A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday… Which is greener, a meat or a veggie burger? Theory on politically-influenced baby names

-o- Happy day after Mother’s Day -o-

I have an absolutely wonderful mother. I got to spend Saturday evening with her and the rest of my family at a gala supporting Single Carrot Theater in Baltimore. We also had a wonderful brunch Sunday morning. My mom is a beautiful, kind, patient, capable, sweet, intelligent, and endlessly forgiving woman. I hope she and all the other mothers in the world had a lovely weekend.

Bonues: Nature’s toughest mothers from BBC.

-o- Which is greener: a steak or a veggie burger? -o-

If you love the planet, you love veggies… right? Conventional wisdom holds that beef – factory raised, hormone injected, delicious delicious beef – is terrible for the planet and you’re terrible for eating each raw tasty morsel. However, people are beginning to realize that its the overproduction of food that destroys its ‘green-ness.’

Raw veggies are of course the best for the energy-in energy-out ratio, but veggie burgers and all of the processes required to make them taste like beef could be worse that grass-fed beef people are trying to replace it with.

Experts weigh in on a Mother Jones forum.

-o- Top 10 Twitter pics of the week from Mashable’s Charlie White -o-

These are always so fun. Love Beyonce’s dress. Check them out: Slideshow.

-o- According to The Washington Post, graduates are facing a better markets this year -o-

Finally some good news on the employment front. While the recession has been relatively easy on those with higher degrees, matriculating students still didn’t have it easy. Now, students graduating have better chances of finding jobs than those who have graduated in the last three years. Here’s the article from The Washington Post.

-o- Van Halen’s “No Brown M&Ms backstage rule” -o-

Turns out he had a really good reason: Over-sexed over drugged rockstars try to get away with whatever they can. While that may regularly be the case, Van Halen’s brown M&Ms were really an ingenuous idea to detect venue neglect. If you haven’t heard the rumors and reasons… check out the NPR piece and video.

-o- Partisan divide in baby-naming? -o-

This is really kind of funny. Is nothing off limits? It’s not that people are consciously giving their kids  political names like Bill O’Rights, Ellie Phants, or Don Q. Kong (hmmm…). However political divides apparently influence parents and the names they give their kids. To find out how and to determine if you agree, see the NPR article.

-o- Cooking this week: Pasta Salad -o-

Here’s a Pasta Pomodoro salad from The Parsley Thief; we plan to add some shredded rotisserie chicken. Mmmmm. Doesn’t this look incredible?

(Image credit: The Parsley Thief)

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Thanks to Brian for helping me out this week… and happy four-year anniversary to my perfect man.

A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday… Supermoon pictures, 20-year-old lands Harry Potter-reminiscent 7-book deal

-o- What they don’t tell you in commencement speeches -o-

You just wasted 100k and four years. Not really, but check out some sage advice from a former speechwriter and current professor. Best nugget: “Your parents don’t want what is best for you. They want what is good for you, which isn’t always the same thing.” Here’s the WSJ article.

-o- Saturday night Supermoon pics -o-

The latest installment from Stephanie Meyer… er… I mean, a yearly phenomenon that yielded some awesome pictures.

Here’s a gallery from The Washington Post; More photographs from The Guardian.

-o- How tech have advancements have changed student life -o-

Check out this awesome infographic from Mashable. Many of the stats aren’t surprising, but a few will make you think. For example, 12 million college students are currently taking at least one online class.

There are also a bunch of cool apps, including one allowing students to calculate the specific grade needed on a test to pass a class.

-o- Wired How-To Wiki: Surviving at Sea -o-
The Last Resort: Cannibalism.. Hopefully this never happens to you, unless maybe you’re the kind of jerk that mocks people it has happened to. Either way, get ready to eat things raw. Top Menu item: Joe with a side of hallucination and PTSD

Fun/scary: here’s the wiki.

-o- The Hunger Games makes ALA’s list of most-banned books -o-

Lets make a deal. If you find a book offensive, don’t read it! Apparently some people have found The Hunger Games to be “anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence.” Violent, sure. It’s about a voyeuristic battle royale. But “anti-family”? Come on people.

Read the CNN article.

-o- Kids hating classic books on Twitter -o-

Do everyone a favor and hate on them for awhile. Here’s the collection from Publisher’s Weekly.

-o- 20-year-old student lands 7-book deal with Rowling’s publisher -o-

Because we always love waiting for the next best. Seriously though, all power to her and I hope her books make me as happy as Rowling’s did. Here’s the article from the Daily Mail.

-o- Cooking this week -o-

Black Bean Roasted Garlic Guacamole. Purist, schmurist… this looks amazing. Thanks, MaggiesOneButtKitchen!

(Source: MaggiesOneButtKitchen)

A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday…The Great NJ Toilet Paper Shortage, Smartphone Slaves

-o-Guest writer-o-

The generally jocular Jen is out of town this week, so her partner, Brian, will be stepping in to bring you all of the funny things that happened on the way to this Monday. You may remember him from such wonderful posts as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and San Francisco. (I’m the one in the middle)

-o- New Jersey’s Budget Battle-o-

A budget stalemate among legislators in Trenton, NJ has led to a shortage of toilet paper. Usually these hyperbolic budget battles only have esoteric consequences, like the default of the U.S. government, by NJ has found a way to bring it a little closer to home. An inability to approve a paper products budget has led to the capital building only having enough toilet paper to last the week. Perhaps they can wipe with their nonsense bills, or common sense, or maybe there’s an app for that…

Check out Time‘s article.

-o-Smartphone Slaves-o-

A new article in The Economist sheds light on the downside of hyper-connectiveness. When you are expected to be on email all day, where is the line between home and work? Is it a good idea for managers institute the last-minute changes to products and force their underlyings to implement whatever new change he’s thought up? I, thankfully, don’t have a smart phone because I believe they destroy souls, but for those of you who do, think of ways to unplug…for a few hours…for your sanity

(Source: The Economist.com)

Check it out: http://www.economist.com/node/21549904

-o-SXSW-o-

For those of you not cool enough to know, SXSW stands for south by southwest, the annual technology convention in Austin Texas. Last year over 20,000 people attended and in 2007, SXSW launched twitter into internet stardom. So check out their website.

(Source: Caitlin Kenney/NPR)

-o-Leftist comedy-o-

A SXSW panel asked the question: is political comedy inherently leftist? The internet has of course seen some truly despicable and racist Obama jokes, but typically, when we see political satire its lampooning republicans or conservative values. Maybe liberalism just naturally inhabits the comedic vanguard? Maybe its nothing more than bad timing… left-wing nut jobs just aren’t as plentiful as right-wing nut jobs in this day and age?

Decide for yourself: Article

-o-And on a lighter note-o-

Just a ‘for fun’ thing to check out: America’s richest counties.

Most are in and around DC, so that’s cool for us.

A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday… Top eBooks of 2011; The Washington Post’s Christmas Myths

-o- Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry fail to collect 10,000 signatures in VA
I’m no fan of these men, but I was surprised and even felt kind of bad for them when I got the alerts informing me of their failures to meet the requirements (10,000 signatures on a petition) to appear on the Virginia primary ballot. Here’s the CNN video.

I know people who still think Gingrich will get the nomination, though I think Romney is still a more likely nominee.  Especially now:  is Gingrich’s story of his divorce from his first wife true? CNN‘s take.

Anyone want to weigh in?

-o- Random House’s  Best-Selling eBooks of 2011
The top mystery/thriller eBook this year is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The top science fiction/fantasy eBook is A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. The bestselling history eBook this year is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.

See all the lists on their site.

-o- The Washington Post‘s 5 Myths about Christmas

• Myth #1: Christmas is the most religiously significant Christian holiday.
• Myth #2: Religious authorities agree on the circumstances of Christ’s birth.
• Myth #3: Jesus was an only child.
• Myth #4: The secularization of Christmas is a recent occurrence.
• Myth #5: “Midnight mass” is still held at midnight.

I think a few of this are a big broad/ambiguous, but they are interesting to read! Visit their website to read more.

-o- Incredible Sporting Images
BBC News posted a selection of awesome pictures from sporting events from Getty Images’ archives. Views them all here.

(Of course, I love the second one the most! )

-o- Newsworthy Male Faces of the Year
Also from BBC – 12 men who populated the news this year. The featured headlines include screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar win for The Social Network and Herman Cain’s suspension of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

See them all here.

-o- Some of The Washington Post’s best photography of 2011
See the selection here.

-o- Twitter: A Year in Review from Mashable
Mashable collected a list of 2011 Twitter milestones, from the #Occupy phenomenon to their new record for most tweets per second.

Check out the gallery.