Totally Worth It!

Woof...it's been almost a month, eh? And all I've got today is a little Mad Men blooper/spoof video. Well, c'est la vie...apparently this little nugget was filmed at the Season Three wrap party, and although Christina Hendricks isn't there, her red hair does make an appearance or two.

YouTube Tuesdays

Inaugurating a new feature here (YouTube Tuesdays) in which I post funny, interesting and/or thought provoking videos culled from surfing the web.

If you're not watching "Modern Family" than I don't even want to know you...it's the hilarious tale of an extended family: the patriarch is remarried to a much younger woman, with a child who acts much older than he is; the patriarch's daughter is married to a man who acts much younger than he is; and the patriarch's son is married to the most hilarious actor on TV at the moment (see his depiction of "Brokeback Mtn" in the charades clip below).

The second clip is from "Community" on NBC (I know, right? Apparently they still make quality TV shows––check it out on Thurs @ 8pm est). It's the story of a ragtag group of misfits stuck at Glendale Community College. This particular clip features Abed, who is the Greek Chorus of the show. He's continually commenting on the action and helping the viewer, but he tends to be a little tabula rasa, if you know what I mean...

Finally, the trailer for "TRON: Legacy". Enough said...

Logorama

Check out this inventive Animated Short––nominated for an Oscar. I love it's combination of foul language and corporate logos...

http://kottke.org/10/02/logorama

LOST Candidate & Ex-Candidate List of Names & Numbers

Viable Candidates are bold; Linus & Rousseau among everyone else are scratched out...

14…Pryes

15…Ford

16…Jarrah

17…Barnes

18…Kueffner

19…Nguyen

20…Rousseau!!

21…Metteney

22…Moorhead

23…Shepherd

30…Wade

31…Toms

32…Rutherford

33…Novak

34…Grimaldi

39…Morton

40…Dowsett

42…Kwon

43…Barnes

51…Austen

98…Horton

112--Horton

113--Worden

114…Amada

117…Linus!!

118…Chavez

119…Almeida

120…Rodrigues

121…Nielson

122…Freed

124…Dawson

125…Owens

126…Renti

127…Mora

Mini-Miracle...

How about that game last night, eh? Apparently the boys watched this clip prior to hitting the ice...

"A Thing for Numbers"

On a quick break from writing my dissertation––by which I mean watching women's curling––I just wanted throw out some LOST thoughts and see what sticks to the wall...

What we discovered last night:

1. Jacob brought his version of the Oceanic Six to the Island by touching them; curiously, only Jack, Hurley, Sayid and Sun are in both groups (Kate and Aaron replace Sawyer and Locke––not sure if there's a significance there).
2. Jacob's Six are deemed "Candidates" and are assigned numbers: Locke/4; Reyes/8; Ford/15; Jarrah/16; Shephard/23; Kwon/42
3. Ilana collected Jacob's ash from the fireplace
4. Esau is now ensconced in the body of Locke––and he can't switch again; although it seems like he can morph into Smokey at will
5. Creepy little blond boy tells Esau, "You know the rules. You can't kill him."
6. Two stones––one black and one white––were kept in balance in Jacob's cave, recalling the black and white stones of Adam & Eve from Season 1

Total guesses on my part:

1. What exactly is the relationship between Jacob, Esau (i.e., Man in Black) and the Island? I wonder if the little creepy blond boy is actually the Island itself, and Jacob and Esau are overseers––a partisan Democrat and Republic body charged w/protecting the Island
2. Jacob brought his peeps to the Island, but why can't Esau recruit off-Island? Perhaps, Jacob is Esau's jailer?
3. Check out Wikipedia's article on Jacob's Ladder--interesting stuff.
4. Does Esau get to pick his candidates? Or, are Jacob's Six candidates for either position? Wouldn't it be just perfect if Locke and Shephard ended up as the new Jacob and Esau?

Retro LOST Credits...

Emergency Brake Video

As someone who used to (thank god it's past tense now) ride the train to work everyday, I've stared at that Emergency Brake a number of times. Here's an interesting dissemination of everything you've ever wanted to know about it!

emergency brake from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

...the Shadow of the Statue?

***If for some reason, like you've been living in a cave or something, you've not seen the most recent season of LOST, for God's sake, don't frickin read the following post***

Oomph...just too many LOST tidbits percolating in my brain/tummy. First of all, why is the premiere––and this season, I presume––on Tuesday nights? Hasn't it mostly been on Weds & Thurs?

Is it a coincidence that tonight's premiere coincides* with Groundhog Day? By the way, Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter...anyway, are the LOST writers giving a hint by aligning their show w/a Janus-faced rodent who's mostly concerned with (what lies in) his shadow??

Onto the predictions:

(1) Juliet's bomb-busting abilities fail to do anything other than create a massive white fade-out, resulting in all-out war between Ilana's group and a yet-to-be-determined group loyal to Esau, aka Man-in-Black, aka Flocke (Fake Locke)

(2) I'm predicting a full-on Anakin Skywalker for Ben: his murder of Jacob, masterminded by The Emperor, I mean Flocke, I mean Esau (isn't this fun?), will drive Ben into a Darth Vader-esque rage, threatening to kill all of Ilana's peeps, or he'll be so disgusted at his being used, that he will turn on Flocke/Esau.

(3) I predicted way back in the spring that it would be totally rad –– rad, I tell you –– if the premiere opened either back in Australia w/everybody getting on the plane again or actually on the plane itself. In addition, they all crash again but get a chance to right their wrongs, ala those Choose Your Own Adventure Books (I loved those things).

Allright, see you on the other side...

*see what I did there?

Handel, part deux...

"Handel had been left off-balance by his mighty swing. De Gex lashed out with his free hand and caught the composer's lace cravat in a bloody grip. He jerked hard, desperately trying to pull himself out. Eliza reacted before she could think. Her free hand dropped to the bridge of the cello. She raised it on high as her other hand levered the neck down toward the floor, and she launched it across the pit in a high arc. It rotated as it hurtled through apogee, and came down like a javelin, its whole weight concentrated behind the tail-pin. When it stopped, it was sitting on de Gex's chest. It lodged there at an angle, emitting a spectral chord as the life sighed out of de Gex. He let go of Handel's cravat.

The composer picked up his staff from the floor and righted his periweg. "Fifth page, second bar!" he called out. But the musicians were slow to return..."

[p. 581, System of the World]

Jo(h)n & Kate + 8

That is, John Locke, Kate Austin and whichever eight other Losties you prefer––I'm partial to

Hurley, Juliet, Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Ben, Jacob & Jacob's friend. As Kottke said,

enjoy this little amuse bouche less than a week away from the premiere...

Handel, Alchemy & Vampires...

"There must be an opera tonight," Jack remarked through the grate.

" 'Tis not possible," Daniel returned. "It is out of season. I do believe they are erecting sets, and rehearsing, for a revival of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson."

"I saw it a hundred times as a boy," Jack said, "why ever are they reviving it now?"

"Because Herr Handel has written new music for it."

"What? It is a play, not an opera."

"Styles change," Daniel said...

"...It chagrins me to hear that the good old Alchymist [sic] is being subjected to such perversion," said Jack. "I've a mind to pop Mr. Handel in the gob."

p. 564 from System of the World, the third volume in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle...I'm almost finished with this massive undertaking –– I must be a masochist; moving on from DFW's Infinite Jest (just under 1,000 pages) onto Stephenson's 3-part series, each of which clocks in at around 900 pages.

TW, on the other hand, continually reads and re-reads the Twilight series –– and now she's moved on to Sookie Stackhouse, of True Blood fame. So, anything w/vampires and she'll read it. Me –– anything w/o vampires, and I'll give it a go.

If you missed "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Here's a little sample of what you missed:

"...in different area codes"

Check out the Times for an interesting compilation of data concerning your Netflix queues...for conversation's sake, here's the good ole 02453 (Waltham):

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Burn After Reading
4. Milk
5. Twilight
6. The Wrestler
7. Gran Torino
8. I Love You, Man
9. Changeling
10. Doubt

I don't know what it says about Boston, but in and around the city, Slumdog, Button and Milk seem to make the top five. Thought provoking, but also a little creepy -- although not for me, since I stopped Netflixing about 4 years ago. What do you think?

"LOST"

(The "Lost" Supper)

February 2nd -- the countdown begins. I've been holding the last 5 episodes of Season 5 on my DVR. Last night, we watched episode #12 "Dead is Dead." I've still got 4 more to go before the premiere; unfortunately, I've got less than a month to go...

Poll: What to watch...

...to break-in our new 37" HD LCD TV?

The options are (mostly) gifts from the holidays:

(1) "The Nightmare Before Christmas" by Tim Burton, given to me in preparation for my trip to Burton's exhibit at MOMA by Al.

(2) "Jurassic Park" given to me by my sister-in-law TW. (edit: I've been informed by my lawyer that TW gave me "Jurassic Park" and my sister-in-law gave me the 1st season of "30 Rock". My apologies for the mix-up...)

(3) "Airport" given to me by my sister-in-common-law, Sarah S.

(4) "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith", which I'm pretty sure I bought for myself...

You don't say...

Taken from my current read, The Confusion part 2 of the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson:

"Roger, what is Mrs. Bligh's bloody book -- by your leave, Mrs. Bligh! -- but squiggles of ink? I have ink, Roger, a firkin of it, and can molest a goose to obtain quills, and make ink-squiggles all night and all day. But they are just forms on a page. What does it say of us that our commerce is built 'pon forms and figments while that of Spain is built 'pon silver?"

"Some would say it speaks to our advancement."

"I am not one of those had cases who believes credit is Satan's work, do not put me in that poke, Roger. I say only that ink, once dried on the page, is a brittle commodity, and an economy made of ink is likewise brittle, and may for all we know be craz'd and in a state to crumble at a touch. Whereas silver and gold are ducile, maleable, capable of fluid movement..."

p. 484