Nova Daily - 26 April 2025

Hi!

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

- Epictetus

In the world of Legally Blonde, a woman by the name of Brooke Taylor Windham has been arrested for the alleged murder of her husband. The victim, Mr. Windham, was a wealthy older man, whereas Brooke is rather much younger. Although it seems a clear case of rich man/trophy wife, she is a successful entrepreneur in her own right.

Brooke hires the lawfirm of Harvard professor Callahan to defend her. As one of the State's top lawfirms, Callahan decides to accept first-years as interns. One of them is Elle Woods, the protagonist of the two Legally Blonde movies. Elle recognises Brooke as her role model and former member of her Delta Nu sorority.

Elle Woods has a forte for everything that has to do with fashion. This is already blatantly obvious from the movie poster, with which I won't bother to hurt your eyes. When she visits Brooke in prison, she holds up a Cosmopolitan magazine and refers to it as "the Bible."

In court, when Mr. Windham's pool boy is questioned to provide his story on the matter, Elle recognises an inconsistency in his story. Although frowned upon at first, Callahan's direct assistant Emmett decides to go with it and verify her suspicions. Elle's intuition turns out to be correct, and the story that was to provide extra evidence to implicate Brooke falls apart.

By following her intuition, she deeply impresses Callahan. After the court day he asks her to come down to his office. He talks very positively to her and gives her a very rare compliment. He then sits down next to her and advances on her. Repulsed and horrified, Elle immediately takes the most direct route out of the building. She feels dirty, used, and thinks everyone only sees her as a joke. Her confidence is shattered. Emmett catches her in the lobby, but even he is unable to persuade her to stay.

3. Failure is always an option.
However, failing to give it your all is not.

Every good contains a breaking point at which the protagonist is really in two minds whether to continue or to abandon the effort. Elle's situation is grim: she has made an enemy of her professor, who is a powerful man with a lot of influence in the legal system. Elle's friend and role model Brooke is on trial for murder, and even though Elle knows that her friend is innocent, she can do nothing for her.

For the rest, I'll leave you to watch this movie on your own. Though I understand perfectly well if you prefer not to watch this flick.

Success is not guaranteed. Ever.

- Iain Abernethy

You can end a path abruptly by considering your loss the final statement. George, about whom I've talked in the two previous blogs, resigned himself to seeing that loss at the chess-tournament all those years ago as his final destination when it comes to chess. He never tried again.

As it reads in The 50th Law, "At such a point we either give in to our frustration and give up the process, or we proceed, intuiting the power that lies just around the corner."

There is a quote from Michael Jordan that I've heard in Iain Abernethy's podcast and used ever since. It boils down to "The people who never fail have never tried," but this is a good example in and of itself:

Things can go wrong, and they often do. It is important to realise that this is part of the journey. Don't relish in your losses, however: most of the process of mastery is to reduce the possibility of failing. To grossly oversimplify the matter: if there is one thing that separates the champions from the rest, it is their refusal to give up. They get back on their feet, learn from the experiences, and try again.

If you ever face hardships and difficulties in your life and need some kind words, just read all the quotes on this page.

The game

In preparation I did about an hour of puzzles today. I finished the "Easy puzzles" from the Woodpecker method, and I did make a fair few mistakes. Serves me well: guesswork isn't something that I should be doing.

In style of the text I knew I was going to write today, I lost my game. It's almost as if I lost on purpose, which is not the case. I didn't play well, and I messed up a decent opening advantage, but it's useful to have these games as well. Even though they're painful.

I'll proceed to add my thoughts and analyse this game tomorrow. I must say, though, that parts of it felt fishy at times, but this might also have to do with the fact that I've read a blog on bots earlier today.