So the days are counting down, and the beauty that is the Olympics is approaching fast. Less than two months and the world's top winter sport athletes will be congregating in and around Vancouver.
While I'm still a bit bitter about our ticket misfortune, I am quite excited for the Olympics. I'm looking forward to meeting people from across the world, getting out of this town, and taking in the glory of it all. Now, before you get too rile up about it, thinking "Oh yes, PARTAY!", I have some innate personality traits that I can not remove or set aside for even one week or one night for that matter, so I will not be partying in the typical college student way. I'll be out and about, but sober, with a camera glued to my hand. Expect pictures of, well, EVERYTHING.
Now, to start it off, in just under a month, the Olympic flame will be coming through the city where I attend college, so you bet I'm going to be there, even if I have to cut class to do so. There is nothing, not even white out conditions, that will stop me from being there... unless, of course, the relay is post-poned due to those white-out conditions, or the frigid temperatures that we're known for here in Alberta.
Now, many of the Canadian athletes have already been announced, others have not. The one group that I am following the progress and announcement of is the Canadian snowboard team, particularly the halfpipe riders. I'm rooting big time for the "kids" featured on Over the Bolts - Dominique Vallee, Mercedes Nicoll, and Jeff Batchelor. They're each in the running, just out of reach at this point... searching for one more top five placing at an international level event. And each of them has the potential and talent to do so. Everyone in Canada should be rooting for these riders, they've worked so hard to get to this place, and they deserve to compete on home snow, and bring a little glory to Canada, perhaps. Then of course, there are the seasoned veterans who competed in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, like Crispin Lipscomb (who happens to be featured in two McDonald's commercials), who are training their asses off to secure a spot on the Olympic team, all while bypassing many of the competitions that the young guys and gals are trying to dominate. Lets cheer them all on, Canada, and show a bit of pride for our nation. We're going to do better than ever this time, and we'll show everyone that here in Canada, where we have six months of winter, we are damn good at what we do.
And while we're at it, lets show some international love and unity, which is the entire point of this massive competition that is the Olympics (while we ignore the fact that competition divides rather than unites...). Everyone be sure to turn your T.V.'s on to the Olympics this February!
OH, and Merry Christmas everyone!
December 18, 2009
November 14, 2009
Fake Snow on Christmas...
My cousin and I began planning a vacation for reading week (that's spring break for all you party-ers down in the USA) coming up in February. Where to, you ask? Well, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, of course! And tickets were going on sale this weekend! We had it all planned out... fly out on Friday evening, after class. Stay at his friends' place for the week, and fly back on Monday more than a week after arriving. We'd see the men's snowboard halfpipe finals at Cyprus Mountain and the men's Canada/USA hockey game, hit up a couple victory ceremonies (with concerts afterwards) and fill the rest of our week with local Olympic celebrations. It was shaing up to be an epic week.
Then, we realize, plane tickets to Vancouver on Friday are about $150 more than they are to fly out on Monday. Okay, so we'll leave on the 15th instead of the 13th, not a big deal. It'd still be a week in VanCity.
We got our hands on a Visa card (proud supporter of the Vancouver 2010 winter olympics, and the only payment card accepted by the olympics as a result), and were all set up to input the required information to our account last night. To our surprise, the website had been changed in preparation for today's ticket sales. You could no longer log in, their "fair" system had been implemented.
This is how the system works. You go to buy tickets, you get put in a waiting room. The page automatically refreshes itself every 30 seconds, to save you from having to do it. Upon refreshing, the program behind this allegedly chooses, randomly, whether you go through to buy tickets or if you remain in the waiting room for another go around. Then once you get through, you have 12 minutes to make your transaction. This process was intended to give all Canadians a fair chance at buying tickets. However, this was the farthest from fair that you could have possibly gotten.
I opened my browser a short while before the 11am (10am pacific time), and waited excitedly in anticipation of buying the tickets for our epic week. The first hour passed by, then the second, and third. And I watched as the updates of ticket sales were posted. Men's CAN/USA hockey game - sold. Okay, I guess we can find another. About an hour and a half in, men's snowboard halfpipe sold out... okay, we can hit up the women's, it's not a big deal. 2.5 hours in, women's snowboarding sold out. 3.5 hours in, everything but hockey, curling, and victory ceremonies were sold out. A little more than SIX hours after ticket sales began, I left the room for five minutes. I came back to find I had finally been "randomly" selected to buy tickets.
Awesome.
No, not awesome. The end result? A Germany/Belarus hockey game, and men's curling. Have I mentioned that I do not like curling? And perhaps I'm a bad Canadian, but I'm not all that big on hockey, either. I only wanted to see Canada face the USA. But instead, I dropped a lot of money on two sports that I didn't care to see. Two victory ceremonies are also on our list... atleast I'll get to see them award the men's halfpipe winner... and two concerts.
This has become an epic fail.
It's like fake snow on Christmas day... looks like the real thing, gives you a white Christmas, but it's just not quite the same.
BTW, to the not so smart coordinators of the 2010 Olympic ticket sales... FAIR would have been this:
limit ticket amounts per person
limit time allowed for transaction.
DO NOT "randomly" assign people to purchase tickets. Those who were there at 10am should get their tickets before those who showed up a 1pm and got through after five minutes.
DO allow people in in the order in which they arrived. Put through however many people at a time, once they finish up, put through the next round of people, in the ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARRIVED. It is NOT fair to make someone wait 6 hours when they were there at opening, and have those who showed up well after opening go through before them. First-come-first-serve (as was stated on the website) is FIRST come, FIRST serve. If they dawdle along and don't get there in time to buy tickets, it's their problem... but if someone who was there on time DOESN'T get the tickets they want because you ASSHATS had a program "randomly" assigning people to the waiting room, that is NOT fair.
And on another note, there is nothing "random" about this program. It is a statistical improbability that with a 50/50 chance of 'waiting room' or 'tickets' anyone would get 700 'waiting room' assignments in a row. The probability of this is so small, you wouldn't be able to find it on the standard normal curve.
Then, we realize, plane tickets to Vancouver on Friday are about $150 more than they are to fly out on Monday. Okay, so we'll leave on the 15th instead of the 13th, not a big deal. It'd still be a week in VanCity.
We got our hands on a Visa card (proud supporter of the Vancouver 2010 winter olympics, and the only payment card accepted by the olympics as a result), and were all set up to input the required information to our account last night. To our surprise, the website had been changed in preparation for today's ticket sales. You could no longer log in, their "fair" system had been implemented.
This is how the system works. You go to buy tickets, you get put in a waiting room. The page automatically refreshes itself every 30 seconds, to save you from having to do it. Upon refreshing, the program behind this allegedly chooses, randomly, whether you go through to buy tickets or if you remain in the waiting room for another go around. Then once you get through, you have 12 minutes to make your transaction. This process was intended to give all Canadians a fair chance at buying tickets. However, this was the farthest from fair that you could have possibly gotten.
I opened my browser a short while before the 11am (10am pacific time), and waited excitedly in anticipation of buying the tickets for our epic week. The first hour passed by, then the second, and third. And I watched as the updates of ticket sales were posted. Men's CAN/USA hockey game - sold. Okay, I guess we can find another. About an hour and a half in, men's snowboard halfpipe sold out... okay, we can hit up the women's, it's not a big deal. 2.5 hours in, women's snowboarding sold out. 3.5 hours in, everything but hockey, curling, and victory ceremonies were sold out. A little more than SIX hours after ticket sales began, I left the room for five minutes. I came back to find I had finally been "randomly" selected to buy tickets.
Awesome.
No, not awesome. The end result? A Germany/Belarus hockey game, and men's curling. Have I mentioned that I do not like curling? And perhaps I'm a bad Canadian, but I'm not all that big on hockey, either. I only wanted to see Canada face the USA. But instead, I dropped a lot of money on two sports that I didn't care to see. Two victory ceremonies are also on our list... atleast I'll get to see them award the men's halfpipe winner... and two concerts.
This has become an epic fail.
It's like fake snow on Christmas day... looks like the real thing, gives you a white Christmas, but it's just not quite the same.
BTW, to the not so smart coordinators of the 2010 Olympic ticket sales... FAIR would have been this:
limit ticket amounts per person
limit time allowed for transaction.
DO NOT "randomly" assign people to purchase tickets. Those who were there at 10am should get their tickets before those who showed up a 1pm and got through after five minutes.
DO allow people in in the order in which they arrived. Put through however many people at a time, once they finish up, put through the next round of people, in the ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARRIVED. It is NOT fair to make someone wait 6 hours when they were there at opening, and have those who showed up well after opening go through before them. First-come-first-serve (as was stated on the website) is FIRST come, FIRST serve. If they dawdle along and don't get there in time to buy tickets, it's their problem... but if someone who was there on time DOESN'T get the tickets they want because you ASSHATS had a program "randomly" assigning people to the waiting room, that is NOT fair.
And on another note, there is nothing "random" about this program. It is a statistical improbability that with a 50/50 chance of 'waiting room' or 'tickets' anyone would get 700 'waiting room' assignments in a row. The probability of this is so small, you wouldn't be able to find it on the standard normal curve.
July 16, 2009
Why musicians of today suck.
You’ll hear teenaged music enthusiasts around North America complain that so-and-so (pick any band popular today) sucks. Inspired by their favourite bands and musicians to learn to play the instrument of their choice (guitar for me), teenagers suddenly become the know-alls of the music world. They complain about how the members of this band (or that band... pick a card, any card ;) ) can’t even play the instrument they advertise themselves to play. The lead guitarist is weak, playing the same old lines that have been played for decades, merely changing an octave to make the song sound different than their previous hit. The rhythmic guitarist can’t hold a decent riff. The drummer has less sense of rhythm than a guy who can’t dance. The bassist plays the simplest lines, with the volume so low that the sound is lost in the chaos of the junk music it’s supposed to support. The lead vocalist can’t hold a note to save his life. Blah blah blah. Good for you, you can hear the rhythmic issues in a song. Perhaps you can also tell instantly who a new song is by, because (like a certain Canadian band that must be very fond of coinage) every damned song sounds exactly the same. Congratulations, you know nothing of the music business.
To know music is not to know the music business. One would think, certainly it’s common sense, that the two would be intertwined indefinitely. Unfortunately, this is not the case. You see, it has become entirely possible to become ‘famous’ for anyone, even those without talent. The days of talented guitarists, bassists, drummers, and singers have passed and we’re left with the undeniably popular crap of today. You see, people, as a whole, know nothing (or next to nothing anyways) about music. The average person with the radio cranked up as they drive to work in the morning doesn’t give a flying you-know-what about acoustics, melody, or harmony. They don’t care if the lead guitarist has a wicked 25 second solo in the middle of the song, or if the bridge flows aesthetically into the chorus. They honestly couldn’t care less what level of talent the individual musicians have. They merely want entertainment. People are different and yet so very much alike when it comes to music. There are a few types of people. There are you know-all self-proclaimed musicians out there that listen for aesthetically pleasing melodies, harmonies, riffs, solo’s, blending, distortion, beat, count, octaves, tune, notes, flow, hammering on, hammering off, high-low combinations, finger plucking vs. plastic plectrums vs. metal ones, can tell the difference between a soft, medium, and hard plectrums simply by listening, and care what make of guitar the dude is playing. There are those that listen for the lyrics alone, and couldn’t care less about the musical abilities of those performing the song, only expecting to feel something through the lyrics they take in. There are those that disregard lyrics altogether and just want a beat, usually the beat that is the simplest, that they can tap their toes to or bob their head along (*cough*mother*cough*). There are those that are tone-deaf and really can’t tell the difference between good and bad singing, and there are those that just like the song for how it makes them feel, period... perhaps it’s connected to some moment in their life, like a wedding, high school prom, or a favourite commercial for all I care, and it just reminds them of a time in their life that they enjoyed.
You look at those five groups and you know-alls will think you’re clearly the superior group. You look at it from the music world, from the perspective of a company executive, and you lot are the ones that get tossed under the bus. And this is where you’re ignorant to the music world. The music world is not about talent, it’s about money. The corporations look at the population as a whole and sees that the vast majority of people don’t care about a musician’s technical abilities. And so they don’t care. There is a band out there in the ‘popular culture’ world that immense numbers of people like, and the corporations see dollar signs. When a band comes in that is similar to that band, the little green dollar signs are floating around the exec’s heads, as their pupils change like a slot machine. Those record company executives can smell money from a mile away, and they will stop at nothing to keep their own personal economy running on high.
Now you smartass musicians in your little bands that are doing decently on the local scene think you can ‘make it big’ in the pop-culture universe. Come on, admit it... you’ve got plans of how you’re going to record a kick-ass demo and mail it out to all the big companies... Universal, Warner, Sony, Virgin, . Or maybe you’re one of those purists that doesn’t want to be part of that corporate trash you bitch about on a daily basis. In that case, you’re sending out to indie labels, many of which are actually run under one of those major labels I just listed. And here’s what you don’t want to hear... you don’t stand a chance at ‘making it big’. The major labels don’t want you because you don’t fit their standard cut out version of music... you’re too big of a risk for them. If they sign your band and no one buys your album, they’re out of a load of money, and you eventually get dropped. Unfortunately for you, you end up in debt to the company. I bet you didn’t know that the company doesn’t pay for those music videos, tours (busses included), recording studios, production and distribution. They lend you the money for those things, and then once your album starts selling and your tour sells out, they take that money out of what you’ve made. So let’s say your first album is out, and you do well. Guess what? You still haven’t got a dime to your name because that bloody corporation soaked you for most of it... you wanted that extravagant video, now you’ve got to pay for it. On the other hand, let’s say you manage to get signed to a major label, and they don’t force you to change your sound to fit the standard carbon copy style, and you somehow, surprisingly, don’t do well in sales. You’ve borrowed the money from the label to record your album, market it, make a sweet music video, and head out on tour, but you find that your sales have bombed, and the label drops you from its roster. You, my friend, have made no money, and now have to pay back that money that the label seemingly gave to you. Do I hear bankruptcy in your future? Ohhhh yes.
Perhaps you’ll get signed to an indie label that really liked your individuality and attention to detail. Unfortunately there is little money behind indie labels, and as such, you work much harder and often get nowhere in return. Your music videos are of lower quality and have fewer spectacular elements. The recording equipment isn’t as expensive, and you tour in a van you bought with your own money instead of a lavish tour bus. Marketing is less intensive, so sales are low, and your tours may never sell out. But you’re happy, because you’re making quality music, your way. Eventually you’ll give it up because there’s no money in it.
So feel free to complain about the quality of music today. But remember, everything that is ‘popular culture’ is run by those that are fuelled by greed. The music business is not about music, it’s about money. You may have more talent, but no one really cares what you think. You are the disposable audience... the execs will gladly sacrifice a few of you to gain the rest of the population’s approval. Thanks for staying true to music, but money makes the world go ‘round.
To know music is not to know the music business. One would think, certainly it’s common sense, that the two would be intertwined indefinitely. Unfortunately, this is not the case. You see, it has become entirely possible to become ‘famous’ for anyone, even those without talent. The days of talented guitarists, bassists, drummers, and singers have passed and we’re left with the undeniably popular crap of today. You see, people, as a whole, know nothing (or next to nothing anyways) about music. The average person with the radio cranked up as they drive to work in the morning doesn’t give a flying you-know-what about acoustics, melody, or harmony. They don’t care if the lead guitarist has a wicked 25 second solo in the middle of the song, or if the bridge flows aesthetically into the chorus. They honestly couldn’t care less what level of talent the individual musicians have. They merely want entertainment. People are different and yet so very much alike when it comes to music. There are a few types of people. There are you know-all self-proclaimed musicians out there that listen for aesthetically pleasing melodies, harmonies, riffs, solo’s, blending, distortion, beat, count, octaves, tune, notes, flow, hammering on, hammering off, high-low combinations, finger plucking vs. plastic plectrums vs. metal ones, can tell the difference between a soft, medium, and hard plectrums simply by listening, and care what make of guitar the dude is playing. There are those that listen for the lyrics alone, and couldn’t care less about the musical abilities of those performing the song, only expecting to feel something through the lyrics they take in. There are those that disregard lyrics altogether and just want a beat, usually the beat that is the simplest, that they can tap their toes to or bob their head along (*cough*mother*cough*). There are those that are tone-deaf and really can’t tell the difference between good and bad singing, and there are those that just like the song for how it makes them feel, period... perhaps it’s connected to some moment in their life, like a wedding, high school prom, or a favourite commercial for all I care, and it just reminds them of a time in their life that they enjoyed.
You look at those five groups and you know-alls will think you’re clearly the superior group. You look at it from the music world, from the perspective of a company executive, and you lot are the ones that get tossed under the bus. And this is where you’re ignorant to the music world. The music world is not about talent, it’s about money. The corporations look at the population as a whole and sees that the vast majority of people don’t care about a musician’s technical abilities. And so they don’t care. There is a band out there in the ‘popular culture’ world that immense numbers of people like, and the corporations see dollar signs. When a band comes in that is similar to that band, the little green dollar signs are floating around the exec’s heads, as their pupils change like a slot machine. Those record company executives can smell money from a mile away, and they will stop at nothing to keep their own personal economy running on high.
Now you smartass musicians in your little bands that are doing decently on the local scene think you can ‘make it big’ in the pop-culture universe. Come on, admit it... you’ve got plans of how you’re going to record a kick-ass demo and mail it out to all the big companies... Universal, Warner, Sony, Virgin, . Or maybe you’re one of those purists that doesn’t want to be part of that corporate trash you bitch about on a daily basis. In that case, you’re sending out to indie labels, many of which are actually run under one of those major labels I just listed. And here’s what you don’t want to hear... you don’t stand a chance at ‘making it big’. The major labels don’t want you because you don’t fit their standard cut out version of music... you’re too big of a risk for them. If they sign your band and no one buys your album, they’re out of a load of money, and you eventually get dropped. Unfortunately for you, you end up in debt to the company. I bet you didn’t know that the company doesn’t pay for those music videos, tours (busses included), recording studios, production and distribution. They lend you the money for those things, and then once your album starts selling and your tour sells out, they take that money out of what you’ve made. So let’s say your first album is out, and you do well. Guess what? You still haven’t got a dime to your name because that bloody corporation soaked you for most of it... you wanted that extravagant video, now you’ve got to pay for it. On the other hand, let’s say you manage to get signed to a major label, and they don’t force you to change your sound to fit the standard carbon copy style, and you somehow, surprisingly, don’t do well in sales. You’ve borrowed the money from the label to record your album, market it, make a sweet music video, and head out on tour, but you find that your sales have bombed, and the label drops you from its roster. You, my friend, have made no money, and now have to pay back that money that the label seemingly gave to you. Do I hear bankruptcy in your future? Ohhhh yes.
Perhaps you’ll get signed to an indie label that really liked your individuality and attention to detail. Unfortunately there is little money behind indie labels, and as such, you work much harder and often get nowhere in return. Your music videos are of lower quality and have fewer spectacular elements. The recording equipment isn’t as expensive, and you tour in a van you bought with your own money instead of a lavish tour bus. Marketing is less intensive, so sales are low, and your tours may never sell out. But you’re happy, because you’re making quality music, your way. Eventually you’ll give it up because there’s no money in it.
So feel free to complain about the quality of music today. But remember, everything that is ‘popular culture’ is run by those that are fuelled by greed. The music business is not about music, it’s about money. You may have more talent, but no one really cares what you think. You are the disposable audience... the execs will gladly sacrifice a few of you to gain the rest of the population’s approval. Thanks for staying true to music, but money makes the world go ‘round.
June 15, 2009
Facing Decisions
It’s officially (weather-wise) summer here, and I am regretting a decision I made. Actually, I‘ve realized a number of mistakes I‘ve made and I‘m feeling the stress associated with them. I made the decision to turn down a job that I’d been wanting for the past year. It would have taken me away from my home for a few months, away from my horses, and away from the few people I can call friends. And I chose not to go. Now I wish I was anywhere but here. I sat out on my porch last night, and watched the darkening sky. One lone star twinkling in the distance. The smell of the night surrounding me. Cool air engulfing me, taking my mind off of matters that I can’t seem to wash away. The dogs silently sleeping in their cages inside the house, within viewing distance. And I slid the door shut behind me and listened to the neighbours across the street talking and having fun on a Sunday night. The calm stillness of the night washed over me and I resisted the urge to go for a walk. And I was reminded of why I sleep with my window open every night from the first evening it’s warm enough outside to leave it open. And my flowers and strawberry plants wouldn’t face the frost last night, and today they bloomed for the first time in a month. For once, for what seemed like the first time in ages, my mind was a blank slate. Free of all thoughts and worries. Free of concern. Free of wonder. And I was returned to a state of comfort and amazement at what silence and nature can do. But then I was reminded that, had I taken that job, I would have felt that cool air and beautiful calmness every night.
Having returned to my room, I found myself listening to the never ending sound of my neighbour’s air conditioner… quite possibly the only one in the entire town… wondering why I have the misfortune of being the one whose bedroom window is directly across from the deafening machine. I’ve know my neighbour for years now, and I have never been so happy to see a neighbour uncomfortable, than I was when that A/C machine broke down last summer. I often wonder if perhaps a well aimed shot with a water gun will solve the issue.
I suppose the point of making a mistake is to learn from it, but when you make multiple mistakes over the years and realized them all at once, things seem bleak for a while. I’ve been angry enough with myself these past few days that it’s time I try to fix whatever I can and move on with it all. There is no use dwelling on past decisions, after all. I will return to my never ending worry of the future. Hopefully in the morning, because I’ve grown tired of lying awake in bed thinking about everything instead of sleeping.
June 09, 2009
Success
I was going to save this entry for later, but something that someone said today brought it into mind and I figure I may as well post this now.
Success is defined in many different ways. By simply typing the word "success" into the search box at http://www.dictionary.com/, you are given a range of definitions, varying from 'the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted' to 'a person or thing that is successful'. Obviously there is a difference betwee those two definitions... one describes an outcome and one describes an object that has succeeded. The most common definition of success in today's world is 'the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like'. When I say common I mean that if you pulled a random person off of the street and asked them to define success, that is what you are likely to hear as their response.
It's become the goal of many to succeed. To succeed in the work place, at sports, with money, and 'status', or rather, power. Unfortunately for most people, this type of success is often unatainable. No one wants to feel like a failure in any respect of their life, but I think that people's ideas of success and failure are too narrow and skewed to accurately reflect their lives. If a person has no money, they have failed. If a person owns a 5 million dollar home, they have succeeded. Live in a gated community by the 18 hole golf course? Success. Live in the trailer park with the worst yard in the area? Failure. Have a menial job pushing paper where no one knows your name, but your family and you can comfortably go on a trip each year? Failure. You're a failure because no one knows your name. Because you are not of 'status'.
In my opinion, the best definition of success is the one that simply says 'the act of succeeding', though it is often considered too broad of a definition, as it doesn't really describe success. A person that knows nothing of what it means to succeed will not understand this defintion. However, that is not the point. By giving success the definition of attaining power, wealth and honor, society has created a mindset that power and wealth are the most important achievements in life.
I wrote something a while back, in my attempts at deciding my future, educationaly, occupationally, and actions in general. To my surprise, I discovered something about myself in the process. I discovered my definition of success. I discovered what I want to succeed at and how I will do so. And I discovered my definition of failure.
One day I'll get around to posting some of the things I've written over the years, but I won't today. The gist of what I wrote that day is that success, to me, is following my dreams and passions. As far as failure, I stated
The key to success is not to be better than everyone else, but to be the best you can be. You have to pick your success, what it is that matters to you. Happiness is what matters to me, but I also know that a lot of people just want that wealth, that power, and that status. So I suppose my point is that the definition of success is specific to each and every person. The one thing that is constant is that if you aren't trying to be the best that you can be, you aren't succeeding... settling is not success. So I repeat, the best definition of success is 'the act of succeeding', as useless as that definition really is.
So what is success to you? What matters to you?
Success is defined in many different ways. By simply typing the word "success" into the search box at http://www.dictionary.com/, you are given a range of definitions, varying from 'the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted' to 'a person or thing that is successful'. Obviously there is a difference betwee those two definitions... one describes an outcome and one describes an object that has succeeded. The most common definition of success in today's world is 'the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like'. When I say common I mean that if you pulled a random person off of the street and asked them to define success, that is what you are likely to hear as their response.
It's become the goal of many to succeed. To succeed in the work place, at sports, with money, and 'status', or rather, power. Unfortunately for most people, this type of success is often unatainable. No one wants to feel like a failure in any respect of their life, but I think that people's ideas of success and failure are too narrow and skewed to accurately reflect their lives. If a person has no money, they have failed. If a person owns a 5 million dollar home, they have succeeded. Live in a gated community by the 18 hole golf course? Success. Live in the trailer park with the worst yard in the area? Failure. Have a menial job pushing paper where no one knows your name, but your family and you can comfortably go on a trip each year? Failure. You're a failure because no one knows your name. Because you are not of 'status'.
In my opinion, the best definition of success is the one that simply says 'the act of succeeding', though it is often considered too broad of a definition, as it doesn't really describe success. A person that knows nothing of what it means to succeed will not understand this defintion. However, that is not the point. By giving success the definition of attaining power, wealth and honor, society has created a mindset that power and wealth are the most important achievements in life.
I wrote something a while back, in my attempts at deciding my future, educationaly, occupationally, and actions in general. To my surprise, I discovered something about myself in the process. I discovered my definition of success. I discovered what I want to succeed at and how I will do so. And I discovered my definition of failure.
One day I'll get around to posting some of the things I've written over the years, but I won't today. The gist of what I wrote that day is that success, to me, is following my dreams and passions. As far as failure, I stated
The only way you can truly fail, is to realize your dreams and passions, and not try to achieve them. Quitting doesn't equal failure, never trying does.For me, success is trying to be the best I can be, and do the things I love. To live a life of happiness and love, and enjoy as much of it as I can. For me, that involves having a job I love, friendship, family, and contributing to society... making a difference. Success to most people is gaining. Gaining status, money, contacts. But to me, it's giving. Giving what I can to help those that need it. Wisdom is one thing that the world is in dire need of. Wisdom is the ability to see things from multiple perspectives and making the best decision to solve a problem. Most people see only one point of view, and as a result, decisions are rash, and not always the best for themselves, or for others. The point of this blog is to find different perspectives on many issues, situations, and matters of today's world. Through this blog I can succeed, in one way anyways.
The key to success is not to be better than everyone else, but to be the best you can be. You have to pick your success, what it is that matters to you. Happiness is what matters to me, but I also know that a lot of people just want that wealth, that power, and that status. So I suppose my point is that the definition of success is specific to each and every person. The one thing that is constant is that if you aren't trying to be the best that you can be, you aren't succeeding... settling is not success. So I repeat, the best definition of success is 'the act of succeeding', as useless as that definition really is.
So what is success to you? What matters to you?
May 30, 2009
The Simple Things in Life That Put You at Ease
As I walked around the peaceful lake in my home town for the first time since October, I mulled this entry over. I wanted to make sure this post would be well informed, and something I knew fully. I didn’t want to spill and tell everyone my intellectual secrets, wasting future topics right off the bat, so choosing was key. Normally I have my earphones plugged into my cell phone (no iPod...) when I go for these lovely two hour walks so I won’t find myself in a one person conversation. However, since that was the very goal today, I left the earphones at home and ventured out into the wilderness within town limits intent on finding the perfect entry. These walks are usually plagued by mosquitoes, bees and the occasional town idiot on his four-wheeler on a path that is clearly marked ‘no motorized vehicles’. I even came upon three young girls riding their horses down the trail once, which was something I had often considered doing myself, but then thought better of it. Today, aside from mere exercise, my much awaited walk was a needed break from FreeCell and Sudoku puzzles, and my futile attempts at regaining my musical abilities via my guitar.
Then I realized that this is my topic. That is to say, the simple things in life which leave you at ease with the world. Maybe it’s a jog in the morning, perhaps an hour in front of the television watching your favourite show. Whatever it is, it takes you away from the stress of everyday life and resets your perspective for the day.
Many of us don’t take the time out for ourselves to reset in such a way. I go for months without enjoying any of the simple pleasures that put my mind at ease, usually during the wintertime. If I lived in a warmer climate (perhaps year round sunshine and beach weather) I might find myself engaging in activities that I enjoy so much.
I often find myself mindlessly playing FreeCell, averaging 2 minutes per game before clicking ‘okay’ to start the next deal. This has led to a scary level of mastery of the game that I never intended to achieve. My current statistics tell of a 100% win streak, 860 games won, 0 lost. In previous times I have had more than one thousand games won in a row, and every time I do lose a game, I reset the score and start over again. These past 860 games have been played within the last two weeks or less, and as I think about it, have been a complete waste of time.
I also recently rekindled my love affair with Sudoku puzzles. I typically filled in the weekly puzzle in our regional newspaper, but in an attempt to clean out my closet that hasn’t been organized in years, I dug out a book of Sudoku puzzles and got sidetracked from my cleaning job. In the past four days, I’ve secretly completed 68 Sudoku puzzles. Also, I realize, an immense waste of time. I’m not going to lie, I’d like to think that these puzzles will really make me more intelligent, but somehow I don’t think they will.
So rather than waste more time, I went for a long walk around the lakes today, alone, in my home town. And suddenly I remembered why I had made a habit out of it in the past. A pair of Canadian geese was twelve feet from me, with their eight goslings. I spent two hours listening to ducks splashing in the lake, birds chirping and singing in the trees, the occasional squirrel scurrying up a tree, and the flitting wings of dragonflies. The lilac bushes are in full bloom and the fragrances of the wild shrubs, trees and flowers filled the area, building on the scent of the woodchip pathway. This puts me at ease. It takes me back to nature, to a place where none of the stresses of life matter.
I’ve also found myself enjoying a game of soccer with my dog. Or a Frisbee session, or even just sitting outside on a warm, sunny day with him lying next to me. I used to take him for walks, but he’s in need of obedience training and the walks are less peaceful than I’d like. A good book, a few moments with a guitar in a quiet place, or a beautiful place with a pencil and notebook are also on my list of simple things that put me at ease with the world.
Then I realized that this is my topic. That is to say, the simple things in life which leave you at ease with the world. Maybe it’s a jog in the morning, perhaps an hour in front of the television watching your favourite show. Whatever it is, it takes you away from the stress of everyday life and resets your perspective for the day.
Many of us don’t take the time out for ourselves to reset in such a way. I go for months without enjoying any of the simple pleasures that put my mind at ease, usually during the wintertime. If I lived in a warmer climate (perhaps year round sunshine and beach weather) I might find myself engaging in activities that I enjoy so much.
I often find myself mindlessly playing FreeCell, averaging 2 minutes per game before clicking ‘okay’ to start the next deal. This has led to a scary level of mastery of the game that I never intended to achieve. My current statistics tell of a 100% win streak, 860 games won, 0 lost. In previous times I have had more than one thousand games won in a row, and every time I do lose a game, I reset the score and start over again. These past 860 games have been played within the last two weeks or less, and as I think about it, have been a complete waste of time.
I also recently rekindled my love affair with Sudoku puzzles. I typically filled in the weekly puzzle in our regional newspaper, but in an attempt to clean out my closet that hasn’t been organized in years, I dug out a book of Sudoku puzzles and got sidetracked from my cleaning job. In the past four days, I’ve secretly completed 68 Sudoku puzzles. Also, I realize, an immense waste of time. I’m not going to lie, I’d like to think that these puzzles will really make me more intelligent, but somehow I don’t think they will.
So rather than waste more time, I went for a long walk around the lakes today, alone, in my home town. And suddenly I remembered why I had made a habit out of it in the past. A pair of Canadian geese was twelve feet from me, with their eight goslings. I spent two hours listening to ducks splashing in the lake, birds chirping and singing in the trees, the occasional squirrel scurrying up a tree, and the flitting wings of dragonflies. The lilac bushes are in full bloom and the fragrances of the wild shrubs, trees and flowers filled the area, building on the scent of the woodchip pathway. This puts me at ease. It takes me back to nature, to a place where none of the stresses of life matter.
I’ve also found myself enjoying a game of soccer with my dog. Or a Frisbee session, or even just sitting outside on a warm, sunny day with him lying next to me. I used to take him for walks, but he’s in need of obedience training and the walks are less peaceful than I’d like. A good book, a few moments with a guitar in a quiet place, or a beautiful place with a pencil and notebook are also on my list of simple things that put me at ease with the world.
May 28, 2009
Rodeo, Chuckwagon Racing and the Inevitable Rise of the Teenager.
I'm choosing to make my first official post to this blog about the wonderful western tradition of rodeo and the little known (outside of Alberta) sport of chuckwagon racing. There are a number of issues I'd like to touch on in this post, and hopefully I can educate while I make my point. There are also a number of reasons why I chose to make this my first post. For one, the chuckwagon season started on May 27th, up in Grande Prairie, Alberta. I also have many friends within the rodeo community, and one incident over the weekend had me in an anxiety ridden state.
Lets start off with chuckwagon racing, shall we?
Chuckwagon racing can be found all over North America. You'll find it in small towns throughout the United States, but the most predominant area of racing is in Alberta, Canada. In fact, Alberta is THE place to be if you want to watch a chuckwagon race. It has been hailed Alberta's original extreme sport, and for good reason. Even the website of the WPCA (World Professional Chuckwagon Association) has been named http://www.halfmileofhell.com/. The half mile of hell is just that, a half mile (give or take... it's usually 3/8 - 5/8 of a mile) dirt track with more horses and men full out galloping than you would think would be safe. But as extreme and sometimes frightening as it is, it's a huge part of Alberta's history and it continues to be a major attraction throughout the summer.
The Dodge Pro Tour starts in Grande Prairie every year, and works its way through eleven (this year) towns and cities in Alberta and Northern British Columbia. The Ponoka Stampede is one stop that I frequent often. The Calgary Stampede brings chuckwagon racing to the world, through television and internet coverage on the CBC website http://www.cbc.ca/. These are by far the two biggest stops on the tour. Ponoka lasts six nights and Calgary, ten. Not only are they the longest, they are also located at the two biggest rodeo grounds in Canada. The stands are packed with fans each night, no matter the location, and people of all ages can be found cheering on their favourite drivers.
The WPCA is one of a handful of associations in Canada, including the Western Chuckwagon Association (WCA), and the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA). Despite the titles "World" and "Canadian", the majority of drivers are from Alberta. Some of the drivers, however, are from Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
The basics of chuckwagon racing, or rather, what you need to know about the chucks while you watch a race are as follows. Each race has a set number of wagons and outriders. Some races have three wagons per heat (race) while others have four... this is dependent on the size of the infield of the track in that particular town or city. Places such as Bonnyville have three wagons per heat, while Ponoka, Red Deer, and Calgary have four. Each wagon has one driver and four horses (lead team and wheel team). Each driver has two to four outriders. Outriders are guys who ride horses alongside (more often and appropriately behind) the wagon. They are essentially jockeys, though their job requires a bit more work. In a race with two outriders per wagon, one outrider holds the lead team on the wagon, while the other guy is behind the wagon, waiting to toss a rubber stove into the stove rack on the back of the wagon. When there are four outriders, those two guys do the same, while two others are in back with the stove guy, waiting to throw the tent pegs into the back of the wagon (and hopefully not hit the driver in the back of the head! heh). When the horn blows, each outrider does as they are supposed to, and the wagon takes off, completing a figure-eight around two barrels, then running the length of the track. The outriders are on the ground, running to the second barrel, then make the athletic jump onto a moving horse, complete the figure-eight as well, and burn down the track after their wagon. Outriders must finish within a certain distance from their wagon, or the driver incurs a penalty. Barrels must stay standing, stove and pegs must be in the wagon, wagons must stay on course, and drivers must not interfere with each other, or penalties will be given. Most races come down to hundredths of a second difference, so any penalty will hinder the driver's standings.
Now, people like me, who follow the chucks beyond just viewing, like to keep an eye on the standings. Drivers and outriders are given points according to race results. Obviously drivers who win races are given more points. That driver's outriders also recieve more points than the other driver's outriders. It's common for outriders to have very high points compared to drivers because they are riding more than one race each night. Some of the best can be riding in every race of the night. There is no limit on how many outriders there can be in the association, but there is a limit on drivers. There are always 36 drivers in the WPCA. They will race in every location, aside from the Calgary Stampede, for the season. The top 30 are safe for the next year, but the bottom 6 must compete against each other and other drivers in order to race in the association the following year. The Calgary Stampede sets the cut off different each year, and the remaining spots available at the CS are by invitation only.
If you watch long enough, you come to know who is the best of the best, whether it's outriders or drivers. I have to sing the praises of the Sutherland family http://www.sutherlandracing.ca/about.aspx (YES, chuckwagon racing is a family affair!), that has Kirk, Kelly (the King) and Kelly's son, Mark, all competing. Kelly has been dominating the standings for longer than I've been alive, and Mark is following closely in his footsteps, or, wheel tracks if you will. Mark uses a GPS on his wagon to clock his speed, and has been dubbed by long time race announcer, Les McIntire, the "High-tech Redneck". Another family worth noting is the Bensmiller family http://bensmillerracing.com/. Buddy Bensmiller has raised his three sons, David, Kurt, and Chance, into great drivers. The three sons do some outriding as well, but are better known for their driving. Also high on the list of great drivers, Troy Dorchester, Jerry Bremner, Jason Glass, Mike Vigen, brothers Luke and Leo Tournier, and Hugh Sinclair.
Outriders are a bit more varied, genetically and in background. Todd Goodley is from New Zealand. Chance Flad, at only 16 years of age last year was the top rookie outrider, even after missing out on the final few stops on tour after being kicked in the stomache by a horse. Reo King (also a great horse therapist) started outriding at 12 years of age and has consistently been one of the top outriders in the WPCA. Chanse Vigen (24, son of driver, Mike Vigen) has been world champion outrider three times in eight years, and came in second last year. Chad Cosgrave beat Chanse Vigen by only a few points to become world champion in 2008. Many outriders start out as barn hands for the drivers and eventually decided to try outriding. Logan James did this, as did the previously mentioned Chance Flad (whose cousins are drivers Troy and Darcy Flad).
There ARE accidents. The first race of the 2009 season saw one driver's horses refusing to turn, which led to the horses ramming into the side of another driver's wagon. The driver who was hit lost a wheel, but completed the race (probably because the horses were spooked and wouldn't stop) and ended up in second out of four because one of the two unharmed wagons knocked a barrel, recieving a five second penalty. The other driver didn't get to race. There were other glitches as well, but no one was injured. The safety of all involved, be they horses or humans comes first before the desire to race. There HAVE been injuries... to horse and human. One accident found Mark Sutherland under his wagon, holding on for dear life while outriders Reo King and Chanse Vigen came to the rescue and got the horses under control. Another accident, in 2007, had a driver ejected from his wagon, when another wagon hit his. A handful of horses had to be put down. Chanse Vigen risked his life by leaping off his horse and into the runaway wagon, then climbing onto the pole between the two wheel horses, to pull the team up, assisted (once again) by Reo King. Outriders are often the ones that save the day when things get nasty, and they take it as just being part of their jobs.
Do not think for one minute that this sport is barbaric because a horse is injured or a person is sent to hospital. And don't think that I don't care about the animal's welfare. I am a horse owner myself, and it breaks my heart to see a horse put down in a situation like this, but these thoroughbred horses are well taken care of, and are each a part of the drivers' families. Many people want this sport to be banned... just as there are people who believe that rodeo should never exist again. However, these people don't know enough to give a strong argument against the sport. People like to jump to conclusions (it is, after all, human nature... and more over, a serious lack of wisedom) and voice uneducated or ignorant opinions. Five minutes with any one driver in the association will tell you just how much they love these horses, and one day behind the scenes will easily show you the high level of safety and care that is taken in this sport.
Rodeo. Recently, I have attended rodeos to cheer on my friend's husband. He is a bull rider, and he's quite good. He started riding pro last year, and did well enough to make it to finals. He was within the top 20, if I remember correctly. I saw a lot of scary dismounts, but no one was seriously injured. The reason I brought up rodeo in the blog, is actually that same friend's 20 year old brother. he started riding saddle bronc at age 17. Everyone starts off terrible in saddle bronc, and as they get used to the event they get better. Little brother here got better very quickly. By the end of his first season (riding high school rodeo) he made it to SSIF in the USA. That's pretty impressive. He's been riding novice the past two summers, but this summer he moved up to semi-pro. You can stay in novice until you are 22, but he wasn't being challenged in novice, so he decided to move to semi-pro. Two or so months into the season (remember, his first year riding semi-pro), he was sitting 2nd overall. Yeah, he's that good. Unfortunately, he won't be in 2nd much longer. He can't ride for a month. Why? Because on Sunday, he was in an accident, or a wreck as he and his sister like to say, while competing. Accidents in saddle bronc are so very rare. This is the first time since he started bronc riding that he has been in an accident. The gist of what happened is that the horse somersaulted and my friend's brother was pinned under the horse, while it thrashed around trying to get up. He's suffering from a broken collarbone, bruised lung, and his entire body and face is bruised, including a wonderful black eye. Just hearing about it worried me, and when I saw the picture of him afterwards, I couldn't help but swear about it. Then I saw the pictures of the actual wreck. A photographer got frame by frame photos as the accident happened. It's worse than watching a video, it's slower than slow-motion. I was full of anxiety while I flipped through the photos.
Lucky for my friend's brother, he had been wearing a protective vest, or he would have been hurt much worse. It probably saved his life. He's quite upset that he's not going to be riding for a month, though. The horse, as far as anyone knows, trotted off and is fine.
These accidents are rare, but they do happen. And when they happen, the anti-rodeo folks come out in droves, protesting and writing letters. If the horse had been injured, you can bet they would have been out this week.
Now, I'd also like to mention my annual annoyance with the increase in teenage involvement on the internet. Yes, I spent a good portion of my teenage years (after I turned 14, since that's when we got our first compuer) on the internet, on forums and profile sites such as nexopia, facebook, bebo, hoverspot and myspace, but the way teenagers behave over the internet these days has me asking where their parents are. Each year, on a forum I'm a member of, around the months of May and June, we see this inevitable increase of members. Is it a coincidence that this rise occurs around the end of the school year? I think not, and we all know it. I wouldn't be bothered by this in the least, since even I joined as a teenager, if these kids were trying to be productive members of our forum community. However, they often pick fights with longstanding members and make threads that are intentionally meant to stir the pot. In other words, they joined with the sole intention of causing issues in our community. We call them trolls. They don't appreciate it. Most of these members leave on their own once they get bored of it all, others are banned. I prefer to be the bigger person (no pun intended... most of those kids are bigger than I am, physically) and ignore their threads and comments, however, some people lose patience with them... and they should. We have a limit on the forum, you must be 13 years of age or older to join. At thirteen, these kids should know better, so where oh where, are the parents? I know, you can't place the blame on the parents just because a teenager acts out. But, did they forget to teach their offspring how to be productive, polite members of society? If that generation is the future, I'm not sure I want to be around for it.
I promise, most of my posts will NOT be this long!
Lets start off with chuckwagon racing, shall we?
Chuckwagon racing can be found all over North America. You'll find it in small towns throughout the United States, but the most predominant area of racing is in Alberta, Canada. In fact, Alberta is THE place to be if you want to watch a chuckwagon race. It has been hailed Alberta's original extreme sport, and for good reason. Even the website of the WPCA (World Professional Chuckwagon Association) has been named http://www.halfmileofhell.com/. The half mile of hell is just that, a half mile (give or take... it's usually 3/8 - 5/8 of a mile) dirt track with more horses and men full out galloping than you would think would be safe. But as extreme and sometimes frightening as it is, it's a huge part of Alberta's history and it continues to be a major attraction throughout the summer.
The Dodge Pro Tour starts in Grande Prairie every year, and works its way through eleven (this year) towns and cities in Alberta and Northern British Columbia. The Ponoka Stampede is one stop that I frequent often. The Calgary Stampede brings chuckwagon racing to the world, through television and internet coverage on the CBC website http://www.cbc.ca/. These are by far the two biggest stops on the tour. Ponoka lasts six nights and Calgary, ten. Not only are they the longest, they are also located at the two biggest rodeo grounds in Canada. The stands are packed with fans each night, no matter the location, and people of all ages can be found cheering on their favourite drivers.
The WPCA is one of a handful of associations in Canada, including the Western Chuckwagon Association (WCA), and the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA). Despite the titles "World" and "Canadian", the majority of drivers are from Alberta. Some of the drivers, however, are from Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
The basics of chuckwagon racing, or rather, what you need to know about the chucks while you watch a race are as follows. Each race has a set number of wagons and outriders. Some races have three wagons per heat (race) while others have four... this is dependent on the size of the infield of the track in that particular town or city. Places such as Bonnyville have three wagons per heat, while Ponoka, Red Deer, and Calgary have four. Each wagon has one driver and four horses (lead team and wheel team). Each driver has two to four outriders. Outriders are guys who ride horses alongside (more often and appropriately behind) the wagon. They are essentially jockeys, though their job requires a bit more work. In a race with two outriders per wagon, one outrider holds the lead team on the wagon, while the other guy is behind the wagon, waiting to toss a rubber stove into the stove rack on the back of the wagon. When there are four outriders, those two guys do the same, while two others are in back with the stove guy, waiting to throw the tent pegs into the back of the wagon (and hopefully not hit the driver in the back of the head! heh). When the horn blows, each outrider does as they are supposed to, and the wagon takes off, completing a figure-eight around two barrels, then running the length of the track. The outriders are on the ground, running to the second barrel, then make the athletic jump onto a moving horse, complete the figure-eight as well, and burn down the track after their wagon. Outriders must finish within a certain distance from their wagon, or the driver incurs a penalty. Barrels must stay standing, stove and pegs must be in the wagon, wagons must stay on course, and drivers must not interfere with each other, or penalties will be given. Most races come down to hundredths of a second difference, so any penalty will hinder the driver's standings.
Now, people like me, who follow the chucks beyond just viewing, like to keep an eye on the standings. Drivers and outriders are given points according to race results. Obviously drivers who win races are given more points. That driver's outriders also recieve more points than the other driver's outriders. It's common for outriders to have very high points compared to drivers because they are riding more than one race each night. Some of the best can be riding in every race of the night. There is no limit on how many outriders there can be in the association, but there is a limit on drivers. There are always 36 drivers in the WPCA. They will race in every location, aside from the Calgary Stampede, for the season. The top 30 are safe for the next year, but the bottom 6 must compete against each other and other drivers in order to race in the association the following year. The Calgary Stampede sets the cut off different each year, and the remaining spots available at the CS are by invitation only.
If you watch long enough, you come to know who is the best of the best, whether it's outriders or drivers. I have to sing the praises of the Sutherland family http://www.sutherlandracing.ca/about.aspx (YES, chuckwagon racing is a family affair!), that has Kirk, Kelly (the King) and Kelly's son, Mark, all competing. Kelly has been dominating the standings for longer than I've been alive, and Mark is following closely in his footsteps, or, wheel tracks if you will. Mark uses a GPS on his wagon to clock his speed, and has been dubbed by long time race announcer, Les McIntire, the "High-tech Redneck". Another family worth noting is the Bensmiller family http://bensmillerracing.com/. Buddy Bensmiller has raised his three sons, David, Kurt, and Chance, into great drivers. The three sons do some outriding as well, but are better known for their driving. Also high on the list of great drivers, Troy Dorchester, Jerry Bremner, Jason Glass, Mike Vigen, brothers Luke and Leo Tournier, and Hugh Sinclair.
Outriders are a bit more varied, genetically and in background. Todd Goodley is from New Zealand. Chance Flad, at only 16 years of age last year was the top rookie outrider, even after missing out on the final few stops on tour after being kicked in the stomache by a horse. Reo King (also a great horse therapist) started outriding at 12 years of age and has consistently been one of the top outriders in the WPCA. Chanse Vigen (24, son of driver, Mike Vigen) has been world champion outrider three times in eight years, and came in second last year. Chad Cosgrave beat Chanse Vigen by only a few points to become world champion in 2008. Many outriders start out as barn hands for the drivers and eventually decided to try outriding. Logan James did this, as did the previously mentioned Chance Flad (whose cousins are drivers Troy and Darcy Flad).
There ARE accidents. The first race of the 2009 season saw one driver's horses refusing to turn, which led to the horses ramming into the side of another driver's wagon. The driver who was hit lost a wheel, but completed the race (probably because the horses were spooked and wouldn't stop) and ended up in second out of four because one of the two unharmed wagons knocked a barrel, recieving a five second penalty. The other driver didn't get to race. There were other glitches as well, but no one was injured. The safety of all involved, be they horses or humans comes first before the desire to race. There HAVE been injuries... to horse and human. One accident found Mark Sutherland under his wagon, holding on for dear life while outriders Reo King and Chanse Vigen came to the rescue and got the horses under control. Another accident, in 2007, had a driver ejected from his wagon, when another wagon hit his. A handful of horses had to be put down. Chanse Vigen risked his life by leaping off his horse and into the runaway wagon, then climbing onto the pole between the two wheel horses, to pull the team up, assisted (once again) by Reo King. Outriders are often the ones that save the day when things get nasty, and they take it as just being part of their jobs.
Do not think for one minute that this sport is barbaric because a horse is injured or a person is sent to hospital. And don't think that I don't care about the animal's welfare. I am a horse owner myself, and it breaks my heart to see a horse put down in a situation like this, but these thoroughbred horses are well taken care of, and are each a part of the drivers' families. Many people want this sport to be banned... just as there are people who believe that rodeo should never exist again. However, these people don't know enough to give a strong argument against the sport. People like to jump to conclusions (it is, after all, human nature... and more over, a serious lack of wisedom) and voice uneducated or ignorant opinions. Five minutes with any one driver in the association will tell you just how much they love these horses, and one day behind the scenes will easily show you the high level of safety and care that is taken in this sport.
Rodeo. Recently, I have attended rodeos to cheer on my friend's husband. He is a bull rider, and he's quite good. He started riding pro last year, and did well enough to make it to finals. He was within the top 20, if I remember correctly. I saw a lot of scary dismounts, but no one was seriously injured. The reason I brought up rodeo in the blog, is actually that same friend's 20 year old brother. he started riding saddle bronc at age 17. Everyone starts off terrible in saddle bronc, and as they get used to the event they get better. Little brother here got better very quickly. By the end of his first season (riding high school rodeo) he made it to SSIF in the USA. That's pretty impressive. He's been riding novice the past two summers, but this summer he moved up to semi-pro. You can stay in novice until you are 22, but he wasn't being challenged in novice, so he decided to move to semi-pro. Two or so months into the season (remember, his first year riding semi-pro), he was sitting 2nd overall. Yeah, he's that good. Unfortunately, he won't be in 2nd much longer. He can't ride for a month. Why? Because on Sunday, he was in an accident, or a wreck as he and his sister like to say, while competing. Accidents in saddle bronc are so very rare. This is the first time since he started bronc riding that he has been in an accident. The gist of what happened is that the horse somersaulted and my friend's brother was pinned under the horse, while it thrashed around trying to get up. He's suffering from a broken collarbone, bruised lung, and his entire body and face is bruised, including a wonderful black eye. Just hearing about it worried me, and when I saw the picture of him afterwards, I couldn't help but swear about it. Then I saw the pictures of the actual wreck. A photographer got frame by frame photos as the accident happened. It's worse than watching a video, it's slower than slow-motion. I was full of anxiety while I flipped through the photos.
Lucky for my friend's brother, he had been wearing a protective vest, or he would have been hurt much worse. It probably saved his life. He's quite upset that he's not going to be riding for a month, though. The horse, as far as anyone knows, trotted off and is fine.
These accidents are rare, but they do happen. And when they happen, the anti-rodeo folks come out in droves, protesting and writing letters. If the horse had been injured, you can bet they would have been out this week.
Now, I'd also like to mention my annual annoyance with the increase in teenage involvement on the internet. Yes, I spent a good portion of my teenage years (after I turned 14, since that's when we got our first compuer) on the internet, on forums and profile sites such as nexopia, facebook, bebo, hoverspot and myspace, but the way teenagers behave over the internet these days has me asking where their parents are. Each year, on a forum I'm a member of, around the months of May and June, we see this inevitable increase of members. Is it a coincidence that this rise occurs around the end of the school year? I think not, and we all know it. I wouldn't be bothered by this in the least, since even I joined as a teenager, if these kids were trying to be productive members of our forum community. However, they often pick fights with longstanding members and make threads that are intentionally meant to stir the pot. In other words, they joined with the sole intention of causing issues in our community. We call them trolls. They don't appreciate it. Most of these members leave on their own once they get bored of it all, others are banned. I prefer to be the bigger person (no pun intended... most of those kids are bigger than I am, physically) and ignore their threads and comments, however, some people lose patience with them... and they should. We have a limit on the forum, you must be 13 years of age or older to join. At thirteen, these kids should know better, so where oh where, are the parents? I know, you can't place the blame on the parents just because a teenager acts out. But, did they forget to teach their offspring how to be productive, polite members of society? If that generation is the future, I'm not sure I want to be around for it.
I promise, most of my posts will NOT be this long!
Hello!
This doesn't count as the first entry obviously. I'm just here today to let you know what this blog is going to be about. I'm going to be giving my opinion on an issue as often as I can, sometimes. The issue may be international, national, local, personal, political (although that is unlikely), health related, animal related, child/family matters, food related, entertainment related (e.g., music, movies, television), related to the Arts, weather related (given my location, these will likely be vents rather than boasts, but hey, what can you do?), educational (not only about educational, but actually educational), activity related, sports related, etc. In other words, just about anything that comes up is fair game for this blog. A lot of these entries will be my disagreeance/agreeance with how things are being done, what I think people need to know, and what is being left out. Other times these entries will be intended to promote things and create awareness. And sometimes, just because I feel like it. Anyways, that's a quick summary of the future of Matters of Perspective and I hope you come back to read the entries that will follow this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)