Year: 2007

McDonald’s Hell

With the successful expansion of McDonald’s into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent subject of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.

Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a tradition of describing Gehenna. Gehenna is not hell, but rather a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on his or her life’s deeds. The Kabbalah describes it as a “waiting room” (commonly translated as an “entry way”) for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehenna forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 11 months, however there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah (heb. עולם הבא; lit. “The world to come”, often viewed as analogous to Heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the “unfinished” piece being reborn.

Mr. T get some nuts

In 1995, Snickers launched a website to support its sponsorship of Euro ’96, a pan-European football tournament. The website was groundbreaking in soliciting match previews and reviews from its visitors, who generated some 4,000 match reports, and the website won various international design, advertising and online community awards.

In the early 2000s, deep fried candy bars (including Snickers, and Mars bars) became quite popular at U.S. state fairs and in pubs around the U.K. and Australia, although they had been a local specialty in some North of England and Scottish fish and chip shops since at least the mid-1990s.

Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud on May 21, 1952) is an iconic actor known for his roles as Sgt. “B. A.” Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer James “Clubber” Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his numerous appearances in the WWF and pro-wrestling. He is also well-known for his distinctive mohawk hairstyle and for wearing an excessive amount of gold jewelry. He currently stars in the reality show I Pity the Fool, shown on TV Land; the title of which comes from his Rocky III catchphrase.

He has also appeared on some Comcast commercials, and in the United Kingdom advertises the chocolate bar Snickers with the slogan “Get some nuts!”

Ameriquest expands into pest control

Ameriquest is one of the United States’s leading wholesale subprime lenders. Ameriquest was founded in 1979, in Orange County, California, as a bank, Long Beach Savings & Loan. The bank moved to Orange County in 1991 and was converted to a pure mortgage lender in 1994, renamed Long Beach Mortgage Co. In 1997, the wholesale part of the business (funding loans made by independent brokers) was spun off as a publicly traded company, called Long Beach Mortgage; the retail part of the business was renamed Ameriquest Capital and remained private. (In 1999, Washington Mutual purchased Long Beach Mortgage.) Ameriquest Mortgage is a private company held by ACC Capital Holdings, which is owned by Roland Arnall.

Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart with a device called a defibrillator. This depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, terminates the arrhythmia, and allows normal sinus rhythm to be reestablished by the body’s natural pacemaker, in the sinoatrial node of the heart.

Manual external defibrillators are used in conjunction with (or more often have inbuilt) electrocardiogram readers, which the clinician uses to diagnose a cardiac condition (most often fibrillation or tachycardia although there are some other rhythms which can be treated by different shocks). The clinician will then decide what charge (voltage) to use, based on their prior knowledge and experience, and will deliver the shock through paddles or pads on the patient’s chest. As they require detailed medical knowledge, these units are generally only found in hospitals and on some ambulances.

Hibernating with Labatt Blue

Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. is a Canadian beer company, founded by John Kinder Labatt in 1847 in London, Ontario. In 1995 it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew, now known as InBev.

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernation conserves energy, especially during winter. Hibernation may last several days or weeks depending on species, ambient temperature, and time of year. The typical winter season for a hibernator is characterized by periods of hibernation interrupted by sporadic euthermic arousals wherein body temperature is restored to typical values. Hibernation allows animals to conserve energy during the winter when food is short. During hibernation, animals drastically lower their metabolism so as to tap energy reserves stored as body fat at a slower rate.

Good cooks use Tabasco

Tabasco sauce is a brand of hot sauce made from tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco), vinegar, and salt, and aged in white oak barrels for three years. It has a hot, spicy flavor and is popular in many parts of the world.

Seasoning is the process of adding or improving flavor of food. Seasonings include herbs, spices, and all other condiments. Salt may be used to draw out water, or to magnify a natural flavor of a food making it richer or more delicate, depending on the dish. For instance, kosher salt (a coarser-grained salt) is rubbed into chicken, lamb, and beef to tenderize the meat and improve flavor. Other seasonings like pepper and basil transfer some of their flavor to the food. A well designed dish will combine seasonings that complement each other.

Barky the Dog needs a Snickers

Snickers is a candy bar made by Mars, Incorporated. It consists of peanut butter nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel covered with milk chocolate. Snickers is the best selling candy bar of all time and has annual global sales of US$2 billion.

A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually, (but not always) covers the performer’s face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. Problems in suit performance include intense physical exertion, claustrophobia and hyperthermia.