Update in the world of Bridge, the Hermit Kingdom, and Ziggy

Ordinarily Bobby Wolff goes in for a sort of Bridge Beat poetry, but here I think it’s more along the line of hard-boiled noir, tapping the spirit of Mickey Spillane.

It was easy for the South American declarer, Gonzalo Goded, who played the hand as North on a club lead and won to play on trumps, to take a painless 11 tricks.

In the other room it was South who declared the hand after a Stayman auction. When Diego Brenner led the heart queen, declarer took it in hand and finessed in spades. East won cheaply and played back a low heart. Declarer rose with the heart king to avoid any accidents … oops. West ruffed, and back came a club. Declarer appeared to be out of danger, but appearances can be deceptive. […]
This was one of the unluckier pieces of declarer play we’ve seen in a while. But note that if declarer had simply unblocked diamonds at trick two, he might have succeeded, even though that would then have required him to play trumps from dummy. But maybe that is the correct line. It is easy to be wise after the event!

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From the Korean Central News Agency of DPRK comes word that…

The Korean people, who have achieved only victory and glory with the great tradition of the revolutionary upsurge, will create a new history of upsurge in the 21st century by giving full play to their infinite spiritual power and the superiority of the socialist self-reliant economy, under the militant slogan “Make the fullest development of Songun Korea by inheriting the great tradition of revolutionary upswing!”
My Imperialist American mind can not quite comprehend the glorys of the Hermit Kingdom, though it appears 2009 will be quite a year.:

On receiving the news that General Secretary Kim Jong Il kindled the torch of a new revolutionary upsurge in Kangson on December 24 last year, they are filled with firm conviction and enthusiasm to make a historic leap in all fields of the revolution and construction this year.

President Kim Il Sung, who called on the workers of Kangson in the crucial postwar period, earnestly appealed to them to bridge over the difficulties of the revolution, saying that he believed in them and they trusted him, and thus brought about a great Chollima upsurge.

The DPRK, racing at the speed of Chollima from the historic time, has turned into a powerful country, independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in defence, and adorned the heyday of socialism with proud achievements.
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And finally, today’s Ziggy is a real pick me up:

Naturally the woman behind the counter appears to be having great jollies at mocking Ziggy.  But, as the appeal goes… Poor Ziggy. He’s perpetually one step behind, one nickel short, one lane away from the fast lane. But we love him for it, because everyone feels like Ziggy now and then.

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