Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Archive for November, 2011

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The 5th of November – V for Vendetta

Posted by terrepruitt on November 5, 2011

I spent most of the day working on learning another Nia routine.  Some songs, as I have shared before, are easier for me to learn than others.  This time I am actually I am having some issues with a copule of the katas.  Today is the 5th of November.  Back in 1605 there was a plan to assassinate the King by blowing up the House of Lords during opening of Parliament.  This plot is referred to as “The Gunpowder Plot of 1605” or “Gunpowder Treason Day”.  There is a lot of history surrounding this day and it’s celebrations.  For some it is somewhat of a “cult classic” type of day.  With the movie V for Vendetta leading the way.

The first time I saw the movie I really didn’t get it.  I was distracted by the main character and waiting for him to reveal his face.  But, being that my husband is the type of person who watches a movie over and over and over, I was able to actually understand the movie.  I think it is one of those movies that you need to see a few times to really understand all that is going on.  Or you need to be paying close attention the first time you watch it and not be distracted by the mask.  There is a lot going on in the movie.  I took me several times to understand certain parts.  Each time I watched it I understood more.  I don’t want to say too much and give any parts away.

I will say that the guy who plays Mr. Smith in the Matrix movies is in it.  It also has Natalie Portman and Stephen Fry it in.

There are some very good quotes from the movie, with the speech from the main character leading the way:

“Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [laughs] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me “V”.”

And there is:

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

“Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.”

“God is in the rain.”

“Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch, we are free.”

These quotes might give you an idea as to the type of movie it is.  It is about a country that got off track due to its people allowing its one and only ruler, the Chancellor, to dictate everything.  There is one guy (or Guy . . . ha, ha!) who thinks it should be different and is willing to take a stand.  Although, I don’t agree with the WAY he is going about it, I understand why he thinks it is the only way. The movie takes you through the events that transpired to get the country where it is.  The path it takes you on is not straight by any means and the way it is revealed is very cleaver.  But as I said before, it took me several viewings to get it.

For some reason . . . maybe just because it includes a date in it, my husband and I have always wanted to have a party on the 5th of November.  But of course, sometimes the 5th of November is a weekday and having people over is not an option because at the time of the talk of the party it has always included the fact that we have to do it at midnight because that has a significance in the movie too.  But this year, the year the 5th falls on a Saturday we have been a bit side-lined.  We have friends that are fans of the movie so we are going over there to watch it.  Should be fun.

Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?  Ever thought of having a party on the 5th of November?

Posted in Entertainment, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

Nightshade Vegetables So Good, Yet May Be Bad

Posted by terrepruitt on November 3, 2011

When I first started looking into different types of diets (READ:  NUTRITION PLAN/WAY OF EATING), I was curious to always see Nightshade Vegetables mentioned.  One diet that I have talked about is the anti-inflammation diet, this diet does not contain nightshade vegetables. You might know what they are and what that means, but I have mentioned before that I am not a gardener.  I am not a gardener and even more so I have no idea about vegetable families and their classifications and stuff.    I keep having to look it up.  What is a nightshade vegetable?  Nia teacher, Nia classes, Nia dance, Nia cardio, Nia workout, Nia, Nia fitnessNightshade vegetables are from the Solanaceae Family.  Nightshade vegetables contain a group of chemicals found in plants called alkaloids.  There are different types of plant alkaloids, some being toxic.  Plants containing alkaloids have been used for medicinal purposes as well as stimulates and poisons.  Studies have proven that alkaloids can affect some of the functions in the body.  Some people are more susceptible than others.  These vegetables are thought to interfere with digestion, muscles, and joints.  Nightshade vegetables promote inflammation in the body.

If you are susceptible to them it might be beneficial to limit consumption of these types of veggies.  As I mentioned if you are on an anti-inflammation diet they might be forbidden all together.  Again this could only be if you are sensitive to them.  Or if you are interested in trying to reduce the amount of chronic inflammation in the body.  If you have arthritis or any other disease associated with chronic inflammation it might be something to try. Or if you experience pain caused by sensitive nerves.

Nightshade vegetables are very common.  They are so common it kind of makes sense that chronic inflammation is more prevalent and being study by the medical profession.  I think the most common nightshade veggies are potatoes, tomatoes, and bell peppers.  You know I LOVE bell peppers and I was just learning to like tomatoes.  And the issue with potatoes is they are yummy in so many forms; mashed, fried, baked, roasted.  In addition to my beloved bell pepper ALL peppers are lumped in this family.  So even the hot ones that might aid in digestion could be causing inflammation issues.

In addition to inflammation there is research has proved that the alkaloid in potatoes interrupt signals from nerves to muscles and might contribute to muscle twitches.  Next time you have a twitch try to remember if you had any potatoes.  In addition to signal interruption, the chemicals contained in some nightshade vegetables might even cause pain  Also some research has shown that the alkaloids leech calcium out of bones and deposit it into soft tissue.

Eggplant is also a nightshade vegetable.  I love roasted eggplant.  Eggplant along with tomatoes contain nicotine.  Yup, tobacco is a nightshade plant and nicotine is an alkaloid.  It is fortunate that both tomatoes and eggplant contain a lot less nicotine then tobacco, it is still interesting to know.

Cooking reduces the level of alkaloids in our veggies by about 40-50%.

Please note that I am not saying that any health issue or discomfort you are experiencing is caused by nightshade vegetables/food.  What I am saying is that some research has either proved or associated the alkaloids in nightshade vegetables/foods to be connected to certain things; inflammation, digestive issues, nervous system malfunctions, pain, muscle twitching, etc. and it is interesting to know.  And it might be beneficial to do some experimenting with your diet if you think you might be sensitive to the chemicals found in some of the vegetables and/or spices considered nightshade foods.

Did you know what veggies were considered nightshade?  I am glad that I now have this list.

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Grief Is a Very Personal Thing

Posted by terrepruitt on November 1, 2011

So how do you handle grief?  Pub med says, “Grief is a reaction to a major loss.”  But then it says, “It is most often an unhappy and painful emotion.”  Wiki states, “While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to loss.” I guess they mean grief is an EMOTIONAL reaction to a major loss.  In relation to death, I believe that everyone grieves in their own way.  You have probably heard about the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  I believe that these are emotions or feelings that people might go through when they are grieving.  And just because someone identified these stages doesn’t mean everyone goes through each stage.  If people do experience them they might not even be in this stated order.  These were just created to help people understand, to cope, and to connect, knowing that you aren’t the only one who felt angry or were in a state of denial.  Most important grief is very personal.

We all handle grief differently.  We all handle our emotions differently.  I believe that people can feel whatever they feel.  We don’t always have control over what we feel.  Emotions sometimes just pop up.  Sometimes they might even surprise us if we look at them.  Feelings are what they are.  I think it is healthy to let yourself feel whatever comes up.  I don’t think emotions should be pushed aside or ignored.  I don’t think they should be stifled.  Emotions just happen.

Nia Teacher, Oct. 23, 2011, Nia classI do believe that our reaction to our own emotions or the action we take while experiencing feelings might need to be regulated or contained.  For instance if you are grieving and angry it does not help the situation to lash out at those around you.  Others are sad too, and maybe they are angry too, but allowing all that anger to come out in harsh words and temper tantrums does no good at all.  When one is mean because they are angry at the situation, it does more harm than good.  I can understand someone feeling so much pain the first reaction might be to lash out, but for most people saying mean words and forming hurtful sentences is not a habit so in order to be so unkind it takes more effort than just a spur of the moment reaction.  Continuing to be cruel is something I deem unacceptable.

I also believe that as long as you are not harming anyone or causing harm to yourself you should be allowed to grieve in your own way for as long as you need to.  If I were to not get dressed and do nothing for two weeks, I wouldn’t really be harming anyone.  My circumstances would allow me to check out for a couple of weeks.  As long as it didn’t last too long it could be good for me.  But if I were in a situation where I was a caregiver, let’s say I had kids, it would not be acceptable for me to do nothing for two weeks.  Doing nothing for two weeks would cause harm to the children.  So how you act because of the grief really depends on the situation, but since it is so personal it is not easy to say that one’s way of acting is wrong.

I also think that there really is no time limit on sadness.  I think the sorrow will last forever.  I think there are moments of sadness.  But I also think that there is joy, it is ok to be happy.  It is ok to go on living.  I think it is even ok to recall the deceased with happiness.  I always marvel at instances where people’s behavior is deemed unacceptable.  Again, if they are not causing harm, then they should be able to deal with their grief in their own way.   I think it is healthy to allow yourself time and what you need in order to cope.  There are definitely as many ways to deal with loss as there are people. Grief and the way one works through it is a very personal thing.

Posted in Just stuff, Misc | Tagged: , , , , | 6 Comments »

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