Listen to the Lion

Yo, Omar comin'

Season 4 of HBO's The Wire starts on Sept. 10. This is the first of three Baltimore Examiner columns dedicated to the show, which is one of the best 2 or 3 in the history of television but scandalously underviewed.

Get the picture yet?

My inability to understand why some people don't realize the implications of the advance of Islam inspired this week's Examiner column.

World Trade Center

Oliver Stone's film World Trade Center is out right now, and it's excellent. Like the also-excellent United 93, it covers the events of 9/11 simply, without trying to make them more dramatic than they already are.

If you don't want to see these movies because they are about 9/11, please reconsider. I point out in my most recent Examiner column that popular culture is just now starting to acknowledge that something world-changing happened that day. And I think that refusing to look at stuff that deals with 9/11 in a serious, non-exploitive is pretty bizarre and unhealthy.

In the World War II era, Hollywood was churning out movies about the war from day one, which I think boosted morale and helped people - including solidiers and their families - deal with what was going on in real life.

The literary Van Morrison

Go here to read a decent essay on Van Morrison that manages to get at what he does best while avoiding most of the cliches that cloud other pieces.

Mel in Malibu

My Examiner column on Mel Gibson is here.

Van at the Fillmore West

Go here to hear a truly wonderful Van Morrison show from 1970 at the Fillmore West. This one is the best live recording featuring material from Moondance while it was really fresh.