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bearish
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 19th, 2018, 1:50 am

From Pattern Recognition:

"It is a way now, approximately, of being at home. The forum has become one of the most consistent places of her life, like a familiar cafe that exists somewhere outside geography and beyond time zones.
There are perhaps twenty regular posters on F:F:F:, and some much larger and uncounted number of lurkers. "
 
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trackstar
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 19th, 2018, 1:58 am

Indeed. And you can come and go as you please. (well, sort of....) ;)
 
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katastrofa
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 19th, 2018, 3:51 am

I imagine Trackstar as a mixture of The Crying of Lot 49's Oedipa Maas and The Great Gatsby's Jordan Baker :-)

I actually believe that I cannot get addicted to anything (I've never taken any hard drugs though). I've irrevocably lost so many things in my life, or faith in them, that resisting some stimulant or comfort seems not much of a challenge. I would just indifferently contemplate the pain... or go to play Starcraft. That wasn't supposed to sound like whining! :D
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 19th, 2018, 7:55 am

I imagine Trackstar as a mixture of The Crying of Lot 49's Oedipa Maas and The Great Gatsby's Jordan Baker :-)
Interesting choices and two great books.

But the character that really resonates with me is Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises.

I almost never identify with female characters in novels.

So think of Jake, with more fishing and writing about bull fighting, but substitute fruit and vegetable smoothies for alcohol. ;)

And good luck with the rest of that. Mountain climbing might be better than Starcraft, if the going gets really tough.
 
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katastrofa
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 19th, 2018, 11:22 am

Jake Barnes on smoothies? I'll try to imagine that :-D
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 1:22 am

This evening - a little Grand Prix jumping - this is a wonderful clean round.
If you watch carefully you can see the communication between horse and rider, the tempo, the measured strides between jumps, and he is clearing each one with so much room to spare. 

Although I know some might feel this type of event is horse "abuse" - he actually loves this game.  

Have a closer look - at about 2:50, when they have finished the round (and these are really high, tough jumps), they are passing to the left of one of the jumps and the horse still wants to go for it.  He looks and pulls to the right in a sustained way.  

Great feeling to work with a horse like that. Hopefully I can find one this fall.
 
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katastrofa
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 1:46 am

I used to ride in the past - or bribe horses with treats to do what I wanted, to be more precise. I only don't like racing, which is simply a blood sport. I've met people who claimed that keeping my cats as pets was cruelty. If it is, I guess dressage is too :-) At the stables where I rode I met a girl who was a dressage champion. I though she started as a small child, but she told me that she had actually sat on a horse for the first time only 2 years before winning the title! She attributed their success to the special bond they had with her horse. You could try too :-)
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 2:09 am

When I returned to riding after a long time away, I took dressage lessons for about two years before getting back into jumping.

It was excellent - and I trained on long lines, with no stirrups, no reins, just leg pressure and balance.

But once I was really comfortable ("got my seat back" as they say) I was dreaming of jumping. That's where I really excelled as a young teenager.

So now I will work on both aspects. If I had time, I'd train for three-day eventing.

Here's how it looks and sounds on a cross country course:
There is even some wind whistling all around... :)

When I watch this video, it clicks right in.  
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 11:27 am

A nice way to start the day - watching round the world sailing videos at dawn. 
The Vendée Globe  is a single-handed round the world race.

It takes about 75 days (for the winner) now; this is down from 109 days for the first event in 1989-90.

The next one starts in 2020, but there is a lot of action leading up to that, of course. 

Nice write up with lists of order of finish for all races and further links to the sailors who made the journey.  Vendee Globe on Wikipedia
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 7:05 pm

Heading up to the mountains to celebrate the Equinox.

Not K2, but the highest range in this part of the world. Beautiful up there, and packing several cameras and warm clothing!

Buddha will watch over Universe Tea while I am gone. 

Take care, people. : )
 
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katastrofa
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 7:58 pm

Alone? Is it safe for you?
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 8:08 pm

Alone? Is it safe for you?
LOL.  Thank you for your concern.
I know the area quite well and if I am going on a long hike, I usually go with my sister.
Besides, the natural world is probably safer than this Forum, at least in the current Vico cycle, for what that's worth. ; )
Last edited by trackstar on September 20th, 2018, 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 8:13 pm

Food for thought:

Vico believed in a cyclical philosophy of history where human history is created by man. His term for the cyclical nature of history was "corsi e ricorsi". Most importantly, man and society move in parallel from barbarism to civilization.
As societies become more developed socially, human nature also develops, and both manifest their development in changes in language, myth, folklore, economy, etc.; in short, social change produces cultural change.
So, after reaching some kind of pinnacle, does it descend back into barbarism and rise again?

And if so, what stage is present right now?

And does the phrase "corsi e ricorsi" delight or dismay, being in an elegant foreign tongue?
Last edited by trackstar on September 20th, 2018, 8:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
 
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 8:17 pm

A little closer to Heaven and only a few hours to the north.
hotel in the mountains.jpg
TTFN. : )
 
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katastrofa
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Re: Universe Tea - Blog 2018

September 20th, 2018, 8:28 pm

Alone? Is it safe for you?
LOL.  Thank you for your concern.
I know the area quite well and if I am going on a long hike, I usually go with my sister.
Besides, the natural world is probably safer than this Forum, at least in the current Vico cycle, for what that's worth. ; )
Of course I'm concerned. I grew to like you.
I haven't noticed any danger in the forum, so it's probably me. I should probably go back to the shadow for the time being :-)
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