fishing – KCW Global Research

cha-cha-cha-changes…

i am not always great with change.

sometimes it really hurts.

especially when you mess with my favorite comfort foods.

example 1: my blue box kraft mac and cheese

let’s get right to the brass tax. i think they have shrunk the noodles.

i was so shattered at the prospect that i took this picture with the fork in the bowl (albeit a large bowl that maybe holds the entire box of mac and cheese) so i could create some context for future reference. i know it doesn’t help.

chicago, illinois 7.2014

this is…errr was one of my favorite treats on the planet. i will spare you the rant that i did write and delete because we are focusing on the potential of smaller noodles and not my rocky relationship with kraft blue box as i work towards a healthier lifestyle. i have not purchased or consumed any blue box since this discovery because A) healthier lifestyle dictates i steer very clear and B) the fact that they might have changed it is just too much for me to bear….

anyone else noticed this? was this a one time bit of personal confusion?

that is what i thought with example 2…but the scenario has repeated itself.

example 2: my stouffer’s french bread pizzas – deluxe

why ohh why would you stop cutting the pepperoni into quarters? now i have to hand shred them. sure i was always interacting with the pepperoni making sure that they were evenly distributed across the pizza but that doesn’t make your hands greasy. shredding the pepperoni does. it happened a few weeks ago and i prayed it was just a random mistake but then it happened again this week and i think this might be the way of the future… (candidly, i did get better pepperoni coverage but too much work. please see an au’ natural look beside a hand shredded option…

opelika, alabama 12.2014

example 3: mcdonald’s egg mcmuffin muffin

(okay, so i get that my choices of comfort foods might qualify me for a food intervention but please note that i am working to train myself to really like fruits and vegetables….very slow road…and feeling a bit of food shame right now.)

at this point i suspect that they have only switched the mcmuffin in the alabama market. “research tastings” in airports across the country and on ashland avenue in chicago appear to still match the original recipe but we might have a switch-a-roo on our hands. in alabama i have experienced a less bread like mcmuffin that does not really toast as well and doesn’t seem to have the same binding characteristics as

am i alone on these? have you noticed these changes or others in the products you buy and eat? please share them in the comment section below…

View More: http://frantz-photography.pass.us/kate-and-mac-watson

how am i still alive?

not too long ago i was faced with trying to process/re-acquanit myself with all of the food in my pantry. this happens every few years or so and is often driven by the discovery of some pretty old expiration dates by myself or even worse, a friend.i can ramble on about the reasons behind how this happens (e.g., never home, live alone, do not cook often) but upon bringing up this issue on Facebook i learned that i am not alone.

many many of us ignore expiration dates and we are all still alive! this was thrilling news – but maybe a bit unsettling for those of you who i cook for if you are not of this mindset.

recently, a friend’s dad shared an article about the creation of a gelatin label that could help limit waste by more accurately determining when the food has actually spoiled/gone bad. here are some highlights from Adele Peters’ article:

“The next time you start to toss an “expired” carton of milk, consider this: Dates on packages don’t actually have anything to do with food safety or FDA regulations. Instead, the dates are a somewhat arbitrary indication of when a manufacturer thinks food might be freshest, and most food will likely be fine for days or weeks afterward.

branding / fishing / hits / merchandising / packaging / travel / Uncategorized / unique fun - 04/21/2015

and the winner is…..

…the humane society!

please meet ella. super cute right? she was adopted from this local humane society by our lucky drawing winner michele. ella is michele’s second cat from this humane society, first one named cali, and she has been so impressed by the work they do that she chose them as the beneficiary of the $500 prize money!

further, michele has earmarked the donation money to be used to purchase the Stretch and Scratch cat scratchers on their shelter wish list with the remaining money going to the purchase of cat food, cat toys, and other supplies purchased to care for the cats and kittens they bring into the shelter.

great choice michele!

happy friday to all!

not sure what this is all about? check out this previous post to gather the details: where would you donate $500?

branding / communication / fishing / hits / merchandising / misses / packaging / perspective / pigeon fun / Uncategorized / unique fun - 08/22/2014

keep calm and summer on!

now that i have your attention, let me tell you a little about my girl summer. may 15th she posted this picture on facebook with the following caption:

“Well in princess crazy world, when you brush your newly grown back hair and it comes our in large chunks you have 2 choices you can let it ruin your day or turn yourself into a human potato head and try facial hair selfies. I chose the latter.”

she epitomizes beauty and love and has been fighting breast cancer with inspiring grace and unbelievable humor.

have you known someone who has fought an epic battle? do you recall feeling a sense of helplessness? it seems that we are not alone.

so what does one do when they feel helpless? well, in the teachings of my girl princess crazy, we work hard to put more love and kindness into the world.

i challenge all of you to do two things…

start looking for occasions when you can practice a random act of kindness and DO IT! offer someone else who looks exhausted your seat on the train/bus, pay for the person in line after you in the drive through, give a stranger a card wishing them a most spectacular day or even just say it and mean it! the options are endless…

pass this on. encourage others to take a moment in this crazy fast paced world to step back and share a smile or jump on an opportunity to do something unexpected and nice for someone else.

there is no real way for me to properly convey the strength and awesomeness of summer. she lives in bloomingdale, il and the city has designated this friday, june 6th as “Keep Calm and Summer On” Random Act of Kindness Day.

to learn more about our tenacious summer and to join the facebook movement for this event this friday, click on summer’s RAOK event ! feel free to share your random acts of kindness with me or with summer as we are working to compile a book for summer that includes the myriad of gestures made in her honor across the globe. be a part of the magic!

i think amy said it best…

“Please join the movement of random acts of kindness for my dear friend Summer. For those that haven’t had the pleasure of knowing her, think of the best person you know and that’s her. It would mean so much to her if all over the country and world people were doing nice things for other people in honor of her life. Keep Calm and Summer On.”

keep calm and summer on princess crazy! with boundless love….

branding / communication / fishing / hits / packaging / packaging: graphics / perspective / pigeon fun / product / Uncategorized - 06/05/2014

gratuitous fish porn

there is no real purpose of this blog posting except to share these two beautiful steelhead with you.

dowagiac river, michigan 4.24.2014

i caught them a couple of weeks ago and i am still glowing. i am sure you cannot imagine why.

first one was caught with a spey rod (my first time!) and the second nymphing….

special shout out to my trusty guide dustan with ripple guide service! perfect day!

fishing - 05/14/2014

oui s’il vous plaît

picture it.rainy day in paris and you stop into a cute little cafe to have a bit of a nosh with some heart healthy wine.

you settle into your chair and start perusing the menu and see this as an option….

paris 5.2012

i must say it wasn’t quite what i was expecting. oddly, this was the only item on the menu that brought the core ingredient back to its roots.

beyond their choice to include a LIVE pig, i found their actual choice of pig visual a bit disturbing. sort of glad there is no eye contact but he looks as if he is asking for you to please not order the grilled pork through his prison bars.

i obliged. the steak was delicious.

branding / communication / fishing / hits / misses / packaging / perspective / pigeon fun / travel / Uncategorized / unique fun - 04/22/2014

for the love of spam

my father is addicted.he has been for most of his life.

it isn’t uncommon.

he isn’t alone.

i have even been known to take a little jaunt down the rabbit hole as well.

and i bet you have as well.

yes, i am talking about spam.

(old san juan, puerto rico 1.2013)

i honestly, cannot think of another brand that brings me the same level of joy. sure it is mostly rooted in nostalgia and family jokes/jabs but i am continuously amazed by the new innovations they bring to spam. not sure you can read the products well in the pictures so here is the spam sum up from this particular store…

– spam oven roasted turkey

– spam with real hormel bacon

– spam light/spam light single

– spam 25% less sodium

– spam classic single

truly, i am not even sure what the first two are but i can say that they make me deliriously happy!

thank you spam! keep it up!

branding / fishing / packaging: graphics / packaging: structure / product - 10/22/2013

camera 1… camera 2… camera 1… camera 2…

so i love to fish. as in, it might be a problem how much i love to fish. it is up there with packaging.i document everything that i can within a reasonable sense of reason (this “reason” statement might be refuted by other postings).

while i was reviewing my pictures from one day out fishing with the folks from martin pescador in chile (3.2011), one particular fish gave me a bit of a chuckle and made me question the idea of perspective.

first, enjoy camera one…

looks pretty big right? respectable fish by many accounts.

but now, let’s check out camera two….

somehow not quite so big.

these pictures perfectly illustrate the power of perspective.

now here they are together…

the implications of perspective is so far reaching in every facet of our personal and professional lives. just a little something to gnaw on…

OF NOTE: i would like to point out that this size and perspective thing related to fish size only happened once. all of my other fish pictures are totally as big or little as they appear. just saying….

fishing / perspective - 10/22/2013