Category: In the News

how not to relieve shoulder pain

Over the years, people have done countless stupid things.  You could fill a blog documenting such things and never run out of content (and I’m sure somebody is trying).  Albert Einstein supposedly said, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not even sure about the universe.”   I’ve also heard it said that “the 2 most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.”  I’m not going to argue with that.  I suppose stupidity is limitless because imagination is limitless.  Some people use their imagination for good, while some people use it to invent new ways of being stupid.

The reason I’m thinking of that is because of something I heard in the news this week.  A woman in Michigan hurt her shoulder trying to keep her 80-pound Labrador from fighting with her Chihuahuas, and she was unemployed and couldn’t afford to get health care because she had no health insurance.   The pain supposedly became too much to bear, so she became desperate.  The hospital wouldn’t treat her unless it was an emergency, so she borrowed a gun and shot her shoulder, so the hospital would be required to treat her.  On TV, she said she figured this would be better than the pain she was currently dealing with.  Before shooting herself, she put pillows in front of and behind her shoulder, along with an ice pack.

Her plan backfired, though, because the bullet missed all of the affected areas, so the doctors in the emergency room didn’t have to work on her previous problem.   So now she has the shoulder pain and a gunshot wound to deal with.  Afterward, she said, “It didn’t take the pain away.  I figured it would take the pain away from the rotator cuff, where at least I could focus on something else, and maybe they would fix me, you know.  I guess I should have shot a little lower and got the bone and the artery.”  I’m not sure she learned her lesson…

Is it fun to be fat?

Apparently some people really enjoy being fat.  There are a number of bloggers who call themselves “gainers” and document their quest to get fatter.  One blogger named Peter is 5’8″ and 250 pounds, and he is trying to gain more weight.  He has said:

“I love how my weight feels when I run, falling and shaking my body shortly after each step… The only thing I love more than being fat, is getting fatter.”

Uhh… He has also explained that “it feels natural to be fat”.  I don’t know about that, but I have experienced weight gain myself, and it was all natural.  I didn’t have to take any supplements or follow any special non-workout routines.  It just happened.

Peter has also said:

“I talk with many men who are much larger than I am, about their bodies and why they grew so large. They talk about the satisfaction of being full like some people talk about how good they feel after a hard workout or something. Being fat is just what makes them happy.”

Here’s where I think he’s confused (among other things) — I can understand the satisfaction of being full.  When I demolish a pizza buffet and then sit around talking with my friends, it feels good.  That feeling does make you happy.  But being fat doesn’t make me happy.  That’s the difference.  I’m slightly overweight because I love to eat, but I don’t like being fat.  I enjoy playing sports, and hiking, and being able to go places that require walking, without being out of breath all the time.

It’s possible to eat a lot and not be fat, if you maintain a high metabolism.  Then you get to enjoy eating AND enjoy physical activities.  I realize some people may not care about physical activities, so being in good health may not matter so much to them.   But when people get to the point that they get out of breath from tying their shoes, I don’t see how that’s enjoyable.  And then there’s the added health issues of being obese, which aren’t fun at all.

So my conclusion (not that you asked, but you’re still reading), is that it’s not fun to be fat.   But it is very enjoyable to eat, as evidenced by the numerous food conversations we have had here on this blog, particularly our Buffet o’ Bacon series.

it can be healthy to be fat

According to cutting-edge research, it is actually healthy to have a fat butt.  That sounds like something crazier than I would ever even make up, but it’s the gist of an article I happened to find on a news website.

For all the people with fat around their stomach, that’s totally unhealthy, unfortunately.  I’ll have to keep looking for some cutting-edge research that finds a way to explain how that’s somehow healthy…

(BTW, I’ve heard blogging professionals say you should include pictures with your posts, to increase interest.  I try to do that sometimes.  But I think this post is an exception.  You should be thankful I realized that…)

Congressman Hank Johnson worried about Guam

Here’s a video that sounds like an April Fools prank, but it happened a couple of days ago, so it must be serious.  Besides, we know politicians typically don’t have a sense of humor.

Henry Hank Johnson, a Congressman from Georgia, is featured in the video below, “debating” the idea of adding more soldiers to the U.S. military base in Guam.  That may not sound humorous, but it gets random.  Not only is he obviously filibusting (delaying an answer / vote), but he has some logic issues while rambling.

Hank is concerned that if they add 8,000 soldiers and their families to Guam, the island might “tip over and capsize”.  I mean, Guam is a small island, so you have to consider these things.  Or, um, NOT!   Unless I totally missed something during geography classes, islands aren’t known for tipping over if you put too many people on them.   In case you didn’t watch it, he said, “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”

Perhaps Hank was just rambling in hopes that the discussion would run out of time or the moderator would just give up.  Or perhaps he was trying to make a “facetious metaphor” (as a spokesman later claimed), but if so, he failed… epicly.  Maybe he should work on saying intelligent things, instead of just making stuff up.  It is kinda funny to hear, until you realize that this man gets a vote in legislation that governs our country.

Should we cut him some slack?  Everybody says stupid things from time to time, right?  Probably, but not things that stupid.   And the average person isn’t in Congress, where the bar of intelligence should be considerably higher.  Even if he was just rambling (and he was), how do you say something like that?  I know rambling can get random — this I am familiar with — but when you’re sitting in front of government officials, you should be able to refrain from saying one of the stupidest things of the year…

And he doesn’t know when to stop!  Surely he realized how ignorant his statement was about the island tipping over (along with visual simulations), but then he rambles on about the soldiers interfering with the coral reef, that we don’t like to think about it, that it might become like global warming.  (Notice how he keeps adjusting his tie around the 2-minute mark.)   And he talks so slow… does he think that will make him sound more intelligent and/or thoughtful?

I just keep thinking this is a prank video, that there’s no way an elected official to Congress is this obtuse.