are participating or what you like about it. If you have not participated before, but are planning on it for November 20, he would still be interested in hearing from you. If you'd like to help him out, please contact Kyle at:

Feel free to drop me a line, too.

Words that should be banished from the English Language

2010-11-11T21:32:00.001-05:00

I was thinking about the word webinar today and what an ugly word it is. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was first used in 1997 in a publication called DM News (it turns out that DM stands for Direct Marketing, which further solidifies and justifies my hatred of the word). This web + seminar construction gives rise to other equally ugly words like webisode and vlog.

I like new words that are useful, but constructions like this one seem a bit too twee for my taste. Webinar... it is one of those words that will seem exceedingly quaint in about 10 years. Luckily, the Durham Spelling Bee uses the Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, as its source, where these words do not appear. So, you will never encounter them at the bee. You're welcome.

Are there any words you think should be banished? Leave a comment.

Durham Spelling Bee November 20!

2010-11-03T12:56:00.001-04:00

Nothing says mid-autumn pre-Thanksgiving amusement like the Durham Spelling Bee. And you're in luck because the next one is coming up on Saturday, November 20th at the lovely Joe Van Gogh coffee house, 1104B Broad Street, in Durham (map).

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

You have two and a half weeks to bone up (or not). Want some pointers? We have lots of word lists.

There is a limit of 25 spellers (unlimited friends and enthusiasts) so you'll want to arrive early enough to sign up, mingle, and enjoy the best espresso drinks in North Carolina. Bring a friend and cheer each other on. Oh, and there will be prizes!

Winner of the April 24th Durham Spelling Bee!

2010-10-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

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

2010-04-24T13:53:00.000-04:00

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!

View Larger Map

Bonus for Durham Spelling Bee blog readers

2010-04-21T15:42:00.000-04:00

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?

2010-04-19T16:30:00.002-04:00

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

2010-04-17T16:19:00.000-04:00

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!

View Larger Map

2010-04-14T09:51:00.001-04:00

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!

2010-04-05T21:46:00.000-04:00

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

2010-04-04T22:26:00.001-04:00

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.

2010-03-15T22:54:00.002-04:00

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

2010-03-13T10:52:00.004-05:00

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

Durham Spelling Bee next Saturday!

2010-03-06T16:58:00.002-05:00

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

2010-03-06T16:46:00.000-05:00

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!

It's National Grammar Day!

2010-03-04T14:02:00.000-05:00

Celebrate National Grammar Day by reading "5 Easy Ways to Learn Grammar With The New York Times," and by visiting the Huffington Post's piece, "National Grammar Day 2010: Resources And The WORST Grammar Mistakes Ever."

(Is that sentence grammatically correct?)

Duke hosts regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee

2010-03-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

This weekend, Duke University will host the regional qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

What	Regional Spelling Bee
When	Mar 06, 2010 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where	Duke University - Page Auditorium

Winning spellers from schools in Durham and Orange counties will compete for a spot in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, June 2-4, 2010.

Quite Interesting Facts About Words

2010-02-25T22:19:00.003-05:00

The BBC broadcasts a television series called Quite Interesting - devoted to the attitudes of "curiosity, discovery and humour." It is hosted by the wonderful Stephen Fry. QI also has a regular column in the weekend Telegraph. In a recent article, some quite interesting facts about words are compiled, including this bit about word frequency:

Of the quarter of a million words in the OED [Oxford English Dictionary], about half are nouns, 25 per cent adjectives, 15 per cent verbs and the last 10 per cent are prepositions, conjunctions, suffixes etcetera. It is this last category that yields most of the top 10 most frequently used English words, according to a 2006 survey carried out by the Oxford English Corpus. They are: the, be, to, of, and, a, in, that, have and I. The 10 most popular nouns were: time, person, year, way, day, thing, man, world, life and hand. The 10 most popular verbs were: be, have, do, eat, sleep, drink, put, keep, run and walk. The 10 most popular adjectives: good, first, new, last, long, great, little, own, other and old.

I am kind of surprised about hand and run and walk. Considering the source is the Oxford English Corpus -- which comes from literary textual sources, not the spoken word -- I suppose it does make sense.

P.S. While I am loathe to cite a Wikipedia article about anything, there is an interesting entry for Stephen Fry (at least as of 25 February 2010 at 10:04 p.m. EST).

Word of the moment

2010-02-15T23:10:00.002-05:00

The word of the moment is salmagundi

Pronunciation: sal-mə-ˈgən-dē
noun
1. a salad plate of chopped meats, anchovies, eggs, and vegetables arranged in rows for contrast and dressed with a salad dressing
2. a heterogeneous mixture. potpourri

Sounds vaguely Anglo-Indian , doesn't it? But it's not; it is French in origin (salmigondis). Speaking of Anglo-Indian, that reminds me of one of my favorite dictionary titles:

Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive, by Sir Henry Yule. It was published in 1903 (and is quite politically incorrect). As it is out of copyright, there are free versions, both full-text and as a searchable database.

One month until the next DSB!

2010-02-13T10:58:00.000-05:00

The second Durham Spelling Bee will be held on Saturday, March 13, 2010. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m. Spelling starts at 6:30 p.m.

As usual the Bee will be at everyone's favorite coffee house, Joe Van Gogh, 1104B Broad Street. Get yourself some beans!

And remember: there will be prizes!

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Tattoo spelling mistakes

2010-02-10T11:14:00.002-05:00

Enjoy this gallery of the Worst Spelling Mistakes Made in Tattoos.

Thanks to Jen Dziura for the pointer.