I love everything about McDonald’s except for the food–the awful, awful food. Oh, and the smell coming from the food. That also blows.

But from the kitchen systems to the bright-colored plastic furniture to the branding and packaging, I’m really taken by it all. If only the food didn’t taste like feet with ketchup.

In a recent (and very good) New York Times Magazine article by Keith O’Brien about the chain’s contemporary, Gladwellian marketing strategy, it was noted that West Coast outlets have begun adding flat-screen TVs that play a nascent McDonald’s Channel. No, you won’t see war coverage or towers being struck by airplanes. It’s innocuous stuff aimed at keeping diners in the restaurants longer, in the hope that extended stays will mean additional purchases. Here’s the promotional video for the channel.