Charles Harrington Elster

I called AT&T this morning to make some changes to my account. Predictably, I first had to endure several minutes of inane "conversation" with an inanimate voice, answering pointless questions until the voice was satisfied that it could not and would never understand me. Then I had to wait on hold for several more minutes (during which I hurled invective at AT&T concerning the stupidity and cruelty of recorded customer service) until an actual person finally came on the line and — also predictably — said, "Can I get your phone number?" (more…)

The more that public broadcasting becomes infested with corporate advertising — "brought to you by . . . and by . . . and by" ad nauseam -- the murkier, cheesier, and more nauseating the language of the ads becomes. This morning's emetic batch of corporate commercials on San Diego's schnorrer public radio station, KPBS-FM, included some insipid fluff for Vanguard mutual funds that ended with the words to help you control your financial destiny. Does anything about that phrase strike you as incongruous? (more…)