Its August, which means its time for our annual art issue.
It probably sounds odd, but when I see August and art in the same sentence I cant help thinking about a couple of long-passed relatives. My grandfathers name was August, and I had an uncle named Art.
August Schwardt could build or fix pretty much anything. One of my most prized possessions is a beautiful, hand-carved wooden chess set that he made. I keep it in an old round, wooden tobacco box, which he also made with a homemade lathe that he rigged up in his shop. When you open the lid to the box, you can still catch a rich whiff of his pipe tobacco.
He was a quiet, thoughtful man who could be comically absent-minded. He once spent months building a boat in his shop, and as he showed it to one of his friends, the friend asked, Howre you gonna get it out the door, Gus? Grandpa said nothing for days, but spent hours examining the boat, the shop and his tools. Finally, he tore the boat apart and never spoke of it again.
Math fascinated him, and he loved talking theories and equations with the math teachers at the Kansas school where he worked as a janitor. Hard times and family moves had forced him to quit school early.
My Uncle Art, on the other hand, was an engineer with a big oil company in Kansas City. He and Aunt Marge would come out West to visit our family every summer, and Art would bore the pants off my father and me as he threw open the hood of his enormous sedan and started holding forth about how fuel really worked in internal combustion engines.
Art was also a Scoutmaster, and he insisted on taking me on tortuous hikes and quizzing me on the knots hed tried to teach me to tie the summer before. But I never listened and usually forgot everything he said within minutes. Which hole was the bunny supposed to jump through to complete the knot again?
But Uncle Arts true passion was barbecuing. Seizing control of our patio grill to set off the inescapable family cookout portion of his visit, he often sent flames curling high above the eaves of our house. There now THATS a fire, Art would say triumphantly as my father watched in horror and my mother retreated to the kitchen.
Wow sorry. Guess I kind of wandered off there. But maybe that gets us to the real point anyway. While August is generally one of the best months to be in the Yakima Valley (normally, of course, wed be in the thick of a packed schedule of festivals, concerts, wine-tastings and other events), this year is clearly different.
It doesnt mean art and creativity arent still thriving, though.
Far from it. Maybe all this isolation and social turmoil is actually forcing us all to think a little more creatively than usual.
Consider local art teachers like East Valley Central Middle Schools Ken Weyrick. As he tells our Glenda Tjarnberg, hes had to redouble his own professional creativity to teach creative arts to his students. Or think about people who long to be on ocean cruises or exploring exotic places this travel season, but are stuck at home during this global pandemic. Christine Conklin reports that theyve had to turn up the creativity, too which for some means taking virtual trips and seeing the sights from their computer screens.
The creative challenges have been just as great for the artists who look forward to annual events like the Downtown Yakima Chalk Art Festival. Molly Allens story offers some colorful memories of past festivals and addresses when artists might return to the citys sidewalks.
If theres a lesson here, its that nothing seems to crush creativity for long. Despite our current situation, art adorns most of what youll read about in this issue. From the handsome designs of Timberloom that Shannon Mahre describes, to the sweeping beauty and captivating paintings of Robert and Lisa Vickers home, which Melissa Labberton tours in this months Yakima Abodes feature, the Yakima Valleys artistry is flourishing.
See? Arts as vibrant and vital as ever, and it can take you a lot of places. Lets go see some of them
- John Taylor
The rest is here:
In Honor of August and Art - Yakima Herald-Republic
- At the Library: Come join Worldwide Knit in Public Day on Saturday in Wilcox Park - The Westerly Sun - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Detonation; Enthusiastic Racing - TruckTrend Network - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Rouhani should play chess where Trump is playing the fool - Trend News Agency - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Carlsen-Nakamura Norway Clash Ends In Draw - Chess.com - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Literature, Films on Chess Captivates Enthusiasts - High on Sports (blog) - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Ditmas Park's City Council Candidates Debate Major Issues - BKLYNER - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- The Fourth Industrial Revolution Is About Empowering People, Not The Rise Of The Machines - Forbes - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- ET Recommendations: Get Google Daydream View for Rs 6499 - Economic Times - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Worry about people, not jobs: Garry Kasparov - Economic Times - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Keeping Our Human Edge In A Machine-Dominated World - Forbes Middle East - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- Free Chess Engine recommendation? - Chess Forums - Chess.com - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- How Gotham Gave Us Trump - Politico - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Aart Bik's Website - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Garry Kasparov Returns, Briefly, to Chess - The New Yorker - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- [App Fridays] Half Chess, a T-20 version of chess, wants to hook millennials with new pieces and fast gameplay - YourStory.com - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Chess Engines list @wiki - Computer-Chess Wiki - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Chess Engines Chess Tech - February 28th, 2018 [February 28th, 2018]
- Chess Engines list @wiki - Computer Chess Wiki - March 13th, 2018 [March 13th, 2018]
- computer_chess:engines:myrddin:index - Computer Chess Wiki - June 7th, 2018 [June 7th, 2018]
- computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list - Computer ... - December 28th, 2018 [December 28th, 2018]
- Download free chess engines - Komodo 10, Houdini - March 20th, 2019 [March 20th, 2019]
- Top 10 strongest chess engines - Chesstutor | Learn how to ... - March 27th, 2019 [March 27th, 2019]
- Chess - Wikipedia - March 27th, 2019 [March 27th, 2019]
- Computer chess - Wikipedia - April 3rd, 2019 [April 3rd, 2019]
- Universal Chess Interface - Wikipedia - May 13th, 2019 [May 13th, 2019]
- Geek of the Week: If there's roadwork ahead, Kurt Stiles uses 3D modeling and more to drive project - GeekWire - November 20th, 2019 [November 20th, 2019]
- Alexander Grischuk wins the third leg of the Grand Prix in Hamburg - Chessbase News - November 20th, 2019 [November 20th, 2019]
- Hamburg Grand Prix Final Goes To Tiebreak - Chess.com - November 20th, 2019 [November 20th, 2019]
- Garry Kasparov on chess, tech, Trump and Putin - Chessbase News - November 20th, 2019 [November 20th, 2019]
- Top FritzTrainers of the year - Chessbase News - December 28th, 2019 [December 28th, 2019]
- Christmas puzzle: What were the previous moves? - Chessbase News - December 28th, 2019 [December 28th, 2019]
- Koneru Humpy: Back to the forefront - Deccan Herald - January 5th, 2020 [January 5th, 2020]
- The 7 Best Chess Moments Of 2019 - Chess.com - January 5th, 2020 [January 5th, 2020]
- 6 best software to analyze chess games in 2020 - WindowsReport.com - April 27th, 2020 [April 27th, 2020]
- Chess greats face off online, webcams, arbiters to watch moves - The Indian Express - April 27th, 2020 [April 27th, 2020]
- "Chess makes me happy": An interview with Boris Gelfand - Chessbase News - April 27th, 2020 [April 27th, 2020]
- China pips US in world chess at a time their ties are at a nadir - Economic Times - May 15th, 2020 [May 15th, 2020]
- With new rules and a new normal, NASCAR set to return this weekend - ESPN - May 15th, 2020 [May 15th, 2020]
- It is easier to succeed if you have failed 55 quotes from Indian startup journeys - YourStory - May 19th, 2020 [May 19th, 2020]
- Kerbal Space Program Gets A New Update With Real Space Missions - Bleeding Cool News - May 19th, 2020 [May 19th, 2020]
- Self-Supervised Learning The Third-Wave in Cybersecurity AI - Security Boulevard - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Artificial Intelligence: The Promises of An Avatar in 2020 - Universal News - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- When The Facts Change, We Change Our Minds (Anatomy Of A Sale) - Seeking Alpha - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Here's Why NASCAR Racing Is Harder Than Everyone Thinks | HotCars - HotCars - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- An (Infinite) Game Theory strategy for India to be a global power - The Sunday Guardian - July 15th, 2020 [July 15th, 2020]
- Personal Insights: From Kinsale to Iran and the human kindness I will never forget - Irish Examiner - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Exploring 10 Hindi films based on books - The Indian Express - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Are You Ready For The Future Of Chess? - Chess.com - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Welcome to the Status Quo of the Streaming Wars - The Ringer - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- The Cockroach's Carapace (and other opening disasters) - Chessbase News - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Sports Snippets - The Shillong Times - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- These are the best Chess games you can play on Android phone - The Indian Express - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Macomb Center for the Performing Arts to host drive-in concert - C&G Newspapers - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- Letter to out-of-school youth of blended learning - Philstar.com - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- Who Are The 8 Best U.S. Chess Players Ever? - Chess.com - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- 35 ways to keep your kids entertained and stimulated while learning remotely - New York Post - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- 2021 Genesis GV80 Preview: Hands On With the New Luxury SUV - AutoGuide.com - August 20th, 2020 [August 20th, 2020]
- We Can Sue, Too: An Interview with Brooke Goldstein, Founder of The Lawfare Project - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 20th, 2020 [August 20th, 2020]
- FIDE declares India and Russia joint winners of the Online Olympiad - Chessbase News - September 5th, 2020 [September 5th, 2020]
- Development in a cube. 20 new digital education centers opened in the country - Pledge Times - September 5th, 2020 [September 5th, 2020]
- Space Crew Will Officially Launch On October 15th - Bleeding Cool News - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Winning with the King's Indian and our summer special! - Chessbase News - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Google searches help infectious disease experts track the spread of coronavirus - My London - October 19th, 2020 [October 19th, 2020]
- COVID-19 Is Driving The Uptake Of Chess -- And Of Surveillance Tools To Stop Online Players Cheating - Techdirt - October 19th, 2020 [October 19th, 2020]
- Chess's cheating crisis: 'paranoia has become the culture' - The Guardian - October 19th, 2020 [October 19th, 2020]
- When 3 is greater than 5 - Chessbase News - October 19th, 2020 [October 19th, 2020]
- Fat Fritz 2.0 - The new number 1 - Chessbase News - February 15th, 2021 [February 15th, 2021]
- Fat Fritz 2: The Best of Both Worlds - Chessbase News - February 15th, 2021 [February 15th, 2021]
- The 25th anniversary of Deep Blue beating Garry Kasparov in a chess game. - Slate - February 15th, 2021 [February 15th, 2021]
- Gravwell 2nd Edition Will Be Coming Out Later This Year - Bleeding Cool News - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Five Issues Washington Should Consider In Reviewing A Lockheed-Aerojet Merger - Forbes - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- A hearty chess gesture from the Czech Republic to the Indian state of Kerala - Chessbase News - July 12th, 2021 [July 12th, 2021]
- Who is the greatest of all time? - Stabroek News - July 12th, 2021 [July 12th, 2021]
- The DeanBeat: The week in the console and game engine wars - VentureBeat - July 12th, 2021 [July 12th, 2021]
- The 10 Greatest Blitz Chess Games Of All Time - Chess.com - December 27th, 2021 [December 27th, 2021]
- 10 Strongest Free Chess Engines [all above 3000 ELO] at ... - December 27th, 2021 [December 27th, 2021]
- Top 10 Strongest Chess Engines In 2021 - Hercules Chess - December 27th, 2021 [December 27th, 2021]
- 18 Best Chess Engines of 2021 | Based On Their Ratings ... - December 27th, 2021 [December 27th, 2021]
- Tilting Point partners with Polygon on Web3 games - VentureBeat - May 12th, 2022 [May 12th, 2022]
- Free UCI-Compatible Chess Programs for the Stockfish Engine - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]