When Shoemaker wins or loses by a nose, it is an odds-on bet that a whoop-de-doo rider would have lost by lengths, having wasted the horse prematurely.

The intro about the song [Plastic Jesus] says, / Noone seems to know about the origin of this song, although many have tried to trace it. Broadside (NYC), from whom this version comes, reports that it apparently originated from a commercial jingle put on the radio in Georgia by a firm manufacturing plastic 'Jesi'. There are many versions with many verses, but it is a cool concept, and can't be THAT old, so I'm surprised the origins are difficult to trace.

But Mr. Eighner was such an agreeably yackety companion that his plight sometimes felt abstract.

Now though, I've been thinking more about the idea that one can be attracted to transgender men (or women) in part because of their transness, not (as mainstream culture seems to think) in spite of it.