So, I’m like the only blogger, academic, and New Jerseyan who never got into the Sopranos. I know my stock with all of you just dropped a hundred points. My excuse was that it began when there were plenty of other goodies on TV, and I was afraid of getting sucked into something new. Bad move, Mr. Bond. Because all last week, it was a major topic in the seminar room, in the blogosphere, and at the school bus corner.

On Sunday night, we flipped on the TV about 9:45 just to see what was up. It was a cool summer evening and our windows were wide open. The houses on our block were all built in the 1910s, so our homes all close together. The smoke from MaryAnn’s Marlboro Lights wafted into our living room from next door. As the TV went black at the end of the show, there was two seconds of silence and we could hear our entire block groan. MaryAnn shouted, "you gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!"

This is Jersey, baby. If don’t have a bitchin’ Camero, you better just move to Long Island.