u/SnooChocolates2790

When Johnny Sac allocates to the feds and takes his deal, Tony and Sil’s riffing with the box of DVDs in their hands about their disgust is one of the most frustrating parts of the show IMO. Johnny Sack, in the context of the mafia, is one of the last true “stand up guys,” meaning he takes after the tradition of old school guys whose honor takes precedence over comfort or even ego. So Johnny Sack goes to prison, and would probably have gone to trial too if it weren’t for his family. He goes, takes the shit from his own mob family for “admitting the existence of this thing” and still has the wherewithal to care about Ginny and his family, and even call the shots fairly well from behind bars. I truly believe Tony and Sil would flip if they were in his shoes. JS had honor, and his not sleeping with other women I think was indicative of how he was not like the other mob guys, stood up for Tony against his own boss many times and died with honor and dignity with his acceptance of his terminal condition. Sil has shown to be petty, and I think he too would not be able to handle a hefty ass prison stint. Sil’s deadly sin I think is sloth.

I’m semi embarrassed to admit it but I watched mafia round table last week and tonight with SB and this guy JR Rubeo. It was supposed to be the final straw to Merlinos legacy, but JR ended up essentially reiterating what we all already know about Merlino, he’s a a perpetual manipulator and will charm anyone into giving him stuff. Outside of just saying how broke Merlino always is, and that he met with Scott Burnstein when he was technically still an active boss, I honestly wasn’t that shocked from what I heard. Rubeo even had the rest of the panel agreeing how Merlino is a consummate gangster and has incredible charisma. All this being said, a couple things that I found really interesting was a scam they were pulling with Carmine Gallo was the classic asymmetrical bookmaking - collecting when the house wins but saying get fucked if the betters hit, medical device/product fraud, etc. apparently Rubeo inquired about getting made and Merlino said something along the lines of why would you wanna get made with Philly when you’re already under the West side, but regardless it was not with it and that “the life was over, cugine.” Patsy Porello is apparently an absolute fucking psychopath that everyone feared, and that Merlino would steal literally hundreds of cigars from a cigar lounge and stash em under his suburban seat. Anyway, of course all the drama was in full effect but I got a kick out of hearing those stories.

Any reasonably recent charts or info on an active crew in the motor city? I know Jackie Giacolone is the reported head, but I get the feeling all the smart earners simply went legit and as a result the family is drifting into obsolescence. Like much of the rest of the traditional LCN families outside the NYC area.

Did anyone catch the cicale podcast where Burnstein showed up? Allegedly Burnstein had been working directly with Merlino over the last 10 years and then Nadu, he and Merlino were gonna start a podcast. Do you think any of this is legit?

I’ve been deep into Star Wars lore as of recent, and have been thinking a ton about Count Dooku. What a fascinating character. With these AI recreated short clips showing random scenes from across the saga, one that was great was Dooku’s final address to the Jedi Council where he essentially talks about how the senate has become corrupted and yet the Jedi have continued to blindly follow its orders. He seems genuine in his desire to root out corruption and realign the Jedi’s true purpose, to bring peace and justice to the galaxy instead of being the enforcement arm of the increasingly powerful Chancellor whose power is far greater the needed. In attack of the clones, when he captures Obi-won, was he genuine in his offer to have him join forces to destroy the sith? I feel like that’s a facet of Star Wars that would be awesome to explore, Jedi outcasts who are fed up with the bureaucratic nonsense of the Jedi order, but are principled and would never join the Sith. Grey area type shit.

I’m not a hardcore Star wars fan, but I’ve seen episodes 1-9. Anyway, I threw on Empire strikes Back just now as a Sunday night movie. The opening Hoth sequence is actually fairly SCARY. The sound the probe droid makes, like the code, is creepy as hell. Always was to me. And then the bigass beast coming out of nowhere and the cave with the bones and stuff, like Luke is about to be viciously ripped limb from limb and consumed like a chicken wing. And then the blizzard? Like as a film fan, the tension and fear factor was truly masterfully done. The SOUND design should have gotten an award.