Following up this post, The Australian newspaper today published an article called How Ronald McDonald microsized me. It's whole purpose is to refute the claims made by the movie Supersize Me and suggest that Maccas isn't that bad. To me this whole article smacks of a Maccas PR person calling up the media and suggesting they do this diet to see what happens.
The arguments are completely ridiculous, but I can see people reading this and saying "Oh, Maccas ain't that bad. I'll just trundle off and have a Big Mac but I'll not have the fries. Then I'll be alright." The journalist even says at the outset of his article, "The new road to slimness and well-being runs directly through the golden arches."
For starters, this guy only ate this stuff for a week. He also exercised regularly. He also did not eat everything from the entire Maccas menu, which was one of the stipulations of the movie, the purpose of which was to provide a micro view of what the average person eats from Maccas on a regular basis.
The article just misses the whole point of the movie. Of course people can eat from fast food restaurants and not suffer health consequences - if they don't do it regularly, watch what they eat otherwise, and they make exercise part of their daily life. Morgan Spurlock's experiment was obviously an exercise in extremes, but he made the point if you stretch it out over a lifetime, and do the amount of exercise the average American does (not enough), then you're not helping yourself, or your kids' health by continuing to eat fast food on a regular basis. I think this was Spurlock's point rather than urging us to destroy MacDonald's, as claimed in The Australian's editorial.
As much as I thought this page 3 article was terrible, the editorial was hilarious. It accuses Spurlock's film of being anti-American and elitist! Phenomenal! It also argues that McDonald's can only do its duty to its shareholders by selling more food and it can only do that by pleasing its customers. Obviously this is true, but there's a big difference between just pleasing your customers and social responsibility. The tobacco companies are finding this out in a big way.
I'm surprised that a supposed broadsheet newspaper like The Australian has decided to defend McDonald's, on the same day that they run a story on how Australia has the fastest increasing rate of childhood obesity in the world. Faster even than the US.
I acknowledge that McDonald's in Australia has more healthy options than the US version, and I'm not saying that McDonald's, or any fast food company, should bear ultimate responsibility for people being fat. That's just ridiculous. I just find it amazing that this newspaper will go in to bat for those companies when everyone knows that eating too much of that stuff ain't gonna be good for your health.
Again, I reckon it's just part of a company-wide push from Maccas to get some good press out there to limit that damage this movie might cause.
Barbie's new boyfriend is an Aussie, too! Blaine, the hunky Australian surfer, is the next guy to sweep Barbie off her feet after long-standing boy Ken was dumped earlier this year. Seeing as how Barbie is sold in 150 countries world-wide, it looks like Australia WILL be getting this "cultural export" :)
So...I'm not sure if this lovely slice of reality TV has made it down under, or they just pander it to us in the States, but last night was the first episode of Outback Jack. The premise is: TBS takes 12 hot and sexy urbanites and drops them in the middle of the outback with an Aussie stud who sprays them with bug spray, shows off a croc and is generally rough and rugged. The girls, accordingly, scream about the bugs, the croc, and how hot Jack is. And I watched it. I do have one redemption point, however. My male roommate turned it on...I was just suckered in.
According to a recent news article, backpackers are getting the hump with being ripped off by shoddy tour operators in Queensland. So much so that tourism numbers have taken a hit.
The thing that stood out for me about this article was the power of word of mouth. Through message forums, travel blogs and plain ol' face-to-face, the message is being delivered and travellers are spending their money elsewhere.
While I'm loathe to see government interference in this industry, clearly there has to be some action taken to repair the state's reputation. Obviously the traveller traffic is not going to dry up completely, but we have to make sure they have a good experience since it's apparent it effects how many follow behind them.
The 20th "biggest little folk festival in the world" kicks off in Jamberoo in New South Wales in September. Illawarra is a region approximately 100 kms south of Sydney and on the coast. Wollongong is the biggest city in the area.
A friend of BootsnAll's from Bali is involved with the project and she tells me they are still looking for volunteers for the event. It entails some hard work, but volunteers are provided with meals and beer (the event is sponsored by Guinness, so that's enough for me!).
You can find more info about the festival on its website, including maps and advice on how to get there.
I went to see the new movie Super Size Me last night. The guy behind the doco-style film that looks at the fast food industry and its effects on the US diet, Morgan Spurlock has been getting a fair amount of print and TV time recently, so I thought I'd go along and check it out.
The basic premise is that he vows to eat nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. If Macca's doesn't sell it, he can't eat it (luckily they do sell water). He enlists the aid of three doctors and a health clinic to monitor his health during the exercise. Read more about the film on its website.
First thing about this film is that is has a very limited release in Australia - 34 screens nationwide as opposed to over 430 for Harry Potter. I'd be very interested in how many mainstream cinemas are showing this movie in the US, since that's the market this film is aimed at.
As far as I'm concerned, this film should be shown in all schools, just like the anti-smoking films that show the person with the tube in their throat. The message is very important and Australia should take just as much notice. We're turning into a nation of fatties just like the US and education has to start with the kids.
What will people do to win a holiday? A lot, apparently, including Chomping on Mice! Of course, this is only something that would occur in Brisbane.....