And their first instinctual reaction is to flee. Everything we do in education is to teach the horse to stop, stand still — You're in doubt, stand still.

My aids, or my commands to the horse, should not be visible to the naked eye. It's kind of like when you and I are talking. We're supposed to just talk in a normal conversation and not yell. A horse is no different from us. They don't want us yelling at them, verbally or physically.

I know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem, an inconvenience is losing a job. A problem is a spinal cord injury.

All of that snorting, it's just like an algebra problem. We're going to give him a job. By giving him a job, I keep his mind active.

Sometimes it feels as if the artist hasn't done the real work of engaging with the material. Film noir can't just play off looks and attitudes. A thriller needs a dose of genuine suspense. It does not have to be literal, but it does have to feel genuine. Otherwise the artist is just leeching off the form.

I first wrote about Michael Jackson in the 1980s. His skin was growing paler, his features thinner, and his aura more feminine. Some called him a traitor to his race. Some fussed about his gender fluidity. I saw him as a post-modern shape-shifter. But the shifts grew more extreme and mysterious.