In the Darkening of the Year

So i'm sitting here in my living room, in front of the toasty woodstove, listening to a pair of owls call to each other outside my window. They're not far away, maybe 100 yards or so, but I can't see them because it's dark outside, and they are, after all, owls. I believe that these are a pair of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus), but it's early in the year for them to be courting. Typical courtship behavior starts in January, and we haven't had much winter to speak of yet. Still, it's incredible to sit here in my living room and hear these owls as they go about their business. I've always had a deep connection with owls, so it makes me somehow content to hear them as they call to each other in the growing darkness.

I finished with my semester today. I'm glad of that. This semester was my hardest yet, and i got very discouraged... I desperately need the break.

Today Has Songs!

And not Thanksgiving songs, either.... though I do have to say that it's incredibly weird to have not watched the parade on TV at all.... Usually i manage to catch a few minutes of it. *sigh* Stupid "being an adult" and stuff.

Anyway -- SONGS!

You And Me -- Lifehouse

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
and me and all other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive




Collide

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide

You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide

- Howie Day

Today Has Songs!

A Murder Of One

Blue morning, Blue morning 
Wrapped in strands of fist and bone
Curiosity, Kitten,
Doesn't have to mean you're on your own

You can look outside your window
He doesn't have to know
We can talk awhile, baby
We can take it nice and slow

All your life is such a shame, shame, shame
All your love is just a dream, dream, dream

Are you happy when you're sleeping?
Does he keep you safe and warm?
Does he tell you when you're sorry?
Does he tell you when you're wrong?

I've been watching you for hours
It's been years since we were born
We were perfect when we started
I've been wondering where we've gone

All your life is such a shame
All your love is just a dream

I dreamt I saw you walking 
up a hillside in the snow
Casting shadows on the winter sky 
as you stood there
counting crows

One for sorrow 
Two for joy
Three for girls and four for boys
Five for silver 
Six for gold and
Seven for a secret never to be told

There's a bird that nests inside you
Sleeping underneath your skin
When you open up your wings to speak
I wish you'd let me in

All your life is such a shame
All your love is just a dream
Open up your eyes
You can see the flames 

of your wasted life
You should be ashamed

You don't want to waste your life

I walk along these hillsides In the summer 'neath the sunshine
I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me

Change, change, change

     -Adam Duritz

Please Forgive Me

Please forgive me
If I act a little strange
For I know not what I do.
Feels like lightning running through my veins
Everytime I look at you
Everytime I look at you

Help me out here
All my words are falling short
And there's so much I want to say
Want to tell you just how good it feels
When you look at me that way
When you look at me that way

Throw a stone and watch the ripples flow
Moving out across the bay
Like a stone I fall into your eyes
Deep into some mystery
Deep into that mystery

I got half a mind to scream out loud
I got half a mind to die
So I wont ever have to lose you girl
Wont ever have to say goodbye
I wont ever have to lie
Wont ever have to say goodbye

Yeah na na na na
Yeah na na na na

Please forgive me
If I act alittle strange
For I know not what I do
Its like my head is filled with lightning girl
Everytime I look at you
Everytime I look at you
Everytime I look at you
Everytime I look at you

Send "Please Forgive Me" Ringtone to Cell Phone

      -David Gray

Today has a very important song....

Everything

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
-Lifehouse

I love you, my girl. Thank you for being you.

Today Has Songs!

"Unspoken" -- Lacuna Coil

And it doesn't matter
how you feel now, anything at all
Seems to be your only way, so vicious
Heavenly apart

When your envy is on a piece of paper
Let me sweetly smile
You're devouring all the crumbs
I'm living caught up in your lies

You're on any other side

Clawing up my eyes
I'm feeling your arms around me
On the other side
It's time to go
I'm hearing your voice
without words
On the other side

But it doesn't matter
how I feel now, anything at all
Since I've left you with the wrong
impression while I'm still the same

When I turn around and look
at my life, shadows in disguise
but I'm working on
an interruption of hypocrisy

You're an any other side

Clawing up my eyes
I'm feeling your arms around me
On the other side, it's time to go
I'm hearing your voice without words
On the other side

Clawing up my eyes
I'm feeling your arms around me
On the other side, it's time to go
I'm hearing your voice without words
On the other side

Any other side
(Any other side)
Any other side
(Any other side)
Any other side
(Any other side)
Any other side
(Any other side)
Any other side
(Any other side)
Any other side

"Never Gonna Come Back Down" - BT (with M.Doughtry from Soul Coughing)

Im just gonna shout this one, Im just uhh, gonna gonna gonna gonna say this
To the people, not so much the people in the audience as the people sitting in
My mind,

Duh dub duh duh dububububububububbbbbb

Donde esta los digits du dj rap?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bring the sound to the people in a white truck bumpin on the road bumps
Run into a tree stump
Tweeter out the back door
Slam into the dirt lot, stopped
With the cable runnin out the backside
Disconnected

And if you had a chance-ah
You wouldnt even stop denying,
Go talk to anna hand.
Go start the multiplyin

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Red

Green is like a boom to the whats dis non.
Diddy on dawn to the don don diggy dawn.
(repeat)

Chorus
Doubtll be the fire of your delight, but youre never gonna come back down
A halve
The pop song on the five, but youre never gonna come back down
To grab
The t-shirt off the line, but youre never gonna come back down
I think shes murderously sly, but youre never gonna come back down
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back down,

We are here to save the erf uhhh. e-r-f uh..

Todd berry todd berry Im gonna pay you on a chorley rate, pay you on a chorley
Rate, rate, rate, rate, rate...

Oh when I woke up and got on the bmt
I saw the boom shudap and thats fresh to me ..
And they were scrawling on the window with wise-ass keys,
And they were driving out the lots in their mercurys.

Green is like a boom to the whats dis non.
Diddy on dawn to the don don diggy dawn.
(repeat)

If you had a chance-ah
You wouldnt even stop denying
Go talk to anna hand,
Go start the multiplyin

Chorus
Doubtll be the fire of your delight, but youre never gonna come back down
A halve
The pop song on the five, but youre never gonna come back down
To grab
The t-shirt off the line, but youre never gonna come back down
I think shes murderously sly, but youre never gonna come back dowwwwwwwwn
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back down,
But youre never gonna come back dowwwnnn,..,

Hes the doom slinger, the dope beat stinger, sucka djs they get stopped by a
Single finger....

Huh!

Hes gonna bubble it up now,

He likes to bubble it up, he likes to bubble it up, he likes to bubble it up,
He likes to bubble it up,

Mr. bt, mr. bt, mr. bt, mr. bt,

Please bring it up, bring it up, bring it up, bring it up,

Could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up just a little more than that?
Could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up just..could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up?
Could you bring it up?

Say hallelujah peoples, say hallelujah oh yes!
Yes, yes in the name, the name of, in the naaaaame,
In the name,
And it was in my belly bitter,
But in my mouth-ah, it was-ah sweeter.

Chorus
Doubtll be the fire of your delight, but youre never gonna come back down
A halve
The pop song on the five, but youre never gonna come back down
To grab
The t-shirt off the line, but youre never gonna come back down
I think shes murderously sly, but youre never gonna come back dowwwwwwwwwwn

You understand?

You know what Im saying?

Rght on to the people up front,
Right to the people in the back,
Right on to the bartender,
Right on to the waitresses,
Right on to the dj,
Right on,
Right on to the lady with the beer over there in the pink skirt,
Right on to all them mmmmmm english girls named charisse...
Fucking blonde english girls with ghetto names you know what Im saying?
I love that shit.

And the seven udders uttered,
The seven unders thundered,
The seven thunders uttered,
The seven utters thuddered, thuddered, thuddered, under, thuddered under
The seven thunders uttered.

Charisse-ah.

Bt: fucking excellent man.
Doughty: thats what I do for a living..

All that is Wrong with American Universities...

Today Has Songs!

Now and Always -- David Gray

You’re in my mind baby
Now and always
You’re in my mind baby
Now and always

The road I'm walking
Might fall away
You’re in my mind baby
Now and always

A bonfire smoking
Into a low sky
The sparks they fly up
Into a low sky

Would that these demons
Would let me rest
They’re with me lord
Till the day that I die

Feast my eyes on sacred lies

Ill wind that blows
From all directions
Ill wind that blows in
From all directions

Hey easy boy giving it all away
And nothing left
For your own protection

You’re in my mind baby
Now and always
You’re in my mind baby
Now and always

The ground I'm walking
Might fall away
You’re in my mind baby
Now and always

Feast my eyes on sacred lies

The swans are ghosts
On the jet black water
The swans like ghosts
On the jet black water
Hey little baby
I’ll hold you close
We'll glide like ghosts
On the starry water

Tthe dogs are running wild
The dogs are running wild
The dogs are running wild
The dogs are running
Dogs are running wild

Into the Night -- Carlos Santana (sung by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback)

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell.
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me,
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sang,
Singing...Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
(Ay oh ay oh) And we danced on into the night,

Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces,
She was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,
No room left to move between you and I,
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
We`re singing..Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night, (Ay oh ay oh)
And we danced on into the night, (Ay oh ay oh)
And we danced on into the night,

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell,
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
And the devil himself could be pulled out of me,
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
We`re singing...Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh ay, (Ay oh ay oh)
And we danced on into the night,
(And the voices bang like the angels sing),
Ay oh ay oh, Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay, (Ay oh ay oh),
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay, (Ay oh ay oh),
Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay, (Ay oh ay oh),
And we danced on into the night..

*Squee*

This is the first good update i've had all semester....

I've been doing my research, making baby fishies turn into horrid monsters (well not really), and at least attempting to get about 90% of my study done before Major National Conference in Large Southern City in November. It actually looks like i should be done in time, which is wonderful...but i feel SO vindicated, because i've been trying to describe the organ defects that i've been seeing to my mentor for like, 3 months, and today he finally actually looked at them and could see exactly what i was talking about. Which makes me feel amazing, because he said he'd never seen anything like it before.

So now the challenge is going to be getting images of the defects to put on my conference poster. I've got some plans for that. =)

In other news, i've been terribly conflicted the last few days. We've been doing early registration, and I assumed that i registered with the juniors, on the 27th, but i checked sunday night, and it said that i could register monday, with the SENIORS. Should be a great thing, right? And it is.... for the most part. But it's also really dang scary, because it means i have to get my shit together and get ready for grad school. Everyone says that i'm ready, and some days i FEEL ready, but other days i'm just like "what am i DOING?!" So it's good. But it's also scary. But good. But SCARY...

*bites nails*

The Economy, Grad Student Style

How to tell if you should be worried about the economy, PhD Style....

Space on a Log Scale

So, i thought that this was really funny. For those of you who DON'T read XKCD, you should. :)

Pet Peeve

People, please. If you are going to post on forums, blogs, ads, etc. LEARN TO SPELL and USE GRAMMAR EFFECTIVELY

Here are some common things that you might misspell or mispunctuate, or otherwise mangle.

Its congraTulations, not congraDulations. We don't say "Congrads", do we?

To, too, and two are often misused. "to" is used in the sense, "we are going TO somewhere." Too means ALSO, and Two, of course is the number.

It's AD, not ADD. When you ADD something, you are implying that more will be forthcoming. An AD is something you use to sell something. (Ad is a shortened form of "advertisement")

An apostrophe is NOT necessary before every "s". "One's" is an example of this. "One's" implies that whatever is the object (like chocolate, let's say) is possessed by the one, NOT that there are more than one one. (as in "he did his ones beautifully")

Argh.

That is all.

First Two Days Of School

Ah, the new school year... So far, my classes seem to be alright -- I think that I'll really enjoy my Vertibrate Physiology Class, and I know I'll enjoy my Feminist Foundations course. (the reasoning is NOT just because i'm one of the teacher's pet students... I love her, but that's a whole other story.)

Things that are interesting... Well, I got stuck with Kevin (i'm not sure that i've said anything about Kevin prior to now... I'll have to explain the whole sordid (well, it's not THAT sordid) story a bit later.) in my Organic class... *sighs deeply* This means that I will have to fight all semester not to kill his little punk butt. It's not that he's a bad person, he is quite literally the most annoying human being i have ever had the misfortune of knowing.

AND... work in the TWL....or now the T*C*L, since aparantly it was a good idea to change the name when we got our own department, is going to be veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting this semester... I'm glad we have a new manager, he's super cool, but the new tutors...well... frankly they suck, but some of them are trying hard, and those that are are going to be fine. The ones that aren't? Well...hopefully they'll be gone soon.

I'm also taking a class with my lovely wife this semester!!! Yay!!! it's about time she actually got her butt to campus! *wink* I walked her to class today, and i think i stressed her out a lot.... she's never taken a class with me, so she doesn't quite get how i am in school yet. But it will be better by the end of next week, especially once i get into the routine of classes and whatnot. It's a womens' studies course anyway, so it will definitely spark some good conversations at my house, that's for sure!

All in all, i think this will be an Interesting semester if nothing else. I hope i'll have time for more regular updates now that i'm not spending ALL of my time in the lab, and I hope to bring back "your weekly reptile" sometime soon!

Proof by Mathematical Induction that Gary is a Douchebag.

Caution: Total Geek Joke Ahead!

Proof:

Let P(n) be the statement "Gary is a douchebag."
P(n) is true.
Let P(1) be the statement "Gary is a douchebag." = 1
P(1) is true.
Let P(k) be the statement "Gary is a douchebag."
Assume P(k) is true.
P(K+1) is the statement "Gary is a douchebag +1"
P(K+1) is true.
Therefore, P(n) is true for all Natural Numbers n.

Well.... WE thought it was funny...

Bizarre Foods that I Have Eaten Meme

So here's this list of 100 so called "bizarre" foods... The premise is that you bold the ones that you've eaten and strikethrough the ones you would never try under any circumstances. I'm going to italicize the ones I'd try, also. :) Now, being a biologist and possibly HAVING to eat something like this, my choices might be a bit different than some of yours, but maybe you'll be interested to see them!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (does Alligator count? I LOVE Alligator!)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich (I don't really like peanut butter, but I have had it)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (aren't those the BEST hotdogs???)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns (???)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (i might add that i HATE tomatoes...)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (OWWIE!!!!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (Snot in a shell)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (i've had several different cognacs, but no cigars, does this still count?)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (don't put too much vodka in your jello shots -- that's the one thing I stil remember from AP Latin in high school!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (BLECH BLECH BLECH! even chocolate covered ants are blechy!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (Definitely at Worldcon next year)
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads (I don't eat any organ meats...)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian ( I would TRY it, if i had to... but I wouldn't be the first to volunteer)
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (All four, actually)
68. Haggis (see above re: organ meats)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (uhm, GROSS!)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail (well.... snails are still technically mollusks, and I do like most bivalves...)
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (oh HELL no... not in any sense of the word...that's sacrilege!)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Today has a Song

I've been in a David Gray mood today...and this song is really boppy and happy...and then you listen to the words and you're like "woah!, it's sad!"

I like songs like that... they're juxtapositions sortof.

Anyway, more actual content sometime this week/end... I've been insanely busy and crazy lately!

LATELY

That the sky would lift
That I’d find my place
That I’d see your face in the door
And the sun would glint
On a time well spent
On a time that ain’t no more

Takes the broken hearts
In the vacant lots
To see the fruit that rots on the trees
Had to turn my head
Leave it all for dead
But it’s in my mind always

Honey lately I’ve been way down
Load on my mind
Honey lately I’ve been way down
Load on my mind

Someone tell me where did it go
Darling I'm damned if i know
I seen that look in your eye
No one ever gave it a chance
I could have said in advance
You saw it all at a glance
And goodbye
Goodbye

Drag a salted kiss
From this cup of bliss
Watch a new lie twist on the breeze
You can paint it red
Or Leave it all for dead
But it’s in my head always

Honey lately I've been way down
Load on my mind
Honey lately I've been way down
Load on my mind

Someone tell me where did it go
Darling I'm damned if i know
I seen that look in your eye
No one ever gave it a chance
I could have said in advance
You saw it all at a glance
And goodbye

Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye

Now Honey lately
Yeh Honey lately
Honey lately i've been way down
yeh Honey lately i've been way down
yeh Honey lately i've been way down
Honey lately i've been way down
Lately
Lately
Lately

Today Has Quotes :)

In leu of any real content, today I've decided to post some quotes from a recent iTunes playlist... My mind has been very occupied lately, so these may be a bit odd, but bear with me. =)

"Did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"
-Drops of Jupiter, Train

" excuse me, too busy you're writing your tragedy
these mishaps
you bubble wrap
when you've no idea what you're like"
-Let Go, Frou Frou

"And she swears there's nothing wrong
I hear her playing that same old song
She puts me off and puts me on"
-Bad Day, Fuel

"I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"
-How To Save a Life, The Fray

"Suppose I said...
You're my saving grace?"
- Not Myself, John Mayer

Know what Sucks?

When you spend 3 months telling people that you're having a 4th of July party, and then you remind them a month before, and THEN you spend an hour making flyers and posting them, and put one in everyone's box at the office, AND Put them up in your lab, and so many people say "hey, yeah! i'll totally be there!!"

and you get completely excited because maybe this time it will actually be a NICE party, NOT like all the other times that you've tried to have a party....

and then only one person shows up.

Yea. That sucks.

Happy Fourth of July to you, too.

Why I Love XKCD

I Have Regained my Title!!

I have officially regained my title as the Queen of Trivial Pursuit! *dances about* This makes me inordinately happy.... I was worried that I'd never get back to my old form. (for those of you who aren't regular readers of this or any of my past blogs, I was undefeated in 49 straight games until I met my wife. I KNEW there was a reason i chose her! Anyway, moving on!)

Livvy's brother came over for dinner last night, and he suggested that we play. I guess the trivia gods were shining on me, because I won in record time! I even got the GREEN pie fairly easily (green is sports/leisure, my hardest subject)! So that's good.

In other news, we're trying again on Friday to run my first trial... *sigh* Why did i choose to work with living things again? *head desk*

Today Has Songs!

"Hallelujah"

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


well, maybe there's a god above
but all i've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

-Leonard Cohen


"Ghost Story"

I watch the Western sky
The sun is sinking
The geese are flying South
It sets me thinking

I did not miss you much
I did not suffer
What did not kill me
Just made me tougher

I feel the winter come
His icy sinews
Now in the fire light
The case continues

Another night in court
The same old trial
The same old questions asked
The same denial

The shadows closely run
Like jury members
I look for answers in
The fire's embers

Why was I missing then
That whole December
I give my usual line:
I don't remember

Another winter comes
His icy fingers creep
Into these bones of mine
These memories never sleep

And all these differences
A cloak I borrow
We kept our distances
Why should it follow I must have loved you

What is the force that binds the stars
I wore this mask to hide my scars
What is the power that pulls the tide
I never could find a place to hide

What moves the Earth around the sun
What could I do but run and run and run
Afraid to love, afraid to fail
A mast without a sail

The moon's a fingernail and slowly sinking
Another day begins and now I'm thinking
That this indifference was my invention
When everything I did sought your attention

You were my compass star
You were my measure
You were a pirate's map
A buried treasure

If this was all correct
The last thing I'd expect
The prosecution rests
It's time that I confess: I must have loved you

-Sting


"My Skin"

Take a look at my body
Look at my hands
There's so much here
That I don't understand

Your face saving promises
Whispered like prayers
I don't need them
I don't need them

I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable

Contempt loves the silence
It thrives in the dark
With fine winding tendrils
That strangle the heart

They say that promises
Sweeten the blow
But I don't need them
No, I don't need them

I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable

I'm a slow dying flower
Frost killing hour
The sweet turning sour
And untouchable

O, I need
The darkness
The sweetness
The sadness
The weakness
I need this

I need
A lullaby
A kiss goodnight
Angel sweet
Love of my life
O, I need this

Do you remember the way
That you touched me before
All the trembling sweetness
I loved and adored?

Your face saving promises
Whispered like prayers
I don't need them
No, I don't need them

O, I need
The darkness
The sweetness
The sadness
The weakness
I need this

I need
A lullaby
A kiss goodnight
The angel sweet
Love of my life
I need this

Is it dark enough?
Can you see me?
Do you want me?
Can you reach me?
Or I'm leaving

You better shut your mouth
Hold your breath
Kiss me now you'll catch my death
O, I mean it

-Natalie Merchant

Letter to A Friend

(Regular readers, please bear with me ..... occasionally I get in these nostalgic things and I have to write a letter. This person will likely never see this letter, and I will not mention them by name, both for my privacy and for theirs. If you don't care, then I suggest you stop reading now and come back when I post some actual science content, which should probably happen later today or tomorrow.)

Hello Old Friend,

I've been thinking of you a lot lately, as I do every year around this time for whatever reason. I've been remembering the times we had together, both good and bad, and I've been thinking about the things that never happened but easily could have, and where we might be today if those things had happened.

A part of me longs desperately to hear your voice, but another part of me is wary. So many things have changed in our lives since we last spoke, and so many of our opinions have diverged over the years that I worry that our conversation would turn quickly into an argument. I don't want to remember you that way -- I want to remember your laughter, and your joy, and yes, even your sarcasm, because we are still so similar in that way.

There is no denying that I loved you. And there is also no denying that to love you with all that I am would have destroyed both of us. Or at least that's the way I see it now. It doesn't devalue what was, and what still is, but I know that I, for one, could not have continued the depth of feeling that I had for you (and that I know you had for me) for an entire lifetime. It was purely too much. There was too much rawness and not enough softness.

Sometimes, though rarely, I regret not having tried harder.... or not having made more of an effort to hold onto things as they were slipping away. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that had I held any harder, it would have driven you further, and we quite possibly would have no relationship today, rather than the somewhat distant and slightly stilted one that we have today. I know that I did everything I could and that you were scared, but that doesn't fill the reservations that I had then, nor does it get us any closer to where we were now. You were my best friend. I told you things that until recently I had never told to another person. And there are things that I would like to tell you now that I don't think I can...not without considerable pain on both of our parts.

I'll close by saying that I'm happy, and that I don't regret anything that we ever did when we were together, both in our friendship and after. We had the kind of connection that doesn't happen often, maybe once or twice in a lifetime, and for that I feel absolutely blessed. You taught me many things, not the least of which was patience, and also recovery of a friendship after complications.

There are times that I miss you desperately -- not you as a lover, but you as a friend.

"If we should ever cross the same place, at the same time, would your world skip a beat because it was me?" - D. Rucker

I'm thinking of you today,
Yours....

me

The Truest Thing I've Heard All Year.

This poster is probably the truest thing I've heard all year.

And I needed it today. So thanks to Respectful Insolence over at Scienceblogs for posting it.

Godspeed, Teddy....

It is with a heavy heart that I let you guys know that America's Favorite Eventing Pony, Theodore O'Connor, was humanely euthanized following an accident on the O'Connor's farm today.

Teddy was shortlisted for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, had won a Team Gold medal at Pan Am last year, and was one of the most, if not THE most decorated pony in Eventing History.

This is a devastating blow, not only to the O'Connor Event Team, Teddy's syndicate, etc. but also to the American public, especially to young riders, a great many of whom held Teddy very close to their hearts.

Godspeed, little man. You touched many lives.

Run Free Eight Belles

Those of you who read this blog will know that Today was Kentucky Derby day. I'm not going to give you a play by play of the race -- I just finished watching it and need to process and cry for a while.

I will say this: Run Free Eight Belles....You were an amazing filly and you will be missed.

These horses are too young for this..... they're too young and their bones are too soft and they don't need to die for our entertainment.

that's all i'm going to say about horse racing right now... I'm too stunned to say anything else.

Cult Fiction

The London Telegraph posted this List of the Top 50 Cult Fiction Books Of All Time....

The ones I've read personally are italicized....

• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
• The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell (1957-60)
• A Rebours by JK Huysmans (1884)
• Baby and Child Care by Dr Benjamin Spock (1946)
• The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (1991)
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
• The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)
• The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield (1993)
• The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart (1971)
• Chariots of the Gods: Was God An Astronaut? by Erich Von Däniken (1968)
• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
• Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1782)
• The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg (1824)
• Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health by L Ron Hubbard (1950)
• The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley (1954)
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe (1968)
• Fear of Flying by Erica Jong (1973)
• The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer (1970)
• The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (1943)
• 
  
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R Hofstadter (1979)
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1973)
• 
  
• The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (1982)
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)
• If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino (1979)
• Iron John: a Book About Men by Robert Bly (1990)
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach and Russell Munson (1970)
• The Magus by John Fowles (1966)
• Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges (1962)
• The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa (1958)
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1967)
• No Logo by Naomi Klein (2000)
• On The Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson (1971)
• The Outsider by Colin Wilson (1956)
• The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (1923)
• The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell (1914)
• The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám tr by Edward FitzGerald (1859)
• The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron (1937)
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (1922)
• The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774)
• Story of O by Pauline Réage (1954)
• The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942)
• The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda (1968)
• Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (1933)
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1883-85)
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an Inquiry into Values by Robert M Pirsig(1974)

Rolex Kentucky

This past weekend was the US's only 4 Star CCI Event, the Rolex Kentucky 3 Day.... I wish I could say that it was a wonderful, joyous occasion for all who attended, and that nobody was injured, or killed, and that all the horses made it out alright. Unfortunately, I can't. This year, two horses either died on course or were euthanized at vet hospitals after their cross country runs. Both horses, Frodo Baggins and The Quiet Man, fell on course, and both were the dreaded (and controversial) rotational falls that seem to be occurring more and more at the upper levels of this sport.

The Quiet Man fell at the Sunken Road (I believe). His rider will be alright, though she has a concussion. Quiet Man fractured his shoulder in the fall and was humanely destroyed following examination at a local veterinary hospital. An image of his fall can be found here. If you choose to look at the image, you can clearly see that his shoulder hits the large, stationary top rail of the jump, and he rotates over it.

Frodo Baggins fall occurred at Fence 5, The Flower Basket, which was one of the most straightforward fences on the course. Something went terribly wrong, however -- Maybe Frodo slipped on takeoff, maybe he was coming in to the fence too quickly; I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure...but he caught both of his front legs on the top of the fence and flipped over onto his rider, Laine Asker. Laine is hospitalized with a closed head injury, lung contusions, 4 broken ribs, and a broken jaw. She has lost most of her teeth and is currently on a ventilator while her lungs heal.... Frodo broke his neck in the fall and was euthanized at a local veterinary hospital not long afterwards.

This is the second time I've posted about this on my blog....

How many horses have to die before we see a change in this sport?

Why is the short format better than the long format?

(to me, it's clearly not...we've had SO many more deaths and injuries in the last 5 years since it's been adopted....)

Why are we not using frangible pins in cross country fences?? Why do they have to be so completely solid??

What will it take to make a difference??

How many times does THIS have to happen to make people sit up and take notice??




(Image courtesy of Jen from the UDBB...thanks so much Jen for letting me use it!)

Friday Randomness

Well, the semester is nearly over, and that's a good thing. I have finals in two weeks, then I have two weeks off, and then I start summer school. I'm NOT looking forward to summer school, only because I have to take PreCal over the summer, and I'm not the world's greatest at math. BUT -- it's during the summer long semester (10 weeks), 4 days a week, so HOPEFULLY I'll get it. I think I should; I'm doing very well in my current math course (yes, you may fall over now), but I'm quite intimidated. And, of course, I still have to take Calc 1. *pulls out hair*

In other news, I present my summer proposal next Friday. I've worked my butt off on the power point, I know my plan, so I should do great. That and it's a really small, low key thing in front of McNair people and our mentors/family/friends. I invited several people; we'll see who shows up.

AND --- Wait for it .....

MY FROGS CAME YESTERDAY!!! *dances about* I haven't had a chance to go and see them yet, but I will do that today. I wish I hadn't taken my camera out of my bag -- I'd post some pix of them. I guess I will have to bring it on Monday and run to the lab and take pix of them then. I know there are 4 pairs, but I don't have a naming system or anything for them yet. EEEEeeee...

Let's see....what else can I report....? I've got some horse show photos to put up, so I will do that probably this weekend.....

OH! And we went to Scarborough Faire this past weekend! We had a total blast, as usual. I wish Livvy hadn't pooped out so early, but even that was alright. We saw several people that I hadn't seen in a while, including our old friend Lady Phoenix. It was awesome to see her and to see how well she's doing. She's living in a questionable situation, BUT that's her choice and not mine. So to each his own, and if she's happy then I'm happy.

I also saw some model horse friends -- Alicia & her crew, Shannon & her family, Leah (of course), etc... I wish I could have spent more time hanging out, but we had a friend in town, so I was somewhat at the whim of my love and our friend. =)

And on a sadder note.... A person my lovely wife grew up with and went all the way through school with was found murdered in Seattle on Monday. His was a life far too short. I had never met him, but I met his brother, who I like very much, and I feel horrible about this senseless loss. Unfortunately, the only suspect in his death is dead himself -- he blew himself up with a homemade incendiary device. The funeral for Livvy's friend is Monday in his hometown of Odessa.... My thoughts are with his family at this horrible time.

Random Things Meme (From Livvy)

I know, I know... It's been WEEKS since I updated. Unfortunately, it's been absolutely crazy in my life of late, so updates will probably be a bit sporadic for a while longer. I'll do better, I Promise.

Anyway, my Livvy Love tagged me with this meme -- 7 Random Things:

Here's how it works:

The rules: Someone writes a blog with seven weird/random facts about him/herself. Then, at the end of the blog, he/she tags seven people by listing their names. These people then need to write their own blogs with seven facts about themselves with these rules stated clearly. It is also required that you leave a comment on the new tag-ees pages, telling them they have been tagged and that they should read your blog.

So here are 7 random things about TankDiveGirl:

1. I show Model Horses. (These are plastic representations of the real thing). I realize that this is very odd to those of you who have no idea how it works, but I promise we're NOT a bunch of crazy old ladies....well...nevermind, yes we are, but it's good fun and I've made some awesome friends doing it. =)

2. I have a warehouse of strange facts in my head, the most unusual and pointless things that anyone has ever heard, and I enjoy trotting them out in front of everyone -- especially at inopportune times.

3. I was engaged 4 times before I married my girl.

4. I love to read memoirs, especially those of people who have mental illness, or are doctors, etc.

5. I recently switched to Mac and will never go back to a microsoft computer again!

6. I have a strange weakness for country music....and bad 80's pop.

7. I have a near anaphylactic reaction to rodents, their dander, urine, or feces. I literally can not be in the same room as one, or I get hives all over my body, my throat swells, and I can't breathe. Fun huh?

Now -- I'm Tagging....

1. Alicia
2. Sarah
3. Kate
4. Dani
5. CK
6. Joey
7. Janine

A Letter from the President of the USEA

The president of the United States Eventing Association (USEA) issued this statement today regarding not only Darren Chiacchia's injuries, but several of the issues that have been a hotbed of controversy in the 3 day eventing world of late. If you are a horse person with familiarity of the system and it's flaws, I encourage you to get involved. If you know an eventer who has an opinion (and every eventer should -- it's their sport at stake), please pass this on so that they may read it and contact the appropriate individuals.

Darren has had a setback, unfortunately. He was extubated and breathing on his own, but spiked a fever yesterday afternoon and had to be reintubated and is now back on the vent. He has pneumonia.... It's an unfortunate, but not unforseen occurrence.

A Message from USEA President Kevin Baumgardner
Updated: March 19, 2008

Eventers everywhere are deeply saddened by the accidents that occurred this past weekend at the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida. First and foremost, our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery go out to our dear friend and USEA board member Darren Chiacchia. Darren is an extraordinary horseman who has worked tirelessly on behalf of the sport of Eventing. We also send our condolences to Jonathan Holling and Missy Miller and those connected with Direct Merger and Leprechauns Rowdy Boy. These beloved horses were the best of the best—they will be missed. Furthermore, the USEA recognizes the excellent work of the Red Hills' Organizing Committee under very trying circumstances.

The sad news from Red Hills comes at a time when the USEA is taking a hard look at the sport of Eventing. During the December 2007 Convention in Colorado Springs, the USEA reaffirmed its commitment to horse and rider safety as the paramount consideration in the governance of our sport. The centerpiece of the Convention, the all-day-Saturday G10 Summit, was devoted exclusively to a full and open discussion of the safety issue among all of the stakeholders in the sport—riders, trainers, coaches, breeders, owners, officials, organizers, parents. A number of positive changes came out of our discussions in Colorado Springs, including the implementation of beefed-up qualification standards at preliminary level and higher that will go into effect this December 1.

Having said that, I remain deeply concerned with the direction the sport has taken over the past several years. It would be unfair and counterproductive at this juncture to focus on any one incident, cross-country course, or horse trials. We should never jump to conclusions regarding single incidents, let alone lose sight of the fact that there is, and will always be, an element of risk in any sport involving horses. And I will never point fingers or be a party to personal attacks on any individual involved in the sport, no matter how much I might disagree with his or her views. But the overall trends, particularly over the last three years, are unmistakable—and in my view totally unacceptable. I know that my concern that the sport has gotten off track is shared by many of our members, amateurs and professionals alike.

We seem to be in an ever-spiraling loop in which the aspect of cross-country that attracted most of us to the sport in the first place, the joy and thrill of galloping rhythmically over jumps across country, has been replaced with questions of extreme technicality and a proliferation of combinations taken at show-jump speed. It appears that the driver behind this emphasis on increased technical difficulty is the need to challenge and sort out the elite combinations competing at the highest levels of the sport. The net effect of this shift in emphasis, however, has not been confined to the upper levels. Rather, because of the need for each level to serve as preparation for the next, the sport has been altered all the way to the novice and training levels. This has left a large proportion of our core USEA membership—the 90-plus percent of Eventers who will never compete above preliminary—asking whether there is a place left for them in the sport.

Our members want courses that provide fun and challenge, and that leave both horse and rider feeling elated and wanting more. Unfortunately, this is all too frequently not the experience that is reported by many of our members. Cross-country should be a positive, exhilarating and educational experience for an appropriately prepared horse and rider. That is particularly true at the levels populated by adult amateurs and youngsters.

And what about our horses? Does the gallop-collect-gallop-collect nature of many of our courses, combined with the rigid adherence to established optimal speeds despite the twistiness of many modern courses, best serve the talents and abilities of our mounts? We owe the highest duty of care and compassion to these wonderful animals—in my view, the bravest and most noble horses in the world.

What can we do? The answer is plenty. To begin with, we need the active participation of our membership. When you are concerned with the direction of the sport you love, it is not good enough to sit on the fence and passively watch events unfold. Get involved! And I don't mean just the "grass roots" USEA membership (which judging by the large number of emphatic emails I have received in the last few days is already energized). We also need the active involvement of a broad spectrum of our Eventing professionals, the riders, trainers and officials out there who do not belong to the small coterie who have dominated the direction of the sport over the past twenty years. I believe there is a "silent generation" of Eventing professionals, most in their thirties or early forties, who are concerned with the current condition of the sport. In large part, these professionals have not actively participated in the governance of the sport or spoken up publicly, perhaps because they feel that their voices won't be heard or, worse, because they feel intimidated by the "old guard" at the top. Well, I have a message for that "silent generation": now is the time to speak up. I challenge all Eventing professionals to take a stand on this critical issue and get involved. It's now or never. I promise that your voices will be heard. And I also have a message for those who would block constructive change in the sport: Expect a fight. Neither I nor the USEA is going to stand idly by while our sport continues down this path.

Over the past several months, Darren Chiacchia has taken a leadership role in terms of looking at how we can modify our national level courses, particularly at preliminary and training, to better suit the majority of horses and riders competing at these levels. Through his position as chairman of the Professional Horsemen's Council, Darren worked with multiple USEA committees and spearheaded the development of a "white paper" on potential changes to cross-country courses that was presented to the Board of Governors in Colorado Springs. Included among the concepts discussed in the white paper were fewer technical questions, more forgiving jump faces, fewer combinations, more realistic optimal speeds and the like. I appointed Darren as the leader of a USEA task force charged with converting the ideas in the white paper into concrete rule-change proposals, to be submitted to the USEA Board of Governors and then forwarded on for action by the USEF Eventing Technical Committee (chaired by my fellow USEA Governor Malcolm Hook). During Darren's convalescence, I have asked Gina Miles, his close collaborator in developing the white paper, to move forward with the task force's work on an expedited basis. A number of other prominent figures in the sport, among them Kim Severson, have also volunteered to become actively involved in this effort. I, too, will work closely with this task force. I believe it is equally important that all segments of our membership forcefully express their views on the necessity of the types of changes being addressed by this task force. Please pass your thoughts on to me—I will forward them to Gina, Kim and the other members of the task force.

On a separate track, the USEA will immediately investigate avenues to work with veterinarians and equine research professionals to find ways to reduce the stressors on our horses and explore the mechanisms of equine cardiovascular failure. If it makes sense to do so, I will ask the USEA Board of Governors to commit funding to this effort. We reaffirm the USEA's commitment to ensuring the well-being of our equine partners as well as the safety of our riders.

As many of you are aware, the USEA Board will be conducting a strategic planning session in Leesburg, Virginia this coming Friday and Saturday. This will be a topic for the meeting and I will solicit additional input on ways to move forward quickly and positively with these initiatives.

Again, this is no time for fence-sitting. If you believe it is time to stand up for your sport, please make your voice heard and volunteer to be part of the solution. Please contact me at kbaumgardner@corrcronin.com or at (206) 621-1480.

A Sad Day For Equestrian Sports

Yesterday, March 15, 2008, was a very sad day in the world of 3 Day Eventing.

Two horses were killed and a prominent rider critically injured on the cross country course of the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida.

The rider, Darren Chiaccia, sustained a closed head injury, several broken ribs, and lung contusions when his horse, Baron Verdi, flipped over a fence and landed on him. There was no way that Darren could have escaped his injury.

The horses,Leprechaun's Rowdy Boy and Direct Merger, both suffered freak occurrences that left them dead where they stood. Direct Merger suffered a heart attack after the 8th fence on the course, while Leprechaun's Rowdy Boy appears to have hit his head on one of the elements of a 4 fence combination, leading to convulsions and his demise.

I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families affected by this tragedy...

I also want to pose some questions -- but before I do that, I want to stress that I do not, in any way, blame the riders, the course designer Capt. Mark Phillips, the event organizers or anyone associated with this event. I especially don't blame the horses. We can assume that they died doing what they loved to do, and neither suffered.

I think that several things need to be addressed and talked over and thought through. I know that eventing has become a hugely popular sport and that more and more people are competing, but these accidents are happening more and more often. Why did we switch to the short format CCI? Why, even though we have the short format, are riders not conditioning their horses for the long format events? I feel that at least a few of these accidents can be prevented by fitness. What happened yesterday was a complete freak occurrence, and nothing could have prevented it, but sometimes these things can be prevented, and I feel like they should be if they can be. Another thing that I thing we need to think about is the questions that these courses are asking. Cross country courses these days are not just long galloping efforts with some big fences thrown in for variety (not that they have ever been at the highest levels of the sport, but bear with me....). Today's cross country courses are TRAPPY....and they have to be RIDDEN, every single stride. I don't know that a lot of riders are aware of that. Darren certainly was, and our top top riders certainly are, but a lot of the up and coming riders seemt to be buying horses who know their jobs and then depending on them to answer the questions while they sit up there and look pretty. (or not) Event horses have to think on their feet, yes, but they depend on their riders to tell them when things are okay and when they're not. I rode at an event barn for a few years as a child, and those horses were SMART, and they had a HUGE instinct for self preservation, but you know what? They still depended on their riders for guidance, and I think one of the issues with eventing today is that many people at the lower levels simply can't RIDE. (Now, I'm not trying to say that nobody who events can ride, and I'm not trying to say that only people at the upper levels can ride. Everyone has to start somewhere, but I think that people who event have to have the presence of mind to Have A Trainer and Use Their Trainer. Lots and Lots of accidents can be prevented if people just listen to someone who has their best interests at heart.) Today's courses are so technical and ask so many tough questions of both horses and riders that I think we need to really think about what we're perpetrating here. Do people HAVE to do this? No. But those who do I think really need to ask themselves if they're ready to be jumping/showing at the level that they are. There is No harm in staying at a lower level until you're Ready to move up. That's why I think that people need to have trainers and Listen to Their Trainers.

I know that's not going to solve the problem. And I know that even if someone has a trainer, they won't necessarily listen to what that trainer has to say anyway... but we can hope.

Eventing is a dangerous sport. But it shouldn't have to be deadly.

Just my $.02

Fly free Rowdy and Direct Merger, may you run and jump pain free.

Killing Time

Classes were cancelled today, as I suspected they would be. It's actually somewhat amusing because the current temperature is 46 degrees F, and probably 80% of the snow is gone, leaving us with huge expanses of my favorite thing, Mud. (If you had a greyhound that liked to go and run around in the mud and then run INSIDE to your bed, mud would be YOUR favorite thing, too.) All venting about mud aside, it's been a pretty relaxing day, all in all. I finally got caught up on all the email that I hadn't read yet from being gone last weekend, and a few in my inbox that I had saved to read later, which is really nice. Livvy and I are getting ready to go see The Other Boelyn Girl and have a bit of a date, and then we'll come home and I'll try to get a tad of studying done for next week -- I have to get started on the literature review for our group project in Toxicology, and I have 3 tests next week, one of which is a Practical in Micro Lab. Fortunately I'm not really behind, but I do have quite a bit of reading to do.

So what am I doing? Why, BLOGGING of course! That's the BEST way to not get things done!

Alright, off to the movies!

I'm sure I'll have a better update later.