Lost Theory

I found an interesting theory about Juliet on PopCandy's Lost message board. Makes sense to me.

3. okgirl_ok wrote:

Wait, I've been thinking about this. let's not sell Juliet short on her deception abilities. She totally lied to Sun about the father. Why wouldn't she? She left a message to Ben that said the same news she'd given Sun, but if that was true, she's not getting off that island, baby. She'd want to tell Sun the same thing so her story would be able to corroborate. BUT, if she found out that Sun got pregnant OFF the island and LIED about it, then her experience about Claire would tell her- since the baby survived - she can settle her deal with Ben and get her butt gone. She's just making it look like she's fixing the problem and setting herself up to "Save" Sun from the island's conception-death problem.

Forger those others and that they still won't be able to get pregnant, she's every woman for herself. Plus the double bonus of getting to make Sun very happy about Jun being the father.

Why would Juliet say anything other than that Sun got pregnant on the island? She needs to prove that hero factor to everyone - otherwise, she's stuck there, baby.

Coachella Weekend

I'll start off by saying that I am exhausted. I battled 180,000 people, 115 degree temperatures, dust blowing in the wind, congested traffic (LA to Palm Springs in... six hours??? What?). But it was all worth it for one reason... The Music.

Friday didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped. Instead of getting there at 4pm, we got there at 8pm. It was enough time to catch Interpol (I barely remember), Brazilian Girls (fun as hell!) and Bjork (shoot-me-in-the-head boring). The highlight for me was being messed up out of my mind and falling on top of two enormous bodyguard-sized men watching Interpol as I navigated to Brazilian Girls. I fell on top of their heads and landed on their backpack. In my non-sober state, I thought I had fallen on top of their baby. I seriously thought I killed a baby.

Afterwards, went to the GQ Lounge and then called every fast food joint in the Greater Palm Springs area at 4am until we found a Jack in the Box.

Saturday. Still didn't make it to the show as early as we'd hoped, but that's probably good because it was like going to a concert on Planet Mercury. It was fucking hot! Marc had a little "episode" and we spent an hour or two in the ATT Air Conditioned Tent. Sweet relief. Besides that, we saw some incredible acts.

We saw a few minutes of Sparklehorse. They had an anemic crowd, which kind of sucks. Everyone looked like they'd smoked too much pot and were barely there.

Peter Bjorn and John - Due to Marc's "sode," we only caught a song from a faraway tent, but they are fun pop for sure. Love that whistling song!

New Pornographers - Great musicians, their original music really translates well to a live setting. Only problem: They talk too much. And they are not comedians. Stick with the music.

LCD Soundsystem - They were fun in one of the tents, but we only watched 2 songs since we had to go check out...

Gotan Project - They mix tango and electronica, and it was close to perfection. Get this CD now.

Kings of Leon and Travis put in good shows, but neither band really "does it" for me.

Chili Peppers, just what you'd expect. I think I saw the same concert in college.

The Good, the Bad and the Queen - I love Damon from Blur and Gorillaz, but this was just kind of a deressing, buzz kill.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT: ARCADE FIRE. This will go down as a legendary performance (think U2 at Live Aid). Their first notes caused a frenzy in the crowd, eventally swallowing up the whole of Coachella. This is electric, mood-altering music. Brilliant.

Ended the night, once again, at the GQ Lounge. They served drinks until 4am!!

Sunday. Another good day, and it felt like we were back on Earth as the temperatures fell to a cool 98 degrees.

The Roots - kind of loud. Lily Allen - Totally cute pop. Amos Lee - good singer/songwriter. Nothing revolutionary but enetertaining (think Gaven DeGraw).

Jose Gonzales. Love him. Second time I've seen him. So mellow, but what a voice.

Willie Nelson - I bet I remember as much of this show as Willie did. It was his birthday.

Damien Rice - This was the show of the night. If he recreated his albums in a live setting, it would be good but mellow. Luckily, this boy ROCKS out live. The crowd went wild, so it's too bad he only got to play for 30 minutes. I will be seeing him again. Brilliant.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. I literally thought I was going to die. The crowd went nuts. Supposedly the largest crowd in Coachella history (180,000 they say?). It was a historic event, and I hope these guys get together for real.

That was it! Now to bed.

Escape Goat

The Office. That show just cracks me up. And Jim imitating Dwight? Was that the best or what?

Lost 3.18 Recap

Click Here to read the EW Recap

Lost Spoilers & Episode Titles

Whoo boy, we've got spoilers!! Read on, Losties.... read on.....

Episode 3.18: D.O.C. (Jin/Sun-centric)
Airdate: April 25, 2007

Damon and Carlton made a point to mention that the father of Sun's baby could be Jin, Jae Lee, or a mystery person. Apparently, some people thought Jae Lee was murdered. Penny sent the parachutist. Damon and Carlton do not refer to her as Naomi.Naomi will be explained further in "D.O.C." More of Juliet's motives will be shown in "D.O.C."

The initials in the title stand for "date of conception."

Episode 3.19: The Brig (Locke-centric)
Airdate: May 2, 2007

Episode 3.20: The Man Behind the Curtain (Ben-centric)
Airdate: May 9, 2007

Ben begrudgingly begins to introduce Locke to the secrets of the island, beginning with the mysterious Jacob. Meanwhile, Juliet's secret goes public. Guest starring are M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly/Tom, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Andrew Divoff as Mikhail, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Marsha Thomason as Naomi, Sterling Beaumon as young Ben, Jon Gries as Roger Linus, Carrie Preston as Emily, Doug Hutchison as Horace, Samantha Mathis as Olivia and Madeline Carroll as Annie.

Ben has been in love. We will get a "sense" of it in 2 weeks.

We will see Dharma before the purge and we might see how they repelled the smoke monster with the sonic fence.

We're going to meet Ben's mommy and daddy. We will get much more info about Ben's origins and the origins of the island.

Someone you wouldn't expect to see wearing a Dharma suit will appear in episode 20. There will be a big, epic, shocking scene. We will see more Dharma vans. Roger wasn't the only workman.

More info on the DeDroots soon.

Episode 3.21: Greatest Hits (fka "Truth about Lying") (Charlie-centric)
Airdate: May 16, 2007

While Jack devises a plan to do away with “The Others” once and for all, Sayid uncovers a flaw in “The Others’” system that could lead to everyone’s rescue. But it requires Charlie to take on a dangerous task that may make Desmond’s premonition come true.

Episodes 3.22 and 3.23: Through the Looking Glass (Jack-centric, two-hour season finale)
Airdate: May 23, 2007 from 9 to 11 p.m.

Joss Stone

Have I mentioned how much I love her new album? Definitely worth downloading!!! And, speaking of Ms. Stone... she'll be performing on Dancing With the Stars Tuesday evening. That should be Tivo-worthy!

On My Playlist

Lots of new music the last week!!

New albums by.... Bright Eyes, Arctic Monkeys, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), Travis, Maximo Park, Rufus Wainwright

So far, loving Bright Eyes, BRMC and Maximo Park! Haven't got to the rest yet.

Go Crow!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Karl Rove's debate with singer Sheryl Crow and producer Laurie David about global warming heated the atmosphere at a black-tie Washington dinner.

On the eve of Earth Day, Crow and "Inconvenient Truth" producer David walked over to the presidential adviser's table at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night at the Washington Hilton. Their differences on global warming quickly bubbled over, the Washington Post reported Sunday. "I am floored by what I just experienced with Karl Rove," David said later. "I went over to him and said, I urge you to take a new look at global warming. He went zero to 100 with me. ... I've never had anyone be so rude." Rove said: "She came over to insult me and she succeeded." As the debate intensified, Crow tried to calm things down but was drawn into the debate with Rove instead.

"You work for me," she told Rove, according to the Post column "The Reliable Source." "No," was his response. "I work for the American people." Heather Lylis, a spokeswoman for Crow and David's global warming tour, said Sunday that Crow's response for Rove was: "Yes, and I'm an American citizen

Celeb Sighting

Are you ready? Because this is a good one.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. Oh yeah! They were like 2 feet away from me waiting for a table at Katsuyah, a sushi joint in Brentwood. She looked great in black with long blond hair. He looked scruffy and indescrete in a hoodie.

Brotherly Love

EW Recap:

For me, Desmond's groan said it all. It came at the climax of last night's outing of Lost, prior to the awful choice the episode had been building toward: Should the time-scrambled Scot sacrifice Charlie's life for a chance at being reunited with Penelope, or should he put the Hobbity rocker's life and well-being ahead of his own self-interest and once again save him from predestined death? It was a damnable dilemma, and it gave rise to an existential growl congested with resignation, fury, self-loathing, and more. It spoke of being stuck between courage and cowardice, desire and duty, free will and fate — the clutch of tricky themes upon which Catch-22 was built. It also spoke on behalf of an episode heavy-laden with deep thoughts and ominous subtext encoded in Biblical and literary citations, comic book references, and perhaps the most provocative hidden clue in the show's history. It's enough to make your brain explode — or implode, as is the case on Lost. And it puts me in a catch-22 jackpot of my own: How far should I take this? Too far, and I risk generating unintended rancor toward a show that invites enough frustration as it is. Not far enough, and I risk not giving the show the engagement it deserves. What to do? What to freakin' do?

To be clear, this was one very amusing episode of Lost — that is, once you got past the opening sequence, in which Charlie tripped one of Rousseau's traps, took an arrow through the neck, gurgled up some blood and died in Desmond's arms while Hurley and Jin looked on in shell-shocked horror. I was totally taken aback by the violence but quickly recovered and realized that surely it must be a dream, which was sorta true — it was actually one of Desmond's precognitive flashes of the future, one that included glimpses of a blinking red beacon in the night sky, Jin (and then Hurley) pulling up a cable from the sand, and, most provocatively, a pair of legs dangling from a tree. Desmond's heart skipped — could this be Penelope, descending from the sky and bringing hope of rescue? Thus motivated to make sure that his vision would become a reality, Desmond began to round up all the participants that this scene needed. ''You been eating those mushrooms Jack warned us about?'' quipped Hurley when Desmond came to recruit him. Then the lumpy Lotto winner cottoned to the sitch: ''This is future crap, isn't it?''

It sure was. But the execution was far from shoddy. ''Catch 22'' did a fine job at capturing the experience of Desmond's flashes and clearly telling the audience how they worked. The former Hatchman explained that it was like ''a jigsaw puzzle, only I don't have all the pieces.'' Up until now, Desmond has been leveraging his inside knowledge of the infinite to frustrate Fate's obsessive interest in planting Charlie in Boone Hill. But this time, Desmond believed that saving the ex-junkie's hide would come at a price too precious to pay, namely a possible reunion with Penelope; apparently, if you alter one piece in this jigsaw picture, you risk changing the picture on the box. Hence, Desmond's double bind. Yeah, I know: kinda contrived — unless, of course, Desmond has good reason to believe Penelope would come looking for him. To wit: What if, in the new timeline that has been created by Desmond's quantum leap earlier this season, he jotted down as much of his Island experience as he could remember and arranged to have it sent to Penelope prior to embarking on his sailboat race?

Illogical or otherwise, I decided to roll with it, and so did Hurley, Jin, and Charlie, although none of them were hip to the awful twist involved in questing to find this newcomer from the sky. En route to Charlie's date with destiny, a fine time was had by all. We saw this fab four whistling the famous tune from The Bridge on the River Kwai, sharing ghosts stories around the campfire, debating who's faster, Superman or the Flash — comic gold. Desmond's vision began clicking into place, the necessary events falling like dominos. They found the Cable, the super-size power line extending from an underwater sonar system to the now-destroyed Dharma station the Flame. And after a helicopter crashed into the ocean, they saw the red beacon, falling from the sky. Penelope's here, thought Desmond. In the jungle, a backpack was found containing clue fodder for theorists: a satellite phone with a seemingly of-the-moment menu (but it's 2004 in the Lostverse, not 2007 — right?); a copy of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, the darkly comic anti-war novel that coined the titular phrase — except that the book was in Portuguese (connection: the guys in the last scene of last season, scanning for electro magnetic anomalies for Penelope — they were speaking Portuguese); and inside the book, a copy of the picture snapped of Desmond and Penelope prior to their breakup (but only one copy of that picture is supposed to exist, and Desmond has it — right?).

And then, the moment of decision arrived. Charlie tripped the wire, Rousseau's trap activated, and Desmond issued his agonizing groan: ''Arrrghhh — Charlie! Duck!'' And with that, Desmond...leapt at Charlie, knocked him down, saved his life, and according to Desmond's personal Theory of Relativity, the future shuffled its cards anew and recast the parachutist they soon found hanging from a tree — a young woman named Naomi, according to the press notes provided by ABC. She wasn't Penelope, but since she did mumble Desmond's name; maybe she works for Penelope and has been searching for him. Perhaps she'll regain consciousness and tell us more. (And having already seen next week's episode, I can tell you that she will. And that what she has to say is pretty...well, deadly.)

Why did Desmond ultimately choose Charlie over Penelope? Some illumination was provided by the flashback. Going into this episode, there was rampant speculation that we would learn about Desmond's days in the Scottish army. Instead, we got a story about Desmond's days at a wine-making monastery. Yup: It seems that prior to meeting Penelope, Desmond wanted to be a monk. He believed he had been given ''a calling.'' Reason to be dubious Number One: He received said calling after he woke up from a night of heavy drinking, in the middle of the street, with Brother Campbell standing above him. Reason to be dubious Number Two: Conveniently, said calling came one week prior to the day he was supposed to marry his then-girlfriend of six years, Ruth.

The early flashback scenes echoed with resonances to Lost episodes past. When Ruth accused Desmond of cold feet, I recalled how Jack struggled with jitters in the days before his wedding to Sarah. When Brother Campbell commended Desmond on completing his vow of silence as part of his monastery initiation, I recalled that Locke had a sentence of silence that was part of his reconnection process with the Island. And when Brother Campbell told Desmond that he was ''one of us,'' of course, I thought of last week's Juliet episode, entitled ''One of Us.'' All this in the wake of the most recent Desmond episode, in which his bid to get a respectable job with Penelope's father mirrored the almost-forgotten season 1 episode in which a smack-addled, post-Driveshaft Charlie tried to go straight by working for his girlfriend's Dad. Weird how this one character mirrors and twins a broad swath of others, from Jack to Locke to Charlie. Worth a future Doc Jensen theory, perhaps.

It's clear from the flashbacks that from an early age, Desmond has been driven by a desire for belonging and validation. At the same time, he also suffers from a profound case of ''I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For''-itus. I'd love to know in a future episode what role Desmond's early life played in the formation of this personality; in his last episode, we were told he was left to raise his bothers after the death of his father. What happened there? (And why do I have a hunch that the Lost-cited book The Brothers Karamazov — about four brothers and a dead dad — might have something to do with it?). Whatever the cause of his restlessness, Desmond seems chronically incapable of staying engaged, on mission, committed, for a prolonged period of time before something in him breaks down and spurs him elsewhere, usually into the bottom of a bottle. The lesson that Brother Campbell believed he needed to learn was the value of personal sacrifice, a lesson which the Liam Neeson sound-alike illustrated for Desmond by citing the famous Biblical story in which God asked Abraham to kill his son Isaac as an offering. Abraham was torn, but was willing to do it — and at the last second, got a deus ex machina reprieve from the Lord himself. Talk about mirroring and symmetry: You can find this Biblical catch-22 in...Genesis, chapter 22.

In the end, Desmond couldn't cut it as a monk. The God/Abraham story bugged him, and besides, he had serious doubts about his own character. And so it was that he got himself fired from the monastery/winery after being caught sampling the product. But Brother Campbell saw the bigger picture, too; he told Desmond that he was surely being called to something, but it definitely wasn't monkhood. Of course, we were left to question Brother Campbell's own character thanks to a blink-and-you-miss-it Easter egg of monumental significance. There, on Campbell's desk, was a picture of him and the woman we know as Ms. Hawking — the creepy antique-store lady with the ouroboros pin (a snake chasing its own tail) who, in the last Desmond ep, seemed to know all about his life, past, present, and Island future. What's the connection between the two? Has Desmond's life been orchestrated and manipulated from the very beginning? What was Campbell's true agenda for bringing Desmond into the monastic fold — to simply impress upon him a lesson about sacrificing his self-interest for the sake of other people, the greater good, or the higher power...

...or was it to facilitate his meet-cute introduction to none other than Penelope Widmore? Turned out that her father is/was a rather generous customer/supporter of the winery/monastery. Which begs the question: How much does Papa Widmore really know about Desmond? Is there some ''Secret Order of the Ouroboros'' at work, shaping the destiny of the world?

Speaking of snakes, I suppose we should talk about Sawyer and Kate playing beach blanket bingo, which I'm sure pleased all the SawKat 'shippers out there. It was exactly the kind of reconnection the con man has been aching for since the Hydra Station hanky-panky — especially after eyeballing Kate in her thong, a rousing sight which led to the hilarious request for some ''afternoon delight,'' and even more hilarious, his offer of making a mix tape to get it. However, Sawyer would eventually learn that Kate's late-night booty call might not have been all about him; earlier that evening, she had flirted with Jack to no avail, her oatmeal spoon seduction apparently not enough to entice the good doctor away from Juliet. This revelation put Sawyer in a double bind of his own: At what price nooky? Does Kate really dig him — or is he merely a consolation prize? And does he really want to know? In the end, he risked rejection and asked her to make sure she knows her own heart, and made his own feelings perfectly clear by giving her the next best thing to a mix tape he could find (or steal) on the beach: Bernard's copy of Phil Collins' greatest hits. (Bernard! He lives!)

Now: If I were to stop there, I would have offered you a perfectly serviceable recap of ''Catch 22,'' minus some details here and there. (Don't flame me about Jack's tattoos — I asked the producers about it, and they claim they know nothing about any new arm art on the guy.) In the end, the episode was an intriguing, clever, altogether entertaining outing of Lost that didn't necessarily offer much in the way of answers or offer the same mythic wallop as last week's Juliet episode, but it did provide some revealing insights into Desmond and began to set the stage for the endgame of the season. We need not take it any further.

And yet, we could. We could take it wayyy further. For example:

The Superman/Flash Debate Could this be a clue that foreshadows future events or illuminates past mythology? Since the early '60s, Superman and the Flash have raced each other several times for charity's sake — and to paraphrase Jack's line from last night, ''sooner or later, something always goes wrong.'' In the first race, sinister crime syndicates kidnapped the Flash during the race and replaced him with an impostor. (I'm telling you: Someone — Jack, Locke, Charlie, Desmond, someone — ain't who they currently claim to be on this show. I know it!) In the second race, Superman and the Flash raced to ''the end of the universe,'' only to learn that it was an elaborate trap (''a long con,'' per Lost) staged by super-villains hell-bent on killing the Flash. (Poor Flash! He's like the Charlie of superheroes!) Speaking of the end of the universe...

Rousseau's arrows; Ms. Hawking and her ouroboros; and Desmond's recurring commitment issues There is a notion in mythology and philosophy dating back to ancient Greece and Egypt known as eternal return, or what Friedrich Nietzsche called eternal recurrence. The idea: Time isn't linear, but cyclical (symbolized by the ouroboros), and everything and everyone essentially repeats the dramatic arc of their lives, over and over again, albeit in different ways and in different forms. For example: Desmond's broken relationship with Ruth + Desmond's broken relationship with Penelope + Desmond's catchphrase ''See you in another life, brother!'' = eternal recurrence. But here's where it gets interesting. It seems that recent theories about the birth and inevitable death of the universe allow for the possibility of time travel and various forms of ''eternal returns.'' These are complex ideas — ''Big Crunch,'' ''Time Reversal,'' and other notions advanced by Lost-cited egghead Stephen Hawking — and I'm not even going to try to summarize them. But they all utilize a few core concepts, including what physicists refer to as ''the arrows of time.'' Look 'em up.

The Bridge on the River Kwai and Catch-22 Actually, I have never seen the former, and never read the latter. But did you know that the famous whistling tune from Kwai actually had lyrics back in the day? It's true. Unfortunately, we can't print them, because they're all about...Hitler's testicles. Specifically, how Hitler and all his right-hand men either had only one testicle or no testicles at all. I could apply this to Ben and the Others, but in the name of good taste, let us note that Kwai and Catch-22 both share similar themes concerning the madness of war, and move on to...

The noodle cooker: Ruth and Naomi In ''Catch 22,'' the characters Ruth and Naomi have nothing to do with each other. But in The Bible, they are the stars of the Book of Ruth. Well, it just so happens that the book right before Ruth is the Book of Judges. The very last story in the Book of Judges is the story of a war among the tribes of Israel. The bad guy in this story: the Tribe of Benjamin. The war started over a murder that the other tribes believed needed to be avenged; it ended with the near-obliteration (''The Purge,'' perhaps?) of the Benjaminites. Here's where it gets creepy: In the aftermath, the people of Israel felt badly about wiping out Benjamin's people. So they decided to repopulate his tribe by forcing the women from another city to join the tribe of Benjamin. You know: to make babies and stuff.

What does this foreshadow for Lost? I think it means that war is coming to the beach. Castaways vs. Others. Survival of the species. At long last: Lord of the Flies time, people.

Or, to quote forebodingly from the bard himself, Phil Collins:

I can feel it coming in the air tonight...

Hold on...

Hold on...

Crang!

(That was a menacing guitar sound.)

I have next week off. See you in two.

And PS: Thanks to all for your well wishes for my wife and I. We were/are very moved, very appreciative. Next time we speak, we'll have news for you.

Serious Lost Spoilers!

Juliet is up to no good. There's going to be a Goodwin story in the future, although it's hard to determine if they are joking. Rachel may not have had the cancer come back... Ben's folder may have been a lie, MAY.

Let's just say the end of the season features a showdown between Jack and Locke — a showdown long anticipated and a showdown with an extremely significant outcome for the future of the castaways.

I hear we're going to meet Ben's mommy and daddy. We will get much more info about Ben's origins and the origins of the island

We will see Dharma before the purge and we might see how they repelled the smoke monster with the sonic fence

I'm told there will be at least five deaths on Lost during the month of May

Idol Chatter

Now. Finally! We can get on with the REAL competition.

Jay Watching

So I have this cool new office with a window. The best part so far? Watching a pair of blue jays build a nest! There is also a big fat squirrel who runs around the trees each afternoon. Anyhow, tomorrow I am bringing in some lint from the dryer and some dog fur so the Jays can build a pimped-out nest!!

Lost loses the flashbacks...

for one episode. I wonder if it will just be set in a different time period, like, say, the 70s?

Lost 3.16 Recap

One of the best EW recaps ever!!!!!

Click Here

Pet Food Recall

In all seriousness folks, PLEASE pay attention to what you are feeding your pets. Read the labels, check the websites for updates on recalls and question everything!!!

Thank god I had the presence of mind to NOT feed my cats any Nutro canned food. I had purchased some last week thinking it would be okay since they weren't on the list. However, there was a little voice telling me to NOT feed it to them because other Nutro foods were recalled. THANK GOD I DIDN'T FEED THEM THE CANNED NUTRO FOOD!!!!!! Yesterday that exact food was added to the list.

And, to further piss me off, get this!!!!

So now it looks like we could be moving from a FDA scandal to an SEC investigation scandal. Insider trading is generally not very well received by the SEC. The latest update -- the first to involve its Ontario plant -- comes amid news that the chief financial officer of Menu Foods Income Fund sold nearly half his units in the pet food maker less than three weeks before it announced its massive product recall, according to insider trading reports. Let's hope the SEC is more serious about their work than the FDA, who seem uninterested in protecting consumers and more occupied with providing shelter to big business.

There is something very, very curious about this entire recall and I pray more animals and families do not suffer needless losses because of the greed and ineptness that is going on with these foods!!!!

Guilty Pleasure Bands

According to Rolling Stone:

1. Rush
2. E.L.O.
3. Journey
4. ABBA
5. Chicago
6. Boston
7. Foreigner
8. Bread
9. Bon Jovi
10. New Edition
11. The Monkees
12. Motley Crue
13. STYX
14. Eddie Money
15. Simply Red
16. Kelly Clarkson
17. America
18. Wham
19. R.E.O. Speedwagon
20. Poison
21. Lionel Richie
22. Kansas
23. Air Supply
24. Hall & Oates
25. Britney Spears

There is nothing pleasurable about Britney. And who is Bread??

Lost 3.16 Preview

Episode 3.16: One of Us (Juliet-centric)
Airdate: April 11, 2007

Not only will we find out how Juliet came to the island, but we'll learn why she stuck around and the reason her people gassed her. And unlike some of the show's other "answers," these make perfect sense in the context of the overall narrative. We'll also discover that: Claire's kidnapping didn't exactly go as planned; Juliet carried on an affair with an Other whose name wasn't Ben or Henry; There are real feelings between Sawyer and Kate. I know because there's a moment between the two of 'em that made me go all misty-eyed and sniffly, and that's never happened to me while watching these two before; Sun's fetus has bigger problems than figuring out who its daddy is.

Jack's joyous reunion is cut short when his fellow survivors realize that an Other is accompanying him; a mysterious illness strickens Claire.

On the UK Show "Richard and Judy," Carlton Cuse revealed that the Charlie "problem" would be resolved in episode 16. [Note: It is unknown he was referring to the death premonition or Charlie's attack on Sun.]

Which Entourage Are You?

Go here and take the quiz.

By the way, I'm "smart and sweet, just like Eric—just don't let anyone take advantage of you."

No Way!!!

The Real World: Vegas is reuniting for six episodes!!! Oh My God! This is the best news, and now I can finally tell my story again about seeing Trischelle make out with Andy Dick at a gay bar many years ago.

Pearl Jam Tour

For fun. Not for a record. Maybe I'll finally check out one of the best bands out there.

Human Giant

Ever asked what would be on the worst mix tape ever? Find out on MTV's new show Human Giant. I saw clips at work a few months back and it is hilarious. The best part is the end, when the loser (winner?) is forced to walk around town with a gigantic GHETTO BLASTER playing the worst mix tape of the episode. Yah!

Hike

I went on a hike in Malibu last Friday. Didn't see a soul for four hours, but saw Jake Gyllenhaal on the way down with his pouch and some mysterious girl. Reese?? I couldn't tell.

Grindhouse II

Well, not really. But it bombed (why?) so they are talking about showing each movie separately in some theaters. Nah. Don't do it. The thing works so well together. I'm telling you... it redefines a night out at the movie. This is good shit, kids. Not for mom and dad, but good shit.

Superbad

I saw a preview for this comedy before Grindhouse (it was one of the REAL trailers). I also saw one for I Now Pronounce You Larry & Chuck or whatever it's called. Larry & Chuck looks stupid and no one laughed at the trailer. No one has heard of Superbad, but it looked hilarious! It stars Michael Cera from Arrested Development (seriously, the cast of this show should be in every comedy), and I'm glad to see he's getting work. It opens in the summer, I think, so make sure to get your ticket on Fandango now!

Brothers & Sisters

Anyone watch this? Quite good! I missed Rachel Griffiths. I didn't miss Calista Flockhart. But both are actually really good in this show. I'll watch a few more and make sure it wasn't just a one night stand for me, but I can see myself adding another Season Pass.

Andy Barker

Cancelled! That show was so good though, especially the first (and last) episode.

Planet Earth

Another show to watch, if you aren't already. It must look great in HD. Sunday's episodes were great. I especially loved "Shallow Seas." Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The other one playing this week is "Great Plains." I had no idea the plains are where most land animals live, and also that grass makes up 25% of land cover.

Intervention

I don't know how I missed this show for so long, but wow! True stories of interventions. I don't know how they pull it off, but it must be because the "stars" of the show are so fucked up on drugs! Seriously, they have camera crews following them and they just don't catch on and are always surprised.


Anyways, definitely check it out. It's on A&E and I'm addicted.

Grindhouse

Talk about redefining "a night out at the movies." This thing is KILLER!

The first half is all fun and silliness and ultra-violent. It's also funny as hell. Then Quentin takes over and, man, he blows the concept of making fun of grindhouse movies because he actually makes a good movie! There is probably too much talking, but that's what he does best and there are some hysterical passages in there. But when the movie becomes a car chase (there are two or three, and they are all incredible), it really takes off. And it has one of the most satisfying endings of any action movie I've ever seen. I'm not kidding. Funny and satisfying as hell.

However, the best part may be the little trailers for movies that don't exist that come before ("Prevue Attractions") and in between the two movies. I want to see the new serial killer movie "Thanksgiving" soon!

The Office

"I accidentally cross-dressed this morning."

Seriously. Who comes up with these lines!?

Office Perk

Kenna just performed in my office! If you aren't familiar with him, his first CD was called New Sacred Cow and had a minor hit with "Free Shot." He recently was featured in a PSP commercial that ran on TV with a boyfriend and girlfriend using their PSPs to find each other and always ending up at a Kenna concert. He has a new CD coming out in June, and based on this 4-song set I just witnessed, it should be a worthy follow up to Sacred Cow.

"Rhythmless Troll"

Survivor recap courtesy of EW:

Man, I just don't think I want to write this Survivor TV Watch anymore. I've been rich, I've been poor, I've been to Exile Island. (Actually, take out the rich part, and the rest is true.) Let's face it: This season has been a dud, and as a result, my recaps haven't been much better....On second thought, maybe I'm getting too emotional here. After all, Lynette Rice covered for me last week while I was away for work, and truth be told, I kind of missed it. Yeah, scratch that — I'm definitely staying put....But then again, the ship is sinking, and you have to know when to jump off. That's it. I'm done. Done like a Thanksgiving turkey. I'm sick of hanging around all these losers. Losers, man! Losers! However...I think I can stick it out after all. Just give me a chance, man. Just give me a chance!

Sound like anyone else we know? I couldn't help channeling schizophrenic Lisi there for a second. If the woman didn't drive Survivor fans crazy enough with her emotional outbursts and lack of knowledge about the game, she certainly did the job with her back-and-forth quitter routine. It was a bad episode all around for the woman. The hour began with Alex, Edgardo, and Mookie finding the hidden immunity idol after she idiotically told them the clues about its whereabouts. ''You're gonna have to get up really, really early to fool a cat like me,'' she said. And when would that be, Lisi — noon? Seriously, it didn't seem all that difficult to me. Damn easy, in fact. Then she informed us that ''challenges, honestly, I don't take seriously.'' Of course, this didn't stop her from bitching about her squad losing all of them and then repeatedly referring to all of her tribemates as losers.

Of course, she didn't do much in those challenges herself. In the tribal dance-off reward challenge, she was hunched over 80 percent of the time like a rhythmless troll. And in the immunity challenge, she didn't even hit the target with either the spear or the arrow.

But if we're talking about the immunity challenge, then you know we have to talk about Yau-Man. Dude is the freakin' man! He figured out the need to take a running start on the spear throw and won it for his team, and then took his time to find the straightest arrow and bent down before delivering the winning shot in that round as well. (He certainly fared better than self-proclaimed expert archer Edgardo, who missed the target completely.) Yau-Man has showed time and time again that you can use your smarts to overcome your lack of strength. For weaklings like me, that is encouraging.

And you know I have to give a shout-out to my man Earl, and not just because he was my episode 1 pick to win it all. He was working it in the dance-off and is also quietly sizing up both tribes to figure out his place in the game postmerge. By the looks of things, that could happen next week. If the promo is to be believed, the new tribe could also be living on Exile Island.

Of course, Lisi won't make it there. Dreamz made sure of that by calling her out at tribal council for not wanting to play the game (although Alex and Edgardo had clearly tired of her waffling by that point). The Dreamz?Lisi showdown rivaled the Rocky?Anthony verbal beatdown as the liveliest tribal council of the season. And Dreamz truly did prove to be the genie in the bottle by granting viewers our wish and sending Lisi home. Or to the jury, rather, where she will no doubt have some wacky words to impart at the finale. I have a feeling it will go a little something like this:

Lisi: ''Hey, congrats to the three of you for making it here. I think you're all losers though. Losers, man! Capital L! I was gonna say more, but you know what? I quit. I'm done. Out of here. See ya, man.''

Jeff Probst: ''Oooooookay, well, Rocky, you're next.''

Rocky: ''Yo, bro, thanks. Hey, so I think all three of youse are pretty effeminate and all, but whateva, whateva. What I want to talk about right now is what you think is the best way to get Anthony to take his skirt off, because I...''

Lisi: ''Ummm...Jeff, Jeff.

Jeff: ''Lisi, your time is up. You said you were done. Rocky is talking now.''

Lisi: ''I know, Jeff. But don't be a loser. Loser! I decided I actually do want to ask them a question after all. Just give me a chance. One chance!''

Rocky: ''Yo, what is this bull$#&*!''

Jeff: ''You know what? I am so over both of you. In fact, I'm out of here. You final three can split the money. Later.''

Hey, we can all dream, can't we?

What do you think? Was Lisi driving you crazy? Is Earl the player to beat? And could Yau-Man be any cooler?

Yummo!

Ever wondered what to do with those seemingly useless CD holders?

They're back

Office Banter

An Office convention?

And in related news...... the 2007 Prankies

Lost 3.15 Preview

Episode 3.15: Left Behind (Kate-centric)
Airdate: April 4, 2007

The monster makes its return in "Left Behind."

Guest starring are Kim Dickens as Cassidy, Beth Broderick as Diane, Fredric Lane as the Marshall, Andrew Meader as Johnny, Bill Ogilvie as man and Shawn Lathrop as federal agent.

After discovering that one of her own has betrayed her to "The Others," Kate is left to fend for herself in the jungle with Juliet. Meanwhile, Hurley warns Sawyer to change his selfish ways and make amends with his fellow survivors or he may face a vote of banishment.

And in general, spoilerish-type news:
Jack is definitely coming back to the beach and will be forced to be a leader once again. There will most likely be one more Jack flashback this season. Kate is obviously having issues with Juliet being on camp. One because she's an Other and imprisoned her for most of the season, and the other is because Jack seems to be bonding with her. We'll be exploring the quadrangle [formed by Jack, Juliet, Kate, and Sawyer.] Kate's suspicions of Juliet will continue to play out. Sawyer is going to be getting quite a surprise this season, something that he never thought would happen is about to happen. We're going back to some very core issues that Sawyer has dealt with since the very beginning of the show and the exploration of that should bring him some nice surprises. He will definitely have a very interesting trek with Locke. [We will explore] what's going on with Cooper, what's going on with Locke, what's going on with Locke and the Others and what Locke has been doing since he's been away from camp. [Charlie] will have a lot of though choices [to make], because it would be easiest and safest to just stay in his tent, but on this island, you know, that's difficult. [Sayid] will be called to action! There are some very emotional things going on for [Claire]. We will definitely get to understand that Juliet is very conflicted and we will show you why. There will be an incident on the island that will pretty much shake what everyone thought about this show...

And, if you want to read about the episode click here for all kinds of Lost goodness and theories!

Idol Musings

I'm really beginning to like Jordin a whole lot more. I'm sick and tired of Melinda "no neck" Doo-gooder faking her humbleness. Does she practice her "what? who me?" in the mirror beforehand or what? Just come out and be a bitch already. Lakisha, as always, was fine-fine-fine. Really hating Hayley. No particular reason. I just do. Gina bored me. Blake was great as was Chris and frankly Phil and his wombat eyes should have been gone weeks ago. Oh yeah, and Sanjaya. He's channeling some sort of bizarre mixture of Michael Jackson and John Travolta now. That white disco suit paired with the slicked-back molester hairdo and breathless singing. It's all just more than I can handle.