Barbaro

Barbaro the racehorse died today. Why is it that this very public death of a racehorse has not lead to questions concerning the conduct of those racing these animals (chiefly the owners and trainers of thoroughbreds)? I am not a horse person, but my sister and mother are. They treat their horses with the utmost care. When my sister bought her horse, Clover as a filly, she waited several years before she even began to ride the horse. A young horse's bones and muscles simply aren't ready for the kind of strain placed upon them during these high-stakes races (Derby, Preakness, Belmont).

Racing young horses like Barbaro is cruel and unwise and I am sickened by the treatment of many of these wonderfully intelligent and amazing creatures.

Find out more at http://www.fund4horses.org/info.php?id=765

Gilbert!!!

My Beta fish is sick. He has some sort of bacterial infection that causes his fins to stick together. I called Petsmart. Guess what, they are not Pet Smart! If I hadn't called a local tropical fish store, and just taken Petsmart's word on what to do for poor Gilbert, he would probably die within a few days. The lady at the fish store told me to wrap a towel around his tank at night and to put aquarium salt in his water as well. That's all he needs! Petsmart told me to buy something called Betafix which turns out to be completely worthless!

I'm glad I found this out sooner than later. My sad little fish has been rather listless and skittish lately. I would be too if I had some sort of evil bacteria eating my fins. Poor Gilbert!

New Superhero

Okay, I wasn't really happy with my previous superhero post for IF, so I tweaked it. I recently read a speech by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn in which he quoted the great Dostoevsky. "Beauty will save the world." True beauty is unstoppable. Solzhenitsyn goes on to say something marvelous. "...a work of art bears within itself its own verification...those works of art which have scooped up the truth and presented it to us as a living force, they take hold of us, compel us, and nobody ever, not even in ages to come, will appear to refute them." This is the soul of art. The nitty-gritty. I am always trying to live up to this standard (I usually fail, but a girl can dream). If we dreamers keep on trying and falling flat on our faces, eventually a few of us will achieve in our work the "living force" Solzhenitsyn speaks of. A beautiful thought, wrapped in truth!

Illustration Friday "Superhero"

New Music Tuesdays

Does anyone know why iTunes sends out its "New Music Tuesday" email on Wednesday? Hmmm, I suppose this is part of a greater conspiracy to drive me crazy. I always feel bad on Wednesday, when I see what I've missed, but I can never remember to actually go to the iTunes website to take advantage of the new music offered on Tuesday. A vicious cycle!

Oh well, I guess I don't need all that free stuff anyways because there's always youtube.

An Illustration

Can anyone guess what this illustration is about? I'll give you a hint, this young lady is excessively diverting.

Breathless

"I want to become immortal and then die"

--A quote from the movie "Breathless"

Mammoth Cave Adventure

I've neglected to mention the strangest thing I've done of late. During the last weekend of Christmas break, I took a wild cave tour. Now, we're not talking about a stay on the lighted trail kind of cave tour. We're talking down and dirty, six hour long, no part of your body may be more than 40 inches in diameter kind of tour. We clambered through such limestone formations as "The Cheese Grater" and "The Hell Hole". We climbed down a cliff with a 30 foot vertical drop below. We wriggled through a tunnel called "The Birth Canal", and to top it all off, we shimmied through a cleft in the rock that forced you to keep your head tilted to the side (you don't fit otherwise).

The Mammoth Cave system is the longest in the world, and also contains the most gorgeous collection of tunnels, rooms and caverns. I saw beautiful gypsum crystal flowers growing right out of the rock. Sometimes the crystal coated cave ceilings would sparkle like the night sky. Oh yes, and then there were the cave crickets. Ghastly looking creatures which are really quite harmless.

The sheer physicality of the tour was incredible. There was no backing out. We crawled down slippery walls and waded through knee-deep, ice-cold water. I think it very smart of the guides to not explain beforehand in detail what we would be doing during the tour. Most of us would have said "no thanks!" at that point. However, I am so glad I went. I had an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. Being in a cave is a strange thing. You begin to feel disconnected with the world above you. It's relaxing, really. You have nothing to worry about except the task ahead of you. The serenity of the cave calms you. The silence of being a part of the living earth awakens an instinctual part of the human psyche. Yes, there is fear in the cave, but there is also discovery. The chance to witness things most people never see. Your curiosity overcomes fear, and you stand dwarfed by the immensity of creation.

The men and women who first explored the labyrinth of Mammoth Cave possessed extraordinary curiosity. To go into a dark hole with nothing more than a candle and your wits is something akin to driving a car blindfolded. Whatever drove them still drives modern cavers to continue exploration. They are still mapping new passageways in the Mammoth Cave system.

Some highlights of the day:

-Almost running into a hibernating bat (sorry little guy).

-Eating a meager lunch in the Snowball Room (a room with gypsum formations that actually look like snowballs stuck to the ceiling and walls).

-Going head-first into the “Hell Hole” (sounds better than it really was).

-Bonking my head on numerous sharp rocks.

-Observing the horrified looks on peoples faces when we passed the two hour (for sissies) cave tour (we felt and looked like tough stuff, especially considering that we were covered from head to toe in mud).

-The Cave Rat (she was so darn cute).

Illustration Friday "Buzz"

Mockingbird

A nice little sketch for another Deep article. I don't think this one's going to make it to final. However, the idea incorporates elements from my children's book cover. I'm liking the bubble, very useful!

New Look!!!

Oooooh, fancy new blog.

I finally updated my blog. The new blogger format is wonderful. More updates to come!