Not while you were eating onion rings I hope.

I miss the ducks.

No onion rings. I was eating the fucking Ziti!

I swear, I first read that as, No onion rings. I was fucking the ziti!

One or two more drinks, and I just might have.

What might the ziti's real name be?

One Amaretto too many, and your family would have had a Father's Day memory to last for years to come!

The fantasy name or the real name?

Ziti titty is probably the fantaty name. Go for real.

Pop taught us to never let anyone outside the family know what we are thinking.

I guess you won't adopt me then either.

Don't put words in my mouth.

Those are YOUR words. Not mine.

I must need glasses cuz I read it the same way.



I bet you pee'd in the street to

Nah, that's a redneck thing, not a Brooklyn thing.

Have you been on Eastern Parkway lately?

Touche. Ok, I'll rephrase my response:

It's not an Italian thing.

I thought you'd get a kick out of that. I had alot of family on Pacific Street in East New York when I was a kid. We'd go out there at least once a month, on a sunday, then go for a walk on Eastern Parkway. Today, you'd need a SWAT team. But don't feel bad, my old Bronx neighborhood ain't what it used to be, either.

Why? Did you see me?

Eastern Pkwy went down hill about 25 years ago and has progressively gotten worse, if that's possible, over the years.


Mig, you wouldn't get a half a block walking around Eastern pkwy. You can't imagine how bad the area really is.

Is that the Crown Heights section? It sounds ghetto chic.

Oh it's beyond ghetto chic. You'll definitely get adopted if you go there.

And if you go there, you'd better walk through the streets looking like this :

"Ghetto chic"? Boy, that's an oxymoron if ever I've heard one!

Now, as far as peeing in the street, DC is correct: it's not an Italian thing. At least, not that I know of.

In Brooklyn, it is, however, a Russian thing.

As one of the last English-speaking people living in my neighborhood, I am amazed at the carefree attitudes Russians here have toward that. I've even seen mothers with very young children encouraging those kids to do it in broad daylight against the nearest brick wall. (And, BTW, there were plenty of restrooms available in nearby stores and restaurants). There is one man (who looks just like Clemenza with hair) who works handling food at a local deli/produce store who regularly relieves himself between parked cars or into the front garden of the apartment building next door. Then he strolls back to work through the rear entrance and goes back to handling food. (Not my food - I do not patronize that store.)

And then there's blowing your nose without a handkerchief...

But, I digress.

Redneck? Naw...Red Square? Da.

How'd we ever get so far OT?

Anybody remember what we were originally discussing?

Edit: Oh yeah..."Is he dead?" Yeah - if my father ever caught him peeing in the street, he woulda killed him.

Signor V.

Is he an interior decorator?

His house looks like shit.

He peed all over 15 Chechozlovakians...ah, never mind.

Hey DC,

Have you ever seen the Caribbean Day Parade along Eastern Parkway on Labor Day Weekend?

No I haven't.

But my Godson is a New York City Policeman and he's told me some really wild stories about that Parade. Gun toting Rastas marching in it along with an unbelievable amount of violence that takes place over there during that parade.

Yeah, it's crazy.

"Those Rastas knew what went on at that cabstand."

Theres no way to tell but since the music went out im gunna hope hes dead.

I did some more research that is a bit more convincing. Personally I am a bit ambiguous on the point, but there is a great amount of evidence that can be drawn.

First off the episode where Junior shoots him is called "Members Only", innocuous enough by itself, in the penultimate episode there is Bobby talking about what it must be like to get killed "you don't even know it's coming", "everything turns black" is a big clue that many people use. The actions of the "Guy in Members Only Jacket" are very suspicious. In fact it's a rather arcane fact, but Tony's favorite GF scene is Solozzo shooting. At the beginning of the episode's image of what could be viewed, by itself, as a dead tony in a coffin is followed by funeral organ music that morphs into classic rock (Chase trying to set the mood?)

The final scene's interpretations both garners a fair bit of clues in terms of set, image and imagery that people have used to pick apart that scene. First off many of the colours are washed out subtly, there is a stronger orange tone that many have used to point towards a more darker feel, trying to make a diner that is rich in fun and Americana into a more dank scene. A controversial interpretation is that the whole scene is staged as if it's a mass, there is a even a short sequence that many have made an analogy to the last supper (occurs before AJ walks in behind the man in the Members Only Jacket). Much is made of some of the dialogue in the scene, where Tony refers to himself in past tense and the fact that they are the only people that are wearing black as well. Also it should be noted that the series is told from Tony's persepctive, making a sudden black out, signifying death reasonably compelling.

Other facts include HBO reps stating that "some people have come closer than others", in regard to guessing the outcome and even the man who played "The Man in the Members Only Jacket" stated in an interview with Inside Edition that something else, big, as is implied was scripted to happen:

http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/inside_stories/story.aspx?storyid=826

Regardless there are still real life holes that make this evidence less than convincing, including the fact that the cut did seem just too sudden to be a gun shot and that the underlying nature of the series is more of a focus on the individuals and their interpersonal relationships and less on the violence of dramatic cinematic Mob rub out scenes. I like the fact that it's still up in the air, kinda.