A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various wire gauges. The term wire is also used more loosely to refer to a bundle of such strands, as in 'multistranded wire', which is more correctly termed a wire rope in mechanics, or a cable in electricity.

Although usually circular in cross-section, wire can be made in square or flattened rectangular cross-section, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency voice coils in loudspeakers. Edge-woundcoil springs, such as the "Slinky" toy, are made of special flattened wire.

In antiquity, jewelry often contains, in the form of chains and applied decoration, large amounts of wire that is accurately made and which must have been produced by some efficient, if not technically advanced, means. In some cases, strips cut from metal sheet were made into wire by pulling them through perforations in stone beads. This causes the strips to fold round on themselves to form thin tubes. This strip drawing technique was in use in Egypt by the 2nd Dynasty. From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC most of the gold wires in jewellery are characterised by seam lines that follow a spiral path along the wire. Such twisted strips can be converted into solid round wires by rolling them between flat surfaces or the strip wire drawing method. The strip twist wire manufacturing method was superseded by drawing in the ancient Old World sometime between about the 8th and 10th centuries AD. There is some evidence for the use of drawing further East prior to this period.

Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.

Marlo "Black" Stanfield's background prior to his drug empire is largely unexplored. He was a previous suspect in an unsolved case for Homicide Detective Vernon Holley; Holley believed it was Marlo who killed his only witness as well as the original victims, yet no evidence could be traced back to him. The Barksdale Organization already had prime territory in the form of the towers and Avon expressed little interest in doing business outside them. Marlo's established rule and reputation is only noticed by the returning Barksdale dealers and soldiers when the towers are demolished and Avon wishes to return to their roots, escalating an all-out war over the new best territory of the westside.

Marlo is known for his quiet and monotone voice and speech, speaking in a deep tone. His expression rarely ever changes throughout the character's screen time. The only point in the show where Marlo's mask of calmness has been broken is when one of his lieutenants, "Monk" Metcalf informs him that Omar Little had been badmouthing Marlo on the streets, using his name specifically and challenging him to confront him. Marlo was unaware of this, and it is this tarnishing of his name more than any other issue that elicits a rare and unexpected furious reaction from him. He bursts into a tirade that he would "step to any motherfucker, Omar, Barksdale, whoever... MY NAME IS MY NAME!"

Michael Lee is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Tristan Wilds. He is a middle school pupil and is friends with Namond Brice, Randy Wagstaff and Duquan "Dukie" Weems. He is more soft-spoken than his friends, and appears to have a leadership role among his peers. Michael is very protective of his younger half-brother Bug, to whom he is effectively a parent, and Dukie, who is often ridiculed by his peers for his poverty. His mother Raylene is a drug addict and he avoids any adult interest in his home life because of the precarious nature of his situation. It is strongly implied that he was sexually abused by Bug's father. Because of this, Michael has little trust in the adults in his life and, rather than trust or confide in any of the law-abiding men who try to mentor him, becomes a protege of Marlo Stanfield's enforcer Chris Partlow.

Michael is interested in boxing and often works out in a local gym. He distrusts authority figures; he rebuffed both Dennis "Cutty" Wise's offer to train him in boxing and Marlo Stanfield's offer of a cash handout with no apparent strings attached. He tells his friends that he is reluctant to feel like he owes anyone. Regardless, Stanfield is impressed with Michael's strength of character in denying a handout, not budging even after Stanfield personally confronts and insults him. In order to provide new school supplies for himself and his brother, he temporarily took over Namond's job as a runner for drug dealer Bodie Broadus. Bodie took a strong interest in him and offered to employ him permanently, but Michael turned him down.

David Keith Dallas (born 28 August 1982 in Papatoetoe, Auckland) is an award winning New Zealand rapper of Samoan/European descent, He is signed to Dirty Records and Duck Down Music Inc.

He released his debut EP Something Now in 2008, and then his debut solo album, Something Awesome, on 31 August 2009. His second studio album, The Rose Tint, was released on 11 May 2011 and features appearances from Freddie Gibbs, PNC and Buckshot. He is also half of the award winning duo Frontline, who were the recipients of the New Zealand Music Awards Best Hip Hop Album award in 2006 for their album Borrowed Time.

Dallas' first solo offering, "Something Now", was released on 8 December 2008, through Dirty Records.

His debut solo album, Something Awesome, was released on 31 August 2009. It reached #1 on New Zealand's iTunes chart. Something Awesome was awarded Best Urban/Hip Hop album at the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards on 7 October 2010.

After his video Big Time was featured on Kanye West's blog in 2010, as well as other US-based medias drawing attention to his music, Dallas signed with Duck Down Records and has been spending time in New York City, collaborating with such artists as Freddie Gibbs, Buckshot, Kid Daytona and Tayyib Ali.

Ruby Frost (born Jane de Jong) is a pop singer-songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand. After winning the nationwide MTV 42Unheard competition in 2009, Frost signed with Universal Music NZ and began work on her debut album. Since then, she has been working with a range of producers in Australia and the U.S., and also won the Grand Prize for the Pop category in Section I of the international 2010 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, with her song 'Hazy'. In 2010, Ruby Frost travelled to the U.S. to perform at The Viper Room and play at two CMJ showcases, and she also travelled to Brisbane to perform at Big Sound 2010. Her parents run the annual Christian Parachute Music Festival in Hamilton, New Zealand.

In December 2010, Ruby Frost released her debut single 'Moonlight' on bFM, which stayed in the radio station's Top 10 for ten consecutive weeks. The accompanying video was directed by Veronica Crockford-Pound. A 'Moonlight EP' was then released which went to #3 on the NZ iTunes Albums Chart.
Ruby Frost's song 'O That I Had' (off her debut EP) has been remixed by Mt. Eden Dubstep, and her songs 'Moonlight' and 'Pressure' have also been remixed by NZ artist Leno Lovecraft. She is currently working with U.S. producer Chris Zane (Passion Pit, Mumford & Sons) on her forthcoming album.