LOST: Episode 4.05 (Discussion and SPOILERS)

The Constant


I think I died last night and went to TV Heaven. Seriously. Not only was it all-Desmond-all-the-time, it was also one of the best LOST episodes in all of forever. And ever.


I really thought they were going to structure the helicopter storyline the way they did the raft/Tailies story: We would continue the island story and in a few weeks we'd pick up with the helicopter/freighter. Boy was I ever happy to be wrong about that!


I think what made the episode so powerful - besides the ratcheted-up suspense - was that they seamlessly combined the mythology/mystery with some seriously emotional drama and character development. Some of the information we got:

• Time is indeed moving slower on the island - a 20 minute flight off-island appeared to take more than a day to people on the island
• The EM pulse is what caused Desmond's time flashes
• Daniel Farraday's exposure to radiation during his experiments has made him susceptible to the effects of the island and impaired his memory, hence the memory game last week. It may also explain why he had a "caretaker" in his flashback. And the fact that he knew Desmond must have contributed to the reason he cried when he saw the footage of the plane crash. (BTW, Daniel is my favorite of the new characters)
• Only the conscious mind can time travel, not the body. And according to Daniel, the future cannot be changed.
• Charles Widmore bought the Black Rock log back in 1996. It probably contains information about the island in it, including a general area. Like I theorized before, I think Widmore is financing the freighter and used the Penny/Desmond story/photo as a cover for their real purpose. Why he would be after Ben? Don't know that yet. But I would bet that Widmore is "The Economist".

The big payoff, however, was the Desmond and Penny phone call. I cried and I bet you did, too. And how many of you thought that he was going to drop dead as soon as the call was finished? Gah!

There are so many more questions and theories to talk about but I have to get back to work. Before I do, I have to say I'm going to have a HELL of a time picking out a Desmond screencap for this episode's recap! I may just have to horde some away for future use. In the meantime, check out the guns:

"If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant." I need a t-shirt with that on it.

Idol: Top 20 Results

My prayers were answered: One of the blondes is gone! Yay! If I'm honest, it wasn't the one I wanted to go (the one with the permanent scowl - Kady?), but perhaps I will have less trouble telling them apart now that there are only two.

The four that got eliminated:

Jason Yeager - The Loooooooove Boat, exciting and new, come abooooaaard, we're expecting youuuuuuuu...

Robbie Carrico - Now he can return his rocker costume to Hot Topic. I'm not sure where he got the wig, though.

Alexandrea Lushington - That was sweet when she hugged David A.

Alaina Alexander - I'm surprised that more of them don't melt down the way she did. She is very young, though.

I am reallly, REALLY surprised that Amanda is still there. And while Luke isn't technically a bad singer, he's way too Glee Club. I think he's riding the pretty train.

Until next week.

No one is ever going to want to date these girls.

Police: Dad Shoots, Kills Biker Following Daughters Home: "The daughters, ages 17 and 19, had called their father on a cell phone to tell him they were being followed, Berry said. As they arrived home, Gear was waiting at the end of his driveway with a pistol, Berry said."

I bet the father won't do much time.

LOST: Episode 4.04 (Recap)

Eggtown

Let's get this out of the way first: What the heck does the title mean? Considering all the deals made in this episode, Eggtown is the perfect name for it. Apparently, "eggtown" is slang used by traveling salesmen to describe a location where there only bad deals are to be made. (where people only had eggs to trade, which are perishable and not a great bartering tool)


On the Island


The Barracks

It's morning and Locke makes a tray of breakfast (eggs, of course) and brings it down to Benry, who Locke is keeping captive in a basement room. The scene is reminiscent of the time when Benry was being held in the hatch. Benry does the mind game thing that Locke falls for every time. Locke says he's not falling for it and leaves, taking the tray with him. In frustration he throws the tray against the wall and Benry hears him and smiles.

Later, Kate goes to see Locke and asks him if she can talk to Miles. Locke, looking very much like the crazy person he seems to turning into, tells her no while wiping the blood from a chicken he just killed from his crazy hands. Kate wants to know where he's got Miles stashed, but Locke ain't talking. As she leaves she comes across Hurley walking with a tray of food and correctly surmises that he's bringing it to Miles. She tells Hurley that Locke wants her to take the tray and tricks poor Hurley into giving away Miles' location. He's tied up in the boathouse.

Kate goes to see Miles and asks him what exactly his group knows about her. He tells Kate that he'll answer her question if she can arrange for him to talk to Benry first.

Kate and Claire are hanging laundry, with Aaron nearby in a little basket. Wow, it didn't take Claire long to get all domestic once she got to the Barracks, did it? I guess a baby will do that to you. Me? I'd be spending at least the first week in bed, sleeping on a MATTRESS. Turniphead starts fussing and Claire asks Kate to pick him up but Kate begs off, saying she's not good with babies.

That night, Sawyer and Hurley are chillaxin' in their crib, Sawyer reading as usual while Hurley settles in to watch a tape of Xanadu, when Kate pays a visit. They go into the kitchen to chat and Sawyer brings out the DHARMA Box o' Wine. Damn, he's charming. No really, he is. That would totally work on me. She asks for his help in arranging the meeting between Miles and Benry.

Sawyer goes to Locke's place and in what I assume is part of his and Kate's plan, he tells Locke about Kate's plan to break Benry out of the basement and bring him to Miles. Locke freaks and they both take off for the boathouse. When they get there, Miles is gone.

Kate takes Miles down to the basement and tells him he has one minute to talk to Benry, and she'll be listening. Miles tells Benry that he will tell the people he works for that Benry is dead if Benry gives him $3.2 million. 3.2 million? Why such a specific number? Benry wonders the same thing. Miles insists on $3.2 mil and tells him he has two days to get the money together. Benry says considering his current situation, that might be a little difficult. Miles tells him he has a week. OK, weird conversation, don't you think? Perhaps there was a little bit of code in there?

Miles' minute is up and Kate takes him out of the room and demands an answer to her question. Miles tells her that, yes, his people know everything about her, including the fact that she is a wanted fugitive and has a list of offenses as long as my arm. Then Locke and Sawyer show up and break up the party.

Kate is back at home with Claire and Aaron (and she's showered and changed her clothes!). Locke comes by and tells her she has to leave in the morning. Well who died and made you boss, John? Well, a lot of people, I guess. Anyway, let'ss see, you've been told you have one night left in town, what do you do? Why, go to Sawyer's bedroom, of course! Smart girl. Kate tells Sawyer that Locke said she has to leave in the morning, and Sawyer cutely replies, "I unbanish you". They have a nice, flirty scene and start making out. The next morning she wakes up in bed with him, both in their underwear, and they start getting busy again, but she stops him. It turns out they didn't go "all the way" the night before. He starts talking about the possibility that she's pregnant and maybe that's what is bothering her, but she tells him emphatically that she is not. He's relieved. WAY too relieved as far as Kate's concerned and she gets pissed and says she's going back to the beach. He says fine, she'll just come running back the next time she gets mad at Jack. Oo, SNAP. She slaps him and walks out.

Locke has brought Miles his breakfast in the boathouse, where Miles has been strung up by his bound wrists. Oh John, you are scaring me. But wait, it gets scarier: Miles' breakfast is a grenade, which Locke puts in Miles' mouth. And Locke pulls the pin, leaving Miles to bite down on the trigger in order to prevent the grenade from going off. Locke tells him that this is his punishment for breaking the rules. Oh, and he also tells him to enjoy his breakfast. Dude! You're losing me here.

The Beach

Sun and Jin study a map of America and Jin picks Albuquerque, of all places, to settle down in after they get off the island. Sun surprisingly says she wants to raise her baby in Korea. Jin reminds her that it's "our baby". Just then, Jack, Juliet, Daniel and Charlotte arrive at the beach. They tell everyone that Sayid and Desmond have left in a helicopter and when Sun asks after Kate, he tells her that she stayed with Locke. While Daniel and Charlotte raid the DHARMA Beach Canteen, Jack tries unsuccessfully to reach the freighter on the sat phone.

That night Daniel and Charlotte are playing a memory game with a deck of cards. Daniel can only remember 2 of the 3 flipped cards and is frustrated, but Charlotte tells him that he is getting better. Jack still can't raise anyone on the phone, so he asks Charlotte why it isn't working. She tells him there's an emergency number they can call. He tells her to put it on speakerphone. The call goes through to the freighter and Regina answers. Charlotte tells her that Jack wants to talk to his friends but Regina doesn't know what she's talking about. Charlotte tells her the helicopter should have gotten there by now. Regina says it hasn't and she was under the impression that the helicopter was still on the island.

Flash Forward

This is turning into a loooong recap for some reason, so I'll try to be brief.

It's Kate's FF and life after the island isn't treating her any better than it has Jack or Hurley. She is one of the Oceanic 6 and her trial is big news. The prosecution's star witness is Kate's dying mother. Things are looking bleak so Kate's attorney wants to make this about her character and wants her son (?!) to be present in the courtroom. Kate refuses.

Instead, he surprises Kate by calling Jack as a witness. Jack testifies that Kate was a hero after the crash and it was her actions that saved lives. He tells the courtroom that only 8 people survived the crash, and two of them died almost immediately. Hmm, so that must be a part of their cover story. On cross examination the prosecutor asks Jack if he loves Kate. He replies, "No. Not anymore."

Kate's mother approaches her and offers to not testify against her if Kate lets her see her grandson. But Kate refuses. As it turns out, Kate's mother does not testify due to medical reasons and the state's case is weakened as a result. They offer Kate a deal: 10 years probation during which time she cannot leave the state of California. Kate takes the deal. And a trip to Eggtown, perhaps?

When she's leaving the courthouse she runs into Jack, who has been waiting for her in the parking garage. He tells her that he wasn't telling the truth on the stand, about not loving her and all, so she asks him to come over to her house. He starts to get uncomfortable and declines and suggests they meet for coffee some time. She tells him she knows why he doesn't want to see him, but she won't have coffee with him until he comes and sees the baby. The baby?! What baby?!

When she gets home (a very nice place she must have gotten with the Oceanic settlement money) the nanny tells her that her son is upstairs taking a nap. She goes into his room and a little blonde boy of about 2 or 3 years old is in bed. He wakes up and she hugs him. He says "Hi, Mommy" and she says "Hi, Aaron."

I swear, I did NOT see that one coming.

Another LOST post? It must be Thursday.

Check out these LOST t-shirts.

Sayer likes Post-It Notes.

You know what, they kind of look like the characters.

Idol: Top Ten Women

Wow, that was pretty unremarkable. How can there be so many decent singers in one group who can't keep my interest? And maybe it's my advancing years but I SWEAR to you I cannot keep those blondes - Kristy Lee Cook (you have to to say all three of her names, like a serial killer), Alaina and Kady - straight in my head. I had to look up what they sang and I still can't put a face with a name.

Carly - "Crazy On You" - Much better than last week. Hmm, I think her Irish accent is getting stronger the closer we get to St. Patrick's Day.

Syesha - "Me and Mr. Jones" - Simon's right, the "Mr." part was distracting. Her voice was prettier this week but not right for that song. No soul. And there's just something about her I do not like.

Brooke - "You're So Vain" - One of the best of the night, but she can't sing Carly Simon every night.

Ramiele - "Don't Leave Me This Way" - Oo, bad song choice. And her heels were way too high.

Kristy Lee Cook - "You're No Good" - Is she the one with horses? Or the one who won't let her foods touch each other?

Amanda - "Carry On My Wayward Son" - Oh dear. Whoever was in charge of her hair ought to be SHOT. That really was a bit of a mess, I'm sad to say, because I like her. She should wear that bandana on her head on stage.

Alaina - "Hopelessly Devoted to You" - This is the girl with the food issues, right?

Alexandrea - "If You Leave Me Know" - As sung by Rita Baker. Weird.

Kady - "Magic Man" - She's the one with the permanent b*tch-face, correct?

Asia'h - "All By Myself" - What is with these song choices? Oy, that was a nightmare!

The group gets whittled down to 8 men and 8 women in the results show tonight. Hopefully at least one of the blondes will be eliminated and I'll only have two to keep straight next week.

Yummy Yummy Yummy!

This video is so dark you can barely make out the two pugs, but the audio is just fine.



You should see and hear the racket that goes on at my house at feeding time. Perhaps I will manage to get my act together and get it on video for you. Perhaps.

Idol: Top Ten Guys

Apologies, but due to a DVR mishap there will be no recap for last night's show.

However, I'd love to hear what you thought!

Geekalicious

There was an X-Files panel at a convention last weekend - NO, I didn't GO - and there are a few good video clips from it floating around on YouTube, if you're interested in hearing about the new movie.

This one is a video of a video - a sneak peek at the trailer:



And this is a short interview with Gillian Anderson:



Wee!

When Busey Attacks

This, ladies and gentleman, is what makes live television so great and so terrible all at the same time:

I have a widget!

Look in the sidebar - I made it using this really neat free service called Widgetbox. If you want a thisisgina widget for your web page, Myspace page, Facebook page, Google page or wherever you might want to put a widget (and really, who wouldn't want one?), just click on the "Get Widget" tab.

Snow Day

02-22-2008 0201, originally uploaded by gina64.

Our office closed today due to the storm - yay! - so I've been hanging out, watching TV, blogging, e-mailing and taking photos. Here are a few I took of the snow a couple of hours ago. It's been snowing like crazy for a few hours and I'm pretty that at least another 2 inches have fallen since I took these.

Idol Top 24: Results

There were no shocking results as American Idol eliminated 4 contestants last night:

Garrett Haley: Breaking up is hard to do, Garrett.

Amy Davis: She really stunk up the place on Wednesday night but I have to say I felt bad for her last night. Poor thing.

Joanne Borgella: What a graceful exit.

Colton Berry: See you on Ellen, Colton.

Until next week...

LOST: Episode 4.04 (Discussion)

I found this episode to be not quite as riveting as the previous episodes this season but still very good. If the previews for next week's episode are any indication, this may have just been a much needed breather before the action picks up again.

• I thought that Kate looked gorgeous in her FF. Really gorgeous. I love how they dressed her like Kate Hepburn.
  
• What sort of deal did they make to get off that island that resulted in that cover story?
  
• So now we know who the "he" was that Kate said would be wondering where she was in Jack's FF. I absolutely did not expect that twist! How did she end up with Aaron? What happened to Claire? Kate must have told people that she gave birth to Aaron on the island because I don't think there's any way she would have been allowed to adopt him considering she was a wanted criminal.
  
• After the show ended I remembered Claire's visit to the psychic in her flashback. He told her that no one but her should raise Aaron, remember? Specifically: "It is crucial," he says, "that you yourself raise this child...Danger surrounds this child...Your nature, your spirit, your goodness must be an influence." And the psychic was the one who put her on flight 815, presumably so that she would never make it to LA and the family who was going to adopt Aaron. So what kind of horrible things are going to happen if Kate is going to be raising Aaron?
• What was with Daniel's card trick? Was he trying to remember what he saw or was he trying to guess the cards?
• Miles continues his extortionist ways with Benry. But $3.2 million? Why such a specific amount?
• I can't BELIEVE Locke put that grenade in Miles' mouth! I want to think that Locke knows what he's doing but sometimes he really scares me. And they're really playing up the craziness with the banishment of Kate and the bloody chicken-killing hands.
  
• I loved it when Hurley said "You just Scooby-Doo'd me, didn't you?"
• Sawyer, Sawyer, Sawyer. Let's see, I'm Kate and I have a decision to make: Either 1) Take a chance that the rescuers are NOT going to kill them all, return to her old life and a long stay in prision or 2) Stay on a beautiful tropical island amid all the comforts of home, including Xanadu and boxes of wine, with this guy:
  
  
  Sawyer's right - Jack is the reason she's leaving.
• BTW, Sawyer is reading The Invention of Morel. According to Wikipedia, "It is the story of a man who, evading justice, escapes to an island said to be infected with a mysterious fatal disease. Struggling to understand why everything seems to repeat, he realizes that all the people he sees there are actually recordings, made with a special machine, invented by Morel, which is able to record not only three-dimensional images, but also voices and scents, making it all undistinguishable from reality. The story mixes realism, fantasy, science fiction and terror."
• Finally, why in the world was this episode called "Eggtown"?
  

LOST: Episode 4.03 (Recap)

The Economist

This was a good one.

On the Island

Sayid appears to be facing Mecca and praying, perhaps saying a prayer for Naomi. When he finishes he goes over to Naomi's body and closes her dead eyes (finally! thank you!) and removes a silver bracelet from her cold, dead, wrist. Inscribed inside: "N, I'll always be with you. R.G." And the Internet lights up with people trying to figure out who R.G. is.

Sayid tells Frank that he will retrieve Charlotte from Locke in return for a seat on the chopper. Frank says sure and Miles insists on going with Sayid. Sayid says sure. The group expands to 3 when Jack tells Kate to join them.

Juliet heads off to the beach to get Desmond - she and Jack figure that he might know something about the Boat People since Naomi had that photo of him and Penny.

Locke and Company arrive at the location of the cabin, only to find it isn't there. This seems to throw Locke for a loop and Benry says that's because now there's no one to tell Locke what to do next. You'd think after all the beatings he's received that Benry might want to tone down the sarcasm. Dissention seems to be building in the ranks and Hurley suggests they just give Charlotte back so the bad people will stop coming after them. Locke says be quiet and come with me and they head for the barracks.

Back at the helicopter, Daniel decides to do an experiment. He sets up some kind of beacon, calls Regina on the phone and asks her to send the "payload". Regina counts down the arrival of the payload to Daniel's destination, but it doesn't arrive.

Sayid, Kate and Miles arrive at the barracks, which appear to be deserted still. They hear some noise, follow it and find Hurley bound and gagged in a closet of one of the houses. Hurley tells them that "They left me", that Locke is seriously crazy and they were all heading to Benry's house.

Back at the helicopter, Jack and Frank are chatting about the Red Sox when suddenly the "payload", which is actually a small missile/canister, comes out of the sky and lands at the foot of the beacon. Daniel opens the canister, removes a timepiece and compares the time on it to the time on the beacon. There is a discrepency of 31 minutes - the beacon's time was 02:45:03 and the canister's time was 03:16:23 - which Daniel says is not good.

Just then Juliet and Desmond arrive from the beach and for the love of all that is holy will you look at him.



Really, take a good look because I don't think we'll be seeing Desmond again for a while.

Needless to say, Desmond is pleased to see the helicopter.

Sayid, Kate, Miles and Hurley go to Benry's house and find it deserted. Sayid discovers that Benry has a Secret Room of Secret Identities, filled with suits, shirts, passports and money from different countries. Then Locke and his pals ambush them. It seems they were being set up by Hurley.

Sawyer keeps Kate in Benry's bedroom (convenient!), while Locke stashes Miles somewhere and locks Sayid up in the rec room with Benry. Sayid tells Locke that he has come for Charlotte, to trade her for access to the boat so he can get more info. Locke tells him that he's not going to give him Charlotte for nothing and Sayid tells him he didn't expect Lock to give her to him for nothing.

Kate and Sawyer have a nice chat on Benry's bed, each asking the other why they want to leave/stay on the island. Sawyer points out that Kate has jail time waiting for her when she's rescued and Kate asks him if he really thinks they can just stay there and play house. Sawyer sincerely replies, "Why don't we find out?"

Back at the helicopter, Desmond shows Frank the photo of him and Penny and asks why Naomi would have it. Frank denies knowing anything about it but when Desmond says "Penelope Widmore", Frank and Daniel exchange uneasy glances. Desmond invites himself along for the ride to the boat.

Sayid returns with Charlotte in tow, but no Miles or Kate. Turns out his plan all along was to trade Miles for Charlotte. (hee!) He tells Jack that Kate decided to stay behind. Frank agrees to take both Sayid and Desmond to the boat, as well as Naomi's body. Daniel and Charlotte will remain on the island to continue their "work". Daniel warns Frank to stick to the exact heading they used to reach the island. Frank takes off with Sayid, Desmond and Naomi's body all on board and we see the helicopter fly off over the ocean. Bye-bye, Desmond.

Flash Forward

Sayid, looking especially well-groomed, is playing golf by himself at a ritzy golf course when an Italian man pulls up in a cart and starts to chat with him. They enter into a friendly wager on a shot and Italian Man introduces himself. Sayid tells IM that his name is Sayid Jarrah and he's one of the Oceanic 6 and IM just about poops his pants. He's quaking in his golf shoes and tries to walk away when Sayid shoots him dead.

Next we see Sayid entering an upscale cafe in Berlin where he approaches a pretty blonde woman sitting at a table and asks her for directions to someplace in the city. He sits down and enters into a friendly chat, which never seems to end well with Sayid. Her name is Elsa and she works for an economist. Her job entails waiting for her boss to page her when he's back in town, at which point she's required to run to his side. They chat a little more and she agrees to meet him for dinner the next day. As Sayid leaves the cafe, he uses a disposable cell phone to call someone. He tells the person on the phone that he has "made contact." He tosses the phone in the trash and in a nice acting touch, Sayid grabs a little bit of snow and rubs it in his hand in an effort to wash off that dirty feeling he's feeling.

Sayid and Elsa date a few times and start falling for each other. They lie together in bed after making love and Elsa lets it slip that she's fallen in love with him. They start to get busy again when the pager goes off. It's the economist with really bad timing! Elsa answers the page and tells Sayid where she has to meet her boss. It's the information Sayid has been waiting for; he tells Elsa to leave town and she figures out that Sayid was just using her to get to her boss. She starts to cry, goes into the bathroom and comes out and shoots Sayid in the shoulder. Whoa! It turns out that she was also using him and trying to get the name of his boss. While she's on the phone with her contact, Sayid grabs his gun and shoots twice, killing her. In tears, he drags himself across the floor to her body. He sees that she is wearing a bracelet similar to the one he took off of Naomi.

A bloody Sayid staggers into what appears to be a veterinary clinic. He enters an exam room and a disembodied (yet eerily familiar) voice tells him to take off his shirt. The mystery man works on Sayid's wound and asks, "Is she dead?" The camera moves and we see that Sayid's boss is Benry. Benry! Sayid is crying and Benry asks him to remember what happened the last time he thought with his heart instead of his gun. Do we know what he's referring to?

You can see the hate for Benry on Sayid's face as Benry says he has to do what he tells him to in order to protect his friends.

"#5 - An apron is a great substitute for pants!"

Letterman's Top Ten: Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse's Dinner Party Tips

Idol: Top 12 Women

Were you as underwhelmed as I was? And what's with all of the names beginning with the letter "A" and random apostrophes? My God, the names! Whatever happened to Mary or Sue or Elizabeth? And there are too many blondes - I can't keep them straight!

Again, in no particular order:

Alaina: Blonde. 16 years old and sings pretty well and has good energy.

Alexandr-AY-a: Never heard a peep out of her until last night and she's pretty good, one of the best of the night.

Amanda: This girl will never be an American Idol but I love her and her chill attitude. Although I'm not sure I'd want her as my nurse.

Amy: God, it's Haley all over again. What a snooze-a-palooza! And Randy, DAWG, Connie Francis sang "Where the Boys Are", not Patsy Cline, you dope.

Asia'h: Among the best of the night. But that apostrophe could be a problem for me.

Brooke: Blonde. Not as Carly Simon-ish as I had hoped she'd be, but she was pretty good and looked very pretty.

Carly: Carly had the pimp spot, of course. She's supposedly the ringer for the girls (and Michael Johns is the ringer for the guys), and there's the whole "controversy" surrounding her prior recording contract but you know what? I really don't care as long as she can sing. And it seems like she can. I just didn't feel it so much last night. She seemed really sick and what the heck was that song?

Joanne: Poor Joanne is sort of forgettable. Her voice is pretty but I don't think "Say a Little Prayer" was right for her. Nor do I think she will be around for very long.

Kady: Blonde. I can't remember what she sang, but I do remember her being angry looking. Oh yeah, she's the one who does the Britney Spears impersonation, y'all. She does have a pretty voice but the song was so boring (I remember now, it was "Groovy Kind of Love").

Kristy Lee: Blonde. I think she was the first one to sing. She likes horses, I remember that.

Ramiele: She was awesome. But honey, those shoes!

Syesha: I know I'm supposed to love her, but I don't, I'm sorry. From what I've seen so far she is way too shout-y and pretty full of herself.

Results show tonight! Two guys and two girls will be shown the door. Who do you think it will be?

Idol: Top 12 Men

Alright, I said I wouldn't do this, but I'm caving to the pressure. For now. These are the briefest of impressions and I may abandon this at any moment, so consider yourself warned...

Does anyone else thing it's completely ridiculous that the contestants are required to pick from a list of 50 songs that are 40 years old and then are called out by the judges for being old-fashioned? I'd love to see them let these kids sing whatever the hell they want week after week and let the chips fall where they may.

Anyway, the guys (in the order they appear on the AI site because I can't remember the order they sang in):

Chikezie - I can't remember what he sang, just that it was very 70s soul and the red suit was ghastly and he sealed his fate by mouthing off to Simon. Buh-bye.

Colton Berry - The kid gets props for admitting on national television that he looks just like Ellen DeGeneres (and he does). But that's all he gets from me. He sang Suspicious Minds like it was a number from High School Musical. Gah.

Danny Noriega - I couldn't even watch him. Drama Queen. He needs to GO.

David Archuleta - Adorable, but over-praised.

David Cook - Dude needs to lose the hair, but if I close my eyes I really like him. I thought he did an awesome job with that song (Happy Together).

David Hernandez - I was outside having a smoke and I missed him. He's got a purty mouth, though.

Garrett Haley - That Neil Sedaka song was PERFECT for him but it was also very weird. Simon was a bit over the top with his criticism of him, but Garrett was gracious. Doesn't he look like a combination of Leif Garrett, Peter Frampton and that blonde guy from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure?

Jason Yeager - Oh my God that was the epitome of CORN! Moon River? Seriously? And what's the deal with his kid's hair?

Jason Castro - I am not a fan of the long dreads but LOVED this guy. I think he has natural talent and he is adorable.

Luke Menard - I was mesmerized, but sadly not by his voice. This guy is BEAUTIFUL. I mean the can't-stop-looking-at-him-and-saying-"Jesus Christ he's gorgeous" kind of beautiful. The voice is weak but he's got serious face power.

Robbie Carrico - Like Simon, I question his authenticity as a "rocker". He was in a boy band before this, for crying out loud. He can sing, though.

Michael Johns - Who cares if he can sing (he can)? I want to have Michael Johns' babies.

Tonight, the Top 12 Women.

I'm in!

Minister to couples: Sex everyday!

Castro finally steps down now that he knows for sure that nothing will change in Cuba.

Castro resigns as president: "In Miami, Florida, the news came as no surprise to Janisset Rivero, the executive director of Cuban Democratic Directorate, a group that works with dissidents in Cuba.

'I think there have been preparations taking place for quite a while to assure the crowning of Raúl Castro,' she said Tuesday morning. 'It doesn't mean any change to the system. It doesn't mean there will be freedom for the Cubans. One big dictator is replacing the other."

Wallowing in babies.

Wallowing in babies., originally uploaded by gina64.

The warmth of the sun.

Napping in the warmth of the sun., originally uploaded by gina64.

Poll

I removed the Valentine's Day poll before voting was finished because I felt the "massacre" option was in poor taste, considering recent events at Northern Illinois University.

LOST: Episode 4.03 (Discussion)

The Economist

Holy Crap that was one of the best LOST episodes EVER. And I say this despite the fact that it looks as though I may not be seeing my man Desmond for a long time.

Anyway, my mind it is blown.

• On a shallow note: Sayid was rockin' the luscious locks last night! Wow. Those jheri curls he's usually sporting do him absolutely no favors.
• We now know 4 of the Oceanic 6: Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid. I was thinking last night about the person in the coffin in Jack's FF. I'm starting to think it wasn't one of the O-6. I mean, it seems the entire world knows about them, and it's not likely that someone that well known would end up with a funeral in a poor part of town that no one attends.
• "31 minutes" - what does it mean?! Well, besides confirmation that at least one of the island's mysterious properties is a temporal anomaly. The "rocket"'s clock was 31 minutes ahead of the island clock. Does time pass more slowly on the island? Or did the rocket jump ahead in time as it passed through whatever invisible barrier surrounds the island?
• Why did Frank tell Daniel to hang up if George Minkowski answered the phone? And there's a Regina on the boat! Finally, a character in a show I like has the same name as me! She's probably evil or will end up very dead very soon.
• How about Benry's Closet of Secret Identities?? I'm thinking he uses the various clothes/passports/currency when he travels to and from the island. He doesn't seem to be a slave to fashion, but wouldn't it be interesting if his clothes were from different periods in time?
• Is Desmond still having visions of the future? Will Claire and Aaron still get on the helicopter like he said they would? Is Desmond one of the O-6? I don't think so. Even if he ends up off the island - which it would appear will happen - he wasn't one of the passengers on the plane. Please God it had better not be him in that coffin.
• What's up with Jacob's cabin? I just cannot come up with a theory for what it is, how it moves around or who exactly is in it at any given time.
• I think it makes total sense for Kate to stay on the island with Sawyer, but she obviously doesn't, as she's one of the O-6. I wonder what happens?
• Did Sayid give Elsa the bracelet he took off of Naomi, or did she have one of her own? It seems to me that Elsa had her own, otherwise the inscription would be out of place. If Elsa's bracelet was not Naomi's, then where did she get it from? Or who did she get it from? Who is "R.G."? Or was it "R.C."?
• The more I think about this episode the more I love it. It's definitely one of the best they’ve ever done, imo, whoever directed it deserves an Emmy. That scene in the bedroom where Sayid and Elsa shot each other – the editing, the acting, the music – it was all so cinematic.

So, what did you think?

It's not as easy as it used to be.

LOST: Episode 4.02 (Recap)

Confirmed Dead

Recapping this one is a bit of a challenge because not only have we returned to flashbacks but 5 characters (the "rescuers") each had their own!

Flashbacks

All of our rescuers' flashbacks take place around the same event: the discovery in the Indian Ocean (the Sunda Trench) of the apparent wreckage of Flight 815 - all pieces of it - and all passengers and crew have been confirmed dead. I'm not sure exactly when in the timeline this discovery is made - does anyone know?

Daniel Farraday

His FB is short and sweet: He weeps while viewing the underwater video footage of the wreckage on the television news, and when his wife (?) asks him why he's crying, he says he doesn't know.

Miles Straume

Miles hears about the discovery of the plane wreckage on his car radio, as he parks in front of a customer's house. Miles is a medium/ghostbuster/whisperer - basically, he can communicate with the dead. He appears to be legit but uses his powers for evil - or, well, for overcharging his clients and finding out where the dead person hid their money.

Charlotte Lewis

Charlotte is an anthropologist and in her FB she arrives at the site of an archeological dig in the desert of Tunisia. She reads about the discovery of Flight 815 in a newspaper. There is security around the dig and she has difficulty getting through to see the find, but ultimately prevails as she bribes one of the guards. At the dig she discovers the remains - I'm not sure if they're fossilized or not - of a polar bear that had been wearing a collar with DHARMA's Hydra Station symbol stamped on it. And she seems to have been expecting to find it.

Frank Lapidus

Frank looks like Billy Connolly and Nick Nolte's love child. He's sitting in what appears to be the offices of a travel or charter company on a tropical island. He's watching TV and sees the news report about the discovery of Flight 815. There is video footage of a dead person strapped into the pilot's seat and Frank calls Oceanic to tell them that he knows that the person they're showing is not the pilot. They ask him how he knows and he says because he was supposed to be the pilot on Flight 815. Oooo!

Matthew Abaddon/Naomi

Abaddon and Naomi meet in an abandoned office space. Abaddon and whoever he is working for have assembled a team for a mission to be led by Naomi, but we don't find out what the mission is about. When Naomi asks what to do if they come across survivors of 815, Abaddon tells her there are no survivors. When she persists, he insists that there are none. Naomi complains that the people he has chosen (the four mentioned above) are inexperienced, Abaddon tells her that they were chosen specifically for their skillsets and he and the people he works for are counting on her to protect them and ensure the success of the mission. Oops.

On the Island - Jack's Group

First, Jack and Kate meet Daniel (the guy at the end of last week's episode). He's a bit nervous, but seems nice. Except for the gun he's carrying. And since he's a nerdy physicist, he probably doesn't normally carry one. Daniel tells them that the helicopter he was in had mechanical trouble and he had to (was pushed) jump out. There were 4 people in the chopper, including him. Using the GPS transponder on the sat phone, the three of them set out to find one of them: Miles.

I'm not sure what significance it has, but while walking through the jungle they come across a metal lockbox that had been thrown from the helicopter. In the box are gas masks, and Jack asks Daniel why they thought they would need them; but Daniel sidesteps the question. He also tells them that their rescue is not his primary mission but again, does not tell what that mission is.

Jack, Kate and Daniel find Miles on the beach, and Miles immediately draws a gun on them. He tells them that he knows Naomi is dead - "tell my sister I lover her" was apparently code for "They killed me" - and wants to see her body. Kate tells Miles that yes, Naomi is dead but they didn't kill her, Locke did. Miles still wants to see the body. He'll know if she's telling the truth.

After sitting with Naomi's dead body and talking to it or listening to it or whatever he does, he tells Kate and Jack that he believes them. When he tries to lead them on at gunpoint, Jack refuses to go and pulls that lame "My friends have you surrounded with guns pointed at your head" ploy and I roll me eyes but then the bullets start firing and Sayid and Juliet pop out of the woods and it's awesome.

The tables have turned, and Miles and Daniel are now being led at gunpoint, but another transponder has appeared on the sat phone - it's Charlotte. They race off to meet up with her but find only Vincent the dog with Charlotte's transponder around his neck, leading them to the correct conclusion that Locke has Charlotte and is holding her captive.

On the island - Locke's Group

They do a lot of walking and talking and Benry-beating. Locke tells the group that Benry shot him and left him for dead - and showed them the bullet hole for proof - and then Walt came and was taller (heh) and told him he had work to do and that he had to stop Naomi and that's why he killed her. Locke tells the group he needs to take them to the cabin before they go to the barracks.

On their way, they come across Charlotte, who is very pleasant and happy to see them, but Locke doesn't trust her. They all sit around and chat and Charlotte tries to get information from them but Locke tells them not to tell her a thing.

Frank Lapidus climbs up onto a ridge, looking ragged and with some scrapes and bumps. He fires a flare into the sky. Charlotte sees it and tells everyone that they have to go find her colleague. While they are all discussing what to do next and not paying attention to Benry - something one should NEVER do - he grabs a gun from Karl and shoots Charlotte. Whoa! Charlotte is wearing a bullet-proof vest, however, and all Benry gets out of it is another beating from Sawyer.

The Last Act

Jack's group follows the flare and finds Frank and his helicopter, which he has managed to land intact. Jack, Kate, Sayid and Juliet look at it like they can't believe their eyes. They talk about making multiple trips to and from the freighter because of fuel issues and Miles tries to call George Minkiwski back on the freighter. A woman on the other end of the phone tells him that he's unavailable. Hmm.

Juliet tends to Frank's wounds and during their conversation he realizes that she was not on the manifest for Flight 815. When Miles finds out that Juliet is an island "native" he runs at her, demanding to know the location of the man in a photo he is showing her. That man is Benry.

After Charlotte's shooting, just about everyone in Locke's group agrees that it's time to pop a cap in Benry's sneaky little ass. But just when Locke is about to pull the trigger, Benry tells them he knows why Charlotte and her people have come to the island: They have come for him. What's more, he knows everything about them because...he has a man on their boat.

Desmond

Brothah was nowhere to be seen in this episode - unacceptable! - so I decided to share his Valentine's Day card from abc.com. His hair is kind of gay, but hey, Happy Valentine's Day from Desmond!

More Post-Strike TV News

First, some news from the LOST producers:

Cuse said he's happy with the outcome of the strike and can't wait to go back to his day job on "Lost."

"We're going to have to hit the ground running, go from zero to 100 mph in a matter of days to make as many episodes as possible," he said.

The goal for Cuse and co-showrunner Damon Lindelof is to produce five more episodes this season, a tall order given the time constraints and the scope of storytelling and production on "Lost." Even with five additional hours, Cuse and Lindelof will be three episodes short of the premapped fourth season.

"We will have to condense some stories," Cuse said.

So I guess we'll end up with a 13-episode season as opposed to a 16-episode season, and all things considered, that isn't such a bad thing. "Condensing" the stories makes me sort of nervous, and makes me wonder what exactly they'll have to cut out; but then again maybe they'll be trimming away all of the excess fat and we'll get some really lean, tight stories. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

Also, Michael Ausiello has updated his chart to include changes to some of the information I posted yesterday:

24 will not return with new episodes unti lJanuary 2009
Battlestar Galactica begins airing the first half of its 20 episode final season on April 4; production on the second half is expected to begin in March
Heroes will not return until the fall season
LOST will air 5 additional episodes this season
Pushing Daisies will not return until the fall season

Please don't forget to check Ausiello's page if I haven't mentioned a show you like here.

Headline Hall of Fame

Hilton Flack Elliot Mintz Elicits Angry Statement From Nat'l Assoc. for the Advancement of Oompah Loompahs

Click through to see why this Defamer headline is a classic.

Craving

Cookie Factory 7, originally uploaded by gina64.

I was just browsing through some of my old photos and Flickr and I felt compelled to share this one with you.

I'm starving right now and these look INCREDIBLE.

TV Talk: The End is Near.

An end to the strike is imminent:

"The tentative deal officially announced early Saturday morning between striking writers and Hollywood studios, networks and production companies — all but ending a three-month-old strike — has already made the threat of an actors’ strike this summer less likely. By Saturday afternoon, a pair of warring actors’ unions were trying to make amends with each other and prepare for joint contract negotiations that could suddenly prove smoother than most had dared predict a few days earlier.

Movie and television writers will almost certainly be back at work on Wednesday, pending the results of a Tuesday vote, in person or by faxed proxy, on whether to lift the strike. On Sunday, the governing boards of Writers Guild of America leaders unanimously approved the provisional deal with production companies, making approval by members likely."

Hallelujah, Praise the Lord and Pass the Remote!

So, where do we go from here? What does this mean for our favorite shows? Will they be back with more episodes this season? Or will we have to wait until the fall? And then there's the question of whether they'll be back at all. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has compiled a chart of the latest new on all current network shows. Please check it out to see what will be happening with your favorites.

According to Ausiello:

24 will not be returning until the fall
Heroes' fate is TBD
Pushing Daisies will not return until the fall
Back to You's future is TBD
CSI will have 4 to 7 new episodes aire in April and May
LOST may have an additional 6 episodes to air after this batch of 8 are finished (yay!)
And Bionic Woman is never coming back. EVER. Yay.

As Michael points out, this information is constantly changing so please be sure to visit his column regularly for updates.

I'm happy. And it's not just the Valium I'm taking for my back, either.

But it helps.

LOST: Episode 4.02 Discussion

Confirmed Dead

OK, so who wants to discuss last night's incredible episode?? Some thoughts:

1. They actually made The Find815.com ARG tie-in with the story! I was surprised.

In the ARG, Sam Thomas is an IT Tech for Oceanic whose girlfriend Sonya was a stewardess on the plane. Oceanic gives up the search for 815, so Sam gets a job aboard the Christiane I, a salvage ship that's supposedly looking for the Black Rock, in order to find out what really happened. What they find, however, is not the Black Rock, but what appears to be Flight 815 - the entire plane as well as all of the passengers - at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. And we saw the ROV video from the game at the beginning of last night's episode. Cool!

Also cool are some of the clues provided during the game: "Frank Lapidus", a "Santa Rosa Mental Health Hospital" pill bottle, and "Queens College", among others. It was nice to get the payoff so soon.

2. So, the plane wreckage. Is it a plant, a fake put there by someone wanting to cover up what really happened to 815? If so, who's responsible? DHARMA? Oceanic? Widmore? Or is it a "duplicate" reality, another timeline?

3. Why were there remains of a DHARMA polar bear with a Hydra station collar on it in the Tunisian desert? How did it get there? And how could it possibly be fossilized?

4. Why would Daniel Farraday (a physicist), Miles Straume (a parapsychologist/medium), Frank Lapidus (a drunk pilot) and Charlotte Lewis (?) (an anthropolgist with knowledge of DHARMA) be chosen for this mission, and who are they being chosen by? I'm thinking it's Widmore Industries, in conjunction with DHARMA and that's who is also behind the fake wreckage. If it's fake. I'm really kind of hoping that Charlotte turns out to be evil because her face is sort of scary, what with the no eyebrows and skeletal features.

5. Jeff Fahey! He's a welcome addition with those beautiful eyes, even though he's got a major case of the creeps. Was it just me, or did Juliet and Frank have some serious chemistry there at the end, when she was cleaning his wound?

6. How awesome was it when Hurley said he knew which direction the cabin was in and Locke and Ben sort of freaked? Hmm, maybe you guys aren't so special after all. I hope Hurley gets up enough confidence soon to tell them the truth. Or at the very least finds out that he wasn't hallucinating.

7. I loved the snappy dialogue and pacing in this one, and I actually enjoyed Jack!

8. The Sayid/Juliet ambush was sweet, and I don't mean sugar-y. At first I thought Jack was lame with the old "my friends have you surrounded with guns pointed at your head" ploy, but then it was true! When the entire group was standing on the cliff looking down at the helicopter, I was thinking that maybe we were seeing 4 of the Oceanic 6: Jack, Kate, Sayid and Juliet (with Hurley being the fifth). Probably not, though.

9. Why do you think the freighter people are after Ben and where in the world did they get that photo of him? According to what Ben has said, he's been on the island his entire adult life. And what the heck is he wearing, something from the Tony Manero Urban Male Collection?



I was thinking perhaps they were DHARMA coming to get revenge on Ben for killing everyone, but then I thought, wouldn't DHARMA know where the island was all this time? And who do you think is Ben's man on the boat?

10. Finally, it seems that they are going to be using flashbacks as well as flash forwards this season. Like things aren't confusing enough already!

There's so much more to talk about, but I think this is enough to get the discussion moving. What did you think?

I don't have a family.

A Horse is Horse Of Course Of Course

I don't usually feel the need to 'perfect' my online quiz results, but when I put Sheila's name through Sawyer's Nickname Generator this morning, I realized that I could choose up to 3 words to describe how my brain works, instead of the one that I chose yesterday (ironically enough, the word I chose yesterday was "smart"). So, I re-submitted my info this morning and my new nickname is WILBUR.

I bet Sawyer would even say it like Mr. Ed does.

Marc Anthony Leaves J.Lo for Valerie Bertinelli!!

Or,

Jennifer Lopez is Extremely Pregnant and Looks Exactly Like Valerie Bertinelli!!

Maybe Intervention is the wrong approach.

Dude, it's the Sawyer Nickname Generator!

I kid you not.

And what would Sawyer call me if we were stranded on a desert island together? Freckles, perhaps? I mean, that would fit, right? Or perhaps something to do with my eyes?

Well, apparently he has something else in mind:



Captain Lou Albino?? Come ON! Hell, I'd take "Chesty" over that!

LOST Easter Egg

The chalkboard in the Santa Rosa rec room:

Hee! I wonder who drew that...

Enjoy the show tonight.

LOST: Episode 4.01 (Recap)

The Beginning of the End

The fourth season opener picks up pretty much where we left off last May. Except now it seems that the show's trademark flashbacks have been replaced with flash forwards (known as FBs and FFs from now on!), a storytelling device I think I'm really going to like. The FBs were becoming repetitive, especially in Jack's case. The FFs on the other hand, not only bust the story wide open but they also push speculation sky-high, and isn't that part of what we love about this show?


On the Island


We pick up right where we left off: Jack has made contact with the boat that is not Penny's, using the sat phone from Naomi, who has been stabbed in the back by Locke. Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Jin, Juliet and Bernard are at the beach camp, chillin' and reveling in their victory over the Others. Help is on its way and everyone is happy. Everyone except Locke. And Ben. And Rousseau says she's staying where she is.


Desmond comes ashore at the beach, without Cholly of course. He explains to the group about Cholly's death and his message about the boat that is not Penny's and they all argue about what they should do. Hurley, upset about his friend's death, takes charge and says they need to start heading to the radio tower to meet up with Jack's group. Night falls as they are walking, and Hurley gets separated from the group. He starts to panic, calling out for Sawyer and the rest when all of a sudden he comes upon Jacob's cabin. (If I recall correctly, Jacob's cabin was not this close to the beach before) Cue the creepy whispering. And then a light goes on in the window. Hurley peeks through and sees a figure in the rocking chair - one that looks an awful lot like Christian Shephard - and then some crazy person's eye pops into frame and we all scream with Hurley. He runs away but then the cabin appears before him again, this time in a different place. He closes his eyes, telling himself its not real, and when he opens them the cabin is gone. He falls backward - I guess he sort of passes out, and when he awakens Locke is looking over him. He fills Locke in on the details, including the story of Cholly's death and his message about the boat. They leave to catch up with Sawyer, Sayid, etc.


There is some silly intrigue with Naomi and the phone, but I'm not sure how important it was - I mean, we ended up in the same place when all was said and done. Short and sweet: Naomi was not dead and took off into the jungle. Jack thought she went one way, Kate thought she went another way. Kate was right. Naomi ended up convincing Minkowski that everything was alright, she reset the phone as Minkowski requested and then died. Kate hooked back up with Jack and the entire group at the radio tower, including Ben, start heading back to the beach.


Ultimately, everyone converges at the site of the cockpit of flight 815. Jack and Locke face off, and Jack totally wants to kill Locke and even tries to shoot Locke in cold blood, but the gun is empty. Locke doesn't trust the "rescuers" and Jack just wants off the island (and to save everyone else, the way he always does. I can't say I blame him, to be honest).


The entire group ultimately breaks into 2 camps that I think look like this:


Jack's Group: Jack, Kate, Rose, Bernard, Desmond, Sayid, Juliet, Sun and Jin

Locke's Group: Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Benry, Rousseau, Alex, Karl, Claire and Aaron


Locke's group head off to the barracks where they feel they will be the most protected - because of the sonic force field thing-y, I assume - and Jack's group waits for rescue.


As Jack and Kate talk, someone parachutes from a helicopter. As they approach him, the parachutist removes his helmet and asks, "Are you Jack?"

Flash Forward


It's a Hurley FF, and it seems to take place much closer to the time of the 'rescue' than Jack's did.


Hurley sees a dead Cholly in a store, freaks out and speeds away in his car.


[You know, when I saw that pile of mangos, or whatever, I thought, "They've piled fruit on the beach and are going to blow it up in celebration of not having to eat it anymore", and then I thought, "But that's really stupid - what if they're NOT rescued? What a colossal waste of food that is!" And then the car crashed through it and all that thinking was for nothing]


The cops chase him and when they eventually stop him and slap him in handcuffs, he starts yelling about how he is one of "The Oceanic 6". He's interrogated at the police station by Ana Lucia's former partner, who asks Hurley if he ever met her. For his own secret-squirrel reasons, Hurley denies ever knowing AL. While the cop steps out of the room, Hurley suffers another halucinations: He sees Cholly in the two-way mirror, swimming up to the glass like a fish in a tank. Then the glass breaks suddenly and Hurley freaks. The cop comes running back and when he sees Hurley freaking he suggests that he may want to seek some psychological help. Hurley is all to happy to return to the psych hospital. I think he feels safe there.


While in the hospital, Hurley plays some Connect 4, which is what you do when you're there, I guess, and he also gets a visitor. It's the man waving in the photo above, and his name is Matthew Abaddon. He claims that he is an attorney for Oceanic Airlines and has come offering to make nice with Hurely, to put him up in a nicer place. However, when Hurley asks him for proof of who he is, Abaddon cannot provide it. He gets all sinister-looking and asks Hurley if "they" are still alive. Man, he gave me the heebeejeebees. And it doesn't help that his name translates to Angel of the Abyss in the Book of Revelation. I guess he gave Hurley the heebeejeebees, too, because Hurley freaks and Abaddon slips away.


Hurley's second visitor at the hospital is even weirder: It's Cholly's ghost and Hurley is NOT happy to see him. In fact, it was Cholly that Hurley saw in the store and that's why he freaked out. Anyway, Cholly is there to remind Hurley that there is "something" he needs to do, that "they" need him, but Hurley will have none of that. He closes his eyes and counts to five and Cholly disappears.


Hurley gets one last visitor at Santa Rosa: Jack sees Hurley's police chase on the news and comes to the hospital to see how he is. They start playing HORSE and Jack stinks at it. They talk while shooting baskets, and Jack mentions that he's thinking of growing a beard. They shoot the breeze for while until Hurley finally asks Jack why he's really there. Jack asks Hurley if he's "going to tell." Hurley apologizes for siding with Locke and asks Jack if maybe they should return to the island. Jack says he will never go back. Hurley replies, "Never say never, dude."


And this wouldn't be a LOST recap without a Desmond screencap

Nice. But he's looking sort of skinny, don't you think?

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

The Official Indian Jones site has some new photos from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! Yay!!










You can see the larger files at indianajones.com.

More Super Bowl Ads I Liked.

Super Bowl Ads

I only occasionally watched the Super Bowl last night, only checking in during Puppy Bowl commercial breaks to check the score for the office pool, so I missed just about all of the commercials.

But I've been catching up at YouTube and thought I'd share some of the ones I liked so far. These made me laugh:







Did any of you watch the Puppy Bowl? Did you see this commercial?



If, like me, it made you cry every time they played it and you're worried about poor Echo, I have good news. I found out that he was adopted back in November. Someone from the shelter where Echo lived posted the news in the comments section of that video. Yay!

I'll post some more videos when I get home tonight!

Hilarious.

Not safe for work or children.

Rise and shine.

Good morning., originally uploaded by gina64.

Don't Forget!

Puppy Bowl IV: "In response to the ratings behemoth that is the Super Bowl, executives at this cable channel created a show that they thought would be Animal Planet’s version of the televised Yule log but turned out to be a hit in its own right. “Puppy Bowl IV,” a three-hour extravaganza in which a cast of 46 dogs frolics, chases, pants, sniffs, rolls, tail wags and occasionally picks up a ball (or, more likely, a chew toy) on a set resembling a football field, will be broadcast at 3 p.m. on Sunday, with repeats to follow. Cat people, keep reading: there’s also a kitty halftime show.

“I sort of think of it as when you walk by a pet shop window and you just can’t help but sit and stare in awe,” said Melinda Toporoff, an executive producer of “Puppy Bowl.” “It seems to have found its audience.”"

Kindness for Vick's dogs.

If anyone is still unsure whether Michael Vick belongs in prison, please read this.

Given Reprieve, N.F.L. Star’s Dogs Find Kindness:

"A quick survey of Georgia, a caramel-colored pit bull mix with cropped ears and soulful brown eyes, offers a road map to a difficult life. Her tongue juts from the left side of her mouth because her jaw, once broken, healed at an awkward angle. Her tail zigzags.

Scars from puncture wounds on her face, legs and torso reveal that she was a fighter. Her misshapen, dangling teats show that she might have been such a successful, vicious competitor that she was forcibly bred, her new handlers suspect, again and again.

But there is one haunting sign that Georgia might have endured the most abuse of any of the 47 surviving pit bulls seized last April from the property of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in connection with an illegal dogfighting ring.

Georgia has no teeth. All 42 of them were pried from her mouth, most likely to make certain she could not harm male dogs during forced breeding."

So sad.

Michelle Williams Statement:

"I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day.

His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him."

LOST: Episode 4.01

The Beginning of the End

I love that this is the title because after watching it last night I was thinking, OK, so this is the beginning of the end. I absolutely enjoyed this episode. It was filled with so much great emotion and interesting story developments.

I don't have a recap ready yet, but I know that people will want to talk about the episode, so here are a few topics for discussion.

Look at this photo:

What was written on Cholly's hand?

I loved that Cholly got props this episode for his sacrifice, and I loved all of the emotion surrounding his death, but I was sort of disappointed that Desmond was so quiet. Not only because I love him but also because he was the only person who actually witnessed what happened to Cholly.

Who are the "Oceanic Six"? We know three of them: Jack, Kate and Hurley. And that's interesting because from what we saw last night, Hurley joined up with Locke. How did he end up off the island? Are Michael and Walt two of the remaining three? And what's the big lie they are all keeping? Right now I'm thinking it's that there are people that they left behind. But maybe they have another secret.

I had trouble determining who was in whose group last night. This is what I can tell so far:

Jack's Group: Jack, Kate, Rose, Bernard, Desmond, Sayid, Juliet, Sun and Jin
Locke's Group: Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Benry, Rousseau, Alex, Karl, Claire and Aaron

Does that sound right? I was actually surprised that Desmond stayed with Jack. I think the only thing that made Sayid stay with Jack is his intense hatred of Locke.

Who do you think Hurley saw in the cabin? Wasn't that scary?! Here's a shot of the person in the chair:

I had to up the brightness, but you can clearly see this person has a suit on and is not the same person that was in the chair when Locke and Benry were there. In fact, this person is wearing white sneakers and a suit, just like someone's father - Christian Shephard. Is this a manifestation of the island? Is it keeping Jacob prisoner? Was that Jacob's eye in the window?

At first I thought it was Locke, but that's definitely not Locke's eye.











Oh, and here's something weird: Do you think there's any significance to the watercolor Hurley was painting?

Those guys that worked for Penny were stationed at one of the Poles, I think...











Finally, beautiful Desmond was back on my television screen, and even though he was practically mute, I was still happy. I was even happier when I saw this:

I like to think of that as two tickets to paradise.

PS. The fish biscuits were good!