Friday, June 24, 2011

Capoeira & My Singing Class.

I first learned of capoeira probably 10 years ago or more.  I was at a multicultural retreat, and there was a group/club performing.  It was like dancing and fighting combined.  To a Brazilian beat.  I loved it.  I kept the little piece of describing the group, and decided to try to when I wasn't in school.  I'm sure I've moved more than 15 times since then, but I always moved that little piece of paper with the description of capoeira on it.  During my last move, I was like, "Hey, I can do this now!  This piece of paper doesn't have to go back into the drawer!!"  So I found a place that teaches it near me, and the classes actually fit my schedule relatively well.

I went to my first class last week.  I learned a lot, as much about myself as about capoeira. 

We started the class (after I changed clothes in a bathroom without a light on, thankful for my flashlight app!) by singing.  Since Capoeira is so linked with music, I guess we learn a new Brazilian every week.  After the teacher sang it through a few times, and the group sang it through a few times, we each had to sing it on our own (with the group doing the chorus and members playing instruments)!!  I was so thankful for my experience in my singing class last semester!  I at least had experience singing in front of a group (albeit, not generally in Brazilian). 

We we did some warm ups after that, stretching and stuff.  We then went three at a time across the mat, doing different moves.  Like a roundhouse kick, or crab walking.  There were several new people  in the class with me, but the two guys had experience from  other clubs.  So it was just Nancy and I who were truly new.  We were paired together for most of the activities.  Nancy was an overweight woman, but she worked hard.  Anyway, Nancy and I often went alone down the mat doing the moves, because the teacher (Zach) wanted to instruct us two on our own before we did something.  It was good instruction, but made me a bit self-conscious. 

I'm not sure of Zach's ethnicity.  He was White and looked like a college wrestler (in shape, puffy ears), but he seemed to know the language pretty well. 

When the real part of the class started.  He told them to do certain moves (using Portuguese names), but he separated Nancy and I out to learn the basics.  We first learned jingo, the basic back and forth move, with a basic arm block.  We did that for awhile, which was good because I couldn't get my arms and legs to work together.  Well, not in the way that Zach wanted me to.  Then we learned a drop, but I don't remember the name.  Finally, he gave us some hints on the roundhouse (I'm sure there's a Portuguese name for it, but he didn't use it).  While the others were practicing other moves in pairs, we kept at our three things.  It sounds easy, but we were all tired and sweaty very soon.  May be it's Irvine humidity?  But that's  when I realized that I'm athletic in the sense that I'm in shape, but not in the sense that I'm coordinated.  Nancy was tired and getting sore, but I was fine.  I was sweaty, but still had energy.

Towards the end of class, we all sat around in a circle.  But then Zach told Nancy and I to come to the front.  Those with instruments started playing, and Zach told me to to a cartwheel into the center of the circle and start fighting him.  Uh, s'what?   But I did it.  The whole class watched while he slowly sorta kicked me and I tried to do the drop that he taught me, and the kick.  I'm sure it was ridiculous.  I was again thankful for my singing class.  I wasn't singing, but that's the closest experience that I have of performing in front of people.  Not counting public speaking, I guess, but I enjoy that and think that I'm good at it so it's not too nerve-wracking for me. It was someone's birthday, so she had to fight everyone.  Zach first, then me, then Nancy, then everyone else in the circle.  Including the musicians.  She was exhausted by the end of it!  Remind me not to go to class on my birthday!!

I plan to go to several more classes to see what more I can learn.  If capoeira is something that I "get" sorta quickly, then I might stick with it.  If not, I'll move on to learn something else.  I'm surprisingly good at water sports (surf kayaking, paddle boarding, etc.), for someone so uncoordinated, so may be I'll focus on something like that.  But I'll definitely go back to Zach's capoeira class a few more times!  Who's with me?

Monday, June 20, 2011

Green Lantern

GL was a typical hero story.  Some white guy gets amazing powers, but must learn to be responsible and, well, heroic.  Most notable similar movies would be The Matrix, Thor, Spiderman.  The description of the Green Lantern Core also had my inner droid screaming, "They're Jedis!"

Story Critique:
The story okay but, like I said, pretty traditional.

Plot Problems:
The Immortals were pretty easy to convince to create a yellow ring, even after having seen the destruction that using the yellow energy had wreaked on their fellow Immortal. 
GL was chosen because he was the most fearless person (man?) on all of Earth.  But if you listened to his backstory, especially with Blake Lively's character, you'd see that he was actually one of the most fearful men on the planet.  He was so afraid of his feelings, of losing something that he loved (again), that he just ran away.  That's not being fearless.  It's certainly not overcoming your fear and being courageous.  It's letting your fear control you.
I'm still a little confused why he needed to make a race car track and fighter jets with his ring.  Why couldn't he just imagine controlling the broken helicopter and landing it safely?  He created a shield over his lady love, why couldn't he do something similar with the helicopter?  May be I'm missing something because I don't know the comics, but I'm confused why he couldn't use the ring to make him telekinetic or have powers like the Force (but, obviously, with the ability to press buttons instead of having to mentally throw rocks at buttons).

Feminist Critique:
There was one major woman character.  She was White and very skinny, but brunette, at least (and that was a dye job!).  I really didn't like when she was used as bait for GL, but she actually gave the speech that helped GL feel his fear and do it anyway.  She also was quite courageous herself, showing pilot skills at the beginning, business skills throughout, and computer skills (under intense pressure) towards the end.  So I guess I can forgive using her as bait, since she was pretty kick-ass otherwise. 
There was one other woman character, a scientist.  She didn't do too much, but it was nice to have a smart, strong woman character in there.

Ethnic Critique:
This movie was incredibly white.  Whitey white WHITE.  GL got even whiter (his eyes went to pale blue) when he used his powers.  There was pretty much only one character of color, the aforementioned scientist.  I'm not even sure if this is a SPOILER, but the one Black character died.
GL's best friend was ethnically ambiguous to me.  He could've been Middle Eastern, Indian, or Jewish.  He was light-skinned and geeky.
There did not, at least, seem to be any actual stereotypic characters that I can recall.

Summary:
The movie was okay.  It wasn't epic, or even great, but it wasn't horrible, either.  The CG was a bit over-kill, but the glowing suits were cool.  It's a basic superhero movie.  It has little ethnic diversity, although no stereotyping, and at least one strong woman character.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Writing to a Writer

I was reading a Star Trek novel (I know, big geek speaking here), and was bothered by how the main character felt like he loved one of the female characters, but all he really knew about her was what she looked like and some of her promiscuous past.  Not really a perspective that I relish.  When I finished the book, I saw the author's email at the back of the book.  So I decided to write.  And he wrote back to me!  So here's my short email conversation with Steven Barnes:

Me:
Mr. Barnes,

Since you put your email at the end of your book, I decided to write to you.  Even though this book is over a decade old!

I loved how Far Beyond the Stars compared the experiences of African Americans in the mid-20th century to the experiences of Blacks in the 24th century.  However, I was less impress with how you represented women.  In particular, Jenny.  At best, she seemed like a prize fought for between Willie and Bennie.  At worst, Bennie's only interest in her was what she looked like and how sexual/sensuous she was.  Although this may be how teen boys approach the world, it was disappointing to have this intelligent character base his dream girl only on her looks.  What did they have in common, other than being Black?  Also, there didn't seem to be much motivation for Jenny to get together with Bennie, in particular.  She could have any guy in the area, why him?  In the end, she said that she loved him.  Why?  I didn't see anything in their relationship that might've made her feel that way.  Bennie seemed to pretty much treat her like other guys, having sex with her but not really having a relationship.  There didn't seem to be much growth of their relationship, just his thoughts. 

Anyway, Bennie's interaction with Jenny was problematic for me (so much so that I almost stopped reading when she was first described!), so I thought that I'd mention it.  Otherwise, I loved the social commentary on racism, and I thought that Cassie was a great character. 

Thank you for your time,

Him:
If I were to write that book today, I might alter that, or not.  I'm honestly not certain.   Teenage boys--and men in general--certainly do put a lot of stock on looks, especially in the early stages of relationships, and it is exactly as shallow as women's interest in power.  Both grow beyond it, in time.  Hopefully.

Steve

Me:   
Wow, thanks for writing back!  I expected that email to go into some forgotten cyber black hole!  Well, even though Bennie's perspective of Jenny bothered me, it was great to remind Trekkies that racism was real, and that we still need to work against it to reach the future that we've all been imagining.

Even if he didn't say anything about being more fair to his female characters, it was nice to at least get a response! 
 

 

Weight-Loss & Rest

This is my last post in my weight loss series.  I undoubtedly have more to say, but this is it, for now!


Resting
  • Rest!  Working out every day is too much.  Your muscles need time to recuperate and heal.  One way to do this is to work different body parts on consecutive days.  That way, even if you work out two days in a row, you won’t be working out the same muscles.
  • Sleep!  You can’t work your body hard, try to keep it fueled, and not rest it. 
In sum
  • Losing weight isn't about losing weight, it's about being healthy.  And being healthy is about nutrition, activity, and recuperation.   
  •  And that takes prioritizing your health, planning, and staying consistent. 
  • SparkPeople.com, or a similar site, can really help you get on the right path.  The sites have developed way to educate their members, keep them involved, and keep them motivated.  Dive in and join the community, there are tons of features to help you!

I'm giving you all of this advice, but, honestly, jogging is what's led to my weight loss.  I’ve always had a relatively healthy diet, and I’ve worked out for most of my life.  But I hit a plateau every time, until now.  I now jog (and walk) 3 miles at a time at least once a week, sometimes twice.  I'm still working on jogging the whole time.  But if you try to work up to that (and beyond), then I'm confident that you'll start losing weight, too. 

Weight-Loss & Exercise

This is the second of my series on weight loss.  Below are my thoughts and ideas related to exercise.


Activity


  • Exercise doesn't have to be working out at the gym.  As long as you're moving, it counts.  I like the gym, but I also make sure to jog outside, hike, play Ultimate Frisbee, play basketball, and play outside with kids.  Variety is actually good for you!  In fact, you shouldn't do any one exercise routine for more than 6 weeks or your body will adapt and you'll plateau. 
  • Many people dislike lifting weights.  It seems too boring to them.  I love it.  It's like yoga for me, yoking my mind to my body.  I focus on my form and how it feels.  It's meditative.  If you think that it's not competitive enough for you, think again.  You're competing with yourself.  You're seeing if you can do more reps or more sets or lift heavier weights every time that you train. 
  • I used to hate running.  When all of the kids would run out to the playground during recess, I would walk.  Since I got an mp3 player, my perspective of running has drastically changed.  I love it now.  I used it as meditation.  I always feel better after a run.  And I get to listen to my music for 30+ minutes! 
  • I use SparkPeople to track my fitness minutes.  They have some nice reports that show you how much you've done cardio, and even one that compares how many calories you wanted to burn to about how many it estimates that you did burn.  Seeing those charts climb is also motivating (as well as showing you when you aren’t moving at all).
  • A huge excuse for not exercising is again time.  I call B.S.  It's not about time, it's about prioritizing.  You could work out if you missed one TV show a day.  You'd have time if you played with your kid outside instead of letting them play by themselves.  If you got up early, you'd have no excuses at all!  I, personally, can't do that, but I assume that I'll go to the gym every night after work.  I don't, of course, but I assume that I will.  That way, when I get off of work, I don't equivocate on how tired or hungry I am, or what needs to be done at home.  I just go to the gym.  Obviously, I’ve planned for this and have my packed gym back in my car.  I also plan my weeknight activities around the gym.  If I have a meeting that I don't want to miss on Monday, then I'll skip a social event on Wednesday to make sure that I exercise at least 2 nights that week.  My goal, right now, is a total of 3 work-outs per week.  

Weight-Loss & Nutrition

I know so many people who are trying to lose weight.  And I'm not talking about the folks that are 5, 10, 15 pounds overweight, but friends who are 100+ pounds overweight.  It's heartbreaking to imagine what they feel like and think about themselves, but also desperately frustrating to see them continuing to make bad decisions.  To combat my frustration, I’ve decided to blog about my experiences and what I’ve learned.  I guess I have a lot to say, because this will be a blog series.  Today, I'll talk about nutrition.  Then I'll briefly discuss exercise. And finally, I’ll talk a bit about resting then conclude the blog.  Each of these components is important for your health!  

I’ve read some on this stuff, mostly from www.SparkPeople.com or www.Active.com, although the majority of what’s is from my own experiences and observations.  Overall, my advice is to prioritize your health, plan, and be consistent.  Some of us find planning and consistency easier than others, so be aware if these traits are one of your weak points.  I, personally, feel distraught without a plan, love consistency, and am pretty good at prioritizing.  Even so, I can struggle every day with healthy choices!  Being persistent, getting back up on that horse, is what’ll pull you through.  Find the things that’ll motivate you to keep getting up, keeping making the difficult but healthy decisions that will get you where you want to do. 
Which reminds me, SparkPeople talks a lot of goal-setting and meeting your goals.  You’ve gotta have specific, measurable, attainable goals or you won’t ever reach them.  Rather than thinking, “I wanna lost weight,” say, or better yet, write it somewhere visible, “I want to lose 10% of my body weight in 4 months.”  Specific, measurable, potentially attainable.  

Nutrition
  • We are not talking about a "diet" here.  This is not something that you'll do "until the weight is off" and then get back to your normal (unhealthy) eating habits. Eating is about fueling your body, and sometimes about the joy of eating.  Neither of those things are going away, so create healthy habits that you can maintain for the rest of your life.  You’ll have to plan to have healthy food available, in all the situations in which you should eat, and even those that you shouldn’t but you know that you will (e.g., snacking while watching TV or at the movies, afternoon snack because work is boring, etc.).
  • Although your weight is partially due to genetics and any health conditions that you may have, it is also due to choices.  Never forget that.  You must prioritize healthy eating.  You must choose every day between the ice cream and the banana.  It is up to you.  There are plenty of excuses.  You'll probably say that it's hard and you don't have enough time and that others in your life are your priorities (like your kids).  Yes, it can be difficult.  Yes, you don't have time, but only because you don't make the time.  Yes, your kids are important.  But healthy eating can be a habit that you pass down.  Plus, you'll get much more joy out of your kids if you are active and healthy.  Time and commitments are excuses for making bad choices, but they aren’t the cause of those bad choices.  You are.  What you eat is your choice.  No one’s force-feeding you.  Figure out what’ll motivate you to make better choices, then plan to make that happen!
  • I used SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker for a few months to figure out what (and how much) I needed to eat based on my activity level, and what I was eating.  It turns out, I eat too much fat but that I'm pretty good on other things.  I don't recommend using this feature forever as it could easily help develop an eating disorder, but it's a great way to figure out where you're at.  I still occasionally put in what I ate for a day or two to see where I'm at!  
  • Get to know what a portion size really is!  It’s not as big as you think.  Except for fruits and veggies, then it’s probably smaller than you think. 
  • Don't buy unhealthy food.  There's no reason for your pantry to have chips or your freezer to have ice cream.  Just don't get it.  How is that so difficult?  If it's not at your house or at your work desk, you're less likely to eat it, right?  Why would someone who’s trying to lose weight ever have cupcakes or donuts at their house or chips in their desk drawer?  If you’re worried that your family will complain, ask them if they want you to continue to be unhealthy.  Thinking of it that way, their small sacrifice (desserts at home) is totally outweighed by what they’ll get (a healthier, happier you, and for longer).
  • I find it easiest to plan when I focus on meals that are balanced.  For me, this means that I have a fruit/veggie and a protein at each meal.  Some meals I also have a carb, but I try to make it whole grain (read up on this; similar phrases are used to confuse consumers!).  Thus, breakfast could be sausage and a banana, or Greek yogurt.  Today was peanut butter and honey on rye toast with a banana.
  • Add in veggies and fruit at every chance!  Some quick tips are adding lettuce to your sandwiches, fresh or dried fruit to you morning breakfast (cereal, yogurt, oatmeal), use baby carrots with your dips instead of chips or pita. 
  • Eat breakfast!
  • Eat lots of (healthy) snacks!  I have a drawer at work full of dried food that I choose from every day, often several times a day.  I have several different kinds of nuts, jerky, popcorn, and dried fruit.  Today I had almonds before lunch, and a granola bar after lunch.  You'd be surprised how satisfying healthy snacks can be. Salted almonds can replace your potato chips, trust me.  I eat snacks pretty frequently, usually one to three times while at work, then once more before I go to bed.  That's in addition to the three regular meals.  Eating frequently is supposed to keep up your metabolism.  Although packing my work drawer with healthy snacks isn't that difficult, eating every 2-4 hours could be daunting.  That's where planning might come in!
  • If you are trying to drop unhealthy food from your diet, choose only one at a time, and avoid that food for a month or two before you drop another one.  Remember, fast and furious doesn't win this race, but consistency does!  We're aiming for habits that you can maintain here, not quickly dropping pounds.  Rather than drop a type of food completely, you could also limit it.  I used to have one Coffee Day a week at work.  It was easier for me to limit my coffee drinking to one day than to completely cut it out.  Trying to never drink coffee at work would not only have depressed me, and I would’ve been obsessed with it! 
  • And if you just don’t want to give up something, use bribes!  My kitchen at work almost always has snacks in it.  This week there are decadent cookies.  My last boyfriend bribed me to not eat them; if I didn't eat dessert during the work week, then he'd grill me a steak on the weekend.  So every time that I passed that cake, I just thought about how much more I'd enjoy a juicy steak.  It was plenty enough motivation for me!  If steak isn't your thing, think about what else you can reward yourself (time with someone, TV time, new shoes, whatever!).  
  • Don't do anything else during meals or snacks, like watch TV or even read.  I stopped reading at breakfast and lunch, and found that I did pay a lot more attention to what I was eating and how full I felt.  And when you're staring at the wall while eating, thinking about what you're going to do next, you end up finding the food less interesting and want to get up and go!  Not distracting yourself while eating is also supposed to help you really taste the food so that you get more enjoyment out of each bite.  It's also supposed to help you notice when you're feeling full.  Have you ever ate through a bag of potato chips to realize that you're overly stuffed?  Part of that might be that you weren't paying attention to the emotional and physical satisfaction that you were getting from each chip. 

See the next blog for my ideas about exercise!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Composers and Musicians

I've been listening to a classical music station on the way to work in the mornings.  I like to have some sound, but don't want the blaring yakking that is morning talk shows, or the energetic music that I often listen to.  As I listen to the smooth-toned announcer, I realized that he focuses more on the composer rather than those who play (or direct) the music.  Sure, he always mentions the musician or orchestra, and he always mentions who conducted the piece, but the person who is highlighted is the composer.

I wish that other radio stations did that.  Did you know that Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and P!nk co-wrote most of their own music?  Did you know that Lionel Ritchey is one of the most prolific songwriters of the modern age?  Did you know that Tina Turner did not write most of her own music? 
If you didn't know one of those things, then I prove my point.  Writing music is also a skill and art form, as is singing it.  I think background singers and back-up bands should get more credit, too.  I'd like it if the person (or people) who created the melody were given more attention, and I'd love if those who wrote the lyrics were highlighted as much as the singers!  For me, music is as much about what is said as about how it is sounds.  Sometimes more so. 

I posted a blip of this thought on FB.  One of my Friends noted how some melodies today are created not just on computers, but by computes.  This, of course, throws a wrench into my wish.  It would be odd to highlight the singer (Rihanna), the lyric-writing (Puff Daddy), and the melody-writer (Musicality Software V. 4.2).

Even so, I'd still like to know.  Sure, I can look at the liner notes for my new albums.  And then try to remember what I read.  Or look online for every song that I hear.  But for radio stations, the ones that still have DJ's, I'd much rather have the DJ tell me who sang it and who wrote the lyrics.  The backup sings, band, and melody-writer would be nice, too, but not as important to me.  I'd love lyrics to get more attention, and the poets who write them to get some of the accolades that the singers, with their computer-modified voices, are getting now. 

Friday, June 3, 2011

Au Natural

My sister told me a story about having to bring a different pair of pants to my niece at school, right away, early one morning.  My sister is NOT a morning person, and the school seemed to have a serious dress code.

She brought the pants right away, but she in no way got ready.  She said that she was wearing sweats, a low-cut tank top (no bra), no make-up, and I'm sure her hair was just pulled back in a ponytail (at best; I know that my bangs get super-crazy some mornings).  When my niece went out to pick up the pants, some friends were with her.  My sister was adamant that they not come to the van and see her.  She's usually very social and welcoming with youth, so this is out of the ordinary.

I feel bad for her that she seems to so dislike the way that she looks that she won't be her enthusiastic and social self when she's not "put together."  I get that some clothes might not be appropriate, of course.  But pull the shirt up a little, and go for it!  It's important for kids, especially pre-teen girls, to see that women, even the same woman, are both glam and natural.  I don't like that my sister seems to feel that if she doesn't have her chunky jewelry and eye shadow that she's not presentable, not attractive.  Both of those looks are who she is.  She is both the made-up and accessorized woman AND a woman who faces the world with a naked face and casual clothes.  But, sadly, may be she's not facing the world that way.  I believe that I am both a woman who gets glam (okay, accessories might be beyond me)

AND a woman who'll face the world au natural.  


Both looks are me.  Let the world come try to get me, whether I'm in a baseball cap and sneakers, or big boots and eye shadow.  I'll take it on.

*The first picture is from a costume party several years ago.  The second was from this year's AIDS Walk; we had to be there at 5am!