RibbieRubarb

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 11:07 PM) Chalk 1 series loss to an Ozzie lineup. We ended up with 4 or 5 series losses last year due to it, wonder how many we will have this year. All I know is Ozzie didn't lose a series for us in October last year and his bench guys (who got significant playing time during the year) were a big part of that.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 09:20 AM) WAITING for the analysis??? If everyone will take their seats... This episode was about 'buying things' etc...This show explored the hardships of honest working people like Artie vs the luxury of easy money makers. A nice scene was Tony sitting down and receiving a paper full of cash. He decides to give it to his struggling friend to pay off his tab. Adding to the theme of the show was the whole luxury lounge giveaway and the "tailors" comparing their goods on the plane. Plus Christopher's jealousy towards the perks of Hollywood. It was a very conscious choice by the writers to have Chris' fave Bacall movie to be, as he put it, "the haves and have nots" The epsiode ends with Artie working (cooking) with a burnt hand (result of his frustration with Benny) on a rabbit dinner which was killed partly from his frustration with Tony. This is juxtaposed with the Italians who just whacked Rusty and are going home richer and laughin at the "weak dollar". The everyday guy vs the alpha-male type thing. It wasnt the typical show of this season (it varied slightly from the 'duality of man' theme that has run rampant), but still made a very revelant point... Next week we get back down to business, it seems.

Proof the game was fixed!

Feeding time!!!

QUOTE(Steff @ Apr 24, 2006 -> 11:21 AM) We've gone full circle from spoilers to predictions and back. Maybe you can just edit your post at the top to remind those reading it that you are about to post a spoiler. Just a courtesy. I prefer to write my spoilers in invisible ink like this: (highlight to read) Finn's getting a visitor soon!

QUOTE(Brian @ Apr 24, 2006 -> 09:36 AM) Friggin HBO or Comcast! Wasn't home to watch last night but wanted to watch it On Demand before work and as of 10:30am, it is not available yet. Gonna have to wait all day now. I will wait until Tuesday then to offer my analysis.

Can't argue with #1 BEST. MOVIE. EVER. Also the greatest number of classic movie lines came from that one movie.

Amputated his leg and was placed on the 15 day DL... He'll be back for the Minnesota series!

BRILLIANT!!

As some of you know I am a actor/producer in the Chicago theatre scene. I am currently producing a the musical "Miss Saigon" at my theatre. We are trying a new marketing method with a Chicago-based company called Stagechannel.com. So I thought I'd post the link so you may see a few clips from my show. Interssting side-note... One of the cast members in the ensemble (not seen in the clips) works in the Cubs front office. LOL! Enjoy. http://www.stagechannel.com/content/video/...oduction_id=874

QUOTE(Steff @ Apr 5, 2006 -> 08:57 AM) Agree. He's been needing something for a long time. Ribbie... where's the analysis..? Quit busting my balls...I'm busy, lady! I thought this was one the strongest episodes of the season. I like where David Chase is headed for the arch of the year. He is obviously dealing with the "duality of man" in each of these characters. Tony's is the most obvious at getting a "second life". But I love the inclusion of Pauly into the mix, making him question his own idendity (plus him kicking a guy's ass just for being loved by his mommy)and Silvio's new, albeit brief, life as boss. Vito's double life will come into play as will Christopher's choice to be a legit filmmaker again. Some of us feel Meadow might start taking a "Michael Corleone" path as she is the strongest offspring of the family. I think we will see more characters, as the season progresses, confront issues and make decisions that set them on a new course in life. This will be a season of surprises.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Apr 4, 2006 -> 07:58 PM) Where in the hell are these 15,000 women that perform fellatio weekly?!?! 15,000 in one week?!? That's gotta be one tired guy!

There are plenty of NO KILL animal shelters in Illinois and the surrounding states. Take him there NOW. List of NO KILL Animal Shelters

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 06:35 PM) This will officially be the 5th or 6th 'shark' The Simpsons have jumped. It WILL be the icing on the cake of the GREATEST comedy in TV history.

QUOTE(Steff @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:00 PM) If all else fails, Scores on North Ave and Mannheim isn't in the city... but it'll serve the purpose. What night are you working, again?

Game over man... Game over!

QUOTE(Steff @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 11:49 AM) My sister and her girlfriend are talking about starting a new construction cleaning business (clean the houses after construction, but before the owners final walk). I guess the market is pretty good ($0.25 per square foot) and the start up cost is relatively low. She was asking me about business licenses, insurance, etc.. and I have no idea. And quick advice I can pass along? I had a lemonade stand when I was 5. Relatively low start-up cost. No license needed. Don't take on a partner, though...they tend to drink the product. Quick Advice: use lots of sugar!

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 12:48 PM) I just think he couldn't handle the pressure of taking a s*** when people kept talking to him. Seriously though...what was the symbolism of that part?? Good analysis!!! It was a funny piece of sybolism. The frustrated "king" sitting on his "throne", albeit a porcelain one.

QUOTE(Steff @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 08:52 AM) Looking forward to Ribbie's analysis... Alright class, settle down and we'll get started... Tony was not having a dream, this was not a dream sequence. It was cogent and fluid, not choppy and random like the normal dreams on the show. Tony was in purgatory, or limbo. Tony stays on the 7th floor in an allusion to dante's seven levels of purgatory. This all traces back to the previous episode. The name Kevin Finnerty is an obvious allusion to in-finity. While in the hotel, you see the fires blazing in the woods (hell) and the shining beacon on the opposite side (heaven). When tony says that "it seems like a nice place to live", the bartender responds, "its dead around here", all pointing to the fact that he is in purgatory. Onto this episode: The monks represented the doctors, and their "heating problems" were the doctors problems controlling Tony's temperature. When tony finds out that he has alzheimers, it signifies eternal damnation. Tony should have died (lost his life). "My whole life was in that briefcase" (referring to the briefcase he lost). He was given a second briefcase (a second chance to live), which he refused to give up when told he needed to leave it behind in order to go to the house where "everyone was waiting". The major question remains: Was the house Heaven or Hell? Though it was near the beacon of light, it was not the beacon itself. That I think is important. It was the alluring nature of Hell, with the same mysterious woman in the doorway that was in Tony's "contractor dream" a couple season's back. The existential angle being played is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the rampant symbolism in these last two episodes. Add to it the brilliant acting of Edie Falco and the power struggle occuring in "real life" and the show is actually reaching artistic levels well-above those of any other show on TV. My favorite piece if symbolism was not in Tony's mind but in the hospital involving Silvio. In the bathroom, you first see that he cannot handle the pressure of being in charge. It was ironic that this occured when he was on his "throne" making decisions. Finally...was there any signicigance to the tress and woods calling Tony back to Earth? Besides the obvious "Meadow" pararells.. "IN the midway of this our mortal life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray Gone from the path direct" Canto 1 Dante's Inferno

QUOTE(3E8 @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 12:53 AM) This has been on YouTube for awhile. Right here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IoGRM1beFMc

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 22, 2006 -> 09:54 AM) We still get goose bumps too Geoff. I call them "Blumps"

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 02:02 AM) Mike Hampton signed a contract with the Rockies for 8 years/121 million in 2001. Average $15.125 million a year. His contract goes thru 2008. He currently has 53 wins from 2001-2005. He would have to win 68 games in the last 3 years of his contract to average $1 million per start. That is a pretty bad deal too. Didn't they also sign Denny Neagle to a similar deal at the same time? Ouch.

QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 04:57 PM) Why does every teenager drink or smoke pot? What's so great about it? All I can state to that...wait... What were we talking about? Dude. My shoes feel so cool right now. You should try them on!

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 02:42 PM) One challenge to the Dante 7th circle theory -- he's registered as Finnerty, who defrauded the monks. It also makes Tony himself an imposter. That would be the 8th circle. Once you've started on the psycho babble, may as well go all out, right? All we need is a dancing dwarf and we can call it Twin Peaks!

QUOTE(Steff @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 02:30 PM) Don't know who played it, but it was clear who it was intended to be when he said "Char..." during the call. Excellent tie in. Though I wish they would have had him comment on kids. Stop interrupting our pseudo-intellectual discussion with that nonsense.