A Bit About Me

Hi there, I'm Chris from Lebanon. I live in Tampa, Florida. I’m a Product Designer, and my passion is woodworking. In my spare time, I learn and play chess.

You can check out my woodworking store here: WoodandWandCo

My @WoodandWandCo Instagram account.

WoodandWandCo on Etsy

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Twitch Stream

I occasionally do tactics streams on twitch.tv, where we solve chess tactics rated 1700-2500, so if you would like to join in solving, do follow:

twitch.tv/rolloorollo/

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Live Challenges

I'm always open to live challenges and prefer 3min blitz or 1min bullet without increment. 3min 960 is my favorite variant, so if you'd like to boggle your mind with some interesting tactical positions, a 960 challenge is welcome.

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Daily Challenges

I am not playing daily games at this time and prefer to mostly queue 3|0 in the pool.

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Join the Club

It's a young club but I have big hopes for it Feel free to follow:

chess.com/club/rolloorollo-stream-club/

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Currently Reading

G. I. Gurdjieff - Beezlebub's Tales to his Grandson

An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man (Book 3 of 3)

This series of books, written by philosopher G. I. Gurdjieff, is intended to reshape the reader's understanding of reality in such a way that their thoughts, actions, and feelings align within themselves for the purpose of leading a clear and deliberate life. In the author's own words:

The first book intends to destroy, mercilessly and without any compromise whatever, in the mentation and feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, by centuries rooted in him, about everything existing in the world. The second book intends to acquaint the reader with the material required for a new creation and to prove the soundness and good quality of it. The third book intends to assist the arising, in the mentation and in the feelings of the reader, of a veritable, nonfantastic representation not of that illusory world which he now perceives, but of the world existing in reality.

A fascinating piece of philosophical work, "Beezlebub's Tales to his Grandson" will often challenge the reader to reconsider their preconceptions about reality. Throughout, the work borders on the uncomfortable, provoking the reader to reconsider what they thought were once basic "truths" and recognize them as immaterial.

Borrowing from his encounters with the works of those he considered enlightened beings, Gurdjieff fashions an intricate narrative, oftentimes elusive, with the intended purpose of "making the reader work hard to obtain the information", a process he himself would call the "de-crystalization" of that fleeting, recessed part of the brain that we have come to call the unconscious. It was Gurdjieff's belief that one could only find one's own way towards a harmonious existence by the rigorous practice of the alignment of one's own 3 centers, namely mind, body, and emotion.

Having reached book 3, I must say that Gurdjieff (1877-1949) was an exceptionally intelligent and clear individual and not at all a victim of the times. Having witnessed both World Wars I and II, and having been deeply educated in both Eastern and Western History, Mythology, and Theology, Gurdjieff saw in himself as an objective impartial observer, capable of delivering a harsh criticism of the Life of Man.

Gurdjieff spent most of his life collecting information about the human race and studied intensely the arising of what he considered abnormal-being existence, otherwise known as human civilization and its disturbing manifestations (feudal states, theocracies, monarchies, kingdoms, empires, communist regimes, capitalist states, etc.). He mindfully connected the data he collected in such a way that it would bring coherence in the reader, a sense of inner synchronicity, and reconciliation of mind, emotion, and body with the internal, and by extension, the external world. Ultimately, his intention was to reunite humanity with the parts of themselves they had lost along the way through the natural processes of evolution and involution. It was Gurdjieff's belief, that if one did not strive to achieve centeredness by active mentation and acts of temporary isolation from society, physical exercise, and mediation, one would not be in harmony with one's environment. In this way, Gurdjieff believed one could begin to live in the moment, to be present now, and to think, feel, and act with objective conscience.

“…We are the prodigal sons. We are the pride of the planetary parent because we are the omni-adaptable catalytic species that, if able to carry out the program, which consciousness endows us with the power to impart, will be able to carry the biosphere of this planet throughout the stellar system, in which the solar system is embedded. Life has this atemporal sense of itself. The reason it tolerates the risk we represent is that it is gambling on the hope that we represent, and the way to get aligned with that and in resonance with it is to clear the noise from the circuitry of communication. The way you clear the noise from the circuitry of communication is by backing out of the garbage of profane culture, reductionism, linearity, all of these things, and abandoning the fall into history, and returning to the garden. If we each do it, it will be fait accompli for the collectivity. If we all sit around waiting for it to come in the form of benevolent extraterrestrials or a religious conversion on the part of Raegan and Gorbachov, we will all go to hell in a handbasket together…” - Terrance McKenna, 1987 (link to lecture)

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