Alert: This is not pleasant

The below is why I only stick to the baby roller coaster at Nunley's and nothing else.

Rides shut after Ky. Six Flags accident

Those Crazy Japanese

For Real...

There is no way this link wasn't going up...

Pair told not to name son '4real'

You get what you pay for...

Gazans stream to crossing with Israel

For real, I have joked around in the past about the violence and other issues. However, I have always been for the peaceful resolution of the situation in the Middle East. Despite the ridiculous number of times that this type of resolution has been proved impossible by the wonderful men wearing bedspreads as clothes and dishtowels as hats, I have always felt that there has to be a way.

Well, guess what - there isn't a way. These lunatics are now killing themselves off and fast. Not that they haven't always done stuff like this, but this latest example is downright humorous.

Bottom line, when you breed and nurture a culture of violence and hate, eventually that culture will learn to hate itself and the differences it has within. Since this culture knows only to deal in violence, the result is the automatic resort to violence.

Meanwhile, Israel is sitting on the side looking at the world with her arms folded, nodding her head and quietly muttering, "You asked us to give it up, we gave it up. Tell us when you are ready for us to clean up the mess and restore order."

Eventually it will work like this - Israel will begin to bulldoze these areas that are now becoming a civil warzone between Hamas and anyone not agreeing with Hamas. This will lead to dead Israeli soldiers, cries of occupation, and suicide bombings against civillians within Israel proper.

I for one, have had enough with this crap. No more peaceful solutions. These people just have to go. They are no longer worth one Israeli life - soldier or civillian. How many times does this need to be proved? It's the same crap every time.

Read this post again in a few months and you will see how right I am. It's not because I am brilliant (though that certainly helps), rather it is because we've seen it all before.

Classic Ending to a Classic Show

I thought this final episode could've gone a few ways:

1. Paulie kills Tony - I think a lot of people were betting on this one.
2. Janice kills Tony - outside shot, but could've been interesting.
3. Tony lives and all is happy and well - boring, but many Tony fans were hoping for this.
4. He gets arrested - would have been a stupid way to go, I think.
5. He gets killed in the restaurant the way his dad did in front of his family (looked like it was about to happen).

What actually happened - nobody could have predicted or had as an option, but after thinking about it, I think it was a GREAT way to go.

The last scene sets up after Tony knows he has an 80 percent chance of indictment. Then the quick meet with Uncle Junior and off to the restaurant. They set this up great. The suspense and waiting for something to happen were gripping. The whole set up of him looking up every time someone walks in, checking the guy at the counter, the timing on Meadow being late with the parking looking like it will set up some kind of coincidence, and the guy getting up to go the bathroom (ala The Godfather). It was freaking perfect.

And then the screen goes blank...

I reviewed this part. The screen goes blank for a good 7 seconds or so. That is a long time. Almost long enough to call the cable company. Long enough to process that it went blank, think something is wrong with the TV and then just as the credits come on with no sound realize that they just left the ending up to you. The following silence allows you to contemplate.

My thought process went like this:
1. What the...?
2. That was it?
3. What a stupid ending.
4. Wait a second...
5. What were they going for?
6. Freaking brilliant.
7. (About 10 minutes later) - I loved that ending and think it is classic!

Beautiful. This ending is perfect. It is exactly the point. The last 5 minutes just had all of us viewers experiencing the same feelings and emotions that Tony will be living with (if you choose to decide that he lives) the rest of his life.

You see, this ending did three things:

1. It allowed you to experience Tony's emotions. He is with his family trying to enjoy a normal family moment. The music is playing, his family is there. He is waiting for his daughter (who he is suddenly extremely proud of) to arrive. He has his son who seems to have a new and more positive outlook on life sitting across from him, along with his wife, who - through it all - he cannot live without. Yet, every single time the door opens, or someone gets up to go to the restroom, he has to wonder if that serenity he is experiencing will suddenly come to an end. The show gives you the attachment to his family, along with the suspense, and then leaves you wondering... the same way Tony is... if he will make it through the night.

2. The ending allows you to decide. Does Tony make it? The 7 second blank at the end invites you to fill it in. Does he get killed and therefore bring closure to the uncomfortable feeling you have as a viewer while he is sitting in the restaurant? Or does he survive the night only to experience many more like it in the future? Your call, whether you like it or not.

3. This ending ensures that people will discuss it, which of course makes sense for the show. People will argue, analyze and over-analyze... This is fascinating to me because in general I HATE television shows and have no interest in thinking about them. This is why I watch only a few things on TV. Sports, Family Guy, and HBO. That's it. I have no interest in Lost, ER, West Wing, or any of these shows that I'm sure people love for a reason. They just don't capture me. Sopranos, and this ending in particular, actually captured my attention and made me think.

F----ing Awesome...

YouTube

OK, youtube is officially moving into the top 5 of greatest inventions of all time.

It is a great time killer, provides instant entertainment, an easy way to share hilarious things with friends, and so much more.

Plus it is a good way to post on a blog without having to think of anything original. Though I do plan, now that I've mentioned it, to create a list of the all time greatest inventions. Then we can see if youtube really is in the top 5. I believe it will be.

This clip just makes me laugh. If you don't know the background, Howard Stern backed a movement to get a certain American Idol contestant named Sanjaya as far as possible. Apparently the guy sucked but made it very far because of this movement. Below is a clip from a CNBC segment interrupted by a guy who happens to work on the Stern show. His whole demeanor compared to the segment makes me laugh.