July 03, 2009

Random Friday: Holiday Hodgepodge

Photo: djwhelan

So I'm not going to even try to put these random items together in any sort of theme. It's the start of a holiday weekend and my brain is already long gone, perhaps snoozing on an imaginary beach, or dancing to imaginary music, or snarfing up imaginary cheeseburgers and ice cream...

But who needs a brain? Even without one I can still string a few unrelated paragraphs together!

So stay tuned for some new weird health and weight loss news, an awesome stealthy commando grassroots movement that you may want to join, more of the usual random silliness, and a Dramatic Personal Announcement!***

Oh and specially for the holiday weekend: now with 60% more Exclamation Points!


Help Others Feel Beautiful!

Have you already heard of Operation Beautiful, the campaign to leave sneaky messages around town to boost body image and defeat the nefarious advertisers trying to exploit our insecurities?

I'd heard of it too, but was too chicken to leave messages like:


But you know who is not the least bit chicken about anything?



That's right, Mizfit!

Go check out her blog post (if you haven't already) about her Operation Beautiful Adventures and you may find yourself inspired to join in too.

(Note: I saw an earlier post on this by one of our readers, and I meant to go back and link to it but I forgot where I saw it! Sorry! So if any of you also have blog posts about Operation Beautiful, remind me in the comments and I'll re-edit to include a link to your blog post here.)


Or, Congratulate Yourself!

Apparently Americans are blowing off health advice, and doing worse than ever before when it comes to exercising, eating vegetables, and trying to keep their BMI in healthy ranges. And guess what? "Individuals with a history of hypertension/diabetes/cardiovascular disease were no more likely to be adherent to a healthy lifestyle than people without these conditions."

That seems sort of, well, dumb.

And is it a coincidence that a new report says obesity rates are higher than ever?

So it's bad news of course, especially given how much of our national resources go to medical costs. On the other hand, psychologically, it's a reminder that healthy living is a CHALLENGE! And most people don't even seem to be trying. So for those of you who are making an effort every day to be healthy, no matter what your current weight or state of fitness? Congratulations, you're even more of a freak than you thought!


Weight Loss Weapons:


First, a weird one: a recent study on mice reported over at Booster Shots found that acetic acid, the main ingredient of vinegar, reduced body fat gain. Other studies have indicated it might help with blood pressure, blood sugar levels and fat accumulation. Crabby cautions, however: do not read this and then run out and start drinking quarts of vinegar, ok? I do not want to hear about a Peck of Pickled People showing up at the doctor's office with weird stomach complaints.

Quick Quiz: And Diane at Fit to the Finish pointed me to this helpful quiz to get some perspective on portion sizes. What, you mean a bagel the size of your head actually has a lot of calories? Surprise!


But Don't Despair Over a Few Extra Pounds!

Yes, obesity is a health risk. But yet another study recently reinforced what we reported here before at Cranky Fitness about extra weight and longevity. Overweight people live longer! As long as you are not obese.

It's funny how rarely these sort of statistics gets reported. (And granted, there are other measures of health besides longevity). But whenever these studies come out they get pretty much ignored, because it just doesn't fit with the "thin is always healthier" narrative we have going in our culture.


Win an iPod Shuffle!

Yep, this is me slipping in my weekly plug for The Juice again, because not only is there cool stuff over there, but they are the Official Sponsor of these next few paragraphs!

Hi there, Juice!

Anyway, there's a video interview with Deb of Weight of Deb, full of great motivational tips for healthy eating. Plus, I've collected some sneaky tips from other smart bloggers for staying on track, and Laura at Org Junkie discusses the wonders of Green Smoothies. Got any healthy eating tips? We'd love to hear them!

Oh, and the iPod Shuffle and "Getting to 50/50" giveaway is still going on. Just sayin'-- the odds are still really good and I would love to see a Cranky Fitness reader walk off with the prize.


For All You Parents:

Er, or maybe us non-parents might appreciate this even more. Let's Panic is a funny new parenting website. Their approach to raising children is very similar to the enthusiastic approach Cranky Fitness takes to vigorous exercise and proper nutrition!



Let's just say that, like Cranky Fitness, perhaps it's not for everyone.


So What's Up With All the Dead Celebrities Lately?

Seriously, they're piling up at an alarming rate: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Carl Malden, the Infomercial Guy... is it just me, or is it escalating? Conspiracy theories, whether semi-serious or totally wacky, would be appreciated.


Graph: by Graphjam


Cat Video:

Why? Just because, that's why!


Video from: CollegeHumor.


And Now, For The Dramatic*** Personal Announcement!

So I suspect I'm going to have to go to McSlacker Re-Education Camp, because I seem to have accidentally acquired a couple of jobs this summer. One of which is not even the convenient virtual kind, but is instead the old-fashioned real kind. I'm required to, get this: show up in an actual physical location (the local library) at specified hours. Yikes!

So over the next couple of months, you may notice some possible service interruptions at Cranky Fitness on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Do not adjust your monitors; trained technicians are standing by. But be prepared for the possibility of:

Exceptionally Lame Posts;
Short Posts;
Missing Posts;
Failure to Leave Comments on Other Blogs Very Often, No Matter How Awesome They Are;
General Half-Assedness; and
Radioactivity.

Oh wait... I've just been informed by our chief engineer that we will not be radioactive! Hooray!

Anyway, if you can hang in there for a couple months, all should be back to normal before too long. (And thank goodness for Merry Sunshine, who somehow writes great posts while holding down an actual Adult Full Time Job!)

***Dramatic? You call that Dramatic?
Yeah, I know--not so much. But this is McSlackerland! Were you thinking maybe I was just appointed to a Cabinet post, or adopted triplets, or was selected to go on the space shuttle, or was just indicted on felony charges in a ponzi scheme? All that would take too much effort! But if President Obama does call me and needs a Secretary of Whining and Crankiness, I shall be sure to let you know.

Got any holiday plans? Any thoughts on Operation Beautiful, dead celebrities, vegetable-shunning Americans, or anything at all? And have a great weekend!
---Crabby

31 comments:

  1. Love that cat. Congrats on the library stint. :)

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  2. TGIF Crabby! I love the randomness!

    Here is my operation beautiful note for the day....

    Smile! You ARE a beautiful!

    Share the love with someone else...

    Happy Friday Everyone! :)

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  3. Congratulations on the library thing. Hope it's fun. I put vinegar on sunburn, and all other types of burn. Takes the pain away if it's on for a few minutes and if left long enough there's no burn scar.
    Happy Fourth of July tomorrow.

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  4. SO GLAD you dont live in my town (there's a first time for everything huh?)
    we've been known to accidentally terrorize the lie-berry on some hothot afternoons.

    Thanks for the love & have a great weekend!

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  5. Congrats on the job - I love my library, but could never work there, because I'd hoard all of the new books that came in. Not to give you any ideas or anything!

    As the owner of 2 cats (currently), I wholeheartedly endorse that video - too cute!

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  6. Congrats on the library gig!

    There's a place i haven't been in a while and need to get to Stat!

    Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!!

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  7. Welcome to the wacky world of public library service, Crabby! You may be suprised to find what strange, odd, funny, horrifying, and uplifting things happen in the library. Looking forward to hearing your anecdotes. You may be interested in: Miss Information, the tormented life of a library clerk. http://miss-information.blogspot.com/

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  8. PS: LOVE that Michael Jackson graph. LMAO!

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  9. Congrats on the job!

    The library is one of the few places I frequent besides the gym.

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  10. Hooray for new job! :)

    The message that I take from the studies is that the more important markers of fitness are diet, muscle mass, and exercise, regardless of the scale... A lot of male athletes are obese/overweight but there's no doubt that they're in great health!

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  11. Sounds like a job that will be fraught with excitement, danger, and the possibility of getting to wear your hair in a bun and stick pencils in it.

    And why does a post have to be long? I remember you used to put out "fun-sized" posts from time to time, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

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  12. Ha! I am totally digging the "Let's Panic" site!

    ...it will come out of you, and then you will have to take care of it

    Whoo, doggie! Am I ever glad that my children are capable of feeding themselves and doing laundry now!

    Hope the new library gig is a blast.

    And...YOU! Are BEAUTIFUL!

    Have a great weekend.

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  13. Oh just read Merry's comment about "Fun-Sized" posts and that sounds like a little happiness wrapped up in a mini cranky wrapper! Would love it!

    Congrats on all the paying gigs! Seriously, maintaining your McSlackerness and managing to get any type of mula in this economy is a feat of ingenuity. And talent. Whatever. I'm not bitter. ;)

    About Americans still blowing off their health...I feel like this is another example of how health is paradoxically both an isolated and internal struggle and something highly influenced and determined by the gov., media, and socioeconomic status. I don't mean to get all philosophical on you guys, but have you seen Food Inc.?

    Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

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  14. Crabby McSlacker, librarian. That has a nice ring to it. (Not, of course, as nice as 'Marion, the Librarian' from the "Music Man", but you can't have everything!)

    The cat video cracked me up - thanks for sharing!

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  15. That graph was hilarious. My thoughts on Michael Jackson extend to: he was a child molester and there are wars going on around the world, so why should he be headline news just because he got offed?

    Wow about the bagel! Happy 4th of July.

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  16. Congrats on the job! (I'm jealous, you get to hang at the library and GET PAID!!!! If only I'd gone for that library sciences degree!)
    Have a GREAT holiday!
    (The exclamation points are spreading!!!!!!!)

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  17. Have fun at the library over the summer. Love the cat video.

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  18. So much to read so I am going back later to read more closely & watch that video!!!!

    Congrats on paying jobs! We will stick with you!

    Have a great holiday weekend!

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  19. I enjoyed the post! Happy holiday weekend to you...

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  20. Funkadelic about the obesity study...

    I believe I read that Lord Byron subsisted largely on vinegar, at least when he was being the swoonie hottie poet in London.

    Gratz on the job!

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  21. I am truly surprised that the obesity rate hasn't dropped because I see so many people who seem to be changing their eating habits and lifestyle. Gosh, where are we going wrong with this??

    Congrats on the paying gigs!! And I am going to check The Juice now!

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  22. You're a librarian now? Wow, congrats. Don't pinch the children.

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  23. I worked as a librarian for years, then left library work to work in information architecture. Then finally left I.A. for toilets.

    Will you be the person shelving? LC or Dewie?
    Also you should have some good public library stories of homeless droolers, sleepers, kids making out in the stacks. It's enough to make you want to get a job in fast food.

    Anyway, Crabby, you are beautiful.
    Put post-its on all the books telling folks they are beautiful.

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  24. Congrats on the library job, and thanks for liking the portion quiz.

    I loved the random posts, I think you covered almost every area of life!

    Happy 4th to all!

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  25. I love the operation beautiful... I think that's what I'll do next week :)

    Happy Fourth of July!

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  26. Awesome post! Libraries rule. Yes, I am a geek and proud of it.
    Love teh kitteh video. That sucker is scary fast.

    (Peck of Pickled People made me howl.)

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  27. hi ADMIN!
    this is one one of the best medical blogs i have seen recently and i feel that this must be still improved further to meet the expectations of readers like me!

    GREAT JOB! KEEP GOING!

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  28. hehe, what a fun post. I hope you're having a great holiday weekend! And congratulations on the job. :)

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  29. funny post, Crabby :)

    but what's up with dr Rajesh's comment?! WTF is that about? :)

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  30. Thanks everyone, for stopping by on a busy holiday weekend!

    Lillian's mom:

    I know, kinda weird! Was gonna delete, but it's not obviously spam...

    Meanwhile, I shall work tirelessly to improve the site to meet expectations of readers like him! (Not).

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