Seriously Sopranos Fans...KILL YOURSELF!

I thought this Monday would be like most.

I would struggle to get up, drag me feet getting ready my internship and be about 10 minutes late. That part I knew was going to happen but this Monday, all anybody in the media or anyone in the world seemed to care about was the fuckin' Sopranos.

I obviously know the show exists, I know what it's about, I knew it was the last episode but did I watch it? No, I never watched so why start now.

- 8:00 am, SportsCenter, Sopranos talk.
I'm thinking okay I guess they had to elude to it being a masculine network.

- 8:30 am, Shower, Sopranos talk.
I listen to the radio every morning in the shower and this morning all they wanted to scream and yell about was the ending to this show. The sad part is I GOT THE ENDING RIGHT without ever watching an episode (Not the onion rings and shit but you know). I told the few people who still cared to ask me after I told them I don't watch that shit Friday that it would have a un-ending, meaning that it's just going to stop and nothing will be resolved. IT'S CLASSIC CLIFFHANGER! Think the chicken from Family Guy, when you think it's dead, it opens its eyes and leaves the door open for him and Peter to fight again.

- 8:50 am, Mike & Mike in the Morning, Sopranos talk.
Their banter about this bullshit ass show is probably what pushed my annoyance to code red. Very little mention of Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver to win an F1 race, very little talk of anything sports related.

- 9:00 am, CNN Headline News, Sopranos talk.
Surely CNN would give me some idea of what's going on in the world besides the Sopranos and Paris Hilton (at this point I long for a Paris Hilton story). Nope! Viewer e-mails on what they think about the ending or how it should have ended. Didn't George Bush do something yesterday?

- 9:20 am, Fox News, Sopranos talk.
It's sad when they push you to the dark side but surely conservatives don't give a shit about this show. NOPE, I was wrong.

- 9:25 am, Charlotte Observer, Sopranos talk.
FUCK TV, I know the newspaper (and it's website) will have a little bit on it. FIRST THING YOU SEE on Charlotte.com, the fucking Sopranos and everybody wants to give their two cents.

- 9:30 am, Cartoon Network
I have no clue what I was watching but one thing was for damn sure, they weren't talking about that show.

-10:07 am, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Sopranos talk.
I told yall I'd be like 10 minutes late, anyway, I get in and sit down, the music editor hands me some listings to double check. Cool. Behind me the Amen Corner has assembled to talk about what else The Sopranos. These people are talking about where they were like it was Kennedy's assassination or September 11th (I was in ROTC for 9/11, definitely not a good look). Anyway, they go on describing their account of the events like no one else they were talking to watched it. They went on rambling about that shit, Regis & Kelly and Bruce Leroy (YES, I heard a Last Dragon reference on a Monday morning! What is really going on?) before I realized "Hey, I'm a music intern, I can just drown their ass out with music" So I headphone'd up and got through the day. Not without a couple IM's asking me if I saw it which weren't answered angrily or ignored depending on when they asked.

- 2:45 pm, Home.
I just beat the thunderstorm home, YES! I settle down in my pops recliner and turn on another channel I know won't be talking about that show (Yes, I had to go Bill Parcells and not even mention it's fuckin name). Ahh, How Clean Is Your House? on BBC America, a sanctuary.

- 4:00 pm, NFL Live, ESPN, Sopranos talk.
They suckered me back in with football and then snuffed me with a Sopranos uppercut eluding to the fucking show over 20 times and even doing a damn segment which chronicled GOOD ENDINGS/BAD ENDINGS on NFL careers, which I'll hand it to them was a clever twist but still fucking annoying.

- 4:30 pm, Rob & Big...
Jim Rome thinks he's a Soprano do you really think I care what he's burning on? Once again Rob & Big DO WORK SON! and save the day. I CAN'T BELIEVE THE WORLD WIDE LEADER DIDN'T FIRE MANY A COLUMNIST FOR PROCLAIMING THAT IT WAS THE SHOW OF OUR GENERATION. I'd much rather watch The Office or Food Network, fuck it I actually did flip to DIY (Do It Yourself) network for a little while to escape.

- 5:00 pm, ESPN again...
It's like a scar I gotta keep scratching, The next person to say "Whacked" and think it's original I'm going to blow up their studio and write my congressman! (I don't know but it seemed like it fit there). Around The Horn, obvious I know they are going to bring it up, they've talked about it before when it wasn't the finale so I prepared for it. I somehow made it through my favorite show of competitive banter unscathed. PTI on the other hand forced me in a non-steroid induced rage! Television was subsequently turned off for the day.

- 6:52 pm, Phone Call, Sopranos talk.
Afternoon Nap was in full effect, BlackBerry rings, it's one of my best friends! I know she won't want to talk about that damn show but she is known for bombing conversations and not even 30 seconds after pleasantries she drops the A-Bomb, "So what did you think of the Sopranos?" My mind says, YOU BITCH! and as I fight the urge to hang up and throw the hand held device in the hamper near my closet, I control my rage of being awoken by such tomfoolery and calmly say "When have you ever heard me say I watched that show?" As she prepares to become the victim, she says, "Well I just thought..." I cut her off, "I'm so tired of talking about that fucking show, I'm seriously mad right now that that's all people want to talk about today..." After venting some frustration, I kindly ask if I can call her back cause God knows that if I keep talking to her, I'm setting myself up for a "You were mean to me" conversation down the road.

- 10:00 pm, Facebook
I wake up surprisingly energized and low and behold only one question about my current Facebook status...
"Big is the only nigga alive who doesn't give a shit about the Sopranos or the ending and laughing because he's never watched it and still got the ending right."
That person who asked that question, you know who you are, is officially a dick to me.

At the end of the day, I'm not doubting that the show in question wasn't a good show nor do I deny the fact that at it's peak it was one of the most popular but the same way I look at Scarface and wonder how people can watch that long, fake ass movie over and over again and call it the best, the same way "hard" niggas are all about that movie and "gangster" shit, really it was like Goodfellas the series, at best. (Want to see some real shit watch Cocaine Cowboys). I never really got into shit like that because it was ridiculously stereotypical and also very predictable, America's fascination with the gangster mentality is a mystery to me. So Sopranos fans, from the bottom of my heart, go ahead and commit that. Get over your show, I'm glad I can watch Entourage, Big Love, Real Sex and Flight of the Conchords on HBO now without dumbass, vague Sopranos teasers. Oh and fuck USA Today too, I really love your paper but damnit today if I didn't feel like destroying your website! I didn't forget about yall niggas, yall had the show over real life events. Is that good journalism? Somebody call DeWayne Wickham!

Tuesday Night Thoughts

Spring Break 2007 marked my return to the Queen City for the first time in months and the first 3 days or so have been cool but now I'm missing work, I'm missing school, I'm missing ... I don't know something is missing. Like clockwork, I got sick the day I got home, nothing major just sneezing and watery eyes (I think it's the carpet in my room)...

So Shaq is 35 today and it's like another reminder that "Wow, I'm getting old." Not really (I'm only 20) but I can remember like '93 when he was beastin' niggas with the Magic and I was in like 1st or 2nd grade. Time flys. Kazaam and Shaq going platinum were all over 10 years ago, damn I was about to be in 6th grade 10 years ago...

Once again BET has managed to surprise me. The network that I truly believed was making people dumber one video at a time premiered College Hill tonight and to my surprise I was hooked. I have to say my favorite cast member so far is the dude Willie. His confessionals are hilarious...Not even 12 hours in the Virgin Islands, dude JT has already cheated on his girl with a Island chick that's got a terrible face but her ass is crazy. I don't know if I could have fucked with it but then again, you never know. What else...oh yea, the black girl from the OC already got bukked naked but it wasn't really much to see and people was gettin' bent day one so I'm really thinking I'm going to be a College Hill fanatic kinda like last season when I was watching the Virginia State people do it up and watching The Real World ratings fall off the map (they know to have at least 1 black person on the cast from now on, what were they thinking in Key West? and No, the mixed girl doesn't count because she identifies herself with her other side). Let's hope I don't get aggreviated by the Caribbean accents in the house, those tend to annoy me. No offense to BET, Terrance J is still doin' big things.

Watching College Hill made me realize that I haven't watched The Real World in a minute...brb (looking for remote to change the channel) LOL, The Real World is on right now too...The girl from Tennessee cussin' somebody out. I swear she is over emotional.

This commercial for Blades of Glory looks funny. Will Ferrell + Napoleon Dynamite = Something I want to see. I don't really like horror movies but yea The Hills Have Eyes 2 looks straight.

I'm just beginning to look forward to the College Media Advisers conference in NYC next week. I'm all business this year. We have some promising new people coming for the trip (Malcolm and Aasiya what's good?) I'm definitely looking forward to what they can bring to the newspaper next year. Oh yeah, I can't forget about DC, LaShawn is going too. I can't hype her up too much, we running against each other (in theory) she's still cool people.

In high school, a girl "experimenting" with the same sex was kinda like OK, that's temporary but recently I've seen a couple girls jumping ship and leaving the home team looking stupid. I don't have a problem with gay people (My policy: You can come out the closet just don't come out the house) but I'm really starting to wonder what do these girls say to get these girls. And it's the baddest ones! I mean I've seen how bold the girls that look like dudes are about approaching girls: holla at like every girl in the club, accept rejection from most, then find that one or two who are outwardly against it but internally unsure. I wouldn't call the girls that get turned out mentally weak but man I don't know, I need to see a transcript of what these girls are saying to them cause outside looking in, some of these girls look like me without a dick (did that girl have facial hair?)

I've been saying I need some white friends since my freshman year at A&T well this summer I shouldn't have to say that anymore. I'm the Media Relations intern for the Greensboro Grasshoppers (The Class A Affiliate of the Florida Marlins) and as far as I know I'm the only black dude working the summer. Get ready for "Culture Shock." I think it'll be cool, I like to think that I'm just Mike and I'm good with all people but I can't help but get the naggin' feeling that somebody is going to ask me about rap music...

Random Thoughts: I've never owned or wore a doo-rag, for some reason I think I would look really stupid with one plus I don't brush my hair or have waves like that. I've never worn a wife beater before either (well once for like an hour and I was extremely uncomfortable.

That's it for now good people, I'll be back in Greensboro sometime this weekend but until then I'm enjoying my hometown, Charlotte, North Carolina for your squares (I shoulda left the "squares" part to my Cali friends) and I hope you're enjoying where ever you are...