LT312: The Promise Land

GAME CLUES

I’ll rattle out some of the clues from the game. Whether they have any direct bearing on Season 6 is left open for debate.

- The sequel to the JJ Abrams Star Trek movie will be called “Pineapple” – probably just a reference to Hawaii

- Ping pong is taking center stage as the game of this game – the earlier post about Susan Sarandon may be related to the fact that she owns some table tennis club

- Sarandon keeps coming up in clues including the name of her character in a Ridley Scott movie – or it means a reference to the Rocky Horror Picture Show

- LOST University is open and the first course is entitled, “Dude, Don’t Tell Me What I Can’t Say” – Hurley is featured and this became available about a week ago

Seems like a bunch of random points but I should point out that there is a clip running around the web which shows Hurley and Sawyer playing ping-pong. Can’t recall exactly which episode that was, but this one is slightly different…and I mean SLIGHTLY different. Probably fan made, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.


FINAL REELS

The final two lost tapes of “Mysteries of the Universe” were aired on ABC.com. Here is what was learned:

- Dharma Initiative is completely labeled a “secret organization”

- A small island near Tonga received a strange delivery…out of the air fell a 1 ton food drop back in the 1970’s. Food labeled by Dharma and appears to be a mistaken drop.

- Suggested links from missing planes world-wide to the Dharma group.

- A research program was offered for college students who wanted to volunteer which appeared connected to Dharma. These research opportunities have been tracked by the documentary and push pins mark the locations of recruits shown below:


- The most common location in the research for this program is the South Pacific.

- It was revealed the general manager of the church in use by Dharma is Eloise Hawking, but not official birth certificate can be found. Search of records did reveal this name as the mother of a child on his birth records. The child is Daniel Faraday although no explanation could be offered to why two different last names.


HAWKING THOUGHT

Speaking of Ms. Hawking…when we consider the ability to loop through events several times it makes perfect sense that she finds her son’s diary and learns of future events. In fact, she dedicates herself in making sure those events do not deviate for fear of outcome that could be worse than what is happening at the end of Season 5. And this is how she knows everything about Desmond and that he won’t marry Penny and instead go to an island and push a button.


ESSAY #4: RESTRICTED ACCESS

When Lew was still an impressionable lad he read a book about an interesting man.

In the story, this central character lived in the Middle East region and his occupation was being a shepherd. The man was known to have a temper that got the best of him at times, but for the most part he could keep his emotions in check.

One day the man was tending to his flock when he saw the most unusual thing. In the distance was something unnatural – at least to his eyes. He noticed some unusual smoke over a hill and when he went to investigate he discovered the “thing” could communicate with him.

Considering this to be some divine calling, the shepherd dedicated himself to this “being” and would do whatever it asked of him. In return the former herdsman seemed capable of meaning wonderful accomplishments. Those in his company would witness things you could only call miracles. Some would whisper he was a mad scientist and others suggested it was supernatural. If a scorecard was carefully kept, it would seem more died at his hand then survived.

Over time the man’s charisma was such that many began to follow him as disciples. These were often lost souls of society and the man told them he could lead them to a promised land. For years the man was able to keep the followers mesmerized as the journey never seemed to end.

Eventually, the day of reckoning came. Many of the followers had left and those that remained harbored doubts. The utopia that the man had preached about was never realized for he died. Those that remained faithful to the end however discovered utopia the very next day!

The man that Lew read about was named Moses.

CONCLUSION: I’m struck by the many LOST references that can be made to Moses. While the occupation of shepherd might suggest Jack, it seems Ben is a better fit to this Biblical character. If only he had followed his own Ten Commandments…


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Enjoy,
KC

LT311: Religion Everywhere

LOST GAME UPDATE

Now this one has thrown me a curve ball. We have another clue from the Art Gallery which leads to this link: http://loveacceptforgive.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/janet-weiss-louise-bull-durhams-jesus/
This is a blog which comments in a rather right-wing way about something Susan Sarandon said regarding Christ as an activist.

I’m reading way between the lines, but one might conclude the real “clue” here is that Jesus was not just a nice guy. His tough love often alienated his audience to the point that they ended up crucifying him. His “own” received him not.

If we ponder on this we are left wondering if Jacob is too nice to be the “good guy”? Maybe the Man in Black’s tough love approach is a sign of the real messiah on our crazy little island.

Anyway, this one was really strange to me and I thought you should know about it.


THE CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

There is no shortage of theories…even during the off-season. I do my best to wade through them and share those with the most merit or at least interesting components. In fact, this theory lays the foundation for my essay this week!

It goes like this…the Man in Black is…Aaron. Eventually, Aaron becomes Smokey. For those color-based viewers and for the record, Aaron to date has been associated with the color white. So we have some debate on our hands about this.

The strongest evidence in support of this theory is that Claire was in the cabin with her father and Locke and was quite at ease. Some may suggest this was because she was dead, but we could counter that regardless her demeanor was relaxed. How could we explain this behavior? Somehow Aaron has explained to mommy that he was the smoke monster…and thus Christian was little Aaron in some manifestation.

To deal with some weak points of this theory it has been suggested that Aaron switched sides. Again, why? The offered explanation is that he was NOT to be “raised by another”, but was. This lack of compliance might have led to his reversal. (Who isn’t thinking Anakin in Star Wars just a little bit?)

Anyway, chew on this one for a bit and then check out the essay.


ESSAY 3: THE READING OF THE DIARY

Lew’s outcast from his family was due in part to a diary kept by the young man. As fate would have it the book found its way into the wrong hands as far as Lew was concerned.

The writings in that diary were said to be evil for lack of a more appropriate word. The book revealed a growing resentment towards his brother, Chris. The underlying cause appeared to be Lew’s desire for his father to acknowledge him for his ability, but that was in limited supply in this household. The boy’s father was a stern taskmaster as well as a jealous man who sought the spotlight for himself. When a stray ray of light fell outside his scope it would fall mostly on Chris and for this Lew’s hatred grew.

One particular plot outlined in Lew’s diary was beguile. Chris had a girlfriend of sorts. Lew’s plan was simple. He would deceive her with false advances. Lew could weave a story and with his words and deeds, Lew began to gain the attention of the girlfriend, Aveline. Over an extended period of the time Eve, which was her nickname, grew found of Lew. The plan was working just as Lew had planned.

The final piece of the chess match was Lew proposing to Eve. For years she had rejected his sexual advances, but now as a promised couple, she accepted his advances but one time. She became pregnant and delivered a son, but not as married woman for soon after Lew broke off the engagement claiming she had been unfaithful with another, perhaps Chris.

Chris was devastated with the accusations made against him, but he offered no defense but his reputation. Matters began to settle down after Eve moved out of the Garden state of New Jersey. She raised her family and Chris married eventually and started his family.

Of course, none of these events were known until the fateful day when the diary was found. But the most interesting fact is that that these two family trees would cross paths again. And that story is for another day.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Some have suggested that Satan did not offer Eve an apple in the garden, but had sexual relations with her. This then led to two distinct family lines. This doctrine won’t come full circle until Revelations, but it does have an end game.

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I hope you enjoy the essay and TIDBITS. Thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

LT310: Thoughts in My Head and Another Essay

Sorry if you came looking last week for TIDBITS. A busy schedule and bit of the flu has hampered by deadlines for the blog. Don’t worry, I don’t think it is the swine flu although I have had a craving for bacon lately. Anyway…here we go.


HALLOWEEN IS THE TIME FOR GHOSTS

Speaking of ghosts, recall that Hurley was off-island as an Oceanic 6 and he gets pulled over with a tranquilized Sayid in the passenger seat? Well, the cop who pulls him over is the ghost of Ana Lucia.

But did you know that Hurley and Ana Lucia never met on screen? Hurley has never met Richard although he gets to the compound and the cabin.

Who else have not met? Miles and Sun. Locke and Frank – at least not the real John.

And we have interaction is it strange. For example, Ben and Desmond meet for the first time and they act like they have known each other for years.

Maybe it is difficult keeping everything straight on the set during filming. Or is this more clues as to the looping of time.


FATHER FIGURE

No, not the George Michaels song, although being Halloween season he would fit as being creepy. Instead I’m wondering about the whole family affair thing.

What if the island is a magnet that draws certain people together to form a new family? One that will survive some earth-ending event and this group will be used to “seed” the next “loop”?

In some strange way the Survivors could be family members of a sort. Which begs the question, “Whose your daddy?” Ben? John? Christian? Jacob? Man in Black? Smokey (ok, that’s just strange). The more I think about this line of though the more my mind is lead to aliens and supernatural creatures. Or maybe I just have “V” on the brain.


ESSAY 3 – Can You Guess My Name?

As young children, their father was nurturing a love for the game of chess. It was obvious that both sons were quite talented. It was equally clear that Chris was the better player. In fact, Chris never lost a single game to Lew (unless he felt some mercy and allowed it).

Innocence has so many things about it to envy. That is not to say that it doesn’t have some drawbacks, mainly being naïve. By the time the knowledge that comes from maturity arrives, it is too late to hold on to much of that pure innocence.

The same was true of Lew. The precise date and time are unknown, but there was a point when Lew realized he was losing every game to his brother. Being second seemed like such a prize while innocent. When the knowledge of things adult came upon him, he then knew. He just knew. And it was at this point he decided something had to be done about it.

And so Lew worked harder. He memorized more opening moves. He studied the counters and finer details of the game. And still he lost. When determination failed to produce the desired results he began to plot.

**

In a place somewhere else, the young couple who trained their minds in the higher studies had an interesting encounter. One day while doing chores at home, a man dressed in black stopped by the couple’s house. The mailbox read, “DeGroots”. He came upon the wife first and he asked, “Aren’t the possibilities wonderful?”

They both instantly knew what was meant and she quickly agreed. The stranger continued, “Then let’s explore together. If you just take this check, then we will make this a better world.”

At that point the small voice we all have inside of us spoke to the woman. It warned her of a deal too good to be true. It reminded her of strings that could be attached. And she told the man these things.

“But you could live forever…like gods!”

At that thought, she shook his hand and then turned and ran into the house calling for her husband. She showed him the check and together they agreed to pursue this new path.

It would be some time before they stopped to wonder who this man was. The check was signed, “Alvar Hanso.”


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I've received some nice feedback on the essays. Just a different sort of way of sharing some ideas. The main one is that LOST is a retelling of the Bible if you haven't noticed. Stick with me a few more and you might see the similarities that I've noticed.

Enjoy,
KC

LT309: When 1 + 1 Equals 1...and 2

SEASON 6 TEASERS

Look no further…because there are none. The producers have convinced ABC not to release any promo photos or video. Now this is right down my alley for I despise teasers and spoilers. It also suggests that advance snippets – even a still photo – could be a giveaway meaning that Season 6 will answer a lot of questions. How cool is that?


DESMONDS BACKSTORY

Ok, not Desmond, but the actor who plays Desmond…he has settled the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him with confidential terms. This clears him for being included in Season 6, but soils his reputation. I can’t help but think that just being on an island for filming would be cool in its own right without have to eat of the forbidden tree.


PERSPECTIVE

You may have seen the TV commercial which shows various perspectives. I’m not even sure what the product is, but I think it is a car and most of the scenes are at the beach…well, in the parking lot at a beach. One shot shows a rather wide person standing at the trunk of a vehicle and when he walks away there is a smaller person standing in front of him but hidden from the viewers’ perspective (until the big guy walks away).

If we were standing at the front of the car, our perspective would be totally different. The same question, “How many people do you see?” would be identical but the responses would be different.

In many ways, this is LOST. Often with flashbacks we see the same scene but from different perspectives. First we see John fall through the window and later we see that same scene from Jacob’s perspective. This is important to keep in mind.

Or is it important? I suggest we are shown two or more perspectives in order to entertain like a magician who wows us and then reveals, “I was standing on one leg, see? It was easy!” Easy, once we know the secret. But it amuses us, the viewers.

What is important then is just that the event happened for whatever happens happened. This leads to my essay, “Same and Different”.


LOST RETOLD ESSAY #2: Same and Different

Before the boys, Lew and Chris, were present their father felt like there was a void in his life. He had a burning desire to share his knowledge and dreams and yet there was no one to share it with.
Lew and Chris were the beneficiaries of a brilliant father. Their education was started from the beginning. The first hour they would learn about cosmology. That was followed by a second hour spent on geology. The next hour focused on organic botany, then astronomy, zoology, and biology. The boys would then play after that which consisted mainly of games of chess.

The only variety to speak of in this pattern would be the occasional swapping of the order of studies. The father might teach his sons biology first and then zoology.

**

Meanwhile, in another place and time, two other young people were also beginning the life journey of learning and exploration. They two studied six subjects: meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism and utopian sociology. It was standard for this pair to also rest on the seventh day.

**

All four young studies of higher thinking shared the same feeling that each day seemed like a repeat of the day before. The feeling like was being stuck in a loop.


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The essays are meant to spark some personal interpretation, but I’m hopeful that at this point we recognize this main aspects. First, we have two characters which have the same father, the same environment and the same nurture. Second, that the Bible introduces the concept of loops in the first chapters of Genesis. And third, they are more than one plane of existence (heaven and earth).

Give me some feedback if you like one essay in particular or if it prompts an idea in your head.


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If you enjoyed this post, please consider clicking on of the nifty ads along the side. It would be appreciated and thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

LT308: LOST Retold

MY LOST OBSESSION

In the last TIDBITS, I mentioned an idea had occurred to me. This posting begins that idea. The plan is to write a short series essays about LOST. Now this will quickly become clear how obsessed I am with the show and that in itself reveals more than is probably good for me. But it sounded like a good idea at the time and my hope is that I don't run out of steam for the project.

It is also my hope that you enjoy this twist on LOST. My objective is to actually share a theory which could be described as "The Bible According to LOST".

It has become clear already that this is a fairly time intensive project, so let me begin with an apology. I'm not a writer. But I use writing to often help myself sift through ideas and so the theory I'm exploring will sort of reveal itself as we progress. There are no plans to edit, spellcheck or even verify facts. It is merely an effort to explore LOST from a different approach.

There is an outline of the story completed and so each posting on Wednesday and Sunday I do hope to have at least one or two essays ready to go. Who knows where this will end up or whether I'll run out of steam, but for the time being, I do hope you enjoy these.

I've decided on the official name of this collection: CHECKMATE - Lost Retold. So without further disclaimers, justifications and with out an ounce of common sense...here we go...

CHECKMATE - Lost Retold

ESSAY 1: The Opening Moves

Chess is a cerebral game. It is a thinking person’s game. The opening move is said to offer dozens, if not hundreds, of possibilities. It is the possibilities that make the game interesting, challenging and unique each time the board is set up.

This story however is not about chess. It is about the players. Two players in particular are the subject of this story. These two players are some of the finest chess players in the world. These chess masters are Lew and Chris.

**

Lew’s father was an intellectual and it is then of no surprise that his influence would be seen in his son. One of the many areas of study he mastered was astronomy. It is of little surprise to those who knew the family that the man and his wife would insist on a name derived from the stars.

Lew’s birth came with little fanfare. His father paced as he waited with anticipation for the news of his child. Upon announcement of his son’s arrival he turned towards the window for a moment of private examination. What he saw was that moment before the Sun would rise over the horizon. In the morning dawn he saw Venus in the morning sky just before the Sun would take its turn. At that moment he knew his son’s name should reflect this event. He would name him after that Morning Star.

Since the father was well-schooled and the practice at that time was for every student to be taught some Latin, the father would use the Latin name for Venus which means “light-bearer”. He would call his child Lucifer. As one can imagine, family and friends recoiled from the name and it was not long after that the shorter nickname of Lew was adopted.

**

Chris was also the product of an uneventful birth. His family and in particular his father was a master of many studies. But it was his mother that selected his name. The manner of the name selection soon became the subject of family lore and was retold several times over the years at family gatherings.

She claimed that the night before labor she had a dream. In the dream she was visited by an angel who told her what to name her son. The angel said, “You will call him Jesus Christ”. She was met with quite a bit of objection for the obvious reasons, but she insisted. However, it was nickname that the son would use in order to avoid the teasing and disbelief that the son was sure to endure. So, they took from his middle name and simply called him Chris.

**

These two young men were schooled by the best. Out of all their studies the one thing that held their interest was the game of chess. The game allowed them to interweave many lessons from other subjects they undertook: strategy, mathematics, philosophy, and above all: psychology.

It was not long after before these two men were recognized as great chess masters. They would compete in several tournaments with each interaction becoming an epic contest.

It was also not long before it was clear that Chris was the better of the two. Lew never lost a match except to one player: Chris. In youth this fact seemed to matter little to Lew since he approached this as a challenge. But over time, the second place status did begin to gnaw on his psyche. It wasn’t long before he decided to devise a plan to finally beat Chris and become the champion.

**

Those who knew to two men would later recall signs of the rivalry. Hindsight is 20/20 and the signs of change in Lew were too subtle for raise any alarm at the time. But looking back is was clear to those intimate with the world of chess at this high level of competition that Lew was determined to beat Chris.

One family friend observed, “Lew’s opening moves were become more bold and yet more reckless. Those of us around the game dismissed this as experimental from a great chess mind.”

It wouldn’t be until years after before Lew’s degree of obsession in beating Chris was recognized for Lew kept his thoughts mostly to himself and his diary. Like the game of chess, life can punish you for one careless move. Lew’s error was forgetting to put his diary away in its hiding place.

It was the maid who discovered the book, open to the last entry. Without any guilt of invasion of privacy she had merely looked down on the writings and read, “And if this fails, I should just kill him.”

The man of the house was quickly alerted and he devoured the diary that afternoon. It was now clear that Lew was upset with Chris’ dominance over his chess game. Yet the more revealing and disturbing discovery was that Lew was jealous over the attention Chris got over Lew’s efforts. For you see, Chris and Lew had the same parents.

A parent can tell their children that they love them equally, but one most wonder if that is even possible. To Lew’s mind, it was not possible and it was equally clear that his father loved Chris more. Chess was merely the mechanism for admiration and not enough of that attention was coming Lew’s way.

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The family tried to work it out, but after a period of effort a decision was reached. Lew would be kicked out of the house. He was allowed to take about a third of the staff in order to secure a comfortable life, but Lew would no longer be welcome home.

The opening move of two lives had taken place and in this game called Life there are no “do-overs”.


NEXT ON TIDBITS

Each Wednesday and Sunday will be a new essay or two. In addition you can expect to get a summary of the off-season games. We will also keep up on reader feedback and any breaking news. As we've done from the start...there are NO SPOILERS in TIDBITS. I don't peek at the rumors for it ruins the surprise. That isn't to say that we don't gather published facts and draw conclusions, but we do not spoil.

Give me some feedback on the essays after you've read a couple. And as always, Thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

LT307: Reader Mailbag Time

FLY AWAY

I received this question the other day: How was Kate able to board when she was on probation?

Kate was on probation for 10 years. In less than one year she was then boarding a plane and heading out of the country. That does seem odd, but consider that Ben had Mr. Norton as his lawyer. Not every lawyer is good enough to talk a judge into an exception, but maybe this one is good enough. Also, consider the real-life story of a man who was released from his prison sentence in order to attend a Kansas City Royals baseball game with his brother and father. So it does happen.


STRAIGHT SHOOTER

Another reader asks, “Why didn’t or couldn’t Ben kill Widmore?”

There are a lot of possible answers to this question. They could be each other’s constant. Keep in mind that in a deleted scene Ben flashes to the Tunisia desert and sees himself. I wonder if Ben hasn’t done this mind and physical travel several times and needs a constant. But my favorite explanation is that Leaders of the island can’t be killed. Recall that Ben tells Hurley at the pit that this is where he shot John but that was silly and he should have known that. Leaders can’t be killed.


GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

A faithful reader of TIDBITS writes, “Is LOST really just a game?”

It could be. If it was a single game I would vote for backgammon. There are 15 pieces per team and 24 spaces on the board…flip 24 to 42 and you have a LOST link. You can double down which is what the man on the golf course suggested before Sayid killed him. There are a lot more similarities such as you can only get hit when a piece is along (live together, die alone). Really ponder that last sentence because Goodwin, Ethan, Alex, Eko and many others die when they are alone on the island. Of course my favorite tie-in to backgammon is the Jacoby rule.


LISTEN CAREFULLY

An old-timer (HA) asks, “What about the Whispers…are they important or not? Has anyone figured them out yet?”

People do spend time search for the whispers and then post their best guesses on several websites if you want to read some dialog. Do I think they are important? No, not important. They play some role, but I doubt we will discover many answers to the mysteries in them. The role they likely play is just another confirmation of the fact that people exist in various states and planes of existence. My favorite explanation is that the Whispers are the Survivors whose voice remains from a time loop, but the body isn’t present. It is clear the Whisperers are watching events and communicating between themselves…even if the events don’t fit a particular scene. The better question might be, “Why do the Whispers show up only at critical times? Why wouldn’t they just appear when something mundane is happening like Kate taking a shower?”


NEXT ON TIDBITS

I’m going to try something a little different and hopefully fun to read. I’m calling it, “LOST RETOLD”. It just a fuzzy idea in my head but for now the idea is to retell the LOST saga in chronological order with a twist. Maybe I’ll get one chapter per week out on TIDBITS.

Until next time…


Enjoy,
KC