the sweet forever

in my continuing effort to read as many novels by the magnificent storytellers of the wire (david simon, ed burns, & richard price to name a few), i turned my attention to george pelecanos. he penned such thrilling, heartbreaking scripts as the deaths of wallace and stringer bell, randy yelling after sgt. carver "are you gonna help me now?", and michael and dookie's farewell.

the sweet forever, like clockers (which i read earlier this summer), truly embodies the spirit of the wire. and the wire owes a debt to the writers it used to further its narrative.

the sweet forever takes place in dc during the 80's cocaine epidemic. its narrative follows cops (partners tutt and murphy), criminals (tyrell cleveland and his crew), and citizens (marcus clay, clay's business partner dimitri karras, employees of clay's store, and the neighborhood it inhabits). and true to form, the characters are layered and multi-dimensional. while the characters do dabble in black and white from time to time, they spend most of their time unfolding in shades of gray.

to the plot.

amazon.com does a good enough job in their editorial reviews that i don't feel like rambling on endlessly when these editors determine what's important enough to tell for a living.

a few quick notes:

1) the story takes place during the opening two rounds of march madness. the male characters (of which there are plenty) talk of the greatness of these four days of basketball in a way that highlights how sacred it is to so many men, me included.

2) the cocaine epidemic and its destruction of many neighborhoods and lives is at the center of the story. and its poster boy happens to be len bias of the maryland terrapins, who at the time of the story was participating in march madness. all eyes were on him as he performed at unbelievable levels. so many admired his skill as a basketball player and dreamed of the endless possibilities for his future. for those familiar with bias' eventual fate (a cocaine overdose just after being drafted second by the boston celtics), it lingers over the story, suggesting that you can have it all and lose it that quickly at the hands of addiction.

3) dean smith receives several shout-outs. during one first-round-viewing scene, dimitri's distaste for carolina seeps out, being a maryland fan and all. marcus steps up to defend the heels and their legendary coach by referring to their guaranteed ability to make it through the first weekend of the tournament. dean smith holds the ncaa record for 13 straight trips to the sweet sixteen, an impressive record considering "madness" is all part of the proceedings. later, when brad daugherty of the heels is drafted ahead of len bias, dimitri again shares his distaste. once again, marcus steps to the plate and praises the "dean smith" pedigree, referring to 25 of dean's players that went on to be drafted in the first round of the nba draft. you go, dean!

what's on the tube?

since the finale of the wire, the only television worth watching included the conclusions of strike-shortened seasons of the office and lost. summer television is usually filled with an endless black hole of reality television.

but if that reality television show is so you think you can dance? (on fox) that's alright with me. i was a little bummed when will was sent home last week, especially after his james brown' impersonation in the top 8. however, there was little drop-off with the final four guys so the result wasn't a blow to the show. the top 6 was exceptional with the repairing of joshua and katee (the two best dancers on the show). but the other two couples did really well, too. there wasn't a misstep on any of the routines. i guess when you're down to the final six dancers, you better step up.

i really can't stress how much i love dancing, even though i am completely and utterly incapable of doing it myself and know nothing about it. maybe it's that lack of familiarity that makes it so interesting and intriguing. the way you can use the movements of your body to express such a wide range of emotions...wow.


but the summer television season also brought with it some dramatic flare this week, a much-needed break from the reality overload. while i haven't viewed the first season in its entirety, i've seen enough of mad men (on amc) to know i should be watching it whenever i get the chance. the show is about madison avenue advertising executives set during the 1960s. created by matthew weiner, david chase's right-hand man on the sopranos, you can expect that a simple plot description is out of the question. just as the sopranos was never just about the mob, neither is mad men just about advertising. it merely serves as the launching point for the show to explore a world outside the grasp of many today. and the acting is incredible. jon hamm, wherever he came from, i could listen to him talk all day long.

My Day Without Ashley

Why is it that I write about Ashley more often when she's not around than when she is? Is it because I miss her so much? That I'm more aware of her absence? I anxiously anticipate her return because I don't know what to do without her?

Alas, Ashley was away from me for the day. She left with her mother, sister, and a whole bunch of other women she didn't know for New York City. Luckily, it was only for a day (WHEW!). I've been without her since Friday night and she's riding back as I type.

Me? I'm pretty helpless without her. Evidently my father-in-law is just as helpless without Ashley's mother, too. So we joined forces to take care of one meal today. In my constant effort to find bbq that's just as good as the stuff down in North Carolina, we tried out a place called Hoggy's in Gahanna. Verdict: slightly disappointed. It was voted one of Columbus' best bbq places and if that's the best they have to offer, then they need to stop and take a roadtrip through the south.

Other than that, I cleaned (WOW!) and I read (what Ashley usually does). In her absence, my subconscious must have tried to recreate conditions similar to when she is around.

Good thing she's back on Sunday!

The Dark Knight - Redux

That's right. The Dark Knight was so good, I had to see it again. But this time was different. This time, the events of Gotham City were played out on the IMAX screen.


Most of the best action sequences were shot specifically with an IMAX camera. The opening bank heist, Batman's aerial view of Hong Kong, the chase sequence through lower Gotham and the subsequent flipping of the Joker's big rig (wow, what a shot!), the hospital sequence, and several shots of a brooding Batman (over a desolate, dark Gotham, looking especially gargoyle-ish; at the scene of a particularly devastating explosion). What the 80-foot IMAX screen does is create something "larger than life." It won't work for every movie, but it did a lot to enhance already-excellent aspects of a spectacular film.


Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker stood out even more this time around. Sure, he pulled off the "evil incarnate" thing really well. Some say it's easy to play "crazy," but Ledger's Joker was more than crazy. At times, his delivery of a line could make you chuckle to yourself. At others, the licking of his lips and his high-pitched cackle could send shivers down your spine. He embodied chaos. He didn't do anything for money. He did everything to send a message. His message: Chaos is the only way to live. Order only brings about restrictions and rules. With chaos, there are no restrictions, no rules.


In a particularly well-written, well-photographed, well-acted scene, the Joker sells his chaos routine to the heart of the movie, Harvey Dent, at Gotham General Hospital. The outcome, as you watch the movie unfold, is devastating. The Joker's message rings true as Dent, devoted to justice and peace, falls apart amidst the chaos of the Joker's scheme.

The Dark Knight only got better the second time around. What a deep movie with so much to question and ponder. And it's only a comic book movie!

so you think you can dance? - top eight

just one couple tonight: twitch and katee. they took it all. they stood head and shoulders above the rest tonight. is it a coincidence that katee has been a part of several magnificent couples?

contemporary



broadway

speaking of...

i loosely, and unfairly, attributed the term "partisan hacks" to the talking heads. in reality, everyone covering news is complicit. the hack job belongs to the media.

over at jibjab.com, they offer their critique of the media.

the media (specifically newspapers) took their licks this past season on the wire as well. i'll admit that during my in-season viewing of the 5th season, i missed what david simon says is the point of the media storyline. it's not the fabricator or the prize-seeking culture of the newsroom. it starts with the buyouts of veteran news reporters who know their city like the back of their hand. it starts with stories like the one that ended the season about bubbles and his triumph over addiction. during the 5th season of the wire, the baltimore sun missed every story that was ever important to the viewers over the run of the show. the culture of violence associated with the drug trade (if it bleeds, it leads, but only if it's in the right zip code), the decline of the working class, corruption at city hall, the dumbing down of American public education and the over-reliance on a flawed no child left behind act, and the cooking of police stats to make everybody look good. and that's just the tip of the iceberg. the newspaper ignored it. all of it.

i'll admit that i hardly ever watch the news. but i used to. and there's a reason why i stopped.

partisan hackery

i love jon stewart. and stephen colbert, too. just youtube either name and you'll have hours of must-see tv at your fingertips. their "political" talk shows succeed simply because they offer viewers an alternative, a parody of anything they could find on cnn, msnbc, or fox news (always fair and balanced). an entertaining, funny alternative at that. a breath of fresh air from the blowhards and talking heads that litter every media outlet.

and yes, i'm going to pick on liberals, too.

o'reilly is simply unwatchable, but his brethren aren't much better. what unfolds on each show, whether it's a debate, an interview, or simply a self-righteous monologue, is, as jon stewart would say, partisan hackery.

hannity (from hannity & colmes, fox news) stated in an interview on his show today that barack obama's tour through iraq is simply a photo op. obama's stated his stance on the issue of the iraq war and anything he sees on his trip will be disposed of after its brief stay in short-term memory. in other words, he never went over there with "an open mind."

does this guy prefer throwing pebbles or boulders from the safe confines of his glass house? seriously? is a talking head from a media news outlet actually going to call someone out for lacking an open mind on an issue? isn't that why talking heads exist in the first place? real debate is one thing. these guys (and gals) simply spew their opinions as fact and expect us to buy into it.

this is why i avoid political discussion on most accounts. i'm guilty of the same things i'm accusing the talking heads of. i have my political beliefs and i doubt anyone could change my mind at this point. any conversation i would have would most likely end up an argument.

but the place these partisan hacks have in the general political landscape is frightening to say the least. hopefully, more voters will consistently turn to comedy central for their daily news. it provides every person with the daily percentage of sarcasm needed to maintain a healthy state of mind.

The Dark Knight

“This town deserves a better class of criminal…and I’m gonna give it to ‘em.”

And audiences deserve a better class of summer blockbuster. Christopher Nolan has given it to ‘em. The Dark Knight improves in every way upon the first installment of the Batman restoration project, Batman Begins.

I honestly don’t know where to begin or what to address other than to say this is the greatest comic book film of all time. The comic book film surge over the past decade has included wonderful efforts such as Spider-Man 2, X2 – X-Men United, and Batman Begins. But The Dark Knight transcends the comic book genre. It succeeds in every way a comic book film should and enters into the realm of just plain great films.

Christopher Nolan has honed his skills as an action director. A stunning opening scene channels the best of Michael Mann’s Heat during a bank robbery. The Hong Kong skyline serves as a backdrop for Batman to showcase his ability to appear and then just as quickly disappear. A chase scene through the lower bowels of Gotham City in which Batman’s Tumbler becomes a big-wheeled motorcycle gets the adrenaline flowing. Even more intimate scenes confined by tight spaces pack an intensity and emotional depth such as an encounter between Batman and the Joker in an interrogation room.

Speaking of the Joker…

The acting is uniformly superb throughout. Maggie Gyllenhaal improves upon Katie Holmes performance as Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart gives an excellent and heartbreaking performance as new Gotham DA Harvey Dent. Gary Oldman (Lieutenant Gordon), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), and Michael Caine (Alfred) continue to shine as Batman’s inner circle. And Christian Bale shows his increased comfort in the role and completely embodies the role of Batman. He is Batman.

But Heath Ledger steals the show as the Joker. I never thought Jack Nicholson’s 1989 performance as the Joker could be equaled, much less overshadowed. Heath Ledger has succeeded in making me forget Jack Nicholson ever even played the Joker. That face. Those scars. That make-up. That laugh. Whatever magnificent plot inspired by the writing of Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan, the Joker spends two-and-a-half hours carving his way through it. The result is frightening.

The Dark Knight is a lot to take in during one sitting. I can’t wait to see it again, hopefully on the IMAX screen for which several scenes were specifically filmed. It’s a film to be taken seriously as one of the best films of the year. For now we’ll call it the summer blockbuster movie-going audiences deserve.

Thanks, Mr. Nolan!

so you think you can dance? - top ten part 2

so sad. i guess it was inevitable that they split up the couples at some point to see what they could do with other dancers. joshua did just fine. i don't want to say he carried courtney (because she's got the personality to match and is a pretty good dancer herself), but he definitely out-danced her. katee ended up dancing with a partner that's just as good as joshua, if not better: will. they're the most talented couple now. chelsea, as lil c commented, could make a mannequin look good. but mark lost out the most by loosing chelsea as a partner. he's still got a quirkiness about him and is a talented dancer, but he and kherington just didn't work.

katee & will - broadway



katee & will - pas de deux (this looked hard)



joshua & courtney - hip hop



joshua & courtney - rumba



chelsea (making a mannequin look good)

One Year

To Ashley.

July 14th, 2007 to July 14th, 2008.

One year.

A lot can happen in one year.

A lot has happened in one year.

Joys and pains. Choices, both good and bad. Laughing and crying. Singing and dancing. Teaching and learning. And love.

For better or worse, good times or bad, love has lifted us up. Love has carried us through to the other side of the first year of marriage. And I know it probably wasn't ideal. But what marriage is perfect? I've done some pretty stupid things in one year, but you love me regardless of my stupidity. You've slammed/locked a few doors on me, but I love you regardless of your temper.

Love rises above all of our imperfections, our insecurities, our ineptness. It binds two people together that may not be perfect, but are perfect for each other.

I believe we've worked pretty daggum well together in our first year. Sure, we've seen bumps in the road, but we've had our highs as well. We're still here despite irregular schedules keeping us from spending the time together we might have desired. We're still here despite all the arguments and disagreements. We're still here despite my fiscal irresponsibility.

And I believe with all of my heart that we'll be here tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.

I look forward to spending more years with you. I look forward to being able to read your mind and do things for you without you having to lift a finger or say a word. I look forward to becoming a better (and healthier) husband to (for) you.

I also look forward to your future personal "Song & Dance" concerts. I look forward to any and all future Wii competitions. I look forward to seeing you fulfill your professional goals. I look forward to starting a family with you.

I look forward to eternity with you.

Happy One Year Anniversary.

Love, Brian.

so you think you can dance? - top ten

no, i can't dance. and i know it.

but the top ten on so you think you can dance? sure can.

especially four.

katee & joshua.

hip hop



contemporary



bollywood



samba



broadway



and...

chelsie & mark.

hip hop (and my favorite dance of the year, so far)



broadway



salsa



jazz



foxtrot



both couples have shared a chemistry and displayed a dynamic that works for this competition. there hasn't been one false step with either one.

i really like dancing (despite my inability to do it myself). there's something to say for an art form that can portray everything a book or a movie can without writing or saying a word. and it's more than a painting. it's a moving work of art.

A North Carolina Legacy

legacy: something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past

Hate is not a word that I incorporate often in my vocabulary. I often use frustration, disbelief, disappointment, indifference, and anger. Each of those words could be used accurately in the description of my feelings for the late Jesse Helms.

A poster boy for the Religious Right, the Ku Klux Klan, and the plain ol' ignorant, Jesse somehow represented the state of North Carolina for five terms in the United States Senate. How the man was continually re-elected, I'll never fully understand. But as a native of North Carolina, I knew plenty of people who voted for and admired the man.

At the expense of avoiding the effects of one (or more) of the words used to describe my feeling for Jesse Helms, I'll let someone removed from our current political climate reflect on Jesse's life. Here's his obituary.

I'll leave with one thought.

It is of comfort knowing that the backwards politics of Jesse Helms will be nowhere near the election of 2008. I would hazard a guess that he may even turn over in his grave if Obama wins the Presidential election.

Wall-E

From the moment the first preview was released over a year ago, I've highly anticipated the release of Wall-E. We didn't get a glimpse of any particular plot in the early previews. Just character. And Wall-E had me at...well, whatever Wall-E says.

A robot. Fluent in the language of R2-D2. Rummaging through relics from a forgotten past. That's basically the gist given to us in the previews.

And that's what we get in the first half of the film from the wizards of animation at Pixar. We follow Wall-E through his daily routine. Wake up. Get some sun, or in Wall-E's case, solar energy to power up for the day. Strap on your cooler like a knapsack. And go to work. Wall-E's objective is to clean up the colossal mess we left behind on Earth. Scoop. Crunch. Stack. Mounds of our trash tower like mountains over abandoned cities.

But Wall-E doesn't throw it all away. The cooler doesn't exactly hold his lunch. Part of the charm of Wall-E is his natural curiosity for our junk. Lighters. Rubix cubes. Old bras. Talking, wall-mounted fish. A fire extinguisher. And an old VHS tape of Hello, Dolly. These all become part of his collection that give an otherwise unintelligible robot personality.

And that's why I adored the first half of Wall-E. The only human dialogue comes from a pre-recorded message by the last human leader on Earth (I loved the "Stay the course" shout-out) and Hello, Dolly. And I can really appreciate that. Books are capable of conveying so much without a single word of written dialogue. Movies don't share the same luxury. You simply have what you can see. And yet Wall-E becomes a fully fleshed-out lovable character without muttering a handful of words we can understand. Such a lovely 40 minutes of movie!

That's why I don't really feel like mentioning, or even acknowledging, the last half of Wall-E. Wall-E couldn't carry the plot of this movie by himself so it was only natural for him to interact with the humans of the future. They were less than lovable. Whereas the first half of the movie was character-driven, the last half was plot-, or more accurately, message-driven. Message with a capital M.

Don't get me wrong. The last act wasn't bad. It just wasn't as entertaining as Wall-E on Earth. We still see and hear and feel with Wall-E, but he's no longer center stage. I'd give the first half of Wall-E 9 out of 10. The second half, 6 out of 10. (If you are good at math, that makes an overall rating of 7.5 out of 10.)

I just hope that in the future (or on the bonus features of the DVD release) they give Wall-E a movie all to himself.

hey, i know that guy!

yeah, that guy on the right.

that's brad. he's one of greensboro's finest.

the news story (found here) focuses on the robbery suppression unit, which brad has been a part of for a few months (and my friend john has been a part of for even longer), and its possible end due to lack of funds.

isn't that always the case? if you're a public servant, forget the deep pocketbook that other jobs can afford.

"you're doing excellent work. crime is down. but we're not going to be able to find the necessary funds to support this unit any longer. insert more important area for funds here is our top priority at the moment."

whether it's crime or test scores, it seems like any positive gains are minimized by the heaping pile of crap thrown upon us by the bigger fish.