Archive for April, 2007

Live Blogging of Episode # 81 – Chasing Tony!

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I am fan of live blogging (I think). This is my first time, but perhaps this is the way to write more frequently. :) I’m working on that by the way. Stay tuned for big changes with InternetGeekGirl. She’s in the process of getting re-vamped. I do like being in front of the TV with my Laptop. (One of my favorite positions in fact). Not sure I’ll get the logistics right on this, but here goes.

I can’t take it. Seeing Tony lose is causing unbearable stress. They have me right where they want me. Mr. Chase wants me to beg for the end. Well, only 5 episodes left after tonight. I know I’ll regret saying it… but please put me out of my misery. I don’t like it when Tony and Carm fight like this. Tony needs The Secret. It’s all about the Law of Attraction my friend. Unfortunately – the negativity is threw the roof.

As for A.J. – All I can say is: Love hurts dude. I could go on here, but I won’t. Curious to see how this is going to play out! I don’t think A.J is going to take this well. I forsee “off_the_deep_end_text_messages.”

I’m gonna take a pass on the shower scene.

So I get it. We are building up. The suspense is mounting. How’s it all gonna end? What do you think? PLEASE SUBMIT A COMMENT WITH YOUR PREDICTION OF HOW THE SOPRANOS IS GOING TO END! Will Tony end up in Gambler’s Anonymous? Will he meet his demise among the tomato plants? (Would they even dare?) From the looks of it, he’s heading for a breakdown. Last week was dark. This week is ugly.

Vito Jr. is acting out. Dude – the lipstick isn’t flattering. Uncle Phil wasn’t exactly supportive. Tony used one of his classics: “You go about in pity for yourself.” Wondering whether the guys who picked up Vito Jr. were really from Utah!!

Tony is taking stock and going on the attack, and no one is immune. The season kicked off with his fight with Bobby; last week it was Pauly. Now it’s Hesh. (Christopher and Sil watch out). I gotta tell Tony – giving out “Cleaver” hats only goes so far. Dr. Melfi gets at the heart of the matter. What are you chasing? What are we all chasing? Therapy is an oasis for Tony. As Dr. Melfi reminds him, there are protocols that need to be followed. I believe in protocols.

As Nancy Sinatra says, “These boots are made for walking” and Tony is preparing us for the great big walk. Life without live Soprano’s.

Well – Entourage is on. That’s not ending this year is it? I’ll get to Vince and his “issues” soon.

Ciao ragazzi!!

In Mecca and Loving Every Minute

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Picture this. Sunday morning, crack of dawn (well 8:30 am which is crack of dawn for internet geek types). Anil Dash and Deborah Schultz are presenting an excellent workshop on Community Evangelism: Tools & Techniques here at the Web2.0 Expo at Moscone West. I’m listening, taking notes, twittering, adding people I just met to my LinkedIn and getting flickr accounts from the locals sitting around me and taking pics! This is mecca for InternetGeekGirl, and I must say – I’m loving every minute.

Because I don’t have a lot of time before I dash over to a gathering at the Clift Hotel, I’ll have to save the details for later. The workshop was chock full of excellent ideas about what it means to be a Community Evangelist. For Anil and Deb, an evangelist is about “being a native in the community you represent.” They define evangelists as consumer advocates, educators, and cross-functional staffers that are often the company’s greatest external champion and at the same time the most significant internal critic. These are important people. More organizations need them. In case you’re looking, keep your eyes peeled for humans with the following characteristics (quoted from Anil & Deb’s presentation):

Human Skills of Evangelists

  • Listener
  • Connector
  • Critic
  • Partial geek
  • Detective
  • Catalyst
  • Diplomat
  • Juggler
  • Driven by relationships
  • Approachable
  • Intuitive
  • Inquisitive

I also had the great pleasure of hearing Rob Hayes and Jeff Clavier speak on Starting Up 2.0: Strategies for Pitching, Financing & Growing Your Web2.0 Startup. Rob and Jeff helped lift the “secret veil” that used to shroud the world of getting VC funding. Thanks to investors like them and the blogs and presentations they put out into the universe, entrepreneurs like me can gain insight into a world that used to operate like a secret society. Again, not a lot of time here, but I would suggest that it behooves all entrepreneurs to get a handle on how these guys think and how they look at deals. It will help you in the long run.

OK, gotta dash. But stay tuned for InternetGeekGirl’s musing throughout the week. It feels good to be amongst my peeps!

It’s not TV – It’s HBO.

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Greetings friends. First off my apologies for my lack of blogging. Nate was right, I need to just make it a daily task. I promise to work on that. InternetGeekGirl needs to get her groove on. I’m thinking I should twitter and blog at night while watching TV. Twittering is much easier.

My lack of writing is not due to lack of inspiration. Solely lack of time.

Since so many of you are asking, yes, I did watch The Soprano’s on Easter Sunday night. And since so many of you are also asking, here’s what I think:

This final season is off to a good start. In its typically ironic fashion, the episode began with Carmela asking, “Is this it?” Yes, Carmela, the beginning of the end. I’m not sure how I will feel at the end. This show has impacted me in a unique way. Yes, TV still impacts me. Twitter or no twitter – I still need, crave and LOVE my TV(s). The TVs per person ratio in my house is way too high.

As for Tony and his deep thoughts about his future – let us first look at the past. Catch the kick-ass7-minute series recap on youtube. This is my all-time-favorite-so-far video on YouTube. Thank you Paul Gulyas and Joe Sabia. I hope they have gotten tons of job offers. With almost 250,000 YouTube views, they deserve it.

By the way – What a great example of using copyrighted material in an appropriate way. I think they should win the cutter of the year award.

Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times so eloquently summed up why I love this show.

“The series lowered the bar on permissible violence, sex and profanity at the same time that it elevated viewers’ taste, cultivating an appetite for complexity, wit and cinematic stylishness on a serial drama in which psychological themes flickered and built and faded and reappeared. The best episodes had equal amounts of high and low appeal, an alchemy of artistry and gutter-level blood and gore, all of it leavened with humor.”

(April 8, 2007)

I gravitate toward dichotomy.

Where does this leave us? The cultural zeitgeist is changed forever.

What does it take to do that? In a big way? In a minor way? More on that later. For now I know that these next 8 episodes will be cherished. Like watching a sunset on Maui…like a slow, amazing kiss… like a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine. Actually, like all three at once.