Duke visit recap

the ubiquitous old school O's hat, cooling out in Durham (say like Will Ferrell's Neil Diamond in storytellers would)

I had a great trip down to Duke University in Durham, NC recently, where I visited my sister. We went out last Wednesday and Thursday nights, and fun was had by all.

Seton Hall vs. Duke 11/16 @ Cameron Indoor Stadium

Wednesday night we took in the Seton Hall/Duke game. I'll be writing some of my observations of the game soon. Duke looked pretty good, destroying Seton Hall 94-40.

Thanks to Emma for hooking us up with really nice tickets.

Kenin/Badfish Show 11/16 @ Cat's Cradle near Chapel Hill, NC

At around halftime of the game we left to check out a Badfish show. Duke band Kenin opened for them, and to be honest, I thought Kenin were a better, more talented band. The dudes in Kenin graduated from Duke around 2000, where most, if not all, were in the same fraternity (what used to be considered the coolest fraternity at Duke - not so much anymore).

I'm not really too into cover bands (Badfish is a technically proficient Sublime cover band), which is why I appreciated Kenin's showmanship and skill (Badfish were also awesome showmen and crushed their instruments with chops and passion).

Kenin has some really good songs, but the unfortunate thing is, those songs are too complex for the average music listener. Kenin will never be hugely commercially successful unless they change their song structures and look, which is what most people call selling out. If they're willing to dedicate another 10 years to what they love, they'll eventually break through either way.

Angus Barn and the Chocolate Crack Dessert

On Thursday night, I took my sis and her roommates out to dinner at my favorite restaurant of all time, Angus Barn. A fancy steak joint, they have a dessert called the Chocolate Chestnut Pie, which I refer to as Chocolate Crack. I didn't mind dropping more than 300 on dinner, which is the closest I've come to spending 100 a person on dinner (you stay classy, red wine). I'm sure I will surpass that number once I move out to Las Vegas.

a short history of Angus Barn

We went out to a local Duke party, and more fun was had by all.

It was great to run into my brohan, The Bease, and chat for a short time.

my Sis (on the right - the resemblance is shocking) and DC Ashley

Research for One of My Books

I'm currently writing two books. I started the research process for one of them on Friday afternoon (the other isn't as much of a source-based work), and it was nice to see that the Duke campus keeps exploding architecturally, as well as facility-wise.

My current plan is to research extensively at the Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, then hit up Princeton's library, followed by Harvard, Yale, and then back to Duke. If I manage to get an advance on the book, which is within the realm of possibility, I would also like to include Oxford and the other internationally elite academic libraries around the world.

I'm a raging nerd.

a small wing of the Duke Divinity Library

another stellar (2) show(s): We Are Scientists/Hot Hot Heat and the Oranges Band 11/19 @ Sonar in Baltimore, MD

I'll have a full review, including a couple of the pictures I took, of both shows coming up soon.

Hot Hot Heat are from Canada, and I wasn't terribly familiar with their stuff going into the show, with the exception of their singles, which I've always found catchy and fun.

about the band (from their official website)

Unfortunately, I only caught the very end of We Are Scientists set (I got held up), which was upsetting because I could tell I would have loved them. There were a total of three bands, with the Heat finishing the night in a somewhat jovial, intense, dancing kind of way. They are a part of what I call the Rhythm Guitar Movement. They fucking rocked.

I can only describe Hot Hot Heat's sound as a happier Interpol, or a more serious Franz Ferdinand. Or to be even more accurate, a more talented (but currently less successful in terms of album sales) version of the Killers.

The highlight of the night was the main set closer, a strong "Bandages" with a little confetti explosion. The light show was also cool throughout the evening, as it wasn't too ostentatious nor distracting, but supplemented the music quite well.

The Heat are the kind of band that guys like because they rock, and cute college girls like because they make them dance.

The Oranges Band are a Baltimore, MD based rock band.

After the show, I spoke with the lead singer of the band for a split second. As it it turns out, he graduated from my high school in 1994. Sounding a lot like the Smiths, early R.E.M., early U2, and the Violent Femmes, the Oranges Band put on a great show for a smaller but still solid crowd of about 100 people, which for a 12:30 am show ain't bad.

More blogs about oranges band.


more to come

Friday night poker

poker night with the guys. "hey! it's Ben McDonald from the 1994 Baltimore Orioles!" we played 10/20 mixed rotation into the early hours of the morning, when i snapped this.

Walk the Line

Saw this while down in North Carolina.

This movie, along with the new Johnny Cash compilation I mentioned, makes a fitting tribute to one of the most rebellious figures in rock and roll. Seeing characters such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Waylon Jennings ("insufficient fundulation") well portrayed, along with an outstanding ensemble cast, make Walk the Line an Oscar contender in some categories (T Bone Burnett, for example, produced the stellar music/soundtrack - Burnett also produced the first Counting Crows record August and Everything After as well as the music for O Brother, Where Art Thou?).

An awesome film for both Johnny Cash completists and fans of well-told stories. The talented Joaquin Phoenix offers a spot-on impression of the Man in Black. Reese Witherspoon was amazing as June Carter Cash.

full review forthcoming

Fear

I saw the above just a short while ago while walking through BWI airport, so I snapped a quick picture. I just had to throw this out there, if you don't like it, you can send it right back.

The Maryland Men's Bball team will be very good this year, mark it down.

off to Durham, NC

Flying down to Duke for a couple of days to visit my sis, catch a basketball game, check out a concert, and have a few drinks. Should be a fun time.

coming up: Duke ----> poker night/guitar jamming ----> Capote ----> Hot Hot Heat/We Are Scientists 11/19 @ Sonar in Baltimore, MD (w/ the Oranges Band playing a separate show at the same place, how sick is that?) ----> Atlantic City, NJ -----> Ted Leo/Pharmacists 11/21 @ Ottobar in Baltimore, MD ----> Thanksgiving

"what the F was that, ref?!? that was a freaking charge and you know it. i'm going to own you!!!"

for those of you about to rock...

... we salute you.

My Top 11 Guitarists of All Time list will be coming up soon.

Also, CaptBinky is preparing a Top 15 Nintendo Games of All Time list, which should be phenomenal.

The Who

Mike Myers to play Keith Moon (from Variety), wreck hotel rooms, drive cars into pools, party with prostitutes, dominate the drums

"last night . . .

. . . she said"
- the Strokes, "Last Night"

Pictures acquired last night from my new digital camera (this thing is going to capture some interesting "images," to say the least).

this kid is too important to look at the camera. "sorry man, I have to field this urgent call, at 1 am at the bar." too important.

"hey!!!" (say like Harry Carey would have). "it's a young Tom Hanks/Lance Armstrong!"

me. most likely singing along like an idiot to the Who.

"it's Hansel and Hottie Amy. he's so hot right now... Hansel." Hottie Amy was partly responsible for us drinking and then asking pretty girls to take pictures with us.

the Letter Never Sent Random Sports Minute

Orioles try to stay classy, tell Palmeiro, Sosa to get the hell out of town. This move is simple addition by subtraction.

I love how the ESPN article linked above starts out, "In a move that comes as a surprise to no one, . . ."

Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils Men's Soccer team, which beat rival North Carolina in penalty kicks today to win the 2005 ACC title.

Wow, the Ravens really freaking suck. I find it appropriate that Byron Leftwich crushed us almost singlehandedly, seeing that I've always thought, ever since I watched the 2003 NFL Draft as it happened (which if I remember correctly was also the year The Minnesota Vikings commited one of the funniest oopsies I've seen in Classy Sports History when they just completely missed their draft pick by taking longer than the alloted 15 minutes - what?!?), we should have traded up even higher to draft Leftwich instead of Kyle Boller as our QB of the future (Brian Billick can't tell the difference between quarterback talent and his big fat head).

At this point, the entire team needs to be blown up. Not even drafting Matt Leinart in the 2006 Draft could make us slightly competitive next year.

Oh well, at least I can STILL laugh about the controversy caused by those Carolina Panthers cheerleaders - way to go, UNC-Charlotte!.

FJDelgado gets a stripper's number

cutie Natalie Portman in Closer

Well, it was probably just a matter of time, but I can finally cross off one of the few dozen items on my "Asinine Things To-Do List."

I was pretty hammered at a bar in Towson, MD (the hometown of Seinfeld's Elaine character) earlier tonight when this chick came up to me and my friend, Chill Mark. I had been humoring her in conversation for a little while when, seemingly out of nowhere, she busted out, "Do you have a pen?". After getting her number, and as she was leaving, she revealed that "Layla" was her stage name, and "xxx" was her real name. And that I should go see her dance at the local mid/high-end strip club.

In my crazy, fucked-up mind, I danced a little jig.

Sophomoric high-fives were exchanged throughout the bar...

... and then I rode off into the friscalating dusklight.

The hilarious thing is that she went to high school around here, and she was classmates with the sibling of one of my buddies.

You stay classy, Layla!

off to AC, another new contributor

photo courtesy "archangel" @ Two Plus Two

I'll be heading to Atlantic City for a brief stint of poker and drinking at the Borgata with my pal Intellectual Steve. I hope Annie the Hottie Dealer (from the Babes of the Borgata 2005 calendar, pictured above) deals at my 40/80 table like last time.

This trip will be centered more on having fun than pure poker, so it'll be interesting to see if I get drunk and manage to piss off an entire table of players, like many, many times before.

It's actually quite possible those Coronas on the right were for me.

The Borgata fires fat chicks, stays classy

In site news, we're having yet another smartass join Letter Never Sent. He is known in some circles as Captain Fun. Hopefully he'll start posting soon, as he's a great writer with a hilarious sense of humor.

In honor of this AC jaunt, some philosophically deep AC/DC:

"... and while you're out there
sitting on the fence
get off your ass and come down here

cuz rock and roll
ain't no riddle, man
to me it makes
good, good sense

rock and roll ain't noise pollution
rock and roll will never die
rock and roll ain't no pollution
rock and roll
it will survive, yes it will"

- AC/DC, "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"

college basketball: Duke has dominating team (again)

The early accolades are starting to pour in for the 2005-2006 Duke Blue Devils.

Williams, Redick selected preseason All-Americans

Duke #1 in AP Poll

This year's team should lose about4 games, and should make the Final Four at worst (although anything can happen). The squad's biggest weakness could be pure athleticism at the wings (what I'm trying to say is that we might be too white).

Letter Never Sent Predictions:

MVP: Shelden Williams
ACC Player of the Year: J.J. Redick
X-Factor/Most Improved Player: DeMarcus Nelson
next reviled white Duke player: tie Greg Paulus / Martynas Pocius
ACC surprise team of the year: Maryland (we're calling for a 2nd place finish behind Duke)
possible history: Clemson finally beating UNC @ Chapel Hill (if it doesn't happen this year it may never happen)

more to come...

Josh McRoberts (above right) is Duke's best white big man since Mike Dunleavy.

a Johnny Cash compilation for the ages, solid new Depeche Mode

Johnny Cash
The Legend of Johnny Cash



The world lost a rock and roll and country icon when Johnny Cash passed away in late 2003. For those of us who missed out on those extra levels of humor when Sue explained how he got his name in Swingers, this top notch compilation offers a career-spanning look that will impress long-time Cash fans as well as new listeners.

Featuring many of his classic songs and covers, the last half finds Cash revealing his diverse appreciation for music, exemplified in songs ranging from his collaboration with U2 (the atmospheric "The Wanderer") to a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song (a poignant, powerful take on "Hurt").

Legend would make a good Christmas gift for anyone who enjoys their songs about traveling, drinking, growing, losing, and loving.

Depeche Mode
Playing the Angel



Thank God that David Gahan's suicide attempt failed since, because of that deal, we get more new Depeche Mode like Playing the Angel. Everybody wins.

Full reviews for both records forthcoming.

a hand for thought

I was "FJDelgado" in the following hand, my online name is changed for shits and giggles.

############################################################################
Stage #217920052: Holdem Normal $15/$30 - 2005-11-03 04:07:54.007 (ET) [ 2005-11-03 04:07:54 ]
Table: Austin (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 9 - C SPACKLER ($920.35 in chips)
Seat 2 - FREDRIK312 ($639 in chips)
Seat 3 - ANY2WILLDO4U ($704 in chips)
Seat 4 - DTXQH ($712.20 in chips)
Seat 5 - DAKID1 ($1000 in chips)
Seat 6 - FJDelgado ($1562 in chips)
FREDRIK312 - Posts small blind $10
ANY2WILLDO4U - Posts big blind $15
DAKID1 - sitout (wait for BB)
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to FJDelgado [8d 7d]
DTXQH - Calls $15
FJDelgado - Raises $30 to $30
C SPACKLER - Folds
FREDRIK312 - Folds
ANY2WILLDO4U - Folds
DTXQH - Calls $15
*** FLOP *** [4d 5h 3s]
DTXQH - Checks
FJDelgado - Bets $15
DTXQH - Raises $30 to $30
FJDelgado - Raises $30 to $45
DTXQH - Raises $30 to $60
FJDelgado - Calls $15
*** TURN *** [4d 5h 3s] [6c]
DTXQH - Checks
FJDelgado - Bets $30
DTXQH - Raises $60 to $60
FJDelgado - Raises $60 to $90
DTXQH - Raises $60 to $120
FJDelgado - Calls $30
*** RIVER *** [4d 5h 3s 6c] [10d]
DTXQH - Bets $30
FJDelgado - Raises $60 to $60
DTXQH - Raises $60 to $90
FJDelgado - Raises $60 to $120
DTXQH - Calls $30
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FJDelgado - Shows [8d 7d] (Straight, four to eight)
DTXQH - Mucks
FJDelgado Collects $682 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($685) Rake ($3)
Board [4d 5h 3s 6c 10d]
Seat 2: FREDRIK312 (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: ANY2WILLDO4U (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: DTXQH HI: [Mucked] [Ah 7c]
Seat 6: FJDelgado won Total ($682) HI:($682) with Straight, four to eight [8d 7d - P:8d,P:7d,B:6c,B:5h,B:4d]
Seat 9: C SPACKLER (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
############################################################################

Any critiques are welcome.

Obviously, playing the stone cold nuts is easy. But what interested me about this hand was the play of DTXQH. I put him on top pair (specifically A5) after his flop raise, which is why I 3-bet the flop (to represent a higher pocket pair, and increase my profit if I wound up hitting the turn). When he capped the flop, I was concerned about DTXQH holding a middle pocket pair. After his turn cap, I was positive he held 77 (he did not), and that he was paying me off ATM-style.

Thank God for donkeys.

future magistrates and noblemen...

Congratulations to my good friends Bro (University of Maryland), The Golden Bear (George Washington University), and Angry Johnny (Southern Methodist University, go Harriet Meiers) for passing the bar exam and officially becoming attorneys.

I look forward to each of them representing me in court someday.

Well, that was a mindfuck: A story of a viewing of the film "Donnie Darko"

by the Monitors
To begin with, if you've seen the movie "Donnie Darko," (hereforth, "DD") read no further, because I'll spoil the shit out of it for you. I'd enjoy doing that, so if you are so averse to conflict that you will take bullshit from people over the internet, then keep reading no matter what.

Anyway, let me set the stage. My Chilean girlfriend Dana and I ordered DD from Netflix about 3 weeks ago, knowing nothing about the movie but hearing great things about it. I heard it was "fucking hilarious, " and she heard it was "fucking great," among other "fucking [adj.]" combinations. Obviously, fucking was the lowest common denominator of DD, and anyone that knows me for 5 minutes knows that I won't pass on a movie with that much fucking. So it takes us 3 weeks to watch it, and against my better judgment, I decide not to go out on Saturday, Halloween night for the non-student working class mid-20's cross-section. But we don't start watching the movie until about 1130pm, so the movie continues on well into the late night of October 30.

So the movie begins more or less with a delusioned (literally) Jake Gyllenhall (I made no attempt to spell his name correctly) as Donnie Darko (the tragic hero, albeit it one with a very uncreative last name), at dinner with his typical American family, arguing with his sister and using many naughty words such as "fuck." Then he goes to bed and sleep walks, narrowly avoiding an odd instance of a jet engine crashing into his bedroom yet remaining intact and landing on his bed. During his wanderings, he's told by a psychotic authoritative man-sized rabbit that the world will end in 28 days. The day he is told this is October 2. The movie more or less countsdown to October 30 at this point.

During these 28 days (later - see zombies), Jake, I mean Donnie, discovers how to see into the future after a secret screening of The Abyss in his basement, then vadalizes his school, and also burns down a pedophilic motivational speaker's house. As it all adds up to October 30, Jake, I mean Donnie, slowly begins to piece together how the world is a big deterministic cause-effect chain (not a tree), and searches for a way to save himself from dying alone during the End. As an ultimate result of his ill-fated search, Donnie's girlfriend gets run over by a dude on Halloween eve who is dressed in a demented rabbit costume (also seen in Independence Day), who he quickly shoots in the left eye (an impressive distance shot for a novice). The movie turns a screw, Donnie travels back in time and decides to lie in his bed and sleep soundly the night of October 2/October 30 when all the shit goes down with the jet engine, thus sacrificing himself, facing his only fear (a theme of the motivational speaker) of dying alone, and obviating all collateral harm/death to others and avoiding personal grief.

Needless to say, it's an incredibly unsettling film, not to mention bizarre and difficult to follow. All in all, it makes one question the scope of tragedy in life, and puts you in the uncomfortable position of someone who is increasingly delusioned about something so seemingly trite as the end of the world. But rather than leading towards a scattered perception of reality, the movie (and Donnie's purpose) converges as Donnie finally takes the world by the balls and sacrifices himself for everyone's salvation; though it can be said that he finds his own, as well.

So in conclusion, an extremely introspective movie about forseeing one's death and its consequences, and being able to choose in retrospect of options therein, all while exploring the tapestry of human existence and God, motivated by an imagined psychotic bunny rabbit who foretells of a culmination of events to a Doomsday on October 30, the same night I watch the film. Now that's "fucking weird."

Dewey in repose

by the Monitors

So I realized that I hadn't sent out the few pictures I had of Dewey. One of them will, unfortunately, never be distributed since it could interfere with several individuals' career plans. To be brief here they are:

1) A final, gross physical salute to all that has characterized our time at the Dewey beach house. An important, and probably overdue, homage and metaphor to the depraved morality that has been gradually sown into the very foundation of the house itself; particularly the patio and several of the beds... To those who need a refresher, the stuffed animal horse came to us as if a gift from the drug gods, to torture and deface it as we saw fit. Quickly, it was thrown into the pool stained yellow with beer and strewn with debris. Slightly before nightfall, it was easily mistaken by passerbys for a drowned housecat. Before departing for the final night of bar drinking, the drowned horse-cat was mounted on the lamppost outside the house as a warning to any children and vacationing ex-Vietcong military to steer clear of this house of the damned. As the final morning came, the usual half-assed cleanup effort offered by everyone resulted in several different wanderings of attention. Most significantly, a well-armed Pete pulled out a 6-inch bowie knife and slit the horse-cat’s throat, which was then dangling by its feet on the lamppost. It wasn’t long before the poor animal’s head was completely severed and then mounted on the tip of the post; its body accompanying it, only separately mounted. Possibly the most gruesome display of cultural ignorance ever at the Dewey beach house.

2) This picture (below)accurately portrays the atmosphere felt on the last day of Dewey. Many describe the feeling as the same as the day after Christmas when we were younger. A featureless sky hangs above the house and the outdoor trashcan is full of garbage, predominantly beer cans and Grotto boxes, long before the house is even emptied of trash. Were there a picture of everyone inside, you would note the absence of bro, sparks, fern, radebaugh, and snyder, always the first to leave before any real cleanup is done. This leaves an embittered Kevin for the ride home in my car every year; and a phased out nick, erm, and pete to pick up random items on the floor and drop them back down in a different location after realizing they don’t know what to do with them, and generally wander aimlessly around as Kevin scrubs the kitchen floor.

3) Just what I described (above, middle)
4) The Sunrise breakfast nook and diner (left). The hidden location of four clandestine late night and early morning dining missions. Eat it, Kevin.

Take note that this house no longer exists. The evil and abject depravity it has so openly embraced is all but erased, which leaves us but with a single option: we must return. Something so wicked is not so easily utterly destroyed. Though it no longer exists physically, our spirits are surely woven into the tapestry of history, and future history, of the town of Dewey.

Cuz I’m a cowboy
On a steel horse I ride
And I’m wanted (WANTED!)
Dead or alive.

recent releases: My Morning Jacket, Franz Ferdinand, Ryan Adams

A few recent releases from October have caught my attention recently. Full reviews forthcoming.

My Morning Jacket
Z



file under: the Band + the Pixies + Neil Young x Radiohead

Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better



file under: [the Kinks x 10 (+ lyrical Beatles)] / David Bowie

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Jacksonville City Nights



file under: Johnny Cash + [(Emmylou Harris/ Loretta Lynn)] x (.5 Grateful Dead)

Buckethead 10/27 @ The Recher Theatre in Towson, MD

I had the chance to see the notorious Buckethead at the Recher on October 27. Known in all guitar circles as a virtuoso, and working with the ill-fated Guns 'n Roses reincarnation within the past few years, Buckethead has gotten quite a reputation as an enigmatic and odd player with undeniable talent (on his official bio he claims to have been raised by chickens).

Recently, my buddy Adspar mentioned on his blog that, in his opinion, Stevie Ray Vaughn is the greatest guitar player ever. I can't prove one way or the other, but I would have to admit Buckethead for consideration. Even though I haven't seen any pure world-class guitar players, such as Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, Buckethead easily blows away everyone I've seen, and I would have a hard time believing even Stevie Ray could play some of the stuff Buckethead can play. My friends and I stood drooling in awe for the entire show while he played. He's just a disgustingly amazing player.

Adding to the mysterious aura of Buckethead is the unconfirmed rumor that he's actually in his 40 or 50's. I tend to think this is quite probable, as it would explain both his constant appearance in costume, and, more importantly, just how insanely talented he is.

a Buckethead FAQ

Buckethead played with a simple stage setup: he had a drummer and a bassist, and that was pretty much it. The three of them played for more than an hour, then played another half-hour encore. Mixing some blues, acoustic guitar, and even a banjo into a set dominated by classic rock and some metal shredding, his versatility, speed, and precision were incredible to behold.

What makes Buckethead a freak of nature is due, in great part, to his sheer size. Standing at least 6'8, he towers around 7 feet with his ridiculous bucket costume piece. Being such a large dude, he also has monster-sized hands. Any guitarist will tell you that this can be an unfair advantage, and Buckethead uses his natural gifts to an embarrassing degree. He would play notes so quickly that it would be impossible for the untrained ear to catch up, which is what happened to me often. Seeing him hammer notes in quick succession, across 5 frets with the greatest of ease, made everyone watching incredibly jealous and star-struck. Everytime he crushed the guitar with a devastating solo, you could hear people turn to their buddies and say "That's fucking incredible... he's so sick" over and over again. And he was.

Buckethead's Official Site

bad spelling is infuriating

Especially in a published work that costs a consumer hard-earned cash. In this case, the consumer was me, and I'm not happy.

I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday and picked out a history book on the Secret Service, since I'm a history nerd. Titled The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency, I figured this book was worth the bargain bin price of $7.98. I was sorely mistaken. After getting home, I figured I would read the first 10 pages to get a feel for it. Like a bat out of hell, on page 5, the following exercise in editing futility takes place:

"Scottish immigrant Allan Pinkerton, a tough, savvy investigator who had founded the first financially successful private detective agency in the United Stated [sic] . . . was working on a criminal case in Baltimore in 1861 when he claimed to have 'inadvertently' discovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln." (pp. 4-5)

Are you fucking kidding me? Both the author and the editor didn't see that glaring typo? It's clear that these scholarly intellectuals decided a brisk run through SpellCheck would dominate any and all errors in the book, even words that are technically spelled correctly but clandestinely survive in the form of a blatant typo. What in the devil is the United Stated? I've never heard of this apparently new nation-verb.

What makes this worse is that it ruins an otherwise interesting geek-fact I would have enjoyed (the discovery of the assassination plot happened in Baltimore, and the Pinkerton fellow mentioned is associated with the well-known security company that Weezer references by way of the title to their second album: Pinkerton).

I did some further research on the book, and as it turns out, the rest of it is so chock full of mistakes and typos that some readers, instead of throwing it away, continued reading just to see how many errors they could ultimately find. Wonderful.

Luckily I kept the receipt to this sucker and I'll be making an exchange in the near future.

sweeping changes start in the O's front office, MySpace page

Here is a good article on the rather drastic changes which have occured after Mike Flanagan was given more outward authority in the Baltimore Orioles front office. This could be the start, hopefully, of a successful offseason in the free agent market.

Also, here is my MySpace page. I'm probably not going to add anything to it, but it allows me additional room for a more extensive list of favorite bands, movies, TV shows, books, etc.

I currently have 0 friends.

On the set of The Wire

I spent several hours yesterday on the set of The Wire, and it was a very cool experience. While I could see how it could get boring as an assistant or some other similar position, doing work as an extra was worthwhile, and I want to do it again.
Getting There

The day started off early, as my brother and I got to the location at 6:30 am. There were huge trailers set up all along the side of the street, and I got out of the car and wandered around for a bit, hoping to find someone who could tell me where I should go. There were a couple of huge, white vans, and it turned out the second one I tried asking was the van for the extras. I got in with three other girls, and we were whisked away to a church, where the extras were meeting before heading over to the on-location shoot.

As I walked into the foyer of the church, it became painfully obvious that I was firmly in the minority, ethnically speaking. I was one of exactly two white people (but to be fair, I am technically Hispanic-Caucasian), as the rest of the 20-25 extras and crew members were of the African-American persuasion. The only other Caucasian was a very short, older woman in her late fifties or early sixties, with slightly curly blonde hair. She was having some makeup applied by the makeup girl, and I noticed that she had the look of a white trailer trash junkie. It was appropriately fitting, then, that she would go on to play what appeared to be junkie buying drugs from some street kids throughout the entire day's shoot. She later told me that it was just her second day overall of filming; I'm not sure if both days would account for scenes for the same episode (The Wire is well-known for featuring a veritable cornucopia of characters, broken down into groups such as "The Law," "The Street," "The Hall", "The Port," etc. on the official website) .

I checked in with the lady in charge of the extras, and she checked my name off a list, saying "Ok good, you're here... you're going to be one of the drivers." As it turns out, the extras there were divided into pedestrians, drivers, and junkies, with about 6 pedestrians, 5 drivers, a handful of junkies and some miscellaneous characters (why does that sound like a bad urban nursery rhyme or limerick?).

All of the scenes I witnessed being filmed were, without a doubt, for plot developments involving "The Street." We spent the whole day filming at an intersection near Greenmount Street and Barclay Street in North Baltimore.

The Bogey Car

After getting my brother and our car, we drove to the location and waited for our cues. The first scene of the day was a rather simple one, as it was a set shot of a couple minor characters crossing the street. The most complicated thing about the entire shot was the camera set-up, as it was set on some rails and called for a rolling shot of the street, following the characters as they crossed. The drivers would then drive their cars intermittently, emulating a normal real-life scene (obviously). We were the second car on one side of the street, with two other drivers waiting for their cues on the other side.

The very first take was ruined in a funny manner; well, at least I got a huge kick out of it. As soon as the crew and director yelled "Rolling!," a normal civilian car came out of nowhere, apparently failing to see the neon orange cones which were placed up the street for the simple purpose of deterring normal civilian cars from coming out of nowhere to ruin a scene (this particular instance was all caught on film, much to the director's chagrin). It was a crappy old beige 1980-something car, and once the dude realized he had stumbled on the set, he awkwardly stopped in the middle of intersection. It was at this point that I heard someone say, "We got a bogey," and someone else answered, "Yep, bogey" over his headset. The director yelled "Cutting!" as soon as this happened, and the fantastically confused driver of the interrupting vehicle started getting his bearings straight and slowly drove off.

The assistant who was giving the drivers their cues then spoke into his headset mike and said, "Ok, we're going to have to re-start the scene because of that stupid bogey car." Partly because of the professional and almost bored tone of the assistant (I'm sure this has happened dozens of times to them), mainly because of the desperately confused look on the bogey car driver's face, and mostly due to how many times people kept mentioning "bogey" and "the bogey car," I of course found all of this uproariously funny. But that's just me.

The Jetta's Date with Destiny

As it turns out, there's a decent chance that the silver Delgado Jetta will end up in one scene, as we did three takes, with the last one seeming to come out well (as it turned out, three takes was on the low end of resets and takes for one scene). The shot in question was done two scenes after The Bogey Car Scene (aka the most generic city scene ever). The scene itself featured what looked to be a new quasi-main character, a tall, lanky black man with dreadlocks (at first I thought it might be Omar, but I'm pretty sure the man in question is a different actor/character). Tall Lanky Dude was featured with his back to a black SVU, talking in a somewhat impassionate manner to one of the street thugs. There were a total of 2 drivers for the scene, and we were the first to go. One of the assistants would cue us to drive a few seconds after the scene would start shooting, and after the third take, the director seemed to be happy with it and the crew moved on to the next scene.

I overheard mention that the day's scenes were for Episode 3 of the upcoming new season, so I guess we'll see if the Jetta makes it onto high-end cable television (it's also possible you might be able to see me in the shot, depending on which camera angles they use).

"Let's do it again!"

I was also very interested by the whole process of shooting a TV series, even the more boring aspects like watching the crew position the cameras and the directors working with the actors. All of the details were terribly interesting to me, even though most people wouldn't be interested in the slightest bit (just like I would be absolutely fascinated if I ever had the chance to watch one of my favorite bands produce a record - I would be as happy as an overweight kid in a candy factory just watching the band fuck up a song and have to do another take in total frustration).

It's also noteworthy that the top 5 phrases shouted by the crew are:

1. "Rolling!'
2. "Action!"
3. "Cutting!"/"Cut it!"
4. "Let's do it again!"
5. "Re-start!"

As anyone can tell, shooting scenes for TV series and films can feature a great deal of takes until the scene is right (one of the scenes was done at least 8 times before the directors were satisfied).

I'm more than happy I took part in the shooting, no matter how insignificant my part was. I look forward to doing it again, whether for The Wire or maybe another show or movie, in the near future.

More blogs about The Wire.