Love Among the Nuggets: McWeddings on the Rise in Hong Kong

By Andrew Simmo

From: http://blogs.laweekly.com/

ceetap/Flickr

In other countries, McDonald's franchises sell different things.  Big Macs are made with lamb in much of India.  In Greece, a Greek Mac consists of several smaller patties tucked into a pita.  In Hong Kong, you can get a burger sandwiched between compressed sheets of glutinous rice.  At a McDonald's in Hong Kong, you can also get married.
 

I'm shaking: The happy meal couple share a slurp at their wedding buffet

While they were quietly launched last January, "McWeddings" are quickly emerging as a fad among members of Hong Kong's young, fast-moving set.  The "Warm and Sweet Wedding Package" works out to a little over $1282 per service, a price that includes inexpensive wedding gifts, pink invitation cards branded, naturally, with the company's distinctive yellow arches, decorations featuring the Hamburglar and other iconic characters, and an unholy heap of McDonald's menu classics.  For an extra $165, the bride can rent a "white balloon" gown.  A balloon wedding cake will cost an additional $88.  For a bright pink McDonald's-themed backdrop, the couple must fork over a $321 supplement.

According to Reuters, "McWeddings" may actually make sense for cash-strapped lovers:

"With two wedding parties confirmed for this year and around 70 other couples in talks, the American fast food giant is hoping this sideline will take off at a time of economic uncertainty, particularly with traditional Chinese weddings and banquets often imposing a huge financial burden on young couples."

What we want to know is, a year from now, will the same franchises give these couples the opportunity to divorce with the same speed and ketchup-flecked cuteness with which they got hitched? We're thinking that each marriage should come with a coupon for divorce lawyers willing to work for unlimited shakes and half their normal hourly rates: if the coupon is redeemed before the 1st of the following year.

Magnificent & Magical Moonscape of Cappadocia, Turkey [24 PICS]

by Lady Trigger 

from: http://triggerpit.com/

For most of us, Cappadocia looks so foreign that it could be an alien world. But Cappadocia is a region in Turkey with extraordinary natural wonders and moonscape beauty. Ancient volcanoes eroded into hundreds of exceptional fairy chimneys - some of which reach over 130 feet in height. In the states we tend to call those rock formations hoodoos, but fairy chimneys sound as magical as the Cappadocian "lunar" landscape truly is. It took thousands of years for wind and rain to erode layers of volcanic ash into the breathtaking landscape.The volcanic deposits are soft, so from the 4th to 13th century AD, occupants of the area dug tunnels into the exposed rock face and carved out houses, stores, monasteries and churches which are home to irreplaceable Byzantine art.

Click here for the Full Gallery: [24 Amazing Pictures]

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Balloon Ride
A balloon flying over the fairy chimneys of Goreme - Cappadocia, Turkey by Verity Cridland

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View of Cappadocia, Turkey photo by Mila Zinkova; Edit by CillanXC

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Fairy chimneys near Goreme, Cappadoccia, Turkey
Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and absolutely fantastic from a photographic, historical, and scenery perspective. by Frank Kovalchek

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Rock house near Goreme, Cappadocia
A man and his camel near a rock house near Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey by Frank Kovalchek

Click here for the Full Gallery: [24 Amazing Pictures]

Two-Headed Cow Born in Georgia

From: http://blogs.discovery.com/

On January 2nd, a cow gave birth to a calf with two heads in the eastern European country Georgia.  Apparently, the calf's mother has refused to let it nurse, which is not an uncommon response when an animal senses its offspring has something seriously wrong with it.  Despite that, the calf has been feeding from a bottle with both of its heads.  Unfortunately, chances of its survival to adulthood are not good, but possible with lots of human care.

See examples of other multiple-headed animals on Animal Planet's Weird, True and Freaky video page.
VIDEO: Watch video of the little two-headed cow.
 

San Francisco Circumcision Ban Aims to Spice Up Your Sex Life

By Joe Eskenazi
From http://blogs.sfweekly.com/

Soon to be punishable under modern law?

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Read full text of proposed circumcision ban at bottom of this article

If a San Francisco man named Lloyd Schofield gathers a shade over 7,000 signatures, San Franciscans will actually get the chance to vote on whether or not to ban the practice of circumcision.

Coming on the heels of this month's Happy Meal ban, it seems there's nothing this city can't prevent you from putting into or taking off of your body.

Our calls and e-mails to Schofield have not yet been returned. But, based on the material he submitted to the city attorney's office, the foreskin crusader is undertaking his quest to stamp out "genital mutilation" for a number of reasons. One of them is that he wants to spark up your sex life.

See Also: San Francisco Circumcision Ban Unconstitutional, Professor Says

See Also: Meet the Man Behind the S.F. Circumcision Ban

"Genital mutilation constitutes a major yealth risk, violates, human rights and has lifelong physical and psychological effects," he writes in his Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition. "Complications due to male genital mutilation include hemorrhage, infection, excessive skin loss, skin bridges, nerve damage, glans deformation, bowing, meatal stenosis, loss of penis, and death. Long-term complications include sexual dysfunction, decreased sexual sensitivity, increased friction and pain during sexual intercourse, and lifelong psychological trauma." (our emphasis)

Schofield, it seems, is a proponent not only of banning circumcision but of foreskin restoration. Yes, foresin restoration -- a movement in which men undergo long, painful, and outlandish treatments to once again render their genitalia "intact."

Here's the man himself at the Folsom Street Fair expressing hope for "a flood of legislation protecting baby boys from forced genital mutilation."


Of course, if his proposed measure were to be voted into law -- and
survives inevitable lawsuits -- there'd be fewer severed foreskins to
restore. Per Schofield's legislation:

ARTICLE 50, GENITAL CUTTING OF MALE MINORS

Sec. 5001. PROHIBITION OF GENITAL CUTTING OF MALE MINORS.

...It is unlawful to circumcise, excise, cut, or mutilate the whole or any part of the foreskin, testicles, or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18 years.

Anyone violating this provision -- say, a mohel taking the law into his own hands -- will be guilty of a misdemeanor and "punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment int he County Jail for a period not to exceed one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

You can read the full text of the proposed circumcision ban here: Initiative 10-06 male circumcision-2.pdf

Expect to hear more about this down the road. This is just the tip ... of the iceberg.

Twinkie Cars, Sausage Men, and Hoagie Blimps: Kitchen (Football Snack) Stadium

By Drew Tewksbury
From: http://blogs.laweekly.com/

The Big Game appoacheth. With Super Bowl XLIV right around the corner, millions of Americans will break out potato chips, Chex mex, Hot Dogs, and hamburgers and, of course, build a giant junk food football stadium. Okay, this may not be standard operating procedure for most gridiron fanatics gathered around the warm glow of the television, but for a second year, the folks of Break.com have set out to construct the best (and only?) snack stadium in the universe. Yesterday at Busby's East, the creative team of Break built a pool table sized arena that dwarfed last year's Twinkie, Slim Jim and guacamole stadium. Deftly wielding frosting, Cracker Jacks, doughnuts (and holes), deli meat, sweaty cheese, and some broccoli--to make mom happy--the stadium was an ode to beer bellies and lap bands across America.

This is Why You're Fat, eat your heart out. Break and their friends Holy Taco will release two behind-the-scenes videos of the snacktastrophe construction on Feb. 3rd and 5th. But before then, Squid Ink has exclusive photos of the ultimate snack stadium and a calorie breakdown after the jump. A picture is worth a thousand calories. Make that 110,428 calories.

Nicholas Gray

Kitchen stadium

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Nicholas Gray

Behold the power of a fully operational Snack Stadium

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Nicholas Gray

Rome wasn't built in a day

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Nicholas Gray

Who doesn't love sweaty cheese and warm deli meat?

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Nicholas Gray

Looking good, crowd! Loo-king gooooood!

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Nicholas Gray

marshmallow wheels

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Nicholas Gray

And the crowd goes wild!

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Nicholas Gray

It's the carrots vs. the Vienna sausages for the game of the century!

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Nicholas Gray

Birds eye view from the Hoagie Blimp (not pictured)

Get your lap bands ready, here's the calorie break down:

C per serving Quantity Total C per Item

STADIUM/STANDS:

Twizzlers 1/100c 1200c/bag 1200c

Good n Plenty 1/4c 1 bag 585<

Sno-Caps 1/4cup=180c 1 bag 360

Hershey Bars 1pc/40c 600/block 600

Red Hots 1/3c 720/box 720

Mike and Ike 1/6c 560/box 560

Hot Tamales 20p/150c 400/box 400

Hershey Kisses 12pcs/355c 12 pcs 355

Pink Sugar Wafers 1/22c 550/bag 550

Wht Sugar Wafers 1/45c 1080/bag 1080

Crème Filled Cookies 1/55c 990/bag 990

Vanilla Wafers 1/14c 1200/box 1200

Choc Chip cookies 1/38c 2100/box 2100

PNut Granola Bars 1/170 ½ box 680

Graham Crackers 1/19c 2 boxes 3600

Slim Jims 1/80c 4 pcs 320

Baby Carrots 210c/bag 210/bag 420

5 Layer Dip 735c/pack 735c/pack 735

String Cheese 1/60c 720/pack 720

Taquitos 1/74c 4 296

Cheez Its 1/4c ½ box 650

Triscuts 1/20c 1200/box 2400

Pringles 1/9c 900/tube 2700

Dry Peanuts 10z/160c 1120/can 2240

Honey Peanuts 38pcs/150c 1050/can 2100

Sun Chips 1/8c 1540/bag 3080

Popcorn 800c/bag 800c/bag 1600

Doritos 450c/bag 450/bag 900

Carmel Corn 3/4cup=120c 900/bag 1800

Tortilla Chips 1/17c 1120/bag 1120

Cheese Popcorn 750c/bag 750/bag 750

Wheat Crackers 1040c/box 1040c/box 2080

Peanuts w/Shell 1oz/180c 1260/bag 1260

Pretzels 1/3c 1320c/bag 1320

Sunflower Seeds 475c/bag ½ bag 238

Fritos 1oz/160 1440c/bag 1440

Chex Mix 1800c/bag 1800c/bag 5400

Waffle Pretzels 1/10c 1320c/bag 2640

Chicharones 640c/bag 640c/bag 1280

Mixed Nuts 1 oz/170c 5440c/jar 5440

Blue Chips 1/9c 2240c/bag 4480

Goldfish 840c/bag 840c/bag 1680

Wheat Sticks 1/6c 990c/bag 990

MissionTortillaChips 1/14c 3080c/box 3080

Salami 1 lb 1lb 1380

Ham 1 lb 1 lb 483

Cheddar Cheese 1 lb 1 lb 1828

Swiss Cheese 1 lb 1 lb 1714

=73,544

PARKING LOT:

Ho Hos 1/120c 2 boxes 2400

Twinkies 1/150 2 boxes 3000

Choc Doughnuts 1/290c 2320/box 2320

Glazed Doughnuts 1/250c 2000/box 2000

Small Doughnuts 1/53c 1890/bag 1890

Cream cheese 770c 770c/jar 770

Graham Crackers 1/19c 1800c/box 3600

Vanilla Frosting 1400/can 3 cans 4200

Hot Dogs 1/45c 3 packs 1350

Hot Dog Buns 1/130c 4 packs 4160

Sliders 1/155 20 1550

=28,020

FIELD:

Vanilla Frosting 1400/can 5 cans 7000

Vienna Sausages 1/23c 175/can 407

Black Olives 4/25c 275/can 300

Green Olives 4.75/1 12 57

Baby Carrots 210c/bag 210/bag 420

Pretzel Stubs 1/7.5 4 30

Dots 11p/130c 650/box 650

=8,864

TOTAL: 110,428

Normal couple weds at Taco Bell

Jan 10th, 2009 | t NORMAL, Ill. -- Wedding bells meant Taco Bell for Paul and Caragh Brooks.

Customers inside the fast-food restaurant continued to order tacos and burritos as the couple sat Friday in an orange booth at Taco Bell and exchanged vows.

"It's appropriate," groom Paul Brooks said. "It's an offbeat relationship."

Employees displayed hot sauce packets labeled with the words "Will you marry me?" They decorated the restaurant with streamers and balloons.

The bride wore a $15 hot pink dress and the entire wedding cost about $200. Several dozen guests looked on as the couple's friend, Ryan Green of Normal, administered the vows while wearing a T-shirt. He was ordained online.

"This is the way to go -- there's no stress," said the groom's mother, Kathy Brooks.

Caragh Brooks, 21, of Australia, met Paul Brooks, 30, on an Internet dating Web site. They already had the same last name.

The couple wrote back and forth and talked on the phone for nine months before Caragh Brooks moved to the United States.

"We have the same brain, just in two bodies," Paul Brooks said. "We think alike in virtually every manner. We have the same interests, viewpoints."

He proposed on New Year's Eve and, because they like to spend time at the local Taco Bell, they decided to wed there.

"I would never have expected in my life in working here there would be a wedding," restaurant manager Carl Hamlow said.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com