The Wire: Blogs

Just in case you haven't noticed we here at Palaba's Posts are big fans of HBO's The Wire, but believe it or not we're not the only ones! It seems the series finale of The Wire has inspired many a post, especially at The New York Entertainment's blog Vulture. So for you other blog readers who can't get enough of The Wire here's some of reading material:

Vulture:
‘The Wire’: One Last Long, Boozy Irish Wake for David Simon’s Accidental Masterpiece
Ten Questions Left Unanswered by the ‘Wire’ Finale
Actor Ptolemy Slocum on the Emotional Last Night of Shooting ‘The Wire’
‘The Wire’ Finale's Montage: A Shot-by-Shot Commentary
Debating the Legacy of ‘The Wire’
Sternbergh on ‘The Wire’ Finale: The Anti-‘Sopranos’
BREAKING: Eliot Spitzer Completes Tommy Carcetti's Character Arc
David Simon Still Has Some Things to Say
Looking for Vulture's Coverage of ‘The Wire’?

Newsweek New York Times TV Squad Salon Chicago Tribune TV Guide AOL Variety NPR USA Today Entertainment Weekly and Barack Obama

The Wire: What to eat!

I was discussing with a friend what to serve during the gathering he's hosting for this evenings Wire finale. We both came to the immediate conclusion that steamed crabs or crab cakes would be the best, but since Maryland Crabs are out of season and no one wants to clean up after crabs at 10:30 at night we came up with a great Baltimore themed snack assortment:

First up is UTZ's Crab Chip, a favorite Baltimore Snack featured in several episodes of The Wire

One thing anyone who has eaten crab chips before will tell you is that they make you thirsty! What better way to quench that thirst than with Baltimore's favorite cheap beer National Bohemian or as we call it Natty Boh

If you need more proof that UTZ and Natty Boh go together better than PB and the J check out this billboard as seen from I-95 in Baltimore

What snack assortment would be complete without some sweets? A must have is Baltimore's Bergers Cookies

And in honor of the fictional detectives of the Baltimore City police department we have Jameson Whiskey

Bon Appetite Hon

Lazy Sunday : The Wire finale edition

Well it's here. We all knew that eventually what has been called the greatist show on television ever, is coming to an end. The Wire has changed what millions of people expect from television, shows who's theme is meant to be gritty or "real" seem like Fisher Price compared to The Wire. As most Baltimore natives who watch the wire will tell you, every character no matter how minute or major, is based on at least one real person. Events like Hamsterdamn or McNulty's serial killer may be completely fictions, but their reaction and message is very real. Join us here at Palaba's post as we take a quick look back at the Best Television Drama Ever! If you feel the need to say goodbye HBO has a "Public Record" for you to leave your mark HERE. I left my words HERE










For an extra treat check out this interview with the phenomenal 12 year old actor Thuliso Dingwall who plays Kenard aka Omar's killer

HBO.com has an interesting interview with Michelle Paress, who plays Alma Gutierrez on The Wire. She tells of her very humble acting roots, apparently she auditioned for the role of Carcetti's secretary but David Simon had other ideas. It also seems like I'm not as up on my Wire trivia as I thought I was, I didn't know she was married to Larry Gilliard Jr, who played one of my favorite roles in the wire, D'Angelo Barksdale. Check out the interview HERE

If you are at all like me, and just can't talk about the Wire enough, HBO.com wants you to tell them your predictions for the end of the series. Let them know what you think HERE.

Well whatever they decide to do, I'd like to see the stories continue in comic book form, similarly to Buffy the Vampire slayer, or Star Trek. I know The Wire isn't science fiction, but Simon has created his own "universe" with it's own set of rules and physics, it's a world where Carcetti and O'Malley can both exist (Carcetti mentioned him in a dedication to new development on the waterfront, that isn't a grain peir. (I loved that scene) Also in Simon's Baltimore Murphy Homes stood for five years longer than they lasted in this reality. Ok maybe it's too fanboy, but I can dream can't I?

The Incredible Hulk vs. Omar?

In an interview with allhiphop.com Michael K. Williams tells of his upcoming roles in various movies by saying

"I got two films coming up this year, one is The Hulk 2 with Ed Norton, and I'm in the new Spike Lee joint called Miracle At St. Anna, which is based on the Buffalo Soldier story of the 92nd infantry. I just booked this new Picture called The Road with Charlize Theron. I'm excited about that and eager to work with her. I'm just cranking them out little by little."

From this I can deduce two things, 1) That Michael K. Williams is in the new Incredible Hulk movie. And 2) He will reprise his role as Omar Little , every one's favorite shotgun wielding, drug dealer robbing, tell Marlo it's personal, the game is the game vigilante from Baltimore and be the only person able to stop Bruce (sometimes David) Banner from destroying Pimlico and all of Park Heights! I thought of it so it must be true! Besides as I understand it Edward Norton had total re-write privileges for the Incredible Hulk and is from Columbia MD. Which is a suburb of Baltimore (Well Baltimore is closer than DC anyway)

Check out the interview for yourself HERE

The Wire: Maurice Levy loves Robert McClintock?

All over blogs, big or small you can read all about this weeks shocking episode of The Wire, If you haven't seen it I'm not gonna spoil it for you. (click here if you just got to know) I am going to write about what I believe to be overlooked as so many details in the wire are. In one scene we are treated to the inside of Baltimore's scummiest of lawyers, Maurice Levy's law offices. Now you may have read of David Simon's tip of his hat to the real Baltimore quite often and in this instance it featured one my favorite artist, Robert McClintock. Levy's walls are covered with his work!

Robert McClintock is a self described "HYBRiD PHoTO-DiGiTAL ARTiST" meaning he uses photographs and paint, as well a Mac with a giant monitor. McClintock catches Baltimore's fun and quirky landscape as well as Simon depicts it's dirty not-so-underbelly. Was Simon hinting that the fun and loud Baltimore exists within it's dark seedy urban blight? Some times it's difficult to remember that David Simon's Baltimore, Robert McClintock's Baltimore and John Waters' Baltimore are all the same Baltimore and all were once Barry Levinson's Baltimore.

Whenever your in Baltimore's Fell's Point, I recommend you stop by McClintock's studio it's at 1809 Thames Street. If you need a zip for Google Maps it's 21231, which is coincidently right next to where NBC would shoot the external shots of the police precinct in Homicide.

Check out his site for some more of his great artwork HERE

Or check out his MySpace Page HERE

Oh and I caught wind of a rumor the character Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer,who is currently on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, is going to make a cameo on an episode of this season's Wire. For those who don't know Belzer first played Munch on the Baltimore based Homicide, and will be setting some sort of record for most appearances in different TV shows as the same character. It seems this time TV is giving Simon a nod seeing as he wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, which became Homicide: Life on the Street. (Ok so he's really giving himself a nod, but I think he deserves it.)

David Simon apologises to the City of Baltimore and tells of a confrontation with O'Malley

In a "web extra editorial" (sounds like a blog to me) Today on Baltimoremagazine.net, David Simon tells of a short standoff between him and then Mayor Martin O'Malley. Simon speaks of some regret if he had damaged the city's reputation, stating "We put our town’s shit in the street. And for that and that alone we ask apology for the premeditated trespass: Sorry for that."

Read it in his words HERE

For more on O'Malley check HERE or HERE

I will say as a native West Baltimorean (I say I'm a Baltimoron, but don't use the term if your not from Baltimore) I want to say thank you. I know David Simon reads many a blog but I'm not arrogant enough to suggest he reads this one, but none the less I want to say Thanks. Thanks for validating us people in a city with problems, but people none the less. When I was 12 years old I would walk up to the 7-11 at the corner of Edmonson and Swan to buy my comic books, often I would be greeted by a man who introduced himself only to me as Iceman. Iceman would walk with me whenever he saw me in the "Village" to protect me warding away "vendors" trying to sell me a bootleg or women who claimed to "know my moma" wanting me to give them my cash then they could buy my soda or bag of chips with their Independence Card (or food stamps I can't remember which it was at the time). Iceman would for some reason call me Julio, I guess it ran along the lines of him trying to protect me, see I have a dangerous condition for a 12 year old in Edmonson Village, I was, and still am a short, fat, white guy. When I saw the Wire for the first time I, like most Baltimoreans felt validated, mostly because we can't even get people in our own state, let alone the country to even pretend to care. The Wire if nothing else acknowledges our presence and struggle as a city to deal with modern day problems using twenty year old methods. I will always be a knucklehead from Baldimore who thanks David Simon, if for nothing else then using a little sun light to disinfect our dirty laundry.

Wanna watch the new season of the Wire, but not sure you can jump in so late?

Well I have just the thing!
Here's a really quick recap of the last 4 seasons...



Now go watch!

Wire Prequels!

I can't wait for next month indeed!

Wire Trailers

I can't contain my excitement.





Waiting for the last season of what is surely the best television show ever, is so bitter sweet.

Omar Little vs. Frank Castle (The Punisher)

Ok so this may be old news , but if you haven't heard Dominic West has been signed to play Jigsaw in the new Punisher Movie. For those of who's don't know either name heres a visual guide, thats Dominic West on the left and Jigsaw on the right. If you don't know Dominic West you NEED to watch, buy, rent The Wire. I am excited to see West play a crazy comic book bad guy, instead of that conniving comic book bad guy from 300. I'm looking forward to seeing him in this role and will undoubtedly write more on my excitement about this movie in the post's to come.

Ok so this got me thinking about two of my most favorite gun toting anti-heroes and what would happen if crazy, must kill mob 'cause they killed my family, Frank Castle aka The Punisher and crazy, farmer in the dell whistling, drug dealer robbin' because it's Baltimore and the game is game Omar Little aka uh.. Omar (Played by Michael Kenneth Williams) were to cross paths . I started thinking about what would happen and in my fictional universe they meet, have a face off style shoot out, both realize they bit off more than they can chew, and escape. Only to stand off similar to the season 3 episode of the wire when Omar and Brother Mouzone meet again. When they realize they both have similar objectives and team up to take on the the Deadliest villain team up every of Joe Stewart aka Prop Joe and Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin.

But what do you think would happen? Would they fight to the death? Who would win? Or would they team up and Run on an Independent ticket in the '08 Presidential election? And if so Who would Vice and what would their platform be? Tough on crime I guess. Let me know in the comments.

Check out Lexi Alexander's (The Director of the Punisher War Zone) Blog Here
Or the Official Site of HBO's The Wire Here

Indeed!
-P