Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer in a scene from True Blood.

Last night, I watched the premiere of Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under, American Beauty, upcoming Towelhead) new HBO drama True Blood.  If the first episode is any indicator, we're going to see lots and lots of teeth-bearing vampire sex.  Ball is clearly interested in vamping up (sorry) the whole dirty-sexy-dangerous aspect of the vampire/mortal dynamic. While erotica has always been a staple surrounding vampires in pop culture, the depiction of graphic sex usually takes a back seat to the spookiness, violence, or (as in the case of Buffy), ass-kicking.  The sexual aspect is subtext, implicit in the act of vampirism, but rarely materializing because the vampire is often "satisfied" first.  The more graphic deptictions of vampire sex are the purview of B-movies and adult entertainment.

With True Blood and the censor-taunting HBO, vampires in pop culture just got a little freakier. 

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

My colleague Trisha, a wise woman from Imperial Valley who loves The Wire, just informed me about an interview in Newsweek with Amy Poehler.  The following exchange takes place between interviewer and Amy Poehler:

Q: What cereal are you going to have?

A: Right now I’m down with Honey Nut Cheerios because that’s what Omar eats on “The Wire”

 Q: Do you base all your food choices on television shows?

A: I don’t know if you’re a “Wire” fan, but on the show Omar travels far and wide and risks getting killed just to get a box of Honey Nuts. So I like to think it keeps me connected to the streets.

I just went to the Honey Nut Cheerios website... lots of white people, upper middle class blacks, and the honey nut bee.  Their marketing team needs to show some respect for Omar Little and let him endorse their product.  Mad money to be made... street cred AND lower cholesterol.  See Omar's quest for Honey Nut below... (Nudity alert: opening 30 seconds).

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

Again, if you are not caught up on HBO's The Wire, you should stop reading here.  Terrible and Devastating Spoliers Ahead!

For those fans who are caught up, some of whom may have watched last night's episode a week early On Demand (like me), let's agree we've experienced a great loss.

Omar Little, trail-blazing gay stick-up boy, the most honorable thief among thieves, was gunned down last night in a west side convenience store buying a pack of Newports.  The writers have protected Omar for four seasons now, longer than I expected.  I've been sensing Omar's impending death throughout this season, as his grief over Butchie's murder by Marlo Stanfield's crew created an Omar we haven't seen before:  emotionally and physically broken, reckless, so bent on revenge he took himself out of the shadows and onto Stanfield's corners, challenging Marlo to a showdown.

Omar has always lived in the shadows, smoking his cigarettes inside dark corners, conducting street-level surveillance and putting the cops' surveillance efforts to shame (an intentional contrast).  Throughout The Wire, when Omar emerged, it was always with great heralding as corner boys and young pawns ran ahead of him yelling "Omar," "Omar," "It's Omar, y'all." 

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

That's right, I've decided to live blog the 80th Annual Academy Awards.  We know it's the 80th because they've been telling us on the red carpet for the last hour! 

By the way, I watched the Independent Spirit Awards this morning (rebroadcast on IFC) and it was soooooo good.  I'm hoping the Oscars is close to it in quality and entertainment, but I highly doubt it.  I must have updated my Netflix list 20 times during the show.  

On to the red carpet..... 

5:03 p.m. - George Clooney just invited Regis Philbin to Italy.  I'm guessing Joan Rivers never got that invite.

5:10 p.m. - Regis is now talking to Miley Cyrus.  Who???? Exactly, no idea.  It turns out she's Disney famous.  She's Hannah Montana. 

5:12 p.m. - Faye Dunaway scares me.

5:14 p.m. - Helen Mirren is so amazing.  She looks fantastic, claiming that her red gown is inspired by her latest role as a brothel madam.  She also said she's excited to present the Best Actor award, and then mentioned that there aren't as many good roles out there for women.  I think Helen Mirren should run for president.  

5:17 p.m. - Daniel Day Lewis and Rebecca Miller on the carpet.  Rebecca Miller is one of the most talented writers in Hollywood and because of that she can be as kooky as she wants - and let me tell you, she's wearing the kookiest dress I've seen tonight.  But you know what?  Let's just praise kooky for a minute.  The Oscars has become so earnest and tasteful.  Where's Cher, and Bjork, and that Native American woman who stood in for Marlon Brando?  Here's to Rebecca Miller and her kooky dress!  Hopefully, Julian Schnabel will wear his fancy pajamas.

5:26 p.m. - I'm nervous for Jon Stewart. 

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

The Best and the Worst, in no particular order:

Best:  Morris Day and The Time performed a little Jungle Love.  Jerome even brought out the mirror for Morris to check his hair, recreating the sheer poetry of their Purple Rain performance.  I was giddy! 

Worst:  Their performance was hijacked by Rihanna singing about umbrellas.

Best:  Tina Turner, at 68, sounded fantastic.

Worst:  She performed with Beyonce, everyone's favorite fembot.

Best:  Both Prince and Stevie Wonder were there.

Worst:  They were both tasked with introducing Alicia Keys (she doesn't do it for me, people) and nothing else.

Best:  Some country star named Brad Paisley perfomed a song about ticks!  The refrain:  "I want to check you for ticks."  Hilarious!

Worst:   Some country star named Brad Paisley perfomed a song about ticks.  Downright horrifying.

Best Hair:  Cindy Lauper's bird's nest, Kanye West shaving MAMA onto the back of his head, and Amy Winehouse's bouffant.

Worst hair:  Kid Rock's grease fest persists, The Foo Fighters, Carol King (deep condition alert).

Best:  Amy Winehouse was able to perform from London ( I stayed up just to see it).  I know she's a train wreck, but the girl has serious talent.

Worst:  Randomly, Cuba Gooding Jr. introduced her.  Why? 

Best:  Fiest sang.

Worst:  So did Fergie. 

Best:  The Beatles tribute was good.

Worst:  The Barry Gordy tribute was WAY too short.

Best:  Kanye West scolded producers for bringing up the music during his acceptance speech, before he was done talking about his mother.

Worst:  When they listened and turned off the music, West then used the opportunity for self-aggrandizement. 

Best:  The White Stripes won two awards.

Worst:  I didn't see it.  Not sure when it happened.  I may have dozed off. I hate it when I miss Jack. 

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

The Onion's A.V. Club has a list of the top 20 nerdiest pop-culture obessions.  A lot of what you expect gets a shout out:  Star Trek, Buffy, D&D, Renaissance Fairs.  But there also are some interesting choices, like Frank Zappa and The Simpsons. 

Then there are some obsessions I've never heard of, like game show tape trading.  From the description:  "so the stalwarts gather on the Internet, offering videocassettes and DVD-Rs of Classic Concentration and The Joker's Wild, and comparing notes about the greatest hosts, the greatest contestants, the greatest celebrity guests, and the greatest eras of long-running series. And the really faithful gather in person at the Game Show Congress in Los Angeles, where they attend panels, meet legends, and play the games themselves." 

Come to think of it, I can't remember the last game show I watched.  I think they should have a trivia show about The Wire - not only would I watch, I would totally dominate. In fact, in the spirit of the list, maybe there should be Wire role-playing games.  Oh Oh, I get Omar.  Or Bubbs.  Even being Avon or Marlo would be fun for stretch.  Totally scaring myself.  

Back to the list, Rocky Horror Picture Show is on it, as is World of Warcraft - to which the listers say:  "Five minutes in a room with any two World Of Warcraft players will drive any non-player mad, amid jargony babble like "Next time we run MC, sheep one of the core hounds while I rush in and pull aggro. Damn, I wish they hadn't nerfed paladins."  Every show/game/fantasy has its own jargon.  Like for me, I often say to myself, "Yo, a man's got to have a code.  You feel me?"

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

Enjoy!

Episode 2 in the fifth and final season airs this Sunday night on HBO. I can't wait to write about the new season - especially all the newsroom stuff - but am waiting to wrap my head around the second episode.

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

The shorts also look great, shot in contrasty black and white. Hickenlooper is probably best known for the recent feature Factory Girl, but I really liked a documentary he did some years back called Mayor of Sunset Strip, about LA radio DJ, promoter, and scenester Rodney Bingenheimer, aka Rodney on the ROQ.

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!

The one below features young Omar running the streets of Baltimore in 1985, at the launch of his stick-up career. For those of you who don't watch The Wire (shame on you), Omar grows up to become a Baltimore legend for robbing drug dealers. He insists he never puts his gun on anyone who isn't in "the game." Omar's also gay, which adds a layer to his character that both busts stereotypes and adds dimension to the way inner city life is typically portrayed. In this prequel, a young, scar-faced Omar stands by his convictions and begins to develop a code of ethics governing the streets. (This prequel is rated R for language!)

Go here to see the other prequels. One features Prop Joe in school, establishing his namesake, and the other shows Bunk and McNulty meeting for the first time. McNulty is the McNulty of old: cocky, brilliant, rebellious and boozy.

Note: Angela Carone is taking a well-deserved vacation. She'll be back at the helm mid-October. Hang tight because good things await!