Casual Observations

CVS is my new favorite store

We recently got a new CVS store here in Wilmington. And as a
promotion, they sent out flyers with some pretty good coupons. I found
a stack and wanted to see what I could get for the money. Here is a
receipt from one purchase (this does include other coupons from the
Sunday paper as well). The top number circled was my total: $6.16. The
bottom number circled was my savings: $46.90. They didn't know what
hit them. In addition, I transferred two generic prescriptions
totalling approximately $13 and got two $25 gift cards. It doesn't
happen very often, but it feels good to be the winner for a change.

Our first swing as man and wife

I was looking through my wedding photos the other day and this is one that I never really noticed before. I like the contrast of her smile and my look of shock.

Requiem for Charm City: A Remembrance for The Wire

I will start out with this statement: I don't know what took me so long. For the past two months, spanning from June to July 2009, the Hamiltons have had ongoing relationship with the Baltimore City Police Department. To say that it is over, well it's hard to say the words. All of what they say is true, it was quite simply the greatest, most compelling series ever seen. Every scene says so much, whether it's rogue Detective McNulty mouthing off to his superiors, or Lt. Daniels seeing what is wrong with his city and choosing his words so carefully, that he picks them one at a time. By spending equal time in police settings and on the streets, you see both the how and the why of the situation and it helps you realize any answers to America's Drug Problem, and in Baltimore specifically, are just as complex as the problems. Also, by showing such detailed portraits of the main characters, the good guys and the bad guys emerge, but not necessarily by their job description. There are cops that are just plain evil and there are dealers with a moral code and plenty that in the grey. As you continue to watch, you realize that there was probably more thought put into this series than any on record. Choosing Tom Waits' "Down in the Hole" as the theme song stands a stroke of genius, especially have the original and covers changing each season. Visually, the creators took full advantage of placement and scenery to convey the actions at hand. As an example the photo attached is from Season 5: Episode 3. Young Marlowe Stanfield, a young buck whose rise to power is too fast for his own good and has to find places to distrubute his new found fortune and sits in a church office with Propostion Joe, another Baltimore mainstay and a minister going over which "charity" to divert his funds. The print of Riviere's "Daniel's Answer to the King" subtly conveys that dangerous den where these men find themselves. I could go on, but one last prop is due, to the late great Omar Little. The walking embodiment of another Waits' creation, "Black Wings", Mr. Little is the most complex, fascinating character in a series ever. An equal opportunity hood, he employed women, loved men, and paid no heed whatsoever to who ruled the corners, because he knew they did not rule him.I will watch other shows, but they all will be weak and small in comparison. My summer just became a little less interesting, but I wouldn't have traded it for all the lake trout in the world.

Weekly Recommended Album # 4 American Water by Silver Jews

With apologies to Editors Jenkins and Ivey, I missed last week's deadline. I will try to do better. Well, the last note set off an interesting firestorm, well actually more like a small campfire over the viability of live albums. Glad I could get some people talking. This week I thought about throwing a title out there that would be out of left field like " The Cool" by Lupe Fiasco or anything by the band Can, but this selection while somewhat popular, brings me back to it over and over: American Water by Silver Jews. Frontman David Berman's wordplay is well reknowned on all SJ albums, causing you to pay attention to lyrics possibly more than any artist. And while other SJ albums have great songs, namely Black and Brown Shoes from The Natural Bridge, American Water seems to be the most complete album.An album that starts out with: "In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection" only sets the table for good things to come. I maybe sucker for Berman's country poetry with its protestant thighs, digital deer and honkytonk psychiatrists, but listening to it this week made it seem just as fresh as ever. The best line of the album may be "I am the trick, my mother played on the world" from Send In the Clouds, a line that easily could have shown up in anything from Eminem to Slayer.

Black and White in Color- The Movie

I originally thought of this blog's title just as a play on words... Black and White in Color. My love of photography factored into it in addition to those awful colorizations of classic B&W movies they did in the 80's. Anyway, I was googling the title just seeing what would show up and low and behold there is a movie with the Exact Same Name! It seems to be a French film from 1977 that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It seems to be a comedy about the French trying to fight WWI in colonial Africa against the Germans. Odd setting for a comedy, but it's worth a look and now in my Netflix queue. Updates to come.

Weekly Recommended Album # 3- The Tigers Have Spoken By Neko Case

I personally think that live albums get sort of a bad rep. To provide a work analogy, studio albums are really presentations to the public as to what an artist is about. A debut album is like a resume, an introduction that allows the artist to give a brief overview of training, influences and experiences. Subsequent albums are more like powerpoints that give a bi-annual overview as to what the artist is up to at the time. Live albums are different. A live album allows the listener to tag along to see the artist at work. This is why Johnny Cash at Folsum Prison and Elvis at Madison Square Garden are so timeless. This is why I am recommending The Tigers Have Spoken by Neko Case. Essentially a live compliation album, it is a good showcase for all of Ms. Case's talents namely her songwriting and her choice of covers and that smoky twangy voice that is her trademark. Recorded over three shows, Neko uses her backup band The Sadies to full effect on such tracks as "Train from Kansas City" and "The Tigers have Spoken". She does Loretta Lynn proud with her cover of "Rated X" and does a haunting "Wayfaring Stranger". But what makes that album is how she plays off the crowd to step it up a notch on nearly every song.

2009 All-star game moment

It was a pretty short all star game this year, with few memorable
moments. The one thing I remember is that, for some reason, Fox showed
this creepy guy for 5 long seconds with no explanation whatsoever.

Weekly Recommended Album #2

This is the soundtrack to a Wim Wenders film from 1997. If you lived in New York , Chicago or LA and you blinked you probably missed it. If you lived anywhere else, you didn't need to blink you missed it anyway. I vaguely remember renting it but that is about as far as it goes. When it comes to Mr. Wenders: Wings of Desire=Greatness, The End of Violence= Not so Much. But the soundtrack, oh the soundtrack. Mr. Wenders either has a very good ear or a little bird with great taste was doing some whispering. Either way, this is an album not to be missed, even the sound clips from the film actually add to the album. Recommended tracks: "A Little Drop of Poison" by Tom Waits, a great song that I am not sure is available anywhere else. "Everytime I Try" by Spain, usually Spain songs are good for navelgazing and nothing more, but this moves slightly faster and with more feeling. "Bailare (El Merecumbe) by Raul Malo, the lead singer of the country band The Mavericks is so melodic, you find yourself singing along to a song completely in Spanish. Other artists include a Michael Stipe/Vic Chesnutt duet, an early track from Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown and DJ shadow adding some atmospherics as well. That's the good news. The bad news is that it seems to be out of print, but if it is a bargain bin, walk it up to the counter with a smile that says "I just took candy from a baby", because you just made a steal.

Swinging

I thought I would post a couple of pics from LA from my digital camera. This is one of Juan Pierre swinging at a high heater. Taking pictures of batters swinging is a guessing game, you try to time it just right.