Of Course "Big Food" is the Problem

In a classic moment from Morgan Spurlock's pivotal documentary on the processed food industry Super-Size Me, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers of American (GMA), Gene Grabowski says "We part of the problem." Spurlock could hardly believe his good fortune - and, interestingly, six months after the release of the film at the Sundance Film Festival, Grabowski "no longer worked for the GMA." The reality is that "Big Food," or the corporate conglomeration of processed food manufacturers play the primary role in what America eats. And, if Americans are eating excessive amounts of unhealthy, sodium and sugar-laced products that provide little if any nutrition, then the people peddling the goods are primarily to blame. We can't simply excuse the companies for "selling Americans what they want." The food producers have actually played the primary - and subversive - role in creating those tastes.

Thus, I was a bit dismayed when I ran across an article on Esquire.com in which professional chef and high quality foods advocate Chef Linton Hopkins argued "Big Food is not the Enemy." Well, of course they are, Chef. Granted, the word "enemy" is certainly a bit exaggerated - but if we are having a discussion about the poor health of Americans and the bad dietary choices they regularly make, we can do nothing else but point the finger at the people serving it up. We did not exonerate Big Tobacco, and we do not excuse drug dealers for peddling dangerous products. And, neither should we condone the abysmal quality of some of our most detrimental processed foods.

Kacy Catanzaro - First Woman to Conquer American Ninja Warrior

Anyone looking for a strong, positive role model for girls and young women needs to look no further than a 5-foot, 100-pound gymnast from Belleville, New Jersey, named Kacy Catanzaro. Earlier this week, Kacy became the first woman to ever complete a finals course for the popular adventure and endurance competition American Ninja Warrior.

The tasks completed by Kacy would break most athletes before they finished even a few of them. "Warrior" contestants, however, have to complete a course of seemingly endless physical challenges. And, up until this week, no woman had ever completed a finals course, which qualifies contestants for the national finals at "Mt. Midoriama" in Las Vegas. Only one woman had ever accomplished an ANW standard, the "warped wall," in which competitors must scale a 17-foot curved wall. Kacy was the woman who did it last year during qualifying. This year, she bested herself by completing the entire course to the cheers and astonishment of fans and commentators.

The tiny but powerful Catanzaro - who is trending on Twitter as #MightyKacy - was a Division 1 gymnast and NCAA Regional Gymnast of the Year for Towson University exemplified a strength and endurance that few believed women were capable of demonstrating. Clearly, young women like Kacy continue to challenge the conventional wisdom about what woman can and can't do, and she should likely become a role model for women and for healthy living and exercise.

Governor Jay Nixon Right to Veto "Teachers With Guns" Bill

"Arming teachers will not make our schools safer."

With those wise and rational words, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon vetoed a "Armed Teacher" bill from the over-zealous Missouri legislature. The bill - which is clearly a knee-jerk reaction to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and Arapahoe High School - would have cleared the way for school districts to assign certain teachers and administrators as "school protection officers"and arm them after they undergo "special weapons training." This naive response to the threat of gun violence is a terrible idea, and teacher and law enforcement associations should do everything they can to defeat any measure that intends to put guns into schools.

The only personnel who should ever carry firearms on a school campus are School Resource Officers, who are trained and experienced police officers who are assigned to school campuses as part of their normal patrol routines. The ability to use a gun in a crisis is an incredibly delicate and complicated issue, and it's not something regular citizens can do with a few hours of special training. And, gun zealots in the United States are dangerously naive to believe that armed citizens will responsibly and effectively handle a gun and defuse or defeat a live shooter situation in public. Police officers train regularly for such instances, and they still do not perform - or shoot - with precision all the time. The idea that a fifth-grade science teacher can calmly react to an active shooter with professional precision is dangerous and irresponsible.

Putting guns into schools will not solve the problem of school shootings. It will, more likely, increase the incidences of accidental shootings and violence. If communities are fearful about guns on campus, they should very simply budget for a school resource officer in every school. That is a what sane and responsible society would do.

Lil Buck & Jookin Are an Artist & Art Form You Should Know About

As my young daughter gets more into dance, adding aspects of jazz and hip-hop and ballet and tap and even gymnastics into her routines, I am ever entertained by the beauty and art of dance. So, I was fascinated to learn last week about a performance of a unfamiliar style of hip-hop dance called Jookin that originated on the streets of Memphis. Lil Buck is a professional dancer who teamed with Yo-Yo Ma at a conference in a beautiful melding of music and movement, and the moment was caught on cell phone camera by none other than director Spike Jonze.

The continuous evolution of dance is a source of beauty and poetry in motion. And Lil Buck is an artist who challenges our conventional wisdom about talent and education and, well, dance. Going from the streets of Memphis and dancing at a performing arts school, Lil Buck has developed his craft to a point where he has merged the world of ballet and hip-hop, dancing with the New York City Ballet. The performing arts never cease to amaze me, and I could watch people like Lil Buck all day long.

Next Food Network Star Sends Chris Kyler Home in Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas. But on the Food Network's Next Food Network Star, caterer Chris Kyler will not be staying in Vegas, having been eliminated in the seventh episode after repeatedly failing to meet the expectations of his point of view. Chris is certainly an engaging personality and a reasonably competent cook. However, his plan to "elevate" comfort food for the masses never caught on, and he ultimately was sent home for being as inconsistent as his food, the overdone tenderloin being the last chance.

The loser could easily have been Sarah Penrod, the chef from Texas, who somehow comes across with a bubbly personality, but has never accurately met the expectations of her point of view about "Texas cooking." Whether she's mistakenly making a "Texas rub" pork tenderloin or trying to pair Texas and baby food, Sarah has regularly proved why she was eliminated in a previous season before ever making the finals. Sarah, in my opinion, is a less competent chef and personality than Chris or others who have been eliminated, but somehow stays around. She won't be the Next Food Network Star.

For my money, the clear winner at this point is the all-natural, easy-going, Farm-to-Table chef Emma Frisch. Emma has clearly had some hiccups, and she isn't an over-the-top personality like some. But she is the most consistent and competent chef. At the pool party in Vegas, she won over the crowd to be sure, but lost out in the chips contest because a bunch of young Vegas partiers didn't want to create their own satay. They wanted burgers to be sure - a fact that served Lenny well, but doesn't truly indicate that he was the best of the day.

And, Lenny continues to rub me the wrong way for a variety of reasons. First of all, any chef who regularly combs out his facial hair in public is a tad too … unsophisticated, if not actually disgusting, to be a culinary model. Lenny, that is simply gross, and you have lost a lot of favor with me for that. Truly, Lenny can cook. And his lamb burger presentation was something I would have tried for sure. That said, selling burgers to a Vegas pool crowd is about as tough as selling cheap beer at the ballpark. It really didn't prove he was the best - simply that people wanted burgers. Beyond that, the belly flop in the pool was … too much. While it may have been funny, Lenny needs to develop a bit of modesty and not unbutton his shirt (twice on this show!) and act as if people watching a culinary show want to, or should, see that.  I love Emeril and Mario's cooking and personalities - but I never want them to go shirtless. And they have enough class not to do that. Now, I understand the challenges of weight loss, especially in the culinary world, and I am not "fat shaming" him here. But, Lenny, don't take off your shirt in public …. ever.

Other contestants continue to be adequate. Lucca returned to the cheers of his fellow competitors … and the swoons of the female pool party guests, including the giddiest of all, Giada. But he won't be able to sustain a show in any reasonable way. Nicole continues to be pretty good, but made a foolish mistake in substituting prosciutto for sarrano ham … and inexplicably not telling the audience. What were you thinking, Nicole. It would have been an easy teachable moment. I think Nicole is a lot like Season 9 finalist, Stacey Poon-Kinney - polished and effective, but ultimately just not right for a show. Loreal Gavin is also just sort of not all there. She is entertaining enough - but I would never actually watch her show.

And, speaking of watching the winner's shows, have you ever wondered what happened to Season 8 winner and fan favorite, Justin Warner?  What ever happened to his show? The reality is that it seems the Food Network is not actually in the business of creating new stars or developing their shows. The "Show" to find a Food Network Star is actually the star - and ratings grabber - itself.  Truly, other than Guy Fieri, the show has never been designed to or succeeded at finding and producing talent. Truly, the Sandwich King has been reasonably successful. Jeff Mauro is truly a Food Network Star, and could be as successful as the network wants to make him.  But people like Demaris Philips or Arti or Justin or this year's winner are not being set up for a chance at culinary stardom. The Food Network is not as much about the culinary arts, as it is about a network making lots of money - a point well-researched and examined in the following book - From Scratch:

To Become Popular in the USA, Pro Soccer Needs These Changes

As the World Cup draws to a close, and American soccer fanatics are left with Major League Soccer and its low-status on the hierarchy of professional sports in the United States, many will question if soccer can maintain its popularity. Some will argue that this World Cup was the tipping point, as America "finally fell in love with soccer." Certainly, there was a lot of national unity this time around, as groups as large as thousands gathered in public places to watch the USA play on soccer's biggest stage.

Alas, the moment will be fleeting.

Soccer will not maintain the hype of the World Cup any more than professional skiing or swimming or track and field does following the Olympics. It was the hype of a once-in-four-years event that truly prompted many Americans who "never watch pro soccer" to tune in to the games. I am one of them. I played year-round competitive soccer for many years, and I have never been to a pro soccer game. This is the reality, despite living in Colorado with a popular team that draws respectable crowds. For, while more American kids play soccer than any other sport, few youth soccer players turn into true pro soccer fans. Soccer is just  not that popular in a country that has so much other sports entertainment.

However, a few simple rule changes could change America's feelings about soccer:

1. Get rid of off-sides - Off-sides is the most useless penalty in soccer, and a primary reason games are low scoring and "boring" to non-afficionnados of soccer. Ending off-sides would lead to many more goals and breakaways and one-on-one match-ups.
2. Injury Box - There is nothing more annoying to casual soccer fans than the "flopping" and writhing on the ground for phantom fouls. And the imposition of "injury time" which is only known by the ref is so frustrating. So, if a player goes down and stays down long enough for a stoppage in play, he must leave the field - and be subbed for - for a period of five minutes.
3. Instant Replay Challenges - Teams need the ability to challenge plays, especially anything leading to a penalty kick in the box. Those fouls are game changers and can be game deciders. They must not go completely unchallenged.
4. Continuous Subbing -  The limits on subs is booooring. Soccer needs regularly fresh players like hockey to keep the action at a higher level.

And for more thoughts on soccer's popularity:

http://time.com/2864483/world-cup-2014-soccer-brazil-america/

http://www.cracked.com/funny-3432-5-reasons-americans-dislike-soccer/

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/no-record-breaking-world-cup-ratings-dont-make-soccer-a-mainstream-us-sport/373216/

Shameless Cleveland Cavaliers Accept Return of Lebron James

Have you no pride, Cleveland?

After an incredibly drawn out and annoying week where Lebron James privately basked in the sports world's obsession with his "Decision 2.0," the hype finally broke with news that "Lebron James Announces He's Returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers." Now, Chris Bosh and D-Wade and Carmelo can go about the business of making their own decisions without the burden of Lebron-ization. It's all just been so silly, and I am somewhat disappointed in the decision by Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers to even entertain the whims of the man who basically told a whole city and franchise to "bug off."

Sure, if it's all about winning basketball games, then the Cavs just signed the most coveted free agent in the NBA - though his value as a teammate could be debated. The Cavs bent over backwards to win back the Prodigal Son, even though nothing has changed in the team's ownership. And while Lebron made the Cavs competitive in the notoriously weak Eastern Conference, it's not like a team built around him actually won it all. I wonder what might happen if Lebron is unable to bring the trophy home as the team leader in this second turn at being a hometown hero. There's reason to believe this is not a good move for any of the parties involved.

I will say this - There is no way the city of St. Louis and the St. Louis Cardinals organization would ever consider bringing Albert Pujols back. They have too much integrity.

Lebron & "The Decision" Are Bad for the NBA

Do you remember all the trade and contract drama with Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird? Yeah, neither do I.

Lebron James' "Decision 2.0" is controlling headlines and clogging up Twitter.com and delaying decisions and generally causing uncertainty that is not good for the NBA. It was bad enough when Lebron did this four years ago with"The Decision," a media circus for which he was roundly criticized and from which he should have learned. And now, he's doing it again, as the media waited while he met with the Heat yesterday and produced no contract or news or "Decision."

Ultimately, this drama is more appropriate for middle school, and critics have begun to challenge the power and significance of "King James." Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post reminds us that "Lebron Can Play, but King Tim Duncan Has a Nice Ring (or 5) To It." Lebron James is obviously "an impact player" who can compete for championships every year. And many players want to join him and many fans want to root for him and many teams want to sign him. But all this hype is bad for the NBA when:

Everybody in the league puts life on hold for LeBron.The King builds teams as he sees fit. He doesn't need no stinking title of general manager.

Hey, Houston Rockets, do you mind if free agent forward Chris Bosh puts you and your piddling $88 million offer on hold until James tells him it's OK what to do?

Think the winter is bad in Minneapolis? Wait until you check out the unbearable case of inferiority complex the Timberwolves would acquire if Kevin Love forsakes them for Cleveland, all because James snapped his fingers.

It used to be cute when Carmelo Anthony took orders from his wife before making a basketball decision. Now, like some jealous little kid, Melo is afraid to announce whether he's staying in New York or joining the Lakers in the same news cycle as Decision 2.0 by James.

James broke the hearts of Cleveland when he took his talents to South Beach in 2010. What he's doing now is making a mockery of the games, all the flyover franchises and NBA stars groveling to be LeBron's wingman.

I don't begrudge James his power. More power to him. James didn't write the rules of the collective bargaining agreement; he merely exploited them. But any league where the whim of one man is more important than the final score is dribbling down the wrong path.

The King is great. Anybody, however, who tells you James is as great as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson or Hall of Famers who relished competition instead of moving on to whatever's convenient fails to realize how hard a meaningful legacy is earned in sports.

Lebron is a really good basketball player. Can we move on now?

Summer Vacation Is Not The Problem

Each year, as kids break free from schools for a little while to pursue the joys of childhood, the issue of "summer vacation" leading to the "summer slide" rears its ugly head again. Time and again, commentators weigh in on the problems of "stopping school" for a couple months when the pools open and the warm weather arrives. The most recent entry comes from Cristina Evans, a teacher, who went to the pages of EdWeek.org with "A Teacher's Case Against Summer Vacation." Evans is focused specifically on the struggles of low-income and mostly urban students who tend to experience academic regression during the months off schools. This is the summer slide.

The case against summer vacation has been made many times, and the carefree break from school has even been called "evil" by some commentators looking to use extremist language to increase readership on a blog post. The reality, though, is a bit different than much of the "history" indicates. To be clear, the existence of summer vacation is not a result of our farming history and the "agrarian calendar" that let kids out in the summer to work in the fields.  I have discussed this discrepancy more fully in the past. And the history of summer vacation is not unclear to anyone willing to do a bit of research.

To her credit, Evans doesn't call for a radical end to summer vacation. Instead, she makes a lucid case for shortening it from maybe ten weeks to six or so. And no one is arguing that in schools where a summer slide is evident that we should ignore the problem. However, a blanket argument that summer vacation should be shorter across all schools is misguided. Instead, parents and communities should know the facts for how to effectively use summer vacation for the type of enrichment that prevents summer regression in many kids. The reality is that summer vacation is embedded in our culture, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Is Education's STEM Focus an Ambiguous Waste of Time

Seemingly out of nowhere, "STEM" has become a popular acronym for fixing all that ails the US economy. Apparently, the problem has been that America is severely lacking in workers skilled in "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math." Thus, schools and education reformers - backed by powerful forces such as the Gates Foundation - have responded with the goal of simply producing more people with diplomas in the STEM areas. But, a closer look from the other side indicates that the "STEM Solution" is certainly no panacea for the needs of the American economy and the alleged "crisis in education." Writer Danielle Kurtzleben investigates the complex problems of aligning ourselves with a "nonsense acronym." There is little doubt that most STEM fields have great potential to produce high-earning individuals who can positively contribute to the economy. Yet, the country is as lacking in highly skilled labor as it is suffering from a shortage of biologists or accountants. And, rather than focus on some ambiguous notion of STEM, perhaps American communities should instead focus on helping businesses align with schools to close the "skills gap."  And that is only true if the goal and purpose of the education system is simply to provide a pipeline of workers for corporate America. Is it?

Bill Gates' Common Core Obsession

For those watching the Common Core & PARCC testing debate in public education, the powerful influence of the Gates foundation has been a force to watch for the past few years. And recent events like the Gates' Foundation letter to the New York Times and the calls for a Congressional investigation into the influence of Gates and the burden of standardized testing have certainly chummed the waters. This week, I weigh in at Salon.com with an analysis and some commentary on how "Bill Gates Needs to Drop his Common Core Obsession."

After blogging for years and writing pieces for the Denver Post, this article is my first piece for a national news site. So, I am pretty excited about the opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Was the 90's the Last Great Decade?

Fourteen years after the turn of the millennium (Do you remember the Y2K crisis?), it's apparently time to look back at the decade that gave us Seinfeld and Nirvana and Forrest Gump and the OJ Trial and more. It is, apparently, the "Last Great Decade," as the National Geographic channel puts out a documentary look-back at the age of grunge music and dot-com millionaires. It was the time of relative calm between the Cold War and 9/11, and that seems to make it real in a way that the world will never be again. With the changes from the War on Terror and the incredible expansion of our technology, the world will forever after be more surreal than real. And that's the legacy that the 90's offers.

Inspired by NatGeo's look back at the decade - and posing questions about its greatness - many retrospectives will look back at the 90s, as USA Today did recently with a review of some greatest hits from the decade of Yada, Yada, Yada. Focusing predominantly on the pop culture that typifies a decade or era to us, USA notes some big moments:

• The OJ Simpson trial was really the beginning of reality TV
• An obscure rock band from Seattle, Nirvana released Nevermind and change the face of rock, introduced us to "grunge," and knocked Michael Jackson off his top-of-the-charts perch
• Television was "Must See TV" on numerous networks - not just NBC - with innovative sitcoms like Friends, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and Frasier, and inspired new dramas like ER, Picket Fences, The X-Files, and The Practice
• Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls re-introduced the idea of a sports dynasty
• One of history's most popular Presidents changed the White House in ways we never would have wanted - Monica Lewinsky - yet left the office to even greater fame and fortune
• Rap music came into its own in a way no one really predicted
• And the world became fascinated by this little phenomenon called, The Internet

The Nineties were, no doubt, a unique time if only for the transition the decade offered.

Is It Time for Congressional Hearings on Standardized Testing In Public Schools?

Teaching to the test. Test scores. Standardized Testing. Accountability. Tests.

The incredible rise in significance and impact of mandatory standardized testing is becoming the lead story in public education these days. And for good reason - few of us who went through school fifteen and twenty and thirty and forty years ago can understand how significant filling in bubbles has become. As the NEA meets in Denver, and judge dismisses a PARCC-associated lawsuit in New Mexico, the issue of standardized testing and its role in public education is coming to a head.

To that end the Network for Public Education, among others, is calling for Congress to hold formal hearings to investigate the significance, benefit, and burden of mandated standardized tests in public schools. There is no doubt that the impact of No Child Left Behind lingers with the use of standardized tests for schools. As states continue the push to link test scores to teachers' jobs, despite evidence this is a bad idea and virtually worthless, the education field looks to Congress for help.

So, is it time for hearings? Congress likes to have its nose in everything, and it certainly took an interest in "testing" professional athletes for steroid use. If Congress is willing to investigate sports, it should certainly take an interest in public schools.

Are Common Core Tests Designed to Produce Failure?

The problem with the current education reform movement is that it is based on the myth that the American public education system is in a state of crisis and that American students are falling behind the rest of the world. One of the premier voices challenging this "fraud" that is perpetuated on a naive public is Seton Hall Professor Dr. Chris Tienken. Dr. Tienken has been researching, writing, and speaking on The School Reform Landscape. Tienken has serious concerns about the response to "standardize and centrally control public education" through movements like the Common Core standards.

Now, the implementation of Common Core "State" Standards and associated national standardized testing are being implicated in the plan to produce a pre-conceived result that American schools and American students are failing. As the results of Common Core testing in states like New York are released, the data reveals that the tests were designed to create an artificial and arbitrary "pass rate" of 30%. The test results, as evaluated by teacher and education writer Anthony Cody, were intended to guarantee failure as a way of validating the claims behind the current reform movement that schools are in crisis and the Common Core standards and the associated testing apparatus are the solution. Literally, students were set up to fail.

And, that just doesn't seem like good pedagogy or education policy.

PARCC Test Losing More Support in Tennessee, Arizona, & New Mexico

So, what if they gave a PARCC test and no one came?

The Common Core aligned PARCC testing consortium took a few more hits in the past couple weeks as two more states withdrew from the group and in another state a lawsuit was filed challenging PARCC's legality and authority.  Tennessee is the latest to abandon the much-maligned and controversial testing group after the state legislature passed a law directing the state to quit the group. The anti-PARCC law in Tennessee follows a similar move last month in Arizona. Arizona's governor Jan Brewer wasn't explicitly opposed to PARCC, but she wants the state to avoid impropriety in the test selection process. That potential for impropriety is what prompted a lawsuit in New Mexico with charges of bid-rigging by PARCC and Pearson, Inc. to prevent any competition for the test and testing company. And, this challenge to PARCC's authenticity is also playing out in the South, as Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is battling with his state education leaders over membership in and use of PARCC. Apparently, the imposition of a national test against the proper channels for competitive bidding is becoming an identifying characteristic of PARCC and Pearson, Inc. Now, the PARCC consortium is down to fifteen members, and these recent challenges indicate more trouble for PARCC may be on the way.

Common Core & PARCC Face Lawsuit Challenge in New Mexico

One of the keys to corporate education reform is that applying the rules of competition and the marketplace will lead to better results in schools. This is the theory behind vouchers and charter schools and anti-union and anti-tenure and national standards and standardized testing and value-added measures and a host of other reforms. Granted, there are numerous problems with applying competition and market practices to an institution that is not a market. And, surprisingly, some market-oriented conservative groups oppose the ability of the market to fix education through national standards. However, I can understand the simple appeal and basic motivation for reformers to believe they can do so.

And, I am pretty sure I've heard Bill Gates argue that competition and market policies are the key to improving educational outcomes. And, I'm also pretty sure Bill Gates never truly wants competition for any of his ideas. So, it's not all that surprising to learn that market forces and competition were ignored in the establishment of Common Core State Standards. And, it's not surprising that a scandal is brewing over the multi-million dollar contracts secured by Pearson, Inc. to draft and administer the requisite standardized tests for the Common Core. In New Mexico, the first legal challenge has been filed, as the American Institutes for Research has caught the ear of a federal judge who supports the claim of "bid-rigging" in securing the $240 million a year testing contract with states administering Common Core tests such as PARCC and SB.

Clearly, the issue of "school choice" is paramount in this argument, as schools should have more than one option for the tests of general standards. It would seem that competition between standardized testing companies such as ACT and SAT and AIR and others would produce the "best tests." But clearly, the people behind Common Core and PARCC are opposed to anyone competing with their "solutions" to public education.

Public Education Is Not Broken - And Bill Gates Should't Be Telling People How to Fix It

So, after I criticized Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation's disproportionate influence on discussions of public education, a friend asked, "But don't you agree that the system is broken?"

No, I don't agree that the system is broken - because public schools are not failing.

Most people criticize public education as a failure, at the same time as they praise their own kids' schools. It's the same story as Americans' faith in Congress - hate Congress, love their representatives.

American public schools educate a higher percentage of the population and send a greater percentage on to college than at any time in history. They do this as successfully as any other industrialized nation, and there is no shortage of college-educated workers for available jobs. And the United States does this with the most diverse population of any country in the world.

On standardized measures of comparisons, American schools are ranked number one in the world when scores are corrected for percentages of poverty. And, there is no evidence that public school systems in other countries are producing any better doctors or engineers or accountants or attorneys or entrepreneurs or salesman or financial analysts or …. well, you get the point.

The challenges faced by American schools are about equity of opportunity, and the problem of a one-size-fits-all system based on college degrees and Carnegie units. The economy and the public education is a complex emergent systems that requires flexibility and adaptability, and that very quality is being compromised by the push for uniformity and standardization from a corporate-model which prizes job training as the primary purpose of education.

It's not.

Alice Waters, Edible School Yards, & School Lunch Controversy

The recent controversy over the National School Lunch Program began with the belief that school lunches could certainly be healthier. If children were going to eat at least one meal a day for 180 days a year, then schools could certainly do better than pizza, french fries, soda, and cookies. And, there is no doubt that many school lunch offerings were atrocious in terms of nutrition, and kids were really being set up to make poor choices. Of course, young people are not going to make healthy choices just because the government tells them to, or seeks to restrict their choices to nothing but the parameters of the arbitrary federal guidelines for healthy eating.  The key to improving the health of young people through diets is to "cultivate" an appreciation for healthy eating.



Now, as schools and the association for school nutritionists push back against the restrictions on calories, fat, sugar, and sodium, Alice Waters - one of the premier voices in healthy eating and the Farm-to-Table movement - is responding with a passionate plea for schools to buy in, rather than opt out. Ms. Water, whose Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse is holy ground for foodies devoted to fresh, natural, organic meals, became committed to the importance of school lunches years ago. She sees an appreciation for foods and cooking as paramount to our survival as human beings.

One of the most important parts of Alice Waters message - at least to me - is when she explains, "I don't want to tell kids what to eat. I want to win them over."

Did Dr. Oz Sell his Soul for Supplements?

For many years, Dr. Mehmet Oz has been "America's doctor," dispensing free advice on Oprah and then his own show, and publishing books about how to be the healthiest person you can be. Because of his impressive medical career and engaging TV personality, Dr. Oz has gained quite the following because people simply trust his seemingly no nonsense and common sense advice about health and wellness. And he seemed to have a knack for learning about the next big thing in health care, especially when it was information about some great new health approach such as Acai berries or the ancient Chinese practice of qi gong, or the benefit of chia seeds for something other than a "Chia Pet."

It all seemed so great - but Dr. Oz may have gone to far in his promotion of "magical cures" and "easy steps to weight loss." As many less-than-scrupulous marketers began using Dr. Oz's claims to sell potentially worthless supplements to a gullible public searching for a short cut to health, the "Good Doctor" sought to protect himself from companies using his image, name, and claims without permission. So, Dr. Oz went to Washington to let a Congressional panel investigate this issue. And for his trouble, Dr. Oz got an earful from Congressional leaders such as Senator Claire McCaskill who called the doc out for making some rather ridiculous - and unprofessional - claims.

McCaskill read Oz’s words from past segments of The Dr. Oz Show back to him with a clinical formality that underscored their absurdity:

• “You may think magic is make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they’ve found the magic weight loss cure for every body type: It’s green coffee extract.”
• “I've got the number-one miracle in a bottle to burn your fat: It's raspberry ketone.”
• “Garcinia cambogia: It may be the simple solution you’ve been looking for to bust your body fat for good.

McCaskill continued, as if reproaching a child. “I don't know why you need to say this stuff, because you know it's not true. Why—when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate—would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?”

The doctor has some explaining to do in regards to his "flowery" language promoting miracle cures and supplements, which he claims was just part of the entertainment designed to engage an audience. In essence, Dr. Oz was challenged for making claims that he knew weren't exactly true, and Congress called upon him to stop promising miracle cures when he knows there aren't any. The most disconcerting part of this story is that it doesn't appear that Dr. Oz was profiting from the companies who were selling the products he endorsed. He certainly never promoted specific companies, and he wasn't selling his own products. It's almost as if the "good student" mentality led Dr. Oz's ego to a desire to be the guy with all the answers. If there was a miracle cure, then Dr. Oz wanted to get credit for turning the nation on to the information. Even if it was nothing but bad medicine.

There is not miracle cure, especially for weight loss. And while foods/drinks such as goji berries or green tea certainly have value, they aren't what Dr. Oz led people to believe. And, so, in the words of John Oliver, Dr. Oz needs to stop touting these "cures" on a show called Dr. Oz, but he could promote them on a show called "Check this s@#t out with a guy named Mehmet."

Soccer's Growing Popularity in America - World Cup

When I was a young boy growing up and playing soccer in the 1970s, I regularly heard that soccer was going to be hugely popular in the USA by the time I was in high school and college. With so many young people playing the sport, it would no doubt pass at least one of the four major league sports - MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL - and it would join its rightful place as the world's most popular spectator sport. Heck, Pele's popularity alone was enough to make this prediction, right?

Wrong.

For many reasons, soccer has never quite caught on with American fans, and it still trails even hockey in terms of viewership and revenue. In fact, years ago, I made a bet with someone that if soccer even surpassed hockey in terms of popularity in my lifetime, I would pony up big cash. And I've felt pretty confident for a long time that I would never pay up. But the World Cup this year has me thinking. Just like it had during the Olmpics in America in 1984 and 1996, and during the America-hosted World Cup in 1994, the country seems to be catching a little soccer fever.

Of course, whether that ever translates to regular viewership for a professional league remains to be seen. Major League Soccer (MLS) has had some great years recently, averaging about 18,000 fans in stadiums across the country. And in some places, the local teams are drawing as many as 40,000 fans like the Seattle Sounders, and that's probably sustainable to some degree. Of course, popularity is a complicated thing, and I would have to judge at least part of that by revenue - and TV revenue is king. So, the current average salary for a professional hockey player is $2.4 million while the average pro soccer player makes about $150,000.

So, there is still a lot of growth to come.

Next Food Network Star - Kenny Goes Home

Near the end of this week's "Next Food Network Star" on the Food Network, the viewer poll indicated that 75% of viewers would send Kenny home. Thank goodness Alton and Bobby agreed. The owner of a fast-casual Asian restaurant, Kenny Lao just could not compete on the show designed to "discover" a true celebrity chef in the making - a person who can just flat out cook and engage a TV audience while he or she does it. And the first rule of the Food Network is that you have to be a top tier chef. Kenny wasn't even close. In fact, I am curious as to how he ever became a finalist. Was the applicant field truly that weak.

This week's episode of FNS was framed as an episode of "Cutthroat Kitchen." And, that was only mildly entertaining to me - for the concept behind these intense food competitions and the added element of "sabotaging the other contestants" just doesn't indicate great culinary skill to me. That's the problem with trying to keep a network and a series fresh - they have to keep pushing the envelop to fined new forms of entertainment. And it simply becomes too gimmicky at that point. In this week's episode, the challenge of cooking with chocolate bacon or grinding meat in a snow cone machine didn't do much for me. Well, that's not entirely true - because the chocolate bacon worked in favor of Emma, who I think would make a great Food Network Star.

Christopher survived this week, and even thrived. But he will not be a FNS, for he is just too milqutoast to entertain and hold his own. Chris continues to struggle, which is a shame because he is in many ways very entertaining. Sarah didn't annoy nearly as much this week. And Lenny actually really struggled in the food category. It was quite a shock to see Bobby Flay spit out food. I can't imagine what that sopapilla must have tasted like. Of course, Lenny has reined in the crass comments and seems truly humbled. Ultimately, Lenny should not be the next FNS, for he really brings nothing new to the table.

Still like Nicole and Emma the best.

The Spurs Re-Defining Success in the NBA - Owning the Heat

In the NBA playoffs, it's pretty clear that in forty-nine states people are rooting for Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. And then Miami Heat fans are, of course, casually but not devotedly cheering on Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat, featuring the services, or "talents," of Lebron James. It's been so easy to root against the Heat because of the feeling that this "Dream Team" with a "Big Three" was put together to provide Lebron with a championship team that he could never develop on his own. And the dependence on the "Greatest player on the planet," but one who will never be as good as Michael Jordan, does not endear the team to true basketball fans.

That dependence on a superstar is why the last two victories by the Spurs have been so enjoyable - they represent basketball at its purest as a team game. Certainly, the Spurs have a genuine team of superstars built around a mega-player in future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. But watching the team play as a unit that passes and passes and passes, but never over-passes, until they get a shot has been so satisfying in the way that would do Hoosier's coach Norman Dale proud. And the team magic of Coach Pop and the Spurs provides hope for NBA fans that the Spurs dominance will lead the NBA in a new direction, away from the Lebron/Carmelo-style, and toward the purity of a Tim Duncan led team.

This idea was well developed in a "hopeful" piece by Denver Post sportswriter Chris Dempsey who is "Hoping the Spurs Spark Better Basketball."

The Spurs play a beautiful game of passing and movement, a work of art worthy of inclusion in The Louvre. It's FC Barcelona, circa 2012. It's jazz. Basketball, as the Spurs have put on display in a demolition job of the defending champion Miami Heat thus far, should look just like that.

And yet their brand of basketball, a free-flowing, constantly moving ballet is the exception to the rule the NBA is transforming into. The game is pushing more toward pop than jazz, steering itself into a formulaic game. Shots should be taken from here, here and here, not there or there. Players should be played in these combinations, not those. 

No exceptions. No improvisation. No jazz. Just pop.

So, here's hoping.

Banksy Returns with a New Documentary - or Does He?

The internationally known and vastly popular graffiti artist Banksy always seems to be one step ahead of all the forces that are interested in his work. The enigmatic artist and filmmaker first fascinated art fans - and frustrated critics - with his Oscar-nominated film Exit Through the Gift Shop. He then responded with a month-long series of "art showings," or publicity stunts, in New York City, which included selling originals of his art work for as little as $60 on the street. The works could actually sell for tens of thousands. And, now, he has teased us again with a short documentary film recounting the New York project, which he posted on his website, implying a longer film was coming.

Now, it's time to wait and see what comes next.

UPDATE:  Banksy is undoubtedly a significant cultural phenomenon, and many people may be intrigued about this fascinating artist. A great resource is the Banksy Art page from a group known as Artsy. 

We strive to make all of the world’s art accessible to anyone online. Our Banksy page, for example, provides visitors with Banksy's bio, over 250 of his works, exclusive articles, and up-to-date Banksy exhibition listings. The page even includes related artist & category tags, plus suggested contemporary artists, allowing viewers to continue exploring art beyond our Banksy page.