Johnny Rockets - the Great American Diner

America has had a love affair with the Diner since the 1930's. Back then you could find them everywhere - in fact they were the predominant type of restaurant in America for perhaps 30 years. Sure there were variations on the Diner, some came prefabricated, others were made from train cars and then during the 1950's, the Diner morphed into the Drive-in. The Diner set within Arnold's Drive-in was the principle shooting location for 8 or 9 seasons on ABC's hit sitcom Happy Days. A Diner featured prominently in the movie Grease. And eventually a small Diner from California turned itself into the World's largest restaurant chain - McDonalds. Diners were everywhere - but not anymore. While there may be tens of thousands of McDonalds spread across the globe, the chain gave up on its Diner roots long ago.

One of the true great American diners

"Beauty School Drop Out" from Grease took place in the Diner

So what is it that makes a Diner a Diner anyway? Here are some of the key criteria:

• It must have the Diner look and Feel. That means lots of metal in the decor, stools to sit on with a counter and jukeboxes for starters. (booths are nice too)
• It must have a limited menu, one focused on traditional diner cuisine. Now this doesn't always translate to burgers and fries but it is limited pretty much to what you can be cooked short order using larger grills.
• A Diner absolutely, positively must serve Milk Shakes, Malts and Floats. Diners in fact inherited the role of Malt Shop once that institution migrated out of drugstores in 1920's and 30's. It is still the best place (outside of a Coldstone perhaps) to get real quality Milkshakes.
• Diner employees tend to wear white uniforms and funny hats. This is an important part of the experience.
• Diners aren't healthy - this is where fast food was born. Eating vegetarian or organic food in a Diner seems a bit oxymoronic. 
• Diners are friendly, casual dining environments. It's not meant to be fancy - you come as you are.

The opening of a Johnny Rockets Diner in Texas

In every city or region there a few hidden gems lurking about - Diners that somehow survived or were reborn. Place like Culp's Cafe in Dayton Ohio and Dot's Diner in Bisbee, Arizona. But there is only one true Diner chain that evokes the memory of what the American Diner used to be and that's Johnny Rockets. They've got outlets across the country and in more than a dozen nations. They've even put a number of Diners in Royal Caribbean cruise ships - that's not something we've tried but it certainly sounds intriguing.

The American Cheeseburger - king of cholesterol 

So why do we like Johnny Rockets so much? Here's our reasons:

• Because they have absolutely awesome Milkshakes - the cherry chocolate is a life altering experience.
• Because we can find them in the places we like to go - (from DC to Tuscon to Cincinnati).
• Because it's become a family tradition. 
• Because you can go there just for dessert and the experience of being there - so you could get a pizza somewhere else or go to a movie and then just stop by for shakes. 
• Because they know how to draw smiley faces and other animal characters using Ketchup. 
• Because we love only paying a nickel to use the jukebox that's at each table (when it's working).

This song has nothing to do with the restaurant but we liked it and put it in anyway

Eating at a Diner is a unique part of living in America and now it has become a way to relive our past in a tangible and tasty way. It may not be good for us but it's a heck of a lot of fun and Johnny Rockets is perhaps the best place across the nation to experience this for yourself.

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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Negative Ads have become Political Dialog

Just when people thought politics couldn't get much worse, the 2012 presidential election managed to pump $6 billion dollars worth of negative ads across television, radio, print and the Internet. Some estimates claim that more than 80% of all political ads this year were negative nature. Worse than this though, the downward spiral of political discourse is taking the rest of the media with it - tarnishing the image and credibility of everyone involved.

If you don't have anything nice to say...

Perhaps it is to be expected that with the dual influences of the campaign spending explosion triggered by the Supreme Court "Citizen's United" Campaign Finance decision and the still sluggish economy that the election advertisements would be overwhelmingly negative. Even with those rationalizations though, it was still hard to watch. One wonders if any election these days can elevate itself beyond the level of mutual character assassination. Even more to the point though is whether any meaningful political dialog can occur in these types of environments.

Does this seem silly, well, don't the other negative ads seem goofy as well?

First we need to make a distinction regarding negative ads and let's say attack ads. Perhaps such a distinction is not formally recognized but for the sake of argument let's contrast these two types of combative ads:

1. The Traditional Negative Ad - It is first and foremost a personal assault. The personality of the candidate is under fire; the types of charges leveled can include ideology but the main thrust of the strategy is to tarnish the character of the candidate. These ads are part of the main dialog between the candidates - in fact this year - nearly all of the dialog has been negative.
2. The Proxy Attack - The proxy attack is something that's been around for a long while but has now taken on new dimensions given the virtually unlimited influx of cash and special interests participation. The proxy attack allows a much wider variety of attacks and all sorts of related propaganda. Since these ads are not officially linked to the campaigns there is little or no restraint or responsibility shown. 

Both types of ads have been around since political advertising began. The problem of course is not the existence of these types of ads but rather our increasing reliance on them to convey the majority of our national political dialog (at least during election cycles). Neither of these types of ads is concerned with or does a good job of actually establishing a dialog. The Voters have a right to know what the differences are between those who would represent them.

Ads like this are quite simply embarrassing the nation...

What seems clear is that the Negative Ad is gaining momentum and is becoming the primary form of all political advertising and perhaps the primary form of all political dialog. Positive advertising is relatively rare as candidates seem hesitant t talk about what if anything they intend to do if elected. So, why do politicians seem to be moving en masse to the least civilized of the available options? Well - they think Negative Ads (personal assaults) work. Do they, really?

It's hard to quantify that answer given that other factors are usually involved. Someone who outspends their opponent 3 to 1 and uses negative advertising and wins could point to the money, the ads or both as the keys to victory. What does seem clear is that negative advertising turns people off - first towards the candidate being targeted, next towards the candidate making the attack and lastly towards the entire unpleasant process. Eventually these people become turned off altogether and stop voting or participating in politics at all. And that in itself may be a victory for someone.

This parody managed to capture most of this campaigns core themes - that kinda of scary...

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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