Anagram of pretty messed up.

We finally watched Word Wars last night. It's like Spellbound only dorkier and less weasel-style, because instead of kids trying to pad their college applications you're talking about adults who obsess about Scrabble instead of finding jobs and families and pasttimes that society would deem worthwhile. As an on-again, off-again member of the NSA myself (National Scrabble Association, duh), I relate. Except that I have a real job.

In related news, I'm nowhere near as good as the people in the documentary.

But I am in awe of their skill. Eric Chaikin chose a good cast of four to profile -- and given the financial woes that they detail in the movie, it makes me wonder whether there was any payoff for the profilees other than slightly greater notoriety outside the circle of die-hard Scrabble dorks. I was interested in how the movie would compare to Stefan Fatsis's book Word Freak. The answer is that I liked both, but the book got me jazzed about Scrabble (and I got a lot better after reading the book, because it motivated me to put in more effort) while the movie sort of scared me away from the game. Other than Brian, who is both about my level and about my intensity, I don't have any real friends I can play Scrabble with. Kitchen table games are no fun but club games kind of aren't either; I want to play against people scoring 400+ points a game, but I want them to not freak out if someone accidentally draws a tile without placing the letter bag above eye level first. I want to use a clock but I'm not so sure about customized Scrabble boards.

I'd like to play in a tournament but three or four days of eight games a day sounds a little insane.

Friends who think I'm nuts about this really ought to watch the movie.