Great Moments In Live News Reporting

glumbert - Anchor vs Reporter

LOST S4 x E 5 -- The Constant

Really late with this one, but what else is new this season? Here's a nice recap, followed by some very quick thoughts and one big theory.

1. Best episode of the season. Hands down. While the other episodes delivered a bombshell at the very end of each, this episode didn't allow the viewer to blink for close to an hour.

2. Jack and Juliet did a great job of interrogating Charlotte. There's obviously much more to their objectives than just grabbing Ben; especially if Naomi originally landed on the island looking for Desmond. Speaking of Juliet, I believe the episode is centered around her this coming week.

3. The auction scene was interesting in that we learned great grandpa Hanso was the author of the journal regarding the voyages of the Black Rock. The contents have only been viewed by the family, which has probably helped keep the island and its secrets, well... a secret.

4. Charles Widmore is the lucky winner. Surely he celebrated with some 60-year old McCutchen. Perhaps he sets up the race along the island's path after reading about the island in the journal, all in an effort to guarantee the permanent disappearance of Desmond, aka the not-good-enough chap his daughter Penny is in love with. So he hires Libby to give Desmond a boat, and tells Desmond constantly that he's not good enough so that Desmond concludes that winning the race is the only solution.

5. Daniel told Frank to stay at 305 degrees, yet Ben told Michael to stay at 325 degrees. Was Ben lying? Or is Daniel a little bit off? It appeared that things only started getting bad for Desmond during the storm in the sky, at which point the helicopter veered slightly off course.

6. Again with the eyes. What's with the eyes???

7. Minkowski - a bit of a letdown? I was hoping for a better and longer lasting character. Anyway, this is as obscure of a reference as I'll ever throw out, but he kind of reminded me of that guy in the back middle seat in the car in Wayne's World when they're singing Bohemian Rhapsody.

8. Is "2.342 oscillating @ 11Hz" the new "1.21 gigawatts?"

9. For a former soldier who always seems to screw up with respect to his combat plans, Sayid sure knows how to fix electronics and associated wires in record time. This was even more ridiculous than the time he fixed the computer in the hatch so the button could be pressed in time. Yeah, the computer with a freaking bullet hole in it.

10. Contrary to what some have thought to have seen, every date in October was crossed off. It was just tough to see the yellow X's.

11. Daniel had some serious math going on in his notebook and on the blackboard.

12. Time problem: Eloise runs through the maze perfectly because Daniel sent her mind to the future where he taught her how to do so. But now that she's back, he can't teach her because she already knows how to do it, so that event in the future never gets to happen. She's taught without ever being taught in "real life." They made a point of stressing that you "can't change the future," but it seems that was exactly what happened here.

13. The numbers made a guest appearance a few times this episode: Penny's apartment (sorry, flat) number, the auction lot number for the journal, 2.342, etc.

14. Now that Desmond has a constant, does he still jump back and forth all the time? I'm guessing the answer is yes, which will likely be the reason he's ultimately discharged from the Scottish military. Is this also why he subsequently adopts the expression "see you in another life, brotha?"

15. The BIG theory: We know know that those who have been exposed to radiation may suffer complications when traveling to and from the island. While we know certain people who have a logical reason for wanting to remain on the island (Rose and her cancer; Locke and his paralysis; etc.), it would seem that the majority of the Losties would want to be rescued and head back home.

However, we're led to believe that only 6 of the Flight 815 survivors get off the island. So who else might be affected by having been exposed to a major dose of electromagnetism? Certainly Locke, Charlie, and Eko, who were all down in the hatch with Desmond when he turned the failsafe key. Of course Charlie and Eko are dead and Locke would sooner die than go back home to work for Hurley's box company.

Perhaps we can even assume that anyone near the hatch at the time of the implosion is also at risk. Who does that leave us with? Well, while Desmond was busy "saving the world," Michael was leading a team of Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley to go fight the Others and get Walt back. Also away from the hatch were Sayid, Jin and Sun, who were on Desmond's/Libby's boat and planning to launch a surprise attack from the other side of the island - after taking some touristy photos with a four-toed statue, of course.

Interestingly, we already know that Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid are part of the O-6. That leaves two more people. Is it a coincidence that all of them were away from the blast? And if we have to pick two of the remaining three, it doesn't look like Jin and Sun are planning on parting ways anytime soon - and Sawyer is clearly on Team Locke at this point. Hmmmmmm......


Some quick links:

Here's a weird site that is cataloging the many faces of Jack.

This was sent to me by reader Danny M., and it provides an interesting, yet far fetched theory on the whole time space continuum thingy.

LOST S 4 x E 4: Eggtown

Aside from the big shocker at the end, there were a few things to note:

1. Great seeing Ben and Locke in that all too familiar prisoner/captor relationship. It seems Ben will always have the upper hand over Locke, even when he's tied up and locked in a cell.

2. "You just Scooby Doo'ed me, didn't you." -- Hurley to Kate

3. Is Miles really looking for $3.2 million from Ben? And if so, how does he think he can pull off convincing the freighter people that Ben is dead? The whole scene seemed waaaay too fishy for me. Perhaps Miles was speaking in code to Ben. Perhaps he's delivering a message from Ben's "man on the boat." Does Ben really have access to that kind of cash? Maybe the veterinarian industry is more profitable than we ever imagined :)

4. Dharma red wine in a box. Hopefully it tastes better than the beer from Roger Workman's van!

5. Kate & Sawyer: Kate comes back to Team Locke presumably for Sawyer but she won't move in with him. She tells him she knows she's not pregnant and he's the happiest man alive. WRONG ANSWER. Kate pretty much decides she's heading back to Team Jack based on Sawyer's reaction. But why? Everything in that episode led us to believe that Kate was on the same page regarding kids. She doesn't even want to hold baby Aaron while Claire is hanging laundry. From her flashbacks we know that she ran away anytime things got too serious. Sawyer seems like the perfect guy for her.

Kate seemed to be having a tough time making up her mind in this episode. First she needed confirmation from Miles that the outside world knew exactly who she was. But then just when you think that information would help her finally make up her mind she tells Sawyer she's going back to beach. Strange.

6. Locke may be a wimp when it comes to Ben, but he sure scared the hell out of Miles with that grenade in his mouth.

7. Jin and Sun: didn't we get confirmation that the baby is Jin's and not Jae's? Are the writers just screwing with us? Sun makes a point of saying she wants her baby raised in Korea, and Jin corrects her by pointing out it's their baby. Although highly unlikely, maybe it's Michael's...

8. The episode opened up with Locke's eye. Is this a style thing or are we missing one of the biggest clues? Again, many episodes, including the pilot, begin with the camera on Jack's eye. Surely it's not a coincidence, but it may not be anything significant either. Hmmmmm.....

9. Kate's trial - well, we now know the identity of the "he" Kate referred to in last season's finale, and lo and behold it wasn't Sawyer. We now understand why Kate refused to try to involve the child in the case, and why she didn't want to let her mother meet him. But why is Jack so hesitant to have any relationship with the child. Is it because he knows that he's the child's half-uncle? Does he feel responsible for something that may have happened to Claire?

10. Jack's testimony: Jack claims that 8 passengers survived the crash and that Kate was the hero who pulled everyone out of the water. It appears that it was decided either just by the O-6 or perhaps everyone on the island before the O-6 left that by making Kate the hero, she'd have a better chance of avoiding a conviction or jail time.

Most interestingly, Jack says "she tried to save the other two but they didn't..." It would make more sense of Claire is not one of these people because then there's a greater chance that she managed to give birth and that would raise many questions once the O-6 returned safely. Of course, how could Kate - most definitely not pregnant before the flight - manage to have a child in such a short time?

Perhaps the answer lies in the time difference between the island and the rest of the world. If the Losties have been on the island now for probably four months, that would be a lot more time to the outside world. Therefore, Kate could pass Aaron off as her kid by pretending she got pregnant on the island shortly after the crash. Enough time will passed off the island for it to be possible.

11. Which leads us back to Walt. Maybe that's how it will be explained why Walt got so much taller so quickly.

12. Is Aaron a member of the O-6? I don't think he should be simply because he wasn't a passenger and his name is not on the manifest. But I suppose it could be argued (especially by the pro-lifers out there) that since he had a heartbeat in Claire's womb, he should be considered a person and counts as one of the survivors. That would of course seem to be a major reach. However, I'm pretty sure the previews for this episode stated that another member of the O-6 would be revealed, and Aaron is the only person that could possibly be considered.

13. Who is this guy?!!! Someone played the audio backwards and determined that this mystery guy shouts out something like "We hate you." Any ideas?

14. As discussed previously, something's wrong with Daniel. We see Charlotte working with him on his memory and he can't even remember 2 out of 3 cards - yet Charlotte notes this is an improvement. Perhaps the island is helping?

15. Jack makes Charlotte call the "emergency number" and Regina says she doesn't know anything about the helicopter. Uh oh.

16. Any guesses on what happens to Sayid, Frank and Desmond in that helicopter? Do they make it to the freighter? Maybe it's just a time difference thing and they'll eventually make it? Maybe like Desmond's boat, the copter will go in circles and have to turn back to the island? We at least know they don't die, since Sayid is one of the O-6. Thoughts?

17. The Aaron surprise: where does it rank among the top jaw-dropping moments in LOST history? I put it right up there with the moment we found out we were watching Desmond on the hatch and when we figured out we were watching a flash forward at the end of season 3. Nothing else comes to mind as comparable. Any other nominees?

18. Did anyone else get a creepy feeling about the nanny?

In the Spirit of Last Week's Slam Dunk Contest

LOST S 4 x E 3: The Economist

Here's the recap.

1. The timers don't add up. In fact, they're 31 minutes apart.

2. So Sayid is going around killing people on yet another list. We're led to believe that it's the only way to keep the rest of the Oceanic survivors safe. We know Ben is Sayid's Boss, but who is calling the shots on the other side? I'll go with Charles Widmore, although we still don't know what his agenda is other than to make sure Desmond never ends up with Penny.

3. Naomi's bracelet and Elsa's (Sayid's lover) bracelet are very similar, although we know Naomi's was inscribed by someone named RG - there's someone on the boat named Regina. Other than that, it's anyone's guess... The writers have confirmed that there's no story link between the two bracelets; they just used it twice to create a fun connection.

4. Hurley certainly had me fooled. Nice job.

5. Sayid works for Ben, or is he now Dr. Ben? We knew he was a fan of bunnies, but this is just insane. Back on the island, Sayid said "The day I trust [Ben] is the day I sell my soul." I guess any of us would do the same thing for VIP access to such a nice golf course...

LOST S 4 x E 2 - "Confirmed Dead"

Obviously I'm way behind here so I'm just going to post links to an excellent recap and then just add few quick thoughts and observations about this episode. A similar post for episode three will follow.

Here's the recap.

1. Not sure if anyone bothers watching the episodes from the prior week with the pop-up labels, but apparently it was confirmed that in the scene where Daniel is crying, the woman in the room with him is his "caretaker." Not sure what to make of that but we already had a hunch that he's got some mental issues.

2. Polar bears in the middle of the desert - with Dharma necklaces! Just as weird as a centuries old slave ship in the middle of an island. How did Charlotte know to look for it? Also, the symbol on the polar bear is the same as the symbol for the Hydra station - you know, the place where the polar bears were kept on the island.

3. Anyone else not really feeling the whole Miles/ghostbuster plotline? My only guess is that he was chosen to deal with either Jacob, Smokey, Walt, Christian Shepard, or all of the above. These people were apparently chosen for a reason - so said Matthew Abbadon to Naomi.

4. The cow seen by Frank Lapidus was most likely the cow from the communication station where Mikail was stationed and which Locke blew up after beating the computer at a game of chess.

5. We find out that the rescuers are really just there to find Ben. Of course, the assumption is that these people work for the same people the Dharma employees worked for until Ben and the Others gassed them all to death, took over the island, and blocked all signals so that "employer" couldn't find the island anymore.

6. Ben has a man on the boat. My original guess was Michael and/or Walt, and I'm sticking to it for lack of a better idea. Any guesses?

7. Picture of Ben - definitely appears to be off the island. Also, he looks handcuffed and most people seem to think it looks like the pic was taken at an airport. Interesting observation because Ben was an airport employee in Boone's hallucination when Locke put the goo on his head. Or was that in one of Charlie's hallucinations from the withdrawal?

8. What's the deal with Oceanic 815 being found on the bottom of the ocean? Did someone go through all the trouble of dumping an identical plane and some dead bodies in order to cover up the real story? Or maybe it's......purgatory? Just kidding. I HATE the fact that people still bring that up as a guess as to what's behind the whole story. The flash forwards confirm that these people are very much alive.

Now That The Strike Is Apparently Over, When Do We Get Our Damn Shows Back?!

While it's great news that the strike is over, it appears that at least for some shows, the hiatus left an inadequate amount of time to crank out the remaining episodes for the current season. TV Guide has a list which they claim to be updating hourly with information regarding most shows. Sadly, "Cavemen" isn't on the list...

LOST S4 x E1 : Beginning of the End

All I can say is that it's great to have this show back. Before we get to the season premier, I just want to briefly explore something from the season 3 finale. There was much speculation as to who was in the coffin. The guesses I've heard were mostly that it was Ben or Locke, simply because they presumably had no friends anymore (although Locke now appears to be back in favor with at least some of the people in season 4).

Based on the neighborhood in which the funeral parlor was located, I naturally assumed it was someone of African American descent. That would leave Michael, Walt, or someone we haven't yet met. Anyway, someone did a nice job enhancing the obituary Jack had with him and it apparently reads:

"The body of John Lantham of New York was found shortly after 4 am in the 4300 block of Grand Avenue.

Ted Worden, a doorman at the Tower Lofts complex, heard loud noises coming from the victim's loft.

Concerned for tenants' safety, he entered the loft and found the body hanging from a beam in the living room.

According to Jaime Ortiz, a police spokesman, the incident was deemed a suicide after medical tests. Latham (sic) is survived by one teenaged son.

Memorial services will be held at the Hoffs-Drawlar Funeral Home tomorrow evening."

At this point, I'm convinced it's Michael, particularly based on the fact that nobody else on the show has a teenage son (as far as we know).

Anyway, here are some thoughts regarding the premier....

1. The car Hurley's driving is the one he was working on with his Dad. Not the greatest picture, but whatever. (Thanks to JP for making the connection)

2. The car Hurley hits is the same gold Pontiac Bonneville we've seen throughout the series, including, but probably not limited to the car that hit Locke in the parking lot when he met his mom; the car that Kate and her doctor childhood boyfriend crashed into during her escape from the hospital; the car that hit Michael and put him on disability long enough that his girlfriend decided to dump him for a lawyer. Does this car have any significance?

3. We get our first mention of the "Oceanic 6." It would appear that Jack, Kate, and Hurley make up half the group, with the remaining three yet to be revealed. What does this number represent, exactly? The actor who plays Sayid has an interesting quote.

4. The car chase ends in front of an electronics store, which explains how someone would have a camcorder handy to tape the whole thing. The employee who ran out of the store to try out his paparazzi skills? None other than Randy, Hurley boss at Mr. Cluck's and Locke's boss at the box company owned by Hurley. Was Hurley just running from the police, or was he also running toward Randy for some help?

5. The cop questioning Hurley is Ana Lucia's former partner. Hurley pretends not to know who she is, and this is our first clue into the fact that the "O-6" have withheld information about those who don't make it off the island. When the cop leaves, Hurley sees Charlie swimming up to the two-way mirror, and has a message on his hand that you may have missed: "They Need You."

6. The guy who comes to visit Hurley in the mental hospital claims to be an attorney for Oceanic Air, and says his name is Matthew Abbadon. In Hebrew, this means "place of destruction." Anyway, he promises to upgrade Hurley to a better facility - one with an ocean view. Perhaps an offer to take him back to the island? Hurley doesn't bite and the guy demands to know if "they're still alive." At this point, I'm assuming that this guy is part of the Widmore Corporation and/or Hanso Foundation that we still haven't been told much about.

Hurley is painting an eskimo and an igloo. Lots of possibilities there, such as Desmond's quote that the island is a damn snow globe; Desmond's riddle to Locke in the hatch ("What did one snowman say to the other"); the igloo kind of looks like the dome with the computer in the hatch; the guys Penny Widmore hired to look for an electromagnetic anomaly, etc.

7. Hurley comes upon Jacob's house and hears whispers. Some people have said they thought they heard "somebody's coming," "can you tell who it is," "I think it might be Desmond," and some other gibberish. Nothing is clear at this point, including a)who is in the rocking chair, and b) whose eye was in the window. As to the rocking chair guy, it looks exactly like Christian Shephard, especially with the same white sneakers we saw for a split-second. He was also in the episode's credits. As to the eye, it looked like the Jacob eye we saw last time, but it could have also been Locke's considering he was with Hurley in a matter of seconds.

8. Hurley is outside relaxing when he's told someone is staring at him. Hurley looks up and sees Charlie, who admits he's dead, yet still here. Not sure what to make of that. It's possible Hurley imagined the guy who alerted him about Charlie. It's also possible that the guy was talking about another guy in this picture standing behind Charlie. Hurley is told "They need you - you know they need you!" - a similar quote to the one on Charlie's hand in the interrogation room.

9. Great line from Ben: "Better call the boat. Tell them that she's getting a really big bundle of firewood." Anyway, I'm glad Naomi is dead, as I found her to be terribly annoying...

10. Back to the "O-6" for a second. Remember when everyone thought there was a script error in the season 3 finale when drug addict Jack says something like "why don't you get my father down here and if he's more sober than I am, [something, something] ? Well maybe his dad isn't dead; maybe he's one of the "O-6" and maybe he was back at the hospital in the flash forward. Merits discussion...

11. Speaking of the flash forwards, it's very possible that after Team Jack splits from Team Locke, that the former does get off the island and we'll only see them in flash forwards from now on.

12. Jack visits Hurley at the mental hospital. This is obviously taking place before the season 3 finale flash forward, because Jack is still sane and says he intends to grow a beard. But we know that the secret(s) being kept by the "O-6" will ultimately mess him up like Hurley. Jack is there to make sure Hurley won't reveal anything and Hurley calls it. Hurley tells Jack he thinks "It wants us to go back." Jack says "Never" and Hurley says "Never say never!" -- how right he is about that... so it seems that they will all come to regret their decision to leave the island, but why? Is it because the other characters are in some sort of serious trouble? It may take two years until we get an answer on this.

13. Naomi covers for Kate and the rest of the crew and we're told help is on the way. A helicopter seems to be having a lot of trouble and instead of landing, some guy jumps out. That guy is apparently going to be named Daniel Faraday. In the writers' continuing quest to name characters after philosophers and scientists, Faraday is another example (if you care).

Here are two links regarding some of the unanswered questions of LOST:

5 Questions the Lost Writers Need to Answer (And Why They Won't)

'Lost': 48 pending questions


Here's the preview for the next episode:

It's all in the Slogan

February Simply Cannot Come Soon Enough

Simpsonize Yourself

Upload your picture onto this website and they'll make you into a Simpsons character. Someone spent a loooong time getting the whole cast of "LOST" Simpsonized:

In Case You Were Wondering Why Your Train Was Delayed Yesterday Morning

This is a clip from the almost always reliable Port Washington line (at the Great Neck station platform):



Credit to Carolyn S. (who previously sent the Dayeinu Burger Lady)

Just Another Day at Work in Midtown Manhattan

Well I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. After three and a half months at my relatively new job, we had our first full-scale terrifying experience. At first I heard what I can only describe as "amazing thunder," however, after it remained constant for ten seconds, I decided to peer out my window, which faces 42nd St. between Lexington and 3rd Aves. All of a sudden, I saw hundreds of people running away from the 42nd and Lex intersection. I immediately ran to a co-worker's office that faces Lex and saw what looked like the huge cloud of off-white dust and smoke we remember all too well from 9-11, and decided that the building next door to us must have collapsed or had at least began the process. I was soon informed by a co-worker that it appeared that only a steam pipe had burst and pointed me to a window with a better view, at which point I saw what appeared to be a blown up school mini-bus. That was all I needed to see...

Those employees still in the office went to the designated fire alarm spot to await further instructions that come through the emergency PA system. At first someone announced that we should remain on our floors (which are pretty high up), but about two minutes later, the same person came on and began to repeatedly say "Evacuate the building immediately!"

Naturally, we ran to the door that leads to the stairwell (which if opened in a non-emergency sets off a whole bunch of alarms) and joined a stampeding crowd of frantic co-workers in what I can only describe as a race against time before our own building would seemingly collapse. Between the deafening sound and the vibrations felt, I was honestly very fearful that I wouldn't make it out.

I'll also never forget two co-workers in particular who were pushing everyone else out of the way, as if everyone else's lives were less important (very George Costanza-like). I doubt they even realize how shitty and selfish their actions were during that time of panic. As I advanced downward, I noticed a lady who appeared to be having a tough time getting down the stairs. I asked her if she was alright, and she assured me she was, and said thank you. I continued down the stairs.

The person making the announcements was now saying that as soon as we reached the emergency exit, we should immediately run away from Lex and head towards 3rd. There were shoes (particularly loads of flip-flops), headphones, and other items all over the stairs as we made our way to the ground floor, and even more as we got outside to the sidewalk. Everyone seemed to take a split-second look at the explosion to their right, and proceeded to haul ass in the other direction without looking back. I imagine most people assumed the big cloud was coming straight for us. I'd say we were about 50 yards from the explosion, if not closer.

The police were rushing us out of there, but I managed to take a quick 15-second video from my phone at what I figured was a safe enough distance, before crossing 3rd:


Here's a clip showing a crowd of people from my building coming out and running for cover (I haven't been able to spot myself). The 40-second mark sums up our collective state of mind pretty well.

R2D2 Has Nothing On This Guy

When The Pool Blows (Revisited)

Here are the standings going into the championship game. According to the scenario generator, "Nicoleyrok" wins if Ohio State defeats Florida. If the reverse happens, I win. Go Gators!

LOST -- S 3 x E 14: EXPOSE

Before I begin, I just want to declare this the best episode of the season. WoW.

Moving right along, Nikki is a B-movie actress* in a Billy Dee Williams production. Did anyone else have a craving for a Colt 45? Anyway, she teams up with chef Paolo (having just returned from a little battle with 300 Spartans) to kill Howie Zuckerman in order to get the key to the safe with the $8 million in diamonds. As soon as Nikki told Paolo not to light up a cigarette because "ashes are evidence," I immediately thought of the Pearl station where there was either a cigarette or at least some ashes on the desk when Locke and Eko discovered it. Of course it turns out that I was wrong, but I guess I was close enough since the Pearl did come into play.

* (maybe it was just me, but one of the patrons in the strip club looked exactly like Ando - Hiro's friend - in Heroes, which is funny since that character had a major affinity for webcam lady "Nikki")

So it turns out that not only did Nikki and Paolo know a lot of things (the plane, the Pearl) that the rest of the Losties only caught onto much later, but Ben was watching Jack and the gang in the Swan the entire time! That scene answered a few questions for us, namely that Ben did purposely get caught or was at the very least was planning on vacationing with Jack in the Swan. The plan was always to manipulate Jack into doing the surgery, and lo and behold, he used Juliet to make it happen.

We see Shannon and Boone fighting in the airport and Nikki makes Paolo promise they'll never end up like the brother and sister. Well, it looks like they did - DEAD. We're then taken back to the original crash scene and we see some familiar dialog as well as some new things. Boone is running around asking people, including Nikki, for a pen. That relates to when he was annoying Jack, who said "You want to make yourself useful? Go get me a pen." He needed it for a tracheotomy. I thought this whole scene was great. In fact, all of the nostalgic scenes, if we can even call them that, were fantastic. Artz and his insect collection, Ethan being ultra friendly, etc.

I'm sure I wasn't the only person who kept saying to themselves "There's something a little too strange about their facial expressions - like they're just frozen, but not actually dead."

Best line of the night: After Sawyer runs over and spills out the water Jin took out from Paolo's bag, Hurley yells at Sawyer for ruining the crime scene, to which Sawyer replies "Oh I'm sorry! Is there a forensics hatch I don't know about?!"

Dumbest line of the night: Nikki crying to Paolo that they missed Thanksgiving two weeks ago. Yeah, I'm sure a guy from Brazil living in Australia really gives a crap.

I'm glad they explained what Paolo was doing in the bathroom the day he and Nikki went with Locke, Desmond, and Sayid to investigate the Pearl and saw Mikhail for the first time. And as for the ending, what an unbelievable job doing a Seinfeld-esque backwards episode. The spider idea was great, and the way they shot the scene with Nikki opening her eyes just as the dirt is falling on her was awesome. At least they have their diamonds down there.

The show is definitely on a roll, and should continue to carry the momentum into season 4, which had some news this past week:

ABC has announced that LOST, amongst other shows, will be picked up for a fourth season. There has also been discussion about changing the scheduling next year to a shorter season with all new (or almost all new) episodes. Think "24". The season would start in January, and run through May, with no major hiatuses.

Looking forward to the catfight between Kate and Juliet next week. I'm personally rooting for Juliet.

Web 2.0 Explained Fairly Well

Cross Country Trip - Sponsored by.... YOU?

These three friends are hopping in their van and traveling all over the country, hitting most of the premier spots this great nation has to offer. How can they afford to do it? On your dime! They're selling every square of space on their van for $100 each.

All the details are here and the van is basically ad-free at this point.

Coming To A University Near You

It's Millenium Pong!

LOST -- S 3 x E 13: The Man From Tallahasse

Quick thoughts:

Alex is really dumb. And what the hell is up with Rousseau?!

Sayid is the worst soldier ever. All he does is get caught, lose gun battles and fail to get any answers from people through torture.

Jack probably wouldn't want to leave if he knew his half-sister and nephew were still on the island.

Locke blowing up the submarine saved the show mucho dinero in production costs.

The Locke window scene totally caught me off guard. I thought Cooper would maybe hit him from behind or even pull a gun on him when he went to get the phone, but I never imagined THAT would happen. Poor Locke; pretty much the most awful life ever.

What a cliffhanger ending! First of all, the guy wheeling Ben around is the same guy that recruited Juliet. Second, I hope Locke gets to kill his "dad."

Everyone seems to love 60-year old MacCutcheon.

And what's up with the Blair Witch-like promo for next week's episode?

LOST -- S 3 x E 12: Par Avion

I know this post is long overdue, and I don't have much time to go into great detail, but I wanted to at least provide a forum to discuss the episode.

Just a few quick thoughts:

Was it necessary to drag out Claire's flashback the way they did? We already suspected she was Jack's half brother (because we saw Christian go to an Australian woman's house and demand to see his daughter - Ana Lucia stayed in the car), and they never explained how the accident was her fault.

Any significance to Claire working in a tattoo parlor? Her half brother is certainly fond of tattoos.

Totally unrelated to the episode: I'm continually amazed at the creativity of LOST fans. Here's a great video spoof of The A-Team:



Locke will stop at nothing to stay on the island. As soon as he became aware of Mikhail's knowledge regarding Locke's paralysis, Locke decided to kill him.

Rousseau is acting awfully strange about Alex being alive.

The Desmond seeing the future and Charlie marked for death stories are getting a little repetitive and stale. But the real question is: Did Charlie only pretend to attach the note to the bird?

We'd Like To Buy A Vowel Brain, Pat

I guess they don't always give them the answers in advance, like they did with this lady.

American Idol: Who Do You Love?

I've been a Melinda fan since day one, but I thought tonight's best were Jordin Sparks, Haley Scarnato, Chris Richardson, and Blake Lewis. Granted, Melinda did fine - it just wasn't my favorite performance of hers. She fell somewhere in the middle with Lakisha and Chris Sligh. Having said that, Sanjaya is a joke. He better be gone this week. This has gone on waaay too far.

What did you think of tonight's episode and who do you think will land in the bottom three tomorrow night? Who goes home?

My guess: Sanjaya, Phil Stacey, and Stephanie Edwards (who I usually like, but she sucked tonight) in the bottom three. Phil goes home, and Sanjaya gets to torture us another week.

This Guy Has Every Right To Let Out A Cry Like That

Slalom Skier Nutshot - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

(Found on Deadspin)

Friendster Sucks and I Can't Wait Until They Go Out of Business

Most people have heard of Friendster, arguably the website that gave birth to the internet phenomenon known as social networking sites. After many crucial business errors (mostly having to do with the site crashing all the time), the site has gone from number one to not even in the top 20 for sites in this market. The NY Times has a four and a half minute video story about the site's downfall which came right around the time Myspace began its rise to dominance. Facebook also joined the party shortly after.

Bottom line: Friendster is dying a slow death, and while some venture capitalists have pumped some cash into the company, it's too late. What's most frustrating to me aside from the sites tech problems (which seem to get exponentially worse at precisely midnight) is the fact that nobody seems to work there. Have a problem? You can try to e-mail "customer service," but I guess he sleeps every now and then and isn't available to answer your questions.

Most recently, I noticed that a familiar face had viewed my profile. Only the face (it was a picture of one of my best friends) didn't match the name. Someone from Malaysia essentially stole her identity by taking all the pictures from my friend's page and using them on their own page. Several e-mails have been sent to "customer service" but no replies have come back and the imposter-profile still remains on the site. Myspace would have deleted the profile in question in a matter of minutes - after the first request. This situation just highlights why Friendster should just close up shop. It's never a good idea to throw good money at bad money, but that's essentially what this latest group of investors is doing. They're slowly introducing all the features that have already been on Myspace and Facebook for years, and Friendster's attempts at these things (adding music or video to your profile, blogs, the who comment wall concept, etc.) are still worse than its competitors.

Just stop. You're embarrassing yourselves (on your own dime, too).