The Chatterbox | November 16

Between reports of fatal bullying and blogger idiocy, we've been feeling a bit fiery. It's a good thing an adorable new video from one of our favorite sea creatures dropped this week (and we're not talking about SpongeBob).

First up, a federal lambasting of the push for healthier school lunches. As it turns out, the powers that be don't want to pry the fries from our nation's chubby little hands.

• Pizza is a vegetable? According to Congress it is. We hope this isn't a rehashing of the 1981 Reagan-era cost-cutting "ketchup is a vegetable" nonsense. Then again, it shouldn't surprise anyone that corporations are butting their heads up against recent initiatives for healthier school lunches. It's enough to drive Jamie Oliver to a conniption fit.

File under: "You're smarter than that, right?"

• High IQs in kids correlated with future drug use? One study seems to think so. Say it ain't so! 

File under: "Earth to editor"

• At least one local parent on Twitter was not amused by a headline on NBC Chicago’s website on Monday morning. “How Ghetto Is Your School?” is Edward McClelland’s tasteless title for an article about a new measure added to CPS’ Report Cards on its schools, recently made available through an interactive map online. McClelland’s third paragraph states that South Side Fenger High School students have complained about their school’s so-called ghetto reputation adding, "Now, the CPS has found a way to quantify just how ghetto its schools are." Just when did it become OK to use the term "ghetto" as an adjective in a news article? 

•  There's nothing much more to say here other than that our hearts broke a little yesterday when the Tribune reported that teasing drove a 10-year-old girl from Ridge Farm, IL to commit suicide. The reports adds that even though it might seem uncommon, suicide among children actually happens hundreds of times a year.

Breaking: Porn stars can read!

• The always-volatile combination of kids and sex caused a ruckus this week in Los Angeles where former porn star Sasha Grey participated in the Read Across America program by reading to bunch of first graders at Emerson Elementary School. Apparently the situation gets more bizarre: The school tried to cover up the appearance after fielding complaints from concerned parents. Gossip site TMZ gives it a sensationalistic spin here (we really hate to link to them, but they had the story with photos first).

And now, a little cool down:

• The smart women behind momflter.com recently posted about this site, which provides countless ideas for new games to play with little ones, because, really, how many times can you ring around the rosie before feeling sick?

• We're loving the adorable second installment of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, the tiny Internet-sensation-turned-children's-book voiced by SNL's Jenny Slate.