Loch Ness Monster, Thoroughbreds & Ads

Yesterday, in the year 565 (and that's 1447 years ago), was the first reported sighting of the monster in Loch Ness, Scotland. An Irish missionary wrote that he saw a huge, long-necked creature arise from the water of the loch and pull another man into the water, before submerging and disappearing. How does the story of this creature stay alive? I know there were reported sightings throughout the years; between October 1871 and August 1933, there were 14 reported sightings. In 1934, a road was built around the loch, and sightings became more frequent, with a London paper printing a photo taken by a well-known physician (lately proved a hoax). Loch Ness is almost 23 miles long, nearly 800 feet deep and stocked with salmon, eels, trout and sturgeon. The lake was formed by melting Ice Age glaciers some 10,000 years ago, and is a body of freshwater. The last sighting of "Nessie" was reported on 2 November 2011, but it had last been seen on 17 June in 1998.   Has he/she/it finally passed away? Was it really a trapped plesiosaur (and, possibly, family?) from the Jurassic period? I think that as long as man has dreams and imagination, there will always be a monster in Loch Ness, a Bigfoot or Sasquatch in the northwestern US, and Yetis or Abominable Snowmen in the Himalayas. After all, humans need dreams and imagination to continue to grow and explore with every generation... When there are no more questions to be answered, I think mankind will swirl down the drain of life.

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   I have to say that this year's crop of three-year-old colts has been a disappointment. Yes, I'll Have Another won two of the three Triple Crown races; Union Rags won the third; Bodemeister was runner-up in two of the Triple Crown races and was a Grade I winner.  And it was just announced that Hansen, the striking grey colt, has an injured tendon and will probably be retired, also. All three colts have been retired from racing due to leg problems; all might have been able to race again, next year, if given time off and allowed to heal.   Then again, are we Americans breeding the thoroughbred race horse into something that can't run beyond three years of age? Surely not! What about Seabiscuit? - Oh, yeah... He ran in the 1930s. What about Kelso, Forego, and John Henry? They raced into their later years - but they were all geldings, and couldn't pass along their wonderful racing genes of strength and longevity on the track to new generations. I really am beginning to believe that the USA is breeding the thoroughbred into disaster. How many horses today could contend in the old type of racing - in four mile heats, sometimes running three in one period of daylight? Perhaps steeplechasers could compete, and perhaps three-day event horses could compete - but I can't think of one horse, who could, today, race in the old fashioned manner. Perhaps Secretariat and Man o' War could have done so... But I really don't think that today's thoroughbreds - bred anywhere in the world - can hold a candle to the old racers: Cade, Regulus, Lath, and the original Eclipse. The Breeders Cup will be held the first weekend of November at Santa Anita - we'll have to see who will be able to run...

   While watching Jeopardy! last night, I counted commercials: there were three normal ads (ie: cars, toothpaste, grocery shopping); nine ads for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan; and three ads for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Can I guess which party has more money? - I am so sick of seeing the same political ads, and it's only the end of August! I think the ads I find most offensive are the ones that neither Romney nor Obama have approved - the ads claiming to be from different support groups. Bah! Humbug! You can tell from the way the ads start, as to whether it is pro or anti someone. I will be very happy when this Presidential election is over!

  We're expecting afternoon thunderstorms, which will be a welcome relief...  It's partly cloudy, and a nice breeze is blowing from the west.  The haze from the western wildfires is still present, as one can barely see the Indian Peaks and Mount Audubon from my place.  Oh, well....