Lost: There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 and 3

Here we are... the finale. I think it was a great one.

Part 2

• Back to the end of Season 3, which is a nice touch. Kate screeches to a halt, and that's not the only screeching she does. "We have to go back?!?" She berates Jack for his recent strange behavior, and reveals that "Jeremy Bentham" is the man in the coffin. Who the heck is that? Kate continues to screech. "I still have to explain to him [Aaron] why you're not there to read to him." It's been three years since they left the island, and that day brought horrible things. She closes her speech defiantly: "how dare you ask me to go back?" Clearly, that means they're going back.
• On the island, Ben and Evil Army Guy exchange pleasantries. Kate runs out of the jungle, guns are drawn, and things get crazy. The island's spooky whispers return, and with them the deadly Others. The real ones. Sayid and EAG have one of the greatest fights I've ever seen on TV, full of kicking and stabbing and fun with sticks, but it's Richard who shoots EAG in the back. Kate and Sayid worked out a deal to rescue Ben in exchange for their freedom. I demand more Richard in Season 5.
• Sawyer and Jack banter and bicker in the woods. They find Hurley, who is peeing. That's an odd choice - but you know, everyone wondered when Jack Bauer found time to pee, and you never saw it. I appreciate Lost taking the time to show that peeing is important. Jack and Locke are reunited, and I gotta tell you, it does NOT feel so good. They immediately begin sniping away, talking about leader stuff. "You're not supposed to go home... you're here for a reason," pleads Locke, and he asks Jack to lie about the island to protect its miracles. "It's an ISLAND, John.... there's no such thing as miracles," barks Jack. We know better. Then Ben shows up, and kicks Jack out, and Locke can't help but dig at Jack one last time before descending underground with Ben.
• Man, the Orchid is DEEP. Before too long, the station is lit and whirring with activity. Ben shoves an orientation video at Locke so that he'll be entertained - kind of like a parent would give a child a lollipop or a Nintendo DS. Meanwhile, Ben gathers every metallic object he can find. As for the video: Casimir Effect! Negatively charged exotic matter! Mysteeeeerious rewinding! In summation: "time traveling bunnies." Unfortunately, it looks like Ben and Locke will be interrupted before they can get hopping. (See what I did there?) EAG?!? Dammit Richard, that's why you shoot in the HEAD. EAG talks to himself for a while, explaining that he has a "dead man's trigger" on him, and it's connected to a whole lot of C4. If he dies, the freighter blows up. Oh, and don't forget, he killed Alex, so he's not f-ing around. Locke tries to talk it out, but Ben's doing his best Inigo Montoya impression - "you killed my daughter, prepare to die" - and then he kills everyone on the boat by stabbing EAG in the neck. Good times!
• So about that C4. "Boom," says Desmond. "Boom," repeats Jin. "Biiiiiig badda boom," says Electra. The men try to save the day with some liquid nitrogen and six months of explosives training. In the middle of neutralizing the C4, Sun blurts out to Michael that she's pregnant. It appears to affect Michael no more than an announcement that today's lunch is fish sticks. Well, he's distracted.
• Off in the future, a kindly old lady asks, "are you Hurley? Are you dangerous?" Oh my god: it's Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalt (and Gramma)! I have a big stupid smile on my face during their reunion, but it fades when I think of poor Walt, waiting for a visit that never came. Well, except for one mysterious guy named Bentham. Walt doesn't understand the lying. "We're lying... because it's the only way to protect everyone that didn't come back," says Hurley. Really?
• My FREAKED OUT physicist is desperate to get Red off the island: but she's been here before, and isn't ready to leave. At least that's what the Ghostbuster implies through his bitterly clenched teeth. It must have hurt him deeply when Rose scolded him for eating nuts. She stays, it's sad, blah blah blah. These characters had so much potential: will it ever be realized?
• The reunion at THE CHOPPA provides one of Sawyer's best nicknames yet: Kenny Rogers! I could do without the mopey face from him when Kate touches Jack oh-so-tenderly, though. And the survivors take off, and the view of the island is beautiful, and I am sure a few men are happy about the unnecessary Kate cleavage. Wolf Rogers starts to panic when THE CHOPPA has a fuel leak. It could stand to be a few hundred pounds lighter. I can see what's coming... someone's going overboard... and it's probably the one who wasn't among the Oceanic 6. Goodbye, Sawyer. What did you tell Kate to do?

Part 3

• Assassin Sayid shoots a guy at 8:50, and then sneaks into Hurley's room, where he's playing chess alone. Sayid wants to whisk Hurley away now that the mysterious Bentham is dead. "They said it was suicide." Yeah, I'll bet it was. Sayid stops Hurley from telling us who Bentham really is, and before they leave, Hurley checkmates... Mr. EKO?!? I gasped out loud. Could he come back? Oh god, I hope so.
• Evil Army Guy is still bleeding out, and he gurgles to Ben that Widmore will find him. Then he dies, which means our freighter friends are f*cked. Naturally, THE CHOPPA returns at the worst possible time. There is frenzy and panic, and Sun and baybee make it onboard while they refuel. Jin and Michael are working hard, but Michael dismisses Jin from boom duty by saying "you are a father now," and I get a lump in my throat. Kate wants to get Jin. Jack says no. THE CHOPPA takes off. Jin bursts onto the deck, but it's too late. Below deck, none other than Christian Shepard tells Michael that he "can go now" just as the freighter explodes. Sun screams and screams and screams, and I get one little tear in my left eye. Jack left him behind. What a sh*tty selfish terrible excuse for a leader.
• Back at the Orchid: Ben is angrily throwing metal around and acknowledging that his emotions got the best of him. Switches flip and sparks fly. "[Jacob] wants me to suffer the consequences... whoever moves the island can never come back." Ben, cozy in his Dharma parka (Dharka?), passes the mantle of leadership onto Locke and apologizes for making his life miserable. Then he crawls into a rocky tunnel, down a ladder, through some glass, and into a strange and freaky place... with oddly familiar markings on that pillar. After some manuevering and mumbling to Jacob, Ben manages to push a gear that makes THE MOST ANNOYING SOUND OF ALL TIME. Then... the island is gone. GONE.
• This is bad news for THE CHOPPA. Wolf tries his best, but without fuel, it goes down, with a sound that reminds me of the humpback whales from Star Trek IV. Here is another moment that I feared... Desmond. I felt certain that he wouldn't make it, but for once, Jack does something useful and revives him. After everyone calms down, Hurley points out that Locke moved the island, and Jack scoffs, and Hurley points out that... YEAH, he totally did. A small lightbulb, dim, water-logged, flickers over Jack's head, and he realizes that he needs to start the ball rolling on the whole "we need to lie" thing.
• Penny. Desmond. "I love you, Penny, and I'll never leave you again." Very, very dusty in here. Looks like a week is enough time to work out their story... and sail to Membata. Pilot Wolf and Desmond stay with Penny, since it wouldn't do for them to be rescued. "I'll see you in another life, brother," Jack tells Desmond, so they come full circle. Goodbyes all around. And then the haggard Six paddle away and are rescued, and it's a happy ending.
• Naturally, this is a good time to remember that all is not well. Jack pulls up to the Hoffs/Drawlar funeral parlor, and uses the very subtle "brick to the handle" technique to break in. Here lies Bentham. Jack opens the coffin to reveal... OH JESUS CHRIST. *cough cough* *chokes on pineapple salsa* *drinks water* *cough* SERIOUSLY Ben. You scared the sh*t out of me. "Did he tell you I was off the island?" "Yes he did... he told me that after I left the island, some very bad things happened, and he told me that it was my fault for leaving, and he told me that I had to come back." Ben is nonplussed. "The island won't let you come alone." Told ya they were going back. "I mean everyone, Jack." That means... the coffin... Locke. Locke is dead. Oh. Oh no.

Other small things:

• Sawyer survived his jump, and he swims ashore, where he learns that a) Juliet likes to drown her sorrows in rum and b) the freighter done got blowed up. What happened to them when the island moved?
• Future Kate wakes up to a whispery phone call and and a stranger in Aaron's room. She calls him "my son," which Claire probably doesn't appreciate. "Don't you dare bring him back," she warns. All a dream? Doubtful.
• Future Sun meets Mr. Widmore. She is suddenly a supreme badass, and she and Mr. Widmore have "common interests." She looks sick to her stomach when she walks away from him, though. What is she up to?
• What happened to my physicist? To Rose and Bernard?
• How is it that Jack was in danger of bleeding out from his appendectomy stitches, but crashed into the ocean, in a helicopter, and was fine? Ass.
• Terrible things happened on the island. What kind of things??? Guess we'll find out next season. Thanks for reading my recaps.

The Hardest Lost Quiz Ever!

Happy Lost Finale Day! My fingers are limber and ready to write tonight's two hour recap. I had wanted to throw a Lost party (for two) tonight, with island-themed food and decor. However, I've been busy packing the past several days because I'm moving (again) this weekend, so I haven't had time to plan. Perhaps I can find some 15 year-old crackers - or a nearby Mr. Cluck's? Or maybe I'll just settle for chips and pineapple salsa... mmm, pineapple salsa.

Since WE are unable to manipulate time and make the finale happen sooner, I thought I'd share "The Hardest Lost Quiz Ever" to help pass the time. It's 39 questions covering minute details from the show's four-year history - perfect for the obsessive Lost geek like myself. Points start at 100 per question, and they decrease as you ponder your answer. I ended up with 1346 out of 3900 - how well can you do?

Addendum: Be careful if you explore the rest of the site where the quiz is hosted... I just read on Lostpedia that there are major finale spoilers. We all know that friends don't let friends read spoilers.

Dumb... But Awesome

I got this website from Joey O., who got it from JTL, who got it from Zack:

http://www.thingsIdidlastnight.com/

Best. Site. Ever. Gosh, I miss the old Y crew.

Frisbee, Fried Chicken... and Final Fantasy

I hope your Memorial Day weekend was both restful and reflective. I found time for friends, frisbee and fried chicken, and I finally watched Knocked Up, which I found sort of disappointing. Whenever I've watched a Judd Apatow movie, I've felt like there's something I didn't get. Maybe it's because I'm a geeky girl instead of a dorky dude. I do appreciate the new sensitive-but-not-sappy comedy genre he's crafting, though.

Also: my buddy Bellwether wrote a loving tribute to Final Fantasy VI, which brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. FFVI (FFIII for the old school kids) is arguably the best game in the Final Fantasy series. (It's either VI or VII, depending on who you talk to. I say VI.) The nostalgia led me to this list of the top 25 FF characters of all time. I have a few problems with this list. I like their #1 pick and the inclusion of Lulu and Mog, but... TWO characters from FFIX? Celes and not Terra? Wakka and not Auron? NO CHOCOBO??? (Being an FF geek is so much fun.) If you enjoy the series, I'm sure you'll find plenty to dispute as well. Kupo!

Beverly Hills... WHAT?

This afternoon I saw something terrible. Susan and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The movie itself was fine, if lacking in subtlety. It's what I saw before the movie that horrified me:




Here's approximately what happened at each marked interval during this trailer.

:35 - "No. Seriously? No."
:42 - "You have GOT to be KIDDING me."
:50 - "Holy sh*t, the apocalypse is coming."
1:02 - blood starts leaking from my ear
1:17 - Susan stops me from swallowing my tongue
1:29 - I finally stop crying

I'm still upset about it. I don't understand who could have greenlit such an atrocity. Susan and I have decided that BHC now means "the most horrible thing I've ever laid eyes on." Feel free to spread it around. *shudder*

Three Facts

Stuffed burgers are better than regular burgers.

Seeing a college friend for dinner and good conversation makes up for a night without Lost. Finale next week!

The only Archuleta-related loss I care about is Adam Archuleta and how he's been replaced by Craig Steltz.

Ready, Set, Eat

Millenium Park will smell a lot more delicious during the final weekend of September. Prepare yourself for the Chicago Gourmet Festival, three days of upscale food and wine tastings. I actually enjoy the Taste, in all its sticky, sweaty, overcrowded glory. But the idea of a gourmet Taste really excites me. At $130 for a single day's ticket, it's definitely a pricey event. When you think about it, though, most Chicagoans don't get to eat at Blackbird or MK or Topolobampo too often, if at all, and if we did, we could probably spend more than that on a single meal. The gourmet Taste will allow visitors to sample those and over 20 other high class restaurants - plus wine, mmm, wine - in a picturesque outdoor setting.

I'm lucky to have some fabulous ladies in my life who enjoy exploring new Chicago restaurants with me; great food is one of the things I really want to take advantage of during my time here. Now I can attack a ton of the places on my "To-Eat List" in one go! Hopefully those ladies will be willing to help me shop for pants with tasteful elastic wastebands as well...

Like the food photograph? There's more like it at rasamalaysia.com. Beautiful stuff.

McCain on the Brain

Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, and I thought he was surprisingly funny. It's not that I don't think McCain is capable of humor: it's that SNL just doesn't do it for me anymore. That one-legged Amber character haunts my nightmares. Tangent. Here (while they last) are McCain's two sketches:


It's too long, but there's some payoff at the end.


Sadly, this scenario isn't all that outlandish.


And if watching McCain knock his own "oldness" makes you smirk, then you'll enjoy this website:

http://www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com/

My favorite thing currently on this list: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Makes me hungry just reading about it. Thanks to the Infamous Dr. Para for the link.

Lost: There's No Place Like Home, Part 1

I've been sick the last few days - I've had a brutal sinus infection that has knocked me out - but I'll try to bring the snark for you. We're down to the last few Losts for a while, after all... I'll tough it out.

• We open on a plane, and that plane holds those who made it off the island. Note the co-pilot's rabbit's foot. "We all know the story... they'll think that we're in shock," says Jack. "We ARE in shock, Jack," says Sun. They look sad, nervous, agitated... and yes, shocked, this Oceanic 6. Sun looks less than happy to see her parents. Kate and Sayid have no one to greet them. Hugo's mama gives good bear hugs. Then it's off to the press conference. Sumba is real, but Membata is not. Any clues on a meaning for the word? Again, we hear that eight people survived the crash. Who are those other two? Sun says that Jin didn't make it off the plane, and Sayid says that there are no other survivors. And then Nadia shows up, and she and Sayid reunite, and it gets a little dusty in here.
• Post-island life seems vaguely normal initially. Sun's dad is still creepy, but now he is Sun's bitch, since she used her settlement money to buy a controlling interest in his company. Kudos, Sun. Hurley has used his settlement money to buy chicken. Before he can eat it, he nearly kills his own surprise party. "Jesus Christ is not a weapon" is obviously the greatest line ever uttered during this show. The key to Hurley's birthday car is attached to the episode's second rabbit's foot. OH NOES, the odometer reads 4-8-15-16, and the trip odometer reads 2342! Guess we're not done with the numbers? Jack speaks at his dad's funeral. All his island pals are there to hear him say that he misses and loved his dad. Someone else hears his (mercifully) brief not-a-eulogy: CLAIRE'S MOM. Jack finally learns the truth about his sister, and the look on his face afterwards is a mix of horror and sadness. What really happened to her out there? Kate's sole post-island activity appears to be cradling the baybee while attending social functions.
• Back in the island world, there's a mysterious blinking object that has confounded the castaways. "It's a phone, right?" Apparently Wolf wanted them to eavesdrop, and Jack uses the info they hear about "The Orchid," an ominous and difficult-to-care-for Dharma station, to go on a little hike with Kate. Juliet's all like "YER GONNA BLEED TO DEATH" and Jack's all like "NO I'M NOT" and we're all like "WE KNOW HE MAKES IT OFF THE ISLAND, NO ONE NAMED JACK IS BLEEDING TO DEATH SO SHUT UP." Meanwhile, my fidgety physicist knows WAY more about the Orchid than the intrepid explorers, and he officially becomes the FREAKED OUT physicist. It's secondary protocol! What does that meeeeeean?
  
• On the hike, Jate runs into the Ghostbuster and Sawyer, who is cradling the Claire-less baybee. There is some general concern about Claire's whereabouts which quickly fades. I hope my friends react differently if I ever disappear in the middle of the night. Sawyer imparts the knowledge that them chopper folk are less than friendly, and now it's his and Jack's turn to go running into the jungle. Eventually they find Pilot Wolf, who is pleased that they followed his plan. Naturally, it's not THAT easy for him to fly them off the island, since I-Now-Care-About-People-Besides-Myself Sawyer wants to save Hurley.
• Where is Hurley? He's still with the crazy old dudes and displeased about it. The Orchid is a greenhouse, Ben tells us, but it's also where they can move the island. "Doing it is both dangerous and unpredictable." Hurley eats 15 year-old crackers to ease his frustrations. Ben really enjoys his mirror communication trick: it proves that he can still trump Locke with his knowledge of the island's workings. On the outskirts of the Orchid, Ben name-drops Charles Widmore, but he doesn't reveal a whole lot more about the chess game they seem to be playing. Here's what he does reveal to Locke: "you're gonna go into that greenhouse..." blah blah blah switches and flowers and elevators and "I always have a plan." That plan... is to surrender. Good one.
• Kate makes it back to the beach in record time, where Sayid has just showed up with the six-person raft. Now it's THEIR turn for an ill-conceived trip back into the jungle. Their tracking skillz lead them to Richard. Sayid and Kate think they've got this one covered, but of course they don't. I'm fascinated by Richard. I hope that the cancellation of Cane, the other show Nestor Carbonell was on, means we get more Richard in the coming seasons. His character is clearly the key to many of the island's secrets.
  
• After Sayid took off, the FREAKED OUT physicist takes it upon himself to start moving people off the island, including Sun, Jin and baybee. I got a bit of a chill as the raft departed, I'll admit. The raft makes it back to the freighter with a little too much ease for my liking. I know we've got plot to further, but gee whiz. Michael, Sun and Jin have it out (sort of) on the boat, but their reunion is cut short by... explosives. Rut roh.
• "Something on the boat is broadcasting." Hmm. Could that have anything to do with the box Michael brought on board? Or is it just the explosives? And who put the explosives there?

Overall, this episode seemed more like an appetizer than an entree - or maybe an amuse bouche. (Sorry, I watched a lot of Top Chef reruns while I was out sick.) We had one reveal that we already knew and lots of setup for the big two hour finale next week... oops, I mean two weeks from now. Stupid Grey's Anatomy finale. See you then.

No More Live Music?

If you enjoy live music in local venues around Chicago, then there's something you should read immediately:

http://savechicagoculture.org/2008/05/09/stop-the-promoters-ordinance/

Making it harder for local shows and venues to exist? This is not good. I know that the Morning Fix will have Jim DeRogatis from the Sun-Times on tomorrow to discuss, and they're trying to get the alderman who's behind the ordinance on as well. It's our community and our friends who will be affected by this. I hope the ordinance can be stopped.

Lost: Cabin Fever

• We start with "Emily," a car, and a pregnancy. "NAME HIM JOHN!" AAAAAGH! IT'S BABY LOCKE! "He is a fighter, your little John... a miracle baby." And someone has noticed this miracle: the ageless Richard. He's acting as the island's Professer Xavier, and he's brought a magazine, a knife, sand, a compass, a book and a baseball glove. Why does John choose the knife? And why is that wrong? Teenage John is kind of cute - and look, a Geronimo Jackson album in his locker! Mittelos Laboratories, new home of ageless Richard, thinks maybe John is ready now. So John was meant to be a scientist and fights his path? Ah yes, "don't tell me what i can't do." We've heard this once or twice before. Cool to learn how Locke gets the idea to go on a walkabout - from creepy Not Oceanic Air Guy! What kind of favor will Locke owe him?
• Poor Hurley. Stuck "here in the dark with the monster and... him." Alone in the jungle with two old crazy dudes on a cabin hunt - and Horace, a dead Dharma dude with an ax! "We been waiting for you a real long time, man." To find Horace, Locke and Hurley must return to the Dharma grave, where Locke says "he did it." He sure did. It's so eerie to remember that Ben is a mass murderer. It's even eerier how he recalls his attempt to kill John so nonchalantly, even though he KNEW it was pointless to try to kill him. He sure did kill Horace, though. Poor fella's stuck in a loop. What will it take to make him a mathematician... unstuck... in time?
• "I used to have dreams:" Ben grudgingly acknowledges that Locke is taking his place, and that Locke might have powers comparable to (but not better than) his own. Naturally, he starts playing his own mind games out of jealousy. "Destiny, John, is a fickle bitch." So Destiny's Child (sorry) goes solo into the cabin... where Jack's dad is speaking on behalf of Jacob, and Claire is being all smug and creepy. God, that's the first time I've found her interesting in years. "I'm here because I was chosen to be here," says John, and then he asks "how do I save the island?" Oh my god, are we going to get an answer? "He wants us to move the island." Is it going to end up in Tunisia?
• The helicopter makes it back to the freighter, and Crazy Army Guy is out for Michael's blood; he sure does seem upset that old Smoky chewed up some of his men. Apparently that whole Island protection thing is still in effect, though, and Michael survives his attack. CAG then finds a protocol, complete with Dharma logo, that claims to know what Ben is doing next. Is this protocol... a script? Perhaps this has happened before, and now the rules have changed, and there's a NEW script? Meanwhile, Sayid is pulling a rescue mission in a tiny little raft. Good lord, I hope he doesn't get lost. (GET IT LOST HAHAHA.) CAG locks and loads and kills some good men, and it is starting to look like our island friends are in grave jeopardy. (Also, oh, so THAT'S how the doctor's body ends up on the island... crazy time difference shenanigans.)
• I thought we'd be free of Jack tonight, but it seems like the helicopter travels pretty quickly. Wolf has a plan, and it involves a flying backpack and a satellite phone. Jack says that they need to Follow That Bird, and off they go. That was quick and painless!
  
• Hurley and Ben sharing a candy bar was teh awesomes. Maybe being in the dark jungle with Ben isn't so bad after all! ...yeah, you're right, it probably is.

GTA Makers Not Happy With the CTA

I had a delightful Chicago weekend. Went to Beerfest, rode the Navy Pier ferris wheel for the first time, ate a cheezborger, AND did something I NEVER do: played mini-golf. I do not have the patience for mini-golf. I have been known to throw things and sulk and curse like... well, like ME. I have a filthy mouth. It's true. The 20+ samples at Beerfest strongly influenced my decision to pick up a putter and a purple ball and tackle 18 mini-holes... AND I WON! Thank you, beer!

The weekend also included a fruitless trip to find a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV for XBox 360. Not a big deal: Paul and I decided to watch The Godfather instead and save gaming for another day. Today, I read that GTA IV's publisher isn't fond of this city at the moment: the company is suing the CTA for taking down the games's ads too early. The argument for doing so was that the game is violent, and the ads encourage children to purchase the game, despite its "Mature" rating. I think it's asinine that I've seen ads and billboards for the various Saw and Hostel-type films all over the city, which depict gruesome torture and violence, but video game ads are a no-go. Why can't lawmakers accept that ADULTS PLAY VIDEO GAMES? Now, the CTA could lose money over this. They have plenty of extra cash lying around, right? Awesome.

Did I mention that I won in mini-golf? You have no idea how huge this is. HUGE.

Lost: Something Nice Back Home

Thank you for your patience. :)

• We know that Jack lives, so what was the point of the appendicitis? Introducing Rose's theory of falling ill after angering the island gods? Showing off, once again, how stubborn and controlling Jack is? Or allowing Juliet and Kate to have some jr. high school caliber girl talk over Jack's (not really) sleeping body? "So like, Jack totally kissed me, but like, I know it's cuz he like, LIKE-likes you, you know? And I just like, thought you should know." GROSS. By the way, the answer is: none of the above, it's May sweeps! At least Bernard finally found the trick to shutting Jack's whiny ass up: chloroform.
• In futureworld: great, more time with Jack. As if the grossness of Jack-n-Kate faux- family time wasn't enough to upset me, the future Yankees "bludgeoned" my future Red Sox! Bah. The proposal seemed like the act of a man desperate for normalcy - for an anchor, if you will - and it won't last. After all, we ALSO know that Jack enters his own obsessive hell in the future still to come, when he realizes that maybe Hurley isn't 100% crazy after all. In the meantime, Jack can look forward to a ride down the slippery slope of self-medicating and self-doubt.
• Poor future Hurley breaks my heart. I don't want to believe that the Oceanic Six are dead, and I don't appreciate the thought, Lost writers. I WILL buy that the manipulative reach of the island's powers are messing with the Six, trying to get them to return. Just don't ask me to explain how. When Hurley delivered Charlie's message, "you're not supposed to raise him, Jack," I was reminded of when Ben said that the rules had changed last week. Things are amiss. They have to be set right. Again: how?
• The Ghostbuster's power resurfaces! I guess Rousseau is really dead. Boo.
• "Just watch your tone, Red." Ah, Rose. So no-nonsense. I'm glad that Daniel called Red out on her crappy attitude, even if we're now supposed to believe that my darling fidgety physicist has a thing for her. However, how does Jin's discovery that Red understands Korean allow him to blackmail her into taking Sun off the island? I mean, he said he would break Daniel's fingers if she continued to lie, but I'm guessing that she stopped lying when SHE STARTED SPEAKING KOREAN. Are we to assume that her consent to his demands is an admission that she's lying about other things?
• It was nice to get a glimpse of Pilot Wolf, but why aren't Evil Army Guys dead? Smoky didn't finish the job! Boo.
• Claire just walked off into the jungle, with the DEAD Dr. Shephard, and now Sawyer and the Ghostbuster have to "Two Men and a Baby" it. It would have been Three Men and a Baby, but Steve Guttenberg got kicked off the island. Wait, that's a different show. Where'd she go? Will she return?
  
• Lost without Ben is considerably less fun to watch.

Justice Tour '08

I just returned home from the Park West, and I can honestly say that the final stop of the Justice Tour '08 was one of the most impressive concerts I've ever attended. Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, Ben Harper, Boots Riley, Sen Dog from Cypress Hill, Shooter Jennings, Ike Reilly and more. Four hours of non-stop rock, folk, blues, country, and hip hop. Jumping, dancing, singing, shouting, shutting the f*ck up (Tom told us to), and having our sh*t shook (also per Mr. Morello). Needless to say, I'm beat, and so this ONE TIME, and ONE TIME ONLY, I'll be watching and recapping Lost a day late. Forgive me. Getting her sh*t shook takes a lot out of a girl.

Late Lost and Life Before the LLG

Soooooo about Lost tonight. I have tickets to go see Tom Morello and friends at the Park West. I have no idea what time I'll be getting home, and so I have no idea when I'll be watching Lost, and so... you see where I'm going with this. I'll get my recap up as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I invite you to watch the newest installment in my Q101.1 video series, Life Before the Last Letter Game: