Speaking of <A Zed and Two Noughts>, you may be pleased to know I just downloaded Greenaway's film about <Rembrandt>, which is one of the few i haven't seen.

Please NO SPOILERS

I will enjoy tempting you into a discussion of this no doubt fine film after I watch it.

Although normally I prefer to engage in heated discussions about films without actually watching them first.

BTW, you were right all along: ZOO is an absolute masterpiece. Maybe his very best. I hadn't seen it for years, and never before on DVD.

Maybe the snails made me squeamish, but I'd missed a lot of stuff. The way he weaves together natural history, sex and evolution is incredible - and ahead of its time, given that these subjects only became fashionable later.

Congrats on your spirited defence of science, over in your own laboratory. You have my total support - not that science needs it.

Thou shalt not kilt,
Or tell a boring joke,
And LOLing is forbidden.

We're not allowed to tell a boring joke!

I got a text message on the stroke of midnight from <An Optimist in Denmark> - aka my sister - promising that 2010 would be better than its unfortunate predecessor.

For me, this means I must (a) stop bashing delicate laptops with marble chessboards, (b) try to avoid hitting myself on the head with iron bars, or running into lampposts, (c) keep away from certain bacteria that *really* get under your skin, and (d) start playing chess again. Or restart playing chess again: properly.

But all the games went the same way:
1. Stone smashes laptop
2. "You have no internet connection"
3. Er, that's it.

Here is the video I just made of the <Sweeny song> you just read the lyrics to.

The second to last photo in the video is <Andrew> himself performing in his trademark cap n' spectacles in Montreal.

I must have gone to see him play fifty times or more when I lived in Montreal.

'Like a monk
On a hook
Like a worm
In some old-fashioned book
I have tried
In my way
To be me.'

I wish you could have been there with me for the scant few years I got to drink deeply in the Bohemian haunts of St. Lawrence street- every night a show, a cabaret, a place to crash, and poetry on every corner.

Is that what Dublin is like?

I think <Leonard> would like your Monkish version of his song.

I don't know if I ever told you this, but Leonard Cohen founded a Zen Buddhism center just off St. Laurent street south of St. Viateur- a 100 year old limestone house-

His sister owns title, but Leonard's friend Myokyo has been running the center for decades now.

Leonard is a monk in his order- for reals-

And this is the center where Andrew Sweeny used to meditate every morning. Miyokyo is a good friend of his, and I got to meet her a few times- she used to come to some of Andrew's shows.

I never met <Cohen> though. <Andrew> met <Cohen> twice at the Zen center, but he did not speak to him.

Lennie is not talkative. He also meditated in sunglasses, which Andrew thought inordinately funny.

One night, in my last year in Montreal, I was sitting in the audience at a cafe talking with Andrew- he was about to perform- and he said that Myokyo had convinced Lennie, who was in town, to come to the show and listen to Andrew.

He chickened out- but he sent a foil dish with leftover braised lamb for Andrew to eat after the show.

*I* thought that was inordinately funny.

Leonard hates the limelight, especially when he's in his own neighborhood. No doubt he didn't want to be pestered by a bunch of kids in a cafe-

And maybe even he anticipated that if he showed up to watch Andrew, the entire cafe might expect him to perform as well.

Ah, Montreal ... am I imagining it, or is the student quarter called *McGill Ghetto*? Bloody students.

It exists directly from the East Gate of the University, extending only to St. Laurent Blvd. to the East- a short five blocks- bordered on the south just three blocks to St. Catherine Street-- and just four blocks to the north to Pine Street.

Directly west of McGill is Westmount, inhabited today by almost 99 percent rich Jewish families.

The Jewish working class has long left town- after the garment industry collapsed years and years ago.

Nobody knows where they went.

South of St Catherine is the Warehouse district inhabited mainly by 20-30 year old Angolophone artists who weren't born in Montreal.

The rich Gentiles all moved south to Chateuguay and Isle St. Helen near the river and rarely drive their Mercedes in to town anymore. They started moving out precisely when the rich Jews started buying property in Westmount- oddly enough.

From St. Catherine, go north on St. Laurent up to Bernard street- a healthy distance- and east as far as St. Hubert- another healthy distance- and that is the "bohemian McGill student and McGill graduates who are having to much fun to leave town."

That's where all the action is.

East of St. Hubert is all the young French Bohemian folk.

Further east are dilapidated factories and a huge neighborhood extending to the extreme east of the Island full of the French working class, almost half of whom are on the dole due to the wholesale collapse of the manufacturing industry.

Rich Froggies all live off the Island on the North Shore.

But it's in the Anglo Bohemian district that people from all corners of the globe congregate- it is the only actually multicultural neighborhood in the whole city, which is otherwise largely segregated as I've explained.

This rainbow of humanity is young and has no money.

They like to get blocked up and party all night, every night.

One of the highlights for me in this neighborhood was discovering that one of the most persistent stereotypes about older Mediterranean men is true-

All the Greek and Portuguese men congregate outside their corner groceries and talk very loudly past midnight.

Before I begin my <'business as usual'> tour of the day (this after having just awoken from a sixteen hour marathon sleep!). ~lol~ I'd be totally remiss if I didn't respond <first> back to your kind reply of Dec 31st. :)

<Domdaniel: <Mal> Thank *you*. It was nice to see my <combinations + chemistry> line develop a life of its own. I'd originally intended it as a joke for <jess>, as a fellow fan of Flann O'Brien's original "A pint of plain is your only man".>

It sure did <'life of its own'>. :) It was always sublimely comforting for me to see it right smack dab on top of my Profile every time that I logged on... Always giving me that inner strength of relief somehow to know a 'classic' when I see one! (that would be <YOU>). Thanks again <Dom> for allowing me the use of it. :D

<I look forward to seeing your games on the database. I've only uploaded 4 of mine so far -- three from the 1970s and one recent effort.>

It's interesting as I immediately begin wondering how I'll now handle the two distinctly different pages (my Profile and also my new Player's page: Alan Benson)? It's now crystal clear to me that: <"Two is better than One!"> ~lol~ This prime example might be of interest to you my current ongoing conversation with <zanshin> which starts here: Alan Benson ...I wrote about several items of interest in answering his astute comment re: Comps (Chess engines) as we now use and understand them today. Including how we played Correspondence Chess (CC) back in the old days (via snail mail and pre-computers), etc.

<Domdaniel: I have somehow lost the scores of most of my games that could be called good, including my draw with Miles. But I'll try to find some more of the less worse ones. Or examples of idiocy like my 15-move loss to Baburin.>

Hehehe... Well, we all have those <15-move loss(es)> now don't we? ;) BTW: re: <I have somehow lost the scores of most of my games that could be called good, including my draw with Miles>. First let me insert this <:(((> for the loss of your game and scoresheet. I was quite fortunate to have met Tony and hung out with him several times (including a 3 hour dinner at a Chinatown restaurant in San Francisco, along with my two old buds: Burger & McClain). What a wonderful night that was! ~lol~ Looks like another fine Chess anecdote for another fine day... ;)

Without recanting the full story, suffice it to say when I got sick and became disabled 5 years ago I ended up losing approximately 90% of everything previously owned... :(( By a stoke of pure luck (OK - let's call it what it bloody well is a <miracle!>) some things were returned back to me a year later after my loss. :)) I'll leave out the full list of treasures returned, but all my games (the original scoresheets) played in the past (all stored and organized in one big box), including all of my postcards and letters from the two ICCF Master Class tourneys I played in (this all stored in one large shoe box). What a relief! ~lol~ My eternal mission in life in now set in stone - share them! :))

<It's good to see more games from CG regulars in the database. They had a guideline saying that least one player should be rated over 2200, but there is some wriggle room if the game quality is good enough. I have a few 2000-vs-1950 games that I think are good, even though both players are well below the 2200 threshold.>

Agree fully as there can't possibly be enough <'wiggle room'> to keep us happy, wealthy and wise! ~lol~

<And other 'big' databases are full of *real* rubbish -- overrated Ruritarians taking turns to drop pieces.

No insult intended to the fine people of Ruritania. Their heroic Grandmasters taught the world how chess should be played.>

~ROFL~ They sure did... :) Two thumbs up for the Ruritania's! :P

<Happy new year, Mal.>

May our new year of 2010 be filled with many wonderful dreams and aspirations, as well as our cherished friends that we are so lucky to know and care for gleefully assembled from around the world! :^)

My Best Always, - Mal

PS: My next order of business is to vote in <WannaBe>'s chessforum for the two prestigious Caissar award categories now up for grabs: *Best Profile* and *Best Handle*. Hmm, it seems that you and I (including <mack>) are the three chosen candidates nominated for *Best Profile*?! I want no further argument from you as I've made up my mind! ;) I'll' be casting my votes to be posted shortly: *Best Profile* - <Domdaniel> and *Best Handle* - <ILikeFruits>

Here is the music and video images to go with the new Sweeny song lyrics you kindly compared to <John Cale> yesterday-

I just finished it