November 29, 2013

  • Thoughts at Large

    I have thoughts.  I have a blog page.  I spew thoughts upon the page.

     

    Bieber is the strongest chess player in history.

    magnus1

    Ha. Fake-out.  The new world champion only looks like Justin Bieber.  His name is Magnus Carlsen, age 22.  In 2004 Carlsen became a grandmaster at age 13.  He became the champion of Norway that same year.  His peak ELO rating is 2872, which is higher than Fischer, higher than Kasparov, and in fact the highest rating in history.

    The turning point in the chess match came in game 9, when, two games behind, defending champion Viswanathan Anand came out swinging and nearly succeeded in breaking the young dreamboat's momentum.  Going for broke, the champion allowed Carlsen to gain an extra queen in return for several attacking tempos.  In the end, his nerve failed, the champion blundered, and he had to resign.  Here is THE DECISIVE GAME.  You have to have java installed to replay this game.  The link will ask you for permission to play it, and you can say yes.  This is a New York Times site.

    Here is Bieber Carlsen shmoozing with WGM (Woman Grandmaster) Aleksandra Kosteniuk.  She also likes to pose for the camera.
    magnus_a_kost
    alexandra_kosteniuk2

     

    Wanton Circumcision

    Did you ever try to explain the meaning of Hanukkah?  See, there was this squabble between the pharisees and sadducees in jerusalem, which the pharisees won, even though they had to defeat some tough syrian bastards to do it.  So the pharisees seized the temple in a bloody battle, and they forced their enemies to stop sacrificing pigs and start getting circumcised.  They circumcised everything in sight.

    And, oh yeah, they lit some olive oil lamps in the temple.

    I am not Jewish, and this is a quick google job.  But my Jewish friends also tell me it's a lame holiday.

     

    Recommendations

    We don't have a REC button, so I'll have to spell them out.  They are worth following if you don't already.  Did I leave anyone out?  Undoubtedly.

    shimmerbodycream

    reginasikora

    mzkeekz

    adamswomanback

    godfatherofgreenbay

    whyzat

     

    Peace out.

     

Comments (9)

  • That dude actually looks more like the guy from the Twilight...I forgot his name but he plays a werewolf.

  • Chess looks like math to me and my brain shuts down if I try to do math. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong about chess, but it's the perception that counts when it comes to brain power failure!
    And I'm on your list? Gee, thanks. There aren't very many of us old Xangans here, anymore, so we had better support each other. When I post something, I put it here first and the next day put it up on WP. They can wait!

    • I had a tumultuous childhood where I discovered, almost by accident, that math problems brought me serenity. I have a degree in mathematics, and I've played a lot of chess tournaments. They both depend on memory, on retaining symbolic patterns. The more symbols you juggle in memory, the more skillful you are.

  • Thank you for including me here!
    I am honored!
    I've been VERY ill for the past week (really bad sinus infections :-( ), so I haven't felt like blogging.
    (((HUGS)))

    • Yes, you wrote about your infection. Get well!

      By coincidence I have a tooth infection that's puffing my face up. Well, antisceptic mouthwash seems to soothe it. Give it a try.

  • Sorry to hear about your tooth infection. UGH. :-(
    I just did an update post.
    I hope to be back to blogging soon!
    (((HUGS))) :-)

  • Thanks for the recommendation, though I haven't been posting much lately with the holidays and all. I didn't know who Aleksandra Kosteniuk was. In addition to obviously being very smart, I love those elbow-length gloves and black dress! Very glamorous.

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