October 15, 2007

• It is like watching a world-class athlete. And the man on top sticking pointy things into the bull is definitely secondary. Cool link!
• Pretty amazing. Though best watched with the sound down, I found.
• This is a Portuguese bullfight, where the bull is not killed, but can come back to fight again. Thanks for pointing that out. That is a brilliant horse! Thanks!
• Portuguese equestrian bullfighting. Equestrian bullfighting does also exist in Spain, known as rejoneo
• This is a Portuguese bullfight, where the bull is not killed, but can come back to fight again. Yep, some days I enjoy trapping my dog in an arena and repeatedly stabbing him for sport. It's alright, though, 'cause I don't kill him - I let him live so I can jab at ol' Rascal again, because that's the honourable sort of athlete that I am.
• It's OK, fish tick, I never said I agreed with sticking a bull, I just wanted to point out that this bull doesn't die. I actually think they could do this same "dance" without having to draw blood just by riding in and smacking the bull on the head or nose. Believe me, that would piss him off royally. Just getting into a Black Angus bull's territory is problematic--I can't imagine being anywhere near these critters that have been selectively bred for generations to fight. Problem is, you would immediately have to raise the bar for the riders, since most of them don't get close enough to tap the bull with their hand. I imagine you could give them a willow stick and they could play tag, though. "...a marvelous game, a delectable one,..... pure art". Thanks for the link, Pleg
• Before I clicked through, I was oddly certain that you meant Goliath (Othello). I'm a dork like that, I guess. How does Merlin... gallop... sideways? Is that even possible? It can't be. (Fun fact, I had never heard that song before today, and now I've heard it twice. Is that the Official Youtube Horsie song? I suppose it must be.)
• Welcome back to Ripley's Barbaric Or Not!, the show where YOU get to decide...is it barbaric...or not! If you're just joining us, we all really got a big, cuddly surprise out of Portuguese bullfighting, and now we move around the globe and way, way up north for... Canadian baby seal clubbing --- with RUBBER MALLOTS! That's right, those adorable baby seals aren't bludgeoned to death, no, they're given humane, non-life-threatening concussions by the people who put the Mo in Eskimo, you can't spell "nice" without...the Inuits! In this, the very first season of the new, sporting "club and release" program, let's watch as the Inuits make the seals kneel with a whack they can feel, but someday will heal! For real! Eskimo Joe, take it away!
• I wasn't gonna say anything and I hate to pile on but... Pablo is indeed a beautiful, athletic, brave and clever horse. But when humans to use him in the torment of other creatures, for their amusement, it dishonours both. In the more common Spanish bullfight, the bull at least has his suffering brought to an end quickly. People are assholes. Sorry, GramMa
• Yes, I figured some people wouldn't be able to look at the horse and go beyond the what is happening to the bull. I admire your stance, and often wish I could see things in black and white. Unfortunately, I'm more the shades of grey person. There are those that see cruelty, and don't wish to see anything else. I see a fantastically athletic and brave animal and man working in harmony, as well as a bull being stuck. Because I'm attracted to horses, the most salient feature to me is the horse. I come from a ranching background, I see that the bull is bleeding, but I've seen bulls breaking through fences and goring each other around, and they do much more damage without paying a bit of attention to it. Mainly that bull in the video is pissed because his territory is being invaded, otherwise he'd be content to stand there and ignore the rider, even with several bandilleros in his back. This isn't an American or English tradition, but it's strongly a part of the Portuguese, Spanish and (southern) French traditions. From the reading I've done, it's based in testing the bravery of the man, the horse, and the bull, with a certain respect being accorded to all. The moves the horse makes come from training that prepares a horse to be used in war. I'm not 100 percent all out for cultural relativity and believing that EVERYTHING a culture does is wonderful because it's a tradition, but sometimes it's not all that bad to look at something in context. I would prefer that the matador smacked the bull with the flat of their hands to prove their bravery, but that's not happening or going to happen. English make a sport out of hunting foxes, and right now the Great Fall Deer Hunt is going on. Idaho schools actually used to close so that kids could go shoot their mule deer or elk. Now we just shrug and figure the kid will be back next week. One hunt evolved as a method of eradicating vermin, the other as a way to gather meat, but both now are considered unnecessary and cruel by some. Perhaps if we were kinder to those of our own species we'd learn how to be kind to those others. I thought twice about posting this, knowing some people would not be happy to see the bull stabbed, but I also knew some people would find the salient feature to be the horse, and think the horse deserves accolade for his performance. RTD, it's not the Inuit you want to rag on. Their culture took seals for meat and furs to survive. It's when the whites came in with their fancy ideas of consumer supply and demand for those fuzzy white pelts that things got really barbaric. Originally, a dead seal meant survival, then it began to mean a profitable bottom line. That's when things really get ugly. Don't blame the Inuit, blame the Russians, the British, the French, and the Americans--you know, the civilized people.
• I eat meat and I recognize that for me to do so, an animal must die. I've also killed animals for food and seen first-hand what happens in a slaughterhouse. It just that, for me, the need to "test" the bravery of the bull, as well as that of the horse and rider, for sport, seems rather one sided. The bull doesn't have much choice in the matter. And I meant to infer that people collectively (especially the "civilized" ones) are assholes, without referring to anyone in particular.
• It="It's"
• Islander, interesting that you say the bull doesn't have much choice. If you walk into a pen of mixed Herefords, they will walk away from you. Even 90% of the Hereford bulls will 'choose' to walk away from you, unless you corner them or act aggressive. Running toward them will generally send them shooting off into all directions to get away. With the more aggressive breeds, of which the fighting breeds are the epitome of aggressive, if you dare walk into their pen, you'll be RUNNING for your life to get out of there, because you're mere presence will cause them to 'choose' to chase you. Even buffalo are more docile, although quite unpredictable. The idea that an animal has the ability to choose rather than simply operate by instinct is an interesting one.
• Ah, GramMa, I hates to argue with ya. I'm just saying that, given a choice, a bull would probably prefer not to be poked repeatedly with sharp, painful objects. Especially when it's being done for "sport". Wouldn't you? And yes, some animals are more aggressive than others, but to me that's all the more reason to leave 'em in peace if they're not bothering anyone or on the menu. I also think that many animals have more capacity to function beyond pure instinct than we give them credit for. Pablo is a good example.
• Les toros s'ennuient le dimanche Quand il s'agit de souffrir pour nous Voici les picadors et la foule se venge Voici les toreros la foule est à genoux Et c'est l'heure où les épiciers se prennent pour Garcia Lorca C'est l'heure où les Anglaises se prennent pour la Carmencita Les toros s'ennuient le dimanche Quand il s'agit de mourir pour nous Mais l'épée va plonger et la foule se penche Mais l'épée a plongé et la foule est debout C'est l'instant de triomphe où les épiciers se prennent pour Néron C'est l'instant de triomphe où les Anglaises se prennent pour Wellington
• (The bulls are bored on Sunday When it's their job to suffer for us. Here come the picadors, and the mob is vengeful; Here come the torero, and the mob is on its knees. It's the time when grocers take themselves for Garcia Lorca; It's the time when English girls take themselves for Carmen. The bulls are bored on Sunday When it's their job to die for us. But the sword plunges, and the mob leans in; The sword plunges, and the mob is on its feet. It's the moment of triumph when grocers take themselves for Nero; It's the moment of triumph when English girls take themselves for Wellington.) Video here. (English subtitles) Video without distracting toreador costume here. (Dutch subtitles)
• Je vous remercie pour le Brel, TUM!
• Another great performance