Generation Kill episode #05 “A Burning Dog” review

WARNING — SPOILERS

GENERATION KILL is really hitting its stride now.  The 5th episode, “A Burning Dog,” was riveting for every second of it’s hour-long running time.  From the very opening seen I was sucked in and taken off my bed and into my television.  The first season of GENERATION KILL is the best season of TV since the 4th season of THE WIRE.  

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Generation Kill Episode 2 review

The creators of the best show of the 00’s, THE WIRE, have a new HBO series, GENERATION KILL.  I have now watched the first two episodes of GENERATION KILL and I can definitely say that this second episode had a definite WIRE vibe to it (the first ep was a bit slow, but had to establish a lot).  That sense of true urban grit, of urban tension, of realness, it was flowing all over this David Simon and Ed Burns penned ep (along with Even Wright).  I am totally on board with GENERATION KILL and it feels great to finally have a high quality drama on my weekly viewing schedule again.  

GENERATION KILL is the story of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 from the viewpoint of the Bravo Company, an elite group of marines who also happen to have an embedded journalist from Rolling Stone magazine with them.  

Also like THE WIRE, within Bravo Company you have a diverse mix of people, from extremely sharp and intelligent leaders down to some of the dumbest of the dumb marines.  And not all the commanding officers are the sharpest knives in the drawer.  And if one of them happens to be your CO and gives an obviously wrong order, you still have to follow it because you are a marine, after all.  

You realize while watching GENERATION KILL just how amazing it is that the U.S. military can accomplish anything at all, at least in Iraq.  From having the wrong color camouflage to not enough batteries to power night vision goggles, it was just ludicrous how under-equipped the Bravo Company marines were.  And you feel for them.  It’s already the toughest job in the world, made infinitely tougher by lack of adequate equipment and ROE (rules of engagement) that literally change in the heat of battle.  

I am once again fascinated by a TV show.  I will enjoy my weekly hours back in the very capable hands of David Simon and Ed Burns.

• GENERATION KILL episode 5 review

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Jacked-in goes WordPress!!

Jacked-in has been around since 1998.  I’ve used many different HTML editors and WYSIWYG web applications.  All that has resulted in the site becoming a bit of a Frankenstein monster.  So I’ve decided to use WordPress to take Jacked-in into a more organized future.  I will slowly add as much of the old, classic Jacked-in content as possible into this newly designed site.  Fear not, you can still view all the classic Jacked-in content HERE.  

Please leave a comment letting me know what you think of the new design! (feedback welcome)

 

Thursdays = LOST

People in the real world may watch LOST on Wednesday nights, but for me, LOST is synonymous with Thursday nights. Due to living in Tokyo and being some 13 to 14 hours ahead of U.S. east coast time, it just works out that way. And this has become, as with all things important to me, ritualized. LOST is ingrained into Thursday nights for me. Though I can’t remember clearly, I presume starting with the pilot some 3 years ago almost, I watched LOST around 11:15pm on Thursday night. In the second season especially, the Thursday night ritual was at its strongest. At times I even did other great things earlier on Thursday nights, then came home triumphantly knowing LOST was already safely on the Powerbook’s hard drive waiting to be viewed upon my return.

The glory of those such Thursday nights is no longer possible, but still, I feel radically different when I know LOST is waiting for me after work on a Thursday. No matter how hard I may be on the show, each and every week I still look forward to it as the highlight of my week (nowadays), and settle in, connecting the Powerbook to the grand AQUOS, and prepare to be engrossed for the next 43 minutes. The whole second part of season 3 has been viewed on the AQUOS, and this has added greatly to the LOST viewing experience.

So as I now prepare this Thursday afternoon to watch the season 3 finale later tonight, I feel great expectation, and sadness. My Thursdays will not be the same for a very, very long time, possibly as long as 9 months!

I am preparing for watching this episode as though it were my last.

Jason

Hyogo Hipster Cafe Poem Series….part 3

written where: Tajima, Hyogo, Japan

where exactly: chill, hipster cafe

written with: pen & notebook

when: Saturday July 01, 2006 — 9:55pm-ish

BOOM, BOOM THE SOUND OF THIS ROOM

Boom, Boom the sound of this room.

I came her from a natural tomb.

Bush and light cross reflections

over the low rise intersections.

Blue is glass and pink is juice

built on hill like a peregrine’s roost.

Bought were paint by obasans

gone are customer’s expectations.

Barrels house pickles of dill

all is reflected upon the

wide

window

sill.

Hyogo Hipster Cafe Poem Series….part 2

written where: Tajima, Hyogo, Japan

where exactly: chill, hipster cafe

written with: pen & notebook

when: Saturday July 01, 2006 — 9:45pm-ish

UNTITLED

I feel thoughts falling

From my eyes.

I am always alone,

Save for when I am with

The Sea.

The only constant in this world

The Sea.

It speaks to me of solace

The Sea.

It saves me from dying

The Sea.

Hyogo Hipster Cafe Poem Series….part 1

written where: Tajima, Hyogo, Japan

where exactly: chill, hipster cafe

written with: pen & notebook

when: Saturday July 01, 2006 — 9:30pm-ish

HOUSES SO CLOSE TOGETHER, ONCE . . . .

We are like houses so close together,

They share the same reflection in the water.

You are my hope, so fragile,

I can’t even reach for it.

I still may not be saved,

And you even say you can’t do only what I need you to do.

But I forgive you, because,

Once you smiled at me,

Once I made you girlishly laugh,

Once I touched your long hair,

Once you said don’t die,

Once you said you couldn’t save me . . . .

"Clasped Couples"

• written where: Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
• where exactly: the bridge over the train tracks between the Southern Terrace and Tokyu Hands
• written with: pen & notebook
• when: Tuesday October 31, 2006 — 10pm

CLASPED COUPLES

Couples clasped together,

They are my enemies . . . .

Train goes under . . . .

Chimney walks by . . . .

They are my enemies.

A long forest is crowded,

But it is that clasped couple,

That is my enemy . . . .

Guardians of a secret, but seen pleasure world,

That I cannot enter.

Those bastards . . . .

Their smooth edges make mine rougher . . . .

My round edges chafe when I look upon them . . . .

Their walls show my Freedom.

A freedom to let flow my anger unabated,

Till it courses in unison with my blood metastasizing through me.

Truth comes only when you don’t hold back . . . .

How can it come while holding the hand of the fairer?

There’s only room for one out the out door . . . .

Can't get in bed, or can't jack-out?

Got this chronic problem of not being able to go to bed. I could easily stay up until 3am+ every night. This is bad since I require at least 7 hours of sleep to be remotely functional the next day, and prefer 8+ hours. It’s easy to keep the machine running, but hard to start it back up once it’s been turned off.

There are too many steps in the process required to get my carcass into bed. And I don’t want to do all that work when I’m already so tired. Floss, brush the teeth, wash the face, and more. Just too much. Scientists should give up on extending lifespans and focus on improving the quality of the lifetimes we have now. All this pre-bed work needs to become automated, but NOT by robots.

I rolled my ankle yesterday. Not seriously, but annoying, and putting a “sports patch” on it now is yet another pre-bedtime task.

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