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It is what it is: Head-spinning supercut of ‘The Wire’
05.28.2015
03:01 pm
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In The Wire, you know, the writer is the writer, and the script is the script, and the text on the page is what it is. You say “Action!” whenever you say “Action!” and the actors’ll say whatever they’re going to say.

Look: HBO is HBO, you know? The Wire is The Wire, and you’re going to watch whatever you watch.

This video is the video:
 

 
via Slate

Posted by Martin Schneider
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05.28.2015
03:01 pm
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Dangerous Idea: Every American needs to SEE David Simon’s ‘My country is a horror show’ speech!


 
It’s a very big Internet, so you can be forgiven if you’ve missed David Simon’s absolutely incendiary op ed ‘There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show’ that was published on The Guardian’s website on December 7th. But if you’re reading this sentence, you no longer have an excuse and need to click over to said essay NOW and return here after you’ve read it.

You’ll thank me. Trust me, you’ll be smarter after you’ve read it. Go. Now. If there is anything worth your time, it’s THIS. Who wants to be ignorant? Not you, right? NOW.

In the days since it was published, Simon’s essay has turned into a shot heard ‘round the world. In my opinion it’s the most incredibly articulate, passionately argued, well-thought out meditation on America since, I dunno, something Mark Twain (or Kurt Vonnegut) wrote. I believe David Simon’s words to be of historical importance, that is to say future historians will read his essay in an effort to try to understand HOW the American people let it get THIS BAD and still allowed those responsible to continue to operate exactly as they had before. You’d think the economy crashing might have ushered in some change. And it has: Bad for the common man, but great for the capital-hoarding elites.

As Simon rhetorically asks—I’m paraphrasing here—“How much longer until the entire shithouse goes up in flames?”

David Simon’s words have incredible power. The kind of power that educates people, changes minds and makes them do something. It needs to be passed on and on and on until everyone has read it, even your idiot teabagger Fox News-watching Uncle Dumbshit. Especially him.

If you’ve already read Simon’s piece, what you may not be aware of (and the YouTube views thus far would seem to bear this out) is that the essay is actually an edited version of an extraordinary speech that The Wire creator gave in Australia at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House. Simon spoke for about 30 minutes and then there was an extended Q&A beyond.

Watch this and then pass it on. On and on and on. He’s not exactly offering much of a prescription here—that’s not his goal—but the diagnosis is spot on…
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.11.2013
02:01 pm
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Omar’s coming!: The Wire’s Michael K. Williams reveals playlist he listened to get into character
09.05.2012
02:54 pm
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“Omar Little” wind-up toy by Mister Frothee.
 
One of television’s most multifaceted characters, IMO, is The Wire‘s “Omar Little” played by intense actor Michael K. Williams. In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Williams mentioned the music he would listen to in order to get into character for “Omar.” Their Vulture blog went one step further and asked Williams for his entire playlist.  Apparently, ask, and ye shall receive ‘cos they got the full, hour-long playlist from him.

Williams warns: “I tend to stay away from the Omar playlist … I know where it’s gonna take me.”
 
01. 2pac “Unconditional Love”
02. Nas “Let There be Light”
03. Young Jeezy “Dreamin’”
04. Mary J. Blige “My Life”
05. Lauryn Hill “Oh Jerusalem”
06. Jay-Z “You Must Love Me”
07. 2pac “So Many Tears”
08. Biggie Smalls “Suicidal Thoughts”
09. Young Jeezy “Bury me a G”
10. Jay-Z “Oh My God”
11. Biggie Smalls “Who Shot Ya”
12. 2pac “Against All Odds”
13. Biggie Smalls “Everyday Struggle”
14. Nas “One Mic”
15. Lauryn Hill “War in the Mind”
16. Common “It’s Your World”
17. Lauryn Hill “Mystery of Iniquity”
18. Meshell Ndegeocello “Akel Dama (Field of Blood)”
19. Lauryn Hill “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind”
20. 2pac “Dear Mama”
21. Sun Tan “Sunscreen”

Listen it to in its entirety over at Spotify.
 

 
Thanks, Barb!

Posted by Tara McGinley
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09.05.2012
02:54 pm
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‘Wire’ actor protests NYPD stop and frisk policy: ‘Hey, haven’t I arrested you before?’
06.20.2012
03:39 pm
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Actor J.D. Williams is well-known for his role as a drug dealer “Bodie” Broadus on The Wire, but fame can often be a double-edged sword, especially when NYPD officers approach the young actor—who’s also been in Oz, The Sopranos and Homicide: Life on the Street—as if they’ve seen him someplace before… or arrested him in the past!

Perception is everything, isn’t it? Williams spoke out about the NYPD’s “stop-and-frisk” policy while participating in the “Silent March” in Manhattan on Monday:
 

 
Via Cynical C

Posted by Richard Metzger
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06.20.2012
03:39 pm
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The Wire: The Musical
06.05.2012
12:42 pm
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All you need to know is OMAR IS BACK!!!

I’m in! Now where do I buy tickets?
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Characters from ‘The Wire’ made into little wind-up toys

Via The World’s Best Ever

Posted by Tara McGinley
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06.05.2012
12:42 pm
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Characters from ‘The Wire’ made into little wind-up toys
02.27.2012
02:29 pm
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From Left to right: Jimmy McNulty, Bunk Moreland, Bubbles, Omar Little, and Kima Greggs.
 
These wind-up toys of the cast from The Wire made me happier than a pig in shit! Especially the “Omar Little”! Mister Frothee designed these lil’ guys and writes on his Flickr page, “They’re each about 2.5 inches tall, and have weird proportions due to the small motors they contain.”
 
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“Omar Little”

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Only fans of ‘The Wire’ will get this

Via Super Punch

Posted by Tara McGinley
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02.27.2012
02:29 pm
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‘We’re doomed’: ‘Wire’ creator David Simon on the end of America


 
David Simon, creator of The Wire and Treme, gives a sobering assessment of the future of America in these powerful clips from a 2007 talk at Loyola College.

Simon feels we’re headed for separate Americas, where the “haves” exploit the “have-nots,” and where human beings will lose their value. He faults “raw, unencumbered Capitalism” for making our country numb to the plight of the most vulnerable among us. America makes the wrong choices every time, he says, and unless we change, Simon predicts “we are doomed.”

The man is a genius, and as a writer and journalist, he’s explored the very darkest corners of our fraying “civilization”—trust me, this is really worth listening to… Keep in mind as you watch that this was recorded a year before the world economy did a belly-flop on concrete.
 

 
More of David Simon on the end of the American empire after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Richard Metzger
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09.28.2011
05:54 pm
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Only fans of ‘The Wire’ will get this

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Kosmograd linked to this on BB Submitterator and wrote, “I found this in one of my mother’s magazines ...” I’m not entirely sure if this is a real ad or not, but I certainly had a good laugh.

Posted by Tara McGinley
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04.01.2011
08:12 pm
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‘The Wire’ meets ‘The Trailer Park Boys’ (No, really!)
11.29.2010
04:19 pm
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Dangerous Minds pal, Steffen Schlachtenhaufen writes:

“My friend and I always thought it was strange that two of our favorite TV shows simultaneously had grocery cart pushing characters named “Bubbles.” A couple weeks ago we managed to get “Bubbles” from “The Wire” together with the actual Trailer Park Boys to see what would happen if their worlds collided.”

Two great tastes that taste great together: “I’m not changing my fuckin’ name, I’m Bubbles, not Goggles!”
 

 
If you watched this and you like it, please vote it up on Funny or Die!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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11.29.2010
04:19 pm
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