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March 1, 2006
The Sopranos Do C@L
The Things You Don't Notice When C@L Isn't Even A Glint In Your Eye
Having spent the better part of my life in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York areas with an Italian surname, I've heard my fair share of Sopranos-related humor. And that's understandable, if not completely fair. People who aren't from the Northeast part of the U.S. just typically don't know that many Italian people, so I'm willing to cut them some slack when they ask dumb questions about New Jersey and Italian people. And, of course, I'll admit that I always got something of a kick out of seeing so much New Jersey (New Jersey! And not even the fashionable parts!) on TV, ethnic stereotypes and all.
(I definitely get a kick out of the fact that no one out on the left coast seems to know what to do with my last name. This typically happens in the middle of credit card transactions; for some reason, folks do feel empowered to ask. And when I tell them that it's Italian, they look at me as though it's some sort of niche/ exotic ethnicity from the far reaches of the Earth. And then I realize that there aren't a lot of people with Italian backgrounds in C@L, as opposed to, say, Philly, where one out of three people -- rough estimate -- has a little Italian in their background. And I don't mean Danny DeVito. I'll be here all of the week. Anyhoo.)
This is all a long way of saying that i'm semi-used to my former regional stomping grounds being referenced by The Sopranos. What I didn't notice until just this past week (when I started to get a little antsy with the HBO On Demand) is that The Sopranos also make cracks about my new home. That is, The Sopranos makes C@L jokes! Who knew?
When Janice first shows up at the beginning of Season Two, there are a bunch of cracks about her hippy-dippy West Coast/ C@L lifestyle...
Tony: You look good, you look... Like a teenager.
Janice: My therapist says I'm regressing.
Tony: Oh, your therapist, who pays for that?
Janice: The state of Washington. Total disability. Oh, yeah, the Epstein-Barr. Was, chronic carpal tunnel from my last job, the steamed milk machine, no worse pain....
Tony: What the fuck is that smell?
Janice: Miso soup, it's seaweed.
The therapist, the faux/ state-sponsored disability, the exotic affliction, the barrista crack! Brilliant. But there's more!
In Season Four, Tony decides to confide in Janice about his former mistress's suicide, and asks her if she knew anyone who committed suicide. To which she replied, "Of course, I used to live in C@L."
!!!!!
The Sopranos: it's not just for making jokes about New Jersey anymore.
Posted by thatkid at March 1, 2006 2:45 PM under
C@L
, Stuff To Buy
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