Southpaw Jones

Archive for June 11th, 2007

Monday sits a’wonderin’.

June 11, 2007 By: Southpaw Jones Category: Interesting? No Comments →

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

Summer vacation is over, and I’m looking forward to getting back to some routine around here.

I spent the last five weekends out-of-town: Wimberley, Houston, Kerrville, Corpus Christi, and Kerrville again.

Yes, the Kerrville Folk Festival was kinder to Maggie and me this last weekend. The weather, I mean. It was sunny, hot at times, but often breezy and comfortable. Especially down by the river. There were the requisite highs and lows that come with the KFF experience, but we stayed dry the whole time, and for that, I am thankful.

I got to share a couple songs with Billy Jonas, which was a wonderful surprise. Among acoustic singer/songwriters and entertainers, he is one of the greats. His tune God Is In is the perfect epic song for spiritually progressive folks. Check out his world at billyjonas.com.

This morning, I woke up at 6 am to watch the last episode of The Sopranos, my favorite television show. I won’t spoil it for anyone who has catching up to do, but I will say a few words about David Chase, the show’s creator and maintainer. This guy has a love/hate relationship with his audience…at best. It has made the series, especially these last few episodes, very interesting and/or frustrating to watch, depending on your perspective. As far as I’m concerned, the guy has had very few missteps in the several years that the show has existed. Where he scripts, I’ll follow.

Chase had a great deal of success early on with The Sopranos, and as HBO has begged for more and more shows, he has become more artful, less conventional, more between-the-lines, less trigger-happy. The show became more than a gangster dramedy. It stands alone, a complete American odyssey, and I’m sad to see it go, but glad to see that it ended fully-marinated in the creative juices of it’s contrary, dark-hearted maker.

The last few weeks of the show affected me as much as any storytelling could. Nothing but building tension, instability, and shifting sands. Now it’s over, and the best part for me is being able to breathe normally again.

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

When our ancestors arrived at Ellis Island, they came with the name Leonardo, but the immigration people changed to Leotardo. … They took our proud Italian heritage, and named us after a ballet costume.
Phil Leotardo, ever angry on The Sopranos

Online Museum of the Week
Cereal Box Archive: