Newmark's Door

. . . ten of my favorite bits from the past year of the frequently hilarious "Overheard in New York".

. . . In the Finest Restaurant Bathrooms.

When He Was Reincarnated for the Fifth Time.

It's Not Just Trees That Have Trouble Growing in Brooklyn.

They Never Did Continue.

When Science Meets Religion.

A Jersey Boy and an LA Girl, But It Was New York That Brought Them Together.

Old People's Conversation Is Like Freeform Jazz.

Getting a PhD in Basketweaving Was the Best Idea Ever!

Boys Don't Multitask Very Well.

And the best: Childrearing, in a Nutshell.

From oldest to newest:

"Why A Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans: Critical Enzyme Pair Identified".

"Tests Begin on Drugs That May Slow Aging".

"Potent metastasis inhibitor identified".

"Fighting Cancer With Fruit".

"Doctors start to include vitamin D in fight against cancer".

"Colon cancer stopped in its tracks in Swiss study".

"Cancers Can Vanish Without Treatment, but How?"

"Cancer treatment enters 'very exciting' era".

"Scientists Find Gene Linked to Longer Life".

"Analyzing Cancer Cells to Choose Treatments".

"Revolutionary operation could 'cure' high blood pressure".

"Troubleshooters that block cancer".

Canned Heat's version of "Going Up the Country" was a highlight--and the "unofficial anthem"--of Woodstock.

But Kitty, Davis & Lewis's cover is pretty good, too. (Last link via Metafilter.)

From the LA Times (12/14):

Cox was not always so successful. He recalled working as a substitute teacher in a science class at Mark Twain Middle School in the Mar Vista neighborhood of L.A. that devolved into a crayon fight. As students took cover behind their desks and threw crayons at one another, Cox stood in the middle of the room getting pelted and repeating what he had learned in his teacher training: "Children, return to task."

"It was a disaster," he said. "I got annihilated."