Musings on chess, and lesser things
Non-chess posts
I’ve taken a month off from the blog and indeed anything requiring more than minimal mental effort in my post-thesis hangover. Here I’m referring to very much a non-alcoholic hangover. After the thesis defense on Friday August 30, I was in no mood for celebrating – I was in the mood for sleeping. I slept …
I’m writing this at 3am, not because I can’t sleep, but because I’ve just finished breakfast. It’s crunch time for the thesis and, in order to maximise efficiency, I’ve adopted a new philosophy. It goes something like this: Work until you can’t work any more. Sleep until you can’t sleep any more. Repeat. Brilliant, …
So, Australia’s losing the Ashes series. I’m shocked. For the non-cricketlovers, the Ashes is an annual series of 5 cricket matches between England and Australia. Given our natural rivalry, it’s not surprising that this is the biggest sporting event of Australia’s calendar year. The history of the series goes back to 1877 (and to put …
Have you heard of The Lion King? Of course you have. Won two Oscars, took in almost half a billion US dollars at the box office, got turned into one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time…sound familiar? Well, in case you still need a reminder, here’s a brief run-down of the plot: …
I’ve been slack with the blog, and have begun to receive pointed reminders from some of you. Fair call, although at least I have something of an excuse. Despite a sworn vow to never again return to the sub continent, I’ve been in Bangalore and its surrounds for the past month on a glorious summer …
I’ve neglected the website for a while now, and for that I apologise. I’m in thesis mode these days and I’ve barely had time to make my bed, much less keep up my writing. (Just kidding; I never make my bed.) A lot of people have been asking me recently what exactly I’m researching for …
While I am a reasonably well-travelled, experienced and dare I say it, cultured sort of a fellow, there are definitely still some aspects of living in Europe which make me feel overwhelmingly foreign. For instance, growing up as a young ankle-biter in Queensland, there were three sports falling under the umbrella of the term ‘football’, …
Two weeks ago, while on holidays back in Australia, I had a strict regime of the morning exercise run along Burleigh Beach on the Gold Coast. You may well question the sanity of voluntary exercise on a supposed vacation, especially for those of you familiar with my aggressive ideological opposition to the concept of ‘running …
Every year, the Australian radio station Triple J conducts the world’s largest online music poll to determine the best 100 songs. Readers may remember my votes for the 2010 Hottest 100, which also doubled as my first attempt to masquerade as a music critic. Triple J blasts the winners on January 26 (Australia Day), and …
Burleigh Beach, Queensland, Australia Post scheduled to upload at: 00.01, January 1, 2013 (Amsterdam/Paris: 15.01, December 31, 2012) Dear Europe, I’m writing this brief note to you from Burleigh Beach, Australia, where I’m holidaying to escape your winter and to bring in the new year. Tonight also marked my first full calendar year as a …