Monday, May 31, 2010

memorial day

Today, Memorial Day, is the day we honor all those who served and remember how they risked their lives in wartime. It was first celebrated after the Civil War.

But today is also when my family is making all sorts of arrangements, among them, a memorial service for my dear cousin Ann who died on Sunday.

The word memorial has derivations starting in Latin, not surprisingly:
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin memorile, from neuter of Latin memorilis, belonging to memory, from memoria, memory; see memory.]
from TheFreeDictionary
I especially like "belonging to memory." After someone dies, what better way is there to describe how they can still be in our lives, while no longer physically present?


DSC00602


With a six year-old daughter who was part of my cousin's life since the day she was born, and vice-versa, I have been struggling for a very long time how I was going to tell her when the inevitable moment came. How much should I tell her? But when it happened, it happened exactly as I do all things—directly. I was as gentle as I could be, told her, answered her questions, and held her as we both cried. One of the only reassuring moments in the conveying of this terrible news was that I could tell her that Ann would always be a part of our lives. That we had memories and pictures and drawings to keep her with us, to help us remember.
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Sunday, May 30, 2010

ann

I can't write much today, but I will be writing a lot more in the days and weeks to come. In the meantime, here is one of the earliest and most recent pictures I found in my iPhoto library. Ann, I already miss you tons.

xoxoxo e




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IMG_6093

Saturday, May 29, 2010

reason 5,987,645,321 i effin' hate windows

Grandma bought the kid a PC netbook last Xmas. I took a deep breath and welcomed the evil empire into my iHouse. The little crappy thing has kept her amused, although I had to uber-secure it. She was able to access the PBS Kids Sprout website, some reading and math games and not much else.

The other night it crashed for the umpteenth time and when we rebooted it came back with the latest Windows update—in German, the one language I have absolutely no clue about. It couldn't freak out into Italian, French, or Spanish? I have been trying every night since to try to get it back to English, with the help of Google translate. No matter how many times I try to restore it to a previous moment in time before the reboot or change the Regional-und Spracheinstellungen [Regional and Language settings] back to English it stubbornly stays German. Scheiße.



Das iPad in all seiner Pracht [Behold the iPad in All Its Glory]

I'm about at the end of my rope. I've been toying with the idea of an iPad being in our future, but I really wasn't in much of a rush. But if this p.o.s. doesn't respond soon, the kid may get to share with Grandma a much more user-friendly versatile tool. And I bet it doesn't crash once a week, either.
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Friday, May 28, 2010

certainly the most overplayed song of the moment . . .



. . . is Lady Antebellum's Need You Now. I don't even want to post a link to the song, I'm so sick of hearing it. i hate it so much that i will switch to any other music, yes, even John Mayer, to avoid it. Why are radio stations or anyone so crazy (I almost said gaga) about this dreck? From its tinkly piano opening to the tinkly closing it sounds like a a bad seventies ballad.

And isn't antebellum a not-so-cool term?

From Wikipedia:
In the United States of America, the term refers to pre-Civil War America, especially the pre-Civil War culture in the southern states. Specifically, the era in the history of the United States (1789–1849) after the American Revolution and the establishment of the U.S. as a sovereign nation, yet before the U.S. Civil War. Example: Slavery was an accepted part of antebellum plantation life.

Enough already. let's move on . . .
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Thursday, May 27, 2010

chill out

IMG_6178 
Watching the lions


Today was the hottest day yet this year, forecast at 94 degrees and it felt like 100+. A perfect day for the zoo, right? Well, not exactly. Extreme heat and seventeen children create a certain special brand of mayhem—not even counting the other scads of tourists. The Thursday before Memorial Day may have had something to do with it too. But besides all of that we managed to have a great time. The iPhone doesn't have a blur feature (or if it does, I'm not using it), it was just so darn hot some of my photos were muggy.


IMG_6214
Orangutan on the move


One of the most oft-heard phrases uttered by parents (besides me for once) today was, "Chill out." Wow, it's considered an intransitive verb, c. 1980. Not only did this phrase express the frustration of the herding of our little cats, but the actual weather conditions. Luckily, there were strategically placed water misters to at least help with the latter.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

glum

Still missing LOST, I surfed the channels last night and ended on Glee. I've tried to watch this show quite a few times before. I love that Broadway divas like Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth stop by. I was excited to see how they would do Gaga last night. But the damn show is so affected. If only the kids would shut the hell up and just sing. The plotting and camera-work is horrific and the characters are frankly, pretty annoying. That excludes Jane Lynch, who can do no wrong. But so far she is not enough to make me get over the queasiness I feel every time I watch this show.


The two examples which stand out the most from last night are:

1. The speech by the dad of the young gay kid. I'm sorry, although I like this actor and his characterization, I cannot remember the names of any of these people. They just don't make an impact. Anyway, the dad made a wonderful speech to the dumb jock about how he loves his gay son and that anyone who can't deal with him and the way he is better hit the highway. A great sentiment. I can overlook that most folks don't speak so eloquently. What left a sightly uncomfortable feeling after his dad/love speech was the fact that even though the show may have its heart in the right place, by making such a big (preachy) deal about the fact that the kid is gay, they may also be making him more of a stereotype. I'm not sure. But I loved the room he decorated and the enthusiasm with how he presented it. I just felt that the actor and the character are more comfortable with who they are supposed to be than the scriptwriters.

2. The main girl (Rachel?) discovers that her mother is Idina Menzel and they do a duet to Lady Gaga's Pokerface. They can both sing and the song is great. The arrangement was a little weird, but I went with it. But to have the mother and daughter crooning to each other about their "muffin" and "glue-gunning" - give me a break already. This show is trying too damn hard. Trying too hard to be hip or quirky. It's one thing for Lady Gaga to sing those lines, but it just made the song and the show seem silly to have these two gals do it. Something that could have been easily fixed with repeating the chorus.

I'm sure I may flip past this show again if they are covering some songs by an artist that I like, but I doubt I will become a regular viewer, and certainly not devoted. And by the way, the KISS costumed number was the pits. They should have called in Glambert.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

watering can

She looks like Christopher Robin . . .





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Monday, May 24, 2010

lost . . . the end

I like the ad that ran before the finale with the running boar for barbecue sauce . . .

So here we are back on LOST Island, for the final time, The End. It's sad and wonderful and I'm going to miss wondering what will happen next to this group of people, and I'm crying more than teary-eyed Jack ever did, but here we go. Answers are coming.

Island Desmond has caught a glimpse of the Sideways world, the only Lostie in the Island world who has (except perhaps Juliette). This is why he can be so calm in the face of Smokey. He thinks he has seen a better world. He isn't afraid to die. He's the embodiment of an enlightened soul. Sideways Desmond has the whole story. He wants to gather all the Losties and go "home."  It is significant that Sideways Jack can attempt to "fix" Locke, but he can't keep his appointments to pick up Christian's coffin or get to his son's concert. He is in a fog, unable to awaken his Sideways self, no matter how often that cut on his neck bleeds. Christian's coffin finally reaching its final destination mirrors Locke's coffin returning to the Island.

Sideways Hurley, who remembers everything and has joined Desmond in the job of shepherd, is beyond happy to see Charlie. But that doesn't stop him from knock-out-darting the bratty rock star and kidnapping him to make sure he gets to the concert.

Juliette, Jack's ex (big duh) gives Sun a sonogram which jolts Jin and Sun back to the future, complete with English speech mastery. Everyone's awakening is a happy thing, even the ones who have died on the Island. It also seems that people who are still alive on the Island (Desmond, Hurley, Kate) are good at awakening and guiding their friends who died in another life, brotha.

On the Island, Jack wants to "Shephard" the remaining Losties to the golden heart of the Island, to kill Smokey. Sawyer sets off on his own to find Desmond. Hurley rightly says, "I've got a bad feeling about this." These Losties still haven't learned that it's no good when the tribe splits up? Sonofabitch!




Kate tries to reach Jack, who is now all about his purpose, tries to convince him there's more to his future than just the Island, "Nothing is irreversible." Hurley brushes past them, "This would be so sweet if we weren't about to die." On the Island Jack and Hurley know why they're there. Kate is still finding her way.

Sawyer spies on Smokey, is caught by Ben, but quickly turns the tables on his captor. For a moment I thought Sawyer was going to tell them he was the new Jacob. Guess he's done conning. Elsewhere in the jungle there is . . . Vincent! Rose! Bernard! Taking care of Desmond, until Smokey shows up. This is a total shout-out to the fans, who have been whining "Where's Vincent?" forever. And seeing how Rose and Bernard are faring is a nice way to tie up their story as well. Any second now we're going to hear someone yell, "WAAALLLTTT!!!" Just kidding. I really hope not.

Richard gets his first gray hair. Jacob's final disappearance from the Island must have released him from his "gift." He and Miles are derailed from their plan to blow up the Ajira plane by . . . Lapidus! "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pilot." They run across Claire, who still seems a bit bonkers, and doesn't want to go home with Miles & Co. For a moment I was afraid that newly mortal Richard would get blown away, but Claire isn't that crazy. So glad that "Chesty" made it. And can fly whoever is left off this rock.

Jack and Smokey have a killer exchange about Jack being the new Jacob. Smokey, disappointed,  "You're sort of the obvious choice." Jack, "I want to go with you [to the heart of the Island]." Smokey, "Why?" Jack, "Because you think you're going to destroy the Island I've sworn to protect. But I'm going to kill you." Smokey, "How are you going to do that?" Jack, "It's a surprise." Jack, do you know how much I LOVE you right now?

Hurley, full of love and faith, as always, "Jack, I believe in you, dude." Jack and Desmond set off with Locke towards the Island's heart. Desmond tries to convince Jack, "This doesn't matter, you know." He tries to show Jack a glimpse of the other world, much like his counterpart is doing to the Losties Sideways. Island Desmond may not have the whole picture. But Jack is past all that, past his own future. He has his purpose and he knows the cost. "What happened, happened."

When they reach the golden grotto and lower Desmond down a waterfall shaft on a rope, Smokey tries to bring back memories of Locke, Desmond and the Hatch with Jack, who doesn't let him blow smoke. Jack can see Smokey clearly and isn't fooled by the face of Locke that he wears. Can Smokey not go all smoke anymore? He seems pretty contained. But Smokey is right, it is an apt comparison. The pair stare over a waterfall, much like they stared down into the mysterious Hatch. But there is no air of mystery this time, just foreboding.

Desmond sees the eye of the Island and it's beautiful. And hurts like hell. His nose bleeds, he pulls out the "cork," and it all goes dark. And then red. Jack and Smokey hear his screams. "Looks like you were wrong, Jack." Jack follows him out of the cave and wallops Smokey until he . . .  bleeds. "Looks like you were wrong, too." Smokey can be killed. He's mortal again.

Sideways, everything is progressing. Hurley, the love doctor, tells Sayid not to let others tell him who he is as they drive up to an alley, where Sayid finds Shannon, love, and reawakening. Boone is already enlightened. All is going according to plan, but what exactly is the plan?

Juliette, Claire and David arrive at the concert. Charlotte tries to rouse Charlie and has a moment with Daniel (one of clarity?) Desmond seats Claire and Kate at the same table. Pierre Chang (not the puppet) introduces the musical act. Charlie sees Claire from onstage, who looks up and starts to have birth pangs. Kate, you better help her birth that bay-bay!

Kate is amazing with Claire again and they both flash to the Island. Charlie brings a blanket and Claire's touch brings him to his Island senses. Their lives may be a bit better Sideways, but they've been in a fog. Desmond checks in to see that all is as it should be. "Do you understand?" Kate, "I know."




Back on the Island Ben saves Hurley from a falling tree but gets pinned beneath it himself. The Island is covered in a downpour as Lapidus, Richard and Miles continue to get the plane flight-worthy and Kate, Sawyer and Hurley try to free Ben, who tells them that Smokey has a boat. Jack, meanwhile, is hell-bent on killing Smokey, who he now knows is mortal, and chases him to Jacob's cave with the numbers. I'm worried that Jack will not make it out of this. Smokey stabs Jack. "I want you to know that you did it all for nothing." Kate arrives and shoots Smokey, "I saved you a bullet." Smokey tells her, "You're too late." Jack kicks him over the side of the cliff. Adieu, Smoke Monster.

Kate, "Locke's dead. It's over." The Island is still shaking and rumbling. Sawyer, "Sure don't feel like it's over." Ben tosses the walkie talkie to Sawyer. Jack and Sawyer shake hands, finally make amends. Kate and Jack kiss goodbye. Ben, "If the Island's going down, I'm going down with it," and Hurley, "I'm with you, dude," go with Jack to try and re-cork the Island. Sawyer and Kate take a leap of faith off the side of a cliff into the sea.




In the hospital, Locke is awake, tells Jack, "It worked." Is he talking about the end of Smokey? "I can feel my legs." He flashes back to the Island. "Did you see that? We need to go." Jack has a momentary flash, but blocks it, says he needs to go see his son. "You don't have a son, Jack. I hope that somebody does for you what you just did for me." Locke is on the path.

Detective Sawyer sees Sun and Jin in the hospital. Jin is amused that he is a "cop" and overjoyed to see him, "We'll see you there." "See me where?" Sawyer sees Jack in the hospital, but also runs into Juliette. A minor power outage and a candy bar gives them their flash of recognition, complete with Juliette falling down the shaft. "We should get coffee sometime." Fans everywhere sigh with satisfaction.

The good doctor has arrived late to the concert. Who is going to shake Jack out of his Island denial rut? Kate, of course. Kate walks up to him, "It's over [the concert]." She admits to stealing his pen on the plane.  He still has no flash. "I've missed you so much, Jack." Jack, per usual, is such a hard-head, tries to block what's happening. "If you come with me, you will understand."




Jack is so going to die on the Island. He touches Hurley. "Hurley, I believe in you." Jack transfers Island protectorship while Ben looks on in awe, jealousy? But Ben gives Jack an Oceanic 815 water bottle to perform the ritual. Awesome. dude. Hurley takes a sip, "Is that it?" Jack smiles, "Now you're like me."

Jack crawls down into the cave to find Desmond, who thinks it didn't work, "You were right, Jack." Jack laughs, "There's a first time for everything." He tells Desmond/Odysseus to go home, find Penny. "What about you, Jack?" "I'll see you in another life, brother."

Kate and Sawyer find Clare while chunks of the Island fall into the sea. Sawyer, economic with his phrases as always, "That ain't good." Lapidus is trying to take off, until he sees them running towards them on the runway. "We've got some late arrivals." Miles is happily sarcastic to see Sawyer, "Way to wait until the last second." Frank gets them in the air. Sawyer looks a little airsick.

Jack manages to get the giant stone cork back in the eye of the Island, which seems to stop all the crazy earthquakeyness. Water flows again and the light comes back. Ben and Hurley pull up on the rope, rescuing Desmond, thinking it will be Jack. Hurley, full of grace, asks Ben to help him take care of the Island.

Jack is done, but seems happy, down in the water, down in the light. Neither he nor Desmond became smoke monsters when confronted with the Island's source. Desmond because of his special magnetic properties and Jack because his purpose was true, full of love.




Sideways, outside a church,  Hurley tells Ben, "You were a great number two." Ben smiles and answers, "And you were a great number one, Hugo." But he doesn't go in with Hurley, who doesn't prod him. Kate and Jack drive up. "This is where you're going to have your father's funeral."

Jack goes in the back entrance of the church. He touches the casket and his Island life is revealed.  The casket is empty, but Christian is there. Jack, "You died. How are you here right now?" Christian, "How are you here?" Jack, "I died too." He starts to cry, as do I and I suspect everyone else who's watching. "It's OK son." Jack doesn't quite understand. (You're not alone Jack.) He doesn't believe that Kate died. So why is everyone out there, in the church? What is this place? Christian is full of love and answers for his son. "This is a place you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life is the time you spent with these people. I was here before you, you are here before some of them."

Sideways is a place beyond time, heaven's waiting room. Jack can be in the room with Kate even though he died long before she did or will. The Sideways world was a house of mirrors, a "better" world of their own creation, without the Island, Jacob or their real, pre-Island lives. It's a way station, where the Losties could always find one another before they were ready to cross over. But after they died  and went Sideways, they couldn't or wouldn't remember their time on Earth, on the Island. Desmond, the constant, woke them up to their lives, to their love for one another. Jack embraces his father (closure!) and then enters the church to embrace his friends. Everyone is there, except Ben, who isn't ready to cross over, who believes he must stay in purgatory.

Island Jack wakes up downstream, in a similar spot to where Jacob found his brother. He is no longer the protector. He heads back to the bamboo grove, where his Island adventure began. Thank goodness for Vincent, who approaches and snuggles up to Jack so he doesn't have to die alone . . . Sniff. Jacks stares up at the sky and watches the plane, carrying his friends home, to safety, fly overhead. Perfect symmetry, as his eye closes.

So where does that leave the adventure that was LOST? What did they die for? Major themes—the Island as source of life, religion, faith needing to be protected—these people were thrown into life and death struggles to accomplish that. Science versus faith. Choice versus destiny. The possibility of redemption—for all of the Losties—but shown most completely through the character of Jack. There were many other underlying themes in this rich and complicated tale—parenting issues, the fact that they were all killers, the power of love across time and space. Rich and varied storytelling.

There are also, of course, some unanswered questions—if new Jacob Hurley and new Richard Ben stayed to protect the Island, who took over after them? Did they select candidates, like Jacob did, or I suspect, let someone freely choose the job? Let whatever happen happen? I'm sure Hurley was a better protector than Jacob. The Island is undoubtedly safe, constant, not underwater. It just seemed underwater to the Sideways Losties because it was buried in their subconscious and had to be awakened. The Island is still important, the most important thing that they have ever done together, besides love one another. It was the catalyst, even more than Jacob, to discover their love for each other.

My kid was sick with  a tummy ache most of the evening, so I felt like I was missing some of the details and will have to watch the finale again. As well, I'm sure, the entire series. But I suspect that LOST won't be crystal clear on second viewing. Like most good art, good novels, LOST is something to contemplate, to interpret. Not everyone will agree on what it all means.

To paraphrase Kate, I'm going to miss you so much, Jack. And all the rest . . .




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Sunday, May 23, 2010

lost love

After watching the pilot last night I was reminded about how great it was and how many clues to the course of the series were planted: black & white, the smoke monster (which sounded just like 815 breaking apart), levels of trust and communication issues with the Losties.

Some of my favorite LOST moments are in the pilot, and got me thinking about great moments throughout the series:
  • Charlie's ominous question after they hear Rousseau's transmission, "Guys, where are we?"
  • Mr. Eko face to face with the smoke monster.




  • Desmond and Penny, on the phone, declaring their eternal love for one another.
  • Ben, still posing as Henry Gale in the Hatch, manipulating Jack and Locke while asking for milk. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not one of them, huh? You guys got any milk?"
  • Sawyer, cracking wise and wonderful.
  • Hurley & Co. driving the Dharma van on the road to Shambala.
  • Desmond in the hatch waking up, exercising, self-injecting, to the hits of the 70s.
  • Jack and Desmond on the stadium bleachers.
  • Jacob and the MIB on the beach, when we first see them.
  • Locke, when he learns he can't go on his walkabout. "Don't tell me what I can't do!"
  • Sayid, by the magic pool, looking eerily at Ben and saying that it is too late for him.
  • Richard communicating with his dead wife with Hurley's help.





There are so many more, but these are a good start and a reason to watch the whole damn thing again.

So Dharma radio silence until the finale has been watched and digested. I'll probably have to check out the Jimmy Kimmel special on the web later this week. The internets are abuzz with LOST-related end-of-an-era activity. Here are some fun links, but mostly tonight I'll be glued to the set, with a box of Kleenex close-by, just in case.
  • Finale drinking game, via Flavorpill
  • Michael Emerson being creepy with ordinary phrases, via Buzzfeed
  • Auditions & kittehs, via Pajiba

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

lost weekend

And so the marathon begins. It's truly a LOST weekend. I'm looking forward to re-watching the pilot tonight, some of the best television I've seen in a long time. It goes without saying that tomorrow will be bitter and sweet.

This video also illustrates how pleasant it has been to get lost on the Island . . .


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Friday, May 21, 2010

Thursday, May 20, 2010

say hey

Just the most fun song.




I say hey I'll be gone today
But I'll be back all around the way
It seems like everywhere I go
The more I see
the less I know

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

lost . . . what they died for

This LOST episode was all about people being led towards something, either known or unknown. The end, I'm afraid.


On the Island, Jack tells the surviving candidates that they need to find Desmond. As Jack sews up Kate's gunshot wound, nicely mirroring Kate sewing him up in season one, Kate expresses how pissed she is that Ji Yeon's now an orphan. "Locke did this to them. We have to kill him, Jack." "I know." Kate is still a mother first, by instinct. Sawyer watches the flotsam and jetsam wash up on the shore from the sunken submarine. Four candidates left, staring out at sea. Jack tells them they have to find Desmond. Sawyer is the first to follow him, guilt-stricken that he may have been responsible for the deaths of his friends.

Sideways, Desmond is herding the Losties back towards the Island. Jack's eye opens, another beautiful morning.  He checks himself out in the bathroom mirror and the cut on his neck is bleeding again. Is the Island reality literally bleeding through to the Sideways world? He and his son David and his sister Claire all seem as happy as clams at the breakfast table. So far, if Jack is having any flashes of his Island existence, he is suppressing them.

The phone rings, they've found Christian's coffin, but it's not flight 815 calling Jack, it's Desmond! I thought for sure that on the Island Jack & Co. would find Desmond and we would get to hear what his role would be, but Desmond on the Island remains elusive. Can he really be two places at once anymore? Maybe he is now the Island's constant. He is working overtime to get the Sideways Losties where they belong, back on the Island. First by stalking Locke. "Dr. Linus" sees him, in his car, revving the engine, and is about to call the cops when Desmond literally slaps Ben back to Island reality. Ben not only sees glimpses of his Island life, but believes Desmond when he tells him he's not trying to hurt Locke, but to "Help him let go."



Desmond then heads to the police station, asking to see the world's coolest cop team, Sawyer and Miles. He admits to the Locke hit-and-run and to his latest Sideways crime, beating up Ben. All to get into a cage with Sayid and Kate. Kate tries to work her magic on Sawyer, but he takes the high road. As the criminal trio are loaded into a van, presumably on their way to a larger lock-up, preternaturally calm Desmond tells them, "I think it's time to leave. Do want to get out of here or not? I'm going to set you free. I'm going to ask each of you to do something. Do you promise?" Sayid signs onto his as-yet-unrevealed plan without a thought (a touch of zombie here too?) Kate is more skeptical, but decides to go along with him. The van stops suddenly and the door opens to reveal Ana Lucia, a crooked cop, there for a pay-off to set them free. Desmond's friend with the pay-off cash-in-hand is of course . . . Hurley. Hurley asks him about Ana Lucia, "She's not coming with us?" Desmond replies, "She's not ready yet." Naturally Hurley, who was the first to follow Jacob, would also be the first to not only sign on to whatever Desmond is planning, but to instinctively know it's the right thing to do. Desmond hands Kate a fancy dress and tells her they're going to a concert. I don't think it's Drive Shaft, but Jack's kid's recital. David's mom is supposed to be there too, and we all already know who that is, right? (Jul - cough, cough - iet)

Locke shows up at Jack's office. He's connecting all the Sideways dots. "Maybe this is happening for a reason." Jack isn't interested in the mystical connections, but he's more than thrilled that Locke is willing to let him "fix" him. Maybe you guys have time to fit in a concert before surgery?

On the Island, Ben is leading Richard and Miles toward explosives. But does Desmond's Sideways Ben-slapping also slap some of the scheming, power-mad Ben back into Dr. Linus? Because in the Island reality, Ben is leading the cavalry of himself, Miles, and Richard back to the Dharma/Others village, towards Ben's "secret room." Brings back some creepy memories of Locke cooking eggs in Ben's kitchen . . . As they cross the white picket fence, Miles gets vibes from Ben's daughter Alex. Richard admits to burying her body after Ben left. "Thank you Richard." They go to Ben's house and the secret passages are all still intact. He opens up a safe and . . . oh no, not more C-4. And not in a backpack. Not a good idea. They hear noises from the kitchen. The trio investigates. It's Zoe—just shoot her! But Ben is gobsmacked at the sight of her boss, Widmore. Almost as much as he is Sideways by . . . Rousseau! It's a love connection. Rousseau tells him that Alex considers him the father she never had, which chokes him up. Sideways is the land of the good fathers.

Ben should channel his good side. He's going to need it back on the Island. Widmore tells them in that reality that he is back on the Island because "Jacob invited me." Are Ben and Widmore finally teaming up (!?) Smokey is coming, heading directly for them. Miles, never shy when it comes to expressing his terror, runs off. Richard and Ben choose to stay and face Smokey. Smokey, in his smoky form, grabs Richard and throws him. Far. Yikes? What the? Is Richard no longer immortal? Or is he just immortal and really banged up? No answers yet on that one. I still hold out hope that he will represent the left flank. And Miles is out there loose, running around the island, with all the whispering ghosts. That must be fun for him. Ben calmly takes a seat on his porch and appears to bargain with Smokey. Can Smokey not read people's minds any more? Or is Ben shifting allegiances yet again?





Ben leads Smokey directly to where Zoe and Widmore are hiding in his house. Smokey dispatches Zoe, dismissively, as soon as Widmore tells her not to talk, "She had nothing to tell me." He then threatens Penny, so Widmore starts to tell him about the amazing magnetic Desmond and why he brought him to the Island. This whispering conference is interrupted when Ben shoots Widmore dead, with multiple gun shots. "He doesn't get to save his daughter. You said there were other people to kill?" Ben, in all the previous seasons of LOST could twist with the wind, but I'm still hoping that he is trying to con Smokey big-time. I guess we won't be getting that in-depth Widmore origin story now, either. See ya, Charles.

Jacob is leading the candidates to their destiny. Ghost Boy Jacob steals his ashes from Hurley, who chases him, leading him to Ghost Man Jacob, who has thrown them in a fire. "When those ashes burn down you'll never see me again. We're getting close to the end." You can say that again. And that fact makes me sad, both not to see Jacob again and the inevitable end we seem to be hurtling toward, with the Losties.





Jack, Kate and Sawyer find Hurley and Jacob by the campfire, lit by the remains of Jacob's ashes. They can all see Jacob, which distinctly freaks Hurley. Jacob promises to tell them the ultimate campfire tale, "What they died for," and anything else they need to know before he goes up in a puff of smoke and one (or all?) of them decide to protect the Island.

Hurley asks the first question. "Why did you bring us to the Island?" "I made a mistake. You call him the monster. I made him that way. I brought you all here to replace me. I didn't pluck any of you out of a happy existence. I chose you because you were like me. You were all alone. You needed this place as much as it needed you."

Jack gets where this is all leading. "You want us to kill him. Is that possible?" "I hope so, because he will try to kill you." Jacob makes the case that there is a very important vacancy and one of them will need to take the job.



Jack jumps in, fixer to the end. "I'll do it. This is why I'm here. This is what I'm supposed to do." "Is that a question Jack?" "No." "Good. It's time."

Sawyer has the best line of the night, per usual, "I thought that guy had a God complex before . . . "

A relieved Hurley, "I'm just glad it's not me." Not so sure you're off the hook completely just yet, dude.

Jacob leads Jack off to perform the ritual, but the other three get to watch. Apparently you don't need wine and an ancient corked bottle. The protector just needs to bless some liquid for his or her successor to drink. "Now you're like me."

Smokey is still trying to write the story, not just follow it. Smokey and Ben are at the well. But Desmond isn't there. "Widmore told me that Desmond was a fail-safe. One final way to make sure that I never leave this place." For a moment it seems like Smokey is going to tip Ben into the well, but he's too busy bragging about his evil-super-genius plan. "I'm going to destroy the Island."



As I have suspected all along, the hall of mirrors that is the Sideways world, if it continues, is the result of Smokey on the loose. If he succeeds, the Island is sunk, under the ocean, and the Losties' lives are completely changed. The hard part will be convincing the ones who are gone in the Island world that the Sideways world is a wrong world. To explain to them what they died for.

Jack's got his work cut out for him. Even though he went through Jacob's ritual, I'm not convinced that the protector job should be a solo gig. That he should or can do it on his own. The best way to defeat Smokey will be as a group. I think they have to do it together. Desmond is trying to orchestrate a team effort in the Sideways world. Jack needs to do the same on the Island.

Protect together, or die alone.


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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

in preparation for tonight . . .

. . . Jezebel has put together a crazy little video of all the souls who have fallen on LOST. I think they may have left off a few, especially last week's MIB. But it is pretty unrelenting. Also fits the theme of my post from yesterday, as most of these deaths have had an impact on the story and mythology of this crazy wonderful show. One of the main themes of the early seasons was that any and all of the Losties were capable of becoming killers, if they hadn't taken a life already and this compilation certainly illustrates that point.



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Monday, May 17, 2010

disposable people


I hate movies like Angels and Demons, so why did I watch the interminable mess on cable the other night? I also hate movies by Ron Howard. Parenthood is the only one I can stand, and mostly because of Steve Martin's presence. The only thing that could have made this movie worse would have been the inclusion of Russel Crowe. I'm still pissed about the hideousness that was A Beautiful Mind, and will never forgive either of them for those two hours  and fifteen minutes of my life I"ll never get back.


So why did I watch this rotten flick? The kid fell asleep early and I felt like doing my nails and vegging out in front of the TV after a busy day. There wasn't much on my list of multi-channels that I wanted to see. I didn't want to see anything too heavy. I wanted to relax, but watch something entertaining and fast-paced. It failed on all counts.

I will be fair and say that more than half of the problem is with the original text of Dan Brown's thriller, which was actually the better of his two pulp blockbusters. Howard followed the book religiously (pun intended) and seemed determined to shed his last ties to Opie by lovingly depicting scenes of torture and immolation. But it still sucked.

I will give props to the casting director—quite a few of the secondary (mainly cops) roles seemed to be played by Italians. But they might as well have painted bullseyes on their heads—anyone who tried to help Tom Hanks's character or even talk to him was bound to die, dismissively.

I hate movies where everyone standing in the vicinity of the lead character is automatic gun fodder. Disposable people. What does the filmaker want us to think or feel about these people? Do they think that will invest us more in the hero and heroine? That a higher death count yields higher drama or a ballsier director? I'm sick of it. It's lazy moviemaking. Too many guns, too much death, with no consequences. Real people die every day, all around us, in floods, earthquakes, from disease, old age. They aren't disposable. So why, in a fantasy production, should disposable death be so prevalent?

I'm not a Pollyanna. Some of my favorite shows on television and favorite movies can pile up the bodies: LOST, Angel, Buffy, The Tudors, the Godfather, The Birds, Rear Window, Key Largo, I, Claudius, anything Agatha Christie—but the deaths in these shows are important, have consequences. I understand the thrill of a murder mystery or scary monster flick and the escapism involved in watching someone else's demise rather than one's own. But the sheer repetition of one horrible death after another, each one utilizing a standard movie cliche (elaborate torture set-up, assassin's bullet to the head from an impossible distance, the old neck snap [HATE], throat slash, car exploding as you turn the key in the ignition, etc., etc.), and the fact that all of the above were crammed into this crap movie and then some, and it still dragged on like it would never end—enough. Never again. No more Ron Howard movies. Ever. I don't care if he makes something again with Steve Martin. I'm done.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Saturday, May 15, 2010

perfect song for a day . . .

. . . of sorting, packing and internet surfing.

Friday, May 14, 2010

these are a few of my favorite things

No fictional character is smarter or sassier than Bugs Bunny, but I've always had a soft spot for Gossamer.



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Thursday, May 13, 2010

i'm still on the island . . .

some funny LOST links . . .





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