Letters to the Editor
uncle ovipositor
Published Letters: 75 Editor's Choice: 5
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peyote
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: Uncomfortably numb]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Peyote can make even the throwing up seem profound (and he should have been doing a lot more of it, and absolutely under no circumstances should have capable of driving into the desert). Even the buzzing flourescent light seemed significant. Having him resort to a drug like that for insight is a great choice by the writers.
I think the "profound" peyote experience is going to define Tony's world view in a way he relied on Melfi to do previously. And it will provide the necessary rationalizations: he won at the table and then God winked at him. I would expect him to end his therapy and then have her killed, since he won't be going back and she could potentially talk.
Like many fans of the show, Tony has charmed Melfi. Her fondness for him is the basis of his loyalty. When he ends his therapy, he won't have a basis for trusting her anymore and will cover his own ass.
Thanks to everyone who's posted letters here. You're all scary smart.
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I'm a fan, but don't care about the tv
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The other sport I follow is cycling. Strangely, both of these sports have found a home on Versus. I'm fine with nobody caring about what I like - otherwise I'd be a very frustrated individual.
I don't understand why some people are so concerned about whether their sport is popular or not. I can understand being frustrated about not being able to see the games, but that hasn't been a problem as far as I can tell. Hockey won't ever be popular in the US, and neither will cycling. Neither will I. Just like highschool. So what's the big worry? There's still some excellent hockey going on this playoff season...
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A quick correction
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: Hide-and-seek]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In the first sentence of the third paragraph: the car that nails the motorcycle is pulling away from Sil's murder, not Phil's.
Other than that - nice to read what's posted here, as always.
I would argue that Chase doesn't hate all therapists, though. Carmella went to one who was extremely honest with her and pretty much called it. She only saw him once, then went to Melfi with Tony, where things were much, much less threatening. Of course it's not necessarily the job of a therapist to tell you what to do or give you strategic council on life - this isn't the Oracle of Delphi, after all, no matter how much people may want that.
It's a tough profession, plagued by human frailty, and no amount of professionalism can keep you from screwing up multiple times, hopefully without catastrophic results. I've seen the personal side of shrinks lives (my mother's one, and many of her friends), and this show has been pretty good at presenting that. Being a therapist doesn't make you objective, and they do petty things like Elliot and Melfi did in this episode. Doesn't make it excusable, just understandable. I like that portrayal. Far too often, therapists are viewed as omniscient or above human frailty (again the Oracle of Delphi springs to mind), and anyone who views them that way can't help but resent them and consider them failures when they show the slightest flaw. Not unlike parents in that, as any teenager will illustrate.
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re: what about paulie?
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: Hide-and-seek]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When the hits were being laid out by Phil's guys, one of them asked about Paulie (if I remember correctly). To which the reply was, "No, not management."
So NY thinks Paulie runs enough business that they want to keep him in place. Possibly promote him.
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some small observations
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" goes dark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1. It was Agent Harris who flipped, not Tony. Perversely entertaining.
2. Tony's meals in the episode were hamburgers, french fries, and onion rings. Not Italian food.
3. (as pointed out by someone else) Little Carmine's film company is called "Lone Wolves"
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air guitar is much more fulfilling
[Read the article: How "Guitar Hero" saved guitar music]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Air guitar has done much more to save guitar music than Guitar Hero. Did you try that, Farhad? That would have given you what you seem to want out of playing guitar (getting to look cool) without all of the work. But I'd say that's the least interesting element of music.
The part of guitar that's easy to learn is the basic craft. It doesn't take that much time to develop some basic skills, and once you get going it's very addictive, and once you get a little bit of skill, you'll want more. My experience, anyway. Yours was obviously different. What we wanted as an end result was clearly different as well.
The harder part is learning to use whatever technique you have to actually express something, which to me is the end goal of learning an instrument. You don't need huge amounts of technique (see: punk rock), you just need another way of thinking about what you're doing. This can't be provided by Guitar Hero - or air guitar - but is ultimately a lot more rewarding.
Guitar Hero's fine and everything (I've played it - it's fun), but let's not pretend it's anything more than an elaborate version of Simple Simon with a horrible soundtrack. It may develop some coordination (and I'll trust the company rep you interviewed for this article on that one, even without it being verified anywhere other than their promo lit), but it doesn't develop the more important element of playing an instrument - a motive other than scoring points.
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Lord Stanley's Cup
[Read the article: "You don't have to get snippy about this"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup this year - Carolina was last year. I assume called the Ducks as well.
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a logical flaw
[Read the article: Once and for all, proof that Macs are cheaper than PCs]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There's a big flaw to your logic here: Macs resell for more because the people buying them are a narrow group who believes they are worth more. Plus, supply and demand being what it is, since there are fewer of them the price goes up. If the numbers were reversed and a small group of fanatics were dedicated to PCs, the exact same numbers would probably be true.
Resale isn't a great way to determine or ascribe overall value.
[This message typed on a PowerBook G4 that's ridiculously slow and crash-prone compared to my 3-year-old Gateway at home]