Week 4 EOC: McDonalds respones to "Super Size Me"

                                     McDonalds response to “Super Size Me”

When filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heard about a lawsuit that two overweight New York teenagers had brought against McDonald's, blaming the restaurant for their condition, he decided to conduct an experiment.

For 30 days, Spurlock ate McDonald's food, three meals a day, to see what would happen to his body. He chronicled this diet in his new documentary "Super Size Me." The crew shot 250 hours worth of footage, traveled more than 25,000 miles and made a movie, from concept to fruition, in less than one year.

During his experiment, Spurlock (despite the protests of his live-in girlfriend, a vegan chef) followed the following four rules:

1. No options. He could eat only what was available over the counter (water included!).
2. No super-sizing unless offered.
3. No excuses. He had to eat every item on the menu at least once.
4. No giving up. He had to eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At the begging of the film Spurlock  was in great shape, according to a physical examination. After a month, he gained 24.5 pounds, his cholesterol with up 65 pounds, his liver basically turned into fat. He was reaching a toxic level, putting himself at risk of non-alcoholic type of hepatitis.

Shortly after the movie aired these are a few statements in response from McDonalds:

Director of Worldwide Nutrition, Dr. Cathy Kapica:
She says, "As a registered nutritionist, I was extremely disappointed when I saw this movie. Here was an opportunity to actually provide insights into a serious problem. In fact, all it turned out to be was an extreme stunt where someone engaged in irresponsible behavior of eating twice as much as they should every day, limiting physical activity. It was a complete disservice to anyone looking for factual information or real solutions."

The company has called the documentary “a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald’s.” It says the film is not about McDonald’s but about Spurlock’s decision to act irresponsibly by eating 5,000 calories a day — “a gimmick to make a film.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-615975.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4433307/ns/business-us_business/t/mcdonalds-phasing-out-supersize-fries-drinks/#.Ufmdd4JD9kg

Week 3 EOC: Rolling Stone

“In 1967, a 20-year-old Jann S. Wenner dropped out of the University of California Berkeley to start a quirky rock-music-oriented biweekly called Rolling Stone—and changed American culture. Treating the interests of America’s increasingly vocal youth with seriousness unknown before, Rolling Stone spoke to—and for—an entire generation. Throughout its illustrious history, Wenner’s commitment to quality journalism has kept Rolling Stone fresh and dynamic—the magazine’s success has proved a new readership is always ready to respond to definitive music coverage, provocative interviews, award-winning photography and important investigative and political reporting.”  http://www.jannswenner.com/Biography/

To get the magazine off the ground, Wenner borrowed $7,500 from his family members and from the family of his soon-to-be wife, Jane Schindelheim. The first issue carried a cover date of November 9, 1967.Rolling Stone magazine was initially identified with and reported on the hippie counterculture of the era. However, the magazine distanced itself from the underground newspapers of the time, such as Berkeley Barb, embracing more traditional journalistic standards and avoiding the radical politics of the underground press. In the very first edition of the magazine, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone "is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces." This has become the de facto motto of the magazine. During the 1980s the magazine began to shift focus towards being a general "entertainment" magazine. Music was still a dominant topic but there was increasing coverage of celebrities in television, movies and the pop culture of the day. The magazine also initiated its annual "Hot Issue" during this time.

“The printed format has gone through several changes. The first publications 1967-72, were folded tabloid newspaper format, no staples with black ink text, and a single color highlight that changed each edition. From 1973 on, editions were done on a 4 color press with a different newsprint paper size. In 1979 the bar code appeared. In 1980 it became a gloss paper large format 10 x 12 magazine. As of the October 30th, 2008 edition, Rolling Stone is a smaller, standard-format magazine size. (USA Today, Associated Press Anick Jesdanun)” http://cecilbuffington.com/photo3_40.html

"It is absolutely impossible to predict what newsstands sales are going to be," Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana told NPR after the anger erupted. "... It's something you have to be mindful of, but at the same time, put out of your mind on a case-by-case basis. ...We really go with our gut on these things, usually." http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/23/us/rolling-stone-sales/

Week 2 EOC: John Varvatos SWOT

SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, 
Opportunities, and Threats…
“John Varvatos is a brand that occupies a unique place in the landscape of American design. It unites old world craftsmanship and refined tailoring with modern innovations in textiles and a rock 'n' roll sensibility. Launched in 2000 with a collection of tailored clothing and sportswear, the brand now represents an entire lifestyle that includes belts, bags, footwear, eyewear, limited edition watches, luxury skincare and fragrances, as well as the younger, edgier John Varvatos Star USA collection and Converse by John Varvatos.” http://www.johnvarvatos.com/about

Right from the start John was aniouxus to get ahead in his craft.  John first received accolades from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2000 when he was honored with the Perry Ellis Award for Menswear, which goes to the most promising new talent in the industry. John compounded this achievement the following year by winning the 2001 CFDA’s Designer of the Year award. One of his biggest strengths is his location. John lives in the US fashion capital in New York City so he gets to see the latest trends as they surface. However, one of his weaknesses is that he can not meet the demands of other designers. Johns style is always changing so he puts out sales often to help keep his line out there and moving. In my opinion what i feel threatens him is that he does make a line for the everyday person. so with that said it is a clothing line that any other designer can create. 

Week 1 EOC: How to make it in America

We start by meeting two young guys with a dream of making it big in America. They have the ideas but no real plan on how to accomplish them, or money. one of the main things they do right from the get go is networking. Theses two young men spend most of there nite in a networking community which I know plenty about. I have work in the club industry for the past 17 years and believe me networking is everything.  Especially here in Vegas. If someone invites you to an after party here in Vegas you almost always want to go because you never know how what connections you can meet. That is exactly what these two have successfully done.

On the other hand they keep running to obstetrical and have nothing to really fall back on. They borrow money from a loan shark and have no real source of income to pay him back. Another thing I noticed is that they want to create jeans but don't know how to explain their creation exactly. I feel they keep going around in circles with their idea.

My Voice

Everyone has their own idea of what they want to become when they grow up, and throughout the years as we grow we begin to either follow the path of those childhood dreams or decide to change our paths, at least most of us try to do so. When I was a child I use to dream of working in the glamours business we call show. As I grew up and moved out of my small country town of Uvalde, Texas and moved myself to our state capital of Austin. I got a taste of working on the stage in local clubs but craved more. In 2007 I pack up and moved to Las Vegas the "City of Lights'. Through out my years of working in the clubs I began to get more and more interested in the fashion side of things. I've help design and create some amazing costumes and make up for a few events around Las Vegas. I am taking the expriences I have had in the past and taking them to the next level. I know longer want to create for someone else, I want to create for myself. I plan to help create the next fashion trends. With Fashions by Diva I plan to not only help others reach their potential of looking and feeling confident but also provide a true overall Diva experience.