I hate it when they get the horses wrong. They cast a chestnut as Pie in National Velvet! That made no *sense*. The whole point was that it was a piebald horse, so no one thought he could jump. Yes, I know, the movie is 50 years old, but it still bugs me. They probably couldn't have found a piebald jumper anyway.

I was watching some movie, supposed to have been set in France in the Middle Ages or somesuch, I can't remember because I walked out and left the movie to my ex-BF when I saw the hero riding an Appaloosa. Ex-BF to his credit was appalled when I explained what an Appaloosa was and why therefore there couldn't have been any Appaloosas in Europe in the Middle Ages. He still watched the movie though.

I've always wanted to see a good film made from a Marguerite Henry novel. I know they did one for Misty of Chincoteague several decades ago, but I've never seen it--has anyone seen it?

If it had been her name, I'd have looked so ridiculous. It's cool, but it never seemed like it would be on somebody's birth certificate.

I met a woman named Alia once and was both awed by the coolness of naming your child after a character in a Frank Herbert novel (eta: no less, a much maligned David Lynch flick) and appalled at naming your child after an "Abomination." Fortunately, she came down on the cool side of the equation and was impressed that I knew the reference.

Baby naming from pop culture, and pseuds for that matter, can be tricky!

I know an Alia too. She's great. I don't remember whether we covered the potential geekiness of her name.

Speaking of geekiness, I was especially pleased that her parents pronounced it 'right.' Meaning, AHlia vs. aLEEa, of course. (Scott Brick, who reads the Brian Herbert sequels does it wrong and it burns.)

You horse people know you're the only ones who have the slightest clue, right? The rest of us just go "horsie!"

I'm pretty sure Alia exists as a regular girl's name in other languages. Arabic for one, also Hebrew maybe?

You horse people know you're the only ones who have the slightest clue, right? The rest of us just go "horsie!"

Ha, yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I can't tell the difference at all.

I remember being so bothered at the end of Cold Mountain when I thought the flowers on the table were a clever indicator for the season, and then it turns out that it was all backwards (Goldenrod in the spring: WRONG!) and they didn't have the convenient excuse of modern florists.