Grad Watch on the NYT

We all love the The New York Times in our own unique ways. Some people enjoy buying the enormous Sunday edition, throwing away almost all of it, and then pretending to do the crossword while they drink Hoegaardens or soy lattes at outdoor cafes. Others believe that Frank Bruni is the magnificent lovechild of Delia Smith and Emeril Lagasse, and they savor his words like morsels of white truffle crostini. And some people claim to read the entire thing, a task that literally requires being unemployed.

So, why do I read The New York Times? For you, of course! In case you missed them, here are a few items I thought might be of interest this week:

How to Survive in New York on 99 cents. Henry Alford’s quest to create a dinner party using only ingredients in 99-cent stores. A real chef and his team of assistants also got in on the action, whipping up 5 dishes and 3 desserts for $40. Since you never know what you’re going to find in stock at one of these culinary bargain bins, cooking with $0.99 ingredients requires a little ingenuity, but no one said it was easy to be the budget Iron Chef. For those who don’t live in New York, you know the saying: “If you can make it there (on 99 cents), you’ll make it anywhere.”

So You Want to Be a Blogging Star? If you want to start blogging about anything, whether it’s tech news or your quest to visit every Dunkin’ Donuts in Massachusetts (don’t steal that idea—it’s mine), check out these tips from Mark Cuban and other people who have successfully navigated the fickle fancies of the ‘net.

Finding Health Insurance If You Are Self-Employed. Being an young entrepreneur or small business owner seems like the jam until you realize that you have no benefits and no HR to run to crying. Check out this article for some ideas of how to navigate this potentially perilous situation.

Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar. Are “green collar” jobs just blue collar jobs that spun in the washing machine for too long, or are they the wave of the future?