QUESTION:
what are some horse fun facts?!?
anything about horses! give me some interesting facts about horses! thank you!!(: ahah

• ANSWER:
  here's just one:
  ancestors of the horse had 3 toes, and they gradually lost them as they evolved, but one of these toes moved up the leg over time and became the chestnut, or the little pad of skin on the inside of each of their four legs.

QUESTION:
Name a really unusual or interesting fact about horses that most people don't know?
Just for fun Most interesting one gets best answer<3

• ANSWER:
  Horses don't know they can breathe through their mouths...they'll only do this when they're totally distressed.

  Horses don't have a vomit reflex.

  Horses have 'ramped' retinas, so move their head up and down to focus on near and distant objects.

  Horses can't see where they're putting their front feet (so it's your fault when you get your toes trodden on!).

  Horses will turn an ear in the direction they're looking.

  Before birth, foals legs are joined together by the chestnuts.

QUESTION:
Do you love horses? HELP?!?
I need to know some fun, funny, interesting or amazing facts on horses, i have 2 but everyone seems to know some cool stuff about horses so plz share?

• ANSWER:
  1.Most foals are born at night under cover of darkness and away from prying eyes and possible danger.

  2.The best time of year for a foal to be born is in the spring

  3.A newborn foal can stand up within an hour of being born

  4.When first born, foals cannot eat grass because their legs are too long to reach it

  5. Oldest horse ever was 62 his name was old billy

  6. smallest horse ever was a stallion he dtood 14 in. tall and was only 20 lb.

  7. tallest-heaviest horse was 7 feet 2.5 inches and weighed 3360 lbs

  8.There is 3 horse years in every human year

  9.The world's horse population is estimated at 75,000,000.

  10.The average lifespan for a horse is around 20 - 25 years

  11.There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies

  12.The "OLDEST" horse ever to give birth was a 42 year old Australian brood mare

  13.The average horse's HEAD WEIGHS 11.84 pounds

  14.A horse's "HEART WEIGHS" about 10 pounds

  15.You can tell how old a horse is by how many teeth it has

  16.Did you know that in the old black and white films, when the script said that a horse was to be shot, they really did the shooting on screen

  17.Horses can communicate how they are feeling by their facial expressions

  18.Horses can drink up to ten gallens of water a day

  19.Horses expend more energy lying down than they do when they are standing up

  20.Horses cannot vomit.

  21.Horses cannot breathe through their mouths

QUESTION:
A Horse Question.?
Im looking for the best interesting FACT about horses, just for fun....

P.s- Must be true

• ANSWER:
  Horses have two sides to there brain. what you teach a horse on one side you have to teach the same thing to the other side. for example sacking out a horse you have to do this to both sides of the horse so they learn it is ok

QUESTION:
6 questions for fun.. if you're bored? horse lovers what about you? questions for fun...?
1. what's the (show name, registered name and and what you call them) name/sex/breed/age/how many hands of your horse or the horse that you ride?
2. what's does your horse look like (pic)
3. how long have you been riding? what do you ride (english, western; hunter, jumper, dressage, barrells, parrelli)
4. what got you into horses? and why do you love them?
5. what's your favorite horse website (can be a game, place to buy horse stuff, chat, facts about horses anything!)
6. any facts you find interesting?

my answers:
1. my pony is a 15 year old qh mare at 14.1 hh. her show name is Tickle my Fancy, her registered name is PeppyDell Snickers, and her regular name is Snickers.
2. this is all her: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39821419@N06/page2/ and you can look at the other two pages (that's me in all the pics with her) and the others are of my dogs...
3. i've been riding for 9 years. i ride english hunter.
4. when I was little, I had medical/health issues and i did therapeutic horse riding. I quit after a few years (well the barn shut down…) and so a few years later.. when I was like 9 I went to a horse camp and fell in love with horses. It was really for the people at the school (like competition in which I didn’t wanna do) so I switched farms and was at a farm for five years until I started getting competitive (that was when I was 14… when I switched the third time).
I love horses because they are my life. Without them, I don’t know what I would do! They make me happy and teach me so much! They also help me get stronger (physically and mentally) speaking that I have physical problems but I am a really good rider… i work my way through it… horses are every part of my life as are my best friends (they actually love horses just as much as I do!) and horses are my best friends too for I can trust them not to tell a secret or anything!!!
5. idk what my favorite website is. It used to be howrse/horseland/horseisle but then I grew out of that. I was hoping I could try some of you guys websites!
6. - did you know the oldest horse ever lived was named old billy lived for 62 human years!!!
- did u know that horses can’t throw up? And they only sleep for 2-3 ½ hours a day!

• ANSWER:
  Okay, Im bored. I'll bite.

  1) Wow that's a lot for just number one! Well his show name is Miakoda Night, I call him Koda (he is unregistered). He is a gelding, a Quarter horse/Paint horse cross (solid), 8 years old 16 hands.

  I also have another horse. Show name Sigil of Zoso, but I call him Zoso. He is a gelding, 8 years old also, Mustang (MWHL papers), 14.3 hands.

  2) Koda: http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp228/Meagk78/Koda/2008_0920Morepics0012.jpg
  Zoso: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meagan_kay/3616948921/in/set-72157619609509940/

  3) LOL parelli is a discipline now? Anyway, I ride western, english, and bareback. I like it all. I have been riding for 14 years (since I was 4)

  4) I don't know honestly. None of my family rides. I guess I just felt drawn to them. Why do I love them? Words cannot say.

  5) Here! LOL but besides that Fugly horse of the day!

  6) I find all the color genetics just fascinating for some reason. A sidenote interesting fact: According to Yahoo I have 11 spelling mistakes right now, all of which consist of my horses names and the word parelli, lol, and MWHL (Missouri wild horse league). And of course explaining that upped it to 14 mistakes. Better quit now! haha

  Edit----

  Lauren, why would they not be able to go upstairs? I just dont understand.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGdhu9tBV6s

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkLeOdwJvGg

  I just had to know for myself so I searched youtube lol

QUESTION:
FUN QUESTION!!! ....im bored!!?
http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CPP7LjnMEdM/SkE5mwW0RpI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/Bn1gsjcqx0s/s320/mr_ed3.gif&imgrefurl=http://americaswhiteboy.blogspot.com/2009/06/13-other-guys-named-ed.html&usg=__mKiv6Evj5Hnn1clPicmc5fa3z8Y=&h=300&w=235&sz=16&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=EDskIyvO6in0_M:&tbnh=172&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmr%2Bed%2Bthe%2Btalking%2Bhorse%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1026%26bih%3D654%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=142&vpy=249&dur=488&hovh=240&hovw=188&tx=57&ty=117&ei=n_OlTI-xEsjKjAfEhI2sDA&oei=fPOlTLjCIcqBswaThcWsCA&esq=7&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0

who will be the first person to guess what this horse's name is??

just incase there is a tie, the person that has the most interesting fact about the horse wins!!!!

• ANSWER:
  That would be Mr. Ed!! Apparently a string was used on his lower lip to get him to "talk". and later he just caught on to moving his lips when someone in the scene stopped talking!

QUESTION:
One tip about the horse or horse health/management?
Thought this would be just a little bit of fun for us horsy people

If everybody who reads this question puts ONE interesting tip/fact that they know about horses, their health and ownership, or even riding (basically anything at all!), we can all come back and look at the answers everybody else has put. Then, everybody will learn something they didn't know before ^^

Try not to put the same answer as anybody else, but of course it can't be helped if you answer at the same time :p

I know this should come under Polls and Surveys but in that section we wouldn't get the people with the right interests!

Enjoy!

• ANSWER:
  This one's kind of interesting:
  Most house insurance companies also offer damages insurance for horses (like if they get on the road and cause an accident or something) for a nominal fee (around dollar per horse per year) as a write-on to your original contract with them if you ask, and this will protect you in the chance of an accident even if your horse doesn't live on your property.

QUESTION:
it always about the damn horses?
most of my life is horses.im 16 now but for the last 14years it was horses, nothing but horses. my mom is obsessed with them and the farm. what she finds 2 do down there for hours every day is beyond me. when i was 15 i made friends with these boys who raced dirt bikes. i never really interested me i sticked to the horses. then my uncle let me have his 4wheeler bc he moved away. twice a week i rode it to keep it working, then i began to get really good. after awhile it became alittle more 4wheelin alittle horses. by the time i turned 16 i was the best, beat my friends,flying through the feilds and everythin else. my mom started 2 get angrey bc i was hardly down in the barn. BUT i did chorse, moved hay, groomed a horse or 2 once in awhile. then a friend suggested ATV racing, i was all over that. and 2 race u gotta get really good, so every nite i practiced. my mom bought me the stuff i needed, but wen ever we went 2 a place 2 get gear she ALWAYS said something about the horses, it bothered me, but yet i said nothing. to keep her happy. the other day i told her i was goin 2 ride my 4wheeler, she said don't u wanna ride sasha(my horses name) i said no. she flipped out. then finally i came clean. i told her it was hard 2 have interest in something wen ur forced to do it and/or had fun of. she did understand.she said if u feel that way don't bother comin home. then she walked off mumbling how she should have made me ride everyday, bc one of her friends kids is a olympic champion. (like i really give a shit her friend does) now she still mad at me. and she's tellen EVERYBODY how i only care about one thing. and wen IM IN THE SAME ROOM TOO! ive done everything 2 make up for the mistakes. she still make me feel like crap, she RUBS in the fact how her friends daughter is winning medals, that im such a terrible kid. hell im even trying 2 get As and Bs.
1) what are some of ur opinions?
2)what can i do 2 make i better?

• ANSWER:
  Express your concerns to your mother. Just say that you would like for her to respect your interests and preserve her opinions on certain things. Understand, though that she has a right to an opinion and can express as she pleases. I am sure a middle-ground can be achieved.

QUESTION:
Hurry Hurry waist no time before it's cliche!? I've taken the time to put this up here for fun so please read.?
Hello all young writers. I'm a publisher by the name of Carolina ( would prefer not to give away my last name at the moment) and I've noticed a lot of young people are really into teen romance between magical or half magical creatures/humans.

Now the first things you wonder when you write a story is " Is this cliche?" I'm here to tell you what is and what isn't. Being a publisher I see a lot of these. By the way just because it's cliche doesn't mean you can't pull it off. I just though of posting this for fun don't be rude now. Do you think this is interesting?
P.s. I may post this again for fun. I find the writer son here interesting

Vampire~ Yes overused though believe it or not but if your able to pull it off totally originally then it may be published but it's fifty fifty. Wouldn't consider using vegetarian vampire's though. Maybe this is a blood eater who can kill off 4 blondes in less then 3 min. Maybe a girl is the victim of a vampire
but before sucking her blood something comes over the vampire. Who knows.

Mermaids~ Not at all I would love to publish underwater love.
It seems original at the moment as long as it's not like the little mermaid. Imagine love in a new world underwater. Your mermaids don't have to have tails maybe webbed feet would work. Be creative. Also half mermaids are good to like for example a girl is half mermaid in fact the only half mermaid in her clan. Her mother tells her to be careful when she's in the surface world but one day she falls in love with a boy and tells her secret. Also consider selkies, kappas, and other fantasy sea creatures of the ocean

Werewolves~ Yes cliche though like vampires you may be able to make it work. If you only want were wolves because of there shape shifter abilities try just making your character a shape shifter. The traditional full moon transformation has been forgotten especially with twilight.

Elves~ I've seen none of these so far sad to say. Would love some elven stories. Just like vampires, witches and wizards hiding pointed ears in far easier then anything else that way the character will be able to interact with humans. ( Elve eyes can come in many colors like red, gold, blue and also hair like white, orange, blue) Elves are also considered smart.

Centaurs~ Trickier to pull off especially in a all human world but if you can work around it then sure.
Being half horse this story may take place in an alternative universe. Which would be far better. I believe we just don't have enough stories about centaurs besides greek mythology.

Angels / fallen angels~ On the tip of cliche but we still love and appreciate these kind of stories ( one of my daughters is currently writing about angels, demons and physics) Remember to explain how the angel died unless your character is half angel. Fallen Angel wings tend to be a gray color while angel wings are dove white then again in your story angel wings can be any color maybe their blue in your story. For a story where angels interact with humans I would recommend guardian angels or messenger angels.

Demons~ difference between fallen angels and demons is that demon wings usually look like bat wings and demons have horns. These stories are slightly amusing a bit cliche. In the bible as I believe demon's are more of Satan's henchman and Fallen angel's are people who where once alive who committed too much sin. It would be interesting if an Angel and Demon fell in love also note that some Demon's are shape shifters (like Lucifer being the snake in the Garden of Eden)

Fairy's ~ I've seen none of these so far so it's not cliche. Would love to see some though. Maybe a girl goes into the woods gets lost and meets a boy who is half fairy. I wonder how the girl would feel about her new crush being half fairy maybe her dads a scientist and she doesn't know wanting to be a scientist herself whether to report the boy or keep him a secret. Stories like these are intriguing. And fairy wings don't necessarily have to look like giant butterfly wings,

Witches and Wizards~ After Harry Potter people stopped writing these well I think it's safe to have more witch and wizard stories don't you think? Of course the whole storyline has to stay as far as Harry Potter as possible so no Hogwarts. Still stories about witches and wizards are cute especially since it's easier to remain hidden and disguise a wand in normal society then a pair of angel wings. By the way back then just like vampire slayers there were witch finders all witches that were found where burned

Physics ~ Yes would love some of these. On the tip of cliche but still who doesn't love romance between a mind reader and healer? Physics are very interesting to right about they're like super heroes without the costumes. And once again magic powers are easier to hide then a fish tail.
Gods~ Well these would be trikier to write about you'd have to do a ton of research. But if a person is half god say Son of Hades. He will probably half some not all of Hades powers same for other stories. These are more like physic stories depending on which god or goddess.

• ANSWER:
  Thanks for the info but what about the Gods specifically?

QUESTION:
20 points hurry plz!?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  You will get nowhere in life.

QUESTION:
english first and best answer gets 10 points?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  LOL do you actually think someone is going to do your homework for you for 10 points? Especially when this homework involves reading several stories. Concentrate, do your own work, and you won't be in this situation anymore.

QUESTION:
Engish best answer get 10 points?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings.

  11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

  12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to
  Do their own homework!!!

QUESTION:
How does my biography essay sound?
thanks for checking! im in eighth grade so this may not be all that great! tee hee!

Fred Astaire

Can you imagine a male dancer with so much grace, talent, and success? Well I can, and his name was Fred Astaire. He was born to dance! In fact, when he was a young boy, he put on his sister’s dancing shoes and immediately started to figure out how to dance. Fred has an amazing story, a positive attitude, and a few interesting and odd facts.

Fred Astaire was born on May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska. His birth name was Frederick Austerlitz. His father was an Austrian immigrant and his mother was a German immigrant. Fred’s younger sister, Adele, took dancing lessons, and Fred soon joined her at the age of five. When he was seven, Fred and Adele began a vaudeville dance act. They went on Broadway together in 1917; their first show was called The Nine O’clock Revue. In 1922 the siblings went to perform in London. After their London tour was over, they returned to New York City and toured the United States. The Astaires then went back to London. During a party, Fred met his future wife, Phyllis. In 1932, Adele retired from the stage to get on with her life. Fred continued to perform. He got married to Phyllis in 1933 and began his Hollywood career. They had two kids, Fred Jr. and Ava, and Phyllis’ son from a previous marriage, Peter. In Hollywood, Fred was in thirty films. Ten of them were with his most well known dance partner, Ginger Rogers. He also performed with Audrey Hepburn, Cyd Charisse, Eleanor Powell, Judy Garland, and many more. Phyllis died of cancer in 1955. Fred retired in 1971 after 65 years of singing, dancing, acting, and playing the piano. In 1980 he married Robyn Smith, a horse jockey. Fred Astaire died in 1987 from pneumonia.

Fred Astaire was a regular height but was always much shorter than his sister in their earlier performances. He was thin. Fred always complained of his jacket being to short and his hat being too tight. Fred was also very social. When he attended parties with other actors and dancers he quickly made friends. Fred was very close with the famous song writer, George Gershwin. Even as a child he was very friendly and was acquainted with children dancers. He left behind a great legacy. He changed the way we see music today. He is a talented and well known dancer.

There were some interesting things about Fred Astaire. When he married Robyn Smith, he was 80 and she was about 35! As a child, when he lived in New Jersey, Fred and his friend would often climb up to the roof of their apartment building and drop stones and water on pedestrians for fun. They would also shoot the light bulbs off the signs a couple streets over with a riffle! Fred Astaire may be a professional singer, but he never had training or voice lessons. He also performed in front of the King and Queen of England and the Prince of Whales.

I chose Fred Astaire because he is an amazing person. His dancing skills are incredible! Though he did not do anything extremely important, he was still very interesting and left behind a legacy. Some one may someday follow his footsteps. People my age should know who he is. That way, his talent will be passed down for generations and his music will be appreciated forever.

• ANSWER:
  It sounds just great! His talent was dancing so wonderfully but I never heard of "his music" so I would take that out. I'm old so I know he didn't write any music. Your writing is really exceptional. You are very smart and should get the highest mark possible for this biography.

QUESTION:
If you cut yourself, are you necessarily depressed?
There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on this out there.

So. Here's the deal. I cut myself. No, I am not "emo"; in fact, most people would describe me as "preppy" (polo shirts and skirts, horse-back riding, going to an Ivy League school next year, etc.). Yes, I know it's not healthy. Yes, I know I could get hurt. No, I'm not trying to kill myself. As a matter of fact, I studied diagrams of the human body, looking for veins and arteries so I would know where it is relatively safe to cut myself without worrying about cutting anything major. No, I don't cut deep enough to scar, but I cut myself often and the cuts are pretty deep. Yes, I do clean the cuts and keep them from getting infected. No, I'm not going to tell anyone. And fun fact: I cut on my left upper arm and my right hip. If you cared.

But anyway. To the question. I'm pretty dang sure I'm not depressed. I lived with a depressed person- my brother, who was/is suicidal- and I know what it looks life. You want to die, you think life is pointless, you feel worthless, you lose interest in life, you sleep all the time, feeling empty of emotion, you might even try killing yourself. NONE of those fit me. As weird as it sounds, except for the cutting, I'm pretty happy with my life. Sure, I've got problems in my life- like dealing with my brother's suicide attempts, for none, and dealing with my own epilepsy- but I am definitely not suicidal, and my life is extremely valuable to me. I do things with enthusiasm. I feel emotions very strongly- I get mad, affectionate, excited, upset, etc. all the time. So I am pretty positive that I'm not depressed.

I guess the reason I cut is... well, first I did it out of curiosity, after I found out that a friend of mine, a younger friend, cuts. It was stupid, but I tried it, and it just calmed me down. It's almost like a habit now. Some people bite their nails, even though they know it's gross and makes their nails ragged. Some people pick at threads on their sweaters, even though they know it'll make the sweater fall apart. I cut myself, even though I know it's not very healthy. And I guess I keep doing it because whenever I have a bad day, it's my way of getting over it. It sort of clears my mind, so if I get in a fight with my friend or whatever, I'll cut myself, and then it's as if it's done with, and I don't have to worry about the fight anymore, because I've moved on, and then I can get started with my homework or my extracurriculars and not dwell on it. I also don't think I do it for attention or anything. My epilepsy gets me plenty of unwanted attention, and besides, like I said, I haven't told anyone and have no plans to in the near future. Again, it's not because I'm sad- it's just because it helps me focus on the present instead of worrying about the past, and because it's become a habit. But I honestly don't feel depressed. I show no signs of depression.

So why do all the websites pretty much say that if you cut, you're depressed? Am I just the weirdo exception to the rule, or am I simply in a minority? Are there any resources that explain that cutting and depression don't necessarily go hand-in-hand?
But see, I wasn't abused, I'm not depressed, I'm not doing anything for attention, I don't have anger problems, I'm not made fun of at school.

• ANSWER:
  "It was out of curiosity."
  "It helps me focus on the present and not the past."
  "It's become a habit."

  Get help for the habit thing...I get that you were curious. (I did once because I was, too.) The worrying about the past seems like a good chunk of it. You aren't weird, just a minority. Not that it's bad, just get help for yourself and stop hurting your body.

QUESTION:
Some one who is good at english and grammar and has good ideas, PLEASE HELP ME!!!?
Somebody please help me with this. It's an assignment for school; we were supposed to write a personal narrative for english, and it's due tomorrow! Please, some one read the story and see if you can give ma a title for it that'll "catch someone's eye" as my teacher says. A title that would make it seem interesting to someone (although the story might be a little boring... Okay, FINE! Extremely boring!! T_T *tears*). Also, can someone proofread it for me and tell me if there's anything that I should change? Thanks!!! (I'd say "I owe you one" but wouldn't know you people.Heheh. XD). Oh, and I forgot to tell you: I didn't finish it yet... But you still might be able to come up with a title. i can't right now, because my brain is completely fried. I blew a circuit trying to think of a good title for this for the past hour... T.T Okay, here's the story:

“Oh, no. No way are you even going to get me onto that thing,” I said.
“Why not? It’s so fun!” my cousin replied. “You’re such a scaredy-cat!”
“Yeah, I know I am. But either way, you are NOT going to get me onto that swinging boat of DEATH!!”
My cousin, and I were at Seaside Heights in New Jersey during summer vacation. It was a boardwalk by the beach. We bought some tickets for the carnival that was always there, and we went around looking for a fun carnival ride. While the both of us were running around looking for one to ride, my cousin, unfortunately, found this kind of thrill-ride. It was sort of like a boat attached to an axle that, when turned on, would make the boat swing side to side until it was going almost sideways, vertical, 180°!! Then she just had to try to make me get onto that thing! What was she thinking?!
“Come on, just try it!” she said, still trying to get me to go on. “I guarantee you, you’ll love it! Or at least you’ll just like it…”
“I already said, ‘No.’ ”I replied. “And that’s the final answer. Period.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?
“No.”
“PLEASE?”
“NO!” I shouted. “How many times do I have to say it?! No, no, no, no and NO. Is that enough for you?!”
She fell silent. Ugh, I thought. Finally, some peace and quiet. I walked away form the swinging boat ride. She followed quietly behind me, walking so softly that hardly any sound was made. Not that I would really hear it, anyway; the boardwalk was crowded with people here and there. So the both of us walked around looking for something else to ride, not one little noise coming from us.
It was only when I found another ride that I started talking again.
“Hey,” I called to her. “Why don’t we go on this one?”
She looked up at where I was pointing. I have absolutely no idea what the ride was called, so I’m just going to describe it to you: The ride was somewhat like a humongous merry-go-round, except for the fact that it had swings, not colorful, plastic, life sized horses. It also didn’t stay at the same height. When the carnival workers turned it on, the ride would start spinning, and the top where the swings were attached to would rise up about two stories in the air. While it was spinning in the air, the people on the swings would start to slant sideways because of the speed the ride was spinning at. It’s really not all that fast; it was probably going at about five or seven miles per hour.
“Sure, whatever,’ she replied.
“Um, are you okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah!” she suddenly shouted with a huge smile on her face. “I’m just dandy!”
I jumped at the sound of her voice, and her sudden optimism. Then I gulped at the look on her face.
“Um,” I said shakily. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yup!” she said. “I feel happy as a clown!”
“Okay…”
We got on line for the ride. The sign next to us said that it cost six tickets for each person, so I took out our ticket book and ripped out twelve; six for me and six for my cousin.
Oh, but, uh, the story is about the ride that I first described, the "swinging boat of death" thing? Sorry, I'll add the rest of it soon...
Okay, here's the rest of the story:

After we got to the front of the line and gave the man at the front our tickets, we got onto the ride. Now the freaky thing is that while we were on the ride, Sammi’s face had no expression at all, none, zero, zip, zilch, nada, nothing. It was like she was dead. I had a feeling that she was probably bummed out about me not going onto that ride that she had said was so “fun.” So after we got of the ride, I said, “Okay, fine. I’ll go on that stupid ride with you if you want.”
She smiled and said, “Really?!”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever floats your boat.”
Then she hugged me. Hard.
“Yes!” she shouted. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, tha-”
“Okay, okay,” I said, cutting her off before she went on and on like a mindless idiot. “Let’s just hurry up and get this over with.”
Then she dragged me over to what would be the cause of my death and gave the ticket man sixteen tickets; it cost eight tickets for each person for this ride.
When we go on, she was about to make me sit all the way at the end of the boat, which was obviously where the highest point on the boat was when it swung. So I pulled back and said, “Hey, hey, hey, um, why don’t we go sit in the middle? That’s where the least highest spot would be when the boat starts swinging! How about that?”
“I want to sit at the end, though!” she said. “It’s the most fun of all the other places!”
And it’s also the most deadly of all the other places, I thought to myself. Well, maybe only for me, but still!
“Ugh, all right fine,” I said, raising my hands up in the universal “I give up” sign.
When all the people that had paid their tickets for the ride had sat down, the safety bars at the top of the seats came down over us and locked into place. It was then that I knew that I was past the point of no return. The only thing that I had on my mind then was if Sammi would think of what she did wrong when she goes to my funeral.
When the ride started, I had my eyes closed so tightly that it probably looked liked they were fused shut. First, the only sound I heard was the hum of the machine swinging us from side to side, and the only thing I felt was the cool ocean breeze. But as we starting singing up higher, and coming down faster, I also heard screams; one of them was mine. Possibly the only one on the ride that wasn’t screaming their lungs out was my cousin; she was laughing. How is it even possible, I thought, that she isn’t even screaming a bit?! From then on, all I heard were screams and shouts, and all I felt was the wind hitting my face.
After a few more swings, the boat started to slow down, more and more on every single swing it made. Then finally, it stopped. When I didn’t hear anymore screaming, I swear, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, to a place of peace, quiet, and tranquility. But then I heard Sammi saying to me, “Angel, the ride is over. You can open your eyes now.”
I swallowed.
“I-I’m a-l-live?” I managed to stammer out.
“Yeah, your head didn’t get blown off by the wind or anything.”
I slowly opened my eyes, and as I did, I saw the other empty seats in front of me.
“Hey, come one!” I heard someone shout. It was the ticket man. “Your turn’s over, you have to get off the ride!”
Then I let out a breath of relief; I really was alive. I stood up and tried to walk away, but I was pulled back by something. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were frozen stiff around the bar attached to the back of the seat in front of me. I must’ve been holding onto it so hard that my fingers are literally stuck around it, I thought to myself. I peeled my fingers off the bar, one by one, and when my hands were free, I slowly walked off the boat and down the steps to the ground. Then I walked away with my cousin.
It was only when I was drinking a bottle of water that I realized I was shaking.
Not shivering because I was cold of something, but I was shaking of fear because I was so scared on the ride.
Then I told my cousin, “Remind me to never be persuaded by you to go on a ride like this ever again."
The End

• ANSWER:
  try "twelve ticket ride"
  i know you're from the internet generation, but you get in line for a ride, not on line.

  i liked the story, you are very descriptive , i felt like i was there

QUESTION:
What is up with western pleasure?
**I want to first clarify I am NOT insulting western pleasure or western disciplines at all... I am merely trying to learn more about them**

So I was watching some WP videos on Youtube today and like OMG it looks like those horses have broken all 4 legs and are still being forced to move! No offense, but it looks PAINFULLY slow. Just look at this!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stEgqgnbC4M

Why is that desired? That doesn't look like a lot of fun to me. I think I can get Dakota's (or even SAVANNAH'S for that matter) trot way faster than their lope.

And wouldn't going this slow (which in my opinion CAN'T be natural) be painful for them? I don't mind the low headset at all (I think that just shows an obedient and relaxed horse) it's just the gaits that bother me!

So any info on WP in that way is well appreciated. I'd like to clarify again that I am NOT bashing your discipline guys, in fact I am so interested in it I took the time to write this and took 5 points.

Thank you!
Thanks for answering Amber I guess if you enjoy going slow and steady it's a great discipline for you, but I am just the type of person who needs to go fast lol. One of the reasons I switched to English a long time ago
Yes Road Apples, I'm not going to be a big fan of it no matter what answers I get here.

Another thing I would like to ask, could the horses be drugged? Is that a common occurrence? I just don't foresee a horse wanting to go that slow, no matter how hard you tried. Oh well, guess I'm just around English horses too much...

• ANSWER:
  I am not afraid TO insult WP!

  I think it is terrible and the winning horse in the video was certainly in a four beat canter. It was never collected, or every using its hocks.

  LIN might say that you needed a horse that was comfortable to ride when out checking fences for 14 hours - all can say is that if you had a horse that was moving then the job would be done in four and not fourteen.

  I have watched many video's of these horses being ridden and can truthfully say that I have yet to see one where the horse looks as if it is enjoying itself. I would really love to ride one just to take it out, give it a few kicks and send it forward so that it can move as a horse should naturally move.

  The stating that 'they are being bred to move this way' does not make it correct. I bet that when they are foals you do not see them moving so slowly and in a four beat canter.

  This is one of those events that has become out of hand, I bet that twenty years ago the horses did not move in this way, that it has become a competition of 'my horse can move slower then yours' and, it could be stopped if the governing body made a rue that the horses should be tracking up and display a three beat canter.

  If cars were taken off the road and we had to rely on horse power how many people would want something to ride or drive that moved that way? Heck, it would take a day to get 15 miles.

  To me it is bordering on cruelty.

QUESTION:
Do you think these ideas would generate much interest?
I have two horse-related things I am considering doing once our barn and outdoor arena are built, but I was wondering if you thought they would generate much interest.

The first would be half-leasing our sweet old Swedish Warmblood mare. She is 27, about 16hh, sane and sound. She is not lazy, in fact she really enjoys going, but easy to hold back. Completely safe and easy to handle on the ground. She has former dressage training, but it has been many years since she did that. Currently we just do some basic hunter flatwork with her and trail ride.
Ideally I wanted to lease her to a little kid who wanted a safe older horse to trail ride or show (hunter under saddle, ground poles/crossrails, showmanship, etc.). The lease would include riding time 4 days a week, plus the option to trailer off-property to trail ride or show her.
The facility where she would be kept would have a barn with heated/air conditioned tack room, bathroom, wash rack with hot water and grooming stall with heat lamps. It would also have an outdoor arena with some jumps or pasture to ride in and is about 5mi away from local trails.

Do you think kids/parents would be attracted to this sort of lease? What do you feel would be a fair price per month?

My second idea is to hold a small horse show for charity. If anyone has ever seen the Pony Hunt Teams at Devon, I wanted to do something similar. The show would have classes for hunt pairs or hunt teams (of 3 riders), and divisions based on fence height. For example:
18" Crossrail Hunt Pairs
18" Crossrail Hunt Teams
2' Hunt Pairs
2' Hunt Teams, etc.
It would be a charity/fun show for a horse rescue or humane society, hopefully something that could be held annually, but do you think many people would come since the classes are a bit limited in variety?
I was hoping I could attract some of the more western/HUS/casual trail type riders to give it a try as well by making it very casual, no hunt coats needed, costumes and themes encouraged, etc.

• ANSWER:
  A charity show is an excellent idea, but planning a show takes lots of time and organization.

  The first thing you want to do is contact the charity you want the proceeds donated to. A nice idea is to have them have a stall at the show where people can offer further donations. If it is a horse charity you can have a spot where they can donate tack, feed, and other equipment. A nice thing to do, if you have the space, is to invite them to bring along a few horses that are up for adoption. Set up a paddock to put these horses in where people can view them.

  You will want to have a few small prizes for the winners of the classes. You can chat to local tack, feed and horse supply shops and ask if they will be willing to donate small prizes. You can also offer them a stall spot if you have the space. Other shops can have a stall at a small fee or they can donate prizes.

  You will want to broaden you classes so you have more people entering. Try some fun gymkhana games like bending poles, sack races, potato race. You can also have a best walk and trot. To further encourage the costume and theme idea you can offer a prize to the best dressed in different categories. These can be children's, juniors and adults etc. For this you will need someone to do the judging.

  You will also want to add a few normal jumping classes, for this you will need a course designer, someone to announcer the riders, a PA system or bull horn will be required as well so the announcer can be heard. A scribe to write down every ones times. We incorporate fun jumping in our shows. Two classes that we do, the first is a grid of 6 jumps 1 stride apart, each person jumps the grid in turn, after each round it goes up 3". If any horse or rider knock a poll, have a fall or refusal they are eliminated. The last person standing wins. You can have a height limit to be safer. The other one is a single jump with the same rules. last person standing wins. If there is a tie at the height limit, the jump goes up once more. If both riders clear it then they share first place.

  You will need to organize a course designer, judges, stewards, announcer, refreshment stand, scibes, people to pick up and help move jumps, a medic. Mot of these will cost money. Try encourage them that it is for a charity and they may give you a discounted rate or not charge. (If they aren't charging it's nice to give them a small hamper with some chocolate or wine or something in it)

  You need to work out your basic expenses and what to charge per class. Take 50% of the class fee and divide it by your total expenses. This tells you the minimum amount of entries you need in order to cover your expenses and make a profit for the charity.

  You will need to take into account advertisement, paper for show entries, rosettes (we made certificates on colored paper or card fitting two on an A4 page), any helpers you may need to pay.

QUESTION:
Am I asking too much of my daughter?
She is four, will be five in April, and has been taking riding lessons for about 2 1/2 months. Ever since she was a little baby, she has ignored all of her other toys, stuffed animals, etc. except for her stuffed horses. I never pushed this on her, but she has developed a very strong love of horses. (Ok, I did push her once, for her first pony ride, but that was only to get on, she was squealing with glee as soon as the pony took his first step.)

Her riding has been progressing very well, and "Santa" has gotten a saddle for her for Christmas. My only real problem is, most of the ponies she rides have attitudes, and that makes her nervous (you know how ponies can be..) There is one horse available for her to ride, but she doesn't like to trot him, as he's over 17hh, and she has learned just how far down it is from 13hh.

I would love for her to be able to show by spring, and she says she wants to. She jumps at the chance to even look at a horse, so she still loves riding. In fact, she was proclaiming at the end of her last lesson how much she loved riding, "because it's so much fun". She has a very natural seat, and has learned a number of leg cues exceedingly quickly, but am I asking too much of her to keep it up? She gets nervous and nearly cries at every pull of the reins, or slight pinning of the ears (at the riding instructor or me, for keeping him in line). She can do it, and is wonderful when she does. One pony she rides cannot be controlled by 14yo's, but she guides him BEAUTIFULLY until he starts pulling the reins. When her riding instructor and I ignore them in the ring, we have witnessed her pulling off even a perfect figure 8.

Should I have her take a break, or am I right to keep insisting that she ride? Like I said, she does love it, but gets very apprehensive during the ride if her pony is being naughty. I don't want to over-do it and be that "show mom" that everyone hates, but I do want the best for her, and to nurture her interests. I know she gains confidence with every lesson, but it is hard for me to watch her get so frustrated during her lessons.
We keep her lessons fun, more of games than anything. So far as showing, I was thinking leadline class, nothing too heavy, naturally, But like I said, she says she wants to, and at least in leadline class, everyone walks away with at least something. I think that would be a good experience for her. One of the naughtiest ponies she rides is her favorite. She does ask to ride him, and even named her latest stuffed horse after him. She has no fear of actually riding, it's mostly when things dont go as she planned (ie: pulling the reins)

• ANSWER:
  Hmm I can see both sides of the coin in your situation I have 4 girls under 7yo and they all ride, my youngest is 2 1/2 years old.

  My girls have grown up with horses and I am lucky enough to have my horses on our property. So they have been around them in one form or another since birth. Early on it was just being led around on my big horses and sitting up with me. In fact we did not buy a pony until my oldest girl was 3yo.

  Unfortunately with ponies (as you have pointed out) many of them do have attitudes. I learned a lesson very quickly with my oldest girl, if they have a bad experience, they can loose their confidence VERY quickly and it is then very hard to get back.

  When my oldest girl was 4yo she was being led on a 10hh Shetland pony, he was pretty toey and normally she laughed, asked for trot and thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. He reared up one day and hit her in the face with his head. She got a blood nose and obviously was very shaken. After that day she refused to get back on him for over a year.

  She was happy to get on the big horses, but the ponies freaked her out. She still talks about that happening like it was yesterday. Even though she had previously been riding independently, I had to take her back to baby steps and just get her to sit on a pony and not move. Heaps of praise and obtaining very small goals each time, until she was eventually ready to trot again - this took over a year, I never pushed her.

  Both of my older girls are confident (now), but they lack the skills, seat, strength of leg and ability to make a naughty pony do as it is asked most of the time. Ponies figure this out very quickly, this results in frustration for your child and ultimately ends in tears.

  The clever ponies just stand and refuse to move. Now I have given her a crop, just holding it is enough to make them walk or trot when requested from little legs.

  I always took what ever measures I needed to hopefully get a successful outcome. Depending on the day I used one or several of these methods, like keeping them on a lead on a naughty or new pony. I understand it is hard in a riding school situation because you don't always get a choice of pony.

  I use a "grazing rein" when necessary, it stops the pony trying to eat grass where the child cant pull the ponies head back up. I walk in front to let the pony follow me (off lead). I have the pony ride with another pony to keep it calm and let if follow the other pony. I ride the pony myself to ensure they are educated and learn to be responsive.

  I do what ever it takes to make sure my girls have a safe and just as importantly, positive ride and experience. A stressed child is not learning effectively.

  Nearly all ponies will have an issue of some sort (lazy, toey), and all of them are super smart at knowing how to get away with not doing, what they don't want to do!

  I think you need to take the pressure off yourself and off your daughter (even though she does not know it is there yet). I had no intention of showing with my girls, they had always been happy to ride around the paddock and it had never been a topic I thought of.

  However my oldest girl was reading her horse books and asking questions. I asked them if they wanted to go to our local show in the fun ring to see what it was all about. They were very excited at the prospect.

  You can show successfully with a 4yo child You need to practice heaps on the lead. Kids that young will probably require a led on the pony, the judges don't expect the child to be "riding" the pony independently. You need to get the pony working well (ours are on voice commands) so you can walk, halt and trot when required. You will learn that the pony often matches your stride, so practice running fluidly beside the pony.

  The judges just want to see the child sitting up, rising to the trot and holding the reins in rider classes (practice rhythm by saying up, down, up down). If you enter breed or classes judged on the pony, then they just want to see the pony is quiet enough for a child to ride it (on the lead).

  Our first show was just about letting the girls see what a show was like. They both placed in their rider classes and where thrilled to get a ribbon. Then in the ridden pony class (judged on the pony) they got 1st and 2nd. It was very exciting for them to take their ribbons to show and tell

  The next show was their choice, I gave them the option and they wanted to go. They got a handful of ribbons each, ranging from 1st to 3rd. More show and tell.

  Go with little expectation and anything on that is a bonus. We found it a fun family day that our whole family could enjoy.

QUESTION:
Question about being bucked off...?
I got bucked off for the first time today, and I reacted in an interesting by all other standards, way. So, here's what happened:
We were just having some fun during a lesson, because it might be my friends last one, so we were doing gymkhana-ish stuff. we did this variation of easy pole bending where you weave down, turn tight, and wave back. Well, my horse is not very god a turns..in fact, hes pretty stiff, so we went around, I asked him to canter and he just..bucked! He was obviously frustrated with having to turn, i think it was just..he hasn't stretched that way in years! Any way, so I sort of somersaulted off, landed, felt perfectly fine, stood back up, grabbed him and told him "good boy to soothe him. I know that sounds weird, but I'm in to natural horsemanship, and I really agree with the quote "Whatever happens its always the riders fault" so, i felt like i needed to apologize. So my question is, how would you react if this happened to you? And maybe more importantly, how would a natural horseman, say, an avid parreli-ist react if their horse bucked them off?
Thanks in advance!
By the way, it's winter here...so he kind of dd have a good reason to act fresh.
Don't worry, i did get back on.
I know I probably could have limbered him up a little more, but it was in a lesson I probably should have loosened him up more first, but it's not like I really could have prepared him much. I've never done gymkhana before, and it was in a lesson, and I didn't know that we were going to do it until like five minutes before!

• ANSWER:
  While it is true that most accidents could be avoided due to rider error, that does not give a horse the right to buck you off. In the case, you needed to prepare your horse more that day or over the course of days to weeks if he had not done something for a while that required a good deal from him. However, whether you feel to blame for the situation at hand or not, one should never praise a horse for bucking you off. You should get back on yourself and work on either the exact same thing or something at least similar to it until you end on a positive note for the both of you. Of course, if you are not able mentally and/or physically able to do this yourself, you should have someone else do it. I understand the wanting to be a partner with your horse, but you need to understand and practice what is best in the long and short run for the both of you. The best apology for your horse would be to learn from this, not ask him to do something he is not ready to do, and at least insist he tries to do what you were asking - even if it is at the walk or trot instead of canter.
  All the Best!

QUESTION:
how do i get her to stop being so over the top :@?
basically my friend who i love to bits is really starting to annoy me now because she used to ride my little sisters pony about once a week but my sister isn't interested in riding really and would rather just come up the stables and play with the other kids and not actually ride or muck out or anything. but my friend wanted us to keep the pony because she cant afford to have another one but she likes riding her but im not going to keep a pony which i cant really ride all the time, and to be honest my friend is a little bit big to be doing it all the time as well, just so that she can ride her once a week. so we loaned her out to my mums friend who has two little kids who are 4 and 1 and they absolutely love her to bits and she has the most beautiful home in a massive deer park being looked after by people who have huge amount of experience with horses and used to have a team of horses used for weddings and the people have done a lot of parelli training and stuff like that. and now my friend everytime wont stop going on about it and saying that she could look after her better and that she can ride her more and have more fun and asking if she can come and going on about the fact that she didnt come and visit her with me, which isnt really my choice. im not exactly going to invite my friend to the house of my parents friends who i dont even know that well when they have invited us to come and have dinner with them and are cooking their venison for us as well as letting me see their arab because i might possibly look after it for the summer when they go sailing for 6 weeks.

• ANSWER:
  Just tell her to shut up. What's done is done. It wasn't her choice to make, it was yours. She was too big, and to be honest, she was freeloading off of you for a long time. Also, tell her that the pony is in the best place possible with top notch care and a family who loves her. If she wants to ride that bad, she should take lessons. I'm sure her family can afford one lesson a week, and if they can't she should muck stalls to pay for it.

  Or you could just tell her that you can't afford to keep her when she isn't being used and you can't afford to allow your friend to ride for free. That might be nicer to start off with, but if she doesn't listen, just tell her the top part.

QUESTION:
Relationship help ASAP please?
Me (19) and my girlfriend (20) have been together since march or something this year. I'm from Norway, she's from Thailand.
She has many Thai friends in Norway, that she likes to hang out with, and go to parties with.
I do not like to party at all, and when 90% of the people in these parties choose to solely speak Thai, and not Norwegian, even though they're able to, it's very easy to feel left out, and very uncomfortable. And as soon as we meet some of her Thai friends, wherever we may be, or we walk into these parties, it's like she forgets me, until she's leaving or something. This is why I choose not to go. My girlfriend doesn't seem to care one slightest bit about me being uncomfortable with her partying, and then I have to see the pictures of that party the next day about how she put everyone's phones in her bra to take a picture, and kept them in there for about 10-20 minutes. I thought this was an area only I was able to access, but the fact that she's doing that, and through that, making a little show for everyone about her breasts, in an area where there are many guys, to me seems like she doesn't care who's able to get a little peek. She's pretty short, so she likes wearing short dresses to make her look tall, but this is also to show everyone her big thighs and hips, in tight dresses.
I thought her other sexual areas, also were just for me, but it seems like she doesn't care at all and goes around showing herself off to everyone.

I asked her to come with me to this dairy farm (she loves animals), where we'd see pigs and horses and cows etc, and she wouldn't be a third wheel of anything. It would be just the two of us and we would have a lot of fun. She refused, while it was only 4 PM. She said she was tired and didn't feel like it. I tried to convince her, but she just kept refusing. 11 days later, at 10 PM, she was tired as hell, and wanted to go to bed. She told me she was going to bed soon, but before she could, she got the question from someone (a couple) if she would go play pool with them. The couple asked around if anyone wanted to come. She said yes. She was tired, but still said yes at once. She asked me if she could go, I didn't want her to, but she left anyway. Later that night, she's out drinking too. She refused me, ten times, because she was a little tired, but while drop-dead tired, she accepted to go out that late. They also started drinking that same night and she went to bed around 6 AM, or later. Why would she do that? Many signs similar to this, has come up of her not wanting to hang out with me, and that she has a wayyy better time with others than with me. She has been generally refusing to hang out with me, wanting to be with her friends instead, even though she lives with them, and has no job. She's able to be with them all day long, and then when I'm finally off work or school, she refuses just like that. I understand that her friends is a whole gang, which has the same interests as she does + the more the merrier, and she can speak Thai to them, which probably makes her feel more at home, but this is far from within reason. At the beginning of this relationship she didn't care at all though. She chose to be with me most of her time, even though she had less time to spare. Now she's hanging out with them 24/7, both weekdays and weekends.

There was a misunderstanding when I was very hurt by something she did, so I told her, and she thought I'd broken up with her when I didn't, changed the status on her Facebook account to single, and didn't talk to me. She's been telling me since then that she's not ready to talk to me, or see me, yet, but she was fully ready to go to a party and act crazy, get drunk and put everyone's phones down her bra and even let her friends take a closeup picture of this, and use the rest of the night to show off her curves. What is up with that?

Yesterday, when i got home from convincing her to talk to me again, I saw the pictures on Facebook again, and she was letting this guy put her arm around her neck and hand on her shoulder, and she was smiling like hell. There were no intentions either way, but I started crying, feeling replaced, and once again reminded of how much fun she's easily having without me and how she'd rather choose to hang out with anyone else but me. I called her, because I needed to talk to her about this. She didn't care much at all, and after 2 minutes hung up on me.

I'm tired of having to practically beg her to be with me, and then walk around in town to see someone from Thailand, and be forgotten just like that.
We used to ask each other out all the time, and it was more or less an "of course" that we were going to hang out with each other.
I don't see the point of her being with me, when she's all okay without me. She still chooses to be with me, but chooses n

• ANSWER:
  wow im so sry i think u should just keep ur head up and find sum one who will Truly love u back like u love them

QUESTION:
Do you think it would be good or bad for business to write a vampire book during the rein of 'twilight'?
It didn't suddenly hit me one day to become a fan of the 'vampire' world, though I can say that I've had a genuine interest in them. When I was younger, people didn't really give a hoot for vampires, but now all of a sudden, with Twilight going on a rampage now, anyone and everyone adores or despises vampires!

I wasn't originally planning on writing a book with Vampires in it, especially now with Twilight out... I'm not sure where to lean though- would it make it easier to get buyers due to the fact that its a vampire book, or would it give the opposite affect?

I've never actually read through all of the Twilight series- I considered it at a time, but then when just about everyone I knew, including some of my parents' friends and siblings, began obsessing over it, along with the reviews on the character, writing, and plot quality... Well I decided to just forget about it! I find it rather unbelievable that it got so popular so fast, along with its development into a movie. I'm not saying its necessarily terrible, but it doesn't deserve as much credit as it has been given.

Anyhow, this all goes to say that I wonder whether or not its safe to write about the topic- despite many differences it would have, people would say it was because of this 'twilight frenzy'!
It's given me mixed feelings about it. It doesn't help that certian friends of mine have hounded me for the idea, saying 'vampires are stupid and you don't need to write about it... Except if it's some old, ugly vampire that is misunderstood', along with others giving the 'I don't know about that', due to the fact that they just aren't too keen on the blood-sucking creatures, along with any other beings that are usually involved. Though I can see this being from their views as Christians, just seeing it as occult, I myself am a strong Christian and don't find anything wrong with a fun fiction story, as long as it isn't 'dirty'. (Such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings).

I don't have much for an idea yet, though I do want it to have action, adventure, fantasy, romance (due to the fact that I'm a sucker for a good love story), etc. Of course, for the romance I'd want it to be a bit more realistic- all that book 'romance' such as seen in Twilight really isn't 'true love' as the fans love to say (lust more likely). Here is just a bit of writing I jotted down.
--------------------------------------------------

*things to take note*

-This is in a different universe/reality

-It is set during a time with little technology, such as the fact that they still use horse and buggy, swords and shields, bows and arrows, etc. Though some more advanced technology may be introduced.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Vampires are finally out to conquer- not each other, but all other races... At least so it seems. For the most part, it isn't that they are out on the rampage to get this job done, but rather that they are doing what they do to give themselves more convinences.

At this time, they have a ruler called the 'Overlord' (perhaps the name of the book). For as long as they could remember, they had a ruler named Adalhard, who was the second to be acknowledged as the leader of the Vampires- Also the one who united them together the most. An answer to whether or not he still exists is questionable, though now there is a new ruler- his son Alastair.

It doesn't mention either, how long Alastair had been reining, though it seems like the majority of the vampires are agreeable with his rule- whether or not that makes him young or old is still questionable as well. Waring upon different civilizations, they are being seen as a true threat to one of the greatest groups- the humans. These humans however, have different distinct things that set them apart; some of these differences seen as valuble in the eyes of the vampires. One region in particular they had been attacking were known to have one of these 'valuble' gifts, though few out of the many people actually contained it at this day and age. When one of these people are found, however, a young woman (starting age is yet to be determined...), the vampire soldiers bring her back to King Alastair, who soon finds interest in her (though not in a romantic fashion). He then makes a deal with her people- he would stop the attacks on their region in return for the girl.
With this deal being set, the girl is then kept at the Vampire court, clueless to what is going to happen to her. *That's as far as I went for the girl (which isn't far) though I went farther for Alastair.

Alastair's mother was human- his father, having a soft side for humans, didn't give her the virus. Unlike what you may be thinking, this doesn't make him a 1/2 breed- in fact, the only way for Vampir
Vampires to "reproduce" more Vampires is by giving people the virus by injecting them with their fangs. This being said, the only reason why Alastair is a vampire and a legitamit heir to the throne is due to the fact that his father bit him.

One of the main antagonists of the story is his brother (yet to be named), who is actually much older than him, and has a mother who is also a vampire. Because of this, he is trying to lay claims to the throne. On the other side, Alastair holds a claim, though he is in fact younger by perhaps hundreds or even thousads of years (is quite possible that he is actually in his 20s), he was the only offspring known to have been turned into a vampire by the King himself. That being said, many see Alastair as the legit heir to the throne, if it's to be judged by his lineage and how he became a vampire. (sorry there- cut me off above! Wish I had a bit more characters to use to write a few more details... but ALAS! I don't)

• ANSWER:
  I understand what your thinking. I think that would be a good story. Personally I don't even consider twilight as a REAL vampire book. I mean come on sparkling vampires? Wtf. I love stories about vampires, I always have. I'm not going to let twilight affect what I read. I think if you really want to write a story about vampires then you should. Just make it unique and original. Make it well... real. There can never be enough good stories about vampires. Some of my favorite movies are Blade, Underworld and Queen of the damned. One of my nephews was even named after Blade.

QUESTION:
My mother is Mentally ill and refuses any medical help what can I do?
I am 18 and my brother 19 and she was admitted to a mental health hospital back when I was around 10ish. She took medication up until I was about 13 and ever since she has refused to take any medication. I cant get her in a mental health hospital again because to do so she has to agree to go there with this stupid law, and most people with her type of illness will NOT agree to go into a hospital.

Yes so I am 18 and the sad part is that I really do not have a life because of this. I stay at my dads for week days for college/job and friday to sunday Im at my mams. While all my friends are having fun at the weekends Im stuck at my mams. I cant stay at my dads on any weekend whatsoever because she freaks out and comes looking for my dads house( she doesnt know where he lives because shes unpredictable)

Recently she has been buying animals and outrageous things that an 18 and 19year old boys would not be interested in but she just carrys on and thinks that we are much younger. Things such as a dog, 2 cats, 2 budgies, Mouse and now shes talking about a Horse! All she ever talks about is my dad in a negative way because he was the one that got her into the mental hospital the first time which was definatly the right decsion. When ever you try to reason with her its like she doesnt even take on board a word in which you have spoken as she continies with her view.

Its not as though I can just move out and get my own place to stay all the time either with prices of places and the fact im a student looking to go to university in 2 years time.
What are my options I want to help her because she is making my life hell, like I say I never go out with friends on a weekend maybe 3-4 times a year max I get to see friends on a weekend, its hardly a life. I get asked to go to town on a night out almost every week and i hate having to turn everyone down they must think im just anti social or something

Thank you alot for reading this and I hope I can find the help i need.

• ANSWER:

QUESTION:
What do I do after leaving all my friends?
Im sorry for the extensiveness of my question, but some things require a long explanation. Some helpful information about me would be the fact that I'm in high-school, 16, and live at home with my parents.

Ok, so pretty much recently I stopped hanging out and talking with all my friends. Why? Because all we ever did was smoke, do drugs, party, and nothing else. They disillusioned me into thinking that being disrespectful and getting messed up was the best thing I could do. After 3 years, I realized that my "friends" were actually just people who didn't understand the concept of living. All of them talked about people in ways I did not like, such as the fact that they referred to women as bitches and hoes, and otherwise did not care about them at all unless they were in their bed. Or how they would make fun of a retarded, fat, ugly, or crippled person just for the sake of a laugh. I on the other hand have always been quite respectable and treated people with an understanding that can not be surpassed. It's impossible for me to get mad, nor do I have the ability to foster any hatred. I went through a period of enlightenment that helped me to see the world. I began questioning myself and everyone around me. Questions like, if you're happy and you're enjoying life, then why do you want to change your state of mind by drinking, smoking, popping pills. Only to find yourself feeling depressed, and the complete opposite of being happy. And if you're not happy, then why are you searching for it in something that will only make you lose interest in ever looking for it. And after a while there began to be signs, lots of them, so coincidental that it should be said to be impossible. I began to resent my friends, and eventually stopped talking to them. The signs made me realize that I needed to change my life. Of which led me to where I am now, but when you discover the answers you're looking for, new questions quickly follow.

- What do I do now? No friends and in need of some new ones, preferably people who have like minded ideals.

- How to turn my boredom into something constructive.

- How do I start getting involved with my community through volunteering and other work that can help the people around me.

- I've became interested in going to church, and participating in youth groups. How do I go about finding the right one. How do I tell my parents I'm going to church, and I don't want to go with you. (We haven't gone to church in a while and me going to church would make them feel obligated to go, but I'd rather not go with them.)

- How can I get out of the house and start enjoying life. Like learning how to ride a horse (how do I go about doing that?)

- What are some things that make you smile, and otherwise put you in a good mood. Simple things, like seeing a baby laugh ( I need help in opening my eyes towards these sorta things, rather than just dismissing them as things that happen all the time.)

- How do I show people what it means to live, when they don't want to listen. (If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like, and like so many things we don't do.)

• ANSWER:
  I am exactly like this with no drinking/smoking or the party type. Trust me, there are actually plenty of kids out there who do not do that stuff. A lot of people my age around here do that stuff though, and it irks me. Even though i do not do that stuff, i still get along with people who do, just don't really hangout with them but they are my friends. My good friends do not do all that stuff though. Just be friendly with new people and see what their interests are.

  Being in a small city with NOTHING to do i often find myself bored, even on some weekends sometimes. Watch some movies, or watch your favorite sports teams, etc. You could end up hooked watching some movies or TV shows that make time fun and pass by. Video games are fun, and could even make you meet some cool kids through online play! Me and my friends end up getting hooked and playing for hours some nights lol. Even just searching the Internet or facebooking it up can kill time. Start poke wars with people, haha.

  Once you have a license, it will be easier to just get out and enjoy life. Like go out and drive around, or stop at a mall and shop some even if you do not go with your friends. One thing that made me smile is helping people out with problems and seeing them happy and smile again. Idk, it just made me smile and trust me, some people just do not appreciate life at all like you said, they don't listen. You have the right mindset though my man. Keep it up and youll go far in life. Sorry i did not answer the church questions, i don't make it to church much often myself. I just have a lot of personal experiences with friends letting me down and such. Good luck!

QUESTION:
EDIT THIS PLEASE???? ?
Edit this pleaseeee! If you don't edit the whole thing then please try to edit some of it (like maybe 1 or 2 of the paragraphs?)
THANKS VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!

The novel that I’m using to do my character sketch is called The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The story is about a group of boys that are in a gang known as the Greasers, who throughout their teenage lives, experience plenty of good and bad moments together, including trouble with their rival gang of rich kids - The Socs. The Greasers include Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Dally, Two-Bit, Johnny, and Steve. All of the boys have great character traits, but I’ve decided that the character I’m going to discuss is Sodapop Curtis - the handsome, understanding, unique, and sensitive one.

Throughout the story it is mentioned that Sodapop is the most handsome of the group. Along with this, Sodapop is also said to be very slim with nice facial features. His face is both finely drawn and sensitive, and he has his dad’s eyes. They’re dark brown, lively and dancing. They may appear sympathetic one moment, and blazing with anger the next. Sodapop’s hair is silky, straight, long, and dark-gold in colour. He styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all the Greasers do, which is how they got their gang name in the first place. According to Ponyboy, Sodapop has looks like a movie-star.

The first characteristic of Sodapop is understanding. One example of this is how Sodapop acted as the glue between his 2 brothers, mainly because he understood both of their opinions, views, and sides. He understood that Darry often yelled at Ponyboy and worried way too much about him, and he also understood that Ponyboy hated being yelled at, but he did do some bad things that deserved discipline. Another example is how when Ponyboy and Johnny ran away, Sodapop sent a letter for them saying how we wanted them to return home, but was very understanding to the fact that they couldn’t or else Johnny might get hurt. Also, when they eventually arrived back at home, Sodapop wasn’t stressing and questioning them (unlike Darry). Instead, he dealt with the situation calmly, mainly because I think he understood why Ponyboy had ran away in the first place. It was because Darry hit him, and Sodapop had always understood that Darry had a very bad temper. The last example is how Sodapop would spend plenty of his time trying to understand the problems that others were having. An example of this is when he helped Ponyboy to understand that Darry truly did love him.

The second characteristic of Sodapop is unique. One example of this is how he was always happy with his life, which was unique from all of the others. What’s strange is that even though he didn’t have an education due to his dropout from school, and he was employed at a gas station where he spent mostly all of his time, he was still a “happy-go-lucky” kind of guy. Another example is how Sodapop was the only one out of the group who was sensitive, and who didn’t smoke all the time for just any reason, but only for the reason of being stressed or to look tough. The last example is how Sodapop had very strange likings and interests. Some of these include how he liked grape jelly on his eggs, how he liked to fight only for the excitement and fun that he thought came with it, and how he enjoyed making weird and surprising food such as green pancakes.

The third characteristic of Sodapop is sensitive. One example of this is how when Mickey Mouse, Sodapop’s horse he’d owned and loved very much as a kid, was sold, Ponyboy stated that afterward, Sodapop had cried for a very long time. This really expressed his sensitive side because quite often, people wouldn’t think that a tuff Greaser like himself would show his emotions over the loss of his pet horse. Another example is when Sodapop was very upset because Darry and Ponyboy had been fighting once again, and this time they were trying to make him pick a side. Since he couldn’t take it any longer, he stormed out of the house. Soon after, Darry and Ponyboy followed. When they found him, the three boys lay in the grass and discussed the problem. Eventually, Sodapop began to cry a little. At this point, Sodapop had expressed his sensitive side yet again.

• ANSWER:
  "styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all the Greasers do,"
  Change that to:
  "styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all OF the Greasers do,"

  "The first characteristic of Sodapop is understanding"
  Understanding an adjective. A characteristic is a noun. So change it to:
  "The first characteristic of Sodapop is being able to understand"

  "understood why Ponyboy had ran away"
  change it to:
  "understood why Ponyboy had RUN away"

  Just a few grammar issues.

QUESTION:
What would be a good sport for me?
Hi! I am fifteen years old, overweight, unfit and lethargic-I really want to find a sport to get in better shape, but so far I haven't been able to find anything I enjoy. I don't like team sports like football or basketball because I don't like the idea of lots of people depending on me (everyone knows not to pass the ball to me in PE) but I like having someone to talk to otherwise I get bored. I am quite violent and competitive, but I don't take part in competitive sports because I get embarrassed, always lose and I am a really sore loser! Also even though I enjoy sparring I am not very good with pain... (Alright I admit I'm a big baby!)
I tried a karate class, but I quit after three lessons because all we did was kata with no sparring and whilst I liked the philosophy I did not like all the rules and how disciplined it all was-I was really bored and felt like an automaton. It was all work and no play. Another problem is that I get embarrassed if I am not good at something the first time and tend to lose my motivation and quit.

I used to play tennis but I was not very good and found it boring, I hate badminton even more. I used to enjoy trampolining but I got sick of it after a few years and when everyone else quit the class I had no one to talk to and got bored again! I like the "feel" of cycling but I get bored cycling around the same old places and I don't like cycling with other people because I prefer to do my own thing when cycling. I absolutely hate hiking and walking up hills, and I hate the gym as well as I find it really boring even when I go with friends.
I want to find something fun and engaging that will also help me get in shape-I am quite geeky and into RPG games like Zelda and adventure books and would be interested in learning to use a sword as a hobby, but I am worried about it being like the karate class and also my mum doesn't want me to do anything "violent". I also like the idea of parkour or free running (not being bound to set paths, being able to move my own way, as well as the fact that both are not very popular sports in my area so I wouldn't feel hemmed in by other people) but I do not know where I could go to learn and also apparently you have to be incredibly fit to do both and that it can be dangerous, and once again I am anxious about the "automaton" mentality I encountered in Karate. I love animals and would love to do horse riding, but we cannot afford lessons.

I really can't think of a sport that would suit me, but I get the feeling there must be one out there. I'm also going to be moving up to fourth year now and I can't do a sport that will take away too much from studying time. Someone please help me as I don't want to be another overweight bum who just sits all day on the computer, but I simply can't come up with something that would hold my interest for more than ten seconds without being too expensive... I am a girl and I am into books, video games, animals, exploring, drums and jazz, pop punk and punk rock music and I'm a goody twoshoes not very good at taking risks if that makes any difference (apparently it does but I'm not sure).
I also meant to say I don't like things like dancing-I feel awkward doing it and don't really enjoy it or see the incentive.

• ANSWER:
  Hey,
  You sound a lot like me
  I just started to be more active, Did you know an hour doing housework burns roughly 200 calories?
  I don't really like sports much, but i've started walking and i've already seen the benefits! However as you say you don't like hills...here are a few suggestions that you haven't mentioned...La-cross, Handball, Football, Netball, Swimming, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Archery, Skiing, Fencing and Sailing. There are many, many sports out there, you just need to find one you like! Even if you don't like the sound of doing a sport, go try it out, as you never know! If I were you try typing sports list into google and see what comes up

  -And, side note: Since you love Horses, why not try and volunteer at a local shelter, you never know you might be allowed to ride them sometimes!

QUESTION:
How should i put my life back together?
Okay, so this is a very long story spanning over four and half years but i'll try and shorten it best i can.

I'm almost 18 now and nearly five years ago I was at a private school with a few close friends and was liked by almost everyone, an A* student seriously going places.

Then for a reason i can't explain even now I started suffering from clinical depression which just got worse and worse. I lost all my friends, left school to be homeschooled, my family distanced themselves from me and i constantly self harmed and eventually attempted suicide.
After this I had therepy and got better, not perfect, but better (remember this is spanning over almost 5yrs) especialy when I got a horse.
The problem is now i have been left shy, i can talk to people if they talk to me but i'm generally not the one to start the conversation. And I can't seem to make friends, I'm nice, kind, fun and never bitchy but for some reason people just seem to misunderstand me thinking i'm two faced (which could be possibly from the fact I lie about not having any friends, saying I go to parties and get guys interested in me, like a normal 18 yr old girl), judgmental or they just think of me as the smiley strange girl whos good to have the odd chat to but thats about it.

All this is starting to depress me again and i just can't seem to click with anyone with out them misjudging me. I just don't know what to do any more so I thought somthing impersonal like this may help.

Thanks for reading. x sorry about the spelling i'm tired

• ANSWER:
  Depression is a very hard thing to get over. I suffer from it myself, and I am in no way the life of the party. But as long as you are charming to the people that do come up to talk to you, you will eventually be viewed as the sweet quiet girl. I am very quiet, but all my friends and aquatint's think I am the laid back cool chick.

QUESTION:
Whats an interesting fact about Horseshoes, stirrups, and horse harnesses from along time ago?
Ok so im doing this essay in my la ss class and i have to write about Horseshoes, stirrups, and horse harnesses.

thanks, sindy
so if you can help me then that would be awesome!!

• ANSWER:
  Among the things I find interesting about horseshoes: among the early attempts at protecting horse's feet were the Roman "hipposandals," which were attached by laces and ties. This is an example in the British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/i/iron_hipposandal.aspx

  The first stirrups of which historians are aware of were "toe stirrups," mere loops of rope that the rider, who presumably was either barefoot or wore sandals, stuck his big toe through to steady himself: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi476.htm

  The development of horse harness took some time: early harnesses that were used were around the horse's neck, rather than resting on the shoulders, and the result was that if a horse pulled hard enough, the harness could actually interfere with his breathing-- kind of counter-productive to getting work done. Horse brasses, the decorative ornaments that used to be commonplace as a part of fine coach or draft harnesses, are something of an outgrowth of the use of amulets on horses in pagan times to ward off evil influences: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_brasses.htm

QUESTION:
20 points hurry plz!?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  You will get nowhere in life.

QUESTION:
english first and best answer gets 10 points?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  LOL do you actually think someone is going to do your homework for you for 10 points? Especially when this homework involves reading several stories. Concentrate, do your own work, and you won't be in this situation anymore.

QUESTION:
Engish best answer get 10 points?
1. In order to impart good advice to readers, the narrator of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” __________ . (Points : 3)
includes guidance in the last paragraph of a standard persuasive essay
passes on helpful tips as he narrates something that happened to him
drops bits of information into a humorously exaggerated poem
writes a poem with striking images that communicate his ideas

2. In “The Fish I Didn’t Catch,” the narrator loses his fish. However, his uncle makes a comparison that helps teach the narrator a lesson. Which best summarizes the comparison? (Points : 3)
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a proverb the uncle invented about fishing.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like the time the uncle first caught a fish.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like an older person being overly proud of something that has not yet been done.
The narrator’s boasting about the fish is like a child losing a marble or breaking a doll.

3. What suggests to readers the powerful impact that the events of “The Fish I Didn’t Catch” had on the author? (Points : 3)
the author’s vivid recollection of an event that happened in his childhood
the author’s persistence in learning to fish from his uncle
the continued disappointment of the author, even as an adult, that he lost the fish
the author’s dislike of fishing as an adult because of what happened to him as a child

4. What weakens John Ruskin’s argument in his essay called “Work"? (Points : 3)
examples drawn from real life
uses of logical fallacies
appeals to logic
appeals to readers’ emotions

5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including _________ . (Points : 3)
illogical claims or overgeneralizations about opposing positions
facts, statistics, and logic that support their positions
expert opinions that agree with their positions
imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings

6. Read this excerpt from "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail":

Before the king could rise, his frightened horse had galloped away. The king looked up and saw that his soldiers were fleeing in confused retreat, and that on all sides Henry's troops were closing in upon him.

The language that Baldwin uses in this text helps __________. (Points : 3)
capture the panic and disorder of battle

capture the confidence and hope of the king

capture the sadness and regret of soldiers

capture the fun and frivolity of Henry's personality

7. Joseph Addison, in his essay titled “Argument,” advises people not to become angry while arguing because anger is evidence of __________ . (Points : 3)
a lack of emotional control
a desire to learn the truth of a matter
a strong ability to reason logically
overconfidence in one’s position

8. “Argument,” by Joseph Addison, is a traditional persuasive essay. What technique does Addison use to explain and support his position? (Points : 3)
He makes readers laugh with comic exaggeration.
He employs fallacious reasoning and plays with readers’ emotions.
He includes imagistic, sensory language.
He argues logically and provides supporting data.

9. What general advice does Rudyard Kipling offer readers in “If”? (Points : 3)
Strive for your personal best without becoming conceited or proud.
Seek your career widely, trying many options before settling.
Behave with others in the way you want them to behave with you.
Listen to the guidance of others, but follow your own dream.

10. Which of the following is not a type of hook that is often used in persuasive pieces, such as the poems "If," "Can't," and "Perseverance"? (Points : 3)
a surprising statement or fact

an interesting question

an unusual comparison

a thesis statement

11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? (Points : 3)
The speaker has never had a crystal staircase in her house.

The speaker wishes her life were more like something in a fairy tale.

The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

The speaker is bitter and angry about her life.

12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to __________ . (Points : 3)
responsibly follow rules at all times
maintain a positive outlook
carry on through difficult situations
keep the promises they make

13. Who is most likely the intended audience of “Rebecca” and “The Story of Augustus”? (Points : 3)
grown-ups
parents
teens
kids

• ANSWER:
  5. Writers make emotional appeals when they try to persuade readers by including imagery and description that may influence readers’ feelings.

  11. What does the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem, "Mother to Son," mean when she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"? The speaker's life has not been grand or easy.

  12. Robert E. Lee and the speaker in Langston Hughes’s poem both advise their children to
  Do their own homework!!!

QUESTION:
Can you read my unfinished mice and men essay? What grade so far?
I havent done all of it yet::

Over the years, many readers of, Of Mice And Men have had a different opinion on the character Crooks. Crooks is a small character in the book, but by him being present you can judge the status and power of the other men and the way they treat themselves and others. Steinbeck present Crooks as less of a man and more of an animal as it suggests in this quotation “Crook's bunk was a long box filled with straw , on which is blankets were flung.” Also less respected by the others as Candy shouts “Stable-Buck. Oh! Sta-able Buck” at him.
Crooks has many possessions and some would be classed as personal as it says “ And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions.” This shows that Crooks has been living and working on the farm longer than the other men as they take no interest in his items as they have not stolen them. It seems like Crooks is the only person on the farm with personal possessions and by Crooks owning these personal possessions we can learn alot about him. For instance, he has a “Tattered” dictionary and a copy of the California Civil code for 1905 which is described as “mauled”, giving more reason to believe Crooks is animal-like. Crooks having these tells us Crooks can read, is smart enough to look and find words in a dictionary and he knows his rights in life. The “Dirty Books” above Crook's bed on a “special shelf” could mean one of 2 things. Firstly,it could be that he hasn't read the books in a long time so they have gathered dust and could be worth a bit on money, but alternatively, they could imply they are pornographic as they are on a special shelf. Also the fact that Crooks can't and doesn't go out with the other men pushes the argument over to the books being pornographic.
Crooks mentions the loneliness experienced by all the characters in “Of Mice And Men” as he says "Sure, you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs someone - to be near him. A guys goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, an' he gets sick." In this quotation he is telling of the need for social interaction and the need for somebody to look after them. The suffering Crooks experiences in living in the barn and not the bunkhouse leads him into a plea to be accepted as one of the gang. John Steinbeck is portraying here the feelings of Americans of his day and age, their loneliness and their salvation in the American Dream through Crooks.
Crooks' power throughout section 4 changes as different characters enter and through the different events that take place. When Lennie enters the barn he is quite defensive of his space as he says “You got no right coming in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” By Lennie not leaving, Crooks is socially lower than Lennie but when Crooks gets angry he gets power over Lennie and can tease him. This is reversed when Lennie gets upset as he believes somebody has hurt is protector George. When Lennie thinks he can finally be part of “The American Dream” with George, Lennie and Candy he is shot back down to the ground by Curley's Wife. This shows that Lennie opened up to somebody, probably the first time for much of his life and probably the last time.

• ANSWER:
  A B-, or a 3 as we would have it in Scotland (General Grade). You have used quotations (something we get ragged on a lot about) and good Point, Evidence, Explanation. This means you have made your points clear, you have given evidence such as quotations, and you have given a good explanation. However, your language can seem basic at times, ie "animal like". A better example would be "has characteristics similar to that of an animal", and "small character" could be "minor character". Have a quick look through again and change any language that could be a little more sophisticated. Other than that it is very good. You have made your opinions clear without using "I" and have a good opening paragraph, which is very important.

QUESTION:
My girlfreind says she was sexually assaulted?
Ive been dating this girl for just over a year. About 2 months ago I came into town for the weekedn to see her. I kept trying to phone when I arrived but her phone was either turned off or ran out of batterys. She didnt get a hold of me until later that night, when she did phone she sounded drunk and messed up, she said she was with her sister at the bar the night before and that they met this guy who had told her that I had slept with his girlfriend last summer, the girl in question made a move on me after a baseball tournament at a party that night, I turned her down, this girl I had known for years. The guy my GF met at the bar with her sister is a nortorious drug addict and lowlife, she said she was hanging out with him and her sister at someones house but she wouldnt tell me

So after an agrument on the phone with her crying and telling me she was not ok and angry at me and that she had a feeling something happened the weekend of the baseball tournament I was at

So after we agrued on the phone ,I went to sleep, she phoned me early the next morning and wanted to see me. I asked her if anything went on out at the guys house the night before and she said no. We agrued and for a bit then made up.

For a long time I felt something wasnt right, so I asked her some questions and she told me that after the bar, her, her sister and the guy I call Mike, partied it up at her sisters and were doing drugs and that her sister was interested in Mike, then when her sister crashed out that morning, her and "Mike" went out to this guy named Johns place out of town. She said they went to just hang out and they did all day, with Mike, John and his son..playing horseshoes and watching movies. Then later that night Mike took her car and went to pick up her sister. Then the next morning she got up and came to see me.

Now..since that weekend my GF's sister and Mike have been dating, just a few days ago I found out from a friend that she knew for fact that my GF and Mike fooled around that day they went out to buddys place. I confronted her and she denied it. The next day she called me crying saying that Mike had sexually assaulted her when she was passed out and that she didnt want to tell me because she knew I would get mad, and that she didnt want to ruin her sisters relationship and that she just wanted to pretend that it didnt happen.

I told her why she didnt leave after he did that and continue to hang out with him and her sister and why she didnt go to the police or even the doctor to get checked up. She got angry at me, and said that I cant tell her how to deal with a sexual assault. She has now changed her number so the guy cant keep texting her and her sister has broken up with him, but wont talk to my GF or me about what his version of events are.

I messaged the guy and he denies it and says that maybe John did something when he went back into town to get my GFs sister, and wants to meet up with me to settle this thing, but he didnt mention meeting up with my GF to talk to her about it...

Everytime I try to get to the bottom of it with my GF and ask why she didnt take steps afterward to protect herself after this incident happened she gets angry and crys and tells me I cant judge her and tell her how to handle it, and that a loving partner wouldnt make her re live this ordeal.

I have doubts about what happened and if it was consentual or not..I need advice please!!

• ANSWER:
  I think shes lying I mean she probably did something with mike and cant admit it to you so she just had to make a bullshit story. I mean think about it why would her sister lie about your GF fooling around with mike. And if she did get assaulted she would of went to the police

QUESTION:
When God created the creatures of the Earth, did He even know what He was doing?
The reason why I ask is that I've been recently reading about Trilobites which sort of resembled modern horseshoe crabs. There were an estimated 20,000 different Trilobite species, which dominated the Earth for about 300 million years before all going extinct -- all before dinosaurs appeared on the scene (learn about these fascinating creature yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite).

Anyway, I was wondering what God had in mind with this? Why would it take Him so long to decide that Trilobites shouldn't be the dominant creatures of the Earth? Of course, the dominant creatures were later decided to be (by God) dinosaurs, which also didn't seem to meet His Divine Plan (other than birds). In fact, we pathetic humans have only been around for 200,000 years at most, so I guess He finally got it right (or did He?).

I'm confused by all this.

(P.S. I asked this same question last night and got some interesting responses, so I thought I'd ask it again).

Anyone who truly believes that the world and all the creatures init were created 6000 years ago shouldn't be able to get driver's licenses, because I doubt they have the inteligence to operate a car.

• ANSWER:
  nope

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QUESTION:
Do you aree with my interesting theory about evolution?
Why do men have nipples?

Why do women have a clitoris?

Ah yes.....these are the questions....the questions we all ask ourselves everyday when we wake up,

Well,....maybe not.

But I think it is because women and men both came from the same organism. That organism must have been capable of reproduction on its own. Such ability of reproduction exists already! So don't challenge me on it! It is called Asexual reproduction. A few living organisms exist even today that can do this.

If evolution is true, then over the many many years it took to get this far, there had to be a point when the organism split into two halves - the giver, and the receiver of reproduction = male and female, respectively.

The organism may have had a tiny penis - used for urination and so forth and a vagina for reproduction. As the split advanced, the male changed physically as nature saw fit and grew a larger, more profound penis in order to meet the demands of the female sex organ, and retained nipples -- which the original organism must have needed to nurture the young. The females retained the clitoris as a ...um...left over..if you will,...a shrunken penis which is why it looks so similar to the penis (take a close look at your girl's hot spot and examine the button when you get the opportunity - looks a lot like a miniature penis!).

The females also retained their nipples, of course, to nurture the young.

All male mammals, according to internet "facts" have nipples, with the exception of the stallion - male horses don't have any. Perhaps just an evolutionary preference for that species or by chance. Nature is very smart - as we can all look around and see.

So if evolution continues in this path, we (men) will lose our nipples and the females will lose the clitoris!

Boy I am glad I don't have to live through such times lol.

Well then., this is a speculation - theory! If none of this is true and we were created by a Most High indeed, then I suggest he is one naughty mofo - giving us nipples an cl!ts just for sexual pleasure

• ANSWER:
  Interesting meanderings. Biologically, if you understand purebreds and hybrids, women (having XX chromosomes) and men (having xy chromosomes) are purebred and hybrid respectively. In my view, this is the most profound and compelling argument to support the notion that the story of Adam and Eve is quite backward. As for the fact men have nipples, this is just a vestigial remnant echoing the earlier fact mentioned: men are hybrids. In regards to certain physical features atrophying and becoming non-existent, this will happen only when those features become irrelevant or over the long term (thousands of years) of non-use. Given that many women experience the pleasures of orgasm, and men experience the pleasure of nipple stimulation - I think this is highly unlikely.

QUESTION:
Quarter horse people: what can you tell me about the "Conclusive" and "Investor" lines?
My 13 year old gelding is out of a Conslusive mare ("Heidi Conclusive") by an Investor stallion ("Invester's Big Bucks.") Apparently, the breeders were pleased with the results, because they bred those two horses again a year later, and my horse has a full sister out there somewhere. I don't know much about those bloodlines, other than that Conclusive was a son of Impressive (and yes, I'm aware of the HYPP gene.) I'd like as many interesting facts and tidbits as people can give me. Specifically, I'd like to know what discipline(s) those lines were bred for, or if they are characterized by any particular personality traits (i.e., did Smokey inherit his butt-headed-ness from one of his ancestors, or is that something he developed all on his own?) I've tried emailing the breeders, but they never responded. I'm not interested in retraining him or anything -- he's strictly a fox hunter and schooling show horse -- but I'm curious.
I had to laugh when I read Victoria's and Domino's responses. So brattiness is an Impressive trait?! No, he doesn't really have that blocky, Quarter Horse head -- his head's more wedge-shaped. He'd never have made it as a halter horse -- too many subtle conformation flaws -- but he is well-balanced overall, and very athletic.

I'm going to leave my question up for a couple more days because I'm still hoping to find out something about the "Investor" side of his pedigree; anyone know where I can get more information on that?

• ANSWER:
  You are lucky to have such a versatile horse! The bloodlines you ask about are noted Halter horses and more western specialty horses than fox hunters.

  Conclusive was an AQHA World Champion stallion. Conclusive (AQHA # 1322925) was a 1977 sorrel AQHA stallion who sired 368 foals including many World Champions. His off-spring includes Hint of Conclusive, Conclusive Leo, Conclusive Win, and Whiskey Conclusive. Conclusive was sired by Impressive.

  Impressive is regarded as one of the most influential stallions in modern Quarter Horses. Impressive (AQHA # 0767246) was a 1969 sorrel AQHA stallion. He was the 1975 AQHA World Champion Aged Halter Stallion. He is credited with developing a very strong line of specialized Halter horses that still maintained the versatility characteristic of the American Quarter Horse. Prior to Impressive, most Quarter Horses were bred to perform and achieve desirable physical characteristics. With over 2,200 foals sired, Impressive was listed on the AQHA All-Time Leading Sires List.

QUESTION:
People with Friesian experience, owners/ trainers...?
First off I just want to say that I love this breed but do not know everything about them. I have done extensive research on them and do know a lot of them personally as well as being an owner/rider/trainer of one. So this is just based on my experiences with them. That said, I'm seeing a few people who work with them but no one who says they actually own one. I've also noticed a few common misconceptions.

The biggest being the "warmblood" thought. I know they are thought of commonly as warmbloods but technically are not. Below is taken from:

http://www.usfriesianreferral.com/bloodlines.htm

"The Friesian horse having been kept free from influence of the English Thoroughbred and the Arabian is not considered a warm-blood but is a cold-blood Medium weight draft breed."

And there have been a lot who have said that they are high-strung/ hard to handle...I have never come across that and would love to know more... I've met my fair share of them and every single one (stallions included) have been mild mannered and very kind. Now I know that every horse is different but as a breed from what I've seen, they have been pretty mellow. I own a purebred mare and she has been the single most delightful horse I've ever worked with. Her sire was the same. The day I met him, he was just about to breed and he was walking quietly up to the mare on a loose lead. He did his thing without the normal squealing, biting, thrashing, that normally goes on and when he was done he walked quietly back to his pen.

Maybe it's just the different breeding? I've heard that some Tietse lines are hot as well as a few others, but the few of those that I've seen (there haven't been many of them that I've met, I admit) have been quiet... maybe I've just been really lucky?
They don't do well being stalled all the time, and are much happier when turned out full time. In fact, the woman I bought mine from brought her stud and a few mares over from Holland and they had a heck of a time keeping them healthy, they had built a huge brand new barn and everything. They asked some ranchers if it was common for horses to be sick all the time (they were fairly new to Canada at the time) The ranchers told them, in no uncertain terms, to let the horses out to be horses. They did, and haven't had any issues since... go figure... So now they have this huge gorgeous barn that they only use for foaling lol.

And of course, there are the health concerns. Yes, there are higher instances of health issues BUT not every Friesian horse is going to have health problems. Mine sure doesn't, and none of the ones I know have.

They are so NOT just dressage horses...Friesians, in my experience, are awesome all around horses, they just have to be given a chance.They are immensely smart. I took mine out this weekend to work some cattle, and though she was definitely not a natural at it, by the end she started to figure it out. It was her first time ever being out without her herd or at least a part of it, as well as her first time being in a herding situation. She did very well.
I ride her western and I do not show. Other than one or two parades, mostly I just trail ride and enjoy her. Yes, she was expensive, but she has been worth every penny.

I do think that a person has to have a good understanding of horses to successfully work with one though, they are very sensitive and subtle in their communication. They are also stoic when it comes to pain so you have to be able to see more than what they show you

Anyway, I am very interested to hear any and all Friesian experiences, good and bad, what health issues you have come across, etc. Have I just been really lucky in my experiences?

Sorry it got so long :S
LOL Jillian, they are crazy complicated!
I'm also a big fan of the drafty type that's what my mare is
So glad to hear that I am not the only one who thinks they are awesome:) Great answers so far guys! Thanks.

• ANSWER:
  I've done a fair amount of research and love the breed, I've not yet been lucky enough to own or really work with one however I've spent some time with them and have had very similar experiences to yourself - I went out to a stud and the stallion was exactly the same, really good manners, nice and calm, walked around in a headcollar etc. We went into a field full of about 9 colts, between weanling and 3 years, as well as a stallion who'd just been gelded (not a friesian) and the lot of them were galloping around mentally and came belting over to us (at this point my sister and I were like ' is this a good idea?') pulled up, turned and demanded scratches!!!

  I have known a couple who were pretty flighty and highly strung however I believe that was due to the handling - the guy who has them is rough, when I was picking my friend up he was clipping one of them and it was being silly and wouldn't stand, he proceeded to get pretty rough, smacking him and yelling and shouting (quite how he thought that would help I don't know) so I think their behaviour and temperment had a lot to do with how they were handled rather than anything else.

  I definately agree that the older style baroque, chunky horses are much nicer (http://www.mealrigg-stud.co.uk/www.mealrigg-stud.co.uk/WESSEL.html) than the newer, lighter sport horse type of friesian

QUESTION:
Parents: What do you feel is a fair price for a horse camp?
I asked a similar question a few days ago, but I now have more specific details and wanted to ask again.

I am doing a two day horse camp in June, 9am-4pm both days (I'm a professional and give lessons on a regular basis with 25 years of equine experience).

I would like to know your opinions on what a reasonable rate would be to charge for our camp.

The camp will be open to kids ages 7-12. Kids would learn the basics of safety, feeding, grooming, saddling, riding, and other general care. They would also learn a little about different breeds, colors and markings, and other interesting horse facts. We will work in a craft or two as well and are providing snacks and drinks. Kids would need to bring their own lunch.

So, in your opinion, how much would you pay for a camp like this? Or what have you paid in the past for other special interest camps (cheerleading, soccer, etc.)?

My original thought was 0 (that would break down to an hour), but I'm considering going less as I want it to be affordable in this crummy economy.

If it matters - our barn is a pretty, a little above average, 8 stall barn. Lots of trees, riding areas, and a pond. It's not top of the line, but it is a lovely, serene place to be. We don't have expensive show horses, but we have a variety of kind, kid-friendly, well-cared for horses. We have an indoor facility with a bathroom and kitchen - a place to get out of the heat and take a break if necessary.

As a parent, what do you think would be an appropriate price?

• ANSWER:
  It may depend on where you are, and what the "going rate" is for horse camps in your area, if there are any to compare to.

  There are several horse camps in my area that run different lengths of time, but the pricing per hour seems to average -20/hr. My daughter loves horses, but until I got a new job recently I was never able to fork out that kind of money.

  There is another horse camp near us that advertised only 0/week for about 7am to 5pm, and they provide transportation. We have some neighbors who had gone to the horse camp and I figured you couldn't beat that deal, so I sent her for two weeks. During the second week, she came home telling me she had fallen off a horse while trotting and had a couple of skinned areas on her leg and hip. I was upset that horse camp had not informed me of an incident, so I called them but they didn't return my call. The next day I went to the camp to talk to them, and discovered why accidents like that happen - there was one adult "supervising" 16 kids, though at some times of the day they had two adults. It was basically a free-for-all, with little real instruction on how to handle horses. The man in charge told me that she was responsible for ensuring her horse was properly saddled, but she hadn't "tightened the cinch" and that is why she fell off. On one hand, I want kids to learn responsibility and I know horses are large and potentially dangerous animals. But on the other hand, I was upset that there wasn't more supervision or an adult double checking the kids' work. She should have been required to return-demonstrate the skill before being allowed to do this on her own. When you consider that many of the kids there had little to no previous instruction on how to handle horses, I was no longer surprised that an accident had happened.

  I am now considering a horse camp that has a higher ratio of adults to kids and offers real instruction on grooming and saddling, as well as riding. One of the horse camps I am looking at costs 0 for 5 days, 6 hours a day, bring your own lunch. This sounds about the same price as what you are offering, just with different hours. This is far more expensive than what I paid before, but they only have 8 kids at a time and 3-4 adults, so there is much more individual instruction. I can't afford as much time at the horse camp at that price (that probably accounts for the popularity of the cheap horse camp), but I believe it would be worth the investment. I'd rather pay more to know that my daughter is in an environment where safety and instruction is a priority, not just free time with horses.

  The catch is, many people can't afford much for stuff like this. But horses are also more expensive to care for than, say, soccer equipment at a sports camp. I don't how to judge whether a camp is reasonably priced, but I would consider it if there were plenty of adults to supervise and really teach the kids, and as long as the kids spent sufficient time with the horses.

QUESTION:
What do you feel is a fair price for a 2 day horse camp?
I asked a similar question a few days ago, but I now have more specific details and wanted to ask again.

I am doing a two day horse camp in June, 9am-4pm both days (I'm a professional and give lessons on a regular basis with 25 years of equine experience).

The camp will be open to kids ages 7-12. Kids would learn the basics of safety, feeding, grooming, saddling, riding, and other general care. They would also learn a little about different breeds, colors and markings, and other interesting horse facts. We will work in a craft or two as well and are providing snacks and drinks. Kids would need to bring their own lunch.

So, in your opinion, how much would you pay for a camp like this? Or what have you paid in the past for other special interest camps (cheerleading, soccer, etc.)?

My original thought was 0 (that would break down to an hour), but I'm considering going less as I want it to be affordable in this crummy economy.

If it matters - our barn is a pretty, a little above average, 8 stall barn. Lots of trees, riding areas, and a pond. It's not top of the line, but it is a lovely, serene place to be. We don't have expensive show horses, but we have a variety of kind, kid-friendly, well-cared for horses. We have an indoor facility with a bathroom and kitchen - a place to get out of the heat and take a break if necessary.

As a parent, what do you think would be an appropriate price?

• ANSWER:
  I think 0 is actually a very good price. Stick with that, IF the kids are going to be doing lots of riding. It is really the perfect price based on how you and your facility sound, and based on what you will be doing.

  I used to do a day camp for horseback riding, it was 5 days a week, 8am - 5pm and it was 0 (that's 0 per day). But that wasn't a very fair price based on the type of activites we did. We got virtually no riding instruction...just riding...in a big group.

  Seriously your price is perfect. Don't bring it down any more than 0 so long as the kids will be doing a lot of riding and you will be giving them lots of instruction and allowing them hands-on experience with the horses.

  If you will not be teaching them to ride as much as you will be teraching them the basics, like grooming, etc. then I would put it down to like - 0.

QUESTION:
What do you feel is a reasonable price for a horse camp?
I am considering doing a couple of horse camps this summer (I'm a professional and give lessons on a regular basis with 25 years of equine experience).

I would like to know your opinions on what a reasonable rate would be to charge for our camp.

This is what I'm considering:
3 days (like a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) from 8am - Noon. OR two days 8am - 4pm. Kids would learn the basics of safety, feeding, grooming, saddling, riding, and other general care. They would also learn a little about different breeds, colors and markings, and other interesting horse facts. We'd probably work in a craft or two as well and would provide a snacks. The age group would probably be 8-12 year olds.

So, in your opinion, how much would you pay for a camp like this? Or what have you paid in the past for other special interest camps (cheerleading, soccer, etc.)?
Our place is nice - above average, but not top of the line. Not high dollar show horses, but good natured, well cared for schooling horses. It's a pretty 8 stall barn, nice scenery (lots of trees, pond, green grass). Lots of different areas to ride. We have an indoor "club house" type area with a kitchen and bathroom. We've had local youth groups come to our place for field trips to learn about horses.

• ANSWER:
  The camps I used to go to were 5 days long. We would get assigned one horse to ride, groom, and feed. We would do a craft a day and one classroom lesson. Then we would have the choice of ring work or going out on a trail. At the end of the week there was an in-house show for the riders that did the camps regularily. For the newer riders they would do a group "class" and weren't judged. Those of us who did it every season (there were camps twice in the summer, over christmas break, and spring break), got to show in whatever our specialty was. I was into speed, so I did barrels and pole bending. They also had an obstacle course and you were judged on how well you manuevered the horse. That was an awesome camp. They charged 0 - 650, it depended on what you wanted it to include. They would let us stay over night for the expensive package, otherwise we would have to be there 7 am - 1:30 pm.

  Then when I moved I went to one camp where you were assigned one horse. You got to ride the last three days of camp, the first two were spent on grooming, tacking, horsemanship, crafts, and classroom activities. That was 0.

  I now teach at camps and for one day they charge . That's from 9 - 11 and you get to ride (with an instructor) and taught basics.

  You might want to make your age range bigger. You can split them up into groups based on age and riding ability. I would say 8 - 15 year olds. You can split the kids up like 8-10, 10 -12, 12-15. And then into groups of begginers, intermediate, advanced.

  If it was a "week" long camp (5 days) I would charge 0 - 500 for what you're planning on doing.

  Hope I helped!

QUESTION:
Parents: What do you feel is a reasonable price for a horse camp?
I am considering doing a couple of horse camps this summer (I'm a professional and give lessons on a regular basis with 25 years of equine experience).

I would like to know your opinions on what a reasonable rate would be to charge for our camp.

This is what I'm considering:
3 days (like a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) from 8am - Noon. OR two days 8am - 4pm. Kids would learn the basics of safety, feeding, grooming, saddling, riding, and other general care. They would also learn a little about different breeds, colors and markings, and other interesting horse facts. We'd probably work in a craft or two as well and would provide a snacks. The age group would probably be 8-12 year olds.

So, in your opinion, how much would you pay for a camp like this? Or what have you paid in the past for other special interest camps (cheerleading, soccer, etc.)?
Yes, they would get to ride also.

• ANSWER:
  My kids went to a camp like that and I paid 300$ because of the cost of snacks, the amount of days, the possible craft, and all the information that would be learned.
  Would they be riding a horse also?

QUESTION:
Ideas needed for horsey magazine artical??
I want to write up some articals to send in to a couple of horse mags to see if I can get published and even maybe a regular role. But I need some ideas on what to write about that would be new and interesting.

The two mags I'm thinking of writing into a kids mags, aimed at 6+. (Horsewyse and Horsepower for those in Aus)

Some of their articals include things like horse care/interesting facts/amazing stories/comics/games and reader input.

So what do you think these mags would be interestied publishing that hasnt been done 100 times before??

• ANSWER:
  The thing I always want to see (and some parents) is what to look for in a good horse.
  Maybe you could do the different breeds each time ...alot of people I know who want to buy a certian breed dont know what the standerd is.
  Or possibly you could do what you should look for in a certian aged horse...like a yearling...and what training and handling should already been achived by that age.
  Best of luck!

QUESTION:
it always about the damn horses?
most of my life is horses.im 16 now but for the last 14years it was horses, nothing but horses. my mom is obsessed with them and the farm. what she finds 2 do down there for hours every day is beyond me. when i was 15 i made friends with these boys who raced dirt bikes. i never really interested me i sticked to the horses. then my uncle let me have his 4wheeler bc he moved away. twice a week i rode it to keep it working, then i began to get really good. after awhile it became alittle more 4wheelin alittle horses. by the time i turned 16 i was the best, beat my friends,flying through the feilds and everythin else. my mom started 2 get angrey bc i was hardly down in the barn. BUT i did chorse, moved hay, groomed a horse or 2 once in awhile. then a friend suggested ATV racing, i was all over that. and 2 race u gotta get really good, so every nite i practiced. my mom bought me the stuff i needed, but wen ever we went 2 a place 2 get gear she ALWAYS said something about the horses, it bothered me, but yet i said nothing. to keep her happy. the other day i told her i was goin 2 ride my 4wheeler, she said don't u wanna ride sasha(my horses name) i said no. she flipped out. then finally i came clean. i told her it was hard 2 have interest in something wen ur forced to do it and/or had fun of. she did understand.she said if u feel that way don't bother comin home. then she walked off mumbling how she should have made me ride everyday, bc one of her friends kids is a olympic champion. (like i really give a shit her friend does) now she still mad at me. and she's tellen EVERYBODY how i only care about one thing. and wen IM IN THE SAME ROOM TOO! ive done everything 2 make up for the mistakes. she still make me feel like crap, she RUBS in the fact how her friends daughter is winning medals, that im such a terrible kid. hell im even trying 2 get As and Bs.
1) what are some of ur opinions?
2)what can i do 2 make i better?

• ANSWER:
  Express your concerns to your mother. Just say that you would like for her to respect your interests and preserve her opinions on certain things. Understand, though that she has a right to an opinion and can express as she pleases. I am sure a middle-ground can be achieved.

QUESTION:
How does my biography essay sound?
thanks for checking! im in eighth grade so this may not be all that great! tee hee!

Fred Astaire

Can you imagine a male dancer with so much grace, talent, and success? Well I can, and his name was Fred Astaire. He was born to dance! In fact, when he was a young boy, he put on his sister’s dancing shoes and immediately started to figure out how to dance. Fred has an amazing story, a positive attitude, and a few interesting and odd facts.

Fred Astaire was born on May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska. His birth name was Frederick Austerlitz. His father was an Austrian immigrant and his mother was a German immigrant. Fred’s younger sister, Adele, took dancing lessons, and Fred soon joined her at the age of five. When he was seven, Fred and Adele began a vaudeville dance act. They went on Broadway together in 1917; their first show was called The Nine O’clock Revue. In 1922 the siblings went to perform in London. After their London tour was over, they returned to New York City and toured the United States. The Astaires then went back to London. During a party, Fred met his future wife, Phyllis. In 1932, Adele retired from the stage to get on with her life. Fred continued to perform. He got married to Phyllis in 1933 and began his Hollywood career. They had two kids, Fred Jr. and Ava, and Phyllis’ son from a previous marriage, Peter. In Hollywood, Fred was in thirty films. Ten of them were with his most well known dance partner, Ginger Rogers. He also performed with Audrey Hepburn, Cyd Charisse, Eleanor Powell, Judy Garland, and many more. Phyllis died of cancer in 1955. Fred retired in 1971 after 65 years of singing, dancing, acting, and playing the piano. In 1980 he married Robyn Smith, a horse jockey. Fred Astaire died in 1987 from pneumonia.

Fred Astaire was a regular height but was always much shorter than his sister in their earlier performances. He was thin. Fred always complained of his jacket being to short and his hat being too tight. Fred was also very social. When he attended parties with other actors and dancers he quickly made friends. Fred was very close with the famous song writer, George Gershwin. Even as a child he was very friendly and was acquainted with children dancers. He left behind a great legacy. He changed the way we see music today. He is a talented and well known dancer.

There were some interesting things about Fred Astaire. When he married Robyn Smith, he was 80 and she was about 35! As a child, when he lived in New Jersey, Fred and his friend would often climb up to the roof of their apartment building and drop stones and water on pedestrians for fun. They would also shoot the light bulbs off the signs a couple streets over with a riffle! Fred Astaire may be a professional singer, but he never had training or voice lessons. He also performed in front of the King and Queen of England and the Prince of Whales.

I chose Fred Astaire because he is an amazing person. His dancing skills are incredible! Though he did not do anything extremely important, he was still very interesting and left behind a legacy. Some one may someday follow his footsteps. People my age should know who he is. That way, his talent will be passed down for generations and his music will be appreciated forever.

• ANSWER:
  It sounds just great! His talent was dancing so wonderfully but I never heard of "his music" so I would take that out. I'm old so I know he didn't write any music. Your writing is really exceptional. You are very smart and should get the highest mark possible for this biography.

QUESTION:
Is it wrong to WANT to be a housewife?
A little bit about me if it helps you formulate an answer: I'm 22, well-educated and intelligent (went to a prestigious boarding school and am about to graduate college with a high GPA and a BS), I came from a broken family with divorced parents and an alcoholic mother. I'm an optimistic outgoing person, I have my own interests and hobbies such as painting, riding and training horses, and I love the cullinary arts and staying physically fit and active.

I'm currently engaged, and I couldn't be happier. My guy is a Field Artillery officer in the US Army (CPT), and he's truly my soulmate. We share the same ideals, life goals, moral values, challenge each other intellectually, etc. We've had our big arguments and always work through them fairly. I understand the sacrifices of Army life, I've survived a year long deployment already, and am perfectly willing to adapt to the unique challenges that an Army wife faces.

But my question is this: Is it wrong to want to be a housewife? I've always wanted a traditional family with the working husband, the stay at home wife/mom, and the kids. Perhaps because my own family was so disfunctional, I have wanted to make up for it as an adult. My guy also likes the traditional model. However, it seems like "housewife" has become a dirty word. Women SHOULD be in the work force competing with the men. And I'm certainly not against women working, but it seems like this has become the only socially accepted way of life while stay-at-home moms are frowned upon.

I am not lazy, in fact I love working, I have supported myself all through college. I am not wanting to be a housewife to have a man work all day while I stay at home and watch soaps. I consider having a career and being a homemaker/mother to be "different but equal." It's not a dominant man/submissive wife thing. Just different duties, but of equal importance to the family. The husband is the breadwinner, the wife takes care of kids, cooks, cleans, organizes the home, and maybe earns a supplemental income.

So do you think it's wrong for a woman to want to be a housewife? Would you say I'm wasting my education, talents, and future by staying at home with the kids? If you're a woman, would you want to be a housewife? If you're a man, would you want a housewife or a wife who is career driven?

• ANSWER:
  There is nothing wrong with your decision. Whatever you and your husband decides is what needs to happen for you and your family.

  Your having a passion for being a wife and mother and being the best at it that you can be is already more than half the battle. Then, having a husband who agrees with and supports you in this decision is the other half. What more do you need?

  Just the babies and home to care for.

  Go for it and all the best to you and your husband!!

QUESTION:
Stubborn wife continued?
Great advice on the last post thought Id ask another.
I love her a lot, and want to be there for my kids and I ve given her all she has asked for and what she sais she needs to be happy which is horses. She had them before we married, so I knew they were part of the package....She was so involved she took better care of them than herself, that said when we married, It was a fight to get her to mediate the expense meaning there were so many things associated with them that she HAD TO HAVE non negotiable but not financially sound. I bought her a truck and a trailer so she could have a good time with them but backfired, soon she was with them untill 9 pm at nite. another fight to get her to spend time with me, but we got there... LSshrt...... They are her world, her release and I understand that. Ive supported it, Ive moved them cross country twice, Ive bought her a 5 acre ranch for them, I watch the kids so she can ride. When times got tough I sold my toys, motorcycle, my boat my car and left her thing alone. I TRULY believe it is important for her to have this thing. As all women should have their thing, but I am a navy pilot and it has been an incredible burdon my me(which I accept). I have no out like that and I need to depend on her for affection and an out. She continuously thinks Im jealous of them, when I ask her to look at her priorities, or if I ask her if her relationship with me is not as important. Fact is, I am jealous becuase I wish she would take the same pride in our relationship. Being a navy wife, things have been tough on her and the kids, but it is for a better life, but I continuously feel like what Im doing to support my family is impeding her ability to ride horses. (that is her complaint that she doesnt ride enough) I go to work and come home. She does try, but if feels like PACIFACATION, or "whatever it takes to keep me from complaining" You can tell stuff like that. Since I moved out, she hasnt called to talk to me about anything except once, to ask me for the truck so she can go to a horse show...(that hurt). I took the truck becuase I was tired of driving a PIECE to work and I was curious if she would call to talk or head for her true passion......I found out.(Maybe not the best method I konw)..... My question is,,,,,, At what point have I been too supportive and accepting of this, and to what extent does this seem normal? Is she obsessed? Like i said, I invested a lot to allow her this pleasure whether manual labor or thousands of dollars and all I am asking from her is to take an interest in fixing our relationship,,,, Her response was why does it always have to be me...Im not one of those guys who cares about the house being clean, or any other typical BS...I just want a solid close relationship with my wife and to feel as important to her as this hobby seems to be... What am I not seeing? If Im wrong Im wrong, but something doesnt seem right there... Sorry so long thanks for the help.

• ANSWER:
  sorry, i fell asleep while reading your post. i'll try again later.

QUESTION:
how do i get her to stop being so over the top :@?
basically my friend who i love to bits is really starting to annoy me now because she used to ride my little sisters pony about once a week but my sister isn't interested in riding really and would rather just come up the stables and play with the other kids and not actually ride or muck out or anything. but my friend wanted us to keep the pony because she cant afford to have another one but she likes riding her but im not going to keep a pony which i cant really ride all the time, and to be honest my friend is a little bit big to be doing it all the time as well, just so that she can ride her once a week. so we loaned her out to my mums friend who has two little kids who are 4 and 1 and they absolutely love her to bits and she has the most beautiful home in a massive deer park being looked after by people who have huge amount of experience with horses and used to have a team of horses used for weddings and the people have done a lot of parelli training and stuff like that. and now my friend everytime wont stop going on about it and saying that she could look after her better and that she can ride her more and have more fun and asking if she can come and going on about the fact that she didnt come and visit her with me, which isnt really my choice. im not exactly going to invite my friend to the house of my parents friends who i dont even know that well when they have invited us to come and have dinner with them and are cooking their venison for us as well as letting me see their arab because i might possibly look after it for the summer when they go sailing for 6 weeks.

• ANSWER:
  Just tell her to shut up. What's done is done. It wasn't her choice to make, it was yours. She was too big, and to be honest, she was freeloading off of you for a long time. Also, tell her that the pony is in the best place possible with top notch care and a family who loves her. If she wants to ride that bad, she should take lessons. I'm sure her family can afford one lesson a week, and if they can't she should muck stalls to pay for it.

  Or you could just tell her that you can't afford to keep her when she isn't being used and you can't afford to allow your friend to ride for free. That might be nicer to start off with, but if she doesn't listen, just tell her the top part.

QUESTION:
How can I make this paper better and longer?
A Changing Nation

Everyone reacts to change differently; even if the change is seemingly harmless. For example, if someone’s favorite website changes their layout a little bit, but the change doesn’t affect how the website is used, people may welcome the change as progress, or they may think that the old way is better and demand that the website reinstate its old format. Others warm up to the idea over time, seeing later that it wasn’t a big deal to begin with. Different people may think that the change is no big deal to begin with, but as they learn about the new layout they realize that the old way was better and more efficient; even though the website is still easy to use.
One historical example of change would be the steam locomotive. Many people thought it was a brilliant advancement in technology that would improve the transportation of food, livestock, and even people. However, quite a few people thought it would lead to the extinction of horses and other ridiculous claims. They thought this because horses were used to pull carts on rail tracks before the invention of the steam locomotive.
Today, there is no doubt we are experiencing a lot of change. The baby boomer generation is aging. Children are being exposed to more at a younger age and because of this, they have to grow up faster. The government is taking more of the “I’ll take care of you” approach. People are becoming less and less interested in helping those in need. Technology is advancing in ways that most people, in their wildest dreams, never imagined. We now have the internet, which can be used to help or harm others. Pregnant teenagers and teens with kids are becoming more and more common. We are becoming increasingly ethnically diverse. As a country, we are also going from rural to urban.
Regardless of what some may think; resisting change is not a positive way to keep it from happening. People will always think differently, act differently, and look differently. People will always be imperfect because we will always make mistakes. Some of these mistakes we regret and sometimes we are diluted into thinking that they are not really mistakes but in fact brilliant ways to deal with said change.
The way we react to change is part of what makes America so diverse. Diversity is just one of the many things that you can use positively or negatively. A hammer is an absolutely brilliant example; you can use it as a tool to make projects far easier, or you can use it to destroy projects. You see, it isn’t the object itself that’s positive or negative; it’s the person using it. Diversity works the same way. This commendable tool allows us to be our own person and stand out. How boring would life be if we were all exactly the same? However, diversity also allows us to be easily misunderstood. For example, I have many friends that are exceptionally different from me. I don’t understand how they think, why they act certain ways, or what the goal was behind certain actions. These things don’t discourage me from being their friend like it would some people. In fact, I like the differing views of others because it as an opportunity for learning and developing my own reasoning skills. It is up to us to use diversity in a positive way.
As Christians, we need to accept people for who they are, but we also need to have standards because God has standards. He makes rules for our benefit and when we break those rules we normally ask God, “Why did you do this to me?” when we really did it to ourselves. This is a balance that must be found through your personal relationship with God and cannot be seen in a textbook. It isn’t okay to constantly sin and ask for forgiveness when you don’t mean it, but it is okay to mess up. We’re human, messing up is one of our specialties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, I need about two more paragraphs to be able to turn this in. I thought about adding something in on how the government should respond right before I talk about how Christians should respond, but I couldn't think of a way to say "The government should stay out of our business" in a paragraph. Any ideas? Tips? Also, do you think this paper is any good?

• ANSWER:
  Economically, the country is going through a lot of change right now, with many people hit hard by the changes being made in living standards, the numbers of jobs available and the loss of income for older people, through problems with pension funds and the low interest available for savings. Many people are worried about how they will manage to live through the next few years and how they can manage to keep a roof over their heads and feed their children.

QUESTION:
Do you think these ideas would generate much interest?
I have two horse-related things I am considering doing once our barn and outdoor arena are built, but I was wondering if you thought they would generate much interest.

The first would be half-leasing our sweet old Swedish Warmblood mare. She is 27, about 16hh, sane and sound. She is not lazy, in fact she really enjoys going, but easy to hold back. Completely safe and easy to handle on the ground. She has former dressage training, but it has been many years since she did that. Currently we just do some basic hunter flatwork with her and trail ride.
Ideally I wanted to lease her to a little kid who wanted a safe older horse to trail ride or show (hunter under saddle, ground poles/crossrails, showmanship, etc.). The lease would include riding time 4 days a week, plus the option to trailer off-property to trail ride or show her.
The facility where she would be kept would have a barn with heated/air conditioned tack room, bathroom, wash rack with hot water and grooming stall with heat lamps. It would also have an outdoor arena with some jumps or pasture to ride in and is about 5mi away from local trails.

Do you think kids/parents would be attracted to this sort of lease? What do you feel would be a fair price per month?

My second idea is to hold a small horse show for charity. If anyone has ever seen the Pony Hunt Teams at Devon, I wanted to do something similar. The show would have classes for hunt pairs or hunt teams (of 3 riders), and divisions based on fence height. For example:
18" Crossrail Hunt Pairs
18" Crossrail Hunt Teams
2' Hunt Pairs
2' Hunt Teams, etc.
It would be a charity/fun show for a horse rescue or humane society, hopefully something that could be held annually, but do you think many people would come since the classes are a bit limited in variety?
I was hoping I could attract some of the more western/HUS/casual trail type riders to give it a try as well by making it very casual, no hunt coats needed, costumes and themes encouraged, etc.

• ANSWER:
  A charity show is an excellent idea, but planning a show takes lots of time and organization.

  The first thing you want to do is contact the charity you want the proceeds donated to. A nice idea is to have them have a stall at the show where people can offer further donations. If it is a horse charity you can have a spot where they can donate tack, feed, and other equipment. A nice thing to do, if you have the space, is to invite them to bring along a few horses that are up for adoption. Set up a paddock to put these horses in where people can view them.

  You will want to have a few small prizes for the winners of the classes. You can chat to local tack, feed and horse supply shops and ask if they will be willing to donate small prizes. You can also offer them a stall spot if you have the space. Other shops can have a stall at a small fee or they can donate prizes.

  You will want to broaden you classes so you have more people entering. Try some fun gymkhana games like bending poles, sack races, potato race. You can also have a best walk and trot. To further encourage the costume and theme idea you can offer a prize to the best dressed in different categories. These can be children's, juniors and adults etc. For this you will need someone to do the judging.

  You will also want to add a few normal jumping classes, for this you will need a course designer, someone to announcer the riders, a PA system or bull horn will be required as well so the announcer can be heard. A scribe to write down every ones times. We incorporate fun jumping in our shows. Two classes that we do, the first is a grid of 6 jumps 1 stride apart, each person jumps the grid in turn, after each round it goes up 3". If any horse or rider knock a poll, have a fall or refusal they are eliminated. The last person standing wins. You can have a height limit to be safer. The other one is a single jump with the same rules. last person standing wins. If there is a tie at the height limit, the jump goes up once more. If both riders clear it then they share first place.

  You will need to organize a course designer, judges, stewards, announcer, refreshment stand, scibes, people to pick up and help move jumps, a medic. Mot of these will cost money. Try encourage them that it is for a charity and they may give you a discounted rate or not charge. (If they aren't charging it's nice to give them a small hamper with some chocolate or wine or something in it)

  You need to work out your basic expenses and what to charge per class. Take 50% of the class fee and divide it by your total expenses. This tells you the minimum amount of entries you need in order to cover your expenses and make a profit for the charity.

  You will need to take into account advertisement, paper for show entries, rosettes (we made certificates on colored paper or card fitting two on an A4 page), any helpers you may need to pay.

QUESTION:
can someone help me find the name of this song?
[Verse 1]
She was on her way to becoming a college graduate
Wouldn't even stop to talk to the average kid
The type of latina I'd sit and contemplate marriage with
Fuck the horse and carriage shit, her love was never for hire
Disciplined, intellectual beauty's what I desire
Flyer than Salma Hayek or Jennifer Lopez
Everyone told me, kickin' it to her was hopeless
At first I just thought, she didn't mess with broke kids
The thug niggaz always talking about, how they smoke kids
But the rich-sniff-coke kids got no play
"I'm not even interested" is what her body language would say
Everyone around the way, gave up trying to get in it
It didn't matter how good your game was, she wasn't with it
On the block, bitches was jealous, but wouldn't admit it
Talk shit, and deny to everyone that they did it
'Cause they regreted the long list of niggaz that they let hit it
And no one ever gave them shit except McDonald's and did-dick
Smoking weed with thoughts of envy, whenever they lit it
She smoked intelligently and they bit it, always trying to copy
But when they tried to use her vocab, they sounded sloppy
She had a style, all her own, respectful and pure
I was sick in the head for her, and there wasn't a cure

[Hook - Jean Grae]
Don't you know that, time waits for no man
Not fate, it's all planned
I'm blessed just to know you
I've loved and I've lost just to hold you all night
Can't find, a reason why
God came, to you and I
If I had the chance again, I'd never let you go
Hold tight to your love, 'cause you never know

[Verse 2]
Her eyes are brown and beautiful, yet empty and sad
I used to talk to her occasionally, and she was glad
That I wasn't just another nigga trying to get in it
So every now and then we'd stop and talk for a minute
I didn't have a gimmick so the minutes turned to hours
On her birthday, I gave her a poem with flowers
Then I took her out to dinner after her cousin's baby shower
We talked about, power to the people and such
We spent more time together but it was never enough
I never tried to sneak a touch, or even cop a feel
I was too interested, in keeping it real
Perfectly honest and complete, she would always call me "carino,"
And never Technique, bought me a new book to read every 2 or 3 weeks
Forever changing the expression of my thoughts when I speak
It was because of her, I even deaded all of my freaks
She convinced me, to stop hangin' out on the streets
To stop robbin' and stealin', from people like you
Instead I took her out to the Apollo and the Bronxu
We sailed in Barrio (?) and the Metropolitan too
Got to the point when I was either with her or my crew
So I decided one day, to tell her my feelings was true
I couldn't live without her so I told her, facing my fears
But honey's only response, was a face full of tears
She could only sob hysterically, holding me tight
I tried to speak, but she wouldn't stop until I left sight
I felt like a moth who got himself too close to the light
Except I didn't burn, I turned cold after that night

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
I went on with my life, college and my career
Ended up locked up like an animal for a year
Where the C.O.'s talk to you like they were the overseer
Then I got sent to the hole, when my exit was near
At night in my cell, I'd close my eyes and I'd see her
Hold her close in my dreams, but when I woke she disappeared
Just an empty cell until the state gave me parole in the summer
came back, in tact and on track
But the fact of the matter, is I still felt cold
Even after my mother, hugged me, cryin' at home
My real niggaz would catch me thinkin', out of my zone
Fuckin' lots of different women, but I still felt alone
Relatively well-known around the New York underground
But I kept thinking of her and how we used to be down
The sound of her voice, and the beautiful smell of her hair
Though gone physically, somehow it was still there
I had to do something, because the shit was too much to bear
So I went and visited the building where she used to live
The world looks a lot different after you do a bid
The way your life done changed
While primitive minds (are) still stuck in the same game
Like her cousin who was on the corner slangin' cocaine
Stepped in the lobby and tapped the button next to her last name
Her mom buzzed me up and hugged me up, like a mother oughta
But her facial expression changed, when I asked about her daughter

[Hook]

[Verse 4]
She told me that there was a note for me, that was left behind
She had left it there waiting, for such a long time
I was inclined to ask about it but she brought it up first
I saw a tear swelling up in her eye, and then she cursed
She told me where the letter was and I started thinking the worst
Reversed my position, stepped over and opened the door
And sure enough there was an envelope with my name on the floor
"Nobody loves you more than me carino" is what the letter said

"By the time you get to read this,

• ANSWER:
  You Never Know by Immortal Technique

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pqiqrnZE44

QUESTION:
RATE OUT OF TEN please?
She was on her way to becoming a college graduate
Wouldn't even stop to talk to the average kid
The type of latina I'd sit and contemplate marriage with
Fuck the horse and carriage shit, her love was never for hire
Disciplined, intellectual beauty's what I desire
Flyer than Salma Hayek or Jennifer Lopez
Everyone told me, kickin' it to her was hopeless
At first I just thought, she didn't mess with broke kids
The thug niggaz always talking about, how they smoke kids
But the rich-sniff-coke kids got no play
"I'm not even interested" is what her body language would say
Everyone around the way, gave up trying to get in it
It didn't matter how good your game was, she wasn't with it
On the block, bitches was jealous, but wouldn't admit it
Talk shit, and deny to everyone that they did it
'Cause they regretted the long list of niggaz that they let hit it
And no one ever gave them shit except McDonald's and did-dick
Smoking weed with thoughts of envy, whenever they lit it
She smoked intelligently and they bit it, always trying to copy
But when they tried to use her vocab, they sounded sloppy
She had a style, all her own, respectful and pure
I was sick in the head for her, and there wasn't a cure

[Verse 2]
Her eyes are brown and beautiful, yet empty and sad
I used to talk to her occasionally, and she was glad
That I wasn't just another nigga trying to get in it
So every now and then we'd stop and talk for a minute
I didn't have a gimmick so the minutes turned to hours
On her birthday, I gave her a poem with flowers
Then I took her out to dinner after her cousin's baby shower
We talked about, power to the people and such
We spent more time together but it was never enough
I never tried to sneak a touch, or even cop a feel
I was too interested, in keeping it real
Perfectly honest and complete, she would always call me "carino",
And never Technique, bought me a new book to read every 2 or 3 weeks
Forever changing the expression of my thoughts when I speak
It was because of her, I even deaded all of my freaks
She convinced me, to stop hangin' out on the streets
To stop robbin' and stealin', from people like you
Instead I took her out to the Apollo and the Bronx Zoo
We sailed in Barrio and the Metropolitan too
Got to the point when I was either with her or my crew
So I decided one day, to tell her my feelings was true
I couldn't live without her so I told her, facing my fears
But honey's only response, was a face full of tears
She could only sob hysterically, holding me tight
I tried to speak, but she wouldn't stop until I left sight
I felt like a moth who got himself too close to the light
Except I didn't burn, I turned cold after that night

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
I went on with my life, college and my career
Ended up locked up like an animal for a year
Where the C.O.'s talk to you like they were the overseer
Then I got sent to the hole, when my exit was near
At night in my cell, I'd close my eyes and I'd see her
Hold her close in my dreams, but when I woke she disappeared
Just an empty cell until the state gave me parole in the summer
came back, in tact and on track
But the fact of the matter, is I still felt cold
Even after my mother, hugged me, cryin' at home
My real niggaz would catch me thinkin', out of my zone
Fuckin' lots of different women, but I still felt alone
Relatively well-known around the New York underground
But I kept thinking of her and how we used to be down
The sound of her voice, and the beautiful smell of her hair
Though gone physically, somehow it was still there
I had to do something, because the shit was too much to bear
So I went and visited the building where she used to live
The world looks a lot different after you do a bid
The way your life done changed
While primitive minds (are) still stuck in the same game
Like her cousin who was on the corner slangin' cocaine
Stepped in the lobby and tapped the button next to her last name
Her mom buzzed me up and hugged me up, like a mother oughta
But her facial expression changed, when I asked about her daughter

[Hook]

[Verse 4]
She told me that there was a note for me, that was left behind
She had left it there waiting, for such a long time
I was inclined to ask about it but she brought it up first
I saw a tear swelling up in her eye, and then she cursed
She told me where the letter was and I started thinking the worst
Reversed my position, stepped over and opened the door
And sure enough there was an envelope with my name on the floor
"Nobody loves you more than me carino" is what the letter said

"By the time you get to read this, I'll probably be dead
But when you left in '97 a part of me went to Heaven
I thank God at least I got to know what love really was
But it hurt me, to see what true love really does
'Cause even though we never made love, you were all that there was
It was because I loved you so much that I had to make you leave
You made me doubt the way I thought, you made me want to believe
And then I slipped up, and I let you get close to me
It was hard to not be openly when people spoke to me
This was not the way I thought my life was supposed to be
Baby don't you see, I had a blood transfusion that left me with HIV
Hoped the end exists for me since late in 1993
I died a virgin, I wish I could've given myself to you
I cried in the hospital because there was no one else but you
Promise that you'll meet me in paradise inevitably
No matter what, I'll keep your love forever with me"

What happened for the rest of the day is still a blur
But I remember wishing that I was dead, instead of her
She was buried on August 3rd
The story ends without a sequel
And now you know why Technique, don't fucking fall in love with people
Hold the person that you love closely if they're next to you
The one you love, not the person that'll simply have sex with you
Appreciate them to the fullest extent, and then beyond
'Cause you never really know what you got, until it's gone

• ANSWER:
  8

QUESTION:
help me find allusions? I need help!!!!!!!?
Verse 1]
She was on her way to becoming a college graduate
Wouldn't even stop to talk to the average kid
The type of latina I'd sit and contemplate marriage with
Fuck the horse and carriage shit, her love was never for hire
Disciplined, intellectual beauty's what I desire
Flyer than Salma Hayek or Jennifer Lopez
Everyone told me, kickin' it to her was hopeless
At first I just thought, she didn't mess with broke kids
The thug niggaz always talking about, how they smoke kids
But the rich-sniff-coke kids got no play
"I'm not even interested" is what her body language would say
Everyone around the way, gave up trying to get in it
It didn't matter how good your game was, she wasn't with it
On the block, bitches was jealous, but wouldn't admit it
Talk shit, and deny to everyone that they did it
'Cause they regreted the long list of niggaz that they let hit it
And no one ever gave them shit except McDonald's and did-dick
Smoking weed with thoughts of envy, whenever they lit it
She smoked intelligently and they bit it, always trying to copy
But when they tried to use her vocab, they sounded sloppy
She had a style, all her own, respectful and pure
I was sick in the head for her, and there wasn't a cure

[Hook - Jean Grae]
Don't you know that, time waits for no man
Not fate, it's all planned
I'm blessed just to know you
I've loved and I've lost just to hold you all night
Can't find, a reason why
God came, to you and I
If I had the chance again, I'd never let you go
Hold tight to your love, 'cause you never know

[Verse 2]
Her eyes are brown and beautiful, yet empty and sad
I used to talk to her occasionally, and she was glad
That I wasn't just another nigga trying to get in it
So every now and then we'd stop and talk for a minute
I didn't have a gimmick so the minutes turned to hours
On her birthday, I gave her a poem with flowers
Then I took her out to dinner after her cousin's baby shower
We talked about, power to the people and such
We spent more time together but it was never enough
I never tried to sneak a touch, or even cop a feel
I was too interested, in keeping it real
Perfectly honest and complete, she would always call me "carino,"
And never Technique, bought me a new book to read every 2 or 3 weeks
Forever changing the expression of my thoughts when I speak
It was because of her, I even deaded all of my freaks
She convinced me, to stop hangin' out on the streets
To stop robbin' and stealin', from people like you
Instead I took her out to the Apollo and the Bronxu
We sailed in Barrio (?) and the Metropolitan too
Got to the point when I was either with her or my crew
So I decided one day, to tell her my feelings was true
I couldn't live without her so I told her, facing my fears
But honey's only response, was a face full of tears
She could only sob hysterically, holding me tight
I tried to speak, but she wouldn't stop until I left sight
I felt like a moth who got himself too close to the light
Except I didn't burn, I turned cold after that night

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
I went on with my life, college and my career
Ended up locked up like an animal for a year
Where the C.O.'s talk to you like they were the overseer
Then I got sent to the hole, when my exit was near
At night in my cell, I'd close my eyes and I'd see her
Hold her close in my dreams, but when I woke she disappeared
Just an empty cell until the state gave me parole in the summer
came back, in tact and on track
But the fact of the matter, is I still felt cold
Even after my mother, hugged me, cryin' at home
My real niggaz would catch me thinkin', out of my zone
Fuckin' lots of different women, but I still felt alone
Relatively well-known around the New York underground
But I kept thinking of her and how we used to be down
The sound of her voice, and the beautiful smell of her hair
Though gone physically, somehow it was still there
I had to do something, because the shit was too much to bear
So I went and visited the building where she used to live
The world looks a lot different after you do a bid
The way your life done changed
While primitive minds (are) still stuck in the same game
Like her cousin who was on the corner slangin' cocaine
Stepped in the lobby and tapped the button next to her last name
Her mom buzzed me up and hugged me up, like a mother oughta
But her facial expression changed, when I asked about her daughter

[Hook]

[Verse 4]
She told me that there was a note for me, that was left behind
She had left it there waiting, for such a long time
I was inclined to ask about it but she brought it up first
I saw a tear swelling up in her eye, and then she cursed
She told me where the letter was and I started thinking the worst
Reversed my position, stepped over and opened the door
And sure enough there was an envelope with my name on the floor
"Nobody loves you more than me carino" is what the letter said

"By the time you get to read this, I

• ANSWER:
  find allusions? where?...ah, I'm not reading all that

QUESTION:
EDIT THIS PLEASE???? ?
Edit this pleaseeee! If you don't edit the whole thing then please try to edit some of it (like maybe 1 or 2 of the paragraphs?)
THANKS VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!

The novel that I’m using to do my character sketch is called The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The story is about a group of boys that are in a gang known as the Greasers, who throughout their teenage lives, experience plenty of good and bad moments together, including trouble with their rival gang of rich kids - The Socs. The Greasers include Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Dally, Two-Bit, Johnny, and Steve. All of the boys have great character traits, but I’ve decided that the character I’m going to discuss is Sodapop Curtis - the handsome, understanding, unique, and sensitive one.

Throughout the story it is mentioned that Sodapop is the most handsome of the group. Along with this, Sodapop is also said to be very slim with nice facial features. His face is both finely drawn and sensitive, and he has his dad’s eyes. They’re dark brown, lively and dancing. They may appear sympathetic one moment, and blazing with anger the next. Sodapop’s hair is silky, straight, long, and dark-gold in colour. He styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all the Greasers do, which is how they got their gang name in the first place. According to Ponyboy, Sodapop has looks like a movie-star.

The first characteristic of Sodapop is understanding. One example of this is how Sodapop acted as the glue between his 2 brothers, mainly because he understood both of their opinions, views, and sides. He understood that Darry often yelled at Ponyboy and worried way too much about him, and he also understood that Ponyboy hated being yelled at, but he did do some bad things that deserved discipline. Another example is how when Ponyboy and Johnny ran away, Sodapop sent a letter for them saying how we wanted them to return home, but was very understanding to the fact that they couldn’t or else Johnny might get hurt. Also, when they eventually arrived back at home, Sodapop wasn’t stressing and questioning them (unlike Darry). Instead, he dealt with the situation calmly, mainly because I think he understood why Ponyboy had ran away in the first place. It was because Darry hit him, and Sodapop had always understood that Darry had a very bad temper. The last example is how Sodapop would spend plenty of his time trying to understand the problems that others were having. An example of this is when he helped Ponyboy to understand that Darry truly did love him.

The second characteristic of Sodapop is unique. One example of this is how he was always happy with his life, which was unique from all of the others. What’s strange is that even though he didn’t have an education due to his dropout from school, and he was employed at a gas station where he spent mostly all of his time, he was still a “happy-go-lucky” kind of guy. Another example is how Sodapop was the only one out of the group who was sensitive, and who didn’t smoke all the time for just any reason, but only for the reason of being stressed or to look tough. The last example is how Sodapop had very strange likings and interests. Some of these include how he liked grape jelly on his eggs, how he liked to fight only for the excitement and fun that he thought came with it, and how he enjoyed making weird and surprising food such as green pancakes.

The third characteristic of Sodapop is sensitive. One example of this is how when Mickey Mouse, Sodapop’s horse he’d owned and loved very much as a kid, was sold, Ponyboy stated that afterward, Sodapop had cried for a very long time. This really expressed his sensitive side because quite often, people wouldn’t think that a tuff Greaser like himself would show his emotions over the loss of his pet horse. Another example is when Sodapop was very upset because Darry and Ponyboy had been fighting once again, and this time they were trying to make him pick a side. Since he couldn’t take it any longer, he stormed out of the house. Soon after, Darry and Ponyboy followed. When they found him, the three boys lay in the grass and discussed the problem. Eventually, Sodapop began to cry a little. At this point, Sodapop had expressed his sensitive side yet again.

• ANSWER:
  "styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all the Greasers do,"
  Change that to:
  "styles it using a comb and plenty of grease just like all OF the Greasers do,"

  "The first characteristic of Sodapop is understanding"
  Understanding an adjective. A characteristic is a noun. So change it to:
  "The first characteristic of Sodapop is being able to understand"

  "understood why Ponyboy had ran away"
  change it to:
  "understood why Ponyboy had RUN away"

  Just a few grammar issues.

QUESTION:
Ditsy Palin's speech to nowhere?
Sarah Palin delivered a great speech tonight -- for her party, for John McCain, for herself, for what she set out to accomplish. This was America's first real glimpse at the Alaska governor, and what we saw was a boffo politician who speaks in a plaintive prairie voice that channels America's Heartland like a chilling breeze rippling a field of wheat, who knows how to tell a joke, how to bring down the house and bring a tear to a few eyes. She is proud of her family, as she should be, and there is much to admire in her own "personal journey of discovery" (don't we all have these, by the way?) including her efforts to raise her son Trig. It is indeed nice to think that there would be an advocate for such children inside the corridors of the White House, although I'd surely like to hear what -- if anything -- she's done for special needs kids as governor of Alaska.

But...it was a great speech -- written for someone else, a male in fact, days before the Palin selection was even a gleam in John McCain's eye, but a great speech nonetheless. The pundits are fawning over it as I write this -- Tom Brokaw said she could not have been "more winning and more engaging" -- and in a world that is dominated by horse race journalism I can understand why, because I agree that Palin's one-of-a-kind story has given her long shot running mate a decent chance now of pulling this one out at the finish line.

It's a good metaphor, a horse race, because in the end it finishes right near where it started -- just as it will be for America if John McCain and Sarah Palin are sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009. Yes, it was a great speech politically, and a great night for her family, but an empty speech for America -- and for America's families. It was defined by its lowest moment, Palin's shameless lie about "the Bridge to Nowhere."

This was a Speech to Nowhere.

It was a Speech to Nowhere when Palin said that "I told the Congress 'Thanks but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere," because that was a lie, and the worst kind of lie in American politics, a blatant falsehood that showed utter contempt for the American people that Palin pledged to serve, assuming we are too stupid to look up or know that truth, that she pushed for those funds in Congress and while she got great political mileage out of announcing that she was killing the project, she still has not returned the funds to American people.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin also boasted seconds before her lie of fighting against wasteful earmarks in Congress, even though she pushed for and accepted million of such grants when she was mayor of Wasilla.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin said that "we've got lots" of oil and gas this country, and while one supposes that all depends upon what you definition of the words "lots" is, the production of oil in the United States has been irrevocably on the decline since 1970, and with her words she showed this nation that she and John McCain will perpetrate the dangerous myths that began with Ronald Reagan at his acceptance speech in 1980, that sunny optimism is the solution to all our energy woes, and not a posture that put energy research on a war footing, or requires moral leadership on conservation, mass transit, or any other common sense answers whatsoever.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin boasted that "I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies," and the audience cheered -- after eight brutal years of the same crowd's cheering two oilmen in the White House who fiddled while -a-gallon gas burned and while American men and women died in a needless war fought on top of an oilfield, and while lobbyist friends like Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed got rich at the same time.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin had the nerve to talk at length about John McCain's "torturous interrogations" in the very same speech when she all but condoned the continuation of similar, abhorrent practices that have been directed for eight years by our own U.S. leaders, when she stated that Democrats are "worried that someone won't read them [terrorism suspects] their rights."

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin belittled "community organizers" -- thousands of Americans who work long hours for little pay in some of the toughest neighborhoods, trying to assist the American Dream that even the poorest among us can pull themselves out of the muck with a helping hand. Palin and other GOP speakers have turned a noble job into a dirty word tonight -- shame on you! Listen to what CNN's Roland Martin said after Palin's speech was over.

My two parents are sitting home in Houston, Texas and they are both community organizers and the GOP and Sarah Palin might have well have said "being community organizers doesn't matter" to my parents face. I'm disgusted. Community organizers keep people in their homes, keep their lights on, keep food in the f

• ANSWER:
  And to return ..

QUESTION:
What do you think about this chapter of my story?
I want an honest opinion about what you think about the chapter and the characters. Like read into the personalities and stuff like that. It took me a week to figure out the chapter of my story, so I finally finished.
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"These are some ugly looking girls." Andy Levy said shallowly, observing a group of geeky girls discussing about the Science Olympiad. He in no way thought they were hot let alone cute. He could of sworn one of them had a unibrow.

Poor dorks.

He stood in the common area with his best friend, Carter Browning, checking out girls they hadn't seen before.

Carter was too busy texting his friend, Megan Finnegan, to even listen to Andy's babbling.

"Dude, are you even listening to me?" Andy asked, irritated at Carter's obliviousness.

"Huh?" Andy asked absentmindedly, not looking up from his iPhone. "Oh, yeah. 'Girls'. 'Ugly'. Yeah, I heard."

Andy made an emotionless grin, revealing his silver braces. He did that automatically whenever he was annoyed, impatient, or aggravated.

"I don't understand why you have to text that girl." he protested. "She may be hot, but she's a total bitch."

"No, she's not." Carter said, finally looking up and smiling at Andy.

"Don't give me that queer grin." Andy joked, shoving Andy into one of the lockers.

Mr. Stewart, the freshman Dean, did a hand motion thing that told the boys to stop horse playing.

"Shit, Andy," Carter said, rubbing his shoulders after regaining his balance. "That shove kind of hurt. And you're shorter than me."

Andy lifted up his left arm to reveal his muscles. He kissed them foolishly and silently thanked God for giving him the ability to play soccer for eight years in a row.

Please. His muscles barely showed when flexing.

"Speaking of the devil, look who's here!" Andy said loudly, pointing at a pretty, dark-haired girl walking towards them.

"Nice to see you, too, Andy." she said, waving at the two of them.

Her best friend, Shelby Glick, followed at her side.

"Hey, Megan." greeted Carter, embracing her in a bare hug.

"El Slutto." Andy muttered, noticing Megan's revealing black tank top and white short shorts.

"Like sluts have ever stopped you from trying to get in their pants." Shelby said ironically.

Andy pondered for a moment and then said, "Hmm..., yeah, it hasn't."

"You have a good summer?" Megan asked, tracing the letter "A" on Carter's beige Adidas t-shirt.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "The best!"

"I wish you could have spent the summer with us in Malibu." Shelby said, retying her light-brown pigtail. "It would have been more interesting."

"Not really." Andy said, "That would've meant he would have looked at your face all summer long."

"You're not exactly a rose either." Shelby said, giving Andy a light shove.

She knew Andy was only kidding. He always made banters at his closest friends. Besides, Andy pretty much thought all of his female friends were hot. Then again, he wouldn't be caught dead with ugly friends. Five-seven, olive complected, and buttery-brown eyed, he was the lady's man. Despite the fact that he wasn't necessarily the best looking guy in the universe, he managed to have girls following him around like a swarm of bees.

"Gee, thanks." Andy chuckled.

"What class do you have now?" Megan asked no one in particular.

"Well, I have AP Biology." Andy said, proud that he was put in an Advance Placement class.

"Andy, that's the only AP class you have." Carter said matter-of-factly, running his fingers through Megan's caramel highlights.

"Yeah," she added, "You have one class that isn't regular and now all of a sudden you think you're Albert Einstein."
Shelby snickered silently, earning a stare down from Andy.

Andy suddenly noticed a lanky, dishwater blonde girl wearing Harry Potter like glasses struggling to keep her books in her hands.

"Aaah!" Andy screamed when the girl met his eyes.

"Douchebag." the girl muttered hurtly, slowly walking pass them.

Megan looked at the girl with pity. "Well, that was uncalled for."

"Shut up, whore." Andy said simply. "The bitch deserved it for being so ugly."

"You know there's only one ugly person in here and it certainly isn't her." Shelby said.

"Aww..., Shelb." Andy said soothingly. "Don't talk about yourself like that."

"You knew that was bound to happen." Carter said to Shelby.

"Yeah, should of seen that coming." she replied, eyeing Andy with her piercing green eyes.

Carter looked at his watch on his left arm. Realizing the time, his hazel eyes dialated.

"Whoa, guys." he said, alarmed. "We better get going. We only have seven minutes to get to class."

"Shit!" Shelby hissed. "Meg, we have Albebra 1. We need to leave now!"

"Right behind you!" Megan said, giving Andy and Carter quick hugs.

She then dashed
She then dashed off with her friend, bumping into several other students.

"Ahh," Andy started. "I guess I'll see you later, buddy."

"You too." Carter said, bending down to tie his Reeboks.

Andy patted him on the back as a farewell gesture and walked off to his first period class.

Carter took the freshman cafeteria route and walked down the stairs that led into the lower gym.

He couldn't believe that he wasn't going to have gym with Andy. They had had gym together since the seventh grade. It wasn't like all of his friends weren't going to have gym with him. There was Lucas Green and Maris Fields, but there was something about not having Andy with him that made it seem... well... strange.
He shrug the thought out and walked over to the section where his class was sitting at.

He looked around in search for his two reinforcement-friends.

No sight of Lucas or Maris.

Where could they possibly be?

He wasn't sure if high school was going to be cut out for him. For one thing, the classes were an hour and thirty minutes long, not sixty minutes like the classes he had in middle school. Another thing, there were too many new faces. He had no idea who the cute blonde was or whether he had seen the nerdy Asian kid before or not.

He knew it wasn't right not having Andy there by his side. He knew it sounded gay, but Andy was like his foundation. If it wasn't for Andy, he would have no fun. Isn't that what some famous guy said? "If you have no friends, you have no pleasure"? Carter suddenly understood the meaning of that quote. He literally didn't have any pleasure with out his friends.
Sighing, he sat next to Eric Morrison, the fat African American kid whom he went to middle school with, and decided to strike up a conversation with him.

That's one person he knows.

• ANSWER:
  I liked your story. I think it was good. You should Go to This website and post it. This website is for all writers, and artist. People read them on there and comment. You'd most likely have a wider readers.

  http://testriffic.com/index.php

QUESTION:
How is the beginning of my story ?
(it's quite rough)

“I’m going to make the most beautiful cake Edgar has ever seen,” I said happily, taking a hearty scoop of chocolaty batter from the bowl and slapping it into the pan. I had requested the cooks of the castle to ‘borrow’ the kitchen for a bit.
“Don’t even bother, he’d probably stuff it down his horse’s throat” My stepsister, Morgan was sitting on top of a wooden countertop.
I wished I hadn’t asked for her company.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I glared at her.
We usually got along, but there was this ‘thing’ she had against Edgar. At first I used to think that she was just jealous. I always thought Morgan was that typical stepsister jealous of the typical princess getting married off to the typical prince of a typical distant kingdom. But Morgan just wasn’t that type and she had been proving it all throughout our shared childhood. She was intelligent and headstrong, always fighting for this or that. Plus over the years, I caught on the fact that she was clearly not interested in Edgar, and her dislike was natural. All her reasons always made me flinch but I put them aside because Edgar was my soon-to-be-husband, but even more than that, I truly loved him.
“I can’t believe it doesn’t bother you, that he’s had about—
She paused, counting quickly on her fingers.
“Seven fiancés in the past, and mysteriously, none of them have seemed to work out for him. Ridiculous! The moron thinks a girl’s heart is some sort of board game,” She snorted.
“Well—he was never in love—until now,” I protested quickly.
“He was never in love because clearly all the love he can give goes to himself, the man probably smooches himself in the mirror every morning,” She crossed her arms hotly.
“Oh, stop it, he’s so—chivalrous, and dreamy—and such a gentleman,” We were definitely not on the same train of thought. Only I couldn’t tell which one of us was being blind about the whole thing.
“Chivalrous sweet talk about the future, dreamy words, and putting up an act of being polite and gentle in front of you, Seph, these aren’t the reasons why a girl should fall in love with a boy,” She was almost out the door. Thank goodness. It’s not like I was particularly paying attention. Her words came in through one ear and left out the other. She stopped walking; now she’d say something extraordinarily smart and I’d have to come up with something even better. That usually happened with me pondering about what she said all day, roaming through the gardens and when I thought I had come with an equally smart phrase to backfire with, I’d run to her room and say it to her. Then with a look of confusion, and then with a burst of laugh, she’d say, “Nice one, Seph, only you came up with it about ten years later.”
But that day had been different, with a sigh, she had left.
The cake had certainly not turned out to look anything like what our baker, Gabby might have prepared. But I had put so much heart into it and was clearly impressed, considering I had never cooked anything more than a bowl of porridge—which turned out to be quite horrible but was acceptable for a starving trip to the kitchen in the middle of the night.
“Sephora, why, may I ask, have you dismissed the cooks? They’re all lounging in the grand hall, informing me that you’ve requested—
It was my stepmother, poking her head through the kitchen door.
I never had to question my father for marrying her. All the townspeople referred to her as the kingdom’s “Moonlight”. She was tall and graceful, with her jet black hair pulled back into an elegantly crafted bun, Morgan and I always kidded how that was her ‘signature look’. She had bright skin with a pearly glow, high cheek bones, and slightly shiny cheeks with a hint of color.
“My, what in the—and you’ve made such a mess in here!” She gave the kitchen one, long sweeping look, and then at the lumpy excuse for a cake centered on the table.
“It’s—it’s Edgar’s birthday tonight, so I thought I’d bake him…something…” I grimaced at that ‘something’ myself while I rubbed my hands on the oldest and filthiest gown I might have ever owned. She was right, it didn’t look all that appetizing, but hopefully the fact that I had made it with my own hands would cheer him up greatly.
She rolled her eyes, “You could have requested Gabby to make it for you, why go through all this mess and trouble?” She said. Mess and trouble alright. My face was itching; I reached to my cheek and felt a cold slob of cream smeared onto it.
“Relax,” I inhaled the aroma around me, at least it didn’t smell awful. On top of that, the batter had tasted so delicious that I had gladly licked the bowl clean, a childish habit that I caught from Gabby.
“I want you cleaning this mess before you leave, the cooks already have plenty to do—as your father should be returning home shortly,”
“I’ll be out in half an hour,” I assured her with a pleading look.
It took me more time to get the mess cleared up than actually making it. T

• ANSWER:
  Thats so good! really it is

QUESTION:
How can I convince my parents to let up on the World of Warcraft and general restrictions?
Alright, here's the lowdown: I'm a sophomore in high school, currently taking all honors classes, excepting one advanced and one college-level. I also, obviously, love to play World of Warcraft.

Here's the story: (long)

We're middle class; and I received for my 15th birthday, which is more than I've ever been given. (What we do have, I usually get none of.) I'd played the ten-day trial of WoW, and really liked the game, so I decided to use this rare opportunity to buy something nice for myself. (The only other nice thing I've ever gotten in my life is my Nintendo DS.) So I bought it.
I'll admit, I got really sucked in. I played for hours every night, and eventually my parents intervened, saying I couldn't play weekdays, had to work many chores to pay the monthly fee, even though my dad had already promised that I didn't have to worry about that.
Then grades came out; I wasn't up to their par, although I was doing okay. They took away the game entirely, which eventually sent me into a depression I've only recently pulled out of. They restrained me every which way, limited me more than they already do. (Which is an absurd amount; even my friends with strict parents think they're way too restrictive on me.) Basically, I experienced the shock of pulling away from a dependency, like a drug.
Months and months and months passed. I despaired at the fact that I had spent my first-ever large sum of money on something that was now being withheld, even though my grades were improving, better than the average kid's again. My parents, as usual, completely ignored the fact that I was horribly depressed with all their restraints, and I'd been broken in like a horse; I was sad and listless all the time.
Then summer came. They didn't think my grades were good enough. They didn't let up until a few weeks in, until they finally said I could play again. By that time, my addiction was broken; I could go on the game and stop without any trouble, and since I was still so broken-spirited, the game failed to intrigue me. It was all easily managed, and I was happy just to be free.
Sophomore year started. I started pulling out of my depression, slowly, became happy again, just to be so gloriously free of commands and orders and indifference to my extreme sadness. I became more interested in WoW, still able to stop myself with ease. Then my dad threatened the password out of my sister, and, convinced I was hopelessly sucked in again because of his inability to see past first impressions, again set parental controls, only this time it wasn't just an order; he had invaded the game's settings itself.
And now I've become depressed and listless again; I feel like it's a cycle.

What on earth can I do to get past these controls? Or, moreover, convince my parents to loosen up on me?

• ANSWER:
  You know, I'm taking a Physchology class right now in highschool and I've learned in it that punishing your child never works. I'm serious the teacher even said it herself, Something about "Postive reinforcement" or something along those lines, What I'm saying is that your parents don't need to remove you from WOW what they need to do instead is add an hour or 2 of extra study time to your daily routine from what your getting now.

  So I know this might now work but you can cross your thingers and remain optomistic because I believe a little respectful negoation is in order with your parents. Perhaps say to them I will study from so and so time to this time at night and then I get to play WOW, If my grades go up and this works I think this is a fair offer.

  I see the problem here is very obvious, Your depressed without it and when you do get to play it you end up playing it to much. The simple solution like I said to is to increase the daily time you study and do work so that in result, your grades will go up and you'll be happy (because you still get to play WOW)

  See what's better 2 months of non-stop WOW or 12 months of WOW and School work so there's a fair balance between the 2 get what I'm saying?

QUESTION:
How can I help my wife become more feminine?
Some background is needed first... My wife was raised by a mother that had no time to show interest in her looks because she was too busy catering to chores and the needs of my wife's father. The last 5 years of her childhood before we met was doing work on a horse farm which didn't require paying attention to self image or being image conscience. Although she had Barbies growing up, she played mostly G.I.Joe's with her older brother... I don't see many pictures of her (even as a young kid) wearing dresses, skirts, makeup, jewelry, or anything feminine so it makes sense she'd have a lack of interest in it... Although my wife and I have been together for 7 years it wasn't until half way through that I started caring about how she looked and how she carried herself, and although I had talks with her about this it wasn't meant to be naggy but to help encourage her sexual appeal to me so I would be interested in her in ways beyond love.

One of the reasons that I want her to dress/act/look more feminine is because we now have a daughter. So I want my wife to break out of her childhood mold so she can be a good role model for our daughter and we can say we at least tried to encourage our daughter to not be a tom boy before she decides she is one... It's a known fact that tom boys unconverted to feminines are unsuccessful in the workplace, especially "Corporate America", so if she isn't a tom boy from the beginning she won't have a challenge growing up out of being one...

Another reason I want her to become more feminine is because I've totally lost my desire for her. Now I don't want any of you responding to this to think I'm shallow because by no means am I shallow; I love my wife very much and I think she's the smartest woman I've ever encountered. I'm just finding that as I get older and more mature (I'm 26 now and she's 27), my sexual interests have shifted from the "innocent girl" to the "feminine woman". So rather than saying I'm shallow I think it's more correct to call me having loss of sexual attraction to someone who acts and looks like a girl rather than a woman. Where my wife fits in all of this is that she's a girl trapped in a woman's body. She has a gorgeous body and with a little self pampering (no bushy eyebrows, doing something with her nails instead of growing them out, going tanning, getting her hair highlighted, ect) she probably could even be a super model, well at least in my eyes.

My last reason to help her become more feminine is her job requires it. She now works with multi-million dollar clients through her job as an accountant and her looks have to "fit the bill" if she wants to get raises or even promoted. If she can't fit a corporate image and/or be seen as a mature confident and classy adult then she's going to hinder her chances to be successful in this world.

So what kind of advice could you offer me on how to help my wife into this transition??? I've tried talking to her telling her that it's important to me that she tries to be more feminine since I find that attractive now and she says I should love her for her instead of trying to change her but I think she's missing the point that this isn't about love, this is about looking at your partner and knowing by instinct that you want to have sexual relations with them right then and there because you are attracted to them. In relationships, both parties have to make sacrifices and after 4 years of in consistant sex ranging from once a every other week to once every 4 months I think I've made my sacrifice already by not having sex once a day for 4 years!!!

Some other deatils about it all is I will always love my wife until the day I die but I'm not always going to be in lust for her if she doesn't try... She won't even wear lingerie without a struggle. I battled with her over shoes and how I think that sneakers are great for shopping but heels are great for dining and complete any lingerie outfit. I also fight with her over her hair since she always keeps it down to her shoulders and does nothing with it - no ponytail, no do-up, no highlighting, no perming, no curling, just the same old look every day even during sex. She also wears makeup so lightly that I can't even notice if she actually put any on and I know that makeup is all about putting emphasis on (and hiding) different parts of your face and it's also to put color into your face if you're naturally pale. She also has no interest in wearing clothes that fight her like my baggy t-shirt example from earlier so I have no idea what her figure looks like throughout the day and it gives me nothing to look forward to when our kids go to bed. And lastly, she walks/acts with no confidence in herself and you can tell.

Now I'll give her a few excuses on why she doesn't try harder. One is an obvious one, we have kids and there's not a lot of time to get ready. Another is because it wasn't an issue 7 years ago when I first met her and suddenly I'm different. Also, this

• ANSWER:
  First things first - why is everyone bashing this guy!!

  The problem is not that your wife was a tomboy, it's that she never grew into a woman. There is a fine line between being comfortable in your skin and not caring about your appearance. I'm a tomboy in the purest form of the word, always have been. I'll stay up late and watch Monday night football or March madness, I own like 3 dress including my wedding dress. I don't wear makeup except for maybe once a week. But the difference is I do care about my appearance and I do care how my husband views me. I've worked corporate jobs and you can get by without wearing dresses or being overly girly. But as a wife she should be concerned with making sure her husband is having his needs met and to say that's just who I am in selfish. It's not changing the rules, it's growing up and maturing. Not sure what to tell you on your daughter. I knew I needed to have a son b/c I wasn't very feminine and thankfully God answered my request . Maybe another woman in her life could talk to her. Maybe even her mom, you said she was busy catering to the needs of her husband, so maybe she can talk to your about this need that you have to be more attracted to her. It's the little things, I still walk around the house in my hubands baggy shorts, but I pair it with a cute tank top. Maybe you can shop for little things that will meet both or your needs. Cute pajamas that you'd love to see her in, but don't buy them in pink or flowers as you're going to have to take baby steps. Or give her a spa day as a just because gift. Maye they can help her find a look that's cute, but also doesn't require a lot of maintenance. For me a big turn off has always been how long it takes "girly girls" to get ready for anything. My stylists found me a great haircut that requires less than 5 minutes a day and taught me little makeup tips that go a long way and take no effort. If I'm not wearing make-up I atleast put on lip gloss so I don't look like I just rolled out of bed. My mission is to make my husband want to touch me everytime he sees me. Yes, he embraces "the guy he married" but he's super happy that she's turned into a woman that he can love/lust forever.

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