Art Bell was taken off INDIE 104. All of his shows for download have been deleted… with it all being over, I decided to end my Sirius XM Service.
If only it was just that easy..
First off.. I promised myself years ago to never sign up for satellite radio–then Art decided to host and I broke my terrestrial radio self-commandment.
After spending over a half hour on the phone, fighting about hidden fees and little early cancellation costs, I will command myself again: NEVER SIGN UP FOR PAY RADIO. I get that companies want to make money.. and I understand I am canceling before my ‘one year of service.’ And now they know that they have one of the worst companies ever–at least in terms of canceling service–that I have ever dealt with…
Here is the kicker that put me over the edge.. I was asked for an explanation on why I was quitting. I explained the obvious, very calm… The nice woman from somewhere on this planet asked if she wanted me to find shows similar to Dark Matter if it would help keep my service. I said sure, be my guest.
Six minutes later she came back and asked if I listen to music–obviously her search ended up in a Black Hole. She put me on hold again.. when she came back, she said she wanted me to understand that me quitting is not her company’s fault, but that is was “Clyde Lewis’ own decision to end Ground Zero.”
I was floored.
First off, I explained, Clyde Lewis didn’t host DARK MATTER, and I further explained that there was a separate issue which forced Ground Zero off of satellite radio .. She was legitimately confused as to what I was saying. I mean, if you’re going to spout Jess-written talking points, at least don’t get them confused with each other.
This also tells me some folks have been ending their service since Clyde Lewis is gone, too…
At a certain point, after my early fees and fees and fees and hidden fees and pretend costs, I ended up with $111.11 back–ironic since it was 11/11 that Art’s shows had all been taken off of Sirius. BUT THEN she told me an extra $12 had to come off for some other reason…. I didn’t even fight at this point. I just wanted my money back.. and they have it, and I want it.
And finally.. the final bombed dropped when I ended the call. She said, “thank you, and you should see your money in 10 to 15 business days.”
WHAT!?
Click. On her end.
I better get this money back.
I really better..
MONDAY NOVEMBER 11 2013
In 1919, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed today Armistice Day. After a few more ‘wars to end all wars,’ Congress changed Armistice to Veterans Day in 1954.. Since then, every November 11, we have stopped to memorialize veterans who are still living..
There is also some confusion, though, as many today have vigils and ceremonies for the dead .. however today is the day to thank and honor the living.
Thank you Veterans for service.. thank you for your sacrifice.. There is so much gratitude owed to you, it can never be completely fulfilled. The world is a better place because of your actions, and the United States is a better nation because of your honor..
The Veterans Day (and more) news roundup is as follows..
Sexual assaults in the military up 48%..
The Philippines turns into hell on earth.. Some reports have said that the survivors of Haiyan have been said to be walking like zombies across the destroyed landscape, in search of food.. even more, food water, and medical supplies are dangerously short.
Reports claim that the destruction in the Philippines from Haiyan is ‘absolute bedlam’.. Red Cross workers are describing the horrendous scene on the ground that they are seeing.. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced and one town of 40,000 people is called Guiuan is said to be largely destroyed.. Even more alarming, the BBC reports that the city of Baco n the Oriental Mindoro province is 80% under water.. that town has 35,000 people in it. I believe with numbers as harrowing as that, the death toll may rise substantially higher than 10,000..
We do know this: Body bags being rushed in.
There are some attempts for rescue victims from the storm still taking place.. Fear and starvation in the Philippines as food mobs are already attacking aid trucks..
The troubling situation with Haiyan is not over. There is Midweek trouble brewing for the Philppines as a new tropical system gets organized..
An expert debunks YouTube video that purports a microwave beam made Haiyan stronger.. It was none other than “Dutch Sinse” .. and he took to Facebook to defend his accusation of a manmade weather system..
Here is the Dutchsinse video in question..
* * * * *
Remember to keep nothing unholy or holy on the non Sabbath day: Mega churches popping up throughout the nation to celebrate nothing? “Atheist mega churches” all over..
When you’re downtown!!!! Seattle network spies on everyone..
Pope Francis embraces man who is severely disfigured.. The image is touching, and it’s being shown throughout the world today.. The man suffers from neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors and pain.. Pope Francis showing the world what it means to be a true religious leader..
Secretary of State John Kerry expresses doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone!
VIDEO OF NBC INTERVIEW .. Some fascinating questioning by Tom Brokaw and even more fascinating answers from Kerry…
WASHINGTON POST: Presidents of the United States are gradually becoming more narcissistic
The Grand Canyon to be flooded for five days to create beaches for campers and remove sediment..
The satellite fell. And no damage occurred.
The US Postal Service will deliver Amazon packages on Sundays..
Bieber really has a fever: He gets kicked out of his hotel and now contracts food poisoning! Well he makes us sick so it’s that fateful Karma that made this happen, too..
MORE MILEY: She covers herself in metallic silver.
THOR surprises: THE DARK WORLD hammers the box office and gets more than expected ..
A study concludes that today’s PG-13 movies are more violent than the 1980s’ R rated flicks..
Gun violence in movies surges..
Ever since Art Bell quit DARK MATTER on Sirius XM, fans on Bellgab.com have taken to the popular message board to express their frustration with the sudden move..
Tonight, Bell expressed some frustration back..
After hundreds of pages of the thread, the now former radio show host wrote this in a response to someone asking him for information:
Thanks for asking, I am fine. Nothing much to say that I have not already said but good evening! However I will repeat, people here have no idea the intense talks that were going on from about 3 days after the show started about the stream drops, I do understand however how it seemed abrupt to the listener. Also, the deal we tried to make on Wed, two days after the show stopped was a very good one and after saying they took it very seriously they stopped communicating. I will say again, I think something else is going on. For those above who listened and did not like the show anyway, it should not even be a issue worth talking about unless you just like seeing a message from yourself.
A few more posts later, Bell unleashed regarding Sirius XM:
People keep saying “why don’t you try and work it out with Sirius/XM” We have been trying to do that from three days after the show started, we had confrence call after confrence call with them trying to get it worked out, there was a lot of talk but no fix. We told them the base was leaving and this would effect our partnership if something was not done. At about the six Week mark after most who had tried the free 30 day trial had given up and left MAINLY because of the drop outs we asked for a remedy as in a Year of streaming OR until the problem was fixed, it ended when they said NO. 48 Hours after that we made a offer to work with no pay and let Sirius/XM have the show exclusivly while we streamed from the Web Site, they said they would consider that and have not responded to phone calls, email’s or texting since. How is that NOT working with them?
The HORROR REPORT has been told that the ‘typical’ means of communication have taken place .. Camp Bell proposed the idea last week of broadcasting DARK MATTER live on ArtBell.com, while Sirius would have maintained exclusive rights to the program.. Bell and others, including his producer and friend Paul Bowman, said that Sirius XM were considering the offer as recently as last Wednesday..
While there has been no official response from the satellite radio company, they also took mentions of Bell off of their website and removed his program from this upcoming weekly lineup..
I am not crazy about the way some things have been handled, they canned Paul without so much as a Human voice doing the job and he had been trying to get a handle on the streaming mess every day. Now they take the tactic of simply not responding in any way to ALL forms of communication the modern World has. At least I spoke to them like people in a normal business relationship. I am telling you there is something else in the works.
Bell continued in further posts trying to provoke users to express anger and questions at Sirius XM instead of him.. The bizarre situation even has the likes of Richard C. Hoagland commenting on the entire affair..
As of Sunday night, the DARK MATTER program remains, overall, a mystery.. Clear reading of tea leaves may suggest that Bell no longer has a home on Sirius XM, but without a definite answer being given to the host of the program, Producer Bowman, or webmaster Keith Rowland, time will tell–and tell soon. Monday night at 10pm EDT.. will DARK MATTER air, or will Jay Thomas be repeated?
Answers soon.. the drama will soon have an answer..
