Scrabble Championship

Congratulations to one Mr. Nigel Richards, who recently won th 2010 National Scrabble Championship. You can read the CNN article about it here. Mr. Richards beat out 400+ challengers from 40 states and 4 countries, using words such as "zarf"; a picture of which is shown at the bottom of this post. . A long time ago, I played in the Phoenix City Scrabble Championship. That's not as impressive as it sounds. Anyone could enter (for a fee), and ISTR that prizes were minimal. It was a 4-round affair, and I finished 2-2. There were about 30-40 entrants, and your score was what counted, not your won-loss record. Belatedly, I realized that this means a defensive strategy is a losing strategy, for both you and your opponent. .

The other thing I remember from that city championship was that sweet little old grandmotherly ladies are tigers when it comes to Scrabble. Which is not to say they are poor sports. It's just that, when you're retired, you can spend all day playing Scrabble with your fellow retirees.

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In conclusion - above, you have a "zarf" - a handle-less chalice-like cup used in the Middle East for holding a hot cup of coffee. Above that, is a Scrabble board. If you see Abraham Lincoln in that pic, you probably did drugs at some point in your past.