Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Clutter Headquarters.  TGIF!  I swear to Big Papi, I thought this week was never going to end.  I just started getting the feeling that every day for the rest of my life was going to be a Wednesday.  However, I'm happy to see that time does in fact move on.  I'll be honest, this is our second attempt at today's Clutter.  The first one was utter crap, so BDH and Little Buddha set it on fire for me.  (Don't worry, it was a controlled burn.)  We're not going out on that lame note, so let's try this again.  Make yourself comfortable, help yourself to a nice medium iced DD, and let's close out the week with a little quality Clutter.

I'm really saddened by the death of actor James Gandolfini on Wednesday, and I'm not even entirely sure I can explain why.  Maybe it's because one of the 400 HBO channels still airs re-runs of The Sopranos every week night, allowing me to continue enjoying his work several times per week.  I mean, how many actors could portray a brutal psychopath, and yet have you laughing along the way and feeling saddened when he died?  That's a reach.   I know Gandolfini clearly wasn't in the greatest physical shape, but 51 years old is just too young to exit the stage.  The man was a presence, and he will be missed.

James Gandolfini  (pic via nytimes.com)

Stephen Colbert delivered a moving tribute to his 92-year old mother who recently passed away.  I'm telling you right now that it's about to get dusty in here:

The stock market had a freak-out yesterday (I'm sure that's the technical term for it), losing more than 2% as investors ran around panicking at the thought of the Federal Reserve winding down its stimulus program at some point over the next year or two.  As we mentioned before, Clutter added to our vast stock portfolio on Wednesday, thanks to the appearance of some unexpected money, and we followed that up with another small purchase yesterday, because you all know how much we love a sale.  We certainly don't want the market crashing or anything, but if everyone keeps blindly selling, even if they're not exactly sure why, we will be happy to continue making deposits.

Okay, seriously, on what planet are we expected to believe that the House GOP thought their Democratic counterparts would help them pass a bill that cut food stamps for millions of the poor?  Come on.

Yes, it's bad that the Boston Bruins lost 6-5 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, and now the Stanley Cup finals are tied 2-2, but here's my question:  I had five heart attacks,  was unable to breathe three times, and surely had extremely elevated blood pressure during that game.  How in the name of Zdeno Chara am I supposed to then immediately slow my head down enough to go to sleep as soon as the game's over?  Are you kidding me?  By the time that happens, the sun is about to come up, and those bleeping birds are ready to start partying in the Clutter Tree!

Oh, and my money's still on the Bruins to win this.  They looked incredibly sloppy on Wednesday, and the Blackhawks still barely beat them.  Let's go, B's!

We're not making any accusations here, but the news seems to be getting increasingly worse about New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and this ongoing murder investigation.  Suddenly, no one seems to be be bothered by the idea of Rob Gronkowski hanging out with porn stars.

Looking forward to watching some of the Boston Strong concert on TV on June 29, just as long as I don't have to listen to Dane Cook.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  I think we'll have James Gandolfini take us out today with a look back at some memorable moments from The Sopranos, for today's, "Clip of the Day."  Rest in peace, sir.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your Friday, and have a great weekend, but don't forget to stop by again for some more fun and randomness.  Until next time, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.