Off-Day Guide: August 22

First: a rant. Having moved to Seattle this month, I had to contact Comcast to get my cable and internet set up. I ordered my service on August 5, and today (hopefully), I will finally have my cable and internet set up, following 2 SEPARATE incidents in which Comcast failed to notify my that something was wrong with my order. Only when I contacted support myself did I find out about these snags. If I hadn't taken the trouble to contact them, I would probably still be in the dark.

Hey Comcast, it makes NO SENSE whatsoever that you would fail to follow up with a guy WHO WANTS TO GIVE YOU MONEY EVERY MONTH for cable and internet.

On top of that, when you call Comcast's 800 number and navigate the phone tree so that you can speak to a live person, their phone system usually hangs up on you. I am not the only person who has noticed it. This proves my theory on corporate customer service: If you have to produce and air TV ads touting your commitment to customer service, then your support team probably blows.

The saddest part? Because I can't live without college football, and don't care to try my hand at navigating another media company with poor customer service (DirecTV), I am stuck with Comcast. America: the leader in world capitalism that also props up some of the least efficient government-supported monopolies in the history of mankind.
Rant over. At least I don't have to watch the Marlins tonight, amirite?!?!

8:00 (ESPN): Monday Night Football, Bears at Giants. Fake football, real concussions.
8:00 (ESPN): Little League World Series. If you really need to watch baseball tonight, this will have to do. If you don't feel icky about ESPN making money off the dreams of children and their helicopter parents, that is...
9:00 (Travel): Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Bourdain goes to the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Turkey. This has to be his most dangerous trip yet, no?
9:00 (Comedy Central): It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Four episodes, including the sublime "The Gang Hits the Road."

Book rec: I went to Portland this weekend, and it goes without saying I visited Powell's Books (or as nerds like me call it, church). Among my haul was a copy of Michael Lewis' seminal Liar's Poker, a wonderful look inside the world of Wall Street bond traders. As with all his other work, it is an engrossing read full of great stories and sharp insights.

Culture: I saw 30 Minutes or Less yesterday. It is a fantastic caper/buddy comedy, well acted and sharply written. Jesse Eisenberg is the only star of the movie that is not a comedian, but he is regardless a skilled comic actor who holds his own alongside Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, and Danny McBride. Definitely worth your time.