The art that is Marcel Duchamp... a link !!!

More from Marcel Duchamp:

"The individual, man as a man, man as a brain, if you like, interests me more than what he makes, because I've noticed that most artists only repeat themselves."
"I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste."
"I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position."

I love chess. My Father taught me when I was young. I lettered in chess in High School ! However, I'm a most mediocre player at best... it's hard to find anyone who plays. My last game ( other than against my computer - which I lose to 99.99% of the time... in mediocre mode !!! ) was against my brother, Robin, in 1991. I have performed the feat of being one of maybe a thousand players who, in tournament play, won in four moves... playing black !!! While sounding self-aggrandizing to those that may know of this possible feat, I must make mention that the High School team we were playing didn't have enough players to field a team of seven... so they nabbed the first person passing in the hallway that knew how to move the pieces... in any fashion, to round out their field. I, perceiving this turn of events, though playing black, attacked using the Scholar's Mate game. Seeing everybody's faces rise from their fresh started games, much to the chagrin of the poor student dragged into the lions den, when I announced "check-mate !, gave me quite a giggle, inaudible of course, my smile not hiding my mirth. I still have the move sheet and name of the hapless player somewhere ( I kept all my tournament sheets ), but will refrain from posting that information. Our High School chess team finished in first place my junior and senior year, if I recall correctly ( maybe my sophomore year too? ); I, near the bottom of the team in playing strength, enjoyed every minute of it... probably my most enjoyable high school memories... there weren't many others.

Weather... High 80°'s to low 90°'s. The Sierra's, from the vantage point of US Highway 50 near Shingle Springs, still have some snow... but its retreat is most evident. What I don't understand is why the south fork of the American River reveals so many rocks in its bed at Chili Bar on US Highway 193. One would think the run-off would be much accelerated this time of the year... unless the water is being regulated...

Perused the G4/TechTV boards... getting used to the new idiosyncrasies of new board-dom.

My three year-old granddaughter, Ashley, stepped on a nail in a board Thursday. Chrissy, her mother/my daughter, thought that it appeared to have nearly passed all the way through Ashley's little foot. She's current on her shots and boosters so Chrissy cleaned the puncture as best she could and applied some anti-biotic ointment and a 'band-aid' type bandage. Poor baby. I gave her some juice and rubbed her back while Chrissy ministered first aid to her.

David, my seven year-old grandson, is out of school, the regular school year at end... he'll be in summer school soon enough, but I pray he gives himself an attitude adjustment...

" Aspire "... Inherit the stars !!!

" Vacuous... but not Confused "... The poet, ( hey that's me! ), might imagine a gentleman, of rather shallow bearing, on a stroll encountering perhaps the stereo-typical blond 'lady' making a cursory assessment from her demeanor. He, the poet, then wonders what happens after that ? Or, maybe the 'lady's' a manikin ? Where's my imaginary psychiatrist, Dr. Liebschitz, when I need him ?

" Mask of a Cat "... a Haiku: I took one look at the photo and did not see a nature setting, but rather the face, or mask, of a cat; formed of a pool of water reflecting sky surrounded by brush ( trees and shrubbery ). Hence, an abstract formed from nature. Maybe I need better glasses.