Stream news stories, lectures, etc

A way I can keep my head from turning from mush without being in an office or class room.

Christ slideshow

Beautiful stills to music.

usercheck

This site is pretty cool: at the click of a button it checks the most popular sites on the internet for your desired username's availability. It reminds me where I do/not have my very unique username (that I always use) registered.

Blogging/Web design

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/killer-domains-my-first-ebook-is-available-now/

Idea/design blog

Really is a swiss miss

Yummy home design

Fresh, clean.

Great weight loss tips

Health monitoring via food tracker with great visual tools to keep you motivated

Here are some great fitness tips

Great photography

Award-winning photographer's site of best pics.

Luxxxxx Living!

So, I've been a fan of the timeshare since my diaper days hanging out in San Diego.

The shared real estate has come a long way. This site details what time shares for the rich and famous look like. A few highlights:

• $425K deposit
• $38K/year dues
• Unlimited access to
  

But be advised, as these are terms of the contract:
In addition to unlimited use of the LUSSO properties, Annual Dues cover the following:

• Pre-arrival grocery shopping service
• Personal concierge services
• Daily house keeping
• Use of resort and/or hotel amenities, where the Club is able to secure these
• Use of luxury vehicles
• Round trip airport transfers up to $300
  (A maximum of four per year to metro destinations, unlimited for all other destinations.)

Annual Dues do not cover items of a more "consumable" nature such as food and beverages, personal chefs and spa treatments. These features, and many more, can be arranged for you by your personal concierge at only a pass-through cost to you.



http://www.lussocollection.com/page/rd07faq.jsp
http://www.akresidenceclub.com/#villavis
http://quintess.com/

For the rest of us, it's worth looking at their properties as we plan our vacations, getting ideas of great areas and destinations. Yummy!

Love this interior site: minimalist and modern, but not drastic and stark

In most cases, at least.

See here.

I've heard this is a very competitive new travel website.

We'll have to look into it.

What to read when everyone is ticking you off

So I'm not a huge fan of searching out self-help (it usually finds its way to you), but I thought this website that found its way to me (a friend posted a link) was pragmatic enough.

I should read this on those "bad days."

I love food blogs

I'm convinced that there is no need to purchase cookbooks any more. With the world's biggest kitchen at our fingertips (a.k.a. the internet), the possibilities are literally without end. The most important factor, as I see it, is finding those sources where I can rely on the consistency of very good recipes. This is an impossible feat, of course, since one man's culinary treasure is another's culinary compost. However, I think this is part of the fun: finding places that are such havens of potential culinary delight.

Whether one searches online recipe sites, like cooks.com, or searches blogs, via technorati.com or google's blogsearch (my favorite), she is bound to find some interesting finds.

Now, the only dilemma is how to get a more convenient computer setup in my kitchen!

Here's a link to a great cookie recipe.

The new and improved Mormon.org

Great new platform on mormon.org. In addition to being focused around "we all have questions" media campaign, the church has finally added the "chat now" option to the site. This means missionaries in the MTC and members around the world can help out in answering questions. Way to embrace technology!

Liberal democrat scholar defends marriage between a man and a woman

David Blankenhorn is a very highly respected family scholar on both ends of the political spectrum. He weighs in on Proposition 8:

For me, what we are encouraged or permitted to say, or not say, to one another about what our society owes its children is crucially important in the debate over initiatives like California's Proposition 8, which would reinstate marriage's customary man-woman form. Do you think that every child deserves his mother and father, with adoption available for those children whose natural parents cannot care for them? Do you suspect that fathers and mothers are different from one another? Do you imagine that biological ties matter to children? How many parents per child is best? Do you think that "two" is a better answer than one, three, four or whatever? If you do, be careful. In making the case for same-sex marriage, more than a few grown-ups will be quite willing to question your integrity and goodwill. Children, of course, are rarely consulted.

How many of us are well-prepared to clearly enunciate our beliefs on this issue? I, for one, need to be better informed, with a more developed and supported position that I can actually defend.

BYU Jerusalem Center

Almost 10 years ago, I studied for a semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. It really was one of those "chance of a lifetime" experiences, and this article is a great editorial by a young BYU-Hawaii student of the highlights of her stay. Anyone who studied there, or would like a taste of what it is like, will enjoy her colorful description of her experience. It was a walk down memory lane for me.

One of my favorite memories was attending the small branch in Galilee. Four or five of students had been asked to travel with the District President to this branch nearly 5 hours away by car. The president was responsible for all of the branches in the region, and this one was something special, considering its location. We arose early to begin our driving trek across Israel, and I felt immediately of the sacred opportunity to be able to experience this small branch in what might have been might be considered "the home branch of the Savior."

It was indeed a special experience. The ward at that time was composed of Palestinian and Jewish LDS members alike, something quite remarkable in the politically tense region. We students shared our talks, performed a musical number, and met and mingled with the very few members. I specifically remember a mother with four or so small children in attendance. She was a Jewish Mormon, and she was following along in her Hebrew Bible, containing both the Old and New Testaments, interestingly enough. She spoke of the wonderful day that would arrive someday when she would read with her children or grandchildren out of the Hebrew translation of the Book of Mormon.

I wonder where she is now, and by how many members are in that Branch. I've heard rumors of a chapel house to be built. Has the membership there grown?

All of the students took a stop on our travel to Jordan to visit a small branch in Jordan as well. I was surprised to know there was a branch there. I am so grateful to be currently living in a place where I so urgently feel the need to contribute to the ward and strengthen the members as they strengthen me. I'm ashamed it took moving out of Provo to feel this way again.

An intelligent analysis and commentary on the effect of news blogging on the direction of journlism

The problem is that the free information economy of HuffPost is actually very costly when it comes to reliable knowledge about the world. As professional journalists are replaced by opinionated celebrities competing for recognition in the attention economy, how will an Arianna Huffington, blogging from her home in Brentwood, LA, know what's happening in Tehran or Washington? As newspapers shut down their foreign desks—something that is already happening—how will we Huffington readers know whether to trust the accuracy of her work?

Site for free stuff -- to give and receive

Here's another version of Craigslist. For only free stuff.

Pure Religion

I think it is brilliant that the LDS Church often puts out press releases on doctrinal issues, or on spiritual principles. Such a release was posted today, speaking of one of a great New Testament doctrine taught by James, Pure Religion:

Many Latter-day Saints feel this desire to reach out to the downtrodden — James’ widows and fatherless — and find that the two elements of his pure religion exist in a symbiotic relationship. Learning Christ’s teachings and reading about the way He conducted Himself motivates individuals to look for ways to engage with others the way He did. And serving those in need functions as a refining process — humbling the server, bringing her or him closer to Christ and His example....
... This relationship between personal discipleship and communal responsibility is not only brought to life in the experiences of those providing assistance to the poor and the needy. Within the Mormon paradigm, the recipients of charitable service require temporal assistance first and foremost. Once they receive that initial urgent support, they can then be encouraged and helped to acquire skills and confidence to become self-reliant. This then allows them, over time, to not only provide for their own needs and those of their family, but also to become providers of support and hope to yet others. Pure religion, then, is the marriage of inward-looking, soul-searching self-improvement to outward-looking, soul-lifting efforts to improve the situation of others.

In the wider picture, these releases are -- in truth -- newsworthy.

1001 practical uses for vinegar (other than to stink up your house)

Basically let the vinegar lovefest continue.

Top honeymoon destinations

So, Jer and I haven't had our "honeymoon" yet. We decided to wait a few months to have a full-blown, formal honeymoon, even though our three-day honeymoon was planned and executed with brilliance.

I found this link. These beaches make me want to escape this rainy cold spell we're in right now!

Regardless of where we go, being with Jeremy all day long is basically a trick on a stick. He makes me laugh and smile and sometimes talk too much.

Inside China: a picture blog

This page I bumped into accidentally. Although the writing is in Chinese characters, the pictures are fascinating. Apparently it's someone who is collecting beautiful, tragic, common, exciting and typical scenes of China, both in the spotlight and out. It covers what the Olympics looked like outside the stadium for the common observer; it covers rural villages, and even the earthquake if you go back to the older posts.

Honesty, even when it hurts:

It's part of why we love little children so much.

Classic example.

A tasty treat

Jer and I found this little gem tonight while watching "sit and fit." Enjoy!

Interesting take on Chinese mentality

This blog posting is a long read, and not for the faint of heart. I'm not sure how accurate the opinion is of Chinese history. However, there are some insights into the Chinese psyche --about 2/3 the way into the article -- that rang true to my experience. I can't help but wonder if the Chinese would find this article offensive. I dare you to read it and see if you agree or not.

McCain gets a style lesson

I'll admit: there is something incredible about a well-groomed man in a great suit (I'm a sucker for dark pinstripes or tan).

I smiled when I read this article (click to view), and think it would help men the nation over to draw some universal principles from what she's advising McCain.

Image isn't everything, it's just the first place from which people draw their conclusions. We can make ourselves much less or more attractive just by wearing the right colors. Don't believe it, read this article. Are we oblivious to what we're communicating?

Things are getting scary

The California voters get to weigh in soon on the ballet when they can vote for or against Proposition 8 in November. Working at the World Family Policy Center for the last two years, I've learned that one of the key steps in advancing gay and lesbian rights comes in the legislative battle -- one court case at a time -- establishing precedent for further rights to come down the line.

NPR published the following article outlining some examples of why this debate is incredibly heated on both sides. For the often unbalanced news coverage NPR often spins (left-ward), this article is "just the facts."

When Gay Rights and Religious Liberties Clash (click to view)

It's an insightful and easy read to understand the implications of the pending Proposition. We need to all be informed and form our own opinions!

Unloading begins here --

So, I love this list. Right now the German supermarkets are full of fresh fruits from the region: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria. We've been through berries, pears, nectarines, peaches and are now into plums. I can't get enough.

This page talks about the benefits of eating seasonally. One interesting note was a study detailing how locally-grown seasonal foods often harmonize with our nutritional needs:

For example, the beta carotene in the orange pigment of pumpkins and other squash will help bolster your immune system just in time to help ward off winter colds. And the oils of nuts—fats in their purest form—will provide nutrient-rich calories that help keep you warm as the temperature drops.

This page details what to be looking for as Fall arrives, and a simple way to prepare the produce. It is print-worthy: take it to the produce section or local farmer's market and get outside of your apples, pears, tomatoes and zucchini. My tastebuds have already thanked me this Summer!

A new way to organize the internal space of my www discoveries

So, everyday I come across websites that I want to remember, come back to, or share with somebody else. There are plenty of options to keep them organized, like Digg or "Favorites," but I have hundreds of bookmarks and they usually never get revisited.

For the past while, I've been saving them as drafts in my gmail inbox, but that is rapidly unsuccessful, since I now have dozens of drafts. Annoying.

Solution I thought of this morning? Blog! This way I have a short and permanent place to keep things organized. I know I could use Twitter, but I'm not convinced I want to go that route yet.

So here goes my first:

Paolo Nutini
Great UK artist that we know but we don't know. He's been around for a looong time. Why isn't he more of a household name yet? Maybe cause I don't live in the UK.

This link is one of his more well-known songs, Daydream.

Here's a cute one (click to view) that makes me smile.

Cheers to a new blog/organizing system!