From the Washington Post:

The weight-loss industry has long been saturated with gimmicky, too-good-to-be-true diets, so one could be excused for thinking the main benefit of “Eat Fat, Get Thin” is to burn calories by causing particularly vigorous eye-rolling.

I mean, doesn’t eating fat, like, make you fat?

Actually, the answer is a big, fat no, at least according to Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the man behind the “Eat Fat, Get Thin” plan.

“The misinformation that has been pushed on our population by the food industry and our government, which is that all calories are the same — that’s true in a laboratory, when you burn them,” Hyman said. “It’s not true when you eat them.”

Read the whole story from Des Bieler here.

Getting enough fresh fruits and vegetables to eat can be a hit or miss prospect in Cleveland's “food deserts” where full service grocery stores are hard to come by. At the same time, an astounding amount of produce and other food in the United States – more than 30 million tons a year – ends up in landfills.
 
A fourth-generation fruit-and-vegetable wholesaler in Cleveland is taking on those incongruities with a program designed to assist low-income families while tackling food waste.
 
Forest City Weingart Produce Co. has begun selling, at cost, fruits and vegetables that come through its warehouse every week that are totally healthy but cosmetically flawed – an eggplant with a scar, a dimpled orange, the oddly shaped tomato. The "Perfectly Imperfect" endeavor is a unique effort by which the wholesaler is packaging imperfect produce for purchase on a small scale for individuals, says Ashley Weingart, the company’s director of communications and community outreach.
 
It’s also part of a growing push across the country to save misshapen yet completely edible food from the dump. Writer Jordan Figueiredo has a social media campaign to promote the ugly produce movement on Twitter @UglyFruitAndVeg, and on Facebook.
 
“We see an opportunity to reduce food waste and help get more fruits and vegetables to the population that can’t afford them,” says Weingart as she assembles boxes of imperfect cantaloupes, green peppers, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, lemons and mangos.
 
“We want to bridge the gap between all the food waste that exists in our country and to help the community around us,” she adds. “We feel like we have the obligation and the opportunity to help.”
 
Perfectly Imperfect sells the produce medleys every Friday. A 15-pound mixture goes for $15 or get 30 pounds for $25 at 4000 Orange Ave in Cleveland (call ahead to order at 216-881-3232). Shoppers also can sign up to have boxes delivered to their homes ($7.50 within the city, $10 elsewhere in the county and $15 for surrounding counties). The program is open to all.

Continue reading.

As locals know, from the wins on the court and around the diamond to a nearly incident-free Republican National Convention, things are going very well here in Cleveland

The national press is predictably flummoxed.

- In this one for the Washington Post, for instance, Adam Kilgore seems to believe we're all slack-jawed and blinking doe-eyed at one another, bewildered that anything other than gray skies and doom could befall our unfortunate lot:

"People here are trying to comprehend what has happened over these past few months, how to process a delirious and wholly unfamiliar confluence."

- The incredulous question mark in this headline for Corky Siemaszko's effort for NBC was not lost on us. It's as if to say, can this really be happening? In Cleveland?

The 'Year of Cleveland'? Hard-Luck City's Sports Fans Are Losers No More

- Lastly, this headline and subhead atop this article from Jared Diamond for the Wall Street Journal has us in crisis mode:

Success Is Giving Cleveland an Identity Crisis

The city’s sports fans could experience a second major championship in one year—a 180-degree turn for a town accustomed to losing.

Now then, gentlemen, while we appreciate the concern, not to worry. We can handle it. We suggest you, however, calm down and take a powder.


 

"Nice matters" at All City Candy, whether simply greeting customers at the door or creating treat-filled gift baskets for corporate events, owner Elisabeth Sapell says.
 
Kindness as a core value has served the Richmond Heights candy store well over the past three years, during which it's offered up 4,000 tasty items from 100 manufacturers and distributors. All City Candy has grown 25 percent annually since October 2013, when Sapell first opened her colorful, candy-scented 6,000-square-foot space at 746 Richmond Road.
 
Sapell points to the store's atmosphere of joy and nostalgia that keeps sweet-toothed consumers coming back. Wide aisles provide bulging bins of hard-shelled chocolates and jelly beans customers can mix and match themselves, while nearby racks overflow with familiar brands and an assortment of retro taste treats.
 
"We're trying to inspire fun and happiness," says Sapell. "It's like a little wonderland here."
 
All City Candy expanded its line to include the Pretzelicious brand of gourmet chocolate pretzels, which are packaged with chocolate-dipped Oreos and other goodies for corporate getaways. Over the last 12 months, the has store sent upwards of 1,000 treat baskets to its business clients. Weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and birthday parties get bulk orders, too, resulting in steady growth for the megastore.
 
An October 23 third anniversary celebration reflected the fun-loving attitude that's brought All City Candy such success, its owner says. About a thousand visitors enjoyed games and giveaways throughout the day, along with a Halloween-themed candy buffet and chocolate pretzel dipping display. 
 
Community and charity events are another piece of Sapell's business model. In recent months, the store hosted a party pairing wines with different candies. All City Candy also supplied sweet snacks to young patients at University Hospitals during the holiday season.
 
"Our mission is to inspire people to be creative, kind and giving," says Sapell. "What did we do today to make someone happy?"
 
Sapell is glad to bring fun to the retail experience, a state of beings she recalls from working in the family grocery store, Sapell's Bi-Rite in Lakewood. Happiness spreads from customers via social media, or a visitor gleefully calling a friend while walking the aisles and seeing the deliciousness on display.
 
"We looked at our core values, and it's more than just selling candy," says Sapell. "It's about creating a place where people can have a good time and get away from what's stressing them out." 

USA Today poses the question: Does all of the local basketball and baseball success make Cleveland the best sports town in America right now? Watch Luke Kerr-Dineen and Charles Curtis break it down in a short video here.


 

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is asking area residents to participate in a quick and easy online survey to gather information about what they think transportation in Northeast Ohio should look like over the next two decades, including priorities for commuters, cyclists and transit users. The survey will remain online until October 30.

The effort is part of NOACA’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, a 20-year framework to guide investments for all forms of transportation and the movement of freight throughout the region. The plan is slated for approval by NOACA’s board in March 2017.

“This survey will help us to inform Northeast Ohio’s transportation goals, wants and needs for the next two decades,” said Grace Gallucci, NOACA executive director in a statement. “We’ve been really thoughtful in designing a survey that encourages users to think about transportation differently,” she added. “We hope that this survey will help highlight the need to prioritize transportation wants cohesively, as a region.”

Take the survey here.

America's Got Talent invites all singers, dancers, magicians, performers and purveyors of entertainment to come and show them what you've got at an open call audition on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at the Huntington Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Ave. in downtown Cleveland.

Details on registration, creating a Performer Profile and auditioning online for the show's season 12 are available here.

“There’s no show on television that changes lives and discovers stars the way that America’s Got Talent does,” said executive producer Sam Donnelly in a statement. “Each year we continue to find new and amazing acts through our open auditions.  We’re excited to visit each of these cities to discover the best talent they have to offer.”

These local food entrepreneurs have found the sweet spot between 'clean-labeling' and good taste. The results are flavored with success.

This series of stories, "Grassroots Success: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods," explores how meaningful impact on our communities grows from the ground up. Support for "Grassroots Success" is provided by Neighborhood Connections.
 
Alex Robertson is smart, ambitious, and successful. And after leaving Glenville to attend Ivy League Columbia University in New York City, he returned home to share what he has gleaned and improve his neighborhood by making it more fun.
 
Robertson threw a birthday party for his entire community when he first formed the pop-up game and event organization Recess Cleveland (recessCLE). Its first event was held on his 31^st birthday, August 9, 2015.
 
“Birthdays are always a good time to get people out to an event,” says Robertson. “I told my friend, for my birthday I want to throw dodge balls at you.”
 
Approximately 50 people showed up. They divided the group into age 21 and under and age 22 and older.

”The highlight of the day was a 65-year-old grandma pitching to five-year-old kids,” Robertson says. “When she was kicking, she kicked a line-drive to the outfield. So all the kids were like, ‘Granny’s got legs!’ We did get her a designated runner, though.”

Continue reading.

A no-frills cheat sheet. Click through for more information on all the events. Let's have a great October, Cleveland!

Oct. 1 and 8: Uptown Saturday Nights, University Circle. FREE.
 
Oct. 2: International Cleveland Community Day, Cleveland Art Museum. FREE.
 
Oct. 7: Cleveland Institute of Art's Lunch on Fridays: Michela Picchi. FREE.
 
Oct. 8: Tour Undiscovered E. 40^th Street on Lolly the Trolley. $5.
 
Oct. 12: Concert at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern featuring Dutch Babies, Skim the Reason and Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. FREE.
 
Oct. 15: Sweet Moses presents a boogie - woogie retro event featuring "The Everley Sisters." FREE.
 
Oct. 22 and 23: $1 Family Night, Cedar Lee Theatre. "Wallace and Gromit" The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." $1.
 
Oct. 23: All City Candy's 3^rd Anniversary Extravaganza. FREE.
 
Oct. 23: MOCA: Preschool Play Date: Artsquad Plays! FREE.
 
Oct. 28: Carpe Diem String Quartet performs at Praxis Fiber Gallery. FREE, donations appreciated.
 

How many fresh-cut flowers can fit in a Detroit Shoreway restaurant? Anyone opting to dine at Spice Kitchen and Bar this weekend will have a chance to find out during the popular eatery's "Flower Field Takeover" event on Friday, Sept. 30th, and Saturday, Oct. 1st, from 4 to 10 p.m.

Staff is harvesting the entire half-acre Spice Acres flower field, which is part of a 13-acre sustainable family farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. All of the blooms will be transported to the restaurant in order to offer up a beautiful farewell to summer while visitors explore the fresh tastes of Spice's new fall menu.

While bouquets will be available for sale, there is no additional cost to attend the event. Reservations, however, are recommended. Call 216.961.9637 or go online to reserve your table.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) reopened its doors last Friday after a short hiatus following the wildly successful Myopia exhibit. While completely different in tone from the Mark Mothersbaugh show, the new installations reflect a unique and unexpected study in contrast that stimulates every sense.
 
Visitors are well advised to start at the top, as it were, in MOCA's fourth floor galleries, wherein Wall to Wall: Carpets by Artists unfurls. The contents are aptly described by the title – these are carpets, which sounds mundane at first blush. The content is anything but, with lush and gorgeous images that are beautifully served by the textile medium.
 
A sampling of the 30 works: Faig Ahmed's Oiling (2012) literally melts the concept of a traditional middleeastern rug design while Deep Purple, Red Shoes (Polly Apfelbaum, 2015), invites visitors to walk upon it, provided they remove their shoes. Nautilus shells notwithstanding, Infinite Carpet (Pierre Bismuth, 2008) recalls the golden rectangle. And speaking of arithmetic, Joseph Kosuth's L.W. (Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics), 2015, will have viewers indeed believing that "2 + 2 + 2 are 4."
 
Traveling to the next component of the 2016 show sounds benign enough, but – as regular visitors have come to expect – MOCA's Stair A refracts the experience. While attendees navigate the twisting stairs, Anthony Discenza's audio installation A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats advises them thusly:
 
"Think Suicide Girls meets the Pillsbury Dough Boy."
 
"Think Baywatch meets the Cuban Missile Crisis."
 
"Think Jersey Shore meets Stephen King."
 
The deep resonant voice, which is fitting of any voice-over John Q. Public is fed by media sources at every turn, is so convincing, attendees may indeed be inclined to plop down and listen to every suggestion within the 23-minute installation.
 
"Think art deco meets Jurassic Park."

Continue reading ...

On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Cleveland VOTES will partner with local organizations to host a series of events for National Voter Registration Day 2016. The effort is part of a massive 50-state drive to register thousands of voters before Election Day, November 8. The theme for this year’s National Voter Registration Day is "Celebrating Democracy in America."
 
The day will be marked by an array of registration drives across the city, from a “Pop Up Cook Out” at Moulton/Scoutway Park, East 115th and Moulton Avenue from 2 to 5 p.m., to the “Pan pa’ Casa /Drive Thru Voter Registration” at Walton Elementary School, 3409 Walton Avenue, from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
 
In Ohio, the voter registration deadline for the November 8 election is October 11. Ohioans are encouraged to make sure their voter registration is up to date. If you have moved, changed your name or had any other changes since you last voted, you need to re-register by October 11.

Ohioans must register to vote in person or by mail. Click here for more information, or attend one of the more than 14 local registration activities on Tuesday, Sept. 27, National Voter Registration Day, at locations all over Cleveland and times to accommodate every schedule. Get the full list here.