Taco Bell Truck!

I must have been really good lately, because I’ve been rewarded with lots of new Taco Bell stuff.  The iPhone app, lots of new menu items (try the Why Pay More nachos, they’re delicious), and now a truck full of tacos traveling the country and giving away free Taco Bell!

The Taco Bell Truck is hitting cities all over the U.S. handing out free tacos at events.  They kicked off the tour on Friday in Huntington Beach and they’re working their way across the west coast right now.

To follow the truck’s progress, you can check out their Twitter page at http://twitter.com/tacobelltruck.  You can also send them a message and ask them to come to your city.  They’re going to get really sick of me if they don’t get to Cincinnati soon, because I’ve been sending them graphic descriptions of my hunger every day.

Taco Bell Shaker iPhone App

I was never one of those who wanted an iPhone before, but now I have a huge reason to get one.  Taco Bell has released their first iPhone app…The Why Pay More Shaker.  Let’s say you only have $1.63 in your wallet, but you need Taco Bell.  This happens to me all the time.  I go through the menu in my head (yes, I have it memorized) and try to come up with all the combinations I can get for whatever amount of money I have on hand.  I’m terrible at math so this is very frustrating, especially when I’m hungry.  I’ve been known to just go into Taco Bell, throw my money on the counter, and say “what can I get for this?”

The iPhone app does all this for you.  You just type in the amount of money you have to spend, give the iPhone a shake, and it will give you a combination of items you can get for that price.  Shake it again and it gives you a new combination.  If you want to hold an item, just touch the little lock below that reel and it will hold it while shaking up the other two until you find the perfect combo.

Once you choose your meal, you obviously need to get to the closest Taco Bell ASAP, but don’t worry, the app can help you with that too.  You just click on the Store Locator link, and it gives you all the locations near you, along with directions.

The app is free from the iTunes store and can also be used on the iPod Touch.  Delicious.

Want Coldplay’s New Album for Free?

Coldplay has announced on coldplay.com that they will be giving away their newest live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, for free starting on May 15th when they kick off their tour in West Palm Beach, FL.  Every fan in attendance at any of their concerts during their 2009 tour will be given a free copy at the show.  For those who aren’t able to attend a concert, the album will also be available for free downloading from their website.  For once there are no catches.  The album won’t even be available for sale in stores.

The album doesn’t contain new material, but instead is a short collection of live songs which they recorded around the world during their Viva La Vida tour.

To download LeftRightLeftRightLeft, go to Coldplay’s official site between May 15th and the end of their tour: www.coldplay.com

Click Read More for the track listing.
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FREE Meal at KFC

Kentucky Fried Chicken is offering a free meal with the coupon available from their website at www.unthinkfc.com.  The coupon must be printed off before midnight tonight, May 6th, but it is redeemable until May 19th at participating locations.

KFC has really been up on their marketing campaigns lately, and I’m actually impressed.  After introducing their new grilled chicken, they first offered a free piece to everyone for one day, now a whole meal!  They also got this deal endorsed by Oprah on her show and website, so it’s serious.

It’s an excellent marketing scheme really.  After so much bad publicity — mostly stemming from PETA (animals rights activist group for those who don’t know) — about their treatment of animals, KFC has launched a huge campaign to get people back into their stores.  Introduce a new healthier item, give people a free meal, revive the crave.

Some of you may also have heard about KFC fixing potholes across the country and imprinting them with the KFC logo.  They offered to fix every pothole in certain cities as long as they could then paint their logo on top of the repaired hole.  If you’re from Louisville you have probably noticed them — that’s their hometown and where they started the pothole project.

The coupon printing website is very busy due to high traffic, so you might have to try a few times to get it to work.  It will probably say “Server Busy” a few times before you get through.  I had to try about three times before I got the coupon to work.

http://www.unthinkkfc.com

Click Read More to read the letter KFC sent out to mayors across the country regarding the pothole repairs.
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Wild Rose Press Birthday Contest

The Wild Rose Press, an online publisher for romance novels, is having a day of contests to celebrate their birthday on May 1st.  The contests start at 6am and go until 11pm EST, drawing for prizes every hour from everyone who has left a comment on their blog.  The prizes will be books of your choice, and at the end of the day they will choose a grand prize winner who will receive a tote bag full of gift certificates, books, and more.

Wild Rose Press has a great selection of books, so if you win you will get to choose from a wide range of romance genres.  They aren’t just your typical romances.  They have different categories to choose from, so even if you’re not a fan of romance books, there might be something that would interest you.

To enter, visit their blog and leave a comment between 6am and 11pm EST on May 1st at: www.behindthegardengate.blogspot.com

Good luck!

Grocio – Find Cheap Groceries

When I go grocery shopping I know the things that are cheaper at one store and those that I wait to pick up at another for better prices.  I always thought it would be nice to know what the sales were before I headed out, and which store would give me the cheapest price overall so I didn’t have to go jumping from place to place.  Grocio is a new web service that has given us that option.

The site has a simple and quick registration, where you put in a user name and your zip code.  Then you will be able to compare prices at stores all around your area without having to leave home.  You can choose which stores you want to compare, then type in your grocery list.  Grocio then will give you the cost of buying those items at each store you selected and let you know what your total would be at each place.  They also match coupons to your purchases which you can print out and bring to the store with you to save extra money.

Grocio is a completely free service which is launching this week in Arizona and will soon be all over the country.  You can register now and they will let you know when it is available in your area.

Click here to visit the site: Grocio

Click Read More to see a quick instructional video on how the site works.
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Corneille – The Birth of Cornelius

Corneille’s first English album, The Birth of Cornelius, was released on March 10th and combines the classic sounds of soul with the smooth feel of R&B.  Corneille’s gentle voice and subtle tones remind us of a simpler time in music, before it was so weighed down with heavy beats and overpowering, overproduced vocals.

Born in Germany and raised in Rwanda, Corneille escaped back to Germany with his family during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.  The struggles and life experiences he has gone through are present in his music and give it a depth most artists can’t begin to touch.  He has a positive spirit and quiet modesty that makes him easy for fans to relate to.  Corneille has already released two French soul albums in Quebec and is well known throughout Europe and Africa.  With his new album now available in the U.S., he is able to relate to a new audience and spread his spirit and music to more people.

For a free download of Corneille’s single “Too Much of Everything,” click here: Free Corneille Download

To watch a great video of Corneille discussing his life and his music, click here: Corneille Video

New York Style Colonoscopy

Lately I’ve noticed a changing trend in sweepstakes that have been announced.  They’ve become more interactive, more personal, more in depth.  Well how would you like to stay in a luxury hotel in NYC for 3 nights?  How about while you’re there you also get a free…COLONOSCOPY!  When I saw this commercial on CBS I figured it was a promotional ploy to get people to the CBS site or something, but no, it’s real!  I checked out cbscares.tv to find that this is a real sweepstakes, with a real colonoscopy involved.

Apparently CBS has found that too many people aren’t getting their scheduled colonoscopy, so they’re doing a little sweepstakes to bring attention to the issue.  Also, this will get them tons of free publicity (to which I am contributing as you read this) by creating such an obscure contest.  Brilliant idea actually.

Here’s part of the contest description on the website to give you an idea of what they’re offering:

What should you expect if you are the lucky winner?

The hardest part is the preparation the night before when you drink a laxative. This laxative is well known for declaring itself at the very moment you have called a relative or friend (or room service) to comment that it does not seem to be working. But hang in, because it’s important to have a clear colon for the screening and the fun part is about to begin

Wow.

So unfortunately you have to be between the ages of 40 and 79 to enter the contest, so some of you may not be eligible.  But if you meet the requirements and want a free trip to an NYC hotel where you can drink laxatives, then feel free to enter by clicking here: CBS Cares

Arby’s Roast Burger

Arby’s is making a “burger” out of their Roast Beef sandwich.  Basically instead of having a beef patty on a bun, they have their sliced roast beef combined with the typical burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, ketchup, mustard, and Arby’s sauce).  They also have a Bacon Cheddar Roast Burger (add bacon and cheese) and a Bacon & Bleu Roast Burger (add bacon and bleu cheese).

Considering the regular Roast Beef sandwich was just a pile of sliced beef on a bun, this new idea was a long time coming.  They actually look pretty good, a nice change from a regular burger.  I haven’t had a chance to try any of the Roast Burgers yet, but if you get to an Arby’s by Monday (March 9th), you can try one for free.  They’re offering a free one with any drink purchase with this coupon: Free Roast Burger

Enjoy!

PS: How is a commercial with someone rubbing greasy burgers on their head supposed to make you hungry?

Myxer Tones

Myxer is a great site where you upload your own mp3s from your computer and make free ringtones from them.  You can choose which parts of the song you want for the tone, and customize it exactly how you want.  Not only are you saving money by making it yourself, but you don’t have to choose from pre-selected sections.

It is a bit time consuming making the tones and sending them to your phone, but if you have some free time, it’s pretty fun to do.  And it’s worth the savings on the download fees that most cell phone companies charge.  I’ve been using this for all my ringtones since I discovered it and I love it.  I used to have to settle for one or two ringtones since they get so pricey, but now I turn every song I like into one.

Myxer also has options to make your own wallpaper for your phone, although I haven’t tried that part of the site yet.

Click here to try it yourself: Myxer