What Comets, Stars, and Moons are all about

MUSIC: Cooper Temple Clause “Let’s Kill Music”
I’m good friends with Amoxocilin. Every year around this time we are introduced again. Damn, chronic bronchitis. So I’m on antibiotics. That’s good though, hopefully, they will start to take affect today so I can go to Boston over the weekend.
It looks like AOL-Time Warner is in it deep. Good. That makes me happy. I’m not an economist, but when I first heard about AOL and Time Warner merging many moons ago, it just sounded like such a bad idea. Not only because Time Warner was already too big, but also because I knew AOL was going to slowly lose customers. At the time, AOL was one of the few reliable internet providers. Now there are so many more…and so many more that are cheaper. I use NetZero…$9.99 a month. I don’t need all of those extra features that AOL provides, just a gateway into this wild world web. Plus, you don’t need AOL to actually use AOL messenger, so why pay for it. Also, AOL is going to keep losing customers until they provide some kind of high-speed internet service. If I ran the cable bill in my house, I would easily ditch this dial-up for a cable modem. I did have AOL for awhile, although I never used it.  I kept getting stuck with it even if I tried to cancel it. The customer service rep on the other line would always offer me three months of free AOL. I think last year I paid for one month, the rest were free. Finally, I said no more, so when they offered the free service, I said…nope…I want it off my computer all together. When the C.S.R. asked why, I decided to be honest and divulge my passions.
“I don’t want AOL until Steve Case steps down and AOL-Time Warner breaks up.”
“Excuse me?” The rep said. I couldn’t believe I was the only person who had ever canceled AOL for this reason!
“AOL-TW is just too big. It’s unhealthy for culture. One company having it’s hands in so many pots just waters down society and makes us all the same,” I replied, hoping that the rep on the other side of my line would spread my message all the way to the top. Instead he asked me these three questions:
“Do you watch TV? Do you go to the movies? Do you listen to music?”
To all of which I had to reply, “Yes.” I knew full well what his response to my saying “yes” was going to be.
“Well, chances are our company had some part of creating those products.” -At this point…sadness enters my soul that he didn’t hear a single word.
“That’s exactly my point! And how many intelligent projects has Time Warner snuffed out because it was too risky.”
(If you think carrying the Flaming Lips and Built To Spill  on your record label (as they are both on Time Warner) is risky, I implore you to look at the record sales for those two bands.  No risk.)
“I’m sorry, sir. Bare with me. I can’t quite figure out why you would want to discontinue our service. What should I write?”
Frustrated, I simply replied, “Write that I discontinued because I hate Steve Case.”
I guess that is what he did.  Although, I didn’t receive a phone call from AOL after Steve Case stepped down inviting me back; “Hey! Thanks to your input, we encouraged Steve to step down, come on back to our warm and fuzzy corporate arms.”
Well, cheers!  Here’s to the eventual crumbling of Time-Warner and hopefully the end of the world being ruled by five megacorporations. In ten years time, if we are lucky, all of these mega-entertainment companies will break up resulting in more outlets for artists of all kinds.