Two-thirds of American adults are overweight—more of them women than men—yet fewer than one-quarter are dieting. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control found that women eat over 300 more calories a day than they did in 1971. Fewer than one-third of Americans get regular exercise.

Most Americans are fat and happy. Of course everyone would love to cut their cancer risk by one-third—unless it means skipping that extra scoop of ice cream, or jogging three times a week. Reducing cancer risk isn’t that important. Until you get it.

As Associated Press reporter Maria Cheng noted, there is a reluctance on the part of many doctors to make too much of this study: “Any discussion of weight and breast cancer is considered sensitive because some may misconstrue that as the medical establishment blaming women for their disease.”

No one should be “blamed” for getting a disease, but nor is it a good idea to simply ignore the person’s lifestyle choices that greatly increase their chances of getting that disease. If a person chooses an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc.), doctors should not be shy about warning them the risks they are assuming.
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Our government seems to be handing money out on a regular basis, to conglomerate corporations that, by law, should have been allowed to go out business for making bad investments. It has handed money out to financial institutions that have vortexed our global economy into chaos. It is even handing money out to first-time homebuyers who could potentially foreclose on these new investments, despite the handout – note that the tax monies then revert back to the banks. But what about public education? The people who are responsible for preparing students who will someday take over our world are being severely financially neglected. Even as recently as today on CNN, riots are breaking out all over the country in response to continuous and savage decimation of public education funding.

The world bleeds green. So let’s tie education to something that people actually still care about: money. What if the government uses some of that “surplus stimulus” money to give parents a tax break if their student scores over a certain grade point average or passes or demonstrates growth on a standardized test? Suddenly, school becomes a priority again.

As it is, teachers are already liable for their students’ test scores, so no added pressure here; if anything, this idea would alleviate some of the stress that teachers are constantly under – someone else besides the teacher would then be responsible for the students’ test scores and grades. Makes perfect sense to me.

Art is hard to define as a concept and is being understood different as time passes. Sculptors have often been the flag carriers for art around the world. Here’s just a small list of some amazing art works that just stand out, public sculptures that just stand out.

The magic tap



It seems to be taken straight out of photoshop, but it’s as real as you can get. Located in the Aqualand in Cadiz, it seems to be floating and pouring water all day long. It’s not rocket science figuring out how it works; there’s a pipe hidden in the stream of water which is the answer behind it.

La Trobe



A statue of Charles Joseph La Trobe, gifted to the Library by the La Trobe Society, was unveiled in 2006. Located in Melbourne, the sculpture is standing upside down and seems to be a wonder of balance.

The Shark



The Shark has been an attraction for tourists in Oxford for more than 20 years. This house is not different to any other; it was built as a semi-detached house in about 1860 but now attached by a link to a second house to the north.

Computer chip Mona Lisa



It may not seem that great, but this sculpture made just from computer chips is definitely something to be admired whenever you’re in the Asus Headquarters.
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