So, it wasn't exactly the best week, news-wise. But no more of that. Purge your memory banks -- for just a moment, anyway -- of all the legislative close calls and market dives and downgrades. Seriously. For now, just enjoy a reprieve from all the doom and gloom, and check out these life-affirming items:
- A couple from Seattle decided it was time for a change, so they gathered up their savings and traveled the world, recording their experiences in this breathtaking four-minute clip, "Wanderlust." [The Atlantic]
Wanderlust from Thinklab on Vimeo.
- Watch in wonder as domesticated dogs go to battle against their longtime nemesis: bubbles. [BuzzFeed]
- Last June, Andre the turtle was found stranded and near death after what appears to have been two separate boat collisions. After a year of rehab, scientists released the "miracle turtle" back into the wild this week. [AP]
- In other aquatic news: As part of a religious ceremony, a group of Tibetan Buddhists released 534 lobsters from captivity, dropping them over the side of a whale-watching boat off the coast of Massachusetts. [Reuters]
- Those worried about the "robot apocalypse" can just relax for a second. Not only are the machines not violently overthrowing us -- now they're making us cookies. [Huffington Post]
- Benefactors in New York City, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and billionaire George Soros, will contribute a total of $127 million to bolster programs for young black and Latino men. [AP]
- The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, bequeathers of the Golden Globes, donated $1.5 million to nearly four dozen arts-relate charities on Thursday. [AP]
- Last, but not least: It wouldn't be a week in the life of the Internet without a little bit of YouTube-generated animal whimsy, now would it? [Huffington Post]
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