"Is This The Face Of Smokey? 4.09"

Smokey is Santa Claus?????
Well it fits, because Smokey seems to judge who's good and bad, and there are lists made of the good and bad too. :-) It's probably just a CGI fluke, combined with that condition of our brains to see recognizable objects in random formations...there's a word for that but it escapes me at the moment. Otherwise, maybe TPTB just pulled a little trick on us if we could notice it.

"A Gratuitous Comment 4.09"

...about some gratuitous behavior.
It's official and I'll say it -- I now wish that Kate would die. Unfortunately she is one of the rescued O-6, but maybe she will die if they go back to the island. Sawyer called her right on the nose. She is only out for herself and goes with whatever guy can get her what she wants, and now that she's on the beach again you know who she's sidling up to. Back in the world that's called...oh well, I'll shut up about her now.

"Sniper, Meet Smokey 4.09"

Smokey, meet your dinner.
I have been playing the Smoke monster attack over and over, I just can't get enough of it. Smokey looks like a giant snake or an enormous sand worm from Dune, shooting out from behind the barracks, circling and writhing around the jungle sucking up the mercenaries. He's full of lightening, thunder, the sounds of metal crunching, and echoes of sickly groans! Miles looked absolutely in shock, heheh. Wow. Thanks very much to TPTB! I loved this scene. And I am looking forward to the volumes of internet talk about Smokey and how Ben summoned him from beyond the hieroglyph door, so we can figure out what just happened.

"What's That Matter Miles? 4.09"

Do not barter with Ben, do not collect $3.2 mil.
"Well Miles, you don't get to collect your 3.2 million dollars." So says Ben to Miles in the heat of the battle. And I could be wrong, but seeing the freighter mercenaries as their true selves seems to have changed Miles' attitude a bit. He's not so cocky anymore (he actually looked a bit bewildered) and seems willing to work with the Losties and Ben to stay alive. Perhaps he's still his old self and is merely sticking to whatever side is closest that he can use to his advantage. But then again, maybe he's seen the light about the freighter peeps and he has an inner good-guy self that is coming out. If so, he could be a good ally for the Losties with his skills, and perhaps he could shake Charlotte and Dan out of their rose-tinted glasses concerning the freighter's true purpose.

"Enjoy The Show Everyone!"

Can't wait to discuss it on the flip-side!

"LOST Mini-Break Activity #4"

Make some South Park style LOST characters.
Getting antsy for Thursday? Need some mindless activity to help the last few days go faster? Try creating some goofy LOST peeps on this funny site: http://www.sp-studio.de/ Use all the graphics available (skin, hair, eyes, extra stuff, etc.) in the program, capture and save the pix with something like "Printkey.exe", and then go crazy making some more funny changes with whatever paint program you have. There are lots of clothes and accessories to play around with. It's sort of like a 21st century paperdoll set. :-) Well, making these funny portraits keeps me and the nephews busy laughing after school, so that's good. We use them for our avatars sometimes too.

Hurley, Juliet (with Ben), and Patchy from previous seasons.

"Hair Weave Peeve"

That Otherton hair salon must be awesome!
From these Season 4 caps of Charlotte, Juliet, and Kate, it looks as if they found a battery-powered spiral curling iron in the barracks that they could trek through the jungle with them. Juliet's hair was unusually poofy on the beach all of a sudden in The Constant, and in promo shots of upcoming episodes all three look like they've been visiting the DHARMA hairdressing station. And when did Kate learn how to twist up a cutesy bamboo hairband? Her hair looks like it's tiara-prom-ready, for heaven's sake. Even Rose has twirled up her hair in Season 4.

OK, so I kvetch, but sudden changes in details and continuity like this stand out with me. Be glad that you weren't sitting next to me in the theater when I saw Total Recall! But seriously, it must be hard on the actors to go to work clean every day and then get grunged-up for action, so I sympathize. Maybe since LOST will be following the popular glam TV shows this season, TPTB decided to pump up the glam on LOST a bit to attract new viewers from those shows. It's understandable. At least Claire and Sun still have their natural island hair, so all realism has not been totally abandoned. But in all fairness, Josh Holloway has been complaining about Sawyer's hair getting too long, so he should be allowed to give himself a haircut with one of Locke's knives, if we are to believe that the girls are setting their hair with some kind of bamboo curlers and seaweed gel. :-)

"LOST Mini-Break Activity #3"

More LOST fun.
DarkUFO posted about a new LOST interactive area on ABC's website, with a quickie game to play and a sweepstakes to win tix to Comic Con. You play the game by locating LOST items. Cheats are posted at DarkUFO if you get stuck.

From DarkUFO: "A Unique Online Environment Where Fans Can Explore “Lost” and View Exclusive Sneak Peeks of Upcoming Episodes. Fans Can Also Enter for a Chance to Win a Trip for Two to the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con. ABC.com today launched LOSTscape, a unique, engaging, immersive environment where fans can explore and interact with iconic items from the hit series “Lost.” Fans can also view 34 clips from the show in which the items were used, as well as enjoy sneak peeks of upcoming original episodes not available anywhere else. In addition, they can enter for a chance to win a trip for two to the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con to attend the “Lost” panel in person."

The biggest trick so far is trying to figure out how to enter the contest. Clicking on one of the items (randomly chosen each time you play) is supposed to trigger the entry form, but so far no one has seen a form yet. ABC must be still working out the bugs.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=lostscape

"Some Freckage Speculation"

Would that be "freckulation"? :-)
I've been wondering about our blog talks on the 2004 tsunami figuring into the show. Didn't TPTB hint about that date being of significance, leading us to think that they might fit it into the story somehow? In what way could they do that since the island that "we" are on is supposed to be near Fiji, and only the fake wreckage is near Bali somewhere? How could it matter to the show and the people on the island from that distance?

Aside from the theory that there is a wormhole from our Fiji island to the Bali freckage area (an idea that I really like BTW, but doubt will happen) which would show that the island is "connected" to that part of the world, I was thinking how else it might be germane to the story. As much as I dislike second-guessing TPTB about what's going to happen, I came up with one idea for them to use, haha. When the earthquake occurs, it could shake loose the freckage breaking it apart, and many of those unfortunate stolen decomposing bodies from Thailand would come bobbing up to the surface with some of the plane parts, and be found. If the corpses are ID'd as being fakes, the lie about the wreckage would be exposed, and the persons who propagated it would be as well.

Of course, I don't think that TPTB will tell the story this way, because it doesn't fit into the flash-forward scenes that we've seen about the future. If the time of the tsunami event has passed on the island already, it could still be shown in a flash-back (or flash-sideways?), but I don't think it will happen. Still it would be nice if the saying "the truth will out" would come into play with the story about the freckage somehow, causing the grave robbers and perpetrators to get exposed, with an ensuing tidal wave of justice rolling over the ghouls who disinterred those poor souls!

"Who Cares About The Blood Stain?!"

Was this another cabin on the ship, or the brig?!
The Doc takes Des and Sayid to their new upgraded quarters(!), and across the floor scurries a handful of man-eating madagascar-sized roachasauruses! So the Doc gets upset about the bloodstain on the wall and tells Mike/Kevin to get the mop. If I were Sayid or Des, I'd be asking for a can of Raid. The entire ship looks like it could use a good sand blasting and fumigation, actually. I think that Regina jumped off the ship because it's so filthy. And I doubt if Mittlewerk is on this skanky freighter, he seems too prissy. :-)

Anyway, I wonder whose bloodstain that was, or if we'll find out? It's weird how on LOST, some of the redshirts aren't even actual characters....they're just smears on a wall or ceiling.

"Thoughts On LOST vs. The Stand"

I'm still looking for the demarcation lines of Good and Evil.
I was just telling someone how great the book (and miniseries) "The Stand" by Stephen King is, and I started to think about its connections to LOST according to TPTB. Lots of comparisons have been made between the two. But the one thing that The Stand has that LOST doesn't have (yet?), is defined good and evil sides. As the survivors of the superflu traveled to their final destinations for an event that they didn't quite understand yet, we weren't sure about the intentions of some of the travelers. Then as they each converged on Boulder and Las Vegas, we knew which side they were fighting for. So I'm trying to think of the LOST story in the same way to be more patient. While it's been frustrating that many of the islanders and factions have very fuzzy ethical boundaries and that sometimes I don't know which "side" to cheer for, I'm hoping that as we inch toward the end of the story, the "good and bad sides" will become clear like in The Stand. Do you think?

On a LOST/Stand factoid note: According to Wiki, Charlie Pace was loosely based on the character of Larry Underwood in The Stand. That sounds possible as both are musicians corrupted in the music business, get one big hit with a dubious song, find true love after tragedy, and redemption via self-sacrifice. I have to say though, "You All Everybody" seems like a better song than, "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man", heheh.

Also now that I think about it, Locke in his blowing-everything-up mission reminds me a lot of Trashcan Man. Trashy kept saying, "My life for you," while burning down cities on his way to Vegas. And Locke has dedicated his new life to serving the island, by blowing up everything he can along his pilgrimage. Hmmm, another similarity TPTB?

"LOST Mini-Break Activity #2"

Hurley finds a new DHARMA station!!!
Heheh, just kidding. It's just an image from Jorge Garcia's awesomely candid blog! He has been blogging a lot lately about his global excursions and general discoveries in the "University of Life" (as it was put so eloquently in "Empire of the Sun"). And he has the cutest puppy, Nunu, who likes to chew on what looks like a little stuffed polar bear -- very apropos. So remember to spend some mini-break time over at his blog to read about Hurley's excellent adventures. He never ceases to amaze and crack wise for his fans with stories of his island safaris. What a great guy!

http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/

"LOST Mini-Break Activity #1"

Lostopoly!
I had forgotten about Rodimus' Lostopoly game until he re-posted it recently. Go to his blog, download and assemble the zip file, grab some accouterments from your regular Monopoly game box in your closet, and have some LOST hiatus fun. What a great idea and piece of work, thanks for sharing it with us Rodimus. Enjoy LoCos! And don't forget to read his episode thoughts as well.

http://benlundy.blogspot.com/
(Above image is from there too)

"Little Big Walt"

Did TPTB time-travel to film a younger Walt?
It sure seemed like it, in "Meet Kevin Johnson". Either that or there are two other options. They did some great CGI work on Big Walt, to make him look like baby-cheeked Little Walt -- or -- they knew where the Michael/Walt story was going to lead back in Season 2, and they shot some scenes with Little Walt before he got big. Whatever they did, and I hope that they tell us in a future OLP or LOST magazine, it made for an interesting moment in the episode. At least I thought that it was pretty cool. Walt used to be just a little tyke, and handsome Taller Ghost Walt is no kid anymore! I thought that seeing Walt little again was more fun than finding out that Tom was...um...in New York. If anyone hears how they did it, spread the word. Tx.

"Too Many Heroes"

I'm confused about the Oceanic-6 lie, can someone help?
After Jack helped at the crash that he caused on the bridge (due to island intervention, we are now told), he was called a hero twice-over back at the hospital. So at that point I assumed that meant: first time a hero at the 815 crash, second time a hero at the car crash on the bridge. Then during Kate's trial, the lie is told that Kate saved everyone after the 815 crash all by her widdle-self, meaning that apparently Dr.Jack did nothing but stand around in awe watching Kate wield her superhuman powers to save, feed, and minister to, the survivors on her own.

So, if Jack supposedly didn't lift a finger to help after the plane crash, why did they tell him that he was a hero twice? Have I missed something, or is my brain so muddled by this gigantic puzzle that I can't see the obvious? I just don't get it. Thanks in advance to anyone who can clarify this for me. BTW, it's very funny to think about how resentful Dr.Moralpoopypants could get watching Kate receive the glory for all the hard work that he did on the beach saving people. Especially after he was elected to the job of island leader against his wishes, and all the gut-wrenching decisions he had to make by himself on their behalf. I wish that TPTB would work that into the story, it would be fun.

Note: The original image used above that I reworked is from this fanart site:http://supermanfanart.com/art/artwork13.htm

"New Spielberg/Jackson Movie For LOST Fans?"

A boy, his dog, and an island.
LOST aficionados might enjoy the new Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson project planned to be finished in 2009. It's based on the vintage Belgian comic strip adventures of a boy named Tintin and his dog. One of the books is "Flight 714 To Sydney", in which some shady preflight cockpit personnel switches are made, and the passengers end up crashed on an island where they meet up with thugs (who engineered the switch), and mysterious things are happening among ancient ruins. Sounds familiar, right? There is also one called "The Black Island", which I haven't read yet. Andy Serkis (LOTR/Gollum) is to play one of Tintin's nutty sidekicks Captain Haddock, so that sounds interesting. Thomas Sangster (Love Actually & Nanny McPhee) will star as Tintin.

No news yet on which of the many books they will base the first movie (of a possible a trilogy). They might be wise to ride the wave of the current LOST craze and portray the island stories, but all the books are a lot of fun. If the movie is released during a LOST hiatus, it could be a pleasant diversion, and give us even more fodder for crossover theme discussion! :-)

http://www.tintinologist.org/forums/?action=vthread&forum=9&topic=2008