Milkman delivers

QUOTE (Brian @ May 23, 2010 -> 06:55 PM) Good points, Milkman. I think Chase got what he wanted out of the finale. Constant discussion. I actually may go back and watch my Sopranos DVDs after I finish The Wire. Yes, he certainly got that. I don't think he meant for the ending to be one of those "it's up to you" scenarios. When asked about the final scene, he said that "it's all there to figure it out." Of course, that's not the exact quote, but that is the gist of what he said. It's also interesting to note that Chase only directed two of the episodes in the entire series, the pilot and the finale. He was meticulous about it, so you know that every detail in the episode was meant to be there. Even the tiniest of details were put there with intent. When the writer I mentioned before slowed the final scene down frame by frame, he noted that the line "Livin' in the lonely world" played exactly at the first frame of Carmela stepping into the diner. That's just another thing that popped into my head.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 23, 2010 -> 06:00 PM) I never bought that because all the enemies we knew of of Tony's were taken care of. He made peace with NY before having Phil killed, Paulie got promoted, Uncle Jr's money went to Janice and Bobbys kids. Would if of been better if it faded to black? I'm not going to get too into it, as I have a tendency to go on and on for hours discussing that finale. I'll just say a couple of the points that this writer talked about. In mafia movies (especially The Godfather Trilogy, which Chase often said was a big part of his inspiration), the color orange is associated with death. Vito Corleone had just bought a bag of oranges when he was shot, Carlo and Johnny Ola are both seen wearing orange suits and both are killed, Michael Corleone dies holding an orange in his hand, and Vito dies with the orange slice in his mouth. In the Sopranos, Tony buys a bottle of orange juice before his attempted assassination in the first season, he drinks orange juice before Junior shoots him in the sixth season, and he eats an orange in the final episode while he and his family are in their safe house. The man who comes into the diner in the finale is wearing a Members Only jacket. The name of the episode in which Junior shot Tony was Members Only. Tony also said that his favorite part of The Godfather was when Michael shoots the guys after coming out of the bathroom. The diner in which the scene was shot has a completely different layout than in the show. The bathrooms are not actually directly to the right of Tony, so they intentionally set up the scenario of the bathroom being out of Tony's line of vision. Also, remember that dream of Christopher's where he went to Hell? He told Tony and Paulie the message of "3 o'clock," and the bathroom is at Tony's 3 o'clock. The background of that final scene has a big orange tiger painted on the wall, and this is not in the actual diner, so it was added with intent. The family is all wearing black while they're eating, too. They even eat their onion rings in a manner reminiscent of Communion wafers, all three of them. Again that suggests a Mass, or funeral. Tony even offers the onion rings to AJ saying (this might not be the exact quote) that they're the best in the city. In the Godfather, Sollozzo tells Michael at the restaurant right before he is killed to "Try the veal, it's the best in the city." And of course there's the conversation that Tony had with Bobby on the boat in the first episode of season 6B about what happens when you're killed and how it probably "just goes black." During the week before the finale aired, HBO showed that episode, which is weird. Usually a station will air the most recent episode, not the first one of the season. David Chase also apparently wanted the blacked out silence after the episode to last for 3 minutes (the length of silence customary for a death/tragedy), but HBO didn't want it go on for that long. So, they cut it down to 30 seconds and even that had people flipping out thinking that their cable went out. On a personal note, I feel like NY wouldn't miss the opportunity to take Tony out. Sure he got the OK to take Phil out, but Tony's mafia family was a shambles. The crew was wrecked. Carlo (another similarity to the Godfather, by the way, in that the betrayers have the same name) was turned by the Feds, Bobby was killed, Silvio is in a coma from which he'll never get out, and Tony himself killed Christopher. That leaves only two made men in Paulie and Patsy. We all know that neither one of them would be able to step up and take the reigns if Tony were to be killed, and NY knew that as well. They discussed taking Paulie out when they agreed to go after Tony, Silvio, and Bobby, but they decided that Paulie was an afterthought at this point. Paulie was just a guy that would follow whoever had the power, a disloyal coward (remember when he was ratting to Johnny Sack to improve his standing with NY?) And then Patsy, well he's no better than Paulie. It seems Patsy never even made his bones. Hell, he knew Tony killed his twin brother and he didn't even have the balls to shoot him when he had a clear shot. All he did was take a leak in Tony's pool. The only other members of that entire crew that had more than one line of dialogue in the series were Benny and Little Paulie, and neither of them were even made. Take into account the obvious personal vendetta that Butch (who would clearly be in line as the next Boss in NY) had against NJ and specifically Tony. It would just be too good of a payoff to take Tony out and take over NJ, and it'd be easy. I know I said I'd keep it short, and sorry to muddy up the Lost thread with Sopranos talk, but this really is a short post. I could write a book about the Sopranos.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 23, 2010 -> 05:21 PM) I'll get ripped, but I liked The Sopranos ending. I have no problem with a "Life goes on" conclusion. I hated the Sopranos finale when I first saw it, but have grown to love it due to all of the little nuances. I'm not sure where the article is now, but a writer from some other show has a blog that completely breaks it down. It basically says that Tony was killed.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 23, 2010 -> 04:33 PM) Well, the Phillies know questionable relievers when they see them. Ha, nice.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 23, 2010 -> 04:00 PM) FYI, "fiancé" is male, "fiancée" is female. That's what I said.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 23, 2010 -> 10:09 AM) Just 5 days till I get married. Have my vietnamese ceremony today I take that as meaning your fiancée is Vietnamese?

I've never posted in the drunk thread before, but I'm going to take this opportunity to point out that I can drink more than most of you, and we need to set up a chat crew outing. I've known a few of you guys for years, but never met you in person. Who's in?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 22, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) O. M. F. G. Bullfight goes horribly right....for Bull That's fantastic. If only that bull got into the stands and did the same to some of the spectators. EDIT: There's also a great comment on that page. I'm wondering if it was someone from this site. "Greg Luzinski finally exacts vengeance for Aparicio making the Hall of Fame."

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 20, 2010 -> 06:11 PM) Very nice. Yeah. I get confused for George Clooney quite often. Who's that in your avatar?

QUOTE (Tex @ May 20, 2010 -> 03:31 PM) I kind of did the same double take. I'm guessing it has some health, and defiling the body as temple angle. That's pretty much it. QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 20, 2010 -> 03:48 PM) Yeah my 14 year old daughter isn't the biggest fan. I had no idea you had kids, let alone that old. That beard of yours going a little gray?

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ May 20, 2010 -> 02:08 PM) I think you can make the argument that he's too important to the sport to never have a positive result publicized. There have always been rumors of a positive EPO test in 2002, and I think there's enough smoke around Lance Armstrong to think that he's doped - just like nearly every pro cyclist in the game. It sucks that Landis was doping in some ways, but the test results were really odd. His positive in the TdF looked like a set-up, he tests positive on a day he basically wins the race through a miracle but tests positive for a steroid that wouldn't have the desired effect for that day. But the more his whole situation spiraled out of control, the more it became obvious that he doped. He was an exciting cyclist to watch, and really was the anti-Lance cyclist. I really wanted him to be innocent because I think a rider with his personality who won clean and free would have been awesome for American cycling. No offense, but I find this humorous. I think Glidden is the most exciting paint to watch dry.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ May 20, 2010 -> 12:40 PM) I'm having a weird issue with iTunes. I always have my music on shuffle, and the little indicator says shuffle is on, but now it's just stopping at the end of songs instead of moving on to another one. Also, when I skip a song, it just ends the current song I'm on and doesn't move to another one. Anyone have any idea what is wrong? It solved itself about 20 minutes after I posted this, of course. It was like this for days.

That's just weird, Sqwert. I also kind of find it weird that you would even have a tattoo. I know it has nothing to do with being a vegan and all, but it just seems like a vegan also wouldn't do something like that to their own body. I probably won't ever get a tattoo. I can't see any tattoo being as cool or funny in the future as I might find it when first getting it. The only exception I can think of is a veteran. It's still really cool to see a veteran from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. still have their unit's symbol. The coolest thing ever would be to meet someone who actually has a battleship on their chest.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 20, 2010 -> 01:55 PM) Here is more of a realistic formula. 1.) Magic - Maybe a spell, a curse, or some other wishing potion might wreck both the twins and the tigers. 2.) Act of God - Natural disaster, end of the world type s***. 3.) Ped use - Maybe their the nutritionist gets caught spiking horsey testy juice to all of their good players. All at the same time. 4.) Intimidation - Maybe the Chicago outfit can start to pressure the other teams to give it up, make an offer they can't refuse. 5.) Massive injuries to large parts of their teams and to most of their minor leagues at the same time. In reality. Just hit the f***ing ball like you have a pair, and catch it like you don't have two stone hands. That should do wonders for the winning percentage. Ooh, I hope they use Alka-Seltzer tablets like in the Little Giants!

QUOTE (SoxAce @ May 20, 2010 -> 01:40 PM) He is not suppose to be great at SS and 3B, two positions he never played in his career prior to last season (not counting the occasional LF, etc.. as well) Hard to get in a groove at 2B also when you only play once.. maybe twice a week (or 2 weeks), not to mention are consistently being moved around. Like you pointed out though, his UZR was still pretty good with all that happening. Imagine if he stayed there, playing everyday, at one position the whole season. Like Teahen at 3B?

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 20, 2010 -> 12:26 PM) You know what Floyd...don't "clear the air" or your conscience...just shut up. You f***ed up...you said you weren't doping, you got caught, you were suspended, and NOW you say you did. Here's a great way to clear the air. Shut your yap. I wouldn't be surprised if Armstrong or any cyclist was doping...s***, if any athlete was doping. This is old. Don't be a jerk and just take your medicine, do your job and close your mouth. I disagree. The more he talks, the more likely another cheater goes down. I'm not going to applaud honor among thieves.

I'm having a weird issue with iTunes. I always have my music on shuffle, and the little indicator says shuffle is on, but now it's just stopping at the end of songs instead of moving on to another one. Also, when I skip a song, it just ends the current song I'm on and doesn't move to another one. Anyone have any idea what is wrong?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 20, 2010 -> 10:24 AM) I wasn't referring to Beckham. I was talk about installing a new 3b, a rotating DH, and filling a bench with a bunch of guys whom we had to cross our fingers to produce results. Like Nix?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 20, 2010 -> 09:04 AM) Floyd Landis has admitted doping for most of his career and accuses Lance Armstrong of doing the same. And I heard so many passionate defenses of Landis and how it was really someone screwing with him at the lab. QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 04:14 PM) I've said it before on here. One of my friend's has a brother who is a trainer that has worked with a lot of these cyclists. He says that absolutely all of them are on some kind of drug.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 20, 2010 -> 09:31 AM) Seeing as your moniker is "Milkman Delivers", I find your lack of understanding of the female body and what happens when a woman breast feeds to be rather comical. I never noticed how big they were in general. They're absolute hammers in the breast feeding picture, but they are big normally, too. I never thought of her having big ones at all.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2010 -> 08:12 AM) That might be one of the smallest sample sizes I have seen used to comment on the value of a six year contract.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 20, 2010 -> 08:47 AM) I can't believe some are advocating trading Alex Rios. lol. He's only the best all-around player this team has had in about 8 years. It depends on how long you think it would take to rebuild.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 20, 2010 -> 08:03 AM) Oh come on man, I'm being condescending? As for the early 90's teams, are you claiming that we traded veterans like Baines and Seaver, etc., for draft picks? Or are you arguing that we need to be worse now so we can get better draft picks like we had back then? I think it's the latter, so in fact your model is to suck for 6 years straight and rebuild via the high draft picks? I don't really consider that to be an option. The Sox struck gold with Thomas, who turned out to be one of the best right-handed hitters of all time. I'm not going to count on another Big Hurt coming along in the draft in the next few years (or at least not enough to justify sucking for several years for the incredibly minimal chance of one coming along AND being the team that happens to draft him). Ventura was a great player, but nothing that can't be found at #25 in the draft if we pay overslot money for players that fall. Fernandez and Alvarez were great pitchers for the White Sox, but if you remember our farm system later on in the 90's and early 2000's, for every Fernandez and Alvarez we had in the early 90's, there were countless other busts that never panned out into anything later on. I remember toward the end of Schuler's tenure and at the beginning of Williams', we had a top 3 farm system in baseball. That vaunted farm system yielded almost nothing, outside of maybe Mike Sirotka. It's just no sure thing to rely on prospects IMO, any more so than it is to acquire undervalued players in the market as we currently have been doing. I still like our core, despite the setbacks suffered thus far this season, and I think blowing the whole thing up would be taking some unnecessary steps back at this point. We may indeed have to sell off parts this season, such as PK, Jones, AJ, Jenks, Putz, etc., but that doesn't mean a rebuild is the next logical step. Rather, you re-evaluate, plug in some current prospects such as Flowers, Danks, Viciedo, as well as the prospects acquired via the trades of veterans, and then look to add through free agency again next offseason. But from what I understand, many of you guys are advocating moving Mark, Jake, Rios, Quentin, Alexei, Danks, and Gavin and reloading the entire organization with prospects and using our sustained period of failure to build through the drafts with higher picks. I simply can't advocate that at this point in time. What every team seeks to do is establish a strong core from which to build around for a sustained period of time. I like our core. I guess that is where we disagree. Actually, the last five (I believe that is the number) times the White Sox had a top 10 pick in the draft, they struck gold. They have a good track record of drafting in the top 10. QUOTE (iamshack @ May 20, 2010 -> 08:16 AM) Exactly. This is what I was trying to get to yesterday when I asked Milkman who our two biggest culprits in the offense have been. Quentin and Beckham. Two highly, highly rated prospects who have been going through their fair share of growing pains. For all of those who are advocating trading away the core for prospects, Q and Gordo are two prime examples of why rebuilding can be incredibly frustrating and frightening. I don't think you even responded to that post.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 19, 2010 -> 10:00 PM) #1 Reason: TCQ and Beckham are gonna start hitting like they are capable of and we will start winning games like todays. If that doesn't happen, then thank god for the Hawks & the World Cup to hold me over til Bears training camp, cause this team will be going nowhere. The Bears are just another disappointing Chicago team, along with the White Sox and Cubs. If the Bulls land LeBron, it will mean that Chicago will have two great teams in the sports that I don't care much for (Hockey and Basketball), while the Chicago teams in the sports I care about (Baseball and Football) will continue to be non-factors. It's like the early 90's again.

QUOTE (earthshiner @ May 19, 2010 -> 10:22 PM) ultra stud? when did I miss that? Yes, that is a slight exaggeration.