Journalism. Opinion. Humour.

Riding a 1,200-pound animal when you’ve reached the age of diminishing bounce-backability means fear is inevitably a factor. It’s a factor for the horse, too.

Everyone has a conference nowadays. Zucchini farmers, dental hygienists, the world music industry. You network, you learn stuff: Biotech zucchinis may cure obesity. Laser technology proves George Washington’s teeth weren’t made of wood. World music as a genre may be dying.

The greying, dreadlocked ‘minister of cool,’ as Gilberto Gil has been nicknamed, is regularly seen striding through international airports on government business, guitar strapped across his back.

How old is a woman of a certain age? According to a 1995 column in the New York Times “only a Nosy Parker would try and find out.” One thing is for certain — older women have considerable presence in the horse world today.

Kane could have created a show about the rich defending the even richer, but instead he chose to set Diggstown in the “socio-economically challenged” world of legal aid clients.

When I was a kid, my parents, avid readers, talked about opening up a bookstore in a small prairie town. The town was best known for car shows, power tobogganing, and a failing newspaper — possibly not the ideal marketplace.

It’s not like you’re the first. Other substitute teachers have come out with some real dillys too. Who can forget “think of your spine as a flexible snake in space?”

How do you know if a horse loves you? When are they truly connected to you as opposed to another human being? The scientific community has had similar questions.

Half a dozen Quarter Horses gallop across a huge stage causing the audience to gasp and applaud. Minutes later, three Lusitano stallions perform “la liberté” with French trainer Frédéric Pignon. It’s a ballet of silent communication — no tack required.

The counter staff is shimmying to the sound of Buena Vista Social Club as Ry Cooder strolls in. He grins. It still tickles him that it’s cafés, boutiques, and public radio that made it a “word of mouth” success.

How did a down-to-earth, second generation Portuguese-Canadian girl from Victoria land in the Spielberg kingdom? It started with her family, whose embrace of Portuguese culture was responsible for her love of singing.

It was fresh, it was shocking and people loved it. It’s easy to forget today how groundbreaking Jagged Little Pill was at the time.

As composer John Rutter puts it, “Choral music goes to the very heart of our humanity, our sense of community, and our souls.”