Owner: Thinking Sand URL:http://thinkingsand.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:47:43 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Thinking Sand is blog for thinking and engaging life in general. Topics include the daily grind, spirituality, politics, movies, anything. Site statistics:Click here
Weddings are expensive! 2007-06-05 02:51:00 What is it about the white dress and the flower pedals? What is it about my age that everybody is rushing down the aisle in puppy love and plenty of debt? I have read about the most expensive wedding:
The world's most expensive wedding was thrown by Lakshmi Mittal for his daughter Vanisha Mittal and and her fiancée Amit Bhatia on June 22 2004.
The wedding was held at Vaux le Vicomte a 17th-century French chateau on the final day of a 6 day celebration.
The estimated reported cost of the wedding celebration came in at a mere $60 million USD.
Lakshmi Mittal also holds the record for owning the world's most expensive house.
I suppose it makes sense for the oober rich to own the most expensive house and throw the most expensive shindig. I'm beginning to think about my own wedding and Read more:Weddings
U.N. on the slow move to Darfur 2007-05-25 14:04:00 Making minimal headlines (no one really cares about Africa), huge progress has begun in the crisis area of Sudan's Darfur
. The saddening lack of enthusiasm from the U.S. government and media show a lack of integrity and thoroughness when it comes to reporting. The U.N. stepping into genocide crisis in Darfur is years too late and will only work results with international support. You can follow news about this at the Coalition for Darfur. On May 23, from Reuters:
U.N. military personnel set to bolster African peacekeepers in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur need at least three to four months to get in place, a senior African Union officer said on Wednesday. But the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity at the wind-swept AU base at el-Geneina where some of the African Union's roughly 7
Have you tried Meebo?? 2007-05-25 13:48:00 First it was Firefox- now we all have Firefox. Next it was Gmail- now we all have Gmail. Then it was AIM- now we all have Meebo
?? I have been using meebo.com for all my IMing needs (AIM and Gchat in the same window). I have been loving it. What will the nerds think of next?
Read more:tried
TIME's Joe Klein on Affirmative Action 2007-02-08 09:12:00 Affirmative Action
is a touchy subject in America, from the Hill to the Ivies. It makes no sense for a nation that stands for equality to still struggle so much to bring equal education to each race. TIME's Joe Klein
explains, Affirmative action was never a very elegant solution to the problem of racial injustice... On the plus side, a generation of minority and women college graduates has entered the workforce, creating a significant black middle class and a more integrated society. But the price has been resentment, especially in the white working class, and some real inequities...
Even the most passionate advocates of affirmative action agree that it's a temporary fix, that writing racial distinctions into law is corrosive and illogical in a society that presumes racial equality. So wha
Jakob and Esau 2006-12-19 16:44:00 I have been reading Brian D. McLaren's a Generous Or+hodoxy and other materials about the emergent church trends. I like this line of thinking because it reminds us that Christ's love is for everybody, not just the Christian elite. This is often forgotten and Christianity soon becomes a better-than-thou club. I wrote this short story based partly on a friend's rejection of Christ and my thoughts recently about the post-modern church. (I do not support the extreme brand of post-modernism that says such wrong ideas that blends truth with everything else-- that is not the idea)
Jakob and Esau
“Jakob the American. No, no, no. Jakob the Jewish-American. Hmmm. Jakob the American Jew-turned-Jesus-Follower. No, it’s all wrong.” Jakob, just Jakob, he decided on. He was young and seeming
awww... Craigslist shows on-line chivalry 2006-12-13 02:04:00 Chivalry! What's that? Craigslist.org has Christmas cheer, that's for sure. The poor company is under scrutiny this week for its unwillingness to put money-making ads on its pages. The New York Time's DealBook blog overs the catastrophe:
Craigslist charges money for job listings, but only in seven of the cities it serves ($75 in San Francisco; $35 in the others). And it charges for apartment listings in New York ($10 a pop). But that is just to pay expenses.
Mr. Schachter still did not seem to understand. How about running AdSense ads from Google? Craigslist has considered that, Mr. Buckmaster said. They even crunched the numbers, which were “quite staggering.” But users haven’t expressed an interest in seeing ads, so it is not going to happen. Commenter Doug replied thoughtfully:
Media spins story over the top 2006-11-16 03:03:00 Today headlines filled my feeds about an ice skating rink in Alabama that was torn apart in a thunderstorm. The worst part? The building had 31 preschoolers in it. Headlines looked like this:
Storm destroys skating rink full of preschoolers (cnn.com)
Storm Destroys Montgomery Skating Rink, Preschoolers Inside (wtvynews4.com)
Devastating Storms Leave Death, Destruction (wdiv)
Storm destroys Montgomery skating rink full of children (The Decatur Daily)
Storm wrecks skate rink; kids inside (Yahoo! News)
Storms wreck Ala. skate rink filled with preschoolers (San Diego Union Tribune)
Preschoolers Hurt in Stormy Weather (First Coast News)
Children escape death in storm (azcentral.com)
Hmmm. Where did your mind go while reading those? Did you think about Columbine,or the Tsnami? W Read more:story
My return to the blogging world 2006-11-16 02:42:00 After taking a hiatus from blogging the past few months I have come back to my senses. After beginning the application process to teach English in China I panicked-- a world war could go on and I wouldn't even know! No more news, no more blogs (I read a few dozen!), no more political and social thought! Ick! Then my normal flow of political, social, spiritual, and why-are-we-living-this-life thoughts began to invade my brain. It would be too clique to say "I couldn't eat! I couldn't sleep!" I just had to blog.
My blogs: news, politics, thoughts, current events, cultural stuff, religious ramblings, thoughts of society and the world today-- whatever fills my brain and leaps into words on screen. pretty self-explanatory. I take a fairly neutral stance on Bush, sometimes bashing him, somet
lawsuits and the rich 2006-11-15 22:00:00 Sicko O.J. Simpson is after money... your money... and he wants your coffee table to be his pulpit. Simpson is publishing a book!! hahahahahaha. I don't often use IM-speak in blogs, but this situation necessitates it. HAHAHA. O.J. Simpson is publishing a book called "If I Did It" in which he explains how he "hypothetically" would have killed his wife and her friend. Regan books is publishing the trash-bloid. "This is an historic case, and I consider this his confession," Regan told The Associated Press. Exactly. Anyone ever notice how easy the rich have it? Here's one prime example...: The former football star was acquitted in 1995 of murdering hisex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman after a trial that became an instant cultural flashpoint.He was later found liable for the deaths by in a civ
Freedom of Speech... continued 2006-07-29 03:36:00 Today's Freedom
of Speech
headline news...
-American University professors are signing a petition that denounces Israel's aggression against Lebanon. One thousand American professors have signed the document that says Israel is wronging Lebanon in the Israeli/Hezbollah crisis.(read more, digg this). Perhaps it is American university professors who have unlimited freedom of speech and unlimited listening ears.
-Apple misquoted. LOL. Correction: "iPods built to last 'for years,' not 'four years'" (read more)
-And lastly, another Jihad tragedy. Just today, a Muslim man opens fire at a Jewish Center in Seattle, killing one woman. The shooter also injured five others, including a pregnant woman. The only information known at this time about the shooter is that he is an American and a Muslim.(re
Freedom of Speech... Anarchic Freedom or Responsibility? 2006-07-28 15:40:00 My favorite post on my favorite blog by Michelle Malkin is called "SUPPORT DENMARK: WHY THE FORBIDDEN CARTOONS MATTER". In a move so brave and forward, one I'll never be able to replicate, Malkin posted the political cartoons that a Denmark newspaper (the Jyllands-Posten) ran in Sept. 2005. The 'toons are now dubbed the "forbidden cartoons". The cartoons depicted the Muslim prophet Mohammed. Muslims worldwide were instantly offended, even taking to burning flags, rioting, and demonstrating. Perhaps we take for granted the political freedom and the freedom of speech we see exercised all the time here in America. Each of us can think of cartoons, paintings, or art that has "bashed" Jesus Christ, God, President Bush, and other world political and religious leaders. Muslims think it is wrong t Read more:Freedom
, Speech
, Responsibility
More power to women worldwide 2006-07-28 04:09:00
A hidden gem of lucsious value! "Sister" Solje teaches us an invaluable lesson. Through the website , she has sponsored a woman from a war-torn country. She blogs of her experience,
I decided to make a purchase at the Women for Women International’s Virtual Bazaar–items created by the women being helped through this organization. I purchased a handbag that was made by my sisters in Kosovo, banana leaf note cards by my sisters in Rwanda, and a bracelet created by my sisters in Afghanistan.
When I opened the package today of these items, I held them and thought about how each of my sister’s histories led her to this organization. It made me feel that the struggles I go through on a day to day basis literally pales in comparison. Today, I wear the bracelet knowing it’s a physical ite Read more:power
Allow me to express myself... 2006-07-28 03:44:00 After keeping up a blog that reports solely on politics, I noticed that comments ran few, readers few, and community non-existent. I've realized that the blogging sphere needs to be more connected. I want to keep up my political blog (Here: ), but I also want to expand myself
. I love to read other blogs and I want to see myself responding to what those blogs are saying. Let me introduce myself; I'm a college student. I'm female. I'm a follower of Christ. I'm an academic. I'm an avid reader. Those things define me, but I'm open to being defined. I don't want to preach, I don't want to bore, I don't want to be ignorant. I want to learn, dig into issues and thoughts, and create a community of bloggers who do the same. This is a journey for all people. Won't you join me? I love politics, relig Read more:Allow
Bloggers United For Human Rights Day 2008-05-15 17:03:00 Well, that is what I usually do but today it's extra important. May 15 is Bloggers Unite For Human Rights
day!!! This event has spread like wildfire thanks to Amnesty International and Facebook. Check it out here.
Some the issues the group is hoping to see blogs promote are:
1. Human Rights in China. This is especially on our minds after their tragic 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck over the Read more:United
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