How's Your News?

A friend introduced me to How's Your News? last week and I have to say, "I'm hooked!"

How's Your News? started at a summer camp for adults with disabilities in Massachusetts in 1998, and has steadily grown to a point where they debuted their own show on MTV on Sunday, February 8th at 10:30 PM Eastern. You can read their story by clicking here.

You can view their trailer here:


Trailer for "How's Your News?" Series! from How's Your News? on Vimeo.

I think it's fantastic these young people have found something they like doing, are good at and someone found them to help them pursue their passion.

They are interviewing actors, politicians and ordinary people on the street. They are having fun, loving their jobs, traveling, meeting lots of people and experiencing things they never would have otherwise. Can you say that about your job?

Read the background page, watch some of their videos and watch their confidence rise with every interview.

Let me know what you think.

Later,

Mike

The Heart Attack Grill

Once again, a friend sent me an entertaining, humorous link to a brutally honest video from the CBS Morning News on November 25, 2008.

Everywhere we go these days, we are warned of the dangers of the food we eat. Many restaurants even put the calorie count on their menu items. Not the Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona. They are right up front with their menu items. They even label their burgers with names like The Quadruple Bypass Burger for $12.95, and the All-you-can-eat Flatliner Fries Bar.


Watch CBS Videos Online

With restaurants like this, we wonder why we have an obesity problem in the United States! This is obviously over the top with outlandish, artery-clogging, nutrient-deficient food and enough calories in one meal to feed even Michael Phelps for a day; the point is very clear, we overeat at an alarmingly high rate today.

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. wrote this article in 2003, and has some incredible facts about the state of Americans' health. You can read it by clicking here. I was particularly disturbed by the second paragraph which starts out, "The number one health problem in the United States is obesity, and if the current trend continues, by the year 2230 all adults in the United States will be obese. ... "

With our preponderance to overeat and under exercise, we have a real problem in this country.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Pink Shirt Day Is Coming

In my January 17, 2008 post, I discussed bullying in schools, how pervasive it is and some of the damaging effects it can have on the victims. You can read it by clicking here.

Today, I want to introduce you to Pink Shirt Day 2009. In an effort to help raise the awareness of bullying in our schools, workplaces, homes and over the Internet, Christy Clark is promoting the idea of Pink Shirt Day on her radio show and through their website. It will be held on February 25th and you can learn more about the day, and how to take part in the event by clicking here.


The cool thing about Pink Shirt Day is it was started by two high school students who had an idea on how to stop some bullies from bullying a ninth grade student. David Sheppard and Travis Price have shown us once again how two people with a good idea can make a big difference.

I encourage you to read about it and see if you want to do something in your school or workplace on February 25th.

I'd be curious to know what you decide. If you have any ideas about how to participate, please feel free to share them.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Scary Report

When you were in school, were you ever tied down, restrained in any way, or put in a secluded room for hours? Neither was I. According to this report by the National Disability Rights Network, it's a fairly common practice to deal with students with special needs.

A very detailed report published just last month, starts out, "Whenever we open a newspaper, turn on the television, or go on the Internet these days, we hear about another child dying or being injured in school while being restrained or secluded. Some may think these are isolated incidents, but, when Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies across this country report that school children have been killed, confined, tied up, pinned down, and battered, this is clearly more than an isolated issue — it is one of national concern."

The report chronicles students who have been strapped to chairs — even wheelchairs, held down by adults, grabbed, dragged and left in secluded rooms, handcuffed, locked in closets, and more. They identify extreme cases in virtually every state.

This little, seven-year-old Wisconsin girl died while being restrained and secluded.

You can read the entire report by clicking here. It's a 60-page pdf, and I will confess, I haven't read the whole thing. But I read enough to know it's worth sharing.

Here is a seclusion room in one classroom:




Tell me what you think.

Later,

Mike