Question by Colby N: i have been trying to write a story and i need some feedback?
this is what i have so far:
Xia was a continent of pure green forests, untouched by landscaping or factories. They had pure clear lakes. The people were kind to one and other. They used flying machines that had no electricity. They were just a pole with handles and a propeller, when they ran with the devices the, propeller got faster until they where lifted off the ground. The continent was in the Sevantium Sea. There was also one girl who was about to start the adventure of a lifetime.
At age thirteen Carrisa was very mature for her age. As she was walking through the woods one evening she spotted something. It was a small piece of gold, which was strange to see. Gold was of the rarest metals in Xia. It usually had to be imported overseas. Suddenly she heard the ground shake. Then, Carrisa the fell through a hole in the ground. Then, shortly after, she blacked out.
When she awoke, she was in a place she hadn’t been before. It appeared to be a shrine of some sort. On the polished plaque there was strange writing that she didn’t recognize it looked something like this.
??????????????????????????????s. That writing gave her a strange feeling inside. She felt that she shouldn’t be there. She saw the hole that she came through and left right away.
As soon as she got home she couldn’t wait to tell about what happened. Her father said that it was about time he told her the terrible truth. As is turned out there was a terrible beast in the land 100 years ago. It was made of pure darkness. Then one day a great hero came to face the beast. He drew his sword and prepared for battle. The swordsman knew he could not defeat the beast with brute force so he made a spell. He bound the beasts soul in a cavern, and sealed it up. That meant Carrisa broke the seal and unleashed the beast!
The fact that Carrisa unleashed a beast of pure darkness crept her out. She knew she would have to do something about it, but what?? She was just a girl. How could she save the world from evil. For one she was shy. Second of all she wasn’t that strong, and she didn’t know magic. This was one that she would have to think about.
The next morning she decided to take a walk to take her mind off of unleashing a beast that has the potential off destroying the world and all of existence. It didn’t seem to help much.
Then, she heard a noise. It sounded like somebody breathing heavily. She also heard movement. The footsteps where to light to be animal. That must only mean one thing, it must be an elf . They where well known for their magic and sorcery. And sure enough that elf popped out of the bushes. Elves where as tall as humans but they’re so full of magic that it make them lighter. It said to Carrisa that it knew what her problem was and could help her. Carrisa had a funny feeling about this.
The elf handed her a large staff with a glowing blue orb in it. It had strange writing on it that glowed purple when she held the staff.
She could tell this was an old artifact by the writing on it. The staff must have been from one of the Seven Great Wars of Ivantium.
The wood felt cold on her hands. The elf said that this staff was filled with the magic that was put in it by the warrior that sealed the magical beast in the first place. The elf had silvery gray hair and shiny silver eyes. He was taller than Carrisa , but he was shorter than a adult human.
Carrisa a asked him his name. He hesitated but he finally told her his name, Tavaris.
She knew that she had heard that name somewhere but she couldn’t pinpoint where. All she knew was that his name sounded Ivantian. The elf beckoned her to follow him and he showed her to a small shack deep in the east Xian forest. Inside he showed her a very old book. It was a story of a woman named mercury. The woman who many years ago led the Ivantians to victory. The story also told of the twisted rage that sadly overcame her. The one thing about her that stood out though was her glowing twin swords.
Tavaris then told her that the only way to defeat the beast was to somehow retrieve those swords and use them against the beast.
Carrisa asked how this was possible. Then Tavaris said “We’re going to Ivantium”.

Later that night Carrisa wrote a note to her parents explaining everything. The beast, the elf and the journey that she was about to depart on. Writing that note was the hardest thing she had to do. She knew she would be back after she retrieved the swords and defeat the beast. After she left she met up with Tavaris and they were about to cross the two seas that separated the two countries of Xia and Ivantium. They were going to get to Ivantium by the Xian flying machines. They then started running faster and faster, until they were off the ground.
After about thirty minutes all they could see were the seas of Sevantium and Sky.
After about five hours they could see land in the distance.

Best answer:

Answer by Muse
remember, you have to stretch this stuff to fit a novel. there needs to be a lead up, more of a climax, what with the releasing of the creature, and then some more time drawn out. lengthen it with dialogue and personal thought from Carrisa.

other than that, it’s got potential. i like your idea, i really do!

Mine? maybe you have some input? thanks

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0WTZX5y1JZLSRkAygQazKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20100309145424AANI9su

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Question by Die-Hard Viking Fan ( 0-2 ): Some informative help, please?
Hi there.

Okay, I just joined a gym in hopes to shed some unwanted body fat, to tone my muscles more, and to build more muscle. I’m also using protein bars and drinks to help improve my muscles and I’m trying to eat healthier and in smaller servings. (Meats, vegetables, fruits, grains, Ect.)

I consider myself an active person. I love to play sports, (especially Football (Skol’ Vikings!) and Basketball), I joined all the PE classes possible in High School, I love to take walks, and I just love the feeling of an adrenaline rush.

Previously before I joined the gym I worked out on my upper-body. I’d basically just work out for 30 minutes using Dumbells, an EZ bar, and a Coil-bend bar using them in multiple poisitions 2-4 times a week for about a month or two. I didn’t do much on my lower-body because it’s stronger than my upper-body, I was already in gym class, and walking to each class throughout the school year is a good workout.

Anyways, to the basics. I’m 18 years old. I’m 6′4″ and 290 lbs currently. I’m in between muscle-bound and fat-bound. I’ve got good reflexes and I can react fast. I’m not fast at running, but I’m not slow at it either. I have a strong, thick chest, noticable biceps and shoulders, and strong and built lower legs. I also have a gut, a weak stamina, fat upper legs, fat in my arms in the tricep area, and a butt that sticks out somewhat.

Anyways, sorry to keep you reading, lol. Okay my question(s) is/are what are some good workouts to go with my body? What machines and free weights would fit me best to tone up my mentioned body areas I’m having trouble with, and do you have any workout gym tips I should know of? (I know you should stretch, not overdose on the water, and you shouldn’t over-strain your muscles in a workout.)

Thank you very much for your time and I’d appreciate all answers. Please comment!

Best answer:

Answer by Vortex
You already know what you are doing to lift weights, that isn’t the biggest problem you have. You need to do some cardio. By the sounds of it, you are storing fat around your thighs and stomach, so you need to lose some fat instead of build muscles.

Walking is great, and playing sports is great, but you say you’ve been doing that for a long time. When you do something for a while, your body gets used to it and stops burning excess fat because it can handle that level of exercise. You need to amp up your cardio. When you are at the gym, do 30 minutes on a bike, treadmill, elliptical, etc. Try interval training too (moderate pace for 5 mins, as hard as you can for 1 min, repeat). This will help you shed the fat and reveal the muscle there too. Crunches can’t hurt either, build up your abs before you lose the fat to show them off. Good luck and keep up the hard work!!!!

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Question by Arnulfo: I need help on some workout techniques and if my workout is 6 pack bound?
My workouts have been pretty brutal lol. I sprint 1 mile and a quarter and then jog 1 mile and a quarter. I lift 30 pounds on my chest arm machine 20 times, then 25 pounds 25 times, and finally 20 pounds 30 times. I do this again with my arms outward in working out my chest the same amount of times, and pulling down on the machine to work out my back muscles and chest. I lift 15 pounds of the arm curl to build front, back, and shoulder muscle, and I do this until I get tired. Then, I do 10 diamond push ups, 10 back lift ups, and 5 pull ups, 5 times like the military except the last 2 times I finish with back pull ups. Last but not least, I do 200 sit ups, and then I put a stick on my back long enough for me to get a handle of both hands on it, and I do side works, all in all its about two hours. My question is can I get a six pack with all these work outs? Oh yea and I’m 5′7, 163 pounds, 19 years old. To add, I eat fruits every day drink lots of water, milk before I sleep, and eat some fatty foods but not lots. Enough info? OK I thought so, thanks for reading this.
umm i dnt know buddy, sounds kinda gay

Best answer:

Answer by onomatopoeia
You’re putting quantity over quality.

You can’t sprint a mile and a quarter. That’s not sprinting: it’s jogging. If you really sprinted, you should be huffing and puffing after a quarter a mile, max. So maybe start by changing your running to sprinting a quarter a mile, then (slow) jogging a mile and a quarter, and then sprinting another quarter a mile. Trust me on this, I was on the track team.

Also, doing stuff until you’re tired isn’t going to help you build muscles. You need enough weight to challenge your muscles.

Here’s a short lesson on muscles. Your muscles are like employees hired by your body. Making them do the same (easy) thing over, and over, and over is just going to bore them. You need something which shocks them, and makes them say, “Holy sh*t, I have to get stronger.” That’s how muscles get bigger and harder.

Skip the machines, also. With your current strength there are plenty of variations of pushups which are better. Try doing 5-10 sets of 10 diamond pushups, with a minute between each set. (Do 10, rest a minute, do another 10, etc.) Much better than that crap chest workout you’re doing right now.

Also, with pullups, there are certain things you can do to increase the intensity. Lower yourself slowly until your arms lock out. Then, without jerking your body, using only your biceps and back muscles, you pull up until your chest touches the bar, or at least as high as you can. It’s hard at first, but you’ll get used to it.
And instead of grabbing with your entire hand, grabbing with only your fingers part (like an ape would) can build your forearms like crazy.

As for your ab exercises. Look up leg raises. And when you do sit ups, don’t let anything hold onto your feet, don’t let your butt leave the floor, and don’t help yourself with your arms or hands.

And you might be surprised that yoga can be very intense. Before you dismiss it as a girl’s thing, listen up. A little background about myself. I am currently in my campus judo team. I took taekwondo for three years, and developed some of my own techniques based on research on muay thai, various forms of kung fu, boxing, etc. I was in a civilian auxiliary of the US Air Force, and was legendary in my squadron for doing pushups without end, and just beasting the physical tests in general.
Why am I saying all this? Today I took my first yoga class, and it was much harder than I thought. And my English teacher (she brought her grad students and me to the class) said, “This is just very basic. It gets really intense.”
So the point is, if someone like me finds Bikram Yoga to be humbling, you might want to at least give it a try. And you’ll meet lots of girls *wink wink.*

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Question by yearroundrider: How likely is it that the U.S. will adopt some kind of rules for beginner bike riders?
Does anyone think North America is bound to (eventually) adopt some kind of rules as far as limiting what a new MSF graduate is able to purchase immediately after getting the motorcycle endorsement on their license? Something like the British system where you’re forced to start out on a lower displacement until some time goes by before upgrading to a larger machine. I’m not exactly sure how their system works, but don’t you have to prove you have the skills needed before stepping up to a 1000cc race replica, versus just going out and plunking down ,000 5 minutes after you graduate like over here in the states? Any thoughts on this?

Best answer:

Answer by Dimo J
The U.S. Government has no authority to impose any such rules.

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Question by Exotic Touch: Do any of you remember the title of this film? (I can remember some scenes)?
Hi

I remember a film where two men would wear something like a machine on their head that would cover the eyes which was plugged to a computer, once they plugged themselves they “appeared” or “awoke” in the computer in a beach scenery (like an isolated beach, white sand, clear sky and waves coming peacefully) and could feel each other, like everything was real.

Then I think they thought it was dangerous but one of the men continued to plug himself to the computer and go into these other places until he plugged himself and he was surrounded by white, and another man was there (i think the devil???) who talked to him about I don’t know what and then poked him with a needle, the man who plugged himself began to bleed and feel pain which surprised him because he wasn’t supposed to feel pain in this program.

The, I think, the “devil” made this blank, white area into a really beautiful setting and asked the man if he would like to stay in this ‘world’ forever, all he needed to do was write this sign on his wrist (the sign was the sign of the devil which would stay permanent on his wrist and would be bound by the devil and evil), he agreed. Then when this man “came back to reality” he was evil and invited his friend to sign on his hand so he could live for eternity(?) but he refused because he knew that something bad was going on from the start. Then the man forcefully signed the devil’s sign on his friend’s wrist and his friend became evil…

Then I think this woman gets involved and tries to stop this program and she ruins the program..

That’s all that came to me, I am definitely not accurate but I hope if anyone knows what I am talking about to please tell me the title.

Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by OhLucy
It sounds like lawnmower man, but I haven’t seen it in a while

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