Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIX - April 12, 2014!

Hola darlings!

I won't be there in person tomorrow, but I will be there in spirit, and in Goddesschess Prize Money, woo woo!  The latest email I received, there are 89 pre-registered players, 11 of which are you, my dear chess femmes. 

Can we break a record?  Let's go for it, ladies.  Top $800 in Goddesschess prize money winnings (paid out in Challenge XVIII) and we set a new record.  I know you can do it...

You know, sitting here tonight, surrounded by incipient chaos of house sale and trying to find a new place for myself to live, I can't help but think of all those countless dreams I've had over the years, but none more than now, recently (does it mean something?), that I somehow, miraculously, was born again as a chess prodigy who became the first female World Chess Champion and also the Queen of England more or less at the same time. Well, what can I say? The Prince of Wales ("Wills", that is) IS a hunk of a man.  I would definitely take that job on...

Of course, as dreams do, "I" jump from time to time, era to era, but chess is always there, and so is that Prince.  Hmmmm.... Maybe in my next life.  So, if you someday see a very imperial Queenish-figure holding a Staunton style Queen between her thumb and forefinger in an official portrait, with a half-cocked smile and dimples showing, that will be me, darlings.  Swear it!

But, for now, I have to be content with "Dream On" by Aerosmith. I think these lyrics are the best chess-related I've ever heard, whether Steven Tyler has ever played chess or not.  Just read them, and think about it:

"Dream On"

Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer [Will we make NM before 21, or 71...]
The past is gone [We supposedly forget about our prior losses --- but we NEVAH do...]
It went by like dusk to dawn [Hell, yeah]
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay [Yes, all chessplayers pay their dues...]

Yeah, I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win  [So true. Until you lose, how do you know how to win?]

Half my life's in books' written pages [Chess master books...]
Live and learn from fools and from sages [Yeah.  Some of them are crap, some of them are gems.]
You know it's true
All the things you do, come back to you [Oh yeah.  It's called ELO, baby!]

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing it for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Dream on, dream on, dream on, [I will always dream of myself as World Chess Champion...
Dream until your dream come true [and Queen of England, too...]
Dream on, dream on, dream on,
And dream until your dream come true
Dream on [7x]

Sing with me, sing it for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing it for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing it for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing it for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Want to see a video of Aerosmith in their prime singing "Dream On":

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIX!

Update:  As of last night, there are 79 pre-registered players, of which 11 are chess femmes:  3 in the Open and 8 in the Reserve. Woo woo! 

And as of earlier today, there are now 82 pre-registered players, 38 in the Open, and 44 in the Reserve!  Chess femmes in the Open are:  Rachel Ulrich (2070); Anne Ulrich (1668); and Alena Huang (1620).  In the Reserve:  Teja Karimikonda (1487); Susanna Ulrich (1461); Sabrina Huang (1435); Rachel Gomoll (1196); Ellen Wanek (1004) (she is my chess buddy and my chess nemesis at chess.com); Alyssa Przedwiecki (608); Anoushka Prasad (no rating).  I know I'm missing, I'm just too tired to go through the list again, sorry!

I do have gift bags, I just haven't had the time lately to put them together (and I don't have the actual bags, ahem.  I forgot, once again, to pick them up today.) I have forgotten (gasp!) to get them together in the midst of getting the sale of this house ready and trying to find a new place of my own to buy, and inspections, and all other kinds of stuff that is just boring but frustrating and exhausting. I'm pretty close to just calling a halt to the entire process and calling the deal OFF! THAT is how bad it has gotten the past few weeks. My health (not always so good) is suffering, as is my peace of mind (most important of all). Arrrrgggghhhh!

So, alas, I won't be attending Challenge XIX, but I will be there in spirit. And I've GOT to get those gift bags for the chess femmes who win out in each section ready! I'll be following the action, and reporting as I can.

Biblical Archaeology: Update on the "Jesus' Wife" Papyrus

Hola darlings!

I've been up to my ears dealing with an unexpected offer to buy my house, looking for a new house, contracts, work being done, blah blah blah, driving me absolutely insane and sucking all of my time and energy.  Selling a house and buying a different house - VAMPIRES!

I checked and yes, I did have a prior post on this interesting subject:

September 19, 2012:  Did Jesus Have a Wife?

Interestingly, in that article, Jesus' alleged wife was referred to by a name - Mary.  The article identified her as Mary Magdalene.  Please keep that in mind as you read this current news, as this identification is not mentioned in the current article.  Could I see a complete, full translation of this papyrus, please???

Article from CNN.com:

April 10th, 2014

10:04 AM ET

Study: 'Jesus' wife' fragment not a fake

By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

 

CNN) - A team of scientists has concluded that a controversial scrap of papyrus that purportedly quotes Jesus referring to "my wife," is not a fake, according to theHarvard Theological Review.

"A wide range of scientific testing indicates that a papyrus fragment containing the words, 'Jesus said to them, my wife' is an ancient document, dating between the sixth to ninth centuries CE," Harvard Divinity School said in a statement.

The contents of the papyrus scrap may date even earlier - to the second through fourth centuries, Harvard added.

Scientists tested the papyrus and the carbon ink, and analyzed the handwriting and grammar, according to Harvard.

"None of the testing has produced any evidence that the fragment is a modern fabrication or forgery," the divinity school added.

Unveiled by Karen King, a Harvard Divinity School historian, in 2012, the scrap sparked a heated debate over Christian history, archaeological accuracy and modern media coverage of contested ancient history.

The fragment, which is about the size of a business card, contains just 33 words: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …. She will also be my disciple."

The scrap does not prove that Jesus actually had a wife, said King - just that ancient Christians wrote about the possibility.

Other Christians have suggested that Jesus may have been speaking metaphorically in the sentence fragments quoted in the papyrus. Some New Testament writers refer to the church as "the bride of Christ."

King and other scholars said they are equally intrigued by Jesus' mention of a female disciple.
"The main topic of the fragment is to affirm that women who are mothers and wives can be disciples of Jesus — a topic that was hotly debated in early Christianity as celibate virginity increasingly became highly valued," King said in a statement.

5 questions and answers about Jesus' 'wife'

The Harvard Theological Review also published a rebuttal by Leo Depuydt professor of Egyptology at Brown University.

“As a forgery, it is bad to the point of being farcical or fobbish," Depuydt told the Boston Globe. "I don’t buy the argument that this is sophisticated. I think it could be done in an afternoon by an undergraduate student.”

The Vatican's newspaper has also called the papyrus fragment a fake.

“Substantial reasons would lead us to conclude that the papyrus is actually a clumsy counterfeit,” the Vatican’s newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said in an editorial in 2012.

Vatican newspaper calls fragment referring to Jesus' wife 'a fake'