Tony Soprano rest in peace

Now, and only now, do actually believe that Tony Soprano has breathed his last.

He wasn't leading man material. Or at least he wasn't supposed to be. Until he sank his teeth into the role of a lifetime as the head of a New Jersey Mafia family. He breathed life into the character, and made us worry and cheer for a cheating thieving murderer. He took the concept of the anti-hero and kept it going into villainy until it came out the other side.

He played other roles. Roles that had he not played Tony might have stood out, but his played his signature character so well it that it loomed over everything else. In another ten years, he could have become someone else. Someone as dominant, as memorable. But alas, he won't have them.

And we are lessened for it.

Odd Quotes

“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are things you get ashamed of, because words make them smaller. When they were in your head they were limitless; but when they come out they seem to be no bigger than normal things. But that’s not all. The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried; they are clues that could guide your enemies to a prize they would love to steal. It’s hard and painful for you to talk about these things … and then people just look at you strangely. They haven’t understood what you’ve said at all, or why you almost cried while you were saying it.”

~ Stephen King, From some book of his.

Hey, are you going to....?

Ramblings Post #227
I realize that this whole blog was originally supposed to be about something else. Then it was supposed to be about hanging out in Atlanta. Then it became a place of hashing things out. Then it became about school and then something else. Well, we're going to revisit one of my ole concepts, not there is much to tell.

I'm not sure who the artist was. I do know that my RP hits me up out of the blue last Friday and tells me that Sky Vodka is having a reception, at that very moment, at the Loews Hotel in midtown.

Now, let me be clear, back in the day...like five years ago...this announcement would have been like pouring sugar on an ant hill. Ford Motor Company used to have receptions that let you test drive Navigators, AFTER they'd given you three or four free drinks! Brooks Brothers had free drinks and gave away $3000 in clothes at theirs. Jaguar not only had a live band, top shelf drinks and dinner, the gift bags had full size bottles of cologne. Now, it hadn't been that good in a while. But something is better than nothing.

Courtesy of this guy I know.

So I head to the Loews, which is way bigger than I realized and end up at the Hebru Brantley show, which has free drinks. I don't know who he is, but since he did show up, I can describe him as looking like a grown up, six foot three inch version of Huey Freeman. He was friendly enough though, taking pictures all night and mingling, so don't get me wrong - he's a nice guy. From Chicago I think.

It was a mixed crowd - black and white, older and younger, people who might be able to afford the art and people dressed like what they think artists must dress like to feel artistic. Really? Porkpie hats, scruffy beards, neck tattoos and more Timberland boots than was entirely reasonable. Even worse, the trend of  women dressing like models and men showing up video game casual still persists. Now, I only had a polo shirt and slacks, but in that crowd,  I was overdressed! The whole vibe of the crowd was disappointing.

Same dude as before. Good Dude.

The vodka was nice. It was free. Now, I realize that the idea of the promotion was to get people in to see the art, and to enjoy the drinks so next time you're in the store you'll buy the drink, but the whole the thing was a little...hinky. Yeah, that's the word. Hinky. The lines at the bar were horrendously long, the artist had a merchandise table setup and the music was entirely too loud. Okay, maybe that's age, but I like a venue where I can talk to people, not shout at people.

After the reception I found myself someplace I hadn't been in a while, Midtown on a Friday night. The area used to be a series of fun but slightly run down clubs, punctuated by the occasional new spot that quickly fell into line with the area motif. It's now glammed up, with uber-trendy stores, high end restaurants and clubs with crowds that resemble the reception I had just departed. It was fun to hang out for a moment, but the new groove...has to be found.

And right now I don't have time for that. Going out at all was a break suggested by my cousin (who was kind enough to give me her old study materials for the GA Bar). All work no play is not good.

Barkeep. A milkshake. Seriously, take six ice cream sandwiches and a cup of milk. And we'll need a blender.