The first time I saw a Shetland Pony was many years ago when a man brought one on a trailer into our neighborhood and for a small fee allowed the children to sit astride the pony in their yard while he took their pictures. We still have the pictures of our four children, ages 9, 8, 5, and 4 beaming a smile into the camera as their pictures were taken.
A couple of days ago, one of my wife’s friends emailed her a slide show of a Shetland Pony that thinks he is a dog. The pony was rejected by his mother after he was born last October in the UK. Shortly after arriving at a horse and pony sanctuary, the eight-week-old pony named Rory was nursed back to good health in the office of the stable manager Sam Edwards. He was held in the lap of his owner Sue Allery just like a dog while he was being nursed back to health. It was during this time that Rory attracted the interest of the stable manager’s two Labrador Retrievers, Alfie and Millie.
As a result of growing up and playing with the Labradors, Rory picked up some canine traits. He now thinks he is a dog and does canine things like wagging his tail, fetching sticks, and rolling on his back to have his tummy tickled. His favorite of the Labradors is Millie, even though both dogs helped care for him as he was recovering from his illness. Mrs. Allery said that when Rory was lying on her lap with his little hooves sticking out, Alfie would come up and wash them with his tongue; and when Rory had a white moustache after drinking milk, Alfie would clean that up too. In spite of that, Rory became best friends with Millie, probably because Millie was more his size. Now Rory and Millie can be seen romping around together and chasing sticks. Rory, still thinking he is a lapdog, tries to sit in his owner’s lap. Considering that he is about the size of his owner, the result is hilarious.
I thought that if I could find a video of the pony, it would be more interesting and entertaining than the slide show. After a considerable amount of searching on YouTube, I finally found the video. I hope you enjoy it.
Video 1. Shetland Pony with an identity crisis
Shetland Ponies are now one of the most popular ponies in the world. Originating in the Shetland Islands off the northern coast of Scotland, these ponies were conditioned by their environment to have thick hair, a long mane, and forelocks. They also are recognized by their short, muscular legs.
The Shetland Ponies, relative to their size, are very strong animals. As a result, they were soon put to work hauling peat down from the bogs to the cottages for use as fuel and seaweed up from the shore to the fields to be used as fertilizer. During the 1800’s, they were used extensively in the coal mining industry to haul coal cars in the “pits”. Many of these ponies were born and died in the mines, with some never seeing the light of day. Fortunately for the Shetland Ponies, they are now considered to be pets and are no longer used as work animals.
Here are some more delightful videos I found of Shetland Ponies:
Video 2. Shetland ponies are quirky and unique - here are a few ways to describe them best!
Video 3. Miniature Horse Shetland pony at liberty
Video 4. Emily and brother Josh taking turns riding Drummer, her Shetland pony, who lives at Shalfleet on the Isle of Wight with her Nan. The music is from an old TV show, White Horses.
Last August, seventeen million Americans, and later hundreds of millions of people worldwide, heard 18-year-old Miss Teen South Carolina Lauren Caitlin Upton answer this question: "Recent polls have shown that a fifth of Americans can't locate the US on a map. Why do you think this is?" In a moment, we shall hear her response.
Video 1. First, the beauty:
Video 2. And now, the brains:
Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian, writer, and talk show host, breaks down what Miss South Carolina had to say on the Miss Teen USA awards show:
Lauren Caitlin Upton grew up in Lexington, South Carolina. She attended Lexington High School where she was an honor student. According to those who know her well, she is not only beautiful, but much more intelligent than her pageant response revealed. The principal at her high school said that she was a well-rounded student who took college-prep and honors courses and performed well. She plans to attend Appalachian State University where she will major in graphic design.
Upton just recently signed a contract with Donald Trump’s modeling agency in New York City where her modeling assignments could earn her up to $30,000 per day.
Video 3. How much do some Americans know about the world?
Video 4. Smart Kid - World Geography - 3 Yrs. Old
Video 5. Real Time: Miss Teen South Carolina and George Bush
Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. - George Bernard Shaw
Video 1. This video reminds me of the time about six years ago when I stopped at a gas station. Sensing that I was low on gas, I stopped at the first station I came to and drove up to the self service pump with only one car in front of mine. Soon another car pulled up behind me. The man in the car that was in front of me got out of his car, and I could see that he was quite old and feeble. His every move was in slow motion. I was in somewhat of a rush, but I couldn’t move forward or back up. I was trapped.
After sitting in my car for about ten minutes but what seemed like an eternity, I watched as the man finally finished pumping a full tank of gas into his large SUV, trudged into the station to retrieve his change, and then got into his vehicle and drove away. Realizing that someday I might be in that man's shoes, I prided myself on not growing impatient, honking my horn, or making some nasty remark. I think if I were that slow and feeble, however, I would not choose to continue driving.
In this video, you see two teenage boys with skateboards who are having a video made by a friend. Suddenly, the sound of screeching brakes to the rear attracts the attention of the person recording the video. That person whirls around and begins recording an elderly woman carrying a shopping bag who is inching across a crosswalk at a pace that has irritated the driver of an expensive convertible, causing him to honk at her. Now let’s follow the action.
Video 2. In this video, something funny happens when seated individuals get up from a bench.
Video 3. Perhaps you have been in a store at one time or another when your child threw a temper tantrum. It is embarrassing for the parent and disturbing for the store’s patrons. Well, this one has a funny ending.
Video 4. This video depicts men speaking to a dating service video camera in the hope of attracting women for a date.
In the week that oil prices once again crested above $100 a barrel and more Americans than at any time since the Great Depression owed more on their homes than the homes were worth; in the year that the sub-prime market crashed, global markets shuddered, the previously unnoticed credit-default swap market threatened to go into the tank, stagflation returned, unemployment rose, the "R" word (for recession) hit the headlines (while the "D" word lurked), within weeks of the fifth anniversary of his invasion of Iraq, the President of the United States officially discovered the war economy.
George W. Bush and Laura Bush were being interviewed by NBC's Ann Curry when the subject turned to the war in Iraq. Curry reminded the President that his wife had once said, "No one suffers more than their president. I hope they know the burden of worry that's on his shoulders every single day for our troops." The conversation continued thusly:
"Bush: And as people are now beginning to see, Iraq is changing, democracy is beginning to tak[e] hold. And I'm convinced 50 years from now people look back and say thank God there was those who were willing to sacrifice. "Curry: But you're saying you're going to have to carry that burden … Some Americans believe that they feel they're carrying the burden because of this economy.
"Bush: Yeah, well -- "Curry: They say -- they say they're suffering because of this.
"Bush: I don't agree with that. "Curry: You don't agree with that? Has nothing do with the economy, the war? The spending on the war?
"Bush: I don't think so. I think actually, the spending on the war might help with jobs. "Curry: Oh, yeah?
"Bush: Yeah, because we're buying equipment, and people are working. I think this economy is down because we built too many houses."
In other words, in honor of the soon-to-arrive fifth anniversary of his war without end, the President has offered a formula for economic success in bad times that might be summed up this way: fewer houses, more bases, more weaponry, more war. This, of course, comes from the man who, between 2001 and today, presided over an official Pentagon budget that leapt by more than 60% from $316 billion to $507 billion, and by more than 30% since Iraq was invaded. Looked at another way, between 2001 and the latest emergency supplemental request to pay for his wars (first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq), supplemental funding for war-fighting has jumped from $17 billion to $189 billion, an increase of 1,011%. At the same time, almost miraculously, the U.S. armed forces have been driven to the edge of the military equivalent of default. (Excerpted from Alter Net, February 29, 2008).
Most of the videos which follow are short in length. Please feel free to view as many as your time and interest will allow.
Video 1. Nero fiddled while Rome burned
Video 2. Dubya danced while America yearned (for a change). George Bush entertains reporters while waiting for John McCain at the White House
Video 3. President Bush dancing (with a twist)
Video 4. Watch the President dance
Video 5. Bush dancing in Liberia
Video 6. Bush takes up sword dancing in Saudi Arabia
Video 7. Bush working hard in Brazil
Video 8. Bush dreams of dancing to Michael Jackson's song (Bad)!
Video 9. Pink - Dear Mr President Live In Wembley - I'm Not Dead Tour
The game SCRABBLE was created in 1938 by an architect named Alfred Mosher Butts. At that time the game was known as Criss-Crosswords. In 1948, the rights to Criss-Crosswords were purchased by an entrepreneur named James Brunot, who changed the name to SCRABBLE, which means "to grope frantically" - a metaphor for the mental exercise that is sometimes required to find those high scoring words.
Those of you who have played SCRABBLE most likely will recall those times when an argument would occasionally break out over whether the word the other player had put down was truly a word. This 10-minute film creates a scenario which is a metaphor for the relationship that existed between a married couple.
Film: SCRAPPLE. How many points is the word f-i-g-h-t? If you love someone — we mean really love someone — do not play word games with them. It'll just turn into a big (and mean) mind game. And then you'll fight. At least, that's what happens with this couple. The action moves a little slowly at first, but then it really gets heated.
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