Linky Goodness

Need a diversion? Check out the sites that have been lifting our spirits this week.

The World Needs all Kinds of Minds
Temple Grandin suffers from autism and in her talk at the 2010 TED (Technology, Entertinment, Design) conference raises the point that this diagnosis should not be regarded as a negative, but as something to be embraced. “She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.”

This nearly 20-minute video is a life-changer and well worth your time/download usage. Make yourself a cuppa and prepare to have your ideas challenged.

Top 20 salads
I love bringing my lunch to work with me but I find it a challenge to keep things interesting as well as quick and easy. I went through a phase of making sandwiches in the morning before work, but I may have overdone it a little because the thought of a sandwich has been incredibly unappealing for many months now, so I’ve been looking for salads that I can put together in the office kitchen without too much fuss. My favourite at the moment is cannellini beans, basil, feta and cherry tomatoes with a balsamic/olive oil dressing. It tastes like summer and is incredibly filling. I was worried that I was going to get sick of this salad, too, and started looking around for other ideas when voila! I stumbled on this wonderful site.

20 incredibly nutritious and easy to prepare salads that can be made at home before work or in the office kitchen. I love the chickpea, rocket and parmesan salad – my go to favourite for summer BBQs – and altered it slightly for today’s lunch by replacing parmesan with tuna, and I have to say I enjoyed it just as much. The lemon brings out the nutty flavour of the chickpeas and gives the rocket extra pow!

You’ll definitely find something you love here.

The Cove
I’m so pleased that The Cove won an Oscar for Best Documentary feature. I finally got around to watching it over the weekend and was incredibly impressed with the crew’s ingenuity and dedication. It’s not a film for the weepy though, as the dolphin slaughter in the final 15 minutes is breathtaking in its barbarism. Ric O’Barry, the man behind the movement to put a stop to this annual cull in Taiji – for “pest control” reasons (rubbish!!) – as well as the cruelty of whale and dolphin shows, has said that he hopes the attention the film will now garner will help spread the message in Japan, where many remain oblivious to dolphin hunting.

If you can bear it, I recommend watching The Cove. It is a riveting and eye-opening doco. If the plight of the dolphins moves you, go here and sign the petition.

Or go here for more information.

For Australian readers, you may also want to copy and paste the petition and send it to Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, who has discussed taking Japan to the International Court of Justice if it does not agree to cease whaling in the Southern Ocean by November. Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au
You can also contact Environment Minister Peter Garret who has spoken out at the International Whaling Commission previously. You can email him via a form on this page.

This Too Shall Pass – OK Go
This video clip has already had over 5 million views in the past week? Why? Because it’s bright, ingenious, uplifting and irrepressibly joyful. Come join the fun! http://bit.ly/aLcNkv