Link Me Up, Scotty - Poverty, Joy and Service Edition

You may recall that I have a platonic crush on Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret), the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because he was the bomb-diggity when it came to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Well, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, he wrote an opinion column for the Washington Post entitled, At Gettysburg and today, no one who dies in service dies in vain. Required reading, shippies.
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The Atlantic on why poor people seem to make bad decisions on everything from school to finances. There's real insight in this research, as demonstrated by this fascinating commentary by a actual poor person trying to make ends meet.

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Eric Garland proves once again why he's my semi-celebrity platonic boyfriend with this essay on why he doesn't want anyone to buy him Christmas presents - ever. Word.

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Video of the Week: I love Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and I love flash mobs. Here's both of those things in one grin-inducing package, retrieved from the archives because I needed a pick-me-up: