music, media & other random musings

Memorial Day Ramblings

I just bought music for the first time since.. I seriously have zero recollection. 2008? 2009? I've been renting music since 2002? 2003? (If anything this writing has confirmed, my memory and previous knack for remembering dates no longer exists.) Rhapsody was my choice then, as the pickins were slim. Today it's one among many. But back then, mobile wasn't an option. So I used Rhaposdy as my daily radio station, then decided what I had to own for that trip between work & home. Now subscriptions live seamlessly and ubiquitously and I usually have no need to buy. Almost. Vampire Weekend and the National's new releases arent available on Rhapsody or Rdio - my two primary accounts. They are on Spotify, but I only have the free account, so it won't stream into Sonos. LIke I said, almost seamlessly... . So what choice did I have?  Well, lots actually.. I chose Amazon, and took advantage of using Amazon Cloud thru Sonos for the first time. Oh, those little geeky details make me so very happy...  As for the music... only half into Vampire Weekend - which I really really dig. Can foresee it being on the proverbial turntable for a while. Amongst a few other goodies waiting in line - Daft Punk & Wild Belle to name a few - which I'm psyche to hear...   

Back from the college graduation of my oldest neice, Jessica. Great reason to celebrate - and we did. My

brother and his crew came in from LA and my sister's family - including the new graduate - were also all there, of course. There's something about family - and siblings - that if you're lucky enough to have, get along with and truly like - is a bond that just can't compare with anything else. Not even your very best friends - including those you grew up with. Frank Bruni wrote a timely piece on the subject on Sunday. I feel very lucky to have my siblings in my life - along with their incredible kids who I adore unconditionally and their spouses, which through time have most definitely become more brother and sister than in-laws. It makes special occassions that much more special...

The themes of graduation: completion, sense of accomplishment, the future & all its possibilities.. all powerful, meaningful. But if those kids in the graudation class were anything like me - they have zero idea what any of it means right now. Majora Carter gave an amazing speech: be uncomfortable was the message. Live outside your comfort zone, strive for more. I found it super moving. (More so than the less authentic, rambling Josh Whedon - albeit with similar themes - which was disheartening as he is paid to be a storyteller)... But not sure if that kind of sentiment can sink properly into the bones of a 22 year old. They're still trying to figure out what their comfort zone is. At least I was.. 

Week ahead: Psyched to try a Citi Bike - just activated; more Breaking Bad. Late to the party - but with NetFlix you're never far from a new TV drug. This is mine. Season 1 was SOO good.. Season 2 begins tonight - for me; On the TV note, Mad Men is wacky this season. Still incredible. But definitely odd.

Looking forward to a short work week ahead - what's not to like... Summer has officially begun - and i DO love that summer feeling - and Jonathan Richman. Download 01 That Summer Feeling

 

Best Steve Jobs Tribute

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

iPad Premiere

First iPad advert played during the Oscars. Hard not to want one... 

 

Top 10 VC Blogs

There's very few things I read everyday, other than the NYTimes. But A VC is one of them.

I've known Fred for almost 30 years now. (Fred is married to my sister.) Aside from generally being one of the smartest people I know, he has always had an innate ability to understand and synthesize a concept - whether familiar with the topic or not - and quickly and concisely, regurgitate it back in his own words, determine the core of the problem, and most often times, figure out how to solve it.

When he first started writing his blog, I didn't think he was quite able to capture that focus in his words. But quickly, he got better. And now has excelled. Everyday, he writes primarily about his business, helping to build technology companies, the industry's leading issues of the day - and sometimes politics and music. Whatever the topic, it's almost always thoughtful, to the point and has a unique and interesting point of view.  If you are interested in these topics, you're probably already following him. If you're not, you should be.

Nicely done, Freddy.

Amazon Customer Service

I bought a Kindle in April, specifically for the purpose of using it while I traveled. The thought of carrying books, and worst, trying to find books in English at every stop seemed insane. Especially when I had the option of going digital. 

When I first opened the box, I was already in love. The simplicity of design and packaging, much like buying an Apple product. But when I turned it on to read, I found the type font somewhat gray, for lack of a better description. Just wasn't as dark and crisp as I would have liked or imagined. Naturally, online I found a group of other disgruntled purchasers, dishing on the issue. Some made returns and claimed their replacement was better - or they thought it was. And there were some hackers who had work-around solutions to install better font. I definitely wasn't going that route. But before I made the stink of returning mine for another (I hate the return process), I checked out my brother in law's to A-B the two. His seemed to display just like mine, so I stuck with what I had. One thing less to think about or do before I left...  But, in truth, although I absolutely loved my new gadget, and couldn't believe the number of people I met while traveling, because of their curiosity in checking out this miraculous new toy, the "gray" always bugged me a bit.

Cut to last weekend. Both my father and brother were in town. Both newly dedicated Kindle purchasers, and both raving about it. I looked at my father's screen and saw what I had wanted to see all along - crisp, black font. I didn't see my brother's. But he reported back. Crisp, dark, black. 

It had now been 8 months since I bought mine, so couldn't imagine what Amazon could or would do for me. But what occurred, might have just been my most satisfying customer service experience - ever.  

I did have to do a Google search for their phone number (very well hidden on their site.) But when I did call, no waiting or hold time. Immediate attention. Explained the issue and was passed to the Kindle department. I "ugghed" thinking I'll have to explain again (think AT&T, Time Warner to name a few..), but nope. The second guy repeated exactly what I had said to the first and immediately determined it was a hardware problem and they would send me a replacement - still under warranty. We tried one thing, a simple reboot. Who knew? But no difference. A few minutes later, I was off the phone and had an email in my box indicating my replacement would be there in two days with a label to print for the return. 

Apparently this issue must be fairly common if the response was so immediate. When I called in April reporting on this, they said they hadn't heard any complaints on this. I either had a bad customer service guy then, or it wasn't considered a real issue yet. But it seems like it must be "in their system" now. 

Today, I got my new one and opened the box. In about five minutes, I had downloaded my archived files - books I was reading or had yet to read - and grabbed "My Clippings" file manually. And yes, black, crisp, beautiful, easy to read font. 

Next thing I did after that? Buy a few more books and download a few more samples. The studies are correct. Reading isn't dead, or dying. Only printing is. 

Amazon gets my vote for best customer service. And the Kindle - a 6" display of genius.