There will be better and more coherent posts regarding the series  
finale of the Wire, but I just wanted to offer my final  
recommendation/plea as a writer. "The Wire"--for those who haven't  
heard/seen it-- was a show that was on for five seasons on HBO  
depicting inner-city Baltimore through all the different arms of city  
life: the drug trade, the city police department, the mayor's office,  
the unions, the newspaper, the city schools, etc. The series finale  
was last night. Like my profile on Friendster, it is now retired.  
And--although I do have a penchant for hyperbole-- I swear to you  
that I am not being overly dramatic when I say that "The Wire" is and  
will forever remain the best and most complete form of entertainment  
I have ever experienced. And that goes for books, movies, television,  
internet shows starring Michael Cera, AND my roommate performing  
"Kiss from a Rose" at the Japanese karaoke joint in the Fenway. And I  
love karaoke.

Each season is a chapter in the most complicated and utterly  
authentic tele-novel ever written. It was created by a former  
Baltimore Sun reporter and a former Baltimore detective, and the only  
writers they've brought on to collaborate with are urban crime  
novelists: George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Dennis Lehane, etc. And  
they just nail it. All the characters are so well developed, so real  
feeling, so spot-on with their dialogue, so perfectly placed with  
their own arcs, and internal conflicts, you can't help but grow  
despondently attached to them. I cried when my favorite character was  
killed. Legitimately. And he did (mostly) bad things.

I have been watching this show since it first came on, and although I  
normally take a loserish pride in staking any sort of trendy claim  
about discovering something, I have told everyone I've ever known to  
give it a chance. Anyone that will listen to me. I have pitched this  
show like I had some sort of major investment, like I would somehow  
benefit financially from its success, like it was written by one of  
my (financially well off!) siblings. But I don't have any sort of  
publicity deal. I just appreciate art and  think this show is  
important enough that everyone should watch it. Yes, it has bad  
language (authentic cop/drug dealer talk!), and violence, and other  
vices that may offend, but I guarantee that watching this show will  
improve your ability to see and develop full characters and recognize  
the greatness that comes with real authenticity in writing. The  
entire show sounds improvised and ad-libbed, but according to what  
I've read, hardly any of it deviates at all from the script, which is  
the true litmus test of real dialogue writing. Even my dad (MY dad!),  
who won't do anything I ask him and shies away from publicly  
admitting he helped create me, begrudgingly watched the first season,  
and ended up secretly watching all the other seasons behind my back  
because he didn't want to admit I was right. Friends, The Wire is a  
show for writers. Trust me on this. Rent the first season, watch the  
12 episodes, and if you don't like it or at least see what I mean, I  
will (probably) personally mail you a check for $8.99 in Netflix  
expenses. OK, so I won't write you a check but you will definitely
not be invited to my Annual Wire Anniversary Gala next March
(featuring Kim Kardashian!).

Ok. Whew. I'm sorry. I'm all choked up. I will now step down off of  
my soap box, dry my eyes and resume what's left of my regularly  
scheduled blog entry.

I am on deadline again for Boston Magazine, trying to finish up a  
quick essay piece re: an interesting phenomenon in city social  
circles. For fear of someone stealing my idea, I will NOT be more  
specific. My plan of attack is to write several hundred word blocks  
in stream-of-conscious fashion for two hours straight until I find  
something that actually sounds clever/accurate and then fashion my  
entire piece around that insight. FYI: I do NOT recommend this tactic  
for the GRE writing section.

This was really great, friends. Let's do it again Thursday.

Also, the songs of 1998 will resume with Thursdays entry, but I was  
reminded last night that every make out scene from BH 90210 had this  
song playing in the background, and so it needs to be all over my  
Internets. You win, Steve Sanders!

No, I don't want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your  
heart). With you.

Wicked Game,
Chris Isaak