Looking back over the past 40 years, the writers at WIRED magazine have compiled a list of 100 THINGS THAT TODAY’S KIDS WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE.
How many can you think of? Here are a random assortment of 10 things from the list:
Author: web gangsta
Restaurants and Institutions magazine has released their 2009 list of the TOP 400 RESTAURANT CHAINS, in terms of revenue.
Coming in at top is no surprise: McDonalds, with over US$70 billion in sales.
Rounding out the rest of the top ten are:
- KFC ($17.8b)
- Burger King ($14.8b)
- Starbucks ($13.5b)
- Subway ($12.9b)
- Pizza Hut ($10.4b)
- Wendy’s ($9.2b)
- Taco Bell ($6.9b)
- Domino’s Pizza ($5.5b)
- Dunkin’ Donuts ($5.5b)
The magazine also released their annual list of the TOP EARNING INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS FOR 2009 as well.
Just as Web Watch reported a few years ago the first time we looked at these statistics, Las Vegas-based TAO is still at the top of the list, with $68m in 2008 earnings and an average dinner check of $72. Not bad, when you have 785,000 people coming through your door.
The rest of the top 10 independent restaurants were:
- Tavern on the Green
- Joe’s Stone Crab
- Smith & Wollensky
- Tao Asian Bistro
- Old Ebbitt Grill
- Buddakan
- Gibsons Bar Steakhouse
- Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, Chicago
- Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, Las Vegas
Falling just out of the top 10, at spot number 11, is our first Walt Disney World property, Fulton’s Crab House. With an average check of $45, Fulton’s made $20m in 2008. Other Disney properties that made the list include Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe at #25 ($15.7m), and the Contemporary Resort’s California Grill at #97 ($11.1m).
Due to some enterprising and creative folk with access to some video editing software, here are a few different (and occasionally NSFW) takes on a popular Internet meme of Hitler finding something to complain about:
Hitler Wants to eat at Epcot’s Le Cellier
TiVo: those who have never owned one will never understand. Those who have used a generic DVR think they understand, but they really don’t.
One benefit that many TiVo enthusiasts love to speak about is their ability to fast-forward through commercials. This has led to some advertisers trying to make their ads “TiVo-Friendly”, so that the core message of the spot will still be conveyed, even as the rest of the commercial goes by in a blur. As an example, you may have seen some movie ads that have the name of the movie displayed at the top of the screen for the duration of the commercial. TiVo users may not see the commercial content, but they know what the commercial was for.
Heck, even NBC CONDUCTED A STUDY THAT PROVED TIVO and DVR USERS DO PAY ATTENTION TO COMMERCIALS. In part, it’s because users who are fast-forwarding through the commercials end up watching the screen intently focused on when the commercial break stops, and if they happen to see an interesting commercial whiz by, they’ll rewind back to watch it.
Let’s take a look at WHAT TiVo SAYS ARE THE MOST WATCHED PROGRAMS AND COMMERCIALS BY TiVo USERS IN MAY 2009:
*the Adult Film industry, that is.
Yes, this post will point you in the direction you need to GET STARTED IN THE ADULT FILM INDUSTRY.
For example, if you wanted to made a film for HUMPFEST.
Besides, it’s good to throw a couple of NSFW links out there for you frequent Web Watch readers.
NSFW = “Not Safe For Work”, for those of you who don’t know what it means. No, we’re not linking to sites featuring nekkid photos, but the content in all of today’s links may be a bit more graphic than what you’ve been used to seeing here on Web Watch. Be appropriately warned.
Categories
Movie Review: Humpday
Rated R for adult language, frank sexual dialogue and situations, and some uncomfortable nudity
Rating: C+
Web Watch agrees about what others have pointed out, that Humpday is part of the “mumblecore” film genre that consists of groups of actors talking – mumbling, on occasion – in a quasi-improvised fashion on various topics while a handheld camera bobbles around to make the audience a little queasy. Just like on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, a mumblecore film has a general guideline of where the scene needs to go, but not necessarily a script leading the actors directly from point A to point B. In other words, turn the actors loose and let the cameras roll.
Humpday revolves around two buddies who haven’t seen each other in 10 years. As they are catching up on old times, they hear about Seattle’s infamous HumpFest, a film festival dedicated to showing amateur porn films.
Note: HumpFest takes place this year on October 9, so there is still plenty of time to get your 5 minute submissions in by the deadline. If you decide to participate, extra-credit goes for those films that incorporate any of the following props: a pink slip (layoff or undergarment), Mormon undergarments, motorcycle boots, e-stim unit, and Aplets & Cotlets.
So what should two buddies who haven’t seen each in 10 years, hopped up on some good pot and scotch, do? They decide that the best way to win an amateur porn film contest is to make the one amateur porn film that nobody would expect anyone to make: two straight guys doing it.
Yes, it appears that the film is a slightly skewed version of Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but with dudes. And quite a bit more dialogue-heavy. Humpday is billed as a comedy, but there are only so many improved jokes that are going to really work well. For Web Watch, many of the jokes seemed to fall flat. But we give the filmmakers credit for trying.
In essence, Humpday is a film version of a common question Web Watch has heard in bars across the country: “Would one dude kiss another dude for a million dollars?” While in a bar the answer is usually, “for a million dollars? hell yeah…”, Humpday takes a more realistic approach when the best buddies have to get down to the performance part of the film. It seems things get more complicated when it’s not just bar talk and a hypothetical million dollar paycheck.
Compared to the numerous favorable reviews Humpday has received since its Sundance debut, this may be a case where Web Watch is just not as much of a fan of this genre as others are. As with all movies, YMMV.
Whenever Web Watch visits Las Vegas, we like to watch people play the “carnival” games scattered across the casino.
You know the games – high visibility on the gaming floor, but not a lot of chance that the people playing will actually walk away a winner. An example: we once watched someone blow through about $1000 in 10 minutes playing Casino War. Yes, the children’s card game WAR as played in a casino. He didn’t stand a chance (he should have moved to craps or blackjack, where the odds were much more in his favor).
Knowing what the odds are in any scenario, whether it be a game of chance or a life-altering event, is important.
But odds need to be put into perspective. One could tell you that you have a 1-in-6 chance of taking the unshaken beer out of the 6-pack carrier during a game of Russian Beer Roulette, or they could just bet whether you can roll a six on a die. They’re the same odds, but sometimes you need these things pointed out to you.
Web Watch cares about its readers.
That’s why, as a public service announcement, Web Watch is proud to bring you this LIST OF THINGS TO DO IF CAPTURED BY ALIENS AND ABDUCTED ONTO A FLYING SAUCER OR UFO.