Hello everyone. Mother Nature decided to actually cooperate with the calendar, so I haven’t been spending quite as much time onl- oh, who am I joking. The weather has nothing to do with it. I’ve been home and not in a dorm room, so I’ve been spending a lot of time sleeping. So, I apologize for missing a post on Sunday. I was doing so good there for two whole weeks.

What’s good this week? I’m glad you asked:

1. MINDBLOWING: One year in 40 seconds. So basically this guy took a picture of the same exact spot every day for a full year and then put them into this movie, along with the sound recorded there over a year. Pretty cool to watch the seasons change and all.

2. USEFUL: Multicolor Search Lab Okay, let’s say that you need a picture for something but you already have your color scheme figured out. Go to this site and put in the colors and it will give you fifty pictures with those exact colors in them. Not sure exactly when you would use this, but it’s fun to play with.

3. PICTURES: A Walk Through Time. Basically what these people did was take some old photographs, and go to the places they were taken. Then, they held them up so you can see the then vs now contrast. Worth checking out.

4. USEFUL: A List of Common Misconceptions. Okay, it’s a wikipedia page, but I still deem it worth your time. Like, here’s an example: you probably were told over and over again that the Pilgrims dressed in all black with those weird belt buckle hats, right? According to this, totally wrong. Maybe not the best example, but I don’t wanna give away any of the good ones.

5. TIMEWASTER [also 21+ please.] I know I said I’d try to keep this safe for all ages.. but this site has a drinking game for more or less every movie in alphabetical order. Even if you don’t play, it’s funny the things this guy came up with..

Alright, that’s all for now.

As always, if you find it before me, let me know
-jenn

Written by Chris Monigle

“Time present and time past
are both perhaps present in time future,
and time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
all time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
remaining a perpetual possibility
only in a world of speculation.
Footfalls echo in the memory
down the passage which we did not take
towards the door we never opened
into the rose-garden. My words echo
thus, in your mind.”
–”Burnt Norton”–T.S. Eliot.

Words of T.S. Eliot about time. Seemed appropriate for season five of LOST.

I did not sleep like a baby last night. No, indeed. I fell asleep after watching a bit of the season five Buffy episode ‘Spiral,’ written by Steven S. DeKnight. And then the dreams began. It happens every year around season finale time and season premiere time. I dream of LOST. I remember after the season four finale I dreamed immediately about the season five premiere which focused on Claire (that obviously didn’t happen). Before the season four finale, I had several dreams in which I watched the finale. I dreamt about LOST during season one, season two, season three, season four, and am still dreaming and will probably continue to do so until the series wraps up this time next year. So, last night, another dream occured. In this one, I couldn’t get my cable box to turn to ABC. Everytime I tried, it went to a different channel. I did witness, in the dream, about 10 minutes of the Journey In Time special to be hosted by Lindelof and Cuse tomorrow; however, I couldn’t get to LOST. My subconcious was freaking out, frantically trying to change the channel only to fail each and every time. And then I woke up and, literally, breathed a sigh of relief. But here we are: one day from the season five finale. I always love this time of the year even though it means there won’t be any new LOST until January. 8 months. It is tough. I’m a season veteran though. It is even bittersweet this time because this will be the last 8 month hiatus of the show. Only 17 episodes left after tomorrow’s finale. However, this neither the time nor the place to discuss season six. The season five finale is tomorrow! I am stoked for it to say the least and that’s pretty much all I have to say about the finale at this point. I don’t really want to write any sort of preview for it (I do want to go on record saying that I think life will imitate art in regards to the specific scene we know Hurley changed from Star Wars…in some form). But there will be no preview for ‘The Incident.’ Instead, I’m going to dive into the world of odd numbered lists and count down some things LOST for my readership of 750,000.

THE TOP SO AND SOS WHO HAVE APPEARED ON ‘LOST’!

Last week, in my recap of ‘Follow The Leader,’ I previewed this list a bit by calling Phil a so and so. In addition to that, I named some more so and sos. What exactly is a so and so you ask? Quite simply, a so and so, in the context of LOST, are the people who annoyed me and that I do not like. Most are the bad guys, villains and then others are people just mean and annoying. So I thought it’d be fantastic to list the top 9 so and sos on LOST. Number one denotes the worst so and so of them all. LET IT BEGIN!

9. Charles Widmore

The only person on the list of so and sos who is on the official LOST rankings. Why he is number nine? Let’s see: always hated Desmond, planted fake wreckage of Oceanic 815 so he could send a boat with Martin Keamy and his band of mercenary friends to kill everybody on the Island, killed an Other in 1954 so he wouldn’t say anything to Locke, and he didn’t turn off a faucet when he was finished washing his hands in ‘Flashes Before Your Eyes.’ Widmore has his flaws but he’s not all bad. He’s responsible for bringing Faraday and Miles to the Island, helped Locke with Abbadon. But he is a so and so which is why he’s number 9.

8. Cassidy

Never cared for Cassidy. She was introduced to the world in season two’s ‘The Long Con.’ Sawyer conned her and got her pregnant. Ever since then she has been anti-Sawyer. Everything since then has been fueled by her hatred for Sawyer. But she never stopped to think about the huge sum of money Sawyer gave to Clementine after his deal with the Warden. Nope. Instead, she was entirely ‘woe is me,’ trying to con people using THE SAME CON SAWYER TAUGHT HER! In season five, she kept insisting upon the idea that Kate didn’t really care about Aaron at all but, rather, she needed Aaron to fill the hole left by Sawyer, to mend the heart that Sawyer broke. Oh yeah, he really broke Kate’s heart by jumping out of a helicopter to save his friends lives. But, again, Cassidy isn’t all bad, folks. She did help Kate get some measure of peace with her mother regardless of the fact that Kate’s mom told her to get lost (i’m paraphrasing).

7. Mr. Paik

The father of Sun. This so and so nearly destroyed the union of Sun and Jin, forcing Jin into a violent profession. Sure Jin wanted honor but he tried to quit after Mr. Paik told him to take care of someone who stealing from him (yes the someone was Jae, the man who Sun was cheating on Jin with). Mr Paik had the misfortune of walking in on that. But all-in-all, Mr. Paik is just annoying. Always intimidated Jin. He got his when Sun bought half of the shares in the company. 

6. Phil

You never like the paranoid dude. Ever since Phil gave Jack that look in ‘Namaste’ I knew he’d turn into a problem. And turn into a problem he did. He discovered Kate and Sawyer as the people who took Ben to the Others. His status as a so and so is now solidified after hitting Juliet in the face. I don’t think he’ll have a happy ending when/if Sawyer encounters him. 

5. Thomas

What a so and so Thomas is. I was very, very tempted to place him in the top three but there are characters more deserving. Thomas is a big so and so though. Thomas is, of course, the former love of Claire. He is the father of Aaron but Aaron will never meet his father because his father is a so and so. He had no problem being around Claire when the two were having sex but once she got pregnant it was a different story. At first, he was gung-ho to raise the baby with Claire, telling her that he and she could do it. And then he reneged on his word and left Claire alone with a baby in her belly, accusing Claire of getting pregnant on purpose. What a so and so.

4. Ethan Rom

I proclaimed Ethan as the number one so and so in the ‘Follow The Leader’ recap but he isn’t. He’s in the top five which makes him pretty bad. Ethan posed as a survivor of Oceanic 815 (just like Goodwin did but Goodwin never harmed Claire). Hurley discovered he wasn’t on the manifest after Ethan began giving shots to Claire as she slept. He ended up kidnapping her and hanging Charlie from a tree. He killed Scott or Steve (inside joke of an inside joke). He beat up Jack. According to Juliet, he acted on his own but who knows. I think Ben had something to do with it but I digress. He also shot Locke as Locke shifted through time. But really he’s four for kidnapping Claire and drugging her in The Arrow. If not for that, he wouldn’t have made the list.

3. Danny Pickett

Good ol’ Pickett and his love for yelling and hitting. We met good ol’ Danny Pickett in season two’s ‘Three Minutes.’ He was urinating when Michael, who was looking for Walt, approached him with a gun. Pickett’s first lines were very smart-ass, saying ‘I know you. You’re Walt’s old man!’ He helped Tom capture Michael. After that, he made it his personal mission to annoy the hell out of every fan of LOST as well as Sawyer and Kate. The one thing Pickett loved to do was beat Sawyer. He loved yelling at him too. Pickett wanted to kill Sawyer as well. But he never was able to. Juliet shot him before he could shoot Sawyer. Of course, what set Pickett over the edge was the fact Sun killed his wife. But before that, he yelled and yelled and hit and hit. Pickett was a true so and so.

2. Martin Keamy

He blew up the house Claire was napping in. That’s strike one. He killed redshirts in the same assault on new Otherton. Oh yeah, he also killed Alex in cold blood. AND he strapped a heart monitor jawn to his arm so that when he died the Kahuna would blow up. The Kahuna blowing up nearly killed Jin, and did kill Michael, as well as innocent boathands. He wanted to kill every single person on the Island. He killed the Captain (I thought the Captain was awesome!). He killed the Doctor who was also the doctor on ANGEL. It was awesome when Sayid fought Keamy which ended in Richard shooting Keamy a few times. Because of his actions I’ve seen Claire a total of THREE TIMES in one year. Yeah…that’s about it. What a so and so.

1. Anthony Cooper

Not only did he con his own son out of a kidney and push him out of an eight storie building which paralyzing his own son but he also conned Sawyer’s family, which resulted in Sawyer’s father killing his mother and himself. Because of this, Sawyer ended up killing an innocent man who he thought was Sawyer (because Hibbs told him it was). Cooper damaged his own thorougly. Locke was consumed by what his father did that he ruined the relationship with the only woman who ever loved him. He ripped up Sawyer’s letter in ‘The Brig.’ The man did not have a remorseful bone in his body.

There it is! The top 9 so and sos in LOST! Wasn’t that enjoyable, folks?

During the summer I’ll probably do some more lists like this. The next entry will be about the season finale, folks. And it will be epic. There will even be annotated rankings. Very exciting. Until then, enjoy ‘The Incident.’

Written by Chris Monigle

So, I’m finally putting all of the recaps for this season (that were not here yesterday which are episodes 1-8 and 10) RIGHT HERE! I figured I’d just cut right to the chase. You can find these recaps buried within the wcuquad.com website (or really by simply searching my name) but it makes more sense to just put everything into the official Quad LOST blog. I flirted with the idea of putting everything I’ve ever written about in this single entry but since season five is ending on Wednesday night I’ll just limit this to the season five episodes that do not appear in Jacob’s Cabin. Rest assured, my 750,000 followers, I will post archived LOST thoughts which dates, quite honestly, back to season two and the episode ‘Two For The Road.’ But all of that is for another day. For now, SEASON FIVE! And I will be back with another entry before Wednesday’s season finale. And let’s just say: if you like countdowns with odd numbers, it’ll be the entry for you. One other thing: you’ll notice my evolution as a blowhard as you go through these recaps. One final thing: recaps of episode 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 can easily be found in this very blog. TO THE RECAPS!

SEASON FIVE!

EPISODES ONE AND TWO (‘Because You Left’/'The Lie’)

Yes, indeedy! LOST is back! I have to re-watch both episodes before I can fully digest everything in those episodes. Both episodes kicked ass. Here are some thoughts before the rankings:

–It’s safe to say ‘The Lie’ was Hurley’s episode. That scene with his mother kicked ass. We got the hilarious account of everything that happened on the Island (hilarious because it sounds ridiculous) and then Mrs. Reyes believed what her son told her. I was not disappointed by the crazy adventures Sayid and Hurley found themselves in. I’m excited to re-watch this one.

–The soldiers at the end have to be Widmore’s men, right? British accents, uniforms. I read some theories about WWII era but eh. I think it’s Widmore’s guys and that the Island is probably over 20 years in the past from the present of those on the Island. I think we found out for sure who those soldiers are very, very soon.

–I thought briefly Locke and Sawyer and the rest were separated in time on the Island but there’s no way that is the case. They were just on different parts of the Island. The time stuff isn’t that insane.

–Speaking of the time stuff, absolutely anything goes. I highly doubt the future can be altered by the past because of Daniel’s line ‘whatever happened happened’ because that’s basically Cuse and Lindelof telling the viewers that what you’ve seen already means something. But it doesn’t mean the characters won’t try to change things. HMMMM.

–There’s a string of interviews with Lindelof and Cuse on ew.com in which they say that the premiere is not the best expression of what they’re going to be doing with time. the premiere really expanded on the rules we got from desmond’s season 3 episode ‘flashes before your eyes’ and his season four episode ‘the constant’. but everything is not clear. to quote doc jenson who quoted the exchange between hurley and his mother ‘i dont quite understand it but i believe you.’ i understand the basic rules of what they’re doing with time. the Island narrative and the Oceanic 6 narrative are going to lead to the same place at some point. yeah. i trust in lindelof and cuse completely. they’ve brought me four seasons of great storytelling and i love what i’ve seen. i simply need more of the story they’re telling. there’s going to be that ‘holy smokes!’ episode. you know it and i know it. but yeah…daniel faraday is going to have a JABOY season. i know it.

–Here are my favorite scenes from the two episodes: Richard and Locke after Locke’s been shot by Ethan, Hurley and his mother, Ben and Ms. Hawking (Daniel’s mother, right?), Daniel and Desmond at the Swan, Desmond waking up on the boat and ready to go to Oxford, Sawyer’s emotional outburst about everyone he cares about dying, Miles bringing the boar.

–In no way do I trust Sun. She is a shady woman.

–Loved Frogurt last night. Doc Jensen wrote a great paragraph about the character in his recap. Frogurt’s a guy who has only appeared in a webisode. Prior to that, his name was mentioned. I really liked what Doc wrote at the end: Season Five (and the show now really) is for the die-hards, the ones who never stopped watching, never quit on it. Basically, it is for ME. BAM! I LOVE THIS EFFING SHOW!

I think I’m going to dive into the rankings. i’ll write more about these two next week when I write about the third episode of the season.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS
SEASON FIVE

Me and STEVE ranked last night after the premiere event ended. We decided to remove Claire and Jin. I expect both to return to the rankings at some point in time. I really do. Lindelof and Cuse will have to return to Claire’s story soon (but maybe not this season). But yeah, Claire and Jin have been removed for the time being. It’s the nature of the rankings beast. We added Richard Alpert. There have been some changes since the season four finale in each our rankings. Jack has fallen out of my top 5 for the first time since the series began. So, yes: there is a new number one for my rankings. And Frank is so low because it is the nature of the rankings beast. He still kicks ass but it’s the nature of the rankings beast. HERE WE GO!

SEASON FIVE RANKINGS
AFTER EPISODES 1 AND 2
RANKED: 1/22/08

CHRIS
1. Desmond
2. Sawyer
3. Locke
4. Sayid
5. Ben
6. Jack
7. Daniel
8. Hurley
9. Richard
10. Juliet
11. Miles
12. Charlotte
13. Kate 
14. Frank
15. Sun

STEVE
1. Ben 
2. Sawyer
3. Locke
4. Sayid
5. Desmond
6. Jack
7. Sun
8. Frank
9. Richard
10. Charlotte
11. Juliet
12. Miles
13. Kate
14. Daniel
15. Hurley

EPISODE 3 (‘Jughead’)

Absolutely loved ‘Jughead’. What a great episode. Here are my favorite moments:

–Locke telling Richard to see him as a child if he does not believe him about time-travel. It relates back to Season Four’s ‘Cabin Fever’. It gave me goosebumps and I exclaimed that LOST is the greatest show ever. LOST is so good. so good.

–Young Charles Widmore and the discovery that he was once an Other. Badass! 

–Desmond and Penny naming their child Charlie. I know it ain’t for Penny’s dad. It is for the man himself, Charlie Pace, who gave his life so that his friends could contact the freighter. Perhaps I will watch Greatest Hits tonight. Hm.

–I hope cute blonde Other Ellie returns at some point. She was amazing. Of course she might be either Charlotte’s mother or Ms. Hawking. That tricky time travel business.

–Interesting info revealed about Danny boy Faraday. I think he’s a good guy at heart but as STEVE said ‘he’s shady.’ 

–Loved Juliet last night. She cracked me up. 

–Still missing Claire. But I’m content with her not being around. I like looking at Emilie de Ravin. She’s very pretty.

–I did not mind the no Oceanic 6. And might I add something about ‘The Lie,’ Michael Emerson is absolutely brilliant in his scene with Hurley, when Ben is trying to get Hurley to come back to the Island. If I was Hurley, I would’ve followed him. He was just that damn persuasive, sincere, genuine. I can’t describe it. Emerson is a genius. His tone when describing what going back to the Island will do for Hurley was sensational. What the hell am I gonna do with myself when this show ends?

–Either the bomb comes into play at the end of the season or the bomb was responsible for the Swan’s existence. Either way it’s important. Everything in LOST is important.

–I woke up a few days ago with the LOST podcast playing. I did not switch to that on the iPod. It just happened and it was awesome. Lindelof and Cuse are great together. I model my podcast after how they do theirs. The more you know.

–The Others were so different in the 50s. Amazing what a changer in leadership. Back then, they are battling the military. In the new millenium, Ben’s got them doing fertility stuff. Richard tells Locke in season three’s ‘The Brig’ that Ben’s been wasting everyone’s time with that stuff. Season Three is great. A lot of things were set in motion that year. But yeah, theory: Ben might’ve been so into the fertility stuff because, perhaps, Annie died in childbirth. Maybe after that happened, he stole Alex. The reason he was so into it has not yet been explained. I like my theory.

–I don’t have much to say about Desmond’s story thus far. So yeah.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS
AFTER EPISODE 3
RANKED: 1/29/09

Not too exciting this week. Not too much movement. Me and STEVE decided to add Charles Widmore to the rankings. We are back to 16 characters as was the case four some time in Season Four before the deaths of Rousseau, Alex, and Karl. Without further ado:

CHRIS
1. Desmond
2. Locke
3. Sawyer
4. Sayid
5. Ben
6. Jack
7. Daniel
8. Hurley
9. Juliet
10. Richard
11. Miles
12. Charlotte
13. Kate 
14. Frank
15. Widmore
16. Sun

STEVE
1. Ben 
2. Sawyer
3. Locke
4. Sayid
5. Desmond
6. Jack
7. Richard
8. Sun
9. Frank
10. Charlotte
11. Miles
12. Juliet
13. Kate
14. Widmore
15. Daniel
16. Hurley

EPISODE 4 (‘The Little Prince’)

the fourth episode of season five has now aired. it, of course, was enjoyable. so here are some thoughts about it:

–as soon as i saw the french stuff, i knew we were going to see rousseau’s crew. and i loved how we heard the name of montand. montand, as you remember, loses his arm. lindelof and cuse have been joking about montand and his arm since they began doing the podcast in season two. 

–the man himself, jin, is alive! 

–i’m starting to really despise the dumbass theories people think up. i’m glad miles and juliet have experienced nosebleeds as well because it eliminates one of the dumbest theories i’ve read, and i’ve already read a ton of dumbass theories. i won’t write it here because it’s not worth it. but, trust me, dumb theories.

–must rant: yes, when sawyer saw kate it was a nice moment. but is no one, at all, wondering what happened to claire? she just walked off into the jungle, left her baby in a tree, and hasn’t been seen by anyone since except for locke in jacob’s cabin. yeah, christian told locke that he wasn’t to tell anyone that he saw claire, that claire is where she needs to be, but sawyer was with claire when she left, and all he’s focused on is kate? and juliet can’t wonder about claire since it was the birth of aaron? and where’s rose and bernard?!?

–with that said, i liked the 20 seconds of claire even though i can watch that whenever i want since i have that episode on dvd.

–i loved the locke/sawyer scene discussing when they were. locke banging on the hatch is one of the greatest moments in the show’s history. i love the exchange between locke and sawyer when sawyer wondered why locke wouldn’t tell himself to do things differently and locke said ‘i needed that pain.’ john locke is awesome. and i enjoy any time the show mentions season one. it truly is a brilliant season.

–i’m on board with the oceanic 6 now. hopefully, sun doesn’t mess everything up.

–i’d be a true so and so if i ignored the japanese water bottle they found, along with the canoe. i’m just going to wait for the show to explain that. there is a website for that company. a fictitious website. the LOST crew does that. it was the second time i saw the logo for the company. moving on…

–juliet has been awesome this season. i loved how badass she was on the canoe. and she’s able to settle everything down. yay for juliet indeed.

–that’s about it. as always, i’m looking forward to next week’s episode.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS

There are now 17 characters. Me and STEVE added Jin. We did not add Rousseau back in because STEVE made the point that she’ll be gone once the next flash happens. A lot more action in the rankings this week than last. I have a new number one. STEVE has a new number one. Here they are:

AFTER EPISODE 4
RANKED: 2/4/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sawyer
4. Sayid
5. Jin
6. Ben
7. Jack
8. Juliet
9. Hurley
10. Daniel
11. Miles
12. Richard
13. Kate
14. Charlotte 
15. Frank
16. Widmore
17. Sun

STEVE
1. Sawyer
2. Ben
3. Locke
4. Sayid
5. Desmond
6. Jin
7. Richard
8. Jack
9. Frank
10. Miles
11. Juliet
12. Kate
13. Sun
14. Charlotte
15. Widmore
16. Daniel
17. Hurley

EPISODE 5 (‘This Place Is Death’)

i know i am not the only one who has noted the title of the fifth episode of the fifth season of LOST. yes, it is ‘this place is death.’ Charlotte tells Jin that the Island is a place of death and to not bring her back. Jin thinks that she is referring to Sun and maybe she is. But what I’m thinking is she remembered what Daniel said to her mother when Charlotte was just a girl and leaving the Island. Don’t bring her back because your daughter is going to die. But once we saw Locke in the coffin at last season, STEVE remarked that he bets Locke is resurrected once he is back to Island. We saw the Island as a place of death last night with Smokey, what happened to Rousseau and her crew, Charlotte’s death, etc. But I think Locke has begun to fix that. He set the wheel in place it seems. Perhaps the time jumps will stop but I doubt it. Before the end of the season and the series though, I think we will see the Island as a place of life. I wanted to write a whole bunch about fertility myths in relation to where the show is right now with Locke and compare him to the Fisher King but…maybe next week. Google Fisher King. Here some other thoughts about the episode:

-I am not made of stone. I began liking Sun again last night. I felt like that scene, when she was on the phone with Ji Yeon, was bittersweet because Sun might not see her daughter for a very long time if she returns to the Island. 

-Ben is an ambivalent dude. I loved him flipping out in the van.

-Ms. Hawking is, of course, Daniel’s mother. I definitely want a Daniel backstory. And I loved Desmond’s face when he saw Ms. Hawking again. 

-Just because I’m a fanboy of this show, I really dug seeing Danielle’s music box again. One of my favorite episodes of the series is ‘Solitary’ when we first meet Rousseau. It is a Sayid episode. That episode just rocked my world. It was the first episode when I had what I like to term as the ‘LOST moment’ in which I get extremely excited, get goosebumps, and go crazy about what just happened. In ‘Solitary’ we learn about the whispers, the Sickness, and then there’s the scene when Sayid is walking back to camp and hears the whispers. So. Awesome. One of the best scenes of the series is when Sayid fixes Rousseau’s music box. Mira Furlan plays that scene so well, and five seasons later, we are giving context for the music box because we saw that she had a husband whom she had to kill. Bravo, LOST! You always amaze.

-Those flashes are looking quite brutal now. 

-Terry O’Quinn is a great actor. The scene with Locke and Christian was fantastic. Christian telling Locke that he was the one who had to move the Island originally. But I especially was moved by the reaction Locke had when Christian confirmed that Locke would have to die. It was absolutely brilliant.

That’s about it for this episode. I’ll probably have more thoughts when I re-watch it but next week will be all about the latest episode and not this one.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Some movement in the rankings. As always, a character who dies remains in the rankings until the following week so this will be Charlotte’s last week in the rankings. STEVE shocked me with how far Jack fell on his list. See where Jack is on STEVE’s.

AFTER EPISODE 5
RANKED: 2/11/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sawyer
4. Jin
5. Sayid
6. Ben
7. Jack
8. Juliet
9. Hurley
10. Daniel
11. Miles
12. Richard
13. Kate
14. Charlotte 
15. Sun
16. Frank
17. Widmore

STEVE
1. Sawyer
2. Ben
3. Locke
4. Sayid
5. Desmond
6. Jin
7. Richard
8. Frank
9. Juliet
10. Jack
11. Miles
12. Sun
13. Kate
14. Widmore
15. Daniel
16. Charlotte
17. Hurley

EPISODE 6 (’316′)

I love LOST. I absolutely loved last night’s episode. It’s the second best episode of the season thus far (Jughead is the best still). They got back to the Island. THEY GOT BACK TO THE ISLAND! And I couldn’t be happier. Jack waking up in the jungle, just like in the pilot except he didn’t have to deal with burning wreckage or a whole bunch of survivors. He simply had to dive into a lagoon to help Hurley, and make sure Kate wasn’t dead. A lot of stuff went down last night, folks. And I am totally stoked for next week’s episode about the life and death of Jeremy Bentham. Without further ado, here’s my thoughts on ’316′:

-Well, I was wrong about what the episode title meant. I mean, one could consider it a bearing of some kind because they did take plane Ajira Airline 316 in order to be over a window that would get them back to the Island. And I think we now know that the canoe for Ajira did not bring back the Oceanic 6. So, then, who came in the canoe?

-Either Ben got his ass kicked by Desmond or Sayid. I’m leaning towards Desmond because, for Ben, killing Penny was a loose end and Widmore is an old friend. But then again, Sayid and Ben worked together and maybe Ben wanted to make things right. But I’m leaning towards the former.

-Ms. Hawking revealed that the Island is constantly moving. And I loved how she reacted to Desmond flipping out. She knows that fate and destiny have her back. 

-It’d make sense that Charlie appeared to Hurley, which is why Hurley decided to go back to the Island. He had a guitar with him. Could’ve been Charlies. As for Kate, maybe a Claire appearance? Everything might be answered next week though. 

-Dude who offered his condolences to Jack will be back. I think, and STEVE agrees, that he’s one of Widmore’s.

-Me and STEVE came to the conclusion that the Island is stuck in time now. The show is where it was when season five opened. We got Jin working for Dharma, Daniel is somewhere around the construction of the Orchid, but who knows what Sawyer, Juliet, and Miles are up to. I’m excited. It’s going to be great.

-Interesting book choice for the show last night. Ben was reading ‘Ulysses’ by the great James Joyce. Whenever a book is mentioned, it is important. Ulysses is about a single day in Dublin. It follows three characters: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom. It’s one of the most difficult books to read but it’s absolutely worth it. 

-Frank looks to be back. I loved his line ‘we’re not going to Guam, are we.’ Not even a question. He is awesome.

-My favorite scene of the episode is when Jack is putting his father’s shoes on Locke’s body, and talking to him. The Jack/Locke conflict is terrific. 

-Second favorite scene: Ben telling Jack the story of the doubting Thomas in the church. Locke is definitely going to resurrect.

-Jack’s grandfather is going to be back at some point. I sometimes point out the obvious.

-Loved Ms. Hawking telling Jack that ‘it’s a leap of faith.’ Yep, you heard it before. Locke told Jack that in the season 2 episode, “Orientation.’ Locke is talking about pushing the button in that scene.

I think that’s it for the thoughts. I now dive into the world of reading about last night’s episode.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Charlotte is no longer in the rankings. There’s been some movement in both lists so check it out.

AFTER EPISODE 6
RANKED: 2/19/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sawyer
4. Jin
5. Sayid
6. Jack
7. Ben 
8. Juliet
9. Hurley
10. Daniel
11. Richard
12. Miles
13. Frank
14. Sun
15. Kate
16. Widmore

STEVE
1. Sawyer
2. Ben
3. Desmond
4. Frank
5. Sawyer
6. Locke
7. Jin
8. Richard
9. Juliet
10. Jack
11. Miles
12. Sun
13. Widmore
14. Kate
15. Daniel
16. Hurley

EPISODE 7 (‘The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham’)

LOST did it once again. Knocked it out of the ballpark. This episode was all about John Locke, and we saw him return to everything he felt he was off of the Island. He felt he couldn’t do anything right. He was literally a broken man because of his broken leg. He was forced back into the wheelchair. And he really had lost Helen forever. The end of the John Locke/Helen story reminds me of a Joyce short story entitled ‘A Painful Case.’ Locke, off of the Island, reminds me of the main character, Mr. Duffy, because he is lonely. Here is a passage from the story: 

“He had neither companions nor friends, church nor creed. He lived his spiritual life without any communion with others, visiting his relatives at Christmas and escorting them to the cemetery when they died. He performed these two social duties for old dignity’s sake but conceded nothing further to the conventions which regulate the civic life. He allowed himself to think that in certain circumstances he would rob his hank but, as these circumstances never arose, his life rolled out evenly — an adventureless tale.” 

And, like Locke, Mr. Duffy reflects upon the truth, when he finds out his former love Mrs. Sinico died, actually loved him. Locke even tells Abbadon, at the cemetary, that ‘she actually loved me.’ Another interesting thing with the story and LOST is that Mr. Duffy finds out about Mrs. Sinico’s death via the paper, just as Jack finds out about Locke’s death in the season three finale. I think the story is worth noting because of last week’s inclusion of Joyce’s Ulysses. Moving onto some thoughts about the episode:

–Cesar and Ilana (or Elana) are the newest characters. Did you see that plane? Not even damaged at all. Lapidus did a pretty good job of landing it. But yeah, the new castaways are on the Alcatraz Island, where Sawyer, Kate, and Jack were for the first batch of episodes in season three. And Lapidus, and Sun I presume, took off in the middle of the night. 

–Locke was in his element again on the Island. And yep, he was resurrected. 

–Widmore and Ben. Can’t trust either of them. Ben’s manipulated everybody and Widmore sent a team to kill everybody on the Island. Of the two, Widmore is more trustworthy I suppose.

–Walt had a vision of Locke on the Island, surrounded by people wanting to hurt him. Sounds like our new Ajira friends. And those canoes that were just there are the Others’ canoes. Remember, they are on the Alcatraz island.

–Kate has turned into a true bitch. 

–The Island still does not want Ben back. He didn’t disappear with the Oceanic Six. 

–Abbadon was awesome. It’s a shame he was killed. But the stuff between him and Locke rocked.

–What a scene between Locke and Ben. 

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS
Ranked: 2/26/09

STEVE has some major movement in his rankings. Ben pays the price for murdering his JABOY Daniels aka Abbadon. Some small changes in mine but nothing too exciting. Here they are:

AFTER EPISODE 7
RANKED: 2/26/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sawyer
4. Jin
5. Sayid
6. Jack
7. Ben 
8. Juliet
9. Hurley
10. Daniel
11. Frank
12. Miles
13. Richard
14. Sun
15. Widmore
16. Kate

STEVE
1. Sawyer
2. Desmond
3. Sayid
4. Jack
5. Locke
6. Jin
7. Juliet
8. Frank
9. Richard
10. Ben
11. Miles
12. Sun
13. Widmore
14. Kate
15. Daniel
16. Hurley

EPISODE 8 (‘LaFleur’)

The first Sawyer episode in over two years! There was no flashback of course but this was all Sawyer. And it was a pretty good episode to boot. I want to use the words ‘game changer.’ I won’t yet but I’m thinking the overall being in 1977 is going to be an absolute game-changer. I may or may not go into detail about what I mean by that. And should that happen…who knows what is in store for the sixth and final season of the series. One more thing: my early feeling is that the season will culminate in the Purge, or lackthereof. There truly is nothing like LOST on television and there never will be again. Here are some thoughts, as always:

–’Whatever happened, happened,” says a broken Faraday after being asked whether or not the gang can interact with the people. Since they are now spinning again, they can. But maybe things can be changed. To a take a page from Doc Jensen’s recap, I think the show might be setting up for the Dharma fate to be altered but then again…I don’t know. Whatever happened, happened. 

–Loved the return of Horace Goodspeed. I did enjoy watching Goodspeed blow shit up.

–I really dug the moment when Juliet succeeds in delivering the baby. That’s a trademark LOST moment. Very season 1. Very triumphant too.

–I wonder if Locke and the Ajira gang are in a different time period. We saw in a past episode that the canoes were at the camp. There’s alot of story left to be told. I’ll just sit back and see what happens with the Ajira group.

–I would still like Claire to be around. I feel like she would’ve fit in nicely with the Dharma group.

–Great scene between Richard and Sawyer. Sawyer being there in ’77 has to be a game-changer for Richard somewhat.

That’s it for ‘LaFleur.’ 

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS

Not much movement in the rankings this week. STEVE has a new number one.

AFTER EPISODE 8
RANKED: 3/5/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sawyer
4. Jin
5. Sayid
6. Jack
7. Juliet 
8. Hurley
9. Ben
10. Daniel
11. Miles
12. Richard
13. Frank
14. Sun
15. Widmore
16. Kate

STEVE
1. Desmond
2. Sayid
3. Sawyer
4. Jack
5. Locke
6. Jin
7. Juliet
8. Richard
9. Ben
10. Miles
11. Frank
12. Sun
13. Widmore
14. Kate
15. Daniel
16. Hurley

EPISODE 10 (‘He’s Our You’)

Benjamin Linus and Sayid Jarrah met in episode 2.14, which translates to episode fourteen of season two. And that is really important now. Doc Jensen of Entertainment Weekly has noted the similarities between season two of the show and the current season five, and I’d be a fool not to give a nod to Doc in this because the opening of the episode immediately reminded me of the span of episodes when Ben (then known as Henry Gale) is a prisoner of the Losties, and Sayid becomes the torturer again. Except, in ‘He’s Our You,” Sayid is the prisoner, and Ben is the kind boy who is bringing him sandwiches. And believe you me, readers, I’m about to delve into the origins of the Ben/Sayid relationship because after the episode ended, the entire relationship between Ben and Sayid took over my mind. But this episode was/is not just about that relationship. And I’ll elaborate on that right now.

The overarching theme of Sayid has always been his past as a torturer, and he’s always been battling that part of him. He is ashamed that such a brutal side of him can exist. After torturing Sawyer in the first season’s episode ‘Confidence Man,’ Sayid leaves the camp because he is ashamed of what he’s done. He tells Kate: ‘What I did today I swore to neverdo again.” But the Island is not like any place in the world. It is place where, literally, John Locke can kill his daddy issues. The Island will put Sayid into situations like the one with Sawyer. And that is paraphrased from the mouths of Lindelof and Cuse. In Sayid’s second episode of season one, he ends up being the reason his friend kills himself.

And then episode fourteen of season two happens. It is titled ‘One Of Them.” Rousseau captured Ben in her net, and brought him to the Losties. Ben claims he is Henry Gale, from Minnesota, and that he crashed his hot air balloon on the Island. Sayid doesn’t believe the story one bit. He introduces himself to Ben as as a torturer. And torture Ben he does. And this is how Ben and Sayid’s relationship begins. The relationship has always been about violence and manipulation. Sayid says it himself in ‘He’s Our Hero.’ Ben, by lying about who he was, manipulated Sayid into torture just as he manipulated him into killing all of those men, and manipulated him to go to Los Angeles because Sayid believed Hurley was in danger. And Ben could very well be the man behind the death of Nadia, and probably is. 

But Sayid is always trying to change, as he tells Alana in the bar. But when he is handcuffed to the tree, and he’s given the juice of truth (as I like to call it) he describes himself as a bad man. He also describes himself as a killer before he shoots 12 year old Ben in the chest.

But, you know, Sayid is not a bad man. Sayid, in a way, reminds me of Mr. Eko. Eko tells ‘Yemi’ (the smoke monster) that he did not ask for the life he was given, but was given it nonetheless, and did the best he could with what he was given. There’s a bit of nature vs. nurture in this episode. Little Sayid kills the chicken for, I think is his brother, so that the father will love his son. That scene is very much like the scene when the Nigerian gang want little Yemi to kill the old man but Eko kills the man for Yemi, and is brought into the gang. Folks, re-watch ‘The 23rd Psalm.’ It is terrific. And I’m sure Jensen will bring this parallel up in his recap but I wrote it first! Sayid is a good but troubled man. One of my favorite characters. 

And to say the least, Sayid is a complex character. Kitsis and Horowitz did a terrific job with the episode. The scenes between Ben and Sayid post-Island were great especially the scene when Ben told Sayid that John Locke was dead. It emphasized that manipulation, and you know it just hit me, that he had to have done the same thing to Nadia. 

And then Sayid is being held in prison by Dharma, and he meets little Benny Linus. Ben begins asking about Richard, whether or not Sayid is a hostile, and suggesting that Ben can free Sayid so that Sayid can bring Ben to the Hostiles. I don’t really have to write it because everybody knows this but I’ll write it anyway: Ben is responsible for some bad, bad stuff and Sayid believed he was brought to 1977 to kill Benjamin Linus. 

However, I wrote this last week: as Faraday says: whatever happened, happened. No one was able to tell Sayid that. Also, Ms. Hawking said it herself to Desmond: the universe course corrects itself. Ben can’t die, people. Ben CANNOT die. Jin is going to wake up, he will bring Ben to the Barracks which is future New Otherton, and Jack will save Ben’s life for the second time. And I’m going to write a new paragraph about the ending alone before I dive into other thoughts about the episode.

I’ll keep repeating myself: I am not made of stone. I love this show so much. LOST has the ability to get to me in an emotional sense. The final scene of the episode quite affected me, readers. A lot of it had to do with Ben as a 12 year old. We all know what Ben becomes but it is 1977 and Ben is just a kid who is in desperate need of a mother, and stuck with an abusive father who hates him. I was watching ‘The Man Behind The Curtain” on Sunday night so Ben’s backstory was fresh in my mind. There was a real sense of sadness in that final scene. Naveen Andrews knocked it out of the park. Sayid’s reaction after shooting 12 year old Ben was brilliant. I can’t really explain with clarity why the final scene affected me as much as it did but it did. This episode was extremely well-done. As always, here are some other thoughts:

–Horace Goodspeed is awesome. He’s a good leader. I don’t know why I thought this but I did. When he brought in that tool, I thought he’d torture Sayid but he simply cut the cuffs off of Sayid. Again, I’m a fool for thinking Horace would do something like that but, you know, it happens.

–Oldham’s not as brutal as Sawyer made him out to be. Also, Oldham’s got some good musical taste (Billie Holliday). Not a bad dude that Oldman.

–Jack played the Kate finding out about Sawyer/Juliet pretty well considering he and Kate had sex literally a few days ago. I enjoyed how Hurley told Kate the news. 

–Loved the line from Sawyer about a burning Dharma van happening for the first time after Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid returned. 

–Speaking of awesome lines, ‘A 12 year old Ben Linus just gave me a sandwich. How do you think I feel?’ is so AWESOME. Sayid’s great.

–I’m not that into the love quadangle to be honest. I was never into the Jack/Kate/Sawyer thing when it began in season one. I like the other relationships on the show like Desmond and Penny. I was a fan of Charlie and Claire. Bernard and Rose are fantastic together. Never got into Hurley/Libby or Sayid/Shannon either. 

–Annie better show up before season five ends. 

–I wonder why Kate chose to return to the Island. I, of course, hope it has something to do with Claire. I miss Claire. But I dare say we might learn why next week. Hm. 

–Once again: whatever happened, happened.

–No Miles this episode. I wonder if we’ll ever get more of Miles’ story. I’m sure we will.

–I’m ready for Desmond’s return, and I’m waiting patiently to catch up with Daniel Faraday. 

–Radzinsky needs to settle down. 

–I also am eager to see Locke again on Alcatrez Island. The show has alot of ground to cover still before the season concludes May 13.

–That’s about it for ‘He’s Our You.’ Very jazzed for next week’s episode. The season’s really progressing well.

Before the rankings, here’s your chance to win a slightly outdated but entirely free CD. Here’s the question:

Electromagnetism has played a big role in the show. The Swan’s existed because of the unique electromagnetic properties on the Island. After The Incident, numbers were put into a computer every 108 minutes to defuse energy that built up. Desmond thinks he crashed Oceanic 815 because he was late getting back to Hatch (it was after he accidentally killed Kelvin). So, yes, electromagnetism has been a big part of the series. So, the trivia question is:

In what episode was electromagnetism introduced, or rather, foreshadowed? Here’s a hint: In the same episode, Charlie tells Jack that Locke is the one person he trusts to save everybody on the Island. 

The first one to e-mail quadEntertainment@wcupa.edu with the correct answer will win a copy of 2-Pac’s album ‘Pac’s Life.’ Only WCU students are eligible. The prize can be picked up on Tuesdays between 2-4 pm or on Sundays between 10-3. 

TO THE RANKINGS!

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS

Nothing too exciting this week. STEVE has a new number one. I only made one change to my rankings.

AFTER EPISODE 10
RANKED: 3/26/09

CHRIS
1. Locke
2. Desmond
3. Sayid
4. Jack
5. Sawyer
6. Jin
7. Juliet 
8. Ben
9. Hurley
10. Daniel
11. Frank
12. Sun
13. Miles
14. Richard
15. Kate
16. Widmore

STEVE
1. Sayid
2. Desmond
3. Locke
4. Jack
5. Sawyer
6. Jin
7. Juliet
8. Richard
9. Ben
10. Frank
11. Miles
12. Sun
13. Kate
14. Widmore
15. Daniel
16. Hurley

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

The GOOD, The BAD, and The WEIRD

             My friends, America is a WEIRD place.

            It’s loaded with stories of creatures that defy scientific explanation, events that if proven true would change everything that we hold dear.

            Rewrite the textbooks folks, and use the old ones for kindling. They can serve no other purpose now.

            Take for instance the hysteria that gripped the East Coast WAY back in 1909 when a beast known as the Jersey Devil was spotted in backyards across Pennsylvania AND New Jersey. It had the wings of a bat, the hooves of a deer and the face of a horse and it was coming to get YOU, or at the very least your family pet. Lock your doors, bolt your windows and for the love of GOD: if you see it, don’t feed it.

            If you feed it, it WILL keep coming back looking for more.

            And it may bring friends. Stray animals usually have LOTS of friends.

            Devils aside, let’s not forget the monsters that inhabit many, if not all, of our country’s lakes and waterways. Lake Champlain is the domain of “Champ.” Perhaps it’s a long-necked plesiosaur, a survivor of some long ago era. Maybe it’s a tree stump. Who’s to say?

 

Monster? Tree trunk? Perhaps we’ll never know…

            Lake Erie has been under the control of “South Bay Bessie” for centuries. Imagine what having a large “serpent-like creature living in the neighborhood must do to property values? Those poor souls.

            What Roswell, New Mexico lacks in lake monsters it makes up for in visitors from other worlds. Just ask Mac Brazil, whose ranch became a veritable Mecca for UFO aficionados, following the crash of a mysterious object in 1947. Was it a UFO? Was it a weather balloon? Was it the Jersey Devil? No one will ever know.

            Until very recently, the Roswell crash held the title of America’s weirdest event, but no longer.

            I present to you the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, the new king of all things weird and unexplainable.

            First, I must direct your attention to the nominees in the Best Movie Category, a group of films, so diverse, so utterly unrelated; that it would make even the most accepting movie fan’s head spin so fast that it would put Linda Blair to shame.

            Leading this odd-ball gaggle is “Slumdog Millionaire.” Nothing out of the ordinary here, as “Slumdog” has won big in almost every major award show out there, including the Oscars.

            Next up is “The Dark Knight.” Now, I know you’re probably thinking: “YES! Thank you MTV! Finally someone gets it! If only those aging, pretentious nincompoops over in the Academy were as open-minded as you!” But wait, there’s more.

            After that comes… “Iron Man?” Not so bad, right? “Iron Man” was great! Certainly no “Dark Knight” or “Slumdog” but nothing terribly offensive here. I ask you to save all your praise until the end, folks.         

            That brings us to… “High School Musical 3.” Here’s where it gets interesting. The first three nominees were great, all very deserving, “Iron Man” may be a stretch, but “HSM3?” It only gets worse.

            I give you the final entry in this category…”Twilight.” Well, that’s just great. Sparkly vampires with too much hair gel. Way to go MTV.

            I’m going to completely skip the Best Actor category, because it is generally very uninteresting outside of Christian Bale for “The Dark Knight” and Robert Downey Jr. for “Iron Man.” Somehow Vin Diesel was nominated. I don’t think it’s fair to call what he does acting. It’s more like someone points him in the direction of a movie set and tells him to be himself.

            If the Best Movie category made your head hurt, then you may want to stop reading now, because the real “winner” here is the Best Actress group.

            Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

            I’ll throw out four of the five names for you: Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie and Taraji P. Henson.

            Not so bad right? All FOUR were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, why shouldn’t they receive a nod from MTV? Winslet for “The Reader,” Henson for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Jolie for “Wanted” and Hathaway for “Bride Wars.”

            Makes perfect sense… wait a minute! “Bride Wars?” “Wanted?” What about Hathaway’s acclaimed performance in “Rachel Getting Married?” And the home run that Jolie hit with “Changeling?” How were they nominated for those OTHER movies?

            And please don’t give me that “this is an award show for kids” nonsense. How many kids do you know that saw Winslet portray an ex-Nazi in “The Reader?” Judging by the $43 million it made in theaters domestically, I’m not even sure there were a ton of adults who saw it.

            Of course, there is ONE more nominee. An actress so talented, that she once managed to make a rock look full of life JUST by standing next to it.

            I’m talking about Kristen Stewart, the love interest of the aforementioned sparkly, too much gel-y vampire in “Twilight.”

            Things aren’t all Kristen Stewart and “Bride Wars” with the Awards, however. There were several instances of MTV getting things right.

            In addition to nominating “The Dark Knight” for Best Movie, they also nominated Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” for Best Song, something the Oscars forgot to do. Of course, MTV also nominated Miley Cyrus AND Paramore in that category as well. Take the good, with the bad I suppose. Nobody’s perfect.

            In the one sure fire, slam dunk category of the evening, Heath Ledger is nominated for Best Villain for his portrayal of “The Joker” in “The Dark Knight.” Sorry Derek Mears of “Friday the 13^th” and Johnathon Schaech from “Prom Night” but I think Heath has this one in the bag.

            The 2009 MTV Movie Awards will air on Sunday, May 31 and will be hosted by Andy Samberg of “SNL” fame.

            It should be an enjoyable and thoroughly WEIRD evening. Stay away from any large, potentially monster-inhabited bodies of water, and remember not to feed any horse-faced, bat-winged visitors you may have. Vaya con dios.

Go figure, the day after I blog about how dismal the weather’s been, the sun decides to peek out and make me wince and squint at it’s brightness. I realize this is probably because my light intake has been on the same level as someone living underground for the past week.

Anyway!
My first week at the Express-Times is nearly over, and from what I’ve heard, Fridays are easy days (everything required for the weekend issues is already due at that point).  It’s certainly been…interesting. Not entirely sure as to how comfortable or settled in I am at this point, but things seem pretty good.

As mentioned in my first post, I’ve been jotting down some things (their relevance and/or significance can be determined upon individual readings) while at work during my spare time, and tonight I’ll start revealing some of those happenings. Enjoy!

Monday, 5/4 (Day One)

8:40 a.m: I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m – 20 minutes early. I should’ve figured my mom would give me way too much leeway on the time it takes to get from Nazareth to Easton. So I’m stalling time, listening to a new mixed CD. Mmm, Iron and Wine.  How did I get such a good parking spot? I’m probably not supposed to be parked here. Being towed on my first day would NOT be good. 9:52 a.m: 3 more minutes and I’m going in. Ow. I just shook myself out, like you’re supposed to do when you’re nervous? Hit my hand on the steering wheel. It’s my left hand – my writing hand. Fail.

3:46 p.m: This entire day has been a massive combination of signatures, blurry faces, and newspaper databases. There’s a horrid orange-painted stairwell that has really creaky doors, and it kind of creeps me out a bit. The newsroom reminds me exactly of the set of “the Office,” just with more clusters of desks, and older computers. There’s even a separate conference room where we have twice-daily meetings about what’s going into the paper the following issue.

Also, I’ve heard a fair few “that’s what she said”s in typical conversation. It’s official. I am working in “THE” office.

I am “the Troxell Intern,”, though several people do call me by name. Slightly unfortunate, since I cannot remember hardly any names at all, save for Amy, the Assistant Features Editor, and Dustin, Entertainment staff writer. Probably because I’ve worked with them the most today. I’m technically working for the Features section, but I’ll be working a lot with our Entertainment section, called “Exposed.” It’s rad.
Oh! I also know Brenda, from HR, and Chris, the other intern. We had a lovely little meeting about harassment and parking.

The Express office is much quieter than the Quad office – probably because I’m not quite outgoing enough yet to cause trouble. That’s what I first thought of the Quad office when I started – too quiet. Here though, we also use e-mail constantly. Everyone keeps it open, almost as an instant-messaging system. It works really well.

Also, everything is filed into different “queries” on the database system, so everyone has the potential access to everything. It’s really helpful, since there’s so many different sections and further mini-sections to the paper.

Tuesday, 5/5 [Happy Cinco de Mayo! Or typical day, if you're like me!]

9:20 a.m: Someone just got me coffee. Isn’t that supposed to be my job?
Today I almost cleared out the entire local-alive section database. Oops.

Wednesday, 5/6

Today I had my first interview as a professional reporter (or so it says on my ID tag). I’m covering certain aspects of the Freddy Awards as one of my main focuses, and met with the new coordinator this morning at the Allentown State Theatre. Definitely interesting.
Also – another difference between the Times and the Quad – article length is in inches, not hundreds-of-words. I found this out after being told someone wanted my Freddy article to be “anywhere from 12-15.” I started panicking a bit – I tend to write long articles for the Entertainment section during the year, but I’ve only had two articles that have passed 1,200 words that I remembered. I settled down a lot more when I realized I needed 15 inches – which is equivalent to about 500 words. Either way, the interview went well, except for the fact that I couldn’t get into the building.

3:40 p.m: Alright. This is ridiculous. There’s a guy sitting somewhere behind me who sounds exactly like Ken, the Quad’s copy editor. Every time he talks I look up, and I’ve almost called him “Ken” twice.
I started using phones more today. Typically I really dislike talking on the phone to strangers, but there’s a boost of confidence that immediately comes with adding “from the Express-Times” behind one’s name. No one on the other end of the phone has to know it’s only my third day in this positions. Or that I’m terrified of answering phones. And that I have no idea what I’m doing.

Thursday, 5/7

Today I’m working on more stuff for Exposed. Tuesday, I did a “By the Numbers” column, where I got to mention “David After Dentist,” the NBC fall line-up, and LOST, and a Top-Ten things to do section. Today, I did an Entertainment Chat Recap quote section, which is basically a version of the On the Record section in the Quad.

10:15: a.m: Two phones just rang about two seconds after one another. They are melodically a minor second apart. I distinctly heard the “Jaws” theme until the first phone was picked up.

12:25 p.m: Today is a strange day as animals go. A bull escaped from a high school in Phillipsburg, NJ and swam across the Delaware River to Easton. We got an awesome picture of the bull being cornered by a cop – both NBC and WFMZ have called in asking permission to use the photo. A second bull escaped from a slaughterhouse later on in the morning (and from what I overheard, a butcher was chasing it for a while). There’s a spider on my shoe.

2:42 p.m: Alright – here’s another one for Ken. For those of you who don’t know, Ken has repeated himself at least 12 times an issue on how to properly format quotes in the Quad office. “wordswordswords,” SAID person’s name and title.
Here at the Express, I just was corrected. Here, we use “words words words,” personperson, SAID. Talk about confusion.
[This paragraph should service as Exhibit A if Ken becomes too impatient with my inability to remember proper formatting next fall and takes matters into his own hands.]

I also hate wearing socks everyday. It needs to get nicer out again.

-~-~-~-~-~

That’s it for the day-by-day play-by-play, but another extra tidbit: my first piece with the Times was published in today’s paper! I also have a couple Freddy releases being printed soon: either one tomorrow and one Sunday, or two Sunday.

Have a lovely weekend, all! Weather is looking to be stormy here the next two days, but afterwards the forcast looks absolutely delightful. Stay safe, enjoy yourselves, and keep reading!

peace&love,
Tara T

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

Hitting the Silver Screen

            I feel like summer has started without me.

            Here I am, sitting in a basement, while outside Mother Nature continues to pummel Eastern Pennsylvania with one rain storm after another. Meanwhile, kids in other parts of this beautiful country of our’s are out enjoying sunny days and chasing big circles with sticks.

            Where are MY sunny days? Where are MY big circles?

            Ah well. At least I have my local movie theater to take refuge in.

            Oh wait.

            I have only minimal interest in “Wolverine” after hearing nothing but lukewarm reactions to Hugh Jackman’s latest go-around as the be-clawed avenger. Outside of that, what is there? The only other movie that has recently peaked my interest at all, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” has been relegated to morning and afternoon showings.

            Sadly, there are no knights on white horses galloping into theaters this weekend to save me from the drudgery of this rainy summer. Not yet any way.

            The weekend’s big release is “Star Trek,” J.J. Abrams’ prequel to the original TV series. The film stars Chris Pine as a young James Kirk, stepping into the role made famous by William Shatner. It also features my arch-nemesis Zachary Quinto as Spock, filling the large shoes left by Leonard Nemoy.

            Ok, maybe arch-nemesis is a bit too harsh for Quinto, especially with Sidney Crosby and Zack Snyder running rampant. Something about Quinto rubs me the wrong way; I just can’t quite put my finger on it.

            Maybe its Quinto’s connection to “Heroes,” a TV show that seems to emulate his character’s ability stealing powers, only the producers steal other people’s ideas.

            Who’s to say? Either way, even Simon Pegg as Scotty isn’t enough to drag me into a theater showing this movie. It would take rain storms of Biblical proportion to get me to consider laying down $10 for this.

            To be fair, I’ve never been a “Star Trek” fan. I prefer “Star Wars” myself. In fact, the way I see it, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who like peanut butter and fluff and those who don’t.

            I bet you thought I was going in a different direction with that didn’t you?

            Also out this week is a little ditty called “Next Day Air.”

            Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Next Day Air” is coming out ALREADY? Quick honey! Get the kids!! We have to get in line now!!

            It’s just that exciting, people. The movie stars Donald Faison from “Scrubs” and Mike Epps.

            What happens when your drug courier screws up and accidentally delivers you cocaine instead of pot?

            If you answered wackiness, mayhem and comedy; then you’re possibly right and almost certainly one of the movie’s producers.

            Steer clear of movie theaters this weekend, folks. Let’s all just hunker down and try to wait out this rain nonsense. If it lasts any longer, I’m going to assume that we have angered God in some way. I blame you Sidney Crosby and Zack Snyder!! Gotta blame somebody, might as well be them.

            In any case, I may start building an ark. If you want to help, just head on over my way. Make sure you grab a boy and a girl of some kind of animal on your way over. Seriously though, that can’t happen again right?

            Right?  

            What’s that? The Wayans Bros. have a new movie coming out? You’re sure? My God. I thought that would never happen again after “Little Man.”

               Excuse me. I need to go start collecting lumber. Anyone know where I can find two chinchillas?

            Vaya con dios.

 

 

 

 

Written by Chris Monigle

The adventrous music of the season finale BEGAN in the final act of the penultimate episode of season five! Locke telling Ben that he doesn’t want to be reunited with his people, thathe’s going to kill Jacob! I did not see that coming. And, pretty much, I am where I want to be as I head into the season finale: I have no idea what to expect other than they won’t erase the last three years of their lives. Before sorting through the set-up for the season finale, I’m going to do what I always do: blowhard about LOST. It won’t be super blowhardy though. Not like previous weeks.

Let us start with the title, Ladies and Gentleman! ‘Follow The Leader,’ the title, refers to Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Horace, Dr. Chang, Ben, Richard, and, of course, Jacob. It even extends to Faraday as the leader of time-travel. We had Eloise and Widmore. Kate had some of the most important dialogue in the episode when she talked to Jack about destiny and faith, comparing him to John Locke. But before I dive into Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Horace, Dr. Chang, Ben, and Richard, I’m going to begin with thee Leader: Jacob. As far as we know, everything begins with Jacob. Jacob gives the orders to Richard and whoever happens to be the leader of the Others. The entire group seems to exist because of Jacob. Jacob creates the Others, who are there with the good ol’ Dharma folks arrive, and must elect a leader who can deal with the Others (or Hostiles) or rather Dharma finds itself in a situation in which a leader must emerge ala Jack when Oceanic 815 crashes on the Island, and when Sawyer assumes leadership during the time-traveling escapades. And then there’s Locke, the dude who has always been the one who is in tune with the Island, as we’ve seen with Smoky’s dedication to protecting him. We saw varying degrees of leadership: crumbling leadership, leadership with purpose, ect. Horace and Dr. Chang lost control of Radzinsky who decided that he was now going to be in power. I’m going to digress for a minute: Kelvin must’ve been annoyed as all salad dressing working with Radzinsky in The Swan. Anywho, there’s always been the theme of leadership throughout LOST. 

In ‘Follow The Leader,’ we saw the results and influence of leadership (this is starting to read like an English paper. ugh). Jack had to have been thinking of himself when he talked to Kate about the plane never crashing and lives never being lost. In season five, there was a direct reference to how Jack did as a leader, that a lot of people died. And we can’t forget that Jack came back to save his friends, and the information that Faraday presented Jack with is the exact information Jack needed because he believes he’s back to save everybody who was on Oceanic Flight 815. But preventing The Incident (detonating that bomb) as Jack plans to do is going to be the reason they end up on The Island in 2004. The Island is his destiny (and I think The Island is going to be at the center of the final season). It is everyone’s destiny. Sawyer the leader hasn’t worked out very well for people but he might be a victim of fate and destiny. Without Sawyer though, nobody would’ve made it three years into Dharma. And there’s Locke. The scene with him telling Richard about his own leg is a gamechanger. I did not anticipate that. I obsess over this show with the best of them, folks, but I somehow overlooked Richard telling Locke that Locke told him he had bullet in him. I watched the premiere three times! I assumed Richard knew more than he actually knows. I anticipated Locke’s resurrection but…yeah…I didn’t connect the dots and whatnot. Richard told John that ‘he’s different.’ Locke responded with “I have a purpose.” He certainly does. The biggest thing Locke did was shatter the leaders of Others past by inviting everybody along to see Jacob. No longer is there mystery. Everyone will be in the loop. The question is: what exactly is his purpose? I remember hearing a conversation between LOST fans in which one remarked that maybe John Locke isn’t John Locke. Eh…not going to bite on that one quite yet. Locke certainly isn’t the same as he was before he died but he is still John Locke, at least I think so. I wrote it sometime this season: John Locke is like Christian. But back to the question: what is his purpose? He is the leader of these people and I believe (NAY!) KNOW that Locke is doing what he’s doing because it’s in the best interest of the Island. If Smoky’s got your back, you are as good as gold.

MOVING ON TO OTHER THOUGHTS!

–Quite a bit of set-up for the two hour season finale: Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate are on a sub (previews already gave that jawn away), Sayid, Jack, Eloise, and Richard are getting ready to detonate Jughead; Miles, Hurley, and Jin are hiding out but they’ve got Chang on their side (and I have a feeling Hurley will come up big for some reason, maybe because Phil singled him out). In 2007, we’ve got the fun bunch of ‘What lies in the Shadow of the Statue’ and Frank is with them, Sun (God bless her soul) seeks to be reunited with Jin, and Locke wants to kill Jacob. I’m going to give some thoughts on Sayid.

–Sayid’s one of my favorite characters on the show. He’s the smartest and most logical. No one ever listens to him sadly. He once again came up big when he killed the Other who was ready to shoot Kate. I’m quite interested in what Sayid will be up to in the season finale.

–I liked Jack’s expression when he saw that Sayid decided to come into The Tunnels.

–There’s been speculation about what it will mean now (it used to be if) that Chang knows about Miles, Hurley, Jin, ect. That remains to be seen.

–The scene between Dr. Chang and Hurley cracked me up. Dr. Chang is absolutely fantastic. And I’ll always love Hurley. I still want some backstory on the guitar. I wonder will Charlie show up in some form in the finale. Probably not.

–Poor Jin. So underused. There’s high potential for awesomeness with Jin, Miles, and Hurley together. I’m giddy.

–Phil is not the biggest so and so on LOST for hitting Juliet. He’s up there but Ethan ranks as the number one so and so for kidnapping, tormenting Claire and for trying to kill Charlie twice. Keamy was a big so and so. Pickett was a HUGE so and so. 

–I wonder if the story will ever return to Horace’s cabin becoming Jacob’s cabin.

–I was not cool with Sawyer hopping on the sub.

–You know, I still don’t think Faraday is dead. Yeah: I’m still of the ‘whatever happened, happened’ belief. He seems dead and as, Ben said, what’s dead is dead. But he’s Faraday!

–I suppose Sawyer drew Radzinsky the map to the hostiles. But it doesn’t seem too important considering all we know about Radzinsky, the Purge, and whatnot.

–This is the last thought about the 1977 storyline before I move to 2007 but: they’ve got to escape 1977, right?

–I haven’t forgotten the line that closed the teaser, uttered by Richard: ‘I watched them die.’ It’s one of those things I’m going to simply wait for the story to explain.

–Christian told Sun that she needed to find John Locke to reunite with her husband. Locke stated that he does not care about being reunited with his people. He also told Ben that he knows what he said to Sun. Hopefully, Sun isn’t disappointed. But I have faith in John Locke, just like Sun. I have faith that it’ll be as Charlie uttered in ‘Hearts And Minds’: John Locke will save them all. 

–Christian, as you recall, is the gentleman who speaks on Jacob’s behalf. Locke may not have much need for Christian if he plans to kill Jacob. Maybe Sun will be disappointed. 

–Recall, if you will, Jacob asking Locke for help in the season three episode ‘The Man Behind The Curtain.” That is all for that.

–I really find the 2007 stuff fascinating. Very interesting that they opened the 2007 storyline with Richard putting the finishing touches on a sailboat in a bottle. I could write 1,000 more words on that alone but I won’t. Speaking of Richard, he’s pretty clueless but perhaps I confuse cluelessness with something else. He always seems to be on his guard, concerned. He was in no way excited about bringing Locke to Jacob. More importantly, he looked worried and concerned when he remarked that Locke looked different combined with the knowledge that Locke does die. Very interesting indeed.

–Loved Locke giving Richard a boar.

–I’m sure there will be things I have forgotten to mention (i always do and full of regret afterwards) but I have one last thought before I send it to the official LOST rankings: we last saw Claire in Jacob’s cabin. People are on their way to Jacob’s cabin. I really hope I see my jagirl before the finale ends.

That’s about it for thoughts on ‘Follow The Leader.” I’ll be back with an epic season finale recap next week. TO THE RANKINGS!

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Some movement in both rankings. Richard is in the top five for me. Hurley jumped a few spots. Sawyer fell because of the sub stuff. As for STEVE, someone makes an unexpected jump. Very exciting. Daniel will remain a part of the rankings for the rest of the season.

AFTER EPISODE 15

RANKED: 5/7/09

CHRIS

1. Locke

2. Desmond

3. Sayid

4. Jack

5. Richard

6. Hurley

7. Jin

8. Ben

9. Sawyer

10. Juliet

11. Miles

12. Kate

13. Sun

14. Daniel

15. Frank

16. Widmore

STEVE

1. Desmond

2. Sayid

3. Kate

4. Sawyer

5. Locke

6. Ben

7. Miles

8. Jin

9. Richard

10. Frank

11. Hurley

12. Jack

13. Sun

14. Widmore

15. Hurley

16. Daniel

It’s official – the semester is over. Grades are up on myWCU, books have been sold back (or refused), and everyone is now procrastinating doing absolutely nothing. Sitting back, sipping iced tea at the edge of the pool, soaking in the sun. At least, that’s the ideal summer plan, right?

Well, besides the fact that there hasn’t been one day of sunshine for eastern PA since school let out, a lot of us have to work our way through the summer (quite literally). Summer jobs are often a pain for college students; employers tend to want workers for more than a quarter of the year, and sometimes the only jobs left are, well, less-than-desirable.

However, quite a popular summer alternative for college students are professional internships, or some other sort of work relating to the field being at university. This is the kind of work I’ve taken up for Summer 2009. After working at the bakery last summer, I decided it was time to do something a little more closely related to what I’m attending West Chester for. This summer, I’m working as an Editorial Intern at the Express-Times, a print and online newspaper that serves the Lehigh Valley (mostly in a radius around the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area).

But wait, there’s more! In my dedication (and bound-to-happen withdrawal) from WCU’s the Quad, I’m forming this blog as a sort of insight to the newsroom and the antics that happen along the way. Though this sounds very technical and focused mostly on those interested in Journalism, I assure you, there will be enough ridiculousness for everyone. During the summer months, I’ll update you all with what’s going on with the Express-Times, and how it compares and contrasts working at a college paper to working at a largely circulated city paper.

Once back at school, this blog will revert to one recorded the mayhem that goes on at the Quad office each Sunday during our issue layoutting sessions. After starting as News Editor last fall, I’ve noticed that not many students know how we go on about our work, or even realize the kind of effort put into putting the paper together. Though we work hard, we also have a fair amount of mayhem in the office each Sunday. I would like to provide a link between the Quad office and the student body, showing that we do have our fun and truly enjoy bringing the paper to the student population.

I hope to have another blog posted in the next couple days, with a few stories from my first week as “the Troxell intern.” I’ve taken to jotting down certain thoughts or stories that happen throughout the workday while at my desk, while looking like I’m doing work.

In the meantime, I hope the rest of you have excellen water-logged days. My county, along with another six or seven, is currently in a Flood Watch, which beeped around 10:12, interrupting LOST and causing me to believe Ben had cursed and been bleeped out while he was speaking to Locke. Plug – go check out Chris’ (Entertainment Editor) LOST blog, which includes weekly episode analysis’ and character rankings!

And enough! at 12:08 a.m., I bit you all farewell, wishing you many happy dreams and lazy days.

peace&love,
Tara T.

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

Top Five MUST See Summer Movies 

            This time of year can be a difficult one for movie goers. With a new blockbuster opening every week, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Never fear, “Tales from the Cineplex” is here to help you sort out the good robots from the bad, the superheroes from the super villains and everything in between.

            Basically, if you only see five movies this summer, why don’t you try these on for size?  

           

5.) Funny People (July 31)

 

Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann

Directed by: Judd Apatow

           

            Plot: The third feature film from comedy guru Judd Apatow features Adam Sandler as George Simmons, a famous comedian— I know, what a stretch— who is told that he has less than a year to live. Simmons decides to live his remaining days to the fullest. This includes taking a young and struggling fellow stand-up (Rogen) under his belt, as well as attempting to rekindle a relationship with a former flame (Mann).     

           

 

              See it because: Apatow’s films have defined the comedy genre in recent years. His ability to seamlessly blend raunchy humor with wholesome family values has made him THE epicenter of the comedic galaxy. It doesn’t matter if he’s behind the camera (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), or simply producing (Anchorman, Suerbad), the result is always the same. You want funny? Talk to Judd. You want funny and heart? Talk to Judd.

 

4.) Inglorious Basterds (August 21)

 

Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Krueger

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

 

Plot: Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) leads an elite group of Jewish-American soldiers during WWII. Their mission? Spread fear throughout Hitler’s Third Reich by brutally and unmercifully killing high ranking Nazi officials.

           

 

 

 

            See it because: It’s Quentin Taratino! ‘Nuff said! Need more? Fine. Tarantino’s long talked about World War II epic looks like good, clean B-movie fun. And by good and clean, I of course mean over the top bloody and gory fun. The B- movie part is true though. “Basterds” was inspired by the Italian film of the same name, minus the misspelling of bastards, that is. Talky, violent and flat out cool. Tarantino is THE man.

 

3.) Up (May 29)

 

Starring: Ed Asner (voice), Jordan Nagai (voice)

Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

 

 Plot: Carl Fredricksen (Asner) has spent his entire life dreaming of seeing the world. Now, at age 78, he decides to finally go out and do it. With the help of thousands of balloons, Fredricksen manages to do it all from the comfort of his own home. Along for the ride, is an inadvertent young stowaway named Russell (Nagai).

           

 

            See it because: Pixar is the Judd Apatow of animation. The studio’s last film, “Wall-E” will be hard to top as it was a complete masterpiece, but they’ve never shied away from a challenge before. The track record is there (“Wall-E,” “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story”) and it’s from the directors behind “Monster’s Inc.” Looks like a “can’t miss,” but I’ll try and not get my hopes “up.” Ho ho. Couldn’t resist.           

 

2.) Terminator: Salvation (May 21)

 

Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington

Directed by: McG

 

Plot: The latest entry in the storied “Terminator” franchise is set in the year 2018, several years after the military super computer Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. Humanity’s only hope for survival rests with a young soldier named John Connor, who seems destined to lead them to victory against an army of highly advanced machines.

           

             See it because: If you see one killer robot movie this summer, make it “Terminator: Salvation.” I know Michael Bay has one of his own coming out this summer, but his lacks Christian Bale. Whether or not McG’s film will live up to the promise displayed in its trailers remains to be seen, but if it does, the future looks bright, not only for humanity, but for this aging action franchise as well.  

 

1.) Public Enemies (July 1)

 

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard

Directed by: Michael Mann          

 

Plot: The upstart FBI sets its sights on a notorious and charismatic bank robber named John Dillinger (Depp). With America in the ravages of the Great Depression, the FBI must not only combat Dillinger and his crew, they must contend with a disillusioned public that views Dillinger as a folk hero.

           

 

 

 

             See it because: Johnny Depp.

            That’s more than enough for me, but for the rest of you who need more convincing, anytime Depp plays an outlaw he owns it. See: the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Blow,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” ect.

            Michael Mann knows his way around a crime drama and the summer of Bale continues as he portrays Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent charged with the task of bringing Dillinger to justice. What happened the last time Bale played a man trying to bring a legendary criminal to justice?

 

              Oh MY goodness. I’m there with bells on people.

             Alright, well feel free to share your thoughts on your OWN top five summer movies below. Go for it. See you next time. Vaya con dios.

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

Box Office Round-up

            

            Well, well, well. I must say that I am both shocked and flabbergasted to see that “Obsessed” is no longer number one on the box office charts, or in America’s hearts as well. 

            Who could have seen this coming? Oh cruel box office gods! Let’s take a closer look at this stunning turn of events, shall we?

	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	Total	Weeks out
1	X-Men Origins: Wolverine	Fox	$87,000,000	$87,000,000	1
2	Ghosts of Girlfriends Past	WB (NL)	$15,325,000	$15,325,000	1
3	Obsessed	SGem	$12,200,000	$47,002,000	2
4	17 Again	WB	$6,355,000	$48,497,000	3
5	Monsters Vs. Aliens	P/DW	$5,800,000	$182,405,000	6
6	The Soloist	P/DW	$5,600,000	$18,108,000	2
7	Earth (2009)	BV	$4,184,000	$21,848,000	2
8	Fighting	Rog.	$4,173,000	$17,507,000	2
9	Hannah Montana The Movie	BV	$4,075,000	$70,857,000	4
10	State of Play	Uni.	$3,655,000	$30,883,000	3

                                                          Courtesy of boxofficemojo.com

            People love themselves some Hugh Jackman. He sings, he dances, he kicks Liev Schrieber’s butt. And THAT was just at the Oscars. Despite the fact that “Wolverine,” his latest go around as the comic book character with the best facial hair, debuted online about a month ago— sans special effects that is— it still managed to finish in the top spot. The $87 million that the origins story took in was about par for the course with the rest of the “X-Men” franchise, though it is considerably less than the $100 + million that the third installment bought in way back in 2006.

            And the McConaughey party train just keeps on a-rolling. Sure the cool $15 million that “Girlfriends Past” bought in over the weekend is a little bit light, its not far off the actor’s recent track record. Only time will tell if the film has legs like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” or falls by the way side ala “Two for the Money.” Either way, I’m sure as far as McConaughey is concerned, life is looking “alright, alright, alright.”

           

            Topping the Charts in ’08

 

            This time last year it was also a superhero with cool facial hair leading the box office charge. That’s right, the too-cool-for-school Robert Downey Jr. and his finely coiffed beard starred in “Iron Man,” which ruled the world with a massive total of over $98 million.

            So far, Wolvie is a bit behind last year’s iron suit wearing playboy, but this summer is devoid of any other real comic book competition, which could be of some assistance. Last year, “Iron Man” had to fend off “The Incredible Hulk” AND a little something something called “The Dark Knight.”

            Of course this summer DOES have a “Star Trek” remake, a new “Terminator” movie AND Michael Bay’s latest thought-provoking master work: “Transformers 2.” Maybe Wolvie is in for a fight after all…

            That’s all for now. Check back later this week when I give you my Top 5 MUST SEE Summer Movies. That should be fun. And I can’t promise not to go off on an NHL related tangent either. You know how much you love those, after all.

            Vaya con dios.