Customary Creatures

CALL YOUR LOVED ONES! CONTACT YOUR FAVORITE CALENDAR PUBLISHING COMPANY!

By the power invested in me I declare the month of August to be known, now and forever, as “Mac & Me Awareness Month.” 

The Story of “Mac & Me”

Five years after its theatrical release, the VHS of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was set to hit store shelves in October of 1988. The hype for this video was huge. 

Enter McDonald’s (yes, the fast-food restaurant), who teams up with a handful of investors to create the “Mac and Me Joint Venture” production company. Not only are they going to take advantage of the upcoming “E.T” VHS release, they’re going make ANOTHER ALIEN MOVIE FULL OF BLATANT PRODUCT PLACEMENTS.
(more…)

Ah, McDonald’s commercials. They used to be so awesome. Between McDonaldland, the Chicken McNugget Buddies (I’ll cover the aforementioned promotions in later blog entries) and McWorld you couldn’t have a better decade’s worth of campaigns.

In a nutshell, McWorld was a pubescent utopia, a state of mind if you will, where kids reigned supreme, had fun and above all ate a crapload of McDonald’s. 

For years it was impossible to find these gems on YouTube, or anywhere on the ‘net for that matter. Our economy may be failing, but the American public hasn’t let me down: McWorld is finally hitting the web!

See for yourself:

Sweet Michael Jordan cameo!

(There’s another McWorld video here, but the syncing is off and part of the video is missing)

I remember other variations where a boy, in his McWorld, had a pet Tyranosaurus Rex. Another featured a boy having his own mansion with a bowling alley and–you guessed it–a McDonald’s, that would make him Chicken McNuggets whenever he wanted!

Let me know if you seen any other McWorld videos on the web!

Wow. I’ve seen my share of McDonald’s Chicken McNugget Buddies commercials, but somehow missed this one. Until today, that is!

The Buddie scratching the record is my favorite, fo’ sho!

Another brilliant, now defunt, marketing campaign by McDonald’s. Sporting a smile, these little martyrs would gladly jump into any nearby barbecue/sweet and sour sauce container.

The classic baseball commercial, that I remember most fondly, is listed on YouTube, but the video says “no longer available.” It’s here in case it happens to come back up later.

Here’s a picture of the classic Happy Meal toys. I remember our dog chewing on these things:

Check out the face on the cowboy, second to the bottom right!

McDonald’s Week at gregsdrawings.com!

Okay, it’s now officially McDonald’s week here at Greg’s Drawings. It wasn’t planned, but there seems to be an abundance of Mickey D’s posts. I’m not a McDonald’s nut by any means. I only really eat there once, maybe twice a month, max. Check the blog archives if you don’t believe me!

I Was a McRib Virgin

That’s right. Never before had my mouth entertained the taste of a McRib. This was my first time. And boy, was it well worth the wait (innuendo there, just in case you didn’t catch it by the use of italics).

I was always turned off by the McRib, primarily by its name and lack of consistent availability. I decided to give the guy a chance.

There was a promotion going on for a $3.99 McRib value meal. This is what really planted the seed early in the week to make the golden arch pilgrimage. Besides, ordering ribs at Chili’s or some other restaurant costs at least $12-16 a rack. I’m open to a cheaper (albeit more questionable) alternative.

Fast Food Never Looks Like the Picture

Okay, the McRib looked like a long sloppy joe upon first opening its box. Sauce was everywhere.

However, when I took off the top bun

I was pleasantly surprised to see that, with the strategic location of its two pickles, my McRib looked like a sleep mask (or perhaps a Phantom of the Opera mask). Note: I asked for no onions (gross).

The Meat and Taste

Really, after a few bites I was surprised by the taste and quality of the McRib meat. It tasted very similar to rib meat from any old Applebee’s/Chili’s rack I’ve ordered. Plus there’s no bones, which is the whole perk of the McRib. 

It doesn’t taste like gourmet ribs, but it certainly gets the job done. 

A Challenge to You, Reader

I love dipping my french fries in sweet and sour sauce. Way more than ketchup, actually. 

Try this new dipping sensation with your own McRib combo. The sweet and sour sauce went along great with the McRib/barbecue taste.

Final Verdict

To summarize, the McRib exceeded my expectations. However, my expectations weren’t that high to begin with. The taste was definitely above average for fast food, and I’d suggest ordering this over wasting $15 at Chili’s. Mickey D’s needs to go easy on the sauce.

Overall Score: 7.5/10 - Slightly above average, but doesn’t come close to dethroning McNuggets as my McDonald’s item of choice! 

Okay, so I haven’t posted anything in a week. Hopefully this beefy, picture-filled update of my going-on’s will make it all up to you!

1. Tootsie Update

Our dog Tootsie is doing well. She’s grown in a few adult teeth and it quite long these days. These pictures are a couple weeks old, so she’s already a bigger gal! She gained a pound within two weeks, bringing her up to just over six pounds!

2. Bloody Netflix

I am a Netflix subscriber. Beefing up my “classic” film collection, I received the 1969 John Wayne movie “True Grit” a couple weeks ago. Upon removing the sleeve from the envelope I couldn’t help but to notice gross, dried red spots under the description. Blood? Very likely.

3. Delicious Sodas at Noodles and Company

Sprecher sodas are delicious. I had never had one up until a few weeks ago. Since the first mouthful of orange delight, I’ve enjoyed numerous sodas of the Sprecher variety! The “Orange Dream” flavor is THE BEST orange soda I have ever tasted. Bravo! Check out the awesome label art.

4. Volunteering for Obama

I’ve made calls, done some data entry and went canvassing a couple times out of the Broad Ripple Obama field office. Everyone was friendly and amazing. Check out some signs made by kids (or feeble senior citizens?).

5. I Got a Car Wash

This is amazing because I rarely get my car washed. Usually I let nature do its job outside while I’m at work. I’m not aiming to impress with my silver Nissan Sentra. Maybe when I’m old and have a status symbol car I’ll car more.

Anyway, I forgot how enjoyable a car wash can be. I love the smell of the soap, the vibration and tug of the car being pulled along, and watching the big soapy pieces of cloth squiggle down the windshield. Plus, at Mike’s Car Wash you get to watch wet and frumpy stuffed animals. Check out Ernie!

6. El Sol de Tala

My wife suggested a Mexican place I hadn’t been to over on East Washington in Indianapolis. It’s in a rougher part of town, and the exterior of the building didn’t look like much, but El Sol de Tala is amazing. Outside a full-sized stuff donkey and barrels of hay greet you. Inside is a large, remodeled room reminiscent of the dining hall in “Beowulf.” The cheese dip was scrumptious. Visit if you can.

7. Heartland Film Festival

A co-worker gave me gallery tickets to Indianapolis’ Heartland Film Festival. I’ve heard about the fest for years, but had never attended. The Crystal Hearts Gala Awards ceremony was unbelievable. I have a new level of respect and admiration for Heartland, and will surely volunteer next year. 

The picture above is in the lobby of Conseco Fieldhouse. Pardon the blurriness, but you can see that the area was set up with translucent cloth tables with glow sticks underneath. It was a very cool atmosphere!

8. Annual Meeting

Our company had its annual meeting last weekend in Arizona. People were divided up in teams for events, and I was extremely shocked to see that one of the team’s bandanas was a CONFEDERATE FLAG. Really? That’s all I’m saying…

9. Mutant McNugget and Flies Gettin’ Busy

Yesterday I hit up Mickey D’s for lunch and got a 3-for-1 mutant McNugget. It was an amazing rarity, and had to be documented via photographs. 

When we got back to work there were two flies getting busy on the wall adjacent to the we swipe our key on. Another rarity of nature, documented for your viewing pleasure!