The Sopranos - Made in America / Fred Neil - Dolphins

For the last 2 months I have been mostly watching The Sopranos. Last night I finished the final episode (season 6, ep 21).

How good was it ? Pretty damn good. The Wire beats it, just. But like the Wire it ended in the nick of time.

It is often said that the Sopranos is about the family; Tony is the average working guy, with the mafia used as a device to raise the pitch of his life to create a show worth watching. But regardless, Tony Soprano is a psychopath; and I've been I rooting for him to get some kind of justice ('natural' or otherwise) since the beginning. But in the final scenes the balance of my emotions were somewhat upset. The tension and ambiguity of that final scene were simply perfect for me. I thought I knew where I was in the show and then it confounded me, not just by Tony's fate but the place where the ending left me. This is what made The Sopranos the 2nd greatest ever show on TV - it pushed the boundaries of what you expect from TV. It broke rules and played with the viewers expectations. It toyed with us and in the process changed TV and thus, in some small way, made things better.

One of the most perfect things about the show was the relationship between Christopher and Adrianna. I loved the way it was clear they were the 'soul mates' they naively referred to each other as. Their fates were sealed the moment they met. Doomed from the start.

The violence and the implications of Christopher's relationship to Tony Soprano closed in on them. And the moment it came with Adrianna taken to the woods by Silv you knew Christopher was also damned.

One of Christopher's last scenes is of him at a fairground out of his head on smack and as he slides into oblivion he is joined by a stray dog. With his arms around the dog Fred Neil's 'Dolphins' is played on the soundtrack. As the sentiment of the song implies Christopher is looking for something out of reach. This was undoubtedly Adrianna and the dog a metaphor for either his own death and/ or his true love of Adrianna. Stirring stuff and a fantastic song now made even greater.




Download Dolphins by Fred Neil here - http://www.mediafire.com/?v4wjzdmiuyc

As the blood rushes through my veins and my heart beats faster...

I may not really know why I occasionally write in this blog. But I do know why I run.

In fact there are a number of reasons I run. These are -

1) I eat far too much cake.
2) I don't want to die, just yet.
3) To sweat and push myself for an hour or so a day is the least a man should do.
4) I love to get into this zone that I can only ever enter when I am running.
5) I enjoy doing something some people can't..
6) Occasionally I'll have one of the 'golden runs', as I call them. These are the runs when everything feels great and the endorphins peak.

... I just had a golden run. Lunchtime run with Iain to Brondesbury Park, over the High Road, up to West Hampstead and then back to the factory. 3.47 miles in 30.15 mins. Average pace of 08:43.. Not fast, not far. But I know I could easily have gone faster and further. Maybe, that's secret; holding stuff back. Knowing you can run better than you are, when your legs feel strong and your heart and lungs are working.

Fantastic. I loved every second of that.

T

The most pointless thing I have done so far today is write this post..

What to write about...

Been runnning every other day; in London at lunchtime (5k in 26 mins) and at the weekend home in Chelmsford (4 miles), which was really nice.

Been biking in Danbury last Friday night, but my chain snapped.

Rode back from Ingatestone this morning on the Phantom after dropping Patsy's car off (11 miles.

Going away this weekend in the van to Walberswick.

Erm...

Why do I do this blog ?

T

Rich Kid Blues

I am not really a fan of Jack White. I find him relatively humorless. And with the kind of music he makes I think a sense of humour is kind of essential.

However, I do simply love this Raconteurs cover of Terry Reid's 'Rich Kid Blues'. I cannot stop playing it. It's so good I don't think I've ever played it just once - I allways repeat it.

I love the drums at the start and the way the voices work in harmony with the guitars. It ducks and dives. It sounds like the Who and Zep. I always say you need to play these tracks loud, but really this time play it LOUD.

It is here - http://www.mediafire.com/?wi2idg3dcsl

Goodbye

T

Back running

I've said this before - I am back on the road running.

After a week of gentle 15 min jogs on the treadmill, last Wed I went out at lunchtime in London and did 3 miles with Iain. On Friday, we did the same and then today Tuesday we did it again. 3 miles aorund Brondesbury Park, across Kilburn High Road and back to the factory. Great.

Last Wed it was cold and raining. Today baking hot. Friday was the hardest.

It's hard work. I am not sure I could do more than the 3 miles. We were fast though (for us) - an average 8.17 mile pace today.

No real problems with the legs. A slight twinge in the right calf and ankle. But we are stopping to stretch after the first 10 mins and then I stretch like crazy once we get back. My cardio is coping, just. And my aching back is getting better. Running is just so much more demanding than any cycling you can do.

However, I did a 15 mile road ride on Saturday and a 13 mile 'off road' ride on Sunday (Galleywood, across the train line to Hylands and back), which was fun.

T