Since the last two episodes of LOST were below par, I worried that the show was headed in a downward spiral since it looked like the writers didn’t have a clue how to handle the new characters, flash forwards, and answer some of the questions that piling up.
Thankfully this show put everything back on track. Not only did we get to see more of Desmond and Penny (great characters and a beautiful, complex relationship), but we’re starting to understand what keeps the island hidden from the rest of the world. There’s obviously a time disconnect that makes it invisible to outsides unless they know exactly how to find it. And the show revealed that the island is about two days ahead of the freighter. The unanswered question, of course, is why.
Daniel Faraday, I think is going to become an increasingly important character and is probably the one most likely to help the crash survivors instead of completing their mysterious (and probably deadly) mission. It was nice that Desmond’s flashes included a little more background on this interesting individual. Let’s hope we get some flashbacks on him before too long.
The best part of the show, however, was the ton of clues that were dropped in about 15 seconds at auction where The Black Rock Diary was being auctioned. My ears perked up when the auctioneer said the contents of the diary were unknown except by its owner Alvar Hanso. Sound familiar? Alvar Hanso was the guy that founded The Hanso Foundation which financed the Dharma Initiative. The diary probably holds the secret of how to find the island. And now that Mr. Whitmore owns the diary, I’m willing to bet the freighter in the middle of the ocean is somehow connected to Penny’s father.
The company I work for shares an office building with several other businesses. There’s a common area with a refrigerator, microwave, sink and a large tables, chairs, and whiteboards. Though occasionally the room is used for meetings by some of the other businesses, I’ve rarely seen anyone else in the room – at least while I’m microwaving lunch.
The room must be used somewhat because every week or two someone writes a question on the whiteboard closest to the door. Every afternoon there are new answers to the question.
On Monday someone wrote the following question: What would you do if money weren’t an issue? Here’s this week’s responses:
• Become a teacher
• Live in Paris
• Eat beef and chicken
• Coach soccer
• Run for president
• Go to school forever
• Make myself look like Rambo
• Hire a hit man to whack my boss.
No, these pictures aren’t from the planet Hoth. They’re views of frozen Utah Lake and the surrounding area that I took February 17, 2008 as reminder of how cold this winter has been. Since then, temperatures have risen and the snow has begun to melt. Maybe spring will arrive after all.
It should be noted though Marathon Girl and I are sick of the cold, our kids had a good time digging through the snow to find the ice and walking on the frozen lake. They didn’t want to leave even after the sun set and the temperatures dropped.
So Kate ends up with Claire’s baby, Aaron. As Hurley would say, “Didn’t see that one coming.” And we spent the entire episode wondering if the baby’s father was Sawyer or Jack.
This is the first episode with flashforwards that I really enjoyed. Sure, the other flashforward episodes have been great but really haven’t answered questions that we have about the characters. Instead, they’ve just deepened the mystery and left viewers scratching their heads in confusion. Kate’s flashforwards didn’t do that.
We know that Kate is wanted for murder and other crimes and has a strained relationship with her mother. And, if she ever left the islands, we all wanted to know if the law would eventually catch up to her. Not only did we get an answer to the legal questions, but we saw that her complex relationship with her mother was still rather strained.
If the writers could do flashforwards like this in every episode instead of using them simply to sew mystery and confusion then I think as a storytelling device, they’d work a lot better.
Unlike some, I have faith that the writers will tie everything together in the end and we’ll see that they’ve woven a wonderfully crafted story. It just sucks that we have a million questions that need to be answered in the meantime.
I told the world I was going to write about last week’s LOST episode this weekend. I didn’t do it. And because I didn’t, my inbox was flooded with thousands of emails (well, two, actually) asking me to opine on why Sayid is now Ben’s assassin (I have no idea) and who is he trying to kill (I think it’s the same people that sent the boat people to the island – a.k.a. The Dharma Initiative).
Before someone sends another email, let me explain. The weekend didn’t turn out the way I planned it.
After work Friday I was driving home and thinking about the rest of my day: playing with the kids, eating dinner, and watching a movie with Marathon Girl after they went to bed. If I had enough energy, I was going to make some popcorn for the movie.
I came home and instead of kids eating at the table or seeing Marathon Girl working on dinner, the house was eerily quiet. Too quiet. I double-checked to make sure the van was in the garage. (It was.) Then I thought that Marathon Girl and the kids were playing in the family room and we’d be ordering pizza or something for dinner.
I went to the bedroom to hang up my coat and put away my laptop. Much to my surprise Marathon Girl was sitting on the bed and looking rather sexy.
My first thought was: You look great!
My second thought was: Maybe you should put some real clothes on before the kids see you.
My third thought was: I don’t hear the kids. Where are they?
I must have been completely stunned because Marathon Girl got of the bed and put her arms around me and explained that we were celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary two weeks early because this was the only weekend she could get someone to watch the kids overnight.
Did I mention I knew nothing about this and it was a complete surprise?
So instead of writing about LOST or anything else, I spend most of the weekend alone with Marathon Girl celebrating five wonderful years together.
I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
And, yes, you can look for a post about the latest episode of LOST tomorrow.
Unless, of course, Marathon Girl has another surprise for me when I get home tonight.
Well the much anticipated jury call didn’t come through. I called the jury number Friday night and was greeted by a recorded message saying the case had been canceled. Instead I spent the morning moving office furniture.
I’ll post my thoughts on the latest episode of LOST sometime this weekend. Until then, those looking for their LOST post fix should see the super secret storyboards to the series finale posted here.
If that doesn’t answer all of your LOST-related questions, I don’t know what will.
It looks like the federal government wants me to show up for jury selection after all. After I mailed back the form I received with my federal jury summons late last year, I didn’t hear anything back and thought I wasn’t needed after all.
I was wrong.
Saturday I received an official looking notice to appear for jury duty in the mail. Unless they change the date or the defendant reaches a plea deal, I have to report to the federal courthouse in Salt Lake next week to go through the jury selection process. Since I’ve never done it before, I’m actually looking forward to it even though I hear it’s a fairly boring and mundane process.
The one thing I’m not looking forward to about it is parking. In downtown Salt Lake City, that can be an absolute nightmare.
It’s no secret that I was born with little in the way of muscle mass. Though being tall and thin has its advantages, it also means that I don’t have much muscle mass. Any muscle I manage to add is quickly gone if I don’t lift or try to grow what little muscles I have on a regular basis.
So it was quite an accomplishment on Saturday when I actually bench my own weight – 205 lbs (93 kg) – without any assistance.
It took two years to get here – a process that was slowed by fact that I still run regularly – but it was well worth the time and effort to be this strong.
And the accomplishment was even sweeter because instead of doing it in a gym, I did it at home in front of Marathon Girl, who, by the way, really likes the muscle I’ve added over that period of time.
Life is good and sweet – especially when you’ve worked hard to accomplish something.
Over the last few years I’ve received hundreds of emails from women dating widowers. From them I’ve noticed some patterns of behavior that indicate the widower isn’t ready for a serious relationship and just using the woman to temporarily fill the void created by the death of his late wife.
If the widower you’re dating has one or more of the red flags below, don’t take it to mean that the relationship is doomed or that that issues can’t be resolved. However, keep your eyes open to potential problems before giving too much of your heart to him. It’s better to know what to look for and bail out early then waste years of your life with a widower who’s not ready to make you the center of his universe.
The Widower Hides You from Family and Friends
It’s not easy for a widower to let friends and family know there’s a new woman in his life – especially when many of them are still grieving over the late wife’s passing. He’s probably worried that they’ll think he’s moving on too fast or, perhaps, won’t be open to the idea of seeing him with someone else. He might also be concerned that this new relationship will cause friction with other family and friends who are still mourning.
These worries and concerns are natural, but they’re no excuse. If a widower really has serious feelings for you, he won’t let the thoughts or opinions of others stop him from letting the world know about you. He will find a way to introduce you to family and friends. Don’t worry whether friends and family will approve of you. Your only concern is whether or not the widower is embarrassed to tell others about you.
You Remind the Widower of His Late Wife
Widowers are naturally attracted to people that remind them of their recently departed wife. Hair color, body type, or similar interests are just a few things that might make him notice you.
If you look, act, think, or have other similarities to the late wife, be very concerned – particularly if the widower’s wife is recently deceased. The danger here is that he’ll want you to be the late wife and once he realizes you can’t be the woman he still loves, the relationship will come to a crashing end.
He Constantly Compares You to His Late Wife
People are creatures of habit. We become accustomed to things being done a certain way. In relationships – especially those that have lasted many years – one becomes used to the spouse’s habits and ways of doing things.
One of the big adjustments widowers have to make when they become serious with another woman is realizing that you come with your own unique habits and ways of doing things. Widowers who can’t remember that you’re a different person are a ticking time bomb. Unless you’re willing to become the late wife and do things exactly like she did them, don’t waste your time. Bail out while you still have some sense of identity left.
There Are Still Visible Shrines to the Late Wife
When a wife dies, she becomes immortalized. It doesn’t matter how many faults or sins she committed before she died; overnight those things are forgotten and those behind tend to focus on the good qualities and characteristic of the deceased. Often the person is immortalized through online memorial sites, photos, or even literal shrines to that person.
If a widower is truly making room in his heart for you, the shrines, photographs, and other ways of commemorating the dead will slowly disappear. He’ll find a way to make his home and other places you frequent together a place where you’ll feel comfortable. Don’t even try to compete with a ghost. You’ll always lose. If the shrines remain, it’s time to find someone else who doesn’t mete out his love to dead idols.
He Won’t Tell You That He Loves You
The widower sends you cards, flowers, and chocolates. You have great dates and fun-filled romantic weekends together. He treats you right and gives you all the outward signs that he loves you but an “I love you” has yet to part his lips.
It’s not always easy for men to express what’s in their hearts. But they will express them when the feelings are strong enough. Anyone can give you flowers or a memorable night on the town. Nothing, however, can take the place of a sincere “I love you.” If the widower you’re dating can’t tell you that he loves you and mean it, you risk being a passing fancy with nothing to show for the relationship other than memories and a broken heart.
He Refuses to Talk About His Grief
It’s not a secret that men don’t like talking about their feelings. But you should be reach a point where you both feel comfortable talking about the progress (or lack thereof) that he’s making in regards to his grief.
Open communication doesn’t come overnight. It’s a process of working together and understand when and how to approach the other person. If he can’t or won’t tell you occasionally the progress he’s making as far as moving on, you risk waking up one day and realizing that he’s still in great sorrow and you’ll never have a place in his heart.
Conclusion
Any successful relationship takes two people to make it work. However, both people involved need to make the other person the center of their universe. A relationship with a widower can wonderful – so long as you both work to make is successful. If the widower is letting the dead wife come between the two of you, it’s time to move on.
Flashbacks instead of flashforwards in this episode? They were appreciated as we got some background on the new people coming to the island. But switching from flasforwards to flashbacks could become very confusing for views unless the writers take great care in what they’re doing. But so far they’ve done a good job, so I’ll patiently wait to see what happens.
And wasn’t it nice to see the writers start to add some depth to the people that parachuted onto the island? It wasn’t as much information as I would have liked but it’s a start. And we might even get some more background on Naomi in future episodes. I’m crossing my fingers that the writers do a good job with these characters as they have with the other people on the island.
I enjoyed the twist at the end that the group is there for Ben. It makes me think my prediction about them being part of (or at least hired by Dharma Initiative people) is on the right track.
Finally, the best part of the episode was when Locke told Sawyer that Ben had shot him. Sawyer skeptically asked what Locke he was doing walking around if he had been shot. Locke then lifts up his shirt, shows the wound and says “The bullet went through and through. Good thing I didn’t have a kidney or else I’d be dead.”
One of the overarching themes of LOST is that things happen for a reason. I’m guessing Locke isn’t so upset about his father taking his kidney anymore.
Too bad his father’s dead.
***
Oh, and for fans of LOST, how many of you actually watched the Oceanic Air commercial that aired last week? I didn’t but thanks to YouTube, I finally viewed it last week. There’s an interesting trail of breadcrumbs that will keep you hooked to your computer for hours. You can watch the commercial below.
Here’s my prediction for tonight’s episode of LOST.
Those people on the boat, who we all know aren’t there to rescue the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, are really part of the Dharma Initiative. My theory is that after the Others killed everyone on the island, the Dharma Initiative people back in the real world couldn’t find the island again and have been searching ever since. Once they find it their plan is to kill whoever they find on the island and re-establish their research projects.
Radio Weatherman: A storm will be heading through Utah tomorrow just in time for the morning commute. Don’t worry about this one. We’ll be lucky to see an inch of snow in the valleys. This one’s going to blow right by.
Today
Radio Weatherman: This storm is really pounding the Wasatch front making the commute a nightmare. It looks like it might be here well into the afternoon dropping several inches in the valleys. If you haven’t left for work already, you’re in for a long drive.
I’ve never voted in a presidential primary before.
I’ve always voted in state and local primaries but never for president.
The main reason has been that the presidential candidate has been decided long before Utah had its say. So when the time came to cast a presidential ballot it felt rather pointless.
Not this year.
This year it’s actually been a race for candidates from both political parties. This is good as it seems to have generated a lot of interest in the election – a good thing for the country, in my opinion.
Instead of letting a handful of early primary states decide, it looks like the race for president could extend well beyond today for both the Democrat and Republican nominees.
To make it even more exciting Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Mitt Romney all are solid candidates and all have a good chance at becoming our next president so interest from both Democrats and Republicans are high.
On my way home from work this evening, I’ll be stopping by the local elementary school to vote. And even though my candidate probably won’t win Utah, it still feels good to actually partipate in an election with such high voter interest.
Oh, and if want to see which candidate, best reflects your views, be sure to take the Electoral Compass test. It got mixed reviews from readers of this blog, but it matched me up perfectly with my candidate of choice.
