(no subject)

[fj]

The writing on Battlestar Galactica is slipping. I know this because I finally had time to catch up with the first three episodes of the Spring season. I had time, sitting in a train from Amsterdam to Maastricht (change in Sittard), two and half hours to, and back later at night. I sunk down into the chair, built for a people all my size, put on headphones and just watched the hours away. I have seen the landscape outside often enough. It's gray and rainy here anyway this month.

My eldest sister picked me up so I could spend time with her and her children, just doing stuff in and around their home in a small town in Belgium. We went to the stables where they are learning how to ride horseback. Got some nostalgia from when I learned as a tyke, in Colombia. I never got to riding saddle, the instructor had this thing of having the kids get a feel for horses by doing a year of vaulting first, but before I could graduate to proper riding, we moved continents. So yes, my eight-year-old self knows how jump on a trotting horse, how to stay on his back sitting on my knees, sitting without a saddle, turning to sit without a saddle facing backwards, standing upright (you can hold on to the mane for balance, they don't care), but I have no idea how to make a horse go forward when in a regular saddle holding regular reigns.

You never knew this about me, did you? I kind of forgot myself, and horseback riding just doesn't come up in conversation much in my life. I can vaguely remember I actually once did do proper horseback riding as an adult, but it must have been slow and short and on a really nice horse.

So my nephews, between 11 and 8, do know how to saddle up their horse (or pony, so cute), how to ride, do the little bouncing thing. My sister and I watched their lesson through the windows in the canteen, while we talked. No mishaps, no stalls, btw. We went home, I stayed for dinner, I showed them my phone, my laptop, we talked some. My eldest sister worked really hard to call me (Uncle) FJ, which wasn't easy for her. I can't help thinking someone must have talked to her. I do not think I expressed enough how much I appreciated it.

Comments

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

This post is like a Simpson's episode; I thought it was going to be about B*G, then it turns out to be about horseback riding.

I had the same feeling about the writing slipping, but couldn't put my finger on more than a couple of concrete reasons I thought so.

In high school, some friends once took me horseback riding, but we didn't have any lessons. I found it a very frustrating experience. Maybe I should have tried vaulting instead.

[fj.livejournal.com]

Wrong journal.

DO you know how hard it was to write this without using the word 'bareback'?

[that-dang-otter.livejournal.com]

I can well imagine. ;-)

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, with the exception of "Resurrection Ship", the first few post-break episodes have been just embarrassingly bad. The most recent one was slightly better, so maybe they just hit a rough spot, but it's still been kinda disturbing: just when I finally got a lot of my friends into the show, it started seriously slipping.

(bah, feel free to delete the anon version of that comment -- didn't realize I wasn't logged in)

[rsc.livejournal.com]

I learned how to ride a horse at about the same age as your nephews (at a summer camp I went to from ages 8-12, which was also a small farm). I was never particularly good at it, and I don't think anyone's getting me on a horse now, 50 years on. (I had the opportunity when we were in Costa Rica two years ago, and I didn't take advantage of it.)

By the way, those things are "reins". Horses have reins, queens have reigns. (Don't ask me about queens on horseback.) You've been corrupted by all the people who think there's such an expression as "free reign".

Yay for your sister for calling you by your name!

[jwg.livejournal.com]

I used to ride ponies at a summer camp when I was ~8-12. It was kind of fun. Usually in a ring but we took a couple of trips on local roads (unpaved since these ponies were unshod.

A bunch of years later I went horseback riding once with some of my hiking friends. My horse caught on right away that I didn't know what I was doing so he ignored just about everything I tried to get him to do - start, stop, turn, etc. At least he didn't try to throw me. I'm sure he enjoyed this much more than I did and I've never gone again.

[phornax.livejournal.com]

You never knew this about me, did you? I kind of forgot myself, and horseback riding just doesn't come up in conversation much in my life. I can vaguely remember I actually once did do proper horseback riding as an adult, but it must have been slow and short and on a really nice horse.

Huh. I always wondered what you could have possibly had in common with Melinda (other than U-No-Hu).

Were you blemished by the Flemish? It's good to know she doesn't call you [censored: mumble-mumble] any more.

[vasilatos]

VAULTING? What an odd way to teach riding.

I took riding lessons (English, which is the bouncing thing -- posting -- you mentioned), but we had horses at home, so I rode bareback and Western too. Every now and then I think I would like to ride again, but it's so much trouble for the horse, just a huge amount of maintenance with the saddle and cool-down and stuff. Fun, though.

And yeah, good for your sister.

[fj.livejournal.com]

He was a strange instructor.

Anyway, what is the difference between English and Western?

[vasilatos]

English uses a flatter, smaller saddle, and one posts (bouncing) while riding during a trot. Western uses a larger saddle with a pommel, and there's no need to post; it's a little rougher on the crotch, but easier from a skill standpoint (no posting, and you can hold onto the pommel).

[jpeace.livejournal.com]

Oh man, wait until 2.14, Black Market. Tragically bad episode.

It's not all bad though, promise. More than worth most people's time.

[comicsfan.livejournal.com]

BG has lost momentum a little. It's only logical that we'd get some episodes with some of the internal stuff, like intership politics and trading--but the Cylons are being shunted to the back burner, which doesn't seem wise since they're plastered on every episode opener. "They have a plan," apparently, but it doesn't seem too important to the writers this half of the season.

[cinenaut.livejournal.com]

Ron Moore, in his podcast episode commentaries, has expressed dissatisfaction with the last two episodes. So hopefully he’ll make a some adjustments.

I learned to ride bareback first, and have never felt comfortable in a saddle.

[fj.livejournal.com]

I wonder what production lead time is. Maybe the soonest the adjustments will be seen is Season 3.