This morning I began the daunting task of packing my things into a couple of bags. There's nothing to look forward to in this duty. It will include loss, the spending of money. There are a few things that I'll give away, but for the most part, anything that I've acquired I still want. At beginning of the trip in particular, I bought a wardrobe of great gently used professional attire. Hopefully Pat brings me some extra space in his suitcase.
Yep, Pat is coming tomorrow AM. Still hazy on what exactly we'll find ourselves up to. So far, my ideas include the Getty Museum, Yogurtland, the beach in some way/shape/form, a movie, the Grove, a ballgame, Century City mall, 3rd St Promenade, catch the finale of LOST, a harbor cruise that I tried to go on with Tiff (we missed it).... that's a good start for a 5-day visit, I think. Oh, and I'll have him help me get packed... yay :)
What an eventful weekend. Nadine turned 88 on Sunday, and the family got together at LA Country Club for a Saturday night celebratory dinner. According to Nadine, LA Country Club is classier than the CC she takes me to- Bel Air Country Club. You know, they're all nice. There it is. I dont want to think about how much my meal (chicken tostada salad) and drink alone must have cost. Anyhow, it was a nice time and I know that it meant a lot to Nadine, so mission accomplished! Church was powerful on Sunday, and after spending some time cooking and cleaning around the house I went to Bel Air Country Club with Nadine. We ran into some friends of hers- Marcella and Will- who invited us to dine with them. I had charbroiled pork chops with apple chutney. I've learned not to choose the cheapest item on the menu anymore (you all know how i am, whether I'm the one buying or not) because it draws too much attention. I still try to take it easy, though the prices climb to be pretty steep at these places. Anyhow, Will is 90 and from Boston. We talked quite a bit, or he told me about his Massachusetts experiences and I listened intently. He was there for about 25 years so it was home to him for a long time. Everyone I meet here, or ALMOST everyone I meet here, really likes Boston. (probably because it's the greatest.)
Amazing. I have found a frequency of sound that actually confuses my mind. Not sure that's technically what happens, but whenever I listen to this opening piece to a song by Thom Yorke, my brain feels like it's going to explode and I cant focus. So strange- addictive too.
Can you believe it? I certainly cant- has it really been a week since the last episode of LOST? Time flies I guess. And after this, there's Sunday night's Series Finale, and then that's that. ...meaning, every LOST fan starts watching the show from the beginning with new eyes, with the missing information that we are all still waiting to discover. I've cooled down from last week, after reading other blogs and analyses and at least being able to hash out the valuable parts of the episode. This time around promises to be great. AND it better involve Ben. How long must we wait? Maybe I'm the only one in the world who cares how his story turns out.
It was still a decision, though, to reserve the night for LOST. The Quakes are playing up in Lancaster, about 60 miles away, and wont be home again to Rancho Cucamonga till Friday. Hopefully I can convince Pat to go to a game.
So I made my nearly daily trip to the The Coffee Bean down the street today and once again ran into a guy here who've seen at least twice before, recently. Our meetings remind me of when I met my old friend Shawn Biggs on the commuter rail from Boston to Beverly.... we kept ending up sitting in the immediate vicinity to each other. Well, LA's Shawn is Kevin. I sat across the table from him about a week ago, and he asked me to watch his computer while he was outside talking with a friend (who was wearing a Yankees hat... I HAD to abandon my post for a moment to poke my head outdoors and give the poor guy flack for that- turns out he wasnt really a Yankees fan, was actually from out of the country, and had been harassed several times already for wearing the symbol of the evil empire). Yesterday, the only seat in the house that was open was again across a table from Kevin so I sat there in a comfy chair and once more told him I wouldnt let anyone snag his seat while he went down the street for a few. I got a free chai out of it.... and I've decided that I want to be a professional seat-saver :) Wouldnt mind that for a job. Today he was standing around taking a break from his writing when I walked in. Third time's a charm and we finally formally introduced ourselves. He's a writer, as I mentioned before, and he is currently working on his own memoir. He also showed me the trailer for a short film that he wrote. Too bad I'm only here for another week because when I mentioned that I can do audio editing he said that his editor flaked out on him recently. I told him as I realized it that in coming here I had hoped to meet many more people like him. The way he told it, he's got several creative projects going and is making things happen. I just didnt come across too many proactive dreamers in my time here. I know they're here somewhere, but I've missed out on being inspired by them. When I found creative spirits, they were either lazy, unmotivated, unaccessible/unrelatable, or their flame had burnt out leaving them jaded.
Really, it sounds like Boston has been warmer than LA. This stupid breeze is killing me. So sunny but so chilly. There were no open seats in the cafe so I'm outside with goosebumps.
Just a quick update on the moving process, before I head out for the evening. I have a place to live a block away from the Vineyard in Cambridge (woohoo) and also have a buyer for my car (yessss). This has been perhaps the most simple move ever. Usually around this time something goes wrong, but it really doesnt seem like that'll be the case. I'll be back in Boston on Monday afternoon/evening, and THERE BETTER BE WARM WEATHER LEFT FOR ME!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Oh, lots of little things..
I've got plenty to write about today... let's see if I get to everything before running out of steam.
So first of all, yes, it's Friday night and I'm writing in my blog. The Quakes are away for the next week. I dont know if the Dodgers are home or away but I havent really had the heart to go back to Dodger Stadium since that one game I attended. Guess what! After searching my mind for the past week or so, I came up with a couple things that I'll miss about Los Angeles (besides the wonderful Acker family, and a very few friends that I've spent time with). First, I'll miss the Quakes. Of course. I dont remember if I posted this here or on my baseball blog, but I've come to love the Quakes somewhere between how I love the '09 Spinners and how I love the Paw Sox. I know all of the typical starters on the team, and have a general sense of how they've been performing in 2010. I like them enough to drive all that way (sometimes through horrendous traffic) so I will definitely miss them, but at least I have plenty of teams to fill that hole with back in New England. The other thing that I'll really miss is a bit more irreplaceable- they REALLY know how to do movie experiences in this town. I've never been to a movie theatre here that didnt really wow me- granted, I've only been to 3 or 4. The screens here are MASSIVE. The picture is so clear and so large. My friend Roxy and I had to sit in the front row as we were late to the premiere of Remember Me and place was packed- the screen was soooo big that my eyes and my mind literally couldnt take it all in at once. The sound is just about perfect. The seating is always staggered stadium seating so there's no chance that you wont be able to see because of the tall guy or the girl with the big hair in front of you. The seats are cushy and leather-like, and lean back as far as is necessary. There are a billion previews, which I actually like, because I dont watch TV and otherwise have no idea what's going on for new/upcoming releases (i realize that many people actually wouldnt like this); and before the previews, for people who get there extra early, they show inside/behind-the-scene peeks into tv shows, other movies, celebrities... none of this business about trivia that cycles back around after 10 slides. Even better... I have as many coupons and more that get me to different theatres around the area for $6, $7 a pop. Hours of entertainment are definitely worth the financial cost.
I saw Robin Hood today, as it just came out. I really enjoyed it for what it was, but was hoping for and am reading for the story of his outlaw adventures. The movie was about his road to being declared an outlaw. I need to read the true account again because every movie has a different take on Robin Hood and a different story to tell.. so I actually dont know the real deal. Anyhow, Russell Crowe was wonderful, intense, genuine as always. And Cate Blanchette wasn't the Marian I imagine being the love of Robin Hood's life but she was a lot better than I thought she'd be in the role. (I have nothing against her as an actress but NEVER would have singled her out to play Maid Marian.) Surprise appearance by the guy who plays Martin Keamy on LOST! WOah! He's Little John. And... wow, I really liked him! He was great. In LOST, of course, he plays the most despicable, contemptible character. As the movie was about Robin Hood and not his entire band, we didnt see much of Little John but he was a presence for sure, for the role that he did have. Alan-a-Dale and Will Scarlett were present as well. Makes me wonder if they might do a second installment. There's definitely room for it and the first was good enough in my book that I'd go back for more.
Aside from the movie, I've been searching for housing around Boston and putting my car on the market all day today. It's tiring, and a lot of it is a waiting game. Trying to put the information out there, and also find out who is searching for a car/roommate, and waiting for responses. Time goes very slowly, it seems, when I'm trying to make craigslist work for me. I also stuck my car up on cars.com so hopefully that will be a helpful tool. There's a place in Brighton Center, a handful of miles from my church and definitely in the right price range, that I'm waiting to hear back about. Prayers? That if this could be a good place for me, that there would be little resistance in working out the details. You know how these things go... back and forth, rollercoasterish, until they finally settle.
Last night I drove down to Temecula to meet and visit with the Sidders, who are to be the new pastor-family at my parents' and cousin's church. We hit it right off and it was fully worth the 2+hour drive down there. We chatted for a number of hours, had pizza and chocolate cake (oh, how long it had been since i had eaten pizza! mmmm), and got to know each other. I'm excited for their move and I'm excited that we'll all be a part of each others' futures. I know that everyone in Maine loves them already and cant wait for them to arrive, and I can assure you that they're all just as excited, if not a bit more stressed out with selling the house, packing everything up, and finding a new home in the next couple of months. For those of you who have met the Sidders, I'm happy to report that while Robin is definitely off her feet for the most part, she is in great spirits, or was when I was there! Greg is clearly being a great support to her and had the house actually SPARKLING-clean for a realtor/potential house-buyer that came by while I was there. The kids were very well-behaved as I rambled what was probably mostly-boring talk about life here and life in Maine. Their oldest, Sean, is a photographer and we talked about that for a while- he had some pics of Fenway from when they visited Boston a few years ago!! Beautiful.
Around bedtime, I headed to destination #2 of the night- the church that Greg used to pastor, where some friends were playing a show. It was great to see slices of home in Doug and Darren (didnt run across Karl, and Joe was back in Maine with his wife Adrienne who had child #4 that day!). Not only slices of home, but the encountering of something, someone who runs deeper than just the past few years of my life. We're not close now and havent been for a while but there was a time when I spent a lot of time with Doug and his wife Angie, and with The Kingpin Wrecking Crew as a unit. There's history there. It was good to be there with them, even for such a short period of time. In the process, Doug introduced me to a guy in one of the other bands on the tour who was childhood best friends with Clay Buchholz- was one of the people who rented a hotel room out of town with Clay, Clay's dad, Clay's agent around the draft because Clay needed to escape his friends' and family's excited "hounding"... this guy played ball with Clay when Clay was both a pitcher and a shortstop. He told me that Clay led their team in homeruns ( I guess for a season... we didnt get to when that was or with which team)! This guy (I'll have to ask Doug to remind me of his name but he was really nice) played 2nd base and loved meeting up with Petey at Clay's wedding. He said Petey is his favorite... was a pretty funny guy. Time was short, we probably talked for about 7 minutes and then all of the members from each band went out when the show was over and hung around their merch tables. Really crazy to stumble across Buchholz's close friend like that though. (Clay and the Red Sox won vs Detroit today, woohoo! Petey hit his 8th homerun of the season, WOOHOO! And they were wearing their blue jerseys. And Petey had his socks showing?)
Man alive- no matter how Bowden pitches, he cant get a Win to his name to save his life. It's a TALENT of his- either taking the loss, or not factoring in the decision for a victory.
Crazy, Pat's coming here really soon, and then I'm leaving. Hopefully things are put together by that point but life just has this way of moving forward so whatever happens, happens. I think I actually covered all of the different things I had on my mind to write about. Good night East Coasters.
So first of all, yes, it's Friday night and I'm writing in my blog. The Quakes are away for the next week. I dont know if the Dodgers are home or away but I havent really had the heart to go back to Dodger Stadium since that one game I attended. Guess what! After searching my mind for the past week or so, I came up with a couple things that I'll miss about Los Angeles (besides the wonderful Acker family, and a very few friends that I've spent time with). First, I'll miss the Quakes. Of course. I dont remember if I posted this here or on my baseball blog, but I've come to love the Quakes somewhere between how I love the '09 Spinners and how I love the Paw Sox. I know all of the typical starters on the team, and have a general sense of how they've been performing in 2010. I like them enough to drive all that way (sometimes through horrendous traffic) so I will definitely miss them, but at least I have plenty of teams to fill that hole with back in New England. The other thing that I'll really miss is a bit more irreplaceable- they REALLY know how to do movie experiences in this town. I've never been to a movie theatre here that didnt really wow me- granted, I've only been to 3 or 4. The screens here are MASSIVE. The picture is so clear and so large. My friend Roxy and I had to sit in the front row as we were late to the premiere of Remember Me and place was packed- the screen was soooo big that my eyes and my mind literally couldnt take it all in at once. The sound is just about perfect. The seating is always staggered stadium seating so there's no chance that you wont be able to see because of the tall guy or the girl with the big hair in front of you. The seats are cushy and leather-like, and lean back as far as is necessary. There are a billion previews, which I actually like, because I dont watch TV and otherwise have no idea what's going on for new/upcoming releases (i realize that many people actually wouldnt like this); and before the previews, for people who get there extra early, they show inside/behind-the-scene peeks into tv shows, other movies, celebrities... none of this business about trivia that cycles back around after 10 slides. Even better... I have as many coupons and more that get me to different theatres around the area for $6, $7 a pop. Hours of entertainment are definitely worth the financial cost.
I saw Robin Hood today, as it just came out. I really enjoyed it for what it was, but was hoping for and am reading for the story of his outlaw adventures. The movie was about his road to being declared an outlaw. I need to read the true account again because every movie has a different take on Robin Hood and a different story to tell.. so I actually dont know the real deal. Anyhow, Russell Crowe was wonderful, intense, genuine as always. And Cate Blanchette wasn't the Marian I imagine being the love of Robin Hood's life but she was a lot better than I thought she'd be in the role. (I have nothing against her as an actress but NEVER would have singled her out to play Maid Marian.) Surprise appearance by the guy who plays Martin Keamy on LOST! WOah! He's Little John. And... wow, I really liked him! He was great. In LOST, of course, he plays the most despicable, contemptible character. As the movie was about Robin Hood and not his entire band, we didnt see much of Little John but he was a presence for sure, for the role that he did have. Alan-a-Dale and Will Scarlett were present as well. Makes me wonder if they might do a second installment. There's definitely room for it and the first was good enough in my book that I'd go back for more.
Aside from the movie, I've been searching for housing around Boston and putting my car on the market all day today. It's tiring, and a lot of it is a waiting game. Trying to put the information out there, and also find out who is searching for a car/roommate, and waiting for responses. Time goes very slowly, it seems, when I'm trying to make craigslist work for me. I also stuck my car up on cars.com so hopefully that will be a helpful tool. There's a place in Brighton Center, a handful of miles from my church and definitely in the right price range, that I'm waiting to hear back about. Prayers? That if this could be a good place for me, that there would be little resistance in working out the details. You know how these things go... back and forth, rollercoasterish, until they finally settle.
Last night I drove down to Temecula to meet and visit with the Sidders, who are to be the new pastor-family at my parents' and cousin's church. We hit it right off and it was fully worth the 2+hour drive down there. We chatted for a number of hours, had pizza and chocolate cake (oh, how long it had been since i had eaten pizza! mmmm), and got to know each other. I'm excited for their move and I'm excited that we'll all be a part of each others' futures. I know that everyone in Maine loves them already and cant wait for them to arrive, and I can assure you that they're all just as excited, if not a bit more stressed out with selling the house, packing everything up, and finding a new home in the next couple of months. For those of you who have met the Sidders, I'm happy to report that while Robin is definitely off her feet for the most part, she is in great spirits, or was when I was there! Greg is clearly being a great support to her and had the house actually SPARKLING-clean for a realtor/potential house-buyer that came by while I was there. The kids were very well-behaved as I rambled what was probably mostly-boring talk about life here and life in Maine. Their oldest, Sean, is a photographer and we talked about that for a while- he had some pics of Fenway from when they visited Boston a few years ago!! Beautiful.
Around bedtime, I headed to destination #2 of the night- the church that Greg used to pastor, where some friends were playing a show. It was great to see slices of home in Doug and Darren (didnt run across Karl, and Joe was back in Maine with his wife Adrienne who had child #4 that day!). Not only slices of home, but the encountering of something, someone who runs deeper than just the past few years of my life. We're not close now and havent been for a while but there was a time when I spent a lot of time with Doug and his wife Angie, and with The Kingpin Wrecking Crew as a unit. There's history there. It was good to be there with them, even for such a short period of time. In the process, Doug introduced me to a guy in one of the other bands on the tour who was childhood best friends with Clay Buchholz- was one of the people who rented a hotel room out of town with Clay, Clay's dad, Clay's agent around the draft because Clay needed to escape his friends' and family's excited "hounding"... this guy played ball with Clay when Clay was both a pitcher and a shortstop. He told me that Clay led their team in homeruns ( I guess for a season... we didnt get to when that was or with which team)! This guy (I'll have to ask Doug to remind me of his name but he was really nice) played 2nd base and loved meeting up with Petey at Clay's wedding. He said Petey is his favorite... was a pretty funny guy. Time was short, we probably talked for about 7 minutes and then all of the members from each band went out when the show was over and hung around their merch tables. Really crazy to stumble across Buchholz's close friend like that though. (Clay and the Red Sox won vs Detroit today, woohoo! Petey hit his 8th homerun of the season, WOOHOO! And they were wearing their blue jerseys. And Petey had his socks showing?)
Man alive- no matter how Bowden pitches, he cant get a Win to his name to save his life. It's a TALENT of his- either taking the loss, or not factoring in the decision for a victory.
Crazy, Pat's coming here really soon, and then I'm leaving. Hopefully things are put together by that point but life just has this way of moving forward so whatever happens, happens. I think I actually covered all of the different things I had on my mind to write about. Good night East Coasters.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
What We're Missing
See... regarding my last post, I think what has been bothering me the most is that the crucial information comes in what happened next. We saw all of this family drama... but how did the MIB come to be so absolutely set against his brother? Like MY brother said, there was never a point during the episode where MIB showed hatred for Jacob... there was always a brotherly bond there. Are we supposed to assume that their relationship as we have been shown it in the present is a result of Jacob's condemning action of chucking MIB down that tunnel? Sentencing him to something "worse than death"? We've been taught that making assumptions about LOST is a silly thing to do. Heck, we've even been shown that a lot of things that we come to think of as reality, as givens, are quite another.
Part of me likes the idea that the smoke monster preceded the man in black- and perhaps there's room for that, somehow- but I cant get past the fact that it wants to kill the Island's protector/replacements so badly when we see it in the form of MIB. In the last episode never saw the smoke monster trying to kill the guys' mother- the protector... smokey didnt seem to be part of Jacob's story until that moment that he threw his brother into the light. It's possible that the smoke monster is living the MIB's cause, since it's inhabiting his body- but with the Locke-thing, it seems more like Locke's body is serving the monster- not the monster serving all of Locke's past dreams and aspirations. And anyhow, MIB's cause was never to kill Jacob- not that we've seen. Even though MIB is capable of killing family... he shares a different type of relationship with Jacob than he did with his mother.
On an unrelated but still LOST note, can someone help me out with this one? You know a few episodes ago when Desmond has his sideways-world excursions? We switched with him from world to world whenever something like unconsciousness happened, right? I might be wrong here. I just remember that when he fainted with Penny in sideways-land, he "woke up" in the Island world- and sort of vice versa, he woke up to Penny once more after leaving consciousness in the Island world. I might be recalling it wrong so correct me if so. But if I'm right, how can these two worlds exist smoothly? If you can only be conscious in one world at a time? Because I dont think the premise of the worlds is that way, but that's what it seemed like, at least, during that episode- and in episodes earlier in the show, when Desmond was trying to find his constant. Anyhow. Huh.
OH. I'm going to be with the Brockton Rox this summer. In Brockton, MA. :)
Part of me likes the idea that the smoke monster preceded the man in black- and perhaps there's room for that, somehow- but I cant get past the fact that it wants to kill the Island's protector/replacements so badly when we see it in the form of MIB. In the last episode never saw the smoke monster trying to kill the guys' mother- the protector... smokey didnt seem to be part of Jacob's story until that moment that he threw his brother into the light. It's possible that the smoke monster is living the MIB's cause, since it's inhabiting his body- but with the Locke-thing, it seems more like Locke's body is serving the monster- not the monster serving all of Locke's past dreams and aspirations. And anyhow, MIB's cause was never to kill Jacob- not that we've seen. Even though MIB is capable of killing family... he shares a different type of relationship with Jacob than he did with his mother.
On an unrelated but still LOST note, can someone help me out with this one? You know a few episodes ago when Desmond has his sideways-world excursions? We switched with him from world to world whenever something like unconsciousness happened, right? I might be wrong here. I just remember that when he fainted with Penny in sideways-land, he "woke up" in the Island world- and sort of vice versa, he woke up to Penny once more after leaving consciousness in the Island world. I might be recalling it wrong so correct me if so. But if I'm right, how can these two worlds exist smoothly? If you can only be conscious in one world at a time? Because I dont think the premise of the worlds is that way, but that's what it seemed like, at least, during that episode- and in episodes earlier in the show, when Desmond was trying to find his constant. Anyhow. Huh.
OH. I'm going to be with the Brockton Rox this summer. In Brockton, MA. :)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Across The Sea
ANOTHER LOST POST. DONT READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE... and seriously even if you have, with only 2 more new episodes to go, you might just throw in the towel after watching last night's episode and in that case would want nothing to do with this blog entry. I would understand.
#1. Who is Claudia, where did she come from? How are people drawn to the Island before Jacob can draw them there- before he had a purpose to call them there? I have a feeling that these are some of those interesting questions that we will not be receiving an answer to.
#2. How long ago is this?? They're speaking in Latin at the beginning.
#3. What's the name of Jacob/the Man in Black's mother?
#4. How did she get the job of Island Protector?
#5. Why is the young Man in Black "special" according to mom?
#6. What a short labor. And babies without umbilical cords?
#7. What's up with the board game? This is probably the biggest piece of symbology in the episode but I kept waiting for the game to be some kind of metaphor for what's going on throughout the show.. never happened. If it's simply showing where those black and white rocks that keep popping up come from, then, eh.
#8. Jacob cant lie to save his life... unlike the MIB... who is special because of it?
#9. "Do you love me, Jacob?"
#10. I like the young Man in Black.
#11. "What's dead?" "Something you will never have to worry about." This implies some sort of immortality. Clearly, the kids are still aging, growing up... so does that mean that she's saying that one day when he takes over her protector roll (as she clearly assumes he will be the one to do so), he'll be immortal? I dont quite follow, because she says that she's made it so that the boys will never be able to hurt each other. Is this an immortality that allows aging, or aging up to a certain point? And if that's not the case, then what does it mean that they cant harm each other yet they are NOT immortal? HOW does the mother have these powers? How does Jacob have the power to grant Richard agelessness.
Pause. On the immortality front, are any of them actually immortal? Clearly, Jacob isnt- he just doesnt age, and cant be killed by his brother. Clearly, the mother isnt. Neither is Richard, who cant kill himself but can be killed. The Man in Black/Locke-thing, we're not sure about. Though Ben was able to kill Jacob, none of our survivors have been able to kill the Locke-thing- and there have been some attempts, to be sure.
Unpause.
#12. Hold up. What is going on with the fairytale that pokes its way into this episode? Seriously, legend is cool and fitting. Fairytale stuff though? Golden CGI light beaming out from a tunnel where a stream is flowing and red flowers are blooming? I remember last night's reaction to this... something like a raised eyebrow, and a whaaaat? Talk about a departure from the show. This whole episode seemed out of place because we really didnt see any of the main characters of the show. Now with the weird magical light, which still remains unnamed and unexplained... is it electromagnetic energy? It seems to be linked to the wheel that has been pushed on several occasions (by Ben, Locke, etc). It seems like a fairly important thing to know, so why cant we just cut to the chase? I mean, if you can call it cutting to the chase after all this time.
#13. Wow, this fairytale scene is complete with harp and chimes in the score.
#14. Why cant the mother protect the "light source" forever?
#15. "One day, you can make up your own game, and everyone else will have to follow your rules." young MIB to young Jacob. Hmmm.
#16. Why can the MIB see dead people? Why CANT Jacob?
#17. Before "present day" when the MIB is actually taking the form of many of the dead people we see on the show, "who" are these ghosts?
#18. Ahh. At around 17 min and 25 seconds, a REAL LOST scene.. trekking through the jungle at night with a torch. I can dig this.
#19. Jacob has a temper.
#20. "You'll never be able to leave this Island." Mom to little MIB. Truth? and Why? And was the ghost of his real mother trying to kill him by either getting him to leave (which he apparently cant do) or by driving someone else to kill him as he tries to leave- all because he is a candidate? Was the real-mom-ghost an old Smoke Monster who was just trying to escape the Island too, and needed all protectors/potential protectors dead? That just seems a little off, and a little too much of a leap or assumption to make. As far as we know, it's only the MIB who wants to leave - and not some possible other smoke monster being - because he wants to go to where he comes from (why? you've got me... if he has known the Island as his home for his entire life, I could see how he might be curious to see what's across the ocean but dont understand his sudden hatred of the Island).
#21. Isnt Hawaii beautiful?
#22. The mother had her baby on the Island and lived, or was going to if she hadnt been murdered. Maybe she was so far along that she wasnt affected by whatever tends to kill all other pregnant women.
#23. Yes.. Jacob will stay with his mother... for a while. What's the significance? He ends up staying for 30 more years.
#24. Tell me your thoughts on the loom.
#25. Tell me your thoughts on the mother's reaction to Jacob when he asks what she thinks of his tapestry.
#26. Love the first interaction we see between grown up Jacob and his brother. The brotherly back and forth... "well, then I'm sorry I asked about her."
#27. MIB has some muscle.
#28. "That's easy for you to say... looking down on them from above." MIB to Jacob.
#29. MIB talks about "his people" being greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy, selfish... these words describe their mother and the actions we have seen her take with Jacob/MIB.
#30. MIB says that the people are a means to an end- to get off the Island. This is different, at this point, as it doesnt appear that there are rules to his being able to leave (again... that we know of, that have been laid out- his mom did say that he cant leave). I dont understand why he hasnt built a boat after all this time. Really? Wait instead to figure out how to channel the electromagnetic activity underneath the surface of the Island? There have got to be easier ways to reach his goal.
#31. "No, it's impossible.. there IS no way off the Island." And the MIB's response is to yank his dagger from its sheath and huck it at a well. See? See Jacob? The knife sticks to the rocks. I told you there's a way off.
#32. "How do you know all this? How do you know it will work?" "I'm special, mother." And that's it. That's it? That's our explanation?
#33. Why does the MIB think that he doesnt belong there?
#34. Honestly, how does that woman overpower the MIB? She's weak and scraggly looking, he's been digging and working hard for 30 years, muscle man.
#35. "What's down there?" "Life, death, rebirth... it's the source, the heart of the Island." This would be a great little explanation, or a great start at least, if we knew what the Island is. The source of the Island? After all this time it still doesnt mean a lot to me.
#36. There's that flask of wine again. I read in some blog a long time ago that Jacob and the MIB always offer the candidates they've come upon a drink, and the writer was pondering the significance of that. I wonder if there really might be some kind of significance.
#37. Thank you, Jacob, for asking that woman why her "time is over". No thanks to you, lady, for ignoring the question.
#38. Why doesnt Jacob have a choice as to whether or not he's going to take over as protector?
#39. OOOOOH what does it MEAN? Now, you and I are the same. WHATTT DOES THAT MEAN
#40. Did the mother really fill in that well by herself? And kill all those people, and burn the village? Since she and Jacob are "the same" now, did he help her?
#41. Why is the MIB freaking out with the board game in hand? Is it meant to be a symbol of his mom in that scene? His anguish as he realizes what she has done?
#42. We didnt know until she got stabbed that the mother wanted to die. Apparently. It wasnt like Richard, who was trying to kill himself/get someone to help him die. Why was she happy to be killed?
#43. Jacob. Jacob, Jacob. Anger issues. Interesting, the transformation we see with Jacob. He is hot-headed with Richard, too. But anytime that we've seen him after that, he has always been calm/collected/in control.
#44. There's light down that tunnel. When Jacob throws his brother in, the nearly instant reaction is that a train of black smoke comes shooting out. Jacob later talks about how the Island is like a cork stopping the wine (Evil, Malevolence, etc) from spilling out all over the world. When the Evil that he speaks of is uncorked, everything else ceases to exist. So can someone help me tie these points together?
#45. Jacob's parting words are to his brother, not his mom.
After watching last night's episode, I came away with way too many questions. This is what I'm going to do- I'm going to watch the episode again right now and give my live thoughts/list all of my new or yet-unanswered questions in real time. This episode was such a waste in light of what it could have been. Do the writers realize that there are now only TWO episodes left in the series? How on earth can they be creating more questions? I think they're setting themselves up for failure, for massive disappointment, as I was disheartened and sort of miffed after watching the latest installment of LOST. In past episodes, scenes including Jacob and the MIB have been really substantial, very satisfying and/or thought provoking. They've been useful and relevant and the acting has been stellar. Finally, we get a glimpse into their backstory, only to find 1) that the blonde kid playing young Jacob isnt a LOST-caliber actor (I dont know if this was just me but apart from really looking like a young Jacob, I thought this kid was distractingly... not good); 2) the writers think enough of us (viewers) to answer the trivial question of who the two skeletons in the cave are from season 1 (Jack and Hugo recently ran across them again in season 6) before even naming the MIB or his/Jacob's faux-mom; 3) ...again about wasting an episode that could be used for so much good- there were so many questions that could have been answered, relevant questions, that stubbornly remain mysteries. I feel like the LOST people are now just being stingy with us, and at this point in the life of the show, I would think that they owe viewers more than that.
My hope is that I either missed some big truth or truths in this episode, or that the writers really can turn it all around in the remaining 2 episodes. I've heard Damon and Carlton say before that some questions just wont be answered- arent crucial, and wont be answered. Well, again, why the heck are you shoving that stupid explanation of who "Adam" and "Eve" are in our faces when there are so many more pertinent secrets to be shared? That was kind of insulting almost, like one more distraction - like a parent trying to distract a little kid who sees a toy they want by pulling out a stick of gum and making it seem like the gum is so awesome, have the gum, forget about the toy. NO! THE TOY IS AWESOME. Give me something I can have and play with for a long time. Who cares about the Island's "Adam" and "Eve", who (as it turns out) aren't very Adam and Eve-like anyhow.
Ok ok. Time to watch. Comments to come.
#1. Who is Claudia, where did she come from? How are people drawn to the Island before Jacob can draw them there- before he had a purpose to call them there? I have a feeling that these are some of those interesting questions that we will not be receiving an answer to.
#2. How long ago is this?? They're speaking in Latin at the beginning.
#3. What's the name of Jacob/the Man in Black's mother?
#4. How did she get the job of Island Protector?
#5. Why is the young Man in Black "special" according to mom?
#6. What a short labor. And babies without umbilical cords?
#7. What's up with the board game? This is probably the biggest piece of symbology in the episode but I kept waiting for the game to be some kind of metaphor for what's going on throughout the show.. never happened. If it's simply showing where those black and white rocks that keep popping up come from, then, eh.
#8. Jacob cant lie to save his life... unlike the MIB... who is special because of it?
#9. "Do you love me, Jacob?"
#10. I like the young Man in Black.
#11. "What's dead?" "Something you will never have to worry about." This implies some sort of immortality. Clearly, the kids are still aging, growing up... so does that mean that she's saying that one day when he takes over her protector roll (as she clearly assumes he will be the one to do so), he'll be immortal? I dont quite follow, because she says that she's made it so that the boys will never be able to hurt each other. Is this an immortality that allows aging, or aging up to a certain point? And if that's not the case, then what does it mean that they cant harm each other yet they are NOT immortal? HOW does the mother have these powers? How does Jacob have the power to grant Richard agelessness.
Pause. On the immortality front, are any of them actually immortal? Clearly, Jacob isnt- he just doesnt age, and cant be killed by his brother. Clearly, the mother isnt. Neither is Richard, who cant kill himself but can be killed. The Man in Black/Locke-thing, we're not sure about. Though Ben was able to kill Jacob, none of our survivors have been able to kill the Locke-thing- and there have been some attempts, to be sure.
Unpause.
#12. Hold up. What is going on with the fairytale that pokes its way into this episode? Seriously, legend is cool and fitting. Fairytale stuff though? Golden CGI light beaming out from a tunnel where a stream is flowing and red flowers are blooming? I remember last night's reaction to this... something like a raised eyebrow, and a whaaaat? Talk about a departure from the show. This whole episode seemed out of place because we really didnt see any of the main characters of the show. Now with the weird magical light, which still remains unnamed and unexplained... is it electromagnetic energy? It seems to be linked to the wheel that has been pushed on several occasions (by Ben, Locke, etc). It seems like a fairly important thing to know, so why cant we just cut to the chase? I mean, if you can call it cutting to the chase after all this time.
#13. Wow, this fairytale scene is complete with harp and chimes in the score.
#14. Why cant the mother protect the "light source" forever?
#15. "One day, you can make up your own game, and everyone else will have to follow your rules." young MIB to young Jacob. Hmmm.
#16. Why can the MIB see dead people? Why CANT Jacob?
#17. Before "present day" when the MIB is actually taking the form of many of the dead people we see on the show, "who" are these ghosts?
#18. Ahh. At around 17 min and 25 seconds, a REAL LOST scene.. trekking through the jungle at night with a torch. I can dig this.
#19. Jacob has a temper.
#20. "You'll never be able to leave this Island." Mom to little MIB. Truth? and Why? And was the ghost of his real mother trying to kill him by either getting him to leave (which he apparently cant do) or by driving someone else to kill him as he tries to leave- all because he is a candidate? Was the real-mom-ghost an old Smoke Monster who was just trying to escape the Island too, and needed all protectors/potential protectors dead? That just seems a little off, and a little too much of a leap or assumption to make. As far as we know, it's only the MIB who wants to leave - and not some possible other smoke monster being - because he wants to go to where he comes from (why? you've got me... if he has known the Island as his home for his entire life, I could see how he might be curious to see what's across the ocean but dont understand his sudden hatred of the Island).
#21. Isnt Hawaii beautiful?
#22. The mother had her baby on the Island and lived, or was going to if she hadnt been murdered. Maybe she was so far along that she wasnt affected by whatever tends to kill all other pregnant women.
#23. Yes.. Jacob will stay with his mother... for a while. What's the significance? He ends up staying for 30 more years.
#24. Tell me your thoughts on the loom.
#25. Tell me your thoughts on the mother's reaction to Jacob when he asks what she thinks of his tapestry.
#26. Love the first interaction we see between grown up Jacob and his brother. The brotherly back and forth... "well, then I'm sorry I asked about her."
#27. MIB has some muscle.
#28. "That's easy for you to say... looking down on them from above." MIB to Jacob.
#29. MIB talks about "his people" being greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy, selfish... these words describe their mother and the actions we have seen her take with Jacob/MIB.
#30. MIB says that the people are a means to an end- to get off the Island. This is different, at this point, as it doesnt appear that there are rules to his being able to leave (again... that we know of, that have been laid out- his mom did say that he cant leave). I dont understand why he hasnt built a boat after all this time. Really? Wait instead to figure out how to channel the electromagnetic activity underneath the surface of the Island? There have got to be easier ways to reach his goal.
#31. "No, it's impossible.. there IS no way off the Island." And the MIB's response is to yank his dagger from its sheath and huck it at a well. See? See Jacob? The knife sticks to the rocks. I told you there's a way off.
#32. "How do you know all this? How do you know it will work?" "I'm special, mother." And that's it. That's it? That's our explanation?
#33. Why does the MIB think that he doesnt belong there?
#34. Honestly, how does that woman overpower the MIB? She's weak and scraggly looking, he's been digging and working hard for 30 years, muscle man.
#35. "What's down there?" "Life, death, rebirth... it's the source, the heart of the Island." This would be a great little explanation, or a great start at least, if we knew what the Island is. The source of the Island? After all this time it still doesnt mean a lot to me.
#36. There's that flask of wine again. I read in some blog a long time ago that Jacob and the MIB always offer the candidates they've come upon a drink, and the writer was pondering the significance of that. I wonder if there really might be some kind of significance.
#37. Thank you, Jacob, for asking that woman why her "time is over". No thanks to you, lady, for ignoring the question.
#38. Why doesnt Jacob have a choice as to whether or not he's going to take over as protector?
#39. OOOOOH what does it MEAN? Now, you and I are the same. WHATTT DOES THAT MEAN
#40. Did the mother really fill in that well by herself? And kill all those people, and burn the village? Since she and Jacob are "the same" now, did he help her?
#41. Why is the MIB freaking out with the board game in hand? Is it meant to be a symbol of his mom in that scene? His anguish as he realizes what she has done?
#42. We didnt know until she got stabbed that the mother wanted to die. Apparently. It wasnt like Richard, who was trying to kill himself/get someone to help him die. Why was she happy to be killed?
#43. Jacob. Jacob, Jacob. Anger issues. Interesting, the transformation we see with Jacob. He is hot-headed with Richard, too. But anytime that we've seen him after that, he has always been calm/collected/in control.
#44. There's light down that tunnel. When Jacob throws his brother in, the nearly instant reaction is that a train of black smoke comes shooting out. Jacob later talks about how the Island is like a cork stopping the wine (Evil, Malevolence, etc) from spilling out all over the world. When the Evil that he speaks of is uncorked, everything else ceases to exist. So can someone help me tie these points together?
#45. Jacob's parting words are to his brother, not his mom.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Titles dont always come so easily
Of course, on the one day I would be waiting by my phone, it runs out of juice. That's ok. By the time it went dead, it was already late by EST standards. It may come tomorrow, then, and if/when the call does come... oh how I wish that they'll say yes to me.
I had the chance to see 20 year old Tyler Chatwood pitch for the Quakes. Solid, though he threw a lot of pitches. I'm surprised that they didnt yank him earlier than they did, but he hurled 105 pitches before leaving the game. The kid is sort of like a nearly-grown puppy. Still gets emotional, excited with every strikeout and devastated with every walk that he issues. I dont know if I've ever noticed another pitcher being so reactionary on the mound. But especially for his size- not a tall guy by any means- he has a lot of power and a couple "plus" (really good) pitches. I read a scouting report on him before seeing him play, and can vouch for his curveball and his fastball- which sits between 92-94, has reached 97 but I only saw up to 95 today. He reminds me of Michael Bowden in one way- he relies heavily on his upper body, and I imagine it would only improve his effectiveness if he used his legs more. Going along with that, he has an over-the-top armslot, and though I've heard that Bowden has significantly altered his mechanics this season, I can only remember him with that unique, extreme up-and-over winging motion.
Anyhow, he didnt let up any runs, only allowed 3 hits, issued 4 walks but struck out 6. I'm excited to meet him. I could have by now but the rules are different here.. I dont know if he's allowed to talk to me during the game when he's in the stands. Also, I'm not entirely clear on exactly when he is in the stands. They have three guys charting instead of 2. The rule of the 2 charters is that it'll be the guy who just had a start, and the guy who's start is the next game. The rule of the 3 charters remains unknown- Tyler pitched today, but was in the stands on Saturday. (??)
Alright, now that I've lost 90% of my readers...
I dont know, it's sort of hard to tell, but I'm thinking that I'm tan. I dont even have to try. I havent gotten a painful burn thus far and I'm not sure why- the sun is more powerful than I'm used to.
GUESS WHAT! Sorry, back to the baseball for just a sec... I only have room for one more game in my scorebook!! I need to get another one. For some reason, this feels like an accomplishment. It's exciting to me.
I have a lot of frozen shrimp. I need some ideas here... what do i do with all this shrimp? Monday nights are unsettling. It's generally free and I'm never quite sure what to do with myself. I often cook, but I did some cooking this past weekend and have two different left over meals to take care of first. LOST isnt for another 24+ hours. I'm not going to another movie until Robin Hood hits the big screen this coming Friday. I've taken care of all of my chores, and am still unsure of what the immediate future holds- so I cant even go much further than I have in looking for accommodations. I guess I'll write, and watch some Red Sox baseball, and think about the rest of the week. On Thursday I'll head to Temecula to meet the new pastor/his wife of my parents' church... and The Wrecking is in Temecula that night so I'll swing by their show as well.
I received a letter from my Grandma a couple days ago, and it made my heart sing. It was very descriptive of the events of her day and it was just perfect. Today, incoming from none other than Mr Howard W Merrill! I kid you not. It cracked me up:
I had the chance to see 20 year old Tyler Chatwood pitch for the Quakes. Solid, though he threw a lot of pitches. I'm surprised that they didnt yank him earlier than they did, but he hurled 105 pitches before leaving the game. The kid is sort of like a nearly-grown puppy. Still gets emotional, excited with every strikeout and devastated with every walk that he issues. I dont know if I've ever noticed another pitcher being so reactionary on the mound. But especially for his size- not a tall guy by any means- he has a lot of power and a couple "plus" (really good) pitches. I read a scouting report on him before seeing him play, and can vouch for his curveball and his fastball- which sits between 92-94, has reached 97 but I only saw up to 95 today. He reminds me of Michael Bowden in one way- he relies heavily on his upper body, and I imagine it would only improve his effectiveness if he used his legs more. Going along with that, he has an over-the-top armslot, and though I've heard that Bowden has significantly altered his mechanics this season, I can only remember him with that unique, extreme up-and-over winging motion.
Anyhow, he didnt let up any runs, only allowed 3 hits, issued 4 walks but struck out 6. I'm excited to meet him. I could have by now but the rules are different here.. I dont know if he's allowed to talk to me during the game when he's in the stands. Also, I'm not entirely clear on exactly when he is in the stands. They have three guys charting instead of 2. The rule of the 2 charters is that it'll be the guy who just had a start, and the guy who's start is the next game. The rule of the 3 charters remains unknown- Tyler pitched today, but was in the stands on Saturday. (??)
Alright, now that I've lost 90% of my readers...
I dont know, it's sort of hard to tell, but I'm thinking that I'm tan. I dont even have to try. I havent gotten a painful burn thus far and I'm not sure why- the sun is more powerful than I'm used to.
GUESS WHAT! Sorry, back to the baseball for just a sec... I only have room for one more game in my scorebook!! I need to get another one. For some reason, this feels like an accomplishment. It's exciting to me.
I have a lot of frozen shrimp. I need some ideas here... what do i do with all this shrimp? Monday nights are unsettling. It's generally free and I'm never quite sure what to do with myself. I often cook, but I did some cooking this past weekend and have two different left over meals to take care of first. LOST isnt for another 24+ hours. I'm not going to another movie until Robin Hood hits the big screen this coming Friday. I've taken care of all of my chores, and am still unsure of what the immediate future holds- so I cant even go much further than I have in looking for accommodations. I guess I'll write, and watch some Red Sox baseball, and think about the rest of the week. On Thursday I'll head to Temecula to meet the new pastor/his wife of my parents' church... and The Wrecking is in Temecula that night so I'll swing by their show as well.
If any of you want to help me translate some of this letter... by all means, please do. :)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday
Not the greatest start to the day. I got in late after baseball and fireworks last night, and this morning felt so nauseous upon waking that I just laid still for a long time. Eventually I got up and remembered that I have asparagus in the fridge that needs to be dealt with before it goes bad. I got this asparagus for $1.60/lb. WOWWWW. Fresh and all. Anyhow, feeling better after being up and about, and showering, and spending some time in the kitchen.
Before I forget, for any of you who have read/watched the Twilight series, I was sitting in The Coffee Bean the other day when in walked Billy Burke who plays Bella Swan's dad, Charlie. I didnt say anything to him. I spent most of the time he was in there ordering just looking at him, trying to determine whether it was or wasnt him. It definitely was. Just.. interesting.
he looked a lot grungier than this. he was wearing his "rockstar" look (he's releasing an album soon).
Nothing going on today. Which will probably mean lots of reading. It's good... it will be nice to stay around the house as funny as that sounds. I dont stick around here all too often.
happy Mother's Day to my mom, my aunties, my grandma, and my friends who are mothers! I love you ladies!
Before I forget, for any of you who have read/watched the Twilight series, I was sitting in The Coffee Bean the other day when in walked Billy Burke who plays Bella Swan's dad, Charlie. I didnt say anything to him. I spent most of the time he was in there ordering just looking at him, trying to determine whether it was or wasnt him. It definitely was. Just.. interesting.
he looked a lot grungier than this. he was wearing his "rockstar" look (he's releasing an album soon).
Nothing going on today. Which will probably mean lots of reading. It's good... it will be nice to stay around the house as funny as that sounds. I dont stick around here all too often.
happy Mother's Day to my mom, my aunties, my grandma, and my friends who are mothers! I love you ladies!
Friday, May 7, 2010
More baseball talk
The Red Sox are playing the Yankees and I'm off to flip burgers at a church youth event.
Oh well.
I made some cookies today, chatted with my mom (happy birthday mom!), delivered some potato salad to Nadine's brother who lives a few miles away, played around on craigslist, and had a phone interview with Tom Healy of the Brockton Rox. As far as I'm concerned, it went very well. By the end of the conversation there were a lot of statements made in a forward-looking tense. He is telling the rest of his team about our conversation, and will be back in touch with me on Monday regarding whether or not I have the position. If I do, I'll be in Massachusetts within the month as their season starts at the beginning of June. Right now, at this very moment, I cant really imagine anything about my future. It's overwhelming. But this opportunity will be a great one if I'm afforded it. Just think of all the money I'll save not having to buy tickets to games... I'll have to be at each of 47 home games- season from June through early September, so I'll miss most of summer baseball elsewhere, but will have Sept and October as rosters expand... and Josh Papelbon was just signed to the Rox, so that's an interesting little piece of trivia for you all.
....more to come. time to serve.
-------
The event was good. That's it... nothing happened, I met a few people but no one who I will likely ever come across again. The kids didnt really pay us much attention, and I prepared burgers for them and watched them run around the place. I'm just glad I had something productive to do.
I bought Pirates Booty on a whim and am so glad that I did. Yum.
Unfortunately I dont have anything more to write, or if I do I cant think of it right now. Gonna watch some Robin Hood and go to bed...
Oh well.
I made some cookies today, chatted with my mom (happy birthday mom!), delivered some potato salad to Nadine's brother who lives a few miles away, played around on craigslist, and had a phone interview with Tom Healy of the Brockton Rox. As far as I'm concerned, it went very well. By the end of the conversation there were a lot of statements made in a forward-looking tense. He is telling the rest of his team about our conversation, and will be back in touch with me on Monday regarding whether or not I have the position. If I do, I'll be in Massachusetts within the month as their season starts at the beginning of June. Right now, at this very moment, I cant really imagine anything about my future. It's overwhelming. But this opportunity will be a great one if I'm afforded it. Just think of all the money I'll save not having to buy tickets to games... I'll have to be at each of 47 home games- season from June through early September, so I'll miss most of summer baseball elsewhere, but will have Sept and October as rosters expand... and Josh Papelbon was just signed to the Rox, so that's an interesting little piece of trivia for you all.
....more to come. time to serve.
-------
The event was good. That's it... nothing happened, I met a few people but no one who I will likely ever come across again. The kids didnt really pay us much attention, and I prepared burgers for them and watched them run around the place. I'm just glad I had something productive to do.
I bought Pirates Booty on a whim and am so glad that I did. Yum.
Unfortunately I dont have anything more to write, or if I do I cant think of it right now. Gonna watch some Robin Hood and go to bed...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Robin Hood!
Woohooooo, Robin Hood will be out in theatres soon! I'm pretty psyched. It's definitely my favorite legend, the story of Robin Hood. Russell Crowe's serious-face is all over the place around here. A great Robin Hood portrayal can be found here:
http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/177.html
...but I like 'em all, and actually the Disney version is my favorite/one of my top favorite movies period. The one found at that link just happens to be.. well, perhaps the most studly Robin Hood ever.
Ok, enough of that.
I saw Date Night tonight... the movie with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. There were some sketchy parts but it was different than your typical comedy and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to laugh uncontrollably a few times. Steve Carell has a few new movies coming out, actually... the previews included two or three of his that will be hitting the box office soon. This is probably a good thing for him... the Office is still really funny from new episode to new episode but is it just me, or has it lost a lot of momentum/hype? I dont hear people talking about how funny the Office was last night anymore.
Nadine is heading away for the weekend as a number of her grandchildren are graduating from college or high school. I have a good itinerary for the next few days, which includes doing some baking, getting to a Quakes game (they come home tomorrow), volunteering at a youth event tomorrow night (manning the grill, haha), heading to Reality LA on Sunday with Kate if she decides to come with, OH, and calling my MOTHER. The stars collide every year around this time in early May, when Mothers' Day and MY Mother's Day tag team us all. Thankfully for once in my life I thought ahead. Hopefully everything gets there tomorrow, day 3, but if not I imagine it'll arrive on day 4, which would still keep things nicely within the bounds of birthday and Mothers' Day.
I'm still not used to the time difference. It never ceases to surprise me when I realize that everyone I know is 3 hours in the future. You're all asleep as I type this, or well on your way. Here, the night is still relatively young.
On that note... I'm excited for the youth event tomorrow night. I'm hoping to meet some people who are helping out, make a friend or two... we'll see. I guess it really doesnt matter either way.
http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/177.html
...but I like 'em all, and actually the Disney version is my favorite/one of my top favorite movies period. The one found at that link just happens to be.. well, perhaps the most studly Robin Hood ever.
Ok, enough of that.
I saw Date Night tonight... the movie with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. There were some sketchy parts but it was different than your typical comedy and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to laugh uncontrollably a few times. Steve Carell has a few new movies coming out, actually... the previews included two or three of his that will be hitting the box office soon. This is probably a good thing for him... the Office is still really funny from new episode to new episode but is it just me, or has it lost a lot of momentum/hype? I dont hear people talking about how funny the Office was last night anymore.
Nadine is heading away for the weekend as a number of her grandchildren are graduating from college or high school. I have a good itinerary for the next few days, which includes doing some baking, getting to a Quakes game (they come home tomorrow), volunteering at a youth event tomorrow night (manning the grill, haha), heading to Reality LA on Sunday with Kate if she decides to come with, OH, and calling my MOTHER. The stars collide every year around this time in early May, when Mothers' Day and MY Mother's Day tag team us all. Thankfully for once in my life I thought ahead. Hopefully everything gets there tomorrow, day 3, but if not I imagine it'll arrive on day 4, which would still keep things nicely within the bounds of birthday and Mothers' Day.
I'm still not used to the time difference. It never ceases to surprise me when I realize that everyone I know is 3 hours in the future. You're all asleep as I type this, or well on your way. Here, the night is still relatively young.
On that note... I'm excited for the youth event tomorrow night. I'm hoping to meet some people who are helping out, make a friend or two... we'll see. I guess it really doesnt matter either way.
Make A Wish
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011740342_electronboy30m.html
...wow. :)
...wow. :)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
LOST - the 4th hour from the end
LOST SPOILER ALERT. For goodness' sake, dont read this until you've watched the most recent episode.
After watching LOST last night, today has been a quiet day filled with thought. I feel almost as though I have "lost" 3 friends, each of whom I've known for years. One of them has been more or less "gone" for the entirety of this season, but somehow he was back to his old animated and resourceful self last night, it seemed. (not sure if there was a reason for that, or if it was a continuity error, or if my observation is legitimate.) Of course the other two had to go... that was the most romantic and painful direction in which to take them, after their recent long-anticipated reunion.
So. Three episodes remain, and we still have no idea what this Locke-inhabiting being is up to. Until last night, I was under the impression that he needed the survivors to join him in leaving the island- and admittedly, I had no idea why this would be, and was slightly impatient to be given a reason for all of the, "You all must come to the island, or leave the island, together and in a certain way" blathering. We've never been told about these rules, still, after all this time! Several characters seem to know enough to at least tell the key players that things have to be a certain way, so there are rules at work here, no question. I guess that after all this time, I'm ready for some context. I'm ready to understand the rules, I'm ready to understand each side's objective. Anyhow, I guess that the Locke-thing actually needs them all dead, which would make sense with Jacob dead too- the Man in Black told Jacob that if Jacob found a replacement, he'd just kill him or her too. With no replacements, the Man in Black/Locke-thing could skeedaddle, I guess. But Jacob's replacement hasnt been named, so isnt it sort of like there's no one holding the position right now? I dont see why the Locke-thing cant just up and leave. Also, STILL not sure why he's not allowed to kill the candidates... and very much wondering why Charles Widmore had such a change of feeling, or apparently so, towards the survivors. AND... WHERE IS BEN!! ...fine- where is Richard, too? There are only 3 new hours left of LOST. I want to see what Ben is up to!
Lots of cover letters to mail out today. Maybe more writing to come later...
After watching LOST last night, today has been a quiet day filled with thought. I feel almost as though I have "lost" 3 friends, each of whom I've known for years. One of them has been more or less "gone" for the entirety of this season, but somehow he was back to his old animated and resourceful self last night, it seemed. (not sure if there was a reason for that, or if it was a continuity error, or if my observation is legitimate.) Of course the other two had to go... that was the most romantic and painful direction in which to take them, after their recent long-anticipated reunion.
So. Three episodes remain, and we still have no idea what this Locke-inhabiting being is up to. Until last night, I was under the impression that he needed the survivors to join him in leaving the island- and admittedly, I had no idea why this would be, and was slightly impatient to be given a reason for all of the, "You all must come to the island, or leave the island, together and in a certain way" blathering. We've never been told about these rules, still, after all this time! Several characters seem to know enough to at least tell the key players that things have to be a certain way, so there are rules at work here, no question. I guess that after all this time, I'm ready for some context. I'm ready to understand the rules, I'm ready to understand each side's objective. Anyhow, I guess that the Locke-thing actually needs them all dead, which would make sense with Jacob dead too- the Man in Black told Jacob that if Jacob found a replacement, he'd just kill him or her too. With no replacements, the Man in Black/Locke-thing could skeedaddle, I guess. But Jacob's replacement hasnt been named, so isnt it sort of like there's no one holding the position right now? I dont see why the Locke-thing cant just up and leave. Also, STILL not sure why he's not allowed to kill the candidates... and very much wondering why Charles Widmore had such a change of feeling, or apparently so, towards the survivors. AND... WHERE IS BEN!! ...fine- where is Richard, too? There are only 3 new hours left of LOST. I want to see what Ben is up to!
Lots of cover letters to mail out today. Maybe more writing to come later...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Coffee Bean
Today I got some good mailing action taken care of. I did something very stupid, and uncharacteristic for that matter, by mailing something that ended up costing me about $14 when I could have thought ahead and gone the flat rate route. Pretty dumb.
Some job searching, some cover letter writing, some gchatting with Roshan, Julie, Kenny, and Nicole, some reading, some coffee drinking. Currently, I'm listening to the Red Sox game (the video feed is blacked out because the Angels are playing the Sox and Angels games are all blacked out for me... how stupid!!!) and enjoying the Papelbon/Dunkin Donuts commercials. What a combination. Red Sox kicked some behind last night... taking out their angst from being swept by the O's over the weekend. Understandable. Embarrassing. And now Jon Lester is pitching insanely well. Without going into it too much, this is his second consecutive start in which he has pitched dominantly which is a key sign that we're seeing the real Jon Lester once again, after a tough first few outings at the start of the season.He's gone for 7 innings, 106 pitches, 4 hits/1 earned run/1 walk allowed, and he's struck out 5. That's a really nice night right there- unfortunately, the game's tied at 1, so our boys better step it up and get Lester that W.
What a glorious, sunny day. Tonight we've got a new episode of LOST... not sure what to have for dinner before then, if anything. This coffee might be enough for me. Hopefully by now everyone has received their pictures of my norcal excursion.
Julie just sent me this picture of Boston, taken this evening:
The Coffee Bean is the closest coffee shop, so if I'm wanting coffee or a place to hang out, The Coffee Bean is my go-to place. Today, I decided to give Peet's Coffee a shot, and judging by today's brews at either coffee shop, I can say that The Coffee Bean's coffee is much much better. I suppose that this is good to know, and if I was really interested in investigating this matter I'd enlarge my sample size but The Coffee Bean has never once let me down. It's sad that there are no cheap places like Dunkin Donuts- at least, I havent found them- but The Coffee Bean is a comfortable hangout spot for studying, writing, and job hunting/dreaming.
I have to wonder why Dunkin Donuts has not moved into California. I know that there's a demand. People would love it out here, cheaper coffee, donuts, bagels, breakfast sandwiches all together. The major coffee joints around are all alike- fancy coffee, decadent-looking bakery items. What about those of us who dont WANT all of that quality stuff? Just a plain old bagel or an occasional treat donut hole will do the trick, thank you.
Well, it's pretty cool to see that at my blog has over 700 views. Tell your friends, and maybe the pressure will get to me and I'll start writing something interesting here :)
Some job searching, some cover letter writing, some gchatting with Roshan, Julie, Kenny, and Nicole, some reading, some coffee drinking. Currently, I'm listening to the Red Sox game (the video feed is blacked out because the Angels are playing the Sox and Angels games are all blacked out for me... how stupid!!!) and enjoying the Papelbon/Dunkin Donuts commercials. What a combination. Red Sox kicked some behind last night... taking out their angst from being swept by the O's over the weekend. Understandable. Embarrassing. And now Jon Lester is pitching insanely well. Without going into it too much, this is his second consecutive start in which he has pitched dominantly which is a key sign that we're seeing the real Jon Lester once again, after a tough first few outings at the start of the season.He's gone for 7 innings, 106 pitches, 4 hits/1 earned run/1 walk allowed, and he's struck out 5. That's a really nice night right there- unfortunately, the game's tied at 1, so our boys better step it up and get Lester that W.
What a glorious, sunny day. Tonight we've got a new episode of LOST... not sure what to have for dinner before then, if anything. This coffee might be enough for me. Hopefully by now everyone has received their pictures of my norcal excursion.
Julie just sent me this picture of Boston, taken this evening:
The Coffee Bean is the closest coffee shop, so if I'm wanting coffee or a place to hang out, The Coffee Bean is my go-to place. Today, I decided to give Peet's Coffee a shot, and judging by today's brews at either coffee shop, I can say that The Coffee Bean's coffee is much much better. I suppose that this is good to know, and if I was really interested in investigating this matter I'd enlarge my sample size but The Coffee Bean has never once let me down. It's sad that there are no cheap places like Dunkin Donuts- at least, I havent found them- but The Coffee Bean is a comfortable hangout spot for studying, writing, and job hunting/dreaming.
I have to wonder why Dunkin Donuts has not moved into California. I know that there's a demand. People would love it out here, cheaper coffee, donuts, bagels, breakfast sandwiches all together. The major coffee joints around are all alike- fancy coffee, decadent-looking bakery items. What about those of us who dont WANT all of that quality stuff? Just a plain old bagel or an occasional treat donut hole will do the trick, thank you.
Well, it's pretty cool to see that at my blog has over 700 views. Tell your friends, and maybe the pressure will get to me and I'll start writing something interesting here :)
Monday, May 3, 2010
A Long Day in LA
I'm not making any declarations here, but I also will not make it a secret that my thoughts and future plans are in New England. When I've spoken with friends and family about my experience with life out west, the most significant issue that I tend to cite is the difference in culture. I always try to point out up front that my feelings arent a judgement of what's "good" and what's "bad"- it's a reaction to the fact that once you become aware of your options, you're free to make choices.
I dont have an overwhelming need at this point to put down an entire dissertation on the differences between New England and LA living. I will, however, give you a few of my thoughts. First, I am extremely thankful that I have had the means and the opportunity to come out to Los Angeles. Not only have I been spared from record flooding and water boil orders in MA, but I've gotten a healthy dose of sunshine and a handful of self-revelations under my belt. Having a chance to step outside of my norm has given me the ability to better understand what is important to me, and has also taught me that at age 24 I am still very much in the process of getting to know myself. The day that I realized that I dont know myself very well was actually a day filled with relief- this knowledge allows me to consider things through an updated perspective, a new prescription of glasses so to speak, and has also given me cause to start to be intentional about GETTING TO KNOW myself.
Second, I know what it means to be a New Englander now better than ever. I wont pretend that I have extensive insight into this point after only a few months of living elsewhere, but I can tell you that I BELONG and am happy to belong to the North East portion of the USA. People have always told me that New Englanders are their own breed- that they're generally a colder type, that they're hearty, that they're gruff but loyal and community-based, that they're practical and sort of straight-forward. Stereotypes, of course, but I see it all a little more clearly now, being immersed in a different cultural setting. God bless New Englanders for all of these qualities. Again, this isnt about good or bad, or at least I dont see it that way- but rather, the New England way of life (at least, as I see it) is far and away my preference. I'm too practical, too frugal for Los Angeles. Many of the people here - the ones I've come into contact with, so more generalizations - seem to enjoy what I can only think to call "The Good Life". It's an abstract concept even in my own mind, but it involves a sort of willingness to spend/free flow of money (I spent $20 on brunch this past sunday- $20 on my least favorite meal, and I was out with 3 others my age), a certain way of presenting yourself (you all know that I'm pretty casual in my dress habits.. and after being here I appreciate very much my memories of going to churches where some people show up all fancy-like and some show up wearing football jerseys), a youthfulness, an expectation of having fine things, and a general laid back kind of attitude. Well... my preferred way of life is one of bargain-hunting/frugality/eat in as opposed to going out/etc. I like to look nice, presentable, especially depending on the occasion, but this never has been and doesnt show any sign of being one of the main concerns in my day to day life. Finally, as much as I see a laid back attitude as being a good thing, I realize that in a lot of ways I dont fit that bill- I am passionate, sometimes impulsive, and/or high strung.. I love my Boston, I love my Boston sports, I love my Cambridge church, I love my Mayflower Porter beer, I have these extreme feelings about a lot of other even more and less personal things (family, I love love love you). In good Boston fashion I'll happy argue (mostly for fun) that my church, my choice beer, my favorite restaurant are all truly the best- here, everyone is happy for everyone else that we've all found the things that work for us individually. No personal pride!! No playful debating.
This city lacks the identity that Boston has. Boston is a sports town, rich in history, choc-full of intellectual (or just plain old) students. In Maine, my parents run into people they know when they go out to eat, or to the grocery store, etc. LA, of course, is just too big to have any widely unifying qualities. That's fine for many people, but I'm learning that I really do value the feel of community, of knowing a place and knowing the people you share that place with.
Third, plain and simple, they dont care that much about baseball. Whether you can or cant understand personally why it matters, you know that makes a difference to me.
I'm so sorry if I'm off the mark with some of the generalizations that I've made. I once again acknowledge that I do not hold a degree in LA Culture, and that these are just my observations.
There's the beginning of an explanation. I'm having a ball seeing the sights and experiencing Los Angeles and the areas surrounding the city, but I'm not fit out for this place.
I received a $10 gift cert to Yogurtland from Tiffany today!! Here are a few pics from Tiff's visit:
Dinner was leftover chicken curry and leftover coffee. I'm thinking a lot about the impending release of Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe, woohoo!! That should be great. Robin Hood is my favorite legend.
John Hiatt this summer at the Newport Waterfront in RI! John Hiatt reminds me of my very happy childhood.
I'm listening to the Paw Sox broadcast. Another tough start for Michael Bowden... 2010 has not been kind to that guy. My favorite part of listening is hearing the accents.
My friend Jayne visited LA with a band that she follows/works with called Needtobreathe. She got me into a couple of their shows, and I was even the runner for the Friday night show. Both concerts featured Seabird, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and Needtobreathe- if they come to your town, go out and see 'em. All three bands are very talented and extremely entertaining! Great to see Jayne as well... any slice of home is very welcome :)
Ah, yes. This is the part of the entry where I tell you about the call that I received from Brian O'Halloran.
...you know, the Director of Baseball Operations. Yeah, for the Red Sox, who else?
I dont have an overwhelming need at this point to put down an entire dissertation on the differences between New England and LA living. I will, however, give you a few of my thoughts. First, I am extremely thankful that I have had the means and the opportunity to come out to Los Angeles. Not only have I been spared from record flooding and water boil orders in MA, but I've gotten a healthy dose of sunshine and a handful of self-revelations under my belt. Having a chance to step outside of my norm has given me the ability to better understand what is important to me, and has also taught me that at age 24 I am still very much in the process of getting to know myself. The day that I realized that I dont know myself very well was actually a day filled with relief- this knowledge allows me to consider things through an updated perspective, a new prescription of glasses so to speak, and has also given me cause to start to be intentional about GETTING TO KNOW myself.
Second, I know what it means to be a New Englander now better than ever. I wont pretend that I have extensive insight into this point after only a few months of living elsewhere, but I can tell you that I BELONG and am happy to belong to the North East portion of the USA. People have always told me that New Englanders are their own breed- that they're generally a colder type, that they're hearty, that they're gruff but loyal and community-based, that they're practical and sort of straight-forward. Stereotypes, of course, but I see it all a little more clearly now, being immersed in a different cultural setting. God bless New Englanders for all of these qualities. Again, this isnt about good or bad, or at least I dont see it that way- but rather, the New England way of life (at least, as I see it) is far and away my preference. I'm too practical, too frugal for Los Angeles. Many of the people here - the ones I've come into contact with, so more generalizations - seem to enjoy what I can only think to call "The Good Life". It's an abstract concept even in my own mind, but it involves a sort of willingness to spend/free flow of money (I spent $20 on brunch this past sunday- $20 on my least favorite meal, and I was out with 3 others my age), a certain way of presenting yourself (you all know that I'm pretty casual in my dress habits.. and after being here I appreciate very much my memories of going to churches where some people show up all fancy-like and some show up wearing football jerseys), a youthfulness, an expectation of having fine things, and a general laid back kind of attitude. Well... my preferred way of life is one of bargain-hunting/frugality/eat in as opposed to going out/etc. I like to look nice, presentable, especially depending on the occasion, but this never has been and doesnt show any sign of being one of the main concerns in my day to day life. Finally, as much as I see a laid back attitude as being a good thing, I realize that in a lot of ways I dont fit that bill- I am passionate, sometimes impulsive, and/or high strung.. I love my Boston, I love my Boston sports, I love my Cambridge church, I love my Mayflower Porter beer, I have these extreme feelings about a lot of other even more and less personal things (family, I love love love you). In good Boston fashion I'll happy argue (mostly for fun) that my church, my choice beer, my favorite restaurant are all truly the best- here, everyone is happy for everyone else that we've all found the things that work for us individually. No personal pride!! No playful debating.
This city lacks the identity that Boston has. Boston is a sports town, rich in history, choc-full of intellectual (or just plain old) students. In Maine, my parents run into people they know when they go out to eat, or to the grocery store, etc. LA, of course, is just too big to have any widely unifying qualities. That's fine for many people, but I'm learning that I really do value the feel of community, of knowing a place and knowing the people you share that place with.
Third, plain and simple, they dont care that much about baseball. Whether you can or cant understand personally why it matters, you know that makes a difference to me.
I'm so sorry if I'm off the mark with some of the generalizations that I've made. I once again acknowledge that I do not hold a degree in LA Culture, and that these are just my observations.
There's the beginning of an explanation. I'm having a ball seeing the sights and experiencing Los Angeles and the areas surrounding the city, but I'm not fit out for this place.
I received a $10 gift cert to Yogurtland from Tiffany today!! Here are a few pics from Tiff's visit:
Dinner was leftover chicken curry and leftover coffee. I'm thinking a lot about the impending release of Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe, woohoo!! That should be great. Robin Hood is my favorite legend.
John Hiatt this summer at the Newport Waterfront in RI! John Hiatt reminds me of my very happy childhood.
I'm listening to the Paw Sox broadcast. Another tough start for Michael Bowden... 2010 has not been kind to that guy. My favorite part of listening is hearing the accents.
My friend Jayne visited LA with a band that she follows/works with called Needtobreathe. She got me into a couple of their shows, and I was even the runner for the Friday night show. Both concerts featured Seabird, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and Needtobreathe- if they come to your town, go out and see 'em. All three bands are very talented and extremely entertaining! Great to see Jayne as well... any slice of home is very welcome :)
Ah, yes. This is the part of the entry where I tell you about the call that I received from Brian O'Halloran.
...you know, the Director of Baseball Operations. Yeah, for the Red Sox, who else?
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