What's The Good Word

Suppose you would call it a lifestream...By Brian Fitzgerald

Filed under: tv

Farewell To The Wire

Today is Sunday and it is mostly just like every other Sunday, we are relaxing and getting some stuff done. There is one major difference that will come this evening when The Wire is not on HBO. Last Sunday was the final episode of the the fifth and final season and I will miss it. It is a show that didn't get much acclaim either in their ratings or by different awards organizations but it has a strong cult following and it wouldn't surprise me if more and more people buy or rent the DVD sets as people continue to talk about the series over the next few years.

The final episode was mainly what I expected as just about every storyline and character reached some type of closure on what we had learned about them. This is one of the major reasons that I like The Wire much more than The Sopranos because each story and character has a beginning, middle and end. It is mainly the outstanding writing that makes the show. Anyway, I'm not an entertainment reviewer but I would recommend you check out the show, starting with season one, and be warned that it takes 3-4 episodes before things really get cooking, so be patient. I'm going to miss watching it on Sunday nights and hope that I can find another show to fill the void.

So I was in New Orleans on Thursday and Friday for work and had a great time. I got in Thursday afternoon and had a chance to explore the city a bit and check out Bourbon street and other parts of the French Quarter. I've been to New Orleans a few times but it has always been for work and never for long so I try to see something new each time. I did also make some time to go to the casino, which I've seen before, but I never miss out on an opportunity to play some cards. I lost early on playing Let It Ride but then made my money back and then some playing a new game that I had never seen called Flop Poker. It is not a game that is that widespread yet but it is so easy and the odds seem to be decent so I would check it out if you have the opportunity. For those of you coming to Al's bachelor party which is being planning in New Orleans you can learn first hand.

Thursday night I went out to dinner with a big group and then we hit Bourbon street for a few drinks until 1AM, which was not good for me because I had to present on Friday. I got very little sleep but the meeting was great and I finally arrived home, completely wiped out, at around 10PM on Friday night.

Tomorrow AM I'm leaving for Las Vegas for another meeting in another great location so hopefully I'll have some more stories to tell.

The Wire Is The Best Show On TV

We spent two hours last night watching the Lost season finale from last year and then tonight we just spent another two hours watching tonight's episode and while I enjoy Lost and it keeps me entertained it is sometimes more frustrating than anything else. On the other hand we have The Wire on HBO which is possibly the best show on TV and perhaps ever and that is not just blowing smoke, I'm serious.

A few weeks ago The Wire started it's fifth and final season and I've been watching every episode and then rewatching repeats. If you are a fan then you know what I'm talking about and if you aren't a fan I'm not going to keep rambling on. All I'll say is that you should check it out.

We have a pretty standard weekend ahead, except for the fact that it is Tracy's birthday on Sunday and the Pats are going to dominate the Giants on Sunday. I still haven't shared anything with Tracy and it is killing her, I love it.

Not sure if I'll get to post again so my Superbowl prediction is 38-17...Patriots all the way. 19-0, pure domination.

The Upcoming Season Of The Wire Will Be The Last

As I eluded to in a previous post I've gotten hooked and caught up on the first 4 seasons of the HBO series The Wire. I was saddened to learn early this week that the 5th season which has finished shooting is going to be the last. It seems that the creator decided this when first creating the show several years ago. It is pretty well regarded as one of the better written shows on television, however it never got the same following and accolades as shows like the Sopranos because it is not as "artistic". The Wire, unlike The Sopranos, actually has coherent plot lines and seasons where plots start and end and carry from season to season like you would expect them to, a novel concept. Anyway I'm bummed that it is ending.

Speaking of TV there are some great shows coming back. I know I'll take some guff for this but The Biggest Loser is back and is one of those shows that I actually enjoy watching. It kind of gets me in the mood to keep going to the gym and shedding my LBS when you see these people lose 20+ pounds in a week. And of course the train wreck that is Prison Break is starting up again on Monday and I can't wait.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Yesterday we got cable and Internet in our new place, how amazing is that? We ended up ditching Comcast because of their incompetence and went with RCN. The service provided yesterday by RCN was simply amazing. The installation women called Tracy at work at noon (our window was 5PM to 8PM), informed her that she was at our condo and thought because she was so familiar with our neighborhood from doing her job for 14 years she could go ahead and set everything without us?? She went over to our maintenance department and with our permission got the keys she needed to get into our place. We got home at 6PM and had 3 TV's with cable and wireless high-speed Internet, unbelievable. Now we can finally appreciate the HDTV we bought three weeks ago.

Anyway, we've got a big long weekend coming up, Jay and Joanne are coming down to visit and check out the new place. They have already seen all the DC sites and so we are planning on just relaxing and taking it easy. They will be here with us for just one night and then they are going to see Joanne's sister in Baltimore. We've then got a Labor Day BBQ on Sunday at a friends house which should be a fun time.

Spencer and Otis were down a few weeks ago for the Red Sox series and I've posted some pictures of that weekend. We had a great time at the game, the Sox won and Otis and Spencer were simply amazed at the number of Red Sox fans at the game. There have been a couple of articles lately in USA today and the Globe about how since 2004 it really has become 'Red Sox Nation' with the number of true fans and bandwagon fans that now exist, this was definitely evident a few weeks ago.

I'm going to try to post my pictures from Jordan tomorrow along with some other random stories.

Suffering From A Weak Stream

The cable guy comes tomorrow to set up our cable and Internet service, so I'm coming at you tonight via a Very Low wireless signal from one of our new unsuspecting neighbors. It will be nice to working with a proper setup come tomorrow evening and it will be even better to finally have some HD programming on our new HDTV.

As usual things here have been pretty crazy. I was in Austin, TX last week for work and it was pretty much what I expected. Austin is a cool little town with lots of bars, live music, BBQ and Tex Mex, all wonderful things in my mind. The one night I was there I went out to Stubb's for some BBQ and a few $2 Miller High Lifes, can't beat that. I did manage to get smacked in the face by my cab drivers trunk when getting dropped off at the airport on my way home. I ended up with a nice bloody scratch down the side of my face as a souvenir. It's a much longer story than that and I don't really feel like rehashing it, let's just say the cab driver was lucky I didn't introduce him to Jack Johnson and Tom O'Leary (see Anchorman if you are confused).

It is a disgusting 97 degrees here which I'm not too pumped about. Spencer and Otis are coming down this weekend to hang out and go to the Red Sox game, should be a blast, let's hope it cools off otherwise we are in trouble.

I'll try to get a nice post before the weekend and I really want to take some pictures and post those but I'll need to get a speedier connection before that.

What Do You Think The Sopranos Ending Was All About?

I've been completely unoriginal lately and I'm going to poach another story and use that as my post for the day. Hey, that's what the blogosphere is all about right? Sharing and linking and community...blah blah blah.

This is primarily for those of you that watch the Sopranos, for those of you that don't you probably won't give a rat's ass about this. Ever since the season finale I've been pretty wrapped up in reading online stories, reading message boards and just geeking it up over finding out the true meanings behind the series finale of Sopranos. I've read a lot of stuff and the article below is by far the most sensible and thorough summary I've read. It make a lot of sense. It is quite long and I encourage you to read every word but if you don't want to I think the article title speaks for itself, Tony Soprano is dead as a doornail. Enjoy...

BobHarris.com - Tony Soprano didn’t just get whacked; he practically got a funeral

The Fitz Is Back In Town

Finally back on the East Coast after a full week in San Antonio and yes in the title of this post I've refered to myself in the third person. I've got an action packed weekend set up but I took today off from work to get some of the basics of my life back in order. The trip to San Antonio was actually pretty good, it wasn't as stressful as earlier trips this year and San Antonio is actually an interesting little city. This time around I did in fact go and see the Alamo and I have the pictures to prove it. It is really nothing like what I was expecting. It is right in the middle of the city and most of the original buildings and land are not the way that they were back in the 1830's when the famous battle happened at the Alamo.

Few housekeeping notes: 1) for those of you that missed it earlier this week cable subscribers are getting the MLB extra innings option, we called the scumbags over at Comcast today and got signed up. 2) I've clearly left the door wide open for my wife, the NH Lady, to take over the role of lead blogger in the Fitzgerald family. However, I'm not sure she has fully stepped up to the plate yet. 3) Happy Easter for those of you doing the Easter thing this weekend. 4) I'm taking Monday off and going to Orioles opening day at Camden Yards with Al and the Texas Hammer, should be a fantastic time.
Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
  
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