UConn James

Cancer 0 Campy 1 I kept you in my thoughts/prayers when you were blogging about going thru the Rituxin. Awesome!

And also, now that we know all 6 official survivors... it sheds absolutely no light on who was in the casket during Jack's flash forward.

You can strike out that "I think," tgreg. Just to throw this out there... all the stories about women popping out babies they didn't know they were carrying. Or Kate could just say that she was preggers when she was on the run and therefore, on her own, so how could anyone know? No one's really left that can adamantly say or prove she was not pregnant, and the word of the other Oceanic 6 'confirmed' that Aaron was hers so I think it's moot.

The Bush Administration has all along operated under the premise that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission. B/c it is. <shrug>

I kind of caught me by surprise as well... tho I furrowed my brow and did an audible 'Hmm!' with the seeming return to Angry Jin (i.e. "I'll rip your head off!") after he had made so much progress toward being a better man on the island. Had an inkling that something was askew. You make assumptions and look where they lead. I tells ya, those LOST peoples are crafty. Before or after Kate's trial, she couldn't have visited... if the ep took place in Korea (vouchsafe, this most likely), but we don't really know for sure where it was. I'm liking the Frank character. He doesn't seem to be as gung-ho as the others in the Dharma?/Widmore group. He's there to do a job, is sympathetic with the Lostaways and has that connection with the 815 pilot and the plane (which he was supposed to have been flying), which they'll likely delve into deeper. As I heard, the 815 pilot will be making a reappearance via a flashback (didn't mark this as a spoiler b/c with the Frank flashback I think everyone including my dog knew it was coming). I, too, don't really get the vibe that Jin is dead (or rather, since they're out of communication, that Jin wasn't dead at the time they left the island). Just as Jack perjured himself, it's a charade the O6 have to go through as part of an agreement. Likewise, she was calling out for him during the birth (and I get that childbirth is not the pinnacle of lucidity, but to me it was a moment that Sun slipped from the contract). Seems natural that Jin's 'gravesite' is also a place they can go to connect with him. It's also a tool for the director to instantly show that they're thinking of Jin --- imagine if the scene were in her home or somewhere else. It'd make no sense, visually. The scene was about her going to Jin to show the baby and at the time, the false grave is all they have. Hurley (notice the suit BTW! Dark isn't his color scheme tho) and Sun didn't seem to be so grieved... just sad that Jin isn't there. Hurley is much more tuned to the personal relationships of the Lostaways; seems like he internalizes the guilt (and I think this is something the creators specifically hired JG for, as a physical representation of the character's psychological tendency) so much that it leads him to the mental hospital and telling Jack that they have to go back to the island.

The 1979 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists, "An unidentified middle-aged Latvian man was unconscious but stable after a blood test showed 7.22 parts per million (0.7%) of alcohol, police spokeswoman Ieva Zvidre said. 'An average person would vomit at around 1.2, lose consciousness at 3.0 and stop breathing at a level of about 4.0 parts per million.'" They've since omitted alcohol-related entries (1991) to avoid possible litigation. But I seem to remember several years ago where a guy from Russia blew higher and was still conscious.

But their anthem is, "God Save the Queen." Shame, tenny. Shame!

In some states you might be arrested for bestiality, and if you use a rubber seal, bukakke performers can eat your scat 50 years from now (under optimal preservation conditions).

That said, Jack Nickelson hangs out with Regis Philbin, who is a known multiple-kisser of Tony Danza.

It all goes toward furthering Franklin's precience with your first sig line; only, in place of 'people' insert 'politicians.'

The thing with the visions of Locke and Des is, who/what is sending them; and for what purpose? To make the vision happen, or to thwart the harm in it? Locke has gone on and on about 'the island' being behind it, but it's bunk. He doesn't know, he's guessing. The flashback conversation re: Issac and God's sacrifice test... Des said something like why was the sacrifice really needed anyway, and the head monk said You need to think more about the meaning of sacrifice. Jack is probably just a little snakebitten, trying to figure some things out (including who to trust), trying to hold onto his leadership role (he had to verbally stick up for Juliet, several times) and add in that a woman he had a romantic interest in is going in another guy's tent. Kudos that Jack seems to have gotten over his obsession problem, as he was playing ping-pong and getting caught up on matters of state since his departure. Good point about Hurley. Notice last week (from the repeat) that his conversation with Juliet "Charlie got angry. We buried Ethan over there" was the cool-dude's version of a threat... Subtle note that 'People who hurt one of us get a dirt nap.' It's kind of re-assuming his bumbling sheriff's deputy status (i.e. how he took the census after Claire was attacked), after he came back from that dock and told no one --- until he was grilled about it --- that Jack, Kate and Sawyer were captive. BTW, the Flash would --- and did --- so beat Superman in a footrace. Gotta laugh at Jin's flashlight face too.

Lean in and say in a calm voice, "It is a common courtesy to remove your hat during the Anthem." If they remove it, all right; if they don't, that's all right too and at least you said something. Sometimes people just forget they're wearing a hat. As for being old school --- I actually found a passage in my town's late-1700s records where the men voted on a measure to be allowed to wear hats indoors during the cold weather.

In the 'Up-is-down, black-is-white' school of thought, you forgot: 5. Since Marv had a cup of coffee at the table, we will shortly be signing a long-term deal to revive Pepsi Clear at consession stands.

After Columbine, the police only released the videos, writings, etc. of the killers ~ a year later and only b/c they were forced to by FOIA. There is such a thing as respecting the families. Giving airtime to this, especially so soon, is sick. It is policy for most orgs not to air so-called martyrdom tapes; that is what it was, same look, same feel, same tone of blaming others for problems w/in himself. 'Journalism ethics' classes only taught the creeps how to justify actually airing this crap and giving him what he wanted. Same thing here, minus a needed debate of the allowing of non-citizens to purchase firearms.

Bull sh--. Our former state police commissioner said he'd rather his police crack down on weavers, tailgaters and ---since they passed the law --- cell phone drivers (read: erratic, no-look) b/c they cause so many more accidents than marginal speeding it's not even funny (77, tho, is pushing it). In three years on a city force, my brother said that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the car accidents he's covered (and it's lots, considering they give those to the newbies) had cell phones involved with one or both drivers. Let's see the cameras for what they are. A civic cash generator. Let's see what happens to the NJ gov's police chauffer. He was driving 91 mph, which led to the accident, to get the guv to the Imus-RutgersWBB meeting (really important, that! ).

You know, whenever I hear the line of reasoning of 'We're going to flout common perception and instead of getting a fulltime starter at Position X, we're looking for a player who'd more blah blah blah. We think we have someone on the roster who plays third-string at Position Y who can do it; he'll learn the job in two weeks of camp.... while he's also learning his other position' I get this shiver up my spine. You just hope this doesn't come back to bite you in the 6. And, might I add, people speculate about where FBs will go in the draft, they speculate where RBs go in the draft. They are usually wrong, and especially recently FBs aren't selected until the 5th round despite some teams blowing smoke. FB/RB tweeners like Leonard have an even tougher row to hoe, being certainly neither one nor the other.

I've actually met the writer. He said he used to work at a dairy farm for $ for college back in his time. Co-started a statewide arts mag several years ago that gained its footing. And yes, the HA does keel to the left. That said, I don't doubt the veracity that all of the questions are pre-selected. The WH communications staff knows what they have in this president. Sh--, this is a man who, with text in front of him, regularly goes "...............uhh .............. .............. ........................ .......................... <disembodied giggle, perhaps at a poop joke he just remembered>............................. ........................ uhhh .... ............................ ..... uhhhh......" and uttered that he hoped that man and fish could live together peacefully. The reason I mention the farm work is that it closely resembles the model of the news cycle in this country. Pols/PR/etc. dump their swill into the media trough, it is consumed entirely w/o discretion, digested through several stomachs, and we the people are forced to pick through the feces to see if we can find anything like a clue to what is really happening. They are happy to get all the swill they can eat and until the people start asking questions themselves, are perfectly content not say anything to overly displease those who feed them.

Well, it's Desmond's Catch-22 that if he lets happen what is ultimately fated to happen, it means Charlie dies. If that's right about the picture, that is such a trip!

So.... Seems evident that the writers wanted us to reflect back on the Locke-Boone "sacrifice." Instead of thru a dream, it happens close to real-time, in broad daylight; and rather than pyschadelic metaphors like 'Theresa falls up the stairs, theresa falls down the stairs; Desmond receives true-blue visions. And instead of sacrificing Charlie as Locke did Boone, keeps saving him. All that was to change, Desmond thought, but when the moment comes, he can't bring himself to let it happen. Seems like the same kind of frustration is getting to him as punching in the code for 3 years; it's a task that he has to do to save Charlie instead of the world. Seemed like before the cut to commercial Hurley & Charlie had a WTF moment where they knew Desmond planned on letting Charlie die. I think the question going forward is, does Charlie keep 'letting' Desmond interfere. Thing to take from the flashbackS, I guess, is that Desmond is kind of... destined to fail at things. Jilted the girl from tonight; dumped Penny; entered the race and washed up on mystery island; the hatch imploded; he 'fails' by saving Charlie. Also, we know why he calls everyone 'brother.' The heavy accents always give me a little pause with my hearing, and CC always blocks out too much of the picture. Still, I enjoy the Des eps, as he has a great depth of character and sense of humor (the jokes he tells Penny had me ) despite all that happens. Also, who was in the picture on the head monk's desk? It flashed for a split second. Anyone have TiVo? As for the visions and real life, there were the red specks against the dark sky, which evidently were the flashing beacons on the flightsuits, which would mean that one of them is out in the ocean? What was the splash (sounded heavy-ish...) --- the helicopter proper, some sort of supplies, Penny? This was obviously the result of the scene from the S2 finale. What was the book that fell out of the pack --- "Catch 22" in a different language? What was that w/ Kate+Sawyer, that she was crying as she was jumping on him. That's pretty odd. And to continue from last week's discussion, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she does get preggers and becomes the answer to Everything.

For damn near any TeeVee show, it's always the case that people say seasons past were the best and the current season is subpar/crap. For me, S1 was the best; mostly due to the sheer originality of the series and freshness of everything that was going on as it was a new kind of show. That has subsided since then; viewers know things, viewers expect things, viewers want answers. I've always compared it to reading a really great novel one chapter at a time, over the course of several years.... you know, something like Dreiser, of whom critics often write that while his words, sentences and chapters are like ordinary bricks, how he puts them together that makes a beautiful building.

Actually, it was said about McGahee. Just never delivered.

Photographic extrapolation.

Quite reasonable doubts, actually.

Sept. 9 DENVER BRONCOS (Loss) Sept. 16 @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Loss) Sept. 23 @ New England Patriots (Loss) Sept. 30 NEW YORK JETS (Win) Oct. 8 DALLAS COWBOYS (Win) Oct. 21 BALTIMORE RAVENS (Loss) Oct. 28 @ New York Jets (Win) Nov. 4 CINCINNATI BENGALS (Win) Nov. 11 @ Miami Dolphins (Win) Nov. 18 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (Win) Nov. 25 @ Jacksonville Jaguars (Loss) Dec. 2 @ Washington Redskins (Win) Dec. 9 MIAMI DOLPHINS (Win) Dec. 16 @ Cleveland Browns (Win) Dec. 23 NEW YORK GIANTS (Win) Dec. 30 @ Philadelphia Eagles (Loss) 10-6

Lots of good observations in there. Point #3 especially, something I hadn't picked up on with the intentional pairing of Kate & Sawyer, esp. in light of the Kate-centric ep's "You can't help who you love" mashing in with her dilemma of who to choose. In part she wanted to reject who she was; to wit, she killed her real father and hates that she feels something deep for Sawyer --- but then her inability to fit/feel comfortable when she did get married to a good man, and her connection with Jack. In essence, she doesn't want to be po' white trash but she is, and try as she might to change it, she can't escape it. Which kind of ties back into Desmond's ep that if something is meant to be/fated, it will happen eventually. I dig your point #5, something I was thinking myself and didn't have the time or initiative to write down. The Others seem to know so much about the Lostaways, it can't all come from public records, etc. And the stories all merge so much, it can't be coincidence that they're all there. When the plane crashed and Ben said to get a list, it's quite possible that it would be a list of who was where --- the plane crashed in two sections. I do not doubt that the Others do have that connection to do things in the outside world, and Ben's "Hurry back" was curious. Ben is a man of his word; I don't question that. But it doesn't stop him from making promises and then having other people break them i.e. promising to get Jack and Juliet off the island with the sub, then playing his game with Locke to get the sub blown up. Ben's hands are clean from breaking his promise. The writers have put in several homages to The Office. I've only seen a couple eps of the British Ricky-Gervais version, which... isn't my brand of humor. And I don't watch the American version. Duey, the bolded part, I believe, is one of the BIG things of the series. If Kate is preggers, it might fit into Abrams/Lindelof original plan that they wanted Jack to die in the pilot and Kate to be the hero. As of now, she is kind of a co-hero who volunteers to solve so many problems. Kate could be a hero that they first invisioned if her child is the first (questionable) to be both conceived and born on the island. I also wouldn't say Charlie is a "good person" or that Shannon was a "bad person." They are both really in the middle. Tho we don't know what distinctions the Others draw on --- does drug use, attempted theft, etc. make Charlie a bad person? Does the fact that other people (step-mother) being total a--holes that made you into what you were make Shannon bad?