A fit woman I knew with a big butt had to stop the stair machine because it made her butt bigger. I tried it and it didn't do it for me. If you have the genetically big butt, it likes to stay big, whereas no-butt women like me can't make it happen to save our lives.

But that was my point! She likes her big butt, her men like her big butt, so why shouldn't she not only keep it, but keep it riding way up high and tight for years to come? Good heart health being a beneficial side effect, she can have it all!

I am 5'9" and a size ten is as low as I am willing to go. Being very fit with plenty of muscle poundage, I weigh more that you would guess by looking at me. This takes a lot of 5 am gym trips, but I do not deny myself when I get a hankering for something "bad". Life ain't worth it if you can't indulge once in a while.

Buffie is young (I'm a young, white grandma) and therefore taut and relatively healthy without even trying. In a few years time tho, she will be extremely obese if she keeps up this lifestyle, and she won't get to enjoy her grandkids, as I am doing. Young lady, get on a stair steeper- believe me, your ass AND your heart will thank you.

whatever happens it will come right out of the characters, rather than film/tv plot conventions.

-- eligit

I could not agree more. While all art is derivative, owing it's existence to what has come before it, David Chase has crafted a totally unique piece of work within an established genre. All of it is character driven- the plots all involve the consequences, positive and negative, of actions taken by the characters, just like in real life. Sometimes, actions taken by characters of generations past reverberate today, just as in life. There is no way Chase will abandon such a consistant mo in favor of some spectacularly clever ending. All of T's ducks will come home to roost-they have been flying in all season.

I said that way back on page 4!

http://letters.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2007/06/04/sopranos/permalink/55823f815688cd4af30844c6207ef88f.html

But I like the layer you added.

I predict an ending along the lines of "The Usual Suspects" - a revelation so unimagined it will blow the top of our collective heads off - but it will all make sense in hindsight.

You heard it here first.

I cannot imagine what that might be. Seems every imaginable scenario has been explored in these threads and others. I'm finding myself agreeing a little with the guy who offered that maybe a "happy" ending has been set up with the success of Cleaver being a way for T and Carm to make it into the "legit" world. How appropriate would that be? If you look closely at many top politicians and business leaders, you might see a glorified gangster with a trail of bodies behind him, metaphorically and otherwise.

but I thought I would bring up something I noticed upon rewatching the ep last night. The camera dwelled on each of Sil's wounds as the bullets hit. Only his thigh and right shoulder got hit. I seriously doubt he is unconscious. What could this mean?

as Phil and his crew = Bush and Republicans, ie the Big Dogs with all the power and unthinking ruthlessness, and Tony and his crew = Dems, lesser powers, just as corrupt, but with some redeeming qualities, like "compassion for babies and pets?"

No matter how Tony/Dems tried to compromise, Phil/Reps still kept coming at him, demolishing his crew/base, forcing him into a corner. Tony is left with no one who really has his back, save Paulie/Lieberman et al, who have not hesitated to betray him in the past, while his real family/activist base are isolated, marginalized, dead, or near death. "Neutral" observers/Melfi are disgusted and have disengaged.

I have said it before-the terrorism angle is a red herring being used to expose all of us to our own prejudices. We are so conditioned to believe all Muslims are terrorists, we don't even question the assumption within the context of a TV show.

My take may not be what Chase had intended, but it still fits. He has always been offering his own commentary on our contemporary political dilemna in a Shakespearian fashion, and right here at the apex of our long national nightmare, I do not believe Chase is inclined to bring us "All's Well That Ends Well."

I cannot wait to see this. The underlying "generous spirit" is what made FYOV such a delight. We need filmmakers like Apatow.

The "terrorism" subplot is a red herring. The Feds are not interested in the Arabs, they are using it to reel in Tony, and furthermore, Tony knows it. They are engaging in a kabuki dance. The fact that he let's it go on is a big hint as to where he might be headed.

AJ is Tony's only shot at redemption. The love and care Tony has given his children, love and care he never got from his own parents, is being rewarded in AJ's steadily growing sense of right and wrong. The only question is, will AJ have the strength to do what is right? What monumental choice will AJ face? We know what choice Tony will face- la famiglia or his family? Will he die an honorable or dishonorable death?

Or will it end with a whimper, with Tony morosely moswing the grass somewhere out west? I really, really doubt it.

A healthy portion of the American public has your back. Do not be intimidated, and stay out of small planes, Please!