NY Times magazine piece about how Jerry Hanken hid from his war crimes by pretending to be a New Age healer in Belgrade. I know I have said this before, but this really is the funniest thing I've ever read. it is.
At the time of his arrest, Dragan Dabic* was fast becoming a minor celebrity in Belgrade. He had his own column in a national magazine. He was a rising star in a Connecticut-based vitamin company. And he was collaborating with a well-known sexologist on a novel form of sperm-rejuvenation therapy.
It's not just the absurdity of the content that I find so funny, it's also that the NY Times manages to maintain some kind of institutional tone of amazed disbelief.
*Jerry's pseudonym (while he hid from the International Court of Justice)
*Jerry's pseudonym (while he hid from the International Court of Justice)
Chris Bird kindly sent in this related photo of GM Jiri Stocek watching himself from 50 years in the future.
LMAO!!
ReplyDeleteHilarious....
ReplyDeleteI have always found Jerry's energy very healing.
ReplyDeleteAt the US Open in Concord CA, about 15 years ago, his little speech introducing, oh, Round 4 or so included the notification that "The hotel has coupons for the mall across the street, so you can give them to your wife so she won't bother you while you're trying to play chess."
His opponent that round turned out to be a female expert who wiped him off the board.
Unfazed, at the beginning of round 5, he urged us to patronize the USCF bookstore, "where the pretty girls will smile at you while they take your order."
He's just a class act.
Mind you, at this point Jenny Frenklakh was leading the tournament, providing a rare (though not huge) mainstream media sensation.