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Comments on the news...
May. 23rd, 2002 11:56 amChandra Levy's remains have turned up, apparently in a heavily wooded area not far from her apartment. I suppose it was inevitable that such a development in such a high-profile disappearance would dominate the morning news, but the newsies seem to have gone a bit overboard, in my opinion.
One network already had John Walsh being interviewed, apparently on the subject of missing and exploited children. As I wondered what that had to do with a 24-year old college graduate who was living on her own, the "factoid" area at the bottom of the screen informed me that annually, over 750,000 children are reported as missing, according to the FBI.
While that's an impressive number (an average of about 2000 per day), it's all too easy to assume that it represents the number of children who are actually kidnapped. The criteria used to log a "missing report" are not stated, and it is not in the interests of the "journaltainment" industry to dig around and possibly reduce the impact of such impressive numbers. (Example: Does the number include calls by overanxious parents who call to report an offspring missing if said offspring is, say, 30 minutes overdue back from the movies?)
* * * In local news, the people whose business it is to know about droughts have "upgraded" the situation locally from a "severe" drought to an "extreme" one. According to this week's edition of the Pagosa Sun, this state of affairs is one step removed from the ne plus ultra: an "exceptional" drought.
In past years, conditions around Pagosa get dry around July or August, once the snow pack is all gone. This year, the snow is gone now and the forest is dry, dry, dry. I may spend Memorial Day cutting back some brush along the side of the house.
* * * In news long past, as a former resident of Jacksonville, Florida (and ex-member of the Jacksonville Chess Club), I've recently begun getting an e-mail newsletter from the club. It is a strange affair, with frequent mentions of UFOs and other exotica, but one thing struck my eye this morning... something called the Russ Donnelly Memorial Tournament. Reading that word - "Memorial" - was like having someone slap me.
I am saddened to learn that Russ is dead.
Russ loved to play chess, and though his rating always seemed to oscillate between 1500 and 1700, he always kept at it. I met Russ over the board for the first time in 1980, the day after I stopped smoking. He and I were in the same section of a four-person double-round robin tournament that was to be played out over a three-week period. During that first night, I happened to glance over at the next board where Russ was playing and noticed immediately that he had initiated my favorite opening: the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
The BDG, as it's called by those who play it, is a sharp opening where White gives up a pawn for rapid development of his pieces. As the lines on the board open up (often as a result of further White sacrifices), his developed pieces are often in a good position to deliver a slashing attack against the Black King.
I started playing the BDG as a youngster, as a result of having played over a couple of interesting games featuring the opening. My first serious attempts with it were in an international postal tournament, though all of my opponents in the preliminary round were in the U.S. and Canada. One of the games that I played in that tournament (a win) actually entered the BDG "literature," as did a couple of later games played between me and Russ.
In any event, the following week, when I was paired against Russ, I didn't play the BDG against him when I played White, since I figured that anyone who played the gambit would be prepared to meet it as Black. In our second game, when Russ played White, he essayed the BDG against me and almost beat me in a variation I'd never seen before!
Anyway, over the time Galina, the kids, and I lived in Jacksonville, I had occasion to play a number of games with Russ. Personally, he was a kind of quiet fellow, who liked to smoke a pipe (back in the days when smoking at the board was not frowned upon). He rued the advent of the chess computer, which has destroyed the fine art of correspondence chess. He was a retired psychiatric worker, a confirmed Freudian, and despite his quietness, capable of sharp and biting commentary when moved to speak.
* * * And now, without further ado, I must turn to my work.
Cheers...
One network already had John Walsh being interviewed, apparently on the subject of missing and exploited children. As I wondered what that had to do with a 24-year old college graduate who was living on her own, the "factoid" area at the bottom of the screen informed me that annually, over 750,000 children are reported as missing, according to the FBI.
While that's an impressive number (an average of about 2000 per day), it's all too easy to assume that it represents the number of children who are actually kidnapped. The criteria used to log a "missing report" are not stated, and it is not in the interests of the "journaltainment" industry to dig around and possibly reduce the impact of such impressive numbers. (Example: Does the number include calls by overanxious parents who call to report an offspring missing if said offspring is, say, 30 minutes overdue back from the movies?)
In past years, conditions around Pagosa get dry around July or August, once the snow pack is all gone. This year, the snow is gone now and the forest is dry, dry, dry. I may spend Memorial Day cutting back some brush along the side of the house.
I am saddened to learn that Russ is dead.
Russ loved to play chess, and though his rating always seemed to oscillate between 1500 and 1700, he always kept at it. I met Russ over the board for the first time in 1980, the day after I stopped smoking. He and I were in the same section of a four-person double-round robin tournament that was to be played out over a three-week period. During that first night, I happened to glance over at the next board where Russ was playing and noticed immediately that he had initiated my favorite opening: the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
The BDG, as it's called by those who play it, is a sharp opening where White gives up a pawn for rapid development of his pieces. As the lines on the board open up (often as a result of further White sacrifices), his developed pieces are often in a good position to deliver a slashing attack against the Black King.
I started playing the BDG as a youngster, as a result of having played over a couple of interesting games featuring the opening. My first serious attempts with it were in an international postal tournament, though all of my opponents in the preliminary round were in the U.S. and Canada. One of the games that I played in that tournament (a win) actually entered the BDG "literature," as did a couple of later games played between me and Russ.
In any event, the following week, when I was paired against Russ, I didn't play the BDG against him when I played White, since I figured that anyone who played the gambit would be prepared to meet it as Black. In our second game, when Russ played White, he essayed the BDG against me and almost beat me in a variation I'd never seen before!
Anyway, over the time Galina, the kids, and I lived in Jacksonville, I had occasion to play a number of games with Russ. Personally, he was a kind of quiet fellow, who liked to smoke a pipe (back in the days when smoking at the board was not frowned upon). He rued the advent of the chess computer, which has destroyed the fine art of correspondence chess. He was a retired psychiatric worker, a confirmed Freudian, and despite his quietness, capable of sharp and biting commentary when moved to speak.
Cheers...
