“Glee”ful Decluttering

Some of what I was supposed to be working on.

While the Mister and our younger son were in Rochester, New York, last week for the Amateur World Disc Golf Championships, I had one main goal: Finish decluttering that son’s bedroom.

We finally got rid of the too-tall captain’s twin bed that he and everyone who slept on it hated, opting for a Tempur-Pedic full-size mattress set. My #2 son suffers from insomnia, so we hoped the better bed would help extend his 40 winks (and it has!). But that meant we had to get all the junk out of his room so we could fit in the bigger furniture.

When they left, I only had a few more boxes to look through. I so wanted our little big guy to come home to a more-peaceful sleeping environment.

Where have you been all my life?

Instead, I became a Gleek. Am I late to the party as usual?

The addiction started innocently enough, as it usually does. With Netflix raising its prices, I wanted to see if it would be worthwhile to keep the streaming part of the service (I already knew we liked getting DVDs in the mail). Last Friday afternoon I fired up the Apple TV and looked for something to watch. What should pop up as a possibility? “Glee.”

I had seen one episode on Fox but never got hooked on the series, probably because it airs at the same time as other shows we like to watch. And even though I loved “High School Musical,” I wasn’t sure that I wanted to invest time in a Disney wannabe.

“Glee’s” cast features nice diversity.

I’m sure glad I pushed those apprehensions off to the side. “Glee” rocks! I like how the songs fit so well with each show’s theme. It was easy to get fully invested in the characters. I also enjoyed most of the song covers; the cast is full of great singers. However, there is a little too much of that Auto-Tuning going on. I wonder if that device would make even me sound good! Probably not.

“Glee” made me think back to when I was in high school; timely thoughts considering that my reunion is looming next month. I could relate when Finn said, “We’re all freaks . . . but we’re all freaks together.” As a full-fledged dork way back when, I can truly identify with some of the things the “Glee” kids experience.

My favorite show was the final one when the kids sang “To Sir With Love” to Mr. Shuester, and he reciprocated with one of my all-time favorite songs, “Over the Rainbow.” I had tear stains on my Old Navy shirt!

Netflix is a great way to catch up on a season’s worth of TV shows (in this case, 22 episodes). There are no commercials to disturb the flow. It doesn’t take long to get through a season.

But Netflix does make it easy to just sit on the couch, glued to the big-screen Samsung. I endured a marathon session over two and a half days, finally finishing the first season with enough time to complete the decluttering before my older son and I picked up our weary travelers at the airport yesterday afternoon.

Now to start watching season two!

Jack’s Eye Has Closed

Christian Shepherd’s casket is finally back in the United States.

“Lost,” one of my family’s favorite TV shows, ended last night. Well, we think it ended . . . there may still be a commercial or two left for us to watch!

Kate fulfills her promise to get Claire back to Aaron.

The four of us thoroughly enjoyed the finale, but the commercials (except for the “Lost”-themed Target ones) drove us crazy. Why didn’t ABC find one or two sponsors to underwrite the episode so it could be virtually ad free? It almost ruined the experience for us. The networks shouldn’t treat hour-long-plus shows like they’re the Super Bowl.

Hugo/Hurley finally becomes a hero when he decides to stay on the island.

I’m not going to critique, recap, or review the finale. Others (ha ha!) do a better job, particularly Nikki Stafford and her equally brilliant commenters. But I do have some thoughts about the end of a television show that took our emotions and intellect on a ride for six seasons.

Sawyer leaves the island a changed man.

I loved the story-telling device for the main Oceanic 815 survivors in what’s considered the “sideways” (off-island) world remembering their island lives by touching someone or something meaningful. The connections were so powerful! The best one was between Sawyer and Juliet at the vending machine (darn those stuck Apollo bars!), as it brought full circle their final on-island conversation before Juliet died.

The fake Locke barges into Rose and Bernard’s idyllic island world.

I especially liked how “Lost” brought almost all the survivors back. It was great being reminded that Rose and Bernard still lived blissfully on the island with Vincent. We see Shannon and Boone in the sideways (off-island) world. I do wish that Nadia had been Sayid’s connection instead of shallow Shannon; Nadia was his true love. Charlie, Charlotte, Daniel, Eloise Hawking, Pierre Chang, Sun, Jin, Juliet . . . hail, hail, the gang’s all here!

Eloise Hawking was right: The island wasn’t done with Desmond.

Mr. Electromagnetism, aka Desmond, was the key to most of the connections. Was it because he was special? Or was it just one of the many questions that didn’t get answered.

Richard has a gray hair! He finally can age and move on.

The finale can’t be all things to all viewers. “Lost” was an intellectual show from the get-go. Thinking was required. I’m sure everyone has taken something different from every episode over the last six years. But here’s what I believe is the core of “Lost”:

Lapidus survives the sub explosion and flies the Ajira plane off the island.

Oceanic 815 crashed on an island, and there were survivors. Jack said, “What happened happened.” The island is the survivors’ real world. It represented redemption, because all of them were flawed and needed to be fixed before they could come to terms with their lives.

Juliet and Jack “had” son David in the sideways world.

The “sideways” world that was introduced this season that showed Jack with a son, Sawyer and Miles as detectives, and Kate still running from the law? It’s each character’s own purgatory where they reconcile what’s happened in their lives. It wasn’t a real world. Once all the survivors finally died (either on the island, which was protected by Hurley and Ben during their lifetimes, or back in the U.S.), they gathered in the church, connected once again, and all moved on together.

What’s the message after six years? That no one dies alone. That it’s best to love and be loved, to have friends and be a friend, to resolve your father issues and not let them fester. Connections are important in life, so make them positive ones.

Farewell, Jack!

Thanks for the ride, “Lost.” It’s been a blast!

Outsmarting Others Makes for “Survivor” Losers

Russell, Russell, Russell!

Does any of us really like being outsmarted? Oh, we might admire someone for getting the best of us, but usually it just makes us mad.

Consider this season’s “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” jury mad . . . at Russell Hantz, the villain people either love or hate. Even though it can be argued that for the second straight season he did what “Survivor’s” motto says the game is all about—outwit, outplay, outlast—once again he finished without the title he covets as the sole Survivor.

Even worse, the other two in the final threesome—eventual-winner Sandra Diaz-Twine and runner-up Parvati Shallow—pitched a shutout against Russell. He received no jury votes. Ouch!

The line seemed blurred between heroes and villains.

Russell had a big advantage going into Season 20: None of the other players knew what he was like. “Heroes vs. Villains” was being filmed while “Samoa” was shown on TV. Russell was a wild card. Yet, as Rupert Boneham said, he had to have made quite an impression in Samoa to have been casted as a villain. Oh, yes, Rupert, he did!

An a-mazing final challenge!

Playing back-to-back seasons seemed to take its toll on Russell, though. Near the end he was irritable and not very sharp. This remark when he mocks Rupert (who also wasn’t as likeable as during Pearl Islands) was telling:

Russell: “You’re such a dumbass, Rupert.”

Note to Russell: You’re not going to get Rupert’s vote.

Blindfolded Parvati and Russell try to exit the maze.

Russell should go down as the best strategic player in “Survivor” history. No one has been better at finding hidden immunity idols (although it can be argued that they’re way too easy to find). No one has been better at convincing people he’ll stay aligned with them until the end. Gullibility runs amok when Russell is in the house.

Sandra pleads her case to the jury.

But Russell’s weakness is his ego. Arrogance gets you zero points—and zero votes—with the jury members, who still aren’t happy that you helped kick them out of the game. You might be a great villain, but you’re a loser in the eyes of the jury.

If I had to choose, though, I would take Russell’s superior game play to Sandra’s weak ride-those-coattails strategy any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Even though she played a better game than in Pearl Islands, especially engineering the ouster of Coach, she’s a no-show in challenges. Here’s her strategy: “As long as no one’s voting for me, I’m good.” Personally, I’m not a fan of passive game play.

So that means that Parvati should’ve been crowned the sole Survivor. She won the most challenges, always had a target on her back as a huge threat, and played a good social game. It’s too bad that certain jury members saw her alliance with Russell as a negative; they should’ve been able to separate the two.

Poor Russell and Parvati!

Jury members tend to hold grudges. Especially against players like Russell and Parvati who outsmarted them.

Maybe “Survivor” needs a new logo: Outwit, outplay, outlast . . . and outsmart!

There Oughta Be a Law!

Faux Locke might be amused, but I am NOT!

Tuesday was election day. Now I’m all for voting and democracy. It’s all fine and dandy.

Sayid seems skeptical . . . about the election?

Except when it ruins one of my favorite TV shows! All that red, white, and blue among the jungle scenery of “Lost” is so wrong. Almost takes the scariness out of not-really-John Locke! It’s just as bad as those endless robot phone calls that we get from candidates.

“My fantastic acting performance is ruined by those results, Flocke,”

What difference does it make for us to know local election results with only five percent of the vote tallied? Or even 100 percent? Can’t everyone just wait for the 10 p.m. news to find out who wins? Why distract us with this nonsense?

“I don’t want to share my screen time with you results! Be gone!!”

Part of our Texas election process was voting for several propositions that eventually could cause changes to the state constitution. Here’s one proposition that should be on the next ballot: There should be no disruptions of “Lost” or “Survivor” or any TV shows I want to watch. Ever! Election-result scrawls would be deemed illegal.

Fortunately, “Lost” wasn’t interrupted by the election. If that had happened?

Don’t mess with this former Iraqi torturer!

The penalty would be unleashing the deadly smoke monster on our local ABC affiliate!

Whew, I’m glad that the election is over!

Random Winter Olympics Snippets

German Magdalena Neuner wins the 10K individual biathlon pursuit (as shown on my little TV).

Sometimes it seems like I can’t get enough of the Winter Olympics. I really enjoy watching the Games on our family room’s big HDTV. But when I need to get things done in my office (mostly Photoshopping), I turn to the next best thing: My little Haier portable TV. I got a great deal on the 7-inch digital wonder via Amazon.com at the end of last year and knew it would be a mainstay in my office (it does sport a rechargeable battery).

At first I tried the TV as is with its regular antenna, but I couldn’t get Fox or ABC. So I sprung for an external one, and that’s pulled in lots of other noncable channels as well as those two. I’m glad I have my little TV right by my side!

Oh, and I actually use its remote, even though the TV is an arm’s distance away. How very “guy” of me!

Love these Olympic mittens!

Here are some random Olympics thoughts so far:

• I love the official Olympic mittens, especially the maple leaf!

• I loved that Wayne Gretzky, aka the Great One, was the final torch bearer. Very appropriate. It was a shame that part of the indoor cauldron was on the fritz, though.

• I love that former Olympic athletes and coaches commentate on their sports. Not only do I appreciate their expertise, but I love their enthusiasm. They truly can empathize with what the athletes are going through. We’re partial to Scott Hamilton, who reports on figure skating. He also was a favorite when he won the Olympic gold medal in 1984.

• I love the P&G commercials, especially the one where the little kids are Olympians. That tagline, “P&G—proud sponsor of moms,” gets me every time!

Alexander Bilodeau won the first gold medal for Canada.

• I loved that when Alexander Bilodeau was awarded Canada’s first gold medal (and the first they’ve won as a host country), the Canadians at the venue sang “O Canada!” with such fervor and pride.

• What I especially love about the Olympics is that these athletes compete for the love of the sport. Any of them can be a star, gaining fame that will last them at least until the next Olympics.

But as much as I love the Olympics, when I had to choose between watching the Winter Games and “Lost” last night . . . .

Ben Linus (played by Michael Emerson)

There was no competition! What a great Locke/Faux Locke-centric episode!

“Lost” No-Spoiler Zone

Jacob, the spiritual center of the mysterious island—he has beautiful, blue, mesmerizing eyes

This has been an amazing week for our family so far: The #1 son’s birthday was yesterday, and the final season of “Lost” started Tuesday.

The #2 son watches intently.

Watching “Lost” is a wonderful family tradition for us. We really enjoy discussing what’s going on during the commercials (thank goodness there are so many of them, she says sarcastically) and anticipating what to expect next week.

Jack

Last year in this very blog I analyzed every “Lost” episode. It helped me to get my head around what was going on, since all Losties know how complicated the series is. By the way, all that confusion that fills our days contemplating the “Lost” conundrum? We have none other than the show’s creators and writers, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, to thank for that.

Kate

“We’ve always felt that one of the compelling elements of ‘Lost’ is the intentional ambiguity,” Cuse says. “The fact is it’s open for interpretation and discussion, and we feel like we would be doing a disservice to the fans and viewers to say, ‘No, you must only look at this in one way.'”

Sawyer

Or it could be that they don’t have a clue about what’s going on either!

Hurley

Now the new season has begun, and I’ve decided not to do any “Lost” analyses until the season finally ends. Why? Mainly because of my friend Karen K. She’s a London transplant right now, and she told me that “Lost” is a week behind in the UK. She would appreciate it if I didn’t spoil “Lost” for her in my blog; otherwise, she won’t be able to read it.

Bogus Locke

Fair enough! I’ve decided to be content with taking photos of my TV with my trusty Nikon D700 and 50mm lens and posting pics that won’t give away any of the plot. Happy, Karen?

I will say that based on parts one and two that aired Tuesday, this season is going to be another edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride every single week. I loved the new storytelling device and can’t wait to see what happens next.

If you’d like to read great, insightful “Lost” analysis, check out Nikki Stafford’s Nik at Nite (even the comments are eye-openers), Doc Jensen (“Entertainment Weekly”), and Doc Arzt’s “Lost” blog. All three will help you connect the dots and discover nuances and hidden meanings that will enhance your viewing enjoyment.

Oh, and Karen, spoiler alert! Please close the page. I have to note that whiny, obnoxious Neil (aka Frogurt) had a small role in the season opener. I knew it was him the minute I saw him despite the sleep mask that he was wearing. It was fun watching him be whiny and obnoxious yet again.

“Lost” seems to be coming full circle. Let’s hope that really will be true after the season finale on May 23.

Who Was the True “Survivor” Winner?

See that “Survivor: Samoa” logo above? It reads “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast,” which has been the “Survivor” franchise motto since the first edition 18 seasons ago.

Someone needed to tell season 19th’s jury that awarding the title of sole Survivor isn’t about having your feelings hurt because you got voted out. This isn’t high school. The winner should be the person who has played the best game outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting the other competitors.

Russell, the evil, little pirate

“Survivor: Samoa’s” winner should have been Russell Hantz, a good, old boy from Dayton, Texas. He found two hidden immunity idols without the benefit of a single clue, and he was busy strategizing from the first second of the game. He was a great player! Instead, it was Natalie White, who Russell tucked under his wing and carried to the finals. Sure, she outlasted almost everyone, but she didn’t outplay or outwit anyone.

Erik, the tribe has spoken!

Well, except for Erik Cardona. She did engineer his blind-side ouster, which turned the game in the outnumbered Foa Foa’s favor. That was huge. Ironically, at the final tribal council last night, Erik championed Natalie’s cause by arguing that her strategy of flying under the radar and playing a good social game was just as valid to crown her champion. He probably convinced a few of his fellow jury members, who were all part of his former Galu tribe except for Jaison Robinson, that Natalie was worthy of winning “Survivor.”

Natalie helps her team win a reward challenge.

Now let me give Natalie (or “Ratalie,” as Erik humorously wrote down in paying homage to her rat-killing prowess) her props. Our family has watched every episode of every season of “Survivor,” and one thing plays out every time: A social game is more important than a strategic game. “Survivor” really is a social experiment under hardship conditions. Players bond in unique ways leading to trust factors that can make or break alliances. Natalie played a better social game than Russell; she was much more likeable than the evil, little pirate (who was both hated and loved by the audience).

That being said, I have a hard time respecting players like Natalie who use competitors like Russell as a shield to win. Her smartest decision was to ally with Russell, a choice that netted her a million bucks. If the jury members had voted with their heads instead of their hearts, Russell would have been a unanimous winner. However, emotion plays a huge part in the jury’s final decision of who they want to give the money to. Not who really deserves to win.

Mick and Russell bookend the winning Natalie.

When the votes were read at last night’s reunion show, Russell was shocked and upset that he lost 7-2 to Natalie. In fact, he was visibly disappointed the entire program. It never had occurred to him that he might lose! He totally underestimated or didn’t understand the importance of Survivor’s social game, especially how the winner needs to be able to sway those s/he voted off. I really don’t think Russell played for the money as much as for the title. He so wanted to be proclaimed the “sole Survivor.”

Fortunately for Russell, the fans vindicated him by voting him Player of the Season in the Sprint competition. That was worth $100K and some assuaging of his hurt feelings. Thanks for making the season so enjoyable, Russell!

Random “Survivor” snippets

• Once again, the third-place finisher (Mick Trimming) received no votes. It’s time to go back to a final two, which is more interesting.

• I really liked how upbeat Shambo (Shannon Waters) was. If you go to cbs.com’s Ponderosa videos (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/video/?pid=MYn2tzMIyUVmHha_t5tLG4FqYtFxhhey&vs=Ponderosa&play=true), you can check out her philosophy. By the way, watching Ponderosa (where jury members stay) videos is a great way to get to know some of the competitors.

• The 20th season, which starts on February 11, is called “Heroes vs. Villains: Return, Revenge, Redemption.” Here’s hoping that Russell comes back, no doubt on the villains side, and proves once and for all that he really is the true sole Survivor! We’ll be watching!

Surviving Another “Survivor” Season

 

Survivor: Tocantins—the final four

Last night’s “Survivor: Tocantins” finale proved that nice guys can finish first! The ultimate nice guy, James “J.T.” Thomas Jr., complete with a disarming Alabama drawl, was only the second unanimous winner (Earl Coles of “Survivor: Fiji” was the first over the infamous Dreamz).

Full disclosure: Watching “Survivor” is one of our favorite family activities. We’ve seen every season of the show together (the first season in reruns on cable), and we’ve always enjoyed guessing who will be voted out, as well as who will win. We’re just weird that way.

This was one of the few times that it was obvious who was going to win. The 24-year-old J.T. played the complete game: He won plenty of immunity challenges, including the final three; he was a hard worker; he was extremely likeable; and he had that awesome southern drawl! Plus he was cute to boot. He went up against Stephen Fishbach, his best friend in the game, in the final. We thought Stephen might get a vote or two, but J.T. turned out to be more popular (he also won the $100,000 Sprint favorite player award). In the game of “Survivor,” just like in high school, popularity counts.

Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George

Even though we really liked both J.T. and Stephen, we hated that they dumped Taj in favor of taking Erinn Lobdell to the final immunity challenge. Taj was part of their Jalapao threesome that turned the game on its ear post-merge. The guys’ reason for opting for Erinn over Taj was totally illogical: They thought Taj might have a better chance to win the immunity challenge. Hardly! Taj hadn’t come close to winning a challenge all season, while Erinn almost beat J.T. in the previous one. We would’ve respected the guys much more if they had stayed loyal to Taj, who was more deserving of the final three than Erinn.

J.T., Erinn, and Stephen take the fallen comrades walk.

That being said, we still have to give props to Erinn, who proved to be the game-changer for the outnumbered Jalapao tribe post-merge. She wisely defected from Timbira where she was sixth and last to Jalapao where she figured she’d at least finish fourth. Ending up third overall was great for her. But it still should’ve been Taj in the final three!

Coach: One of the most-colorful players to ever play "Survivor"

Dumb move time

First rule of the post-merge in “Survivor”: If you have a tribal advantage, vote out the other tribe before you pick off your own players. Timbira, which had a power struggle between Brendan and Coach, didn’t get along enough to remember that they had the upper hand, 6 to 3. For the final two to be both from the outnumbered Jalapao tribe? Unbelievable! At the reunion show, Stephen said Coach unwittingly helped them by providing inside information that he had gotten from Tyson to J.T., enabling them to anticipate Timbira’s moves.

Ah, Benjamin Wade, aka Coach! He was a trip!! Always spouting philosophy about warriors and being held captive by natives. Definitely one of the most-colorful players in “Survivor” history. That being said, our family was so glad when he was finally voted out; he wasn’t one of our faves.

Stephen keeps busy with the final immunity challenge.

Random “Survivor” snippets

• Loved the final two immunity challenges! It’s always tougher on the production team to come up with interesting challenges when they’re in a landlocked area. The penultimate contest looked like a tarantula; it was so cool! The final one was a-maze-ing . . . it was the ball and chute maze pictured above.

• What about that bromance between host Jeff Probst and Eddie George, Taj’s husband? Holy cow, any opportunity to spend time with the former pro football player. It was a veritable lovefest! No offense to Eddie, but I’d rather they had spent more time with the “Survivor” cast.

• Loved, loved, LOVED that J.T. is a mama’s boy! His mom had pestered her cattle-ranching son for three years to apply. He also would quote his mom from time to time while on the show. Pretty cute.

• The show is promised at least two more seasons; in the fall is “Survivor: Samoa.” We still love it and plan to watch it, no matter what. There’s just something about how unpredictable this social experiment in adverse conditions becomes after 39 days with former strangers that captures our fancy.

• A shout-out to Ethan Zohn, the winner of “Survivor: Africa,” who has been diagnosed with cancer. Here’s hoping he remains a survivor.

 

“The Incident”: “Lost” in Too Many Commercials

 

Is this evil and good embodied?

Holy mackerel! “Lost” literally went out with a bang and a flash of white last night, leaving us to ponder for months the meaning of the richest episode of the season. I loved “The Incident” but hated all the commercials (well, all except for the clever Mac-PC ones). The constant barrage of ads thrown at us at inopportune moments (especially when Sawyer was sobbing over the apparent loss of Juliet) was almost criminal. ABC, you’ve gone too far; this is not the Super Bowl! We may be a captive audience, but we’re not stupid. For next year’s finale, please get a sponsor for the entire two hours who will only have commercials at the beginning and end of the episode. Or we might have to sic the bogus John Locke on you!

Jacob puts his special touch on Hurley.

My neighbor Sylvia hates when “Lost” adds new characters to a show, but I think Jacob and an unnamed man (perhaps Esau?), who by the end of the episode could be called the bogus Locke, will add to our understanding of what the heck is going on. The mysterious Jacob visited Kate, Sawyer, Jack, Sun, Jin, and Locke before they came to the island, and Sayid and Hurley after they had returned home, literally touching them at critical times in their lives (probably even bringing Locke back to life after he was pushed out the window by his no-good father). It was no coincidence that these people were meant to be on this island.

Meanwhile, the other guy we see in the opening scenes seems bent on killing good, kind Jacob and must look for a loophole to fulfill his desire. That “loophole” turns out to be Locke, as we discover that Locke really is dead by Ben’s hand off-island, with the evil guy taking over his body. As he might have done with Jack’s dad and Claire. Spooky stuff!

Should we pause for a commercial now?

Robinson Crusoe Bernard and Rose

A couple of loose ends that were neatly tied into a bow were the fates of Vincent the dog and Rose and Bernard. Last time we saw them, they were separated from Sawyer’s group as flaming arrows rained down upon them. We find out all three have been living in a modest hut near the beach, happy as clams. That was a moment of levity in what was otherwise a heavy, action-packed show.

What's in the box?

We also finally discovered what was in the crate that Ilana and her gang were so protective of: John Locke’s body straight from the coffin. Glad the embalming fluid was still working! Seeing our familiar Locke dead made us realize that the writers had put one over on us—the new Locke isn’t Locke at all! Instead, this was Loophole Locke, who used Ben to kill Jacob.

Juliet tries to fight the electromagnetic pull.

Meanwhile, the battered and bloodied Juliet, who was dragged into the Swan’s drill hole by the electromagnetic pull on a heavy metal chain that had become wrapped around her, is at the bottom of the hole, face to face with the hydrogen bomb’s plutonium core, which had failed to detonate. Good thing there was a rock right by her! She picks it up and bashes at the core. The scene turns to white, and that’s all she wrote for 2009.

"Lost" ends until next year.

And that fade to white ending? Perfect . . . and chilling! We’ll be counting down the months, and then the weeks, and then the days, and finally the minutes until the final season begins in 2010.

Why I’m a “Lost” fan

“Lost” definitely makes us think—it’s not for the casual viewer. Nothing seems to be just laid out for us in black and white; it’s all the shades of gray that baffle us and have caused better minds than mine to try to decipher every nuance in every episode. We’re confused, but darn it, we’re intrigued! We’ve bought into the time travel, wormholes, back-and-forth timelines (what year is it now?)—we’ve invested in the entire package. Our hope is that at the end of next season, the show’s last, we’ll bask in a satisfying conclusion that ties up all the loose ends and makes sense out of the whole shebang.

Hopefully!

“Lost” on Windsday

 

Miles and Hurley relax among the potted plants.

Last night’s “Lost” episode was a short, unwelcome hiatus from what has been an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat season. It was a recap show entitled “Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6.” I suppose for viewers late to the game, the episode was helpful, but for the fanatics like our family, it was pretty boring. After awhile, the #2 son wandered off to play a video game, and the Mister drove to CVS to pick up a prescription. I think the #1 son and I stuck with it mainly because we wanted to have something to watch while eating dinner (God forbid we should ever make eye contact and actually talk!).

For me, the only new information gleaned from the recap was the confirmation that it was Charles Widmore who was behind the bogus Oceanic flight 815 that was found at the bottom of the ocean with a bunch of corpses in it. There had been some conjecture that it might have been the work of Benjamin Lie-nus.

Speaking of big, bad Ben, the episode reinforced for me how much the former leader of the Others really wanted to return to the island, even though he had told John Locke that whoever turned the wheel couldn’t return (gee, another lie, what a surprise). And he told the survivors that they needed to return to help those left behind. Ben knew he had to have as many of the Oceanic 6 (plus Locke) as possible to help him get back. Now we know he wanted to return in order to be judged for his “daughter” Alex’s death by the smoke monster. He didn’t care one bit about helping the Left Behinders; his top concern was himself, like usual. Everything he’s done has been for himself. Selfish SOB.

Some people believe that Ben is a good guy. That’s so hard for me to believe! He sure doesn’t act like one. If “Lost” was a western, I think both Ben and Widmore would be wearing black hats (with maybe the white-hatted Clint Eastwood riding in to save the day and the island; of course, by now Clint might be traveling via wheelchair).

The season finale is a mere three weeks away, and then we’ll have about eight months to fully digest the meaning of every nuance that we’ve seen so far until the final season in 2010. Which will coincide with the end of the #1 son’s high school career. I’m getting verklempt thinking of both events!

“Lost” in the greenery

A recent entry in Jorge Garcia’s blog, Dispatches From the Island, shows a photo of his character, Hurley, and Miles relaxing in front of a Dharma VW bus (pictured above). Garcia notes that most of the natural island flora is actually potted plants! 

Where's the focus?

Lost discs due to wind = angry son

Yesterday I drove both sons to Imperial Park, which is mainly a wonderful softball complex but also has a nine-hole disc golf course complete with a practice basket. It was windy, which means it was magnified by 10 due to the park’s flatness. The boys started throwing at the practice basket, which is bordered by woods. I volunteered to go over by the woods to spot in case of errant tosses. Then I saw the wildflowers above. Y’all know how I feel about wildflowers by now, I’m sure. I happened to have my Canon point and shoot camera with me, so I thought I’d snap a quick picture. Unfortunately, it was too quick, because I heard shouting about discs flying into the woods. Not only did I miss my focus, but I also didn’t see where two discs landed. Which made the #2 son put the blame totally on me when we couldn’t find them. As if I had thrown them.

As a savvy, veteran mom, my answer to angry statements like, “It’s all your fault, Mom,” always is “So fire me!” Hasn’t happened yet!

Later on the boys lost two more discs. I told the boys that it was no surprise what had happened, because every Windsday is “Lost!” Somehow they didn’t appreciate the attempt at humor!