Fast food: Burger King offering ribs

I was driving down Grant Rd. tonight past a Burger King and nearly drove off the road.

In the window, there's a big sign that advertised their new ribs.

My first thought was:  That's an awful idea.

Burger King has always been more daring with its food and marketing than other fast food chains (I think they prefer "quick service restaurants" these days!) including Herb (Google Burger King Herb and you'll read about one of the grandest failed marketing schemes ever), offering table service, having the Burger King with the giant plastic head do weird commercials, the Chicken Whopper (which was a good idea and is now called the BK Broiler), and a meatloaf sandwich.  I have always had a place in my heart for Burger King because their burgers are so delicious.  However, they do miss the mark often with new product launches.

Here's why I think there's an outstanding chance that ribs at Burger King will fail:  Cars.

Eating ribs is a messy proposition.  Most fast food chains get their business from the drive thru these days.  The one nationwide company that had specialized in ribs, Tony Roma's, has been shrinking.  For example, they no longer have any locations in Arizona.

Only time will tell if ribs are a hit or another legendary Burger King miss.

Here's a press release-ish article about the new ribs:  Click here

Twitter: I met @azfilmfest (Mia) at Cosmic Bingo

I had the privilege of meeting Mia, who is on Twitter as @azfilmfest, at Cosmic Bingo on Saturday at Casino Del Sol.  We follow each other.  And, she is no longer a Cosmic Bingo virgin!

Twitter: Ken Carr meets @caitlinmfg

I got to meet @caitlinmfg, a wonderful person who is kind enough to follow me on Twitter (and I follow back) at Watson Chevrolet on Saturday afternoon during a live Kencast for Mega.

She and her friend scored free Sonoran Hot Dogs from BK.

We are totally fabulous!

Sunrise over the Ken Carr car

Ken Carr Photo Art:  "Sunrise over the Ken Carr car"

(my car is on the left)

Two Men and a Mystery

I've written several blog posts about my neighbors who live across from me in the one bedroom apartment.  Oh boy!  Here's another one!

These are the neighbors that have driven on the sidewalk, had a freezer shuttle in and out of their apartment (which has occupied a parking space), cranked up tons of late night parties, subjected me and everyone else to loud music, and I've had to hear through my door discussions about bullets (apparently they're hunters).  They're nice but have had no concept of being respectful of neighbors in adjacent apartments who aren't into selling meat out of a freezer while stoned.

There is now a mystery that has developed about those two guys.

The older of the two celebrated his 32nd birthday this past weekend.  I know this because he told me that he was "an old man" (I'm 43 so I tuned that part out).

He and his roommate along with some other people celebrated his birthday at the apartment complex pool.  They invited me to this party and I knew that was a bad idea to attend.  I can usually smell the bad idea parties a mile away.

The first day of this party I saw and talked to him while I was out on my patio and he offered me and Anthony (who was over) cheesecake.  He was quite sunburned and had obviously been enjoying his birthday festivities.  Anthony doesn't like cheesecake so we passed.

Flash forward to Sunday night.  I was at the radio station doing my usual Sunday night list of tasks and listening to the Tucson police scanner online and I heard a dispatcher announce a call to my apartment complex pool due to a "loud party".  I can't verify this for sure but I think there is a good chance it was my neighbors.

I did hear on the scanner that they ran someone's ID from that police call and the person whose ID they ran had some sort of warrant.  Was it one of my neighbors?  I think its possible.

The mystery is underway.

The last few days something has changed next door.  Its been remarkably quiet over there.  I did hear music coming from that apartment but it was pretty low on Tuesday.  The other nights this week its been non-existent.  The guy who I know is still there for sure had his driver's side window broken out in the parking lot because I overheard him telling someone that it happened outside of my bedroom window.  And, I haven't seen the endless parade of snanky girls who have been visiting in recent weeks.

Then tonight, I went to Circle K and when I came back there was a box sitting behind the car of one of my other neighbors that had a Dell logo on the side.  It was odd it was sitting there and curiosity got the best of me so I looked inside of it.  It was filled with VHS videos.  I don't know why it was there or who it belongs to.  For some bizarre reason it wouldn't surprise me that it has something to do with the neighbors who have been a non-stop oddity compared to everyone else who lives near me.

I did find it amusing that the security company the complex has hired to patrol the place drove right past the box and didn't even stop to check it.  Its a rather large box.  Large enough for a computer to be shipped in.

This is the same security company who had a guard talking on her cell phone on the other side of the wall in the vacant lot a couple nights ago when I came home from work and seemed shocked when I pulled into the driveway because she suddenly appeared.  I love my apartment complex and they try to have security to make everyone feel better but every time they hire a private security company its a total waste of money.  The only effective security they've ever had in the three years I've lived here is off duty Tucson Police but that's really expensive.  Hell, they should hire me and they'd get their money's worth more than they do with the flunkies that work for these companies they keep hiring.

I'm wondering if things will return to the silly ruckus I've been getting used to from my neighbors or if it'll be quieter from now on.  I'll keep you updated.

Taco Bell: Super Delicious Ingredient Force.

I'm a fan of fast food.  Including Taco Bell.

Here's a funny cartoon about their "Super Delicious Ingredient Force".



Website:  http://www.sdif.com/

Scary Ferris Wheel. A Ken Carr Video.

I've finally edited the video shot at the Pima County Fair in April of the ride on the ferris wheel.

Jason, Mega's Promotions Coordinator, came with me.  I didn't find out until we were on it that he's afraid of heights.

KENjoy.

Ken Carr invades Supercuts

I did a live Kencast at Supercuts on Tanque Verde on Saturday May 15.

The Mega van with the radio station blastin'.



The setup outside:



I grabbed a seat in a styling chair.  Oh no!  The Kenparazzi!



I asked to get an amazing Supercuts style from Supercuts super stylist John Vallandigham.  Since I have really really really really short hair already he went right to the mousse.



He does what he can with what little he has to work with.



Now my head looks like dessert.



Thanks Supercuts!

Furnace filters on a bush at the radio station

Here's the latest of my world famous (in my mind) Ken Carr Photo Art pictures:

"Furnace filters on a bush at the radio station".

Stripper names

I had a really funny conversation tonight at the end of my broadcast at Desert Diamond Casino with JP and Joey from the Mega promotions department about stripper names.

I have been to a strip club a handful of times in my life.  But all of them had strippers with obviously fake names.  They all had a running theme, too.  Many are named after food.

Cinnamon, Ginger, Chocolate, Honey.

The funniest thing to me is that the strippers have regular real names and the clubs make them change them for their on stage performances.  Is it more sexy to be called Ginger than Sheila?  I have never figured that out.

But, they have missed trying a number of names.  Tarragon, Basil, Bayleaf, Nutmeg, Cheesecake, Salisbury Steak, Bologna Sandwich, Quarter Pounder with cheese.  Those can sound appetizing too.

I can only imagine what my stripper name would be.  Probably Vanilla Pudding.

Greyson Chance doing remake of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi

Imagine a moment where your life changes overnight. There are a lot of people who wish for this kind of moment. Thanks to the internet, its more possible than ever.

Its happened for Greyson Chance.  He's a 12 year old from Oklahoma.  He did his own interpretation of Lady Gaga's hit "Paparazzi" for a 6th grade recital.  I found the video earlier this week online and it had just over 30,000 views on YouTube.  I put it up on Twitter and apparently so did a whole lot of other people because as of the moment I'm writing this blog the video now has more than 10.5 million views.

He was on the Ellen show yesterday and said he's had three years of piano lessons and never had a vocal lesson.  On Ellen's show he did a carbon copy of this performance.  It was awesome.

Here's the original:



Greyson's appearance on The Ellen Show:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4UeeHLJwLg

Tattered tent on a roof next to a tree at sunset

Here's another piece of Ken Carr photo art.

I have named this one "Tattered tent on a roof next to a tree at sunset."  Because that's what it is.

Kenparazzi: Two boys at Cosmic Bingo

Anthony and I participate in Cosmic Bingo at Casino Del Sol on Saturday nights pretty regularly.

He's won, I never have.  But, we take a nice picture together after knowing each other a whole year.

Clap clap clap.

Cinco De Mayo sunset over satellite dishes

Tucson has some really spectacular sunsets.

I took a photo of the sunset this evening from the back parking lot of the radio/TV building.

I have named this photo "Cinco De Mayo sunset over satellite dishes" because all great works of art have silly names.

KENjoy.

2 men and a freezer: Chapter 3

I got up this morning and walked out onto my patio and started laughing.

My neighbor's freezer, the one they've been selling meat out of from the back of their pickup truck and the one now sitting in a parking space in the apartment complex parking lot, now has an orange parked illegally towing sticker on it.

Since parking spaces are reserved for motorized vehicles it would only make sense for them to put wheels and a motor on the freezer.  That's what I'm waiting for next.



Update at 2:00 p.m.:  Ahh, they didn't want it towed away.  So, if you have an illegally parked freezer where do you move it?  Why, up on the landscaping next to your patio of course.

Kenparazzi Classic: June 2007 "Putting out fires"

I got to sit in the cab of this Tucson Fire Department truck while it was displayed at the Tucson Convention Center.

They wouldn't let me put out a fire.  Something about being trained and qualified. Darn the luck.

Two men and a freezer: Chapter 2

I told the story of my neighbors and their freezer back in March.  You can read the original post by clicking here.

I have been happier with them in the last couple of weeks.  I have not been home until late most nights due to work but they have at least been keeping their craziness for the most part inside of their apartment.  I don't know if they realized they were kind of disruptive to everyone who lived around them, someone said something to them which caused a decrease in their outside of their apartment noise, they have been busy with something else, or I've just missed their loud obnoxious behavior before I got home.  I'm grateful for the more reasonable way they've been functioning lately.  But, they are still kind of odd.

Over the weekend I have been wondering if they've given up on their little meat selling venture.  They used to transport the freezer in and out of their apartment after backing up their pickup truck onto the sidewalk in front of their door and now it appears they've taken a different approach.

They've now given the freezer its own parking space in the apartment complex parking lot.  Its been there all weekend.

Tennessee Weather Penis

You know when a weather penis is pushing toward you that your area is going to get a whole lot wetter.

Review: Wendy's Go Wrap

I stopped at Wendy's this evening at Prince and Campbell in Tucson and went through the drive thru.

I wasn't terribly hungry so I decided to order a Grilled Chicken Go Wrap. These wrap things are all the rage at fast food restaurants (at least a few) so I thought I'd review one for you.

Wendy's offers three varieties: Grilled Chicken Go Wrap, Spicy Chicken Go Wrap, and Homestyle Chicken Go Wrap. The difference between the three is what kind of chicken you want on it. Grilled chicken is grilled chicken, homestyle chicken is a breaded piece of chicken, spicy chicken is a spicy breaded piece of chicken. They are on the Wendy's Super Value Menu and they all cost $1.69.

The challenge I encountered when I arrived at the drive thru is that the menu board wasn't lit up and it was pitch dark at 7:45 p.m. It almost made it look like the restaurant wasn't open. I hope that isn't a common practice at that Wendy's or they might wonder why they are slow late at night. That location is across the parking lot from a Safeway but its difficult to know if a business is open without lights outside to indicate it.

I knew what I wanted so the dark menu board didn't create an issue. I ordered a Grilled Chicken Go Wrap and a small Diet Coke.

This is not the first time I've had a Wendy's Go Wrap. They are pretty tasty and come with the chicken choice I mentioned earlier, a sauce of some kind that's like a thousand island dressing, a little bit of cheese and a little bit of lettuce wrapped in a tortilla.

I know I can't expect much for $1.69 so my expectations are low. As with every other one of these I've eaten it wasn't wrapped very well (the tortilla around the food). Basically you get half the amount of chicken you'd get if you ordered it on a sandwich.

If you are looking for a light snack then a Go Wrap is alright. If you're really hungry you're probably not ordering off of the Super Value Menu anyway.

Jai Ho Breakout

I spotted this video on YouTube and had to share.

Students in cafeteria at Ole Miss University have some fun dancing to Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.

Awesomeness.