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So…

I gave United Airlines the time to respond to my complaint. They said they need 5 days. It’s been 8.

I gave the TSA time to respond as well.  They have emailed me and told me I was missing some information from a form I sent, I e-mailed my point of contact at the TSA back, she directly emailed me back, and I got her the information necessary.  I directly spoke with someone representing this GOVERNMENT AGENCY regarding a claim I filed.  I’m impressed, honestly my money was on United, being a corporation that would seemingly value its customers opinion, to be in touch first.

Recap.

Submitted:
-1 United Customer Complaint via website. (5 Day response time was the auto-reply I received form United on this.  It’s been 8 days.)

-1 United Lost/Stolen Goods Claim (30-60 Day response time, United has acknowledge they have received my claim, and below is the transcript of that debacle)

-1 TSA Lost/Stolen Goods Claim (30-60 Day responce time, A government agency got in touch with me and had me send them supplemental signatures for the form.  Impressive, and they are now working on this claim.)

So far, the United has sent me an automated email, as seen below, acknowledging my claim submission:

Thank you for completing your Missing Property Questionnaire which we received in our Claims office on October 27, 2009.

Your claim is being forwarded to a Claim Representative for resolution. You will be notified by the Claim Representative upon conclusion of your claim.  Our commitment is to conclude your claim within 60 days of receipt of your written claim.

At anytime throughout this process you can always check the status of your claim by going to www.united.com/bagtrack. For additional inquiries, we can also be reached via email at web-baggage@united.com.

Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience you are experiencing and we thank you for your patience during this process.

Yours Sincerely,

United Airlines Central Baggage Services

My Reply:

To Whom It May Concern:

Can someone inform me what is being done for my claim?  I do not have delayed or missing baggage, but missing/stolen contents from my baggage.  I’m just curious as to the steps being taken and approximately how long it takes to recieve an outcome of this.

I’ve contacted United twice a day since the time I found my items missing on 10/24, and I’m yet to hear back in any way from United.

Thank you for contacting United Airlines.  We sincerely apologize for
the inconvenience we have caused and please know that we are working
diligently behind the scenes to resolve your issue. To help explain our
next steps, below you will find an outline of our handling process for
situations related to Delayed and Damaged Bags.

If your situation is regarding a delayed bag after 72 hours of travel,
we will need to begin our formal tracing process. In order to begin the
process, please complete the Baggage Tracing/Claim Form available online
at united.com/baggage. The detailed information you provide on this
form, in hand with the industry wide baggage tracing system United
subscribes to, will be used to help us locate your property.  Once we
receive your Baggage Tracing Claim Form, we will have our internal
Tracers look for your property.  Once your property is located, we will
contact you and expedite its delivery to you.

If our tracing efforts are unsuccessful, your claim will be forwarded to
a Claim Representative for resolution.  You will be notified by the
Claim Representative upon conclusion of your claim.  Our commitment is
to conclude your claim within 60 days of receipt of your written claim.

If you are contacting us regarding authorized expenses you incurred due
to the temporary delay of your property, please fax your Baggage Tracing
Claim Form and your receipts to 847-700-5381. Once we receive your
information, we will review and conclude your claim within 60 days of
receipt of your written claim.

If you are contacting us to report damaged property, please be advised
that all damaged bags need to be assessed by the airport to determine
the level of damage.  The claim must be reported, in person, to the
United Airlines Baggage Service Office at your nearest airport.  Damage
reports must be filed within 24 hours of receiving your bag for Domestic
and 7 days for International travel.

At anytime throughout this process you can always check the status of
your claim by going to www.united.com/bagtrack. For additional
inquiries, we can also be reached via email at web-baggage@united.com.

Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience you are
experiencing and we thank you for your patience during this process.

We value your business.  Thank you for choosing United.

This isn’t what I asked… is there a human being that can reply to this besides the canned form letter?

I want someone to inform me what is being done for my claim?  I do not have delayed or missing baggage, but missing/stolen contents from my baggage.  I want to know what is being done, and how long circumstances like this take to resolve.

I’ve contacted United twice a day since the time I found my items missing on 10/24, and I’m yet to hear back in any way from a United representative.

Please respond addressing my concerns.

Thank you for contacting United Airlines.  We sincerely apologize for
the inconvenience we have caused and please know that we are working
diligently behind the scenes to resolve your issue. To help explain our
next steps, below you will find an outline of our handling process for
situations related to Delayed and Damaged Bags.

If your situation is regarding a delayed bag after 72 hours of travel,
we will need to begin our formal tracing process. In order to begin the
process, please complete the Baggage Tracing/Claim Form available online
at united.com/baggage. The detailed information you provide on this
form, in hand with the industry wide baggage tracing system United
subscribes to, will be used to help us locate your property.  Once we
receive your Baggage Tracing Claim Form, we will have our internal
Tracers look for your property.  Once your property is located, we will
contact you and expedite its delivery to you.

If our tracing efforts are unsuccessful, your claim will be forwarded to
a Claim Representative for resolution.  You will be notified by the
Claim Representative upon conclusion of your claim.  Our commitment is
to conclude your claim within 60 days of receipt of your written claim.

If you are contacting us regarding authorized expenses you incurred due
to the temporary delay of your property, please fax your Baggage Tracing
Claim Form and your receipts to 847-700-5381. Once we receive your
information, we will review and conclude your claim within 60 days of
receipt of your written claim.

If you are contacting us to report damaged property, please be advised
that all damaged bags need to be assessed by the airport to determine
the level of damage.  The claim must be reported, in person, to the
United Airlines Baggage Service Office at your nearest airport.  Damage
reports must be filed within 24 hours of receiving your bag for Domestic
and 7 days for International travel.

At anytime throughout this process you can always check the status of
your claim by going to www.united.com/bagtrack. For additional
inquiries, we can also be reached via email at web-baggage@united.com.

Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience you are
experiencing and we thank you for your patience during this process.

We value your business.  Thank you for choosing United.

Lots of food , brewing, and musical adventures coming soon. Just synced my webpage editor to my iPhone… so expect more updates.

Lucky you.

Link to Asbury Park Press Article : Billy Vegas Shits On Local Ice Cream Fest

Yea… so… I went to the Toms River Ice Cream Festival to check out the scene, taste some great local Ice Creams, and see how it goes. Apparently, by going to this, you get to vote on “Fan Favorite” National and “Fan Favorite” Local Ice Cream – not the Vanilla competition. Apparently that’s done behind closed doors because the public isn’t privileged enough to sample pure Ice Cream.

I’ll keep it short. This festival had alot of local ice cream outlets and, for the most part, they all sucked. How do you give out samples of Ice Cream to have people judge you on, that is saturated with candy bar bits? Have some self respect and put out a pure Ice Cream. Vanilla, Chocolate, anything. Not “Butterfinger Pretzel Penut Butter Smore Snickers Caramel Chip Ice Cream”. I can’t judge you’re Ice Cream when all I can taste is candy.

The reporter for the above article asked me what I thought of the festival and one creamery in particular. I was brutally honest, and was more assaulting and vulgar than what made the paper, but that’s not surprising. Out of all the Ice Creams I tried, only two were good. One was Maggie Moo’s Chocolate Better Batter, which essentially tasted like frozen chocolate cake batter. For a National flavor, this was the best.

For Local flavors, the best was Mint Chocolate Chip from Millstone River Creamery. It wasn’t your typical green mint chocolate chip. This was more like Mint Tea Ice Cream, and was white, not green. Like biting into some fresh mint. It was a refreshing break from the rest of the drek. And after talking to them a bit, knowing they seem to have more passion and care for the ingredients they use, I have to respect that. These guys are at the Red Bank Farmers Market most Sundays too… and sell their wares there. Great stuff, highly recommended. Try the Toasted Coconut and/or Cheesecake.

So, again, Toms River, get your competition straight and lets make this a legit competition, not a frozen candy bar contest. Apparently they have a Vanilla competition, but its done behind closed doors with a select judging panel. Why do elusive judges get to judge the vanilla, and not the public? Weak sauce.

Look, Bush fucked shit up. 

We get it. 

No One likes him.  Anywhere.

We get it. 

But when everyone blames him for everything wrong with the country, you’re just as stupid as he is if you believe that.  There’s three branches of government that all work together, so I suggest you research how that works and start blaming all of your elected officials, even those who are still sitting in there.

But, that’s not what this is about. It’s about Obama and his speech to America and Congress tonight.

Look, this guy can talk.  For sure.  America loves this guy cause he’s literally the opposite of George Bush.  He’s a tall, black, educated Democrat.  I don’t mind him cause he seems about as genuine as a politician can be, which is minimal, but seems to resemble a human being, and can speak clearly and formulate ideas.  Apparently these are the only things that make me approve of him as a President and not mind him- that alone should be cause for concern.

But after watching this speech, this is all I can gather.

Obama:

Shit’s pretty fucked up out there.  I gave a shitload of money to banks, and I know you’re pissed- but it will help you out, trust me.  Also, since I’m in charge of America now, America wants to kick ass again… so lets try doing that. Not sure how we’re gonna do it, but check it out, I’m not George Bush, so you gotta love me.

America:

YES YES YES WE LOVE YOU

Obama:

While I have this large captive audience of lawmakers, heads of state, all the citizens of America, and the rest of the world… I’d like to tell you a little story about Little Suzy.  Little Suzy can’t see out her window at school cause there’s a train nearby.  Let me tell you about this guy, and this girl, and this person I met here- because you as an American need to feel recognized and my advisers tell me this type of dialogue helps you identify with me.  Man are you guys assholes.

So thats what I get from all this tonight.  More politicians blowing smoke up everyones ass, hitting some great points in a speech to the world, and leading people to cheer for things that sound great, but with no direction or details on how to do any of the things stated. 

Look, I understand the President has to pander to Americans who can’t comprehend anything if it’s not specifically drawn out and told to them like a Fairy Tale before bedtime about Little Suzy and her fucking problems with her desk at school and this and that.  That’s why in his first 5 minutes, he has to talk about how “American Hard Working Families” will see more money in their pockets starting this date and more this and that bla-bla-bla. I get it. 

But how about some meat for Americans who want to know what the shit you plan on doing to actually do all of this?  Tell me how you plan on making America great again, not that you think it will be great again.  Tell me how you plan on getting credit flowing to small business owners again, not that you think it’s a good idea.  Tell me how in the hell you honestly believe spending $750+bln on a “Stimulus Plan” will not put our children into debt for the rest of their lives when they inherit this mess we created.  I’m willing to listen to you.  I’ve given you my ear, and you pissed in it with a feel good speech lacking any depth and detail.

In all honesty, President Obama has the chance to make something serious happen in the next four years, and I really hope he gets shit done and doesnt get stuck in the rut of American Politics.  I wish him and his cabinet all the best.

Do I have a  better plan?  No.  I’m not smart enough to fix this shit.  I was thinking we should have let the banks crumble to the ground and rebuild America from scratch, but that would take too many years and educated people which we don’t have.  If I was President, I would have made my speech tonight very simple.  Not only would I not allow anyone to see my speech before I say it, I would have pyrotechnics installed in the chamber where the address was to take place.  Then, I would have made my way down the aisle like a proper rockstar similar to Obama, and I’d get up on stage for my second introduction, then take the mic and spit hot fire…

“Look America.  Shit’s fucked up.  I know it, you know it.  Wasn’t you, wasn’t me, wasn’t Republicans, wasn’t Democrats.  We all fucked up.  What can we do to fix it?  I have no clue, but I now have an open suggestion box and I’m listening to all of you.  In the meantime, let’s kick mortgage rates down to 4% starting tomorrow for everyone who pays their mortgage like a responsible American citizen, and lets abolish Income Tax while we’re at it.  I believe the more cash in your pocket in these trying times, the better off you are.  I figure we should tax the money you spend, not what you earn.  So yea, America.  That’s how I roll, and I’m looking forward to your suggestions.”

That being said, I’d leave the chamber as one of the most revolutionary leaders America has ever seen. 

So yea.  That’s where I am.  I’m frustrated with politics in this country leading us down roads of uselessness.  I don’t see the current system doing anything beneficial for the citizens of America anymore.  I think we should revert back to the days of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Washington- when people who were politicians weren’t career politicians, but workers in their own right, and were elected to office, where they had a connection to the people they are supposed to serve.

I leave you with George Carlin speaking on Education, Politicians, Tyranny, Assholes, and the American Dream.

Originally posted Friday, November 10, 2006 .

—–
Funk

—-
Funk.  What does the word conjure up in your mind?  Chances are, you’re wrong.  You’re likely thinking some awful form of disco, or even worse, one of your favorite bands “funky” jam, maaaan.  Well, you’re wrong.  While I appreciate some good funky jams… they are funk-y.  Not funk.

I, am a funk snob.

Let me bring you all back to a time before my time.  There was a time where music was made by musicians.  When music was an art and required talent to create.  In the mid to late 1960s in America, black people were still frowned upon, and seen as second class citizens.  Now, today, this idea (to most rational humans) seems proposterous, but, trust me my droogies, this time existed.  Just mention black people around your grandparents and the chances are they refer to them as “colored” or some other derogatory term.

I digress.

In this time period, there was an urge to escalate music beyond the aspiring rock bands of the time, and even beyond the soul and Motown sound… these pioneers, we will refer to as O.G. Funkateers, created a style of music that revolutionized a culture, and at its peak, was the modern day equivalent of whatever drivle you see on the popular music charts now.  Funk took the world by storm.  The horns, the beats, the grooves, the people, THE LIVE SHOW.

Funk music.

Funk best can be recognized by its syncopated rhythms; fatty bass lines; razor-sharp rhythm guitars; chanted or hollered vocals often relating to socio-political struggles or absolute nonsense; strong, rhythm-oriented horn sections; prominent percussion; an upbeat attitude; African tones borrowed from old Afrobeat jams; and most importantly, danceability.  Funk music made people move.  Period.  If you listen to any of the music or watch the movies I recommend as true funk, you will soon understand what I mean.

Funk music in itself, to the untrained ear, is incredibly simple; while in reality the rhythms are much more complex than your average soul jam, but the structure remains simple, butt hats just it my friends.  The simplicity is what makes it groove, don’t you understand this?  The horns, the keys, the percussion, the groove, the beat, the total package… the simplicity is so complex… its beautiful.  Listen to some raw funk and you will know what I mean.  The simplist changes in the song actually MAKES the damn song.  This sounds horrible simplified, but its true.  Some of the best musicians of our time came from this period of music, and that’s not just biased opinion, you cannot argue the following musicians aren’t amazing at their craft:

-Maceo Parker
-Fred Wesley
-James Brown
-Eddie Hazel
-Jimi Hendrix
-Earth, Wind, and Fire
-Herbie Hancock
-Isaac Hayes
-Parliament
-The Nevelles
-Kool and the Gang

Look, these are just a few… and by all means they are not the be all end all funk music… I’m just stating them so you can see what’s happening here. If you have half a clue of modern music, you will see where they get their inspirations/samples from… Funk.  Period.  Fucking funk.  And true, raw, uncut, nasty, O.G. funk is being lost.  I play some raw funk for some people and it often goes along this line…