Anyone see this story!?
"Prince Charles suggested Tuesday on a visit to the United Arab Emirates that banning McDonald's fast food was crucial for improving people's diets, a British news agency reported."

Apparently Chuck went over to Abu Dhabi (also the location where Garfield the Cat sends his pesky neighbor Nermal via the Postal Service) to visit a Diabetes center. While there, he delivered the cure—No more McDonalds.

Typical, blame the suffering of the Arabs on us Americans. If anything, the Egg McMuffin could save the world, not destroy it. I can think of a thousand bigger issues affecting the Gulf states then the presence of McDonald’s restaurants. This is like Prince Charles’ ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ claim. Sure, he might persuade the Abu Dhabians to ban Mickey D’s, but once they have removed the so-called ‘Burgers of Mass Destruction’, they’ll see they were better off before. This will only lead to a civil war, dividing families into those who support McDonalds, and all the others who are most likely onboard with Subway now. They are sick of the Arab Jarraed, too .

You have to feel for Ronald in this situation, who has done so much to help sick children, yet still gets taken down by the British. McDonalds fired back at the royal family, citing reports that Prince Harry ‘was spotted eating a chicken burger at McDonalds in 2005.’ First of all, let’s call it by its proper name, the McChicken Burger. Second of all, who the hell cares? It seems a bit creepy that McDonalds has intel on who is eating their food and when. I hope to never be cited in a report as ‘enjoying a McGriddle in 2004’.

I found this little nugget from Wikitravel--"The fun thing about Abu Dhabi is that everywhere, literally from tiny falafel shacks to the cushy hotel restaurants to Burger King- delivers to anywhere in the city. Delivery is quick and reliable, and usually doesn't cost extra." BK DELIVERY!? I am shocked to find we Americans are so far behind in Fast Food evolution. Now if I can get my McMuffins, Hashbrowns, Quarter Pounders, Fries, Cokes, Apple Pies, McFlurrys, and Shamrock Shakes delievered, and die in the comfort of my own apartment, I'm a happy meal--I mean Man.

Posted by Matt Dahl at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mary Van Daele, my friend and co-worker, wrote about her appreciation for MTV programming when she guest-blogged for Steve this week. It got me thinking about how much MTV I've been watching lately. It seems I might have an addiction. I have no problem spending an entire Saturday or Sunday watching the mindless, yet, fascinating lineup of programs that they have to offer. NFL Sundays and college football Saturdays are done for the year, and it's cold enough to validate staying indoors all day. (Not that I wouldn't spend a day on my couch in July, but play along with me.) Right now, MTV has a full schedule of excellent shows in constant rotation. Mary mentioned "Maui Fever", which is definitely on my radar. It follows the daily life of a group of young party animals in Hawaii. It was an acquired taste for me. Initially, I had trouble identifying with the characters. A few short weeks later, I was contemplating whether Cheyne should leave his girlfriend Rachel for ex-girlfriend Anna. (Anna is hotter, but Rachel seems more stable.) They've got a great central character in Chaunte. She's conniving and underhanded; and she makes no excuses for it. (Not to mention that she has a body that is, to quote hotelier Paris Hilton, "hot".)
My favorite of the new batch of MTV shows might be "Engaged and Underage". It's a tremendous little feel-good show about 18, 19 and 20 year olds that are getting married. The girls are usually virgins that are waiting until marriage and the guys are getting married just to have sex. The best episodes feature families that don't get along. A typical episode might feature one family that is ultra-religious and somewhat weird. They are normally over-the-top excited to welcome their 19-year-old's fiance into the family, to a creepy degree. Then, if the viewers are fortunate, the other family is against the idea of their 19-year-old son or daughter getting married so young. In one such episode, the guy's family(creepy religious) talked the girl(19-year-old whose family opposed marriage) into letting her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law give her a bikini wax on camera. It was strange footage, to say the least. Another episode featured a 20-year-old guy who was engaged to an attractive blond who was saving herself for marriage. He spent an alarming portion of the episode wrestling with his two junior high-age brothers, while paying very little attention to her. While she painted their new house, he spent time devising a plan for he and his brothers to spend a night sleeping in a different room of the house every night until he moved out. Each show is odder than the next. All in all-it's spectacular.
I'm also closely following "The Hills"(Heidi seems naive) as well as "The Real World: Denver"(Brooke's crazy). I've caught a couple episodes of "Bam's Unholy Union", but it hasn't hooked me in the way that "Viva La Bam" did once upon a time. I am catching up on "Two-A-Days". I enjoyed the first season, but fell behind of late. "Juvies" is good for a laugh every once in a while. I liked when the judge asked one kid if he knew why he was in trouble and he said, "because I threw a chair at my teacher." And the judge said, "That's right."

Man, I just analyzed the hell out of MTV. I might need to get some fresh air. Maybe I'll ease myself off of the MTV by switching over to FUSE for a while. It'll be kind of like methadone. Or maybe I just need to watch some college basketball and reclaim my masculinity.

Posted by Brendan at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A quick celebrity obituary out of South Florida last week:

R Kelly's appendix was born in 1967 on the South Side of Chicago. It resided in the singer's lower body cavity for the next 40 years until it suddenly exploded in Miami last week. R. Kelly's appendix is survived by 2 kidneys, a liver and an active bladder (see sex tape). It dedicated its life to collecting gum, pistachio shells and other assorted undesirables that were swallowed by the singer. The appendix appeared in R. Kelly's music video "Bump N' Grind", grinding against the posterior of a female dancer. In addition, R.'s appendix cameoed in the videos for "The World's Greatest" and "Ignition (The Remix)". It also directed the videos for Parts 2,3 and 5 of the wildly popular "Trapped in the Closet" series. The appendix often referred to that period behind the camera as "his Sistine Chapel".
In 2003, R Kelly's appendix was called to testify against R. Kelly's bladder in an underage sex case. It refused to take the stand. The case has yet to go to trial.
R. Kelly's appendix will be placed in formaldehyde inside a glass jar. Visitation has yet to be announced.

Posted by Brendan at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, it was a tough one Sunday, but we can’t dwell on that. Instead, we have to embrace the positive aspects of what was one hell of a season for our Chicago Bears. And, on another positive note, I can finally shave off my mustache. I’m still not really sure how I backed myself into growing it, and the only real attention we got from it from Comcast on Demand didn’t even plug our show, or even mention our names if I recall correctly. So, basically I just got to look like a molester with a pencil thin mustache for the past few weeks, which is not as fun as it sounds, and the Bears didn’t even win. So much for the good luck ‘stache. I even added some Blublockers to the mix down in Florida, to help get that Ditka’esque Super-fan quality, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Being down in Miami for the excitement was unbelievable though, and I’ll definitely never forget it.

Right now there are a bunch of kids in Cambodia being handed their “Bears Super Bowl Champions� shirts, as I’m pretty sure that is what the NFL does with the loser gear. That’s another good way to look at it; our loss has clothed the underprivileged and made bears fans out of the Cambodians. Glass half full people. The Bears proved to us this year that they are a team with many great things on the horizon, and we’ll get back to the big game. I know it. Regardless, pitchers and catchers report in 11 days, 2 hours, and 41 minutes. GO GO WHITE SOX!

Posted by Matt Dahl at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you are the proud owner of Comcast cable services, including On Demand features, be sure to check out the sweet piece featuring a little bit of my Ditka ‘Stache action! Just go to the On Demand Menu, and then to the NFL Network. In there, you’ll find the Bears Zone, then select Miami Mania 1. About 10 minutes in or so, you can find Brendan and I from and interview we did this past Saturday on the air.

Posted by Matt Dahl at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)