Trying not to spoil anything, I will respond to a few of Pops's thoughts in his last post. Most of these thoughts I've probably shared at some point, but in reference to Pops' comments, they may be refreshed in significance.
1) As I've stated before, I think Season 2 was my favorite. I plan on restarting my re-watching in earnest shortly, so I'll reevaluate at that point. But the bizarreness of the Hatch and the introduction of some of my favorite characters, including Desmond and Eko.
2) I agree (as do most LOST fans) that season 3 was the weakest of the five. It was a slight (though probably unavoidable) cop-out to introduce a large cast of additional characters, living unnoticed, in a fully formed and civilized community nonetheless, just miles from the survivors. Some of them I did grow to like. In particular Ben, who thanks in large part to Michael Emerson's brilliance, was formed into one of the most important characters, a role he has continued up to the current time. Juliet was a frustrating character for me at first; her mysterious teetering character was overwrought at the onset, but has also grown to be a favorite and important character. But most of the Others failed as interesting characters with me and other viewers, so it's no surprise that few of them were left after the season. The first episode, I agree, was a complete shakeup and effectively done.
3) Season 4 again introduced a new host of characters, but most of them ultimately succeeded more than most from season 3. The main reason, I believe, is their interconnections with each other and the past lives of characters we have already known. They seemed a more natural fit to the overall arc of the series, with a sense that the writers had a better idea of their importance to the series as a whole from the onset. Daniel Faraday in particular, also brilliantly portrayed, catapulted almost immediately to the top of my favorites list.
The slow unfurling of the Widmore-Ben saga was effective, and seemed to set the stage for many future reveals, instilling an unshakable sense that something much larger than the sum of the individual characters' lives was in play the whole time. I also grew to enjoy Charlotte's character, and after seeing him morph through season five, Miles as well has become a well-loved character in the LOST community. Season 4 also contained what still believe to be the best episode of the series, "The Constant."
The use of flash-forwards was an innovative solution to keeping the intrigue of the series up, without relying on the same largely doomed techniques of season 3. Michael's 'reincarnation' (not literal) as Kevin Johnson was an ok twist, but his whole arc rang hollow to me; he just isn't interesting. Also, I wholeheartedly agree with Pops' assessment of "Ji Yeon"; it was a transparent and crass attempt at engendering sympathy and surprise, an entirely forgettable episode. All in all, a successful season, for it's well-formed and fully-committed delving into time travel, successful integration of characters, and explosive yet measured action; a great setup for season 5.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
One Fish, Two Fish
I won a live goldfish last night at the Rockingham County Fair, at the insistence and using the money of Sarah Mac. The game was simple: toss a ping pong ball into a little cup, win a fish. I won.
We then went to PetSmart to get some fish food and a companion fish for the one I won. Today, I made a trip to Target and Goodwill, found a new, larger vase and some decorative stones to put in it. I also found some fairly unattractive accouterments to complete the aquatic landscape for my two new friends, a semi-creepy ceramic bear holding a watering can, and a small dish reading "MAN'S BEST FRIEND" on its side. Each cost about 35 cents. Here is a picture of the two fish:
The orange one is from the fair. The dark one is from the store. They are both female, we think. I have not named them yet, so if you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments. My ideas so far are Sasha and Malia and Franny and Zooey, but I don't love either of those.
I had planned on keeping them in my office at work, but that's probably not a good idea as they would be in the dark basically everyday after 5 p.m., and I would have to go in on weekends to feed them. Probably too much effort. So guess they'll live here, for now anyway.
So far they seem ok. I think I fouled the original water with too much fish food, so I bought a gallon of purified water and changed it out. They appear to be enjoying the new toys, too. I believe they are using the toy dog dish as a swimming pool. Here's the entire landscape:
UPDATE: The gold fish est muerto. She must have been diseased and/or mishandled by the carneys. :(
We then went to PetSmart to get some fish food and a companion fish for the one I won. Today, I made a trip to Target and Goodwill, found a new, larger vase and some decorative stones to put in it. I also found some fairly unattractive accouterments to complete the aquatic landscape for my two new friends, a semi-creepy ceramic bear holding a watering can, and a small dish reading "MAN'S BEST FRIEND" on its side. Each cost about 35 cents. Here is a picture of the two fish:
The orange one is from the fair. The dark one is from the store. They are both female, we think. I have not named them yet, so if you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments. My ideas so far are Sasha and Malia and Franny and Zooey, but I don't love either of those.
I had planned on keeping them in my office at work, but that's probably not a good idea as they would be in the dark basically everyday after 5 p.m., and I would have to go in on weekends to feed them. Probably too much effort. So guess they'll live here, for now anyway.
So far they seem ok. I think I fouled the original water with too much fish food, so I bought a gallon of purified water and changed it out. They appear to be enjoying the new toys, too. I believe they are using the toy dog dish as a swimming pool. Here's the entire landscape:
UPDATE: The gold fish est muerto. She must have been diseased and/or mishandled by the carneys. :(
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tangled Up With Boys In Blue
Apparently, Bob Dylan was stopped the other day by two police officers in a community in New Jersey, wandering through a low-income, minority neighborhood a few hours before he was scheduled to perform a show.
That's pretty cool unto itself, that the Father of Folk Rock (and megamillionaire) would rather wander aimlessly through a rough New Jersey neighborhood than party or take part in other showy business while on tour. But what makes the story amazing is that neither the first officer who responded to a call that an unknown white man was wandering through the 'hood nor the second officer who arrived for backup knew who Dylan was, even after he identified himself!
Nothing came of the incident, as the officers returned the singer-songwriter to the hotel where he was staying and having his identity confirmed by employees there (he wasn't carrying any ID).
No definitive word was given on Dylan's purpose for being in the neighborhood. Reported weather conditions may indicate that he could have been seeking shelter from the storm, and unnamed witnesses alleged his jacket may have been blowing in the wind. The reported dialogue between Dylan and the officers was abbreviated for press, though anonymous sources have speculated that upon identifying himself and seeing the young officer struggle to place the name, Dylan may have responded cordially, "Don't think twice, it's all right." The exact location of the incident was also unreported by police, and media members failed to confirm the address as being positively 4th Street.
Here's a link to the real story. http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2wXIst/www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/08/bob_dylan_stopped_by_cops_whov.html?ft=1&f=103943429/
That's pretty cool unto itself, that the Father of Folk Rock (and megamillionaire) would rather wander aimlessly through a rough New Jersey neighborhood than party or take part in other showy business while on tour. But what makes the story amazing is that neither the first officer who responded to a call that an unknown white man was wandering through the 'hood nor the second officer who arrived for backup knew who Dylan was, even after he identified himself!
Nothing came of the incident, as the officers returned the singer-songwriter to the hotel where he was staying and having his identity confirmed by employees there (he wasn't carrying any ID).
No definitive word was given on Dylan's purpose for being in the neighborhood. Reported weather conditions may indicate that he could have been seeking shelter from the storm, and unnamed witnesses alleged his jacket may have been blowing in the wind. The reported dialogue between Dylan and the officers was abbreviated for press, though anonymous sources have speculated that upon identifying himself and seeing the young officer struggle to place the name, Dylan may have responded cordially, "Don't think twice, it's all right." The exact location of the incident was also unreported by police, and media members failed to confirm the address as being positively 4th Street.
Here's a link to the real story. http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2wXIst/www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/08/bob_dylan_stopped_by_cops_whov.html?ft=1&f=103943429/
Thursday, August 13, 2009
VOTE
It's been a while since I've posted on here, and even my facebook and Twitter output has been almost nil over the past two weeks, due to my nice vacation, which I suppose I will end officially tomorrow by attending a university event for two hours. I think that will be a nice way to ease back into work, right before the weekend.
But the last time I checked my Twitter feed for any significant length of time, I found a link to a Guardian poll asking people to vote for their favorite TV show of the "Noughties", or 2000-2009. I did vote, for LOST, but the poll is now closed, and the results were ridiculous. At the time of my vote, LOST was doing respectably, with 3-4 percent, and my second choice, The West Wing had a few percentage points as well. They both trailed a show called QI, which I'm guessing must be British (I've never heard of it) and long-time BBC favorite Dr. Who. So, clearly the poll reflected the tastes of UKers, which is ok, since the Guardian is a U.K. publication. But the final results were absurd, clearly becoming a personal battle between fans of two shows with which I am not familiar, The Wire and Top Gear, which finished 1 and 2 with each pulling in more than 40 percent of the vote. So what was once an interesting poll was ruined.
I'm much more interested in what the smaller group of people that reads this blog thinks. As I mentioned, I would have to pick LOST as my number 1, though TWW is second only in a veritable photo-finish. The only other show that was within a whiff of those two for me is Arrested Development, which is hands-down the best comedy of the 2000s, but due to its relatively short run and comedic genre, in comparison, it just lacks the epic gravitas the first two carry so strongly for me.
Coming up with even a Top 10 list would be difficult, but other favorite shows from the past ten years that come to mind immediately would be Weeds, The Office, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Chappelle's Show, Good Eats, Iron Chef (original), House M.D., Friends, This Old House, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, American Dreams and Dirty Jobs. I might even have to throw Alias in there, though I may be slightly biased from having watched that entire series within the past few months.
I'm probably pretty well defined by my demographic, a male who was in either high school or college for eighty percent of the 2000s, with picks such as LOST, The Office, the late-night shows, FOX cartoons and the hour-long documentary segments of masculinity defined that are Dirty Jobs, Survivorman and Man vs. Wild. But I've got at least one PBS show there, a brainy food show and a couple respectable dramas, so I don't feel too fratty.
I was going to put a poll up with some TV shows to vote on, but that would be way insufficient. Just leave your thoughts in the comments.
But the last time I checked my Twitter feed for any significant length of time, I found a link to a Guardian poll asking people to vote for their favorite TV show of the "Noughties", or 2000-2009. I did vote, for LOST, but the poll is now closed, and the results were ridiculous. At the time of my vote, LOST was doing respectably, with 3-4 percent, and my second choice, The West Wing had a few percentage points as well. They both trailed a show called QI, which I'm guessing must be British (I've never heard of it) and long-time BBC favorite Dr. Who. So, clearly the poll reflected the tastes of UKers, which is ok, since the Guardian is a U.K. publication. But the final results were absurd, clearly becoming a personal battle between fans of two shows with which I am not familiar, The Wire and Top Gear, which finished 1 and 2 with each pulling in more than 40 percent of the vote. So what was once an interesting poll was ruined.
I'm much more interested in what the smaller group of people that reads this blog thinks. As I mentioned, I would have to pick LOST as my number 1, though TWW is second only in a veritable photo-finish. The only other show that was within a whiff of those two for me is Arrested Development, which is hands-down the best comedy of the 2000s, but due to its relatively short run and comedic genre, in comparison, it just lacks the epic gravitas the first two carry so strongly for me.
Coming up with even a Top 10 list would be difficult, but other favorite shows from the past ten years that come to mind immediately would be Weeds, The Office, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Chappelle's Show, Good Eats, Iron Chef (original), House M.D., Friends, This Old House, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, American Dreams and Dirty Jobs. I might even have to throw Alias in there, though I may be slightly biased from having watched that entire series within the past few months.
I'm probably pretty well defined by my demographic, a male who was in either high school or college for eighty percent of the 2000s, with picks such as LOST, The Office, the late-night shows, FOX cartoons and the hour-long documentary segments of masculinity defined that are Dirty Jobs, Survivorman and Man vs. Wild. But I've got at least one PBS show there, a brainy food show and a couple respectable dramas, so I don't feel too fratty.
I was going to put a poll up with some TV shows to vote on, but that would be way insufficient. Just leave your thoughts in the comments.
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