Aimless ruminations, mercurial cogitations and other random musings of a singular sapien. For Zechariah-Bumblebee & Miranda-Panda: may you always know peace, love and joy.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Early Winter Monkeyshines
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Gone: Another Boyhood Hero
In his day, he was the best chess player in the world, maybe the best the world had ever seen. For fans of the game, the tragedy is that his day passed all too quickly. And for the last 30-odd years of his life, Bobby Fischer was the chess world's mad uncle, an embarrassment to be apologized for, belittled or ignored. He died last week at the evocative age of 64 (there are 64 squares on a chess board).
Fischer's claim to unsurpassed greatness was not entirely without merit. He remained the highest-rated player in history for many years after he had stopped playing. On his way to the 1972 championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland, he won 20 straight games against some of the strongest players in the world without allowing so much as a draw. Twenty victories in a row against the world's best was unheard-of, a feat not equaled in chess before or since. He then went on to beat Mr. Spassky -- and, with him, the entire Soviet chess establishment.
Fischer's spokesman, Gardar Sverrisson, said the Brooklyn-raised champion was buried in a private ceremony in the southern Icelandic town of Selfoss, about 37 miles southeast of Reykjavik.
Checkmate.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Monkeyshines - 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Because It's There
In 1953, Hillary — a beekeeper by trade — and his team reached the mountain's south peak. But, exhausted by the altitude, most team members could go no farther. Only Hillary and a native Nepalese climber, Tenzing Norgay, continued on. David Breashears, a fellow climber said Hillary initially gained fame for the climb, but afterward, he dedicated much of his life to supporting the Sherpas in the Himalayas.
Rest in peace.