Monday Medley

What we read while Mike Wallace didn’t throw out the first pitch…

• Baseball has begun! Opening Day was last week, and fans in New York and Boston are already panicking. Both teams are 0-3, and Baltimore is 3-0: The world is on its head.

• David Simon is sick of hearing about how much you love The Wire. Actually, as he later explained to Alan Sepinwall, he’s just sick of people reducing the show down to who is the coolest character.

• Speaking of showrunners, an interview with the head of Happy Endings. And Aaron Sorkin appears to have inspired a generation of political operatives.

• The American police state continues to expand with little outcry. Internet freedom continues to get squeezed, and cops can now patrol your hallway in New York City.

• Rand Paul is the most important anti-war politician.

• How is Sanford reacting to the Trayvon Martin case?

• E.O. Wilson explains political tribalism in terms of evolutionary biology.

• The worst of Park Slope.

• What does the word “blog” even mean?

Against Brackets

There is nothing better than March Madness. But like all great things, March Madness gets exploited in the name of some stupid shit. And the ubiquity of various pop culture brackets every March is one of the most annoying trends.

This year’s bracket du jour is Grandland’s “tournament” of characters from The Wire. On paper, I should love this, as it combines two of my favorite things: March Madness and The Wire. And while I’m always in favor of conversations about the greatest television show of all-time, I was only mildly pleased by Grandland’s bracket—and not just because of the huge flaws made by the committee.