John Nese is the Willy Wonka of carbonation. His L.A. specialty store offers more than 500 types of fizzy beverages -- but no Pepsi. (Chow.com) View

Get a haircut or play a game of checkers at this long-standing Washington, D.C. establishment. (Roll Call) View

Scouts comb farming villages offering winsome teenage girls the opportunity to become the next Gisele Bündchen. (NYT) View

Homeowners like Vicki Valentine are getting evicted, not because of unpaid mortgages, but because of small debts owed to local tax collectors. (Huffington Post) View

Fish farming seems like a natural enterprise for this island nation, but it took a hard-working consultant from Ivory Coast to make it happen. (Time) View

The Best Videojournalism Stories of 2009 ... Celebrating excellence in video, journalism and storytelling. View

After the housing market crashed, Robert Rudolph, 53, left his formerly prosperous career as a mortgage broker to pursue his first love: choir music. (AARP) View

For Phan Plork, using his shrimp boat and crew for oil cleanup is filthy and dangerous work, and pays only half of what he made before BP fouled the Gulf of Mexico. (LAT) View

After unhappily struggling to balance career with homemaking, a Minnesota mom decides to host women's parties to hawk sex aids. View

While their post-college plans aren't working out, young adults take a hard look at their realistic employment options for the future. (Nashville Tennessean) View

North Dakota is the place to be if you want to make money -- but finding a place to live is another matter. (NYT) View

Pulled back from disaster, the determined U.S. auto industry enters a new age. Multimedia series looks in the rear-view mirror ... and at the rough road ahead. (Detroit Free Press) View