The chill has come to stay in New York. But people aren't cozying up with coffee and remarking at the emerging holiday decorations. Everyone's worried about the auto bailout and watching the stock market go nuts once again. Here are some stories to distract you from the chill in the economy.

If you can induct a stick into the Hall of Fame you can give it as a present: Back in the day, kids played outdoors and were creative with whatever they found. Now their found object of choice — a tree branch, or maybe their own Stick Stickly — is being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. It's praised for its "open-ended use," and clearly it's revered by all parents for being free.

How we got here: Mint does a good job showing how we ended up in this financial crisis with their fancy flow chart.

Politics versus cash: This guest post at Clever Dude poses a pretty great question — would you publicly proclaim your support for the candidate you didn't support in return for $10,000? I'm with the poster in saying, yes, yes I would take the money and run. But would you?

Animal Cookies crumbled: Say goodbye to Mother's Cookies classic bag of white and pink Circus Animal cookies. The company filed for bankruptcy last month. Sure, we can find other generic animal cookie to bite the head off, but it won't be the same.

A dollar coin for your thoughts: Free Money Finance asks its readers if they use the new U.S. dollar coins. Are they practical or a burden? Check out the discussion that sparked on the post.

-- Susie Bafico