VersesOverCoffee

"...confirmed last week that $29 million of the national post-tsunami recovery fund had been allotted to the whaling industry..." Nice to know ~$30million are going towards slaughtering endangered sea life while there are still people living in shelters from the disaster.

"Who says that other species don't celebrate Christmas? What about these amazing creatures. Called Christmas Tree Worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) they live on and in coral."

"Four robots have set out on an epic 33,000 nautical mile (66,000km) journey across the Pacific Ocean.

Created by US firm Liquid Robotics, the four are aiming to set the record for the longest distance at sea travelled by an unmanned craft.

Throughout their journey the robots will gather lots of data about the composition and quality of sea water.

The journey is expected to take about 300 days, and is designed to inspire researchers to study ocean health."

"Mary Blair played a big role in the early days of Disney. The painter and concept designer drove the style of "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Peter Pan." Many other artists worked on those films. But she had a special place in Walt Disney's heart.

Friday marks what would have been her 100th birthday. Google celebrated with a Google Doodle in the colorful and playful style that made her so essential to Disney.

When Ms. Blair received her own exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco a year ago, the curators introduced the show with some high praise: "The case is filled with treasures from Mary Blair who, according to some historians, was Walt Disneyâ€s favorite artist!""

"Jobs prefaced his Stanford remarks by saying: "I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation." He then told three brief stories - the first about how he had been adopted as an infant; the second about being fired from Apple; the third about being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Three serious reversals that illustrated rejection, exclusion, and near extinction. But he gave significance to each one, saying how it sent him into the wilderness, strengthened him, made him the lateral thinker and innovator we know him to be.
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"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life," Jobs said toward the end of the Stanford speech. "Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important... There is no reason not to follow your heart."

Healthy for us, healthy for the earth... And with this many yummy veggie recipes - easy to go more than 1 day/wk without meat!

"Rango, Industrial Light and Magicâ€s first fully animated film. Written by John Logan, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and a slew of famed character actors, the film tells the story of Rango (Depp), a pet lizard lost in the desert who lies his way into becoming the sheriff of a western town. Things go well as he uses luck, gumption, and improvisational skills to fake his way through the job, but when someone steals the townâ€s water supply, Rango is forced to become a real hero."