Rachmaninov, potato chips, and champagne. :-)

"Something's Up In Comic Land"

My ARG Spidey-senses are tingling.
Some strange things seem to be going on over at the blog that posted the Mystery Tales comic in "Cabin Fever". First, they posted a final story from the comic book, but they still haven't posted the story for the cover. When posters in the comments asked for it, they gave a brief summary: "Some scientist named Jake Bronowski is on a plane that passes through a storm and he weirds out during landing because the buildings don't look the same. His best friend Dr. Polder, with whom he's been playing an ancient Egyption game he discovered, meets him but his name is now Waxman. To make a long story short, they figure out that playing the game results in a "limitless outcome of similar timelines". It's a weird game like chess game and Jake makes the "right move" and suddenly he's transported back to his timeline where Waxman is Polder again. Honestly though, the story has nothing to do with LOST. It has a strong spiritualism slant to it. It sounds more like Jumanji than anything else." When pressed further for scans of the story, they replied: "We are sorry but we've received correspondence from a solicitor suggesting it would not be in our interests to scan "The Travellers". We are sorry but it is not worth a lawsuit." As well as "We can add no more than we mentioned in post #8 above."

A game? Like, with rules? Like the rules that Ben complained got changed? An Egyptian game? Like the Egyptian glyphs all over the island? And doctors changing names? One commenter also noted that "Limitless Outcome of Similar Timelines" is an acronym for LOST. Hmmm. They also posted on the comic blog that they just found out about the Octagon commercial and site, when they were told today that the Octagon website mentions the story in the comic called "March Has 32 Days", as just about every eager LOST ARG fan knows by now.

Seriously, as FYSB asks over at TLC, that comic's very old, so when would public domain apply? And Maven found on the bottom of the site page: "blog hosted at Oceanic Webhosting Services" which connects to the old Oceanic site. So on TLC we are thinking that either the comic and/or blog are fake and whipped up for the show and game (although Sayidsgirl at TLC thinks that it's up on another auction online); TPTB did not expect anyone to find this musty old classic comic and they have asked these guys to refrain from revealing this last story which pertains to either the show or the ARG; or the comic owners are a part of TPTB and games began before we even knew it during "Cabin Fever". However you look at it for now, it's odd. But if TPTB did indeed ask them not to reveal things that they have lifted from the comic for the show, that's fair enough and copacetic by me.

Note: Jacob Bronowksi is the scientist who was in the BBC series "The Ascent of Man". LoCos at TLC have yet to find anything interesting about the name Polder.
http://www.mysterytales40.com/

"LOST Science Blog"

I've decided to keep the LOST science talk in another area for the most part, so I started: http://perditascientia.blogspot.com/ to try out keeping a separate forum for it. I'm just going to post all our favorite theories, images, and conspiracies that people have posted in the LOST blogosphere, in case anyone is interested in seeing it compiled. Some are so good that they deserve to get more recognition and notice. They might be on the mark or not, but I'll post them as I find them, in abbreviated form with links. It's just something to try through the duration of the hiatus, and mostly wishful thinking that over the summer people will start unraveling ideas about what we saw happen to the island...especially after Octagon Recruiting kicks in! :-D

"Lucky Baby"

I was wondering some things about Ji Yeon recently, and conversation on the TLC blog spurred me to finish this post. For instance:

(1) Since her conception was caused by the island's influence, will she be different physically? Do the island's EM effects at the early stages of fetal formation create a mutated species of some kind? Even though its influence has been cut short by Sun leaving before the complications set in, perhaps enough time passed for Ji Yeon's growth to be affected or mutated in some way.
(2) Is she the first one to be conceived on, and born off, the island? Maybe the uber-team's Miles, Charlotte, or Daniel were conceived on-island too -- we've already gotten hints about Charlotte -- they seem to each have special intellect or cognition. Ji Yeon might have some too.
(3) If so, will her future and the island's be entwined? According to the enhanced version of her episode, Ji Yeon means "flower of wisdom"...she might be a spiritual leader of sorts on the island when she's older.
(4) Was Sun able to get herself and the baby off the island, because the island allowed it? This could imply that she was saved because she is needed on the island in the future, or that she will help her mother control the forces against the island back in the world, via the newly revised Paik Industries' corporate mission under Sun's control.

It's all up to TPTB how they run with this part of the story, of course. But her complicated conception and time being vulnerable to the island's influence, does inspire much curiosity about her physical attributes and her future. It kind of reminds me of Paul Atreides' little sister in Dune, who was subjected to the Waters Of Life when her mother drank it while pregnant, and Alia is born a cognizant super-being. Maybe TPTB gave us a hint during the scenes at her birth, when she went from being in distress one minute to miraculously being born fine (and very quickly!). That is, if she is a "special" island-conceived baby, maybe she already has the power to control her environment (the same question could be asked about Locke's birth as well). Or, her birthing twist was just a quickie plot device to ramp up the drama and then set up a red herring in the process. Well it's a long hiatus, this is just one aspect to cogitate until next year.

"Using The FDW vs. The Vault"

Hey Ben, why use the frozen old junk when the shiny new apparatus was right there?
A lot of us are wondering why Ben had to break through the Orchid's fancy chamber vault, and use the ancient looking wheel instead, to complete his task of moving the island. Some comments of Ellen's on the TLC blog led me to a few thoughts about that: "...the fact that Ben had to blow a hole to gain entrance and then chip huge icicles off the wheel with a tire iron leads me to think that it hadn't been used since the Dharma Initiative arrived and built the Orchid Station." What she said made me think that maybe it's like the difference between the results of an atomic bomb blast, and an atomic power plant.

The FDW itself seems to be a crude but powerful apparatus that might be difficult to control for applied purposes beyond it's original intention, whatever that may be. It would make sense that the DI would have had to refine and upgrade the mechanics of the ancient machine before they could utilize it. With modern equipment to regulate the power, they could create a more manageable process, so that it could be used in various controlled and specific applications via the vault and instruments built onto it. Maybe the DI had even tried out the FDW for themselves when they found it, created an incredible result (moving in time or space), and then built equipment around it to harness the energy for practical purposes. So instead of trying to get a handle on an atomic bomb, they built a modern system onto it and learned to use it as a moderated power plant to run their futuristic equipment. Like Ben said, it was used for experiments with bunnies, so it seems as if the DI did not get very far along in their tests with wormholes, or whatever, before they got purged out.

Then when it came time for Ben to move and hide the island, the refined vault apparatus itself was probably of no use to him in doing what he had to do. He had to quickly get to the true power source, i.e. the big guns that were covered up, and turn the FDW to get the huge blast that he needed. And voila, the island "moved". Well, it's just a thought.

"Trellis Confrontation 4.13"

For some reason, this scene...

...reminded me of this scene.

I know, they are not really the same atmosphere or story momentum. But as Jack and John were having their 999th spat at the Orchid trellis, O-Ren and Bea battling at the House of Blue Leaves snow garden trellis just popped into my mind. And it did look as if the top of Jack's head was going to blow off as he watched Ben and Locke descend into the earth in cahoots together!

"Frozen Exotic Matter 4.13"

So much to think about and too much time to do it in!
I'm stupefied by most of what happened in this episode, as I suspect we all are, and I have to cogitate more on those points. Wow. So, I'll skip right to the easy part -- particle physics, heheh. I've always avoided reading anything about exotic matter, because it's a bit farther out there even without the math. So I'll skip right to the spot on Wiki that I think will apply to us and the show:

"Exotic Matter And General Relativity"
"In general relativity, exotic matter is generalized to refer to any region of space in which for some observers the mass density is measured to be negative. This can occur due to negative mass, or could be a region of space in which the stress component of the Einstein stress energy sensor is larger in magnitude than the mass density. All of these are violations of one or another variant of the positive energy condition of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity; however, the positive energy condition is not a required condition for the mathematical consistency of the theory...quantum mechanics of the Casimir Effect can be used to produce a locally mass-negative region of space-time...subsequent work by others...showed that negative matter could be used to stabilize a wormhole...such wormholes might have been created in the early universe, stabilized by negative-mass loops of cosmic string. Stephen Hawking has proved that negative energy is a necessary condition for the creation of a closed timelike curve by manipulation of gravitational fields within a finite region of space..."

There you go. But concerning this scene I have a few questions to start:
1) How is it that this area inside the island is frozen? Is it natural or artificial?
2) Same Q for the energy core there, natural or enhanced artificially?
3) Who made this contraption, the 4-Toes or the DI? It looks rather primitive, but sometimes when all you need is a fulcrum, a lever, and some gears, the KISS principle is the best way to go.
4) What IS the "reactor" there? Do we have a direct tunnel to the earth's molten magnetic core? And how can there be a frozen area around this high-energy core? Maybe if you keep the core open, the frozen room melts?
5) What actually is the mechanism that Ben is engaging here? Is it like exposing the materials in an atomic bomb to reach critical mass? If you've ever seen the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy", think of the lab experiment that went awry where they were releasing and measuring the energy of the atomic core sample, by gently opening the containment sphere.
6) How does this critical mass of sorts propel Ben away from the island, and also, not burn him with radiation or other energy burns?

Well, however we come to discuss this great episode over the summer and fall, I want to personally thank all TPTB for this great show and season, and finale! I hope that everyone on that team gets the hiatus vacation of their dreams because they all deserve it. Sigh.

"Mystery Tales!"

A story of LOST fan persistence, and 'supply and demand'.
Word is spreading that some LOST fans found a copy of the comic book in Locke's episode, on EBay. Good work dudes! They posted the details of their $400.00 (ahem!) acquisition, and are now in the process of scanning and discussing the story on their blog. All I can say is, thanks for sharing! :-D Check it out:

http://www.mysterytales40.com/

"Evil Eyes 4.12"

This scene really jarred me until I saw what was going on.
It was a total WTH moment for me. Then the C-130 door continued to open to the full position and I felt dumb, but the image really caught me off guard. I mean, we had no idea what was going to happen in this first installment of the Triple-Finale, so I was expecting anything and I guess my mind registered this as some kind of monster in the first second that it appeared. Especially after Smokey was let loose a couple weeks ago, I suppose I was ready for the works!

Oh well, I'm sick with a cold and my new supply of FRS super-vitamins haven't arrived in the mail yet, so this is about the only thought that I can muster up for now about the episode. I need to watch it again anyway. My ill mind is obsessing about the Orchid station, and I've peaked at some preview caps, so I can't get them off my mind. :-o

"Notes On Dan's Notes 4.12"

Thanks to Codysmom over at TLC for the info in Dan's book!
My sleepy contribution for tonight's lightspeed episode before I retire, will be some tidbits on our glimpses of Dan's notebook. Here is a link for a good start in deciphering what he's got scribbled in his pages, such as lightcones tipping, Eddington-Finkelstein, etc:

http://www.etsu.edu/physics/plntrm/relat/blackhl.htm

It all has to do with black holes, event horizons, and the photons in lightcones escaping (or not) from said event horizons. Whew. Are TPTB really going to show the island going through a black hole? If so, I can't wait...but I thought they said there would be no black holes, way back when. Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, keep clicking on "Go to next section" on the bottom left of each page in the link above, for more space-time fun! I found this illustration interesting, because it mentions "time reversed". And when Locke flips that switch in the Orchid, I hope that we hear some major sound effects, like how the TARDIS sort of gasps it's way through time...and more purple skies too.

2costa over at TLC made note of this Wiki page which does show many similarities to Dan's formulas, and also defines the variables used (I know, not exactly light reading here in this post, but it's kinda fun):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington-Finkelstein_coordinates

"About That Greenhouse Plant 4.12"

Drive past the anthurium, take a left at the second traffic light.
Rather, forget about it. The plant that Ben mentions in his instructions to John does not seem to have any significance as far as I can tell. Anthuriums are a just popular commercial greenhouse tropical plant, valued for their unique flowers and the colorfully variegated waxy foliage. They were very popular in the post WWII Pacific-theater years and often the subject of fabric design, especially the heavy bark-cloth used for upholstery and curtains. I have not found any reference linking them to any type of science or alchemy.

Its name is Greek for "tail flower". I found two Victorian meanings in anthurium-giving; either hospitality or intense attraction, neither one of which seems to have any underlying purpose to LOST mythology (accept maybe the latter since we might get our Orchid station physics lessons in this cluster-finale). Oh well, sometimes a flower is just a flower, right Doctor Freud? At any rate, I'll be buying myself one this weekend just for the heck of it, most likely. :-)

"Random Reflections 4.11"

In this episode we learn of Locke's inauspicious beginnings. Emily seems reasonably sane for a rebellious teen, I wonder how she loses her marbles and ends up at Santa Rosa? Perhaps Mommie Dearest gets wayward Emily a lobotomy to settle her down, as was popular back then. Think...Francis Farmer or a recently deceased Kennedy daughter. :-(

The Three Stooges are on their way to Jacob's house! This was so hilarious, and I half expected Ben to knock John's and Hurley's heads together or twist their noses like Moe would have. Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!

Who wants to see a full-blown Keamy vs. Sayid smack-down after giving us a little tease of one in this episode?! Too bad Sayid is leaving the island.

Richard gets very ticked off at John's choice in the test. Is it because Johnny Rebel is not nearly ready to take orders as second in command to Jacob on the island? Perhaps Richard already sees the Loose-Cannon-Locke that we know so well.

Teen-aged John has serious Nerd Syndrome, and hates jocks while also wanting to be one. Maybe that's why he doesn't like Jack, because he represents the kind of pretty boy jock that John has always been jealous of. Too bad John doesn't realize that a guy can be popular and science-y.

TPTB want us to look forward to John coming face to face with Abaddon again for payback time. But why did Abaddon repeat the pep talk that the young therapist gave Locke back in the Tallahassee episode? Strange.

"It's clobberin' time!!!!!!" (I finally give in and reference the Fantastic Four like everyone else has)

Is Dez wimping out on responsibility again, or is he justified in not helping Sayid get back to the others on the island? I'm kind of disappointed in our brothuh here I think, it just felt lame to me. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Cue "The Ride of the Valkyries" for Sayid! I bet that he loves the smell of zodiak fuel in the morning. Godspeed, Sayid!

"Bad Dreams 4.11"

And I'm not just talking about Locke's dream.
Last night I had the strangest dreams after a LOST episode ever! Keamy was all over the place causing trouble, but he was also supposed to teach a calculus class that I was being forced to take, and I didn't do my homework, so I was in a panic about what he would do. Huh? Well, at least it wasn't like PeeWee's dream about a snake wearing a vest, heheh.

Among the obvious points about Locke's dream that were odd (i.e., a dead Horace chatting up a storm while making like Paul Bunyan) the dream seemed to be on a loop for some reason. Horace greeted and introduced himself to Locke twice. Was Horace repeating himself to make sure that Locke was paying attention and got the point of his nocturnal visitation? Locke does seem to need to get hit on the head more than once to understand the obvious at times. I was a little disappointed that "Mr.I-Want-Some-Answers" just replied with a sheepish, "Nope," when Horace asked him if he knew what he was talking about. And why would Horace or the D.I. have the map to Jacob's house anyway? That opens up a lot of questions about how much the D.I. knew about Jacob, how they knew it, and whether they tried to communicate with him at all. Perhaps the Purge happened before they got to make the attempt.

Horace saying "Godspeed" is interesting also, and not just because of his last name. Godspeed is an expression of wishing good fortune and prosperity on one's journey. As well as for wishing God to be with the person and to light their path along the way. It seems as if Horace (or who ever this dream visitor is) really wants Locke to take the mission he's being given to heart, and to go and do it successfully, without messing it up as John often does. We can only hope that Locke can follow the instructions that he receives this time, better than he has when other people have tried to "tell him what to do" for his own benefit. The stakes for the island and everyone on it are very high now and Locke needs to follow the right plan for a change. Or his ego may just blow up the whole island.

"Random Reflections 4.10"

As Rose said the big question is, why DID Jack get sick? Did the island make him sick because it wants to keep him on the island, or get rid of him because he's a danger to the island?


I guess TPTB completely buried any of our theories about Danielle being alive! :-p


Go Dan! I think that Charlotte was just waiting for you to finally get macho.


Is Hurley still rich enough to get them back to the island at any cost?


I like Frankie more every episode, even though he looks smelly. I hate Keamy more every episode, even though I want to touch his muscles.


Jin plays a helluva game of brinkmanship!


We learn why and when Jack first called the waaambulance.


Does Aaron get rescued without Claire because she is off with Dad?????


Tsktsk, a marriage built on lies is doomed before it even begins.


This may be the freakiest preview scene yet. I'm psyched!

"What's It All About Charlotte? 4.10"

A mysteriously annoying woman with many talents.
I'm still on the fence about whether Charlotte can be trusted. But I prefer to (cautiously) give people in real life and TV life a chance to prove themselves, so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt for now. Or at least to allow her the chance to redeem herself from the lousy first impressions that she's thrown off. So, my thoughts on her are:

1) Although I don't understand why Charlotte is so condescending and belligerent to the innocent stranded Losties, her attitude reminds me a lot of Zeke's attitude toward them at the "line in the sand" moment, when the Losties first met him in the jungle...i.e., treating them as if they purposely invaded their island territory. This could be due to the fact that she is connected somehow to the early Hanso or DHARMA influence, and she thinks of the Losties in terms of the way that she considers the Hostiles who infiltrated the original DI project.

2) Charlotte's knowledge of languages could mean anything, but in the most obvious terms her knowing Korean could link her to Paik. Although it could still mean she's connected to the early Hanso/DI projects. We know that the old Hanso careers website from TLE listed a few job openings which requested knowledge of multiple languages, including Asian ones, with the Anger Management position requiring Korean specifically. Although, something tells me that "Charlotte the Red" is not into anger management. Most simply, it could just mean that as a globe-trotting archaeologist/anthropologist, she's well-versed in languages. There does happen to be a Korean Archaeological Society. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Archaeological_Society

3) There is the possibility that Charlotte is simply a bossy elitist academic who looks down on anyone who is not her equal, but somehow I get the feeling that it's more than that. Her arrogant deception is beyond belief, and Daniel seems to understand it while at the same time being annoyed by it. It could be that the F-4s themselves have been told things strictly on a need-to-know basis (which would make anyone cranky in this situation), they've been sworn to secrecy on what they do know about their mission, and most importantly they could have been told that all pay for their work is retracted if they tell the Losties anything about their mission. But that also leads to the thought that the F-4s have no idea that they have possibly been dumped permanently onto the island, much like Juliet, and any salary they think they're getting will not be spent back in the world any time soon.

I'm very interested in what other viewers think of Charlotte. Is there more there underneath her snarky exterior, or is what we see on the surface all there is with her? I hope that TPTB flesh her out a bit more than just as a cookie-cutter intellectual harpie. They may not though, considering how Rousseau just got killed without us knowing exactly why she was so crazy.