Endless Winter

February stasis is here. It's hard to remember when the trees weren't bare or the ground didn't sport snow or coats weren't constant outdoor necessities. All that must have true six months ago, but it doesn't feel like it was ever possible. We've slipped into Endless Winter. (But no; April, come she will.)

Google "endless winter" and you'll see, among other things, an imdb item about a documentary ski movie so obscure it has only two external reviews, and no trivia, goofs or crazy credits. It's probably a fun movie to watch, though, if the cinematography is worthwhile -- good clean kinetic fun.

Something like the men's half-pipe competition I was persuaded to watch last night. I've asked this rhetorically before, but I'm going to ask again, as an expression of wonder: How is it possible to do that? How? The everyday physics I've lived with for nearly 50 years, and which provides clumsy moments from time to time, tells me human beings experiencing normal gravity on Earth can't half-pipe. And yet Shaun White does a Double McCheese with Extra Onions on live TV.

Still, physics demands a toll, like the troll under the bridge. This from philly.com: "Already, this Olympic competition was marked by who was not here. American star Kevin Pearce is still in a brain-rehab hospital after a traumatic head injury on a half-pipe in December. Finland's Antti Autti, a medal contender, broke three ribs and punctured a lung in a crash earlier in December."