Here's a collection of images from around the world. Hopefully to remind you that there's more to life than simply bickering over politics, complaining about the weather and getting stuck in traffic.

**Yes, there will be a post about the Coalition against the Conservatives - Just not now**







((AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) / December 2, 2008)
A rare positioning of planets Venus (top left) and Jupiter (top right) and the crescent moon of the Earth provides a "smiley" effect that captivated Asia Monday night Dec. 2, 2008.









"Forever Enthralled" Premiered
(ELIZABETH DALZIEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A performer dressed in full Peking Opera costume takes part in a press conference for the movie world premier of Director Chen Kaige's new movie "Mei Lanfang" in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Dec. 2.Mei lanfang, English title is "Forever Enthralled". The movie marks top Chinese director Chen Kaige's comeback attempt after his last movie, the epic fantasy movie "The Promise" was panned by critics three years ago.






Foreclosure Squatters
(J PAT CARTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Marie Nadine Pierre holds her baby, Nennon, as she looks out the window of the "people-less" house where she is living in Miami, last week. Pierre is squatting in a bank foreclosed house.










Venus Aligns with the Moon
(DIMITAR DILKOFF, AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
This photo taken in Sofia on December 1, shows a slender crescent moon 15-percent illuminated in close proximity Jupiter (small white dot at L) behind the cross of the golden domed Alexander Nevski cathedral. Astronomers refer to this rare phenomenon as an "occultation," taken from the Latin word occultare, which means "to conceal." This eye-catching sight is be visible in complete darkness across much of Eastern Europe.





Hillary Clinton Officially nominated for Secretary of State
(JIM WATSON, AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
President elect Barack Obama, flanked by Vice-President elect Joseph Biden (L) and Senator Hillary Clinton at a press conference in Chicago, Illinios, on December 1. Obama nominated his former rival Hillary Clinton to be the next US secretary of state, as he unveiled a raft of cabinet picks.




Golf in High-Altitude Bolivia
(JOAO PADUA, AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Marta Mamani, an aymara indigenous woman, hits a drive during her work break at La Paz Golf Club on November 26. La Paz Golf Club is considered to be the highest one in the world, with courses ranging from 3,277 to 3,342 meters above sea level. Founded in 1912, the Club sits in the upscale district of southern La Paz, and its exclusive facilities receive the local elite.



Flooding in Venice
(ANDREA PATTARO, AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
People walk in a street of Venice during floods on December 1. Authorities in the Italian city of Venice issued a flood alert, warning that the sea was due to rise 1.60 meters above its normal level, the highest for 30 years.






Beijing Charity Concert For Quake Disabled Children
(China Photos/Getty Images / November 30, 2008)
Deaf dancers from Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe perform the 'Thousand-hand Goddess of Mercy' during a charity concert held for the disabled children injured in the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.












Brazilian floods
(TOBIAS MATHIES, EFE / November 27, 2008)
A vehicle is stalled in the flood waters in Brazil. The governor of the Brazilian state of Holy Catarina declared a state of emergency today in the twelve municipalities most affected by the rains that have killed more than to 100 people,






Environment activists
(PAVEL RAHMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS / November 27, 2008)
Members of Bangladesh Kormojibi Nari, or women workers, stage a demonstration wearing masks of the leaders of G-8 nations, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They demand a drastic cut in emission of green house gases by industrialized nations and compensation to poor nations hit by impacts of climate change.