#NowReading “The Tanning Of America” [by: Steve Stoute]

For all you, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business” men, Steve Stoute writes a book that shares all his marketing secrets. It’s called The Tanning of America and it’s already interesting from the preface, where Stoute explores his fascination with the partnering of Run DMC and Adidas! This book is all about how America isn’t just white and hip-hop isn’t just black!

If you didn’t know, Steve Stoute is responsible for a lot of marketing decisions made on behalf of Jay-Z, an artist that’s known to be all about his brand. A successful brand at that. In essence, this is Steve Stoute’s Decoded.

Get your copy at Amazon.com

Posted by:

DJWillieShakes

Unhappy Meals

I can remember growing up in a McDonalds world and thinking that if I did good on my report card, got all smiley faces on my conduct chart and refrained from getting on my grandmas nerves while grocery shopping that I would get a Happy Meal! Yes, a HAPPY MEAL! There was nothing like being a kindergartner and getting a Happy Meal. My favorite toy had to be the “Pretty Princess Barbie Doll”. It was a solid plastic doll, stood about five inches tall with a thin strip of synthetic blond hair, painted on facial makeup and a seemingly perfect painted smile. That was the life! I don’t remember much about the food — just that I preferred the plain burger with fries as long as it had a toy (even if it was the same toy, which was most often the case). I also remember that if my grandmother bought it I was going to eat it; “waste not, want not”, she would often times tell me.

My memory does not serve me as to how many other places had these types of kid targeted meals — but Mickey D’s (the street name sometimes used to refer to McDonald’s), was my childhood treat of choice. Heck, everybody my age was happy to eat at the place with the “golden arch”.

New research, news stories and an ominous amount of cases of childhood obesity in now being linked to places like McDonalds with a focus on their marketing practices – leaving many thinking that our children’s meals may not be so, “happy”.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Christina Sanders

This Ish is McCrazy.

What ever happened to our food just containing FOOD???

According to a recent article on CNN.com, McDonald’s chicken McNuggets (why do I feel the need to put caps on that word?) contain some stunning ingredients in addition to the “all white meat chicken”.

Ever heard of dimethylpolysiloxane? No? What about Silly Putty? Well, if you chow down on some Putty, not only would be gross, you’d also be ingesting one of the nugg’s ingredients.

But let’s not stop there. Does tertiary butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) ring a bell? Does nothing for you, right? Me neither. Don’t worry, if you get a big enough dose, you’ll never forget it.

“TBHQ is a preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats, limited to .02 percent of the oil in the nugget. One gram (one-thirtieth of an ounce) can cause ‘nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse,’ according to ‘A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.’”

I don’t know about you, but I love having a sense of suffocation when I scarf down a meal.

Thanks to JSuh at HeadCount for Tweeting this beauty. Follow them on Twitter: @headcountorg

Posted by:

Sean Gardner

McDonald’s Beefs up its’ Environmental Policy

Bet you’re used to hearing about how bad McDonald’s stance towards the environment is, about how the corporation razes the rainforest to make room for cattle and creates millions of tons of waste each year. But have you heard the latest? A new McDonald’s restaurant opening in North Carolina on July 14th will have a station to charge your electrical car in the parking lot.

Yup, it’s true. You’ll soon be able to order a burger and charge your car at the same time.
Granted, it’s just one restaurant out of the more than 30,000 McDonald’s around the world. And electric cars probably won’t even be on the roads in any great number until 2011. At this point, it seems more of a symbolic gesture than anything that will impact change.

But you’ve gotta start somewhere, right? Give McDonald’s credit; it’s installing the first charger of its’ kind in the United States. Plus Ric Richards, the owner of the innovative McDonald’s in Cary, North Carolina, has gone even further and constructed the entire building using environmentally-friendly materials. I’d say that’s a step in the right direction.
… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

Why Does John Salley Hate Cheeseburgers?

As a red-blooded, patriotic American male, I take it as my civil right to eat cheeseburgers and french fries. I’m totally aware that it’s not necessarily good for me, but hey, it tastes good and it’s cheap. I wouldn’t call myself a burger aficionado, but let’s just say that every now and then, a Big Mac totally hits the spot.

I sense that some of you out there are jonesing for some Mickey D’s right now. Maybe you should reconsider. The meat that comes from fast food places comes from factory farms, which John Salley, former NBA star and contributor to 99Problems.org, has beef with in this promo video for the documentary Food, Inc:

Okay, I get it. Bad for the environment. But it’s cheap. Actually, you’re paying a higher cost than simply environmental health. Let’s hit up the dollar menu, after the jump! … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Steve Romain