I lived in your chess game but you changed the rules every day

You paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain, and I lived in your chess game but you changed the rules every day.

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Melodies of love

Classical music and chess are two of my “melodies of love”..if you know what I mean..and today I want to share Dolannes Melody, by the master himself, the French artist, Jean-Claude Borelly! If you’re a chess player, try playing a game while listening to this music, you surely will have a good game. Wasn’t it Philidor that was a composer too…and a world chess champion! Today’s chess game, which I played on  Chesscube, was really one of  “those” games – for me…a plain silly start. No excuses. Sometimes you play (well me, not you) and you make certain moves and you don’t know what on earth caused you those moves. If you look at these images, you will see what I mean. You see, this is “typical-me”..Frailty, thy name is woman!) not thinking about the game, but just playing for the fun of it..and then, suddenly, the tables get turned…and your opponent refused to move as he knows he’s in trouble…and..”The rest is silence.” I wonder if you will identify some quotes I’ve used here and know from which play? You can now play through two games interactively. Down in this post you will find the links to play through it. Game 2 is a game I’ve played earlier tonight on Chesscube. My opponent is a 1708 strong player. I beat him in our first round and in the second I lost due to a silly Knight-move! If it wasn’t for my Knight-move, I could have beaten him, but that shows you again.. absent-minded-me! Please click on the images for a larger view.

You will see how he used his Knight (my favourite piece – see how I used my Knights later on!) to “spoil” it for me! –“O! what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”

–“Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none.”

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

..hmmm…first Knight to move in with a Knight-fork…”Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery.”

..and my second ready to slay his King..another Knight-fork…gmf! that will teach him to chase my Dame around and slaughter my men! –“The rest is silence..

And my dearest opponent begged me to stop..and on his knees he prayed his last prayers…his poor King in rags! –“The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King!”  –“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Do you think it’s true what Kasparov said?

Game 1: Please click HERE to play through the game. The game will open in a new window.

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nb5 Kd7 5. Nxc7 Rb8 6. Nb5 Ra8 7. Bc7 Qe8 8. Be5 Ne4 9. Nc7 Qd8 10. Nxa8 f6 11. Bc7 Qe8 12. Bf4 e6 13. Nc7 Qe7 14. Nb5 Qf7 15. Nd6 Bxd6 16. Bxd6 Nxd6 17. e3 a6 18. Nf3 Rd8 19. Qd2 Ne4 20. Qd3 g6 21. h3 f5 22. a4 Nb4 23. Qb3 Qe7 24. c3 Nc6 25. c4 Na5 26. Qb6 Nc6 27. b4 Nxb4 28. cxd5 Nc2+ 29. Kd1 Nxa1 30. Ne5+ Ke8 31. f3 Nf2+ 32. Kc1 Nxh1 33. Bb5+ axb5 34. Qxb5+ Bd7 35. Qxb7 Qa3+ 36. Kd2 Nb3+ 37. Kc2 Na5 0-1

Game 2: Please click HERE to play through the game.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. d5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 a6 6. Nc3 h6 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Re1 Qe7 10. Qd1 Nb6 11. b3 Qd7 12. a4 Be7 13. a5 Nc8 14. b4 O-O 15. Ne2 Nh7 16. Ng3 Bg5 17. Bxg5 Nxg5 18. Qh5 Ne7 19. Be2 Ng6 20. Bg4 Qd8 21. Nf5 Nf4 22. Qh4 Qf6 23. Qg3 Rab8 24. h4 Nh7 25. Bd1 Ng6 26. Nxh6+ gxh6 27. h5 Kh8 28. hxg6 Qxg6 29. Qh3 Rg8 30. Bf3 Ng5 31. Qg3 Nxf3+ 32. Qxf3 Rg7 33. Re3 Rbg8 34. g3 Rh7 35. Qe2 h5 36. Rd1 h4 37. Rdd3 h3 38. Kh2 Qg4 39. Qxg4 Rxg4 40. Rc3 f6 41. Re2 Rgg7 42. Rf3 Rf7 43. Rf5 Rh6 44. g4 Kg7 45. Rh5 Rxh5 46. gxh5 Kh6 47. Kxh3 Kxh5 48. Kg2 Rg7+ 49. Kf1 Rg5 50. Re3 f5 51. Rh3+ Kg4 52. Rg3+ Kf4 53. Rxg5 Kxg5 54. exf5 Kxf5 55. Ke2 Ke4 56. Kd2 Kxd5 57. Kd3 e4+ 58. Ke3 Ke5 59. c3 d5 60. f4+ Kf5 61. Kd4 c6 62. Ke3 Ke6 63. Ke2 Kf5 64. Ke3 Kf6 65. Ke2 Ke6 66. Ke3 Kf5 67. Kd4 Kg4 68. Ke5 e3 69. f5 e2 70. f6 e1=Q+ 71. Kd6 Qg3+ 72. Kc5 Qc7 0-1

Update: Game 3…Another game I played on Chess cube….my opponent’s time ran out…although he was about to lose the game too…please click HERE to play through the game where I played white. Out of desperation he forced me to capture his Queen in order to have a lost myself, but I didn’t mind that much as I knew I had a Pawn-advantage. I loved the position of my Knights during the middle-game as I could use them effectively.

1. d4 h5 2. e4 e6 3. e5 f5 4. Bf4 Ne7 5. Bg5 h4 6. Bb5 b6 7. Bxe7 Bxe7 8. h3 Bb7 9. f3 Bb4+ 10. c3 Be7 11. Nd2 a6 12. Ba4 b5 13. Bc2 Nc6 14. Nb3 b4 15. c4 d5 16. c5 Bg5 17. Bd3 Be3 18. Be2 Bxd4 19. Nxd4 Nxe5 20. Nxe6 Qd7 21. Nd4 Rh5 22. Qd2 Rg5 23. Qxg5 Qe7 24. Qxf5 Rd8 25. Kf2 Bc8 26. Qc2 c6 27. Re1 Qg5 28. b3 Qg3+ 29. Kf1 Kf7 30. Bd3 Re8 31. Re2 Qg5 32. Bf5 Bxf5 33. Nxf5 Re6 34. Nd4 Nd3 35. Nxe6 Qc1+ 36. Qxc1 Nxc1 37. Nd8+ 1-0

Now, for the climax! Do enjoy Dolannes Melody and if you like it, I’ve got a link – Grumpy Boss’s blog – where you can download it from rapidshare. But you also have to download the Rar-software to unzip it…good luck, it’s worth doing it for a wonderful piece of music like this, and you not only get the one track, but the complete album! Follow the link.
Dolannes Melody
Jean-Claude Borelly

http://grumpyscorner.blogspot.com/2007/08/jean-claude-borelly-dolannes-melody.html

This is the Youtube-movie with Dolannes Melody.

The Piano version

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Sonnet of the moon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unluckypuppy/482675237/in/set-72157594195589241/
I know Wipneus is going to freak out about these images from “unluckypuppy” on flickr.  She’s a “stargazer!” and loves anything about space. This lily-flower’s name is also Stargazer! I think it’s beautiful! When I came across these images, I had to post it with some poems and I’ve found these lovely poems, enjoy them with the song by Don McLean–Starry, Starry Night! I like Van Gogh’s art too, so thought you would enjoy his “Starry Night” at the same time, also, I’ve Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for you to enjoy too! and the link where you can download it.

 
Image:pickupflowers.com

A Sonnet of the Moon

Look how the pale queen of the silent night
Doth cause the ocean to attend upon her,
And he, as long as she is in his sight,
With her full tide is ready her to honor.
But when the silver waggon of the moon
Is mounted up so high he cannot follow,
The sea calls home his crystal waves to moan,
And with low ebb doth manifest his sorrow.
So you that are the sovereign of my heart
Have all my joys attending on your will;
My joys low-ebbing when you do depart,
When you return their tide my heart doth fill.
So as you come and as you do depart,
Joys ebb and flow within my tender heart.

Charles Best

http://www.vangoghgallery.com

To Helen…by E A Poe

I saw thee once — once only — years ago:
I must not say how many — but not many.
It was a July midnight; and from out
A full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring,
Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven,
There fell a silvery-silken veil of light,
With quietude, and sultriness, and slumber,
Upon the upturn’d faces of a thousand
Roses that grew in an enchanted garden,
Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe —
Fell on the upturn’d faces of these roses
That gave out, in return for the love-light,
Their odorous souls in an ecstatic death —
Fell on the upturn’d faces of these roses
That smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted
By thee, and by the poetry of thy presence.

Clad all in white, upon a violet bank
I saw thee half reclining; while the moon
Fell on the upturn’d faces of the roses,
And on thine own, upturn’d — alas, in sorrow!

Was it not Fate, that, on this July midnight —
Was it not Fate, (whose name is also Sorrow,)
That bade me pause before that garden-gate,
To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?
No footstep stirred: the hated world all slept,
Save only thee and me. (Oh, Heaven! — oh, God!
How my heart beats in coupling those two words!)
Save only thee and me. I paused — I looked —
And in an instant all things disappeared.
(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!) 

The pearly lustre of the moon went out:
The mossy banks and the meandering paths,
The happy flowers and the repining trees,
Were seen no more: the very roses’ odors
Died in the arms of the adoring airs.
All — all expired save thee — save less than thou:
Save only the divine light in thine eyes —
Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.
I saw but them — they were the world to me.
I saw but them — saw only them for hours —
Saw only them until the moon went down.
What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwritten
Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres!
How dark a wo!, yet how sublime a hope!
How silently serene a sea of pride!
How daring an ambition! yet how deep —
How fathomless a capacity for love!

But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight,
Into a western couch of thunder-cloud;
And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing trees
Didst glide way [[away]]. Only thine eyes remained.
They would not go — they never yet have gone.
Lighting my lonely pathway home that night,
They have not left me (as my hopes have) since.
They follow me — they lead me through the years.
They are my ministers — yet I their slave.
Their office is to illumine and enkindle —
My duty, to be saved by their bright light,
And purified in their electric fire,
And sanctified in their elysian fire.
They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope,)
And are far up in Heaven — the stars I kneel to
In the sad, silent watches of my night;
While even in the meridian glare of day
I see them still — two sweetly scintillant
Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!

On this link, you can find all Poe’s works and his biography too.

http://www.online-literature.com/poe/
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata 1st Movement

 http://www.mfiles.co.uk/scores/moonlight-movement1.htm

Image: flickr…unluckypuppy..follow the link at the first image

Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer’s day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget.
Like the strangers that you’ve met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they’re not listening still.
Perhaps they never will…

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Moo Moo

Image:craftblog.craftybutterfly.co.uk

image: buy-fineart.com

I used to collect cow-sculptures in South Africa …they were so cute, they didn’t look like this sculpture in this image, but this one is just as cute…cows are characters in many children’s stories/songs..and if you’ve forgotten about “Old MacDonald’s farm”… here’s the Youtube video to refresh your mind..hehe… and do you know the Children’s Classic…”Moomin”!…We used to have a cow on the farm — well, we actually had many, but “Makkie” was a special cow. She LOVED lemons! When we were around, she made her way to the nearest lemon tree – there were three near the kraal – and stood there mooing like mad! –Eilandkind, if you read here…congratulations on your birthday today!!!

 

 

“Cow jumped over the moon” –http://www.art.co.uk

 

“Moo moo” from –http://www.art.co.uk

Image: gimmecorn.com…this looks almost like our “Makkie” hehe..asking for lemons!

When I was little, we called these cows…foxterrier cows!! hehehe…

On this link they show you how to draw a cow…
http://www.brentwindsor.co.uk/draw_cartoon_cow.php

This is one of my jars with cows…bought in South Africa…and brought with me all the way here! I love them, but couldn’t bring them all….wonder if you can still buy them in shops there!

Image: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/
Cattle dipping was great fun on the farm…those tiny little calves…were always so cute when swimming from the one end to the other!
 
Image: http://home.swipnet.se/mooamp/wallpapers/ …on this site you can get some wallpapers

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