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The Shield: (Four Seasons out on DVD- Still running)

The story of in inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

(This describes the first season)

Creator Shawn Ryan's uncompromising police drama pushed the limits of basic-cable permissiveness, bridging the relative discretion of NYPD Blue and the HBO liberties of The Wire. Without exception, these 13 episodes justify their hype, focusing on pugnacious detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), whose amoral Strike Team employs dubious tactics in the crime-ridden (and fictional) Farmington district of Los Angeles. Mackey and his maverick partners are at odds with seasoned detectives and beat cops, escalating tensions with precinct Capt. Aceveda (Benito Martinez), a Latino with flexible scruples and a political agenda.

The series invites viewers to form their own judgments regarding Mackey's volatile behavior, which includes killing an undercover cop in the electrifying pilot episode. While each episode stands alone as groundbreaking drama, the arc of the series incorporates Aceveda's campaign to end Mackey's career; the self-loathing of a homosexual rookie (Michael Jace) whose partner (Catherine Dent) is Mackey's occasional mistress; a straight-laced detective (Jay Karnes) yearning for respect; Mackey's compassionate attempt to rehabilitate a crack ***** (Jamie Brown, giving the season's finest guest performance); the autism of Mackey's young son and the recklessness of his closest partner (Walton Goggins); and the vigilant stoicism of Det. Wyms (CCH Pounder), who's as sensibly upright as Mackey is corrupted.

Teeming with gang-bangers, perverts, rapists, and killers, The Shield is unabashedly adult; even liberal viewers may flinch at plots involving child pornography and serial murder. Chiklis deservedly won an Emmy for maintaining the series' delicate morality; Mackey's a hero squirming in his own ethical quicksand. This daring edginess makes The Shield unique, and generous DVD supplements explore Ryan's creative impulse. Two featurettes offer behind-the-scenes overviews, while the all-episode commentaries allow extensive insight from every member of the series' principal cast and crew. Audition tapes prove that the cast was primed for ensemble excellence, and deleted scenes further demonstrate the series' challenging ambiguity. The Shield is excellent TV for those who can grasp its complexities; all others beware. --Jeff Shannon


Oz: (Six Seasons)

OZ chronicles the attempts of McManus (Terry Kinney) to keep control over the inmates of Em(erald) City as well as the drug trade and the violence. There have been many groups of inmates during the run of the show and not everybody makes it out alive. There's the gangstas (Adebisi, Wangler, Redding, Poet, Keene, Supreme Allah), Muslims (Said, Arif, Hamid Khan), Italians (Pancamo, Nappa, Schiebetta), bikers (Hoyt), Aryans (Schillinger, Robson, Mark Mack), Christians (Cloutier, Cudney), Latinos (Alvarez, Morales, Guerra, Hernandez), gays (Hanlon, Cramer) and a whole pile of others (the O'Riley brothers, Keller, Stanislovsky, etc.). And there's a great "everyman" character called Beecher who gives a good look at a normal man who made one tragic mistake. Besides the regular inmates, there's guest stars such as Method Man, Luke Perry, Master P, Treach, etc. and a bunch of prison staff doctors (Dr. Nathan), a nun/psychologist (Sister Peter Marie), a bunch of guards some honest, some crooked and of course the warden Leo Glynn. The whole thing is narrated and held together by inmates Augustus Hill, who provides the show with some context, some sense of theme, etc. and ties everything together really nicely.

I went to the dermatologist for my yearly check up last week. He was IMPRESSED by my effective use of sunscreen considering my major sun exposure while cycling. So- I use Neutrogena cooling spray 45 on my back, chest and face, and Coppertone pump spray 30 on my legs and arms.

Snakes-I am terrified of them and cannot tell one from another. I also have 3 boys who like them. My question, if there is a snake gracefully swimming in my creek, is it dangerous? See, my thinking is yes. I really fear snakes, because I have no way of identifying them. We did not have this issue in Wyoming. Anyway, do cotton mouths live in southwestern Ohio? When I first moved here the largest snake I had ever seen was chasing a toad across my patio.

School Shootings-I am just sick over how many there have been in the past 7 weeks, and completely sickened by yesterday's shooting. All I can do is pray for the victim's and their families.

Update to my previous post- I meant to say I could not maintain that speed for a longer distance.

Finally-quick complaint-My new medication makes my HR lower than usual and really pulls my BP down (it was already low). So when I exercise all my "times" are off and I am wondering if I need to recalibrate everything or if my HR will eventually adjust to this darn medicine. I take the medicine in the middle of the day so I can lie down for a few hours. If I am up and moving, I will pass out. Ah the joys of my life.

Distribution & Habitat

A. p. leucostoma is found from the eastern half of Texas, across the southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, into Georgia, north to the western Tennessee, western Kentucky, southwestern corner of Indiana, southern Illinois, southern Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma.

Cottonmouths are rarely found far from a permanent water source, such as a slow moving stream, edge of a lake, pond, swamp, or even brackish tidal estuaries. Throughout much of their range, they are found in open flatwood pine forests or bald cypress swamps.
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Behavior & Diet

Cottonmouths have an undeserved reputation for being aggressive, but in actuality, they prefer to flee from a threat if given the opportunity. If cornered, they may gape their mouth, but will generally only strike as a last resort, or if harassed or physically provoked. In behavioral tests at the University of Georgia, it was found that only 13 out of 36 test specimens actually bit when provoked.[1] Only 7% of snake bite cases in the state of Texas involve cottonmouths.

Another common myth about cottonmouths is that they "nest" in large groups. This is untrue. Cottonmouths are solitary creatures, and if there is more than one in an area, it is either breeding season or simply that the habitat is such that it can support several animals.

Frogs, fish, small mammals, other snakes, birds and even carrion make up the cottonmouth's diet. They generally will not pass up an easy meal, so even fish on stringers may be taken. In order to consume fish and frogs, they are quite able to bite under water.

There are three venomous snakes in Ohio: Timber Rattlesnake, Massagua Rattlesnake, and Copperhead. So- the snake swimming in your creek is probably safe. Oh, and Copperheads are nocturnal. So- if it has rattles- poison. If it is a big, heavy-bodied snake with a copper head- poison. (Though the Copperhead has no rattles, it may rattle its tail like a rattler to fool you!) (Like scary baby Choco!!)

Oh, the non-venomous snakes will all have round pupils, and the venomous snakes will have eliptical, vertical pupils. Like most people get close enough to look for that :-)

Isn't that simple?

No mention of Ohio. So what species of snake is in my creek? Do most snakes like being under water? I should take his/her photo. The snake is very graceful and usually just pops his/her wee head up. The creek flows into a lake (I am guessing, since the water if flowing somewhere), so the snake is not always there. I have never seen more than one at a time. The snake that was chasiing the toad was completely different from the one in the creek.

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Originally Posted by Nanci

There are three venomous snakes in Ohio: Timber Rattlesnake, Massagua Rattlesnake, and Copperhead. So- the snake swimming in your creek is probably safe. Oh, and Copperheads are nocturnal. So- if it has rattles- poison. If it is a big, heavy-bodied snake with a copper head- poison. (Though the Copperhead has no rattles, it may rattle its tail like a rattler to fool you!)

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Thank You. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nanci

(Like scary baby Choco!!)

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Even I find baby Choco adorable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Oh, the non-venomous snakes will all have round pupils, and the venomous snakes will have eliptical, vertical pupils. Like most people get close enough to look for that :-)

Isn't that simple?

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Trust me, I have absolutely no intention of getting close enough to view the pupils of any snake. My one twin was asking me to check the nose vents? I gave him the same response.

A snake that eats toads is probably the Hognose snake. It can also play dead by rolling onto its back and laying there motionless. And if you roll it over right side up, it rolls back onto its back. It would be very rare for the Hognose to bite.

"Length 18-30 in. (46-76 cm.) A master of deceit, the completely harmless hognose can put on an act that will frighten the bravest of people. When first alarmed, this bluffer coils, flattens its head and neck to form a cobra-like hood, inflates its body, hisses fiercely, and strikes violently. The strike--usually made with the mouth closed--almost always falls short of the target. This act is so convincing that it often leads to the snake's being killed by its would-be victim.

These antics have earned the hognose such names as puff adder, blow snake, and hissing viper. If this first phase of the act fails to frighten off the intruder, the hognose resorts to "playing possum." When struck or handled, the hognose jerks convulsively, twists over on its back, and remains motionless. The open mouth, the tongue hanging out, and the apparent lack of breathing make a convincing picture--convincing, that is, until the snake is placed upright. Whereupon it promptly rolls over on its back again. It just can't be convinced that a dead snake shouldn't be on its back. After danger passes, it will raise its head, look around, turn upright, and go on its way."

I don't know about the creek snake. There are three Water Snakes in Ohio, plus the Garters and Ribbons who like to swim.

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Originally Posted by Nanci

the hognose resorts to "playing possum." When struck or handled, the hognose jerks convulsively, twists over on its back, and remains motionless. The open mouth, the tongue hanging out, and the apparent lack of breathing make a convincing picture--convincing, that is, until the snake is placed upright. Whereupon it promptly rolls over on its back again. It just can't be convinced that a dead snake shouldn't be on its back. After danger passes, it will raise its head, look around, turn upright, and go on its way."

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The Hognose snake sounds hysterical. I would love to see one play dead, from a safe distance, of course.

I can identify two snakes. The garter snake (grew up in MN) and the Coral Snake (when red touches yellow, you are a dead fellow).

The Hognose is on my list of snakes I really want to see. I hear they can be converted, in captivity, to eating mice instead of toads.

I wouldn't bet on correctly identifying a Coral Snake. That was my one snake I most wanted to see, of all. I was out trail running and saw a red/black/yellow snake crossing the trail, quickly. While I tried to remember the little saying, all I could think of was black and red, black and red- I was fixated on that! And the snake had black and red together. Meanwhile, it was rapidly disappearing- so I got a stick and flung it (gently, of course!) back into the trail, still couldn't come up with the correct saying in the heat of the moment, decided on pinning it down and grabbing by the neck so it couldn't escape while I tried to ID it. As I held it by the neck, it twisted toward my hand and made chewing, gnawing motions with its jaws. I finally decided that because it had a black tip of its nose, it was a Coral Snake. Of course, I didn't have my camera. I just looked at it a few moments longer, then set it down and said "Goodbye, Coral Snake" as it quickly rushed off into the leaves. _Now_ I know that it _had_ to be a Coral Snake, because all the others don't live in my area.

Now, depending on where you are, a red/black/yellow snake could be a Coral, Milk, Scarlet Kingsnake, Scarlet Snake...

hey Nanci
don't copperheads swim? I saw one 1,000 years ago, when i was a child,
very big snake swimming fast.. in New Jersey.

seems it was a bright yellowbrown!

I did not realize so many snakes could look like a coral. I shall continue trying to stay far away from snakes. I shall view/admire them from a safe distance, preferably through photos or on Nature. :)

not to change the subject (I love wildlife)

Have any of you tried the Hershey's extra dark new series?
one with blueberries the other with macadamia nuts and cranberries?
It is really good and doesn't taste anything like a Hershey's bar, quite SERIOUS for chocolate. it's in most normal supermarkets.

I am sickened by the happenings of the world. Unfortunately, as the world shrinks, we are exposed to news from around the world. If we only heard the news from a 50 mile radius of our house (as far as a fast runner could reasonably go in a day) we would really be happier..

So although I think our political issues are currently going downhill, i do not think Humanity as a whole is going downhill.

you have to take the good with the bad.
the good: TE forum
the bad: news from everywhere.

My sources say the Copperhead is not likely to be found swimming, (and not in Ohio at all) though it likes to live near water. If it cannot retreat, it _is_ the most likely to strike of venomous snakes, but this is a threat and it does not attempt to deliver a fatal dose of venom if it accidentally contacts the person.

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Originally Posted by Nanci

My sources say the Copperhead ...

does not attempt to deliver a fatal dose of venom if it accidentally contacts the person.

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well, THAT's a comfort. :p