Dubai a city built on sand

clipped from current.com Before the desert sands close over its luxury follies, lessons should be learned – number one, don't believe the hype. Was anywhere heading for a fall so obviously as Dubai? Yet why did no one ever scream? Why did everyone just marvel? When I first visited the place three years ago, it was already the most dangerous speculative bubble on earth. Breakneck building – using reputedly a quarter of the world's cranes – was sustained on hysterical public relations and $80bn of debt. By last March the signs of impending doom were everywhere. Property and stock market prices were falling and only the PR firms were still sustaining morale, witness a cringing ITV documentary by Piers Morgan and grovelling coverage of Sol Kerzner's "world's biggest" hotel launch. Building projects worth a reported $300bn were stopping work overnight. And so castles made of sand...fall in the sea....eventually..... .....the Great Jimi Hendrix......

Laugh!

No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad.

You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.

With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.

Laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.

Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place.

Laughing is one of my MOST favourite things to do, no doubt about it.

clipped from www.quotegarden.com I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.  At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit.  The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. Laughter is an instant vacation.  Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. When people are laughing, they're generally not killing each other. Laughter gives us distance.  It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. A hearty laugh gives one a dry cleaning, while a good cry is a wet wash. There can never be enough said of the virtues, dangers, the power of a shared laugh. I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth." Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks.  A man isn't poor if he can still laugh.  A laugh is a smile that bursts. Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.  Laugh clipped from www.youtube.com

New species of chameleon discovered after snake coughs it up in front of startled scientist

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Discovered: The new species - Kinyongia magomberae - was discovered when it popped out of the mouth of a twig snake in front of British scientist Dr Andrew Marshall A twig snake puffed out, which it does when it feels threatened. They can grow to a length of 3ft

Wonderful Ways to Use Epsom Salts

clipped from www.care2.com Relaxing and sedative bath Foot soak Soak sprains and bruises clipped from www.care2.com Face cleaner: To clean your face at night, mix a half-teaspoon of epsom salt with your regular cleansing cream Homemade skin mask 1 tablespoon of cognac, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of non-fat dry milk, the juice of 1 lemon, and a half-teaspoon of epsom salt. For normal to dry skin, mix 1/4 cup of grated carrot, 1 1/2 teaspoons of mayonnaise and a half-teaspoon of epsom salt. Skin exfoliator clipped from www.care2.com Remove excess oil from hair 9 tablespoons of epsom salt to 1/2 cup of oily hair shampoo. Apply one tablespoon of the liquid to your hair when it is dry; rinse with cold water. Pour lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar through the hair, leave on for 5-10 minutes, and then rinse. Remove hairspray Hair volumizer

A Cat, A Dog, and a 'Starless Night'

by Carl Luc Campbell

clipped from www.vimeo.com

I DO NOT

This is a perfect example of how slow and difficult social change is.

But these little girls have stood up to be counted as worthy to claim their childhood and the right to choose their own partner and their own life.

I can't imagine the type of courage that must take.

clipped from www.latimes.com Her fate was all but sealed, the wedding bells ringing in her relatives' heads. Then the bride-to-be, a little girl playing in the dirt in this impoverished village, plucked up her courage and said, "I do not." The British Raj tried to stamp it out. Mohandas Gandhi, himself a child groom, campaigned against it. The United Nations has condemned it. And in 2006, the Indian government explicitly banned it. But child marriage remains pervasive in India, accounting for one-third of such unions worldwide and underscoring the contradictions and complexities of a society that produces cutting-edge engineers even as it clings to feudal traditions. "These girls are very brave," said Sarita Singh, secretary of the Rajasthan state Department of Child and Women Development. "There are enormous social forces working against them."

Time gets better with age

clipped from home.att.net TIME GETS BETTER WITH AGE Read it through to the end, it gets better as you go! I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sings "Silent Night". Age 5 I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either. Age 7 I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. Age 9 I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again. Age 12 I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. Age 14 I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me. Age 15 I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice. Age 24 I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures. Age 26 I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there. Age 29