I (might) Play A Small Part

... and then, a bit later in the morning, this happened several hours after Rupe submitted his posting.

Which only goes to show Rupe may be "part of the problem" ...

And then maybe not ...

Ronald, being nothing more than a mascot at the corporation can field calls ...
... but there's nothing he can really do about the website ...

.......... Ruprecht ( Did Rupe help McSTOP the site? )

I Can't Think For Myself Any Longer ... And Neither Can You

2013.  Two thousand thirteen.

Pivotal year.

It's the year we became dumb.  Really dumb.

And dumb with regard to some of the most personal aspects of what we do. 
 
You see ... in 2013 we suddenly became dumb about our lifestyles.

Ronald wonders: "Why are you so dumb?"

How do I know this?  Because a fast food corporation is telling us how to live instead of our own selves telling us how to live, that corporation being McDonald's.  Here are some examples:

• McDonald's is advising us against eating hamburgers, fries and sodas because they "are typically high in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt and may put people at risk for becoming overweight."
• McDonald's further states "in general, people with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease must be very careful about choosing fast food because of its high fat, salt and sugar levels."

Yeah.  I know.  Do you get the picture in reading those points it's obvious we became incapable of any rational thought?  Because that's being screamed at me loudly and clearly.

Ronald asks: "What's the point of rushing into 2014?"

I figure I might as well toss out any hopes and dreams about 2014 right now, having them join a place right next to the discard McBurger wrapper and the drained McCoke container in the waste bin.  You, reading this, might want to do same.

I mean ... what's the point of continuing on if we're incapable of exercising rational McThought?  You're already in the throes of a food coma anyway with the holidays still going strong ... right?

Ronald says: "You're in a food coma already, anyway ..."

Oh. And ... Happy New Year ...

.......... Ruprecht ( we must figure out how to McSTOP our incapabilities )

A Rather Boring Experiment

I call McDonald's 'McCrappage' for a reason. I mean: Is there any reason I need to explain myself, people?

No ... I didn't think so.

Still, I'll admit to getting the occasional hankering for a Big Mac. Thankfully, those times are few and far between.

But, a week ago, I did something I wouldn't normally do (I hope you're sitting down): I ventured into a McDonald's and ordered a McRib sandwich.

Truth be told, it was an experiment more than anything else.

The way I figured it, I'd been working my ass off all day and, being McCrappage was the closest thing around, the remainder of the day's physical work would surely burn off any ill effects some McMysteryMeat on a bun might conjure up.

Yes, I've heard the wild tales involving people venturing hundreds of miles to satisfy their McRib cravings when they discover a McDonald's hours away is running the rare promotion. I've read of a few of these folks 'stocking up' on their needed BBQ sauce drowned fix, purchasing dozens at a time. (What in the world do they do with them? Eat them all at one sitting? Munch them continually over the course of days? Freeze'em for later consumption?) I've witnessed the frenzied looks of some overcome by the mere mention of a McRib. Sure, some of these stories are probably true, some fact-based ... and some so fantastical as to be fabricated, a result of hearing a 15-second radio spot for their beloved meal.

So, I decided to check out this sandwich for myself.

Sitting down with my purchase in a crowded Saturday McDonald's, I opened the container and discovered my order was misconstructed to begin with; I requested extra pickles and no onion. I got just the opposite - tons of onion, nary a pickle. (The beginning of my experience wasn't looking on the bright side from the get-go.)


Correcting the mistake in a (surprisingly) short amount of time, I sat down again, looked at the sandwich once more and took it all in: Oozing barbeque sauce dribbled down the sides of the sandwich. I wondered why so much sauce was necessary. Could this have been the work of an over-zealous employee? Or was this how it was supposed to look?

I took a deep breath and dove in. Savoring the flavor (I use the term loosely), I tried to come up with an appropriate adjective or two for the experience .... and couldn't.


You see, the taste I was met with was rather ... underwhelming. There was a hint of porky flavor to the sandwich, but it was overpowered by the abundance of sauce it was slathered in. 'Meh' was the best thing I could come up with. No taste explosion, not even that good, really ... but not in the least bit bad or repulsive, as some people have proffered.

I continued eating. I was hungry, after all. I needed fuel for the remainder of the day. I kept chewing, taking yet another bite, looking for something - anything - that hinted at what others found so enticing about a McRib. For the life of me, I just couldn't come up with a single idea as to its popularity.

Will I order one again? No. There's just nothing at all exciting about it, nothing that left me with an impression. Surely, nothing that would make me order another one down the line.

So, I'm confused: What's all the hoopla about? Why do so many people get whipped into a frothy herd mentality frenzy over this completely unremarkable fast food McBlandwich?

I. Don't. Know.

............... Ruprecht ( STOP )