Zola

I think that is precisely why I raised my original question: even to my British ears I could sometimes denote a slight New York/Brooklyn accent, but is enunciation & inflection was what threw me. It's a very distinctive accent albeit rather clipped and precise at times. My best YouTube example is this one (one of my favorites btw)

As well as getting my head round calligraphy this year, I am also trying my hand at photo scanning/processing - not just as a hobby but as an extra source of income. I got talking to a friend at her home a few days ago about school memories. And she then opened a box full of photo negatives (including some 35mm Kodak slides). These weren't hers but those of her parents and grandparents going back some 40 or 50 years! During the conversation she actually said to me "I would love to get these negatives digitally transferred to disk or USB, so that I could show them to my parents/grand parents in their fully restored digitised glory on their huge smart TVs!" But then she said she didn't have the time to go through the many hundreds of negatives to find the ones she wanted; and neither did she know of companies that would do that at a reasonable cost. And that's when a light bulb switched on in my head, and quick as a flash I said something like "Leave it with me, I might be able to help!" Working in IT I already had most of the equipment to do the processing, including a fairly high-end Epson dedicated scanner. But I had to do some research on things like DPI, compression ratios, ICE, cleaning & handling, photo editing software and a bunch of other things I knew nothing about. Anyway, she gave me 50 to get the ball rolling, and I was surprised how long it actually took from start to finish just to do 50! But the end result seems to have been very positive because she now wants me to do the other 600! And she has told her friends, and some of those have made enquiries my way. So a nice little sideline, but it really does require a lot of time and patience to do right!

Yes, I knew about Bruno (and Ron's) history, especially the latter because I was so impressed (or 'ensorcelled' as Josh would opine) with his Bruno character I had to look him up on IMDb and Wiki. Clearly, Ron was a bit of a political and Hollywood maverick: I can't say I have seen many of his other films and tv rioles, but it seems to me Ron was born to play Bruno! Am not sure which "Bruno" I preferred though - he was good when working with Leo/Bartlet, and I loved it when he slapped down arrogant Josh over Big Tobacco and the swing states. And then of course there was the mystery "dalliance" with Margaret - which never really went anywhere, although there might have been a hint when Margaret became pregnant in S7. Could Bruno have been the daddy? And speaking of S7, I think I much preferred Bruno supporting Vinick: he seemed to come into his own, especially working with Sheila and Bob, while at the same time throwing a few more barbed gauntlets down at Josh's feet - totally unsettling the guy until Lou comes along and went head to head with Bruno - which was also great to see! So yes, I loved Bruno, and I loved Ron for playing him. Although can I just ask: what accent does Bruno have? (I ask - as a Brit - as it sounds far removed from most American accents I am used to hearing)

I don't care much for coffee - and certainly don't entertain the idea of spending good money at the likes of Starbucks and Costa just for a whipped coffee - far too bitter for my tastes. That said, you deny me a cup of tea for a whole day and I will get incredibly irritable!

Well it's always good to hear an opposing view from the general consensus of a controversial character. And you do make a good point about her being more down to earth compared to the "elitists" and "feministas" (to quote Josh & CJ) that occupied the west wing. And I felt really sympathetic for her over the Russell Memo when CJ got on her highest of high horses and tore Mandy a new one, even though Mandy was just doing a good job revealing weaknesses in the Bartlet dynamic.

I think it was down to poor writing of a female character again - She had many good points, but plenty of annoying ones, not least her little hissy fit regarding the extra security around her Houston home along with staff workers in her home during the campaign; and the number of servants and agents cramping her style at the White House amongst other little complaints that bugged me no end. Never quite took her seriously, and never warmed to her either. That said the writers did a very good job with the Sheila Brooks character working as campaign manager for Vinick - far more endearing and easy on the eye (and ear!)

Thanks! To be honest things did improve during the evening, and today thus far has also been quite positive. And am also pleased I made you laugh at my expense - I guess humour helps turn a dark day into a fairly bright one. And in the great scheme of things, my frustrations yesterday were just your typical first-world problems that we have to deal with. Right now, it's 2pm and I am off down the local boozer for a couple of drinks, and then off to play a game of ten-pin bowling (which I am completely crap at, but its the taking part that counts. No doubt I will get laughed at again at my expense - but I'm easy going, so I don't mind) Have a good day, peeps (and I promise I won't swear on here again!) <well... perhaps not today at least lol>

Thanks To be honest i really was out of order with that previous post of mine - so apologies for the expletives (am tempted to go back and re-edit the post and exorcise those particular words, but decided to leave them in just to remind me not to be a total asshat in future when I'm venting0 The funny thing is, after I finished posting that long trope, I dashed upstairs to my bathroom, tripped on the 4th step up, did a faceplant on the stairs; rubbed my nose, which had taken most of the impact with the stairs. Got to the bathroom, but couldn't unzip the fly on my jeans because it has jammed; couldn't even pull them down because they're skintight... and all the time I am bursting to pee! So in desperation I pulled the zip wide open, which not only broke the zip, but also tore the seam of my jeans just below the crotch area.... However..... THE RELIEF.... made up for all that! That said, I have a slightly bruised red nose; a pair of torn jeans, and traces of trodden dog shit on my carpet.... ...but anyway. It's 3:30pm here and I'm not going to get all that get on top of me. Have switched off my phones and I'll be making myself a bacon & egg toasty while watching "Ash Vs Evil Dead" on the TV - I fancy some mindless over-the-top violence and gore right now - can't imagine why! :)

Thank heavens its Friday afternoon and I can now "unplug" from my work commitments for another couple of days! But of course it doesn't work like that: I still get badgered by my clients and prospective new customers throughout the weekend despite the fact I "close early" on a Friday afternoon until Monday morning (I do this in order to give myself a chance to catch up with my other work commitments at the weekend). But they just don't seem to understand "closed" and instead send me emails, text messages or voice mails wanting my "urgent" help, which is total bullshit because they use "urgent" in order to give me a guilt trip. But I have learnt that game now: they have cried wolf too many times, so they can go fuck themselves until Monday. But today hasn't been a great day - full of minor irritations and lots of "oh for fuck's sake"s - everyone seems to be in a rush, no patience, everyone is preoccupied with some sort of bullshit that invariably irritates people around them - like me! Am also having a bad period - I have the urge to kill, scream, and tell folk to go fuck themselves with a meat grinder; my car has a flat battery, one of my heels on my shoe broke, I lost my USB cable for my Apple phone; its too feckin' hot again; far too humid and sticky; no rain in something like 7 weeks; I think I walked in some dog shit; I need to go to the shops and stock up, but I really cant' be arsed; my credit card statement arrived and I can't believe how much I owe; there's a wasp flying around my head that's gonna find itself impaled on something sharp, long and pointy very soon; my hair keeps flopping around my face because of this desk fan and I don't have any grips to hand; I need to pee but I really can't be arsed to move; the battery on this laptop is about to die and the charging cable is in the other room; a couple of friends have text me wanting to know if I fancied going out tonight to an all-night rave; my landline phone has about 6 cold call messages on it which i haven't deleted yet; my neighbour has parked his car partly in my driveway, which means I can't get out; some fucker is having a BBQ and is stinking the place out with his cheap crap, and it's only 1:45pm; oh.... and here's another voice message on my phone wanting my help with an IT issue.... well they can go shove their issue up their pipe! 15% battery left; and I need to pee more now that its on my mind.... sorry I'm having a shit day, and it's not even 2pm UK time yet. I don't normally swear either. However, can I just leave this here... FUCK! Thank you :)

I adore S7 (and the latter half of S6 in respect to the electoral campaigns); but I too would have liked to have seen Vinick win given that he was a moderate republican that even Leo admitted would be incredibly difficult to beat. And the nuclear plant leak was as you say rather contrived and convenient in order to give Santos an advantage. The only observation I would make about Vinick winning would be his campaign staff - didn't like any of them other than for Bruno, Sheila and Bob Mayer; and neither did I like Vinick's choice of VP elect. As for the rumour regarding the writers' change of heart after the John's death and letting Santos win the Presidency; well from what I have read the writers had already decided that Santos was going to win right from the outset; but that Vinick would give him a run for his money right to the very end. There was also a suggestion that some of the writers wanted Vinick to win, but consensus and the subsequent death of John tipped the balance and that was that. http://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2013/01/21/what-arnold-vinick-going-to-win-the-presidency-on-the-west-wing-before-john-spencers-untimely-death/

Good points, but it really doesn't answer my original question: why bother with a lookout? Look out for what exactly, when the shooters could quite easily see their intended quarry? The only reason for the "lookout" being there was purely to give Gina a heads-up, as well as giving us, the audience a feeling of unease. Other than that it was pretty pointless to my mind And you're right: in hindsight I should have posed this question in the S1 thread -something I did consider originally but then posted here instead.

Hope I have posted in the right place, but I was wondering/pondering something with regards the final episode of s1. I don't really understand what that skinhead guy was doing in the crowds when POTUS and his entourage were coming out of that convention centre? The assassins in the tower opposite knew the president would be coming out from that exit, and they couldn't really miss him even from their elevated height. So why bother with the "lookout" in the crowd, he didn't really serve any purpose other than alert Gina of the Secret Service. I was also surprised the assassins only had hand guns to do their ghastly deed; if you're going to assassinate someone you would have thought they would have tooled up with assault rifles rather than just firing aimlessly in the crowd.

** Since this is the final scene to a great film, best not to play it if you haven't seen the film yet ** The final 2 or 3 minutes of Inception - a very moving scene that also answers a number of questions, as well as raising some new ones. But I think the score by Hans Zimmer, really is the icing on the cake!

I had the pleasure of watching Inception a few days ago. Loved the twisty storyline and decent acting and music; but what I really loved was the "cityscape folding in on itself" as well as the fight scenes in corridors and lift-shafts while seemingly in zero-gravity.

Just finished S3, and I will really miss the presence of Stringer Bell! It's interesting to read how desperate Idris Elba was to keep his character alive at the end of S3, but writers David Simon & Ed Burns felt it was time for the Barksdale story arc to come to some sort of closure, and that Bell just dug himself into so many holes there was no where else for him to go other than to be offed!

Have just finished reading... or rather, re-reading "All the Pieces Matter" by Jonathan Abrams. One of the best books I have read regarding the backstory and various insights behind the making of "The Wire" Despite being a terrific book for an equally terrific TV show, one of the show's creators, David Simon, openly admitted that he was trying to convince HBO execs to give him another season in order to to complete his "vision" of Baltimore, despite being threatened with cancellation due to relatively poor ratings. This was more apparent, and more of a struggle-to-convince after season 3, when a lot of people felt there was a satisfying "closure" to the whole Barksdale story arc. The execs actually said to Simon "You finished the show on a high, with a logical and satisfying conclusion. Why would you want to drag it out to another season when no one was watching?" And I think that final comment - "..no one was watching..." really hit home with me! That even after three seasons, the ratings were average at best, despite having some of the most engrossing storylines, the most intriguing and diverse characters, and the complex issues I have seen in TV drama. Further on in the book, Simon, Ed Burns and some of the lead characters were really at a loss regarding the ratings, and the constant struggle to keep the show alive. And as most of us know, season 5 was full of compromises that Simon had to make to the HBO execs - i..e. only 10 episodes rather than the usual 12 or 13. Which explains why some of the story arcs felt rushed or incomplete! The book also touches on why the show never received the recognition it truly deserved in terms of awards, especially the lack of Emmy's. It's a great book for any fan of the show, and I would definitely recommend it!

True! Throughout the season there were rumours that more and more dock work might move further up the coast; plus there were plans to build apartments in or around the dock area. And I think in one episode most of the dock workers were invited to a meeting, and they were shown "the future" by some clean-cut suit & tie rep who was trying to sell them the idea that a lot of their work could be automated, thus reducing the head-count. So whichever way you look at it, the docks and the dock workers, were more or less condemned: death by a thousand cuts. It's no wonder a lot of them tried to steal what they could while they had the work. Which also explain why Frank & Nick did the drugs as a profitable sideline - although Frank cared a lot about the union and his men, and quite often would pump the money he got from the Greek into supporting both - a very altruistic man! Whereas Nick did the drugs purely to support his family's needs. And as for Ziggy - well I don't know if he had the intelligence to think past the short term, but I am guessing that if the docks did eventually close he would have nothing to fall back on! So perhaps he felt he needed to get involved in these get-rich-quick schemes through the Greek and Double G via Nick. He was enterprising in his own right, but he just didn't have the business acumen or the patience to make it work.

Re-watching Season 1, and I still - without a shadow of a doubt - love this guy! My favourite character will always ALWAYS be Leo; but Josh comes a very close second. I know I keep banging on about him in previous posts, but his character is so chameleon-like, that you just cannot forget him - he leaves a lasting impression, on me at least! His arrogance and down-right snobbery makes me want to scream at the TV (and have done so, many times), but then the guy is so gifted, such a brilliant political chess-player than you can forgive his maddening eccentricities. I also think that because I hadn't heard the name of Bradley Whitford all those years ago, I believed in the character far more than the likes of Rob Lowe playing Sam or Martin Sheen playing Bartlet. For those latter two I found it hard not to stop thinking "oh, that's Rob and Martin playing two characters!" I am so pleased and grateful that Josh stayed the course from seasons 1 through to 7. The character development through that time frame is astonishing. He d'man!

Am almost through Season 1 (not for the first time either), and I am really amazed at how Allison has evolved from her early CJ appearances to her Oscar winning roles of today! I finally got round to watching "I, Tonya", and although I wasn't overly impressed with the film as a whole, I was truly taken by Janey's excellent role - and I could still see a few CJ'isms in her character. She is an amazing actress, and hugely underrated. I wish her well in future film projects; but to my mind she will always be CJ - the Press Secretary :-)

I guess Ziggy also thought "well, everyone else working on the docks is on the take, so why shouldn't I have mine?" And there is a sense of truth in that: most of the dockworkers were stealing from the cans - Horse-face admitted so to Frank, and Frank wasn't at all surprised or concerned. In fact he probably even encouraged it! So you can understand why Ziggy wanted some of that action, but not stopping at crates of booze or fancy aftershave; he wanted to step up into the world of leather coats, cars and fancy watches. The docks was like a huge shop at Christmas, and Ziggy wanted his fingers in everything because he felt entitled, given that everyone else was doing much the same under his uncle's watch. And of course in the wider context, work in the docks was slowly drying up as the economy was slowing down; so for the likes of Nick, who had a family, life was getting hard with little or no money coming in and bills to pay. Everyone was feeling the pinch, which explains why some resorting to stealing; and in Nick/Frank and Ziggy's cases, resorting to being a middleman for drugs! Desperate times make for desperate measures

Well its been a few months now, and I need my fix once again. Back watching season 1 once more, and hearing McNulty's "what the fuck did I do?" all over again. It's good to be back :)

I thought that about him originally. And there's no escaping the fact he is an idiot pure and simple. But the problem is what to do with a person that idiotic? Frank gave him various jobs on the docks and he messed up on all of them; he wanted something better, something easier, something that would make him rich and famous; he wanted attention too. He knew he was dumb at most things so came up with silly scams, or tried to act like Mr Big when dealing wit the Greek, even though Nick was really in charge. For me, Ziggy represented youth in general: not willing to put in a hard day's work and just wanting attention, fame and fortune. In some respects he we like Bodie and the other soldiers working street corners - they had no education, didn't want proper jobs, just got buy with selling drugs, make some money and hope to get a promotion to bigger things. Ziggy was over-protected by Frank and Nick despite the arguments. Ziggy knew he would always be in a comfort zone with those two when the shit hit the fan elsewhere. Until things got out of hand of course, and there was nothing Frank could do about it. I think that is why Ziggy is a tragicomic character - larger than life, wanting to be someone he could never really be. He was the classic Walter Mitty clone. <sorry for the long post>

I wish they could somehow remaster the show because in its current standard format 4:3 aspect ratio it looks a little flat compared to the more contemporary HD 16:9 formatted shows. Not sure if a remaster is possible, but I would certainly pay for an updated boxset if they could

Just happened to do a search on Rotten Tomatoes for an overall rating of TWW, and was shocked to find a score of 65% by the critics! It gives a season breakdown of the scores and then aggregates them to give an average: season 1 being the highest rated at 93%, and season 6 being the weakest with only 40 (season 5, came in with 50%). And some of the - damning - reviews by some of these "top" critics goes completely against the popular consensus - not only with ordinary viewers, but when compared to other TV review sites (IMDB being the most obvious) Staggering! https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_west_wing?

I loved Prop Joe - he was the middle man and mediator in some many things; always walking the tightrope with the likes of Avon, Stringer, The Greek, Marlo and of course Omar waiting for him to fall either this way or that, trying to keep everyone happy. And yet he had all this influence but spent his time repairing clocks and toasters, and coming out with some philosophical pearls of wisdom: