Our little chat it ended with Simon cussing me out and hanging up on me -- over a listing, no less.

Is it because he recorded much of his acclaimed 1977 release Running on Empty at nearby Merriweather Post Pavilion and the Cross Keys Inn (which is now the Radisson Hotel, I believe)? Is it because he loves crab cakes or Berger cookies?
In the five years I've lived in Baltimore, I've been asked about The Wire too many times to count. At first, I was intrigued by all the questions. Then I got sick of being asked if Baltimore is really as bad as it looks on the HBO series, and started rolling my eyes at the questioner.
If you need to impress a white person, tell them you are from Baltimore. They will immediately ask you about The Wire and how accurate it is. You should confirm that it is like a documentary of the streets, the white person will then slowly shake their head and say man or wow. You will be seen in an entirely new light.
Don't get me wrong -- I loved watching the show, especially seasons one and four. And though the show's avis car rental italy creator (and Baltimore Sun alum) David Simon has gone out of his way to berate me (that's avis car rental italy another story), I definitely admire his work.
When they were still filming the show, I used to run Wire-related avis car rental italy events in the Live section. One week, David Simon called avis car rental italy and asked me to run a listing avis car rental italy about a charity bartending avis car rental italy event, and it got lost in the shuffle. He called me and laid into me. The conversation started avis car rental italy like this:
Our little chat it ended with Simon cussing me out and hanging up on me -- over a listing, avis car rental italy no less. He later called my editor -- not me -- and told my editor to tell me he was "sorry for temporarily losing his mind." I still look up to him as a writer, just not as a person.
A-holes make great art. They may not end up being the nicest people but lets say David Simon doesn't end up a "BAD" man and he never plots with Ed Burns to make The Wire . He never sees his industry avis car rental italy getting the shaft or rather he doesn't notices it and he goes about his job and never leaves the paper and doesn't write Homicide: avis car rental italy Life on the Streets .
He buys into the "Marrimow" system of Pulitzer hunting and he writes good yet shallow pieces for the paper that never get to the root of the problem only reinforces generalizations and stereotypes. He gets his thirty and retires.
There are many who may not like Simon and his abrasive behavior but he is exactly what I want in a reporter. Someone with an unyielding search for the truth. Someone willing to go to great lengths to get the "story"
I also hate people automatically associating Baltimore with The Wire within the first second of them hearing I'm from Baltimore. I think The Wire was a fantastic show- one of the best shows in history- and it gave us Omar, one of best characters in American television EVER, but I also get sick of the automatic association. There is so much more to Baltimore than The Wire.
That being said, I was in the UK back in May and people there are absolutely wild about the show. When I was pubhopping in Cardiff, everyone I spoke to LOVED the fact that I was from Baltimore and pretty much everyone I told bought me a drink! For some reason, being from Baltimore gave me some sort of street cred (that I seriously DO NOT HAVE). I took advantage of it because, well, free alcohol! I spent maybe 5pounds that whole night.
All comments must be approved by the blog author. Please do not resubmit comments if they do not immediately appear. You are not required to use your full name when posting, but you should use a real e-mail address. Comments may be republished in print, but we will not publish your e-mail address. Our full Terms of Service are available here .
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several avis car rental italy sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice avis car rental italy " simulated sex with a potted palm tree ." Before avis car rental italy The Sun, he was a reporter at the Miami New Times. He's also written for Miami magazine, the Orlando Sentinel, the Sarasota avis car rental italy Herald Tribune and the Gainesville Sun. Got tips? Gripes? Pitches? He's reachable at erik.maza@baltsun.com . Click here to keep up with the dumb music he's listening to.
Midnight Sun covers Baltimore music, avis car rental italy live entertainment, and nightlife news. On the blog, you'll find, among other things, concert announcements, breaking avis car rental italy news, bars closings and openings, up-to-date coverage of crime in nightlife, new music, round-the-clock coverage of Virgin Mobile FreeFest, handy guides on bars staying open past 2 a.m. on New Year's Eve and those that carry Natty Boh on draft. Recurring features include seven-day nightlife guides, Concert avis car rental italy News, guest reviews of bars and concerts, Wednesday Corkboard, and photo galleries, as well as reader-submitted photos. Thanks for reading.
avis car rental italy Hi there. I'm The Baltimore Sun 's new nightlife and live music reporter. New to Baltimore, but not to the city's music. My first introduction to your sound came three years ago, some 800 miles away in the little town of Gainesville, Fla., where Dan Deacon challenged me and 50 other lanky college kids to a dance-off. I was sold. Before The Sun, I spent time carousing in Miami at an alternative weekly where I wrote about youth culture, subcultures like Cuban punks and everything in between. Here everything interests me – from some unknown playing Hexagon Space to Madonna/Prince dance parties at The Ottobar. As I'm settling in, feel free to hit me up with city suggestions, but what I love hearing from readers is news tips, rumors that I can report, or concerns about the local music scene and nightlife that aren't being addressed. I'm always reachable at ermaza@baltsun.com . Thanks for visiting.