Daily Loaf

Routes Music is a documentary film acting as a roving music census, taking in the true musical passions (and disgusts) of the American people. We’re traveling all across the country, stopping along the way to interview local bands, take footage of live performances and chat with anyone and everyone. Learn more about the documentary here; check out all previous entries here.

Five things you should never forget on a cross-country music documentary tour:

1.  Granola bars
2. Phone charger
3. TV theme song CDs
4. Stun gun sold by a shifty young man on the street
5. A wild and open mind

The last was crucial as our Routes Music crew (Phil, Alex and Terrence — known collectively as P.A.T.) rolled into Orlando on the first day of the tour.

Weary and hungry from a two-hour drive down I-4, we pulled our 2009 Toyota Sienna (known as the “Big Gray Box) into “the world’s largest entertainment McDonald’s.” We grabbed some burgers and were making out way out when Terrence heard an announcer in the far room. Turning the corner, he spotted a stage featuring five Latino teens, ages ranging from 11 to 18. Terrence called us over. “You guys have to see this.” At that moment, the band broke into synchronized dancing over a drum track. Microphones appeared. The performance began. The Los Mega Boyz, a Latino boy band in the vein of the Backstreet Boys and N-Sync, crooned their way around Ronald McDonald murals and teenagers munching on cheeseburgers. They sang saucy numbers about girls and ballads about Selena.

We’d stumbled upon the most bizarre McDonald’s ever. (Video after the jump.) Read the rest of this entry »

It might surprise some of you to know that I am not the “relationship type”…. now that you’re done laughing, I would like to present you with a very serious idea. Very. Serious.

Although I may not have normal female impulses to attach myself to another human being and then to make annoying miniature versions of ourselves, from time to time parts (ONLY PARTS) of that scenario seem appealing.

For example, I often find myself hung over and in need of someone to get me an egg McMuffin. This past Saturday was no exception. I did the heinous “wake up on the bathroom floor” move that is always supposed to be a wake up call, but usually just makes me laugh (not the best sign). Read the rest of this entry »

The McDonald’s Mega Tomago Big Mac alternative: three beef patties, one Egg McMuffin-style egg, two slices of bacon. I though the Japanese were supposed to be healthy eaters.

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Sustainable beer 101: A guide to growlers- Benefits of refillable beer jugs far exceed the lure of fresh tap beer.

Refresh your mind, body and spirit by reconnecting with nature- Living in such a busy world these days overloaded with technology leaves little time to get back to the basics and connect with the planet we live on. Take some time out of your busy schedule and reconnect with nature, which will balance you physically, mentally and spiritually.

Ronald McDonald gets a pie in the face from PETA protester- Ronald McDonald takes one in the kisser from a PETA protester who is against McDonald’s “controlled-atmosphere killing” of chickens.

St. Petersburg College and Tampa Bay green building chapter announce partnership- St Petersburg College’s Corporate Training Office announced a partnership with the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter (FGCC) of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide a comprehensive sustainable building operations training course based on the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance rating system.
Read the rest of this entry »

This is an interesting way to protest McDonald’s and draw attention to oneself:

Courtesy of Nicole Matthews, PETA

A woman who identified herself as a PETA member and was dressed as a giant chicken hit Ronald McDonald with a vegan custard pie at the “grand” opening of the new McDonald’s in the Hancock Village Shopping Center in Midlothian on Saturday morning.

Despite the clown’s cry of “No pie!“ the plucky protester managed to cream the corporate mascot with the confection before flying the coop, leaving Ronald to change his costume. The protest is part of PETA’s campaign to convince McDonald’s to make reasonable, humane, and basic improvements in the way chickens are killed for its restaurants.
Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Celebrating Independence Day or creating environmental disaster? – Kelly Rothwell looks at the littered aftermath of Fourth of July celebrations and wonder why, instead of giving back in celebration of their freedom, people decide to light off fireworks, leaving mass amounts of debris in the water and on the beach.

Local Food: Dinner in, and from, the garden at Gateway Organic Farm – Chef Gui Alinat gives information about Gateway Organic Farm’s next “Dinner in the Garden” event, an incredible local foods experience featuring nine Bay area chefs.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am still deciding whether to accuse McDonald’s of blatantly pandering to the green consumer or applaud them for one of their most recent initiatives to open what it bills as the “first green restaurant” in Cary, North Carolina on July 14th.  It has the potential to be industry changing, or also just another joke aimed at fat people.

Gizmodo reports McDonald’s says the facility will not only be built using all green construction materials, but will be complete with free-to-use charging stations for your electric vehicle.  That’s right, while you wash down those tasty, salty chunks of charred animal flesh and yummy, deadly fried potatoes with your favorite sugary beverage, you can help the environment by charging up your eco-friendly car simply by pulling up, plugging in, and pigging out.
Read the rest of this entry »

Mc Libel is a documentary that was recommended to me a couple of years ago by fellow activists who said it was eerily familiar to our own Wal-Mart experience. After viewing this important and inspiring film recently, I must recommend that all activists see this film immediately. It started with one woman-Helen Steel. She was the first to take a stand, and then she was soon followed by Dave Morris who fought by her side to the bittersweet end. The two British activists made history in the longest ever English trial, by taking on the multi-national corporation McDonald’s. 

It began in 1982 when both activists were busy handing out leaflets with their group London Greenpeace. The group started by protesting environmental issues such as nuclear power and social justice issues including Third World Debt. In 1985 they launched International Day of Action Against McDonald’s, which continues on Oct.16th to this day. In 1986 they produced a six-sided fact sheet called “What’s wrong with McDonald’s-Everything they don’t want you to know.” The leaflet attacked many aspects of the corporations business accusing them of exploiting children with their advertising, promoting an unhealthy diet, exploiting workers, and environmental damage as well as cruelty to animals.

London Greenpeace held regular meetings, and were soon infiltrated by private investigators hired by McDonald’s. They actually hired two separate firms, and even had them spying on each other, as well as the activist’s in the group. Some meetings actually had as many spies as it had activists. The information obtained by the spies was used to issue libel writs to 5 volunteers in the group. There was no public legal aid for libel cases and the only legal advice they got was that this type of law was extremely complex and would be very costly so best to just end it by apologizing to McDonald’s. Read the rest of this entry »

I tend to seek out food made from good quality ingredients that haven’t been manipulated too much. I love to cook, and take pride in making things from scratch. I try to eat local, and like to know where my food comes from. That means that fast food and junk food are not everyday choices. But being married to a junk food aficionado introduced me to another world of options.

Some of those options have become cravings. I call those my guilty pleasures. They include Krispy Kreme doughnuts (plain glazed, of course), Popeye’s spicy chicken tenders and onion rings, and the Whataburger potato breakfast taquito. My latest guilty pleasure is from McDonald’s. Read the rest of this entry »

What if you only had $1 a day to spend on food?

Could you do it?

With dollar menus at almost every fast food chain in the country, you can get almost an entire meal for $1.

The bigger question – does that $1 meal fill you up, or are you left hungry for more?

This past week I put myself to the challenge and lived on a dollar a day for dinner. It wasn’t easy. On most nights I found myself isolated while my wife ate a full meal and I was left picking at my dollar sandwich, starving.

Much to my surprise, not all fast food chains offer options for a $1. When I visited KFC and Arby’s I had to turn around because they didn’t have anything in my budget. The sharp contrast in quality of menu items between each restaurant was also amazing. Some restaurants (Wendy’s/Taco Bell) had food that tasted good and didn’t look cheap and trashy. Others, however really didn’t care what it looked or tasted like because they — seemingly — had the attitude of, “you paid a dollar, deal with it.”

Here’s the rundown of my experience: Read the rest of this entry »

In 1981, McDonald’s unveiled the McRib sandwich to a lukewarm response. For shame, America! I’m sure McDonald’s futurist food scientists never could have conceived that the hungry masses would reject a boneless pork patty machine-formed to resemble an actual rack of ribs, coated in savory barbecue sauce and topped by pickles and raw onions. It was pulled from regular menus a few years later, only to resurface occasionally as a “limited time offer.”

In 2005, McDonald’s publicized the McRib’s farewell tour, along with a stealth website promoting the sandwich and taking signatures for a petition to bring it back. It didn’t take long for Ronald to greenlight the McRib for a comeback, a la every aging rock band of the 1970s.

The only thing I can think to ask the corporate overlords at McDonald’s is why? The McRib is offensive, horrifying and just plain bad. Dear God, why spend any effort on this dreadful sandwich?

Read the review after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »