Drug addict Corky Caporale is paid to meet the two boys sent from Italy to help them do the hit on Rusty. Chris says, "Part 2 when it's done." The actual job now looks like it won't happen for another few episodes. Hopefully, Corky won't screw up the orders and set the two "tailors" on the wrong customer, namely Vito since in his heroin-induced haze he recalls that Christopher discussed Vito.

Carmela walks in on Angie Bompensiero handing an envelope to Benny Fazio. Angie Bompensiero is buying hot car parts from Benny and Patsy Parisi. So that's why she's so successful. But is she part of the mob now? Seems she's taken the money she makes on repairing cars with stolen body parts and putting it on the street for shy; meaning some mob guys are lending out her money and splitting it with her. I doubt she is directly doing any loan sharking, I had a business partner years ago that retired from that position (yes you can leave a position - but you're still in the family) and he told me that it was a full time job. The stress finally made him retire. The bullshit you hear from people who owe money is better than reading science fiction he said. But the job is probably more stressful than being in the bomb squad.

Anyway, the point is she can't be a loan shark and work full time at the body shop.

Well, 52 minutes about Vito. I don't know what to say. Despite Tony's admonition to keep it "behind these four walls", everyone was spreading the story of the finocchio (or fanook) in their midst faster than when Adrianna was suspected of sucking Tony's dick.

It seems Vito has a natural talent for spotting valuable antiques in a New Hampshire town loaded with interesting looking males. New Hampshire has some affirmative attitudes regarding gay rights, see teachers union extends health insurance to domestic partners of gay employees, a majority of its residents favor same sex marriage, and an Episcopal priest was named the first openly gay bishop of a state diocese in New Hampshire. Vito enjoys some local Johnny Cakes (see recipe below)

The only surprise came when Tony put Carlo Gervasi in charge of all construction business replacing Vito. The funniest line had to be Tony describing Vito as "a come from behind kind of guy." Carlo as you may recall, also runs the Newark ports and the Bloomfield Avenue Casino.

Sil rightly points out that if Tony lets Vito come back there will be some mutiny in the ranks in the area of kicking the money back up to him.

And for God's sake when is Tony going to talk to that building inspector? Tony helped out Angie with her body shop and yet can't find two minutes to put some muscle on the building inspector? Carmela will explode if she has to ask him one more time.

Is Meadow getting hotter with every season or what? Now that's a woman who would look very fine bent over a Bannister.

My own personal preferences for a Sopranos plotline is power intrigues, whackings, extortions, sausage-grindings, mayhem, murder, and mob madness. I don't mind the gay angle since it does explore homophobia and the mob mentality. You can throw in racism, Islamic terror, feminism, and right-wing politics and other social and world topics of interest but they must be subservient to mob actions. When Meadow complains about Arabs being detained illegally, we do have some reference to Christopher's dealings with Ahmed and Mohammed. We may find out that he indeed sold them the Tec-9s; now we have to wait and see if they use them in a terror attack.

So complaints about Sopranos' writers cramming in too many social issues may be unwarranted if those issues are simply a counterpoint to the real action.

I have to admit I was wrong about the staged fight with Perry. At least the writers had the decency to resolve the issue instead of letting it go into limbo like the Russian in Episode 37 'Pine Barrens'.

HBO in its episode description has: With all the discord over Vito, Tony can't turn the other cheek. "He's gotta go. Tell everybody I said so." Must have been in a scene that got cut out and is listed here by mistake.

Here's the cast list for episode 71.

Peter Allas....Salvatore
Nick Annunziata....Eddie Pietro
John Bianco....Gerry Torciano
Frank Borrelli....Vito Junior
Joseph R. Gannascoli....Vito Spatafore
Ted R. Lewinski....Bada Bing Customer
Rich Lounello....Phil Leotardo Jr.
Sonny Vellozzi....Bada Bing Customer

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Episode 72: Luxury Lounge (Is that the Name of Artie's New Competitor?)
Air Date: Sunday April 23, 2006 on HBO

Writer: Matthew Weiner
Director: Danny Leiner

Cast List:
Joe Abbate....Man #1
Taleb Adlah....Ahmed
Edoardo Ballerini....Corky Caporale
John Bianco....Gerry Torciano
Frank Borrelli....Vito Junior
Filippo Bozotti....Giovanni Coppito
Dylan Bruce....Doorman
Enya Flack....Janine
Dierdre Friel....Sandy
Abigail Marlowe....Sara
Nic Novicki....Little Person Nightclub Manager
Vincent Piazza....Hernan O'Brien
Channing Pourchot....Carla
Aida Turturro....Janice Soprano
Brad Lee Wind....BadaBing Cigar Patron

From the trailer for Episode 72 we find:

Another restaurant is moving in on Artie's turf. Does he ask Tony for help in getting this business to move? Is the owner of the new restaurant the guy Benny (sure looks like Artie though) is beating up at the end of the trailer? Meanwhile a scandal threatens Vesuvio from the inside. Has Artie been cooking the books in some money laundering scheme? Recall Artie Bucco was driven to a suicide attempt after his French hostess' brother failed to repay him a $50G loan -- money that Artie had borrowed from Tony. Ostensibly, Tony forgave him the loan, but he could have asked Artie to launder money through his restaurant as a way to repay the debt. (To see how money laundering works see NOTE below) Christopher and Little Carmine go on a business trip. The last time these two were together it was to talk about the mafia/slasher script. My guess is that they're off to L.A. to push the script.

Tony tells Phil that "Artie is a friend of mine - does this mean Phil is backing the new restaurant?
Benny gives Tony a kick-up from Christopher while he's in California. Where did this money come from? Benny shaking down Artie? Is that why Tony is threatening Benny with "I'm telling you this once"?

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Excellent recap of Episode 71:
Inside Pulse

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The following was written 30 minutes before air time:

"Here's my take at 8:30 PM"

Before the Internet and blogs, Americans were content to share gossip over a neighbor's fence or at the water cooler at work. It didn't matter whether one discussed about a friend, relative or celebrity, it was fun to speculate and sometimes add a little color to the rumor.

But now with sites like HBO's Sopranos Community tens of thousands of what-ifs are discussed, dissected and analyzed. Here's the trailer for Episode 71 Live Free or Die.

About 30 minutes before the show started I took some very wild guesses as to what was going to happen in episode 71.

We start off with:

"He's gotta go!" The others sitting at that table are Paulie, Sil, Christopher, Bobby 'Bacala', Patsy Parisi, and Tony. That only leaves a few suspects as to who has to go.
Vito - because the secret is out.
Phil Leotardo - because he tried to blackmail Vito into bringing Tony down. (I know that's a stretch)
Junior Soprano - because in his dementia he's started to name names.
Artie Bucco - because he hasn't changed his menu in years.
Johnny Sack - because he overspent on his wedding by 200 grand.
It can't be Rusty - because Johnny Sack asked Tony for the favor to be done secretly.
Hugh DeAngelis, Carmela's Father for screwing up the specs on her house.

Tony says to Dr. Melfi "You think I'm lying." The session started with Tony explaining that he took her advice when she noted "People sense you're weak, they see an opportunity", and he acted decisively in beating the crap out of his bodyguard. Melfi thinks Tony is kidding. That's when he says, "You think I'm lying."

Christopher to Corky Caporale one of the two boys sent from Italy to do the hit on Rusty: "Part 2 when it's done." Or has the focus turned to Vito?

"You're doing something behind closed doors." As she walks in on Angie Bompensiero handing an envelope to Benny Fazio. Bribe money for the building inspector on Carmela's house? Hit money to whack him? Carmela asks her father later, "You don't know anything about this?" Or did AJ confide in Carmela's father that he was going to whack Junior and when that gets bungled she finds out her dad knew all about it.

Paulie says, "How much more betrayal can I take? He finds out his dad, Russ, the soldier is not even Italian.

When Chris tells Tony: "You're not going to believe this." He tells Tony that his horror/Mafia movie script got accepted in Hollywood. Tony freaks out and tells him that he can't do the movie. That's final. Chris pays off one of the boys from Italy to off Tony so he can get his movie made. Too wild? Ok, how about 'Tony, you're not going to believe this - but Aide is still alive." just kidding.

I'm just letting my brain go crazy - who knows...?

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NOTE:

For a quickie lesson on money laundering:

Let's take Artie's restaurant, here are his sales, expenses, and profit without mob influence:

Sales     : 1,500,000

Salaries  :   360,000     

Garbage   :    12,000

Linens    :     3,000

Cleaning  :     5,000

other     : 1,000,000     

Profit    :   120,000 

This is rather simplified, of course.

Now comes the mob, and puts $330,000 (of vig interest, selling of stolen merchandise, etc) into Artie's business. Artie gets to keep $15,000 to $30,000 in cash depending on his relationship with the local mob guy. Let's assume Artie keeps $30,000 in cash.

Now we have:

Sales     : 1,800,000

Salaries  :   360,000

+no-shows :   100,000  (The mob puts two men on the payroll)      

Garbage   :    18,000  (More Sales - More Garbage) 

Linens    :     5,000  ( Ditto) 

Cleaning  :     7,000  ( One more Ditto) 

Restaurant

Equipment :    50,000  (Artie "buys" some new ovens)  

other     : 1,140,000  (His food bills will also go up)     

Profit    :   120,000  (In the end - for IRS Purposes, Artie can 

still pay the same amount of taxes or kick in some of his 

$30,000 and pay a little extra in taxes.) 

Basically little changes for Artie other than he has a little more money for paying his invoices on time and for most businessmen, $30,000 can come in quite handy.

What the mob gets back is more clean money for their "businesses" which they then use to hire more goombahs, etc. They pay taxes on whatever is not spent on "salaries".

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Johnny (or Jonny Cakes) Cakes Recipe:

mix white (outside of New England it can be yellow) cornmeal with water and shape them into size of raquetball; flatten to pancake size with a spatula; cook in a skillet greased with bacon fat until they're crusty brown-and-black.

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