I'm baaaaaack...

Not that anyone noticed, haha. I took a little mini-break from reading to pick up more shifts at work and have been full absorbed by HBO's The Wire, which is now my favorite show ever. An epic mosaic of Baltimore with strong political and social convictions as the government and police try to deal with the increasing violence spurned by the dominant drug trafficking and gangs battling over street corners. The show's sense of moral ambiguity is one of its many noteworthy aspects because nothing is ever black and white. Who are the real good and bad guys here? Are the cops and law enforcement more corrupt than the actual criminals they are trying to apprehend? There is something genuinely authentic and raw about the documentary-like film-making style that effectively captures a sense of intimacy unlike many of these cop dramas on television like C.S.I. which tend to be overly-stylized, entirely formulaic and lack any significant substance. The Wire is riveting in its drama and very entertaining but also contains plenty of humor despite the serious subject matter. It deals with relevant social and political issues in such an intelligent and complex way that produces plenty of discussion. In terms of narrative, creator David Simon and his co-writers have eschewed from keeping each episode self-contained as is a common feature in many network crime shows: There is a crime, the detectives solve it and it ends. Rinse and repeat. The Wire is unique in that it is one long story and each episode builds the story filled with many sub-plots and fascinating characters that are all connected in some way. The narrative and character progressions from Season 1 to 5 is utterly remarkable. The Wire sets the bar so high as to what television shows can achieve in terms of sheer story-telling and scope, rendering the majority of other shows as utterly pedestrian and worthless. 

Ok, getting back to literature. I finished reading PKD's Martian-Time Slip so expect a review in the next few days. I also picked up a bunch of new books from my favorite book store today:

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