Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day happens every year. For lovers it’s a time for chocolate, flowers, jewellery and poetry… while the rest of the world takes the opportunity to either lament or celebrate their single status.

The Yahoo!7 Answers community has for the most part gone all gooey – asking for gift suggestions, swapping romantic ideas and even seeking suggestions for how to propose marriage.

On the other hand there are plenty of cynics, wondering what the fuss is all about, moaning about it being a waste of time and trying to figure out how to occupy themselves until the fifteenth finally rolls around and ends the misery for another year. Reading Valentine’s Day horror stories from other users can sometimes ease the pain.

I love Valentine’s Day… it gives me an excuse to eat chocolate! Plus I’ve learned how to say “Be My Valentine” in Swedish! I may need to know that some day…

Clea

The US elections are months away, and yet American voters are already getting fired up over who will be the next President of the USA. It’s a story the whole world will keep its eye on as it unfolds, because we all feel affected by the actions of the influential nation.

Our own Prime Minister John Howard has managed to get himself offside with one potential candidate – the Democrat Barack Obama, over the issue of troops in Iraq. Mr Howard’s comments and the subsequent retaliation has been a hot topic on Answers this week and opinions abound!

On the entertainment side of the news more coveted little statues were handed out this week at the Grammys. Users on Answers seemed to enjoy watching the ceremony, but of course there’s always a feeling that someone has been unfairly overlooked.

By the way… do you know why they are called Grammys?

Clea

With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching relationships are on everyone’s minds, whether they are single and looking for love or if they are doing their best to maintain a happy partnership.

In honour of the romantic holiday, Yahoo!7 Answers is joined this week by relationship guru Dr John Demartini. A world leading inspirational speaker and author, Dr Demartini has helped thousands of couples through their relationship woes, has given presentations at seminars and conferences all over the world and has been a guest on hundreds of television and radio shows.

Dr Demartini knows his stuff – but this week he wants to hear from you about your relationship and what makes it work… or what qualities made you decide your partner wasn’t The One.

Although he will be visiting Australia to deliver a two day personal and professional development course in May this year, as a special offer for Yahoo!7 Answers users you can click here to register to receive exclusive footage of Dr Demartini speaking at the 2005 conference ‘Success in the City’ and an excerpt from his latest book ‘The Heart of Love’, which is all about finding true relationship fulfilment – perfect for Valentine’s Day!

So what turns you on or off a partner? Add your thoughts and see what other people have had to say to Dr Demartini about what makes a happy relationship.

Clea

The week has ended on a sad note with the death of celebrity former playgirl Anna Nicole Smith. The intriguing blonde was never out of the spotlight for long during her life, and she made many headlines recently after the birth of her daughter and sudden death of her son of a drug overdose. Her own death was met with disbelief on Answers early this morning, and there has been much discussion about it throughout the day.

On a brighter note – things have been getting a little romantic on Yahoo!7 Answers in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, with users asking others for inspiring gift ideas as the day draws closer. We have also had a question from relationship expert Liz Tuccillo – writer of the hit show Sex and the City and co-author of the best selling book He’s Just Not That Into You. Liz is convinced there is a huge drop in the market for singles over the age of 30 and she wants your ideas on how to overcome the problem.

Keep an eye on Yahoo!7 Answers next week for more Valentine’s Day featured questions!

Clea

I am having trouble getting through work today. Why, you may ask? One of my favourite TV shows is back tonight – LOST!

This is a show that asks more questions than it answers, but every now and again they give you an answer to something that has left you wondering for what seems an eternity. This is clever scriptwriting at its best. Did you know that Lost was almost filmed in Australia?

The second reason I am having trouble concentrating is that the mysterious Lost Ninja got in contact with me to share his thoughts. Like all ninjas, he was in and out before I could realise, but he has left us all some amazing thoughts to consider…

Hi, and if you’re a fellow Lost-lover like myself, you’re in for a week of pure bliss and being super-spoiled. My name is The Heroic Lost Ninja, and as some of you would know, I’m somewhat experienced at tracking down the truth when it comes to Lost – I spent 5 months last year hot on the trail of Rachel Blake exposing the secrets and lies created by the Hanso Foundation, benefactors of the mysterious Dharma Initiative – architects of the hatches found on Lost island. Lost finally returns to our screens this week, and to say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement!

So imagine my surprise to find the producers of Lost asking a question on Answers – that’s way too cool. I got in touch with the Answers producers and asked if they could put me in contact but alas, those secretive keepers of the truth had already disappeared back into the shadows, leaving me to ponder their question – What do you believe the monster in ‘Lost’ really is? In a very kind gesture, the Answers team offered to let me post my very own answer on their blog – so here we go…

I do not believe the smoke monster (Smokey) is nanobots. I had to get that out of the way first lol.

My belief is that, on this island where science and spiritual seem to have progressed to a higher degree, the souls of those who have perished there have become a part of the island. Yes, that’s right, call me crazy, but I believe Smokey may very well be a physical collection of dead souls.

But they’re not just floating about freely, oh no – in the same way the Others are a physical representation of the advanced threat of science on the island, I believe Smokey represents the spirit… the spirit of redemption, taking the form of judge, jury and exicutioner. Both Locke and Eko are set on paths to redemption – Eko for his murderous ways by becoming a priest and Locke to redeem himself from a life he felt meaningless. Both have had encounters with Smokey, the only ones so far, and Locke remarked he’d “looked into the eye of the island…. it was beautiful.”

I believe Smokey can somehow read souls, passing judgement on those inhabiting his island, as the monster itself is made up from souls that have already been judged. Many people are quick to jump to conclusion that our Losties are in purgatory – they’re not – but what if Smokey is, in fact, the living embodiment of eternal punishment…

Don’t forget to answer the 2 lost questions asked by Lost’s producers and writers!

What do you believe the monster in Lost really is?

What mystery on Lost are you hoping will be solved by the end of season 3?

Alana

P.S. If you are out there, Lost Ninja, thanks for contacting us.

What’s a hectopascal?

All this talk of global warming and extreme weather conditions led me to the Weather Category this week, where there are some really interesting questions to look through.

Our daily lives are ruled by the temperature and the conditions outside, yet many of us couldn’t explain what it is that is actually going on up there. One user was at a loss to tell her child how rainbows are formed – so where else to turn but Yahoo!7 Answers? Storms are a very popular topic, with users in the know explaining the difference between a cyclone, hurricane and tornado and answering questions about what gives clouds their dark appearance just before the rain hits. I was interested to see the answer to the question which comes first, thunder or lightning? I’d never really thought about what the answer might be before!

If you have a question relating to a weather phenomenon no doubt there’s someone out there who knows the answer, or if you want a local forecast you can always check out Yahoo!7 Weather.

Clea

Around the world (well mostly in Australia and the UK), this week’s hot celebrity gossip topic is the split of Kylie Minogue and her French boyfriend, actor Olivier Martinez. Despite announcing an amicable split, rumours abound that the break up was because of cheating on Olivier’s part and the majority of sympathy is definitely in the Minogue camp.

We’re excited to have a question posted from actor Robert De Niro this week – he is promoting his new film ‘The Good Shepherd’, which is all about a little known society in the USA called the Skull and Crossbones and its links to the CIA. The question asked “What is the most enthralling secret society of all time and why?” Mr De Niro has an official badge under his picture but some users are still questioning the authenticity of his participation – well take it from me he personally signed off on the question before it was posted on his behalf. It’s a great question – take a look at all the great answers and post one yourself.

See you soon!

Clea

As promised, Yahoo!7 Answers has been keeping an eye out for the best users to shine a spotlight on. Every week we will feature a new Australian user who has made an excellent contribution to the Yahoo!7 Answers community by delivering high quality answers.

Today’s featured user is definitely worthy of attention! Wal C has more than 11,000 points and an incredibly impressive 52% of his answers have been chosen as best. Since joining Answers late last year he has answered close to 1400 questions and has become a Level 6 user.

In his own words…

“I grew up in Cooma in New South Wales but currently live in Mooloolaba on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of Queensland. I have a Bsc in Metallurgy from the University of NSW and a Mathematics degree from Macquarie University in Sydney. During my career as a secondary mathematics teacher I reached the role of Principal of a Central School that taught students from infants to year 10. I retired in 2004 and think Answers is great because it keeps my mind ticking over and I can do what ended up being the love of my life – teaching.”<

Understandably, Wal C’s favourite categories on Answers are Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry – and you can tell from looking at the answers in his profile that he has helped hundreds of people with their difficult geometry, algebra and trigonometry homework! While most of us struggle to complete complex equations, Wal C says he “just loves the elegance and the logical steps of a good Euclidean proof.” Check out Wal C’s questions and answers… or ask a maths question of your own – if you’re lucky he just might give you the formula you need!

Thanks Wal C for being such a great member of the Answers Community – we think you’re great!<

Clea

P.S If you’d like to be a featured user or know someone worthy drop us an email – y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

It has been an active few days in terms of current affairs, with a lot of talk about global warming issues at Yahoo!7 Answers. The Queensland Government’s announcement early in the week that it will be introducing recycled water schemes prompted a great number of questions, and the predictions of imminent climate change released by the United Nations also had Answers users deep in discussion.

The other subject that has received a considerable amount of attention recently is David Hicks – the Australian who has been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for the past five years. Every time his name comes up in the news it is strongly reflected in Yahoo!7 Answers – people are very keen to understand why he is being detained.

On a much, much lighter note –Princess Mary is cementing her place as Australia’s favourite gossip subject, with her new haircut getting some attention this week… and Kevin Federline for once was the subject of almost as many questions as his ex wife Britney Spears, after reportedly being paid a whopping amount for appearing in a commercial for an insurance company that aired during the Superbowl in the USA.

It’s great to see such a broad range of questions… keep them coming!

Clea