Sweets & Snacks Expo 2022 provides look at fun eating trends

The Sweets & Snacks Expo, held May 23-26 in Chicago, offered a glimpse into the types of treats consumers are ingesting these days.
Candymakers like Hershey, Jelly Belly, Mars, and Tootsie Roll showed off new products that offered twists on fan favorites. Smaller companies at the show brought out edgier eats.
Trends at the 2022 show included more s’mores-flavored confections and greater varieties of spicy chips and snacks. Plant-based products included carrot bacon jerky, non-dairy chocolate, and vegan gummies. Two candy brands introduced drinks: Jelly Belly Sparkling Water and Warheads sour soda.
The 2022 show attracted about 700 exhibitors and 16,000 attendees. Other major exhibitors included General Mills, Hostess Brands, Kellogg, Mondelez, and PepsiCo. The Sweets & Snacks Expo boasted 4.5 acres of candy and snack innovation at the McCormick Place Convention Center.
Next year’s show is the last planned for Chicago. Future shows will alternate between Indianapolis and Las Vegas.

Related article:

Sweets And Snacks Get Boost From Economic, Societal Trends (Investor’s Business Daily; June 17, 2022)

Photos: Sweets & Snacks Expo 2022 in Chicago (Patrick Seitz)

Rotten Tomatoes is the best review aggregator but it needs improving

A recent study by BacanaPlay determined that Rotten Tomatoes has the most reliable and fairest film rating database when compared with IMDb and Metacritic. But Rotten Tomatoes isn’t perfect.
Thank goodness it offers both a critics rating and an audience score. Often it will certify a movie as “fresh” or recommended by the critics, that I will not like. Recent examples include “She Dies Tomorrow,” “Zola” and “The Green Knight.” In two of those cases, the low audience rating should have been a tip-off to avoid the movie.
I tend to side with the audience rating now. Critics often will recommend a movie just because it’s different or has some social message they agree with.
Rotten Tomatoes does well with covering big Hollywood releases. But it falls short when it comes to aggregating reviews for independent and foreign films.
It also does a mediocre job with television shows. That could be because there are fewer professional reviewers and more shows amid the “peak TV” trend now.
Many foreign shows on Netflix rarely get reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes probably needs to cast a wider net for international reviewers. Otherwise, consumers are flying blind.

Related article:

Report: Rotten Tomatoes Named Best Movie Rating Database (MediaPlayNews; April 27, 2022)

Rock Hall Nominating Committee needs to course correct and focus on rock acts

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was widely criticized this year for straying further away from what most people would consider rock music with its 2022 nominations and inductees.
This year’s inductees into the Rock Hall skew toward adult contemporary with picks like Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, and Harry Belafonte. Other performer inductees include Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem and Eurythmics. The hall gave a back-door induction to heavy metal group Judas Priest with its “Musical Excellence” category to counter the lack of pure rock acts.
The problem stems from the small group of people who pick the nominees that appear on the ballot. After all, the voting body can only choose from what they’re given.
I suggest that the Nominating Committee consciously load up the ballot with rock acts next time. That would ensure a rock-focused induction class and ceremony.
This year’s ballot included 17 candidates for induction. What follows are some names I’d love to see on the 2023 ballot. The first year of eligibility is in parentheses, based on data from Future Rock Legends.

Thin Lizzy (1996)
REO Speedwagon (1997)
Scorpions (1998)
Styx (1998)
Suzi Quatro (1999)
Boston (2002)
The Runaways (2002)
Foreigner (2003)
Motorhead (2003)
Joy Division/New Order (2004/2007)
Siouxsie & the Banshees (2004)
Iron Maiden (2005)
INXS (2006)
Phil Collins (2007)
Billy Idol (2007)
The Bangles (2007)
The Smiths (2009)
Hole (2016)
Smashing Pumpkins (2016)
The Cranberries (2017)
No Doubt (2018)
Sheryl Crow (2019)

Related reading:

The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Eminem and more (USA Today; May 4, 2022)

The Rock Hall Keeps Its Foot on the Gas (Future Rock Legends; May 4, 2022)

Rock Hall of Fame’s Class of ’22 Has Something to Satisfy Almost Everybody… Except People Who Like Rock Bands (Variety; May 4, 2022)

‘Another Terrible Band’: Two Rock Hall Voters Get Candid About Their Ballots (Vulture; May 3, 2022)

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s Weird Bias Against Alt And Indie Rock (Uproxx; May 5, 2022)

Never-ending supply of cheap post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video

I’ve written several times about how Amazon Prime Video is a dumping ground for cheap post-apocalyptic-themed movies. Most of these films have received poor reviews.
Lately there’s been a surge of low-budget exploitation flicks tied to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also, there are quite a few Christian-themed apocalypse movies on Amazon Prime Video.
What follows are 33 more post-apocalyptic movies on the service. They bring the total number of such titles that I’ve tracked on Amazon Prime Video to 195 movies.

America 3000 (1986)
Apocalypse (1998)
Superstarlet A.D. (2000)
Left Behind: The Movie (2000)
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002)
Left Behind III: World at War (2005)
Alien Apocalypse (2005)
Raiders of the Damned (2007)
Apocalypse Blues (2008)
Mutants (2008)
Battle of the Damned (2013)
2149: The Aftermath (2016) aka Confinement or Darwin
AmeriGeddon (2016)
Earthtastrophe (2016)
Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter (2016)
After the End (2017) aka I’m OK
Cold Zone (2017)
I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2017)
The Humanity Bureau (2017)
Reflections in the Dust (2018)
This World Alone (2018)
A Living Dog (2019)
Crucified (2019) aka Everybloody’s End
Into the Void (2019)
The Reliant (2019)
Apocalypse of Ice (2020)
75 Degrees West (2021)
Alien Conquest (2021)
Covid-19: Invasion (2021), aka Lockdown
Grey Eyes (2021)
School’s Out Forever (2021)
After The Pandemic (2022)
When Everything’s Gone (2022)

Related articles:

Covid-inspired apocalypse movies populating Amazon Prime Video (Jan. 16, 2022)

‘Mad Max’ rip-offs invade Amazon Prime Video (July 19, 2020)