Tag Archive: fast food


FAST FOOD PORN

Food porn is probably the best way to describe the spate of explicit (but non-arousing) articles and videos that take on the never-ending debate about obesity. Their target is, more often than not, the fast food giants who feed our faces without caring too much about long-term health consequences.

The BBC Two series The Men Who Made Us Fat  is just the latest to state the bleeding obvious that people eat too much junk food and do too little exercise and, surprise, surprise they put on weight.

In the same way as death threats on cigarette packets fail to put consumers off smoking, no amount of exposés will change the habits of many lifetimes.  Get fat – die young seems to be a badge of honour for too many.

A less earnest, but just as revealing, video about preparing an epic lasagna shows just how supersized the problem is. Take a look – it’s quite funny but ,be warned, the finale will probably make you barf:

100,000 HITS

Within the world-wide Blogosphere 100,000 hits since I started this blog on 25th May 2007 is a pretty modest number but I’m quietly pleased to clock up this milestone just the same.

Although I don’t write with any target audience in mind  I do find myself dallying over the Blog Stats in a not so healthy manner and I cannot deny that I’m bothered when the graph plummets dramatically.

It’s interesting to see what posts get the most hits and to speculate on why surfers are drawn in. Here’s my current top ten with my thoughts on why they are the most popular:

1. IF YOU ARE MORTAR

I struck blog-gold with this, my 4th ever post. This accounts for a quarter of all visitors.  I’d like to think there were 25,000 Ivor Cutler fans out there in Cyberspace but I realise that most of the hits are from those searching for an image of a brick wall! (don’t ask me why). The wall image accompanied by the word ‘loneliness’ is presumably intriguing enough to click on. I hope most stuck around to read the short poem. I tried to repeat the success another post with a brick wall picture but this got only 19  hits!

2. SLEEPING WITH SCARLETT JOHANSSON

A deliberately suggestive title and a sexy image of Ms Johannsson are the obvious bait to this review of her Tom Waits covers album.

3.  NO DIRECTION DINOSAURS

Surprised that so many clicked on this review of Martin Scorsese’s tedious concert movie of the Rolling Stones. Maybe they were searching for other dinosaurs.

4. THE THOUGHT-FOX

Again I don’t think this attracts poetry lovers. Probably most are looking for Fox Tv rather than Ted Hughes in which case I hope I’ve raised their cultural level ever so slightly.

5. LOVE LYRICS AND MENTAL HEALTH

I like this quote from Frank Zappa – when I started blogging most of the first entries were straight quotes and an image. Again the title is probably intriguing.

6. SIZE MATTERS TO HALLE BERRY

Forgive me for I have sinned . I confess to having lascivious thoughts about Halle Berry’s perfectly toned body – I can  take some  comfort in the knowledge that there other sinners out there in web-land.

7.  AN AFTERTASTE OF THE FAST FOOD NATION

Not a great movie but hopefully interest lies in seeking out a fast-free diet and lifestyle. The message of the movie was enough to inspire my daughter to follow my example and become a vegetarian – she hasn’t wavered since.

8.  SHALL WE DANCE?

Another of my filler posts with a quote I like coupled with a memory of Ballet Rambert’s magnificent ‘Ghost Dances.

9.  MISS ITALIA VIEWED FROM BEHIND

More proof that sex sells and the prospect of admiring the backside of a beauty queen has proved an irresistable temptation for many.

10. NATURAL GROUPER THERAPY

I was asked to cease and desist by someone who helps run a grouper therapy website promoting mega-strength fishing tackle !  I politely asked how my post could be viewed as affecting their online trade but received no reply so the title stands. I have a fantasy that hordes of misdirected fishermen are getting turned on to the etherial beauty of Liz Harris’ music.

If you have read this far and/or have ever visited my humble blog in the past – thank you for being one in 100,000.


AN AFTERTASTE OF THE FAST FOOD NATION

fast food nation

I can’t help thinking that the movie version of Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation is a missed opportunity. It’s a well made movie with fine ensemble cast but to my mind director Richard Linklater should have aimed it more at teenagers.

This, after all, is the consumer group whose stomachs and minds are subjected to relentless and skilled marketing of McDonalds and other fast food chains. Ashley Johnson (Amber)Casting Avril Lavigne in a cameo role as an animal rights/no-global activist suggests that Linklater did want to appeal to a younger audience but the slow moving pace and disjointed narrative is not lively enough to hold their attention (my 12 year old daughter – a vegetarian like me – stopped watching after half an hour).

The character of Amber (played by Ashley Johnson) and her McJob would have provided a much better focal point at the start of the movie. Instead the lengthy introduction showing to the sales strategies, production methods and exploitation of Mexican illegal aliens in the burger factory slows the movie down.

chew on this

I see that Schlosser has revised his original book to appeal to a to younger eaters (‘Chew On This’) – its only a shame that his contribution to the movie screenplay didn’t have the same objective.