Murray Mednick and me

Somehow as I started tinkering around with Wikipedia, I wound up finding the page on Spider Grandmother, a figure in Native American mythology. From there I read about Murray Mednick, a Los Angeles playwright who was identified in Wikipedia as himself a Native American, probably because he wrote a set of plays called The Coyote Cycle featuring Spider Grandmother, among others characters.

Didn’t take much research to discover Mednick is Jewish.

Sometimes that’s Wikipedia for you.

But I corrected it. And then it seemed that Mednick was a more accomplished playwright than his entry gave him credit for. So I searched around some more and beefed up his entry. And once in a while I look around with Google and discover something new, like a 2009 production of three new Mednick plays in LA.

Murray is 70 now, so that seems pretty good.

I’ve never met him or seen his plays.

Yet somehow the Web forges this kind of loose accidental connection, such as it is.

Habit

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

-Mark Twain

A useful quote for any of us old dogs working feverishly on new tricks. Do not be discouraged by the occasional relapse.

Dear Mr Crabby Old Chessplayer, Number 5

Mister Chessplayer, should I take up the French Defense? 

- Jacques in Jersey

Dear Jacques: NO NO NO NO NO!!!  A THOUSAND TIMES NO! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED TURN BACK NOW BEFORE YOUR QUEEN BISHOP IS ENTOMBED FOR ALL ETERNITY !!!!!!!

Sincerely, MCOCP

Great love songs of the modern era

Can’t move my arms to hold nobody, hold nobody but you

Can’t move my legs to chase nobody, to kick nobody but you

 

Second song:

When they finally come to destroy the Earth

They’ll have to go through you first

Bet they won’t be expecting that

And my money says they won’t know about the thousand farenheit hot metal lights behind your eyes

You’re invincible

(So please, use your power for good)

 [This is from OK Go's Invincible, viewable at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mItuZ8i4wH8 .

Yargh, embedding disabled. This post has been more trouble than it's worth :)  ]

Revenge (a macaroni dish)

Boil elbow macaroni. Dice and lightly steam carrots (not mushy!). Set aside both to cool.

Mix together a little mayo w/ lots of garam masala spice.

Add crushed red pepper and salt if necessary.

Toss in macaroni, carrots, and a can of white tuna.

Options: Add peas, corn, black olives, onion.

Best served cold. (Hence the name.)

Late in the evening

[Monday update: Hm - what about 28.f4 Qe7 29.Be2 ?  Can Black save his h-file pieces after 29...fxg4 30.Bxg4 ?  This is a 'car line', meaning I don't have a board to check it. Humph.]

Now that we’ve prattled on about how IMs and GMs make mistakes, IM Foygel has kindly reminded me that experts make many more.

Slater (2130) - Foygel (2490)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 c6 8.Bg2 d5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Ne5 0-0 11.0-0 Nfd7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bc1 Rc8 14.Bb2 f5 15.Qd2 Nf6 16.f3 h5 17.Rfc1 h4 18.e3 hxg3 19.hxg3 Nh5 20.Qf2 Rf6 [Note: If you get this kind of position with White after 20 moves, you done screwed up.]

21.Bf1 Bb7 [Afterwards Igor noted he should have just played 21...Bxf1 22.Kxf1 Rg6 23.Ne2 Nxg3 24.Nxg3 Bh4]

22.Bd3 Rg6 23.g4 [Same concept as before : 23.Ne2 Nxg3 24.Nxg3 Bh4-+ , but now the Bd3/Rg6 pin allows White to keep hanging on for a bit]

23…Bh4 24.Qh2 Qg5 [See diagram.]

After 24...Qg5: Simple math

[White slightly outnumbered on kingside, yes?] 25.Nd1 Rf8 26.Rc2 e5 27.Rg2 e4 28.gxh5 Qxg2+ 29.Qxg2 Rxg2+ 30.Kxg2 exd3 31.Rc1 f4 32.Rc7 Rf7 33.Rxf7 Kxf7 34.Bc3 fxe3 35.Nxe3 Ke6 36.Nf1 Bc6 37.Bd2 Bf6 38.Bc3 Be8 39.Kf2 Bxh5 40.Ne3 Bh4+

[Whew, not mated. Funky ending, slightly problematic for Black to win because he can't let it go into bishops of opposite color. I try to just sit tight and keep the Black king out. Guess I shoulda tried to keep the bishop out too w/ 42.b4. Not clear to me if this can be held. At any rate, not by me and not against him :)]  41.Kg2 Be7 42.Kg3 Ba3 43.Kf2 b5 44.Nd1 Bc1 45.Ne3 a6 46.Nd1 Kd7 47.Ne3 Kc6 48.Nf1 Kb6 49.Ne3 Bf7 50.Nf1 a5 51.Ke1 Bg6 52.Kf2 d2 53.Bxd2 Bb2 54.Ke3 Bb1 55. a4 Bc2  56.axb5 Bxb3 0-1

So – last game to finish at the club – 11:30pm, four solid hours of play.

I’ve had several friends who were good chessplayers but gave it up for bridge. They said in bridge, you make a mistake, you lose the hand, you get dealt a new hand and start afresh; in chess, you make a mistake, you suffer for many hours and then lose.

Crybabies.

Sweetbreads

Check.

Sweetbreads are the thymus gland and/or pancreas of farmyard animals. Sounds yucky but (if you get the wimpy version, like my neighbor and I did Saturday at Tomasso) all you taste is the breading.

They couldn’t resist

Just below the peak, on the road to Malaucène, is a memorial to British cyclist Tommy Simpson, who died here from heart failure during the 1967 Tour de France. After collapsing he is supposed to have uttered “Put me back on the bloody bike”; but this was probably made up by British tabloids.

- A French tourism site