I've never liked the analogy that an event is like a drop, causing a ripple that spreads out and expands forever, because I don't think it really captures what an event is, in terms of time. Yes, an event has an effect which spreads out from where it started, presumably at the speed of light, but when you let a drop of water fall on a lake, as the ripple spreads, it doesn't change the water, and eventually the water falls still again. This isn't the case with an event.
Like if I go out into the street, and hurl a rock at a car, this will cause a presumably infinite cascade of events. The person in the car will stop it, get out, and from that point on, their entire life has been altered, traffic patterns have been altered, thus altering other peoples lives, different people will be involved in accidents, maybe the person will be more angry tonight and break something, or eat a different food to make them feel better, a stocker will have to replace an item purchased, whatever. While the event of me throwing a rock will eventually be forgotten, the event permanantly changes possibly everything, until it's overridden by a larger event, say...the new supercollider accidentally making a black hole which destroys the earth.
Anyway. Some crap emo song made me think of that.
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