Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 30, 1993 TAG: 9306300086
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN Lurking under the covers, here, is NOT a little disc
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Their subjects and formats are MTV in spirit, with lots of color and pictures and different type sizes. At 32 pages, they're CD heft, too.
But at $3.95, they're a lot cheaper than CDs.
Among the first titles are "Red Hot Chili Peppers," about the funk-rockers; "Hollywood Fighters," about the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stephen Seagal; "Bad Boyz of Rap," comments from Ice-T and Ice Cube; and "Go Fango: How to be a Vampire."
Kim McLynn, spokeswoman for Western Publishing Co., said the company printed 70,000 each of the first six titles. The books, which have been out a month, are sold mainly through Waldenbooks and Barnes and Nobles bookstores, she said.
New titles coming in July address the life of a supermodel, groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and extreme sports experiences.
McLynn said the real push for the company is to get the books into record shops so even more young people will see them.
Some things are better savored than analyzed. Fettucine alfredo is one of them.
But now that "how many grams of fat?" has replaced "what's your sign?" as le question du jour, it had to be asked:
How many fat grams are in a dinner portion of that pasta and cream sauce dish at Olive Garden?
"It's not garden fare," said a customer service representative at the company's headquarters in Orlando, Fla.,as she gently moved toward the answer.
Which is?
One hundred grams of fat. More than 1,500 calories, 320 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,640 milligrams of sodium.
And how many grams is it at Ragazzi's, the Olive Garden clone owned by Golden Corral?
"Well, I know we make it with fresh cream . . ." said a worker at the corporate offices in Raleigh, N.C.
What this means is, if you plan to eat, you have to plan your week around it. In the meantime, enjoy an Olive Garden breadstick - only 2 grams of fat and 70 calories.
You can find out these things and other nutrition data by calling Olive Garden at 1-800-331-2729. The company mails a nice letter to callers.
Getting detailed information from Ragazzi's is less easy, maybe because it's a smaller operation than General Mills Inc., which owns Olive Garden.
Speaking of General Mills . . . Its Cheerios cereals account for almost 10 percent of the $8 billion retail cereal market, but that's not enough for the company.
Beginning in July and lasting through September, the little "Os" will be joined by little "Xs" and packaged in boxes with Tic-Tac-Toe game boards on the package back.
Each 20-ounce box of regular Cheerios will contain 4,400 "Xs" and 3,600 "Os."
And Tic-Tac-Toe won't be the only game offered.
The company assures, however, that the change is temporary for the cereal that was introduced as Cheerioats in 1941.
Meanwhile, Michael Jordan is making his 13th trip to the front panel of the Wheaties' box in an edition commemorating the Bulls' third straight NBA championship. The box is to be distributed only in the Chicago area.
Since becoming a Wheaties man in 1987, Jordan has appeared 10 times by himself in various poses on the box. This is great trivia game information, if nothing else.
If you're a fair-goer, you can get a directory of those planned in Virginia by writing Virginia Fairs '93, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond 23209.
A pinch of whole-wheat flour does not make a whole-wheat product, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The consumer group wants the government to crack down on cracker makers who label their products "whole wheat" even if they're made mostly from white flour.
Crackers claiming to contain whole wheat or to be made with whole wheat should have to have that as their primary ingredient, the group said.
The FDA has regulations covering the whole-wheat content in bread, but it does not apply to crackers. The agency declined comment on the petition.
Want to know how telemarketers get your number?
The California-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse said that any time you dial 800 or 900 numbers, your phone number may be disclosed through Automatic Number Identification and sold to other marketers.
When you sign up for a contest or a drawing, "such giveaway promotions may have less to do with gifts than they do with obtaining your number for a sales pitch," says the Clearinghouse, which is funded by the California Public Utilities Commission's Telecommunications Education Trust.
by CNB