Happy New Year!

Please click HERE to see a movie too!

Magical Spirits

Body and Soul

Read my poem HERE and feel free to leave any comments!

Chess game 15

This image is the end position of my game.
Please click on THIS LINK to read my comments on this game and there is a link where you can click on to play through the game too.

Chess game 14: Pyramid game

Read more about the game HERE on my Wordpress-blog.

Art

World Youth Chess Championship 2007 movie

On the photos you can see South African chess players and on the video you can see short clips of players, including South African players, all busy with round 5. In the next movie, you can see players from round 4! More movies here ...

Chess puzzle and Kramnik

Please click HERE to play through the game of Kramnik and to solve a puzzle.

Corrie ten Boom

Cornelia Johanna Arnolda ten Boom, generally known as Corrie ten Boom, (April 15, 1892 – April 15, 1983) was a Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Ten Boom co-wrote her autobiography, The Hiding Place, which was later made into a movie of the same name. In December, 1967, Ten Boom was honored as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel.

Read more here ....

And... here to visit the Corrie ten Boom museum....

This is the book I've read and would like to read it again, as a chess player mentioned it to me, I've thought to read it again!

Quotable quotes.....

Langenhoven: God created the world just like a knife and left it up to us to take it by the handle or the blade.

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child. Teach him.He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him.He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a teacher. Listen to him. Omar Khayam, 13th century philosopher
~~~


Here is an old saying from Confucius:
Zhi zhi wei zhi zhi
Bu zhi wei bu zhi
Zhi ye
~~~~
Know what you know
Own up to what you do not know
That's wisdom!

-- Source: click...


correct text and translationcourtesy Russell Heng....and you may want to read some interesting letters about Aids on that link too...just "views"...
~~~
Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticize me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I may not forget you.
William Arthur
~~~
He that cannot reason is a fool.
He that will not is a bigot.
He that dare not is a slave.
Andrew Carnegie
~~~
When you judge another,
you do not define them,
you define yourself.
Wayne Dyer
~~~
Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
~~~
The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
William A. Ward
~~~
Failure should be our teacher,
not our undertaker.
Failure is delay, not defeat.
It is a temporary detour,
not a dead end.
Failure is something we can avoid only
by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
Denis Waitley
~~~
What you get by achieving your goals
is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.
It is not your aptitude, but your attitude,
that determines your altitude.
Zig Ziglar


~~~

Calm weekend

For this weekend:

~~~Whether you're going to travel with the family......

~~~~.........or travel on your own........!






~~~~.....or observing the calm sea!!...............




~~~~.......or be calm with the family!!




.....~~~~ or...observing nature in bloom!!! ENJOY your weekend...and BE SAFE!!

English law

This was quite interesting AND funny!!

English donkey law branded an ass


LONDON (AFP) - An ancient law banning an English town from holding a market because it is less than "a donkey ride" away from one in a rival town, was branded an ass Tuesday.
The centuries-old law is used by residents of South Shields near Newcastle to prevent their neighbours in North Shields -- just on the other side of the Tyne river -- from setting up a market.
"We have been trying for a number of years to get around this," said Maggie Richardson of the North Shields Chamber of Trade and Commerce, which wants to set up a weekly market.
"But every time we have approached South Tyneside Council, they say they were given a market charter some time in the 1200 region by king John, so that no one can set up a market within a day's donkey ride.
"It is a bizarre situation ... It's not funny, it's pathetic. The law definitely is an ass. We need a market because they bring vibrancy to the town centre."
South Tyneside Council, like the proverbial donkey, won't budge. "South Shields market is both vibrant and popular, and attracts thousands of visitors to the borough every year," said a spokesman.
"It is of great importance to South Tyneside and, as its owner, South Tyneside Council has a duty to protect it from rivals."
The donkey ride distance is commonly understood to mean six and two-thirds miles (10.7 kilometres) -- how far a trader was deemed to be able to travel from home, sell for eight hours, then return in a single day.

Source: Yahoo.....

Seven II

As you know, I was tagged by Meghna .......to do a meme! Read what a meme is....(pronounced like in "dream")...on a post of 2 days ago......OK, it was REALLY very difficult to decide WHERE to start first, as my time is now very little after starting an IT course today! So, I had to think very fast what I will post, as there are so MANY things I could write about!!, but to limit it to only SEVEN! That was very difficult....I made a list, crossed out, started with another, crossed out again...and then just started with what jumped to my mind!!I will have to do another one and another and another and another and.....wow....
First of all, I do LOVE teaching, as I see teaching as a CALLING and not "just a job"...(like I heard some teachers saying that here in London..) for me it is NOT "just a job!!!!"........My great grandad left Holland to teach in South Africa and I think the "teaching -blood" is running through my veins! Click here to see pictures of the current school. The old school, which was in his very own house, is about 2 km from the current school.
I used to teach Primary and don't think I ever want to teach Secondary......but if I have to.....It will have to be a subject like ICT only, as I do like IT and to incorporate ICT in any aspect of my teaching.
I love reading, I LOVE books...not just "like" it....I have about a library packed away in South Africa and have slowly started to build one again. Children's books....adult books...If I'm teaching, you will always find me in a bookshop, leaving with many books! A book as a present to me...and you will make my day! I also like writing stories. During secondary school, I used to get good marks for creative writing...what we also call "composition"....and I was always eager to get homework in composition....I just loved to let my mind flow....


Poetry!!! On this picture you can see a famous and well-known South African poet...Totius...(pen name) .....J D du Toit....he wrote some fantastic poems, some of them very moving, like the one about the death of his own child, killed by lightning....really an emotional poem! His daughter stood by an open window, when lightning struck and he was there to witness everything...as his poem tells us...read my translated version of his poem at the bottom of the post...

South Africa!!! ........I love my country to bits! I have a passion for South Africa. South Africa will always be THE place to be!! No other country is as beautiful as South Africa. On this picture you can see Simonstown...Cape Town...


And.......of course........if you don't know it by now...you will NEVER know! CHESS!!! I never played it at school. During Primary at the age of about 10, my brother taught me...I got my first chess book at the age of 12 from my one sister.....with Fischer/Spasski games in the back....I do like Bobby Fischer's games.....I played them through as a child as I had no one to play with!! No one in my family wanted to play chess!!...then at Secondary...it was always just BOYS when we were called to play chess...and I felt intimidated by them...no other girls! And the boys...always giving you the "look"...as if they wanna say..."hey...a girl playing chess!! how is that possible!"...I really started to get into chess when at my second school, the Headteacher asked me to start chess.......and I was over the moon! My kids really did well....I left at that school with two teams, each team.... 10 players and two reserves and a lot of Junior children...in South Africa they are Gr1-Gr3 (7-9 year old) kids in line to join the teams later... (If you click on this pic, you will see a good checkmate position, this player's rating is a bit low, he only started playing quite recently, but has picked-up very quickly and sometimes, I really have to be very careful with my moves! We play friendlies and while playing, I try to help him with the closing of his games, as this is where his problem lies at the moment.)

I like the colour red ....although purple-pinkish is also one of my favourites...This top is a beautiful top!
...CATS!! I'm a catlover! Cats are peaceloving animals! They have personalities of their own and they have their own language to speak to you!! Listen to your cat!! and try to understand his language!!

The poem that follows now, is the one Totius wrote about his child. When I have time, I will try to translate it....


O die pyn-gedagte
Totius....(JD du Toit)
O Die pyn-gedagte: My kind is dood! . . .
dit brand soos 'n pyl in my.
Die mense sien daar niks nie van,
en die Here alleen die weet wat ek ly.

Die dae kom en die nagte gaan
die skadu's word lank en weer kort;
die drywerstem van my werk weerklink,
en ek gaan op my kruisweg voort.

Maar daar skiet aldeur 'n pyn in my hart,
so, dat my lewe se glans verdwyn;
Jou kind is dood met 'n vreeslike dood!
En – ek gryp my bors van die pyn.

O Die bliksemgedagte! . . . Ja, lieflingskind,
een straal het jou skone liggaam verskroei,
maar bliksemstrale sonder tal
laat my binneste brand en bloei.
Sy was so teer soos 'n vlindertjie,
sy't lugtig omheen geswerf;
'n asempie wind kon haar vlerkies breek
en – kyk watter dood moes sy sterf!
Hoe weinig die kinders wat so moet sterf,
dis een uit die tienduisend-tal,
en ag, dat dit sy was, en ek moes sien
dat sy dood in my arms val!
O Die pyn-gedagte: My kind is dood! . . .
dit brand soos 'n pyl in my;
die mense die sien daar niks nie van,
en die Here alleen die weet wat ek ly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...as I promised...a translation of the poem!
Read my English translation of the poem HERE ....
Oh the painful thought

Imagine...

Seven

I have been tagged by Meghna! to do a meme! Now a "meme" is about writing seven things you like best in your life! Meghna is a 12 year old sweet little girl, blogging her way through space as a poet/creative writer! I think she's just fantastic! It's so much fun visiting her blog!! She's given me a job to do and usually you will think it is the other way around, due to my kind of work I'm used to do!! So Meghna, you're great and I promise to have my meme up by at least Tuesday, if time allows! And keep on writing all those wonderful poems/stories you're writing!! I really wish there were more children like you in this world!...that love reading/school/writing...enjoying being a student/child....and just being you!! no pretending...just YOU! That is beautiful, Meghna!! Even some adults can learn something from you!! I really think you are one of those "nice" little people!!! Great Meghna!! Keep up the good work in India!!! And those bloggers visiting me, be aware, I might tag you to do your meme, because that's the "rule"!! Don't say I didn't warn you!!! So, start thinking about your meme!! ...and....if you have been a regular visitor, but have never left me an idication that you are around on a regular basis....and you wanna be tagged...left me a note! I do like surprises!...ahw! there's one secret left out of the bag!!

Chess positions

Click on images for a larger view.

I'm always playing this player for the fun and experience. He's a very good player, as you can see from his rating!! What a devastating end there! We also like to play the Fischer random-games, that's where the chess pieces in the back row are ordered differently...a few days ago, I beat him in one of the Fischer-random-games, but in those games, you have to keep your head together, as the pieces are not on their exact squares, you are not used to move in certain ways with your pieces, so it is easy to have a blunder! It was just my luck! :)
This player and I are always playing friendlies too, as we like to play one another, almost a year or more now. This was really a good checkmate positon...earlier in this game he had the upperhand and I was perhaps lucky to turn it around.
In this game...where I played black, I have thought it was an interesting position I had this player in!
In the last picture, this was really a tough game...this player beat me at the end..just look at the weaving that was going on here!
First of all, I do apologise for not blogging a few days, due to two people! One is Kop-op-my-blog...-link at the bottom of the page...a very friendly South African and he is busy helping me to move my blog to Word Press, but in the same time, to be able to use the iframe to export some of my chess games, which is not possible in WP! - so thank you to Chris for your hard work!! The other person is somebody on the chess site, his nickname is Mortimor and he is also such a helpful guy and he is busy setting up a site where other members of the site too can blog the same time, of course his site is a chess site, we will see how things go there! These chess positions I've posted here, are all games I played on one chess site. Interesting positions, some of them very devastating positions, like the first one! I 've taken out the nicknames of the players although they all have said it's ok with them to post it here. You can see our ratings...mine of course always in the 1200's, sometimes a bit below and sometimes a bit higher, at the moment, it is about 1350...so it is like a yo-yo!! The one day up, the other down... This is, of course, any players nightmare...I played white in this game and my opponent's rating was a bit lower than mine. In chess you have to "read" the game, to be able to see a mate coming like this one! I try to "read" the game 3 moves ahead, it is difficult for beginners really new to the game, but when playing the game more and more, you get used to it. I think those very good players can read the whole game ahead!!! :))

The UHT route to long-life planet

It’s enough to put the nation off breakfast. Civil servants have suggested that Britons put long-life milk in tea and pour it on their cornflakes to save the planet from global warming.
Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have made a serious proposal that consumers switch to UHT (Ultra-High Temperature or Ultra-Heat Treated) milk to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It is part of a government strategy to ensure that some 90 per cent of milk on sale will not require refrigeration by 2020. That most shoppers would not even know where to find UHT milk in shops (the cartons are discreetly placed near baking ingredients) does not seem to have deterred government strategists. The move would mean a big shift from fresh-milk consumption to long life. In Britain 93 per cent of milk sold is fresh. UHT, powdered milk and baby milk make up the rest of the market.
The plan is set out in a government paper, seen by The Times, that was sent out last month to farmers’ leaders and the dairy industry. The “milk road map” is intended to help a dairy industry committee set up to work out the carbon footprint for milk and dairy products and to identify ways of reducing that footprint.

Read more HERE ...Timesonline...

Another chess puzzle!

Click HERE for a chess puzzle to solve!

Orlando Bloom in accident...paparazzi involved....

Why can't these people not be left alone!!! They are humans like all other people on earth!! We don't want to know everything about them!! Leave them alone!!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Orlando Bloom was involved in a minor car crash early Friday morning while being tailed by paparazzi photographers, police said.
Bloom, 30, the star of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Lord of the Rings," was driving in Los Angeles at about 2:15 a.m. with two female passengers when a vehicle came up close to him, making a sudden lane change, police said.
"This caused Bloom to swerve and he hit two parked cars," said a police spokeswoman.
Bloom and his two passengers were taken to a nearby hospital. The actor, who tested clear of alcohol and drugs, was not injured.
"He believed he was being followed by paparazzi, and the car near to him was paparazzi," said the spokeswoman.
A 30-year-old female passenger who was in the front seat suffered a cut on her neck while the 35-year-old backseat passenger suffered a neck fracture, police said.

There was minor damage to Bloom's car and the parked cars.

Source: here ....

Autumn

Yesterday I was on my bike in the park close to where we live. While riding around the park, I couldn't help being touched by all the different colours of Autumn! My best season is Autumn, because of the changes. So many changes are taking place and I was mad at myself for not having my camera with me! Surely will take it today!! I had my mp3 player with me listening to some music and at some stage the music of Sweet People was playing...VERY appropriate!! I was also thinking about the song of...I think it is Roger Whitaker...singing..."how small we are, how little we know..."? can't remember! I was really struck by all the different shades...of yellow/green/purple/red....

Enjoy this poem!

Autumn days are here again!

In autumn when the trees are brown

The little leaves come tumbling down

They do not make the slightest sound

But lie so quietly on the ground

Until the wind comes puffing by

And blows them off towards the sky.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you,

and the storms their energy,

while cares will drop away from you

like the leaves of Autumn.

by John Muir

Reading books

Ohio Principal was warned about gunman

I'm just wondering what role drugs play in these shootings at schools. The fact that he wasn't supposed to be in school is one reason, but if a person isn't taking any drugs, things like this shouldn't happen, unless... something terribly went wrong with his upbringing and his environment ...and students he mingled with. I believe drugs must play a role in these shootings...I might be wrong...but that is my view! It is not normal for students to go about shooting teachers and other students! And...what is the Government in the USA make out of this! How is it possible that so many people are allowed to have guns! Chess players I'm playing from Cleveland/Ohio say that more and more people get guns to protect themselves...what is going on with society today! Are we living in a mad-mad world! Schools should be safe places!!

Ohio principal was warned about gunman, students say

CLEVELAND - A high school student said today that he and classmates had warned their principal about threats by a classmate who shot and wounded four people before killing himself, and believed the attack could have been prevented.The student, Rasheem Smith, said on CBS' "Early Show" that despite their warnings about the student who opened fire Wednesday, Asa H. Coon, principal Johneita Durant told them she was too busy."I told my friends in the class that he had a gun and stuff," said Smith, 15. "He was talking about doing it last week. I don't know why they didn't say nothing.
Watch movies about the shootings
HERE and Here...you can watch a movie and read more.