waitwhuuut:

OH SO NOW YOU EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU FOR SETTING D’ANGELO UP WITH AN EXPLANATION OF WHY YOU DID IT. D WAS ROBBED.

That’s all I’ll say on yesterday, other than I obviously don’t pay good attention. The other bracket was a no-brainer anyway. Some tough choices today.

HAMSTERDAM.

Bunk (#1) vs. Brother Mouzone (#8). Bunk rules for two reasons: every scene where you find out more about him makes him more lovable (lacrosse? Junior Bunk?) and every scene where more of the narrative is revealed through him makes “The Wire” more lovable by proxy. The only other cops I like more than him are Rawls and the semi-anonymous homicide detectives. True, I say it with some regret, as Brother Mouzone’s complaints about magazine selection are hilarious and his “take your black ass back across Charles Street to where it belongs” scene rules. But Bunk is the man.

Wallace (#4) vs.Maurice Levy (#5). On importance to the narrative, Wallace. On general goofiness and entertainment value, Levy. Clearly we’re playing for the latter here, so Levy.

Jimmy McNulty (#3) vs. Cedric Daniels (#6) McNulty began as the eyes and ears of the audience. In season 1 and 2, we see everywhere he goes, we think of Stringer and Avon the same way he does, we begrudgingly chuckle at his loutish behavior. By season 5, he’s become Loki, a trickster God who destroys everything he touches. Spectacular.

This is against Daniels, who is almost his opposite. What we don’t see and don’t know for sure about Daniels is what keeps him cool: his dirty past, the way he never shows a wrinkle under enormous stress. And he’s a good cop: he nurtures his detectives, he’s merciful instead of spiteful, and he closes cases. But what makes this decision toughest: Daniels drops some of the best one-off lines and shameful glares in the entire show. They don’t stand out on the first viewing, but some of the stuff I remember most fondly comes from him. I don’t think he wins, but I want him to. McNulty.

Clay Davis (#2) vs. Bubbles (#7). Shiiiiiiiiit. Another tough call. But the masses pick Clay. It doesn’t do Bubbles justice, but Clay Davis is a great character, played by an awesome actor whose career goes way beyond his catch phrase*.Also, he gave birth to my second favorite Wire spoof clip (I’ll share them later). Clay Davis, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

EAST BALTIMORE

Stringer Bell (#1) vs. Herk (#8). It’s not even worth discussing, other than to mention that Carver’s absence is pitiful. Stringer Bell.

Wee-Bay Bryce (#4) vs. Lester Freamon (#5). Tough one. Wee-Bay made the most selfless decision in the entire show— sending his kid out of the life to live with Bunny. But against Cool Lester Smooth? C’mon. There is nothing about this guy that is not awesome. He makes tiny furniture, gives expert advice, seduces strippers solely to convince them to finish college**, and gets his hands dirty whenever he can. Freamon.

Calvin “Boadie” Broadus (#3) vs. Bill Rawls (#6). Ugh, I love em both, but I am not letting Rawls, the embodiement of institutional evil go home this early. Rawls.

Marlo Stanfield (#2) vs. Shakima “Kima” Greggs (#7). I hope this one isn’t the blowout I expect. Kima is perhaps the most under-rated character on the show; she spends the entire narrative becoming “real police”— when was the last time a show successfully did that with any career?*** Lest we not forget, she also had the “Goodnight Moon” bit, the “what the fuck is wrong with you yuppies?” girls’ night, and what I’d argue is the single best line about human nature in the entire show, “Oh, if I hear the music, I’m going to dance.”

This is up against Marlo, who gave me nightmares. He’s the anti-Daniels. There’s not much to say about this character other than his name is almost Shakespearean in its evocation of villainy, he’s terrifying, and he murders people for scolding him.

He. Murders. People. For. Scolding. Him.

This being about Baltimore, where “the Gods are not listening”, I have to pick Marlo, but Kima is always first in my heart.

*Dude played the doc who gave Henry Hill a benzo while jump into the fire was playing and the helicopter was chasing him. COME ON!

**Ugh, this is so gross, exploitative and out-of-character that I’m sorry I made a joke about it.

***Seriously, the West Wing tried (Rob Lowe quit), every law and hospital drama tries. Not many have succeeded.

Here’s where our philosophical differences in this game show up. I took Mozoune over Bunk. Bunk is amazing and kind and good fucking police and a great partner. But the Wire is a show about the power of institutions over individuals, and I think in this bracket I’m prizing characters who either subvert the expectations or rage against the man. Bunk - with his easy going demeanor, his desire not to pick up the phone and take that body when its not his turn, his lacrosse (!!!) - has found his way to assimilate into the system, and has managed not to let it eat him alive. Sure, he has his marital problems and his hangovers, but he doesn’t suffer either the angst or the transcendence that some of the great Wire characters. He’s a good guy. Mouzone is a good character - he manages to live both in and above the Game. 

For the similar reasons, I took Wallace over Levy, because oooh, Wallace still haunts me. And Levy managed to find a nice little niche in this overwhelming grind of a system, but at the same time he built a career based no not asking too many questions, which is a cardinal sin in the world of the Wire. I took Bodie over Rawls - both were company men, but Bodie seemed to take more pride in his work than Rawls did, and Rawls’ unexamined privilege made his company-line towing much less admirable than Bodie’s.  Rawls seemed evil - part of the machine, while Bodie seemed like someone trying to climb the ladder that was given to him through loyalty and hard work. 

Bubbles to me is one of the great characters of the Wire, while Clay Davis - like Levy and Rawls - is another cog in the shitty machine.

waitwhuuut:

Ok, so this is not going to go down the way it should, which is Ta-Nehisi Coates, Harold Bloom and Heather Havrilesky yelling about it over rows and rows of shots*. But here’s my picks for Day #1 of the brackets:

Omar Little (#1) vs. Ziggy Sobotka (#8). This one is a little harder than it looks, as  Ziggy embodies something we all forget: there’s no room for snark in a world of grit. Still, No-Heart Anthony’s brother has this one locked up.

Chris Partlow (#4) vs. Dennis “Cutty” Wise (#5). Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Second one out of the gates and it pits my favorite “late addition to the cast” actor, Gbenga Akinnagbe, against Cutty, my favorite “late edition to the show” character arc. It’s a tough call, but I’m going to give it to Cutty and I won’t be mad either way.

Felicia “Snoop” Pearson (#3) vs. D’Angelo Barksdale (#6). D’Angelo** is the reason “The Wire” is a story. No D’Angelo, no wiretap. No murder charge to beat, no show. No soft heart with hard eyes, no way to lean on the organization and get things rolling. Snoop is charming, no doubt, but Larry Gillard’s performance as D’Angelo is a sleeper in this bracket.

Michael Lee (#2) vs. “Cheese” (#7). Man, I love Cheese. But Michael’s story was stupendous. Michael.

*This is a polite way of saying what makes the Wire popular among Wire watchers is not always what makes it epic or literary. It’s easy to forget how cheesy it can be when it’s not wrapped up in the procedure or the hunt. Also, I dunno that Bloom or Coates has ever seen “The Wire”, but I don’t care.

**Also, it’s a damn travesty his mother isn’t on this list. She’s awesome.

My take, since we’re playing: Brianna and Beadie should be on the list, and I agree with those - mostly Mike Shurr - who say it should just be a 64-team bracket. Sure, it would make for some easy first round, but no Brianna, no Beadie, no Carver? Shiiit. I agree with all your picks — my love for D’Angelo knows no bounds. I was concerned how Omar will suffer in later rounds, as I feel like he’s the Yankees of Smacketology - overwhelming odds in his favor, due to an embarrassment of riches. I could see a lot of people going for their boy Chris or Cheese instead of Omar, who seems to have such a built-in edge. 

kohenari:

When I read about Joe Paterno’s passing this weekend — on two separate occasions, strangely — I found it impossible to separate the coaching legend of so many decades from the sexual abuse scandal of recent memory. For good or ill, one event or choice can fundamentally alter public perception of a…

sweetupndown:

you thought I didn’t really notice. But I did. I wanted to high-five you. Yesterday I had a pair of brothers in my store. One was maybe between 15-17. He was a wrestler at the local high school. Kind of tall, stocky and handsome. He had a younger brother, who was maybe about 10-12 years old. The…

(Source: sweetupndown9)

soupsoup:

Nafissatou Diallo, the DSK maid, goes public in Newsweek’s cover story

This is a pretty compelling cover (compared to say, Zombie Diana or the Beached White Male), though the super-tabloidy art direction is a curious choice. Two important takeaways from the comments: a man can be a pig and not be a rapist, and a woman can live in the margins of society and legality and still be a rape victim. (In fact, living in those gray areas can up the odds)

kurtsoller:

I originally named this site The Daily Want because I used to employ my gchat status to link to things I was coveting each day…Every day, I’ll post an item I like. I will probably say why I like it, but some things essentially speak for themselves.

Like the above j.crew bathing suit, which is the right length and will stay stylish and soft – it’s an unconventional cotton seersucker – as it transitions from the ocean to the ice cream parlor. Summer, you say? Yes please.

[54.50, jcrew.com]

Brett has the the LL Bean Downeaster Sport bag b/c Kurt featured on his G-chat months ago. It’s GORGEOUS.

(Source: kurtsoller)

I love this meme, and the crazy, meme-analyzing rabbit hole jujitsu Sady Doyle did on Tiger Beatdown

markcoatney:

newsweek:

Out: TINA BROWN. In: YOU?

Do *you* have what it takes to be the next editor of NEWSWEEK?

The official (unofficial) NWK Tumblr search has begun. We are not f—king with you.

Send us your resumes, pies, LOLcats, booze—and don’t forget to include a special thanks to K. Ryan Jones, the genius behind the official (unofficial) Newsweek editor search video, brought you by NWK Tumblr.

Why Sid Harman didn’t think of this months ago, we’ll never know.