A couple notes.
- First, one of you who follows the daily Mass stream from Saskatchewan… NB: your mailbox is full. You are missed.
- I have some additional photos of things my mother made. I had the pleasure of sending one back to her home state of Wyoming to a reader who bought a piece. HERE
- Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, and now also my late mother’s place. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
Bonus: From my back patio in Rome where my jasmine (not the Jesuit) is growing faster than my novel. Thanks for the update from The Great Roman™.
The other “Jasmine” would not be welcome at my patio.
I’ve been working on a novel… murder mystery set in Rome in 1769. I haven’t made progress recently. Maybe I need to change my modus operandi?
Ian Fleming’s typical day at his estate in Jamaica where he wrote all his James Bond stories, need to emulate this pic.twitter.com/d43RdMtS0U
— ol’ stocky ?? (@oldstocky) July 26, 2026
Speaking of books…. didn’t any mention “Memory Hole”. Even if 10% true… alarming.
?AI companies are bulk-buying rare books, scanning them through high-speed machines that cut the spines off, and shredding the originals. A service called ISBNdb facilitates orders of up to a million books and keeps buyers anonymous. Pre-2022 books are premium because they’re… pic.twitter.com/0YPd8N2oi5
— Hedgie (@HedgieMarkets) July 27, 2026
How should black proceed?
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Try this!
Sacerdos ad scaccos ludebat,
Dum ad Laudes orabat;
Cum regem cepisset,
Ac “Mattum!” dixisset,
Diabolus tristis fugiebat.
This is why I feel entirely justified in my absurdly large (and ever growing) book collection. I don’t think I have a room in the house that doesn’t have a bookshelf apart from bathrooms – and pretty much every bookshelf is overstuffed.
I know I won’t ever get a chance to read them all in my lifetime – but they’re for my kids and my (if I ever have any) grand kids and beyond.
I used to joke that it’s a good things liberals don’t ever actually watch a movie older than the 2000’s or read any books, because there would be so many more things they would try to cancel in their woke virtue paroxysms. I think, now, we’re in real danger because they’re going to make AI do all the reading and watching for them.
I can personally vouch for the beauty and artistry of the item I purchased. I urge others to buy an item or two.
Alas! I cannot vouch for the quality of the chess moves.
From F 451, to Celsius -273.15.
Progress.
On the chess problem: Black has a pawn which he can Queen in just two moves. White also has a free pawn, but if he moves it, he will lose his Rook and Black will get its Queen in time to stop White’s pawn. So I recommend — 1. . . . f3f2, which White can respond to only with 2. Rb6, threatening to check Black’s King if the pawn becomes a Queen, exchange his Rook for the Queen on his next move, and eventually win by pushing his pawn faster than Black’s King can move. But after 2. Rb6, Black should play Bb1! This allows Black to interpose his Bishop if White checks his King the next move, and Black’s pawn will then safely reach the first rank. At the same time, if White’s King plays 3. KxB, Black plays f2f1=Q+, thus again allows the Queen to move out harm’s way, and eventually win the game for Black.
A priest at chess was playing
While the office of Lauds he was praying;
When he’d got the king’s token
and “Mate” he had spoken,
The devil fled away braying.
“Where is thy hiding place, O choicest treasure, and where shall thirsting souls discover thee? In books assuredly hast thou set up thy tabernacle, for there the Most High, the Light of Lights, the Book of Life, hath established thee.” (Philobiblion, Richard de Bury)
Text in Latin:
https://archive.org/details/philobiblonofric01bury/page/8/mode/1up
Text in English
https://archive.org/details/philobiblonofric02bury/page/11/mode/1up
The pawn advances. The white rook withdraws to check the king and win the f-pawn. The now bishop moves to b-1. If the King captures it, the pawn is able to queen with check, giving the newly minted Queen the opportunity to get off the f file. If the king passes on the bishop offer, then black will be able to block the coming rook check by moving the bishop to f-5 with black’s next move and the pawn goes on to queen.
1 … f3f2
and white can not stop the pawn promoting safely at either f1 or g1. Convince me I’m wrong. :-)
1. . . . . . . K-e3 looks promising, but White can force a trade of its rook for White’s queened pawn, and Black’s king, starting at f1, cannot stop White’s pawn from reaching h8.
So
1. . . . . . . . . K-f5
2. R×d3 . . . K-g4
3. R-d8 . . . K-h3
4. R-h8+ . . K-g4
5. h2-h3+ . K-g5
Or variations thereof
And so on, until K×h8 and then K×h7