Anyway, the two logotypes are not quite in the same font and Sierra looks like it’s been typeset in PowerPoint! The kerning of the r and a is just not cool and that negative space is unforgivable. As a designer I would at that point realize that setting it in lowercase, and definitely that typeface, is a bad idea. The can is monotone making it look like an own-brand product.
It’s a dreadful can. Maybe the poor taste demographic will like it.

On the Pepsi symbol I kind of like aesthetically it but no way is it a smile. Asking consumers to buy into this is just going to annoy people. Subtlety rarely works in FMCG packaging.

Apart from my aesthetic appreciation of the logo, I don’t think it makes strategic sense. Apart from color, all invested equity in the previous trademark is lost. Stripping away the 3D elements and changing the look at the same time is asking consumers to take a huge leap and is therefore massively polarizing. Why would Pepsi want to polarize its customer base and change a winning formula. They came out on top for a while when Coca-Cola alienated its customer base by replacing Coke with New Coke in the 80s. Did they not learn this valuable lesson?

Coke simplified their cans not too long ago to massive praise, making the 3D look of Pepsi look outdated. I think that a more sensible response would be to take the Apple approach and ditch the type, using only their very famous symbol on a black or white background.

Pepsi:sticks out but I’m not impressed, sorta boring, basically the logo and the word “Pepsi” titled on it’s side repeated 3 times on the bottle and the nutrition facts on the back. I feel disappointed.

Diet Pepsi: same exact thing as Pepsi,except the logo smile is smaller,has a small light brown circle around it, and it’s on a white background with additional brown type that says “O grams of sug” or something like that.

Pepsi max: wasn’t there

diet Sierra Mist: this one was nice yellow type,”diet” was non-bold while “sierra” is in bold and Mist was below,large and fuzzy,but still readable, all vertical in front of a green misty mountain vista which stretched across thew bottle. This was surprisingly better than I expected.

Tropicana:good god this was horrible more in person it DOES look like a cheap store brand,WORSE than the concept.

Sprite: they have new bottles out that only has the new typeface on a Christmas tree background,they also have a silver version (which I saw at Walgreens)diet Sprite/Sprite Zero that also has this, looks like they’re dumping the S symbol.

Gatorade:Very nice,better than the other bottle designs,interestingly the bottles are smaller in person than I thought they would be, maybe the big version hasn’t come out yet.

Coca Cola: still looks great as ever,even the Christmas version with Santa and the polar bears beats out the new Pepsi design,probably since it stretches across the bottle,instead of repeating.

“Looking for trouble” is pretty much the job description for a journalist. It’s why people occasionally still find some of them admirable. (And conversely, the few who we do find admirable are the ones who most often look for trouble.) The China/NK border is host to any number of ongoing humanitarian disasters that both governments would be happy to have swept under the rug: my hat’s off to anyone with the brass ones to go wading into that mess.

Yes, they knew the risks. And yes, the US government had no obligation to help them out if they got into trouble. But apparently we figured out a way to get them out for the cost of a plane ride and having Bill Clinton be polite to a few crazy people for a few hours. I’m astonished that anyone finds this objectionable.
]]> http://bywaters.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/the-journalists-are-back-from-north-korea/feed/ 0 bywaters nkorea20 http://bywaters.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/how-much-water-do-we-all-need/ http://bywaters.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/how-much-water-do-we-all-need/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:19:35 +0000 bywaters http://bywaters.wordpress.com/?p=45 ]]> The recommendation to drink eight glasses per day is a general guideline that does not take individual needs into account such as body fat percentage, caloric needs, kidney function or how much a person sweats.

Drinking water with some good quality sea salt and some lemon juice is a much better alternative to “sugary sports drinks” for replenishing lost electrolytes. Sugary sports drinks do little for the body, most juice does little for the body as well. Since most juice is pasteurized (living enyzmes/nutrients killed) and full of sugar (even if it’s natural, it’s still a lot in one glass). So water and tea are much alternatives to juice.

Because we all still believe that we need 8 glasses of water a day, the plastic bottle industry has run anok. Alot of the plastic bottles I see strewn on the street is from bottled water.
8 glasses a day is WAY too much unless you live in Saudi Arabia!
Scientists say to “Drink when you’re thirsty”, your thirst will tell you how much water you need. I see people going on mild hikes or walks with tons of water in plastic bottles as if they’re going to be climbing Katmandu!
Not only is it bad for the environment to have everyone thinking they need tons of water and therefore buying H2O in plastic bottles but it may be bad for you too. I’ve seen the phenomena of “water intoxication” and it is NOT as difficult to get as someone commented earlier.
Drink when you’re thirsty, use reusable containers to carry it with you if you must!

Your body is wise – listen to it, and you can’t go wrong. Don’t drink, and specially, don’t eat mechanically. Ask yourself, ‘Do I really want more? Do I want something else? Should I have stopped already?’ Your body wants only what it needs – it’s your mind that says ‘more’ or ‘ice cream’ instead of ‘stop’ and ‘water’.

A full analysis of the case’s legal matters:

But, suffice it to say that, by alleging on page 3 of the complaint that “Sodium is the deadliest ingredient in the food supply,” these folks aren’t beyond gross exaggeration. The gist of the argument seems to be that (1) increasing sodium intake is known to increase blood pressure; and (2) very high blood pressure is known to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke; so (3) Denny’s failure to notify customers of the total amount of sodium in its menu items is putting them at risk.

I just just recently went out to breakfast and they had their menu with nutritional values. With the meal, you had the choice of a couple of different types of muffins or toast. When I looked on their menu with nutritional values, the worst offender calorie wise and salt wise was their low fat blueberry muffin. It had almost a half day’s worth of salt in it. I find anymore I have a really hard time going out to eat because so many places do go overboard with the amount of salt they put in their food and even when I have thought oh well I always regret it afterwards because I do not feel right. My family has health problems and i have to watch what i eat. Ultimately it has to do with your own choice because you are the consumer who is dinning.

Unfortunately, lawsuits like these are bad news for companies like Denny’s. Most people won’t bother to see what the facts are, they’ll just hear that Denny’s is being sued for harming customers and it’ll tarnish the chain’s reputation. It’s one reason why so many unmeritorious lawsuits get settled — it’s much easier to pay the plaintiffs, change your behavior in small ways, and be done with it. Still, I hope Denny’s decides to fight this one in court. It’s about time someone started standing up to these bullies. And, if Denny’s does go to court, I for one will make an effort to eat at a Denny’s restaurant more often.

Does the phrase “too much of a good thing” come to mind at all? Yes, some degree of sunlight is good for you in that it’s necessary for the production of Vitamin D in your skin. There is also the mood altering effect of receiving a proper amount of sunlight during the day. However, just because some final amount of something is good for you does not mean that a constantly increasing amount of it is that much better for you. Although our bodies have mechanisms to protect us from too much UV light, none of these mechanisms are 100% effective. The same high-energy UV photon that facilitates the production of Vitamin D also smashes into our DNA, increasing the chance of a harmful mutation. Also, nowhere in this article did it advocate avoiding sunlight for the rest of our lives. A little rational thought goes a long way when reacting to scientists’ suggestion to avoid purposeful, self-imposed, and artificial exposure to a known mutagen. As for other things that are bad for us in high amounts, consider living by the phrase “everything in moderation.” This should ease your consternation with articles like this in the future.The facts are that The average tanning bulb emits 95% UVA radiation and 5% UVB radiation.

Fortunately there are options. Airbrush tanning is becoming more popular and is gaining momentum.

In 2009 after the July 4 holiday, San Diego beach cleanup volunteers collected 8,000 pounds of trash and 45,000 cigarette butts. The 45,000 cigarette butts weighed 22 pounds, the weight of a cocker spaniel. 22 pounds of 8,000 pounds is three tenths of one percent, not 38 percent.

Just stop selling tobacco. No cig’s no smoking. Works for this nicotine addict. You get your clean beach, smoke free bars, etc.. So just outlaw smoking. Problem is serious loss of tax revenue. I’m hearing California needs every dollar it can get.

We nicotine addicts will eventually get around to stop smoking. The real payback is us ex-smokers with our current and future respiratory problems after 10, 15, 20 years of smoking then quitting we will live much longer. Serious medicare, medical money will be needed. Can’t take my benefits away you all sued and by now spent the cigarette company money concerning the social costs.

Why not just let me enjoy my smoking and die early?.

Is this about smoking or littering? Or maybe about a little payback for all those years you all had to put up with us smokers. We must work together to adopt an  plan to address ocean protection. As a State, California needs to address this issue

Think about it.

Twenty-three beaches statewide received an overall “F” grade in year-round dry weather during the 2008-2009 Beach Report Card by Heal the Bay.

1. Avalon Harbor Beach on Catalina Island (Los Angeles County)
2. Cabrillo Beach harborside (Los Angeles County)
3. Pismo Beach Pier (San Luis Obispo County)
4. Colorado Lagoon (Los Angeles County)
5. Santa Monica Municipal Pier (Los Angeles County)
6. City of Long Beach at LA River outlet (Los Angeles County)
7. Poche Beach (Orange County)
8. Surfrider Beach at Malibu Creek (Los Angeles County)
9. Campbell Cove State Park Beach (Sonoma County)

Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2-million advance. He retains the publishing rights to his songs and cedes only around 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a ‘distribution fee,’ his managers said. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of new artists sign financially restrictive ’360 deals’ that sap their touring and merchandise income and offer much more restrictive profit-sharing. (Los Angeles Times)

I congratulate Drake for everything he has done – up to this point. He is just a breath of fresh air, like Kanye. I dig the lyrics and humble attitude. I don’t know if he is just a good writer; but I’ve heard that his “freestyles” are all pre-written. If that is the case, I too am cool with it. I respect his grind and hustle – No Hate in this Blood!! All I say is be smart about your business and make sure your corners are covered.  I am not a rapper, artist, hater or producer. I only call it like most others never see it. You also need to really research your thoughts on how the record game goes. Everyone gets their cuts first, then the record company gets theirs – - and finally the artist. If you didn’t know, people are excited about music, but how many of them are actually going out and buying albums? You may have 10 homies that like Drake, one may buy the album and the rest of you will borrow/copy the album to your ipods. That is how the game goes. Look at Eminem!! That man was one of the biggest selling artists of the last 10 years. He is only at 1.3 million sold – - after close to 10 weeks on the charts. That is unheard of. He would have been better off taking a bonus and being free. I am mad at the whole Cash/Young Money thing, because I hear the “wording” in their contracts, locks artists to damn near lifetime deals.

We get advances in the form of college loans, right? And typically when a bank or an entity gives you an advance in these hard economic times, it means you already got some things right.

Case on point: 50 Cent was given a $1 million advance and flipped it into what we have now…. In late 95, Pac took an advance in form of the $4.5 mil bailout money and ridiculously flipped it… Just off the top of my head.

New rapper Maino went on to compare himself to other rappers saying they didn’t get their status from their debut album.  Maino recently talked about the public’s firm like of hip hop moguls like Jay-Z and how it hurts new emcees from New York trying to make a name for themselves. Although he didn’t throw some jabs at Jigga directly, Maino did question why Jay-Z signing Uncle Murda to Def Jam never produced an album. “Who’s New York’s biggest star, Jay-Z right?,” Maino said. “So you mean to tell me that there is no one capable of becoming a Jay-Z? The problem with New York is that we don’t produce stars no more we still stuck on the old stars. I don’t think that it’s just that n*ggas can’t make good music. Take me for example. I have proved hands down that I make good music right? But when Jay-Z puts out a record its gone be like, the biggest thing since the steering wheel…I’m glad Diddy signed Red Cafe cause nowhere [else] is opening up an avenue for a new n*gga. Instead of concentrating so much on his self, he opening it up for a new n*gga. Murda was signed nothing came out of that…The OG’s school you…So it being no camaraderie and no connection it makes it that much harder for a n*gga to make it to that point to be a Jay-Z.”

“The concept, you see Maino with ‘A Million Bucks featuring Swizz Beatz.’ From the outside, it may look like it’s just a song about getting money or having fun,” he said. “[The video] is kinda like the opposite of it. When I heard the song, (Swizz) had the hook already on there. It was like, ‘I might give away a million bucks.’ I was like, ‘Swizz, I ain’t got a million bucks.’ He was like, ‘I do!’ I thought of a way to put me in a situation without saying, ‘I actually got a million dollars.’ I’m basically, ‘I wanna give back to the ‘hood. It’s hot in the ‘hood. You got feds in the ‘hood. I’mma come back to the ‘hood and give back to the ‘hood. I’mma come bring some sunshine.’”

In an interview statement Maino says, “A lot of industry people didn’t believe in me when I first started pounding the streets,” he said via a statement. “Many said I wouldn’t make it off of mixtapes, now look…my album is dropping June 30th. Haters inspired me to write my last two hit records. Unstoppable is the story of my life and struggles to get to the position I’m in now. I had a rough life growing up and nothing ever happened the way it was supposed to happen to me, so I’m accustomed to being turned down.”

MAINO IS THE NEXT GREAT RAP ARTIST….RUNDMC,2PAC, 50 CENT, JAY-Z AND NOW MAINO

However, G-Oil is not yet certified “for use in cars and trucks.” It is sold at Home Depot, among other retailers, but for use only with “small two- and four-cycle engines (lawnmowers and weed whackers)”

It shouldn’t be hard to find raw material. Zuckerman says that 50,000 cows are killed daily within 150 miles of where G-Oil is produced in the panhandle of Oklahoma. It’s the fifth largest red meat slaughter area in the world. Could one say are we ready to turn green and it return sacrifice cows? Its harsh and almost inhumane. Our motive in the United States is to go green but not become a slaughter nation in doing so. I believe the g-oil is a great concept but there needs to be an alternative way to make such an oil without killing animals. Again by making this product the United States is not having any empathy, putting yourself in the place of others to be able to understand their feelings. I understand that G-oil bottles are 100% recyclable with soy ink labels printed on biodegradable paper but there needs to be this new technology without killing 182,500,000 cows a year!! The United States has 98 million head of cattle which means we have to produce more cows or import.