The Dangers of Diets

Wow. It's been a while since I posted anything. I think it's been a while since I had anything at all to say. Or I've just been too busy to bother. But today something struck me. And I feel it's time to get this one off my chest, so here we are.

Twice yearly, I come home to the east coast for a visit. The standard visit involves visiting and spending time with friends and family who I don't see everyday. One of these people of course, is my mother. Now, my mother is a fantastic generous person. Sure, she can drive me batshit crazy with the uttering of one simple phrase, but don't we all have that trigger with our parents that just makes you go straight into "rebellious teen" mode?

So here's the thing. A few years ago, I was somewhat overweight. That's not the point. The point is that I saw a problem. I corrected it. I worked out quite a bit, I ate well and I essentially relearned how to eat and how I react to food and temptations regarding food. I found exercise that energizes me and I enjoy. I do that regularly. I have emerged a thin, fit, foodie who regularly indulges in rich, elegant meals and good wine. I maintain this lifestyle and I am happier and more fulfilled for it. My stress levels remain low, as does my blood pressure, my weight and my Body Mass Index.

About the same time, my mother, decided that it was time to get herself a bit thinner as well. However, instead of taking a healthful approach to losing weight, she went on Jenny Craig. I have no problems with the Jenny Craig problem. It works for a lot of people. Hell, it worked for my mother. She lost 70 pounds and 4 years later has maintained her weight.

I arrived home for my visit this time and went straight to the kitchen. Long flight, no significant meal to speak of - you get the idea. There was NOTHING THERE. Wait, I take that back. There was a number of pudding cups and a varied selection of frozen food boxes. All bearing one label. Jenny Craig.

This is my problem. And this is where I run into an issue with every Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, NutriSystem and other similar weight loss program out there - they do not teach you better habits. My mother still has no idea HOW to eat unless it comes out of a prepackaged frozen box and spends 5 minutes in the microwave. I have no idea when the last time a fresh seasonal vegetable passed through my mother's lips. How much REAL nutrition can you get from eating a freeze dried microwaved meal three times a day?

I try to instill better eating habits to her. I explain the reasoning behind the way I eat. I try to tell her that white flour is like glue in your system and most people can't process it, which is why you shouldn't eat it. I worry for her.

She doesn't go out to eat because she can't order within her meal plan. She is missing out on some of the best things in life because she is afraid to go off the "program" and try to eat real food and learn what to eat, what not to eat and when it's okay to break all the rules a little bit.

I actually had to go to the market and buy a chicken when I got here - a whole cooked chicken and a bit of veg to get me through the next 2 days.

It scares me a bit that in a world of so many options that the lifestyle that Jenny Craig and NutriSystem offer isn't one of freedom to enjoy, but rather one of servitude to the microwavable cardboard meal. (My mother has been known to take these meals to dinner parties rather than eat what's served no matter how healthy the options are.) Let's not get me started on the whole exercise thing either. Neither of these programs really push exercise beyond a bare minimum. This also scares me.

If my mother or the many other people on these programs would have been taught by a nutritionist how to eat and to exercise from the beginning, they would all be happier, healthier and free to enjoy life just that much more and really, isn't that what we all want?

I just wonder, on every level possible, how on earth can eating out of cardboard box make anyone happy or healthy?

New Title?

Hello. This is a test. Is anyone out there? Is this thing on? Recently, I haven't been posting much. Mostly because I've not been doing or seeing anything that interesting that seemed to inspire a Tank Gyrl like rant or rave. By the way - this is going to be neither. I'm just curious. And wondering if I would do better if my blog had a topic - or a theme. Or just a new snappy title?

So I put this out there to you - if anyone at all is paying attention...

What do you want to hear (well, read) me bitch about? Cause there's so many many possibilities, where on earth should I start?

I'm curious... really... I am. And so I ask for your thoughts on the matter...

XO
The Tank Gyrl

Explanation of the Midnight Splodey...

So apparently, the cause of the Midnight Explosion two weeks ago was this:

There is a tenant in that building across the street who is a used car salesman. And not a very honest one. So apparently, he sold someone a car that was um, shall we say, not a good deal? And said customer tried to return the car, but the dude wasn't having it back. So instead, the customer decide revenge was best served in the middle of the night and tossed a molotov cocktail through the rear windshield of the salesman's car. It burned and eventually, exploded. The second big boom was the car next to it going up. (That car had been removed before I got the picture.) That one was just an innocent bystander in all this. I feel really bad for the owner of the second car. And for the guy who lived in the apartment directly over the cars. But there you have it. Mystery solved. Revenge is fun. Just remember kids, to blow up the car when it won't affect property of the innocent. It's just bad form to involve those whose only crime is living next door to the douchebag.

XO
The Tank Gyrl

NEW WEBSITE!!! LAURENELISABETHPHOTOGRAPHY.NET

Just wanted to say that I've redone my website. It's all new. New Look. New Site. New Work. Check it out Here:

http://laurenelisabethphotography.net

Or Here:

http://laurenelisabethfineart.net



Hope you can swing by!!! There's new work to be seen and more to come soon!!!

XOXO
The Tank Gyrl

Midnight Explosions

So the other night, I was curled up tight and sleeping very soundly when I was awoken by something rather odd. What sounded like an explosion followed by the building I live in shaking for a second like a very sharp, very sudden earthquake. I was lying in my bed, just wondering what the fuck it was, when I started to hear people screaming. Not people screaming like "AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! I'm being attacked by a crazy knife-wielding maniac" screaming, but more like at each other in an "OH FUCK WHAT DO WE DO?" sort of way. Car alarms were going off up and down the street - loudly. And a lot of them. But no one was running or screaming INSIDE my building and the fire alarms weren't going off and it was clear that whatever went all 'splodey wasn't in the specific vicinity of my bed. So I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, there was another one. BLAM!!! Woke me up and shook the building again. This time I got a little concerned. But again, I heard nothing to suggest that my bed (and therefore me in it) was in any real danger, so I left it alone.

Went back to sleep... the rest of the night passed quietly. In the morning, this is what I saw... this is directly across the street from my building. Notice the burned out shell of a car under the carport.



My only thought is what must it have felt like to the guy who lives in the apartment just over it? And what caused it? I've not been able to track down any of the neighbors to find out if anyone knew, cause I'm curious as hell.

XO
The Tank Gyrl

Why Should I Pay for the Death of A Pop Star?

I'm going to preface this by saying that to the many of you who will strongly disagree with me or feel the need to make nasty comments about my thoughts - well, just remember... opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one and most of the time they just blow shit. So this is my rant.

Yesterday, here in Los Angeles, there was a circus. That circus was also known as the memorial service for the King of Pop (though I have to disagree with that moniker, I don't think he was the king of anything except the crazy train), one very insane, if beloved Michael Jackson. At 50, the most famous of former child stars passed away on June 25th (in case you have been living in a cave, but then again, I think even the survivors on Lost's island heard this news). And so began the media frenzy.

First it was the multitudes of fans and paparazzi that descended upon the UCLA medical centre where he was taken. I happened to be working on a set just down the street that day. There were no less than six helicopters circling the building just after the news broke trying, I assume, to get a shot of the body. Someone succeeded. It was disgusting and horrible and a blatant disregard for humanity. But after a few days, it started to subside... the news went back to talking about things that actually mattered - the state of the economy, the near-revolution taking place in Iran, the fact that our troops are starting to come home from Iraq - you know, NEWS.

And just as the world seemed to be getting back to normal, the announcements were made. A public memorial service to be held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, and tickets were being given away by lottery. Celebrities to play, speeches to be given by friends and family, blah blah blah...

One question - does anyone not remember that this man who has passed, no matter how groundbreaking his music may have been at one point in the past, was all but convicted of being a pedophile? That his acquittal was questionable and the victims of said behaviour seem to be a lot more well-off these days than they were before. I'm not blatantly saying that he or his people paid off the plaintiffs. I'm just saying that it's strange that the case had so much convincing evidence, yet he got off.

But I digress. My issue here isn't whether or not Wacko Jacko was a pedophile. My issue is that the quickly announced memorial service was estimated to cost upwards of 4 million dollars. The city of Los Angeles, has for some time now, been broke. And I do mean BROKE. If a city could file for bankruptcy, I think LA would have several months ago. Teachers are getting laid off, school programs are being cut, police forces are being downsized, and construction sites have ceased to construct half way through projects because they don't have the money to finish.

So enter the overindulgent costs of a memorial service for Jackson. Who is going to pay for this? In fact, the nightly news brought it up. Amongst the repeated coverage of the memorial itself, the next highest news story last night was that in a city with no money, how did Los Angeles get stuck with the bill for this?

Someone I talked to yesterday insinuated that there was a city fund that was designated for "extraordinary events." Fine. That may be, but somehow I don't believe that the death of a pop star counts as an extraordinary event. I think that fund, if it exists, was started in the wake of the Northridge earthquake 15 years ago intended to be there in case of another massive seismic catastrophic event. I don't think that the taxpayers money set aside to help them in their time of need should be used to pay for a circus.

My friends are getting laid off from their jobs, but you expect that my tax money should go to pay for a port-a-john at the Staples Centre so that some deluded fan who "knew the real Michael" cause she met him once at a meet-and-greet way back when he was still Black can take a shit in a city parking lot while she stands crying about her personal loss? I don't think so.

The Jackson Family realized that there was a need for MJ's fans to say goodbye. I get that. I get that he had a lot of fans. I don't think he should be canonized as anything but what he was - he was a pop star. He wasn't a great humanitarian like Princess Diana. He wasn't even a good human, as witnessed by his constant plastic surgeries and deluded way of living. Sure he grew up in a bubble. He was not a normal well-adjusted person. He had problems. But that doesn't excuse his insanity or questionable behaviour over the years.

I think that the Jackson family needs to cough up the money. So should the friends and family. (MJ's estate was estimated at a worth of over 15 mill, no matter his financial difficulties at the time of his death.) If this media circus was their idea, then they should pay for it. Don't make the citizens of Los Angeles suffer further for the fiscal irresponsibility of one family whose patriarch drove his kids crazy.

Now, who should we send the bill to?

XO

The Tank Gyrl

ALL OF THE ABOVE

In a couple weeks, several of the pieces from the Carnival Series go up in a group show in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Hope you can make it.

XO
The Tank Gyrl