CPTV, You Suck!

Brace yourselves. I created a video entry. Ugh.

I hate how I sound on video, not to mention how I look. But I figured why not try out this fancy computer & see what I could whip up.

What Year Is It Again?

What an auspicious debut for the Mets. They show little heart in falling to the Phillies (AGAIN), ruining the final opening day at Shea Stadium.

Even though they were 2-3 after the debacle in Atlanta over the weekend, I still had no worries. The Mets started 2-3 in 1969, 1986 & 2000, all pretty good years. In '86, they even beat the same Phillies to improve to 3-3. Well, that obviously didn't happen.

I understand it's a tad too early to be jumping off the bridge. However, the signs aren't too promising. This team (& more specifically, the bullpen) look too much like last year's house of cards team. Yikes.

------

In other news, it was great to see Red Sox fans give Bill Buckner a fantastic ovation today, as he threw out the first pitch at Fenway.

Yay, Opening Day!

The Mets continued their winning ways on Opening Day yesterday, defeating the Marlins at the home of the only undefeated NFL team ever.

Hopefully it was a good omen that as soon as I turned on the radio after leaving work yesterday, I heard the call of the double that drove in the first Mets run of the year.

Also, this year is the first year that I've received SNY. Every game, home & away, in HD. Oooo baby!

The Joy of March

Sure, UConn lost. (I'll post more on that in the coming days.) But the sting of their early loss (& AJ Price's injury) was more than made up for yesterday with West Virginia taking out Duke. Buh-bye.

It's "The Wire" Wednesday!

"From start to finish, The Wire has been one of the best series ever produced for American television, one in which the commitment to honesty and authenticity has never wavered. Despite that quality, its subject matter — nothing less than the failure of the world's most powerful nation to solve the fundamental problems of its urban centers — was never likely to pull in a mass, casual audience."

Too few were plugged in, but HBO's 'The Wire' was electric, USA Today

Also, here's two good podcasts to check out.

- Interview with David Simon

- Bill Simmons (ugh) & Jason Whitlock (yes) talk about "The Wire" for 55 minutes.

Tuesday With "The Wire"

Or, "sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

It was something my uncle used to do all the time. Growing up, he would do it five six seven times a day. You'd go, "Did you sleep well?" and he'd go, "Ah, sheeet, my head was on the pillow." I would every now and then just do it in conversations.

The Wire: The secret origin of Clay's catchphrase

Monday's "The Wire" Stuff

TV Guide interview with Tristan Wilds (Michael Lee):

TVGuide.com: Why doesn't The Wire get its due?
Wilds: The show is real enough to strike a chord in [everybody], and most of the time people don't want to see realness like that. Or maybe they think that it's fake TV and we're just being violent for no reason. What you see on the show is really happening, and not just in Baltimore. It's happening in a neighborhood two blocks down from where you live. People don't want to open their eyes to the truth.

TVGuide.com: What makes The Wire different from other cop shows?
Wilds: I don't want to say it's a cop show. What makes The Wire a beautiful story is how true to life it is. In other shows, you have a good guy and a bad guy. In The Wire, bad guys are trying to be good, good guys are doing bad. You have real life. The people who do bad get bad things done to them.

San Diego Union Tribune:

It was a harsh night on"The Wire" this week, and a beautiful one, too. Beautiful because it was so true and so human that it hurt. And when a television show can make you care the way "The Wire" makes us care, it is worth its weight in tears.

Slate Magazine:

Like the rest of you, I've been watching this story slowly crack open for several years now. It's been 59 hours of TV time; there's one more hour to go, and I can't wait for it. But for now, this hour, this episode, felt like a coming together. It was simply breathtaking -- the logical, perfect conclusion to all those hours, those years' of stories, at once exhilarating and devastating, just like you knew it would be.

I watched this on Tuesday, and it's haunted me in lonely moments ever since. I'm still a bit hopped up on it, so please forgive my sounding overwrought. The thing is, it wasn't just the plot developments that got me, though these were obviously huge: Marlo! Snoop! Namond! Kima! McNulty! Bubbs!

But there was also something more complex here, something more intricately beautiful. In describing "The Wire" to friends, we've all remarked upon on its novelistic properties. This episode felt like the climax of that novel. Every scene hangs on the subtext of years' of accumulated storylines; the story, now, is not just the script but also all that we've learned of these people's motivations, their impulses, their relationships, the constraints in which they operate. The story is the system, and now, finally, we're seeing the system in full.

Wow, Wow, Wow

Once again, wow, wow, wow.

We're now less than a week away from the season & series finale for The Wire.

Once again, this show has exceeded expectations. Tonight's episode was, like Alan said, the ultimate roller coaster ride. (Speaking of Alan, I'm glad there's no shortage of TV writers who actually know what they're doing out there.)

This show not only rewards you for paying attention early in the season, it calls back stuff that happened way back in Season 1.

There's no way I can write anything to give this show justice. There are plenty of people who can articulate their thoughts far better than I can heaping praise on The Wire out there. This week, I'll try & link to as many of those stories as possible.

These past two episodes have been unreal. First, dealing with the whole Omar thing. Tonight, there was far too much to even touch on here.

Thank goodness for DVDs, because this is something I will be re-watching many times.

One Reason Why I Hate Halo 3

The following represents one reason why I hate playing Halo 3.

This example seems to showcase how I'm always on the short end of random happenings in the game.

I'm very much aware of the fact that the main reason why stuff like this happens is my severe lack of skill. I'm horrible at this game. I could seriously challenge for worst player in the Halo 3 universe. I used to be decent, but now I can't even sniff a 1/1 kill/death ration. I don't know how Eric & Chang put up with me, as I severely hinder any chances of them winning a match. (I think they're mathematically challenged since they argue with me when I explain to them how I only have a negative impact on our team.)

I know you're wondering why I bother playing if I hate it so much. I play because I like playing with Chang & Eric. All my other cronies have moved on to Call of Duty 4, but I will play Halo 3 occasionally out of loyalty to my friends. I used to get extremely aggravated by my horrid play, but I've changed my mindset to make it tolerable. Now I don't care about my kill to death ratio. In fact, I'm trying to lower it as much as possible. I might as well be the best, worst player, right?

Anyway, onto tonight's little issue:

This is me sneaking up on an unsuspecting opponent. Usually, a melee attack from behind results in an instant kill, which Halo 3 calls an assassination. The difference this time is that this guy doesn't die.


As you can see by the flames (I have no idea why there are flames), I made contact.


Not only does he not die, he apparently can levitate, hanging over the edge, before coming back to attack me.


See that electricity on my body, a la the Emperor? That's me taking damage. Notice that the shots coming from his gun aren't even close to hitting me.


Yup. That's me. Dead. "Respawn in 4...3...2...1..."

By the way, here's a link to my stats from the game where this took place. I went 6-22. Not bad!!

A Whole Lot of Nothin

Lots of stuff I want to throw up here, so here we go.

- Watching UConn host Depaul as I compose this. The Huskies are on a nice roll ever since the Dyson/Wiggins suspensions. Things will be quite interesting when Dyson returns next week. (By the way, how sweet are Depaul's unis? I would love to get my hands on a pair of those shorts.)

- If saying a prayer is your sort of thing, please do me a favor and say one for my cat Cosmo. Tomorrow he goes to the vet to have half of his tail amputated. He had been biting the tip of it pretty bad, saw the vet who covered it up & gave him some antibiotics (which he had a horrible reaction to) but it didn't heal properly and they want to amputate just in case there's cancer involved. He's my boy and I'll be a little on edge Wednesday thinking about him. :(

- Mary's away again, this time in Australia. At least this trip is only two weeks instead of three.

- Before she left, we went to NYC last Saturday to catch Lower Ninth, a play about two guys stranded on a roof in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The draw for me was two of the three actors in it. Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow from The Wire) & Gaius Charles (Smash Williams from Friday Night Lights). (The 3rd was James McDaniel from NYPD Blue.) All three actors were amazing and the location, the Flea Theater, was unique, to say the least. It seats about 50 people and you have to walk across the stage to get to your seats. It made for a great time. Those guys are pretty damn talented.

-
Yup, you read that right. My Dell laptop, which has served me well for almost five years now, is on its last legs. It's been continuously locking up & giving me the BSOD several times. I'm in the process of moving all my files to my external hard drive and just waiting for the next trip to the Apple Store. I've done a lot of research and have decided that the 20" iMac is everything I'll need. I'm looking forward to playing around with iLife and doing some cool things with photos and videos.

- Thanks to this story in the Hartford Courant yesterday, I discovered The Caldor Rainbow, a fantastic blog that documents the current fate of Caldor, Bradlees, Ames and other long forgotten retail giants of the Northeast. There's a ton of fascinating information buried there. I just wish there were some tags or some other form of organization. Great stuff though. Be prepared to waste some time there.

- Another interesting item I discovered yesterday was the story of Centralia, Pennsylvania. In short, it's a town that is basically deserted due to a fire underground that has been burning since the 1960's. There are a ton of eerie photos from this town.

- The Wire is down to it's final three episodes and I'm a little sad. There's talk of a prequel movie, which would be outstanding. To any of my friends who have not watched the show, my DVDs are making the rounds & I will be happy to let you borrow them to experience this masterpiece.

- Finally, Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Go Rudy!

Looks like I'm going to have to watch the dunk contest this year.

Top 20 Nintendo Entertainment System Games

Ah, the NES. This little 8-bit machine of wonder re-awakened my love of video games for good.

I first was introduced to the NES during the summer of 1987. My cousin Andrew had one at his cottage on Fishers Island. There must've been a bunch of rainy days that summer, since there's no way our parents would've let us stay inside all day playing video games. But play we did. Up in the attic, endless games of Baseball & Super Mario Brothers filled the air. It was fantastic.

That same November, my Dad & I spent Thanksgiving with the Burr's in New Jersey. Again, more Nintendo. This time Pro Wrestling worked it's way into the rotation. A month later, I received my own NES for Christmas.

I can still remember the games I received with it. Along with Super Mario Brothers & Duck Hunt, Rad Racer & 10-Yard Fight were under the tree. Soon after, Double Dribble joined the group. Over the next four years, many, many games were either borrowed, rented, bought or played with friends. I have fond memories of them all, but I'm especially fond of these 20.

The NES lives on strong today. Emulation (I can play NES games on my Sega Dreamcast), working original consoles (I have two), and the Virtual Console on the Wii (hopefully I'll have one of those soon) all allow a new generation of gamers to discover this classic. You can even play these games online. Just head to VirtualNES & jump right in!

On with the list. (Once again, these are my favorites, not a reflection on the best games ever)

HONORABLE MENTION: Super Mario Brothers 3, Rambo, Castlevania, Kung Fu, NES Play Action Football, Rad Racer, Rampage, 10-Yard Fight, Rygar, Super Dodge Ball, Rush'n Attack, RBI Baseball

(Click on the title for Youtube links. Great for remembering the fantastic sound effects & music.)

#20
Karnov


#19
RC Pro Am


#18
Golf


#17
Top Gun

Landing that plane is still difficult to this day.

#16
Major League Baseball

The appeal of this game was all MLB rosters. Unfortunately, there wasn't any player names, just numbers. Still, I swear #50 for the Mets was just as fat as Sid Fernandez.

#15
Bases Loaded

Joe Cuff & I had some great battles in this game. In fact, we videotaped one of our greatest games, which included a bench-clearing brawl & the ump calling me "a bum".

#14
Ice Hockey


#13
Blades of Steel


#12
Racket Attack


#11
Legend of Kage


#10
Baseball

Jerry loves this game & always kicked my butt.

#9
Tecmo Bowl/Super Tecmo Bowl


#8
Ikari Warriors


#7
Pro Wrestling


#6
Contra

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start.

#5
Double Dribbe

Ah, the Boston Frogs.

#4
Tetris

Please tell me I wasn't the only one to play this game so much that I started seeing Tetris pieces in real life and trying to figure out how they'll fit together.

#3
Legend of Zelda


#2
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out

007-373-9563. I've never forgotten the code to fight Mike Tyson.

#1
Super Mario Brothers

As much as I played this game, I was only able to rescue the Princess once. I still never made it to the Minus Worlds.

Top 20 Songs of the 80's

Compiled in one location for your convenience!

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

Perfect Timing

Sure, they only lost one game, but it was a big one. Great season nonetheless. If I had to pick a game for them to lose during the season, this would be the one.

I'm not going to revel in the outcome of the game out of respect to my friends. My friends were pretty classy throughout the year, but there were others I run into who weren't. For them, I will be wearing this several times this summer.

I'm still thrilled that the season is over. The only bad thing about this game is more airtime for Mercury Morris. Can someone please shut him up?

This, That & The Other

Just a few quick hits before going to bed & reading "The Corner".

- Yay. Tomorrow's the Super Bowl. Color me excited. I don't think I need to explain to everyone that I'll be rooting for the Giants. Unfortunately, I realize this is a futile effort. The Patriots are going to destroy them. As much as I'd like to envision the Giants pulling off a great upset (similar to the Pats over the Rams), it's just not going to happen.

The only Patriot I really can't stand is Rodney Harrison. He's a cheap-shot HGHer, who just rubs me the wrong way. Other than that, no one really bothers me. I like Wes Welker & Randy Moss and Tom Brady seems like a good guy. Belichick is a jerk, but whatever.

I'll be happy for my friends the Pats fans. Mike, Eric, Dean, Bryan. Those guys have been fans forever, so they were there when the Patriots were horrible. I can't say the same for the countless front-runners I encounter on a daily basis. They're the ones who ratchet up my hatred for all things Patriots. They wouldn't know Vincent Brisby from Vincent Price, Hugh Millen from Hugh Grant or Stanley Morgan from Morgan Stanley.

Here's hoping the recent news regarding the Patriots spying on other teams becomes a major headache for them & the NFL (Good job Roger Goddell destroying all those tapes!). Just as a disclaimer, the whole Spygate thing earlier this season didn't mean much to me. It's not like they weren't going to beat the Jets anyways & I never once thought an asterisk should be placed on this season. The arrogance from the organization bothered me more, but I didn't expect anything less. This news however is a little different. Videotaping your Super Bowl opponent's final practice before the game is pretty serious. Pats fans, this is where you respond with a) "everyone else does it, we just got caught", b) jealousy, c) witch hunt. :)

So congrats Mike & Bryan. The Patriots roll over the Giants, 55-10. It could be worse than that. Hopefully, we'll at least get to see a falling-over drunk Robert Kraft swear on TV as he receives the Lombardi Trophy.

- Here's a little bit of comedy for you. I apologize for the horrible quality, but Youtube blew the clip up too much. It looks better on a smaller size, but you'll get the general idea.

Two years ago, this guy used to sit in front of the seats I would sit in at UConn games. He would go nuts for the stupid free t-shirts, making wild hand gestures & yelling. I didn't see him at all last year, but today he sat right next to us. Good times!!! Here's a clip from 2006:

Top 20 Songs - 1989

So this ends my rankings of songs from the 1980s. What a decade. In 1980, I turned 7 & was in first grade. (Just like Payton!) By 1989, I was 16 and was a sophomore in high school. Those 10 years seemed like forever then. Nowadays, 10 years goes by in a blink of an eye. (Foxwoods will turn 16 next month!!!)

Onto the list...

HONORABLE MENTION: Cryin': Vixen, Girl You Know It's True: Milli Vanilli, Seventeen: Winger, Close My Eyes Forever: Lita Ford & Ozzy Osbourne, Patience: Guns N' Roses, Electric Youth: Debbie Gibson, I Drove All Night: Cyndi Lauper, Toy Soldiers: Martika, On Our Own: Bobby Brown, Forget Me Not: Bad English, You're My One & Only (True Love): Seduction, Runnin' Down A Dream: Tom Petty

#20
Cherish, Madonna
"I was never satisfied with casual encounters
I can't hide my need for two hearts that bleed with burning love
That's the way it's got to be
Romeo and Juliet, they never felt this way I bet
So don't underestimate my point of view"

#19
Angelia, Richard Marx
"Angelia
Where you running to now
Angelia
Got to make you turn around"

#18
The Look, Roxette
"She's got the look.
She's got the look.
What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue.
When everything I'll ever do I'll do for you and I go:
la la la la la she's got the look."

#17
Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
"I wanna rock wit'cha, baby
All night long
I wanna roll wit'cha, lady
Feelin's so strong
I wanna rock wit'cha, baby
All night long
Rock and roll, and roll and rock
Make your sweet love, don't ya ever stop"

#16
Second Chance, .38 Special
"Since you been gone
I feel my life slipping away
I look to the sky
And everything is turnin' grey
All I made was one mistake
How much more will I have to pay
Why can't you think it over
Why can't you forget about the past"

#15
Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
"Ba ba ba ba baby
Don't forget my number
Baby love is stronger than thunder
Ba ba ba ba baby
Don't forget my number
Love will see you through"

#14
A Girl Like You, The Smithereens
"Now if I seem a little wild, there's no holding back
I'm trying to get a message to you
I won't take anything from anyone
I won't walk and I won't run, I believe in you
London, Washington, anywhere you are I'll run
Together we'll be
Inside, outside, got my pride
I won't let him take you from me"

#13
Higher Ground, Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Teachers
Keep on teachin'
Preachers
Keep on preachin'
World
Keep on turnin'
'Cause it won't be too long
Oh no"

#12
Fire Woman, The Cult
"Shake shake shake shake it. yeah...
Wound up, can't sleep, can't do anything right, little honey,
Oh, since I set my eyes on you.
I tell ya the truth.
Twistin' like a flame in a slow dance, baby,
You're driving me crazy.
Come on, little honey, come on now!"

#11
I Remember You, Skid Row
"I paint a picture of the days gone by
When love went blind and you would make me see
I'd stare a lifetime into your eyes
So that I knew you were there for me
Time after time you were there for me"

#10
Bust A Move, Young MC
"New movie's showin', so you're goin',
could care less about the five you're blowin'.
Theatre gets dark just to start the show,
then you spot a fine woman sittin' in your row.
She's dressed in yellow, she says hello,
come sit next to me ya fine fellow.
You run over there without a second to lose,
and what comes next, hey, bust a move."

#9
Just Between You And Me, Lou Gramm
"Staring at each other with accusing eyes
Keep our voices low, don't act surprised
If the word gets out, yeah, that's alright"

#8
Poison, Alice Cooper
"I want to love you but I better not
touch (Don't touch)
I want to hold you but my senses
tell me to stop
I want to kiss you but I want it too
much (Too much)
I want to taste you but your lips
are venomous poison"

#7
Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
"Don't matter what your friends try to tell you
We will even fall in love
And we will be together in any kind of weather
Just like that, just like that"

#6
New Thing, Enuff Znuff
"Worry worry is your answer
If you like your wrinkles faster
Nursing old things make em last
The way we did it in the past
Everybody telling you
You ain't got no respect"

#5
One, Metallica
"Back in the womb it's much too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live
Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me"

#4
Cult of Personality, Living Colour
"Look into my eyes, what do you see?
Cult of Personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
I'm the Cult of Personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the Cult of Personality"

#3
Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
"Just a' urchin
livin' under the street
I'm a hard case
that's tough to beat
I'm your charity case
So buy me somethin' to eat
I'll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line"

#2
18 And Life, Skid Row
"Tequila in his heartbeat, His veins burned gasoline.
It kept his motor running but it never kept him clean.
They say he loved adventure, "Ricky's the wild one."
He married trouble and had a courtship with a gun.
Bang Bang Shoot 'em up, The party never ends.
You can't think of dying when the bottle's your best friend"

#1
Headed For A Heartbreak, Winger
"Darling don't wait up for me, tonight I won't be home
You've become a stranger, I just got to be alone
Don't need nobody on my side to dull the blade I'm on
So don't be waiting for love, 'cause I'll be waiting to ramble on"

Race Point

IMG_1295ps Ferry to Fisher's Island, originally uploaded by JMalcolm.

I found this on Flickr tonight. I need to dig around some more there.

I'm not sure if I'll be adding many photos there, as I use PicasaWeb already. Then again, I don't have many photos up there either.

Regardless, this is a nice shot of the M/V Race Point passing Ledge Light on the way to Fishers. I like this one a lot because it's headed the right way, to Fishers.

(BTW, this is a test. If this doesn't look right, drop me a comment.)

Payton's Webkinz

This will be a running list for everyone to keep track of the Webkinz Payton has & will be getting. Look for a link on the right once this gets pushed down the list.

Current Webkinz (updated 7/13/08)
**New additions: Crocodile, Toucan

ALSO, please let me know if you have any of the figures, which I will also start to list here.

Beagle
Bengal Tiger
Black Arabian
Black & white cat
Black cat
Black lab
Black Stallion
Brown Arabian horse
Brown dog
Bull frog
Charcoal cat
Cheeky Dog (Black & white)
Cheeky monkey
Chicken
Chocolate lab
Clydesdale
Collie
Cow
Crocodile
Dalmatian
Duck
Elephant
Elephant (velvety)
Frog
German Shepard
Golden Retriever
Gorilla
Grey Horse (Arabian)
Grey & white cat
Himalayan cat
Hippo
Husky
Kangaroo
Koala
Lemon-Lime Gecko
Leopard
Lion
Lion (little kinz)
Lioness
Love frog
Monkey
Orange & white cat
Panda bear
Penguin
Persian cat (white)
Persian cat (little kinz)
Pig
Pink google
Pink & White Cat
Pink pony
Pink poodle
Pinto
Polar bear
Rabbit
Raccoon
Reindeer
Samoyed
Siamese Cat
Spotted frog
Tiger Snake
Tree frog
Unicorn (little kinz)
Velvety Elephant
Wacky Zingoz
Whimsy Dragon
White poodle
Yellow lab
Yorkie


Purchased, but haven't given to the Princess yet:

Black Bear
Black Poodle
Blue Rhino
Bull dog
Chihuahua
Cocker Spaniel
Tiger
Toucan


Figures:
Brushing Up Hippo
Chillin Out Polar Bear
Fire Chief Elephant
Kinzpinz Panda
Shootin Hoops Black & White Cat

Misc.:
Notebook
School Supplies kit

Top 20 Songs - 1988

Another solid year. You can really start to see the influence of my rock ways starting to show, although it's still a fairly diverse list.

HONORABLE MENTION: Two Occasions: The Deele, Just Like Paradise: David Lee Roth, Wishing Well: Terence Trent D'Arby, Hands to Heaven: Breathe, Walk on Water: Eddie Money, Edge Of A Broken Heart: Vixen, Look Away: Chicago, Waiting For A Star To Fall: Boy Meets Girl, If It Isn't Love: New Edition, All Fired Up: Pat Benatar, Lost In You: Rod Stewart, Supersonic: JJ Fad

#20
I Still Believe, Brenda K. Starr
"Each day of my life I'm filled with all the joy I could find. You know
that I am not the desperate type. If there's one spark of hope left in
my grasp I hold it with both hands. It's worth the risk of burning to
have a second chance."

#19
Beds Are Burning, Midnight Oil
"The time has come
To say fair's fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It belongs to them
Let's give it back"

#18
Kiss Me Deadly, Lita Ford
"But I know what I like
I know I like dancin' with you
And I know what you like
I know you like dancin' with me
Yeah, yeah"

#17
New Sensation, INXS
"Cry baby cry
When you've got to get it out
I'll be your shoulder
You can tell me all
Don't keep it in ya
Well that's the reason why I'm here"

#16
Nite And Day, Al B. Sure
"Believe me when I say that I do care (I can tell you)
I’d like to run my fingers through your hair (I can tell you)
Baby, if you left I could not bear (I can tell you)
Please don’t share"

#15
Sign Your Name, Terence Trent D'Arby
"Sign your name
Across my heart
I want you to be my baby
Sign your name
Across my heart
I want you to be my lady"

#14
Parents Just Don't Understand, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
"I said, "This isn't shinin' armor, c'mon mom, I'm not Bowser.
Mom, please put back the bell bottom, Brady Bunch trousers.
But if you don't want to I can live with that, but,
You've gotta put back the double-knit, reversable slacks"

#13
Going Back To Cali, LL Cool J
"I'm going back to Cali, rising, surprising
Advising realizing, she's sizing me up
Her bikini - small; heels - tall
She said, she liked, the ocean
She showed me a beach, gave me a peach
and pulled out the suntan lotion"

#12
The Flame, Cheap Trick
"Just can't stand up for fallin' apart.
Can't see through this veil across my heart, over you.
You'll always be the one.
You were the first, you'll be the last."

#11
Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx
"Do you remember all the nights we spent in silence
Every single breath you took was mine
We can have it all again
Say that you'll be with me when the sun brings your heart to mine"

#10
I Want Her, Keith Sweat
"I seen ya last night
I saw you standing there
Couldn't picture the color of your hair
And all I wanted to know
Were you really there"

#9
When It's Love, Van Halen
"You look at every face in a crowd
Some shine and some keep you guessin'
Waiting for someone to come into focus
Teach you your final love lesson"

#8
Forever Young, Rod Stewart
"May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven
with a prince or a vagabond"

#7
Electric Blue, Icehouse
"I just freeze everytime you see through me
and it's all over you, electric blue.
In too deep, standing here waiting
as i'm breaking in two, electric blue."

#6
Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
"My heart beats like a drum (all night)
Flesh to flesh, one to one (and it's alright)
And I'll never let go cause
There's something I know deep inside"

#5
It Takes Two, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
"My name is Rob, I gotta real funky concept
Listen up, 'cause I'm gonna keep you in step
I got an idea
That I wanna share
You don't like it? So what, I don't care"

#4
Father Figure, George Michael
"Sometimes I think that you'll never
Understand me
But something tells me together
We'd be happy"

#3
Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard
"You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little
Tease a little more
Easy operator come a knockin' on my door
Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet
Little miss innocent sugar me, yeah"

#2
Sweet Child O'Mine, Guns N Roses
"She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by"

#1
Hysteria, Def Leppard
"Out of me, into you, yeah
You could hide, it's just a one-way street
Oh, I believe I'm in you, yeah
Open wide, that's right
Dream me off my feet
Oh believe in me"

The Wire - Top 20 Characters

If you're not watching "The Wire", don't worry, this isn't the post where I try & convince you to watch. I've most likely already talked to you about it and if you really need more convincing, just Google "The Wire" + "best show". Wait. I'll save you the time. Just click here. Besides, that post will be coming soon.

Instead, I'd just like to list MY favorite characters from the show.

This show is incredibly written, incredibly cast & acted even more incredibly. David Simon & Ed Burns throw a lot of characters at us over the years, but they all grow on you eventually. I wish I could put into words how great everything about this show is, but again, you can Google for yourself & read what people with far better writing skills than I have to say about it.

For the HM guys, I will try & link to a YouTube clip of theirs. For the other 20, I'll embed the clip right into the post. BEWARE. I can pretty much assure you that all of these videos that will have language NSFW.

One other thing to watch out for. If you plan on watching the show (which I really hope you do), many of these clips will contain spoilers, some pretty big ones too. Just a heads up.

Honorable Mention: Detective Leander Sydnor, Deputy Ops William Rawls, Marlo Stanfield, Slim Charles, Wee-Bey Brice, Avon Barksdale, Poot Carr, Gus Haynes, Randy Wagstaff, Bunny Colvin & Butchie.

#20
Sgt. Jay Landsman

Landsman cracks me up. He's not ashamed to be sitting at his desk, reading some hard-core porn, even in front of the Mayor of Baltimore. He's based on a real Jay Landsman, who happens to play the role of Lt. Dennis Mello. The show really is "all connected."

One of the most memorable moments of the show:


#19
Elena McNulty

Det. McNulty's ex-wife, she didn't make the list because of her character, she made the list because I adore Callie Thorne. I've liked her ever since her role of Detective Laura Ballard on Homicide: Life On The Street. (Another David Simon production.)

#18
Senator Clay Davis

Senator Davis, a horribly corrupt politician, makes the list for his signature line.


#17
D'Angelo Barksdale

One of the many great aspects of this show is how it blurs the line between good guys & bad guys. The guys you're supposed to root against, you end up rooting for. D'Angelo is one of those guys.


#16
Brother Mouzone

A small, but memorable role for the Harper's Weekly reading enforcer.


#15
Dennis "Cutty" Wise

Cutty's rise during season's 3 & 4 is one of the very few uplifting story lines in The Wire.


#14
Preston "Bodie" Broadus

Bodie has lots of memorable scenes in nearly every season. He grows on you.


#13
Det. Kima Greggs

Unfortunately for my faithful readers, there aren't many good YouTube clips of Kima that don't involve her & her girlfriend. I wanted to show her police-ness in this space. :)

#12
Michael Lee

Season 4 focuses on the problems with the schools in Baltimore. We're introduced to a handful of kids, nearly all of which you will become extremely attached to emotionally.


#11
Chris Partlow

I love, love, love this character. The way he goes about his business, expressionless & without emotion (with one notable exception) is fun to watch.


#10
Bubbles

How Andre Royo has not won himself a handful of Emmy's for his role of Bubbles is beyond me.


#9
Sgt. Ellis Carver

For all the bleakness The Wire shows, there are many, many funny scenes. Sgt. Carver seems to be behind a lot of them.


#8
Duquan "Dukie" Weems

Poor Dukie. I love this kid. His interaction with Prez is inspiring to this future teacher.

#7
Proposition Joe

Prop Joe, the master of negotiations.


#6
Major Cedric Daniels

Major Daniels climbs the ladder, but has a questionable past, which we may learn about in season 5.


#5
Stringer Bell



#4
Det. Bunk Moreland

Bunk is a funny man!


#3
Set. Lester Freamon

Lester is the Father Figure of the bunch. Stand-up guy & real po-lice.


#2
Det. Jimmy McNulty

McNulty would probably be considered the main character. I could post 20 clips just of him. Good stuff here.



#1
Omar Little

Omar is not only the best character on The Wire, he may be the best character in the history of television. A modern-day Robin Hood, Omar answers to a code & that's it. For all the cursing these characters do, good like finding one coming from Omar's mouth. (Only one to be exact & that was it.)