10 year old wins "B" Group at Moscow Open

Great chess players keep getting younger....
(The photo above is from ChessBase.com)

Illya Nyzhnyk, a ten year old, won the Group "B" Tournament at the 2007 Moscow Open.

Here he is playing a simul a few years ago. I've lost games to youngsters before, but never one holding a teddy bear!

New In Chess and ZUGZWANG

I love receiving reviews/mentions in odd places. Well, not that this magazine is odd, but let's say it is a "statistically unusual" magazine from which to receive a review of creative improvised electro-acoustic music in.

First, a bit of history. I am a chess nut. I subscribe to magazines and voraciously read about it with the same joy and vigor my brother-in-law reads about NASCAR. As far as playing, I play online all the time (at the Internet Chess Club), every free moment, and have for quite a while. I'm not a great player, but I love it.

So, one day on a whim, I sent a note to New In Chess Magazine (arguably the best chess magazine in the known universe) with a copy of my appropriately chess named duo CD (w/ Tom McNalley) ZUGZWANG, and they wrote about it! It made my day...(for information on the meaning of zugzwang click here)

Here is a scan from the magazine:

Technorati Profile

I've been called a lot of things in my time...

O.K., I've been called many things in my day, but to be compared to a talk show host? Check out Kris's blog post about me and Howie Mandel...

http://kristiner.blogspot.com/

Come to think of it, I've never seen myself and Howie Mandel at the same place at the same time...

KaiserLooper....

Bill Harrington was using my software, the KaiserLooper, at a concert last Wednesday. All of a sudden while focusing and concentrating on the performance, a window popped up on his computer that said, "Jeff Kaiser will be playing in Bakersfield Thurday night." He thought that somehow I had embedded code that would post my gigs to anyone using my free software... The truth was, his Mac signed on to the local wireless, and Earthlink gave him the notice of an email announcement from me.

But not a bad idea.......

Steuart Liebig Turns 50! Today....!

Steuart Liebig turns 50 today...Happy Birthday....

Supposedly he shaved his head this morning to celebrate.

A KILLER gig of his music will be on Thursday. We had the first rehearsal last night. Here are some photos from the Cryptogramophone World Headquarters:

Steuart takes charge...



Alex, Vinny, Ellen...


Ellen, Jeff G., Andrew...


I got in trouble for this: no photos while playing, please... but hey, somebody has to document this stuff...


Nels...


Nels, Vlat, me...


Wayne!

Ligeti

Ligeti, one of the composers whose choral music (along with Bach, Josquin, Palestrina and Penderecki) has remained eternally in my listening rotation. Whose composition has inspired me since college, and has inspired innumerable other artists of all ilks, passed away. In my spell checker, even now, his name comes up with the suggested replacement "light."...

Here for the story.

The Question I've Asked Myself: Why is the Da Vinci Code so popular?

Click Here for the news Story

"...[F]orgettable sentences with breakneck pacing, lectures on art, history and religion, sinister conspiracies, evil villains, puzzles and cliffhanger chapter endings..."

"Forgettable sentences." An understatement.

For a great conspiracy story with great writing....Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum."

Get it here.

Hollywood logical?! Finally, stands up to Opus Dei...

Thank [fill in favorite venerated human or deity]!

Logic has prevailed, Ron Howard, director of the thriller "The Da Vinci Code" stood up to Opus Dei.

"[S]tating what he said was already obvious. 'This is a work of fiction...'"

Arinze and the Da Vinci Code....

Wait! They want to sue us and make us respect their rights, while not respecting ours??? Oh, this just gets better everyday....

Click here for more from Cardinal Arinze

I love the absurdity...

Here is a nice quote:

There is only one blasphemy, and that is the refusal to experience joy. — Paul Rudnick