Win! / Fail :( 9-2

Snooze Button

The front pages of the Northwest Arkansas Times, Springdale Morning News, Rogers Morning News and Benton County Daily Record on Monday, Aug. 30 all had the same story,  three of them under the headline “Students Still Take Smoke Breaks.”
After battling that no-duh headline and a raging indifference, a reader could discover that an Arkansas law banning smoking at state-supported higher education institutions doesn’t apply to vocational-technical schools with state ties.
Thus shockingly, students at Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale continue to take smoke breaks.
Result: Yawn … The Freekly would stamp a Fail 🙁 on this but somehow we can’t muster the energy to care.

Burger Time

Brenda’s Bigger Burger in Fayetteville had it’s iconic burger art on the side of the building freshened up on Friday. Ah, the bright, pretty colors and the smell of fresh paint.
The overhauled mural even provided a backdrop for the Fayetteville Flyer to return a jab at print media, the Free Weekly in particular.
Result: Win for everyone! Brenda’s gets a not-so-extreme makeover, and readers get a few laughs. Plus everyone gets a reminder that many message board comments contain the word “suck” at some point. Also frequently seen: “balls.”

Lean Times

$360,000.
That’s how much revenue the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District expects to lose after a July court ruling didn’t go its way.
However, the recycling intake and tire disposal provider isn’t planning to cut any services or employees. Instead, the district’s six salaried employees will convert to hourly and reduce the amount of time they work to save the district money.
Result: Ouch! It’s a Win! for keeping the solid waste district’s services intact. But for those salaried employees? Maylon Rice, the Boston Mountain director, will lose about $500 from his paycheck every two weeks. Yeesh.

More Lean News

If you haven’t heard it already, the radio ad Matthew McConaughey recorded for National Cattleman’s Beef Association is making the rounds again.
Part of the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” series, the audio is a bizarre mixture of a folksy ad campaign and what must be McConaughey’s bedroom seduction voice. It features lines such as “Some strip steaks sizzling, tantalizing the entire suburb,” and “Discover the power of protein the land of lean beef.”
Search “mcconaughey beef commercials” on the Internet to find a link to the audio.
Result: Dag nabbit, McConaughey! I don’t know whether to eat this steak or try to take it home! Fail 🙁

Categories: Commentary