Top Online Reads & Sees

Students See Hard Future if Free Fares Are Ended
Sharon Otterman, December 17, 2009, The New York Times

When Alejandro Velazquez, 15, was selecting a high school last year, he decided on Washington Irving in Manhattan because of its strong Spanish-English bilingual program. It was a 40-minute trip from his home in the Bronx, but his mother assented, in part because he could travel free.

His family’s calculus, he said, would have been different had he needed to pay $40 a month or more to get to and from school, a reality that will begin next fall if budget cuts passed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Wednesday are carried out. ...

7 Soldiers Cited in Pregnancy Ban on Soldiers in Iraq
MSN Lifestyle, msnbc.com staff and news service reports, December 22, 2009

Four female and three male soldiers in northern Iraq have been reprimanded for disobeying a ban on pregnancies, but the general in charge of troops there has backed off an earlier threat of courts-martial and prison time for such cases. ...

Hairstyle How-To: Sleek Evening Ponytail
By Danilo, Pantene celebrity hairstylist

This no-fuss, sophisticated style is easy to create at home and works well for both the office and all of your after-work events. Get more hair inspiration here.

A ponytail is a quick style that can be enhanced with jeweled combs or decorative pins. Since more attention will be drawn to your face, compliment this simple style by playing up your eyes. ...

DirecTV Thrives On 'Deception,' Lawsuit Alleges
By Bob Sullivan, Friday, December 18, 2009 MSNBC The Red Tape Chronicles

A lawsuit filed this week by Washington state against DirecTV could have a secondary purpose: It could serve as a textbook for consumers on tricks companies play to take their money.

The suit filed by Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna alleges so many forms of misbehavior that he thinks DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV provider, has "built deception into their business model." ...

Food History: How Your Favorite Foods (and One Appliance) Were Invented
By Lauren Donaldson, MSN Delish

Did you know one of your beloved candies was intended as an anti-smoking treat? Or that chocolate chip cookies were discovered by mistake? Check out the strange beginnings of some of your fave foods and one appliance you probably wouldn't want to live without. ...

Top 10 Fave Online Articles

Ever email links to cool or intriguing online articles to yourself? I do it all the time.

Every time I open Mozilla Firefox, I am welcomed by MSN. I often get caught up for hours on the MSN home page clicking on catchy phrases that link me to 'quick-read' online articles. Don't get me started on AOL.

So I am starting a weekly post of links to my Top 10 most recent favorite articles.

These articles may talk about anything from makeup and celebrities to tragic events and miracle stories. The articles often give me advice and some insight into my own life, the lives of others, and the world around me. Some even reference events in my life (see picture above and my #1 article for this week).

I mean, I might as well do something with these links instead of letting them languish in emails I send to myself and rarely ever open again.

My TOP 10 FAVE ONLINE ARTICLES begins today.

10. Subway wants your breakfast business
Wallet Pop, Nov 11th 2009 at 5:00PM
By Tom Barlow
In our homeland of the obese, the lunch and dinner business is saturated, so fast food retailers are looking to the breakfast market to make better use of their retail locations. ...

9. The Savings Experiment - Paper Towel Smack Down: Which leading brand gives the best bang for the buck?
Wallet Pop, Nov 2nd 2009 at 4:00PM
By Andrea Chalupa
If you're like me, you like to eat Nutella at your desk, out of the jar and offer your spoon to any busybody co-worker who walks by, looking disgusted. ...

8. The Savings Experiment - Can modern coupon clippers beat savers of the past?
Wallet Pop, Nov 9th 2009 at 1:15PM
By Julia Scott
Coupon clipping is soooo in. But if you've never done it, the whole process is kind of mysterious. How does one become a coupon diva? Watch our video savings experiment, then follow the simple five steps I outline and you'll be saving a bunch in no time. ...

7. Paperless Wall Street Gets Ticker Tape Bailout
Sphere, November 5, 2009
By Buck Wolf
Add this to the many problems confronting Wall Street: There's no ticker tape for a ticker tape parade -- and a shortage of open windows. ...

6. First U.S. marijuana cafe opens for business in Portland
Daily Finance, Nov 15th 2009 at 10:15AM
By Tom Johansmeyer
Cancel your flight to Amsterdam – the U.S. just got its first marijuana cafe on Friday. Located in Portland, Ore., the Cannabis Cafe shows how attitudes have changed. ...

5. Apology for Kids Shipped From Britain
AOL News, November 16, 2009
By Jill Lawless, AP
CANBERRA, Australia (Nov. 15) - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a historic apology Monday to thousands of impoverished British children shipped to Australia with the promise of a better life, only to suffer abuse and neglect thousands of miles from home. ...

4. It's prime time for colorful meteor shower
MSNBC, Technology and Science/Space, November 16, 2009
By Robert Roy Britt
One of the best annual meteor showers will peak in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and for some skywatchers the show could be quite impressive. ...

3. Is Sexual Abuse By Women on the Rise?
Sphere, November 16, 2009
By Willem Marx
Are there more "female sex beasts preying on children," as the British tabloid Daily Star put it recently? ...

2. Woman's Health Horror: 'My Vagina Fell Out'
Sphere, Nov. 6
By Buck Wolf
Allison Henry isn't the first to suffer from a horrifying medical condition that few women talk about. She's just one of the few brave souls willing to come forward, so that others will have the courage to seek help. ...

1. Hundreds Line Up For Charmin(R) Open Auditions to Work in Times Square for $10,000 Salary
Holiday Job-Seekers Showcase Their Love-of-the-Loo in Hopes of Working in the Charmin Restrooms
AOL News, posted: November 16, 2009

New York, Nov. 5, PR Newswire - Source: P & G

Today, Charmin, America's favorite toilet paper brand, held open auditions in NYC as part of a national job search to find five outgoing and enthusiastic people to work in Times Square at the Charmin Restrooms this holiday season for a salary of $10,000 each! Hundreds of holiday-job-hopefuls lined up to take part in the "potty-pandemonium," each trying to convince judges that they enjoy going to the bathroom so much -- whether it be to catch up on reading or just enjoy some "me time" -- they never want to leave. ...