Aspartame the Sweet Poison! If you drink diet sodas READ THIS FOR YOUR LIFE'S SAKE!

SWEET POISON 

   In October of 2011, my friend started getting very sick She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around.  Walking  was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain. 

   By March 2012, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications.  The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick, she just knew she was dying. She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.   

    She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March  22nd. On March 19, I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS. 

    I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told me  that  she did.  As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment. 

    I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda! I e-mailed her the article my friend, a  lawyer, had sent. She called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but she sure felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and  would call me when she got home. 

    Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind. 

     In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda...and literally dying a slow and miserable death. 

     When she got to Florida March 22,  all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning ! She is well on her way to a complete recovery. And she is  walking! No wheelchair! This article saved her life. 

 If it says 'SUGAR  FREE' on the label; DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! 

     In the keynote  address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of   multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant. 

     will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the  wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic  acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. Many people were be being diagnosed in error. Although  multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is! 

     Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition. We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.   

     In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.   

     This also applies to cases of  trinities and firma. If you are using  ASPARTAME (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia  symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!' 

    Yes! Yes! Yes! STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it! This is a serious problem. 

    Dr. Espart remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice, a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This  is beyond coincidence! 

    Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product  that actually makes you crave carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!  

    These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily to preserve 'tissue specimens.' Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body! 

    Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period. 

    Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. 

    We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame. 

    The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance. 

    Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE. Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various  levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage. 

    Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well. 

    Documentation and  observation also reveal that thousands of  children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turn arounds in their behavior when these chemicals  have been removed from their diet. So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs' (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place! Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.' 

    It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome . 

    Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy. 

   Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners. There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.'   

    Herein lies the problem: 

    There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done. The drug and  chemical lobbies have very deep pockets. 

    Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED! There are now over 5,000 products on the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced.  Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.' I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.   

    And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes  Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?   

    This has been recently exposed in the  New York Times  

    These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products. 

    Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants. The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms.   

    The bill was killed. 

    It is known that the powerful drug  and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're Informed  now! 

   YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO  KNOW! 

   Please print this out and/or e-mail to  your family and friends. 

    They have a right to know too.

What’s The Real Cost of Signing A Major Record Deal?

If new artists are akin to California fires, the intensity is still the same as it was 20 years ago. It's just that more people now have matches. Sadly, they're all choosing to light up in the same spot. Everybody wants a major deal. It makes you wonder how many more crooked deals will be dealt before newcomers finally decide to promote their art independent of the strings of majors. Aligning with a major label offers few benefits beyond the spoils of fame and the facade of a panoramic lifestyle. Let's examine the merits and demerits of being on a major label, shall we?

Fame

Sure, having the long-reaching tentacles of majors will help deliver your product to the masses and bring you ample exposure. The problem is that new artists often get peanuts on their percentages in exchange for fame. Who wants to be a broke but famous star?

Advances

It's true that you're likely to get large advances from majors. That said, just remember that you have to pay back the advances and recordings costs from your royalty rate as applied to actual sales. When your records no longer shift those monstrous units, you'll find that you're stuck making money for a label even if the passion and financial benefits are long gone. It's like taking a loan that ties you to your creditor long enough to limit your long-term success.

Sales

Ah, the main objective of everyone who's ever picked up a mic. If you made an argument in favor of sales 12 years ago, I would've nodded in agreement and slapped you hi-five. A cursory glance at the record sales within the last 5 years, however, shows an industry that's on its knees. Every dime spent on promoting an artist's record, from video production costs to radio promo, is recoup-able from his royalty points (with few exceptions, of course). When, say $300,000 of income goes to the label, only about 10% of that goes towards recoupment. This way, you'll have to shift a bazillion units to see substantial revenue from royalty points.

Major vs Indie

It's a surprise that newcomers, who clearly have respectable artistic goals, aren't deciding to pass up opportunities to sign to majors. Drake, for instance, had an opportunity to buck tradition and stick it to the majors. He had already gathered reams of buzz. His mixtapes were moving like hot cakes. He had an opportunity to debut in the Top 10 as an independent artist. In the end, he chose to play ball with the same people that passed on an opportunity to sign him when he was just Wheelchair Jimmy. The world is waiting to see how his deal with Universal will impact his craft. On the flip side, Chicago outfit the Cool Kids and New Orleans MC Jay Electronica have shown that it's possible to attain reasonable success sans the backing of a major. Did you hear the one about Cool Kids co-headlining a North American tour with the Clipse in 2009? That's an indie act with no full-length album co-headlining a tour with a major act. Lucrative deals with the likes of Nike and EA Sports stand as a testament to the Chicago duo's ability to leverage their music for indie success. Similarly, Jay Electronica, who's affiliated with New York-based indie Decon Records, has managed to build a cult-like street following while churning quality music. Indies like Rhymesayers Entertainment, Duck Down and Stone's Throw Records have all managed to stay relevant for decades while consistently dropping quality albums. Everyone seems to be jostling for the top spot these days, but the smart ones have figured out that the middle is where the gold lies.

Quality vs Quantity

One area that illuminates the disparity between majors and indies is album packaging. Sometimes it takes an album that offers a combination of quality music and unique packaging to get a consumer's attention. Brent Rollins, the mastermind behind many classic hip-hop album covers (including Freeway & Jake One's Stimulus Package) laments that big labels are more reluctant to invest in superior packaging. "When I work with large labels," says Rollins, "it’s like pulling teeth just getting them to use something like a metallic ink on an album cover. Sometimes they talk about something like 5 cents out of a dollar extra to do something. I know that adds up when you’re printing a lot of them, but we’re talking about giving something back to people." While large record companies are typically less enthusiastic about embracing new ideas, independent labels have always been synonymous with creative liberty. Others might continue to seek the rat race that is wooing a major label, but diligent artists will seize every available opportunity to steward their future and change the game. Take it from Courtney Love, who's seen both the good and the ugly side of major deals. "If a record company has a reason to exist, it has to bring an artist's music to more fans and it has to deliver more and better music to the audience. You bring me a bigger audience or a better relationship with my audience or get the f--k out of my way.

Summing It Up

This is not to suggest that major record cartels are irrelevant. Previously undiscovered artists benefit from the huge promotional break a major has to offer. It takes a ton of funds to break a new artist -- funds most artists don't have on their own. But it's important to weigh the pros and cons of signing to a major before making the plunge. What's the real cost of signing a freaking 5-album major deal in the long run? What does it mean when an artist has to recoup, say $250,000 of her promo budget while the label earns 10 times that amount? Keep in mind that most artists makes $0 from royalty points until recoupment is clear. That's sad. The music industry is a burning house and people are running into the building with more gasoline instead of trying to douse the fire. Will this be the generation that finally capsizes a broken system or will it be the one that settles for the okey-dokey? Will this be the generation that revolutionizes music business or will it be the one that settles for a stint in the belly of the beast? That question lies in the hands of the Drakes and the Jay Electronica's of this world.

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Proper Promotion Of Your Music

As an independent musician, promoter & blogger, I’ve seen just about everything when it comes to music promotion techniques. I find the best way to learn how to do something effectively is through a process of negation – learning what not to do. Just as you know fully & completely not to approach the poisonous snake, there are certain aspects of promoting your band you should know fully. Whether promoting a new album, a music video, or a single, the process is the same.

1) Don’t over-use social media.

This is contradictory to a lot of what indie bands hear on a regular basis. Social media does have it’s place for certain, but most artists just aren’t sure where that is.

When you first set up your Facebook page for your band, the network, much like Myspace did 10-15 years ago, seems like an absolute playground. Music magazines, radio shows, podcasts, blogs, & endless groups & pages dedicated to music are plentiful. It seems as simple as just posting your new slideshow Youtube video on their walls & waiting for the fans to arrive. However, this simply is not the case.

The only time you should be posting a message or music submission on a Facebook wall is when it’s a) the recommended method of submitting your music to that publication, or b) there is no contact information for the publication. In this case it’s OK to write a simple message requesting an email address.

Another way that indie bands commonly misuse social media is by hounding their friend lists. Whether it’s the latest songwriting contest or a new show, they endlessly hammer away at their friend lists until they manage to publicly embarrass themselves. While their family & friends may support them, this behavior makes them look desperate & amateur to everyone else, & you can bet that other people see it. The solution to this is to not constantly post about yourself, but instead let OTHER PEOPLE talk about you. An effective marketing campaign directed to the outside world will get you buzzed about by music blogs, magazines, pod casts and other taste makers, provided your music is as good as you think it is.

Effective and classy use of social media include engaging the community with new content, posting your new reviews & press pieces to say thanks to the publications, & providing some interesting posts for your fanbase. Post like a professional band, not an amateur one.

2) Don’t just post your album on Bandcamp. Timing is everything.

Next to the first rule, this is one of the most common mistakes I see independent artists make. It’s so common I would guess that 80 percent or more of artists do this.

Most bands are so excited about their new release that they post it on Bandcamp or CD Baby & then announce “Here it is!” on their social networks. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, nothing’s wrong with it if you’re doing music solely as a hobby and have little plans for exposure.

Media requires up to 3 months lead in time to plan a piece. This is something most musicians don’t take into account. Larger magazines require the full 3 months to plan their new issues, assign writers, secure advertising, & distribute. Beyond this, many of them only review material on it’s release date. This means that if you release an album & then mail a copy to them, you’re already 3 months too late! Even significant music blogs like Pitchfork request that you send digital albums at least 1 month in advance. To make a long story short, if you dont leave yourself an advance time period to aggressively promote your new release, you are cutting yourself off from most major press. If you’re a demo artist, this won’t matter, but if you sound professional, it’s a complete waste.

3) Don’t send generic spam-type submissions

There are many services that offer to send your music to “10,000 contacts” or get you to the inboxes of the “music industry professionals” such as Beatwire.com & Musicsubmit.com. You can bet that your message will be going straight to a junk folder if you go this route, & the same applies for impersonal messages on your part. It may seem like an easy way out to have a program input the recipient’s names & fire away, but the results, in many cases, are zero. I even tried Beatwire recently to test out their services, & one posting showed up on a site that had nothing to do with the genre I was promoting. I’ve recently received emails from Musicsubmit.com, meaning, I assume, that I am now on their list of music industry professionals they’re sending artists to. The fact that I’m on their contact list & have not so much as gotten a “hello” email from them should tell you how effective that method of promotion is.

BE PERSONAL. You should open all your emails, or at least send a “Hello” message to every website that you contact. Say something nice about their blog. Read their bio. Put in some effort. Connect with them. They do it for the love of it & most bloggers don’t get paid a dime, so reach out to them as a fellow music lover.

4) Don’t say too much but don’t be vague.

Be brief & cognizant of how much time the person on the other end of your email has. At the same time, you should make sure to include ALL relevant info & selling points for your band so that no Googling is required on their part. Good things to include are band info (Name, similar artists, genres, websites, music video links, bio), album info (Name, production info, release date, label), & the product itself (media zip links with the music, press shots, and bio).

5) Don’t do one thing at a time.

Do everything at the same time! Many bands will release their album, start promoting it a few months later, release a video 6 months after that when they’ve saved the money, & play scatter live dates as all this goes on. That just doesn’t build any significant momentum. I hate to say it, but being in a band is like a business. An indie band’s favourite thing to say may be the defence mechanism response “We’re short on cash”, but if you continue to project that, then it’s your reality – plain & simple. If a restaurant owner says “I have no cash”, he has to DO something. If not, you can bet someone new will move in on the 1st of the month.
The indie bands who have this kind of attitude are the ones who will succeed. Even if it means pushing your album back for 6-8 months, it’s critical that serious bands save up & time a tour (at least some significant local dates), a quality music video (which can usually be arranged cheaply through student directors), an album, a promotion campaign (either self-promoted or via a publicist), & advertising. These things should all be churning away together over a 3 month period to seriously build your bands buzz.

Trust me I know all this as I have, for many years been an indipendent musician, promoter & freelance writer for many of the magazines in the "motorcycle industry" genre that my "biker music" is targeted to. They have deadlines each month & very little time to do everything thsts needed. As a self managed artist Ive found a great way to insure a great write up & to show your petsonal integrity is to arrange an interview/meeting over lunch or a couple beers at your expense & their convenience then they get to know your more intimately over a free lunch!

Ive got more to come on all this so stay tuned here!

Pat Savage

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How To License Your Music

                          

How To License Your Music

There are literally thousands of different opportunities for places to submit your music for potential placements. Let's look at a couple different approaches you can take:

1) The direct route: 

One way to get started in this business is to directly contact music supervisors who place music in TV shows and Films. Music Supervisors make their living by selecting the music that is used in the productions they are involved in. They are ultimately the people who make the decision as to what music is used. The upside of this approach is that when you operate this way you are essentially acting as your own publisher and you will receive both a writer's and publisher's royalty if your music gets used. The downside is that you probably don't have any relationships established with music supervisors and although it's certainly possible to establish relationships and "break in" this way, it's going to take a lot of leg work!

2) The indirect route:  

This is the way I got started and I suggest you try this approach first. In addition to music supervisors there are also music publishers whose job it is to screen music and present music to music supervisors for potential placement. These people typically have established relationships (if they're established publishers) and they make their living by "shopping" music to supervisors. They typically work hand in hand with supervisors and help them find the right type of music for their project. For example, let's say a music supervisor is working on a film and they need a song that sounds something like the latest White Stripes song. Since they can't actually afford to license the latest White Stripes song they will then contact a publisher, or several publishers, and put the word out that they are looking for songs in the vein of The White Stripes. These publishers will then scour their catalogs looking for songs that are a match and they'll present these songs to the supervisor.

The downside of working with a publisher is that they typically receive half of all royalties generated. This is what's called a publisher's royalty, and it's how publishers make their living. Publishers typically also split licensing fees with writers, which is a one time fee paid for the use of whatever song is being used. Although you end up making less money when you place your music via a music publisher, it愀 a fair trade off in my opinion.  Established publishers have many relationships that they have cultivated, in many cases, over many years with supervisors working in the music licensing industry.  Working with an established publisher can make getting your music licensed much, much easier.  And of course publishers need to get paid as well. Fair enough.  

Good luck And Happy Songwriting!

Pat Savage

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Unknown Legend

The Good Humor Ice Cream Story

An early Good Humor truck a.k.a. "sales car".

In 1919, Christian Nelson, an Iowa store owner, discovered how to coat an ice cream bar with chocolate, inventing the Eskimo Pie. When he heard of the discovery, Harry Burt (1875–1926), owner of a Youngstown, Ohio, ice cream parlor, replicated Nelson's product. 

The story is that Burt's 23-year-old daughter Ruth thought that the new novelty was too messy. Burt's son, Harry Jr. (1900–1972), suggested using a wooden stick as a convenient handle. They tried out the idea in the store's hardening room, where they discovered that the stick formed a strong bond when the ice cream crystallized. 

Burt outfitted twelve street vending trucks in Youngstown with rudimentary freezers and bells to sell his "Good Humor Ice Cream Suckers" in 1920. The first set was from his son's old bobsled. By 1925, Harry Burt Jr. opened a franchise in Miami, Florida.

In January 1922, Burt applied for patents, which were not granted until October 1923 because the patent office thought Good Humors were too similar to Eskimo Pies. The patents were only granted when Burt Jr. traveled to Washington, D.C. with samples to demonstrate the difference. When granted, Good Humor's patents were for the equipment and process to manufacture frozen novelties on a stick, but not for the product itself.

During this period, Frank Epperston started marketing frozen ice on a stick and formed the Popsicle Corporation. Six months after Popsicle received its patent in August 1924, Good Humor sued Popsicle Corporation, and by October 1925 the parties settled out of court. Popsicle agreed to pay Good Humor a license fee to manufacture what was called frozen suckers from ice and sherbet products. Good Humor reserved the right to manufacture these products from ice cream, frozen custard, and the like.

Harry Burt died in 1926, and two years later his widow sold her interest to the Midland Food Products Company, owned by a group of Cleveland businessmen. They changed the company's name to the Good Humor Corporation of America and started selling franchises with a $100 down payment. Cora Burt retained the license agreement with Popsicle. 

Thomas J. Brimer (1900–1978) purchased the Good Humor franchise for the Detroit territory and by 1929 opened his second plant in Chicago.[9] The mob demanded $5,000 protection money and destroyed part of the Chicago fleet when Brimer refused. The resulting publicity helped put Good Humor on the map  1930–1961

Brimer's father-in-law was a friend of Michael J. Meehan (1891–1948), a controversial New York stock speculator[ who made a small investment in Brimer's operation. When Brimer paid a 25% dividend in 1929, Meehan financed the acquisition of 75% of Good Humor of America for $500,000. Meehan's wife, Elizabeth Higgins Meehan, was the registered owner of the stock along with Mrs. John J. Raskob, the wife of another New York stock speculator.

The Meehan family’s Good Humor Corporation of America operated in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Detroit, and Chicago. There were also three major franchises: Good Humor of Baltimore/Washington (operated by the Brimer family), Burt’s Good Humor (operated by Harry Burt Jr. in Tulsa, Oklahoma), and Good Humor of California. In addition, distributors served Cleveland, Philadelphia, Albany, Dallas and Miami. In 1931, Good Humor reported a net profit of $452,105, almost as much as Meehan paid for the company.

Good Humor was successful because it provided customers with an inexpensive diversion during the Depression. In addition to trucks, the company used push carts, bicycles, shoulder boxes, and even a boat. At most branches, the season was six months, April through September. Jobs were scarce and Good Humor found all the employees it could use, despite an 80-hour work week and paramilitary discipline. Women were not hired as vendors until 1967. 

A vendor could be fired for not smartly saluting a customer or saying "Good Humor Ice Cream" instead of the proper "Ice Cream Good Humor". Vendors attended classes for two days at the beginning of the season and the rules were spelled out in a handbook titled "Making Good at Good Humor". While vendors were only paid commissions, it was not unusual for a driver to clear the then princely sum of over $100 per week.

To promote the product, customers won a free Good Humor if they found "lucky stick" stamped on the stick of their ice cream. One in twelve was a winner. However, in 1939 the Federal Trade Commission outlawed the promotion as an illegal lottery. The company was more successful in attracting favorable publicity by parking trucks outside of motion picture studios. Over the years, Good Humor appeared in over 200 movies. In 1950, Jack Carson starred in the feature motion picture The Good Humor Man.

In 1937, Michael Meehan became the first broker banned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for stock manipulation and transferred his enterprises to his sons. Two years later, 21-year-old Joseph A. Meehan (1917–1972) became the youngest broker with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and chairman of Good Humor Corporation, a position he held until 1961.

After World War II, the company moved into the expanding suburbs to serve the baby boomers. Fifty-five percent of Good Humor's customers were age twelve or younger, and trucks now accounted for 90% of the company's sales. By 1956, the company's fleet grew to 2,000 trucks, all purchased since the war. That year, Meehan hired 32-year-old David J. Mahoney (1923–2000) as president of Good Humor. Mahoney was the head of the advertising firm serving Good Humor and later became the president of the large Norton Simon conglomerate. In his five years at Good Humor, he increased sales 36%.

Sherman Rubin 1961–present

The Good Humor logo used until 1998

The Meehan family faced estate planning issues because Mrs. Elizabeth H. Meehan was advancing in years. In 1961, they agreed to sell Good Humor of America to Thomas J. Lipton, a subsidiary of Unilever. Lipton also purchased Good Humor of Baltimore/Washington from the Brimer family. In a separate transaction, the other franchises agreed to stop using the Good Humor name. Of the distributors, only Philadelphia survived as a company branch. Lipton quickly created a grocery division to sell Good Humor products in supermarkets.

Mahoney left the company after the acquisition, and Lipton executives soon characterized Good Humor as a "problem". Much of the fleet purchased immediately after the war was now at the end of its useful life. Further, as the baby boomers matured, sales on many suburban routes declined While almost from the beginning Good Humor faced competition from companies such as Jack and Jill Ice Cream, Bungalow Bar, etc., it was not until the advent of soft ice cream trucks operated by companies such as Mister Softee that competition impacted sales. Insurance costs also increased because courts found ice cream vendors responsible for pedestrian accidents while crossing streets to and from the truck.

Good Humor replaced some of its older conventional trucks with large vans designed to compete with Mister Softee. Many of these "inside sales cars" are still operating. However, the size of the fleet gradually declined, and by the early 1970s the number of trucks was down to 1,200. Good Humor also worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to equip vending trucks with school bus “stop” swing arms to reduce pedestrian accidents.

Good Humor was not able to solve its labor problems. The company was unionized early in its history and was struck on several occasions. For example, in 1950 the Teamsters shut down Good Humor's New York operations for three weeks during the critical month of June. Beginning in the 1950s, the labor pool dried up and Good Humor operated over half of its fleet with seasonal employees, mostly college students. On average, new employees lasted only two to three weeks because of the long hours. The entire industry, except Good Humor, stopped using commissioned employees and became distributors who leased trucks to the drivers and sold them their products wholesale. Good Humor adopted this system wherever possible but was prevented from converting most branches because of union contracts.

Good Humor became unprofitable beginning in 1968. An increase in gasoline prices during the early 1970s made the situation worse. After absorbing losses for ten years, in 1978 Good Humor decided to sell the fleet and become a distributor itself. The trucks were sold for $1,000 to $3,000 per vehicle, and many of the former Good Humor vendors became independent business owners. As one reported, "I make sure I shut off the engine when I stop now that I'm paying for the gas. Ironically, many former competitors also became distributors of Good Humor products.

With the trucks sold, Good Humor focused on the grocery division, and the company returned to profitability by 1984. Unilever, the world's largest marketer of ice cream products, decided to achieve a similar market position in the U.S, through acquisitions. In 1989, Unilever purchased Gold Bond Ice Cream of Green Bay, Wisconsin, which owned Popsicle. In 1993, Unilever bought Isaly Klondike, maker of another chocolate-coated ice cream bar invented in Youngstown in the early 1920s. Also in 1993, Unilever acquired the Breyers Ice Cream Company and combined these operations into the renamed Good Humor-Breyers. 

The company operates nine manufacturing plants in the United States and employs 3,000 people. Since 2000, Good Humor is one of numerous Unilever ice cream subsidiaries to use the international Heartbrand for its logo.

What a story!

The Holy Roman Empire 488 - 1803 AD

It appears to me that, for the Roman Empire in the form of the 400 AD Roman Catholic Church and Papacy, to continue to hold power in Rome and central Italy and beyond into the former Roman Empire, the Church needed a "strong man". The 'strong man' of the Roman Empire had formerly been its military. All of this infrastructure had long gone... the slave-soldiers had fled and returned to their homelands and loved ones. It appears that the "Holy Roman Church" chose as its strongman one of the most formidable opponents of the former Roman Empire:  Germania.

Very soon after the complete demise of the Roman Empire in 475 AD, the Papal Father travelled into old Germania to strike up a deal with the "barbarians".  Would the Frank, Pepin subdue the feisty Lombards of Northern Italy and declare by force of arms, that the Pope be ruler of all Church property holdings in Italy?  If Pepin would agree to this, he would be awarded the title "Roman Emperor" by the Pope. All of the territories that Pepin and successive "Emperors" had dominion over would also honourifically be called "The Holy Roman Empire".  The agreement was thus struck.

At the dizzying heights of this arrangement from 1200's-1500's onward, the Holy Roman Empire included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and parts of Poland, The Czech Republic, Spain, the Spanish-speaking Americas, Bohemia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Naples, Sicily...  not necessarily at the same time, as the various Emperors ascended and were deposed by others among their German tribesmen.  It appears that whoever held the most power amongst the German tribes would also be crowned "Roman Emperor". Very tellingly, the Roman Emperor would never hold dominion in Central Italy, ie: of Rome nor of her surrounding regions. It also explains to me why there is a Swiss Guard at the Vatican.  I now see how this arrangement possibly was arrived at.

The Germans were set in place purely to do the bidding of the Popes...  To hold control in Europe while the Roman Catholic Church continued to count the gold coins that ignorant and frightened people tithed in the churches, in the hopes of forstalling a painful end in hell.  

This was a brilliant plan on the part of the Church of Rome...  one that would see this organisation enjoy 1,000 years of coin-counting until 1555 when The Reformation offered Northern Europe Lutheranism as an alternative to Papism. No wonder there has been such ferocious opposition to Papal interests and supporters in the past. Dipping into the article below gives a glimpse into why such anger festered against the Church of Rome amongst thinking people, all across Europe. The arrangement finally mumbled its way into oblivion with the ascendance of Napoleon (a Frenchman !!! )  on the European stage. 

I wonder what would have happened to the "Holy Roman Catholic Church" if Pipin had not accepted Pope Stephen II's first offer and request for protection. What would have happened to the Roman Church if the unruly Lombardies had stormed what remained of Rome... and to  quite possibly destroy the last vestiges of corruption in Italy at that time. How differently history would have written itself...   :-/

Here's the full history below, for your reading pleasure...  written by Nobility Association. com  ... I think authored by Crown Prince Leka II of Albania.  Thanks Prince for your insightful article of how your ancestors (by marriage if none other) sucked up and screwed us all. Cheers. 

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

A political entity in Western Europe from 800 to 1806. The Empire was in theory a revival of the Western Roman Empire—the political counterpart of the Roman Catholic Church. It was initially known as the Empire in the West. Before 1815, there was no state called Germany, in the sense we now use. There was the Holy Roman Empire, with a ruler called (officially in Latin) the Roman Emperor and which claimed to be in principle the continuation of the Roman Empire which ruled basically all of what is now Germany, as well as pieces of Italy, Austria, the Low Countries [nowadays Belgium and the Netherlands] and a few more. In the 11th century it was called the Roman Empire and the title Holy Roman Empire was adopted in the 12th century. Although the borders of the empire shifted greatly throughout its history, its principal area was always that of the German states. From the 10th century its rulers were elected German kings, who usually sought, but did not always receive, imperial coronation by the popes in Rome.

Holy Roman Empire. This map shows the Holy Roman empire at its height. During the 1000's, the Holy Roman Empire extended from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

The emperor generally dominated the various states and principalities that made up the German nation (which included present-day Austria, the Czech Republic, part of Poland, Luxembourg, and other bordering areas) as well as northern Italy. The emperor was chosen by electors representing certain states and dioceses, but the position tended to become hereditary, as the electors usually selected the ruler's natural heir. He customarily was crowned emperor by the pope in Rome.

Holy Roman Empire flag. The Holy Roman Empire flag flew in what is now Germany from the 1200's until 1806. It features a large eagle on a yellow background.

The emperor's power depended largely on his personal and family inheritances, and on alliances. Charles V, for example, when elected emperor in 1519, was also king of Spain and his domain included the Netherlands, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spanish America. His son, Philip, was the husband of the ruling queen of England (Mary I). Charles gave Austria to his brother Ferdinand, who was also king of Bohemia and of Hungary and succeeded him as emperor. Spain, however, went to his son, who became Philip II of Spain.

     
                                            Background

The Holy Roman Empire was an attempt to revive the Western Roman Empire, whose legal and political structure deteriorated during the 5th and 6th centuries, to be replaced by independent kingdoms ruled by Germanic nobles. The Roman imperial office was vacant after the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476. During the turbulent early Middle Ages the traditional concept of a temporal realm coextensive with the spiritual realm of the church had been kept alive by the popes in Rome. The Byzantine Empire, which controlled the provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire from its capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), retained nominal sovereignty over the territories formerly controlled by the Western Empire, and many of the Germanic tribes that had seized these territories formally, recognized the Byzantine emperor as overlord. Partly because of this and also for other reasons, including dependence on Byzantine protection against the Lombards, the popes also recognized the sovereignty of the Eastern Empire for an extended period after the enforced abdication of Romulus Augustulus.

Romulus Augustus (fl. 461/463 – after 476, before 488), was the last Western Roman Emperor, reigning from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. His deposition by Odoacer (Flavius Odoacer 433–493, also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the 5th-century King of Italy, whose reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the classical Roman Empire. He is considered the first non-Roman to ever have ruled all of Italy), traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire, the fall of ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Western Europe.

He is also known by his nickname "Romulus Augustulus", though he ruled officially as Romulus Augustus. The Latin suffix -ulus is a diminutive; hence, Augustulus effectively means "Little Augustus". Some Greek writers even went so far as to corrupt his name sarcastically into "Momylos", or "little disgrace".

The historical record contains few details of Romulus' life. He was installed as emperor by his father Orestes (died 28 August AD 476, was a Roman general and politician, who was briefly in control of the Western Roman Empire in 475–6), the Magister militum (master of soldiers) of the Roman army after deposing the previous emperor Julius Nepos (c.430 – 480 was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480). Romulus, little more than a child, acted as a figurehead for his father's rule. Reigning for only ten months, Romulus was then deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer (433–493, also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the 5th-century King of Italy), and sent to live in the Castellum Lucullanum  (Castel dell`Ovo) in Campania, a southern region of Italy; afterwards he disappears from the historical record.