Lost: The Variable

100 episodes, and I've seen every single one.

• Previously on Lost: Desmond needs to go to Oxford. Daniel's mum is creepy but brilliant. Desmond got shot.
• AT THE HOSPITAL: Desmond actually got hurt from that gunshot, and Daniel's mum came to the hospital to tell Penny that her son caused Desmond to get shot. Penny: "your son is Benjamin Linus?" Eloise: "LORD NO." Heh. And that is all we will hear about Ben tonight.
• IN THE PAST: Little Daniel, braces and all, plays the piano for his mum's approval. His metronome ticks menacingly. She talks about how destiny must be nurtured, how it is a gift, and how her son's gift is his mind. He has things to do, mathematical things, and so now he can't play the piano. "I can make time," the determined little boy tells her. "If only you could," his mum says sadly.
• Daniel graduates from Oxford, with his girlfriend Teresa by his side. Mum dismisses her. "You're not going to have time for relationships," she tells her son. When Daniel says that Widmore gave him a research grant, a million expressions pass over her face. "Good luck, Daniel. And I do hope you know that I mean it." Then she gives him a brand-new and familiar-looking journal. This is when the parental puzzle pieces first started to fall together for my physicist.
• Years later, Daniel is a wreck over the wreckage of Flight 815. I remember this frail and fragile creature, distraught over destroying his girlfriend's mind - and, it turns out, his own. Charles Widmore, benefactor, shows up and tells Daniel that no one on that plane is dead. He reveals that the plane crash is a fake, and that he staged it. Daniel says "whoa" in a way that would make Keanu proud. Of course, sneaky Widmore only reveals this secret because Daniel's botched research has shredded his memory. He says that going to the island will heal Daniel, and that he and Mum are old friends. Another puzzle piece slips into place.
• Daniel returns to his piano, sans metronome. His nimble hands fail once his mum walks in. "I hear you have been offered a job... it is very important that you say yes to Mr. Widmore." Daniel thinks that he can't. Mum thinks that he must. "Will... it make you proud of me?" She hesitates for just a moment before telling him yes. I'm all teary. This episode isn't funny at all.
• ON THE ISLAND: Daniel has returned from Ann Arbor, the apparent Dharma research headquarters. He found out that Jack et. al. came back in time, and he needs to to know how and why. The bleary-eyed Jack is perplexed, but Miles says "don't look at me. I just carried his luggage." Turns out that Mum might have led the crew astray. "You don't belong here at all. She was wrong." Jack's all like "JIGGA WHAAAAAT?" So he goes to see Sawyer, who is a little bit busy dealing with the aftermath of the security tape. By aftermath, I mean the guy who's taped and tied up in the closet.
• Meanwhile, Daniel has to run an errand, and that errand involves Dr. Chang and the Orchid. Daniel consults his well-worn journal as an elevator descends into the scene from the first episode of the season! FULL CIRCLE! Daniel asks Dr. Chang to order the evacuation of everyone on the island. Why? In brief: electromagnetic energy, the Swan, catastrophic accident. Oh, and Daniel reveals that he's from the future. Paul's all like "TOO MUCH SCI-FI WHAAAAAAT?"
• Chang, none too pleased with Daniel, brushes him off. Daniel tries to play the Miles card, but Miles is way too embarrassed about his tears from the previous night/episode to admit that he's actually Chang's son. They head back to Sawyer's, where a Flight 815 pow-wow is in session. Sawyer calls the island "our" home as he looks at Juliet. "We can either commandeer the sub... or head back in the jungle and start from square one." Jin (because of Sun) and Hurley (because, dude, seriously) opt for square one, but then a knock at the door interrupts the vote. A knock... from Daniel. I'm sorry, "Twitchy." Even in times of crisis, Sawyer brings the nicknames. "Does anyone know where I can find the Hostiles?" His mum is with them. She's the only one who can help them. In case the weight of this critical revelation doesn't hit you, the music tries its darndest to hammer the point home with bursts of staccaco strings. Sawyer: "your mother was an Other?" Rhymes always break the tension.
• Daniel's pressing need to find his mum triggers an elaborate power play. Sawyer doesn't want to ruin his island life, so he stands his ground. Jack wants to ruin Sawyer's island life, so he calls on Kate to tell Daniel where he can find his mum. Kate, as always, is torn (and useless). Sawyer tries to manipulate Kate into remaining silent by calling her Freckles. Juliet suddenly realizes that Sawyer still loves Kate, so she tells Kate the fence's codes. Oh, Sawyer. You sad son of a bitch. All the frustrating elements of this drawn-out love quadrangle build up and play out perfectly in this one short scene.
  
• Before Jack, Kate and Daniel can take off, my physicist spots little Charlotte on the swings. She's not allowed to have chocolate before dinner. Daniel promises that he won't tell anyone. And then he tells her that hopefully, Dr. Chang will take her to the submarine. When he does, she and her mommy are going to have to leave, in case what he is trying to do doesn't work. He didn't think he could, but now he wants to try and change the past. STUPID TEARS.
  
• After that touching moment, the gang, guns, and angry Nerdburger collide at the motor pool. Wait. They're at the motor pool. What are the odds something blows up? Pretty good, as it turns out. Daniel and crew make their escape. "SOUND THE ALARM," Nerdburger snarls. They head to the fence, and Kate enters the code. Daniel reiterates that he has changed his mind about changing the past, because THIS is their present. "We can't be so naive as to think nothing can happen to us. Any one of us can die, Jack." I'm pretty much terrified at this point.
• Sawyer and Juliet are packing, and she is still shaken. It hurts me to see how much he really does care about her. "You still got my back?" "You still got mine?" Just then, the alarm sounds. Jin's so panicked that he reverts to speaking Korean! Nerdburger shows up and screams: "I just got shot by a PHYSICIST!!!" He quickly finds Phil, the taped and tied up guy. Rut roh indeed.
  
• The march to Mum continues. Jack wants to know why they don't belong here. Daniel, finally, explains. The Swan workers are about to tap into the electromagnetic energy, and they're going to have to pull a Chernoble to contain it. In other words: they're going to have to build the hatch to keep the energy at bay. The hatch led to the button, which led to their plane crash. Daniel has had a breakthrough: "I've been spending so much time focused on the constants... I forgot about the variables." The variables are them. Their free will allows them to change their destiny, which in this case means keeping the accident from ever happening. No hatch, no button, no crash. How? Jughead, Daniel reveals proudly. The skeptical looks on Jack and Kate's faces during his speech put us at roughly Douchecon 2.
• BACK AT THE HOSPITAL: Eloise is blowing Penny's mind as well as mine. She apologizes: Desmond is a casualty of a conflict that is bigger than all of them, and Eloise has lost her grasp on the thread of time. But see, Desmond promised Penny that he would never leave her again, so he's not a casualty yet. Satisfied, Eloise leaves the hospital... and runs into Widmore. Widmore talks about his sacrificed relationship with Penny, but Eloise is having none of it. "Don't you talk to me about sacrifice. I had to send my son back to the island, knowing full well that-" "He's my son too, Eloise." Puzzle: complete!
  
• BACK ON THE ISLAND: Jack and Kate are still grappling with the idea of erasing their past when Daniel steals away from them. He walks into his mother's camp on his own, carrying a gun. Oh no. He asks for Eloise, and he needs to know where Jughead is. Richard appears and says she isn't there. A moment of recognition passes quickly between the two men. Richard can't help him, but Daniel insists. Oh. Oh no. As Daniel gives Richard until the count of three... his own mother shoots him. She sent her son back to the island so she could kill him. She has had to live with that knowledge and grief his entire life. They killed my physicist. "Destiny" just trumped free will. I'm heartbroken. There had better be a damn. Good. Reason.
• Great, great episode.
  

Happy 100th Episode, Lost

Happy Lost Day - and it's no ordinary episode! Tonight is the 100th episode of Lost, and I hope that means we're in for a good one. Here are some things with which to pass the time before we learn more about my fidgety physicist:

• I wrote about this before, but the cake that Charm City Cakes (of Ace of Cakes fame) made for the occasion is EXTREMELY awesome. See what it looked like here.
• If there was cake, there must have been a party, right? Check out this collection of pictures from the show's 100th episode party. Also: DO NOT click on anything else on the site (Dark UFO) unless you want to risk massive spoilage.
• Here's one man's list of "100 Things I Love About Lost," broken down into twenty things from each season thus far. It's not so much a sweeping recap as a collection of moments, from Christian Shepard and Sawyer sharing a drink to Hurley and Ben sharing a candy bar, with polar bears and blast door maps and "Not Penny's Boat" in-between.

And this has nothing to do with Lost, but you should watch this video of Muse covering "Feelin' Good." I've had it stuck in my head ever since Adam Lambert sang what sounded like their version on American Idol last night. I still can't believe that I've caved on Idol, but Adam is worth the shame.


Be back later tonight with my recap.

Creed Reunites

It's official. Creed is reuniting. Plenty of people dislike Creed for various reasons: the Chicago-based lawsuit incident of 2003 immediately comes to mind, along with several other instances of d-baggery by one Scott Stapp. He picked a drunken fight with 311 on Thanksgiving, for crying out loud. As for me... you might think I'm a Creed hater, but I'm not. I saw them play when I was in college with no ill effects, and I still like "Bullets." These things happen.

The reunion means shows, and ours is scheduled for August 30th. In the meantime, I'm a wee bit concerned about Scott:


His band is back together! He should look happy! And where is his hair?!?

The Real Bulls Logo?!?

Oh, Tribune. I was enjoying the first round playoff action between the Bulls and the Celtics, I really was. And then you had to go and show me what the Bulls logo looks like if you flip it upside down and change its colors:


So I have to worry about robots infiltrating the NBA now? THANKS A LOT. *weeps*

Lollapalineup 2009

The Lollapalooza lineup has arrived! Perry Farrell himself called Sherman and Tingle this morning to announce the bands. I'm pleased to see some of my all-time faves: Tool! Kings of Leon! BEN FOLDS! Other personal highlights include Rise Against, Coheed and Cambria, and Atmosphere. And of course, wherever Snoop Dogg is, there's a party.

Check out all the bands at the link, and feel free to express your opinions. Then watch this clever, Chicagotastic, lineup-inspired Lollapavideo:

Books, Boar and Burgers

I have had the kind of day that makes me happy all over. It began with a speech for 300 students who participated in an essay and poster contest for Reading Is Fundamental. My goal was to promote creativity and imagination through reading. I've been very proud of my involvement with RIF in Chicago over the years, and it inspires me to interact with the children who directly benefit from the program. There was a book distribution at the end of the event, too. It really made me smile to be able to recommend Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to a first grader.

After a few exciting errands (having a pair of pants tailored and taking a painting to be framed), I went to Gioco for dinner. As an aside: it felt amazing to be walking outside this afternoon. Today brought the kind of mild and sunny weather that makes Chicago winters worth enduring. Dinner included some delicious eggplant and pasta with wild boar. Yes, wild boar. More importantly, dinner provided the kind of conversation that makes me glad for the friends I've made in this business. When three hours pass in the blink of an eye, you know you're in good company.

Finally... tonight, The Cheeseburger Show made its CLTV debut!!! If you forgot about it, that's ok. Thanks to the internet, the episode lives on. I'll be contributing cheeseburger reviews to the website in the future as well. It's gonna be awesome. Mmm, bacon.

Lost: Some Like It Hoth

• OFF THE ISLAND: The adorable little Ghostbuster and his single mother are looking for an apartment. Little Miles hears dead people. Then he grows up and becomes a member of Linkin Park. Sadly, his mom is dying. Miles is torn about why he is who he is, and he has some daddy issues besides. Weird. That never happens on this show. Mama Ghostbuster says that his dad never wanted anything to do with them, and that his dead body is somewhere he can never find it. Or so the Germans would have us believe.
• Miles does some Ghostbusting for a grieving father, but it's more hustling than consoling. As he's walking away, Naomi shows up, and her hair is glorious. She takes Miles to an "audition" with a body, and Miles does his thing. The dead man was delivering photos and paperwork to Widmore, including the purchase order for an old airplane. I'm guessing that ended up on the bottom of the ocean. Naomi explains that she needs Miles to obtain info from a bunch of dead bodies on a mysterious island. She offers him big money to accept. $1.6 million could buy a lot of facial piercings.
• While Miles is enjoying a late night snack, someone named Bram shows up and tells Miles not to go to the island yet. He doesn't know what lies in the shadow of the statue. Oh, we're back on THAT again. All I can think about right now is that poor fish taco. Bram tells Miles that if Widmore is his manager, he's playing for the wrong team: the right team could help him find out all about his dad, his psychic abilities, life, the universe and everything. Miles fails to extort Bram, so the island it is. Thanks to the aforementioned daddy issues, Miles returns to rip the grieving father's heart out before he hits the island. Hooray! Wrong team!
• ON THE ISLAND: Sawyer asks Miles to "accidentally" erase the Baby Ben security tape for him. Miles was just hangin' out, reading up on Tommy Lasorda, so he agrees. Then Horace welcomes Miles into the circle of trust, and Miles is so excited that he forgets to grab the erased tape. Miles must find Nerdburger in Hostile territory, bring something back, and not ask questions about it. That something is a body. Miles sucks at not asking questions, especially when it comes to bodies.
• Horace instructs Miles to bring the body to Dr. Chang at the Orchid. Hurley invites himself along, cheerfully talking about garlic mayo and global warming. That's just what he does. On the ride, Hurley asks how to spell "bounty hunter." Given the title of this ep, I smell Boba Fett. Turns out that the dead guy had a metal filling blow through his head. The magnetic force is strong with this island.
• Miles and Hurley compare dead people powers for a minute before arriving at the Orchid. Chang threatens Hurley with polar bear feces if he doesn't keep quiet. Then we find out that yes, Dr. Chang is Miles' father: "that douche is my dad." What a line. During a very uncomfortable van ride, Hurley tries to force a bond between father and son. Love Hurley, but I really wanted him to shut his pie hole. After dropping Chang off in Hostile territory at the hatch-to-be, we watch the Dharma workers stamp the numbers on the hatch door. They're a serial number. Huh.
• On the ride back, Hurley reveals that he's writing Empire Strikes Back - with a few improvements. Well, he's gotta do something when he's not creating delicious garlic mayo. Hurley also compares Miles and Chang to Luke and Darth Vader while trying to convince Miles to talk to his dad, and he takes a shot at Ewoks. For me, the best part of the whole Empire thing is when Miles does his half-assed Chewie impression. Miles stares at his baby self, being loved by his dad. He cries, and I'm wondering how baby and adult can exist on the island at the same time, and how Chang could possibly leave his family behind without a damn good reason. But then MY PHYSICIST IS BACK, looking clear-headed and wonderful, and I stop caring about anything else on this episode.
• But just to wrap up what else did happen: Kate gives Juliet a report on the Baby Ben mission, and Roger busts in to flip out about his son's disappearance. He knocks things down, he's understandably pissed, and he decides that beer on the swings will ease his pain. Kate gives a poorly timed pep talk and gets yelled at for her trouble. Roger then has a drunken run-in with Jack where he (surprise) defends Kate for her actions. There is not a janitor fight - which I was hoping for - but there is an Egyptian history lesson on the chalkboard. That's two weeks in a row now: what do the Egyptians have to do with the island? Oh, and Sawyer knocks Phil the eff out when he discovered the tape that Miles forgot. Never liked that guy.

Star Trek Excitement

Off to a late start watching Lost tonight. While I get myself situated, ponder this J.J. Abrams-related question: who else is getting REALLY excited for the Star Trek movie? I haven't exactly been geeking about it (X-Men Origins: Wolverine has taken up all of the geekspace in my brain), but all of a sudden, I am pumped. It's in theatres on May 8th. Enjoy the latest trailer while I'm Losting:

Trent Reznor Speaks

Trent Reznor has been chatty lately, and I've been loving every second of it. Last week, the founder of Digg.com conducted a video interview with Trent, covering such topics as the internet, video games, and *gasp* Maynard James Keenan. It's a four-part video treat. Enjoy!

Lost: Dead is Dead

I'm on time this week! Hooray!

• THE PAST: We start with a man on horseback. That's how you know this episode is going to be intense. Richard has to save Baby Ben because "the island chooses who the island chooses." Turns out that the horseback riding fella is Widmore. I find him attractive, I am not going to lie to you. Baby Ben is wounded and sweaty in a tent, and he wants to stay with the Others. The island saved his life. And that's how these mortal enemies first met.
• Some time later, a floppy-haired Ben and a youthful (but still creepy) Ethan sneak up on Rousseau and steal her baby. So Ethan became an Other when he was very young. "If you try to follow me, or you ever come looking for me, I'll kill you. And if you want your child to live, every time you hear whispers, you RUN the other way." Gulp. Turns out that Ben was supposed to "exterminate" Rousseau on Widmore's orders. Widmore also wants the baby dead but backs down when Ben tries to hand her over to be killed. Richard witnesses the power struggle calmly. I want to know more about the whispers.
• Ben pushes Alex on a swing, and she is happy. "The sub's about to leave," says the ageless Richard. Ben's fake hair is extremely distracting, since it doesn't move in the island breeze. Widmore is being escorted onto that sub. He was banished because he broke the rules: he (gasp) left the island on a regular basis and (gasp) had a daughter with an outsider. Ben spits that "I won't be selfish... I'll sacrifice anything to protect this island." Before he can leave, Widmore warns Ben that if the island wants Alex dead, she will be dead. "You cannot fight the inevitable." Somehow he looks older in this scene than he does in present day.
• In a scene that I have dreaded, Ben calls Widmore to tell him that he is about to kill Penny. He walks, with purpose, towards the boat. He speaks. "Hello. My name is Benjamin Linus. Your father killed my daughter. Prepare to die." But he falters when he sees baby Chahlie, which is just enough time for Desmond (how does a paper bag full of groceries deflect a bullet so well?) to open up a can of whoopass. Yay, Penny didn't die!
• PRESENT DAY: Ben becomes Captain Obvious when he tells Locke that he's alive. Ben says that he needs to be judged for the things he's done wrong. By who? SMOKY. HELL YES. But once Ben gets up and at 'em, he starts lying to Cesar about Locke's possible insanity. So it's business as usual. Back in the Dharma office, Locke asks Ben if they can talk about the elephant in the room. "I assume you're referring to the fact that I killed you" is a classic Benry line. Ben says that killing Locke was the only way to bring his friends together: it was in the best interest of the island for them to return. Locke doesn't exactly buy it, so he wants to supervise the Smoky field trip. Before they can set sail, Ben shoots Cesar with his own shotgun. New guy, we hardly knew ye. (And didn't care to, let's be honest.)
• When they reach the main land, there is some subtle talk about how Ben hurt his arm, but it's quickly dismissed. "Once it arrives, I'll either be forgiven, or I won't," says Ben. Into the Barracks they go, where Ben finds Sun and Wolf. Christian told them that they needed to wait for Godot - I mean Locke - if Sun ever wanted to see Jin again. And guess who ACTUALLY showed up? Sun is understandably uncomfortable about talking to a dead man. Why is he alive? Locke doesn't know, but he is sure there's a reason. "As long as the dead guy says there's a reason, I guess everything's just peachy." Oh, Wolfie.
• And now the real fun begins, as Ben goes into the wardrobe - I mean closet - and drains a murky pool of water, saying "I'll be outside." Locke is not content with this laissez-faire approach and wants to find Smoky himself. Sun takes on the role of Doubting Thomas, saying that Jack must have lied to convince them that Locke was dead. Ben lies instead, telling her that "dead is dead." Actually, I hear dead is the new black. Seriously, what isn't the new black? Anyway. As the jungle rustles, Ben says that "what's about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control." Turns out... that something is Locke. Heh. And then the merry crew wanders off, and a power struggle ensues, and Locke PWNS Ben just a little bit before they reach the temple wall. Before descending beneath it, Ben tells Sun that she needs to tell Desmond he's sorry if she ever leaves the island. Oh, I am SO glad he didn't kill Penny.
• Not-Ana-Lucia wants to know "what lies in the shadow of the statue?" Too busy to think about that now. Want more LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE.
• Locke and Ben are hunting Smoky, and Ben is seemingly full of regret about letting Alex die. He falls through a weak part of the floor, into a dark room full of hieroglyphs, and it seems like Anubis and Smoky go waaaaaay back. The smoke swirls around Ben, showing him Alex, twisting the knife of his betrayal - but Ben lives. My guess: he lives because the island did want Alex dead, and although he denied the island at first, Ben's decision to let her die carried out the island's wishes. As Smoky seeps back into his chamber, the island "summons" Alex. When she stared intently at her father, I thought she was going to bite his face off. Instead, she slams him into a pillar and tells him that he WILL listen to John Locke from now on. Daaaaaaaaaaaaayum.
• So if I'm right, and the island did want her dead... why? Does this mean that Ben made a mistake by thinking Widmore gave that order on his own? Is the order to follow Locke from now on his punishment? Is it just coincidence that Locke wandered away during the Smoky/Alex incident and just so happened to return once they were gone? Is he really the same man he's always been? I have my doubts - and obviously, a lot of questions.

Top Chef Spinoff

As a lady who loves cooking shows, I'm really excited about the forthcoming Top Chef spinoff, Top Chef Masters. They just announced the contestants, and three of them are from Chicago! Unlike the regular show, these are tried and tested chefs who will be competing to raise money for charity. I can't wait to see what sort of ridiculous challenges they have to carry out. Also: no Padma. I can't tell if this is good or bad...


Update: Oh hey, Zooey Deschanel AND Neil Patrick Harris AND Carlton Cuse from Lost will be part of the show too? DANG!

Incubus Video Drama?

Incubus recently shot a video for "Black Heart Inertia," one of the three new songs they've put on their greatest hits compilation. Looks like there was a little "drama" on set... wink wink, nudge nudge, Christian Bale, we're looking at you.

Lost: Whatever Happened, Happened

Late. Again. To quote Brian Adams, "please forgive me?"

• OFF THE ISLAND: Kate's hair is so lovely. I'll be ok if I never hear her sing again, though. She brings the baybee to see Cassidy, because Sawyer told Kate to look after his daughter before he jumped off the chopper. Ta-da! An answer! Kate is able to keep secrets about the island for approximately 30 seconds. She's a broad. We talk. Oh well. Cassidy takes up the "son of a bitch" mantle for this episode, and she thinks that Sawyer bolted because he was afraid of being in LURVE.
• Oh hey, it's the scene on the pier for the millionth time. Rattled by what she just learned, Kate takes Aaron to the store to get milk. No, a juicebox. Make up your mind, kid! And then Kate loses the kid, and it's horrible to watch her panic. It's a nice creepy touch to have the woman who finds him look just like Claire from behind. Kate goes to Cassidy for solace. She provides straight talk ("Jack sounds like a piece of work") and spiked tea and is generally awesome. I'd ask for more of her, but somehow that feels hopeless. Kate tries to rationalize the fact that she took Aaron. Cassidy knows that Kate just needed someone to love.
• So Kate makes things right by taking Aaron to his grandmother. She explains what really happened to Claire, because, again, broads just can't keep a secret. Kate looks so beautiful and honest and sad in this scene, and I realize that I don't hate her. Not even a little bit. This is a first. She says that she's going back to the island to find Claire, and as she says goodbye to her son, the music I'd always thought of as Kate and Sawyer's song swells in the background. It's dusty in here. I don't think that finding Claire is her only reason for returning, but I do think it's a real reason.
• ON THE ISLAND: Jin is not dead. Baby Ben is gurgling and moaning, which means he is also not dead. Sayid is heading north and presumably will not be seen for some time. Horace is a calm leader who informs the assembled crowd that Sayid had help from the inside. Kate is a useless member of the motor pool who makes nice with Roger Linus. Roger is not the devil we all thought him to be, especially when he panics over Ben's condition. Jack is an ass. Hurley is large.
• And Sawyer? Sawyer's got enough to deal with without Kate interrupting his security work, but she's Kate, and that's what she does. After realizing that someone used a set of keys to bust Sayid out, Sawyer tells the Ghostbuster to put Jack, Kate and Hurley on house arrest. Oh, and by the way, Roger's keys are missing. When she realizes that she can't fix Baby Ben, Juliet thinks she knows who can. But guess who wants no part of this? The good doctor! He's all "Hippocratic Oath? Pfffffft. Is it really doing harm if I'm doing nothing? And are there any Dharma cookies?" Hate.
• I am so incredibly glad that Hurley is afraid of disappearing. Joey O has been making Back to the Future jokes all season! The Ghostbuster tries to explain how their timeline works, and it hurts everyone's brain. Basically: even though the years aren't in order, their timeline is a straight line. They can't change the past, even if it is their present. I think. Miles asks Hurley to shoot him to prove his theory, and it's mildly suspenseful, but we all knew it wasn't happening. Hurley points out that Ben should remember Sayid shooting him, and Miles has no answer. But he does call Hurley a dingbat.
• Meanwhile, Kate is wicked pissed at Dr. Nonchalant. Jack has washed his hands of "fixing things," because he's suddenly adopted Locke's "the island is in charge" mentality. Kate says she doesn't like the new Jack and storms off to give Baby Ben some blood. Juliet gently asks about Jack and Kate's off-island relationship, and Kate says "we were engaged, does that count?" Then Roger comes in, full of regret about the way he raised Ben, and it's painful to see this side of him. "A boy just needs his mother," Roger laments. Kate looks wistful. Or maybe it's just the blood draining out of her.
• Juliet feels helpless but thinks that the Others can help heal Baby Ben. Kate is determined not to be useless, so she volunteers to sneak off with Ben to find Richard. ALONE. IN A VW BUS. But not for long, because bespectacled Sawyer shows up to help. ALONE. IN A VW BUS. He calls her Freckles. And takes off the glasses. And smolders like the sexy head of security he is. To my delight, Sawyer tells Kate that he is helping Kate for Juliet. He follows that up by telling Kate that they never would have worked as a couple. He and Juliet work because he's done a lot of growing up in the last three years. That's awesome!!! That moment alone, that clear and concise explanation, is why this is a great episode in my book. I sure do hate the love quadrangle.
• Meanwhile, Juliet is shooting daggers as she confronts the freshly showered Jack, who is terrible at drying off. When Jack says that he came back to save them, Juliet points out that no one needed saving. Once again, Jack sounds like Locke: "I came back because I was supposed to." He has no idea why, though. I bet his dad has something to do with it!
• Sawyer and Kate meet Richard in the jungle, and he agrees to save Baby Ben. BUT. "If I take him, he's not ever going to be the same again... he'll forget this ever happened... and his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us." Creepy as that sounds, the most upsetting part is the convenient memory loss. It's like a soap opera character with amnesia. It's lame. But before I can be too angry about this, one of the others tells Richard that he should tell Ellie about what happened, and mentions Charles too. A-ha! AND... "I don't answer to either of them," says Richard. How has the balance of power shifted since the 50s - and why? A nervous-looking Richard carries Ben to the temple. IS SMOKY DOWN THERE?
• And finally, in present day, a sleeping Ben wakes up to find a menacing Locke staring down at him. "Welcome back to the land of the living." In other words, you did a bad job of killing me, and this is not going to be pretty.

Colbert on Newspapers

Quote of the day:

"The newspaper industry is hurting. I should explain that term to my younger viewers. A 'newspaper' is like a blog that leaves ink on your hands and covers topics other than how much you love Fall Out Boy."

- Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, 3.31.09

A Busy Day

I won't be watching Lost live tonight: my dear friend Susan scored me a ticket to see Al Gore speak at the Chicago Theatre. Actually, she's hooking me up for the entire "Minds That Move the World" Series. Susan is awesome. My plan is to watch once I come home, but I can't guarantee that I'll have the energy for witty recapping. A girl only gets so many chances to spend time with a Nobel Prize-winning former Vice President. That being said, I can't WAIT to find out what happened to Baby Ben.

Before I head to the theatre, I wanted to share how I spent my afternoon. As the title of this post implied, it's a busy day. Today was "Celebrity Day" at CRIS Radio, the nonprofit radio reading service run by the Chicago Lighthouse. It's a great service run by volunteers, and it was a lot of fun to spend an hour reading Entertainment Weekly for the organization. Hopefully I'll be back next year, if not sooner!

April Fool's Day: Trent and Mars

I've seen a lot of April Fool's Day tomfoolery on the internet today, so I wanted to pass along two of my faves:

New Trent Reznor album!
- You won't believe the collaborations he's scored for this one
Take a trip to Mars!
- Incredible savings on an interplanetary vacation

If only we could find a way to combine the two and make them reality.