Misc. recent posts, including Watch This Horse!

It’s been ungodly hot here in Kansas City the last week or so; I’ve watered the two newest trees, a dogwood and a maple, because I’ve seen an unusually large number of dead or dying trees in the neighborhood. The dogs are staying inside nearly all the time; Scarlett, my Brittany, goes outside to hunt in the yard only after dark, when it is bearable.

School is ramping up! Faculty meetings get rolling this week, and some of the students (athletes, mostly) are already on campus. They are moving into the brand-new dorm, and suddenly we are seeing nice walkways, a beautiful terrace, and landscaping around the new dorm out back of Foyle Hall. Inside Foyle, renovations are speeding along in our “beautiful room,” which (we are told) will be finished in time for our first meeting of the Mindfulness-Based Wellness program in just over two weeks.

I’ve put up a lot of interesting links the past few days. My favorite is the short video, labeled under “del.icio.us” as “Watch This Horse!” It is an absolutely magnificent performance, I’ve seen it three times already, and it brings tears to my eyes every time.

There’s a weird article in NYT (“Our Lives Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch”) that (in all seriousness) describes the theory that we are all characters in some future entity’s video game. And a nicely done piece (“Getting Corrected”) by a woman who describes what it’s like to be instructed about why it’s not OK to be a feminist. And, under the science links: evidence that life began in space; and another study indicating that the practice of tai chi improves immune function.