Somebody call Norman Rockwell and send him to the field day currently taking place at the intersection of Route 16 and Walnut Street in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
In a happy twist of fate, I was forced out of the office during lunch to run to the ATM machine. On my way back, I drove past what appeared to be a school's field day. There were about 20 to 30 kids behind a fence on grass field adjacent to a school, playing kickball. Huddled around a table behind the backstop, stuffing their swollen faces, and likely chattering away with their well-fed mouths full, stood a group of about 10 mothers or teachers. Play on the field had ceased. Two boys, who appeared to be taller than most of their peers, were beating the living shit out of each other. At first glance, I thought maybe the exchange was merely a tussle between friends. As I applied pressure to the brake, however, I realized I was mistaken. Furious facial expressions accompanied ample hair pulling, while frantic punches were thrown in all directions. This was personal. The thirst of these warriors could only be quenched by blood. Swellesley style. It was awesome.
As their peers stood by and looked on, frozen in place but wide eyed, and their keepers continued to engorge themselves on anything and everything they could get their hands on, the blood letting continued.
Americana.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
John from Cincinati
I think it's pretty obvious I'm a sucker for every HBO Original Series that comes down the pike. I'm at least wiling to give them all a chance.
One of the guys that writes John from Cincinnati wrote Deadwood. Deadwood was the best show in the history of television. I was really bummed when I found out they hadn't renewed the Deadwood deal. As such, I wouldn't say that I'm eager to like John from Cincinnati. If anything, I kind of resent it for taking Milch away from producing more Deadwood.
Abstract:
Surfing family from SoCal. Grandfather is a living surfing legend but has a fucked up knee that forced him out of competitive surfing prematurely. At the point in time where the show picks up, he thinks he has a brain tumor because he perceives himself to be capable of levitating from time- while he's sane enough to realize the likelihood he's seeing things. As it turns out, he's not imagining it because his son witnesses it. Though we're really not sure because this guy, his estranged son, with whom his relationship is very much strained, was the [surfing] heir apparent only until, at some point along the way, he became a heroin addict. His father, the grandfather, attributes at least some of the blame for his son's fall from grace to the commercialization of surfing. He (the son) is currently a squatter in a motel that's about to be knocked down by a suicidal gay dude who recently won MegaMillions and bought the land. The addicts son, the first guy's grandson, who lives with his grandfather while his father struggles with addiction, is a prodigious surfer in his own right at 13 yrs old. Despite his fathers apparent struggles, he still very much looks up to him.
This John character, who is the show's namesake, is either retarded, from another planet, or suffering from amnesia. I'm thinkin he suffers from some sort of amnesia but they don't really get into it. Or at least they haven't yet. He enters their lives seemingly by chance. Who really knows, though, at this point?
The show also features Luke Perry as a talent/surfing agent, Al Bundy as a weirdo ex-cop, and Rebecca De Mornay as grandma.
The dialogue is really crazy. David Milch, of NYPD Blue and Deadwood fame, is a genius.
One of the guys that writes John from Cincinnati wrote Deadwood. Deadwood was the best show in the history of television. I was really bummed when I found out they hadn't renewed the Deadwood deal. As such, I wouldn't say that I'm eager to like John from Cincinnati. If anything, I kind of resent it for taking Milch away from producing more Deadwood.
Abstract:
Surfing family from SoCal. Grandfather is a living surfing legend but has a fucked up knee that forced him out of competitive surfing prematurely. At the point in time where the show picks up, he thinks he has a brain tumor because he perceives himself to be capable of levitating from time- while he's sane enough to realize the likelihood he's seeing things. As it turns out, he's not imagining it because his son witnesses it. Though we're really not sure because this guy, his estranged son, with whom his relationship is very much strained, was the [surfing] heir apparent only until, at some point along the way, he became a heroin addict. His father, the grandfather, attributes at least some of the blame for his son's fall from grace to the commercialization of surfing. He (the son) is currently a squatter in a motel that's about to be knocked down by a suicidal gay dude who recently won MegaMillions and bought the land. The addicts son, the first guy's grandson, who lives with his grandfather while his father struggles with addiction, is a prodigious surfer in his own right at 13 yrs old. Despite his fathers apparent struggles, he still very much looks up to him.
This John character, who is the show's namesake, is either retarded, from another planet, or suffering from amnesia. I'm thinkin he suffers from some sort of amnesia but they don't really get into it. Or at least they haven't yet. He enters their lives seemingly by chance. Who really knows, though, at this point?
The show also features Luke Perry as a talent/surfing agent, Al Bundy as a weirdo ex-cop, and Rebecca De Mornay as grandma.
The dialogue is really crazy. David Milch, of NYPD Blue and Deadwood fame, is a genius.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Finale
I'm not sure if I liked the Sopranos series finale so much because other people didn't like it, or because I genuinely enjoyed it. I think the fact that other people didn't like it just made me like it more.
They tied off some loose ends:
Tony went to see Junior for some closure. AJ became blissfully ignorant again. Phil got whacked and his head crushed under the wheel of his daughter's SUV. Pauly ultimately showed his loyalty to Tony by taking the opportunity offered him; even against his better judgement and superstitions.
Some cool things happened too:
Tony used the FBI a la Whitey Bulger to discover the whereabouts of Phil without giving them anything but some well intentioned but naive tips regarding some potential terrorists. The scene where Phil was killed was particularly grizzly. Tony's likely going to be indicted, presuming he's still alive, on gun harges stemming from the prior season's finale where he fled Johnny Sack's house just as the FBI closed in. AJ's car caught on fire while he was making out with a naughty little bunny rabbit, only to moments later explode. If only Tony were so lucky.
The theme of that last scene seemed to tentatively wrap things up. Meadow showed us once more her inability to actually grow up, as evidenced by her futile attempts to parralel park her BMW, making her continuing princess-ian dependence on her parents. despite her well-documented intelligence and potential, abundantly clear. AJ is no longer visibly depressed and is now free to continue floating through life - into and out of phases at the drop of a hat. The family remains together, despite all they've been through. And regardless of how you interpret the ending, Tony's ongoing need to look over his shoulder in any and all circumstances was present in spades.
I don't understand all the criticism. People seemed to want more closure. Well, there was too much to the show for them to neatly tie every loose end...and
to do it in a manner that didn't seem contrived. I'm not sure what show people thought they were watching Sunday night, but this was The Sopranos. With that in mind, I thought it was excellent. The previous episode was definitely the best of the season though, but this one left me thinking, quite simply, Wow.
While tempted to take credit for coming up with the following theory myself, I will not. I just received this via email. And it's a really interesting interpretation...and quite possibly the one David Chase had in mind all along.
"Tony was killed....
In fact, the ending was genius if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well developed plots that all tie together and have the memory of a champ to remember it all.
The ending was simple; he got killed. But let me tell yall why and explain in detail...
There were 3 people in the room total who had a reason to kill Tony.....
The two black guys. They were paid before to kill Tony but he was only shot in the ear. This was in one of the earlier seasons.
also in the earlier seasons, the trucker who was sitting at the bar stool, who the camera kept focusing in on, is Nikki leotardo, Phil Leotardos nephew, he was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down...."
I'm not sure I buy this part. I'm told the trucker and the man in the black dudes were in the credits of this episode and this episode only. This is immaterial to the crux of this theory, however. Here's where the brilliance comes in:
"When Tony's walking in the diner, you see the camera focus on him, then it switches to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth he's gonna sit in...
Then the camera switches back to Tonys face, then it once again switches to his perspective, and it shows him looking at the door and looking at the people coming in..... Everytime the door opens the Chimes sound....... Carmela walks in, chimes, AJ walks in, Chimes. Then, when Meadow is parallel parking, still trying to get inside the restaurant.... the camera switches back to the trucker who goes in the
bathroom......
Then it goes to a scene where meadow finally parks and starts running into the diner....
The doors about to open, Tony looks up....
and No Chimes......................
No Music............
Everything just goes black...............
In one of the early episodes of this season, an exchange that was later revisited (to emphasize its importance), Tony spoke with Bobby about what it must feel like to die..
Bobby says "at the end, you probably don't hear anything, everything just goes black".
Part of that was revisited in the second to last episode during the last seconds of it, when Tony's about to go to sleep and he flashes back to the memory of him and Bobby on the boat... "You probably dont hear anything everything just goes black"...
So in the end, with Journey playing, the chimes on the door sounded but when Meadow came in, the guy in the trucker hat came out and killed Tony...
It's the reason you don't hear, or see shit when he died.... it was
from his perspective.... and everything went black.... then the credits
rolled."
They tied off some loose ends:
Tony went to see Junior for some closure. AJ became blissfully ignorant again. Phil got whacked and his head crushed under the wheel of his daughter's SUV. Pauly ultimately showed his loyalty to Tony by taking the opportunity offered him; even against his better judgement and superstitions.
Some cool things happened too:
Tony used the FBI a la Whitey Bulger to discover the whereabouts of Phil without giving them anything but some well intentioned but naive tips regarding some potential terrorists. The scene where Phil was killed was particularly grizzly. Tony's likely going to be indicted, presuming he's still alive, on gun harges stemming from the prior season's finale where he fled Johnny Sack's house just as the FBI closed in. AJ's car caught on fire while he was making out with a naughty little bunny rabbit, only to moments later explode. If only Tony were so lucky.
The theme of that last scene seemed to tentatively wrap things up. Meadow showed us once more her inability to actually grow up, as evidenced by her futile attempts to parralel park her BMW, making her continuing princess-ian dependence on her parents. despite her well-documented intelligence and potential, abundantly clear. AJ is no longer visibly depressed and is now free to continue floating through life - into and out of phases at the drop of a hat. The family remains together, despite all they've been through. And regardless of how you interpret the ending, Tony's ongoing need to look over his shoulder in any and all circumstances was present in spades.
I don't understand all the criticism. People seemed to want more closure. Well, there was too much to the show for them to neatly tie every loose end...and
to do it in a manner that didn't seem contrived. I'm not sure what show people thought they were watching Sunday night, but this was The Sopranos. With that in mind, I thought it was excellent. The previous episode was definitely the best of the season though, but this one left me thinking, quite simply, Wow.
While tempted to take credit for coming up with the following theory myself, I will not. I just received this via email. And it's a really interesting interpretation...and quite possibly the one David Chase had in mind all along.
"Tony was killed....
In fact, the ending was genius if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well developed plots that all tie together and have the memory of a champ to remember it all.
The ending was simple; he got killed. But let me tell yall why and explain in detail...
There were 3 people in the room total who had a reason to kill Tony.....
The two black guys. They were paid before to kill Tony but he was only shot in the ear. This was in one of the earlier seasons.
also in the earlier seasons, the trucker who was sitting at the bar stool, who the camera kept focusing in on, is Nikki leotardo, Phil Leotardos nephew, he was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down...."
I'm not sure I buy this part. I'm told the trucker and the man in the black dudes were in the credits of this episode and this episode only. This is immaterial to the crux of this theory, however. Here's where the brilliance comes in:
"When Tony's walking in the diner, you see the camera focus on him, then it switches to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth he's gonna sit in...
Then the camera switches back to Tonys face, then it once again switches to his perspective, and it shows him looking at the door and looking at the people coming in..... Everytime the door opens the Chimes sound....... Carmela walks in, chimes, AJ walks in, Chimes. Then, when Meadow is parallel parking, still trying to get inside the restaurant.... the camera switches back to the trucker who goes in the
bathroom......
Then it goes to a scene where meadow finally parks and starts running into the diner....
The doors about to open, Tony looks up....
and No Chimes......................
No Music............
Everything just goes black...............
In one of the early episodes of this season, an exchange that was later revisited (to emphasize its importance), Tony spoke with Bobby about what it must feel like to die..
Bobby says "at the end, you probably don't hear anything, everything just goes black".
Part of that was revisited in the second to last episode during the last seconds of it, when Tony's about to go to sleep and he flashes back to the memory of him and Bobby on the boat... "You probably dont hear anything everything just goes black"...
So in the end, with Journey playing, the chimes on the door sounded but when Meadow came in, the guy in the trucker hat came out and killed Tony...
It's the reason you don't hear, or see shit when he died.... it was
from his perspective.... and everything went black.... then the credits
rolled."
Thursday, June 07, 2007
This Guy I Know
Distant relative actually. He's a role player for the Nappy Headed Bros. It's a pretty big deal actually. He's a good looking guy. He's not much of a scorer but he definitely gets an E for effort. Some of you might know a few of his teammates as well. To check out the league website and game writeups, click on the title of this blentry: "This Guy I know".
Friday, June 01, 2007
The End
A cultural phenomenon is reaching its conclusion. Never before, in my lifetime, has the breadth of a television drama had so much far-reaching cultural impact. Naturally, with a mere two episodes left, everyone in America seems eager to weigh in, no matter how adamant, indifferent, benevolent, disappointed, or cynical. Hailing from the Garden State originally, and always ready for a glimpse, whether historical or fictional, into organized crime, I've been on board all along.
Part of what's enabled The Sopranos to transcend all other crime dramas, in addition to its television medium, has been the expertly developed array of characters, each complete with his or her own moral ambiguity, crisis, and fate. Ultimately, and fittingly, the show has spent its waining moments focused on the apex of its storm; the fate of Tony Soprano.
Up until very recently, the dichotomy of Tony's character has provided a fair share of the allure. On one hand we've had glimpses into an undeniably human father and family man. Armed (ironic choice of words) with this knowledge, we then struggle to reconcile an affinity for this character who, over the course of a single hour, also shows us the other side of the spectrum; the ruthless, anti-social sociopath and head of the New Jersey mob.
This dynamic battle between good and evil for dominion of Tony's soul has only recently ceded almost entirely to the darkness. This was made clear by the murder of Christopher, his surrogate son and former protégé, and only been exacerbated by his narcissistic grieving process which manifested itself in an orgy of dismissal, denial, relief and elation, rather than the traditional seven steps of the grief.
David Chase has maintained that he has known from the very beginning how the series would end. Interesting when you consider the secretive conditions under which the series has been filmed: the actors themselves didn't know what was about to happen until the day an episode was shot.
At this point it's really anyone's guess. One thing is for certain: New York and New Jersey are headed for war. In the name of symmetry, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tony whacked, and for the "tragedy" to serve as the catalyst for Anthony Jr.'s official baptism into a life of crime.
You?
Part of what's enabled The Sopranos to transcend all other crime dramas, in addition to its television medium, has been the expertly developed array of characters, each complete with his or her own moral ambiguity, crisis, and fate. Ultimately, and fittingly, the show has spent its waining moments focused on the apex of its storm; the fate of Tony Soprano.
Up until very recently, the dichotomy of Tony's character has provided a fair share of the allure. On one hand we've had glimpses into an undeniably human father and family man. Armed (ironic choice of words) with this knowledge, we then struggle to reconcile an affinity for this character who, over the course of a single hour, also shows us the other side of the spectrum; the ruthless, anti-social sociopath and head of the New Jersey mob.
This dynamic battle between good and evil for dominion of Tony's soul has only recently ceded almost entirely to the darkness. This was made clear by the murder of Christopher, his surrogate son and former protégé, and only been exacerbated by his narcissistic grieving process which manifested itself in an orgy of dismissal, denial, relief and elation, rather than the traditional seven steps of the grief.
David Chase has maintained that he has known from the very beginning how the series would end. Interesting when you consider the secretive conditions under which the series has been filmed: the actors themselves didn't know what was about to happen until the day an episode was shot.
At this point it's really anyone's guess. One thing is for certain: New York and New Jersey are headed for war. In the name of symmetry, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tony whacked, and for the "tragedy" to serve as the catalyst for Anthony Jr.'s official baptism into a life of crime.
You?
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