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shadowkatFeeling much better - this "Neti-Pot" thing really works. Although not the most pleasant thing in the universe. Have you ever heard of it? I haven't. What you do is fill this tiny plastic tea pot with a packet of saline solution and water - then pour the water in your right nostril while breathing through your mouth - and it flows out your left nostril - effectively clearing you sinus cavity. Fascinating.
Learned what a "pocket track" is today. Which is a good thing, considering that's my new project. What's a pocket track? Well, it's basically the equivalent of a "u-turn" on a railroad track or at least that's my nickname for it. They call it a signal switch, which enables a train that has been speeding east to switch tracks and directions, and go west. This provides more trains, more frequency of trains, and better travel time. For example say you take the train from New York to DC. But the train you take has to come all the way from Boston. So, you have to wait for the Boston train. A pocket track would enable a train to arrive that just goes from New York to DC and back again. No waiting for that Boston train, which by the time it reaches you is probably crowded. Nifty eh? Also incredibly expensive and complicated to create. You have to have the right amount of feet and yardage between tracks, number of cars, etc. I love learning new things. Although giving you a little insight into that - and the fact that I have to read engineering language - which from my perspective is not all that different from reading stereo instructions - may explain my taste in tv shows and books or maybe not. My taste is so incredibly eclectic and all over the place, I defy you to figure it out. Not that I can necessarily figure out anyone else's.
The Wire episode 9 - Game Day.
Not a bad episode. A bit slow in places. Bubbles storyline feels a bit cliche and predictable to me, but that's mainly because I've watched one too many down on their luck drug addict movies, tv shows, and after-school specials in my lifetime. It was a rather popular trope in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly during the whole Regan era's Just Say No to Drugs push. The fact that I've actually known drug-addicts, and share the elevator with them every single day at work (they populate the fifth floor of my building along with a lot of other people I won't mention - one gets used to it after a while) probably doesn't help.
My favorite part of the story is the cops. I find how they are diligently working to solve this case, and trap the bad guy - fascinating. Also, I rather like them. This rag-tag team of cops diligently trying to fight an impossible battle.
I also rather like Omar. Omar's tale is interesting. He's trying to take down Avon Barksdale all by his lonesome. Can't help but root for him - even though it's bound to screw up the cops operation. Rather funny scene with Omar making a deal with Avon's competitor. Avon's competitor - the guy who runs the West Baltimore Projects and won the big Basketball tournament against Avon, as well as a bet - tells Omar, let me get this straight - you are giving me Avon's stash for free, asking for info on where to find Avon so you can take him out, and I won a bet against him ? I'm thinking this is not Avon's Day. (Me: No, it's really not. Considering what the cops have been doing).
I love the little details in this show often better than the big stuff - like the scene with D'Angelo's girlfriend talking to Lester about his toy furniture. Or D'Angelo's scene with her later, which is a great parallel to D'Angelo's earlier scene with Wallace. (Wallace by the way is the guy who is now playing Vince Howard on Friday Night Lights - another great dramatic series along the same lines as the Wire (except about high school Football in West Texas) but also heightened reality. If you haven't seen it and you like the Wire, it's worth a look-see, takes a while to get into. And the second season is weak...but after that, rather good.) Also Daniels chasing Avon around after the Game is rather fun. One of the best bits is the exchange between the two buddy cops regarding the stash they've taken. Baseball Cap cop considers taking a bit off the top, his partner explains how it's clever except, the guys listening to the Wire know exactly how much is in the stash. This gets proven true, when they accidentally lose two thousand of it. And get called on it by Daniels. Non-baseball cap guy glares at his partner. Next scene - they are frantically searching the vehicle they impounded and retrieved it from. They find it - but wonder if Daniels will believe them.
Those bits are golden.
You know,( or rather you don't know - for how would you know? What a silly phrase that is - or at least it is in that context. How in the heck do people who don't speak English as a first language, translate that?) Anyhow, I was thinking about why people watch the tv shows or read the books they do. We do both for different reasons, depending on our mood or at least I do. Kidbro for example has no patience for pure pleasure reading, he wants informational books, non-fiction, or better literature - he struggles with reading, so he figures it might as well count. Me? I've read everything, but since I read a lot of difficult and dry stuff at work, and write it, I prefer lighter fare for enjoyment. Granted my lighter fare may seem a bit bizarre to some - considering lately I've been on a sci-fantasy/horror pulp novel kick, with frequent forays into YA sci-fantasy fiction. But that's only because I wore out the mystery novel, romance novel, spy thriller, suspense thriller, and chick-lit genres some time ago. I veer away from non-fiction, and "literature" because a)that feels like work, people, and b)it puts me to sleep, and c)I don't have to any more. But when I was unemployed and bored out of my mind or working in boring jobs that didn't use my brain? I ate that stuff up like candy. TV shows are more or less the same way.
The Wire is a lot of work. I can only do an episode a night during the week. And I can't be too tired or brain dead from work or anything else - or I won't be able to follow it. That's not to say it isn't really good or I'm not enjoying it. I am. Just that it requires a bit of work to watch. You can't just sit back and veg or go along for the ride. I spend a lot of time rewinding to catch bits that I've missed. I'll think - wait, what did I just miss there, and rewind. Casual television viewing it's not. Which is fine and well if you don't have a mentally tough or intellectually challenging occupation that wears out the old brain. Not everyone does, or not all the time. Work being what it is.
Remember having this discussion with some dude named redactor on a Buffy fan board several years back, who explained to me that he was not enjoying S6 Buffy because a)it was depressing, b)it wasn't fun, c) it required too much work. He just wanted to be entertained. He was watching it for pure
fun, not taking it all that seriously. Heck, it was just a tv show after all. He's not wrong.
At the time = I was arguing the opposite, but I was also bored out of my mind and depressed.
Now, I can sort of see his point. That's the fun thing about life, sooner or later you will find yourself on the opposite side of the argument or equation, and when you do, it can be well, an interesting education in perspective.
Learned what a "pocket track" is today. Which is a good thing, considering that's my new project. What's a pocket track? Well, it's basically the equivalent of a "u-turn" on a railroad track or at least that's my nickname for it. They call it a signal switch, which enables a train that has been speeding east to switch tracks and directions, and go west. This provides more trains, more frequency of trains, and better travel time. For example say you take the train from New York to DC. But the train you take has to come all the way from Boston. So, you have to wait for the Boston train. A pocket track would enable a train to arrive that just goes from New York to DC and back again. No waiting for that Boston train, which by the time it reaches you is probably crowded. Nifty eh? Also incredibly expensive and complicated to create. You have to have the right amount of feet and yardage between tracks, number of cars, etc. I love learning new things. Although giving you a little insight into that - and the fact that I have to read engineering language - which from my perspective is not all that different from reading stereo instructions - may explain my taste in tv shows and books or maybe not. My taste is so incredibly eclectic and all over the place, I defy you to figure it out. Not that I can necessarily figure out anyone else's.
The Wire episode 9 - Game Day.
Not a bad episode. A bit slow in places. Bubbles storyline feels a bit cliche and predictable to me, but that's mainly because I've watched one too many down on their luck drug addict movies, tv shows, and after-school specials in my lifetime. It was a rather popular trope in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly during the whole Regan era's Just Say No to Drugs push. The fact that I've actually known drug-addicts, and share the elevator with them every single day at work (they populate the fifth floor of my building along with a lot of other people I won't mention - one gets used to it after a while) probably doesn't help.
My favorite part of the story is the cops. I find how they are diligently working to solve this case, and trap the bad guy - fascinating. Also, I rather like them. This rag-tag team of cops diligently trying to fight an impossible battle.
I also rather like Omar. Omar's tale is interesting. He's trying to take down Avon Barksdale all by his lonesome. Can't help but root for him - even though it's bound to screw up the cops operation. Rather funny scene with Omar making a deal with Avon's competitor. Avon's competitor - the guy who runs the West Baltimore Projects and won the big Basketball tournament against Avon, as well as a bet - tells Omar, let me get this straight - you are giving me Avon's stash for free, asking for info on where to find Avon so you can take him out, and I won a bet against him ? I'm thinking this is not Avon's Day. (Me: No, it's really not. Considering what the cops have been doing).
I love the little details in this show often better than the big stuff - like the scene with D'Angelo's girlfriend talking to Lester about his toy furniture. Or D'Angelo's scene with her later, which is a great parallel to D'Angelo's earlier scene with Wallace. (Wallace by the way is the guy who is now playing Vince Howard on Friday Night Lights - another great dramatic series along the same lines as the Wire (except about high school Football in West Texas) but also heightened reality. If you haven't seen it and you like the Wire, it's worth a look-see, takes a while to get into. And the second season is weak...but after that, rather good.) Also Daniels chasing Avon around after the Game is rather fun. One of the best bits is the exchange between the two buddy cops regarding the stash they've taken. Baseball Cap cop considers taking a bit off the top, his partner explains how it's clever except, the guys listening to the Wire know exactly how much is in the stash. This gets proven true, when they accidentally lose two thousand of it. And get called on it by Daniels. Non-baseball cap guy glares at his partner. Next scene - they are frantically searching the vehicle they impounded and retrieved it from. They find it - but wonder if Daniels will believe them.
Those bits are golden.
You know,( or rather you don't know - for how would you know? What a silly phrase that is - or at least it is in that context. How in the heck do people who don't speak English as a first language, translate that?) Anyhow, I was thinking about why people watch the tv shows or read the books they do. We do both for different reasons, depending on our mood or at least I do. Kidbro for example has no patience for pure pleasure reading, he wants informational books, non-fiction, or better literature - he struggles with reading, so he figures it might as well count. Me? I've read everything, but since I read a lot of difficult and dry stuff at work, and write it, I prefer lighter fare for enjoyment. Granted my lighter fare may seem a bit bizarre to some - considering lately I've been on a sci-fantasy/horror pulp novel kick, with frequent forays into YA sci-fantasy fiction. But that's only because I wore out the mystery novel, romance novel, spy thriller, suspense thriller, and chick-lit genres some time ago. I veer away from non-fiction, and "literature" because a)that feels like work, people, and b)it puts me to sleep, and c)I don't have to any more. But when I was unemployed and bored out of my mind or working in boring jobs that didn't use my brain? I ate that stuff up like candy. TV shows are more or less the same way.
The Wire is a lot of work. I can only do an episode a night during the week. And I can't be too tired or brain dead from work or anything else - or I won't be able to follow it. That's not to say it isn't really good or I'm not enjoying it. I am. Just that it requires a bit of work to watch. You can't just sit back and veg or go along for the ride. I spend a lot of time rewinding to catch bits that I've missed. I'll think - wait, what did I just miss there, and rewind. Casual television viewing it's not. Which is fine and well if you don't have a mentally tough or intellectually challenging occupation that wears out the old brain. Not everyone does, or not all the time. Work being what it is.
Remember having this discussion with some dude named redactor on a Buffy fan board several years back, who explained to me that he was not enjoying S6 Buffy because a)it was depressing, b)it wasn't fun, c) it required too much work. He just wanted to be entertained. He was watching it for pure
fun, not taking it all that seriously. Heck, it was just a tv show after all. He's not wrong.
At the time = I was arguing the opposite, but I was also bored out of my mind and depressed.
Now, I can sort of see his point. That's the fun thing about life, sooner or later you will find yourself on the opposite side of the argument or equation, and when you do, it can be well, an interesting education in perspective.
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 02:32 pm (UTC)As for for Bubbles...the thing about Bubbles is that you're in a 5-year arc now for this character. He starts off kind of "after-school special" (a fair cop), but it he really doesn't end this way.
I kind of love Prop Joe because he's so...so...old school. There's a key scene for his character either this season or next which pretty much sums up why he does things the way he does.
*uses Homicide icon because I don't have a Wire one*
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 04:05 pm (UTC)then the politicians, then the schools, then the newspapers.
But this sounds more like Homicide Life on the Streets, Friday Night Lights or Game of Thrones - in that you have core characters, and as you move forward you add new ones, but you still get to see the old ones through to their arc?
Don't spoil me on Herc and Carver - they are growing on me. They started out as sort of the cliche dumb cops who beat up perps, but they've become really interesting in the last three episodes.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 04:22 pm (UTC)then the politicians, then the schools, then the newspapers.
The focus of the story changes with each season and new characters are introduced, but the old characters never go away either. It's like a huge tapestry with new threads constantly being added.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 04:34 pm (UTC)Rather like shows like that...they require more attention and work than most tv shows, but in the end they are far more rewarding and stick with me longer.
Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 04:44 pm (UTC)The initial arcs run all through the series (though obviously not all characters make it to the end alive). It just keeps getting more complex with every season.
There's a hint of that happening in Episode 9, when Lester tells Daniels that when you follow the drugs you find drug dealers and addicts, when you follow the money...the sky's the limit, you have no idea what you might uncover. "And I know you don't want to hear this - but that's what we have to do, that's the important stuff - what lies behind all of it."
I'm guessing the arc is following all the sectors of society that are influenced by drug money and the degree it has funded the city's infrastructure.
That's quite realistic actually and fascinating.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 05:50 pm (UTC)