In Michigan they have a program that makes food stamps worth double at farmers' markets. That's a great idea.

I'm starting to think that local agriculture and things like farmers' markets are the only hope we have against the obesity epidemic - oh, and believe you me it is truly an epidemic. Right now, more than 53 percent of the poor kids in Pima County are obese, and something like a quarter of the state's population is also obese. That, my friends, is what we call an epidemic.

Science has not been able to solve this problem, so I say we give the farmers a whack at it. We should make food stamps in Arizona worth double at farmers markets. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to try to get down off this soap box without busting my ass.

Feel guilty whenever you leave a bad tip?

You should.

According to University of Arizona researchers, guilt plays a major role in our decisions to do what we think is right. By combining the math in economics and psychology, the researchers devised a new technique to measure the influence of guilt in decision-making and cooperation.

Watch What Happens Live, the Bravo talk show which exists as a post-reality-show hype machine for the network's programming, is only a half hour long, but Patti Stanger, star of The Millionaire Matchmaker, managed to spew quite a bit of prejudice considering the time restraints. There's probably some sort of pool among the network's "talent" to see who can be the most repugnant human being (my vote: anyone from the LA real estate show they ran for awhile), but perhaps Bravo might want to let Stanger fade out of the spotlight as soon as possible.

[Gawker]

The amount of information coming from the protests on Wall Street is a little difficult to sort through and make sense of, but Anthony DeRosa makes an excellent case for the event's relevance for Reuters:

Are they a mob of over-privileged, unemployed trustafarians? Many of them likely are. Does it matter? Dismiss them if you will, they’re motivated and mobilized. An apathetic population asked to foot the bill for the fallout from credit default swaps is exactly what the 1% ordered. The last few years the country has been told to fear an economic collapse if the masses fail to fork over what amounts to corporate welfare, and more recently, that more jobs will be lost if we close tax loopholes. Many claim that these protesters are anti-capitalist, but most are simply disillusioned by a form of capitalism they suggest is so far out of whack that the opportunity for bootstrap pulling is nearly non-existent. They propose that the current environment unapologetically favors the richest of the rich.

The Village Voice's news blog, Runnin' Scared, has a follow-up story on some of the seemingly unjustifiable police-driven violence from this weekend, and unfortunately, some of the forces in the background of the protests have taken justice in their own hands in a twisted, privacy-thrashing, way:

Anonymous has leaked the personal information of the cop who, according to photographs and video, is responsible for pepper-spraying young women during the Occupy Wall Street protest on Saturday. It is one Anthony Bologna, a Deputy Inspector for Patrol Borough Manhattan South. Bologna's badge was photographed on this blog and Anonymous has created a Pastebin document containing Bologna's possible phone numbers plus the names of his family members and possible addresses.

[...]

We just spoke with Patrick Bruner of Occupy Wall Street, who said that "I'm upset the information was released the way that it was. We've had the information since last night and chose not to release it this way. We're not a fan of vigilante stuff."

We wondered whether Occupy Wall Street felt the original message of the protest was getting diluted by anger at the NYPD, as Kat Stoeffel suggested today at the Observer. Bruner said "This is something we're worried about."

"But I don't think that's the case," he continued. "What this shows more is that the system isn't interested in protecting us anymore, it's interested in protecting itself."

Also, the movement spreads to Arizona on October 15th, according to a Facebook page and competing Twitter feeds organizing a protest at the State Capitol.

I feel like I'm as much to blame as anyone, considering I posted the "Friday" video like the rest of the internet, but Rebecca Black seems to be setting a new standard for what it means to be a celebrity in the YouTube age - detached, bored, and not all that interested in the ostensibly artistic product created with her name on it:

Black is now tackling a new task before her: siphoning strawfuls of her iced tea into her glass of water, giving the beverage a sewage hue. “Rebecca is pioneering the way to do this,” Baum continues after taking one of the straws away. “She owns her own assets. As I believe you know, it would take artists twenty years to circle that material.” She’s right. Black has attained both cultural relevance and ownership over her work, a feat that usually takes other artists decades to achieve. She grabs a new straw and begins to pour liquid from her glass into Baum’s. When I ask her if there’s a specific sound or artist she’s emulating, Black repeats her undying devotion to Katy Perry, who is “not like those Disney kids. They are so in-the-box.” (A few days earlier, her publicist had rejected my request to take Black to the local record store, saying, “I don’t think that would work. She’s not that into music.”)

It occurs to me that Black may just be sick of talking about “Friday” or her nascent-yet-possibly-over-maybe-never-was singing career. Sitting at this table, she’s making it perfectly clear that she’d rather not have her day consumed by the adults around her, the way any kid her age would feel. Or perhaps what Ark Music Factory and Black’s parents, publicist, and manager have unwittingly created is a much savvier player than they could have imagined. Black seems to have fully internalized, probably subconsciously, a reality that may elude other recording artists: This interview will have no impact on her career. She doesn’t need this, or any other traditional outlets, for that matter, to get people’s attention.

When I asked her what she thinks of signing to a label, she cocks her head and says, “I am my label.”

[NYMag]

Attorney Don Bivens, the former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, announced today that he'll run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by the retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl.

Congressman Jeff Flake the frontrunner to capture the GOP nomination.

Congressman Raul Grijalva proposes a jobs bill based on beefing up border infrastructure. His key quote:

Working families can’t get by on tough talk about border fences. American jobs rely on a smart, modern economy with the infrastructure to match. This is a realistic, necessary upgrade to our local and national business model, and there’s no reason to oppose the jobs this would create or the opportunities this would open up. I listened to Southern Arizona when I was writing this bill, and I believe this is the right way forward for our community and our country.

The entire press release:

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva has introduced the Border Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2011, following listening sessions around Southern Arizona throughout the summer with business and community leaders on how best to improve the local, regional and national economy. A formal rollout press conference is being held Sept. 28 at 10:00 a.m. at Armory Park in Tucson.

Approximately 235,700 jobs in Arizona rely on trade with Mexico. The number is 252,800 in Michigan, 249,000 in Nebraska and 119,000 in Ohio—states that benefit directly from effective transportation and infrastructure at the border. In addition to creating new border commerce opportunities, Grijalva’s bill seeks to ensure these jobs are not lost to transport delays, crumbling infrastructure or a lack of adequate Customs staffing.

http://1.usa.gov/qeWMtd

I suppose the customer service people at Yelp get quite a few emails from people trying to change information in reviews, probably largely from business owners upset about a burst of negative publicity posted nearly anonymously. However, the above email isn't dismissive of a difference of opinion, but an actual lie that Yelp doesn't seem to feel the need to remove:

Jesse Hirsch recently brought to my attention a review of Tuba restaurant on Yelp, by a woman who claims to write for us. She wrote:

"This place totally rocks! The food blows your mind away. I also write for SF weekly and I definitely am writing about them this week!"

There's only one problem: She doesn't write for us. I'm the editor here; I know all of our writers, and what they are and aren't assigned to do.

As soon as I saw it, I set out to correct it. But talking to Yelp isn't easy.

I don't have any contacts at Yelp, so I had to go in the front door. I couldn't find a "contact Yelp" phone number or email address. You have to sign in to Yelp's system to access feedback. So I did that.

I sent the liar this message: "I am the food editor at SF Weekly. Who are you? We don't have a Maya C. working for us right now. Please explain why you cite us in your review of Tuba."

And I sent Yelp a message I didn't keep a copy of, saying that this woman claims to work for SF Weekly, but I am the food editor and she does not.

The liar sent this response: "sf weekly voice, I will fix it. I am very very sorry to cite your name, I haven't checked my reviews since." As of this moment, she hasn't fixed it.

Thankfully, the flagging mechanism on Yelp's site has kicked the review into the "filtered" category, but this whole debacle does point out a flaw in the Yelp phenomenon - that the reviews aren't really obligated to tell the truth.

First, it's probably worth noting before I write a number of very complimentary things about the Luz de Vida compilation set to be released on October 18th that the creative team behind the project is full of Tucson Weekly staffers/writers/friends/etc..

However, the proceeds from the concert celebrating the album's release, and the music itself (both in vinyl and digital formats) are going to the Tucson Together Fund, so it's sort of a no-brainer for us to mention it here.

Prayerfully Popped opened at the Benedictine Monastery last weekend. Let it be known that I am a full supporter of nun-produced popcorn, and that I absolutely love this new business.

From where does my love for this new popcorn outfit spring? From their slogan - Corn From the Cloister! - and the pictures of the nuns making the popcorn on the Prayerfully Popped website, which make me feel happy and good every time I see them.

There are some pretty great popcorn flavors, too, like Abba Anthony’s Cheddar Chipotle and Cloister Cinnamon Hot Chocolate. They also do a rocky-road version that comes with marshmallows and drizzles of chocolate.