TV

We're watching the finale of DWTS, and in particular Kate Gosselin's 'rise to the heavens'. May I just say - WTF??? Lisa and I burst out laughing, as did Tom Bergeron, and probably most of America. Oh Lordy. 

 Nicole won Season 10 of DWTS, and she deserved the title. The whole finale was over the top but fun to watch. OTOH, American Idol sucked. Bowersox's 'Black Velvet' was impressive vocally but she looked (let's be honest) like a clydesdale in that black dress. Yikes. Meanwhile Lee brought his C game at best. Bowersox will/should take the crown of a crappy, crappy season.

Torchwood

I DVR'd a Torchwood marathon on BBC, the first time I've had a chance to see this Doctor Who spinoff. Much darker than Who, but so far the acting and writing are top notch. The negatives? As usual writer/creator Russell T. Davies tries hard to push his personal beliefs on the audience, which always gets on my nerves.

The Little Stranger

Just finished "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters, a ghost story set in the countryside of postwar England. Waters is a heck of a writer, and her prose sings. Here's the problem: there are literally ~ 9 pages of action in the 463 pg novel, almost all of it retold by a third party. I suppose the last line of the novel is supposed to 'unlock the secret' of the house, but is it worth the effort to get there?

Lost's finale: A more detailed exploration

I intentionally avoided any details/spoilers about the Lost finale yesterday, but by now you've either seen it, or have no interest in ever taking the plunge. So I'd like to put some of my thoughts down, in part to refute some of the wilder (aka dumber) notions out there. Not that I blame the fans; for once we were treated to a more-or-less straightforward story, with clearly defined cause and effects, and I think some Lost fans just can't change gears at the last moment.

Let's start out simple. I think Desmond was put on the island by Jacob as a weapon, just as Jack said. Destroying the island was a temptation MIB couldn't pass up, and he was too busy relishing the idea to realize disconnecting the source once again made him mortal and vulnerable. It was, to paraphrase Sawyer, a long con.

What was the source? Who/what put it there? We'll never know. Neither did any of the characters, and if they're not complaining, why should we?

Was Jack destined to die? It was his choice to take the job, but there's that gray area of fate/free will again. Knowing Jack, was there any real question who would accept the duty? Was he steered towards the position because he was a better candidate (no pun intended) to physically defeat MIB? Was he sacrificed in order to preserve Hurley's eventual reign?

You tell me. None of it matters. Come to think of it, did anything?

I don't know if letting MIB free would have destroyed our world. Still, I can't imagine it's a good thing to have a cunning, ruthless and violent immortal walk the streets of Topeka. I can empathize with him, to a degree; keep me trapped for two millenia and I'd get miffed too. But oh well. Whatever his motives, whatever Mommy issues he had, he'd grown into a murdering thug. The last thing the world needed was him walking free.

Now, as to the 'flash-sideways'. Yes, it's purgatory, and if that word bothers you because of some 'Papist' connotations, deal with it. They are dead but not in heaven or hell, but rather in a 'holding cell' where they explore and move past the issues that plagued them in our world. In other words, a sort of purgatory.

It is NOT solely Jack's afterlife, where each character could be nothing more than the sum of his memory. Each character is clearly independent of the others; connected by their shared past, but dealing with a full life of their own.

No, this is a communal afterlife. Now I don't know if it's an L.A. created and occupied only by the Lost cast, or if it a larger, general 'world' that the characters borrow as their stage. My money is on the latter. When Christian talks of the cast making a world to find each other, I think he means that the force of their bonds drew each of them into proximity with one another. Their experiences - their 'world' - is fashioned by their need to reconnect.

So what about David, Jack's son? Who pops out a kid in purgatory? I go back to some references this season about how much the boy resembled Jack when he was young. I view him as a surrogate for Jack himself. I think Jack imagined/was given David to work out his issues with Christian and break the Shepard's dysfunctional father/son relationship.

Was the island (and all the events of the series) real? Yes, dangit, didn't you listen to Christian? It was real, so real that the relationships forged on the island transcended death. It was real, there were no do-overs, what happened happened.

Finally, Jack's death scene: I teared up. It was the ONLY suitable ending for the show, and I like how, thanks to Vincent, he didn't 'die alone'. Well done.

Well done indeed.

In

RE: Lost's finale: it makes television history as the first scripted/non-sports TV show to have an episode be simulcast in multiple countries, other than the US and Canada. Italy, Israel, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom showing the episode at the same time as the West Coast broadcast in the early hours of May 24, 2010 (5am to 7am, depending on location) in Europe

Ms. Hutchinson

St Adalbert Alumni - Today I ran into Miss Hutchinson for the first time in 20 years. Her hair was cut close to the scalp, with a pencil thin ponytail running down her skull to her shoulders. Not quite the traditional look of a Catholic school principal, eh?

My Opinion

No doubt mold exposure has health consequences, but HGTV is on & the steps taken to contain & remove a *small* amount of mold seem insane. Then a revelation - the contractor started out in asbestos removal. As that biz declined, the owner says they morphed to mold removal & "got the word out about the dangers". Huh. You'll excuse me if I think that translates to "stoked America's paranoia to keep the $$ coming in."

grrrrr

I spent some time w/ a friend before watching Lost, and he p*'d me off by blasting Lost as 'mainstream' (as if that's an insult) and all but an opiate of the masses. Here's what I think: I think anyone who watches 'The Cleveland Show' and literally LOL's at the lame, mildly racist 'comedy' is someone who's opinion on TV matters for shit.

Lost: The End

You want another insight into my chaotic head? For years now I've made the series finale of Lost a benchmark in my life, a goal that I had to reach. I was always a little worried that God, with His sense of humour, would have me drop dead a week before the finale just so I'd never know how it ended. Along the same lines I've decided, well in advance, to avoid becoming interested in anything after the age of 70, just so He can't screw me out of the answers to that too :)

Now . . . it's over. I made it.

And you know what? The word that comes to mind when I think of the finale, more than any other, is 'satisfied'.

As always Lost stayed devoted to the 'story', a true rarity on TV. The characters moved us and spoke to our hearts, but they existed to move the story along, not to bump it to the side. I love that, just as I love characters like Jack and Desmond.
What also impressed me is that through all the confusion and all the theories, Lost stayed true to its own canonical beliefs. There was an unapologetic belief in the spiritual, and the unflinching rule that 'what happened, happened'. There was no reset button, no 'it was all a dream'. For the characters, free will is real and powerful, even in the face of fate, but what is done is done; no amount of wishing will absolve them from facing the consequences of their actions. They may come to terms with the past, but they can never outrun it.

As to the finale in particular: I think Jack's fate on the island was what it needed to be, a necessary (and freely chosen) sacrifice as part of Jacob's long con; that the means of Smokey's defeat was surprising and emphatic; that the role of the Protector went to the person who was always destined to carry the burden. I also think the duct-taped jet using a dirt runway was a stretch, but who am I to argue with a majic island?

For the record, I think the resolution to the 'flash-sideways' was poignant, sweet, and most importantly, absolute. We know their fate was was exactly what we saw on the island - what happened happened, no takebacks. We also know that in the end it all mattered immensely - and didn't matter at all.

I think back on the last shot of the series, that perfect bookend to the pilot, and I'm torn between a smile and a tear.

Lost, I'll miss you. It's been a hell of a ride.

Quote of the Day

If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.- George Bernard Shaw

Recital Weekend

2 down 2 to go.....I'm sooo tired. Thanks to everyone who helped watch my kids this weekend, really helped us a lot. 🙂 - Lisa

The Lost Finale (delayed)

Too much chaos here to watch the Lost series finale in 'real-time', so I'm DVR'ing it. I'll watch it once the kids and the Mrs. are asleep, so I can enjoy every second. One near disaster: Lisa walked into the living room to find the kids had shut off the recording of the pre-show to put on Disney. Lousy buggers!

GI Smiley

A moment ago Smiley was crouched in the sandbox. He was barechested & tan, with khaki-army(ish) pants slung low, & his blonde hair was in a near crewcut. He was filling a containter with sand, & on his face was a barely disguised look of fatigue/contempt for his lot in life. I laughed. "Jeez Smiley," I said, "You look like an extra from Platoon. All you need is a cigarette dangling from ur mouth & a chopper overhead"

Kate Gosselin

Lisa said something very insightful. She said that since Kate Gosselin is so damn stiff and difficult to watch on her gigs on DTWS, Entertainment Tonight, etc it's proof that her persona on J&K+8 was genuine. "She isn't a good enough actress to fake being real," Lisa said. And you know, she's right.

What the - ???

80 degrees outside, a backyard baking in the sun, a kiddie pool set up and in full use - and Junie comes outside wearing a swimsuit, snow boots, and a winter cap with tassels.

The Brewers need some confidence...and skill

I think it's sad that a real-time Brewers publication brags about having in the lead in the bottom of the ninth, then fiinshes the post with "Let's hope the Brewers can hang on!". Yeah, let's hope. Geesh, things went south here quickly, didn't they?

Cleaning the House

Cleaned the house all afternoon, capped by MAJOR fit by YaYa a few minutes ago. The kid deserves an Oscar, honest and truly. What a freakin' drama queen; you'd mistake her fits for outakes from Hostel. Alas (for YaYa) we didn't give in and made her clean our room & take out the trash. Unfortunately alll the dust of the cleanup set off a major asthma attack for Lu, but she's back in action now.

Hoarders

While at the Dollar Store today I ran into a Milwaukee man who was featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" He was there w/ his two foster children. I asked if he'd been on 'that TV show', intentionally avoiding its name, and he said yes. His kids got very excited & said they were stars & wanted to make a movie now. I said I was glad the show helped him and we went on our way.

My Sweet Lu :)

I just walked LK and OJ to the gas station so Livvie could spend some spare change on candy & whatnot. On the way home she pumped her fist. "Yeah!" she said, seriously giddy. "Daddy I've never spent my own money at the gas station. This was great. THE best moment of my life." I wish I was pleased as easily.

FB March 11th - 13th

March 11th:

I'm a wee bit peeved. I was called and asked to pick up a shift at work and said yeah, sure, just let me ck the wife's schedule and I'll call you back. I called and, naturally, it had been handed over to someone else - because that 15 min delay obviously meant the diff. between the comp going bankrupt or staying solvent. $%^#@

* [on the death of NFL player/actor Merlin Olsen] I was born too late to remember him from the NFL. My memories are limited to seeing him on Little House on the Prairie (wupping some punks that beat on Michael Landon in town) and the FTD commericals. RIP.

* Kansas City (MO) is planning to close 28 of its 61 public schools.

* I've finished the historical novel "The Burning Land" by Bernard Cornwell. As the 10th century ends the Saxon warrior Uhtred, oath-bound to Alfred the Great, forsakes his vows. But soon a Danish army under Haesten threatens Mercia - & Alfred's daughter, its Queen, so Uhtred's blade must sing again. It's fast moving, ...blood-drenched, (more or less) historically accurate adventure from a proven master. Well done.

* I dig the first line: "Sometimes multitasking has its limits." LOL Police: Woman Crashes Car While Shaving Bikini Area

* What a lousy night of AI. Andrew freakin' Garcia, Didi and Lacey Brown go forward while Lilly Scott is cut? F that. Good for her for not rolling over and mouthing the standard issue PC crap after she was robbed. Alex Lambert was screwed too; forget the mullet and listen to that voice. WTH was America thinking?

* I'm not a big 30 Rock fan, but "Hard Cheeses and Your Root Canal, Liz" had me LOL for so long I dang near wizzed my pants.

March 12th:

The kids are watching the ICarly special where they train for a space flight, and the exterior shot of the futuristic 'space training facility' is . . . the Milwaukee Art Museum.

* Exciting news. Viking remains have been found in England. All of the men were beheaded, presumably by the very Saxons they were trying to conquer. Not the greatest article. The concept of a "Dark Ages" has been largely discredited (and rightly so), and the term 'Viking' here is used as if it was a nationality, not (for lack of a better word) an occupation. Still, exciting.

* A beautiful, very foggy night out there. I just got back from running errands with YaYa for the last few hours, including burning the last of her Xmas GC at Barnes & Noble (where she picked up 2 Club Penguin books).

March 13th:

Paranoid is what people who are trying to take advantage call you in an effort to get you to drop your guard

* This is old news (Oct 2009) but new to me. This is the only known film image of Anne Frank, taken as she leaned out her window to watch a bride and groom next door. Here at home we continue to read 'The Diary of Anne Frank' to the girls before bed, usually only an entry or two a night.

Incredible

Yest. morning Lump's babysitter (a family member) suddenly tried pawning her off on another relative. When I heard this I called and asked about the sudden change of plans. She claimed this was what we'd agreed on [so not the case] "It's the information I was given," she said. "From who?" I said. "The President of Wakey-Wakey-Make-It-Uppy?"

I Agree Henry

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. - Henry David Thoreau

Not Cool GSA

Yikes! The Girl Scouts just charged my card $200 towards summer camp - that'd be $200 I can't spare - despite the fact that I took care of that bill months ago. They've reversed the charges ("for now") but I need to redo some of the paperwork (?!) for the camp. Apparently a large chunk of the application was lost, & so their computer records are incomplete & I was charged as part of a mass billing . . .

Ruby Ridge

Lisa & I watched a show on Ruby Ridge; what a needless waste. Then, we watched testimony from OR v Beagley, a case of alleged negligent homicide against parents who refused med treatment for their 16 yr old son. IMO, another case of the gov't overstepping its bounds. Gov't doesn't shrink or remain stagnant, it perpetually grows, like a cancer. I shudder to think what burdens our great-grandchildren will live under.

Babysitting the Godson

Babysitting my (soon to be) Godson TJ. Took him for a walk in the stroller with LuLu and Junie stopped at a local playground, then spent time in the backyard. He seemed the happiest outdoors, breaking into huge grins for Lisa & the girls. Now he's asleep in the bouncer, but he's been a little grumpy. From experience I'd say he's teething or constipated. Or he's po'd about the Brewers losing AGAIN; Lord knows I am.