what if the what-if's took a back seat?

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-- It's a little diffuse, but here is a somewhat interesting analysis/speculation of the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon as it plays out around the world.

Am I wrong or is there some basis to the fact that I feel increasingly crabby about the news? Somehow it feels more and more like those ridiculous shows on television that parse the meaning of Nostradamus 'predictions' or gather 'evidence' that suggests aliens helped the Egyptians to build the pyramids... programs filled with "what if" propositions couched in solemn tones that hope to provoke concurrence and belief. And then of course there are the politicians looking into a future and suggesting (with little or no concrete evidence) they could fix whatever needs fixing.

-- And in somewhat the same tasty-but-inconsequential realm, a new book suggests that the painter Vincent Van Gogh did not commit suicide at 37 but was accidentally shot by a boy with a malfunctioning gun. But the authors of "Van Gogh: The Life" make the suggestion as a sidelight rather than a main course and concede that little is known of the particulars. Nevertheless, the article about the book looks for a juicy tidbit to lead with as it scans the book and comes up with this ah-ha moment that dwindles and dissolves on closer inspection.

-- A more satisfying diet can be found in a Danville, Ill., elementary school which is apparently DOING something about the obesity about which others can wring their hands in 'caring' dismay. Exercise, diet and a signed commitment from parents ... and, whaddya know, something gets done.
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