The Supreme Tradition of Spelling Bees

It was van Nistelrooy's amazing little twiddle before the pass to Robben in the run-up to the second goal that caught my eye.

A discussion of the law behind van Nistelrooy's goal against Italy here.

I'm just back from something that has been going on for a few years in France called a "repas de quartier". People in a neighbourhood, or in an apartment building in cities like Paris, get together for a meal. A way to meet neighbours that you wouldn't otherwise know. This was my first time. I knew some by name, some just from seeing them around, others not at all. There were about 50 people, everyone brought something, plus food for themselves that they passed around. And it turns out that one of the neighbours is a retired wine merchant. He barely ate, but went around pouring wine for everyone, telling us what it is, where it comes from. He said his garage is full of cases of wine, so if we want to buy anything at a good price...

I don't know where it originally started, but it's a good idea.

Vinny, I agree with you. That move by Van Nistelrooy was really great. Apparently he had no way out there being surrounded by 3 French players against the line. But he was able to turn around, get rid of them and send a perfect pass to Robben.

Máxima should be extremely pleased with her team's performance so far.

Around these here parts, it's called a "block party," whihc Merriam Webster defines as "an outdoor public party put on by the residents of a city block or neighborhood." You get permission to close off the street and you hold the party right there. It can be a simple as a potluck meal or include music and dancing and kiddie games.On Fouth of July, it's usually follwed with everyone pooling their fireworks. I have yet to run into one that features a wine merchant, alas.

There's actually a movement called "National NIght Out" that encourages this as a way of preventing crime. If the neighbors get to know each other, they are more likely to watch out for funny things happening on other people's property. It's a big deal here. If your block party lets the city know, you'll get visited by the fire department, the police, and the mayor or some other bigwig, all promoting heavenly harmony in the neighborhood. The fire & police usually does some sort of demo for kids. (At Christmas, Santa cruises the town on a fire truck, trading candy canes for canned food to be given to the food bank.)

This morning I saw the front page of the local paper: The French have to win tonight, or else it's over! But from what I have heard on and off on the radio too, the Romanians have to lose?

More news as events warrant...

It's both. If the Romanians win, the French are out whether or not they win their match. If the Romanians tie or lose, the French have to win to advance.

Here is something topical for the spelling bee thread.

Interesting, bjd. I'm not sure I see the point of a (US) South Asian Spelling Bee, in addition to the regular one.. A non-South Asian spelling bee might make more sense.

Here are some more notes from the nationals.

Too bad,shilgia -- the Dutch team lost last night. It would have been nice if they had beaten the Russians. In yesterday's International Herald Tribune, there was an article by a guy saying that watching the Dutch team playing well and having fun had reconciled him to watching soccer (aka football).