Is anyone watching HBO: The Wire?

The next episode is on tonight, Sunday, at 10:00 EST. It's about the West Baltimore Homicide and Narcotics departments who've teamed up to bring down Avon Barksdale's drug operations. The writing is very real and the cast is very diverse and normal looking. Not a bunch of pretty faces with perfect skin and smiles. It helps to make it more believeable to me. One of the main officers is a lesbian; some of the cops drink too much--while on the job; and some of them are rumored to be dirty. I had missed this show completely until I saw that they were showing the first five episodes last night and I caught them all. I'm sure glad I did. A good-ass show...

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Is Summer Over Yet?


Hot Damn, I can't take much more of this heat. And we're only experiencing temps in the high 80°'s-low 90°'s here in North Carolina. I mean, you can have your a/c in the car and your home, but just running around doing errands, etc, is brutal if done in the peak sun hours of the day. Maybe I'm just a wuss, but damn, I can hardly wait for October, my favorite time of the year, to arrive.

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Hendrix Family Wins Legal Battle


The family of guitarist Jimi Hendrix won an injunction at the High Court on Friday barring a New York-based music production company from releasing recordings on which the star performed.


Lawyer Nick Valner, who represented Experience Hendrix, said of the ruling: "This is a great day for the Hendrix family and represents the culmination of years of heavily fought litigation.


"The Hendrix family is determined to uphold the integrity of Jimi's legacy and will have no hesitation in enforcing this injunction wherever and whenever necessary."


My husband and Jimi had the same manager, [Tom Wilson], in New York around 1967-68 when they all played mostly in the west village. Cafe Wha, Cafe-a-Go-Go [where Cream played their first US gig--Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton with huge stacks of Marshall amps in the small club that almost blew the hinges off the place]; the Bitter End, the Fillmore East, Kettle of Fish, and Electric Circus--a huge media event nightly with a lightshow and mimes--and this was outside the place. A lot of hungry musicians got taken advantage of then with a equally hungry manager who's promise of big $$ per week, and a few other perks was enough to make a young man sign almost anything.

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Calling All Book Lovers


I saw this story on the 'forty.something' site about free books at a park bench near you. A unique way for unused books to travel to other readers.

bookcrossing.com

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Independance Day


This Fourth of July is more meaningful to us this year because of 9-11. And after visiting this site I was reminded not to be too complacent about our freedom.

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Breakfast Club


My sister, two of our best friends since high school and I have a standing breakfast appointment every Thursday morning at 6:30 am. We've met for over 10 years now. These are the people who've seem me through many a transformation and relationship. This time spent with them each week is more special than words will allow. And the loyalty, history and love a true friendship brings is to me, immeasureable. I try to express my gratitude as best I can by lots of hugs and 'i love you's'. But friends need more validation than that, don't they? Maybe I could say that my life is much richer for being a part of their life. Screw it, they know how I feel. I don't have to say a word and they know how I feel. I've just been on a kick of sorts to let anyone who's special in my life to know their importance to me. Life is so fragile and unsure and short. And good friends and family are such a treasure. I am truly blessed.

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Pilots face drinking charges


A Phoenix-bound jetliner was preparing for takeoff with 124 passengers aboard when officials called it back to the terminal and arrested both pilots for allegedly being drunk in the cockpit.


when I was a bartender, some of our very best customers were pilots. They drank a lot and they also tipped well. I was amazed that their voracious drinking was received [even in a bar] so nonchalantly. Since the same pilots were in the bar several times a week, and consuming massive quantities of alcohol---if they weren't flying under the influence, they certainly were hung over while flying. Now, which one is worse?

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