I'm so glad you were able to find the lost personal statement!
When I chose the community college to UC route, I thought that I had escaped having to do PIQs. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered I still had to do them as a transfer student. Mine turned out just alright, and I definitely could have benefited from your workshop, but it all worked out in the end. I had guaranteed admission from the TAG program anyways, and just yesterday I finished my first year at UC Davis. Crazy to think that I'm graduating next year!
I love how you connected your newsletter to lost media. I'm also just a peripheral member of the community, but it has been such a joy watching them successfully track down "Ulterior Motives." I knew it had to be from a movie, I just didn't expect it to be *that* kind of movie haha! Regardless, I love a good comeback story, and I'm so happy that the Booth brothers are getting the recognition they deserve all these years later. I ordered the CD, so expect to hear a song or two from the Booth brothers when my show returns in the fall!
I was studying hard for finals last weekend, but last weekend was also the Belmont Stakes, and you know nothing can keep me away from my horse races! I thought Sierra Leone would redeem himself after his close 2nd place finish in the Derby, but Dornoch (a full brother to last year's Kentucky Derby winner) managed to pull off the upset. Seize the Grey and Mystik Dan finished 7th and 8th. Overall, I felt very satisfied by this year's Triple Crown season, and it will be very interesting to see who ends up being crowned champion three-year-old colt by the year's end. Right now, the consensus is that Thorpedo Anna (a filly!) is the best three-year-old in the country.
I’m impressed that you did write meaningful PIQs—almost all the TAG students I knew submitted gibberish :) When the stakes are low, I swear they are a meaningful writing task! Congratulations on one year down and one year closer to diploma day!
You have just informed me that the Booth Brothers are releasing a CD. I will also order this CD. What better than a physical representation of this cool, in the internet ether, search than that? I’m happy for those guys—I wrote about obscure artist stories last summer and I’m confident this will become a Hollywood or Netflix documentary in our lifetimes.
I also missed that Belmont was last week. I was so gassed after the writing class week that I barely noticed anything. I’m hope it was an exciting race. Your mention of “champion by year’s end” made me aware that the Triple Crown must be a part of a season-long series of competitions, a la Formula 1 or NASCAR (two sports I know little about beyond the race for points). I’d assume that Triple Crown Winners almost always win, but maybe it’s like golf where winning a few majors doesn’t fully overcome lots of top finishes in smaller tournaments? How sports organize always fascinates me.
Enjoy your first leg of summer! (And, of course, thanks for reading and responding.)
Horse racing is a year-round sport in the US, although winter is usually the quietest season because of weather constraints. Focusing on just the three-year old colts, January through April is all about earning points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Points are awarded based on how well horses finish in prep races held all across the country. As you know, the Triple Crown races run from the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May to the Belmont Stakes in early June.
You are correct, winning all three races of Triple Crown is so rare, that doing so almost automatically makes you champion 3-year-old champion, regardless of what happens in the second half of the year. Justify, the most recent Triple Crown winner, never raced again after his victory in the Belmont but was still unanimously crowned champion three-year-old in 2018. Fun fact: I have a poster of Justify signed by his jockey, Mike Smith!
The next big race for three-year olds is the Haskell Stakes in July, but the Travers Stakes in August is even more prestigious. In the fall, the focus shifts towards preparing for the Breeders' Cup, which is essentially the year-end championships. There's a race for nearly every division (ex: two-year olds, female sprinters, turf milers, etc.), but the most prestigious is the Breeders' Cup Classic. In that race, the best three-year olds face off against the best older horses at the classic distance of 1.25 miles (same as the Kentucky Derby).
When it comes time to vote on the champion three-year old in January of the following year, the Triple Crown races, Travers Stakes, and Breeders Cup Classic generally hold the most weight. Other factors that go into picking a champion include how dominant a horse is in his victories, how consistent he was throughout the season, how many graded stakes wins he has, and how many victories he has against older horses. Some years the champion is obvious, while other years the talent is more evenly spread and it's harder to chose.
All of that was just for the three-year-old colts, but there's tons of different divisions to follow in horse racing! Dirt horses usually get the spotlight, but other horses are turf or synthetics specialists. Some horses are exceptional sprinters, while others need a longer race to get into gear. The older dirt female division is always a fun one to follow because they usually stick around a lot longer than the males do before being retired for a breeding career.
Thanks for listening to my horse racing TEDTalk lol XD. I don't encounter many people who are all that interested in horse racing (I understand that it has some major issues and is not for everyone), so I take every chance I get to share my knowledge and perspectives of the sport!
As an avid video essay watcher, I’ll never pass on an info dump.
This correct my biggest misconception: it’s a vote, rather than an explicit points system. In a way, these awards feel more like Division 1-A of college football where the eventually ratings derive from subjective voting by panels that take everything into consideration.
I’m still fascinated by the specialist idea for horses, but I’m sure I’ve said before that it reminds me of professional tennis.
I had heard of the Breeders Cup before you mentioned it, almost surely from Sportscenter at some point, but I didn’t know anything about it.
Also: the poster thing is cool. I went to Oakland last Sunday and got autographs from and a photograph with two of the three guys on a poster that still hangs in my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house. If only Justify could have added his hoof print—although I’d guess lots of horses would have the same hoof print due to horseshoes being uniform? Either way, still cool.
The US has been doing great stuff in this Cricket qualifier this month, and that got me reading more about the sport, as I knew almost nothing. I had to search for good stuff about cricket; you delivered the horse racing logistics, so thank you for the convenient access and clear breakdown!
Thanks for reading, Michael. I’m pleased with the mindset as well.
Lost media is a strange world, but if you do look, the creator blameitonjorge was my introduction. He covers the widest collection of any person I follow. It definitely is a rabbit hole, though.
I'm so glad you were able to find the lost personal statement!
When I chose the community college to UC route, I thought that I had escaped having to do PIQs. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered I still had to do them as a transfer student. Mine turned out just alright, and I definitely could have benefited from your workshop, but it all worked out in the end. I had guaranteed admission from the TAG program anyways, and just yesterday I finished my first year at UC Davis. Crazy to think that I'm graduating next year!
I love how you connected your newsletter to lost media. I'm also just a peripheral member of the community, but it has been such a joy watching them successfully track down "Ulterior Motives." I knew it had to be from a movie, I just didn't expect it to be *that* kind of movie haha! Regardless, I love a good comeback story, and I'm so happy that the Booth brothers are getting the recognition they deserve all these years later. I ordered the CD, so expect to hear a song or two from the Booth brothers when my show returns in the fall!
I was studying hard for finals last weekend, but last weekend was also the Belmont Stakes, and you know nothing can keep me away from my horse races! I thought Sierra Leone would redeem himself after his close 2nd place finish in the Derby, but Dornoch (a full brother to last year's Kentucky Derby winner) managed to pull off the upset. Seize the Grey and Mystik Dan finished 7th and 8th. Overall, I felt very satisfied by this year's Triple Crown season, and it will be very interesting to see who ends up being crowned champion three-year-old colt by the year's end. Right now, the consensus is that Thorpedo Anna (a filly!) is the best three-year-old in the country.
I’m impressed that you did write meaningful PIQs—almost all the TAG students I knew submitted gibberish :) When the stakes are low, I swear they are a meaningful writing task! Congratulations on one year down and one year closer to diploma day!
You have just informed me that the Booth Brothers are releasing a CD. I will also order this CD. What better than a physical representation of this cool, in the internet ether, search than that? I’m happy for those guys—I wrote about obscure artist stories last summer and I’m confident this will become a Hollywood or Netflix documentary in our lifetimes.
I also missed that Belmont was last week. I was so gassed after the writing class week that I barely noticed anything. I’m hope it was an exciting race. Your mention of “champion by year’s end” made me aware that the Triple Crown must be a part of a season-long series of competitions, a la Formula 1 or NASCAR (two sports I know little about beyond the race for points). I’d assume that Triple Crown Winners almost always win, but maybe it’s like golf where winning a few majors doesn’t fully overcome lots of top finishes in smaller tournaments? How sports organize always fascinates me.
Enjoy your first leg of summer! (And, of course, thanks for reading and responding.)
Horse racing info dump incoming :)
Horse racing is a year-round sport in the US, although winter is usually the quietest season because of weather constraints. Focusing on just the three-year old colts, January through April is all about earning points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Points are awarded based on how well horses finish in prep races held all across the country. As you know, the Triple Crown races run from the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May to the Belmont Stakes in early June.
You are correct, winning all three races of Triple Crown is so rare, that doing so almost automatically makes you champion 3-year-old champion, regardless of what happens in the second half of the year. Justify, the most recent Triple Crown winner, never raced again after his victory in the Belmont but was still unanimously crowned champion three-year-old in 2018. Fun fact: I have a poster of Justify signed by his jockey, Mike Smith!
The next big race for three-year olds is the Haskell Stakes in July, but the Travers Stakes in August is even more prestigious. In the fall, the focus shifts towards preparing for the Breeders' Cup, which is essentially the year-end championships. There's a race for nearly every division (ex: two-year olds, female sprinters, turf milers, etc.), but the most prestigious is the Breeders' Cup Classic. In that race, the best three-year olds face off against the best older horses at the classic distance of 1.25 miles (same as the Kentucky Derby).
When it comes time to vote on the champion three-year old in January of the following year, the Triple Crown races, Travers Stakes, and Breeders Cup Classic generally hold the most weight. Other factors that go into picking a champion include how dominant a horse is in his victories, how consistent he was throughout the season, how many graded stakes wins he has, and how many victories he has against older horses. Some years the champion is obvious, while other years the talent is more evenly spread and it's harder to chose.
All of that was just for the three-year-old colts, but there's tons of different divisions to follow in horse racing! Dirt horses usually get the spotlight, but other horses are turf or synthetics specialists. Some horses are exceptional sprinters, while others need a longer race to get into gear. The older dirt female division is always a fun one to follow because they usually stick around a lot longer than the males do before being retired for a breeding career.
Thanks for listening to my horse racing TEDTalk lol XD. I don't encounter many people who are all that interested in horse racing (I understand that it has some major issues and is not for everyone), so I take every chance I get to share my knowledge and perspectives of the sport!
As an avid video essay watcher, I’ll never pass on an info dump.
This correct my biggest misconception: it’s a vote, rather than an explicit points system. In a way, these awards feel more like Division 1-A of college football where the eventually ratings derive from subjective voting by panels that take everything into consideration.
I’m still fascinated by the specialist idea for horses, but I’m sure I’ve said before that it reminds me of professional tennis.
I had heard of the Breeders Cup before you mentioned it, almost surely from Sportscenter at some point, but I didn’t know anything about it.
Also: the poster thing is cool. I went to Oakland last Sunday and got autographs from and a photograph with two of the three guys on a poster that still hangs in my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house. If only Justify could have added his hoof print—although I’d guess lots of horses would have the same hoof print due to horseshoes being uniform? Either way, still cool.
The US has been doing great stuff in this Cricket qualifier this month, and that got me reading more about the sport, as I knew almost nothing. I had to search for good stuff about cricket; you delivered the horse racing logistics, so thank you for the convenient access and clear breakdown!
I think it’s an awesome mindset! It shows how much you care. This whole essay shows how much you care.
Also, I had never even heard of lost media but it’s very intriguing — I’m going to have to look into it. Thanks Michael :)
Thanks for reading, Michael. I’m pleased with the mindset as well.
Lost media is a strange world, but if you do look, the creator blameitonjorge was my introduction. He covers the widest collection of any person I follow. It definitely is a rabbit hole, though.
Thanks for the heads up :)