Rocks In My Dryer

No Lost Post Tonight...

I'm away from home right now, in Little Rock with my friend B for her husband's surgery tomorrow. I probably won't have a chance to watch Lost for a few days, so I'm skipping this week's recap. I didn't want to leave my Lostie friends high and dry, however, so I'm putting up a MckLinky below, if you want to leave your own Lost post for others to see!

See you in a bit.

Lost Recap: Ab Aeterno

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the episode airing March 23, 2010, don't read this.

I can't decide how I feel about tonight's episode.

It seemed to confirm what has been clear for some time: This show is a variation on the oldest story of all time. Good vs. evil. God vs. Satan. Dark vs. light. No news there, really.

It was terribly interesting to see Richard's back story (and really, to quote my favorite movie, "when it comes to suffering, he's right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.") The tug of war between Jacob and MIB (Man In Black) is fascinating.

Both Jacob and MIB stop short of being true representatives of God vs. Satan, in the traditional sense.  We saw a pretty wimpy version of Jacob tonight--if he's meant to represent God, he does so in a very stand-offish way, wanting people just to "be good" without having to tell them to. He seems to hesitate to become too intimately involved with the people he "calls", appointing Richard as his intermediary. He can't even absolve sins. Similarly, the Smoke Monster/MIB/Fake Locke is a generally weak imitation of Satan--since when could a sonar fence stop pure evil? For that matter, how could an island serve as a "cork" to keep evil locked in?

That's why I don't put too much stock in this whole allegory thing, even though it's interesting to consider. I guess when one actually believes in a story as ultimate Truth, any shadowy allegory to it (even a good one) won't be as satisfying as the real thing (of course). For that very reason, the allegorical aspect of this show is not my favorite part of it, and I'm hoping the writers plan to flesh out some of more non-allegorical plot elements before it's all over.

A few questions/comments come to mind:

• An earlier episode indicated the way to kill MIB was to put a knife in his chest. Tonight's episode indicated the same thing was true of Jacob. If this is the case, and MIB and Jacob are enemies, why haven't they attempted to kill each other in this way?
• When Ilana was in the hospital at the beginning of the show, it was clear she and Jacob already had an established relationship. What was it? Who exactly is she?
• In light of tonight's episode that was so heavy on the power of the Smoke Monster, I thought of Mr. Eko, and how he seemed to be able to stop Smokey in his tracks, at least for a time. What's the significance of that? And how utterly happy would I be if we got to see Mr. Eko again?
• I continue to read and hear speculation that perhaps Jacob is the bad guy and the MIB is actually the good one. Maybe the writers are planning a big switcheroo to make a statement about how good and evil can never really be all the clearly defined. Can I just say that I really, really hope that's not where this is headed?
• This week I listened to a podcast with the Lost producers. They answered one of the fan questions by saying that a particular question would be answered, but not necessarily in the show. Which leads me to presume a book is forthcoming. And I'll be dad-blasted if I won't be there the day it hits shelves.

Blogging Lost at your blog? Feel free to leave a link below. This list will close to new links in a few days, to keep away the spammers.

In Which I Help You Avoid a Frustrated Meltdown

Today I received a very important piece of insider information regarding Lost. (By "insider information", I mean "the ABC podcast that anyone can download". Anyway.). The word is that tonight's episode will have an additional six minutes tacked on to the end, so adjust your DVRs accordingly. We all know that more can be accomplished in the last six minutes of a Lost episode than can be accomplished in six months of congressional hearings, so pay attention!

My Friend

Just finished posting an important bit of news at my dear friend B's blog. She surely could use your prayers.

Lost Recap: Recon

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the episode airing March 16, 2010, don't read this.

Okay, let's stop with the factions. From the first season of this show, we have the recurring plot of element of newly-emerging factions (some brand new, some arising from older factions). The factions sometimes overlap, their motives are often ambiguous, but they're out for blood when their own interests are threatened.

(Come to think of it, it's a little like Congress.)

Tonight's episode introduced us to yet another faction--Widmore's submarine people. By my count, this takes us up to eleven (ELEVEN!) factions thus far (though I'm sure I've missed some--feel free to remind me of what I may have left out):

1. Our original Losties (Jack, Kate, et. al.) At times, they've split into multiple factions, (as in, John vs. Jack) but let's roll with it and think of them as one group.
   
2. The Tailies (Ana Lucia, et. al.)
3. The Others (Mr. Friendly, et. al.)
4. Rousseau's original team
5. The freighter people (Miles, Charlotte, Naomi, et. al.)
6. Dharma
7. The Temple Others (Dogen, et.al.), or, as my husband calls them the "Other Others". This group may or may not be of identical motives and alignment as the original others who have been kidnapping children since Season One. 
8. The Ajira passengers, who seem to be innocent casualties of one very bizarre plot line.
9. Ilana's Ajira team, who have been sent to protect the "candidates". It is possible they're on the same team as the Temple Others, but it also appears there might be some division.
10. Widmore's new submarine team, which presumably could be lumped in with the original freighter people, but then again, maybe not.
11. Fake John Locke's tribe (newly-bad Sayid, crazy Claire, Cindy, et. al.)

Thus I repeat, let's stop with the factions. It has been fascinating to watch these groups emerge and break off, but there are eight episodes left, and I would be ever grateful if we could not have any new characters or alliances form, thank you.

The sideways flash in "Recon" centered on Sawyer (and, in a delightful twist, his partner Miles). It wasn't my favorite of the sideways flashes. Sawyer may be on the right of the law this time around, but his character is fundamentally the same.

Much more interesting in this episode was the interactions between Fake Locke and Kate. Fake Locke has a demeanor that is surprisingly gentle and kind (in fact, when he acts like this, he reminds me very much of my dad, which is a little freaky). He is kind to the children of the group, and he speaks with (what appears to be) great wisdom to Kate. He seems to be interested in keeping legitimate peace (between Kate and Claire), and he's even been very honest when he could've been deceptive (openly telling Sawyer he's the Smoke Monster).

Fake Locke tells Kate about his "crazy mother". The message boards are abuzz with the idea that his mother was the mythical Lilith (no, not Frasier's Lilith, but the Lilith that is mythological first wife of Adam). I don't know enough about the story to offer any commentary, but it is interesting that Lilith is considered a "wind spirit", appropriate for the mother of a smoke monster, no?

Stepping away from the specifics of this episode, I wanted to point out an interesting article that ran on MSNBC yesterday:

Life is like being on the island — we don't know why we're here, we don't really know what to do, but we still search for answers. And we often fail, even with the best intentions in mind. Isn't that journey enough? Do “Lost” fans need all these enigmatic strands of loose story to ultimately make sense? Hasn't the ride itself been worth it?

It's a good question. As the series wraps up, we may need to prepare ourselves for the fact that not all these pieces will click together in the tidy way we'd like. The writers may yet surprise us with a solid, sensible ending, but I'm getting a growing sense that they're wanting to draw parallels between real life and the show:  Sometimes there are answers, and sometimes there aren't. I don't think they'll make this easy on us.

Even while part of my brain craves concrete answer to every rabbit-trail mystery we've seen (Libby, Mr. Eko, the Hurley Bird, etc.), another part of my mind can understand that a little remaining mystery fits perfectly with the essential theme of the show. Plus, it leaves something for the book, which you know must surely be in the works already (at least, I hope so).

This opens up a whole can of worms (Lost has a way of doing that): what does a writer owe readers/viewers? Does a reader/viewer take on the risk that they may invest themselves in a story that ends badly? Or does a writer take on the responsibility to consider the readers' need for resolution? I suspect everyone would have a different answer--I personally plant myself somewhere in the middle, tilting a little more toward the former than the latter. What do you think? Do you expect every Lost mystery to be wrapped up neatly? Will you be angry if it isn't?

Before I forget, the best quote of the night comes from Kate, to Fake Locke: "Very insightful, coming from a dead man."

Blogging Lost at your blog? Feel free to leave a link below. This list will close to new links in a few days, to keep away the spammers.

Lost Recap: Dr. Linus

Looking for WFMW? Please scroll down to the next post!

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the episode airing March 9, 2010, don't read this.

I loved this episode--absolutely loved it.

Ben Linus's redemption appears to be complete. In his "sideways flash", brilliantly written as an allegory to his island experience, he has a chance to rescue Alex after allowing her to die in their other existence.

Ben explains to Ilana that he is weary of holding out hope that Jacob is who he claimed to be. He cried out (in a truly Emmy-worthy moment) that he was meeting Locke, "because he's the only one who will have me."

"I'll have you," Ilana responds quietly, winning Ben over with three short words. (Oh, forgiveness, you powerful thing, you.)

As if this scene wasn't emotional enough, it's followed by a tender reunion on the beach with Jack, Sun and the rest (and the beautiful piano music in the background--that Lost piano music gets me EVERY time). It felt as though the audience needed this episode--the tender moment was a breather from the rat race we've run this season thus far.

A few other striking points:

It's confirmed by Richard that a "touch" from Jacob is a significant thing (bringing about, it appears, some form of immortality). Jack suddenly seems to be strangely peaceful and confident about Jacob's calling on his life (which is nice, but it seemed like a puzzling shift in Jack's psyche, didn't it? I felt like I'd missed a few scenes).

After the cathartic scene on the beach, we see a jarring shift to a periscope. A periscope? I guess it was supposed to be jarring, but it nearly gave me whiplash. (Lesson learned: get your breathers in Lost while you can, because the sweet moments don't last long.) Inside the submarine we see none other than Charles Widmore, who is evidently still pulling strings. I can't even begin to imagine how he's going to figure back into all this.

My favorite quote of the night was from Hurley (of course): "The man's crazy and I know crazy."

I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're blogging Lost at your own blog, please leave your link below. Please note that this list will close down to new links in a few days to ward of spammers.

Please note that this Linky is for Lost posts only--the WFMW linky is located in the following post. Thanks!

Works For Me: Easy Growth Chart

I'm hosting WMFW once more while Kristen is in Kenya. (I hope you're following her amazing posts. You absolutely MUST read this one--be sure to watch the video at the end.)

I'm actually dusting off a very old WFMW of my own to share this week, because it's especially relevant in my house even as we speak. At this very moment, my oldest son (almost 13) is officially as tall as I am. I have absolutely no idea how it happened; hence, this tip...

* * * * * * * *

When I was a girl, my parents regularly charted my growth by marking my height on my closet door facing.  It's a lovely idea, of course, with one big hitch--when my parents moved out of my childhood home a few years ago, my mom was devastated to leave those measurements behind.  That prompted me to come up with a more permanent solution for our family.

I bought a long piece of lightweight lumber at Home Depot (about 2 inches wide, and six feet tall--it looks and feels like a very tall yardstick), and divided it into three long columns on the front, using a Sharpie marker.  Each boy has his own column, and we mark his height that way.  When Corrie entered the picture, we began marking her height on the back (you could easily mark up to six or eight kids on one stick this way).  It's portable, stored away in a closet and pulled out every few months.  Best of all, I will be able to keep it always, mounting it to the wall in my nursing home someday, when I am old and gray and need to be reminded of the fast-growing little monkeys that lived in my house all these years.

Here's a full-length shot of our growth chart (the mystery stains on the carpet are included simply for your viewing pleasure).  You can see where the boys' names are written at the bottom of each column:

This has been such a fun thing to have--very cheap, and a real treasure.

Have a WFMW tip you'd like to share? Please enter your link below (if you're a newbie, you can read the WFMW guidelines here). Please note that this list will be closed to new links after a few days, to ward off spammers. 

These Small Hours

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain.

--Rob Thomas, "These Small Hours"

The five-year-old curled up in her bed, her hair still a little damp from her shower a few minutes before, her mind racing through her options for the best way to delay bedtime.

"What if there's a fire? I don't like to jump out of windows," she told me.

"If there's a fire, I'll come for you," I said.

"But what if I get lost in the deep, deep forest?" she asked.

"You won't ever be in the deep, deep forest," I told her. She shot me a look that made it clear this answer was far too practical to satisfy her need for drama.

I amended my response. "If you get lost in the deep, deep forest, I'll come and find you," I said, and she nodded, satisfied. Her heavy eyelids started to droop. The 11-year-old wandered in, carrying his guitar.

"Could I play her a lullaby?" he asked quietly. I nodded, and he sat down and strummed "Jesus Loves Me" while his little sister held tightly to my hand.

Then the 8-year-old wandered in, playing his drum, because we all know that "Jesus Loves Me" is much more effective as a lullaby with a loud and driving drum beat.

The 12-year-old heard the ruckus and popped in, playing along on his harmonica. This would've been significantly more impressive if he actually knew how to play a harmonica. His playing messed up the 11-year-old, who stopped right at the "little ones to Him belong part" to whack his brother. The five-year-old was so excited by this exchange that she jumped to her feet and began to sing/shriek along while jumping up and down on her bed. The two big boys stopped their fighting, suddenly distracted by the fact that "Jesus" sounds a lot like "Cheez-Its".

The five-year-old continued to jump. The 8-year-old continued to pound. The older ones continued to shriek their hymn to the little orange crackers.

I laughed, and I wondered exactly where I lost my sweet moment.

I laughed harder, and I realized I didn't lose it at all.

Lost Recap: Sundown

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the episode airing February 23, 2010, don't read this.

They shouldn't have named this episode Sundown. Instead, they should've called it If Looks Could Kill. At least three times this episode, we saw some SERIOUSLY nasty looks (and that's saying something, because Lost is definitely a show that has mastered the Artfully Menacing Extended Glare). First, there was the way Fake Locke looked at Sayid, after Sayid tried to stab him. Then there was the look Claire gave Kate when she realized Kate had taken Aaron from the Island. Then there were about 629 instances of Sayid (the king-daddy of the Artfully Menacing Extended Glare, except with puppy-dog eyes) staring down whoever dared to cross him. I had trouble sleeping after all those wicked looks.

I really liked this episode (then again, Sayid-centric episodes are always my favorite ones--he's one of the most fascinatingly conflicted heroes on the show). He's a man desperately trying to escape a wicked past, yet he finds himself again and again "forced" into old patterns. He's constantly faced with the question of whether it's acceptable to commit a wrong act for the right reasons--kind of the Jack Bauer of Lost. (Or maybe I'm just watching too much television.) Sayid's conversion to the Dark Side by the end of the show appeared to be complete.

Then again, this is Lost, where things change in an instant. Ben Linus appears to be growing into a good guy, which just turns my universe smack upside-down. 

The most significant thing we learned in this episode is that, according to Dogen, The Artist Formerly Known As Locke is actually a man ("evil incarnate") who was trapped but is now (at least temporarily) freed to wreak havoc. Jacob's death has, somehow, also "freed" the temple crowd to leave, if they so choose.

I don't want to read too much into the religious imagery into the show, but the parallels are sometimes impossible to miss. Jacob dies (or appears to die), but he comes back, appearing in the flesh to some select followers who have been specifically called for their task. Remind you of Anyone? (At this rate, I'm guessing will see The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the last final episode.)

My favorite line of the night was when Sayid (speaking, I think, for all of us Lost fans) barged into Dogen's room demanding, "I want some answers!" (I shouted, "ME TOO!")

What did you think? Do you think Sayid has become irrevocably wicked? Will Ben Linus save the day? Is Kate about to get whacked in the jungle? What on earth will become of Claire?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're blogging Lost at your own blog, please leave your link below. Please note that this list will close down to new links in a few days to ward of spammers.

Please note that this Linky is for Lost posts only--the WFMW linky is located in the following post. Thanks!

Works For Me: Medicine Spoons

The regular hostess of WFMW, Kristen from We Are THAT Family, is (as we speak!) en route to Kenya with Compassion International. Don't miss her trip updates at her blog--I know she's about to experience some powerful things.

 This week and next, I'll be temporarily hosting Works-For-Me Wednesday--let's see if I remember how to drive this bus!

My tip is a quick one. Not too long ago, I was scrounging around for a measuring spoon. In this house, the measuring spoons all mysteriously migrate to the bathtub or the sandbox, so I couldn't find one. Instead, I grabbed one of these dealies out of the drawer:

Thanks to the revolving door of ear infections in this family, we have just a few (dozen) of these spoons. You know what? It turns out they measure spices/oil/etc much better than traditional measuring spoons, because the overflow doesn't come spilling over the sides, as in a spoon.

(In fact, the last time my mother-in-law was in town, she saw me doing this in my kitchen and said, "You should post that on the Wednesday thing on your blog." So hi, Gego--this one's for you!)

Have a WFMW tip you'd like to share? Please enter your link below (if you're a newbie, you can read the WFMW guidelines here). Please note that this list will be closed to new links after a few days, to ward off spammers.