Just another Manic Monday...

Five posts for the price of one. Mondays are great catchup days.

First of all, I simply cannot stop raving about THE SOPRANOS. David Chase is a genius, and Gandolfini has hit a grand slam homerun with his portrayal of tortured mobster Tony Soprano.
Last night's "return" episode was one of the most finely crafted hours of TV I've ever seen. And from what I've read in several reviews, it only gets better from here. Just look at that photo above. Gandolfini's eyes convey SO much of this character, he will forever be labeled (much like Jason Alexander in SEINFELD), and will probably have a hard time finding work after the show ends it's run. But who cares. He's already in the top three, if not the most, memorable character(s) in TV history.

One of the advantages of the Internet (other than tracking down CIA operatives quicker than you can say "covert"-see the Sunday Chicago Tribune online if you didn't hear...) is that little details that you used to wonder about in the old days, used to have to spend days tracking down, like the name of a song used in a TV show or a certain designer of a suit you may have seen, that info just appears, you just GOOGLE it and voila, two clicks later you are at your Burmese Mahogany desk, funking out to Material and William S. Burroughs' haunting yet toe-tapping "Seven Souls". The song was used to perfection in the opening montage of last night's episode, and it's early-Eighties synthesizer and bassline are delicious. You'll be hearing it blasting out of your neighbor's iPod hi-fi for the next few months, for sure.

Letterman's back from another week off and he's absolutely on fire tonight. Good stuff. Reminds us all why we simply cannot tolerate fans of Jay Leno on this planet. We NEED acerbic wit, dripping sarcasm, and expensive suits. They are necessities of life.

A visit to a hip, flashy restaurant slash nightclub this weekend reminded me of exactly why I am glad that I don't hang out in flashy hip restaurant slash nightclubs very often. I'm not sure what's worse, the attitude from the $7 an hour hosts and hostesses, or the attitude from the chain smoking thirtysomethings with the asscrack jeans on. I won't name the place, but I will say that it's name rhymes with JAPONAIS. If you want to show up late for your reservation, and you call ahead and let someone know, and you still sit for two hours without anyone even THINKING about seating you at a table, check that place out. If you want to be treated well, find somewhere else to buy your kobe carpaccio and dragon rolls. The food used to be outstanding, the other night it was just good. WAY overseasoned. But, when you're being crapped on, every litte fault is amplified, I guess. No worries, had a great time nonetheless noshing appeteasers in the lounge and watching the transvestites hold hands with their johns, I mean dates. But hey, to each his/her own. Even when his and hers applies to one human being.

And finally, a commuter mug from Starbucks that you can easily flip/close the opening on . It looks like a regular Starbucks latte cup with the logo, right down to the areas to mark how many shots, syrup, decaf, etc. It even says, in tiny green letters at the bottom, CAREFUL, THE BEVERAGE YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENJOY IS EXTREMELY HO. The only difference is the top is black instead of the usual white lid.
How many times are you juggling the laptop, your cell phone,a newspaper, your Sidekick, BlackBerry, Treo, Palm, putting on lipstick, talking on the phone, and trying to walk to your car or the train. Every time, a little bubble of steaming soy milk pops out of the sipping opening and right onto your shirt/blouse/tie. This cup alleviates that. Thank you, Starbucks.

And in an all time Lowest Common Denominator Low, the film THE BENCHWARMERS is cranking up the PR machine in advance of its April 7 opening. Just what we need,a feature film making fun of the handicapped. It stars the kid from Napoleon Dynamite and Hollywood giants Rob Schnieder and David Spade. Just what we need, another movie for guys who have skid marks in their underpants. We preach political correctness and tolerance to the youth of this country, and then we churn out "entertainment" like this.
I think the young people of this country are self-absorbed, insensitive, lackadaisical, and overly dramatic. But I can't tell them that, or they'll spit in my latte.