char1ie

For those of you that download from Bittorrent and the like and enjoy the quality TV that HBO makes you should check out John From Cincinnati. It's as smart as The Wire with touches of Twin Peaks and The Sopranos. The series is centred on three generations of talented surfers and the effect of the arrival of a stranger with metaphysical powers. It features some great comedic characters, very very unusual goings on, some surfing, some drug use and a smattering of wacky criminals, but essentially it is a family drama. http://www.hbo.com/events/johnfromcincinnati/img/teaseposter2_s1_760x418.jpg It is very good. Get downloading. 10 epoisodes only cos it didn't get the audiences that the Sopranos had. Charlie

Last night HBO showed the final episode of the final series of The Wire. The fifth series was as good as the previous four, this time focusing on the role of the Baltimore Sun and of the press generally. The link between policing, politics and an obsession with Compstat, the metrics-driven crime measures that Rudy Giuliani loved so much, is still in evidence. Like a lot of good series it has ended before getting tired. A very smart programme, it isn't perfect but even with its faults it manages to be the most realistic crime drama on the box. Where most British crime drama is based on the Agatha Christie tradition of murder, mystery, investigation, confession, The Wire focuses on the challenges of gathering evidence in an under-funded, bureaucratic, low-motivation police force. David Simon's book - Homicide A Year on the Killing Streets documents The Wire's creator's year with the murder police in Baltimore and has the same themes. Simon's experience is the reason The Wire is so accurate. HBO's subscription system has also contributed to The Wire's success. Being more relaxed about viewing figures has allowed the writers to dispense with the traditional narrative structure in a single episode and concentrate on great story telling. The use of slang and street speak is anathema to most American TV production and again reflects HBO's confidence as a make of quality TV. Audiences love villans and good guys, a simple plot, clear story telling, a nice clean struggle between right and wrong, and a happy resolution. There's none of that with the Wire. Instead the good characters are flawed and hampered by the system within which they work, the bad guys are part of the same system and there is never a happy ending. The mix of politics, statistics-driven policing, poverty, bureaucracy and the culture of crime combine as a single common enemy. The story is long and acts as a powerful critique of modern inner-city crime prevention methods. Charlie

Siduhe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Was around Underhill Road at around 1:30 and very > noisy too. 2 possibilities as I understand it, > looking for an individual or vehicle or (more > likely) looking for a cannabis farm using heat > detectors (as they have to be heated up at night > they rather stand out). Cannabis farms don't get heated at night. The light/dark timing to fool the plants into a state where they produce flowers constantly is not related to the 24 hour clock. So at any time of the day they can be on or off. And if the police decided to use helicopters to search for cannabis farms using heat detection they would have a challenge on their hands. If you hover over London looking at houses that produce heat out of their lofts you will see thousands of houses. The idea that the police could (or even should) get a warrant to break down the front door of a house just because it has a warm roof is just ridiculous. And what about the problem of cannabis farms that happen to be in the basement? The police would have to rethink their whole strategy. Charlie

annaj Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Had to resurrect this thread to say I painted my > front door today! > > I've been meaning to do it for ages and now I'm > really pleased with myself, but MrJ is out so I > had no-one to share my satisfaction with. > > Mind you, it's come out a funny colour, nothing > like the picture on the tin. Oh well. Well done Annaj, have you got a photo to show us? Charlie

Friday's great. And it's been a good week - got a big bonus at work, bought a new camera, out for drinks tonight with friends. Tomorrow I have to buy a fire extinguisher and fit it to my race car, fit new wheels, get a haircut and buy some fireproof underclothes for racing. Loving the week. Loving the weekend. Charlie

Cliched and hackneyed crap in my opinion. The opening sequence with brother arriving and meeting strange people in brother's flat, knife weilded, but it was being used to cut salad! ID cards making sci fi noises in swipe door entries, people disappearing from a flat that they had previously occupied. Fear and paranoia all around and a mysterious person in a pub. You knew he was mysterious because every time you saw him dark moody music played. Jesus! In this day and age, with that budget, they must be able to do better. It was really bad and is typical of modern British drama. Once upon a time Brit drama was clever, cutting edge and daring, whereas American TV was just toss. Now the balance has shifted. Charlie

I saw a mysterious thread. It hung in the sky. Then it was gone. Did anybody else see it? Charlie

Bless. I'm popping over in a minute. My cousin the deposed African president wonders if you could give him your bank account details and I need ?70 for my sister. She's disabled and I need to take her in a cab for urgent medical treatment. Charlie

Ah the legend that is the Drum. Unfortunately it is only legendary for the lock ins and the drug taking so was never a long-term proposition. What's Dave's next venture going to be? Charlie

> Charlie, I also agree with you that vulnerable > moms and children deserve our help, but are there > some also using the system? I don't really believe that any sane individual would think "I want a free house" and go out to find unprotected sex to get it. But it may be a contributing factor. If there are a few people using the system, so what? It's better that they are housed and safe rather than out on the streets. From what I have seen it is very very difficult for single mothers with young children to work full time or to be in full time education. Later in life when kids are in school life gets easier. Charlie

Society has a duty of care towards the vulnerable and it places women with young children at the top of the list of the needy. I wouldn't have it any other way. Charlie

Do Nunhead residents pay less council tax than ED residents? Is this not paid for by Southwark? Charlie

I thought it would be. And then I thought bugger it! I'll post it anyway. So I did. One more time but in a natty little window:

I am in tears with laughter after watching this again after all these years. Classic of all classics of TV advertising. Charlie

I have heard so many bad things about Kings, most recently that it's dirty. We (well it wasn't actually me, it was the wife) gave birth in the Home from Home unit at St Thomas' which was amazing. Very caring staff, a big room to ourselves, pool birth, nice environment, nice people and a great view of the Houses of Parliament to boot. Charlie

Sounds like a pretty lame scam to me. I can imagine the hours of planning that went into that one, and they get nothing for their trouble! Charlie

Anyway, wanted to be a pilot when I was seven. And a writer in my teens. Now I work in communcations and I do write a lot, but it's mostly corporate crap. But then I was previously a freelance feature writer and a magazine editor. Charlie

BJL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > atila the gooner Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I'm 50 fast approaching 51 and I still don't > know > > what I want to be when I grow up!!!! I always > > wanted to work for a record company, which I > did > > in 74/75 for a period of a year, the company > was > > called Contour Records based in Hanover Square > off > > of Oxford Street. I loved it to death but > > unfortuntely the company went under because of > > huge losses. > > I did my bit for Contour - I bought the Dell > Vikings and Gospel Ayres LPs! And what about The Hanged Man by Alan Tew from the TV Series of the same name? One of my fave funky UK LPs ever. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/dustyfingers78/bulletalant_hangedman_102b.jpg

Take up cocaine. It's stronger. Charlie

I like the pseudo Mission Impossible music! Charlie

I once entered a marathon. I got a load of peanuts and chocolate stuck in my helmet. Charlie

I've got three. And an Oscar. And a gold medal that I won at some Olympics. I wouldn't turn it down if I were you. Then you can change your username to JesusCappucinoOBE. Charlie

The Wire. Kitsune Records.

The saxophone. And saxophone solos. Charlie

Meh, sensored.