"Unless you love what you do, you can't really be good at what you do." Advice for the Class of 2012 (and the rest of us, too).

Sometimes you just have celebrate your right to say "whatever" to makeup and contacts. Even if you're famous.

Keep that Mother's Day glow going with these amazing, and yes, adorable, animal mothers.

Maya Angelou with a muppet, anyone? Silly photos of serious writers.

Strive to be a vessel of love...and other ways to infuse your every day existence with spirituality.

The Life-Lifter: “It’s just been a rough struggle to make ends meet...I may have been fated to find it.” An unemployed man makes a life-changing thrift store find: a signed Picasso.

Go on, talk yourself up. It's scientifically proven to make you feel better.

Are you ready for Mother's Day? Are you ready for your breakfast in bed? Are you ready for...oatmeal with lemons?

The football player who got signed to the Tampa Bay Bucaneers -- after becoming paralyzed.

Savory zucchini pie. Blueberry focaccia. The best brunch recipes, right here.

The Life-Lifter: This 13-year-old translated a bad case of the hiccups into her own start-up company.

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.



* You don't have to like sports or pop music to enjoy the delightful video of the Harvard baseball team dancing to "Call Me Maybe." (NewNowNext)

* As he contemplates his first Mother's Day since his own mother's death, writer Saeed Jones learns how "grief can turn holidays against us"—and why that's not necessarily a bad thing. (Ebony)

* Meet Ashok Gadgil, a little-known inventor whose work is helping to improve the developing world. (Co.Exist)

* Nina Totenberg's father, the renowned violinist and teacher, passed away this week at the age of 101; over at NPR she's shared a lovely remembrance of his remarkable life. (NPR)

* "Well, I've got a lot of callings."—Chef Charlie Trotter explains why he's closing his Chicago restaurant after 25 successful years to return to academia. (Marketplace)

Pay-what-you-wish restaurant offers meals with a side of restoring-your-faith-in-humanity.

Sometimes you find a motto for life in the most unexpected of places.

Whether you missed the super-moon or just miss it: the best photographs from all around the world.

The most delightful, silly, strange new sport: cardboard tube battles. Yes, it's just what it sounds like.

A new interactive billboard allows you to bravely save a victim of domestic abuse. Well, virtually, but still, it's good practice.

The Life-Lifter: "Hope can change everything." A brush with death lead to this Michigan woman's discovery of her life's purpose.

Photo: Maggie Mason of Mighty Girl

I've always had a weird aversion to "Things to Do Before I Die" lists, I think because of my type B+ personality: part of me thinks an ambitious list of to-do's sounds exhilarating and affirming and would send me rushing to a hot air balloon/Africa/a Spanish class, but  part of me is a little stressed out by this idea, and thinks, "Oy, I can barely get through my list of household chores, who needs more to do? Aren't I just going to be disappointed in myself when I don't check everything off? I think I'll go to bed early instead." But happening upon the excellent Mighty Life List of Mighty Girl blogger Maggie Mason the other day made me want to put "Make mightier life list" on my list of things to do.

Mighty Girl has compiled a truly mighty list of 100 things she wants to do before she goes (so much nicer than just calling it a bucket list, or including the word "die" in the title). What is really great about this list is the way it combines the practical—take a drawing class, buy a stock, take care of health issues—with the outrageous—go parasailing, attend a sky lantern festival in Thailand. It seems important (as I study the way she's crafted this list) to include things that can be done immediately—such as a try a new fruit—with a dose of super-charged ambitious—try 1000 new fruits. And here is what makes this list truly mighty, is that over all, the theme seems to be not acquiring Big Life Experiences like collector's items, but rather in infusing a life with a sense of possibility. Mason is not looking to do a bunch of things to impress people, although her adventures scuba-diving and zip-lining are pretty amazing. Rather, she seems to be looking to make life more gracious, to encourage herself to live generously. Get in the habit of large loving gestures, her list reminds us. Make 1,000 lovely things.

Another great thing about her list? It's not like it's the only thing she's doing. She gets distracted by other projects. She writes about lots of other stuff. And now and then she dusts off the list and does something wonderful. This was a revelation: of course! Life is long! The list can sometimes languish! How freeing!

So here is what this Mighty List has taught me about the Life List concept. It's okay if you put things on the list that you're maybe not going to get to. In fact, that's part of the whole idea. The List is not about stressing yourself out because you didn't ride in a hot air balloon before you hit 30. Rather, the List is about encouraging yourself to live a little more mightily. To try a new fruit. Try 1,000 new fruits. Even if you only get to 100, hey, that'll be 100 fruits more than you would have tried otherwise.

More Lists to Make:
Your Magic List
The Bliss List
A Done List
A Bucket List

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Illustration: CRAIG & KARL

* The New York Times Magazine put together a guide to relief-pitch facial hair. Do you prefer the King Tut or the Wyatt Earp? (NYTimes)

* Watch this video of Newark Mayor Cory Booker reciting a poem he wrote about hometown hero Bruce Springsteen, and then take back everything unkind you've ever said about New Jersey. (Facebook.com/CoryBooker)

* Any Perfect Strangers fans out there in need of a mood boost? This videogame is a great reminder that nothing's gonna stop you now.  (NothingsGonnaStopMeNow)

* "When I was writing the Cider House Rules, I realized, 'You seem to work best with a last sentence.' And once I know, like a piece of music, what it sounds like at the end where I'm going, I make a kind of roadmap in reverse back to where the story should begin. So far that last sentence has never changed. Never. I see that last sentence and I write towards it, it's waiting for me." Time spends a morning at home with John Irving. (Time)

Feeling unappreciated? Sick of wasting time on mindless things? Release your inner Pigeon of Discontent.

Their religion forbids a traditional prom, but an all-girl dance allowed these girls to really let their hair down. Literally.

"You have control over your own actions, your own well-being." Michelle Obama and other powerful women on getting unstuck.

A little shot of "wow": Photographs that reveal the warped beauty of the world.

“The math will radically change, and we may well eliminate the problem.” How Facebook is about to start saving lives.

The Life-Lifter: Seeing-eye dogs are awesome. But what's even more awesome is when a labrador is the seeing-eye dog for...a golden retriever.

Introducing...Oprah's Thank You Game! We're trying to thank half a billion people worldwide. Why? When you come from a place of gratitude, you see the world anew. Gratitude even changes your brain, so you're better able to see the good in others. Imagine how that can change the planet! How does the game work? Thank someone—anyone—in real life. Then, click the Thank You button on Facebook.com/owntv and report it. Each day you can record your thank you(s) and participate in the Daily Thank You Challenge. See your gratitude spread across the world. Plus, play for a chance to get a personal thank you from Oprah!

Handle things once. Skip the morning news. Plus more why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas for adding up to 7 hours to your day.

Inspiration for non-gorging uses for leftover candy: Gummy stained glass.

The feeling you get when you have no idea what you’re doing even though it’s somehow working. Expressed in pug form.

Talk about a bad-mood-buster: behold this lovely video of the range of light at Yosemite. Who knew there were so many stars?

The Life-Lifter: "I didn't know what a good teacher was until I saw the way you taught." Two teachers who changed the lives of students from troubled backgrounds. May we all give so much at our day jobs!

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Photo: Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

* "When it comes to apologies, no one gets a pass in this life. Everyone deserves one, and everyone needs to give one." This remarkable story about a teacher, a student, and a 39-year-old lesson in forgiveness proves it's never too late to say you're sorry. (The Oregonian)

* Say hello to Iceberg, the only ever-seen, all-white adult male Orca. (YouTube)

* Last weekend the police and fire departments in Arlington, TX found themselves under siege from the Joker, Riddler, and a few other notorious bad guys. They called in the help of Batman, who, when he's not saving his city, is also known as Kye, a 7-year-old with leukemia. (Nixle)

* And here is your daily smile: Alphonso Ribiero (you recognize him as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) leads a flashmob in doing—you guessed it—the Carlton. (Vulture)