On A Cloud

Friday night, Cloud Cult played their first show together in almost a year at a benefit show for Electric Fetus at First Avenue. They opened the show, going on at 8pm, which is odd, considering they were the biggest band on the bill. And let me just say, if I was in any of the bands that came on after them, I wouldn't have known what to do. Cloud Cult was unbelievable. Amazing. Outstanding. There was so much energy. So much audience interaction in their songs. They seem like they were written to be played live. For people to sing along to and pump their fists in the air.

If you've never seen or heard Cloud Cult, you must check them out. They are in my top 5 favorite bands, for sure. They almost sound like modern day Classical music, with the violin and cello and occasional trombone (not to mention the painters that create during the entire set). They are a sonic wave of ear-pleasing beauty.

When they took to the stage, Craig Minowa - the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter - said that to squeeze as many songs into their 45 minute set, they would not stop playing until it was time to say good night. One song bled into the next. It was magical. The opened with a new song (it was great) and followed with the overwhelmingly beautiful "Chemicals Collide". It was awesome how you could slowly hear everyone begin to sing along. That by the time that gorgeous chorus kicked in ("Oh, god, it's Beautiful!"), it was, in fact, beautiful. If you haven't heard this song, check it out below:

They really seemed to be enjoying themselves and Craig, in particular seemed to love the audience participation. It must be a wonderful thing to have your lyrics sung back at you.

I, on the other hand, will be performing at another open mic night tomorrow. And though none of my songs will be sung along to, I'm super excited to get back on stage.

One Day Short

This weekend is my husband's birthday. Yes, the whole weekend. He is a leap year baby. So with no February 29th happening this year, he gets the whole weekend.

We're kicking it off tonight at First Avenue for the Electric Fetus Benefit Show. Cloud Cult is playing and my old self is super excited that for whatever reason they are going on first. I was convinced they wouldn't be playing until 1am and that would have been a real bummer because I get tired quickly on Friday nights. The only down side to them going on first is that probably means that we will have to wait in the cold long lines to get inside. Oh, well. It will be worth it. I love Cloud Cult.

Saturday is dinner at The Strip Club. It's a steakhouse. Not an actual strip club.

Then Sunday is off to the in-laws for cake.

A full, fun weekend ahead.

Oh, sidenote, my teeth don't hurt at all! I had two crowns added and two fillings and I have no pain today (knock on wood). Hooray!

Happy birthday weekend, baby! I love you!

Let's Talk American Idol

Why? For starters, I'm about to go back to the dentist in 45 minutes to get fitted for two crowns. Except, while at lunch, one of these teeth chipped and now I am freaking out and need to take my mind off of it. I had prepared myself for the dentist appointment that I'm going to have, but now, who knows what will happen. 90 minutes before the appointment that was going to seal it all up. Dammit.

Anyway, American Idol, yeah. What a shitty season so far. No one, and I mean no one, is standing out. Yes, it's only the first week, there are nerves to be had. But think about last season - which I also thought was pretty shitty. Think about what you had that first week. You had Alison Iraheta rocking "Alone". We hadn't heard a peep from her and she comes out and does that. Someone else you hadn't heard from yet is Kris Allen, the eventual winner. He came out doing "Man in the Mirror". Lame song choice, but he still managed to stand out. Then you had Adam Lambert, probably the most talked about contestant ever. He sang something I don't remember, but that doesn't matter. He still made himself noticed.

Now compare that to this week. Who can you see yourself really rooting for this season? Forget about looks. Who has the vocal chops and excitement to keep you watching? The only one who even comes close is Crystal Bowersox. She is the folky, dreadlocked, bad teeth having, harmonica wearing chick who did "Hand In My Pocket" on Tuesday night. During Hollywood week I really liked her. But, she's coming off a bit snooty, don't ya think? This whole "I've never watched the show before" attitude is getting old. I don't doubt she's never watched, but she says it in such a way that is really negative towards the show (that might eventually earn her millions of dollars), and the people who watch the show. It's nothing she's specifically said, it's more in how she says it. How is she even going to deal with the cheese-tastic group numbers they are forced to do on results nights? Or shill herself out for those horrific Ford commercials they have to do once they reach Top 12?

Then there's all the, as Simon calls them, the Adele/Lily Allen/Amy Winehouse wannabes. Seriously, when did every chick start singing like this? It's not natural. Why don't these contestants realize to make it, they need to be different? Yes, in the mainstream Top 40 radio, most of it sounds the same. But for the ones who are really making a name for themselves, they stand out. Or maybe I'm just giving America too much credit. Maybe I'm just thinking about how I view music. I love Amy Winehouse. But I don't want 10 carbon copies of her sitting in my iTunes.

As for the guys, well, I can barely remember any of them. There's the blond guy that Kara is incredibly inappropriate with . But he's really very bland. There's the guy whose parent's were gangsters. He turns every pop song into an acoustic jam. He's got a very good, natural voice. But he seems very one note right now. There's all the young boys/men that Simon seems way too into. What is it with Simon and the young 'uns? I get that as a record executive who is more into the product than the actual music that having someone young and inexperienced to mold into the kind of "artist" that you want them to be is the better deal. But they are just so disposable. Wouldn't he rather have someone who's going to last and earn him money for a long time?

Speaking of all of this, I'm cringe every time Simon has some throwaway comment about how they aren't looking for originality or you can't be too original on this show or that true artistry is pointless on this show. Granted, yes, It is a glorified karaoke competition. But (here I go again) season 7 showed it could be so much more than that. Seriously, every single one of those who made it to the Top 12 were great musicians - not just singers are piles of clay who can be molded into singers or "stars". It's just such a slap in the face to the David Cooks, Brooke Whites, Michael Johns, Jason Castros, and Carly Smithsons who have been on the show - and really does nothing to help them solidify and legitimize their careers. The show was heading in a good direction, and it's like he's trying to stop that from happening. Stupid Simon.

So that's it. Notice I only know one name out of all 24. That's Crystal Bowersox. And most likely I only know that name because she is Michael Slezak at Entertainment Weekly's top pick and he has the chant: Bow-Er-Sox! in my head. Speaking of Mr. Slezak, if you like American Idol at all, you should check out his Idolatry video recaps every week. Good stuff. Probably the only reason I still watch American Idol. Oh, and also for Jacob's recaps at Television Without Pity. God damn he is funny. I know I've mentioned him before. You must read his recaps. His are entertaining even if you haven't watched.

I suppose I should mention the judging changes this season. Namely Ellen DeGeneres (is that even how you spell her last name? I don't know and don't care enough to look it up). She hasn't been as bad as I feared she'd be. She's kept her comedy routine to a minimum. And actually only seems to be bringing it out when things get beyond awkward with the middle section of the judging table: Kara and Randy. These two are such children. The show is not about them, but they don't seem to get that. They just want to be on TV so bad. They just want to be relevant so bad. They suck.

Lost, The Final Season, Episode 4, "Lighthouse"

Sometimes I just can't stand the awesomeness that is Lost. I almost get angry. I do that when things are sometimes too awesome for words. Like when you see a cute puppy and you just want to yell nonsense at it like, "Aacck! You are so cute! I just don't know what to do!" Or like on My So Called Life when Rayanne tells Angela "You're so beautiful, it hurts to look at you." It's that kind of thing with Lost. I just love it so much and it's just so good.

This final season is living up to all expectations. The answers are coming left and right. Sometimes you don't even realize there are more answers to be had. For example: The Numbers. You know them. 4 8 15 16 23 42. They have been with us since the beginning of the series. Last week, I assumed we got the answer to their meaning: Jacob assigns numbers to all of his "candidates". Each of these numbers equals one of our Losties. But tonight! Tonight it went even more in depth. The numbers are degrees on a very large compass. Each degree on the compass has a name next to it. Most have also been scratched off (like in the caves), except for our 6 very special Losties. I didn't need any further number explanations after last week's episode, but they gave them to me anyway. So very cool.

Tonight's episode was a Jack episode disguised as a Hurley episode. Which helped. Because the Jack off island story was really quite dull. So dull, I am challenging myself to only dedicating a couple of paragraphs to it. I guess things can only be so full of win. Here we go:

Jack is at his condo getting ready. He looks in the mirror and notices a scar on his abdomen. He looks confused as to how it got there. Could it be from Juliette had to remove it on The Island? He talks to his mom who is freaking out because they still have found his father's body/coffin. He asks about the scar. She says he got his appendix taken out when he was 7. So, nope. Not Juliette. Though, I think his wariness of it gives gas to the theory that the Losties are starting to remember their island lives.


(side note 1: why do Jack's side stories always look they are filmed in the 70's?)

Jack stops by a school and it turns out he has a son in this life. His name is David. He and Jack have a poor relationship. They go home, they argue. It looks like Jack is divorced from the kid's mom. Jack leaves to go be with his mother to try to find his dad's will. His mom is very scary looking. Very scary. Way too much plastic surgery. She offers Jack a drink, even though it seems he is a recovering alcoholic. Thanks, mom. Jack goes home. His kid isn't there. He goes to his ex-wife's house, kid isn't there either. He listens to the kid's answering machine (because people still have external answering machines) and finds out the kid has a piano recital. Jack didn't know he even played piano. Jack goes to the recital and the kid is really good. Oh, and Dokken (the asian guru temple guy) is there with his kid. Jack and Dokken exchange words. Jack and David make up. The end.

I know that the whole thing was another look into Jack and his daddy issues. My god, I am sick of Jack's daddy issues.

Moving on to the good stuff:

On The Island

Hurley and Miles are playing tic-tac-toe. Hurley gets hungry so goes wondering into The Temple to look for food. Dead Jacob is hanging out by the death pool. He tells Hurley he needs a favor. Someone is coming to The Island and he needs to help them get there.

Jack is hanging outside with Sayid who is wondering why everyone keeps looking at him funny. Gee, Sayid, maybe because you were dead and now you're not? That would make me look at you funny. Sayid has all sorts of questions for Jack. Jack comes clean and tells Sayid that Dokken wants him dead and that the pill would kill him. And that's all that happened there.

We go back to Hurley who is following instructions written on his arm that he got from Jacob. He is wandering through a tunnel covered in hieroglyphics. Dokken shows up and wants to know what he's doing there. Dead Jacob shows up and feeds Hurley his answers. He tells him that he likes to look at all the cool Indiana Jones stuff. With Jacob's prodding, he tells Dokken that he's a candidate and can do what he wants. This shuts Dokken up and he leaves. Jacob tells Hurley that Jack has to come with him on this quest. Hurley tells Jacob it's impossible to get Jack to do anything (snicker). It is, Hurley, it is. As I've said over and over again, the last thing Jack wants is answers. But Jacob says he knows how to get Jack to go.

Jack is sitting on a stump outside with his mouth hanging open literally doing nothing. Hurley tells Jack he has to come with him on this adventure and that Jacob says to tell him "you have what it takes". This gets Jack all riled up for reasons he will never explain. He demands to talk to Jacob. Hurley says Jacob is like Obi Wan and just turns up when he wants. Jack agrees to join Hurley.

They start their trek through the jungle and run into Kate. Joy. She says she has to find Claire. Jack tries to tell her that Claire is different now, according to Dokken. But Kate doesn't care and runs off into the jungle. Stupid Kate. Good riddance.

Hurley and Jack continue on. Hurley is asking Jack about his off island life. Hurley is so sweet. It's just a nice, normal conversation. They stumble upon an inhaler. It's Shannon's! You remember Shannon, right? Right? Well, it looks like they've made their way back to the caves where they all used to live. And look! It's Adam and Eve! Hurley wonders out loud if maybe, at some point in the future, they end up time travelling back to dinosaur times and that maybe these bones are there's? Crazy thought, Hurley. We've all been wondering that since season 1. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: the voice of frustrated Lost fans.

(side note 2: Remember in the first few seasons when the writers really paid attention to the time it took to walk across this massive island? Day turned to night. Sometimes they would have to camp mid way. Now it seems they can get anywhere in just a couple of hours. Strange. I find it odd they made it to the caves so soon from leaving the Temple. Have they been that close to the Temple all this time, yet never noticed it?)

Jack and Hurley hang out at the caves for a bit. Jack confesses to Hurley that he found the caves because he was looking for his dead father. He found the coffin, but no dead dad. Hurley asks why Jack came back. Jack says because he was broken and thought The Island could fix him. Jack asks Hurley the same question. Hurley says because Jacob asked him to.

They move on.

So this whole episode I assumed that The Lighthouse that Hurley and Jack are headed to would be another hatch. Because how could there be a lighthouse on The Island that no one has noticed? I know The Island is massive, but they've seen it from all angles at this point, even from above. But, it's an actual lighthouse. A very old one. Amazingly, Jack wonders why they haven't noticed it before either. Hurley give some new age mumbo jumbo answer about how they've never thought to look for it. Whatevs, Hurley.

They climb the many many stairs to the top. Inside is...an unfrozen donkey wheel? There's also a mirror and a chain hanging from the ceiling. Hurley tells Jack that they have to turn the dial to 108 degrees (4+8+15+16+23+42 = 108!). Hurley starts to pull the chain to turn the dial. Jack is watching the dial when he notices there are names scratched out next to the degrees on the dial. He then notices the mirror goes back and forth from just a regular reflection to different scenes. Then he sees the names of his fellow Losties on the dial, including his own (#23!). He tells Hurley to stop. They need to move the dial to 23. Hurley opposes at first, but then moves it there. The mirror changes to a picture of the house Jack grew up in. It's all coming together now for Jack. He realizes that Jacob has been watching them their whole lives and that Jacob purposely brought them here. He starts screaming at Hurley to bring Jacob there, but Hurley tells him he can't (you know, that whole Obi Wan thing). So Jack smashes the mirror! And then he storms out.

At this point my mind is blown. So many answers. So much revelations for us and these characters. I just can't even make my thoughts function anymore.

(sidenote 3: Thanks for the creepy V commercial. Between V, Flash Forward, and this new The Forgotten show, I'm pretty sure these shows will all merge into one with Lost. They all have former Lost characters in them.)

Jack and Hurley are hanging out at the lighthouse. Jack is sitting on a ledge, mouth open, doing nothing again. Jacob shows up to talk to Hurley. Jacob tells Hurley that he's happy Jack broke the mirror and that the people he's expecting will find another way to get here. He says Jack needs to make this road to discovery on his own. He can't be told what to do. He needs Jack to realize how important he is. Hurley's just pissed he's going to get 7 years of bad luck for being there when the mirror broke. Poor Hurley. Hurley wants to go back to The Temple. But Jacob says they can't because someone bad is coming and it's already too late (UnLocke?)

Whoooo. That was a lot. That's only half of the on Island story. Yes, there's more.

We zoom in on Jin's gross leg that is caught in a bear trap. Claire comes up to help him out. She checks to see if the other two guys are really dead. She is really resembling Danielle. Down to the clothes, and hair, and gun, and stance. Very creepy. She apologizes to Jin for getting caught in one of her traps.

She brings him back to her camp. He passes out. When he wakes up, he pokes around a bit and discovers a baby bassinet with some dead thing that Claire has turned into a doll. She also has tons of explosives everywhere (just like Danielle!) Very creepy. Claire has one of the Temple goons. He was just playing dead. She ties him up and explains to Jin that The Others stole her Baaaayyyybeeeee and she has to get him back. She doesn't seem to realize it's been three years since she's last seen Jin and the rest of the gang. She tells Jin she'll have to clean and stitch up his wound because "the one thing that will kill you around here is an infection." Oh, how true, Claire.

This whole thing has got me thinking. Claire is totally acting like Danielle. Claire is totally "infected" - whatever that means. Danielle was always going on about how her crew was infected. But, maybe, Danielle was the infected one all along and she killed her crew because she was crazy.

They show Jin's leg again. And Again and again and again. It's gross. We get it. Claire goes on again and again and again about how she wants her baaaaaaybbbeeee back. Jin asks why she thinks The Others have her baby. She said her father told her (head tilt from Jin) and her friend. Yes, Claire has made a friend. I wonder who it is...

Claire pulls out an axe and starts demanding that the goon tells her where he baby is. I can't believe she's gonna hack at the guy! She's not really is she! But she is! And then Jin stops her and tells her Kate has her baaaaaybbeeeee. Claire looks stunned. Jin tells her that Aaron is three now and is off The Island. And I just bet Kate is going to walk up right then and there because we all now what perfect timing Kate has. But instead, Claire plunges the axe right into the goons stomach! She kills him anyway! Jin doesn't know what to do. Poor Jin.

It turns out, Claire doesn't believe Jin. She wants to know why he's lying. He decides to play along and says he just didn't want to see anyone get killed. He tells her that The Others have her baby and it's at The Temple and that he can bring her to him. Claire is totally gullible and is all Hooray! Let's go! She also said she's glad Kate isn't raising Aaron because then she'd have to kill her. Really? Do you think that could happen? Where is Kate? Hurry up, Kate.

And then, in walks UnLocke!!! Jin is shocked. "John?", he says. Claire looks at him. Silly, Jin. "That's not Locke. That's her friend!"

The end.

Holy shit.

Great episode.

Things to ponder: Does Claire not see Smokey as Locke? Or, does she know all about Smokey's deal and that he just happens to look like Locke? She seems to think her father is her father, so why does she not think Locke is Locke?

Who are Jacob's next recruits? Will the show end with a whole new set of castaways?

Are we supposed to care about Jack's kid? Because I don't.

New T-Shirts!

I love t-shirts. Oddly, I don't have many of them. Well, I have a lot of them, but mostly they are more for wearing around the house while cleaning the bathroom than for going out in. But over the past week I've acquired three new t-shirts. The first one is a Halloween, Alaska t-shirt I purchased at their show last Friday.

The second and third I bought at Target today. Target has been big on t-shirts lately. Especially t-shirts meant to replicate old tour shirts from the 70s. And, I have to say, they do a really good job. They all have that nice, thin material and faded, worn out look one wants in a good t-shirt.

So, today I purchased a Rolling Stones "old" tour t-shirt and this Elvis t-shirt:

I had to buy it. Not only do I love Elvis, but it has my birthday on it!

Tiger Tiger Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods made his grand apology to us today for cheating on his wife. The whole thing is ridiculous. Why does he need to apologize to the public? What does cheating on his wife have to do with his golf capabilities? The guy is a fantastic golfer. That should be all anybody judges him on.

Oh, that's right. We must think of the children. Those poor, innocent kids that athletes are created to protect.

Well, unfortunately, this isn't even something kids should know about. For multiple reasons.

Reason 1. It's nobody's business. It's a non-story. It shouldn't have been reported on in the first place. This should always have been kept between Tiger and his wife.

Reason 2. Even if it's reported on, the kids don't need to know. Any child with the ability to read the paper or watch the news see things that are a lot worse than some athlete who cheats on his wife. Any child younger than that should have parents who can turn off the TV or take away the tabloid or maybe even sit down and talk to their kid and explain why some golfer should not be who they take their life lessons from. Sure, look up to his work ethic and how he got to be as good at golf as he is today. But he is not a role model for how to live your personal life.

And I say this all as someone who loves her celebrity blogs and US Weeklys. But that's because I'm a nosey gossip. And an adult. Who understands that whether Tiger stays faithful to his wife or not, has nothing to do with his golf skills. It's not like he was swallowing steroids all these years. Now that would be an issue. With his golfing abilities.

So, Tiger, I do not accept your apology. Because you don't owe me one.

Hadestown

I'm super excited for Anais Mitchell's new Folk Opera Hadestown to be released on March 9th. Why? Maybe it's because I find Anais to be just delightful. Maybe it's because I am amazed she wrote a Folk Opera based on Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone. That's quite the undertaking. And she made it sound good. Maybe it's because the album features Greg Brown and Ani Difranco portraying Hades and Persephone.

I just tried to pre-order the album off of the Righteous Babe Records website and it just wouldn't finish the job. They seem to have a lot of problems in this area, although the website is light years better than it was just a couple of years ago.

Lost, The Final Season, Episode 3. "The Substitute"

"Hell, Yes"

Those were the final words uttered this episode. And I totally agree. They were spoken by James "Sawyer" Ford, or #15 according to Jacob.

We found out a lot this episode....A LOT. As Sawyer waved the lit torch along the cave walls exposing the names of his fellow Losties and names of other travelers lost to The Island, I screamed out loud "Answers! Answers! Answers!"

What did we learn? We learned the following:

Jacob, the mysterious being that has been hovering around the lives of everyone of our Losties and Others and Other Others, has been looking for a substitute. A substitute to take his place in protecting the island. Protecting it from what? Nothing, according to NotLocke or DeadLocke or SmokeMonsterLocke or UnLocke or whatever you want to call him these days. The Island is just an island like every other island. But do we believe him? Do we believe this wall of smoke that has taken the shape of John Locke? Why should we believe him? He/It's shown has nothing but negative energy this series. Constantly killing and judging people. I believe that if Sawyer knew who/what he was really dealing with, he wouldn't be so quick to join hands and head home. But, I guess he thinks he's dealing with some sort of zombie and he's cool with that, so what do I know?

And what happens when a judgmental stream of black smoke heads "home". Where is its home? Will it stay as John Locke, will it take on its original form? Whatever that is.

So, I guess, we actually got more questions. But we also got answers, let's not forget.

Even if UnLocke is lying that the numbers are arbitrary, they still have some meaning in that Jacob gave one to each of our Losties, but not all of our Losties. Some were left out. Let's take a look at those numbers:

4 - John Locke
8 - Hurley
15 - Sawyer
16 - Sayid
23 - Shephard
42 - Kwon

An interesting group of people. Yes, it is our core Losties, but there are key players missing. Namely, Kate. Kate was also "touched" by Jacob as a child, yet she did not get a number. Why is that? Is it because she didn't stay pure like he asked her to? You know, because she killed her father and got her best friend killed and robbed and fled and was just acting like Kate does?

Also missing: Claire, Charlie, Sun or Jin (we don't know which Kwon is the chosen one), Arntz (just kidding), Rose, Bernard, Vincent (yes, Vincent. I have not forgotten or golden lab friend), Boone, Shannon, Libby, Anna Lucia, Mr.. Eko, and, probably the two biggest most glaring omissions: Michael and Walt. Or namely, Walt. I understand that Walt the Actor has grown up and can't do this role anymore. But, come on! He was such a core player in the first 2 seasons. He was special, just like Locke. So special that The Others had to have him. There must be some way to tie him into all of this without the need to use that actor. Just, I don't know, say his name. Have his name scribbled onto a cave wall with a number by it. They could even have it crossed out. But at least acknowledge that he existed as an important plot point on this program.

I love, and hate, how the show has found a completely easy way to toss aside mysteries (the numbers) and people (Michael and Walt and Claire and the whole rest of the crew) that we've put time and energy into in such a way that leaves us completely satisfied.

Ending Rant (for now).

So we know those things. Maybe. If UnLocke is telling the truth. Which he probably isn't.

Let's dive into the rest of the episode.

Off Island

This was a Locke episode, and they are always the best. Both on and off The Island. This one was no different.

In Locke's alternate life, he is still wheelchair bound. But he seems somewhat more at ease. He has just returned from Sydney where he was attending a conference for the box company. Except he wasn't. He headed to Australia on the company's dime to try to go on that Walkabout (but couldn't. Because he can't walk). Of course, the company found out and he was rightfully fired.

On his way out to his car, he finds that someone has parked their Hummer next to his handi-van and blocked him in. It's Hurley. Hurley owns the box company and tells Locke that he also owns a temp agency that will help him find a new job. Hurley is so sweet.

Locke's home life is a little better. He is married to Helen (or Peg Bundy), who kind of looks like what Jamie Gertz would like if she let herself get old. Not that Helen has let herself get old (hello, botox!). It also seems he's on good terms with his father - or someone he might think is his father. Either way, it wasn't dear old dad who pushed him out of the window causing him to be paralyzed. Or maybe it was in some weird way we don't know about. But I doubt that Locke would want to invite the man who did this to him to his wedding, as Peg suggested he do when she brought up the idea of running away to Vegas with their parents in tow.

At the temp agency, Locke meets our Rose. She runs the agency and tells Locke to get his act together and stop dreaming of a life he can no longer have. Like she has had to do ever since being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Poor Rose. Rose and Bernard will always be two of my favorite characters on this show. Yes, neither has really done anything, but I just like them. They seem like good people.

She hooks him up with a job as a Substitute Teacher. Get it? Substitute? On his lunch break he meets another teacher. Ben Linus!!!! Ben is teaching European History and he's just anal as ever. Locke finds him complaining about how no one changes the coffee filter in the teacher's lounge. Locke requests tea. Ben likes this. They bond.

I love the idea that in this alternate life, Ben is "just" a history teacher. Ben always wanted to be special, like Locke. It would make sense that in this alternate life that seems to be more miserable for everyone than their on Island life that Ben would be a teacher at a school who gets upset about the coffee filters.

But is this life worse for everybody? Wouldn't it make sense that the one guy who loved The Island so much, that he died for it, have the better life after the reset button was hit? Look at Locke's life: He's marrying the woman of his dreams, he's found a job that he really enjoys, and he's come to terms with his wheelchair bound life. At the end of the episode, he seemed quite content with everything.

On Island

We open with the perspective of the Smoke Monster. He's "running" around the jungle, judging and clicking and then he's back into his Locke form. It was pretty cool.

He has Richard hanging in a contraption in a tree. After cutting him down, he asks Richard to join his side. Richard refuses and runs away.

Locke then makes his way to where Sawyer is hanging out, listening to punk music, and drinking himself to death. Sawyer is wary of the dead guy who is talking to him, but after UnLocke tells him he can give him all the answers if Sawyer follows him, Sawyer follows him.

As they trek through the jungle, UnLocke keeps getting spooked by visions of a young child (who looks an awful lot like Jacob). Locke also seems amazed that Sawyer can see this kid. At one point, he even chases after this vision - in his Locke form. Why didn't he just turn into Smokey?

While UnLocke is off running after his vision, Richard stumbles out of the woods to try and persuade Sawyer to come with him to the temple. He tells Sawyer that UnLocke is very dangerous and wants everyone Sawyer loves dead. Sawyer says he's going with the guy who's going to give him answers. Richard heads back into the temple and Sawyer follows UnLocke.

They make their way to a cliff overlooking the ocean. There's a ladder that goes a long way down. They eventually make their way to a cave on the side of the cliff. Inside is a scale with one black and one white rock. They are perfectly balanced. UnLocke takes the white rock and whips it into the ocean. Sawyer asks what that was about. UnLocke tells him it's just a game he and Jacob like to play. (Hmmmm...answer?)

Sawyer demands UnLocke tell him why he is there. Locke brings him to the back of the cave. All along the walls and ceiling are names with numbers next to them. Most have been scratched off. Except for our lucky 6. And except UnLocke goes to scratch off DeadLocke's name. Good old #4. He's no longer a candidate.

A candidate for what, you ask? Well, for nothing. Jacob thinks The Island needs to be protected. UnLocke says it's just an island. Who's right? Will we ever know.

He tells Sawyer he has three options: 1. He can walk away and go back to drinking his troubles away. 2. He can become the new Jacob and live there for eternity protecting The Island. 3. He can leave, right then and there, and go "home" with UnLocke. I put home in quotes, because we still don't know what home is to this thing. And neither does Sawyer. But Sawyer seems to think home is his home. So he says, "hell, yes" to option 3.

I need to give a shout out to Terry O'Quinn who portrays John Locke/UnLocke. This guy can act his ass off. When he is Smokey, there is this evilness to his eyes that is terrifying. Even Sawyer commented on it. He says that he knows he's not really Locke because even when Locke is trying to act tough, you can still see that he's afraid. And it's so true because the actor plays that so well. When he see sweet Locke off island living his life, your heart breaks for him.

I also forgot to mention what else was happening on The Island. Sun and Ben and and the Pilot Guy and that NotFBIChick are hanging around by the 4 toed statue. They decide they need to bury DeadLocke. Sun makes a big deal about it and then I feel bad for NotFBIChick because all of her friends were just killed and Sun mentions nothing about burying them. As they are walking to the burial site, NotFBIChick makes a comment about how Smokey is now stuck in Locke's body. Which makes this part interesting:

When UnLocke is running after his kid vision, he catches up to the kid (actually he trips and falls and the kid stops). The kid tells him he didn't play by the rules and that he can't kill him. What does UnLocke say? "Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!"

Is Smokey becoming John Locke? Is that why he couldn't morph back into Smokey to chase the kid? Is that why he uttered that famous John Locke quote?

Oh, show, how I love you.

Life Achievement Unlocked

I did it! I did it! I did it!!!!

Last night I played my first show. Okay, so it wasn't just my show, but I got up on stage at an open mic night and performed 4 songs. 2 originals and 2 covers.

This is a goal I had set for myself to do by the time I was 30 and when 30 came and went last summer, I kept kicking myself because it was such an attainable goal. I think getting it done before 31 is still pretty awesome. I just wish I started doing it when I was 19.

I'm completely hooked now. Once the nerves settled (about the 3rd song in), I could have stayed up there all night. And since it was just me and the host for the first hour or so, I totally could have. But I wasn't prepared to sing so many songs in the first place. I assumed I'd only get one song and had been practicing that one song. So to find out I got to sing 3 threw me for a loop. The fourth song was a bonus. An "encore" if you will - or as I will call it.

They do this open mic thing every other Monday, and I will be back.

Oh, and I played "Good", "Cast a Spell", "Lord, I Have Made You a Place in My Heart" (Greg Brown cover), and "Old Fashioned Hat" (Anais Mitchell cover).

Pretty Dresses

I pass by L'atelier Couture bridal shop everyday on the bus. It makes me want to get married all over again just so I can wear on of the many fabulous bridal gowns displayed in the windows over the course of the year.

Not that I could afford one of these gowns.

http://www.lateliercouturebridal.com/default.php

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Not The Worst Thing

My root canal was not the worst thing I've ever been through. My dentist managed to make it an almost pleasant experience. I wore my headphones and "relaxed". He shot me so full of Novocaine that I didn't feel a thing. Afterwards, I just had a minor toothache.

Next day, and my minor toothache comes and goes, but it's nothing I can't live with. It mainly hurts when I bite down.

I did find out I'm in the same group as less than 10% of the population who have 5 canals in their molar instead of just the normal three. What does that mean for me? Nothing. But my dentist and his assistant were very excited. They even took a picture. I should have asked for a copy.

Please, Dentist, Don't Hurt Me

I'm going to the dentist in about 4 hours to get a root canal. I'm amazed I can even type, I'm so nervous. I have no idea what one entails and I don't want to know. The less I know, the better. He said it would take 90 minutes and I can't even imagine sitting in that chair for that long. But there's no avoiding it. It has to be done. Otherwise I'll be back in about 12 months from now to get an emergency extraction and that sounds even worse. I know it's even worse. I had one done 2 years ago.

The $1,960 Trashbag

I'm always amazed at the cost of designer handbags. For such little fabric, spending sometimes upwards of $4000 and more just seems incredibly hard to grasp. And I love handbags. Love them. I had a bit of an addiction to them for a while. I never spent more than $65 on bag and even now, that seems crazy. I average about $30-$40 a bag now and I haven't bought one since Christmas '08.

Like most things fashion, you are paying more for the name on the label than the look of the product. You're not spending $4000 because it's a practical, cute purse that will last you many years. You're spending $4000 because it is the latest Hermes' bag and you must have it because it is the latest Hermes' bag.

And I get that. I'm human. I don't agree with it. But I get the want and the coveting. If I had an extra $4000 to spend on something lavish, I might not spend it on a purse, but I might spend on something else that someone else would deem ridiculous.

But this, this is just plain stupid. Below is a picture of the latest Louis Vuitton bag. You know Louis. If you don't, you know his symbol. All those little LVs covering everything from handbags to sweatshirts to socks. Below is his latest handbag design. What does it look like to you?

If you said garbage bag, ding ding ding! You are correct. These garbage bags cost $1,960. Allegedly they are made from leather, which might help to explain the price. But when I look at them, I can't help but think that some designer was truly inspired by Zoolander and is trying to come up with their own Derlict campaign. I mean, have we really run out of fashion ideas that we are going to look to the homeless? I guess in the early 90s we looked to junkies, so is this really any worse?

Lost, The Final Season, Episode 2 "What Kate Does"

Do I even have to say it? It was a Kate episode so I think my opinion on it was already well established before it even aired. Kate episodes suck. It is proven. They are incredibly dull. She is incredibly frustrating.

What I did like about it was the title. Because it was so true to what aired. What does Kate do? She annoys people and acts like an idiot. And throughout the entire episode, that is exactly what Kate did.

Let's start with her off island story line which showed her irritability factor to be slightly less than her on island story line because she was surrounded by Claire most of the time off island and Claire is the only one who can trump Kate when it comes to being clueless.

We returned to Kate at the airport hijacking the cab with our favorite little pregnant Australian, Claire, in the backseat. After a comedy of errors trying to get away from the airport (including a run in with Arntz and his luggage - god I love seeing these old faces again!), the cab driver ditches the cab at a stop sign and Kate is forced to drive. After a while, even Kate gets sick of Clay-air and kicks her, literally, to the curb. We now see that, yes, Claire is still pregnant in this timeline.

Part of the episode's premise was to show how convincing Kate can be (as she claims during her on island sequence). This is shown by how she convinces a mechanic to cut off her handcuffs and let her change in his bathroom without even a hint of him wanting to call the cops on her.

She takes Claire's luggage and opens it up to find a bag full of baby bottles and toys and clothes and a picture of a pregnant Claire throwing gang signs towards her baby's stomach...or something like that. This makes Kate sad and sorry for tossing her out on the street. I guess the fact that Claire was obviously very very pregnant when she threw her out of the car wasn't enough to bring on the guilt.

So Kate goes back to where she dumped Claire and hey! what do you know! Claire is still standing there looking like an asshole! I have to assume it has been, at the very least, 20 minutes since Kate left her there. At least. It could have been an hour. Yet, there Claire stands. 9 months pregnant. She thought she'd "wait for the bus". Hm. Really? Weren't you just carjacked? Aren't you very pregnant? Didn't you just get off a plane from Australia? Do you know the LA bus system? If you were just involved in a carjacking and were, miraculously, let go and left on the corner of a strange city you've never been to...wouldn't you seek help? Maybe go to a local establishment of sorts and ask to use a phone or have the police called? You're cute, you're blonde, you have a cool accent, and you're 9 months pregnant. Someone would have helped you. But no. You're Claire. You wait for the bus. To go where? Doesn't matter.

Kate asks if Claire needs a ride. Claire hesitates ever so slightly and then gets in the car. Yeah, because that's what I would do. Get in the car with someone who just held a gun to me and then let me go. Claire tells her she needs to go to the adoptive parent's house. It looks like even in this timeline, things are going pretty similar for Claire. No major changes. Kate brings her there and they must have had some serious bonding on the way because Claire wants Kate to join her in meeting the adoptive parents. Oh, did I mention the parents ditched her at the airport? They did. They were supposed to pick her up, but no one showed.

It turns out the dad is leaving the wife so she doesn't want the baby anymore. This upsets Claire so much she goes into labor. Kate, of course, brings her to the hospital. Claire is assigned Dr. Ethan Goodspeed. Yes, this is the same Ethan Rom that finagled his way into the Losties camp in the first season, kidnapped Claire, and stuck her full of needles, then was shot by Charlie. So, in this new timeline, he's just a regular doctor who still gets to stick Claire with needles. Claire has a scare (rhymes!) with the baby and she blurts out the name Aaron and it looks like she really wants to keep the baby and Kate tells her to and blah blah blah. Oh, and the cops come looking for Kate and Claire says she doesn't know where she is. Then she gives Kate her credit card because what better way to start a good life out for your kid than to willing give some strange woman who held you at gunpoint your credit card so she has some spending cash while she flees from the federal government. Awesome.

Oh, dear god, are we done with that yet? Yes? Good. Moving on.

On Island

Oh, wait. More Kate. Fantastic. But first....

Sayid has risen as is a bit confused and weary, understandably so. He was just dead. The Asian guru dude (who I swear said his name is Dokken, so that is what I'm going to call him) and the hippy dude (who I think is named Lennon - I wonder if that's his given name or if that's like, who he identifies with and stuff, dude) request to speak with Sayid privately. Jack puts up a big stink, but Dokken and Lennon win and they bring Sayid in the back to privately torture him. The cover him in ash, they stick him with needles and shock him and they poke him with a hot iron. They are testing him and they tell him he passed (but he didn't). It seems Sayid has been "infected" or "claimed" as they later tell Jack. By what/whom? We don't know.

Jack, oddly enough, wants nothing but answers this episode. He demands to know what's wrong with Sayid. Dokken tells him it's the same thing that is wrong with Jack's sister, Claire. Sayid died and now something is going to "blacken his heart" if they don't re-kill him. He wants Jack to get Sayid to take a pill to get the job done. But Jack won't do it. Stupid Jack.

Meanwhile, everyone is outside and Sawyer pulls out a gun and says he's leaving and that nobody - look to Kate - should stop him. Dokken begs him to stay - even speaks that foul English - but he leaves. Kate immediately requests to go after him because she - and only she - can convince him to come back. Dokken lets her go with two of his goons (one of who is Mac on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia!!!!! That was a surprise!!!) and Jin. As they trek through the jungle, Kate gets antsy about not causing enough problems lately and she attacks the two goons and tells Jin she is escaping with Sawyer and together they will find a way home. I'm sure he'll be thrilled, Kate. Jin calls her a dumbass and turns around to go back to the Temple.

Kate finds Sawyer in his old Dharma house. He's opening a box he had hidden in the floorboards and is crying. It suddenly hits her that he maybe wasn't just using Juliet for a good time and that she's made a huge mistake. She tries to sneak away but is busted.

They go have a talk out on the pier and he tells her that he was going to propose to Juliet. Then the Golden Globes/Emmy music roles in and he starts to cry and I'm making fun, but it was actually quite moving. He tells Kate that Juliet's death was his fault for asking her to stay when she wanted to leave. Then he tosses the engagement ring into the water and walks away and Kate cries and I'm actually quite happy she is crying, but not for the reason you would think. Not because I dislike her and enjoy watching her suffer. But because nobody ever really just cries on this show for some sort of release. All of the shit that happens and no one ever has a good cry. Everyone needs a good cry now and then and it seemed like that's what she was doing.

We then cut to Jin making his way back to the Temple. He gets stopped by Mac and the other goon. Mac pulls a gun on Jin and threatens to kill him. But then a shot rings out. The two men are dead. Jin looks to his life saver. Who is it? It's Claire! A very disheveled Claire. A very Rousseau looking Claire.

The End

I enjoyed how dirty everyone seemed. It's like the producers finally remembered these people are stuck on an island with no access to showers. I liked Kate getting the heartbreak from Sawyer. Although she's received it a million times before and never once has it sunk in that HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU. Jesus, someone buy her that book.

I understand this was also a big set up episode. The second episode of the season usually is. But it just seems like, with this being the final season and all, that they really don't have time for that.

Next week looks good. More Fake Locke and Richard and Ben and all that craziness. And hopefully more crazy run-ins with Arntz. Gotta love Arntz.

Snowy Monday

Sure enough, major snowfall today. Looks like I'll be missing out of yoga at Jen's once again.

I decided to chronicle my journey into work this morning and to photograph the snow as best as snow can be photographed using a camera phone.

Snow Collar

Feet in snow

Saved by the bus

Road conditions

Normally I can see downtown St. Paul from here.

Made it downtown

View from the skyway

Better!

I think I'm better! It's a good feeling. I'm having some ear issues, but I don't think I have an infection, so I can deal with it.

More snow in the forecast for another Monday night. That means no yoga at Jen's again. This will be the third week snow has stopped me from making it over there. I miss yoga with Jen.

I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow. Well, looking forward is a strong way of putting it. Nobody really looks forward to going to work. Unless you're a rock star. Either way, I'm now solely an HR Assistant again officially on Monday and I am not dreading work on Monday. Last week was rough waiting for this change to become real. I'm glad the unknowning is over.

New week means new TV and another new episode of Lost. I'm totally excited. That concern I had about not feeling as excited as I thought I would has gone away. I'm now counting down the days between episodes.

I'm getting the first step in my tooth repair done next week. Root canal. I've never had one, which makes it so that I'm not as nervous as I probably should be. I have no idea what they entail and would rather not know. Ignorance is bliss.

One more week until I (hopefully) make my stage debut. Open mic night at a bar downtown. I need to dive into practicing this week.

Oh, and I saw Chris Koza at 7th Street Friday night. Good show. His opening acts were fantastic. The first band was Flight. I highly suggest you check them out. They are from Madison. They have this dreamy quality to them. Very cool. The other band was Laarks. They were good, too, but I just think I've been hearing a lot of bands that sound like them.

Lost, The Final Season, Episode 1: "LA X"

So I started writing a big long recap of last night's season premiere of Lost, but just couldn't do it. It was two hours of confusingly awesome TV and I could already tell my post was going to end up being mutiple pages. So let's just hit on the big points, shall we?

The one thing that struck me is we now have some Other Other Other.s. Or Other Other Other Other Others. How many other Islanders have we had at this point? Let's take a look:

1. First there were the child stealing, beard wearing, torch carrying Others. We later found out that these were the same people as:
2. The Official Others. The Ben Linus led group of house dwelling, well read, bathed Others that live in the same place that the Dharma Initiative once inhabited before Ben killed them all off.
3. The Dharma Initiative, though not around in present time, were around last season while Sawyer, Miles, and Juliette all lived in the past.
4. Richard's Others. Richard's Others appear to be natives to the island. Richard is weird in that he never ages. These people (as well as the Ben Linus group) all seem to be devoted to a man named Jacob.
5. The Temple Others. The Temple Others were brought to us last night. I will assume they have been living on the island this whole time. Cindy, the stewardess, was one of them.

So, unofficially, that's 5 groups. Officially, it's more like three. Still, that's 3 groups of people cohabitating on an island that is seemingly deserted. I would assume that the Temple Others, Richard's Others, and the Official Others all play for the same team.

The Plane

The people on the plane (that we were shown) were: Jack, Kate, Rose, Bernard, Hurley, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Charlie, Sayid, Boone, John Locke, Cindy, Arntz, the Red Shirt wanna be Steve Buscemi guy, and Desmond. Why was Desmond on the plane? He wasn't on the original flight. Was this a sign to show that he is tied to this group no matter what? And what does that say for Juliette?

Noticeably absent: Michael, Walt, Shannon, Anna Lucia, Mr. Eko, Libby, and Claire. (Anna Lucia, Mr. Eko, and Libby could have been on the plane and they just didn't show them because they were in a different section.)

Key plane items: Desmond being there, Charlie saying he was "supposed to die", Boone leaving Shannon in Sydney, Hurley saying he is the luckiest guy in the world, and - according to producers Darlton and Cuse, the significance of the amount of mini bottles of booze Jack had. I guess he had one less than in the original pilot. This is supposed to mean something. I can't even begin to guess.

I'd say the biggest thing about the plane was not actually on the plane, but what was happening below it. Before that oh so cool Lost title showed up, we got a fun shot of Jack looking out the window and the camera zooming down to the ocean below, then into the ocean, then deep beneath the ocean all the way to the bottom where - hey look! - it's the Dharma houses! and they are covered in moss and surrounded by fish and sharks and - O My Goodness! - it's the 4 toed statue! and it's just the foot!

On The Island

We are post Jughead explosion, or is it? Was Juliette ever actually successful in detonating the bomb, or was it as Jin said and that it was really just the island skipping through time again? Or was it both and the bomb going off is what catapulted them back to the present, but not off the island?

Everyone is there who was there before all of that went down. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Hurley, Jin, and Sayid. Even Juliette! She was just trapped beneath the rubble at the bottom of the Swan Hatch hole. But she doesn't stick around for long. Sawyer gets one last goodbye and she is gone (but not before trying to tell him something "really important". Sayid is also worse for the wear. He is still bleeding profusely from his bullet wound.

Hurley is visited by a recently deceased Jacob who tells him he must bring Sayid to the temple to save his life. More on that in a minute.

Off The Island

Sidebar: Haven't even mention the biggest key item this whole episode: The Losties are living some sort of parallel life. According to the deceased Juliette (who spoke through Miles), detonating Jughead worked. But how could it? Yes, they are living "happily" off island with no knowledge of their island life, but they are also still on the island. So what gives? So very confusing.

Anyway, off the island, some of Losties are having their own bad experiences:

Jack: Oceanic lost his dead father. We all know how closely tied to the island Christian Shephard is. Could it be he somehow still managed to find his way out of the plane and onto the island?

Locke: They lost his luggage full of his knives. Okay, not so bad. Maybe that's the point?

Jin and Sun: Jin is being investigated by the TSA for having way more than $10K in cash in his bag.

Kate: Attacked her Federal Agent in the bathroom and is now back on the run. She then held a gun to a cab driver's head to escape and it just so happens that Claire was in the cab! So, was she on the 815 flight? Or is this just a coincidence?

Back on The Island

So much stuff is going on, it's hard to keep track. Let's separate by beach people and inland people.

Beach People

Ben has just stabbed Jacob. "Locke" tells him to go get Richard. But Richard won't go in and shows Ben why: That's not Locke in there because Locke is dead on the beach. Poor Ben just looks so heartbroken and confused. I kind of feel bad for him.

Ben goes back inside and following him in are those "what lies in the shadow of the statue" folks that I really don't give a shit about and luckily don't have to because: "Locke" tells them that Jacob is dead, they start to shoot, "Locke" disappears and returns as The Smoke Monster. Smokey takes control of the room and starts smashing everyone against the walls while Ben cowers in the corner. One of the dudes puts a circle of ash around himself (the same ash that was around Jacob's cabin) and stops Smokey in its tracks. But then Smokey gets wise and knocks a rock over killing the guy and they are all dead. Then he returns to his John Locke shape. At this point Ben looks so miserable that I just want to wrap a blanket around him and coddle him.

They head outside, "John Locke" knocks out Richard, throws him over his shoulder and they head inland.

Inland

The Losties are heading to the Temple to save Sayid. Sawyer and Miles stay back to bury Juliette. They get to the Temple and are captured and brought before an asian guru looking dude who refuses to speak english because he doesn't like how it feels on his tongue. He talks through some hippy dude and demands the Losties be killed. Hurley says Jacob sent them and as proof shows them the guitar case Jacob gave him. Inside is a large wooden egyptian symbol with a note inside of all of their names stating the Temple guys need to keep them all alive or bad things happen.

They bring Sayid to this pool that is supposed to be clear but for whatever reason is red. They toss him in and three guys hold him down. He dies. It didn't work. Everyone sits around and then Sawyer and Miles are brought in, captured. Then Sayid comes back to life.

When Hurley tells the Temple dudes that Jacob is dead, they freak out and start shooting off rockets and pouring that ash around the entire temple.

The end.

I think,

I'm sure I forgot tons and this quick recap is still incredibly long. I can't even begin to wrap my head around everything that is happening. Why are they all both on and off The Island? Is the off Island stuff happening in the near future once the on Island stuff clears itself up? Is Sayid now Jacob? Why was Desmond on the plane? What is the significance of the mini liquor bottles? Where did Christian Shephard end up? Why is the off Island Island under water? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON????
Welcome back, Lost.

(Fun fact, the pilot's voice was that of Heroes star Greg Grunberg, who played the pilot who was eaten by Smokey in the first (or second?) epsiode of Season 1)

It's Back!

Lost is back! Lost it back!

Oddly, though, I'm not as excited as I should be. Maybe it's because I'm sick. Maybe all the crap going on at work is bringing me down. But I feel I should be more excited. I'm sure once the episode begins, I'll be pulled right back in.

We left off with Juliette detonating Jughead and a big white flash on the screen. Will she have rebooted time? Will Oceanic Flight 815 have landed safely at LAX with everyone on the flight having no recollection of what happened before? Will it have done nothing but cause "The Incident" that Dr. Cheung speaks of in most of the orientation videos? Will it reboot Jack's brain? I guess we'll find out tonight.

I will try to do my recaps, but they are very time consuming and things are a bit crazy right now.