<Dom> I hope you have a great 2017, old pal. I noticed somewheres you said you had turned off your TV?

Good call I bet. In recent times I've been unable to get interested in any TV show or even movie for that matter. Any "viewing time" I might have seems to be taken up by watching entire EPL matches, which I'm not sure is any healthier than my old viewing habits.

I'm not sure I approve of the "Yahoo news celebrity death cult" zeitgeist, if that's what it is. For me, I have no feeling about any of these dead celebrities unless their art, or some quirk, had touched me while they were alive.

For example, I'm not really a pop culture fan, so the work of <Debbie Reynolds> or <Carrie Fisher> has no resonance with me whatsoever. That said, I was sad to hear of <Carrie Fisher>, based on one incident, and one incident only. I thought she was an indifferently talented actor at best, but I will never forget an interview she gave- drunk- on David Letterman.

First, mad props to her for showing up drunk on an interview show- the kind of Shane McGowanesque shenanigan I like to see, giving the middle finger to the entire celebrity process. But she was witty. When Letterman, commenting on her failed marriage to Paul Simon, asked "Which songs did he write about you"? she answered dead pan, without a beat, "All of them."

I never laughed so hard in my life. I "loved" her ever since.

The only other entry in the current celebrity death cult parade that had any resonance with me was <Leonard Cohen>, partly because I love his art, but mainly because I love his acolyte <Andrew Sweeny>. I never met <Mr. Cohen>, so my entire "knowledge" of him outside of his art is what <Andrew> told me, including the following:

To answer your question, <Mr. Cohen> was rarely in Montreal at the time <Andrew> and I lived there. He would pitch up for a few weeks at a time, always staying at his sister's house which is on a tiny "mews" just off of <St Lawrence Boulevard>. His sister was never there; it was operated by his friend <Miokio>, who ran a Buddhist meditation center in the house. That's where <Andrew> meditated every morning, without fail.

I wonder if I ever showed this to you- it's a video I made for one of <Andrew's> folk songs, a song based on a most intriguing <Andre Beton> novel.

Here is the intro: <Written and performed by Andrew Sweeny. A song inspired in part by <<<Andre Breton's>>> novel "Nadja." Nadja is locked up in a mental asylum because she says the fountain is telling her stories. But the doctors never hear the stories...>

And here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Py... The lyrics are included in the video description box.

Anyways, ruminating on <Mr. Cohen's> death led me to thinking about Andrew, and this song he wrote. Neither of which has anything to do with <Leonard Cohen>, oddly enough.

for me, <Carrie Fisher> has shown a quick sarcastic wit, even applying that to her roll as a script doctor from as early as The Empire Strikes Back https://moviepilot.com/p/carrie-fis...

being one of the first (1977 era) female action types helped allow other movie makers see the possibilities of more female protagonists (antagonists? actors anyways),

she was also a mental health advocate, having endured bipolar disorder from 24 or 25 age,

<Hanh> This is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't want to know that you're "sorry if I don't appreciate" the full range of <Carrie's> contribution to humanity. I don't give a rat's ass about how "sorry" you are about my feeling on this. Your approbation or disapprobation of what I said means exactly nothing to me.

Everyone has made a contribution to humanity who ever lived. But we don't splash their death notices all over some gossipy <Yahoo News> article and then expect everyone to feel exactly the same sense of loss, expect everyone to conform to some <Celebrity death cult zeitgeist>, in which it is forbidden not to care about the unfortunately dead person. The mourning of celebrities is ersatz emotion. It's not real, but if we don't agree to participate in this fake emotion, are we to be vilified?

You have entirely missed my point.

<Hanh> er my tone was appallingly rude. I'm sorry to have yelled at you like that. Not really in the spirit of festive season.

I'm sort of with <JFQ> here per the celeb death culture, but I guess if people are interested in the luminaries of the day, so be it. I'm not interested, in their deaths nor lives, for that matter. Had a guy at work telling me about all the people he'd like to meet and asked who I'd like to meet. "John Fogerty", I said. He asked who else. I said "That's it", to his shock. All of this goes to show something or another.

Happy New Year's everyone.

While I'm thinking of it, Sir Dom, I'm sure you were dying to read my take on NuKlu ending, but you missed it on your 7 month holiday. Here's a link:

Well ok:

To which my bro replied that he just wasn't interested unless their work moved him - Cohen, of course, and Bowie. But not Prince or George Michael or Carrie Fisher or Debbie Reynolds.

Er, Singin' in the Rain, I said.
Worst movie ever, he replied.

BTW, Tom Cruise should watch out. After Purple Rain and Singin' in the Rain, I reckon Rain Man is next. And scientology won't save him when the <Grim Rapper> calls.

Just to marvel over Joel Gray's performance in "Cabaret" moves it near the top of the musical scale.

Although "Amadeus" is almost totally devoid of historical fact, the music is by Mozart. There have been many fine composers and arrangers in Hollywood, but none of them approach the level of Mozart. Milos Foreman is one of the best story tellers.

The tournament was first held in 1969. I first played in 1975. This year, somebody turned up a 1975 brochure, and the contrast is fascinating. Back then, entry was £2 and 1st prize £80. Now entry is £40 and 1st prize £700.

My dear <Dom>

I hope 2017 finds you well, sir.

I meant to post this days ago but I got distracted by work:

<Er, Singin' in the Rain, I said. Worst movie ever, he replied. >

I laughed long and hard at this, and I admire your brother's conviction. I think "Singin' in the Rain" is delightful and I've watched it more than a few times over the years.

Still, I can't help but side with your brother.

He reminds me of a chap I knew in university. You know how around 99.9999 percent of all pop culture is appalling eh?

But when they get it right, they really get it right.

Nonetheless, when we'd sit around my gaff, hashing over which songs/books/movies we liked, my friend would wait until there was a lull in the discussion of a particular work.

Then he'd simply say, explosively, <AWFUL!>

But if (let's be generous) 90% of everything is crap ... then 90% of the supposed non-crap is also crapola, and then 90% of the residue, usw. Which leads us, via the mathematics of series, to the conclusion that everything is Krapp.

Well, there are certain positions where Black is unlikely to lose - mostly in the Advance French after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 - but it can be very hard to win. I drew one of these at the weekend against a lower rated player - I even sacked the exchange to create imbalance, but he still drew.

So I found myself wishing I'd played a Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Pirc, Modern, Owen, usw. I have sometimes played Nimzo's 1...Nc6 and the Scandinavian 1...d5 -- anything but 1...e5.

But should I play the Pirc/Modern as a regular alternative to the French? I reckon the French is adequate against stronger opponents - but can be hard to convert to a win.