A bit of a weird post....

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  • A bit of a weird post....

    This may be the weirdest post any of you have ever seen on ChessTalk. It does have something to do with chess at least....

    Over the past 10 or 11 years, I have been posting on ChessTalk regularly if intermittently... I've been very critical of organized chess because
    of its narrow-mindedness, constrained by FIDE. When Jean Hebert attacked organizers of the Canadian Closed (the year when Hal Bond organized it
    at the last moment, maybe 2009, 2010, 2011?), I defended tournament organizers in general with great passion. I pushed back hard against Hebert
    and his elitist attitude. No one had ever pushed back against Hebert the way I did.

    When Vlad Drkulec and Paul Beckwith had a vitriolic debate over climate change here on ChessTalk, I tried to be an intermediary, a middle voice,
    trying to reason that things were still not clear, that neither total denial nor total agreement with anthropomorphic (man-caused) climate change
    were yet proven to be correct. Since then, I've come to join the side that says it is happening, based on preponderance of evidence.

    When Vlad Drkulec had an even more vitriolic debate with Ben Daswani in which Drkulec made statements that violate Canada's hate laws, prompting
    Larry Bevand to remove Drkulec's rant, I was there to document the details.


    But this post has nothing to do with any of that.


    This post is about a person I consider an angel, which is my wife. Why would I post here about that? I'll explain at the end of this post.

    My wife was born with a genetic defect. She has a form of muscular dystrophy. She grew up in a wheelchair, and as a result of that she put on a
    lot of weight even in childhood and persisting into adulthood. But when she turned 30, she took on a rigorous diet and exercise regime which was
    very successful.

    I met her right around the time she got "skinny" by her previous standards. We were chatting online for 6 months before we ever physically met. I
    really liked her... and when I finally did physically meet her, it was love right away. We became a couple forever. Her being in a wheelchair
    didn't restrain my feelings for her at all. I just simply knew (in my belief system, it was all arranged before we were ever born on Earth) that
    she was the one for me. At the time, I was a dedicated bachelor, totally enjoying being single and making good money. She changed all that in a
    breathtaking instant. And guess what, this October we've been married 19 years and I'm MORE IN LOVE WITH HER THAN EVER BEFORE.

    Ok, so why am I bothering to post all of this?

    Muscular Dystrophy is a progressive disease. You don't "catch" it, you are born with it (or you aren't.) My wife was born with it.

    For her, it is now progressing to the point where her life is on the line. This beautiful angelic being, with a heart of gold, who loves everyone
    unconditionally no matter race nor creed nor religion nor interest in chess and who especially loves innocent children, who has a laugh that
    would warm anyone's heart even Vlad Drkulec's (I hope), is now suffering the progression of her disease to the point that basic breathing is
    becoming difficult. We are coming up against the possible early termination of her life, although there are some potential remedies all of which
    involve heavy costs.

    Long-term readers of ChessTalk may recall that over the years I've mentioned a few chess variants of my invention, including one that I
    particularly have insisted will go big-time. In my enthusiasm for this one particular variant, I made it seem even several years ago that I was
    ready to launch things within a year or two. It never happened, and the reason is that increasing amounts of my professional earnings have gone
    towards keeping my wife as healthy as possible. So every time it seemed I was on the verge of making serious investment in my most prized
    variant, to get it out there and available, I suddenly found that I needed instead to divert my resources to my wife's well being. And since I am
    totally in love with her, she comes before everything.

    So to those long-term readers who have wondered why my promised variant hasn't made the scene, I hope this explains that question. Vlad Drkulec
    has been particularly onerous on this point. He believes as does FIDE that only standard chess deserves to exist and variants can't be successful
    simply because they aren't standard chess! This is called "brainwashing" and is the main reason why over the years I've called organized chess at
    the top levels a "cult". A cult in which the moneys of the huge chess pyramid base are constantly channeled into feeding the very few elite,
    because standard chess is a pure skill game so that only the very few elite can prosper.

    Whether or not it is a cult is of very miniscule consequence compared to my angelic wife. I'd rather look into her beautiful eyes and know that
    she's still here and somewhat healthy because of me than to know that she isn't any of that BUT there's a new chess variant out there and doing well.

    Even the fact that this new chess variant would make life a lot better for the base of the chess pyramid (i.e. would present more opportunity for
    mediocre chess players to occassionally make money playing a form of chess, not standard chess but close enough for rock 'n roll) isn't enough to
    change my priorities.

    This post is purely to let you all know why my promised variant hasn't appeared in the past several years and may not appear at all. I have to
    save a life, a beautiful angelic life. None of you will likely ever understand that. Nonetheless, I DO understand why all of you mediocre chess
    players continue to support standard chess. You simply love the game, just as I love my wife. Except.... if that is your definition of love, you
    are eminently deprived of the true meaning of love. I once loved chess, and it doesn't come within a parsec of loving a beautiful human being who
    has no bad wishes towards anyone. Can you love both? Not really, because standard chess being a pure skill game is so demanding of one's time.

    I'm signing off now, possibly for good.... Drkulec eat your heart out, you poisonous snake.
    Only the rushing is heard...
    Onward flies the bird.

  • #2
    Paul, my heart goes out to you and your wife. A donation to Muscular Dystrophy Canada has been made for her. I wish I could do more.

    My only contention is that unless you are Marcel Duchamp, you can love both your partner and your game, just as any athlete loves their sport and dedicates their life to excelling in it, while loving their mate. Love should not be confused with obsession. Most of us love the game but we are not obsessed with the game. And love for one's partner trumps all.

    Take car.

    Comment


    • #3
      Sorry about your wife.

      It is very odd that at such a moment you allow me to live rent-free in your mind. I don't think very much of you nor do I think about you very much. Your recollection of events is bizarre and wrong but not surprising in one of those with so many demons afflicting them. Anyway, the regime in Ontario has changed and religious freedom is back in vogue.

      Comment


      • #4
        Paul - I wish you all the best in helping your wife and the struggle with MD. I assumed you and Vlad had quite opposing views and clearly the level of animosity was high. Nevertheless, you should concentrate on things that matter... it seems you have decided to do so.
        ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Paul, beautiful love story!!!

          Thanks for the share :)

          Not since high school have I been involved with MD ... donating to help Jerry's Kids ... Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

          Until now ... best wishes to you and your's.

          SoCA (Society of Chess Aficionados) just made a donation to Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
          Last edited by Neil Frarey; Friday, 22nd February, 2019, 05:20 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
            Paul, my heart goes out to you and your wife. A donation to Muscular Dystrophy Canada has been made for her. I wish I could do more.

            My only contention is that unless you are Marcel Duchamp, you can love both your partner and your game, just as any athlete loves their sport and dedicates their life to excelling in it, while loving their mate. Love should not be confused with obsession. Most of us love the game but we are not obsessed with the game. And love for one's partner trumps all.

            Take car.
            Thank you for the donation Garland and for your concern.

            I don't know Marcel Duchamp and haven't googled him, but nevertheless maybe I was a bit guilty of over-generalization. I think when I wrote "Can you love both? Not really, because standard chess being a pure skill game is so demanding of one's time" I was actually thinking of those chess amateur adults who put excessive time into chess thinking they can thus keep on improving. That is time that is taken away from their spouse / partner / family, and the reward is likely to be some meaningless master or National Master title or some rating level, which in the grand scheme of things means absolutely nothing. In other words, I suppose I'm saying that pursuit of excellence in chess should stop once one has strong evidence that one is never going to become a 2600+ GM. Even playing weekend tournaments is taking precious time away from the people you love, assuming there are such people. And what is the point? Enjoyment of the game ok, but maybe your enjoyment is at the expense of moments you could have had with your kid, with your spouse, with your siblings or parents and maybe you'll never even know what you missed.

            But we all make our individual choices. I'm not condemning anyone's choices, just commenting on what it could mean as far as love is concerned.

            One can love chess and be satisfied with just the odd casual game or playing out games from books once or twice a week. To play weekend tournament after weekend tournament is imo obsession because of the time tradeoff and the meaningless rewards for 99.99% of such players.

            There is a difference with a game like poker, because playing poker events has much better odds than playing chess events of winning something substantial. So thus my chess variant I considered to be worth putting out because it allows poker-like variance.
            Only the rushing is heard...
            Onward flies the bird.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Vlad Drkulec View Post
              Sorry about your wife.

              It is very odd that at such a moment you allow me to live rent-free in your mind. I don't think very much of you nor do I think about you very much. Your recollection of events is bizarre and wrong but not surprising in one of those with so many demons afflicting them. Anyway, the regime in Ontario has changed and religious freedom is back in vogue.

              I have the exact quote of what you posted plus a screen capture, so your claims as to the wrongness of my recollection of events is pure fake news. Typical of a denier of reality.

              Is the regime in Ontario able to override the Canadian Criminal Code?

              The only reason you occupy any space at all in my mind is that I do keep a list of those I consider to be criminals. And maybe the rent-free status is for a limited time only? :)
              Only the rushing is heard...
              Onward flies the bird.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Kerry Liles View Post
                Paul - I wish you all the best in helping your wife and the struggle with MD. I assumed you and Vlad had quite opposing views and clearly the level of animosity was high. Nevertheless, you should concentrate on things that matter... it seems you have decided to do so.

                Thank you for your wishes Kerry. Yes, concentrate on things that matter, see my reply to Garland.
                Only the rushing is heard...
                Onward flies the bird.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Neil Frarey View Post
                  Hi Paul, beautiful love story!!!

                  Thanks for the share :)

                  Not since high school have I been involved with MD ... donating to help Jerry's Kids ... Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

                  Until now ... best wishes to you and your's.

                  SoCA (Society of Chess Aficionados) just made a donation to Muscular Dystrophy Canada.

                  Thank you for your donations past and present, Neil. Jerry Lewis is one of the greatest human beings in history.

                  Best wishes to SoCA as well, although I hope you bring some attention to chess variants through that enterprise.

                  By the way, if you really want to know how beautiful the love story is, you should hear the song I composed and recorded devoted to my wife. Not for its quality, mind you, I'm a terrible singer. But for what it expresses, the story it tells... and the melody is beautiful imo.
                  Only the rushing is heard...
                  Onward flies the bird.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Paul Bonham View Post

                    Thank you for the donation Garland and for your concern.

                    I don't know Marcel Duchamp and haven't googled him, but nevertheless maybe I was a bit guilty of over-generalization. I think when I wrote "Can you love both? Not really, because standard chess being a pure skill game is so demanding of one's time" I was actually thinking of those chess amateur adults who put excessive time into chess thinking they can thus keep on improving. That is time that is taken away from their spouse / partner / family, and the reward is likely to be some meaningless master or National Master title or some rating level, which in the grand scheme of things means absolutely nothing. In other words, I suppose I'm saying that pursuit of excellence in chess should stop once one has strong evidence that one is never going to become a 2600+ GM. Even playing weekend tournaments is taking precious time away from the people you love, assuming there are such people. And what is the point? Enjoyment of the game ok, but maybe your enjoyment is at the expense of moments you could have had with your kid, with your spouse, with your siblings or parents and maybe you'll never even know what you missed.

                    But we all make our individual choices. I'm not condemning anyone's choices, just commenting on what it could mean as far as love is concerned.

                    One can love chess and be satisfied with just the odd casual game or playing out games from books once or twice a week. To play weekend tournament after weekend tournament is imo obsession because of the time tradeoff and the meaningless rewards for 99.99% of such players.

                    There is a difference with a game like poker, because playing poker events has much better odds than playing chess events of winning something substantial. So thus my chess variant I considered to be worth putting out because it allows poker-like variance.
                    paul I think you need to realize that not everyone has someone and wasn't lucky as you were to find someone to be loved by and to love, and yes some people will never be 2600+ GMs myself included, im 1500-1600ish strength and im 17 so I know I will never be among the elite. yet I do love the game and will continue to put my time into it, and its not your call to bash people for doing so most of us as I said accept that but we wish to continue to do so.
                    growing up to I sacrificed the chance to have any strong friendships for the pursuit of chess and if I could go back and have the choice again I would do it all the same

                    as for your wife hope her condition improves

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Paul Bonham View Post


                      I have the exact quote of what you posted plus a screen capture, so your claims as to the wrongness of my recollection of events is pure fake news. Typical of a denier of reality.

                      Is the regime in Ontario able to override the Canadian Criminal Code?

                      The only reason you occupy any space at all in my mind is that I do keep a list of those I consider to be criminals. And maybe the rent-free status is for a limited time only? :)
                      Your beef was about the statistic that atheistic socialist regimes have killed many tens of millions of people in the 20th century. If you can make any hay out of that fact, knock yourself out. I will cheerfully repeat it over and over again. It is not a hate crime to tell the truth.

                      As Jordan Peterson says, you need to confront the snakes in your own heart before you project them onto others.
                      Last edited by Vlad Drkulec; Sunday, 24th February, 2019, 04:44 PM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Vlad Drkulec View Post

                        Your beef was about the statistic that atheistic socialist regimes have killed many tens of millions of people in the 20th century. If you can make any hay out of that fact, knock yourself out. I will cheerfully repeat it over and over again. It is not a hate crime to tell the truth.

                        That was YOUR beef... and if you had just left it at that, you would have been fine because the Canadian Criminal Code does allow for interpretations of history.

                        Instead, you went way beyond that and stated something about CURRENT atheists and liberals worldwide -- not atheist socialist "regimes" but all atheists, all liberals -- something so heinous and unverifiable that stating it is meant to trigger mass outrage and hate against those 2 identifiable groups... which is the definition under the CCC of hate speech.

                        Only the rushing is heard...
                        Onward flies the bird.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Paul Bonham View Post


                          That was YOUR beef... and if you had just left it at that, you would have been fine because the Canadian Criminal Code does allow for interpretations of history.

                          Instead, you went way beyond that and stated something about CURRENT atheists and liberals worldwide -- not atheist socialist "regimes" but all atheists, all liberals -- something so heinous and unverifiable that stating it is meant to trigger mass outrage and hate against those 2 identifiable groups... which is the definition under the CCC of hate speech.
                          Paul ,
                          I am very sorry about to hear about your loved one's health. For what it's worth some clinics in Beijing and Mumbai have had some success treating patients with stem cell therapy.

                          I don't advocate the specific statements you are referring to that Vlad made. Furthermore Vlad and I disagree on several other things. I do agree with Vlad that socialism has proven to be an unmitigated disaster wherever it has been tried and has resulted in countless deaths and misery for humanity.

                          I recall that you consider Sweden , Norway and Denmark as socialist countries. They are not. Everyone there pays higher taxes equally and not just the rich. More importantly capital gains taxes are low and comparable to America's rates. The governments there do not control large swaths of industry such as energy or transportation. Billionaires thrive in all of these countries. Incidentally, the per capita GDP and standard of living in all of these countries is lower then in the US.

                          Your assertion that Vlad has violated Canada's hate crime laws is simply incorrect. "Identifiable group", used in the three offences in s. 318 and s. 319, is defined by s. 318(4) as "any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability."
                          Political ideology is not within this legal definition and atheisim is neither a belief system or a religion. Calling atheism a religion is akin to calling not collecting stamps a hobby. The American Atheist Society website is very clear on this point. We went over this point in some detail in another thread. Your dislike of someone does not give you free license to accuse them of a crime by inventing your own interpretation of a clearly spelled out law to fit your argument.
                          Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Tuesday, 26th February, 2019, 10:30 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Paul,


                            Some advances in CRISPR hold some promise in the not too distant future.

                            https://www.technologyreview.com/s/6...-dogs-exonics/


                            Here is a state of the art clinic in Beijing that has had good results using stem cell therapy for Muscular dystrophy

                            http://www.wumedicalcenter.com/artic...013112462.html

                            Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Tuesday, 26th February, 2019, 10:27 AM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Sid Belzberg View Post
                              ....
                              socialism has proven to be an unmitigated disaster wherever it has been tried and has resulted in countless deaths and misery for humanity. ....
                              A quibble: Was it 'socialism' (however defined) that was the unmitigated disaster or was it the people in power, who attempted to implement socialism, who were unmitigated disasters? Also, very broadly, is socialism any more of a disaster than capitalism, a system that concentrates wealth for the advantage of the few over the many?

                              Tigran Petrosian is one of my chess heroes! (just making sure my post has some chess content :) )
                              "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
                              "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
                              "If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey

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