Do a Little Dance!

ABC has apparently announced that the final season of LOST will begin airing on February 2, 2010, with a one hour catch-up / clip show at 8pm, followed by a two-hour season premier at 9pm.

Okay, so it means we have more than two months to wait, but with only seventeen hours of NEW programming left, I think the wait will be okay.

Can I hear a collective YAAAA-HOOOO?!

Not LOST, but it will do for the moment...

In the interest of keeping our interest... I am creating a FlashForward thread. We can still talk about LOST (and most likely we will talk about LOST and how it relates to FlashForward).

So here it is...

: ) P

EMMY!

Order has been restored to the world today, as LOST finally receives a nomination for Best Series (after being shut out since the first season).

Emmy nominations were also extended to

Best Supporting Actor for Michael Emerson
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series (for the Incident)
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour) (for the Incident)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Damon and Carlton (for the Incident)

(Do you get the feeling they only submitted the Incident for consideration?)

Where's the Emmy love for Elizabeth Mitchell? For Josh Holloway (who did his best work ever this year)? For Jorge Garcia (who finally got to show some real range)?

Who else was robbed?

Tillie Trivia Time!

To help kick out the hiatus-blues, we will resurrect Tillie Trivia, just as Beach Guy resurrected John Locke!

The game is fairly simple... if you know the answer, share it and then ask your own question. If you are not sure you have the correct answer, then you can wait for it to be confirmed before you ask your own. You can still post theories, links, suggestions, and non-trivia questions of course, the trivia is just an added feature to make the hiatus down-time a little more fun.

Questions from last hiatus are bound to be repeated, and that is just fine.

: ) P

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

The LOST withdrawal (and family visiting) got the better of me and my days are all out of whack. I missed the Tuesday night post update! Yikes.

Withdrawal - week two

We're heading around the corner and easing into week two. Can we REALLY say we're through the LOST withdrawal? I know that as much as I would love to deny it, I am still in the throes. While thoughts of LOST don't creep into my every waking moment, I do consider different plot points now and then.

It is generally an accepted theory that there are seven stages of grief. While I can't pretend that living without a television show is comparable to losing a loved one, I think that perhaps we might find we have our own list.

So as we continue with our numbers game, and discussing theories (because the numbers game is really just part distraction from our "loss"), consider what might make the list of "seven stages of LOST withdrawal" and add them in the comments.

Thanks.

Withdrawal - week one

For a brief moment this morning, I thought, "Oh it is LOST day!" Then I realized, that while Wednesday might forever be called LOST day, there is no new LOST today. *sigh*

I plan to spend tonight watching The Incident again tonight.

How are YOU dealing with the withdrawal?

The Incident

It's here. The final LOST day of 2009. It is bittersweet, really. It will be exciting to see the season finale, to get a few more answers, to set the stage for the final season.

But at the same time, the episode marks the end of the light that makes Wednesdays almost better than Fridays - a time when pretty much anything can be shaken off with the knowledge that a new episode of LOST will be on. Thursday marks the first day of the dark time. A time when life's luster is just a little less brilliant; when one week becomes another with nothing special to mark the midweek bump; the first day of about 250 LOSTless days.

Still, we'll have DVD's, maybe a Tillie game or two, some trivia, and each other to help us through the bleak period known as the final hiatus.

But let's look on the bright side... we have THREE HOURS OF LOST tonight! Whoo hoo! Bring it ON! Oh Mylanta! Go Jack! Go Sawyer! Go Ben!

Go Damon!
Go Carlton!

Let's get...
LOST

Follow the Leader

It will take quite a lot to live up to last week's episode, but with only three hours of original programming left in the season, it is possible.

Follow the Leader likely deals with Jack leading the LOSTies to safety and / or Locke fulfilling his destiny by leading the Others. However, in the interest of discovering some other possibility, here is what I found on online:

Follow the Leader is, of course, a children's activity game

Follow the Leader was the name of a number of films
~~ a comedy short filmed in 1901
~~ a comedy short filmed in 1928
~~ a romantic musical comedy filmed in 1930
~~ a musical short from 1951
~~ a film starring Barbara Jo Allen released in 1953
~~ a drama released in 2001

Follow the leader, a type of participation dance

Follow-the-leader, a drill used by marching bands

Follow the Leader was the name of a song and 1988 album by hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim

Follow the Leader was the name of a 1998 album by rock band Korn

"Follow the Leader" was a song in the 1953 film Peter Pan

These are not much help, I'm thinking! LOL

The Variable

The Variable, Season five's fourteenth episode marks a huge milestone for LOST. It is the program's ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE!

Two of the show's executive producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, promise that it is a companion episode to arguably the best episode of season four, "The Constant."

It would seem that VARIABLE is a play on the word CONSTANT in that both are mathematical terms. From Wikipedia: Varying, in the context of mathematical variables, doesn't mean change, but rather, dependence on the values of other variables in the expression in which the variable occurs, or dependence of the value of the expression on that of the variable.

What will this mean to the LOSTies stuck in 1977? Will Daniel's return mean that we will finally find out if and how the characters go back to the "present" time? Will Jin and Sun ever be reunited? What is Smokey? Who is Jacob? Will Desmond return to the island? Will he bring Penny and baby Charlie? Where is Claire? Is Juliet an Other or an other Other? How old is Alpert? What is in Hurley's guitar case? What about Walt? Aaron? Ji-Yeon? How did Pierre Chang lose his arm? Why does he go by so many different names? How is it that Ben can take a lickin' and keep on tickin' OVER and OVER again? How are Widmore and Mrs. Hawking related? How will Paik fit into the story? Will we see the face of the four-toed statue? What do the hieroglyphics under the temple mean? For whom do Ilana and Bram work? Why those numbers?

Add the questions YOU want answered in the comments section.

The Story of the Oceanic 6

In a pre-cursor to the ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE of LOST next week, ABC is choosing to air a special "clip show" which promises to give us a new look at what we've already seen. Upon reading the Press Release, it would seem that we will actually see new footage. Perhaps some that was rescued from the cutting room floor?

Here is the Press Release from ABC:

WHAT TRANSPIRED FOR BOTH THE OCEANIC 6 AND THE REMAINING ISLAND SURVIVORS DURING THE THREE YEARS AFTER THE ISLAND WAS MOVED WILL BE EXPLORED, IN THE NEW SPECIAL, "LOST: THE STORY OF THE OCEANIC 6," WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 ON ABC

ABC once again invites new and avid "Lost" viewers to take another look at one of the most talked about and critically acclaimed shows. "Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6" will explore the series in a way that will bring new viewers up to date -- but which current viewers will also find illuminating - in discovering what happened to the Oceanic 6 and the remaining island survivors during the three years after Ben moved the island. The special airs WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Claire's son Aaron - otherwise known as the Oceanic 6 - were rescued and tried to pick up the pieces of the lives they knew before the crash and to perpetuate the lie concocted to hide the truth about what really happened. But Jack and Ben had to convince all of them to return to the island in order to save those left behind. Although they eventually did go back - sans Aaron -- what could possibly have been the motivating factors for each, and exactly how - and when -- did they return? As for those left behind on the island, violent shifts through time were wreaking havoc on their lives. Discover how Locke's leaving the island under the guise of Jeremy Bentham may have helped end the time rifts, and what led to his eventual death in the outside world.

Some Like it Hoth

With such an unusual title, I went to TLI bloggers for suggestions on what it means.

DocH said:
I have two reads on this. Hoth is the ICE planet in Star Wars. It is a play on the phrase "Some Like It HOT", suggesting "Some Like It COLD." The Star Wars portion of my brain immediately suggested to the rest of my brain, aka the LOST portion of my brain - hey - it has something to do with the Frozen Donkey Wheel chamber.

My second thought was the movie "Some Like It Hot" with M.Monroe, T.Curtis and J.Lemmon. synop: Two struggling musicians witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to find a way out of the city before they are found and killed by the mob. The only job that will pay their way is an all girl band so the two dress up as women. In addition to hiding, each has his own problems; One falls for another band member but can't tell her his gender, and the other has a rich suitor who will not take "No" for an answer. - - - I am not sure how they could work that into the plotline... where two of the Losties have to do some gener-bendin'-pretendin'.

and

SOME LIKE IT HOTH or
SOME, LIKE I - THOTH.

The images of Thoth that I found show a super long bird bill, like a flamingo, holding a spear and an Ankh. (que?)


Jim in Georgia said:
The best I can say is that my first impression was that Hoth was an Egyptian deity. That didn't work, obviously.

The Wikipdeia page Hoth (disambiguation) will take you to Höðr, a Norse god (demigod?) also known as Hoth. He assists his brother in slaying Baldr with an arrow made of mistletoe. How romantic(?)!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6%C3%B0r

and

There's an Egyptian god named Thoth! I didn't find it; someone on the LP did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoth


TXYorkFamily said:
There was a Nazi general named Hoth who was convicted of war crimes, but that seems a stretch!

I think it's a play on words, since Hoth in Star Wars was supposed to be covered in ice or whatever, but obviously Some Like it Hot is the cultural reference...so if it's about opposites, what could that mean?

Rita said:
This is my best guess as well. Actually, I HOPE this is correct - it's about time for us to see what Sawyer meant that Daniel is no longer with them.

Circus Mom said:
Hoth led me here. Thinking about the war Widmore mentioned and Adam and Eve. Also the whisperers saying that "it's the brothers that help us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k

and

Thoth sometimes appears as a ibis or as a goose laying a golden egg. Hurley Bird?

Thoth also leads to Hermes in Greek culture. "in Greek mythology. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers,"

To the Thoth Tarot deck, which leads to "Liber AL vel Legis", or "The book of the Law."


KateTheGreat said:
I think Hoth has GOT to be a reference to Star Wars, as the writers are such big fans. I'm expecting (and hoping for) an explanation of the Polar bears.

How does a Polar bear get from his native Arctic Ocean to a spooky South Pacific island then the Tunisian desert? The most obvious answer is Vile Vortices. I'm also hoping for a answer as to why do it in the first place. I think this episode will go back to 1977 Dharma to tackle that one.

Tasha said:
Also...we always say the eye of Horus...Isn't there also an Eye of Thoth?

Dead is Dead

DEAD (from dictionary.com)

–adjective
* no longer living; deprived of life: dead people; dead flowers; dead animals.
* brain-dead.
* not endowed with life; inanimate: dead stones.
* resembling death; deathlike: a dead sleep; a dead faint.
* bereft of sensation; numb: He was half dead with fright. My leg feels dead.
* lacking sensitivity of feeling; insensitive: dead to the needs of others.
* incapable of being emotionally moved; unresponsive: dead to the nuances of the music.
* utterly tired; exhausted: They felt dead from the six-hour trip.
* (of a language) no longer in use as a sole means of oral communication among a people: Latin is a dead language.
* without vitality, spirit, enthusiasm, or the like: a dead party.
* infertile; barren: dead land.

–noun
* the period of greatest darkness, coldness, etc.: the dead of night; the dead of winter.
* the dead, dead persons collectively: Prayers were recited for the dead.

–adverb
* absolutely; completely: dead right; dead tired.
* with sudden and total stoppage of motion, action, or the like: He stopped dead.
* directly; exactly; straight: The island lay dead ahead.

What Happened Happened

Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera

Okay, so "what happened happened" isn't REALLY part of the lyrics to Que Sera, Sera but that is what I think of every time I hear those words. Still, if you think about it, if what happened really *is* what happened, doesn't that mean that whatever will be, really will be? What I mean to say is, I think that until true time travel is discovered, we must accept the past as the truth (within the confines of historical documentation). But is destiny already determined? Will "whatever" truly be whatever?

Confused? Me, too. There comes a time in LOSTlore when we have to accept what we see, and have seen, as truth (as it relates to the LOST world) even if we can't really wrap our brains around it. I have a lot, possibly too much, faith in Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse that there will be, ultimately, a completely satisfying ending. An ending wherein we will have time travel explained in a way that makes perfect sense, not only to us, the über-fans, but also to the casual viewer. Hopefully tonight will be the next piece in the time travel puzzle.

: ) P

He's Our You

Not much research to be done, so I thought, for fun, I'd analyze the sentence!

Assuming for the time being that this is, in fact, a sentence (and not just PART of a sentence,) the information is as follows:

This is a simple declarative sentence.

He's - contraction of he is using an apostophe and uppercase H.
* he - the third person singular masculine personal pronoun
the subject of the sentence

* is - the third person singular present tense form of the verb to be
the predicate of the sentence

our - the first person plural possessive adjective, modifying the word you

you - the second person singular (presumably - could be plural) personal pronoun
the subject complement

followed by a period to end the sentence.

Bored, yet? LOL.

: ) P

Namaste

From Wikipedia

Namaste is a common spoken greeting or salutation in the Indian subcontinent. Taken literally, it means "I bow to you". The word is derived from Sanskrit (namas): to bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, and (te): "to you". Namaskar is considered a slightly more formal version than namaste but both express deep respect. It is commonly used in India and Nepal by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, and many continue to use this outside the Indian subcontinent.

In the word namaste there is sandha or coalescence between the two Sanskrit words - namah + te - meaning " I bow to that (divinity) inherent in you." Also common is a polite form using the imperative astu meaning "let there be": namo 'stu te literally means "let there be a salutation to you."

Namaste is one of the few Sanskrit words commonly recognized by Non-Hindi speakers. In the West, it is often used to indicate South Asian culture in general. Namaste is particularly associated with aspects of South Asian culture such as vegetarianism, yoga, ayurvedic healing, and Hinduism.

In recent times, and more globally, the term "namaste" has come to be especially associated with yoga and spiritual meditation all over the world. In this context, it has been viewed in terms of a multitude of very complicated and poetic meanings which tie in with the spiritual origins of the word. Some examples:

* "I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me." -- attributed to author Deepak Chopra

* "I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."

* "I salute the God within you."

* "Your spirit and my spirit are ONE." -- attributed to Lilias Folan's shared teachings from her journeys to India.

* "That which is of the Divine in me greets that which is of the Divine in you."

* "The Divinity within me perceives and adores the Divinity within you."

* "All that is best and highest in me greets/salutes all that is best and highest in you."

* "I greet the God within."


That said, these are all arguably simply attempts at translating the same concept, which does not have a direct parallel in English. In Buddhism, the concept may be understood as Buddha nature.


I honestly don't care WHAT it means as long as it comes with a new episode!

: ) P

And the Tillie goes to...

(Cue the Award show Orchestra)

In lieu of our missing new episode, tonight we begin deliberations on the nominations for the first annual Tillie Awards. (Tillie refers to TLI, the affectionate short version for the nickname The Little Island, this blog.)

There are five categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Most Improved (or Recently Compelling) Actor and MI(oRC) Actress, and Best Actor or Actress Not Currently On LOST. Nominees will be limited to those actors who have portrayed a character for a minimum of ten episodes.

When sharing your suggestions for nominees, please be prepared to site scenes which should be considered as examples of your nominee's best work.

: ) P

LaFleur

Though I did a quick google search for LaFleur, I didn't come up with anything other than the fact that is a quite prolific surname among Francophones. There was quite a long list of famous people with the last name, but none were philosophers or scientists.

I thought of Fleur Delacour, a character in the Harry Potter books. Other than it just being a literary reference, I didn't really see how there could be a connection.

The fact that "la fleur" in French means flower could be significant, especially with respect to The Little Prince reference earlier in the season.

One interesting thing that I did consider is that in Tunisia, although Arabic is the official language, French is spoken widely, particularly in schools and the media. From Wikipedia: It is widely used in education (e.g. as the language of instruction in the sciences in secondary school), the press, and in business. Most educated Tunisians are able to speak it. Many Tunisians, particularly those residing in large urban areas, readily mix Tunisian Arabic with French.

I wonder if Charlotte also spoke French? Perhaps Pierre Chang taught her?

: ) P

Ben F. Cavier

Lost is an American serial drama television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. For the first three seasons each episode typically featured a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from a previous point in a character's life, though the introduction of shifts forward in time and other time-related plot devices somewhat changed this formula for the latter half of the series. The pilot episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004 and since then four full seasons have aired, with the fifth currently in progress, and a sixth set to be the final in 2010. The show airs on the ABC Network in the United States, as well as on regional networks in many other countries.

The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

I think the title is fairly self-explanatory in this case. The only thing that remains to be seen in this (likely) Locke-centric episode, is if he did indeed DIE and if so, by what cause, and for how long?

: ) P

316

This week's episode is entitled 316. Based on the podcast, it sounds as if it (or perhaps next week's) is a "stand-alone" in that it does not affect the story-telling. I expect it will be a particularly strong program because the "stand-alone" episodes are those the producers usually offer up for Emmy consideration.

316 - The area code in Wichita, Kansas
(The producers have made Oz references.)

316 - The year the Jin Dynasty in China collapses
(Character named Jin.)

316 - The year that Constantine I issues an edict prohibiting the punishment of slaves (by crucifixion and facial branding) and Constantine II is born
(Possible connection to our four-toed statue.)

316 - The name of an instrumental Van Halen song from the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
(No connection that I can think of, but interesting.)

John 3:16 - Perhaps the most likely reference and perhaps most famous bible quote: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Thoughts?

This Place is Death

This week's episode title is a bit of enigma. It cannot be directly related to anything (other than thousands of LOST websites devoted to figuring it out). Not wanting to spend thousands of hours to read what OTHER people figured out, I tried to think like D&C do... literarily.

I went to Amazon and put This Place is Death in quotation marks hoping against hope that perhaps there was a book out there somewhere with the same title. While I didn't find a book with that title, I did find MANY with SIMILAR quotes in it. Only ONE had the actual quote, and given the author, I expect it may be likely that this is the jackpot.

Here is the Amazon Editorial Review of Stephen King's The Gunslinger:

King writes both a new introduction and foreword to this revised edition, and the ever-patient, ever-loyal "constant reader" is rewarded with secrets to the series's inception. That a "magic" ream of green paper and a Robert Browning poem, came together to reveal to King his "ka" is no real surprise (this is King after all), but who would have thought that the squinty-eyed trio of Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach would set the author on his true path to the Tower? While King credits Tolkien for inspiring the "quest and magic" that pervades the series, it was Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that helped create the epic proportions and "almost absurdly majestic western backdrop" of Roland's world.

To King, The Gunslinger demanded revision because once the series was complete it became obvious that "the beginning was out of sync with the ending." While the revision adds only 35 pages, Dark Tower purists will notice the changes to Allie's fate and Roland's interaction with Cort, Jake, and the Man in Black--all stellar scenes that will reignite the hunger for the rest of the series. Newcomers will appreciate the details and insight into Roland's life. The revised Roland of Gilead (nee Deschain) is embodied with more humanity--he loves, he pities, he regrets. What DT fans might miss is the same ambiguity and mystery of the original that gave the original its pulpy underground feel (back when King himself awaited word from Roland's world).

Has anyone read it? Can we relate anything our LOSTies are encountering to this novel? Or am I on the wrong track completely? Only a few more hours until we find out!

: ) P

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry?

This week's episode is entitled The Little Prince. My mind immediately jumped to the beautiful children's book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In it, there are some definite parallels to our LOST world, as well as a few pertinent messages.

But I thought I should explore other possible meanings. I spent quite a while on google and really, didn't find any.

So I guess we will just have to wait and see if our predictions about the story are true. Not that they EVER are!

: ) P

Betty and Veronica?

Okay, so tonight's episode is entitled Jughead, and personally I can't get the Archie Comics relationship out of my head! So then I started thinking what else Jughead could refer to.

Apparently, it is also the name of an early search engine (like yahoo or google).

As well, the "Kool-Aid Man" is known as Jughead in Canada. (I grew up there, and honestly, I don't ever remember that.)

It was also the name of a band with one album in 2002, (the tracks were Halfway Home to Elvis; C'Mon; Snow in Tahiti; Promise; Bullet Train; Waiting on the Son; Yesterday I Found Myself; Be Like You; Flowers; Shame on the Butterfly; and, Paging Willie Mays).

Jughead is the nickname of a nuclear bomb!

Additionally, it was the slang term for a mule in the 19th Century.

Lastly, it was the name of a song, widely thought to be the worst Prince ever recorded.

The episode is supposed to be Desmond-centric. I think we can rule out the kool-aid connection and probably the band. This leaves the bomb, a mule, the internet search engine and the Prince song.

Any guesses?

Can you even stand it?

Season 5 is about to start, and barring an actors' strike, snowstorms in Hawaii, or a freak accident in the offices at Bad Robot, we should get the entire season without any breaks. Will it live up to expectations? We only have to wait a little longer:

The Countdown has Started!

It has been a long wait, but finally the year and month have arrived and we are down to mere days before Season 5 of LOST begins. Let the theories fly and the discussion begin!

: ) P