Things We Couldn't Help Noticing Lately

• Our friend Marybeth Matthews' teacherly reaction to the call for a longer school year.
• Stuff that's been banned on eBay.
• Stuff that makes us wince, grimmace and silently say 'ouch.'
• A new wine bar on Shaker Square, which can never rival the sentimental value that accrued to its former occupant, our friend Mary Brown's defunct though immortal fashion shop, Ohio Signatures.
• This unbelievably heartwarming video tale of a reunion between a fireman and someone whose life he saved 40 years ago, served up by the Boston Globe, but reposted by Cleveland realtor Carole Cohen.