Ramanujan Redux

Really, this again?

WuChess, a partnership between Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and ChessPark, a social network around online chess playing, launches today. It’s the “world’s first online chess and hip hop community” and will also include exclusive videos and mp3 of the “hottest cats in hip hop.”

See a tour of the service here. That’s as far as most of you’ll get on WuChess, because, incredibly, they’re charging $48/year to join. ChessPark, by contrast, at least has a free version (but no videos or mp3s, sadly). The company promises to donate “a portion of the profits” to the Hip Hop Chess Federation.

Awesome. Hip hop, chess and $48 per year - definite winner.

I wouldn’t pay $50 to talk to most celebrities, much less match wits with RZA. Only Charles Barkley makes the cut right now.

The Internet is free for a reason–it’s to make us more open to each other, not to allow the richer and the privileged among us insider access. It’s to bring us on the same level, not place celebrities on a pedestal. Yardbarker allows athletes the opportunity to connect with their fans. Why can’t celebrities acknowledge that they’re human too?