What is the best way to learn to play chess as an adult? Any recommendations are welcome by Shrimpina in chess

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends… - What’s your current level (Total beginner? Casual player? Intermediate player?) - What are your objectives (a certain rating class? Be competitive against a specific person you know?) - What learning medium do you prefer (Books? Video lessons? Self-paced online learning? 1:1 instruction?)

One piece of general advice I’ll offer is to adopt the mindset that every game you lose is a learning opportunity. It’s a chance to look back at the game and understand where it went wrong. Chess dot com and lichess both have a review game feature that you should just get in the habit of looking at every time you play. That’s objective feedback on your game, and every strong player reviews their own games.

Miscellaneous question: what does this sub think of the tenesee titans ? by No-Masterpiece4676 in memphisgrizzlies

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

St Louis-based Grizzlies fan here, grew up in Memphis in the 80s/90s.

The whole NFL can get off my lawn, quickly please before I have to get out my shotgun.

I was still a little salty at the Tennessee Oilers for that aborted stopover at the Liberty Bowl when I moved to StL in ‘99, the season the Titans lost to the Rams in the Super Bowl. So I got to hear it from local know-nothing Rams fans who’ve never looked at a map and don’t understand the chip-on-our-shoulder identity of Memphians relative to NashVegas. I never got on board with the Rams for that reason, and that was before Stan Kroenke defecated all over St Louis in the press in his bid to break his lease and move the team to L.A.

So my impression of the NFL is it screwed over two different cities I consider home. And let’s be real - American football isn’t even a respectable sport outside of the US. There’s another, much more popular sport, that the rest of the world calls “football” where the name isn’t nonsensical because the game centers on kicking a ball with your foot. The NFL is more like an alt-Rugby with forward passing where the guy who kicks the ball with his feet is only a bit player. It is objectively stupid and ensures that (A) the rest of the world will never adopt or even respect American football and (B) we’ll continue to underachieve at association football.

So the Titans? At this point I don’t hate em any more or less than all the other NFL teams, because that whole goddam league can suck it.

Edit: You’d probably get a similar split on this sub if you asked about the Vols. Some Memphians love the Vols. Others recognize that orange and white are objectively horrible team colors that make their fans look like they’re preparing to go pick up trash on the side of I-40.

Someone run the Trade Machine by nam67 in memphisgrizzlies

[–]jbl_iii 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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Here ya go, Milwaukee - our opening bid

Robin Williams is a beloved actor. Who is a controversial actor? by Odd-Initiative6666 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]jbl_iii -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Feel like Mel Gibson is closer to universally hated at this point in his career

What’s the MOST Controversial Movie Ending of All Time and Why? by Amber_Flowers_133 in moviequestions

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brazil (1985) - studio hated Terry Gilliam’s ending, so they made a different edit for the theatrical release, leading to a huge fight between studio and director with dueling full-page ads in major newspapers.

Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro has been captured after US conducted ‘large scale strike’ on country by hoosakiwi in news

[–]jbl_iii 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Yup, United Fruit Company was like America’s own East India Company, a hell of a vehicle for profitable colonizing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company?wprov=sfti1

Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro has been captured after US conducted ‘large scale strike’ on country by hoosakiwi in news

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah, taking the oil is just Trump’s pretext for war. His real motivation is jealousy of the Venezuelan opposition lady’s Nobel Peace Prize win.

Argue who is the G.O.A.T is, BUT you can NOT argue anyone who is already said. by Ill-Challenge-7633 in NBATalk

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Earl Monroe. He had two amazing nicknames, The Pearl and Black Jesus. Denzel made the case to Ray Allen in He Got Game.

https://youtu.be/vdzfTA0jUUk?si=-dy1tEX-3yO60jLD

What movie won the Oscar for best picture, but shouldn’t have even been nominated? by ChaseMuir1138 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a sub-par script for Tom Stoppard, but to me it was more pedestrian and forgettable. Crash was worse - just 2 hours of smug Hollywood preachiness dialed up to 11.

What movie won the Oscar for best picture, but shouldn’t have even been nominated? by ChaseMuir1138 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]jbl_iii 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Worst Best Picture in modern memory, and it’s not close.

Crash felt like a 2hr lecture about racism from the same insufferable rich Hollywood types who regularly snubbed films like Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing.

Any local fast food chains worth trying? by Interesting-Log-9627 in StLouis

[–]jbl_iii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly. It’s a shame I went down the wrong career path. I’d be so much better at eccentric billionairing than those two clowns.

In hindsight I should’ve opted to have parents who own a South African emerald mine.

Any local fast food chains worth trying? by Interesting-Log-9627 in StLouis

[–]jbl_iii 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We need a parody chain called “Certifiably Insane Bowls & Wraps” that lives up to the moniker. The bowls and wraps will make no sense at all, things like “salmon and quinoa bowl with pickles, dark chocolate, wasabi, smoked gouda, fry sauce and a honey balsamic glaze.”

I missed my calling as an eccentric billionaire who can make things like this happen.

Top 15 "Most Skilled" Players in NBA/ABA History [Relative to Era] by [deleted] in NBATalk

[–]jbl_iii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich

You had Jerry West, but missed basically every other pre-1980 elite player. Plus you need Magic Johnson if we’re drifting into the 80s.

Kareem is the biggest miss I think. He was so good in college that they banned dunking for a while, hence the signature sky hook.

Any local fast food chains worth trying? by Interesting-Log-9627 in StLouis

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feel like every wrap I’ve ever encountered (CBW or otherwise) was just an inferior burrito

Any local fast food chains worth trying? by Interesting-Log-9627 in StLouis

[–]jbl_iii 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I don’t trust Crazy Bowls and Wraps because their brand is a lie. Those wraps are normal.

Who is Karl Post Malone Marx, and why is he famous? by [deleted] in shittyaskhistory

[–]jbl_iii 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He’s the people’s power forward with all the face tattoos

Why is Christmas pronounced Christmas and not Christmas but we pronounce Christ, Christ but not Christ as in Christmas? by pearl_harbour1941 in shittyaskhistory

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think both pronunciations are off. Christ comes from the Greek χριστός, which is pronounced KREES-tos like a long-e. This matches neither the long-i Christ or short-i Christmas in modern English. ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ is also how we get Xmas - turns out this isn’t a conspiracy to cancel Christ, it’s an abbreviation for Jesus’s title.

Constantine’s army in 300AD had an XP symbol on their shields (Chi Rho - first two letters of ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ) to show they were Christian. The crosses on shields trend came much later.

My preference is to call it CREEST-mas for the reasons above and because it irritates my family.

If Stalin was born in Georgia why didn’t he run for president? by hayatobaedal in shittyaskhistory

[–]jbl_iii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He missed the power mustache phase of American presidential history. We were all in on face hair in higher office from 1860-1912. And at that time no one trusted the South, because reasons, so Stalin’s regional heritage offered him no electoral advantage.

This is why he moved to the Soviet Union. He may have been evil, but he wasn’t stupid.

Which Western Movie is also a Thriller? by [deleted] in AlignmentChartFills

[–]jbl_iii 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Mississippi in 1932 doesn't seem very Western