Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Tash and I wish you all a wonderful Christmas, a joyous holiday season, and a happy and healthy new year in 2014! Below is our annual open letter to our family and friends. We especially miss our children and grandchildren who, this year, are all far away from our temporary home in Kentucky.

Dear family and friends,

Greetings from Kentucky! This Christmas marks the 4th different state in which we have celebrated the holidays in four years. In 2010 we were in our beautiful historic home in Oregon City. 2011 brought us to Ithaca, NY, and the campus of Cornell University. Last year we made it back to Meridian, Idaho, to celebrate with Tash's parents: Gene & Celeste Fox.

The end of 2013 finds us in Lexington, far away from where we began our “adventure of a lifetime” in Oregon. We packed up the Conestoga wagon (aka Penske truck) in late June and made our way across the country (by late July) so Tash could begin doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky in the Graduate Center for Gerontology. (You may have heard of UK…they have a little basketball team here.) The first school term is successfully finished, with Tash’s sanity (mostly) still intact. Her winter break will be filled with reading, catching up on Downtown Abbey, and trying to bring order to her messy office.

Adjusting from life in the Northwest has gone fairly smoothly, though Tash still freaks out when there is a tornado warning. Of course, we were able to follow the Red Sox through the World Series, so we felt on solid ground. There’s no beach or Dungeness crab, but the barbecue is really good here so it’s hard to fuss too much! The countryside is absolutely beautiful, with its great expanses of green pastures bounded by mile after mile of freshly painted horse fences.

We can hardly wait until Spring to see what all the fuss over "bluegrass" is about. There are plenty of walking trails so we have no excuse NOT to exercise. Weather permitting, Frank walks/runs 2 miles per day.

But MOST OF ALL, we miss those with whom we share love. Visitors welcome!!"

Gethsemani Abbey - Happy 165th Anniversary!

Tash and I visited Gethsemani Abbey near Bardstown, Kentucky, on October 22 with Fr. Bruce and Marcia Makowski. We held a silent prayer service at the final resting place of Brother Alfred, a Cistercian Monk who passed away on January 15, 2013. Brother Alf was an integral part of the Easton Mountain community when I volunteered there in 2005, and a good friend to all who knew him.

Gethsemani was founded on December 21, 1848 and today the members celebrated 165 years of contemplative prayer in the same manner as they have since the day after they arrived all those years ago.

Supporting the Arts in Portland, ME & Portland, OR

Quote of the day: "The creative process doesn't have to stop with age. It really can deepen with age. And (for) one's imagination...age isn't a barrier." - Jean Badran, Elder Arts Program Director, SPIRAL Arts, Portland, Maine.



A former colleague of mine, Rev. Priscilla Dreyman, is Executive Director of a non-profit community arts organization in Portland, Maine called SPIRAL Arts. At this annual time of giving I invite you to visit the organization's web site and consider a gift to support their mission: http://www.spiralarts.org/

SPIRAL Arts offers opportunities to people of all ages and life experiences who are seeking hope, purpose, and meaning,
to create art in a supportive, spiritually centered, caring community.

Non-profit community arts organization
SPIRAL Arts was founded in 1992, it is a small non-profit community arts organization in Portland, Maine, which seeks to make the arts available and accessible to people of all ages and from all walks of life. In inter-generational classes and workshops, a deep and lasting community grows among people of great diversity as they make and share art together.

Reaching out to isolated people
SPIRAL Arts reaches out to city people isolated by poverty, racism, classicism, loneliness, mental illness, special needs, AIDS, aging, terminal or serious illness, abuse and neglect, sexual orientation, or religion -- whatever isolates an individual, family, or group of people.

Innovative programming
SPIRAL Arts is a unique and innovative program. It brings opportunities for art making to the people, helping them to discover resources for growth within themselves. It seeks to work with those who are disenfranchised, isolated, marginalized, and help them become integrated into a caring and supportive community.

Building community
SPIRAL Arts seeks to build a community grounded in hope that is inter-generational, cross class, interfaith, multi-cultural and and multi-racial -- inclusive in every sense of the word. It breaks down barriers of stereotyping and fear through creating in community.

Collaboration
SPIRAL Arts is founded on collaboration. The organization brings opportunities for artistic creativity into the business world, demonstrating how the creative process is the basis for creative collaborations, team building, and staff rejuvenation. It provides opportunities for new and experienced artists to share their gifts of artistic expression with people of great diversity, serving as companions on the journey of creativity. Most of the artists who teach at SPIRAL Arts also take other courses with the organization to nurture their own creative skills.

As a program, SPIRAL Arts is relatively inexpensive due to its use of volunteers, interns, recycled materials, donated space from community institutions. Due to nationwide publicity SPIRAL Arts has received calls from around the country asking about the organizations model of transformation and community building through the arts. In reality, SPIRAL Arts can be duplicated anywhere and adapted to any situation, be it rural, suburban, or urban, secular or religious. The raw materials of creativity and the limitless possibilities for collaboration are available anywhere in our entire world. The people of the Third World, whose lives are grounded in creative expression, whose liberation movements are often fired by art and music, are models of this reality.

THE GEEZER GALLERY

Meanwhile, Amy Henderson (who some of our friends will recognize as the maid of honor to Tash and me at our 2007 wedding), continues to sucessfully operate the non-profit art gallery in Portland, Oregon, known as The Geezer Gallery.

CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE

The Geezer Gallery is doing great work carrying out its mission. But, as with most non-profit organizations, it depends on the generosity of supporters like you and me for survival.

Here are the links to the Geezer Gallery web site and Facebook page. Learn more. Spread the word. Help out in any way you can.

Thank you!

My Key to the City of Crossville still fits after 10 years

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I am especially thankful this year to still be able to travel. Last week I visited the US Chess Federation office in Crossville, TN, in connection with my CJA activities and met with new Executive Director Jean Hoffman. I am happy to report that the USCF library remains in tact and accessible and that the USCF is in good hands.

You Never Know Where Hope Grows

This past Tuesday I was an extra in a third different scene for the upcoming movie, Produce. I am pictured above chatting with cast member, McKaley Miller, after the scene at Mt. Tabor Cemetery in Crestwood, KY. Interestingly, Mt. Tabor is the final resting place of D.W. Griffith, know as the "father of the motion picture."

Scheduled to be released in late 2014, progress can be monitored on the movie's website IamProduce.com.

My earlier blog concerning the movie including a plot synopsis is located here.

Produce, the movie

I have been selected as an extra for the movie Produce. Filming begins today in Anchorage, Kentucky, where I will play the role of a church member at the church in the photo above. There is also an outdoor scene, filmed on a porch, that I will be in. Possibly more later, depending on how I do today.

Story: PRODUCE is a feature-length film about a self destructive former pro ball player who is given a serious lesson in living life with courage when he befriends a grocery store clerk with Downs syndrome.

Producers: Milan Chakraborty (THE LIFEGUARD starring Kristen Bell-Sundance 2013, ALTER EGOS), Jose Pablo Cantillo (WALKING DEAD, CRANK), Simran Singh Co-Producer: Sev Ohanian's most recent movie was the critically acclaimed indie feature FRUITVILLE STATION, which won the grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2013 Sundance film Festival

Co-Executive Producer: Local, Gill Holland is a seasoned feature film producer whose credits include HURRICANE STREETS which won the directors award, Cinematography Award and Audience Award at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.
Community Support has been overwhelming from such groups as DSIAM (Down syndrome in Arts and Media Organization), the ALBERT PUJOLS Family Foundation, Down syndrome of Louisville, Dreams with Wings, Best Buddies-Kentucky, Angels in Disguise as well as from Mayor Greg Fischer, Louisville Slugger and the Louisville Bats.

Current Cast:

Produce: David Desanctis

CALVIN: Kris Polaha (North Shore)

MILTON: Billy Zabka (Karate Kid)

KATIE: McKaley Miller (Hart of Dixie)

COLT: Michael Grant (The Secret Life of an American Teenager) AMY: Brooke Burns (BAYWATCH, SHALLOW HAL)

FRANKLIN: Alan Powell (THE SONG)

It has been a busy few days. I played in a chess tournament over the weekend in Cincinnati, attended a Veteran's Day poker event in Elizabeth, Indiana, on Monday, and introduced myself to the nice people at the Kentucky Hospital Association yesterday while Tash was attending a conference in Louisville. Not making any money, but at least I am staying active.

I have several blog posts in the queue for the period July-October. I will get caught up ASAP. Kentucky has been quite an adjustment!

More about Anchorage, KY, can be found here and also here.

2013 ECC+USA Synod

Photo taken a Sacred Cross Oratory, Floyds Knobs, Indiana, October, 2013

NWC Features Luke-Harmon Vellotti

I was invited by Northwest Chess magazine editor Jeffrey Roland to write an article on 14-year-old Boise, Idaho, native Luke-Harmon Vellotti. Luke recently finished tied for second place in the U.S. Junior Closed Championship.

This fall, Luke Harmon-Vellotti will begin undergraduate study at UCLA on a full math and computer science scholarship. According to the Idaho Statesman, UCLA won’t discuss individual students, citing privacy issues. But the school said in the past decade, it has admitted just 20 students younger than 16.

Read more by visiting the Northwest Chess web site and downloading the .pdf file for the August 2013 issue.

Tartan Book Series

I picked up some new non-chess books that are part of the original McKay Tartan series. I now have all but a half dozen or so of the 73 volumes (that I know about) in my collection. I will post a complete list as soon as I can find some time. (see January 4, 2014 post)

Thanks to all who have helped me track these down.

Colombian girl wins 2013 Susan Polgar Invitational

Pictured above, l. to r., Dr. Beth Stroble, President of Webster University. 2013 SPGI winner Luisa Mercado Mendoza and Susan Polgar.

A 17-year-old girl from Cartagena, Colombia, has won the 10th Annual Susan Polgar Girls Invitational (SPGI) chess tournament held July 22-25 at Webster University.

Luisa Mercado Mendoza earned a four-year, all-tuition-and-fees scholarship to Webster University, worth $23,000 a year; a cash prize of $3,000; an iPad mini and a $2,400 year-long fitness sponsorship from CrossFit. The teen has been playing chess for 13 years and currently ranks in the top five, under-18 players in Colombia. Mendoza will enter her last year of high school this fall and is looking forward to attending Webster University.

"I really like Webster and want to be a part of it," Mendoza said. "I like the possibility of living on campus at Webster, because in Colombia, there are not many schools where you can do that. St. Louis is very green and beautiful and it's very easy to get around."

Also winning scholarships were Becca Lampman, from Washington state, and Jackie Peng, a member of the Canadian Olympic Chess Team. Approximately $250,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.

Source: Webster-Kirkwood Times

Final standings are here.

Full coverage can be found on the Idaho Chess Association web site.