It Pays To Speak Your Mind

This is an actual email I sent to the Cap'n Crunch division of Quaker Foods.

Cap'n Crunch is the greatest cereal of all time. When I die, I want to be buried in a bowl of Cap'n Crunch. Coincidentally, I enjoy spending some of the time that I am alive also buried in a bowl of Cap'n Crunch. I've loved your cereal since I was a kid. The only way I thought it could be better is if it were chocolate. And BAM! there it was. And then you took it away. I need it back. Why is it every time I love something it gets taken away? Well, not this time. I plan on writing you at least once a week until you give me my cereal back, or at least put me in touch with some shady character I can get to fleece me some off the black market. I'm jonesing over here! C'mon, Man! Bring back the Choco Crunch! At least tell me why you sold me out!

And this is the response.

Eric:

Thank you for letting us know how important Cap'n Crunch's Choco Crunch has been to you. Your feedback is vitally important to us.

We introduced this product as a limited time offer. As you can see by the many different Cap'n Crunch products we come out with, we try to provide interesting new types of cereals for our consumers to enjoy. Sadly, most stores have limited shelf space, so we sometimes offer products for a limited time to give consumers a chance to try more new products.

That said, we do understand how important this product is to you. I will certainly let our marketing teams know you want this product to be a regular offering. We're grateful for your suggestion, as your feedback helps us determine future products to offer.

I did a search for this product online, and found it available on www.amazon.com. The price might be a little daunting, but since you're obviously so devoted, thought it only appropriate to mention it to you.

Now before you send us another email next week, please understand that I have done my best to convey how much you enjoy this product to our marketing teams. While emailing us a few more times might seem like an effective way to bring the product back, it doesn't provide our marketing team with more data we can use to make such a decision.

Since you're such a fan of Cap'n Crunch, I do want to send you a small gift for your loyalty. Look for it to arrive in your mailbox in about a week.

We value you as a consumer, Eric. It's obvious that you're passionate about Cap'n Crunch, and we hope that you'll find that you enjoy the products we come out with in the future just as much as you enjoyed Cap'n Crunch's Choco Crunch.

Dan
Quaker Consumer Relations
Ref# 027198291A

This may be the greatest email I've ever received. We all had a good laugh, and I get something free. See, it pays to be passionate. It's obvious Cap'n Crunch loves their customers, which means they just made a friend. Now, Ima see how much more free stuff I can get.

ACL Wishlist

OK, the lineup for one of the best North American music festivals (and the one I will be attending this year) is coming out Tuesday. I went to Austin City Limits back in 2008, but was on vacation last year, so I didn't get to go (I did, however, get to see The Killers in Miami . . . so, you know). In light of the fact that the lineup comes out soon, I am going to list some bands that I would like to see there this October. Some of them won't happen, but I think some of them will. For example, Muse is already supposedly signed on to close it out Sunday night (October 10). I'm going to reminisce about 2008, though, before I move on to 2010.

First of all, let me say that there is nothing like a live show. And if you can't put on a good show, I am going to stop buying your records, because I just lost all respect for you. Conversely, if you put on a good show and I don't know you, I may buy your records just because you put on such a good show, even though I don't really care that much for your music (i.e., Gogol Bordello). With that in mind, let me go over the highlights and lowlights for me at ACL 2008.

1. The Raconteurs
HIGHLIGHT: Finally seeing Jack White. And I do like The Raconteurs as his best project. I hope he's working on something with them, because this whole Dead Weather thing is not my favorite. Not bad, but I sure do like The Raconteurs.
LOWLIGHT: They didn't sing "Salute Your Solution" due to Jack having a bulging disc. I held a pretty tough grudge against him for that, until I just spent a month in bed due to a bulging disc in my back. All is forgiven.

2. Foo Fighters
HIGHLIGHT: Uh . . . it's Dave Grohl. And Foo Fighters are amazing live.
LOWLIGHT: N/A

3. David Byrne
HIGHLIGHT: I love Talking Heads. I love David Byrne. I have been a fan for a long time, since I was about 12? Really? He's been around that long? He did "Once in a Lifetime" and "Life During Wartime." Is there a lowlight? I submit that there is not.
LOWLIGHT: I didn't get to meet him.

4. Vampire Weekend
HIGHLIGHT: I had never listened to them before I saw them in concert. They sound really good and are a lot of fun.
LOWLIGHT: Pretty sure Ezra Koenig wasn't saying "Do you want some fudge?"

5. Gogol Bordello
HIGHLIGHT: Their live show is full of so much energy. I would recommend seeing them at some point, even if you don't like their music.
LOWLIGHT: I'm not a fan of their music.

Other highlights: Beck was a pleasant surprise, as was What Made Milwaukee Famous. Mars Volta, The Black Keys and MGMT were just aiight for me personally, but I'm glad I saw them. John Fogerty was ok. Against Me! was good, but I had to leave early to get up close for The Raconteurs at another stage. Getting to rest and watch football in the big tent was a plus as well.

Other lowlights: Bands I now love that I didn't see include: Silversun Pickups, Yeasayer, Hot Chip and The Fratellis. And I wish I hadn't seen Plant and Krause. Ugh. They were terrible. Sorry, but it's a fact. I wish I had seen Gnarls Barkley, but I had a choice to make, and I chose Jack White.

This year, I won't make the same mistake. I am going to go see as many bands as I can. I am much more open-minded now than I was then. Here's who I want to see at ACL this year. Some of them will happen, some probably won't. But if I could pick the bands I want to see, these would be the ones. By the way, I've bolded the ones that I think will actually happen, either because they are already confirmed, rumored or have a new CD coming out in 2010.

Muse
Temper Trap
Ra Ra Riot
Cold War Kids
Hockey
Phoenix
Passion Pit
Wolf Parade
Silversun Pickups
Hot Chip
The Fratellis
The Morning Benders
Elvis Costello
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
The xx
The Hold Steady
Grizzly Bear
Yeasayer
The Kooks
The Pixies (or some form of Frank Black)
Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs (you have to watch this and read the highest rated comment below. Classic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRO5ZZuJGYI)
The Thermals
Green Day
The Arcade Fire
Broken Bells
The "She" in She & Him
REM (They have a new CD supposedly out in November. But will they commit this early? They do love Austin. I'm crossing my fingers. Please, ACL people. Make this happen.)

So who am I forgetting that you would like to see if you were going to ACL? What bands would you invite if you were running a music festival?

Working For The Weekend

Well, it's going on four weeks that I have been down with this back condition. In that time, I've seen an orthopedist and two chiropractors as well as receiving a lot of pity. I have been able to go back to church. I still can't sit comfortably though. In fact, it's a little worse today than yesterday. But this new chiro told me it would be probably. I've had some pain shooting down into my leg today that I haven't had this week. I'm hoping this is all part of the process of having me back in the driver's seat (literally) this weekend. I still can't go back to work, and that stinks to high heaven. I am able to walk a lot now, but I still can't even ride in a car comfortably. I hate this. But I'm trying to keep a positive outlook. I'm just ready for everything to start working again. Especially me.

In the meantime, I have been enjoying Blockbuster Online. We have been wearing it out. And I've gotten a chance to listen to some bands that are new to me. Of course, I missed the Phoenix concert. But at least Payton used the tickets and got me a T-shirt. I don't know how many of these bands are new, but they're new to me, and I like them a lot. If you get a chance to check them out, do so, if you haven't already.

The Temper Trap - I think they're on the verge of breaking out. Dude has an amazing voice.
Wolf Parade - Like their sound a lot. They've been around for a while. I'm just now getting on board.
Hockey - They haven't been out a while. But they have a lot of energy in their songs and seem very fun. I hope they come to ACL.
The Kooks - Yep, they sound like The Kinks. But that's actually a good thing.
Broken Bells - It's the lead singer of The Shins and somebody I don't know. Like it though. I hope this doesn't mean The Shins are over. Speaking of a band being over, Brandon Flowers of The Killers is releasing a solo CD soon. Yep, they're done.
The Morning Benders - They have a new one out. Listen to the song "Excuses" and try not to sing it all day. Can't be done.
But the best band I've heard recently is Cold War Kids. They've been around a few years. They have a couple CDs I'm going to have to listen to. But if you've never listened to them, I would suggest getting their EP they put out late last year. Listen to the song "Audience." Or better yet, just click the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O9rBQz5UAQ&feature=related) and watch them sing it live. Love dude's voice. I think they're gonna be big too. Heck, they may already be. I'm always the last to know.

And I've been watching movies, as I said. Lots and lots of movies. Let's take a look, shall we?

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Best movie I've seen in 2010. I watched last month and still have it. Thank goodness I don't have late fees. I like it because it's clever without being offensive. It's one of Chaney's favorite movies as well. She likes Ash, because he has a tube sock on his head. I like him because he thinks he's an athlete.
Dark Water - I just watched this last night. I love Jennifer Connelly. She's great, but I always forget about her when I think of my favorite actresses. She's definitely number 6 though. This movie was just aiight. I don't want to say it's predictable, but I figured it out after ten minutes. The ending has a bit of a twist though. It's worth watching. Jennifer Connelly is great.
Ocean's 11 - I love all the actors in this movie. It was good. Fun. Not great. I liked it. I would recommend it. I just wouldn't make it sound like it's the greatest movie ever made.
The House of Yes - I love Parker Posey. I wish she hadn't done this movie. Not good. But Parker Posey was great as always.
Extract - I like Mike Judge alright. This is nowhere near as funny as Office Space, but it's still pretty good. I like Jason Bateman. And I have to admit that Ben Affleck made me laugh in this movie. But it's a pretty good story. Not many laugh out loud moments, but worth a peek if you're in bed for a month.
Henry Poole Is Here - Loved it. Cheryl Hines is in it too. I wish she was in more. She's the only redeeming factor in that stupid Robin Williams movie I can't remember the name of (and the only reason I watched it). It gets a little cheesy perhaps. But it's well done, and the cast is really good.

I know there are more. I just can't think of them. But I do have quite a few coming - Safe Men, Sherlock Holmes, Ocean's 12 & 13, Caddyshack, Memento, The Fourth Kind, a host of scary movies and then I'm going on a Wes Anderson fest. Why not? I'll give him another chance. He aced Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Meanwhile, it doesn't look like I'll be catching Iron Man 2 this weekend. I just hope I'm driving. Now that I think of it, this might be a good time to start watching Lost. I have some time.