The weekend arrives...

...and I am currently sitting in my office post-conference, pre-assessment. The weather is very pleasant and I might head out for a walk in a bit. D has been out and about in the new car and seems very pleased with it all. It'll be a quiet Saturday night after a super busy week.

Anyways, if we had Sky (which we don't) we'd be watching the glories of Wrestlemania this weekend. Now, I am no wrestling fan; in fact I would go so far as to say that I thought it was a lot of rubbish until D sat me down to watch a couple of fights. It is strangely, indeed almost morbidly, compelling. Although it sounds really 'poncy', I appreciate wrestling for its theatricality. And I'm not alone in this...just ask the theorist Roland Barthes. If it's good enough for Barthes, then it's good enough for me. My favourite wrestler has to be the great Shawn 'the Heart Break Kid' Michaels. D and I watched last year's match with the Undertaker just a couple of days ago, and tomorrow they will be fighting again. Let's see if Shawn can't come out on top this time.

After finishing series 3 of The Wire I did threaten to write a bit more on my decision to watch it and my response to it. So, since I have a couple of hours (don't panic!) to kill, I thought I'd carry on my argument from a couple of weeks ago. Last time the post was entitled 'why I watched The Wire but will not be watching Valentine's Day: the Movie'; this time I am taking as my theme, 'why I watched The Wire but will be going out of my way to miss all the episodes of the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber vehicle on the Beeb'. I think he is searching for Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) after finding leads for virtually every other show in the West End via this format.

So it leads me to my problem with these TV singing contests. I hate them...and I'm not just being a big snob. Tonight (does it start tonight?) a group of people who have a modicum of talent will sing for public approval (and the approval of Charlotte Church no less) on live TV for the dubious pleasure of playing Dorothy in the West End. This 'bit of harmless fun' (check out the last Wire post for my problem with this concept) will allow us to spend our Saturday evenings in a comatosed state in front of the box. Yippee! Not only that but a new bunch of victims will start dreaming of the 'big time' and start saying sadly worrying statements like 'this is my life' and 'I'd do anythign to win this show' etc etc. What such an experience does for one's mental state, I dread to think.

By contrast, on Thursday we watched the last episode of series 3 of The Wire. The end of the Barksdale drug dynasty, the fate of Stringer, Jimmy's apparent transformation, the rise of cold-hearted Marlo and gang, all these stories have stayed with me and continue to get make me think. It wasn't easy to watch, of course. But I feel duly inspired to actually reconsider our urban spaces and the lived experiences of its occupants. And then D came across this rather brilliant website set up by the cast members who, through their roles in The Wire, were challenged to make a difference in Baltimore and beyond. TV that makes a real difference in the 'real world'. How amazing if that! So right on The Wire. It isn't for everyone and, be warned, it is tough stuff. But The Wire has been a revelation for me. It has challenged my perception of TV as genre, challenged my assumptions about the lives of others and, hopefully, spurred me on to actually do something positive.

Anyways, the assessment beckons. We'll be off to church tomorrow and are really looking forward to seeing our new friends at LEC.

Enjoy the sunshine.
CSW