The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 25, 1999, Page Page 5, Image 5
Monday, January 25, 1999
Scrabble
reveals 1
by John Curran
Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. ? Like any
Scrabble player worth his tiles, Elliott
Schiff knows plenty of two-letter words.
It was what he did with them that
had jaws dropping at the fourth annual
Scrabble Talent Show.
Schiff, 27, a supermarket cashier
from Allentown, Pa., sang "The StarSpangled
Banner" using only two-letter
words sanctioned for use in the word
game.
"Aa ab ad ae ag, ah ai al al an ar,"
he sang, perfectly matching the cadence
of "Oh, say can you see/by the dawn's
early light." Ninety-six words later, he
was done.
So it went Friday at the Atlantic City
Scrabble Tournament as players at the
three-day event took a break from their
timers, tile bags and vowel movements
for a bizarre annual tradition: a midnight
talent show featuring Scrabblethemed
jokes and song parodies ("Stuck
At The End With The Q").
"It's not your average talent show.
If you're not a Scrabble player, you won't
get some of the jokes," said Bruce Adams,
41a nostal worker from Worcester.
Mass.
After hours of quiet, concentrated
playing, the tournament participants
noshed on hors d'oeuvres and drank
champagne before jamming into a Holiday
Inn meeting room for the talent
show.
First up: Shel Silverstein, 60, of
Brooklyn, N.Y., a retired accounts
payable clerk who brought down the
house with imitations of Alfred Hitchcock,
Marlon Brando and Rodney
Dangerfield.
As Hitchcock, he put on a thick
British accent and stuck his belly out,
solemnly mimicking the way the di
Wai
Challi
Start your career off on the right
Officer Training School. There yc
officer in just 12 weeks. From
complete medical and dental ca
plus
AIM HIGH see1
?/yR?. Ik a ca'
?vou
., our\
www.airforce.com
Bjlll
I liSfS|i.?T-ii *!*i
l ^ ";^- -'r" ^
If you are under the age of 21 it is agaii
AH ABC regula
pTTWTyi
; competi
bizarre ti
"It's not your average
you're not a Scrabble
get some of the jokes.
rector introduced segments in the "Alfred
Hitchcock Presents" television show.
'Tonight's stoiy is entitled The Disgruntled
Scrabble Player.' You see, our
friend played 'quidnunc' on a triple letter,
triple word score and got 244 points.
"His opponent, a highly rated sore
loser but not a highly rated player,
plunged a knife into his back."
Adams put new lyrics to the song
"Cabaret":
"Stick your hand out and say 'Good
luck'/It wouldn't kill you to smile, you
schmuck/Come to the Scrabble-ray, old
chum/There's no need to cry 'Oy vey,'
old chum. Just come to the Scrabbleray."
Then there was Diane Furstman,
35, of Brooklyn, N.Y., budget director
for the New York City Department of
Corrections, a former talent show winner
who did her first-ever stand-up routine.
Want to improve your Scrabble average?
Get a new lover, she said.
r air to middling players, they meet
someone and it's like Scrabble Viagra.
Va-voom!" she said.
Another contestant told one about
the Pope getting to Heaven and being
disappointed with his spartan accommodations.
He sees a Scrabble player's
posh room nearby and complains to St.
Peter. The reply: "We've got 60 popes
up here. We've only got one Scrabble
player."
The winner was Sal Piro, 48, of New
York, an actor whose day job is president
of the International Rocky Horror
Picture Show Fan Club.
rit A
enge?
foot by enrolling in the Air Force
>u will become a commissioned
the start you'll enjoy great pay,
re, 30 days of vacation each year,
the opportunity to travel and
:he world. To discover how high
eer in the Air Force can take
call 1-800-423-USAF, or visit
vebsite at www.airforce.com
ist the law to buy alcoholic beverages.
Lions enforced.
^
? Official Bookstore of USC
Greene St. Russell House (803) 777-4160
I-_1:
The Gam
ition
adition
talent show. If
player, you won't
5?
Bruce Adams
postal worker
f P%1
- m~ ~ ^neBh
Special to The Gamecock
Sal Piro, president of the
international Rocky Horror Picture
Show Fan Club, won first place in
the joke-telling sequence at the
Atlantic City Scrabble Tournament.
Participants presented skits and
jokes during tournament breaks.
Dressed in pancake makeup, badly
applied red lipstick, a pink fright wig
and leopard-skin pajamas, he portrayed
a bag lady sent off the deep end by
too many Scrabble losses.
It was his over-the-top imitations
of well-known Scrabble players that
Un/1 IVia veillii-\rr T-Tr\ tirA-n flvot
iiau Liic auuiciitc lulling. 11c wuii 11101
place and a $50 prize.
"This is special," he said, dabbing
beneath his rhinestone-studded eyeglass
frames as if to remove a tear.
'BOWS
CORI
The Final See
and the Ga
IUU tUUli
y ^Gam
Gan
matchi
and a <
"A drawing will be held 2/1/9
"% A
Vj"< Come see wha
! , student orga
have to offi
'HIS
Tf For information c
or stop bi
W Campus Activii
Department of Student Life* Division q
n i
lecock
g| Hard Cover Fiction
s?gs3|p 1. "Southern Cross"
by Patricia Cornwell
f3=f 2. "A Man In Full"
BSr by Tom Wolfe
3. "Seize the Night"
T ' 1 by Dean Koontz
) i V 4. "Billy Straight"
i' jFJ by Jonathan Kellerman
5. "When the Wind Blows"
??3 by James Patterson
iSS 6. "The Simple Truth"
by David Balducci
7. "In Danger's Path"
?5?$. by W.E.B. Griffin
8. "The Poisonwood Bible"
W" - by Barbara Kingsolver
3- "The Cat Who Saw Star:
by Lilian Jackson Braun
ID 10. "Angels Flight"
L. bv Michael Connelly
Q) Mass Market Papev
1. "The Street Lawyer"
by John Grisham
^ 2. "Message In a Bottle"
lH by Nicholas Sparks
w# 3. "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Rev
by Robert C. Atkins
4. "Protein Power"
W by Michael R. Eades and
?Mary Dan Eades
m5. "Tom Clancy's Net Force"
by Tom Clancy and Steve Pe
t over 270 I Thomas Coo
nizations , - . Spring 19
ZT yOti ! ^ Discover the world of informatic
a tour this spring! One hour tourj
a tour of the building for the fir
.I | Electronic Resources Network for
KltfiSw[i?]i?]3 yjJ f up is necessary. Just show up <
jflp services are av?
January 11th
Tou
~~T Mondays:
??777-5780 4
' ^ | I Thursdays:
fe Center. 1
? The tours will last approximately on
f student & Alumni Services will include many of the library depaj
hhhhhhmm Reference, Education, Government 1
|(Sl "dl^H second part of the tour will focus on
at the Thomas Cooper Library. The
databases will be demonstrated.
I Challenge
tECTLY GUESS
>re of the Super Bowl
me MVP Award and
d win a complete
lecock outfit!
lecock Anorak
ng pants, socks ([%yj
Gamecock cap.
9 to break any ties due to multiple correct entries.
Page 5
00
<D
%
to
o
3)
'backs jsg
olution"
; Form |
I a_ I
I iflFl l
| Atlanta j
! Denver
I I
HrrmB 1
i
i i
i i
i i
i
Name: I
I
I I
I Phone: j
Hnnnr i# Cnfviac I
ucpusil LIIUICS I
I in our Super Bowl |
Drop Box at the I
I Customer Service Desk |
I by Jan. 29, 1999. |
: ;
I Tbe Official Bookstore of (JSC
HOOO?& :Kt)nf4\tC\ B
iczenik
per Library
> /\ r i
>yy lours
>n available in the library-take
> will be divided into two parts:
st half-hour, and a tour of the
the second half-hour. No signind
learn what resources and
lilable to you.
January 29 th
rs
11am
11am
2pm
7pm
4pm
e hour. The first part of the tour
rtments, such as Reference, Science
Documents, and Circulation. The
the electronic resources available
Internet, USCAN, and CD-ROM
r Official H
! Entry ;