The Wire Season 3: Cutty vs Colvin

SPOILER ALERT

I just finished The Wire season three and as become custom I come here to discuss my favorite character of the season.  Coming into season three, Stringer Bell was the heavy favorite to take the crown.  Although Stringer did have his moments, my season three fav character comes down to two newly introduced characters, Cutty, a former soldier (in the street-sense of the word), just released from prison and Major Colvin(not technically a newly introduced character, he a super small part on an episode of season two), soon to be retired turned rogue police commander.

I’ll give you a brief oversight of each man.  Cutty gets released from jail and offered a spot to run with Barksdale’s crew, after begrudgingly taking it he finds out the game’s no longer in him.  He leaves the game, opens a boxing gym and tries to get some young-ins off the street.  Colvin is close to retirement, but after one of his cops gets shot he decides to buck with tradition and think outside of the box to lower crime in his district.  The solution he comes up with is to create  “free zones”,  zones where drug dealing is tolerated in dissolute areas not populated by civilians.  Colvin’s plan works remarkably well decreasing crime by 15%, but when the media finds out he “legalized drugs” it all blows up in his face.

Cutty takes the crown for Season Three Favorite Character.

If I Won the Lotto…

As everyone knows the Mega Millions is up to a record $640 million dollars.  Here is the first three things I would do if I won $640 mill.

1) Buy Knicks season tickets, court side right next to Spike.

2) Pay Off Student Loans

3) Use money to meet/woo/date Rihanna.

Rap Crush Timeline

1988 Born
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1997 Crush on Lil’ Kim

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1999 VMAs

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2001 End of Lil’ Kim Crush

2001 Crush on Eve

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2004 End of Eve Crush

2005 HIATUS
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2010 Crush on Nicki Minaj

2011 Crush on Kreayshawn and Iggy Azalea


2011(a week later) End of Kreayshawn and Iggy Azelea Crushes
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Present Still Crush on Nicki Minaj

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Future Crush on Azealia Banks

CT vs. Lebron

After making the comparison weeks ago, CT cemented himself as the Lebron James of the RW/RR Challenge.  After CT beasted through the season, he found himself face to face in the finals with Johnny Bananas and Camila (and Emily and Ty but they never stood a chance).  CT, in CT fashion, blasted through the first six checkpoints establishing a lead with just a final sprint (albeit up a mountain) to the title.  Then he proved himself Lebron once again.  Like the 2011NBA Finals when Lebron shrunk in crunch time, CT began to cramp down the stretch.  CT on all fours let Johnny AND Camila catch him and pass him squandering another opportunity at the crown.  Diem attempted to play the part of Dwayne Wade in this allegory, she came up big on all the puzzles and tried to motivate her downtrodden partner down the stretch, but in the end it didn’t matter.  Another Challenge in the books and still no finals win for CT.

P.S. This may be the end of the CT run.  There was no more scary, unstable CT this season.  Like Mike Tyson, he was once feared but now he is housebroken, and much less entertaining.

Spring Wish List

Spring has arrived and with it my Spring Wish List.

Ray Ban Classic Wayfarer Sunglasses (black)

Simple and clean, exactly what I love.  Stylish when Tom Cruised donned them in Risky Business and still stylish now, simply timeless.

BUY:  http://www.80spurple.com/shop/product/134643/5919/ray-ban-rb2140-classic-wayfarer-sunglasses-black

Bape Giza Ape Crew Neck (gray)

I have made my affinity for crew neck sweatshirts known on this blog before, and Bape kills it.  Minimalistic and comfortable, all gray featuring a small Bape insignia on the breast.

BUY:  http://us.bape.com/shop

Amongst Friends Varsity Baseball Jacket (navy)

I’ve been hunting for a varsity jacket for a while now.  I love the way the navy plays off the brown and most of all its restraint; it doesn’t plaster a pretentious logo across the chest or back.

BUY:  http://amongstfriendsnyc.com/shop/product.php?id_product=423

The Hundreds Johnson Low Suede Leather (navy)

Staying with the navy and brown motif, The Hundreds boasts some of my favorite sneakers.  Plus the suede leather exterior gives it a nice textured look.

BUY: http://shop.thehundreds.com/p-2153-johnson-low-suede-leather-navy.aspx

Nixon The Corporal (black/ gunmetal)

Black on black can go with anything, add the canvas strap to give it some originality and I would rock this watch anytime.  A lot of guys like big, gaudy watches, not me.

BUY:  http://www.nixon.com/mens/watches/the-corporal-a243.html

Hanes Tagless Pocket T-Shirt

You know I couldn’t go a whole post leaving out my adored pocket tees.  Hanes offers up a bunch of color options and at ten bucks a pop you can’t go wrong.

BUY:  http://www.hanes.com/clothing/men/tshirts/bestsellers/hanes-tagless-reg%3B-pocket-t-shirt

Top Rap Collaborators

This list contains my top four living rap collaborators.  To attain eligibility, both parties have to be rappers (no R&B singers), they must have a sustained body of work together (at least five songs featuring each other) and they cannot be a group (no Oukast or Black Starr).

Honorable Mentions:  Eminem and Dr. Dre, Drake and Lil Wayne, Kanye and Common

Not-So Honorable Mentions: P. Diddy and Mase, Ying Yang Twins and Lil Jon

4. Eminem and 50 Cent

Top Five Collabs: Patiently Waiting, Don’t Push Me, Crack a Bottle, You Don’t Know, Psycho

PLAYLIST:

Mentor and Protégé take the number four spot.  While both have cooled down in recent years, these two were arguably the biggest rap artists in the game through the first half of the 2000s.  When they come together it resembles a Molotov cocktail steaming with rage, feeling like any moment it can explode.

3. Drake and Rick Ross

Top Five Collabs: Ashton Martin Music, Lord Knows, Made Men, Stay Schemin’, I’m on One

PLAYLIST:

This may seem odd, it may feel more natural to slot Drake and Wayne or Ross and Wayne together, but I love the juxtaposition between Ross and Drake.  Drake employs his whiny, sing songy style with Ross’ deep, heavy gangsta flow and they surprisingly work perfect together.  Drake and Ross announced earlier this year that they will be releasing a joint mixtape titled YOLO (You Only Live Once).

2. Jay-Z and Kanye

Top Five Collabs: Ni**as in Paris, Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix), Never Let Me Down, Monster, Run This Town

PLAYLIST:

Jay-Z and Kanye, also known as the Throne, may be the two biggest rap stars on the planet right now and are probably my two favorite rappers of all-time, but that can’t push them above number two on this list.  Jay and Ye just recently released Watch the Throne showing off their chemistry and partnership on one of the best rap albums of last year.  Kanye started as one of Jay’s go to producers before graduating to full time performer and peer, now the two share verses on some of the hottest tracks in recent memory.

1. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg  

Top Collabs: Still Dre, Ani’t Nuttin’ But a G Thang, Dre Day, The Next Episode, Kush

PLAYLIST:

I swear I’m east coast till I die, but my first foray into rap came at the hands of these two, more specifically Ani’t Nuttin But a G Thang (the first rap song I knew all the lyrics to).  This may be a nostalgic pick, I know Dre is not the most technically efficient rapper and Snoop is way past his prime, but their old school tracks still kill it.  Who knows if Detox will ever be released but it doesn’t matter because Snoop and Dre take the one spot on my top living rap collaborators.

Coming Soon…

This has been a pretty weak weekend post-wise but I have some interesting stuff planned for the coming week.  Sorry.  To hold you over here’s some Norm.

Last Meal

If you ask most people what they would choose as their last meal I can bet they will overwhelmingly respond, lobster, filet mignon and foie gras or at least something in that vein.  Not me.  If I had to choose a last meal it’s nothing lavish or overdone but something simple.  A good cheeseburger and vanilla shake (fries optional).  That is all and that is it.

Elite Eight

I haven’t watched any college basketball this year but I’ve picked 7 out of 8 elite eight teams in the tourney so what does that say about your precious tournament.

*I wrote this drunk last night.

My Fashion Won’ts

These are not fashion ‘don’ts’ because I actually like them.  Instead they’re my fashion ‘won’ts’ because for one reason or another I cannot bring myself to wear them.

Camo Anything

Every summer the heat rises, the ice cream man emerges and I find myself looking at a pair of camo shorts.  I never buy them, just look, sometimes I even try them on, but never buy.  I like the look when I see them on other people, but something inside me won’t let me purchase them, a voice saying “too cliché.”

Any Sunglasses from Casino

For me Casino functions as hardcore sunglasses porn, everything is big, it’s in your face and it gets you thinking “hey, I could pull that off.”  It warps your mind.  They say never go food shopping on an empty stomach; well I say never go sunglasses shopping after watching Casino.

 Backpacks

I think my aversion to backpacks goes back to my school days.  I ditched my backpack in middle school as a statement, “no more backpacks or packed lunches, that’s kid stuff.”  Truth be told there are a lot of times a backpack would come in quite handy but I have a mental block about it, worse comes to worst I slink on a drawstring bag.

Red Pants

Red pants or really any color pants for that matter.  I get tired of straight jeans, grey, black and blue.  Sometimes, I’ll even mix in the occasional khaki.  I like when I see a guy with different color pants on, but sadly I don’t have the balls to pull that off.

Beanies

The hipster trademark (along with Buddy Holly glasses and Mr. Rogers cardigans).  Hey, my head gets cold too, but I cannot bring myself to dip into the hipster depths of beanies, next thing you know I’ll be drinking PBRs and getting ironic tattoos.

 

UPDATE 5/20/2012: About a week ago I caved, and bought a pair of camo shorts.