Newmark's Door

An interesting argument that Mom and Pop restaurants were helping make us fat long before McDonald's.

Those wild and crazy kids at UCLA had another "Undie Run". Here are some pictures.

More Left Coast news: the Big One seems ever more likely.

An economics professor and long-time reader of the Door is requesting book suggestions. Post 'em in the comments, or e-mail me. Here's his request:

For my class blog this spring I want to feature "good news" book reviews. The general idea is to review books that dispel pessimism with regard to the economy and economic growth. I will probably do one of these per week for the students.

Here is what I have so far:

1. Myths of Rich and Poor, by Cox and Alm

2. The Progress Paradox, by Easterbrook

3. It’s Getting Better all the Time, By Moore and Simon

4. The Improving State of the World, by Goklany

5. The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, by Fogel

6. The Skeptical Environmentalist by Lomborg

7. The State of Humanity, by Simon

"Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft".

Thomas Penfield Jackson, call your office.

Hard to predict a winner. But I consider this bitter and funny tale of a person who happily "upgraded" from Vista to XP as a red flag for the 'Softies.

Something you probably won't see in the mainstream media: Bruce Bawer, a self-declared gay, registered Democrat, writes a scathing review of Barack Obama's book, Dreams of My Father.

But the mainstream media--the Boston Globe, no less--did give us this smart op-ed on Obama by Joan Vennochi, "When Hope is Not Enough".

Tom Smith is impressed that Yale--earning roughly $141 per second, he calculates--is asking him for money.

I like getting the letters.  They fill me with a kind of awe.  They remind me that greatness comes to those who dare to ask for more than anyone can possibly think they deserve.  They fascinate me.  What can they possibly say to make me think I should send what $50, $100? to the people who are making 28% a year on $22.5 Billion?

Fay Vincent speculated in the Wall Street Journal recently on what some of the side-effects of the Ivies' huge endowments will be.

"Top 10 Reasons Why People Like Top 10 Lists".

Listen to some of your favorite Christmas songs as they would have been sung by The Doors.

(Link courtesy of Michael Greenspan.)

If you need to make small talk with a professor working at one of the "Ivy League Plus" universities, ask them what they think about "The Dangerous Wealth of the Ivy League". Egalitarianism, anyone?