general

Hundreds of miners, activists, students, academics, environmentalists, and other citizens are marching to West Virginia's historic Blair Mountain in an effort to save it from mountaintop removal.

Awesome people. Vegetarians. Going mute. Here's a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

• Awesome people hanging out together.

• An alternative to abortion.

• Take a walk in Milan.

• Are you a new vegetarian? Some tips.

• Tom Hanks addresses Yale graduates.

• Kathy Khang shares more about her experience with depression.

• Simple and powerful: forgive.

• Don't you sometimes wish you could just hit the mute button?

• Sojourners' Enuma Okoro on Pentecost:

"Pentecost is God's 'show-and-tell' lesson that after the incarnation no one people has a purchase on the fullness of God. No single denomination, no one race, no one ethnicity, and no one socioeconomic group mediates God's fullness to the world. Diversity is an essential attribute of a Spirit-filled church (Acts 2:8,18)."

Here’s a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

• School lunches from around the world.

• Imagine an America in which all-female families survived the depression.

• Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, on Why Women Should Be In Charge.

• Speaking of commencement speeches, here are excerpts from Aron Ralston’s speech at my alma mater: “May your boulders be your blessings.“

• Fresh out of college, women still make less than men.

• Saudi women driving in protest.

• Withdrawal from Afghanistan gains congressional support.

• Want to work at Sojourners?

Here's a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

• One in four children in the United States are in poverty.

• Ben&Jerry's Ben Cohen talks to Sojourners about ice cream, oreos, and military spending.

• Female college graduates are getting paid less than their male peers.

• Is Capitalism's popularity waning?

• If your house was burning, what would you take with you? (My house almost burned down once. I had time to grab my computer, family photos, and a signed copy of Deadeye Dick.)

• Any winos out there?

• Have you ever been to Paris?

• I remain obsessed with tiny living. (Amazing!)

• Cathleen Falsani on the end of the world.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." (John 19:24-27)

Mother's Day is always fun when the kids are young -- the homemade crafts, the valiant efforts of breakfast making, and the conscientious attention a mother receives in contrast to the usual "being taken for granted" and "aww mom, do I have to" gestures. My son is a sweet boy -- caring, empathetic, and a rule follower. When I was pregnant with him, it was as if this little organism had invaded my whole body. I felt pregnant from head to toe -- migraines, severe morning sickness, bloody noses, swelled feet, strong cravings for watermelon, and oh yeah ... my favorite: constipation. Sorry if that is sharing too much, but like I said, I was literally pregnant from head to toe.

Monks. Al Franken. Oysters. Here's a little roundup of links from around the Web you may have missed this week:

• The Benedictine monks at Portsmouth Abbey take to the Internet in search of new recruits.

• What do you think about the Greg Mortenson controversy?

• iPhones can track your every move and Senator Al Franken is NOT happy about it.

• What would Congress look like if it really represented America?

• Should Christians celebrate Passover? And does an oyster belong on the Seder plate?

Here's a little round up of links from around the Web you may have missed this week: