Pretty Cool Things

Ambiguous ending or not, I will truly miss this brilliant show. It had everything a great tv show should have… excellent writing, humor, violence, irony, suspense, etc etc. I find it incredible that it’s almost been a year since they wrapped it up. Anyway, as a reminder of what we’ll miss, here’s a top 10 list of my favorite “wackings” on The Sopranos.

10. Tony Blundetto

Tony B (played brilliantly by Steve Buscemi) is Tony Soprano’s first cousin who went to jail for him back in the day. Although deeply protective of him at first out of his obligation and guilt, when Tony B starts moonlighting and takes out Phil’s son, Tony is left with no choice but to keep the peace by personally whacking his cousin and saving him the horrific torture he would likely have endured at the hands of Phil.

9. Bobby Baccalieri

Bobby Bacala gets whacked while shopping for toy trains. We should have seen his assassination in a hobby store coming, with his stupid obsession with model trains and all.

8. Christoper Moltisanti

Tony suffocates his nephew Christopher “ya shoulda been a male model” Moltisanti after they get into a car accident caused by Christoper’s intoxication.

7. New York guy who disrespects Meadow

Tony Soprano stomps on one of Phil’s guys American History X style after he finds out he was inappropriate with his daughter Meadow. One of the cool things about this is actually a few scenes later when he is in a meeting and finds one of the guy’s teeth in his pant cuff.

6. Fat Dom

Silvio and Carlo kill Fat Dom when he repeatedly makes wiseass remarks about Carlo being gay. Explosive and brutal violence suddenly coming out of nowhere – classic Soprano moment.

5. The Waiter

Chris and Paulie hit a waiter in the head with a brick, and then shoot him as he suffers a subsequent seizure in the parking lot…All of this because Chris left a 14 dollar tip on a $1186.00 check and the waiter had the nerve to ask why.

4. Richie Aprile

Janice shoots Richie Aprile after Richie punches her in the mouth. I think this is the only time in the history of the Sopranos that I actually rooted for Janice.

3. Phil Leotardo

Phil Leotardo gets shot in the head in a gas station. As his wife is screaming for help, she forgets the car in drive, and the car runs over Phil’s skull, with the grandkids in the car the whole time.

2. Ralph Ciffaretto

Tony smashes Ralph Ciffarett0’s head on the floor when he finds out Ralph killed their beloved racehorse “Pie Oh My”. The added humor to this dark moment was the discovery that Ralph wore a hairpiece and was actually bald. (This video seems to have been removed by Youtube.  I’ll post it up again as soon as I find a replacement.  For now, here’s the cleanup scene afterwards)

1. Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero

Big Pussy gets pumped full of lead on board The Stugots after they discover that he was cooperating with the feds to get out of a heroin conviction. Contrary to his nickname, he took it like a man when he saw what was coming.

Honorable Mention:

Adriana La Cerva

Christopher’s fiancee was doomed the moment she spilled the beans about her cooperation with the feds to Chris.

Yes, yes… I know… I’m fascinated by Lego. Especially this 100 foot Lego tower that set a world record in the UK yesterday. It involved thousands of children putting it together in 20cm sections over 4 days, 500,000 pieces, and a crane to hoist it all in place. The occasion was to mark the 50th anniversary of the ubiquitous toy company. It beat the previous record of just over 96ft which was set in my hometown of Toronto in August 2007… (and no I wasn’t at the Toronto event)

Mukesh Ambani, the world’s fifth richest man, is set to become a resident of the world’s most expensive home. Mr. Ambani is the head of Mumbai-based Reliance Industries, and has a net worth valued at over $43 billion. The Ambani family recruited Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates to draw up plans for the world’s most expensive and largest private residence. It will be a 27-story tower in downtown Mumbai, costing over $2 billion to build. When the residence is finished in January 2009, it will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of interior space.

The unique thing is that no two floors will be alike in plans or materials used; the idea will be to blend styles and architectural elements, so there is a feeling of consistency without repetition. The shape of the structure, dubbed “Antilla”, is based on the Indian tradition of Vaastu, which much link Feng Shui, is said to move energy beneficially through the building by strategically placing materials, rooms and objects.

Atop the first six stories which are comprised of parking lots, Antilla’s living quarters will begin at a lobby with nine elevators. There will also be a large ballroom with most of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers. It features a retractable showcase for works of art, a slew of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as entertainment stages. The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a “entourage room” for security guards and staff to relax.

There is an outdoor patio with a swimming pool and yoga studio. The floor also features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by man-made snow flurries.

On more temperate days, the Ambanis will enjoy four-stories of open gardens, which are not only a critical part of the building’s exterior adornment, but will also serve as energy-savers by absorbing sunlight, and deflecting it from the living spaces thus making it easier to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. The garden level also contains rooms for entertaining, and balconies that offer views of downtown Mumbai.

The top of the tower will be capped off by entertaining space with panoramic views of the Arabian Sea.

Via Forbes

According to Adrian Smith, the architect who designed the Burj Dubai, no new habitable floors will be addedbeyond the completed 160 floors. The remaining work will be mainly ornamental, focusing on maxing out the height of the steel-framed spire which will cap off the tower.

“It should be topped out in another four or five months,” Smith said. “The spire is largely there to create a landmark that is a well-proportioned and elegant piece of architecture.”

Associates connected to the project say the steel spire may be at least 70 stories tall, lending credence to rumors that the Burj Dubai could reach more than 800 metres into the sky. Burj Dubai officially became the tallest freestanding structure on April 7 at 629 metres (2,064 feet) when it climbed past the KVLY-TV Mast in North Dakota, USA.

The completion date of the project has been pushed back to June 2009, from the original date of December 2008.

Via Xpress News