The Absolute Last Word on the Sopranos

Remember the big deal about the last scene of the last show of the Sopranos when the screen

went black at the end?

David Chase, the executive producer of The Sopranos, has"broken his silence" ---giving an interview to the AP and it caused a stir last week. Some people are using it to justify Tony not being dead. I say.... HORSE PUCKEY.

If you read the whole thing, it is quite obvious to me that he is doing what Judge Judy calls 'pot stirring.' Whether you choose to believe Tony is dead, or you do not, there are certainly no

explicit or implicit answers in this interview, as I see it.

So... what now? I say the bleak and inconclusive ending was NOT appropriate. If he wanted to give us "life goes on," he would have. He did not, and if he thinks he did, it was pretty lame. If cutting off the scene with the onion rings and going to black meant "life goes on" to him, well, I didn't get it. The range of choices for "life goes on" is staggering. This choice wasn't the best.

That said, the ending some fans like myself believe in, that he indeed is dead, is actually a more brilliant and interesting interpretation. I think he should take credit for it, even if the "da Vinci code-type meanings" were unintended on his part. (which I doubt)

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But he is selling a book now. And the pot stirring gets people talking.

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And talking people generate interest in buying books.

Halloween Candy- Your Personality Revealed

I'm not an expert, but I think I know as much as the next gal about candy. I certainly eat enough of it. That said, here is my personal analysis of people who like certain Halloween candy more than others:

Smarties: Let's just disclose that I really like Smarties. No, they are not chocolate, but Smarties have that nice sour taste... with a few variations of citrus...and have just enough sugar to give you that quick fix. Without all the fat calories. So... I see Smarties lovers as practical, level headed and somewhat reserved. Plus, you can eat some now and save some for later. And sharing them isn't a big deal.

Hershey Bars: Ahhh... also me. I love them. It's a state pride thing. I intend to give them out this year! It's a selfish thing. Since I don't get many Halloweeners...well... more for me! :) Hershey Bar eaters are kind, considerate, simple folk. They like Chocolate. Sure, I'll eat the Almond bars, too, but really, nothing is better than just your plain Hershey Bar.

Twizzlers: Thoughtful people like Twizzlers. You can chew on them and not talk for a long time. Einstein was probably eating Twizzlers when he dreamed up E= MC2.

M'nM's: Also me. I once got a whole case as a Birthday present. Other than Hershey Kisses, M'nM's are the best bite size candy ever made. You can eat them one at a time... or chug a lot and be a real pig. M'n M people love life, love food, and eat with gusto without regard to calories or their cholesterol level. They are smart. They know that if they eat half the bag.... that means that they SAVED calories by not eating the other half! And green ones? Well.. Let's not go there just yet. :)

Clark Bars: The last bit of chocolate left in your Candy Bag about November 5th. You ate all the good chocolate. Now it's either the Clark Bars or the Apples or the Sweet Tarts... I don't know anyone who eats them first. Maybe people with deep seated guilt who feel obligated to eat candy no one really wants.

Carmel Corn: Carmel Corn lovers want commitment. You really need both hands to eat it properly and you have to really chew it. And you end up with little bits stuck between your teeth, so it is a messy thing. Nothing easy about it, but with time--- and not a lot of dental work in your mouth, you can enjoy carmel corn.

Candy Corn: Stable, uncomplicated people like Candy Corn. This is a staple of Autumn, like jelly beans are a staple for Spring. You HAVE to eat some. Candy dishes were made for Candy Corn.

Mike and Ike: A fruity, fun candy with a burst of flavor that can be eaten relatively quickly.

Mike and Ike people are fun and flirty, but they have short attention spans.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 28, 2007

Strolling down the costume aisle in the big box store, I saw this horribly lovely witch hat... it was black of course, with a pointy top, but was adorned with a beautiful green translucent bow made of a see through mesh material that was simply devine! And a wide assortment of cloaks, daggers, fake nails, spider jewelry and such that would make any witch's closet quite the fashion statement.

But is that what Halloween is all about? Fashion? I saw some costumes that looked more skanky than scary! Perhaps not enough left to the imagination, so to speak.


Rewind to the days of our youth. The faded, out-of-focus photographs from our school halloween parades..... those cold, and sometimes snowy Autumns of our childhoods..... back to the 1970's... when you had to be creative to come up with something really scary for halloween, something original! The alternative? You had to wear the horrible plastic masks with the tight
rubberbands around your head...that always broke. They had a little hole near the bottom to breathe through. Or you could wear the half mask. At least you could breathe, but they weren't very fun.

(I'm the cute little blonde bride. My little groom's name escapes me. But he did propose to me under the big oak tree during recess. Alas, the love didn't last.)

If Man is Still Alive... If Woman Can Survive

What will the human race, if it still exists, look like in the year 3000? Or even further out... say 10 thousand years? For some reason, I see us living back in caves. I'm not sure why. Maybe my fear of some future destruction.... caused by asteroids or maybe weapons of mass destruction. I'm not sure.

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Something to think about as we continue on this path of evolution. It has been suggested that we will have reached our peak in selection for physical characteristics in the year 3000.

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A report commissioned for TV Channel Bravo goes on to say humans will live up to 120 years and be 6 - 7 feet tall.

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"Physical features will be driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility that men and women have evolved to look for in potential mates, says the report, which suggests that advances in cosmetic surgery and other body modifying techniques will effectively homogenise our appearance.

Men will have symmetrical facial features, deeper voices and bigger penises...

Women will all have glossy hair, smooth hairless skin, large eyes and pert breasts...

Racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-coloured skin tone. "

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The rather silly study borrows a theory from H. G. Wells that eventually we will split into two different races. This is way out, though. Tens of thouands of years. An "attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures."

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Given that we don't lose all our hair because of radiation when the nukes fly, I wouldn't mind the future... with smooth, naturally hairless, tanned skin. No more shaving! Oh, and I look pretty good with that glossy hair! I can see my New Year's Eve 3000 date now.... his name will be Lurch. He's the tall, symmetrical- faced guy with the low voice who poses for Playgirl Magazine.

We can go back to my cave for drinks.

The Shining Yakety Sax

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 21, 2007

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Dumbledore is .... . What?


J.K. Rowling broke the news Friday night at an appearance before a full house at Carnegie Hall.
One young fan asked whether Dumbledore finds "true love."



AP News

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause. She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

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My take? No big deal. He's still Dumbledore. Rowling says she wants her books to be a "prolonged argument for tolerance." This announcement proves it in a big way.

Now I suspect we will barraged by those who represent the prolonged argument for intolerance.

(At least they aren't burning witches at the stake in Salem anymore....)

Happy Sweetest Day

Before you click past and do what I normally would do.... mutter "Hummph! It's just another made-up holiday to keep the greeting card companies in business!".... hear me out.

I have a new respect for Sweetest Day. It began in 1922 in Cleveland,
Ohio--- the brain child of a man who worked for a candy company and wanted to give candy and gifts away to orphans and shut-ins, and people who were forgotten.

See Theda here?


She was a movie star back then. Jumped on this idea right away.... giving out 10,000 boxes of candy to people in hospitals and to those who came to watch one of her films at the Playhouse Square Theaters in Cleveland, Ohio.

My point is..... do something for someone! I know the holiday has morphed into a silly greeting card thing. Or a 'young couples" thing with the dinner for two or the "splash" package at some Holiday Inn, but it doesn't have to be that way.

And if you are alone... be nice to your cat. It'll do, until my "Cat Day" idea catches on.... but I digress.

Dr. Phibes Versus Jason

Each year around this time when all the Halloween movies find their way to the front of the video stores, I still find myself going for the really old classics ---my favorite of course, Vincent Price. You can have your Friday the 13th's and Halloween movies, I'll take Dr. Phibes, House of Wax, The Pit and the Pendulum... House on Haunted Hill. Or how about The Fly?






I first saw these movies on Saturday afternoons, as a kid . Watching them in daylight was plenty scary enough... even without the blood and gore of today. But they were scary in a really far- out and strange sort of way. Like Dr. Phibes and his freaky organ with the mannequin band playing instruments .... and those insane methods he dreamed up to kill people.


I just dug up The Trailer from the Pit and the Pendulum. Classic Vincent Price!

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 14, 2007

Wearing a flag pin on your jacket, or slapping a magnetic yellow ribbon on your 13 mpg SUV, is really the least anyone can do to show their patriotism. Seriously, it's the LEAST you can do.- Jeremy, Orlando, FL

Amen.

I found this quote in the comments section in response to a New Hampshire newspaper editorial criticizing Barack Obama for NOT wearing a flag lapel pin.

To Flag Pinners, I ask.... do you think sporting jewelry makes you oh so much more patriotic than the next guy? Perhaps it's my bias, but I figured the flag pinners to be in one of three classes:

1. A Bush supporter no matter what he does or doesn't do. So there.

2. A politician who doesn't want to be seen as someone who is not patriotic. It's like not wearing underwear.

3. And-- here I give benefit of the doubt--a bona fide supporter of the US military wearing the flag because a loved one is in harm's way, and the symbol somehow gives them comfort and a feeling of solidarity.

I don't run into many of #3--- but if you are out there, you know who you are. But it's about time someone called down this self-serving ridiculous practice by the politicians. Way to go Obama!

Ghost in the Neighborhood?

I found the following information on a haunted place website about a grave in a nearby cemetary. I went to check it out a while ago. You wonder how these things get started.

According to legend, there is a tombstone with a picture of a man with one white hand and one blank hand on it. If you put a white sheet over the top of the headstone on October 30th at midnight, then knock 3 times, the man is said to appear behind you.

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Okay, this is the grave. No, I am not going back on October 30th. In this picture the 'black hand' is a little hard to make out, but it IS there. Poor Guy. Born in 1878. Died in 1927. Hopefully rested in peace a long time. Now he's on the internet.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 7, 2007

And God said: We live in a Litigious Society. . .

I've always been suspicious of people who say God talks to them. Maybe because for me, it was always a one way conversation. In this case, if there is a God he truly has better things to do than worry about the outcome of lawsuits facing Richard Roberts, President of Oral Roberts University.

Maybe if God had told him to go live in poverty and help the poor of India, instead of using words like 'litigious,' I could believe him.



KARE-TV, Minneapolis

At a chapel service this week on the 5,300-student campus known for its 60-foot-tall bronze sculpture of praying hands, Roberts said God told him: "We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit ... is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion."

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Excuse me?

How did anyone in that chapel keep a straight face? Maybe God should have told him to get his wife her own cell phone to call her underage boyfriends instead of at the expense of the ministry to the tune of $800 dollars a month, hire a tutor for his stupid daughter instead of using university members to do her homework, and quit using university money and people to inject himself in political races unlawfully. And open up the books and let the people who pay money to go there, see exactly how their money is spent. And as a bonus, God might have said why not send your daughter to the mission in the Congo with a check for $30 thousand dollars instead of the Bahamas to party with her friends on the ministry's tab?

And that is just for a start.

I'm just sayin'.

We'll see how this all ends. Maybe God can talk to him in jail someday, and educate him on misuse of funds and whatever other charges his creative accounting practices turn up.

Some Sage Advice from Carl

Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another. - Carl Sagan

Something to think about today.

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In this crazy world of talk radio idiots, Fox News, and any other TV programs that focus on the day's tedious and boring arguments---like who owes an apology to whom, which religious group claims the high moral ground that day, and all the brain numbing shouting and name-calling that goes with it-- it is easy to get discouraged.

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No one seems to be focused on the big picture anymore. I salute the scientists out there in their labs late at night, quietly plugging away at their numbers, doing experiments, and seeking real answers to the big questions here in our part of the universe. We could sure use more Carl Sagans.

Past Life Regression - You Decide

I found this picture in a photo album here at the house. I thought it was just perfect for my post tonight about past life regression. An unidentified woman following a dark figure down a path. As with anything that has no definitive explanation, there are several theories about what occurs during past life regression. You can choose to believe it is reincarnation, genetic "memory" passed from cell structures through generations, or even just a fantasy. Nevertheless, something does happen during a regression, and the belief is that it can bring a person an emotional release.

When I had it done many years ago, I experienced the strange sense of being under a sort of hypnosis. It would be easy to shrug it off as simply that, but I felt as if the person who led me through the regression sort of took me down a path by asking open ended questions and I filled in the blanks. It was blissful to just let your mind go.

The way it worked, I was in a group lying on the floor of a classroom and the leader, for lack of better word, put us into a very comfortable, relaxing state and gently pushed us back through our current life's memorable moments. (Graduation, 16th Birthday, First Day of School, etc.) Eventually we went back to the very earliest thoughts we could think of, and then.... the suspension of belief, as the questions led us to the most important moment in the life before this one. All this time we "answered" the questions in our own minds instead of aloud, but every once in a while he would walk over to someone and ask what that person was "seeing" or "hearing" at the moment and it quickly became apparent that some people were having no success at all... some seemed to be making up things or showing obvious frustration at not being successful. Or quitting altogether.

Coming in as the skeptic, no one was more shocked than me to find I was experiencing, quite out of my own control, an unexpected sequence of events in this 'past life' I had entered. When asked to 'look around" and say aloud what I saw.... I saw nothing but a pair of yellow boots on my feet, and water below, as if I was on a bridge. I couldn't look up, or side to side or really anywhere. I had no idea what was going on.

The leader was fascinated by that, and came over for a more personal intervention. We 'exited' that particular 'moment' in this past life and he asked me to go to another 'important moment' in that life to see what we could learn. A series of questions revealed that I was 12 years old and living in 1902. My parents were dead and, as I sat in a wooden windowbox seat looking at a stone bridge over water out in the distance, I could hear relatives arguing over what they were going to do about me. It seemed no one wanted me. I started to cry at this point and was quite embarrassed, so the leader asked me to let this go, and instead we would go to the very last moment of this life to see how it ended.

All of a sudden--- all I could see was those yellow boots again, and the water below. This was where I had entered this life the first time....and by chance, it happened to be the last moment in that life! I had never looked up again. And those boots were the last thing I saw before I went under the water and drowned!

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Strange stuff, huh? You can't make this up. Or maybe you can. I don't know.
Past life? Fantasy? You decide. I haven't.