so despite the manical pace of posting interviews, I haven't actually written anything in a while.....
The interviews are of course absolutely easy-- I don't do anything except write the questions and email them out.... people actually thank me for asking them to essentially write my blog for me.... ok, I called Becerra and actually exerted myself to type what he said, but he is playing in a tournament.
So I had a couple thoughts. .
The first was... wouldn't it be strange if suddenly you had a new name?
If everyone suddenly and simultaneously started calling you Harold, or Phoebe, or Fritz, or Elliot?
And what would be weirder is if you knew that there was one person who made this happen. That, let's say, Steve Immit, or Brenda Goichburg or that 1900 from your local club, the one who's always in time pressure, this person just randomly chooses one day and, not maliciously, absolutely not, in fact, this person feels warmly towards you without a doubt. But not unintentionally either. They just exert some power and change your name.
And then, presto! you are Carmen.
This is of course ridiculous in multiple ways, but it happened to me this summer.
Chris Bird changed my name to Liz.
Now total strangers call me Liz and I just gape at them in disbelief. You should understand, no one has really, ever in my life, called me Liz before. So it startles me. Of course, Chris Bird is a very nice guy, but I know him only in the most casual of ways. Friend of a friend. And then he calls me Liz that on one tournament website and boom. Liz. Liz. Always.
Ok, enough about me. Let's talk about Josh Friedel.
Do you know he just lost on time with a rook vs a knight* in a real tournament game???
Kinda makes you appreciate the USCF, no? At least the rules make sense.
Somehow, I've had this one same thought all the time, basically every day, for the last three or four years.
The thought is: "Are these people f*cking kidding me?"
I worry it's a sign of my disengagement from human society.
Anyway, other news in my life... work is killing me, making me want to be a zombie....I'm starting to have insane ideas like I can run errands before work, at 6:30, 7 am. I can't explain why I think that.
... in more exciting news I'm writing an article for Chessbase.com on the USCL. (Managers: if you have any photos of female team members in bikinis, I need them now.) No, but honestly I'm looking forward to writing the piece in a very breezy, magaziney kind of way. I just need to remember that I decided that exclamation marks make writing seem very girly.
*he had the rook!!
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8 comments:
Exclamation "marks", well la-di-bloody-DAH. True though that they usually are a mistake. F. Scott Fitzgerald said they're like laughing at your own joke. I once used one in a little writeup of the NYS women's and senior championship for the state rag. I was so mortified at seeing it in print that I went and bought up every copy at the newsstand.
So... what was your name before you were "re-named" as Liz?
You're not alone Liz, Chris decided that Jorge Sammour-Hasbun's first name was pronounced "George."
I like what I took the liberty to address you as in my email, "Vick."
Much snappier than "Liz," don't you think?
-Matt
Ahhh, the power of the web! I actually just thought the US Women's Championship would look cooler with names such as Liz, Chouch, Chimi, Cam, Ali, IK, Zat (hard to shorten Anna), Tat, Kat, and Bat playing.
As a fundraiser for the Blitz (the Eastern Conference Champs by the way), I will be taking orders on Boston-Blitz.com to have your name changed to anything you like. Must use my Harry Potter type skills for good use!
(Oh no, are people going to start calling me Harry Potter now? Guess I better grow my hair back...)
Chris
Yes, Liz (Lizzy? Elizabeth? What is your name?), exclamation marks should be used sparringly, if ever. (C'mon, as an english teacher you should know this.)
For some reason the Chess Life editors from, say, about 1985 to 2005 did not know this.
FYI: There have been no nominations for my 2007 USCL Best Interview award. This means that I'll be at liberty to pick my own winner.
Liz (Lizzy? Elizabeth? What is your name?), you're the front-runner.
Not in your favor: Greg asked you to do teh interviews.
In your favor: you don't toss out exclamation marks like they're chocolate sprinkles.
Way in your favor: Your interviews have been fantastic.
Maybe if you win a free copy of my book, you'll finally read it?
Matt Phelps liked it...so it can't be that bad.
Howard
Howard
Don't blame me too much for the interviews. I merely suggested it as a good way to get lots of USCL content, and it was also something we were missing. She realized the brilliance of the idea and went rolling with it!
Historically most people have called me Elizabeth. My students call me "Miss" (no last name)pretty universally. I guess you have to know me pretty well to get to call me Lizzy. I don't hate Liz, it's just new to me and was surreal to watch the change happen. I would agree that Vick is snappy, plus it strikes a nice tone of friendly but not presumptuously familiar. One high ranking USCL official calls me lizard. So take your pick.
I would love to read your book, Howard; I'll keep my fingers crossed that I win.
Can I get copied on the bikini photos too?
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