Verizon FIOS scam

A word of caution to FIOS customers

 

I live in an apartment where FIOS was reportedly an option.  I am a college student and have no need for TV or landline.  I have the cheapest FIOS plan which is/was 54.99.  I bought a one-year contract and have had it for about 11 months now.  Recently I received a notice saying that due to increasing expenses, my service will go up to 59.99 upon automatic renewal.  The plan is still 54.99 for a one year contract for anybody who signs up, so it would appear Verizon is treating their existing customers to a nice $60/year fee.

I remember I had to jump through hoops before just to get an account number, because it is usually on your bill, but they told me that do not send people with FIOS-only plan a paper bill and thus, have no account number established.  It was and still is nearly impossible to find a link to a live CSR (chat) on their page.  My question was simply if I was going to be prompted to renew before my service ended (which is probably unlawful otherwise, but I did not mention).  Took 20min before I was told no, it's automatic, but that I wasn't even on a contract anyway and that my plan is month to month!  If I wanted to cancel or discuss the new rate I have to call, so I was given a "direct" number that misguided me to an automated system and finally to a sales lady.

She played stupid, trying to upsell me a package and ignoring my argument against the unaccountable $5/mo increase.  She was intentionally resistant and finally belittling over my cancellation "over just $5" and as if they were trained to handle the matter this way.

In summary, great internet provider, shitty customer service and prices.  The whole system seems shady, was never given a paper copy of my contract, no account number until I asked, automatic billing that never stops and increases automatically.  Probably a lawsuit waiting to happen.  I will probably buy a new contract at the lower rate once it is canceled.

Why Sinatra would not exist today

-Because nobody would be listening.  Crooners are a sound of the past, representing the space between classical and pop that does not, and cannot survive today.  Seth Macfarlane's album Music is Better than Words demonstrates how difficult it is to reproduce that extinct sound.

On Thursday May 17, 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Mercedes-Benz convertible was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan, and when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of Cheech & Chong. He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse." The arresting officer said he noticed two blunts and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the driver's seat.

Voyager Golden Record

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_concertos



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_Variations#Variation_IX_.28Adagio.29_.22Nimrod.22

I will not blindly follow

Best Soundtracks of all time

Something about the right combination of sound and picture can be awe-inspiring, jaw dropping, spine chilling, or just simply cooler than Elvis.  It is hard to explain that feeling of a song that gives you goosebumps to someone who does not appreciate music.  But just as it is more moving when it happens in the right place and time in one's own life, such as the quarter dropping in the jukebox at the perfect moment; so too is the choreography of song in cinema much more powerful.
I don't know what came first in my life, but each has inspired the drive for the other, and my insatiable appetite for music and film came at an early age.  My dad decided I was ready to watch Pulp Fiction when I was 7, and though I didn't quite understand it, I could feel the power of it in many ways.  Though I can appreciate the plot more now, the effect of the music with visuals had already been taken note.  Music is part of cinematography in a huge way that may not be prominently apparent to the viewer.  Sound creates atmosphere, and the manipulation of song into a scene can have a huge impact.
Here is my list of the best soundtracks of all time:

1) Ocean's 11

This score by David Holmes and other included songs made you root for the crooks.

2) Kill Bill

Tarantino is renowned for paying homage to the rare and obscure, and it shows no less in his appreciation and interpretation of music to his movies.
3) Pulp Fiction


Released in 1994, most of it's soundtrack songs were nearing 30 years old, but somehow this film made them new again.  Representing the soulful Americana of the 60's, the funk of the 70's and with an invigorated throwback to surf-rock, the soundtrack is seamless with the chronology of the scenes.
4) Reservoir Dogs

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 Trainspotting
  Forrest Gump
Easy Rider
Garden State


excluding: movies about music (Quadrophenia, A Hard Day's Night), musicals, 
Noteworthy mentions: Apoc Now, Godfather, Psycho, Dazed and Confused,

Relativity is oft underappreciated. I think it is a natural tendency to ignore it. In one hundred years we will all be dust and a new wave of shit will have surpassed us. Is that just an understanding of mortality? I find the consideration of mortality to become somewhat of an unhealthy obsession for people, while the appreciation of just being finite holds some dignity to it. Basically, the only truth we will ever discover is what we are set to believe upon. That is why morals preside despite people believing fuck all in different directions. There are countless ways that this world could come to a halt on any given day, yet there have been no revisits to the Stone Age. I am somewhat appreciative that I don't get knifed when I walk out of my apartment everyday, but I will not let the idea of a diminishing water table or nuclear fallout control my life. I've always been able to recognize the phonies, those "causists" always looking for some cause they can support. I say support your own fucking cause. Why is that necessarily selfish?   If you really, really believe in something then you will support it, but people need not feel guilt for not jumping on board every charity bandwagon that rolls into town. Sometimes the joiners are actually participating in a good cause, but it might just be luck. The self proclaimed do-gooders are not free thinkers and could just as easily be swept up into working towards a malevolent cause.  And that's how politics operates.  Those most educated might not lift a fucking finger while the idiot schmoes lead the rebellions.  We can only hope that the majority of the drones are pointed in the right direction at least.  I don't think the world's greatest advertising campaign ever (Church) can stand up to the traits of human morals (thus, more and more athiests).  Yeah, MLK Jr might have ripped off his doctorate and some speeches, but I'm pretty sure that he really did believe in human rights and a good cause.  That can be pretty powerful when combined with the right words.