October 2007

The Wild Horse Race is a thrilling rodeo event at which 10 wild horses compete for audience applause by racing around the arena and trying to stomp the tar out of 30 lunatic cowboys. These cowboys (and the occasional cowgirl, but most girls are too smart for this) are tricked into participating by letting them believe they are racing to see which 3-person team can be the first to saddle and ride one of the wild horses.

The first time I saw this event, I was just nine years old, and was pretty smart for a kid. I remember thinking, “Why on earth would anyone enter in this event?” As I reached my late teens, however, my brains began vacationing in the same crevice that most teenagers’ brains do, and I found myself anxiously awaiting my 18^th birthday. Not because I could vote or drink legally, but because I could finally enter the Wild Horse Race in the annual 3-day rodeo held every Labor Day weekend in western Michigan

That first year, I recruited two of the toughest guys I knew, who happened to be pretty good horsemen. At the rodeo grounds where we camped for the weekend, we met some of the other Wild Horse Racers the night before the first performance. They were nice enough, and gave us one piece of advice. If we drew a horse named Trash, we should just let her go. She’s wicked and mean, and there was no sense in us getting hurt our first time out. We thanked them, but amongst ourselves we figured we were tougher cowboys and better horsemen than they realized, and agreed that if we drew Trash, we could win with her. Of course we did draw Trash. Read More >>

I’ve submitted an article (a story, really) about an uncommon rodeo event called the Wild Horse Race to AC. Eventually I’ll post all or part of it here, but I want to see how it does there, first.

A list of some of the old shows being revamped for new series or movies, ala “The Bionic Woman.” For example, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is appearing as a cool superspy in the new “Get Smart!” movie. Read the article here.

The Charity Music article has been published by Associated Content here.  I’ll probably follow up by putting it on Helium, but I’ve heard that Google doesn’t like seeing identical content in multiple places, so I’ll probably re-work it a bit.  I’m told that rewording about 30% of the article is enough.  In the mean time, check it out on AC!

While waiting for Associated Content to publish the Charity Music article (something they’ve now agreed to do), I wrote a quick little overview of SSH and published it on Helium, where it’s now rated #1 of 2. What is SSH? The nice thing about Helium is that your submissions are published more or less immediately.

Well, I finished the article about Charity Music, and while it is a bit promotional in nature, it is mostly informative. Alas, Constant Content turned it down, claiming that it was a promotional article. I have submitted it to Associated Content, and will probably also try Helium. Other suggestions appreciated. The following is an excerpt from the article. Let me know what you think. I’ll post the link to the first place that accepts it for publication. If I can’t get anyone to publish it in the next week or so, I’ll post the entire article here.

Wise is the Gift of Music
Confucius said “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” St. Francis of Assisi said “For it is in giving that we receive.” Combining the sage advice of these wise men helps us to understand the passion and commitment of the people behind Charity Music. Charity Music is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public service organization whose mission is to help cultivate the next crop of upcoming artists. They do this by providing musical instruments on loan, at no charge, to individuals wishing to explore their hidden musical talents. Students, senior citizens, community groups, and military personnel have benefited from the program, receiving musical instruments they would not otherwise have been able to afford.

Advantages to Students
There is a large and growing body of research evidence which shows that students participating in musical instruction enjoy a number of advantages over their non-musical counterparts, even when overcoming social and economic obstacles. For example, they tend to perform better on standardized tests, and get better grades in reading, math, language arts, and science. They tend to be less prone to alcohol abuse and are emotionally healthier in general. And consider this – according to a study conducted by noted educational researcher Peter Wood, music majors have the highest percentage of acceptance into medical school – 50% higher than biochemistry majors for instance.