-30-

...and so it ends...5 seasons 60 episodes of The Wire have finally been watched.

David Simon was already a hero in my book for helping to create the classic Homicide : Life On The Streets - also a cop show based in Baltimore. It too played merry hell with conventional TV story-telling. Good wasn't all good , bad wasn't all bad. Stuff didn't get resolved neatly in 45 minutes. Stories overan into seveal episodes, with one notable case cropping up over several seasons.

Not knowing anything about The Wire, other than it was again a Baltimore set cop show, I watched the first episode of season 3. I figured if i liked it that I would, as I've done on other shows caught late, go back and play catch up. I found it totally incomprehensible and wrote it off as rubbish. Much later I joined The Word website and read the non stop praise there for "the greatest show on television." I figured, so many right minded individuals can't all be wrong. I "borrowed" season one and sat down and watched. It was here that the reason behind my befuddlement at that 3 year epsiode became clear. You get no explanations or exposition for dummies. You have to watch from the beginning and pay attention or you'll miss something. As Det. Lester Freamon puts it "All the details matter" or as Simon himself put it in an iterview "fuck the casual viewer"

And you really have to admire what is ostensibly a "cop show" where the most sympathetic character is a junkie trying to get his life together, and where the "lead" [though there are no real leads, this is the very definition of an ensemble piece] is an ass-hole.

Simon descibed it as a 60 chapter novel for televison. Perfect.

Shall we see it's like again? I hope so.

As for me I now have 7 episodes of David Simon's first Iraq war mini series Generation Kill. That should keep me sated till the new TV season kicks off next week.

The Wire...Old Cases, New Language

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS STRONG ADULT LANGUAGE!

Much has been written about The Wire, usually a variation of "it's the best thing on television." and who am I to dissagree with that? How good is it? Well feast your eyes and ears on this scene from season one. It takes a special kind of brass balls to write a 5 minute scene where the only dialogue is the F word and combinations there of. You'd think it couldn't possibly work, but the F word is such a wonderfully pliable word that it does. Enjoy..

Crazy Cat Lady

Meet TC*/Marmalade/Ginger/Tigger/Hobbs [name yet to be decided] the latest addition to La Familigia Gargiulo. Literally showed up on the doorstep one day and my dear ol' mother [the crazy cat lady] decided he could stay - having established that he is indeed a stray.
A trip to the vet has been scheduled for the removal of his hurbles before he's introduced to Fatty & Posh. Oh and the dog adores him too - which is very handy.




*That Cat as apposed to Top Cat. Garfield was rejected on the grounds he is not fat, nor have we established if he likes Lasagne.

I read the News today...Oh Boy

#1 The Bad
Is it a sign that you are getting both old and cynical* that I greet the news of Lindsay Lohan being gay [apparrently] as "cheap media stunt"??? What I am pleased about is that this seems to have been going on for months and I have only just found out about it. My avoidance of the "cheap press" and the machinations of these so called "slebs" seems to be working.

#2 The Good
Myself and the young Mr Gray were, whilst on our way to the Rachel Sage gig last night, bemoaning the lack of Aimee Mann live goodness on these shores. In a stunning "careful what you wish for" stylee an email then promptly arrives announcing a 4 date tour of the UK. 1 day and 3 gigs booked later I am a happy chappy.

#3 The Ugly
Ok not all that ugly, but I had to just for completing the pun...but I am pleased to report that "Great Googly Moogly" has it's own Wikipedia entry. See folks? It's not just me.

Bish Bosh Bob's Yer Monkhouse - now that is one of mine!




*is it even possible for me to be any more cynical?

Why Can't I Lick My Elbow?

Freeway Contest

Aimee Mann, brave woman that she is, is running [or ran for it is now closed] a contest to win the chance to sing with her on stage. All you needed to do was submit a video of yourself singing her last single Freeway. Easy, and indeed peasy. Now before anyone panics, I will make it clear that this is not going to be followed by my submission...Lorks I can't carry a tune in a bucket and I, as sure as eggs is eggs, do not have the chutzpah to put a video of myself on 'tube doing anything - even something I'm good at, like readin' a book. No, what I embarked on was far worse. I watched them. All of them. ALL.OF.THEM. All 162 of them. Because Mrs Penn had left a handy instrumental version to download and use as a backing track many were ok but boringly the same. So, here are in my beiteversonothumble opinion a selection I thought I should share with my gentle viewers, these are the ones that for me stood out, for what ever reason.

Lets get the shit out of the way first. By far not the worst sumission [I couldn't do that to you or myself] but those leaving comments on this seem to think she's got a talent. Maybe, just a shame it's not for singing. I really cannot believe she can be so deluded to believe this is anything other than just awful - maybe it's a comedy submission, don't know as I've never made it past the minute mark. Very arty black and white video mind so not a total waste...


These next two scare me as well but in a different way - a couple of precocious teenagers with some semblance of talent.

First up is a 14 year old Scot, Fiona. FOURTEEN!! Lorks man, I wish I was this confident now at 40! I think her voice needs some work but shows promise [She is only 14 FFS!]. I do think though, that she might be far too clever to have a career in the busines they call show...but hey what do I know?


2nd on the list Kelsey Wild who is positivel ancient at 17. She's using the backng track music but sings it really well.


This is from a proper musician, one Vanessa Peters, what can actually sing. Hurrah! [well so could the others but you know what I mean] Not only that, but they've managed to NOT do just a straigt copy cover and make a watchable video at the same time. Nice.


Finally I'm going to inlcude this effort from Kristy Hanson. It's yer basic girl with geetah cover but she's a proper singer and guitarist and she makes a damn good fist of it. Oh and did I mention I've got her album?