Hurley's LOST his mind.

Dave



This is the one where we are told why Hurley was in the psychiatric hospital AND what Libby's connection is with him.

To recap: Hurley and Libby are becoming very close. He reveals to her that he kept some of the original hatch food for himself and has been binging. She does her "psychologist" thing and tells him to free himself by destroying it all. He does. But just when he thinks he's got that monkey off his back he and Libby stumble across the palette of DHARMA food just as the castaways are pillaging it. This is enough of a trauma to make Hurley see Dave at the edge of the woods. See, Dave was this imaginary friend that Hurley had when he was in the hospital, sort of a manifestation of the part of Hurley that hates himself. As he's chasing Dave around the island we get flashbacks to his stay in the hospital, where Dave tells him to not take his medicine, to eat whatever he wants and to try to escape. Hurley makes a breakthrough, however, when he opens up and tells his doctor about the accident that resulted in his hospitalization: Hurley stepped onto an already overloaded deck, which collapsed, killing two people. The deck was unstable but because of his obesity, Hurley blamed himself and had a little bit of a nervous breakdown. With this breakthrough, Dave disappears and Hurley is presumably able to recover. But in the here and now, the new food and the increasing attentions of Libby are enough to bring back Dave, who ultimately convinces Hurley that everything that's happened to him since the hospital - the lottery, the plane crash, the island, Libby (how could a girl like Libby be intereseted in him?) - is all in his head and he is actually still in the hospital. The only way to awake from his catatonic state, Dave tells him, is to jump off of a cliff. Libby finds Hurley just in time, convinces him that it's actually Dave who's all in his head and that she really does care for him. She kisses him to convince him. But as they walk away, the look on her face is anything but caring.



Cue another flashback that takes place in the hospital common room but is not Hurley's flashback. It's Libby's (or an objective flashback). She was a patient at the same hospital and from the looks of things she was a bit worse off than Hurley was.

Meanwhile, down in the hatch, Jack is tending to Locke's injured leg (a small fracture and a big NO to the wheelchair) and Sayid and Ana Lucia are interrogating Henry again, who they've got shackled like someone in the Pit of Despair. Sayid catches Henry in a lie about the real Henry Gale and won't give Sayid what he wants so Sayid pulls out his gun and tries to shoot Henry, only to have AL push the gun out of the way just in time. Henry completely flips out and says the oddest thing: "I'm not a bad person!" And that if he told the truth, "he" would kill him. He who? Later, Locke has a private moment with Henry because Locke still wants to believe (I think), and Henry screws with Locke's head again and tells him that he never put the code in, that the counter went down, turned to hyeroglyphics, he heard a sound like a magnet powering up and then nothing. The counter reset itself. And then he made another curious remark: "God can't see the island." (or something like that)

ETA: This is what he actually said: "God doesn’t know how long we’ve been here John. He can’t see this island any better than the rest of the world can." What in the world does that mean?

This was another one I really enjoyed. All of it. I even liked Ana Lucia! It wasn’t a “doozy” like the previous episode was for me, but it was still very enjoyable. I think one of the reasons I liked the episode so much was I felt like the writers were addressing me personally and some of the issues I’ve been wondering about:

1. Hurley’s stash of food – Thank you for the explanation as to where his food was coming from. Now, I understand the psychological benefit of destroying the food the way he did but, dude, what a WASTE! Yeah, they just got a big food drop but Hurley and Libby didn’t know that when he dumped his stash all over the jungle floor. And how about Sawyer just chucking that broken Oreo! He made up for it with the Sayid/mini-mart joke (so wrong but it made me LOL), but still.

2. Fat Hurley jokes – How awesome was it to see Hurley beating the crap out of Sawyer while screaming a litany of all the fat nicknames Sawyer has given him?



I found it interesting that Sawyer didn’t tell Hurley that he didn’t have the medicine when he asked for the Clonazipam (sp?). Did he not give the medicine to Jack yet? I suppose it hasn't even been a day since the poker game ended and Jack said he would be back later to get the meds, so...

3. Who knows about the hatch – So Jack went topside to tell the rest of the group that they had “one of them” captive in the hatch. I guess that means that everyone knows about the hatch and we just don’t see others (not Others) using it for things like showers, etc.? I am going to have to assume so, since the alternative is so unfair.

I knew that Dave was imaginary when they were playing Connect 4, but I should have known when in the basketball scene no one was passing to him and they in fact threw the ball to Hurley, who was right behind him. I thought the actor who played Dave was very good.

So now we know why Hurley was in the hospital. I felt so bad for him when he finally talked about the deck collapse. I liked the whole “this island thing is all in your mind” idea. I don’t think that’s what’s going on, but it fits well enough to work as a possibility and it’s fun to wonder about the possibilities.

So how about Libby?! There’s been a lot of speculation that she worked (as a “clinical psychologist”) at Hurley’s hospital and that’s how he knew her, but now we know the truth. That was a very cool surprise. Is she lying about being a clinical psychologist? I think she is. Does she really care for Hurley? I think she does. Well, maybe I hope she does. What was she doing on the plane? It can’t be coincidence – nothing in this show is – so I’m wondering if Hurley perhaps caught her eye in the hospital and she was sort of stalking him? Maybe? When Hurley asked Libby how she found him on the cliff, she said that Jin saw him whiel he was fishing. There’s no way that she could have gotten all the way up that hill from the beach in such a short amount of time. I think she was following him. Whether it was out of concern for him or because she’s a creepy stalker remains to be seen.

I love Eko and I wish we could see more of him. What do you think he’s building? I’m thinking a church, but that may be too obvious. Good for him for putting Charlie to work. Give that boy a purpose.

Sayid has gone a little off his nut, huh? The professional torturer in him should know that you can’t get information from a dead man. Maybe he and AL were playing good cop/bad cop? I loved Henry’s scene with Locke. Did he push the buttons or not? And who is “He”? The actor who plays Henry is fantastic. I think he’s telling lies within lies, but who knows? I do know he’s evil to the core, though – did you see his face in the previews for next week?

On Wednesday, another new episode.

And that's what scares me.

Libby testified that Bush OK'd intelligence leak: "'The president is going to make the determination as to what's in the best interest of the country,' Gonzales replied."

Paula Won't Be Kicking the Painkillers Any Time Soon.

Abdul Tells Police She Was Assaulted: "'According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall,' Vernon said. 'She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries.'"

Idol Results: They did NOT!

I said yesterday that it could be anyone going home last night but I don't think I really believed it because, well, whoa!

The first 20 minutes are not even worth talking about except didn't it look like Kenny had been voted off when everyone came out to hug him goodbye?

Ryan split the contestants into groups of 3 and I was immediately relieved when Christ -- good LORD, did I just type that?! - when Chris joined Taylor and saved him by association. Kellie completed the group of "Simon's Chosen Ones" and they were all obviously safe. More worrisome for me was the grouping of Ace, Bucky and Katharine. If I was to assemble my dream Bottom 3, Ace and Bucky would be in it. And I would be wrong because they were all safe and the actual Bottom 3 had 3 of the best singers: Mandisa, Elliot and Paris. Shocked, I say.

Ryan toys with everyone and after about 45 minutes of commercials we are told that Mandisa is going home. Whoa! No, I didn't think she was going to win the thing, but I did think she would be around until the Top 4, and she certainly deserved to stay longer than Ace or Bucky. But American Idol is not a singing competition, no matter how hard I wish it to be one, and I don't think Mandisa had a fan base big enough to make her a real contender in a popularity contest. Maybe her holy-roller antics hurt her, maybe not. But she was a great performer and I think the competition will suffer without her.

Doesn't Elliot seem like such a nice guy?

I think it's very cool that they'll all get to sing with the actual members of Queen next week and all, but I have a really bad feeling about this.

Best Defamer Headline Ever:

Remember, Sonny, When I Promised To Kill You Last? I Lied.

A Walk in the Woods

Valley Falls Park
Originally uploaded by gina64.

I went geocaching with some friends last Saturday and one of the parks we visited was Valley Falls Park in Vernon, CT. It was quite pretty. This is the rail trail.

Idol Top 9: "Lose the beard!"

Now, now, Simon, that's no way to talk about Teri Hatcher. And the Desperate Housewives crack? MeOW!

OK, so this week ended up in the crapper again performance-wise (for the most part). Was it because the songs were country (not my favorite genre) or was it because the singers just plain stunk up the place? A little of both, I think. I also don't think Kenny Rogers was much help to any of them. And the man needs to step away from the knife already! Holy Christmas! Uncle Junior called, Kenny, and he wants his mummy head back.

Taylor sings first and it's probably the most incomprehensible song choice on this show yet. He looks uncomfortable (as does pretty much everyone tonight), sounds off-key and makes me cringe for the first time. And he was one that I wasn't worried about on country night. Not a good start.

Here comes Mandisa singing a Shania *gag* Twain song that I've never heard. Her voice doesn't really sound all that bad to me, I just don't think it fits the song. The judges don't like her performance, either. Simon and Ryan, stop with the cat fights, please.

Elliot's stylist should get a raise or something because that boy has gotten better looking with every show. No small feat, I might add (sorry, Elliot). Kenny gives some good advice and tells Elliot to cut it with the melisma (a new word I learned!) and just sing the song (again, I've never heard it) simply, but when he does he seems really nervous. Not bad, though.

Next we had Paris, who looked very pretty but sang a very boring song that I have heard of and don't particularly like. Again, she looks extremely ill at ease singing this song, which is not like her at all. Randy and Paula agree with me but Simon likes it. I think that's just because he actually recognized the song.

Does Ace have any other clothes? A jacket, maybe? He sings a Keith Urban song that seems to suit his voice, but again, I don't know the original and so can't tell if he's singing it well or not. He's too breathy and nasally for my taste, but it's not too bad, and then he goes and ruins it with that falsetto thing he does and does not do well, I don't care what anyone says!

Tonight was Kellie's chance to shine and it pains me to say it, but she did. After admitting that she was indeed as dumb as she appears to be.

Chris climbed out of his box and sat down and straight out sang a song (another Keith Urban song that I don't know) and did a good job. Except for his IntenseFace he has on all the time. Chill out, dude! He's another one that needs to expand the warbrobe a little.

Katharine sang another song I didn't know, something about making her feel like Elvis, but that didn't matter because she was much better than last week. Whew.

Finally, we had Bucky in the pimp spot and I don't think he has the talent required to reap the benefit of going last. Sorry, Bucky. This should have been your night.

Tonight: Mummy Head sings and someone goes home. Sorry I can't be more specific but at this point I honestly think it could be anyone.

Oh, and BTW, I actually tried to vote last night I was so worried about Taylor and Katharine. Never got through on Taylor's line and was able to get through once on Katharine's, and that has to be a good sign.

ETA: Next week's theme: Queen. If the guest artist is Smeagol I will never watch this show again.

CNN.com is weird and wild today.

Just look at some of the headlines:

Homeland Security official arrested in child sex sting

Hussein grins, reads poetry during cross-examination

Garth Brooks' ex-wife kidnapped

Gene Pitney found dead in hotel

Exploding paperweight costs teacher his hand

ETA: Now we have this photo accompanying the lead story:

"You stole my kidney!"

Lockdown

So yeah, like I said in my earlier map post, wow. This was a good one.

There were a few story threads going on but since this was well-written I didn't think it got bogged down. I'll just recap the 3 stories and one flashback and then throw out some random thoughts on what went on.

Locke and Henry - We pick up exactly where we left off at the end of the previous episode, with Henry telling Jack and Locke he was only kidding about laying a trap for Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie. Jack gets his panties in a twist and orders Locke to put Henry back in the armory. Henry pushes Locke's macho button and asks him why he lets Jack talk to him like that. Locke becomes furious with Henry and locks him back up. Locke hears a static-filled warning over the loudspeakers that turns into a countdown. This scene was very well-done. The countdown finishes and suddenly all of the blast doors come down. And we don't know why. Locke needs Henry to help him pry up one of the doors. Henry makes him promise to protect him from the rest of the group "no matter what happens", which will be significant later, I think. Locke promises. As they try to pry open the door, it falls on Locke's legs, pinning him. The computer alarm starts to beep, they can't wait for anyone to come down to the hatch, so Henry is given the code and instructed to crawl through an air vent to the computer room and enter the code. While he's gone, the lights go out and a black light comes on, revealing the much-talked-about map. Locke only gets a quick glimpse of the map before the lights come back on and the doors raise (ouch). Locke drags himself into the computer room, where Henry is NOT, and calls for him. Henry finally walks up behind him. He tells Locke that he did nothing to make the doors go up, he only entered the code like Locke asked him to. Yeah, right.

The Poker Game - So where was Jack during all of this? Winning every mango and banana left on the island in a poker game/pissing contest with Sawyer, that's where. Turns out Jack learned how to play poker in Phuket (okaaay) and he beats the pants off of Sawyer. I wish. Anyway, he wins all of the medicine that Sawyer has been hoarding.

The Flashback - Locke is living with Helen and things are going well. So well, he's planning on proposing to her. Until Helen reads his kidney-stealing no-good father's obituary in the paper. They go to the funeral (and they were the only ones there - hello!) but it turns out that Daddy dearest is not dead but is pulling another con. He stole $700,000 in a retirement plan scheme and has faked his death in order to escape the wrath of a couple of thugs. (who I totally thought were going to be responsible for Locke's paralysis) Locke is so desperate for his father to love him that he agrees to help him get the money out of a safe deposit box and lies to Helen in the process. He gets the money to his father, but Helen shows up and is not happy. She tells John that he needs his father's love more than hers and turns down his proposal. Poor John. It is unclear whether John takes the $200,000 his father promised him as retribution for the kidney stealing.

The Three Lostketeers - At the beginning of the episode, Sayid, Charlie and Ana Lucia find not only the balloon that Henry Gale drew his map to, but also what appears to be the grave of the wife Henry swears he buried near the balloon.

The Wrap-Up - Henry attends to Locke's injuries, helping him stand (yay!) and guiding him to the couch. Locke thanks Henry for his help. Meanwhile up on the surface, it's nighttime and Jack is heading back to the hatch. Kate catches up to him, flirts with him, asks if she can use the shower (she has to ASK?), Jack lies and says a pipe is broken (presumably because she doesn't know about Henry Gale), offers to walk her back to the beach and then they spot something. They explore the flashing strobe light and discover it is atop a palette of DHARMA food that appears to have been dropped by parachute. As they puzzle over this, Sayid, Charlie and AL show up with some news. They all enter the hatch and confront Henry Gale. Yes, they found the balloon where he said it would be. Yes, they found a grave. But it wasn't Henry's wife in the grave. It was the REAL Henry Gale, whose driver's license shows he was a black man from Minnesota.

Some thoughts:

~ My guess is that the blast doors close periodically for the food “drop”. A warning sounds and the doors come down, keeping the person inside while DHARMA (or whatever they call themselves) leaves the supplies. When all is clear, the doors open again. It was just coincidence that the doors closed and the alarm went off for the code entry at the same time. How did the supplies get "dropped?" If it was by airplane, surely someone would have heard it. I’m not sure how to explain that. Maybe it’s dropped from a balloon? Or it’s raised from under the ground and the parachute is a ruse?

~ It was so cool when they showed the drawing on the blast door! Who did it? How did they do it? Why use something that only shows up in black light? You know, I was just thinking about those few minutes where Locke (and we) lost track of Henry Gale and how that blast door had to have been lowered for much longer periods of time for someone to be able to scrawl as much as they did on it...HG told Locke that all he did was enter the #s into the computer and that he had nothing to do with the raising of the doors but maybe that’s exactly what he was doing when Locke was calling out for him – he went somewhere and did something that raised the door early in order to free Locke. And that under “normal” circumstances the door would have been down much longer? Maybe?

~ So Henry Gale is NOT Henry Gale! I knew he was lying, but I didn’t think they were going to find what they found in the grave. I love his character and I hope he’s going to be on for a long time, but I somehow think I won’t get my wish. Not if Sayid has anything to say about it. I’m not sure Henry didn’t already know those numbers – he seemed to remember them awfully well. And I’m not sure that his fall in the storeroom wasn’t on purpose, either.

~ Locke’s flashback was pretty good – kinda sad, actually. He really is a sort of pathetic character and I think we needed to be reminded of that. Aand I don’t mean “pathetic” in a mean way - he’s just had a really crappy life and crashing on the island was a good thing for him – a new start, filled with wonder and the miracle of his healing. But his true personality makes him the perfect sucker for whatever is going on on the island. When he said “You came back” to Henry Gale, I just felt so bad for him. He really wants to trust someone and he keeps getting let down.

~ Did anyone else recognize the woman whose new house Locke was inspecting? It was Nadia! Sayid’s girl.

~ I guess there’s a theory going around that Locke’s father (Anthony Cooper) is the Real Sawyer, the man who he chased to Australia to kill. It makes sense – both con-men, the appropriate age...and I believe that was an Oceanic flight going over Locke’s head. His dad was going to the airport. Maybe he caught a flight to Australia.

~ So Locke promised to protect Henry Gale from the rest of the group but will he still do that even though HG has pretty much proven to be untrustworthy? I think so, just like he kept his promise to his untrustworthy father and got the money from the safe deposit box for him. It’s as if Locke thinks that by virtue of being trusted by him, they then become trustworthy. His belief in them makes it so.

~ I’m not really diggin’ all the fat Hurley remarks that have been on the show lately – Sawyer’s “head over to the buffet” remark, and Hurley sneaking around and gorging himself on the (no longer) scarce food supply – but then I remember that they have to have some way of explaining why Hurley doesn’t lose weight. Speaking of food, have a question: remember that episode where Hurley was put in charge of distributing all the food and he let everyone just have one big pig out? Wasn’t the point of it that he didn’t want the responsibility of rationing out the food so they all just ate it in one sitting? Where does he get the food he’s sneaking? And where do Jack and Locke get their food? I suppose Hurley could have kept some aside for himself, but...(of course now that point is moot)

~ One final question: How many people actually know about the hatch? Just the leads? Because I would be royally pissed if there was a place with a bed and a shower and a toilet and food and books and music and only the cool people got to go in. I think they need to make that a little clearer.

Tomorrow night, believe it or not, brings us another new episode. And it looks like another doozy. (I hope!)

Welcome to TeeVeePedia.

Check out teevee.org's April Fool's joke. They must have been working on that instead of writing new articles!

Drive-Thru Review

King Kong - This one was about a half hour too long. Some of the set pieces, particularly the action ones, went beyond exciting to "OK, are they done yet?". However, in spite of that flaw I thought this was a good movie and despite knowing how the thing ended I still cried my eyes out at the end, a testament to Peter Jackson's movie-making skills.

Summer Approaches.

Sunset over Dyer Bay
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Finally!

We had our annual trustees meeting regarding our cabin in Maine yesterday (which is owned by our Family Trust). The view from the front porch is pictured above. Among the items that were discussed: upgrading the electrical, burying the water line, conversion of a portion of the front porch into a sunroom and an examination of the trees surrounding the house for possible hazards. All of which sounds really boring but still makes me wish I could go there today. We're so lucky we have this place.

Shamrock.

Shamrock.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

By the kitchen window.

Shamrock Blossoms

Shamrock Blossoms
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Not only have I not killed the shamrock plant I bought for St. Patrick's Day, the damn thing is thriving!

Pears.

Pears.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

My favorite fruit.

A Sunday in March.

A Sunday in March.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

We had ominous skies last week as I puttered around in the yard.

Oh, and don't forget - DST kicks in this weekend and you need to remember to set your clocks ahead on Saturday night!

LOST: The Map.

Woo! Now that was an excellent episode! I'm not quite ready with the recap, though, because I spent last night transcribing the awesome map that appeared on the blast door in what was probably the coolest moment yet for this show.

Here's what I was able to decipher. I'll talk about what I think some of the abbreviations mean at the end.

OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON

Upper Left Quadrant

FROM ____ AH/MDG INCIDENT...BUT COULD BE #6

CONFIRMED SITE OF CADUCEUS MEDICAL STATION (THE STAFF!)

ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME INCOMPATIBLE WITH ___. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SURVEY (?)

CADUCEUS STATION BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED DUE TO AH/MDG INCIDENT OF 1985 OR POSSIBLE CATASTROPHIC MALFUNCTION OF CERBERUS SYSTEM

ALLEGED LOCATION OF #4 - THE FLAME; BUT UNLIKELY DUE TO CERBERUS ACTIVITY

Lower Left Quadrant

ALLEGED LOCATION OF ABORTED #7 : LARGE NUMBER OF UNDERGROUND SPRINGS/HEAVY WATER TABLE

ACTIVITY UNSUITABLE FOR D.I.H.G.

CV I HIGHLY UNLIKELY

NO SAFE LOCATION FOR DHARMATEL SERVERS/HUB/CABLING OR INFRASTRUCTURE
POSSIBLE RECREATION AREA FOR D.I.H.G SURVEY (?) TEAMS

LOW PRIORITY _____ EXPLORATION SITE FOR ABOVE GROUND STUDY OF ___. LOW RELEVANCE TO VALANCETTI (?)-RELATED RESEARCH ACTIVITY

I AM HERE (pointing to Swan Station - the Hatch)

_____ _____ CONDUITS BLOCKED AFTER ACCIDENT

THE SWAN:
5 OF 6 (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)
____ OF H.G. DELEGATION
INSPECTION 12.07.81
____ WIDE DHARMATEL INTRANET
4.08.00, 8.15.01, 01.06.05 - COMPLETE SHUTDOWN IN EFFECT
P.R.D.: EVERY 6-8 MONTHS
FATALITIES: 5

Upper Right Quadrant

(POSSI)BLE MANUFACTURING FACILITY WITH LIGHT INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

ROADS...OR OTHER...ROUTE OF...TRAVEL

SUSPECTED SHUTDOWN DATE 10.28.84

MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN MOST LIKELY USED BY D.I.H.G. FOR METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH DUE TO...

(a mathematical equation)

GEOLOGICAL COMPOSITION LIKELY TO CAUSE MAGNETIC INTERFERENCE WITH WEATHER PROJECT

INTERFERENCE MIGHT ALSO PREVENT LOCATION FROM USE AS LISTENING STATION/CRYPTOGRAPHY, RESEARCH/___ ANALYSIS

HIGH POTENTIAL FOR R.V.S.

CV II

THE PEARL?

Lower Right Quadrant

CV III

SIGHTINGS COINCIDE WITH EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN OF INTRANET SERVICES, ____ OF HEIGHTENED SECURITY

PRIMARY NEXUS OF CERBERUS ACTIVITY

* KNOWN FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MAGNUS HANSO/BLACK ROCK

ACTIVITY MINIMAL DURING LOCKDOWN AND RESTOCKING PROCEDURES

REV-4.3.02 POSSIBLE LOCATION OF ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITY

STATED GOAL, _______ ACCELERATED DE-TERRITORIAL(ISATION?) OF URSUS MARITIMUS THROUGH GENE THERAPY AND EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE

INSIDE OCTAGON

Inside Middle Circle: PURPOSE UNKNOWN; "?"; RESTRICTED (?) TO D.I.H.G.

(in mathematical symbols): square root of 16, square root of 64 and square root of 225, which are 4, 8 and 15

SUBTERRANEAN CONDUIT

z4, y8, z15

WHY SO MANY DHARMATEL RELAYS IN SUCH AN UNTENABLE (or UNSTABLE ?) LOCATION?

Plus various latin phrases. I haven't gone so far as to translate the Latin, but I've see various translations at TWoP, for instance, and they all seem to be state-of-mind/commentary stuff - "I think, therefore I suffer", "Here there be dragons" - but don't contain any factual information. What's most interesting about the Latin is that it seems to be written in a different hand than everything else. Perhaps Kelvin was the original map-maker and he drew it as he was trying to discover what had happened after the "accident" in 1984. And perhaps Desmond wrote the Latin after Kelvin died. It seems like a Desmond sort of thing to do.

As for what some of it means? How about:

AH/MDG - AH=Alvar Hanso; MDG=Marvin DeGroot; Did they have a falling out in 1985?

Cerberus - in Greek mythology is the 3-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades. I'm pretty sure Cerberus is the black smoke monster security system.

THE FLAME - the only other hatch drawn in a solid line that we have not seen yet.

D.I.H.G. - DHARMA Initiative Hanso Group??

PRD - Periodic Ration Drop? Parachute Ration Drop?

RVS - Remote Viewing Station?

"final resting place of Magnus Hanso/Black Rock" - We know the Black Rock was the shipwreck - perhaps Magnus Hanso is an ancestor of Alvar Hanso's who was on the Black Rock when it sank/wrecked? Maybe Hanso owns the island?

Ursus Maritimus - polar bear (woo!)

Does anyone else have any ideas? Can you fill in any of the blanks or do you have different interpretations of what it says? How much did Locke see? How much will he remember? And what's in the middle?

This Just In: Drug Dealers Watch LOST.

Virgin Mary tombstones full of drugs: "Federal agents on Thursday said they had broken up a ring of drug smugglers who used tombstones featuring the Virgin Mary to move hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the United States from Mexico."

Happy Friday!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Prime Minister of Italy.

The Swingin' Pugs.

Sheila tells me that Marty was a big hit in the fashion show. Since I have no photos of the event to share with you, I invite you partake of someone else's pug heaven:



My favorite thing right now.

Idol Results: I told you I was afraid.

Jesus, nothing like scaring me half to death, America! I may be reduced to actually voting next week. Yep, it was one of those "shocking" Bottom 3s (or Bottom 2, actually).

But first, we had to get the product placement out of the way. First, they showed us a video that purported to be about the contestant's busy week between shows but what was really an advertisement for FOX's new Ice Age movie. Then there was the weekly Ford commercial. And finally, we had a Verizon Wireless ad live on stage in the form of Shakira and Wyclef Jean who, amazingly, were lip-synching on a singing competition. I liked the song but, whatever.

So who was our Bottom 3? Lisa was called first. No surprise there. Then Ace. Again, no surprise. (You know, this kid's going to develop an ulcer soon, if he hasn't already - he's the biggest bundle of nerves I have ever seen) It's down to Bucky and Katharine for the last spot and Bucky nearly passes out cold when Ryan calls Katharine to center stage. So did I.

Then it's revealed that Katharine had fewer votes than Ace! So he hyperventilates his way back to the bleachers. At this point I'm on the verge of throwing up. (that is so sad) Ryan finally relieves me of my torment and tells me that Lisa is going home. God, I can't go through that again - you'd better shape up Katharine!

One more quick note: How freakin' hilarious was it that Paris was crying on Taylor's shoulder?! Her dream boyfriend. And did you see there was a lady holding two signs up - one for Taylor and one for Paris. Too freaky.

We're down to nine and next week is Country Music Night.

OK, I have proof.

There has indeed been a tear in the fabric of reality.

There's just so much contradictory information swirling around those photos that my brain shuts down instead of processing it all.

Work it, Marty.

Marty works it.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

The company my sister works for is having a fashion show today (back to school!) and Marty will be joining her on the catwalk, on the catwalk.

Next up: Heroin and an eating disorder.

Please stop looking at it.

New Letter of Fug!:

"Are you still looking at that picture of that statue? Please stop looking at it. Oh my God, I can't believe this thing even exists in America. Shouldn't it be illegal to make a statue of some lady you don't know? I feel like it should be, especially if she is ALL NAKED IN IT, oh my God. Anyway, it's also totally, like, wrong because I had a Caesarean section with Sean (and could someone please explain to me what that has to do with the salad? Because who would name a salad after an operation? It's so weird. But everything I ask my mother she just starts laughing and then she sighs real big and lights another cigarette). So, anyway, in addition to being GROSS and like a total VIOLATION of my CIVIL RIGHTS as an AMERICAN, it's also totally inaccurate, or whatever."

Tubage.

I've got three things to watch tonight and they're all on at the same time: 9:00 P.M. I can't believe I don't have Tivo.

As I've mentioned already, the AI results show is tonight. There must be some kind of tear in the fabric of reality or something because there is another new episode of LOST tonight - that's 2 weeks in a row, people! And SciFi's Ghosthunters is profiling the Waverly Hills Sanitorium, an abandoned Kentucky TB hospital that is purported to be haunted and is favored by my own personal ghost-hunting friend, April (a member of the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society).

I'm still waiting on the getting a life thing.

Idol Top Ten: How Did These People Get Here?

What the HELL happened last night? Did they feel too rushed? Were the arrangements not long enough for the singers to find a groove? Jesus Mary and Joseph that was not pretty.

Didn't Lisa look like she was going to cry? Maybe she should have - she'd probably make it to another week.

Kellie sang a really stupid song, which, when you think about it, was a perfect fit. I barely remember it. Blessedly, the show was so rushed there was little time for in-between chatter, so no HeeHaw schtick.

If Ace is not in the bottom three again then I call shenanigans. He looked completely lost up there. I can't believe he touched his hair when he said "hair". Then he flashed the scar in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

I'm not sure what Simon's plans are for Chris. His machinations are more blatant than ever - last week he praises Chris for not compromising and last night he criticized him for doing the exact same thing every week. Don't get me wrong, I agree with Simon that Chris stepped over the line with the song choice and needs to do something different, like, NOW, but make up your mind, Simon. Stay in the box...break out of the box...which is it? And Chris, 'what if' you just sang a song, for once?

I thought Taylor was great - great song choice (it doesn't bother me that I don't know it), great style (shut up, Simon) and great hair. I can't believe I not only understood Paula but agreed with her - I was wanting him to just stand there and sing a song and I think that's exactly what he needed to do after last week's bad song choice.

Now as for Mandisa, not great. Not all that good, either. Probably her worst performance. Enough with the yelling, Mandisa.

What is this world coming to when Bucky was the least cringe-worthy performer of the night? We did laugh at that swivel/slide move he did. Don't do that again, Bucky.

Paris was getting all sorts of freaky out there, wasn't she? Jesus! Not my kind of music but I will say that her's is a performance I will remember.

Speaking of Paris, I was dreaming about American Idol all night. The one dream I remember was about Paris and Taylor. (Try to imagine you're watching the show as a camera is following them around) Taylor was in love with Paris, but didn't know what to do about it. It was time for them to practice so we follow them down an elevator to a parking garage. They each go to their respective parking areas to practice (don't ask, I have no idea) and Taylor's singing "When a Man Loves a Woman". Paris comes over and joins in and they're singing it as a duet (and it sounded really good, btw), and you can see that Taylor's really torn up about whether or not he should tell her he loves her and they reach the end of the song and just when he has his chance...he walks away, pushes the up button and gets back in the elevator.

Interpretations accepted.

So where was I? Yes, Katharine. I was NOT hearing the same thing as the judges. I LOVE her, but she sounded awful. Granted, that style of song is not for me, so that may have something to do with it, but again, she looked really uncomfortable and disconnected from what she was doing. I hope she's safe.

So Elliot got the pimp spot! He was pretty good, but dude, the oompa-loompa dance does nothing for you.

I'm not sure how to explain the general suckage. It seemed almost as though they heard what the category was, thought, "Oo, I can just sing a song I like and not have to learn a new one" without a thought to whether it was a song they should be singing.

I know nobody likes a math geek, but I'll say it anyway: the year 2000 is not in the 21st century.

Tonight: I'm afraid. The bottom 3 is almost up for grabs after those performances. Who should go? Lisa.

Oh no no no no no NO!

One of my favorite Idol contestants may be a Scientologist.

That doesn't make her any less of an outstanding singer, or any less beautiful, but it may explain her wardrobe choices.

I'm not happy about this at all.

Oh Come ON!!

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz has made his decision: "'The fans have been so ardent in their devotion and in return ... I've given everything I can to the show in order to try to live up to their expectations,' Hurwitz told Daily Variety... 'I finally reached a point where I felt I couldn't continue to deliver that on a weekly basis.'"

Since the Showtime deal was contingent upon Hurwitz's involvement, there is no Showtime deal. Sigh. At least we have the DVDs. And there's the small blessing that the possibility of them messing with the show and ruining a good thing, or of it out-staying its welcome, no longer exists. Right?

Having trouble finding the Pinwheel Crater at night?

Google has mapped Mars.

Wild.

(thanks, mike!)

It was a long winter.

It was a long winter.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Out Like a Lion.

Out Like a Lion.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

The old saying goes, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."

Not this year.

Disturbing Image Warning.

Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston.

That's it. I give up.

And so the backlash begins.

All of those complaints on the message boards about Chris Daughtry singing Live's cover of "Walk the Line" on American Idol and getting credit for "making it his own"? FOX News.com has picked up the story.

Phil Spector's Back in the News.

His murder trial has been postponed, so you know what that means. The AP is trotting out one of my favorite photographs again.



I just cannot get enough of that.

LOST: Are You There God? It's Me, Sawyer.

The Whole Truth



Damn they're pretty.

The Sun/Jin episodes are among my favorites and this was another solid one, I thought. Their story appeals to me on an emotional level more than anyone else's and their backstory flashbacks always seem to integrate well with the present story.

Overall, it was a pretty straightforward episode: Sun thinks she's pregnant, gets a pregnancy test from Sawyer's stash, the results are positive. But Jin is getting all bastardy again, and rips up her garden in an attempt to keep her from spending time alone in the jungle, and Sun is reluctant to give him the news. At least we're led to believe that's the reason she keeps it a secret.

In the flashbacks we learn that Sun and Jin had tried to have a baby but were not successful. They go to a doctor who tells them that Sun had severe scarring from endometriosis and was unable to conceive. This news brings out the bastard in Jin, who accuses her of keeping that information from him in order to bag him as a husband.

How is it possible that she's pregnant now? Well, it turns out the doctor was lying and it was really Jin who is sterile - he was too afraid to tell him the truth. We also learn in the flashbacks that Sun learned English in private lessons with the rich hotel owner's son that we saw her set up with in an earlier flashback. We are teased with the idea that Sun and teacher may have slept together.

Back on the island, Jin is remorseful about getting all bastardy and tearing up her garden and we see him replanting everything he pulled up. There's a sweet scene where Sun tells Jin that she is pregnant AND that it is him who is sterile AND she swears that she has never been with anyone else. Jin believes her and says it's a miracle.

The simple explanation is that if Locke can walk again after crashing on the island, certainly Jin's little guys can regain motility. However, while I want to believe the baby is Jin's, something is keeping me from accepting the idea completely. Something about the way Sun was acting. Is it the teacher's? But if she did sleep with the teacher, even right before she left, wouldn't she have had some indication before now that she was possibly pregnant? Maybe, maybe not. I wish I had a better handle on how long they've been there. It's got to be close to 60 days, right?

Then I started to think maybe Jin's not the father, maybe the teacher is a red herring and maybe the father is someone on the island. Who in the world that could be, I don't know, and I'm not really gung-ho on this theory, but she was on the outs with Jin and in fact thought he had died when she found the message bottle and buried his ring. Am I crazy? Plus, this is how abc.com described the episode:

"Sun wrestles with the thought of telling Jin a newfound secret that threatens to upset the entire balance of the survivors' community. Meanwhile, Locke enlists Ana Lucia to interrogate the prisoner in order to extract more information than he, Jack or Sayid could."

How does Sun being pregnant by Jin upset the entire balance of the survivors' community?

Elsewhere on the island, Locke enlists Ana Lucia to talk to Henry Gale and see if she can glean anymore from his story. This he does without consulting Jack because it's his hatch. (BTW, all of the Henry Gale scenes were awesome. Other or not, I hope he's around for a long time). AL succeeds in getting a map of where Henry claims his balloon is, does not tell Jack or Locke about it, and sets out with Sayid and Charlie to find the balloon. As soon as they entered that clearing, I thought to myself, "It's a trap!" And then Henry Gale (it sounds better when you say his whole name, I think) goes and gets all Other-ly and tells Jack and Locke that if he was an Other, that map would lead them into a trap. Dun-dun-dun-DUN!

There were a few cool meta moments (all paraphrased, sorry):

1. "You are the least curious people I've ever met" - Amen!
2. Ana Lucia saying "No one likes me." I kinda liked her last night, though.
3. "I know, who brings a pregnancy test with them on a flight?" Who indeed?

Methinks someone has been cruising the message boards.

And finally, what were Charlie and Sayid building?

Next week: Lockdown. I hope it's as good as it looks!

It's the Final Countdown!

Still More On The Fate Of 'Arrested Development': Bateman Speaks: "The ball is in Mitch's court and Jason said Mitch will be making that decision within the next 24-48 hours though I don't know if that means we'll know about it at that time or not."

Oh please please please.

Before He Was Sawyer.

Check this out - Josh Holloway in an Old Navy ad:

Drive-Thru Reviews

The Constant Gardner - Very moving film in almost every sense - artistically, politically and most especially, emotionally. I didn't expect to cry as much as I did. I guess I'm emotional when I'm hungover. Rachel Weisz deserved her Oscar.

Hustle & Flow - Not an easy movie to watch, especially the way it portrays women, but Terrance Howard is mesmerizing and makes it all worth it. He's on my list of (current) favorites now.

Corpse Bride - The latest animated offering from Tim Burton. Being a fan of his, I enjoyed it, but it felt like the same old thing. This was good, but Nightmare Before Christmas was better.

Hero - I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful movie in my life. That said, there aren't many movies I have understood less than this one.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith - This was a good idea for a movie that was executed poorly. There were moments (like the car chase in the mini-van) where I could see what this could have been, but otherwise it was a below-average action movie. Amazingly I detected very little chemistry between Jolie and Pitt. Then again, with this being the movie that wrecked a marriage maybe I was expecting them to spontaneously combust or something. Anyway, one thing I did not know was that Vince Vaughn, of all people, played Pitt's friend. What planet have I been on?

Mark Your Calendars.

ABC has announced it will air two-hour finales for 'Alias' and 'Lost'.

The Alias series finale will air on Monday, May 22 at 9:00 P.M. and the LOST season finale will air on Wednesday, May 24 (it doesn't say a time, but I presume it's 9:00 P.M.).

My VCR will be getting a workout that week.

I thought I was bad for accidentally ordering "chicken & broccori" one time.

Host, praising Rice, utters slur: "'She's been chancellor of Stanford,' Lenihan said on the air. 'She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that.'"

Dude, that is BAD!

Kinda funny, though.

Idol Results: That was Ballthy.

My faith in the voting public has been restored (at least temporarily) as America gets it right and sends Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais home. He got out just in time, I think. I was fearful that he was heading into complete prat territory soon, and even though it was their own fault he was there at all, the backlash from the judges would have kicked in as well. This way he gets to go back to high school as a cool kid and that's as it should be.

That awesome result almost makes up for Kellie's completely staged idiot remark of the night: "What's a ballsy?" Oh, come ON. I used to like her and sort of believed she was just naive (around the time of the Brush with Calamari) but now, no, I'm not buying it anymore. Stop selling it to me.

The other awesome part of last night: CopacaBobby! They brought him back to see Barry! And he got to go onstage to meet him! I don't know why that made me happy, but it did. We did laugh out loud though when Bobby said to Barry: "I'm gonna be in Vegas on the 12th!" Like Barry's gonna have him up for a drink.

Next week: The Final 10 sing songs from the 21st century. Hmm, I wonder if Chris will be able to find a song to suit his style...

TV Tonight

Just wanted to remind people that there will actually be a new episode of LOST on tonight at 9:00 P.M.

Unfortunately, the Idol results show is on at 9:00, too. Do I tape Idol and watch it after LOST? But then Sheila will have seen it and will know who's getting the boot before I do and I'll be dying to know...Maybe I'll tape LOST and watch it at 10:00.

And maybe I'll get a life some day.

Idol Top 11: "Paula, you're talking rubbish."

It was 50s night, so of course our special guest was Barry Manilow. Um, okaaaay. Actually, he has a new CD of 50s covers, so...

He brings out the best in just about everyone, and seems like a really nice guy.

Oh, and Smeagol came to watch his Precious sing. Sitting next to him was Ryan Cabrera, about whom I know nothing except STUPID HAIR. There were other people in the audience that I know nothing about and Ryan kept talking to a cute but sort of weird little child of the corn.

We started things off with Mandisa who sang a Dinah Washington song I didn't know but that didn't matter since she was very, very good.

Poor, poor Bucky, of ALL people, had to follow that. I believe his fate has been sealed.

Who was next? Paris? She sang "Fever", and while she's a little to young to get it, she sings like I remember her singing back when I thought she was good. She's also toned down the obnoxiousness.

I can't remember who sang when so I'm just winging it here.

When I write out my list of singers I am always one short and it's always the same person I leave out: Lisa. She sang "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" and zzzzzzzzzzz.

It kills me to say this, but I was disappointed with Taylor last night. Stupid, stupid song choice. Even I could have pulled that song off. He's a much better singer than that and he needs a song with emotion in it to spaz out to. Did anyone else think at first that his pants were unzipped? What? You were so looking there, I know it.

The little Chicken Man toned down the sex symbol attitude and did the choirboy thing and pulled it off. He's not going anywhere and I just can't talk about it.

I don't know what the hell Elliot was singing, but it was better than last week. What really made an impression was how much better he looks. Wow!

Katharine, still my favorite, was very good and looked just stunning last night.

I'm not sure how I feel about Chris. Yeah, he's good at his thing, but I want to hear him sing. I was enjoying "Walk the Line" until he started screaming at the end, with all the lights and crap. He's way too serious all the time, too. He needs to get over himself. Oh, and from what I've been reading out on the Internets, his version of "Walk the Line" is actually not his version but can be found on a "Best of Live" CD. That's fine by me, but he should have said it was a cover and not take credit for someone else's arrangement.

Kellie was sort of freaking me out last night, what with the crazy blush and the vacant stare and her outfit from 1989. I have to admit, though, that was the best performance for her yet. Still don't like her. Oh, and how awesome was it that her mike went out?! Hee!

Finally, we had Ace. Every time I say his name I think, "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware something or other" and it really bugs the shit out of me. Anyway, Ace thinks he can sing "In the Still of the Night" all 'urban jazzy', whatever that means, and he's all sorts of bad. There was a small part of the song, near the end, where he belted some of it out and he actually sounded pretty good. Other than that, boo. He looks like the love child of Barry Gibb and Vinnie Barbarino.

So, based on singing alone, Bucky should be going tonight. But I think we'll be saying goodbye to Lisa.

Poor Me.

Still not feeling too well. I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, in fact, when I will hopefully get some good drugs. So things will be quiet around here for a just a little longer. I'll be back soon.

The American Entrepeneur At His Finest.

Drug Ring Sold Pot-Laced Candy, Soda: "A California drug operation manufactured marijuana-laced candy and soft drinks that were packaged to resemble popular products like Jolly Ranchers, Milky Way, and Pop Tarts. The pot ring, busted yesterday by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, was headquartered in Oakland and allegedly headed by Kenneth Affolter, 39, who was one of 12 alleged dealers nabbed. DEA raids at indoor pot-growing facilities turned up the marijuana-infused products, which carried labels such as Toka-Cola, Pot Tarts, Puff-A-Mint Pattie, Stoney Ranchers, Munchy Way, and Buddahfinger."

Gotta love "Jones'n Soda Pot", "3 Rastateers" bars and "Double-Puff Oreos."

Let this be the year he is wrong.

Simon Picks Top 3.

Chris...yeah, I figured...Taylor...woo! wouldn't that be nice?...Pickler...PICKLER?

Will the pimping never end?

My eyes are playing tricks on me.

Asia's Tallest Woman.

I did the conversion and 2.36 meters equals about 7.75 feet. Yeah, that's tall, but look at the picture! There must be some kind of optical illusion going on because she looks like she's three times as tall as the woman next to her and if that woman is only 5' tall, that would make Yao Defen at least 10 feet tall! Am I right?

For My California Friends...

Stay away from Denny's: "A gunman opened fire early Friday at a Denny's restaurant, killing one man and seriously wounding another, police said. It was the third fatal shooting at the restaurant chain in Southern California this week. "

Idol Results: Will Wonders Never Cease?

Was it my imagination or did Kevin wet himself a little when Ryan said that Ace was in the bottom 3? I admit it was a shock to see Ace there. I thought he was a shoe-in for the final 4 based on his looks alone. Nice trick, Ryan, pairing Kevin and Ace for the "one of you is in the bottom 3" gambit - you totally had me fooled and I gasped when you said Ace.

Lisa was also in the bottom 3, which did and didn't surprise me. I think she has the Forgettable Factor.

Lisa and Ace both dodged the bullet, however, because everyone favorite party girl Melissa was the one to go home. You know, I bet there's a Girls Gone Wild tape out there somewhere with Melissa on it. Don't ya think? Even so, I liked you Melissa, and I'll miss you. Good luck.

I read something somewhere this morning that next week's theme is 50s music. That should be a broad enough category for them all to find something that suits them, right? Yeah, I know.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Again!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Originally uploaded by gina64.

A mosaic of some photos I took while on vacation in Ireland in 1991.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Celtic Cross
Originally uploaded by gina64.

I'm feeling a bit green today, and not in the good way, unfortunately. But, I think I'm well enough to go to work. Yay.

Enjoy the day, everyone. I'm off to find something green to wear.

Idol Top 12: Stevie Wonder Night

Well, it was U-G-L-Y. It was 2 hours of ugly, actually. I need to do a better job of reading the TV listings.

OK, actually, there were a couple of really, really good performances but otherwise, uh-uh. If that taught us anything, it's that they need to stay far FAR away from Stevie Wonder songs on this show. How many times do I have to say it? But you know what? They'll still be singing them in auditions next season and I'll still be covering my ears and hiding under a blanket when they do.

I don't know if Paula ran out of double-sided tape or what, but her lady berries (especially the right one) were dangerously close to making their primetime television debut.

So, this is going to be quick because I've got a wicked head cold/sinus infection and I'm not really able to form coherent thoughts at this point.

Ace and Kellie nearly brought the show to a grinding halt and it hadn't even started yet. Don't ask me what they sang because I don't know, and that is NOT a good sign. I sort of wish Kellie did have real tarantulas on her eyes. That would at least have been interesting. Elliot and Mandisa did OK, but not nearly as well as I had expected them to, and that has me worried for them.

Here's the thing about Lisa: I don't think her voice is nearly as powerful as everyone seems to think it is. I could barely hear her over the band and backup singers, and to be frank with you, her face was kind of freaking me out. Like, I didn't know someone could smile that hard. However, I do like her better than Paris now, who sang awesomely last night but whose personality has gotten way over the top.

Melissa, Melissa, Melissa. You pull off an upset last week and do you come out swinging, showing everyone they were right in voting for you? No. You forget the words to the song. You sang pretty well, but who noticed, really? I do give you points for the most suspenseful moment of the night: "I've been gargling with and swallowing...olive oil."

[aside: that Staples copy cat ad rocks]

Bucky sang exactly the song I thought he was going to sing, and it was serviceable. But that hair! Stay away from the hot rollers, Bucky!

Do I really have to talk about Kevin? Not only do I not think he belongs there (or ever belonged on American Idol), but now I don't like him very much. I think he's actually believing the lie.

I have only one word to describe Katharine: exquisite. Her voice, the song, her face...all perfect.

Taylor is the one I think has benefited the most from the stylist's attention - he was looking hot last night! Nice suit, dude. He kind of had a little George Clooney thing going on. Well, I thought he did. Oh, and he picked the perfect song and was awesome.

Now, I think Chris is very good at what he does, but man!! That was the most serious pimpage of a singer that I have ever seen on that show. Even Kevin would have come off brilliantly with all that smoke and mirrors crap. And Simon, you are wrong - Chris did not come up with something original and make that song his own. He did a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover.

Well, so much for a quick post! Tonight someone gets booted and I want it to be Kevin.

The Love That Dares Not Speak Its Name.

Trek Passions.

If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself.

Words that Tony Soprano lives and may very well die by. What an incredible way to end the season premiere. There were anvils dropping all over the place yet they still took me by surprise.

I am so happy to have this show back.

How Claire almost LOST the baby.

Maternity Leave



Original airdate 03/01/06

This was the episode where Claire finally remembers what happened to her when she went missing all those weeks ago.

OK, so I really enjoyed this episode, but one thing did bug me and I'll get that out of the way first. Unfortunately, that one thing was Claire. She was incredibly shrill and hysterical throughout much of the episode and I wanted to grab her, shake her and tell her to get a freaking grip! Thank you Jesus for the drugged out and blissful Claire we got in her flashbacks because those scenes were a nice counterbalance to her otherwise general state of FREAK OUT.

So, Claire's baby Aaron falls ill in the night, with a fever and a rash. Claire freaks and the first flashback is triggered. Lucky for us, she doesn't flash back to Australia but to scenes from her abduction by Ethan. And we find out a TON of info (well, relatively speaking - just as many questions are raised, too):

• There is another DHARMA hatch with a caduceus symbol (you know, the medical one with the intertwined snakes)
• Ethan was definitely one of the Others and was supposed to have been compiling a 'list' (like Goodwin from the tail section crowd, I suppose) but couldn't finish because he was outed by the flight manifest as not being on the plane. What is this list?
• Claire wasn't dreaming when she said a needle had been injected into her stomach. She was kept in what looked like a hospital room in the Caduceus Hatch, kept on drugs to make her complacent, and Ethan injected something (a vaccine?) into her pregnant belly on a regular basis.
• The Others' plan was to literally take the baby from Claire by cutting it out of her. Why? Why do they want the baby? What were they injecting him with and why? Why why why?
• Rousseau's daughter Alex is alive and living among the Others and it was she who helped Claire escape.
• Rousseau is definitely not an Other and did not attack Claire - in her drugged-out state Claire had clawed at Rousseau's arm while she tried to help her get away. Rousseau ultimately had to bonk Claire over the head and carry her back to camp. Which is as I figured.
• In one of the more gratifying moments for me, Kate finds a false beard, theatrical glue and tattered rags hanging in a locker in the Caduceus Hatch (they hang them up?), which means the whole Hillbilly Zeke thing was indeed an act and not just some really hokey writing. Why they feel the need to disguise themselves as mountain people, however, I do not know.
• We got a good look at Zeke without his hillbilly outfit. When he was talking to Ethan, he mentioned a "him", who it would appear is above Zeke in the Others Pecking Order. Who is this 'him'? Alvar Hanso?

When it comes to this show, getting all that information was like hitting the jackpot.

Although she was on my very last nerve through most of the show, Claire got back in my good graces at the end in the sweet scene with the baby. He is a cutie.

So, Eko is still cutting down trees. For a church, perhaps? He figures out that Jack and Locke have been storing an Other in the vault and asks to speak with him alone. I can only imagine the praying deal-making with God that went on in Henry Gale's head when he saw Eko walk in and shut the door behind him. It turns out, though, that Eko had come to redeem himself by confessing to Henry that he had killed two Others with his bare hands and asking Henry for his forgiveness. He then cuts the two little braids he has hanging off of his beard. This, from what I gather from around the Internets, has something to do with Ezekiel 5:1 - the growing of the beard as an expression of great sorrow and mourning and the cutting of the beard releasing him from the burden of their deaths.

Finally, on the subject of Henry Gale's apparently easy manipulation of Locke at the end. Some have found it implausible and out-of-character that the cool and perceptive Locke we've seen on the island would fall for such an obvious ploy on Henry's part to pit Jack and Locke against each other. But you know what? I think that Locke is very susceptible to that kind of psychological manipulation. He was manipulated right out of a kidney, he was manipulated right out of the guns and he currently spends his days pressing a button every 108 minutes for no reason except that someone said he had to. The man is play-doh.

Oh, and hey Sawyer?



Uncle Junior wants his glasses back!

Idol Results Show: The Sky Is Falling!

Original airdate 03/09/06

Last Thursday's American Idol results show gave us our Final 12, and for the most part, I think they got it right.

Before I go any further, however, let's talk about Bo. He performed his new single on this show and I have say...meh. He just looks and sounds like he would rather be doing something else. And he's too skinny.

So, as I was saying, we got our Final 12 and for the most part they got it right.

Except, that is, for the elimination of Gedeon over Mr. Chicken Little. Yes, Gedeon is an odd little person who doesn't seem to have ever left the comfort of his grandmother's living room in all of his 17 years, but that boy can wail and America should be ashamed that he's going home while Kevin thtays. It's not CL's fault that he's still there, and we'll only have ourselves to blame when the carnage begins tonight. It is not going to be pretty.

The other guy to leave was Will, and that was fine by me. Bye-bye Will.

As for the girls, it was no surprise to see Kinnik with the lowest votes. But I gasped when Melissa made it through to the Final 12 after the lashing she took from Simon last week. She must have gotten the backlash vote. Alas, poor Ayla had to go home. I never really warmed up to her but when she started to cry, I nearly did. She'll do just fine in whatever she pursues, though.

So, we have our final twelve, in no particular order (let's see if I can remember them without looking them up):

Guys:

Ace
Chris
Elliot
Taylor
Kevin
Bucky

Girls:

Mandisa
Paris
Lisa
Katharine
Melissa
Kellie

Tonight is going to be U-G-L-Y, people. The featured artist is Stevie Wonder. I've said it before and I'll say it again - no one but Stevie Wonder should sing a Stevie Wonder song. I don't know if I can watch 90 minutes of that.

St. Paddy's Sunday.

Sheila and I are having our second annual Traditional Irish Breakfast this morning. A few of our friends and family are coming over at 10:00 for some eggs, rashers, bangers, white pudding, black pudding, potatoes, tea, brown bread...the works. After that some of us will head down to New Haven for the St. Patrick's Day parade and all sorts of shenanigans.

I've got a lot to catch up on here - namely 2 BSG recaps (including the magnificent season finale from Friday) and the latest LOST recap - and I apologize, I really do, for being so behind. I've taken the day off from work tomorrow for recovery purposes, so I'll hopefully be able to put some time in on getting myself back in shape here.

In the meantime, I invite you to browse through my Ireland photos at Flickr. Laughing allowed.

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone. Slainte!

The Sopranos Return, Sunday at 9:00 on HBO.

Idol Top 8 Men: Thtarry, thtarry night...

Oh my goodness, what a weird show that was! Randy dreaming of Simon, Will speaking Japanese, Gedeon making thee world..go..round..with..mus-ic, an awesome spazz attack, a surprise twin and the Easter Bunny.

Not a stylist to be seen, however.

It scares me to say this, but Gedeon is growing on me. He's sort of fascinating in a "not from this earth" sort of way. And I just learned his backstory and it has endeared him to me. I have to remind myself that he is just 17 years old, a boy really. He's not my favorite, but he doesn't freak me out like he used to.

Chris was as good as ever, but I agree with Simon - the song choice was self-indulgent and boring. Like Lisa, he seems to be singing the same song every week.

I can't believe Elliot has 90% hearing loss in one ear! Again, I agreed with Simon - that song was a copout and Elliot looked very uncomfortable singing it. It wasn't bad, just not his best.

Bucky has a twin named Rocky. They're making this shit up, right? He did as well as he has all along - well enough to get him through to another week, I think. Or not. He's the wild card.

Will sang "How Sweet It is" and it really wasn't sweet at all.

Kevin does the whole Hummel Caroler thing and sings Don McLean's "Vincent" and Paula is so clueless that she tells Kevin he makes her smile, even though he's singing about suicide.

I don't know "Butterflies" from a hole in the wall so I don't know if he sang it well or not, but I'm not a fan of falsetto so that's one strike against Ace's performance last night. However, and here I go agreeing with Simon again, I do think he pulled it off. Surprisingly, he hasn't turned me off yet with all the love-making he does with the camera. He still seems so nervous when he performs, like he doesn't really understand that he's there for the long haul, and I like that. And he's pretty.

Finally, Taylor tore the place up with "Takin' It To The Streets", a really great performance. I was laughing right out loud at the moves though. Man, that was crazy! I had begun to wonder if some of his tics were affectations (and I know alot of people think they are), but after last night I really think he loses himself when he sings. Did you catch the expression on his face right after he finished, before the smile? So intense it was almost scary. My favorite performance of the night, both vocally and for entertainment value.

Tonight is the results show where we'll get our Final 12. And I think we'll say bye-bye to Kevin and Will.

"Let your heart drift, and your soul will get caught."

[SPOILERS]

Downloaded

Original airdate 02/24/06

With the exception of one scene at the end, this was a shining example of the excellence of this show.

We flashback to 9 months ago, the day of the Cylon attack. It probably doens't mean anything, but I thought it interesting that in an episode dealing with birth and re-birth we have a flashback time frame equal to the human gestation period. Nine months ago, Six died in the attack she helped to orchestrate and in Downloaded we get to see what transpired from her point of view since the attack, as she is resurrected on Cylon-occupied Caprica.

Cylon resurrection is not a pleasant experience. All memories, including their last moments alive and the pain they suffered when they died, are retained when they are re-born. While the ability to resurrect certainly gives the Cylons the advantage over human beings, it doesn't appear to be all that desirable an experience. The trauma of resurrection gives them incentive to fight to stay alive. That and the threat of being "boxed". Boxed is what happens to a Cylon model's memory and life experience if and when they are deemed to have been corrupted by their experiences. In other words, if they start acting like Galactica Boomer, who has been resurrected on Caprica as well (after being Jacky Ruby'd by Cally), and to a certain extent Six, who is having just as much trouble adjusting but who is just better at hiding it.

And what is causing all of this trouble? Why it's love, of course - Six's love for Baltar and Boomer's love for her Galactica crew and the Chief. I wonder where these 12 humanoid Cylon models come from? Who are they based on? Why would the Cylons create models with a propensity for so much humanity?

Lucy Lawless is fierce as D'Anna Biers, a take-no-prisoners model 3 with strong leadership skills. It was so good to see her back. My girl crush on her is still going strong. and Tricia Helfer is just amazing as Six. What a nice surprise it was to see that she has an imaginary Baltar - just like Baltar has an imaginary Six - who acts as Six's conscience (moral compass), but also as her subconscious mind, guiding her in her interactions with the other Cylon models. I love the contrast between the super-smooth imaginary Baltar (idealized by Six's love for him, I think) and the perpetually befuddled-anxiety-ridden-crazy-talking-to-himself mess that is the real Baltar.

Oh! And back on Galactica, Sharon and Helo's baby Hera is born prematurely, and Helo and Sharon are very happy and in love, until Roslin makes another hard choice (not the airlock, no) - Helo and Sharon are led to believe that Hera died - and Sharon is PISSED - but in reality have given the child to an anonymous woman in the fleet to raise. Something tells me that won't end well.

At the end (which was written in the hokiest way) we have D'Anna dead but on her way to resurrection in about 36 hours, so Caprica Six and Caprica Boomer decide to make the best of that time and find "...a new beginning. A new way to live in God's love. Without hate. Without all the lies."

And just how will they manage that one?

Pug Nose.

Just thinkin'.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Sharp-Dressed Man.

Fancy Duds.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Tommy in his fancy post-Christening bash duds.

Idol's Top 8 Women: The Attack of the Stylists

When it was over I told Sheila that I didn't think any of them really tanked, and after sleeping on it, I still feel that way. It's a shame that they've set up this false boy/girl mandate thing requiring that they have 6 of each for the final 12 because I think that whatever 2 girls that are sent home tomorrow night are better than at least 2 of the guys (hello, Chicken Little and Peter Brady) who will probably make it through tonight.

I see the stylists have been working overtime this week and for the most part I liked what they did. Paris' hair was lovely, Lisa looked less like Irene Cara and much prettier with her hair straightened, Katharine ditched the maternity tops (and showed she has a great real woman's body to go along with her beautiful face) and Mandisa struck the perfect balance with her jeans and top (not an easy job for a woman of Mandisa's proportions). Unfortunately, Kinnick and Ayla are still under the delusion that the Artful Dodger is a fashion icon. And if there was one thing that Ayla did not need it was to pile her hair up on top of her head, making her at least 8'9". The only real hair and makeup disaster was Melissa. She looked like she rolled out of bed after a night of too many shooters and too little will power and stopped in at church for some absolution and Lenten ashes on the way to the show, barely making it in time.

Anyway, now that the important stuff is out of the way, how did they sing?

Paris keeps slipping. Not because she's not talented, but because she keeps making weird choices. Last night it was one of my least favorite songs from one of my least favorite performers - 'Conga' by Gloria Estefan - and even though she did it well and had plenty of energy...eh.

Is it just me, or has Lisa been singing the same song for the last 3 weeks? Boring. However, I'm not sure if it was the new hairdo or the guitar playing, but I'm starting to see a nice little human being under all that excellence.

Melissa did not deserve the treatment she got from Simon last night. I thought she did a great job on that song despite the sabotage attempt by her stylist. She deserves another week, at least.

Oh Kinnik, it was nice to know you. You seem very nice and I hope you are very successful at whatever it is you end up doing. I just hope it isn't servin' up chitlins in the corner diner.

Katharine was making a statement last night, I think, and that was "You're not in this competition, Mom. I am." Freedom, indeed. She's almost too 'white' to sing that song, but if you closed your eyes she was incredible. Talented and a goofball, she's still my favorite.

You could see by the look on her fave that Ayla is not used to failure. The song was hard to sing, though, and she did a pretty good job. Now she needs to ditch the knickers, stop squatting and act her age.

Mandisa. Perfect song. She's got some crazy power behing her voice that she needs to get under some control, but wow.

I'm not sure how I feel about Kellie. I do think she's genuinely that naive (I'm a mink!) - or stupid, take you're pick - and nice, but the judges' pimpage of her is so blatant. She's only a fair singer and the girl has no rhythm whatsoever. Do they think they have the next Jessica Simpson?

The bottom three: Melissa, Kinnik and Ayla. (Paris might be a shocker, though)

Tonight: The boys.

ETA: I LOVED the "buckin' chicken" commercial.

Fugalicious.

Oscar Party Fug:

"SHARON STONE: That's what I SAID. Lemme tell you ANOTHER THING, LESLIE. What you NEED to DO is land a role where you show the world YOUR COOTER. But you show it in a REAL CLASSY WHITE OUTFIT. REAL classy. So there's like a....DISPARITY betweeen the COOTER and your OUTFIT. WHAT'S WRONG?

LINDSAY LOHAN: You're...just saying the word 'cooter' really loud.

SHARON STONE: SORRY. Okay, SO THEN you spend the next five years dressing REALLY GOOD. Like, CLASSY and GLAMOUROUS. People are like, 'sure, we all saw her cooter, but MAN, can she WORK A TURTLENECK.' HEY, is that the guy with the CHICKEN SATAY?"

Marty doesn't know he's a dog.

Sitting on my lap.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Here he sits on my lap and watches out the window for people and cars to bark at.

(as a discarded Bugs Bunny clings to life)

Thomas Liam

Thomas Liam
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Christening, March 5, 2006.

Hoo Boy.

Cleaning, Drinking (too much) and Christening.

Not the most glamorous weekend, but certainly busy (and fun). My niece Hannah was the only person to use my computer this weekend. So I have a lot of catching up to do, including 2 BSG recaps and one LOST recap, which I'll set myself to doing when I get home tonight. I also took a load of photos this weekend that I'll be uploading and sharing soon.

So I hear the Academy Awards were on last night? I'm a bit of a contradiction, in that I love movies (and I mean love), but can't really stomach the Oscars. There are many reasons for that, the biggest probably being my distaste for the self-congratulatory nature of the thing (and all award shows). I also find them pretty irrelevant. I stay away and catch up on the results and the photos the next day, though. Which brings me to this:

"A pregnant Jennifer Garner clowns for photographers backstage in front of Oscar winner Ethan Van der Ryn at the 78th Academy Awards Sunday, March 5, 2006, in Los Angeles. "

That's a mistake, right?

And then, there's this. That's the result of some hard livin' right there. Damn.

(Link fixed!)

Idol: Blood Alcohol Results Show

“What did you tell me Simon? What did you tell me? Simon gave me advice and said on “The X Factor” he always refers to a fortune cookie and says the moth who finds the melon - finds the corn flake always finds the melon and one of you didn’t pick the right fortune.”

Paula, everyone's favorite substance abuser, was in rare form last night. The woman was LOOPED! And you know what? On any other night I would have been more fascinated than repulsed - it was really sort of rude for her to be so shitfaced and laughing at the kids whose lifelong dream of being a star has just been vaporized in front of millions of people.

I was very happy with the eliminations last night (3 for 4!) - Heather, Brenna and Kinnick were all in the bottom three for the girls, and Paula explained that Heather and Kinnick were there because one of them ate salad and the other ate pizza. Makes as much sense as any other thing that comes out of that woman's mouth. Ultimately it was Brenna and Heather who got the boot. Brenna was true to form right to the very end, showing absolutely no class whatsoever and whoring herself out to anyone who will take her (Clive! Call Nigel! Let's make some money! *spank*!) But she's GONE. I woke up this morning to life without Brenna. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I'll be alright.

Heather never impressed me until she did her sing-out last night and was very gracious to her fellow contestants. That was nice. You'll be a very nice goat-owning accountant with bodacious tatas.

For the guys, the bottom 3 were Jellyfish Radford, Sway and Kevin, with Chicken Little Kevin surviving for another week. Goodbye, Jellyfish and Sway. I'm afraid I really won't miss you.

Next week - 8 girls, 8 guys and 4 more eliminations!

"It's what I do."

One of Them.

Original airdate 02/15/2006



This is the one where we find out in flashback how Sayid became a torturer. Turns out it was the Americans, Clancy Brown in particular, who put the bamboo and pliers into Sayid's hands. Aside from the happy coincidence that Kate's father was the Army officer who took him prisoner, that was the flashback.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Rousseau has bagged an Other for Sayid to play with. But Sayid isn't so sure he's an Other (or "one of them"), so he brings him back to the hatch so he can torture the answer out of him. Hats off to those of you who knew that Henry Gale was the wizard's name in The Wizard of Oz. I'm not a big enoug fan of Oz to have remembered that. So it's obvious to some of us right away that this guy is an Other - Henry Gale crashed in a balloon... - but the rest of us figure that out soon enough by the serial killer smirk Henry gives Sayid at the end of the episode. That dude is so One of Them.

There was an interesting theory tossed about after this episode aired that Danielle had managed to place an Other down in the hatch. That she is not what she seems. I like that. Rousseau also sped up their entrance into the hatch by creating a sense of urgency when she told them that the Others were coming and then she led them to the dynamite in the Black Rock, which allowed them to get inside the hatch. Is she simply a deus ex machina, whose only purpose is to show up occasionally and conveniently provide information to our morbidly UNcurious lostaways, or does she actually have an agenda? Good question! (of course, we got some answers last night, but it was fun to think about at the time)

I wonder if Sayid suspects that Charlie was Sawyer's accomplice and could give him access to the guns? Sayid has been laying a bit low lately and he could have seen stuff that the other lostaways didn't notice.

I'm not sure what I think about the Frog Hunting Expedition. I totally get the need to hunt down and eliminate the noise that's keeping you awake, but dude, there surely are plenty of tree frogs in that jungle. And I liked that the writers had Sawyer squish the frog instead of getting all warm and fuzzy about it, but man, that was harsh. I did laugh out loud when Hurley took that header going for the frog. Because it's funny when people fall down.

The scene with the counter alarm going off and Jack holding Locke and Sayid torturing Henry - I was on the edge of my seat. But I was also sort of let down when Locke managed to get the last numbers entered and the clock reset. I want to know what happens! Or maybe something did happen? These are the symbols the appeared right before Locke got the code entered:



The prevailing theory around the Internets is that they are Egyptians hieroglyphs that spell out something along the lines of "to cause death". That would be a pretty bad thing to have happen when the timer ran out, I agree.

There's not much else that I can remember about the episode (that's what I get for waiting so long to post). Was there anything you wanted to comment on?

Winter.

Winter.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

It's almost over. And I'd almost believe that if it wasn't snowing like mad outside right now.

Idol: Top Ten Men

OK! Another performance show under our belts. I really wonder why I watch this show - these things are excruciating!

Kevin, honey, this is not the Special Olympics. Everyone is not a winner and thank you Simon for at least trying to inject a little reality into the proceedings. It'll be easier on Chicken Little when he's sent home if he understands that he really does not have what it takes. [Aside: doesn't he look like one of those little Hummel Christmas Carolers, with the rosy cheeks and rosebud mouth?]

Gedeon - much improved over last week, but he is indeed an odd little person.

Jellyfish Radford - I think someone may have finally realized that he is not supposed to be there.

Will - what is with these weird kids?

Elliot - fantastic singer with a good mom story. If he picks a good song next week, there may be no catching up to him.

Taylor - I don't know about him - he sang 'Easy' well, but I'm still not seeing from him what I know is there. Psst, Taylor: 'Ain't no sunshine when she's gone..'

Sway - All contestants should be banned from singing Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire. This dude sang both 2 weeks in a row. Bad idea.

Bucky - Bucky? Oh, yeah, Bucky.

Ace - this kid must be incredibly uninteresting if the best they could come up with for a personal interest story is the ski cap he keeps in his back pocket. He's pretty, but there's not much going on upstairs, I don't think. And his performance wasn't all that great. [Brenna's claws came out when it came time to catch that hat, didn't they?]

Chris - very well done, but I'm nervous about how he'll fare on something like Barry Manilow night. Can you scream 'Mandy'? Then again, 70s Dance Music night gave Bo 'Vehicle', the performance that made him a star.

Things got a little weird for a minute there when Ryan started untucking Will's shirt, huh? If you want to remain in the closet, Ryan, you need to stop undressing the cute boys onstage.

Tonight, 4 go home. My wish: Brenna, Heather, Will and David. A girl can dream.

Idol: Top Ten Women.

Wow, that was pretty darn boring. In no particular order:

Katharine has me worried now. A little. I still think she's the best singer, but wow, what a crappy song choice! And speaking of crappy choices, Katharine, maternity tops are not a good idea if you are not pregnant.

Melissa - I liked the new hairdo and the song choice suited her.

Heather - Who?

Lisa is becoming more human-like to me, but just barely. The band was drowning her out, I thought.

Paris can bring the house down even with that piece of dreck, but these girls really need to start seriously thinking about their song choices. Zzzzzz.

Kellie actually picked a very good song for her and did much better than last week. I do find it hard to believe that the girl's never heard of calamari or spinach salad, but whatever. Just don't dance anymore, OK?

Kinnik did what the judges told her to do and they proceeded to do what they always do - contradict themselves. You need to be younger, Kinnik, you need to watch and learn from the teenagers in the competition...Kinnik steps out of her normal comfort zone and rocks a Gretchen Wilson song and the judges slap her on the wrist and put her right back in her box. WTF?

Ayla - Sheila nailed her personality right before Simon did - this girl will succeed at everything she tries, out of pure ambition and perfectionism. She's not my favorite, but she seems to be the only one really working at this.

Mandisa kicked some serious ass again. Jesus she can sing.

Finally, my girl Brenna absolutely BLEW. It is time to GO. AWAY.

Tonight: Top Ten Men, 8-9:30. There's a new episode of LOST on at 9:00 tonight, though, so I'll be taping the last half hour of Idol.

ETA: Bye-bye gauchos, hello knickers. From the frying pan right into the g*damn fire.

I remember summer.

I remember summer.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

I downloaded Google's free photo organizer/editor Picasa today, and I think I love it.