Today's Reading - 09/04/07

In an attempt to post more often here at "The Rice" (which I definitely want to do once baseball season ends), I thought I'd outright steal a regular feature from my buddy Bill Ferris at The Detroit Tigers Weblog. Just about every day, Bill puts up a links post to share articles he finds interesting with his readers.

I know links posts are kind of a standard thing with most blogs, but I haven't done it very often here. As I'm sure most of you do, if I find something interesting online, I'll e-mail it to one or two friends who might share the interest. But I thought it might be fun to try it on the blog, too. Plus, my ego just can't stand watching FRT's readership sink to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Bill. You can punch me in the shoulder next week when we meet up at Comerica Park.

● Down to 'The Wire': It's a Wrap for Gritty TV Series

It gets said so often now that it's in danger of becoming a cliche, but The Wire is just about the best series on television. So, of course, it was never going to last. I'm not sure it was ever meant to, anyway. There are only so many big issues David Simon can devote an entire season to, and he confirms that in this article. But in his mind, the show as a whole was a novel, a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

At least The Wire gets a send-off. That's more than Deadwood ever got. (Argh.)

● A Football Goliath Faced a Proud, Talented David

Kind of a big upset on Saturday in college football - maybe you heard about it?

When I was visiting my sister's fiancé in Asheville, NC, two weeks ago, we were comparing our college football teams of choice. And when talking about Michigan, I sneered at the Wolverines scheduling a Division I-AA opponent. "They should do better than that," I said. My sister warned me that Appalachian State's campus in Boone, NC was only about an hour-and-a-half away, so I should probably be careful what I say. Oh, if she only knew how right she was...

● What's Behind the Epidemic of Municipal Wi-Fi Failures?

Free Wi-Fi for everyone was probably too much to hope for, eh? Especially in the big cities. (Such a project seems to have crumbled here in Ann Arbor, too.) Making wireless internet like a public utility might have been too much of a dream, considering all the communications companies that are fighting for their share of the airwaves these days.

● What Makes Southern Sweet Tea So Special?

I'm still trying to detoxify my system from all the sugary sweet tea I gulped down over the past week-and-a-half. But the stuff is everywhere - it's "the house wine of the South - and you get funny looks if you order "unsweetened iced tea." I was on vacation; I was just trying to fit in. Plus, it's just too damn good not to drink. Just one glass at a time, though.