Robyn Returns

I'm now going to update this blog every day/night. At least that is my intent. I will be commenting on a wide range of topics. These topics will include sports, movies, books, music, politics, current events and whatever else interests me . I plan on making this blog one that will be read by many people. I think people will be interested in what I have to say. Why? Because I have a wide range of interests and am extremely well-informed. I read just about everything and am always, shall we say "current", but unlike most bloggers, I have a sense of historical perspective. I don't always live and think in the moment. I realize we share a past and that what happened before affects what will happen next. No, I'm not a pure determinist. There is the free will factor... I think you'll understand what I'm saying once you start reading this blog.

So, let us go then you and I, while the evening is spread out against the sky...

Sports

The Lakers five game demolition of the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (not "World Champion" as the NBA used to call their league champion) has been somewhat tainted by the non-call by officials at the end of Game 4 when Laker point guard Derek Fisher bumped Rick Barry's son Brent on a last second three point attempt that could have won the game for the Spurs. The NBA even went so far as to offer an explanation, saying a foul should have been called. Laker coach Phil Jackson correctly pointed out that the shot taken on the previous Laker possession by Fisher hit the rim and then hit Robert Horry, going out of bounds. This would have reset the shot clock and Kobe Bryant wouldn't have been forced to rush an off balance shot with only a couple seconds left, instead, most likely the Spurs would have been forced to foul. So all the talk about referee Joey Crawford's bias against the Spurs (from the Spurs' side) and the Lakers outplaying the Spurs the whole game and deserving the win anyway (from the Lakers' side) should have been moot.

So now we have the Lakers going to the NBA Finals with the opportunity to win their 15th championship. They await the winner of the Eastern Conference championship--either the Detroit Pistons or the Boston Celtics. Most people, including myself, hope the Celtics will advance. A Laker-Celtic Finals would be great for the league and exciting for fans. I won't make a prediction since we don't yet have the Eastern Conference representative.

Sports Radio--Just want to make a couple quick comments here. I listen to two guys consistently on the radio. They are Dan Patrick and Jim Rome. I respect both, but feel that Patrick's show is better because he doesn't have the ego of Rome and also he doesn't live in the moment like Rome. Example: Rome initially condemned the Celtics for not winning a playoff road game--suggesting they didn't deserve to win a championship. There's a reason they play the regular season and if Rome had any historical sense, any knowledge of past NBA playoffs, he would know that teams usually lose on the road and that the Celtics do not have to win a road game to win the NBA championship. I'm no Celtic fan. I've been a Laker fan since 1969 (I remember listening to all-time great Chick Hearn's call of Game 7 and especially that traveling call on Mel Counts that negated a Laker lead in the final minute)--but even a novice knows it's difficult to win a playoff road game. Not everyone can go fo, fo, fo!


Movies

If you ever get a chance to read the reviews of Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times, do so. She's the best, hands down. Even if you don't agree with what she has to say you'll enjoy her writing.

Politics

I'm a Democrat, but consider myself a moderate. I'm against legalizing illegal immigration, want an end to the Iraq-Afghanistan wars, lower taxes--but not at the expense of the poor, and currently do not support any of the presidential candidates...

Books

I've read a great deal of books over the years. Here is a list of the last ten books I've read:

• Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson
• John Donne: The Reformed Soul, John Stubbs
• The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, David Halberstam
• The Wise Men; Six Friends and the World They Made, Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas
• Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis
• Silas Marner, George Eliot
• Red Mutiny, Neal Bascomb
• March Violets, Philip Kerr
• The Pale Criminal, Philip Kerr
• A German Requiem, Philip Kerr

Currently I'm reading The World Crises by Winston Churchill. One may not agree with Winnie's political opinions or his interpretation of history, but no one can not like the degree of skill with which he writes. Simply brilliant and very entertaining.

Music

I enjoy several music genres--rock, country, New Age top the list. I download music from Amazon.com all the time. The last few songs I've downloaded are Frank Sinatra by Cake, Violet Hill by Coldplay, and Your Wildest Dreams by The Moody Blues...

Current Events

My only comment today is on George Bush's chest bump with the Air Force academy graduate. Look at that picture. Can there be any other clearer reason why Georgie boy won the presidency twice? He's a fun guy. Can you picture Boring Al Gore or Self-important John Kerry doing this? Btw, I voted for those two guys...


So that's my first blog in months, hoped you enjoyed it--although I doubt very many people read it! But they will, depend upon it.

Political Magazines and ....

Political Magazines

As I mentioned earlier, I subscribe to three magazines--The Nation, National Review, and The American Conservative. I've now had time to read four issues of The American Conservative, two issues of National Review and one issue of The Nation.

The Nation is liberal, how far liberal? Well if 1 is ultra liberal and 10 is ultra conservative then The Nation is about a 4. National Review is a neo-con magazine, although it is not the flagship magazine of neo-cons (the would be The Weekly Standard), its articles still advance the neo-con agenda. On my political chart, I would place it at about a 8. The American Conservative is Pat Buchanan's magazine. It pretty much follows the Libertarian line. I'd give it about a 7.

All three have interesting articles. The American Conservative is a smaller magazine than the other two. Only about 35 pages an issue, bi-montly. National Review usually has about 60-70 pages and also has an excellent website. There are some very good columnists at NR. My favorite is Mark Steyn. He's a full-bore neo-con. Unrepentant and consistent. The Nation is good reading when you get tired of the same political arguments in the other two magazines. It's about the same size as NR, but with longer articles.

I enjoy all three magazines. More later...

...

And finally, you may want to go to my other blog sites for some personal info...

Magazine Subscriptions

So what magazines do I subscribe to? There are three magazines I subscribe to right now:

• The American Conservative
• National Review
• The Nation
  

And now you may ask? Is RH a conservative, a neo-con or a liberatarian? Well, I don't rightly know yet. I'm still reading up on it. Many of my reviews reflect those in The American Conservative, some in National Review and ... I haven't read my first copy of The Nation yet. I am also reading George Nash's seminal work, The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America: Since 1945. So, when I am able to better formulate my political ideas I will, of course, inform you as to what I believe. I am also considering subscribing to a liberal magazine. If anyone has any suggestions, I am listening.

Changes Afoot

Going to begin adding movie reviews, comments on observations and talk about many of the things I used to talk about on GoldToken.com Why? Figure I'm getting a little tired of that site. I'm going to finish off my games, maybe play a game or two once in awhile and move on. Reasons? Many. Some of them are I'm tired of the level of discourse there. Yeah, it's a family site, but that doesn't mean it has to be so boring, so trivial, so uninteresting. Example: I post a comment on celebrity split ups on the Critics DB and the thread degenerates into a testimonial on the longevity of a marriage by a member. Uh, yawn... No witty comments, just that. Other DBs are not much better. On the Politics DB we have a person who reads an article, makes a snap judgement, and posts an entirely predictable response. It's all just so boring now. Other things are annoying too. Playing chess and checkers against the top rated players there is, and I think this may be the case for all correspondence type games, a waste of time. Most, if not all, of the top players in chess use databases and chess engines. So, who am I playing? Certainly not the person listed across the board. And in checkers we have a person who is obviously using a program--one does not muddle along at a certain rating and then suddenly gain 300 points. It doesn't happen.

Other changes coming up too. I will be changing my ISP. I've had Comcast cable for a couple years. They and Time Warner have switched monopolistic areas and now I have the latter. Problem is the price. $45 for cable and $10 for basic cable TV--with tax and other charges-$62, is not good. I've decided to go with Verizon DSL, a Verizon land phone line and DishTV for about the same price because although the Internet connection is slower, I will get a full lineup of television channels--which I'm not getting with Time Warner. I need a broadband connection because I subscribe to the HP Rhapsody subscription music service. However, I'm considering whether I need any of this. Wouldn't dialup and less online time be better? Get out and see the world, read books in my free time--this seems better. Life is short. Sitting in front of a computer all day and night seems like a huge waste of time.

So, there you have it. Changes afoot. I'll now be updating this site regularly. If anyone is actually reading it, stay tuned...

Btw, here are my other blog sites:

Yahoo 360--Robyn's Hode

MSN Spaces--Robyn's Hode

Late Night...

Can you guess who this is?


OK, it's just past midnight here. As usual I am playing chess on GameKnot.com and GoldToken.com. But now I'm annoyed. It looks like I might lose a game to Doffen (highest rated player on GT) using my Alekhine's Defense. Now, what really annoys me is that I went into an inferior line! I am supposed to know this defense. I have the definitive book (which I am noticing is sorely missing information on critical lines--simply not as good a book as John Watson's Play the French or for that matter, John Gallagher's Play the King's Indian Defense). Quite disappointing...but as always one must learn from their mistakes (as I age though, I find I am not learning as much as I once did). I shall try another time with Doffen and I will play my Alekhine's Defense!

So, besides chess, what am I doing lately? I'm working like a stevedore at a place that pays terribly, offers little medical coverage and schedules you so that you have virtually no free time. Ah, but I have my books....yes, I have my books. This is a sentence, a sort of salvation for whenever things seem too much. Many a time have I said this sentence...What do I mean by it? I mean that despite everything that has happened, I can still pick up a good book and escape to another time and place (better than drugs or drink) and read a book. I am a voracious reader. I read mostly history and fiction. I've read a great deal of the classic authors of the 19th and 20the century, mostly American, English, French and Russian. Which reminds me, I need to put up a book list here....anyway, I've just begun Andre Maurios' History of France. I was reading a history of the Algerian War but my time is short nowadays and I was unable to sustain an interest in the book. I was barely reading it and when that happens I know it is time to read something else because I no longer can force myself to read something I am having difficulty reading. Old age!

Time to get back to finishing up a few move chess moves before I hit the sack and read a few pages of History of France. My friend (you know who you are), sorry I couldn't keep up with the book on Algerian Independence. Perhaps another day when I have more time.

Au revoir.

Blogs and Websites

I've returned to see if this site should be my main blog site at the advice of a French producer of movies at a famous game playing website--GoldToken.com .

Currently I have two other blog sites:

• Robyn's Hode at MSN Spaces.
• Robyn's Hode at Yahoo 360.

And an experimental site at Geocities: Robyn's Hode

Still Crazy After All These Years

Yes, I am still posting her although I haven't posted anything on this site in over a year. I alsio have another blog site at this location: Click! I'm undecided as to which one I want to stick with. Anyway, just wanted to check in and let anyone who might have wandered by here to know I will begin posting again soon.

That you, the free men of this forest, swear to despoil the rich, only to give to the poor. To shelter the old and the helpless. To protect all women, rich or poor, Norman or Saxon. Swear to fight for a free England. To protect her loyally until the return of our king and sovereign, Richard the Lion-Heart. And swear to fight to the death against our oppressors!

--Errol Flynn as Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood