LOST: Because You Left

I’m so glad LOST is back. For the first time in months I was riveted to the TV for two hours last night enjoying every minute of both episodes. (The second episode will be reviewed in my next post.)

*** WARNING: Spoilers Abound ***

For the people on the mainland, we see that fate slowly bringing the survivors back together. I guess no matter how much of a fuss they put up, they’re destined to return to that island no matter what. The storyline of Syiad and Hurley was interesting but really was serving as a setup to the next episode.

The truly interesting part of the season premier was seeing what happened to those who were left on the island. Juliet and Sawyer have become the de facto leaders of the group trying to navigate them through the time shifting they’re experiencing. And I’m glad they’ve set Daniel Faraday up as more than just a science geek. Apparently he’s going to be the key to getting them out of their time shifting mess.

The writers are walking a tightrope with the time shifting/time travel part of the island. As a storytelling device, sending the survivors back in time on the island it’s a great way for the audience to learn more about the island, its history, and the Dharma Initiative. On the flip side, time travel has become such a cliché in book, movies, and television, the writers run the risk of making LOST lose its ability to be a fresh and entertaining show. So far they’ve handled the time shifting aspect of the show very well. I like the fact that Faraday tells them they can’t change anything. That constrains the writers from screwing around with the established storyline. (Phew!) I just hope they keep walking that tightrope.

There is one aspect of the show that is starting to grate on me a little, however. Why do they have to keep hiding the faces of characters to build up suspense? In the opening scene, why not show that it’s Pierre Chang who gets out of bed to get the kid instead of waiting until he sits down to shoot the instructional tape that we realize who it is? Why not show Faraday’s face as soon as Chang bumps into him on the way out. There are certain rules and reasons when you hide the faces of characters. However, hiding the faces of Chang and Faraday served no purpose that to confuse the audience. They could have had the same amount of suspense if the first thing we saw was Chang’s face and were trying to figure out why they were showing him.

But hiding the faces is a minor complaint. Overall, it was a great episode. I’m glad there’s finally something good to watch on TV again.

Why Gran Torino is the Best Movie of the Year

Note: Thanks to Sylvia for reminding me I need to write this.

When I posted my Best of 2008 list I got a few emails from readers who were surprised that I picked Gran Torino as the best move of the year over The Dark Knight since they knew what a big Batman fan I am and how much I raved about the movie.

Yes, I loved The Dark Knight. It had everything you want as far as good writing, great special effects, wonderful acting, and a wicked plot. However, it lacked the personal intimacy of Grand Torino. And though both movies had themes of redemption, atonement, and salvation, Gran Torino did it on a more personal and, therefore, more powerful way.

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood starts as a grumpy, racist, Korean War vet named Walt. The Detroit neighborhood he lives in is falling apart, controlled by gangs, and inhabited by Asian people who Walt despises. To top it off, he has a strained relationship with his two sons, a catholic priest, and has a bunch of spoiled grandkids.

The movie revolves around Walt’s relationship with the Lors – a Hmong family that lives next door. As part of his initiation into a Hmong gang, the neighbor kid named Thao (Bee Vang) breaks into Walts’s garage to steal his vintage Gran Torino. As a result he inadvertently ends up getting involved in the lives of Thoa and his older sister Sue (Ahney Her) and defending them against violent intimidation.

Slowly we see Walt’s toughness melt away as the kindness from the Lors makes him realize that they’re just like anyone else. This is where the movie could have run down the path of being your typical Can’t-We-Just-All-Get-Along movie. But the movie doesn’t focus on Walt’s acceptance of the Lors (thought that happens). Instead it focuses on Walt and what’s makes him one of the most complex characters in recent cinema history.

What really makes the movie, however, is the ending. No, I’m not going to spoil it for you, but it’s an extremely moving ending that has surprised everyone that’s seen it. It makes the movie and gives the movie a deeply satisfying conclusion.

Gran Torino isn’t a perfect movie. Some of the acting from Vang and Her is far from perfect. But the best movies are the ones with the best special effects and well-known actors. Instead they’re the ones that show real, complex characters trying to make the best in the world we live in.

Grand Torino wasn’t a movie I expected to like. I have a love hate relationship with Clint Eastwood movies. Some have been great while others have been plain awful. I’ve never really forgiven Eastwood for royally screwing up Mystic River. Eastwood, however, redeemed himself with a realistic movie that shows the audience that not one is beyond redemption. Best of all, the film reminds us what the true definition if love really is.

One word of warning. Gran Torino contains a lot of foul and racist language. If you’re uncomfortable with that, don’t see it. But if you can look past that, you’ll see a moving story of atonement and salvation that makes it the best film I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Gran Torino **** stars (out of 4).

Things You Forget About Babies

Thanks to everyone for their comments and emails about the new baby. Both Marathon Girl and Brennan are home and doing very well. From my point of view, even though it’s been just over two years since our previous child was born, it’s amazing how much I’ve forgotten about how much attention a baby needs.

Like getting up 2-3 times a night. After my third trip to retrieve the baby for Marathon Girl last night, I realized our other kids cried just as much during all hours of the night and we both had to get up just as much with them as we did with the new one. There’s probably a good reason those memories got pushed to the side when we decided to have another kid.

Other things I forgot: Babies need constant changing and care. They spit up a lot. And unlike our other kids, they can’t tell you what’s bothering them. There’s a lot of guesswork trying to figure it out why he’s crying.

But there are a lot of positive things too that also skipped my mind. Like taking a screaming baby into your arms and having him instantly calm down. That’s very rewarding. And being able to just hold him without all the wiggling or squirming. Having him open his eyes and sort of give a half smile and then go back to sleep. Seeing his brothers and sister become excited at the prospect of holding him.

All good stuff.

All worth it.

Now I just need to catch up on my sleep.

Worth Reading VIII

Articles I'd love to comment on if I had the time. All are worth reading. The Courage of Detroit by Mitch Albom (SI.com) This was Christmas night. In the basement of a church off an icy street in downtown Detroit, four dozen homeless men and women sat at tables. The smell of cooked ham wafted from the kitchen. The pastor, Henry Covington, a man the size of two middle linebackers, exhorted the people with a familiar chant.

All Bets Are Off: How Rick “The Free Capitalist” Koerber’s Real-Estate Scheme Helped Wreck Utah’s Economy by Eric Peterson (Salt Lake City Weekly) Critics say Rick Koerber has done his share to contribute to the state’s economic meltdown: home prices sinking into a seemingly bottomless pit, a frozen-stiff credit market and growing unemployment.

Obama's Early Stumbles by Camille Paglia (Salon.com) Readers ask, Camille dishes: On Democratic woes, the Weather Underground, Kanye West, Freud, alleged gay genes and "the long sleep."

New Baby FINALLY Comes

Brennan was born January 9, 2009. He was 22 inches long and weighted 8 lbs. 10 oz.

Both mom and baby are doing well.

Gym Wuss No More

There's one downside about working out at the gym: I've become a wuss about running in the cold.

It wasn't always this way.

A couple years ago it didn't matter if the temperature outside was twenty below zero. I'd just put on an extra sweatshirt and head outside at 5:00 a.m. and run, run, run.

Then to accommodate a new work schedule and other demands on my time, I started working out at the gym during lunch. It was convenient, but because I was running indoors, I lost the ability to shrug off cold temperatures.

Until this weekend.

Since I had about 10 days off, I needed to run. Sure, I can miss a day here or there and not have it be a big deal. But I can't miss 10 days in a row.

I'd go crazy.

While the gym is conveniently located close to my place of employment, its many locations are NOT convenient from my home. So driving to the closest gym every day wasn't an option.

And by my second day off, I was pacing the living room, looking out at the snow, trying to find the courage to go running.

Then Marathon Girl walked by.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I need to go running," I said.

"Well, why don't you go?"

"It's cold outside."

Marathon Girl gave me one of those "This is the ‘man' I've married?" looks. That look alone should have been enough to get me out the door. But sometimes, when I really don't want to do something, I dig in my heels and become really stubborn.

I dug in my heels.

"It's below freezing outside," I said.

Marathon Girl just stared at me.

"It's way below freezing," I said.

Marathon Girl just stared at me.

"I could die from exposure and then you'd be a widow with three point five kids to raise."

Marathon Girl just stares at me.

I finally get the message. She's been walking everyday in the cold, hoping to get this baby out of her with no luck. Why am I being such a wuss?

So I tucked my tail between my legs and went running.

I came back 40 minutes later, sweating and feeling great.

"You survived," Marathon Girl said.

I smiled. "Not only did I survive, but it was great to breathe in the cold, winter air."

Marathon Girl just smiled and returned to her book.

I'm a gym wuss no more.

Utes Prove Why BCS Schools Fear College Football Playoff

Final score from the Sugar Bowl: Utah 31 Alabama 17.

This is why BCS schools resist a college football playoff: They’re worried that some unheralded team from an “weak” conference will run the table and beat more storied, talented programs. BCS schools would loose their recruiting edge and suddenly college football teams would be a lot more balanced on the whole.

I think if there was a playoff system this year the Utes would have run the table and knocked off anyone in their path including Oklahoma and Florida*.

Congratuations, Utah.

Too bad you play in such a crappy post-season known as the BCS.

* I'm not a Ute fan. Just a football fan who wishes college football had a post season worth watching.

The Best and Worst of 2008

Best Blog: Land of Laura Lot. Honest. Insightful. Funny. Great storyteller. Give her a read. Best Movie: Gran Torino. This Clint Eastwood picture just edged out The Dark Knight for my best movie of the year. This movie isn’t in wide release until January 2009 but I got a sneak peek at it over the holidays and I really liked it. Both movies had themes of sacrifice, redemption, and salvation but Eastwood’s pick did it on a more intimate, personal level. Look for my review sometime next week.

Worst Movie: The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I loved this TV show – except for the final episode. This movie however, had none of the magic that made the show so popular. How can you have a true X-File movie without aliens or true paranormal stuff going on. This movie didn’t have any of that. Just a pedophile priest. Yuck!

Best Book: Discovered two great writers this year: Lee Child and Robert Crais. All their novels are wonderfully written with great plots and characters. It came down to Crais’ The Watchman and Child’s Echo Burning. I’ll give the edge to Echo Burning simply because Reacher’s a more intriguing character. Both books, however, are great reads.

Worst Book: Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love that Survived by Herman Rosenblat. Don’t call it a memoir if you’re going to make it up. (Read more about it here.)

Best TV Show: LOST. If this comes at a surprise, you haven’t been reading my blog very long.

Worst TV Show: Don’t watch enough TV to give an award here. (Thank goodness.) Best Political Moment: Seeing Barack Obama elected. I didn’t vote for the guy, but it was cool to see that anyone can become president regardless of their race.

Best Political Moment: Seeing Barack Obama elected. I didn’t vote for the guy, but it was cool to see that anyone can become president regardless of their race.

Worst Political Moment: Endless choices here. I’ll give it to Utah state senator Chris Buttars who wanted to pass a resolution that would require retailers to say “Merry Christmas” to their customers. Uh, that kind of goes against the spirit of the holiday. Can you say Bah Humbug, senator?

Best Personal Moment: Finishing my first novel five months ago.

Worst Personal Moment: After finishing it realizing I could do better. A lot better and deciding not to do anything with it for the time being. On the bright side, I’m just about done with a novel that is publishable.

Best Person Ever to Live: Marathon Girl. I'd be lost without her. Great wife, mom, editor, and runner. Can't imagine life without her.

2008 was great. Here’s to hoping 2009 is even better!

Happy New Year everyone!

Oprah Suckered Again by Phony Memoir

Another memoir has been proven to be largely fabricated.

Herman Rosenblat's “Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love that Survived” is a story about his future wife when she threw to him over the barbed wire fence of the concentration camp where he was held as a boy and then meeting her 10 years later in New York, falling in love, and getting married.

The only problem? Rosenblat apparently made it all up. No, not the part about at being at Buchenwald and other concentration camps. Just the part about how his wife tossing food to him over the barbed wire fence and then meeting her on a blind date 10 years later. You know, the whole story of the book.

At least this time they discovered it before the book hit the shelves. But it was too late for Oprah who, according to The Times, "twice invited Mr Rosenblat on to her talk show, hailed the book as “the single greatest love story ... we've ever told on air”.

Granted, you can't necessarily blame Oprah for falling for it. She was probably introduced to the book through a friend in the publishing industry who assured her that the book was legit.

But it makes you wonder what's wrong with the publishing industry. After James Frey's “A Million Little Pieces” was exposed as a hoax, the industry promised to do better job fact checking the memoirs they intend to publish. Yet this book, along with “Love and Consequences,” and “Misha: A Memoir of the Holocaust Years" have all managed to slip through the fact checking cracks.

Maybe the publishing industry should adapt the motto that wise investors use when hit up by people offering miraculous returns on their money: If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

In the meantime, if Oprah or anyone else is looking for an true memoir about finding love -- even in the most difficult of circumstances, might I recommend this book? Unlike other memoirs, I can guarantee this one to be 100% accurate.

Holiday Random Thoughts 2008

The gym I go to gave me an early Christmas present: The decided not to put those annoying TV monitors on all the treadmills!

Seeing Santa Claus in person still scares my two oldest kids to death.

All Marathon Girl wants for Christmas is for the baby to come.

At the store the other day I came this close to buying a CD of Christmas songs sung by Elvis for Marathon Girl and the kids. Maybe next year.

I find myself wishing some creative songwriter will come up with a new but memorable holiday songs. I’m tired of the old ones.

My kids’ favorite holiday activity is driving around and looking at all the holiday lights on the houses. They get such a kick out of it, I really enjoy driving them around.

It amazes me when I hear unemployed people quoted in news stories saying they’re taking the holidays off from job hunting because “companies don’t hire in December.” Uh, yeah they do. I interviewed for and was offered my last two jobs in December. And even though these are challenging economic times, there are still lots of companies who have positions that need to be filled January 1. By not looking for work in December, you’re digging yourself in a bigger hole.

Some of my best holiday memories are from white elephant parties.

My kids love playing in the snow. Makes me wonder if they’ll be upset when we eventually move to Houston and only see a dusting of snow every four years or so.

For the first time in my life, I’m working for an employer that has Boxing Day as one if it’s official, paid holidays. Now I’ll see if I’ve actually been missing out on anything all these years.

Since I have to burn my unused vacation time before the end of the year, I’m taking A LOT of time off work over the holidays I’m going to use it to finish my latest novel, watch season 4 of LOST on DVD, and play with my kids.

I hope all of my readers have a happy, safe Holiday season. Look for my Best of 2008 column next week then I’ll see you all in 2009!