Hey guys,
When my evening's plans fell through tonight, I flipped on a show that I didn't want to watch until I read the book. Boy, am I glad I decided to break a personal rule this time.
The show was FlashForward.
It was great...
Is this the successor to LOST (which will be over and done with next May)? Is it as good as the book? Have I just been watching too much Family Guy or was that Seth MacFarlane I saw as an FBI agent?
Well, the only one of those that I can answer with any certainty was that THAT WAS Seth MacFarlane. Another LOST? As good as the book? I don't know, but you should get to watching this show because the pilot blew my mind.
So what can I say to get you to watch? Here go a few tries:
-Like Family Guy?, American Dad? Seth MacFarlane's on the show.
-Like LOST? It is DEFINITELY referenced and Penny (Sonya Walger) is on the show , with Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) to be joining the cast soon.
-Like comics? I believe Watchmen is slightly referenced.
-Like the film The Dark Knight? David S. Goyer co-wrote both "The Dark Knight" and "FlashForward"?
-Like good TV? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
So, reading all of this, you're bummed you missed the pilot, right? Well, the good news is, if it's before Friday, September 25th at 8pm, that's when they're playing the encore of the pilot on ABC. If that's the case, you should definitely sit yo ass down in front 'a' this bad boy.
Wanna see a peek at the show? I knew you would and you knew I'd show ya... Take a look below...
So, there ya have it. Ya gonna watch? I think you really should.
Hit me up on anything anytime on here, folks...
Peace...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Draw Upon Thy Muse
Hey guys,
It's been a while...
I'm seriously behind on Comic of the Week and don't even know if I'm going to continue doing it. I've been writing (working on my comic book script) a lot lately and just haven't found the time.
But...
I do wanna still keep The Llog going even if it's just a post a week or on no regular basis when something hits me that I want to let you guys know about and pay tribute to.
That being said, upon a trip to Robinson Town Center this past weekend I got my hands on the new disc by a band called Muse.
That's all I've listened to since then... Let's take a look at the song from the new album "The Resistance" that got me listening to these guys hardcore again.
It's called "Uprising". Here it is below...
UPRISING
You like?
Well, even if you don't, I do...
That's why I decided to start those of you who are interested on a little introduction/feature on one of my favorite bands. Hey, why not add more stuff to my plate while I'm already behind on the stuff I already AM doing?!
This will be the first of (hopefully many) chapters on the band Muse. I've done this before with other bands/artists. What I'm going to do is throw up a little post about each of Muse's albums and then show you all the music videos they did for the release. I'll start with Muse's first full length: Showbiz.
Back in October of 1999, Muse released the album Showbiz. It included songs written as early as 1996 and it's said that the boys went in and recorded what they felt to be their least progressive of all the songs they had in their repertoire at the time (they'd later more than make up for this on later releases). The band shot four music videos (to my knowledge) for the record. Here they are with the song titles listed ABOVE the videos. Check 'em out.
UNO
MUSCLE MUSEUM
SUNBURN
UNINTENDED
Notes:
*-My favorite song out of all of these is probably "Sunburn".
*-Interesting fact. The band couldn't think of a name for the song "Muscle Museum", so they looked up the word "Muse" in the dictionary and chose the words directly before and after and named the song.
*-The band also released the song "Cave" as a single, but I've been unable to find a video for it. Maybe there isn't one. Maybe I'll throw up a vid of them playing it live or something in a day or so...
There's the first entry on the band Muse, kids... Hope you liked it... Hit me up on this or anything else any ol' time...
Peace...
It's been a while...
I'm seriously behind on Comic of the Week and don't even know if I'm going to continue doing it. I've been writing (working on my comic book script) a lot lately and just haven't found the time.
But...
I do wanna still keep The Llog going even if it's just a post a week or on no regular basis when something hits me that I want to let you guys know about and pay tribute to.
That being said, upon a trip to Robinson Town Center this past weekend I got my hands on the new disc by a band called Muse.
That's all I've listened to since then... Let's take a look at the song from the new album "The Resistance" that got me listening to these guys hardcore again.
It's called "Uprising". Here it is below...
UPRISING
You like?
Well, even if you don't, I do...
That's why I decided to start those of you who are interested on a little introduction/feature on one of my favorite bands. Hey, why not add more stuff to my plate while I'm already behind on the stuff I already AM doing?!
This will be the first of (hopefully many) chapters on the band Muse. I've done this before with other bands/artists. What I'm going to do is throw up a little post about each of Muse's albums and then show you all the music videos they did for the release. I'll start with Muse's first full length: Showbiz.
Back in October of 1999, Muse released the album Showbiz. It included songs written as early as 1996 and it's said that the boys went in and recorded what they felt to be their least progressive of all the songs they had in their repertoire at the time (they'd later more than make up for this on later releases). The band shot four music videos (to my knowledge) for the record. Here they are with the song titles listed ABOVE the videos. Check 'em out.
UNO
MUSCLE MUSEUM
SUNBURN
UNINTENDED
Notes:
*-My favorite song out of all of these is probably "Sunburn".
*-Interesting fact. The band couldn't think of a name for the song "Muscle Museum", so they looked up the word "Muse" in the dictionary and chose the words directly before and after and named the song.
*-The band also released the song "Cave" as a single, but I've been unable to find a video for it. Maybe there isn't one. Maybe I'll throw up a vid of them playing it live or something in a day or so...
There's the first entry on the band Muse, kids... Hope you liked it... Hit me up on this or anything else any ol' time...
Peace...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Never Heard a Man [Play] Like This Man Before, Watch [Him] Now...
Hey guys,
Geeking out over The Mars Volta the past few days has brought me to really take a look at their current drummer Thomas Pridgen.
If you all didn't know I'm a (now occasional, for the most part) drummer. But I think that even if you've never touched a drum in your life, this guy can really knock your socks off. In seeing some of the videos that I'm about to show below, I've really been blown away. Though I was a little disheartened when I learned that (also sensational drummer) Jon Theodore was no longer in The Mars Volta, Thomas Pridgen really has something to offer all us drummers and music-o-philes...
Take a look...
A little intro to Thomas Pridgen
Modern Drummer Festival 2008 Footage (w/interviews)
"Wax Simulacra" (Won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. I know this is about the zillionth time I've posted the song on The Llog but IT ROCKS! Thomas is on drums.)
"Wax Simulacra" (Live on Letterman... You can see Pridgen's drum fills better and get a sense of The Mars Volta's energetic live show.)
There they are.
Man, that guy makes me wanna go play drums...
If you wanna check out Thomas Pridgen with The Mars Volta, go buy their latest two CDs, entitled The Bedlam in Goliath (in which the drumming is most energetic) and Octahedron (in which the music in general is more mellow and laid back, but still offers a great listen and awesome skill from Thomas Pridgen and the band as a whole).
Peace...
Geeking out over The Mars Volta the past few days has brought me to really take a look at their current drummer Thomas Pridgen.
If you all didn't know I'm a (now occasional, for the most part) drummer. But I think that even if you've never touched a drum in your life, this guy can really knock your socks off. In seeing some of the videos that I'm about to show below, I've really been blown away. Though I was a little disheartened when I learned that (also sensational drummer) Jon Theodore was no longer in The Mars Volta, Thomas Pridgen really has something to offer all us drummers and music-o-philes...
Take a look...
A little intro to Thomas Pridgen
Modern Drummer Festival 2008 Footage (w/interviews)
"Wax Simulacra" (Won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. I know this is about the zillionth time I've posted the song on The Llog but IT ROCKS! Thomas is on drums.)
"Wax Simulacra" (Live on Letterman... You can see Pridgen's drum fills better and get a sense of The Mars Volta's energetic live show.)
There they are.
Man, that guy makes me wanna go play drums...
If you wanna check out Thomas Pridgen with The Mars Volta, go buy their latest two CDs, entitled The Bedlam in Goliath (in which the drumming is most energetic) and Octahedron (in which the music in general is more mellow and laid back, but still offers a great listen and awesome skill from Thomas Pridgen and the band as a whole).
Peace...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The News from Mars
Hey guys,
I don't know how I let it go this far without telling you (oh yeah, I didn't blog for seven months), but one of my very favorite bands has put out a new CD.
The Mars Volta hit the scene again back in June with their fifth full length recording Octahedron. The band takes a small step in a new direction with this one, calling it their "acoustic, pop" album. I'm going to call it another work of sheer genius.
I'll keep this one short. Here's a couple of videos that are the singles so far from Octahedron. (Titles are above the songs/videos.)
"Cotopaxi"
"Since We've Been Wrong"
Since We've Been Wrong
There they are, guys... The latest from the band I'm always raving about. If you are interested or really want to hear the songs in their intended context, go out and get the latest release from THE MARS VOLTA : OCTAHEDRON
Peace...
I don't know how I let it go this far without telling you (oh yeah, I didn't blog for seven months), but one of my very favorite bands has put out a new CD.
The Mars Volta hit the scene again back in June with their fifth full length recording Octahedron. The band takes a small step in a new direction with this one, calling it their "acoustic, pop" album. I'm going to call it another work of sheer genius.
I'll keep this one short. Here's a couple of videos that are the singles so far from Octahedron. (Titles are above the songs/videos.)
"Cotopaxi"
"Since We've Been Wrong"
Since We've Been Wrong
There they are, guys... The latest from the band I'm always raving about. If you are interested or really want to hear the songs in their intended context, go out and get the latest release from THE MARS VOLTA : OCTAHEDRON
Peace...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Comic of the Week - August 19th, 2009
THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE ISSUES AND TITLES LISTED BELOW
Hey guys,
Was able to make the trek on Sunday to get another two weeks worth of comics, so it's time for another...
COMIC OF THE WEEK
The comics I read released on the day of August 19th, 2009 were:
-Amazing Spider-Man #603
-Invincible #65
-Justice League of America #36
-Mighty Avengers #28
-Supergirl #44
-X-Men Legacy #227
Let's get right to my faves, shall we?
Story of the Week
Although the psychotic journals of The Chameleon read like "Silence of the Lambs" in Amazing Spider-Man this week, I had to go with Invincible #65 for Story of the Week.
The whole story of the issue was just more heartfelt, emotional, and compelling. Mark is still very injured after having dealt with the wrath of Conquest over the past couple of issues and still reeling emotionally from having thought Eve was dead.
This issue doesn't stop playing with our emotions at that point, though... We feel sorry for Mark as he lies broken despite having beaten Conquest. We feel sorrow as Robot and Eve speak at Rex Splode's funeral. We long for our youth when Mark and Eve get back to Mark's bedroom. We feel shock when we realize Conquest ISN'T DEAD!!! And more shock when Mark vows to kill his future enemies.
This is a title that has really stayed consistently good. Like writer Robert Kirkman's other well-known series "The Walking Dead" (SOON TO BE A TV SERIES ON AMC! *INSERT SCHOOLGIRL SHRIEK*), the title delivers every issue and makes you want more as soon as you put the issue down. If you'd like to read a hero that has basically a young Spider-Man's mentality with Superman-like powers placed in a little bit more mature of a setting, Invincible is your book. There are several relatively inexpensive trade paperbacks out there for you to go get started. Go check 'em out or drop me line for a little "the story so far" chat. I'll gladly fill ya in and you can go get single issues from there. I can almost guarantee you'll be glad you did...
Cover Art of the Week
Cover Art of the Week has got to go to spooky, dark cover of Justice League of America #36. The cover conveys that we're going to see the Justice League and we're going to see the Royal Flush Gang, but why so dark and BLOODY?! Creepy... Cover is by Fabrizio Fiorentino (DC Comics). See below.
Interior Art of the Week
For this category, much like Story of the Week this week, again my two faves were Amazing Spider-Man and Invincible. This time, though, the web-head crew won out. Here's some art from my pick for the week: Amazing Spider-Man #603. Art is by Robert Atkins, Victor Olazaba, and Jeromy Cox. Letters appearing in shown artwork done by VC's Joe Caramagna (Marvel Comics). See below.
There's another one in the books, guys...
Hit me up on comics or anything, anytime...
Peace...
Hey guys,
Was able to make the trek on Sunday to get another two weeks worth of comics, so it's time for another...
COMIC OF THE WEEK
The comics I read released on the day of August 19th, 2009 were:
-Amazing Spider-Man #603
-Invincible #65
-Justice League of America #36
-Mighty Avengers #28
-Supergirl #44
-X-Men Legacy #227
Let's get right to my faves, shall we?
Story of the Week
Although the psychotic journals of The Chameleon read like "Silence of the Lambs" in Amazing Spider-Man this week, I had to go with Invincible #65 for Story of the Week.
The whole story of the issue was just more heartfelt, emotional, and compelling. Mark is still very injured after having dealt with the wrath of Conquest over the past couple of issues and still reeling emotionally from having thought Eve was dead.
This issue doesn't stop playing with our emotions at that point, though... We feel sorry for Mark as he lies broken despite having beaten Conquest. We feel sorrow as Robot and Eve speak at Rex Splode's funeral. We long for our youth when Mark and Eve get back to Mark's bedroom. We feel shock when we realize Conquest ISN'T DEAD!!! And more shock when Mark vows to kill his future enemies.
This is a title that has really stayed consistently good. Like writer Robert Kirkman's other well-known series "The Walking Dead" (SOON TO BE A TV SERIES ON AMC! *INSERT SCHOOLGIRL SHRIEK*), the title delivers every issue and makes you want more as soon as you put the issue down. If you'd like to read a hero that has basically a young Spider-Man's mentality with Superman-like powers placed in a little bit more mature of a setting, Invincible is your book. There are several relatively inexpensive trade paperbacks out there for you to go get started. Go check 'em out or drop me line for a little "the story so far" chat. I'll gladly fill ya in and you can go get single issues from there. I can almost guarantee you'll be glad you did...
Cover Art of the Week
Cover Art of the Week has got to go to spooky, dark cover of Justice League of America #36. The cover conveys that we're going to see the Justice League and we're going to see the Royal Flush Gang, but why so dark and BLOODY?! Creepy... Cover is by Fabrizio Fiorentino (DC Comics). See below.
Interior Art of the Week
For this category, much like Story of the Week this week, again my two faves were Amazing Spider-Man and Invincible. This time, though, the web-head crew won out. Here's some art from my pick for the week: Amazing Spider-Man #603. Art is by Robert Atkins, Victor Olazaba, and Jeromy Cox. Letters appearing in shown artwork done by VC's Joe Caramagna (Marvel Comics). See below.
There's another one in the books, guys...
Hit me up on comics or anything, anytime...
Peace...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
They're some mad, mad, mad, mad men
Hey guys,
I finished the first season of a show that when it was suggested to me, I really didn't think I'd like. Boy, was I wrong...
The show is Mad Men. It's a series mainly about a fictional advertising firm in the 1960's. But it's really so much more.
With a strong cast portraying unforgettable characters, riveting subplots, and smart historical allusions, the world of this series reaches out and envelops the viewer.
No, I didn't think it was going to be my cup of tea at first. I mean, come on, what do I care about ad men in the 1960's? Truth be told, it could be waffle salesmen in the 1890's and with storytelling this deftly executed, I'd be on board...
My entry wouldn't be complete without showing you (as I'm inclined to do) a little something from the show. I've included a trailer of sorts below to help give you a little taste. So, check it out below and then do your best to get your hands on the rest of the series.
I think you'll be glad you did...
Mad Men, an AMC Original Series, airs Sunday nights at 10pm (ET) on (of course) AMC.
I finished the first season of a show that when it was suggested to me, I really didn't think I'd like. Boy, was I wrong...
The show is Mad Men. It's a series mainly about a fictional advertising firm in the 1960's. But it's really so much more.
With a strong cast portraying unforgettable characters, riveting subplots, and smart historical allusions, the world of this series reaches out and envelops the viewer.
No, I didn't think it was going to be my cup of tea at first. I mean, come on, what do I care about ad men in the 1960's? Truth be told, it could be waffle salesmen in the 1890's and with storytelling this deftly executed, I'd be on board...
My entry wouldn't be complete without showing you (as I'm inclined to do) a little something from the show. I've included a trailer of sorts below to help give you a little taste. So, check it out below and then do your best to get your hands on the rest of the series.
I think you'll be glad you did...
Mad Men, an AMC Original Series, airs Sunday nights at 10pm (ET) on (of course) AMC.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Comic of the Week - August 12th, 2009
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE ISSUES AND TITLES LISTED BELOW
Hey guys,
After my own little mini mental celebration of my 75th post on The Llog in which I discuss the film "Inglourious Basterds" (see below), I figured I'd better get the Comic of the Week feature that I owe you guys up.
The comics that I read released on the day of August 12th, 2009 were:
-Action Comics #880
-Adventure Comics #1
-Amazing Spider-Man #602
-Blackest Night #2
-Green Lantern Corps #39
-Uncanny X-Men #514
-The Walking Dead #64
-X-Men Forever #5
Story of the Week
This week had a few contenders for Story of the Week. We saw the release of Adventure Comics #1 spotlight the adventures of Superboy and backing that up with a feature of The Legion of Super-Heroes. The Walking Dead stunned, as it always does (Man, I can't wait for the show on AMC). But my favorite story upon first reading all these issues was X-Men Forever #5.
As if a scrap with Sabretooth, Storm killing Wolverine, and a child version of Storm showing up weren't enough in previous issues, this issue has the aftermath of all that plus an interesting new plotline that I just thought was genius.
Professor Xavier imparts that our mutant heroes (and villains, for that matter) aren't the next stage of evolution that they thought they were. They, in fact, may be the opposite. It appears that the more power that our mutants expend, the less that there is to sustain their lives. This is revealed in a discussion by the Beast, the Professor, and the rest of the X-Men in which they speak about how there aren't very many mutants who are over the age of 60. I think it's a great plot point and it'll be interesting to see how it's dealt with in future issues.
As I've said before, the premise of this comic is basically the stories of Chris Claremont had he stayed on the title X-Men in the early nineties. I'm lovin' it so far. See my prior Comic of the Week posts and run out and grab the issues, if you're so inclined.
Cover Art of the Week
Cover Art of the Week has got to go to Blackest Night #2. Check out the amazing piece below by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair (DC Comics).
Interior Art of the Week
Again, the art award for interior art has got to go to Blackest Night #2. The art on this issue was just spectacular. Again, it's by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert (this time with a little help from Julio Ferreira), and Alex Sinclair (DC Comics). (See below)
Well, there's another post and another expression of my opinion for Comic of the Week. Comments? Questions? Discussion? Hit me on here or contact me through any of the social networking sites listed on the right of the page... As always, feel free to hit me up for discussion about anything posted on The Llog.
Take care of each other, guys...
Peace...
Hey guys,
After my own little mini mental celebration of my 75th post on The Llog in which I discuss the film "Inglourious Basterds" (see below), I figured I'd better get the Comic of the Week feature that I owe you guys up.
The comics that I read released on the day of August 12th, 2009 were:
-Action Comics #880
-Adventure Comics #1
-Amazing Spider-Man #602
-Blackest Night #2
-Green Lantern Corps #39
-Uncanny X-Men #514
-The Walking Dead #64
-X-Men Forever #5
Story of the Week
This week had a few contenders for Story of the Week. We saw the release of Adventure Comics #1 spotlight the adventures of Superboy and backing that up with a feature of The Legion of Super-Heroes. The Walking Dead stunned, as it always does (Man, I can't wait for the show on AMC). But my favorite story upon first reading all these issues was X-Men Forever #5.
As if a scrap with Sabretooth, Storm killing Wolverine, and a child version of Storm showing up weren't enough in previous issues, this issue has the aftermath of all that plus an interesting new plotline that I just thought was genius.
Professor Xavier imparts that our mutant heroes (and villains, for that matter) aren't the next stage of evolution that they thought they were. They, in fact, may be the opposite. It appears that the more power that our mutants expend, the less that there is to sustain their lives. This is revealed in a discussion by the Beast, the Professor, and the rest of the X-Men in which they speak about how there aren't very many mutants who are over the age of 60. I think it's a great plot point and it'll be interesting to see how it's dealt with in future issues.
As I've said before, the premise of this comic is basically the stories of Chris Claremont had he stayed on the title X-Men in the early nineties. I'm lovin' it so far. See my prior Comic of the Week posts and run out and grab the issues, if you're so inclined.
Cover Art of the Week
Cover Art of the Week has got to go to Blackest Night #2. Check out the amazing piece below by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair (DC Comics).
Interior Art of the Week
Again, the art award for interior art has got to go to Blackest Night #2. The art on this issue was just spectacular. Again, it's by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert (this time with a little help from Julio Ferreira), and Alex Sinclair (DC Comics). (See below)
Well, there's another post and another expression of my opinion for Comic of the Week. Comments? Questions? Discussion? Hit me on here or contact me through any of the social networking sites listed on the right of the page... As always, feel free to hit me up for discussion about anything posted on The Llog.
Take care of each other, guys...
Peace...
They killed Nazis... YOU BASTERDS!!!
Hey Llog lovers,
Just wanted to say a bit about the film that any of us who are into Quentin Tarantino have been hearing about for quite some time. Last night I went to see "Inglourious Basterds".
Now, if you and I were sitting accross a table from one another right now and I had just said what I typed in the last sentence, you would probably say, "Well, how was it?" And I'd say, "I don't know..."
I know what you're thinking. "Well, then why are you making a point to talk about it?" Right?
While I guess I'm kind of on the fence about the whole film as of right now (though I already want to see it again), there are parts that I can remember being really great and amazingly Tarantino. I can say with certainty that some of the highlights for me were Brad Pitt's and Cristoph Waltz's entire performances in the film. Pitt was as tough a, um, bastard as I've ever seen before and Waltz's performance shone with genius, comedy, and elegance as he portrayed Nazi Hans Landa.
Final verdict (for right now) I guess is that while there were parts where I found myself bored in "Inglourious Basterds", I can really remember a lot of great parts, too...
Want some video clips about the film?
Well, that's good... 'Cuz here they are!!!
I found this video with some clips and informative interviews...
And more clips, interviews and info...
And this one below you've gotta watch whether you're interested in the film, have seen, or have no intention of seeing the film...
And with that... Don't think there's anything left to say right now...
Peace...
Just wanted to say a bit about the film that any of us who are into Quentin Tarantino have been hearing about for quite some time. Last night I went to see "Inglourious Basterds".
Now, if you and I were sitting accross a table from one another right now and I had just said what I typed in the last sentence, you would probably say, "Well, how was it?" And I'd say, "I don't know..."
I know what you're thinking. "Well, then why are you making a point to talk about it?" Right?
While I guess I'm kind of on the fence about the whole film as of right now (though I already want to see it again), there are parts that I can remember being really great and amazingly Tarantino. I can say with certainty that some of the highlights for me were Brad Pitt's and Cristoph Waltz's entire performances in the film. Pitt was as tough a, um, bastard as I've ever seen before and Waltz's performance shone with genius, comedy, and elegance as he portrayed Nazi Hans Landa.
Final verdict (for right now) I guess is that while there were parts where I found myself bored in "Inglourious Basterds", I can really remember a lot of great parts, too...
Want some video clips about the film?
Well, that's good... 'Cuz here they are!!!
I found this video with some clips and informative interviews...
And more clips, interviews and info...
And this one below you've gotta watch whether you're interested in the film, have seen, or have no intention of seeing the film...
And with that... Don't think there's anything left to say right now...
Peace...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Comic of the Week - August 5th, 2009
THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE TITLES AND ISSUES LISTED BELOW!
Hey guys,
Time for Comic of the Week again. Yeah, I know the date at the top of the page is somewhat behind the times, but I've explained that in the last Comic of the Week feature. If you're curious why, check that one out.
Without further ado,
The comics that I read released on the day of August 5th, 2009 were:
-Amazing Spider-Man #601
-Hulk #13
Yeah, that's right. Just two titles this week. Keep in mind that I only review the ones that are on my hold list, which I've pared down to my favorites... Here goes...
Story of the Week
Believe it or not, this is actually harder to do with only two books to choose from. Both titles had a good, solid story (and beautiful art, which we'll get to below) but there can be only one (much like The Highlander).
Amazing Spider-Man #601 eked out the win for Story of the Week this time out. The main feature in the book spotlighted the aftermath of the wedding of Aunt May to J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. Peter Parker (our beloved wall-crawler's alter-ego) gets really tipsy at the reception after the wedding. What a great time to run into a newly returned Mary Jane Watson, huh? That's right. The woman that Pete was supposed to marry is back! She actually caught the bouquet at the end of last issue! Hmmm...
Pete actually gets drunk to the point of losing memory and goes home with his roommate Michelle. She's actually the sister of his old roommate Vin, who's serving some time in prison now due to his involvement in the "Spider-Tracer Murders". (See previous issues for details.)
Pete gets, um, friendlier with Michelle than he has in the past. When he wakes up next to her, still a bit out of sorts and looking for MJ on the other side of the bed, Michelle becomes enraged and kicks him out of the apartment.
Pete spends the rest of the ish trying to figure out when and where that he's supposed to meet MJ for a date that night. They had planned it at the reception, but he was too drunk the remember the specifics.
The main feature of the issue ends with Peter remembering the where and when of the date and showing up to find Mary Jane nowhere to be found. It then flashes to her. She's slept in and missed out on meeting Peter. BUT... when seeing a feature on the news about Spider-Man she knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker.
Oh, and of course at the very end of the main feature we've got Michelle's cookies and milk caper pulled on Pete. (See ish for details, or don't... It's not that major.)
The back up feature of the issue features a story by Brian Michael Bendis (can't go wrong there, huh?) showing Pete talking to Jessica Jones-Cage (wife of Luke Cage). Jessica talks about gaining her powers and how Pete (as Spider-Man) inspired her in her initial runnings as a super-heroine. Pete shares his "With great power there must also come great responsibility" mantra with Jessica among other inspiring words. With just six pages, Bendis has our hearts in his hands...
Both of these features give us a good look at where Spider-Man/Peter Parker's headspace and heartspace are these days. This title is really starting to be great for the first time since the "One More Day" story arc. If you haven't picked up Spider-Man for a while, now may be the time...
Cover Art of the Week
Cover art of the week has got to go to Hulk #13. There is no other word for this amazing piece but INTENSE! (Check it out below, by Ed McGuinness, Tom Palmer and Dan Brown.) (And, no, not THAT Dan Brown.)
Interior Art of the Week
The coveted Interior Art of the Week prize goes to Amazing Spider-Man #601. First we've got the art from the main feature of the book by Mario Alberti and Andres Mossa. See the below 2 pieces for a taste...
AND we've also got the art from the back up feature of the book by Joe Quesada and Morry Hollowell. Check out how the pair even give Spidey's mask facial expressions in the third panel! (Below)
I've gotta add that while the artists (Alberti and Quesada) shined, the additions that the colorists(Mossa and Hollowell) laid down in both features were BREATHTAKING! Great art all around in this ish!!!
Well, there it is, guys... Another Comic of the Week feature down the tubes and straight to you loyal Llog readers. We'll see you guys next time... And...
Peace...
Hey guys,
Time for Comic of the Week again. Yeah, I know the date at the top of the page is somewhat behind the times, but I've explained that in the last Comic of the Week feature. If you're curious why, check that one out.
Without further ado,
The comics that I read released on the day of August 5th, 2009 were:
-Amazing Spider-Man #601
-Hulk #13
Yeah, that's right. Just two titles this week. Keep in mind that I only review the ones that are on my hold list, which I've pared down to my favorites... Here goes...
Story of the Week
Believe it or not, this is actually harder to do with only two books to choose from. Both titles had a good, solid story (and beautiful art, which we'll get to below) but there can be only one (much like The Highlander).
Amazing Spider-Man #601 eked out the win for Story of the Week this time out. The main feature in the book spotlighted the aftermath of the wedding of Aunt May to J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. Peter Parker (our beloved wall-crawler's alter-ego) gets really tipsy at the reception after the wedding. What a great time to run into a newly returned Mary Jane Watson, huh? That's right. The woman that Pete was supposed to marry is back! She actually caught the bouquet at the end of last issue! Hmmm...
Pete actually gets drunk to the point of losing memory and goes home with his roommate Michelle. She's actually the sister of his old roommate Vin, who's serving some time in prison now due to his involvement in the "Spider-Tracer Murders". (See previous issues for details.)
Pete gets, um, friendlier with Michelle than he has in the past. When he wakes up next to her, still a bit out of sorts and looking for MJ on the other side of the bed, Michelle becomes enraged and kicks him out of the apartment.
Pete spends the rest of the ish trying to figure out when and where that he's supposed to meet MJ for a date that night. They had planned it at the reception, but he was too drunk the remember the specifics.
The main feature of the issue ends with Peter remembering the where and when of the date and showing up to find Mary Jane nowhere to be found. It then flashes to her. She's slept in and missed out on meeting Peter. BUT... when seeing a feature on the news about Spider-Man she knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker.
Oh, and of course at the very end of the main feature we've got Michelle's cookies and milk caper pulled on Pete. (See ish for details, or don't... It's not that major.)
The back up feature of the issue features a story by Brian Michael Bendis (can't go wrong there, huh?) showing Pete talking to Jessica Jones-Cage (wife of Luke Cage). Jessica talks about gaining her powers and how Pete (as Spider-Man) inspired her in her initial runnings as a super-heroine. Pete shares his "With great power there must also come great responsibility" mantra with Jessica among other inspiring words. With just six pages, Bendis has our hearts in his hands...
Both of these features give us a good look at where Spider-Man/Peter Parker's headspace and heartspace are these days. This title is really starting to be great for the first time since the "One More Day" story arc. If you haven't picked up Spider-Man for a while, now may be the time...
Cover Art of the Week
Cover art of the week has got to go to Hulk #13. There is no other word for this amazing piece but INTENSE! (Check it out below, by Ed McGuinness, Tom Palmer and Dan Brown.) (And, no, not THAT Dan Brown.)
Interior Art of the Week
The coveted Interior Art of the Week prize goes to Amazing Spider-Man #601. First we've got the art from the main feature of the book by Mario Alberti and Andres Mossa. See the below 2 pieces for a taste...
AND we've also got the art from the back up feature of the book by Joe Quesada and Morry Hollowell. Check out how the pair even give Spidey's mask facial expressions in the third panel! (Below)
I've gotta add that while the artists (Alberti and Quesada) shined, the additions that the colorists(Mossa and Hollowell) laid down in both features were BREATHTAKING! Great art all around in this ish!!!
Well, there it is, guys... Another Comic of the Week feature down the tubes and straight to you loyal Llog readers. We'll see you guys next time... And...
Peace...
Monday, August 10, 2009
Dredgin' Up Some Tunes
Hey guys,
You folks who are privy to my Facebook page or my Tweets have seen me talk about the band Dredg and their album "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion" today.
Well, as I type this, I'm still spinning it.
This is just quick post to give you guys a taste. I'm gonna post the three singles from the album with TITLES ABOVE, as usual...
Here goes:
SAVIOUR
I DON'T KNOW
INFORMATION
There you go, guys...
Now ya know what I'm talkin' about...
That's it for now. Just a quick one.
Peace...
You folks who are privy to my Facebook page or my Tweets have seen me talk about the band Dredg and their album "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion" today.
Well, as I type this, I'm still spinning it.
This is just quick post to give you guys a taste. I'm gonna post the three singles from the album with TITLES ABOVE, as usual...
Here goes:
SAVIOUR
I DON'T KNOW
INFORMATION
There you go, guys...
Now ya know what I'm talkin' about...
That's it for now. Just a quick one.
Peace...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Comic of the Week - July 29th, 2009
THIS ENTRY WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SOME OF THE ISSUES AND TITLES LISTED BELOW
Okay, guys...
One of the big reasons that I wanted to get back to doing The Llog was to spread a little love for one of my favorite things on the planet:
Monkeys...
No, really... heh... I love comic books!
Having gotten all caught up on reading single issues, I've decided to make a go at trying to do my "Comic of the Week" feature on a regular basis again.
I know, the date at the top of the page says July 29th and here we are verging on August 10th. Well, you see, I only make it to the comic shop that I frequent twice a month. On each visit, I buy two weeks worth. So while I'm all caught up with what I have here at the house, there are still some issues waiting for me in my hold folder in Morgantown, where I shop for them. So we'll hopefully keep this semi-current.
So, without further ado:
The comics that I read released on the date of July 29th were:
-Justice League of America #35
-The New Avengers #55
-Superman #690
-X-Men Forever #4
Story of the Week
For my first Comic of the Week feature in a long time, I'm gonna have to give Story of the Week to X-Men Forever #4.
First of all, let's get to the premise of this title.
Chris Claremont wrote the first comic book that I ever read when I began seriously collecting back in 1990. (That issue was Uncanny X-Men #261.) He wrote Uncanny for a while after that and then did 3 issues of a comic simply called X-Men (which has since been called New X-Men, X-Men (again), and was most recently changed to the title X-Men Legacy).
Anyway, the title X-Men Forever is Chris Claremont's story starting from where he left off on X-Men all those years ago, as if he'd never left. The premise alone got me stoked enough to add it to my hold list.
In this issue, the team is reeling after an unexplained attack by one of their own: the weather-manipulating Storm. In the midst of an attack by Sabretooth (in prior issues) Storm has already blinded Sabretooth, attacked fellow X-Men, and seemingly killed Woverine. Why?
This issue sees Shadowcat out for blood as she takes the fight to Storm with one of Wolverine's claws which has been mysteriously embedded in her arm after found missing from Wolverine's lightning-scorched skeleton.
After a brief scuffle with Shadowcat, Storm flees. The X-Men give chase in two separate teams. After they nearly catch her, she escapes again, only to be confronted by some riot-geared, police-looking dudes (whose superiors seem to have been keeping an eye on Storm the whole time). She asks if they're there to retrieve her. One says, "Not quite -- We're here to KILL you."
The issue ends with Gambit, Rogue, and Nightcrawler hot on Storm's tail. While Gambit searches on an electrical tower, he hears a voice. He turns to find a child version of Storm (smacking to me of Uncanny #266). He grabs her to comfort her as the last panel gives us a view of the child Storm (presumably the real Storm?) in the arms of Gambit and in the crosshairs of some assassin.
I've gotta say that while some of these issues of X-Men Forever haven't blown me away, it's good to read the X-Men of the early nineties in the style of Chris Claremont again.
If you're interested in checking this title out, it's probably one of the easiest to get into. All you need to do is go buy the X-Men: Mutant Genesis trade paperback and read the first three issues out of that and then go pick up all the issues of X-Men Forever (four, as of this entry).
Go check it out, if you're so inclined.
Cover Art of the Week
Cover art of the week is gonna go to the cover of Superman #690 by Andrew Robinson. Check it out below.
Interior Art of the Week
And interior art of the week goes to that sensational issue of X-Men Forever that I was so long-winded about in Story of the Week. The art is by Tom Grummett, Cory Hamscher, and Wilfredo Quintana (lettering appearing in art by Tom Orzechowski, just like back in the day!) Also, check it out below!
Well, there you have it, guys...
A Comic of the Week feature on The Llog.
Bet you thought you'd never see it again, didn't ya?
Well, never's a long time...
Hope you enjoyed this post whether a fan of comics or not. If you guys have any questions or comments. Please, comment on here, e-mail, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter, anything! I'm always willing to rap about the posts on here, comic books, or monkeys!
Take it easy 'til next time, guys...
Peace.
Okay, guys...
One of the big reasons that I wanted to get back to doing The Llog was to spread a little love for one of my favorite things on the planet:
Monkeys...
No, really... heh... I love comic books!
Having gotten all caught up on reading single issues, I've decided to make a go at trying to do my "Comic of the Week" feature on a regular basis again.
I know, the date at the top of the page says July 29th and here we are verging on August 10th. Well, you see, I only make it to the comic shop that I frequent twice a month. On each visit, I buy two weeks worth. So while I'm all caught up with what I have here at the house, there are still some issues waiting for me in my hold folder in Morgantown, where I shop for them. So we'll hopefully keep this semi-current.
So, without further ado:
The comics that I read released on the date of July 29th were:
-Justice League of America #35
-The New Avengers #55
-Superman #690
-X-Men Forever #4
Story of the Week
For my first Comic of the Week feature in a long time, I'm gonna have to give Story of the Week to X-Men Forever #4.
First of all, let's get to the premise of this title.
Chris Claremont wrote the first comic book that I ever read when I began seriously collecting back in 1990. (That issue was Uncanny X-Men #261.) He wrote Uncanny for a while after that and then did 3 issues of a comic simply called X-Men (which has since been called New X-Men, X-Men (again), and was most recently changed to the title X-Men Legacy).
Anyway, the title X-Men Forever is Chris Claremont's story starting from where he left off on X-Men all those years ago, as if he'd never left. The premise alone got me stoked enough to add it to my hold list.
In this issue, the team is reeling after an unexplained attack by one of their own: the weather-manipulating Storm. In the midst of an attack by Sabretooth (in prior issues) Storm has already blinded Sabretooth, attacked fellow X-Men, and seemingly killed Woverine. Why?
This issue sees Shadowcat out for blood as she takes the fight to Storm with one of Wolverine's claws which has been mysteriously embedded in her arm after found missing from Wolverine's lightning-scorched skeleton.
After a brief scuffle with Shadowcat, Storm flees. The X-Men give chase in two separate teams. After they nearly catch her, she escapes again, only to be confronted by some riot-geared, police-looking dudes (whose superiors seem to have been keeping an eye on Storm the whole time). She asks if they're there to retrieve her. One says, "Not quite -- We're here to KILL you."
The issue ends with Gambit, Rogue, and Nightcrawler hot on Storm's tail. While Gambit searches on an electrical tower, he hears a voice. He turns to find a child version of Storm (smacking to me of Uncanny #266). He grabs her to comfort her as the last panel gives us a view of the child Storm (presumably the real Storm?) in the arms of Gambit and in the crosshairs of some assassin.
I've gotta say that while some of these issues of X-Men Forever haven't blown me away, it's good to read the X-Men of the early nineties in the style of Chris Claremont again.
If you're interested in checking this title out, it's probably one of the easiest to get into. All you need to do is go buy the X-Men: Mutant Genesis trade paperback and read the first three issues out of that and then go pick up all the issues of X-Men Forever (four, as of this entry).
Go check it out, if you're so inclined.
Cover Art of the Week
Cover art of the week is gonna go to the cover of Superman #690 by Andrew Robinson. Check it out below.
Interior Art of the Week
And interior art of the week goes to that sensational issue of X-Men Forever that I was so long-winded about in Story of the Week. The art is by Tom Grummett, Cory Hamscher, and Wilfredo Quintana (lettering appearing in art by Tom Orzechowski, just like back in the day!) Also, check it out below!
Well, there you have it, guys...
A Comic of the Week feature on The Llog.
Bet you thought you'd never see it again, didn't ya?
Well, never's a long time...
Hope you enjoyed this post whether a fan of comics or not. If you guys have any questions or comments. Please, comment on here, e-mail, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter, anything! I'm always willing to rap about the posts on here, comic books, or monkeys!
Take it easy 'til next time, guys...
Peace.
Return of the Son of the Llog
Hey guys!
It's been a while, huh?!
Do I have any readers left? Probably not since it's been almost seven months since I've posted.
Ah, well... Life just gets that way sometimes, I guess...
Anyway...
Here I am. Back on the Llog. I'm gonna post some notes on Twitter and Facebook (my preferred social networking mediums) and try and get some readers here. If you've happened on my blog from there, WELCOME!
As you'll see from my prior posts, I like to blog about music (though none you might have ever heard of), comic books, literature, LOST (sometimes, although it's taxing), and all kinds of other geeky stuff. Really just anything I happen to be into at the moment.
So, to my long-time readers who've hopefully been missing me and to all of you who've come for the first time, again: WELCOME!
Hope you'll enjoy this visit and many happy returns...
Peace...
It's been a while, huh?!
Do I have any readers left? Probably not since it's been almost seven months since I've posted.
Ah, well... Life just gets that way sometimes, I guess...
Anyway...
Here I am. Back on the Llog. I'm gonna post some notes on Twitter and Facebook (my preferred social networking mediums) and try and get some readers here. If you've happened on my blog from there, WELCOME!
As you'll see from my prior posts, I like to blog about music (though none you might have ever heard of), comic books, literature, LOST (sometimes, although it's taxing), and all kinds of other geeky stuff. Really just anything I happen to be into at the moment.
So, to my long-time readers who've hopefully been missing me and to all of you who've come for the first time, again: WELCOME!
Hope you'll enjoy this visit and many happy returns...
Peace...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Addicted?
Hey guys,
An anonymous reader of the the Llog stopped by and put this up.
It pertains to the show LOST, but even if you don't watch, you should check this out. The guy in the beginning of the video is what I'm like when the show is back on TV and airing every week. It contains no spoilers, in case you're not up to speed or thinking of watching the show...
Check out "Addicted to LOST" below...
Now you all know what we LOST fans go through in life...
Hahaha!!!
Take it easy, guys... I'll be posting about Episode 3 of Season 5: "Jughead" pretty soon.
P.S. Thanks to whomever it was that stopped by and posted the comment containing that video!!! Your reading of the Llog is much appreciated!!!
Peace to you all and take care of each other...
An anonymous reader of the the Llog stopped by and put this up.
It pertains to the show LOST, but even if you don't watch, you should check this out. The guy in the beginning of the video is what I'm like when the show is back on TV and airing every week. It contains no spoilers, in case you're not up to speed or thinking of watching the show...
Check out "Addicted to LOST" below...
Now you all know what we LOST fans go through in life...
Hahaha!!!
Take it easy, guys... I'll be posting about Episode 3 of Season 5: "Jughead" pretty soon.
P.S. Thanks to whomever it was that stopped by and posted the comment containing that video!!! Your reading of the Llog is much appreciated!!!
Peace to you all and take care of each other...
Monday, January 26, 2009
LOST: Season 5, Episode 2: "The Lie"... ***SPOILERS***
Hey guys,
I figured I'd better get on blogging about LOST while I'm still in the mood. This post will recap Episode 2 of Season 5 entitled "The Lie". I'll insert my theories and opinions within that recap. I'll also go on to explore something I love about the show: the cultural references. Those will include refernces to music, movies, books or any other pop culture gem that the creators of this great show may have touched upon. And who knows? I might even try a new feature... We'll see...
Please don't confuse my spoiler warning at the top. If you're like me, you like to stay away from spoilers about episodes that haven't aired yet. This post WILL NOT contain spoilers of that nature... My spoiler warning is for those who have interest in the show, but haven't seen the episode being reviewed in THIS POST. If you've seen this episode and would like to read a humble viewer's opinions about it, you needn't worry. I won't spoil any future episodes here.
Now then...
"The Lie" begins with a "Three Years Ago" screen similar to that which we saw in Episode 1. We see someone pulling beers from a fridge. (Does anyone know what kind of beer this is? We could start a LOST alcohol aficionado's club... Post a comment, if you know...)
Anyway, the beer-puller turns out to be Frank Lapidus. This is when he's on board the boat that rescues our Oceanic Six. He comes up onto the deck where they're all sitting discussing "THE LIE".
They're deciding on whether or not to tell the truth after they're rescued. Jack is trying to get everyone to go with the story that he's made up to keep everyone remaining back on the island safe from Widmore and whatever else. Hurley is not so keen on this idea. He doesn't want to spend the rest of his life lying. He asks Sayid to back him up. Sayid declines and says that it's better if they lie. Hurley is not happy and says that one day Sayid will need his help. "...I'm tellin' you right now. You're not gettin' it..." are Hurley's words...
We then go to present day off-island time. The first thing we see is Sayid passed out in the passenger seat of a car. We find that Hurley is driving and he's frantic, trying to wake Sayid up. He runs over a trash can at the side of the road and the police sirens go off and he's pulled over.
The cop is Ana Lucia.
She asks Hurley, "What are you doing?" She asks what if she were real? She tells Hurley he needs to pull himself together, get some new clothes, take Sayid to someone he trusts and she tells Hurley that whatever he does, DO NOT GET ARRESTED. She closes with a "Libby says, 'Hi.'". If Ana Lucia hadn't said "What if I were real?", we might assume that she had time-jumped. Could this be a way for the creators to bring deceased characters back to life? If a character could infinitely time-jump, could they ever really meet their demise?
Cut to LOST on-screen.
Alright, back from commercial break, we cut back to the beach where Bernard and Rose are trying to start a fire. Frogurt comes up and asks "Who cares about fire?" as Sawyer scores (finally, sorry ladies) a shirt.
Sawyer walks to Juliet. He says that he thought that they might have lost the raft that Juliet's fiddling with in the time-jump. She says that whatever was with them is along for the ride... Important statement? I guess we'll see...
Farraday comes walking back to the beach. After talking with Charlotte, Miles, Juliet and Sawyer, he takes some gadget out of his pack and says that he needs to determine a new bearing and he needs to figure out where they are... in time.
Miles walks off and says that he's going after food.
Back to Hurley and Sayid. He's still trying to wake Sayid saying that he can't do this on his own. After lifting some money from a zonked-out Sayid, Hurley promises that he'll pay him back and heads into a convenience store. This is where he buys the soon to be legendary "I *heart* my Shih-Tzu" T-shirt. (Anybody know where I can buy one of these?)
The girl behind the counter recognizes Hurley, but not as a killer, only as the lottery winner and the guy who crashed in the plane. She tries to get him to buy another ticket. He tells her to keep the change and hauls it out of there.
As Sayid and Hurley pull away, Kate and Goober, I mean Aaron, pull into the same gas station. Kate tries to quiet Aaron and pulls out her cell phone, contemplating calling Jack. (By the way, I tried the number. I don't think it reaches anyone. Verizon told me that my number could not be completed as dialed. Sorry, Jack fans...) She reconsiders and closes the phone. A second later it rings. It's a caller from an unknown number. She answers and talks to a friend. "I can't believe it's you," she says. She tells the friend that she'll meet them in a half-hour.
Back to Ben and Jack in the hotel room where Ben says that he's flushed Jack's pills. Jack thanks him and says that he had planned to do just that. Ben tells Jack that Jack's going home. He tells Jack that if there's anything he wants in life to pack it in a suitcase, because Jack's never coming back. "Good," Jack replies... Jack asks Ben where he'll be. He says that he needs to get Locke's body somewhere safe. Jack says something like "He's dead, isn't he?" Ben gives no reply and says that he'll see Jack in six hours.
Lloyd theory insert: Though I'm not alone in this by any means, I don't think Locke is dead. I discussed what I think might be going on in last episode's post. I think Locke is suspended in some way. His body not active while his consciousness is active somewhere else. C'mon, can Locke really be dead? After all we've been through with the character: The miraculous recovery of his legs, the whole (and multiple) ordeal(s) with his father... Can he really just be dead now? Ben's lack of a reply almost confirms this.
Cut to Hurley's dad making a bizarre sort of sandwich and tuning in to Expose (remember Nikki and Paolo?). Hurley knocks on the door with an unconscious Sayid draped over his shoulders. "Hey, Dad..."
Hurley recounts the ambush of himself and Sayid to his father. The phone rings. It's the police. They're looking for Hurley in connection with the murder at the mental institution where he's fled from. Hurley's dad agrees to cover for him, but says that afterwards Hurley better tell him the truth. Hurley's dad pulls off the cover to the police. He asks Hurley if he's killed three people, as the police said. Hruley says that Sayid did it. His dad says that they need to get Sayid to a hospital (Sayid's still passed out from the tranquilizer darts in the ambush). Hurley says that they can't do that. They're being chased. After some more discussion Hurley says that he knows what to do.
We go to Kate and Aaron. She lets "Goober" (Aaron) press 3-1 in an elevator to go to the top floor. The friend she got the call from turns out to be Sun.
We go back to Ben. He's entering a butcher shop. The woman behind the counter greets Ben. He calls her "Jill" and they talk about what we assume is Locke's body and keeping it safe. Ben asks if Gabriel and Jeffrey have checked in yet. (WHO?)Jill says that everything's moving right on schedule. Jill asks about Jack and makes a snide comment about Jack using pills. AND THEN: We actually see Ben sticking up for Jack, telling Jill to cut him some slack. He's been through a lot.
My, how things have changed! The Ben we used to know would have never vouched for Jack! Or has he really had the survivors' best interests at heart the whole time and been forced to play another role? Hmmmm...
Ben tells Jill she needs to keep Locke's body safe or everything that they're about to do won't matter at all.
Back to the beach with Rose, Bernard, and Frogurt. They're still trying to make fire.
Farraday and Charlotte share some fruit. She says she can't shake the headache that she has. Farraday says that he's sure she'll be OK. She says it's not just the headache. She's been trying to remember her mom's maiden name and she can't. She asks Farraday if he knows what's happening to her. Right on cue, someone yells, "DINNER!"
Miles has returned with a boar for supper. When asked he says that he just found it. He needs a knife. Frogurt says something like "Oh yeah, the knife's over there. Right next to the Cuisinart!" (HA! At least he got a good line in before he dies.)
Then it happens. Just as Frogurt is complaining that they can't even make fire, he gets a flaming arrow to the chest. This is the beginning of an all out flaming arrow attack on those at the beach. Sawyer, Juliet, Charlotte, Farraday, Rose, Bernard and the log-carrying guys all run in terror as Frogurt meets death by heartburn... Several minor characters (nameless extras, log-carrying guys) also meet their demise by flaming arrow.
Back to Hurley's parents' house. He peers out the window at the police stake-out. Hurley's dad asks if he's crazy. He says he has a really good reason for lying to his father. Hurley's mom comes in and asks why there is a dead Pakistani on her couch. Hurley says that he (Sayid) is not dead, just unconscious. Hurley's mom says that he's not breathing. We find that Sayid is not dead, but very knocked out. Barely breathing. Hurley's mom scolds him and asks if he knows what they are saying about him on the news. He tells her he knows as Hurley's dad departs in a vehicle with Sayid's body hidden in the back.
Back to Kate and Sun. They talk about Sun's daughter and Aaron. Kate tells Sun about the lawyers from last episode asking about the relationship between her and Aaron. Sun says that Kate needs to "take care" of the lawyers. Kate asks, "What kind of person do you think I am?"
Does Kate really have the nerve to ask that after killing her "father", some guys at a bank for toy plane, and some others that she's snuffed out along the way? C'mon, KATE!
Sun says that she thinks Kate is the kind of person who can make the tough decisions, you know: like when she left Sun's husband to die on the freighter? She says she doesn't blame Kate for the whole Jin thing and asks how Jack is...
We then go off to Hurley's dad and Jack walking through a parking garage. After some squabbling, Jack says he's going to take Sayid to a hospital, despite Hurley's dad relaying his son's cornecern for Sayid's safety. Jack says he's going to do what's best for Sayid. Hurley's dad makes Jack promise to stay away from Hurley after this exchange is done.
We see an ambulance pulling into the hospital and Jack driving in beside it. A little trick, because we know that Jack's got Sayid in the back of his Jeep (sneaky!). Jack speaks with Ben on the phone and tells him that he's got Sayid.
We go back to Hurley's parents' house and Hurley's mom is questioning him about Sayid. She asks him what has happened. Why would anyone want to hurt him? What's going on? Hurley then recaps basically the first four seasons of LOST from his point-of-view. His mother says that she believes him. She doesn't understand him, but she believes him. Hurley says that bad stuff is happening to them now because they should not have lied.
We go to Sawyer and Juliet walking through the jungle. Sawyer runs something into his foot while walking. He removes it. They commence. They notice people walking through the jungle. They hide, but are found. A man screams, "What are you doing on our island?"
Cut to Jack working on Sayid in a hospital. Sayid finally violently awakes and asks where Hurley is. Jack says that he's at his parents' house. Sayid asks, "Does anyone else know he's there?"
Cut back to Hurley's parents house where he is preparing a Hot Pocket. Ben comes up behind and startles Hurley. Hurley throws the Hot Pocket at him (Instant classic!). Ben tries to convince Hurley to come with him, but Hurley remembers that Sayid told him (last episode) to do the opposite of whatever Ben says. The police are still staking out Hurley's parents' house. He runs outside and screams, "I'm a murderer! I killed four people. Three people. However many people are dead, I killed 'em." He does this to escape Ben. Ben stands on the front porch of Hurley's parents house bewildered. The police take Hurley into custody.
Back to Sawyer and Juliet. "I'm going to make this quite simple for you," the man holding the rifle says. "You're going to tell me what you're doing, how many of you there are and how you got here." After threating by the men on Juliet's hands being cut off and a scuffle, the men are taken out by an unseen force... A knife finds its way into the back of the last attacker. It's the knife of John Locke. He greets Sawyer and Juliet. "Nice to see ya."
Who were these attackers? Were they the same people who launched the flaming arrow attack? They have on what look to be old school military uniforms. Are they the Dharma Initiative time-jumped to now? Are they Rousseau's crew? Are they the Others from the past? The future?
I think I've got to place my wager on the orignal Dharma Initiative. For them to be Rousseau's crew doesn't seen quite right and the Others always have such a homely, rag-tag look about them. Not at all like these fellows who are decked out in uniforms...
Cut to a strange room with a person in a cloak writing on a huge chalkboard, looking all druid-like. The person appears to be doing calculations. Pendulums are scathing lines on map laid out on the floor and this person walks to a very old computer (similar to the one in the original hatch, Apple II-like) and punches some keys. The person ascends a staircase up to a room where Benjamin Linus is lighting candles. He asks, "Any luck?" She says, "Yes." Ben says that he's having difficulties. The woman turns out to be Mrs. Hawking. Remember the lady who wouldn't sell Desmond the ring all those episodes ago?
She tells Ben that he's "only got seventy hours". He says that he's lost [Hurley]. He needs more time. She tells him that seventy hours is it. Ben asks her "What if I can't get them all to come back?" Mrs. Hawking says, "Then God help us all..."
THUD.
That's the end.
There it is. My recap sprinked with my theories and opinions... Now on to the other part...
CULTURAL REFERENCES
Among multiple cultural references in this episode, I'm only going to focus on a few. The others are either a stretch or refer to things other than music, movies, and books (which is what I get off on). Anyway...
-"Dream Police" by Cheap Trick is playing in the convenience store where Hurley buys the "I *HEART* my Shih-Tzu" shirt.
-Neil Frogurt wearing a red shirt may be a reference to Star Trek. The red shirted crew on Star Trek were usually expendable characters and we all saw what happened to poor Frogurt.
-Hurley references "The Godfather" (book or film, take your pick) whan he's talking with his dad about taking Sayid to the hospital.
There you go, guys. Another one in the books. I've got to again thank Ryan and Jen from "The Transmission", Jay and Jack from "The LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack", and Ralph and Ben from "The Dharmalars". They are there for us LOST fans each week and they give us a sounding board to what our fellow LOST fans all over the globe are thinking.
Also, thanks again to Lostpedia. Another invaluable LOST resource.
It's getting late and I'm beginning not to be able to focus on the screen, so I'll see you guys after next episode for more LOST stuff and any ol' time for anything else I might Llog. (That's right, it's a verb now).
In the meantime, be good to each other...
As always: Thanks for reading... and peace...
I figured I'd better get on blogging about LOST while I'm still in the mood. This post will recap Episode 2 of Season 5 entitled "The Lie". I'll insert my theories and opinions within that recap. I'll also go on to explore something I love about the show: the cultural references. Those will include refernces to music, movies, books or any other pop culture gem that the creators of this great show may have touched upon. And who knows? I might even try a new feature... We'll see...
Please don't confuse my spoiler warning at the top. If you're like me, you like to stay away from spoilers about episodes that haven't aired yet. This post WILL NOT contain spoilers of that nature... My spoiler warning is for those who have interest in the show, but haven't seen the episode being reviewed in THIS POST. If you've seen this episode and would like to read a humble viewer's opinions about it, you needn't worry. I won't spoil any future episodes here.
Now then...
"The Lie" begins with a "Three Years Ago" screen similar to that which we saw in Episode 1. We see someone pulling beers from a fridge. (Does anyone know what kind of beer this is? We could start a LOST alcohol aficionado's club... Post a comment, if you know...)
Anyway, the beer-puller turns out to be Frank Lapidus. This is when he's on board the boat that rescues our Oceanic Six. He comes up onto the deck where they're all sitting discussing "THE LIE".
They're deciding on whether or not to tell the truth after they're rescued. Jack is trying to get everyone to go with the story that he's made up to keep everyone remaining back on the island safe from Widmore and whatever else. Hurley is not so keen on this idea. He doesn't want to spend the rest of his life lying. He asks Sayid to back him up. Sayid declines and says that it's better if they lie. Hurley is not happy and says that one day Sayid will need his help. "...I'm tellin' you right now. You're not gettin' it..." are Hurley's words...
We then go to present day off-island time. The first thing we see is Sayid passed out in the passenger seat of a car. We find that Hurley is driving and he's frantic, trying to wake Sayid up. He runs over a trash can at the side of the road and the police sirens go off and he's pulled over.
The cop is Ana Lucia.
She asks Hurley, "What are you doing?" She asks what if she were real? She tells Hurley he needs to pull himself together, get some new clothes, take Sayid to someone he trusts and she tells Hurley that whatever he does, DO NOT GET ARRESTED. She closes with a "Libby says, 'Hi.'". If Ana Lucia hadn't said "What if I were real?", we might assume that she had time-jumped. Could this be a way for the creators to bring deceased characters back to life? If a character could infinitely time-jump, could they ever really meet their demise?
Cut to LOST on-screen.
Alright, back from commercial break, we cut back to the beach where Bernard and Rose are trying to start a fire. Frogurt comes up and asks "Who cares about fire?" as Sawyer scores (finally, sorry ladies) a shirt.
Sawyer walks to Juliet. He says that he thought that they might have lost the raft that Juliet's fiddling with in the time-jump. She says that whatever was with them is along for the ride... Important statement? I guess we'll see...
Farraday comes walking back to the beach. After talking with Charlotte, Miles, Juliet and Sawyer, he takes some gadget out of his pack and says that he needs to determine a new bearing and he needs to figure out where they are... in time.
Miles walks off and says that he's going after food.
Back to Hurley and Sayid. He's still trying to wake Sayid saying that he can't do this on his own. After lifting some money from a zonked-out Sayid, Hurley promises that he'll pay him back and heads into a convenience store. This is where he buys the soon to be legendary "I *heart* my Shih-Tzu" T-shirt. (Anybody know where I can buy one of these?)
The girl behind the counter recognizes Hurley, but not as a killer, only as the lottery winner and the guy who crashed in the plane. She tries to get him to buy another ticket. He tells her to keep the change and hauls it out of there.
As Sayid and Hurley pull away, Kate and Goober, I mean Aaron, pull into the same gas station. Kate tries to quiet Aaron and pulls out her cell phone, contemplating calling Jack. (By the way, I tried the number. I don't think it reaches anyone. Verizon told me that my number could not be completed as dialed. Sorry, Jack fans...) She reconsiders and closes the phone. A second later it rings. It's a caller from an unknown number. She answers and talks to a friend. "I can't believe it's you," she says. She tells the friend that she'll meet them in a half-hour.
Back to Ben and Jack in the hotel room where Ben says that he's flushed Jack's pills. Jack thanks him and says that he had planned to do just that. Ben tells Jack that Jack's going home. He tells Jack that if there's anything he wants in life to pack it in a suitcase, because Jack's never coming back. "Good," Jack replies... Jack asks Ben where he'll be. He says that he needs to get Locke's body somewhere safe. Jack says something like "He's dead, isn't he?" Ben gives no reply and says that he'll see Jack in six hours.
Lloyd theory insert: Though I'm not alone in this by any means, I don't think Locke is dead. I discussed what I think might be going on in last episode's post. I think Locke is suspended in some way. His body not active while his consciousness is active somewhere else. C'mon, can Locke really be dead? After all we've been through with the character: The miraculous recovery of his legs, the whole (and multiple) ordeal(s) with his father... Can he really just be dead now? Ben's lack of a reply almost confirms this.
Cut to Hurley's dad making a bizarre sort of sandwich and tuning in to Expose (remember Nikki and Paolo?). Hurley knocks on the door with an unconscious Sayid draped over his shoulders. "Hey, Dad..."
Hurley recounts the ambush of himself and Sayid to his father. The phone rings. It's the police. They're looking for Hurley in connection with the murder at the mental institution where he's fled from. Hurley's dad agrees to cover for him, but says that afterwards Hurley better tell him the truth. Hurley's dad pulls off the cover to the police. He asks Hurley if he's killed three people, as the police said. Hruley says that Sayid did it. His dad says that they need to get Sayid to a hospital (Sayid's still passed out from the tranquilizer darts in the ambush). Hurley says that they can't do that. They're being chased. After some more discussion Hurley says that he knows what to do.
We go to Kate and Aaron. She lets "Goober" (Aaron) press 3-1 in an elevator to go to the top floor. The friend she got the call from turns out to be Sun.
We go back to Ben. He's entering a butcher shop. The woman behind the counter greets Ben. He calls her "Jill" and they talk about what we assume is Locke's body and keeping it safe. Ben asks if Gabriel and Jeffrey have checked in yet. (WHO?)Jill says that everything's moving right on schedule. Jill asks about Jack and makes a snide comment about Jack using pills. AND THEN: We actually see Ben sticking up for Jack, telling Jill to cut him some slack. He's been through a lot.
My, how things have changed! The Ben we used to know would have never vouched for Jack! Or has he really had the survivors' best interests at heart the whole time and been forced to play another role? Hmmmm...
Ben tells Jill she needs to keep Locke's body safe or everything that they're about to do won't matter at all.
Back to the beach with Rose, Bernard, and Frogurt. They're still trying to make fire.
Farraday and Charlotte share some fruit. She says she can't shake the headache that she has. Farraday says that he's sure she'll be OK. She says it's not just the headache. She's been trying to remember her mom's maiden name and she can't. She asks Farraday if he knows what's happening to her. Right on cue, someone yells, "DINNER!"
Miles has returned with a boar for supper. When asked he says that he just found it. He needs a knife. Frogurt says something like "Oh yeah, the knife's over there. Right next to the Cuisinart!" (HA! At least he got a good line in before he dies.)
Then it happens. Just as Frogurt is complaining that they can't even make fire, he gets a flaming arrow to the chest. This is the beginning of an all out flaming arrow attack on those at the beach. Sawyer, Juliet, Charlotte, Farraday, Rose, Bernard and the log-carrying guys all run in terror as Frogurt meets death by heartburn... Several minor characters (nameless extras, log-carrying guys) also meet their demise by flaming arrow.
Back to Hurley's parents' house. He peers out the window at the police stake-out. Hurley's dad asks if he's crazy. He says he has a really good reason for lying to his father. Hurley's mom comes in and asks why there is a dead Pakistani on her couch. Hurley says that he (Sayid) is not dead, just unconscious. Hurley's mom says that he's not breathing. We find that Sayid is not dead, but very knocked out. Barely breathing. Hurley's mom scolds him and asks if he knows what they are saying about him on the news. He tells her he knows as Hurley's dad departs in a vehicle with Sayid's body hidden in the back.
Back to Kate and Sun. They talk about Sun's daughter and Aaron. Kate tells Sun about the lawyers from last episode asking about the relationship between her and Aaron. Sun says that Kate needs to "take care" of the lawyers. Kate asks, "What kind of person do you think I am?"
Does Kate really have the nerve to ask that after killing her "father", some guys at a bank for toy plane, and some others that she's snuffed out along the way? C'mon, KATE!
Sun says that she thinks Kate is the kind of person who can make the tough decisions, you know: like when she left Sun's husband to die on the freighter? She says she doesn't blame Kate for the whole Jin thing and asks how Jack is...
We then go off to Hurley's dad and Jack walking through a parking garage. After some squabbling, Jack says he's going to take Sayid to a hospital, despite Hurley's dad relaying his son's cornecern for Sayid's safety. Jack says he's going to do what's best for Sayid. Hurley's dad makes Jack promise to stay away from Hurley after this exchange is done.
We see an ambulance pulling into the hospital and Jack driving in beside it. A little trick, because we know that Jack's got Sayid in the back of his Jeep (sneaky!). Jack speaks with Ben on the phone and tells him that he's got Sayid.
We go back to Hurley's parents' house and Hurley's mom is questioning him about Sayid. She asks him what has happened. Why would anyone want to hurt him? What's going on? Hurley then recaps basically the first four seasons of LOST from his point-of-view. His mother says that she believes him. She doesn't understand him, but she believes him. Hurley says that bad stuff is happening to them now because they should not have lied.
We go to Sawyer and Juliet walking through the jungle. Sawyer runs something into his foot while walking. He removes it. They commence. They notice people walking through the jungle. They hide, but are found. A man screams, "What are you doing on our island?"
Cut to Jack working on Sayid in a hospital. Sayid finally violently awakes and asks where Hurley is. Jack says that he's at his parents' house. Sayid asks, "Does anyone else know he's there?"
Cut back to Hurley's parents house where he is preparing a Hot Pocket. Ben comes up behind and startles Hurley. Hurley throws the Hot Pocket at him (Instant classic!). Ben tries to convince Hurley to come with him, but Hurley remembers that Sayid told him (last episode) to do the opposite of whatever Ben says. The police are still staking out Hurley's parents' house. He runs outside and screams, "I'm a murderer! I killed four people. Three people. However many people are dead, I killed 'em." He does this to escape Ben. Ben stands on the front porch of Hurley's parents house bewildered. The police take Hurley into custody.
Back to Sawyer and Juliet. "I'm going to make this quite simple for you," the man holding the rifle says. "You're going to tell me what you're doing, how many of you there are and how you got here." After threating by the men on Juliet's hands being cut off and a scuffle, the men are taken out by an unseen force... A knife finds its way into the back of the last attacker. It's the knife of John Locke. He greets Sawyer and Juliet. "Nice to see ya."
Who were these attackers? Were they the same people who launched the flaming arrow attack? They have on what look to be old school military uniforms. Are they the Dharma Initiative time-jumped to now? Are they Rousseau's crew? Are they the Others from the past? The future?
I think I've got to place my wager on the orignal Dharma Initiative. For them to be Rousseau's crew doesn't seen quite right and the Others always have such a homely, rag-tag look about them. Not at all like these fellows who are decked out in uniforms...
Cut to a strange room with a person in a cloak writing on a huge chalkboard, looking all druid-like. The person appears to be doing calculations. Pendulums are scathing lines on map laid out on the floor and this person walks to a very old computer (similar to the one in the original hatch, Apple II-like) and punches some keys. The person ascends a staircase up to a room where Benjamin Linus is lighting candles. He asks, "Any luck?" She says, "Yes." Ben says that he's having difficulties. The woman turns out to be Mrs. Hawking. Remember the lady who wouldn't sell Desmond the ring all those episodes ago?
She tells Ben that he's "only got seventy hours". He says that he's lost [Hurley]. He needs more time. She tells him that seventy hours is it. Ben asks her "What if I can't get them all to come back?" Mrs. Hawking says, "Then God help us all..."
THUD.
That's the end.
There it is. My recap sprinked with my theories and opinions... Now on to the other part...
CULTURAL REFERENCES
Among multiple cultural references in this episode, I'm only going to focus on a few. The others are either a stretch or refer to things other than music, movies, and books (which is what I get off on). Anyway...
-"Dream Police" by Cheap Trick is playing in the convenience store where Hurley buys the "I *HEART* my Shih-Tzu" shirt.
-Neil Frogurt wearing a red shirt may be a reference to Star Trek. The red shirted crew on Star Trek were usually expendable characters and we all saw what happened to poor Frogurt.
-Hurley references "The Godfather" (book or film, take your pick) whan he's talking with his dad about taking Sayid to the hospital.
There you go, guys. Another one in the books. I've got to again thank Ryan and Jen from "The Transmission", Jay and Jack from "The LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack", and Ralph and Ben from "The Dharmalars". They are there for us LOST fans each week and they give us a sounding board to what our fellow LOST fans all over the globe are thinking.
Also, thanks again to Lostpedia. Another invaluable LOST resource.
It's getting late and I'm beginning not to be able to focus on the screen, so I'll see you guys after next episode for more LOST stuff and any ol' time for anything else I might Llog. (That's right, it's a verb now).
In the meantime, be good to each other...
As always: Thanks for reading... and peace...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
LOST: Season 5, Episode 1: "Because You Left"... ***SPOILERS***
Hey guys,
Alright.
It's way past time to do this...
LOST IS BACK!!!
I've been contemplating doing some blog posting on the show ever since I've begun counting down to its return. I've seen the first episode of Season 5 now twice and I'll probably watch it again as I type this.
This won't be your typical LOST blog entry. Some of the other guys out there throw out spoilers for future episodes and such. Since I'm a "spoiler-free" kind of guy, I'll refrain from that. However, I know that some of you are interested in the show, but have not watched the show up to its current episodes. I'm sorry, but these posts would be spoilers for you folks...
What I really want to do in these is put forth my take on the episode in reference, give some of my theories, and who knows what else...
Here we go...
The show opens with an alarm clock going off at 8:15 (TWO OF THE NUMBERS!) and a sleepy Dr. Marvin Candle/Edgar Halliwax/Mark Wickman tends to a child. Who is the child? Is it Charlotte? Is it Farraday? Is it a baby who will mean nothing to us in future episodes?
And don't forget: "Ya cain't make a record if ya cain't make a record if ya cain't make a record..." (Does that record skipping mean anything? A time jump?)
The good doctor goes off to make a Dharma orientation video for "The Arrow Station". Someone breaks in and says that they have a problem... Some workers are drilling at the Orchid Station and they can't get through the wall. A worker has collapsed and clutched the sides of head and "freaking out". In short, "The Frozen Donkey Wheel" is in there. It's source of limitless energy and will allow them to manipulate time. A worker asks, "What, so we'll go back and kill Hitler?" But, no... Dr. Candle says that there are rules...
Then, a worker walks past with his head down as Candle departs. It's Farraday... Which means the baby in the crib can't be Farraday, right?
Flash to the funeral parlor where we last saw Jack and Ben. They're preparing to leave. "Why are we here? How did all of this happen?" Jack asks... Ben's reply is, "It happened because you left, Jack..." Does he mean that it all happened just because Jack left or because all of the Oceanic Six left? Does it matter? I guess we'll see...
Next, Jack and Ben are in a hotel room. Jack shaves his depressed, drug-addict guy beard and then talks with Ben about getting the rest of the Oceanic Six back to the island. Jack asks Ben when the last time he saw Locke was. Ben says that it was at the Orchid Station. Jack says that the last time he talked to Locke, Locke said that all of them had to go back or that everyone they left behind would die. Ben asks Jack if Locke told him what happened after they left. Jack says no. And Ben says in his mysterious Ben-like way, "Then I guess we'll never know..." Do we really think that Ben doesn't know? I think he knows...
Flash to the "Three Years Earlier" thing that's put up on-screen. We see Ben turning the Donkey Wheel and a recount of the flash of light that we all saw when he did so in Season Four.
We go to where we last saw Locke alive on the island, except that after this flash, Richard and the Others that Locke was with have flashed away... They're gone. Locke is confused.
We next see Farraday and the those he was with on the raft. They, too, have been affected by the flash. Frogurt asks what the flash was and Farraday says that they must have been "inside the radius".
Next, to Sawyer and Juliet. They, too, are confused by the flash and remark that the freighter, which was just a moment ago smoking on the horizon, is gone. Bernard walks onto the beach, followed by a screaming Rose... They are, of course, confused... Their camp is GONE after the flash!!! Farraday walks onto the beach and says that the camp is not gone, it hasn't been built yet... There are hints that there will be more time-flashes.
Now, a theory that I think is very interesting but that I can't take credit for is that the island is flashing repeatedly through time and space. The good folks on a couple of the LOST podcasts ("The Dharmalars" and "The Transmission") have spoken about this. (By the way, LOVE YOU GUYS ON THOSE PODCASTS!!!)
This theory explains a lot. Imagine if the island is moving through both space and time. This explains the polar bear, the Black Rock, Yemi's plane, and a host of other things... We think that the Smoke Monster is some kind of advanced security system based on what characters on the show and some theorists have said... But what if it's some kind of futuristic life-form that the island has come up underneath? Is there anything else that can be explained by the island popping in and out of time and space?
Next, we see Kate at her home with Aaron (affectionately dubbed "Goober"). The doorbell rings and two men from a law firm want samples of Kate and Aaron's blood to determine their relationship. They can't divulge the name of their client. Is it Sun? Ben? Widmore? Anyway, a concerned Kate packs some clothes, a gun, some money, and Aaron and takes her leave.
Over to the island and Sawyer, Juliet, Farraday, Charlotte, and Miles walking through the jungle... After some discussion, Sawyer asking for a shirt, Sawyer bitch-slapping Farraday and Charlotte exclaiming, "Oi!", Farraday explains that Ben turning the Donkey Wheel has dislodged them from time. Farraday asks if everyone in the group is accounted for. Sawyer says no... Locke isn't...
Back to Locke... A plane buzzes in overhead. It's Yemi's. The drug plane. Locke watches it crash. The island had flashed back to when it had crashed. Locke yells to the plane and with no Boone to do the climbing for him this time, he climbs up towards the plane and then someone shoots him in the leg. He falls. Ethan Rom (I thought he was dead!) walks up... "Who are you?" Ethan asks.
Pause there for a moment.
Just wanted to insert my opinion that if Ethan can come back, so can all our other favorite dead characters. I personally don't think we've seen the last of Charlie, Eko, maybe even Boone, Shannon, Libby and Ana Lucia... And by that, I mean alive... Not in some sweat lodge fever-dream or in a Hurley's talking to dead people kind-of-way... Alive...
After Locke haggling with Ethan a bit, another flash takes place and Ethan is whisked away. Night suddenly falls on John Locke.
Back to Sawyer and the others... The've felt the effects of the flash, too...
We now go to Sun. She's embarking on a flight to L.A. She flagged and taken into a room where Charles Widmore appears... and he's not happy. He's angry at Sun for approching "in broad daylight, in front of [his] associates." He says he will be respected. He talks to Sun about what their aforementioned "common interests" might be. She says, "To kill Benjamin Linus..."
Is anyone going for this? Do we really think that Sun wants Ben dead? Or is she working with him? Is she really that averse to getting back to the island? She must know something of the strange goings-on there. Could she really NOT want to go back there and have the possibility of meeting up with a supposedly dead Jin? OR... What I think might be going on is that Sun utterly despises everyone who's had anything to do with this whole ordeal. Maybe she'll go crazy and try to just do totally awful things to everyone. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid... Everyone... Wouldn't that be crazy if she just went, um, crazy?
Back to Jack and Ben. We see them watching the news on TV. Hurley has escaped the mental institution. Ben says, "Looks like we have a change of plan..."
Now, to Hurley and Sayid. They're getting Hurley some food. They finally go to a hotel room. Sayid tells Hurley that he's been working for Ben. He tells Hurley that if he ever runs into Ben, just do the opposite of what Ben says. They are ambushed from inside the hotel room they are going to. Sayid kills both attackers but not before he's shot with some kind of tranquilizer dart. He tells Hurley to get him to the car.
What has happened between Sayid and Ben? Sayid goes from working for him to now admonishing Hurley not to trust him... Can't wait to see...
Back to Juliet, Miles, Farraday, Charlotte and Sawyer walking to the hatch... They observe that after the last flash, they are now after the point in time after the crash of Oceanic 815. Farraday tells them (after some discussion) that they cannot change events that have happened... "Whatever happened, happened... We can't stop it." Sawyer asks, "Then who can?"
Back to Locke, lying on the jungle floor, shot in the leg... After getting to Yemi's plane to get a seatbelt for a crude dressing of his wound, he sees someone walking through the jungle who turns out to be Richard Alpert. Richard tends to John's leg. Locke asks how Richard knew that there was a bullet in his leg. Richard says that he told him or rather will tell him... Richard tells John that the next time they meet, Richard won't know him. He gives John a compass. "What's it do?" John asks. "It points North..." says Richard... (Pretty comedic, but I love it...) Richard tells Locke that he's got to get everyone back to the island. When John asks how he's supposed to do that, Richard says, "You're going to have to die, John..." Another flash sends them apart...
By the way, it is my opinion that John Locke is NOT REALLY DEAD!!! Perhaps his body in the coffin (as has been suggested by those podcasters wiser than myself) is in a suspended state as his consciousness is active on the island (what we're seeing in this episode). After all, if I'm correct, these events with John Locke are taking place as his "dead" body lies in the casket back with Jack and Ben.
Back to Sawyer and the others... Juliet explains to Farraday what the hatch was before it blew up. Desmond was in there... Remember? Another flash (presumably the same one that just happened for Locke) and Sawyer says, "Son of a *FLASH* bitch..." The hatch is whole again now. Sawyer says that he's going to the back door of the hatch to get some supplies... Farraday says that this is not a good idea. Farraday explains that Desmond will not know him even if he IS in there because of the time shift. "If it didn't happen, it can't happen!!!" Farraday exclaims... We see a more good-guy side of Sawyer as he says that everyone who he cares about just died on the freighter and he knows what he can't change... No one answers when Sawyer beats on the hatch door...
With Farraday and Charlotte remaining behind as the others take off for the beach, he notices that she has a nosebleed. He tells her he forgot his pack and that he needs to go and get it and sends her back to the beach. He begins leafing through the notebook that has all that research on the Dharma Initiative and his time-travel findings and such...
He begins beating on the hatch door. Desmond opens. He's wearing the contamination suit that he wore when he went outside when we first saw him and pointing a gun at Farraday. After some haggling, Farraday tells Desmond that he's special. He needs the incarnation of Desmond that's off the island in the future, the future referring to this very moment when Farraday and Desmond are talking (follow me?) to go to Oxford and find his mother. A time-flash happens before Farraday can get her name out.
Desmond (the one in present day off-the-island time) wakes up next to Penny. He's disturbed by his dream. He says that he was on the island while he was sleeping. Penny tells him that he's alright, he been off the island for three years now. It was just a dream. "It wasn't a dream, Pen... It was a memory..."
It turns out that Desmond and Penny are in a boat. Desmond goes up out of the boat's cabin and tells Penny that they're leaving. "Leaving to go where?" she asks. Des replies, "Oxford."
And... THUD! LOST appears on the screen and the episode's done.
There.
That's one of the things I hope to do with these blog entries. I've recapped the entire episode with my opinions and theories (and some interesting theories of some other people) inserted.
I want to thank Ryan and Jen from "The Transmission", Jay and Jack from "The LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack", and Ben and Ralph from "The Dharmalars" for podcasting, keeping us going with the show, making me laugh, and just doing what they do. If you're a fan of LOST and you haven't listened to these podcasts, you're truly missing out. You can go go iTunes and download them for free. You don't need to have an iPod or even an MP3 player to do so... These folks are great to listen to about LOST and are just great people all around. They keep with it week after week and I'm glad to have found their podcasts.
Now then...
Another reason why I love this show (among many) is that it pays homage to music, books, movies, and all sorts of things of cultural significance. I want to take a look at those things every week as I write about the show. If I ever get off my ass enough to write a sweeping epic such as LOST, I hope to be able to pay homage to some of my favorite things like the creators of this great show do.
So...
CULTURAL REFERENCES
-"Shotgun Willie" by Willie Nelson is the song that's playing in the beginning of the episode as Dr. Marvin Candle prepares to go off to the station to make the Dharma video.
-"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is referenced when Saywer is pounding on the back door of the hatch saying "It's the Ghost of Christmas Future!"
-Some say "Gilligan's Island" is referenced when Sawyer calls Charlotte, "Ginger"... Some say it's The Spice Girls being referenced... (HA! Sorry, Jay...) Something that no one has said yet, though... Could this be a reference to South Park? Remember the episode of South Park with all the redheads and the "Ginger-vitis"?
-Sawyer calls Farraday "Dilbert", referring to the white-collar comic strip character.
I have to also give thanks to the folks over at Lostpedia, which is basically a Wikipedia for LOST. They always help with the cultural references and a multitude of other things... THANKS, GUYS!
Well, that's about it for "Because You Left". Hopefully, I can get on to Episode 2, "The Lie" in the next day or so and also be altogether more timely with these blog posts. We're only three days away from another episode and I've still got one to blog about!!!
Anyway... If you've read this, thank you. Keep watching LOST, be good to each other, and keep reading the Llog for LOST stuff and all the other stuff I deem noteworthy...
Peace...
Alright.
It's way past time to do this...
LOST IS BACK!!!
I've been contemplating doing some blog posting on the show ever since I've begun counting down to its return. I've seen the first episode of Season 5 now twice and I'll probably watch it again as I type this.
This won't be your typical LOST blog entry. Some of the other guys out there throw out spoilers for future episodes and such. Since I'm a "spoiler-free" kind of guy, I'll refrain from that. However, I know that some of you are interested in the show, but have not watched the show up to its current episodes. I'm sorry, but these posts would be spoilers for you folks...
What I really want to do in these is put forth my take on the episode in reference, give some of my theories, and who knows what else...
Here we go...
The show opens with an alarm clock going off at 8:15 (TWO OF THE NUMBERS!) and a sleepy Dr. Marvin Candle/Edgar Halliwax/Mark Wickman tends to a child. Who is the child? Is it Charlotte? Is it Farraday? Is it a baby who will mean nothing to us in future episodes?
And don't forget: "Ya cain't make a record if ya cain't make a record if ya cain't make a record..." (Does that record skipping mean anything? A time jump?)
The good doctor goes off to make a Dharma orientation video for "The Arrow Station". Someone breaks in and says that they have a problem... Some workers are drilling at the Orchid Station and they can't get through the wall. A worker has collapsed and clutched the sides of head and "freaking out". In short, "The Frozen Donkey Wheel" is in there. It's source of limitless energy and will allow them to manipulate time. A worker asks, "What, so we'll go back and kill Hitler?" But, no... Dr. Candle says that there are rules...
Then, a worker walks past with his head down as Candle departs. It's Farraday... Which means the baby in the crib can't be Farraday, right?
Flash to the funeral parlor where we last saw Jack and Ben. They're preparing to leave. "Why are we here? How did all of this happen?" Jack asks... Ben's reply is, "It happened because you left, Jack..." Does he mean that it all happened just because Jack left or because all of the Oceanic Six left? Does it matter? I guess we'll see...
Next, Jack and Ben are in a hotel room. Jack shaves his depressed, drug-addict guy beard and then talks with Ben about getting the rest of the Oceanic Six back to the island. Jack asks Ben when the last time he saw Locke was. Ben says that it was at the Orchid Station. Jack says that the last time he talked to Locke, Locke said that all of them had to go back or that everyone they left behind would die. Ben asks Jack if Locke told him what happened after they left. Jack says no. And Ben says in his mysterious Ben-like way, "Then I guess we'll never know..." Do we really think that Ben doesn't know? I think he knows...
Flash to the "Three Years Earlier" thing that's put up on-screen. We see Ben turning the Donkey Wheel and a recount of the flash of light that we all saw when he did so in Season Four.
We go to where we last saw Locke alive on the island, except that after this flash, Richard and the Others that Locke was with have flashed away... They're gone. Locke is confused.
We next see Farraday and the those he was with on the raft. They, too, have been affected by the flash. Frogurt asks what the flash was and Farraday says that they must have been "inside the radius".
Next, to Sawyer and Juliet. They, too, are confused by the flash and remark that the freighter, which was just a moment ago smoking on the horizon, is gone. Bernard walks onto the beach, followed by a screaming Rose... They are, of course, confused... Their camp is GONE after the flash!!! Farraday walks onto the beach and says that the camp is not gone, it hasn't been built yet... There are hints that there will be more time-flashes.
Now, a theory that I think is very interesting but that I can't take credit for is that the island is flashing repeatedly through time and space. The good folks on a couple of the LOST podcasts ("The Dharmalars" and "The Transmission") have spoken about this. (By the way, LOVE YOU GUYS ON THOSE PODCASTS!!!)
This theory explains a lot. Imagine if the island is moving through both space and time. This explains the polar bear, the Black Rock, Yemi's plane, and a host of other things... We think that the Smoke Monster is some kind of advanced security system based on what characters on the show and some theorists have said... But what if it's some kind of futuristic life-form that the island has come up underneath? Is there anything else that can be explained by the island popping in and out of time and space?
Next, we see Kate at her home with Aaron (affectionately dubbed "Goober"). The doorbell rings and two men from a law firm want samples of Kate and Aaron's blood to determine their relationship. They can't divulge the name of their client. Is it Sun? Ben? Widmore? Anyway, a concerned Kate packs some clothes, a gun, some money, and Aaron and takes her leave.
Over to the island and Sawyer, Juliet, Farraday, Charlotte, and Miles walking through the jungle... After some discussion, Sawyer asking for a shirt, Sawyer bitch-slapping Farraday and Charlotte exclaiming, "Oi!", Farraday explains that Ben turning the Donkey Wheel has dislodged them from time. Farraday asks if everyone in the group is accounted for. Sawyer says no... Locke isn't...
Back to Locke... A plane buzzes in overhead. It's Yemi's. The drug plane. Locke watches it crash. The island had flashed back to when it had crashed. Locke yells to the plane and with no Boone to do the climbing for him this time, he climbs up towards the plane and then someone shoots him in the leg. He falls. Ethan Rom (I thought he was dead!) walks up... "Who are you?" Ethan asks.
Pause there for a moment.
Just wanted to insert my opinion that if Ethan can come back, so can all our other favorite dead characters. I personally don't think we've seen the last of Charlie, Eko, maybe even Boone, Shannon, Libby and Ana Lucia... And by that, I mean alive... Not in some sweat lodge fever-dream or in a Hurley's talking to dead people kind-of-way... Alive...
After Locke haggling with Ethan a bit, another flash takes place and Ethan is whisked away. Night suddenly falls on John Locke.
Back to Sawyer and the others... The've felt the effects of the flash, too...
We now go to Sun. She's embarking on a flight to L.A. She flagged and taken into a room where Charles Widmore appears... and he's not happy. He's angry at Sun for approching "in broad daylight, in front of [his] associates." He says he will be respected. He talks to Sun about what their aforementioned "common interests" might be. She says, "To kill Benjamin Linus..."
Is anyone going for this? Do we really think that Sun wants Ben dead? Or is she working with him? Is she really that averse to getting back to the island? She must know something of the strange goings-on there. Could she really NOT want to go back there and have the possibility of meeting up with a supposedly dead Jin? OR... What I think might be going on is that Sun utterly despises everyone who's had anything to do with this whole ordeal. Maybe she'll go crazy and try to just do totally awful things to everyone. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid... Everyone... Wouldn't that be crazy if she just went, um, crazy?
Back to Jack and Ben. We see them watching the news on TV. Hurley has escaped the mental institution. Ben says, "Looks like we have a change of plan..."
Now, to Hurley and Sayid. They're getting Hurley some food. They finally go to a hotel room. Sayid tells Hurley that he's been working for Ben. He tells Hurley that if he ever runs into Ben, just do the opposite of what Ben says. They are ambushed from inside the hotel room they are going to. Sayid kills both attackers but not before he's shot with some kind of tranquilizer dart. He tells Hurley to get him to the car.
What has happened between Sayid and Ben? Sayid goes from working for him to now admonishing Hurley not to trust him... Can't wait to see...
Back to Juliet, Miles, Farraday, Charlotte and Sawyer walking to the hatch... They observe that after the last flash, they are now after the point in time after the crash of Oceanic 815. Farraday tells them (after some discussion) that they cannot change events that have happened... "Whatever happened, happened... We can't stop it." Sawyer asks, "Then who can?"
Back to Locke, lying on the jungle floor, shot in the leg... After getting to Yemi's plane to get a seatbelt for a crude dressing of his wound, he sees someone walking through the jungle who turns out to be Richard Alpert. Richard tends to John's leg. Locke asks how Richard knew that there was a bullet in his leg. Richard says that he told him or rather will tell him... Richard tells John that the next time they meet, Richard won't know him. He gives John a compass. "What's it do?" John asks. "It points North..." says Richard... (Pretty comedic, but I love it...) Richard tells Locke that he's got to get everyone back to the island. When John asks how he's supposed to do that, Richard says, "You're going to have to die, John..." Another flash sends them apart...
By the way, it is my opinion that John Locke is NOT REALLY DEAD!!! Perhaps his body in the coffin (as has been suggested by those podcasters wiser than myself) is in a suspended state as his consciousness is active on the island (what we're seeing in this episode). After all, if I'm correct, these events with John Locke are taking place as his "dead" body lies in the casket back with Jack and Ben.
Back to Sawyer and the others... Juliet explains to Farraday what the hatch was before it blew up. Desmond was in there... Remember? Another flash (presumably the same one that just happened for Locke) and Sawyer says, "Son of a *FLASH* bitch..." The hatch is whole again now. Sawyer says that he's going to the back door of the hatch to get some supplies... Farraday says that this is not a good idea. Farraday explains that Desmond will not know him even if he IS in there because of the time shift. "If it didn't happen, it can't happen!!!" Farraday exclaims... We see a more good-guy side of Sawyer as he says that everyone who he cares about just died on the freighter and he knows what he can't change... No one answers when Sawyer beats on the hatch door...
With Farraday and Charlotte remaining behind as the others take off for the beach, he notices that she has a nosebleed. He tells her he forgot his pack and that he needs to go and get it and sends her back to the beach. He begins leafing through the notebook that has all that research on the Dharma Initiative and his time-travel findings and such...
He begins beating on the hatch door. Desmond opens. He's wearing the contamination suit that he wore when he went outside when we first saw him and pointing a gun at Farraday. After some haggling, Farraday tells Desmond that he's special. He needs the incarnation of Desmond that's off the island in the future, the future referring to this very moment when Farraday and Desmond are talking (follow me?) to go to Oxford and find his mother. A time-flash happens before Farraday can get her name out.
Desmond (the one in present day off-the-island time) wakes up next to Penny. He's disturbed by his dream. He says that he was on the island while he was sleeping. Penny tells him that he's alright, he been off the island for three years now. It was just a dream. "It wasn't a dream, Pen... It was a memory..."
It turns out that Desmond and Penny are in a boat. Desmond goes up out of the boat's cabin and tells Penny that they're leaving. "Leaving to go where?" she asks. Des replies, "Oxford."
And... THUD! LOST appears on the screen and the episode's done.
There.
That's one of the things I hope to do with these blog entries. I've recapped the entire episode with my opinions and theories (and some interesting theories of some other people) inserted.
I want to thank Ryan and Jen from "The Transmission", Jay and Jack from "The LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack", and Ben and Ralph from "The Dharmalars" for podcasting, keeping us going with the show, making me laugh, and just doing what they do. If you're a fan of LOST and you haven't listened to these podcasts, you're truly missing out. You can go go iTunes and download them for free. You don't need to have an iPod or even an MP3 player to do so... These folks are great to listen to about LOST and are just great people all around. They keep with it week after week and I'm glad to have found their podcasts.
Now then...
Another reason why I love this show (among many) is that it pays homage to music, books, movies, and all sorts of things of cultural significance. I want to take a look at those things every week as I write about the show. If I ever get off my ass enough to write a sweeping epic such as LOST, I hope to be able to pay homage to some of my favorite things like the creators of this great show do.
So...
CULTURAL REFERENCES
-"Shotgun Willie" by Willie Nelson is the song that's playing in the beginning of the episode as Dr. Marvin Candle prepares to go off to the station to make the Dharma video.
-"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is referenced when Saywer is pounding on the back door of the hatch saying "It's the Ghost of Christmas Future!"
-Some say "Gilligan's Island" is referenced when Sawyer calls Charlotte, "Ginger"... Some say it's The Spice Girls being referenced... (HA! Sorry, Jay...) Something that no one has said yet, though... Could this be a reference to South Park? Remember the episode of South Park with all the redheads and the "Ginger-vitis"?
-Sawyer calls Farraday "Dilbert", referring to the white-collar comic strip character.
I have to also give thanks to the folks over at Lostpedia, which is basically a Wikipedia for LOST. They always help with the cultural references and a multitude of other things... THANKS, GUYS!
Well, that's about it for "Because You Left". Hopefully, I can get on to Episode 2, "The Lie" in the next day or so and also be altogether more timely with these blog posts. We're only three days away from another episode and I've still got one to blog about!!!
Anyway... If you've read this, thank you. Keep watching LOST, be good to each other, and keep reading the Llog for LOST stuff and all the other stuff I deem noteworthy...
Peace...
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Even more Lloyd-ism
Hey guys,
I've been playing around online and "social networking" a little bit and I've started using a couple more sites...
I've added Facebook, Goodreads, and Flickr to the links down the right side of the page...
I think we all know what Facebook is. A social networking site in the vein of MySpace, but it's one that I think I like better...
Goodreads is a site where you go and list, review, and discuss the books that you've read or are reading or want to read...
Flickr is a photo sharing site...
Go check 'em out guys, if you're so inclined...
Thanks for browsing the Llog...
And peace...
I've been playing around online and "social networking" a little bit and I've started using a couple more sites...
I've added Facebook, Goodreads, and Flickr to the links down the right side of the page...
I think we all know what Facebook is. A social networking site in the vein of MySpace, but it's one that I think I like better...
Goodreads is a site where you go and list, review, and discuss the books that you've read or are reading or want to read...
Flickr is a photo sharing site...
Go check 'em out guys, if you're so inclined...
Thanks for browsing the Llog...
And peace...
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