The obvious solution is to eliminate the chains and other restraining devices that keep McDo customers immobile, helplessly strapped in place and unable to leave until they have devoured a week's calorie intake in one sitting.

Talk about victim-y whining. Sheesh.

Yeah, that's how they get me to eat Big Macs.

As for eating organic foods, if you've shopped for any lately, you know it pays, when buying them, to have a royal treasury at your disposal.

Even if you do, don't buy too much at one time. No cheese from Trader Joe's lasts more than a couple of days without forming finger-print shaped mold spots. Same with that food store owned by Kroger's. Apparently, if it is "organic" the workers don't need to wear gloves in the back room.

Yeah, that's how they get me to eat Big Macs.

Are you trying to give me a stroke before work? lol

Actually, pretty much every city I've lived in has farmer's markets, where $10-12 will get you a big bag of mixed vegetables, plenty enough for a whole week. I'm sure there's considerable markup at Whole Foods, et al.

I've got a better idea. Why don't we ban big-eared, inbred royals who think they have a clue?

I've eaten at McDonalds 3 or 4 times this week. It happens when I'm on site. I'm not dying any time soon.

What gives these food-nazis the right to decide what I am allowed to eat?

"on site"? You're working CONSTRUCTION and you don't have insurance?

Let's see... Bubble'n'Squeak, fish & chips, steak & kidney pie...yep McDonalds has really ruined the British diet.

Even if you do, don't buy too much at one time. No cheese from Trader Joe's lasts more than a couple of days without forming finger-print shaped mold spots.

I buy Compte French cheese without pasteurization, and it lasts quite a long time if I don't eat it right away. It's a hard cheese. I don't have that problem of cheese going bad. Perhaps it's your refrig.

And very perceptive, Crid. Working construction without insurance, and bragging (on another posting) about not having insurance? There's genius.

Old joke:

European Heaven
The French are the cooks
The British are the police
The Italians are the lovers
The Germans run everything

European Hell
The British are the cooks
The French are the police
The Germans are the lovers
The Italians run everything

Did you not see this
article!?!

His Highness's line of "organic" foods produces and sells a pasty that actually has more calories than a Big Mac!!!

"His Cornish pasty contains 264 calories per 100g compared to the burger's 229 calories, and 5.5g of saturated fat as opposed to the Big Mac's 4.14g."

Open Mouth, Insert foot.

I'm supposed to take advice from a guy who was married to Diana but cheating with Camille?

Camille was more attractive!

What was the deal on that, anyway? Why didn't he just marry her to begin with?

The Brits can't even do McDonalds correctly. Have you ever been to one in London? They suck.

The Brits can't even do McDonalds correctly. Have you ever been to one in London? They suck.

That you have been to McDonald's while abroad says a lot about British cooking.

I think royals say stupid things from time to time because they 1) don't have enough to do, and 2) need to create some sense that they are relevant. Unfortunately, complete detachment from reality causes serious problems with #2.

"That you have been to McDonald's while abroad says a lot about British cooking"

The Brits are okay when it comes to breakfast. After that, you might as well fast for the rest of the day.

A big mac only has 229 calories? Considering that a decent slice of bread has about 150, that can't possibly be correct.

A quick internet search indicates that Big Macs are over 550 calories.

The key there being "per 100 grams"...

Nobody is holding you up at gunpoint forcing you to eat the whole thing. It's the rare meal in America where I don't take half or more home. A big Mac fills me up so I don't have to eat for eons. Fat free crap leaves me starving 20 minutes later.

I like food cuz it goes in my mouth.

I'm so touched that Prince Charles cares so much about the well-being of the peasants that he has the energy and inclination to call for the banning of McDonald's while his younger son is reinforcing his own intentions to head to Iraq with his military squad in a few months. SO touched. Guess it's that noblesse oblige of the royalty, or something like that.

Mmmmmm, McD's french fries. Where I live we have Whataburger, whose burgers beat Big Macs all hollow. Their fries are pretty good, too. I occasionally eat one...when I'm starving and low on iron. Then I don't eat again until I get hungry, which could be a while.

I have to say that being single is a great weight-control system. I don't have to eat dinner at all. I eat when I want to. I don't have to cook for anyone else, so I have a strong incentive to bring home leftovers so that I don't have to cook for anyone else. I can eat an egg-white omelette if I want, or I can chow down on a burger and then not eat again until the next day. I think part of the obesity crisis is caused by people feeling that they MUST eat three meals a day...or skip breakfast and then have two. Indulging that mid-afternoon chocolate craving is not terribly detrimental unless you are expected to eat a full meal two hours afterwards.

Crid: I believe the Charles/Camilla story is that they met, flirted, etc...and then he headed off to serve in the Royal Navy and she chose to marry another military type rather than wait for him. There are also overtones that his advisors wanted him to marry a virgin (gah) and that Camilla thus didn't qualify. Whether they re-started their affair prior to his marriage to Diana or after his marriage to Diana had broken down is a source of much disagreement. My take on it is that they were all crazy, but that's just me.

This is reminding me of that thread about how inbred societies can not lead themselves.

There are also overtones that his advisors wanted him to marry a virgin (gah) and that Camilla thus didn't qualify.

Not just "overtones". IIRC Diana had to undego an "examination" (ahem) prior to the marriage so that the paternity of any royal issue would not be in question. But looking at those boys, don't think there's much doubt who daddy is.

It would be fun to admire these people. But it seems like Charles passed up an historic opportunity to demonstrate how romantic love is supposed to work, ie, following your heart instead of doing what's expected of you. What's the point of being a Baby Boomer monarch if you can't handle the big gestures? As noted above, it's not like we're looking to these people for instruction on architecture or foodstuffs.

The first victims of monarchism are the monarchs.

"But it seems like Charles passed up an historic opportunity to demonstrate how romantic love is supposed to work..."

Probably because of the comparatively recent fate of Edward and Wallis Simpson when they tried the Big Gesture, Crid!

The Abdication Crisis (1936) fallout was enough to give any future heir the wobbles about following his heart.

Exactly. In the words of you-know-who, he got all wobbly, which is tough to admire. Those people aren't being counted on for much besides amusement, at this point.

Crid may be perceptive, but he's quite wrong.

I'm a computer consultant. The only construction I do involves bits and bytes.

My sole occupational hazards are falling off ladders (which I'm on maybe twice in a year) and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Probably because of the comparatively recent fate of Edward and Wallis Simpson when they tried the Big Gesture, Crid!

The Abdication Crisis (1936) fallout was enough to give any future heir the wobbles about following his heart.

Could have something to do with the Simpson woman being a suspected agent of the German government. Not finding much online other than thr rumors, but I did hear an author go into detail about it a few years ago.

Allegedly, MI5 uncovered the association, brought it to the attention of the PM and the King was informed that if he married that woman it would be the end of the Monarchy through Parliment, IIRC.

Sorry brian, I thought you were Brian (Cap-B), another fellow who was in here earlier in the week, we were bickering about health insurance.

Who thinks the end of the Monarchy would be a bad thing?

Crid - I am that very brian. Sometimes Firefox remembers the name fields, sometimes it doesn't. And I'm not a stickler for uppercase letters.

England needs their monarchy, it's the only thing keeping them from mass death by boredom.

Who thinks the end of the Monarchy would be a bad thing?

I'd bet good money the British royals do.

I can see what sort of reception it gets when Charles loosens up and quips a witticism.

"Probably because of the comparatively recent fate of Edward and Wallis Simpson when they tried the Big Gesture, Crid!"

What usually is left out of the tale of the Romance That Brought Down a King is that Edward was a Nazi sympathizer. Had that not been the case, he might well have been allowed to marry her and keep the throne with the condition that his niece Elizabeth (or her younger sister Margaret) be the heir to the throne rather than any hypothetical Edward/Wallis children. Putting it another way, the advent of Wallis Simpson was probably one of the more fortuitous occurrences as far as the continued survival of Western democracy and the defeat of Nazism were concerned.

Wait a minute marie. Are you telling me if I go into McDonald's instead of driving through I get a cheeseburger AND chained up?!? Damn it, all that time wasted...

I'm not sure it's fair to judge the British monarchy by Charles. Even his mom seems embarrassed by him most of the time.

England needs their monarchy, it's the only thing keeping them from mass death by boredom.

brian, it's britain, not england. and i think you're wrong. have you seen any of these celebrity magazines lately? page after page of who's sleeping with who, who's wearing what, on and on and on. ps hope you like the lower case!

> I'm not sure it's fair to
> judge the British monarchy
> by Charles

While your impulse to forgive and judge generously is admirable, why is it not fair?

Monarchy has lost the political power (and for good reason). All that's asked of them now is that they perform the showbiz functions of government, and for that they're paid an obscene amount of money. As I grew up, I wondered whether they were worth it, because there are other costs to having them around. Their furry animal appeal --no matter how silly and anemic-- is always going to tug at people's hearts, as do hamsters in a Habitrail. And in a country of that tradition, it stimulates the dormant idea that men should be ruled instead of served (usually by appealing the ego of the daydreamer, who always wanted to heft a scepter). It speaks to childish presumption that the senior of the country holds command as parents do in family, by the righteousness of nature.

I remember one occasion when Bonnie Charles seemed able to deliver the goods in a workmanlike way. We were younger then:

http://tinyurl.com/yvern8

In almost fifty years, I can recall zero, zero other instances when he's come through. Other than that his life has been a series of unremarkable speeches and photo ops. When he does make news in the public sphere --whether talking about McDonald's or the London skyline-- he induces cringing. He's a typical human being.

In the private realm, his life is a shitty bungle, including the ONE THING that might have made him an historically interesting figure: A poignant expression of the modern idea that the one you love is the one you love, whether that person comes from the right family and has the appropriate sexual history or not. Here we are at the top of the next millennium, and foolishness about these matters threatens centuries of bloodshed. Mohammed Atta and his friends were welcomed in heaven by 72 certified virgins. They were vapid, bashful, boyish Dianas. The conversational, chesty womanliness of Camille was nowhere in evidence.

I'm a typical human being, and my private realm is a shitty bungle too, but I'm not royalty on the public payroll. Here in the States, nobody but the Supreme Court gets a permanent gig, and even those people have to tussle for every opinion on every case. Britney and K-Fed do a wonderful job of soaking up our interest in stupid flesh, and they do it from the private sector, so you pay for only as much as you need.

Amy's software allows one link per comment: The next points to a short piece from Reynolds about how celebrities keep society tuned up... It's highly recommended.

Reynolds

http://tinyurl.com/2n3shv

When Charles and Diana's big wedding was on, I thought I was going to hurl, the way people were going on and on about how romantic it was. When I mentioned the background check and physical inspection of Diana to make sure she was appropriate breeding stock, and a virgin, nobody wanted to hear it.

I can't believe how delusional most people are (unfortunately in this case it was mostly women-oh well).