LT82: Caught Up

With over 100 Lost Tidbits written, we were thrilled to recover 80 of them and re-post them on this blog. Hope you enjoyed it.

We will now post all future Lost Tidbits here on this blog so be sure to check back often...and spread the word.

Enjoy,
KC

LT81: Down Time (March 16, 2008)

Previously published on March 16, 2008...


MEMORY LANE and FUTURE DREAMS

We have a break of about a month coming up soon and what better way to spend it then re-reading old editions of Lost Tidbits? Now you can by checking out my new blog at: http://losttidbits.blogspot.com/

I’m in the process of entering the blogs in chronological order with a goal of entering a couple every single day. So check back often and peruse through the old issues…it is fun reading some of those predictions like when we wondered if Claire would be the mole.

The goal is to get caught up before LOST returns in about five weeks. After that your LOST TIDBITS will only come to you online at the blog. Unlike Jacob it was time to embrace newer technology and this should now make it easier to spread the word of the Lost Tidbits blog to more viewers you like to ponder.

BABY TALK – JI YEON

Again, a TV show left me with me with my mouth open wide. Jin was dead? Or was he alive and working for Mr. Paik? This show just never stops making my brain work and when was the last time we could say that about TV…ok, 7th Heaven was pretty good. I joke.

WHAT’S UP WITH JIN?

I’m being told that Jin was in chronological order but a flashback and Sun was in chronological order but a flash forward…making Sun the one who gets off the island.

Did you catch any clues early that this was a Jin flashback?

Clue: Old school cell phone

Clue: Year of the Dragon was last in 2000, and it was less likely it could be the next time which is 2012. Of course, this assumes you know the Chinese calendar by memory.

My Oceanic 6 list is Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and…does Aaron count? Does Michael count? Walt?

PANDA

Another animal?

Black and white?

Last one remaining of some significance? It is the national treasure of China, the country Jin’s boss, Mr. Paik, wished to do business with.

Year of the Dragon was 8 years ago and not for another four years.

FRANK’S MISSION

Where do you suppose he had to go with helicopter?

TILL DEATH DO US PART

Grave of Jin – why did Hurley say “good” to no one is coming?

How did Jin’s body get there?

The dates are a lie!

LOST LITERATURE

The book Regina was reading upside down is called “The Survivors of the Chancellor”. It’s about a story of a ship’s crew who goes insane at sea.

By the way, when she went overboard and few shipmates paused to look over…including Michael.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

In this case, Captain Gault (or Galt), we have the namesake of a fictional character who chartered boats for hire in each book of a series. In most case, Captain Gault is smuggling something. Or we have another reference to Ayn Rand’s book, “Atlas Shrugged”, where the hero is John Galt.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

I don’t like the new doctor Sun had…I don’t trust him. What did they shoot her up with? Something tells me…

Aren’t people in the future wondering how Sun got pregnant? Besides Jin being sterile…if he died the day of the crash, who got Sun pregnant?

Lima beans? How cruel.

Where is Naomi’s body? They made such a fuss about returning it and now it’s gone and forgotten.

THE BLACK BOX

I’m curious as to why Widmore would let the captain of a freighter carry around the Oceanic 815 flight recorder. Is it the “real” flight recorder or the one from the fake plane? If real, how in the world did he get it? Will we hear it?

Will it work? As soon as we hear Sayid say, “Give me a minute”, then soon after it will work!

Enjoy,
KC

LT80: Time Out (March 9, 2008)

Previously published on March 9, 2008...



TIME OUT

Due to the writer's strike, LOST takes a break for about five weeks. So, enjoy the NCAA March Madness tournament – which would bump a few Thursday schedules anyway – and then we can look forward to April showers and the return of LOST. And you know what happens when it rains on LOST…


THE OTHER WOMAN – A REVIEW

Marty McFly would have trouble understanding this show. Personally, I don't find Juliet that interesting in that it still isn't clear which side she is on. Maybe she is playing both sides still considering Ben holds something over her…like her sister.

But this show did create a few more questions:

Who was Widmore beating up in that secret video?


Did Ben actually tell Locke who his spy was?
Why was their toxic gas being stored in the Tempest hatch?

THE MAP

We see Daniel Faraday carrying a map showing the way to the Tempest:

Where did it come from? Based on the fact that Mr. Widmore purchased the journal in 1996, my guess is that the journal contained a few maps. But that journal was from years earlier so would the map contain Dharma logos? Ok, so maybe this isn't directly from the journal, but indirectly.

FROM THE MOUTH OF THE PRODUCERS

All this time stuff is getting mind boggling for anyone without a degree in mathematics, so here is the official explanation for Desmond:

In ''The Constant,'' Desmond became ''unstuck in time'' after flying through a thundercloud crackling with strange electricity. He experienced something like time travel, though not bodily time travel; instead, his consciousness shuttled between two different time periods, Island present 2004 and Desmond's past 1996. But here's the tricky twist: Desmond's Island-present mind wasn't the one doing the time traveling. When Desmond got hit with Island magic, his consciousness got knocked off-line and was replaced by his 1996 self. It was this older Desmond consciousness that toggled between present and past throughout the episode. Once Desmond '96 completed the errand of getting Penny's phone number so he could call her on Christmas Eve 2004, Desmond's present-day mind came back online, but rebooted with the new memories created by his time-travel adventure.

Furthermore…, Desmond's past was different before ''The Constant.'' Before his time-travel adventure, Desmond never met Faraday at Oxford, never got Penelope's digits. As a consequence of changing the past, Desmond's personal history has been ''course corrected'' by The Powers That Be, beginning from the moment he walked away from Penny's apartment. But here's a Big Question: since scoring Penelope's phone number, has Course-Corrected Desmond lived his life knowing that on Christmas Eve 2004, he MUST be on a freighter in the South Pacific in order to make a call to Penelope if he wants any chance of having a future with her? The producers of LOST say this is indeed a matter we should be mulling.

Are we all clear now?

WHAT'S IN A NAME

Minkowski is the guy who was the communications officer on the Freighter…well, it seems his name is on something called Minkowski space. Wikipedia says: In physics and mathematics, Minkowski space (or Minkowski spacetime) is the mathematical setting in which Einstein's theory of special relativity is most conveniently formulated. In this setting the three ordinary dimensions of space are combined with a single dimension of time to form a four-dimensional manifold for representing a spacetime. Minkowski space is named after the German mathematician Hermann Minkowski.

THE TEMPEST HATCH

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare about Prospero, a sorcerer who raises a storm that causes a ship full of his enemies (one of whom is his brother Antonio) to crash on his mysterious island. He is on the island with his daughter Miranda and he holds dominion over a deformed creature named Caliban and a spirit named Ariel. Go get the book and read it to learn more!

SOURCE OF SUPPLIES

Did you notice that the wine Goodwin had was without Dharma logos? This indicates the Others had more than one source of supplies!


BIBLE COMPARISON

There was no direct correlation, but when watching Ben send Goodwin to his death it reminded me of King David in the Bible. He was King and the story goes a beautiful woman would take a bath on her rooftop and David was able to spy on her. He feel in love with her but knew he couldn't have her since she was married. So he ordered her husband to the front ranks in the next battle. The husband took it as a honor, but everyone else realizes it was automatic death.

The King ended up marrying the woman and producing a son named King Solomon.


YOU LOOK LIKE HER

The Other's therapist told Juliet that she understood Ben's attraction since Juliet looked like "her". We've had a "him" and now we have a "her". Annie?

Who is this therapist which later shows up in the jungle? Many are guessing that she is a produce of Smokey, but it was interesting how a) she could hold a conversation with real people and b) she seemed to hold some past memory of Juliet. Recall that Juliet got "scanned" by Smokey previously.
We also learn that Harper Stanhope has a Certificate of Recognition on her wall:

Notice what appears to be a Hanso logo. Is this some sort of lame correspondence school? Is there a Hanso University on the island? And what does this imply as far as the Hanso people, the Dharma people and the original inhabitants? Who is supporting whom?

And we also caught this shot in the office:

Notice all the curves in the accessories. And the letter holder sure appears to look like a logo I've seen on an airliner somewhere.

RABBITS

Ben asks John, "This rabbit didn't have a number on it, did it?" If you recall the Orchid Orientation film, then you get the joke.

Most of the good lines went to Ben this week like: "You are mine. Take all the time you need."

John: "Red Sox" Ben: "I taped over the game."

Juliet: "It's not easy being an Other."

WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT

Again I'm reminded of an episode of Star Trek when the crew gets stuck in a time loop. At night, Beverly Crusher hears whispers which are remnants of the loop.

My conclusion is that by using research from the Orchid station the Others have learned to time-teleport like Desmond was doing.

Well, that's my theory.

THE TEMPEST COMPUTER

Did anyone else think to themselves, "If Daniel was fine without the gas mask, then why not lose those gloves while typing?" Anyway, here is a full transcript of the stuff scrolling on the screen:

MASTER CAUTION AND WARNING! CROSS FEED ASS 16 OVERPRESSURE ALERT!
>: master caution resetMASTER CAUTION RESET
>: telnet tmpst4CONNECTION REFUSEDMASTER CAUTION AND WARNING!NEW ALARMTES/31 VAPOR PRESSURE 81%
>: set n-p/hgd tank cooling = MAXFMNT TANK COOLING = MAXMASTER CAUTION AND WARNING!NEW ALARMTANKS 1, 2, 3, 4 INTEGRITY FAILURE.EVACUATE NON-ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL.CONTAINMENT BREACH IMMINENT!EVACUATE NON-ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL.MASTER CAUTION AND WARNING!CROSS FEED ASS 16 OVERPRESSURE ALERT!
>: master caution resetMASTER CAUTION RESET
>: telnet tmps

All I can tell you from working with computers is that "telnet" is the older form of a connection program between computers. It was first used back when the Internet was first being formed by the scientist in the USA…that group was called ARPA and the first term for the Internet was ARPANET. And I can't quite get DHARMANET out of my mind!

THE SANDS OF TIME

I have no clue to the meaning of the sand box we saw, but I think it means something!

GAMES

Anyone notice how Hurley wins every game on the island? Even Sawyer is wondering how he lost at horseshoes!

DID YOU CATCH THIS

In the Tempest hatch we get a shot of a electrical panel with some buttons on it. Look what it is labeled:

Either the producers are having fun with us or this is a major clue of some sort. Box Maker? John worked in a box company. Ben mentioned there was a big box of some sort to make his father appear. And planes have a black box on them. Come on, box maker???

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

Don't know about you, but I feel like maybe we, the viewers, are the rats in a maze:

And I suppose once LOST completes its story we will sort of feel like we knew the maze the whole time, but just didn't know it. Now if only I could time-shift to three years down the road…

While LOST is on break, we will do at least one more Lost Tidbits. The one I have planned will feature a well-thought out theory. The theory is so simple even a child could understand it. And don't forget what every child has said at least once, "Sorry mom, I lost track of the time." J


Enjoy,

KC

LT79: The Constant (March 2, 2008)

Previously published on March 2, 2008...

THE CONSTANT – A REVIEW

Many assumptions were confirmed this show and who doesn't like answers?

More importantly, the episode gave plenty of clues about many origins. We know more about the Widmore/Hanso connection, we learned about Daniel Faraday's experiments, and we finally got to visit the infamous freighter. Overall, for people who love to be challenged mentally while watching TV, this episode of Lost was the cat's meow!

Let's begin the Easter eggs for "The Constant" with a literary lesson. If you're familiar with Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, then this episode may not have been as impressive, technically. That's because the entire premise of Desmond jumping between timelines is a direct lift (or homage) to that classic novel, in which Billy Pilgrim becomes "unstuck in time,"In fact, Lost didn't even try to hide this fact, having Daniel Faraday use that exact expression in describing what he does to Eloise the rat.

THE AUCTION

Keep in mind the January on-line game was Find815, but the original target of the salvage operation was to find the slave ship, Black Rock.

The big question is: what is Charles Widmore's obsession with the Black Rock? Perhaps it has to do with the Hanso Foundation. Magnus Hanso was the captain of the Black Rock during its expedition and is believed to be buried on the island. His great grandson is Alvar Hanso, founder of the Hanso Foundation who went on to help fund the DHARMA Initiative. At this time, it's unclear who Tovard Hanso, the seller of the Black Rock journal, is, but it's a safe assumption he's related.

And did you catch the item on sale after Widmore won the bidding for the journal? A work by Charles Dickens who was referenced in previous LOST episodes. You got to love these guys.

But did you notice Penelope's apartment address?

Yep, the numbers! Along with Faraday's device settings:

And the auction lot number for the Black Rock painting and journal was 2342.

CHECK YOUR TIME

Who hasn't lost track of what day of the week it is? It is a nice feeling when you wake up prepared for a Thursday and then are reminded late it is Friday! But eight years? YIKES!

The coordinates have to be followed precisely or we get Faraday's "side effects". Frank seemed to be doing a decent job, but obviously not good enough for Desmond. Some suggest that the coordinates that Frank used are accurate where Ben gave Michael some bad information!

ALL EYES ON WIDMORE

Why we should pay close attention to Mr. Widmore:

What if Ben is the good guy, and actually knows the people/company who are trying to find the island and is truly doing what he is doing for the greater good? And, what if this company can use the island to build unimaginable weapons with the power of the island, or perhaps control humanity?If this sounds far fetched, look no further than Penny's dad, aka Charles Widmore. We currently don't know much about Mr. Widmore expect that he doesn't care too much for Desmond, he likes good scotch, and his company, Widmore Industries, has a fetish for sponsoring mysterious races around the world, and buying journals from old slave ships. And if you look close, you will notice that they manufacture the pregnancy tests that are used on the island. So what's the connection? Well, these main bad guys have been tied to all things related to the island (except Oceanic Air at this point). Widmore Industries have partnered with Paik Industries (Sun's Father's Company). Paik Industries built a freighter for the Hanso Foundation. Could this be the same freighter that is currently stationed off the island, and why does the Hanso Foundation need a specially designed boat? The Hanso Foundation helped fund the Dharma Initiative.
As a test to see if the island could be reached, Widmore Industries conveniently sponsored a race that would use low tech equipment, with the hopes of one of these vessels arriving there. We know that Desmond was on a race sponsored by Widmore Industries and ended up on the island, but, let's not forget about Mr. Henry Gale either, the now dead man from Minnesota in the hot air balloon. As an interesting note, Henry's balloon was sponsored by… Widmore Industries. Prior to the purge of Dharma, Widmore would have also had access to the island, and could have been using it for defense testing and prototyping (the black smoke). How else would Dharma know how to keep the monster out of the compound? And how does Penny Widmore know where to look for Desmond? Is it because she knows the approximate location of coordinates where he landed? It would be entirely possible to think that Daddy Widmore told his daughter to move on, because he got rid of ol' Desmond. Maybe Penny has been snooping around her father's business and has uncovered something that helped her know where to look for Desmond. She could have been using communications from her father's business that were attempting to contact the island since the days of Dharma, and it just so happened that when the Looking Glass communication jam ended, Penny was there to say hello to Charlie. Now, why does this make Widmore Industries the bad guys? We know that through the Lost Experience* that the Valenzetti Equation tells us that our favorite numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42) tell us the exact end date of mankind. The Dharma Initiative's goal is to use any one of the numbers to change the end date. Well, what if Widmore could take control of this power and hold the world hostage, or use it for their own sinister benefit? In Bad Twin*, we also learn that a corporation by the name of Widmore Industries has been defense contracting and is morally lax in its testing and deployment. Maybe the "monster" was created by Widmore, which explains why Ben doesn't know what it is. In Find815*, we learn that the Maxwell Group is looking for Black Rock, but instead finds flight 815. And what does Charles Widmore expect to find in the journal from the Black Rock? The Maxwell Group is shown to be division of Widmore Industries. And of course the biggest clue that Charles Widmore is evil… he doesn't share his scotch.

Hmmm…

MORE TATTOOS

Notice the tattoos worn by our ship hand.

It appears to be a compass…the same symbol used by the January game company, The Maxwell Group…which we have learned is owned by Widmore Industries.

MRS. HAWKING

You might remember our jewelry store lady. People are claiming they have spotted her at Kate's trial and now the Hanso Journal auction. Is she some sort of gatekeeper? Or timekeeper?

The latest theory is that Mrs. Hawking is Libby via some sort of time travel.

Or she could be Ben's "Annie" all grown up.

Remember that she appears in a photo with Brother Campbell found on his desk during Desmond's time in the monastery.

Or she could be aged Penelope in the future.

Some have suggested she could be the Sheriff we see in Othersville.

And finally, some think she could be Karen DeGroot who we see in the first Orientation video…making Brother Campbell, Gerald DeGroot.

And that's Lulu, the dog, in the courtyard at college. Recognize anyone else?

ALL ABOARD

Ben says he has a spy on board the Freighter. Many are going with the doctor.

So who opened the door for the prisoners?

We heard Minkowski say that Sayid and Desmond "must have a friend" on the freighter. And we have all heard the Michael is to return to the show.It's painfully possible that Michael is the "friend" who opened the door. He's Ben's spy on the freighter. We know that Ben made a deal with Michael to get off the island. We learned in "The Economist" that Oceanic 815 survivors are prone to aligning themselves once off the island.

CHECKING THE DAYS OFF
It appears to be December 23rd, 2004, on board the Freighter…this matches the island date to almost a tee. Wonder what was off the schedule in October? Did they "lose" four days?

CLEVER RESEARCH

On one of Faraday's pages in his journal is a blank side. Writing can be seen on the opposite side of the page. Well, someone has tried to enhance it and has this:

Of all the drawings we see from Daniel, one looks awfully familiar:

These are showing just the lines of the Dharma Relays and Tunnels from the Blast Door map…same as Faraday's drawings.


Go find your constant now,

KC

LT78: Eggtown (February 24, 2008)

Previously published on February 24, 2008...




HIM

So, we get an answer to a question! "Him" is Aaron? WHAT?!

Does this mean Claire couldn't leave the island for some reason and Kate offered to raise the kid as her own?

And how lucky can Kate get to have murder, grand theft, and fraud pleaded down to probation? Like they couldn't prove Kate blew up the house or stole cars or broke into a bank without mom? Hmmm…I kept expecting Ben to show up and pull some strings for Kate and that she would then owe him. Of course, maybe he did!

Sort of a strange decorations for a house that obviously Oceanic built. Are those three-toed robots?

Recall the clothesline scene with Kate and Claire…it seemed to me that there was more than a simple dislike for babies when Kate refused to help. Sort of like how vampire can't touch a cross.

THE PROPHECY

What is the impact of Kate raising Aaron considering the prophecy that Claire should raise him?
Recall that Claire was about to give up the baby for adoption, but a palm-reader warned her to "raise her baby…nobody but her." Richard Malkin, the palm-reader and psychic, specifically told Claire that her "goodness" had to be an influence in the development of her child and that "grave danger" surrounded him. There would also be "no happy life" for her baby if she herself didn't raise the child. "There can be no other."

Yet the palm-reader also arranged for Claire to be on that flight to Los Angeles. Did Malkin see the future and realize this would lead to Kate raising Aaron?

Or is Claire still alive on the island and Aaron needs to be returned to Claire in order to fulfill his destiny? Is this why Jack wants Kate to join him and go back?

And don't forget the tie-in Ecko had with Claire and the palm-reader. Recall as a priest he was to investigate a claim made to the church. Later then Ecko baptizes Aaron. There was also a meaningful moment with Claire when she revealed the baby's name to Ecko and he recognized it was like Moses' relative. For a Bible update, Moses led his people to the Promised Land but was unable to enter it. Aaron had to lead the people the rest of the way.

But…the psychic does tell Claire at the end of the episode, "Raised by Another", that he was wrong and gives her a plane ticket to L.A. where he's found a couple that will be good parents for the baby. I think he gives her $10k and then she'll get another $10k when she gets to L.A. Perhaps Kate is in L.A. and has "adopted" Aaron. Maybe she and Jack do get married and he adopts Aaron. What a twist since we know he's Aaron's uncle.

And didn't Desmond say that in his vision that Claire and the baby get on the helicopter and become rescued?

I'm so confused!

GRENADES

So Miles is having a grenade for breakfast. What if Hurley passes off feeding duties to Claire and she enters the boat house and Miles takes one with him? She and Charlie would then die by the same cause (Mr. Patchy blew open the underwater hatch with a grenade).

DEPRESSION

You can imagine how difficult it is to bash my favorite show, but does the island "heal" depression? Charlie dies about a day or so ago and Claire is bouncing around the house like spring just arrived (that simile makes more sense to Iowans during winter).

Less than a week ago, Sawyer kills Cooper and we get not a hint of remorse. Now if the characters were under some immediate threat and had to constantly focus on the NEXT challenge, fine, we must all move on. But while laying back in Othersville, you would think an occasional tear should fall from some of these people. Isn't anyone ready to crack under the pressure? Look how many times they have moved or left camp due to some threat in just three or four months!

The only stress I observe is from Locke. By now you would think at least one person would have done something crazy to themselves in a "I can't take this anymore". The writers had better remind themselves that while WE wait weeks and months between episodes, the LOSTIES aren't getting any breaks in time. Time? Oh great, now we are back to that subject again! J

CARD GAME

What was Faraday and Charlotte doing with those playing cards? Was Faraday gaining or losing ESP on this island? Is his "autism" or whatever he has being cured which is also removing his gift?

Or is this a standard psych test and Faraday just can't remember short term things?

People have analyzed the bike in the picture on the wall and below it we see a playing card – 6 of spades…same as Faraday was trying to remember.



And when the bedroom door opens a bit further we can see more the artwork in the hallway:

That white rectangle is a playing card.

RANSOM DEMAND

Do you feel that Miles demand for $3.2 million is a code like "tell my sister"? Why indeed that exact amount? Does Miles know so much about Ben that he knows the amount in his bank account?

Much like Ben, I wondered why Miles wanted exactly $3.2 million. This brought me back to something that's been bugging me since the beginning: the Numbers.

Since 4, 8 and 16 are three of the Numbers, I always assumed powers of 2 were important. I also questioned why 32 wasn't one of the Numbers, but 23 (with the numbers inverted) was.As such, I assume $3.2 million has to do with the number 32, and that exponential powers of 2 are somehow important to Lost. Maybe it ties into the popular idea of twinning. Dualities are big on Lost, going back to the black and white stones in the cave (don't think I haven't forgotten about THOSE, Lost writers).Then the fact that 23 and 32 have their numbers inverted would feed into the theory in which things are mirror images of one another. I've yet to settle on a master theory about what twinning, but I'm firmly aboard the bandwagon that these two concepts are key to unlocking Lost's secrets.

PATSY CLINE

In Kate-centric episodes, Patsy Cline is featured in the soundtrack.

In her first season flashback, "Tabula Rasa," Cline's "Leaving on My Mind" is heard as the Australian farmer gives her a ride in his car. In season 2's "What Kate Did" and season 3's "Left Behind," Kate hears Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight," either on a record player in the Swan station, or as the tow truck picks her up.And in last night's episode, Kate is listening to "I've Got Your Picture" in Claire's house when John Locke storms in to banish her. Lost is very fond of musical connections and so once again, Kate gets her Patsy Cline fix.

READING MATERIAL

Two books were prominently displayed this episode:

Phillip K. Dick is the author of several sci-fi books. Many have been made into movies including Total Recall, Minority Report, Next, Blade Runner, and others.

But the more interesting book may be "The Invention of Morels". Wiki says, "A fugitive hides on a deserted island somewhere in Polynesia. Tourists arrive, and his fear of being discovered becomes a mixed emotion when he falls in love with one of them. He wants to tell her his feelings, but an anomalous phenomenon keeps them apart." Actually, this reminds me more of Sayid's relationship in Germany last episode.

I'M NOT SAYING

We learn Kate's middle name is Anne. As in "Annie"?

DA PLANE THEORY

I'm not sure we can discount the book "Bad Twin" any longer. Mirror images and such are a theme throughout LOST. So when we see footage of the discovery of Flight 815 the world is told the Indian Ocean in the Sundra Trench.

Later, so it seems, Jack testifies the Oceanic cover story, and says it crashed in the South Pacific.

Or do we have TWO planes? In one loop we have perhaps Frank flying this plane and in the next loop Mr. Packman (just a name I borrowed from Heroes for this same actor), flies it. One pilot with a ring and one without. Meaning…Frank saw himself dead.

Or it could be as simple that the footage we saw of the rescue was some personal, research footage and not some national broadcast. In other words, these four Freighters know things the rest of the world doesn't.

HEARING THINGS

A faithful reader of Lost Tidbits asked, "What did that one crazy guy outside the courtroom scream at Kate?"

I found the clip of this part of the show and listened to it maybe 25 times. I can't make nothing out. If I tried my best it would be this:

"Why yet e more."

So I reversed the audio and it became crystal clear: "We hate you." Woah! Remember this face as we may see him again. Walt spoke backwards. And who is "we"?

**

I dug a little deeper for more backward talk and discovered Miles spoke backward to Naomi when examining her body. In reverse he said, "You gotta see it through." Hmmm…

I THINK WE ARE JUST GETTING USED TO THINGS ON THIS ISLAND

Think back to Season 1…early in Season 1…would you have expected an edition of Lost Tidbits to not point this out:

But it slipped right by me. What does that say about us? It is a domesticated cow it would seem. Where did it go? Milk? Beef? Does one mean more? Is that a cowbell around its neck? Does this mean Blue Oyster Cult is involved in some way ("Don't Fear the Reaper"?)

I believe Frank would have little reason to mention the cow to other people since at first blush, it could make sense. Of course, he SHOULD put together that anything it was a little odd. If the helicopter crew gets stranded with the Losties, then I would expect to remember this bovine.

THE MISSING SCENE

Last week we mentioned that an interesting scene was cut…this is where Miles, Sayid and Kate are going to retrieve Charlotte from Othersville and they reach the sonar protection fence.

As promised, here is the interesting dialog:

MILES: What is this?

SAYID: A Security fence. When activated, the pylons emit a high pitch frequency that will kill anyone who passes through it. We used a tree to climb...

MILES raises his hand towards Sayid. He seems to hear something.

MILES: SHHHHHHHHH!!!

SAYID stops and watches MILES as he scans the surroundings, listening intently.

SAYID (Sarcastic): I'm sorry, are we supposed to be hearing something?A beat passes and MILES is suddenly aware that SAYID had spoken to him.

MILES: I'm sorry, what?

KATE is examining the control panel.

KATE: Maybe I can shut it off.

SAYID joins her, bending over to examine the panel.

SAYID: And, how might you do that?

KATE: I saw Juliet do it once.

SAYID (Doubtful): Without the code?

MILES continues to scan with a slight twitch, similar to when we saw him reading the boy's room in Confirmed Dead. Suddenly he walks through the pylons and turns towards an astonished KATE and SAYID.

MILES: Hey, I don't think it's on.

KATE: And how did you know that?

MILES: Lucky guess.

MILES turns and walks away. SAYID and KATE exchange puzzled glances and proceed after him.

Interesting, huh?

I WANT THAT D.A.

If ever I find myself in court I hope I get that D.A. that prosecuted Kate. Ten years!!!??? Probation?!?!?!

This D.A. was so inept that by the end, the defense had her thinking it was a major victory to keep Kate in the state. Oh, if I have to.

MIRROR THEORY

What does Jack not want to be more than anything? A drunk, like his father. In flash forwards Jack is becoming what he hates most.

What does Kate fear the most? Being a mother.

Hurley? Going back to mental hospital and having another "Dave".

Sayid? Being a torturer.

This is the island of mirror images? Like the little girl says in the commercial, "It's the mirrors."

Enjoy,

KC

LT77: The Freighter (Feburary 21, 2008)

Previously published on February 21, 2008...




MICHAEL FARADAY

The physicist from the Freighter shares the name of an English chemist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He studied magnets and laid the ground work for the magnetic field that we know is formed. He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. The LOST character by the same name commented on how the light looked different somehow.

Faraday's law of induction states that a magnetic field changing in time creates a proportional electromotive force. This sure would explain a few things…right?

Another contribution he made was the Faraday cage which he proved that an external change in electric charge will not impact the internal area. This might help understand how a helicopter can take a lightning strike and still function. Or why the walls of the Swan hatch were thick enough to "contain" some type of electromagnetic charge. Quiz tomorrow on this stuff! J

And keep in mind that Danny Faraday, the LOST physicist, could be the Danny that Ana Lucia mentions as her friend. This could explain why he cried at the news of the crash in a flashback.

THE DOG PAINTING

Little exists in the cabin shack except for a painting of a dog.

It seems that a dog has been seen around the shooting locations that looks like this:

Looks pretty similar to me. The dog's name is Lulu in real world, so keep an eye open for more references to dogs.

Speaking of animals…Frank saw a cow?!?! That's better meal than boar. Where are the other cows? Where did it go? It's what's for dinner.

SAYID AND ICE

Everyone seemed to notice that Sayid grabbed some ice off the top of the trash container after throwing his maps away. Why did he do that? The first thought was something to do with hiding prints, but this was after his hands were empty. Just another reference to cold things? Or a reminder he wasn't on the tropical island?

Speaking of Sayid – why does Jack and Hurley suggest they are treated like celebrities, but when the golfer discovers Sayid is part of the Oceanic 6 it looks like he might need a change of underwear. Then he goes ahead and hits a perfect shot. Then after forgiving the bet and taking a bullet, the sprinkler system goes and on and Sayid acts like that is perfectly normal (see my story above!).

LOST WRITING

This show keeps my interest the entire time it is on – I never look away. It is some pretty intense action or dialog on nearly every scene. And yet, it can make me laugh right out loud. My favorite this past week was when Hurley says, "Oh great. The boat sent us another Sawyer." Great line!

Speaking of writers, it seems the 8 or 9 episodes left undone will begin filming shortly, but not enough time exists to get them done for what time is left in the spring schedule. So, we are going to get between 4 and 6 completed and will likely air in June.

Ok, some more of my favorite lines from the first three episodes:

Ben: I probably should have told you she took the phone, but you beat me up.

Ben: Well technically he didn't kill her…yet.

Ben: Time to call the freighter back. Tell them Naomi's getting a really big pile of wood.

Locke: It's not loaded.

Jack: Dunno Miles...How stupid are you?

Jack: I did give you... that wink.

Sawyer: You mind tellin' us who you're getting you're orders from, Col. Kurtz? (Love the Apocalypse Now reference – which reminds me of the four horsemen…)

Locke: If I still had a kidney there I'd be dead.

TIME TRAVEL

Anyone else think Ben might be in multiple places on Earth at one time? It might explain the Others interest in Walt when asking Michael about whether he exhibited that same behavior. And it reminds me of the Bad Twin book released in connection with LOST. Could this be a bad Ben we see helping Sayid with his gunshot wound? In the final scene it appeared that Ben's voice was a bit different…and don't forget all the dogs around continues that theme as well. Crazy show!

Speaking of time…how about the 31 minutes and 19 seconds difference in timers for the payload? Could the force field around this island be the cause of the time impact? Maybe time does travel differently on the island and this explains the women unable to bear children since the rapid passing of time doesn't allow for proper development. The Swan hatch is what might have kept the time consistent but with it gone this is why nothing can pass the force field without crashing (helicopter, airplane, boats, hot air balloons, etc.). And maybe because Desmond was so close this is why he now has these time premonitions. Yet, the submarine seems to pass through fine. And why exact bearings to exit and enter?

And looking for Bible references, John 3:16 is pretty popular…or use to be more so at sporting events.

And while on the subject of time, let's remember what Douglas Adams said about time in his book, "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" (which happens to revolve around the answer to all questions about the universe: 42). He said:

"One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well-adjusted family can't cope with. ... The major problem is quite simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr Dan Streetmentioner's Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you for instance how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. ... Most readers get as far as the Future Semi-Conditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional before giving up: and in fact in later editions of the book all the pages beyond this point have been left blank to save on printing costs."

Now I understand! HA! But it does make Ben's comment about "kill me and you'll never know how dangerous these people WERE" – he used past tense. Still think I'm crazy?

WHERE'S MY CABIN?

Huh? Locke knows where it is. He finds the white powder ring. But no cabin! Does the time shift work differently inside the cabin? Does it phase in and out at different times? Do you wonder if he walked to where it is he would have ran into some physical thing that visually the light affects? I believe we have only "seen" the cabin at night time.

CLOVERFIELD – THE MOVIE

LOST fans might be wise to check this movie out. Besides JJ Abrams being behind both projects, there are rumors they might be related more than we imagined. And sharp eyes caught this shot from the movie:

See the Dharma logo?

BATTER UP

Many think the comment by Jack about the Red Sox really winning could come into play since they won in 2004 when the plane crashed and in 2007 which is where we are now…about 100 days before Oceanic Airlines reopened for business. Keep an ear open for this to get a time reference.

KATE'S WRISTS

Recall everyone wondering why Kate's wrists were bruised after having breakfast with Ben on the beach? Well, we get this answer…she tried to pull them off herself and she caused the bruising during her failed attempt. The deleted scene was leaked and can be seen here:

http://dvdlost.blogspot.com/2007/10/season-3-kate-handcuff-scene.html

Hey, that's ONE answer at least!

Click Next Page and Previous Page to see more deleted scenes that help fill in a few holes – like how they got a ping pong ball.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME GO "Hmmm"

Hurley and Ben both said, "Never say never." Hmmm…

The pilot of the helicopter shares the same last name as a passenger on the plane:

Oh and by the way, Lapidus means "candle". Calling Dr. Marvin Candle!

In the house where the ghost whisperer cast out spirits we see this shot along with comparisons to a young black man – Ecko. Was this Ecko's family relative?

DELETED SCENE

I guess the original cut included Miles, Sayid and Kate coming up to the sonar fence and what happened there was very surprising.

I can't tell you what happened…not yet anyway.

BEN'S SECRET ROOM

So Ben can slip away to any country with passport and cash at will.

Please do notice that the person on that money is Michael Faraday – the scientist.

HO – HO – HO

Charlie was standing next to the Ho-Ho's and Jack and Hurley played a game of HORSE to just HO.

HO is the abbreviation for Holmium – an element that has strange magnetic properties. The encyclopedia says: Because of its magnetic properties, holmium has been used to create the strongest artificially-generated magnetic fields when placed within high-strength magnets as a magnetic pole piece.

And someone remembers that only the HO was formed with black rocks when Bernard wanted to build a signal for rescue.

H is the 8th letter of the alphabet and O is the 15th meaning: 815.

At the mental ward we see HO in the background with Hurley:

HOLM is the Greek word for "island". HOLIUM is also the Latin word for Stockholm – the home of Hanso Foundation. Hmmm…

And Liam tells brother Charlie, "Ho Ho Ho", in an earlier episode.

MAYBE WE ARE GETTING NUMB

We might be getting so jaded that we fail to talk about the most surprising thing yet: Jack's changing. He is becoming a killer instead of a healer. I mean who really, really, really thought Jack would pull that trigger on Locke?

And he earlier promised to kill Ben, Locke, etc…he's getting angry.

And it all started when he mercy-killed the Marshall in the tent after Sawyer's marksmanship went awry.

CINDY and FRANK

Frank was suppose to pilot Flight 815 that day but like many Dharma controlled events, he didn't make it. But he would probably know Cindy, his flight attendant.

Now she should be on her way to the temple, so it could be interesting if she shows up with the Others for some sort of rescue mission and they meet again.

Thought: what if these four freighter people were to be on Flight 815 and missed for some reason?

BEVERAGES

I don't know the connection, but I sense there is one. Locke with the tea. Locke handing Hurley a water bottle.

CHARLOTTE

Ben is proving how much he knows about the Freighter people by giving details about Charlotte including her birth day of July 2. A quick Google on this date reveals that on this day:

Amelia Earhart disappeared – we have had several references to Earhart on the show and in the Find 815 game…including an airport that Juliet goes to which was an anagram of Earhart.
The scientist Rousseau dies
The self contained gas mask is patented by Benjamin Lane
A UFO crashed near Roswell, New Mexico
Steve Fosset becomes the first person to fly around the world in a hot air balloon – this is the man the courts recently declared "legally dead".

LONG DISTANCE CHARGES

Recall that Miles asked to speak to Minikowski? The voice (Rachel?) said he was tied up right now. Isn't that the name of one of the people involved with Hanso Foundation? Do they have a prisoner and are figuring things out slowly? The Freighter people sure seem to know more about what to expect on this island before they arrived than the Survivors know after three months.

FINAL SCENE

That cliffhanger was a good one. Sayid needs a new name and now that his task got hard, Ben thinks that is a good thing. WHAT???

LET'S PLAY HOUSE

For the first time in four years of LOST, I sort of agreed with someone's logic of staying on the island – and it was Sawyer who convinced me that it wouldn't be such a bad thing. He made a good argument in my mind.

Enjoy,

KC

LT76: Vacation (February 17, 2008)

Previously published February 17, 2008...

WHERE HAS LOST TIDBITS GONE?

We went on vacation to an island in the Pacific Ocean. Get the Lost reference? Of course, that meant flying to the island. Our flight was actually cancelled the day we were to leave – bad omen, huh? So, Dharma, er, I mean, Northwest Airlines, rebooked up on a three-legged jaunt and assigned us Row 8 for the first leg. I kid you not. We had nothing to do with that or row 23 for then next leg and 42 for the next. We nearly passed on our vacation!

It was a bit freaking and I'll share more Lost Moments with you in the next newsletter. Maybe this was due to visiting Hawaii, the place they film the show! Every flight seemed to have a John Locke-looking guy on it. Perhaps I was reading a bit too much into it, but getting three Lost numbers as seat assignments was a strange way to start the trip.

We found the dock that Michael and Walt left at:

And we tried out best to mimic this one:

So we are back and ready to catch up on some LOST time!

LATE BREAKING NEWS

The writers strike is over and filming will begin immediately on the 8 remaining episodes! Stay tuned for any scheduling issues.

SEASON 4 BEGINS WITH A PILE OF FRUIT

A pile of fruit that Hurley then proceeds to smash through with his car on way to his arrest and the Santa Rose Mental Hospital. Talk about coming full circle. Hey, wasn't the original name of LOST something like "The Circle"?

This episode, "The Beginning of the End", features Hurley and his struggle with reality, not to mention a lie he must keep. In this show, he LOST his way along the path and ended up at Jacob's cabin. One can't resist a peek inside and this is what he sees:

Now call me silly, but call that Christian Shepherd! See the suit and tie? And with the light shining on his forehead I can match that up in my mind with the previous shot we had of Jacob. Is Christian Shepherd this Jacob?

Recall our theories lately about Jacob wanting to take bodily form with his mind/energy. Is he "using" the physical body as his manifestation? Did he take the body? Is this why the casket Jack found was empty?

Or is Christian really Jacob and he caused this crash by wishing himself back to the island? Consider that Christian would never have planned this, but his body went and died on him in Australia. Let's say Christian could control his return to the island. Well he never dreamed his son would be on the plane…except to retrieve his dead body. What fate.

And we have to remind ourselves that in a flash forward Jack seems to speak as if his father is alive…and drunk.

Whether Jacob is borrowing Christian's body, or Christian is some kind of god…I wonder if he has Christian's memories and would recognize his own son. (Think Bible stuff here).

One final point to make…the final Missing Pieces was released and is entitled, "So it Begins" – similar to this title. And in this webisodes we see Vincent being called to Christian Shepherd. He leans down and tells the dog to go wake up his son who is lying in a bamboo forest because "he has work to do". The dog obeys and wakes Jack up as we saw in the first scene of the first episode of the first season. Now skip ahead to this Season 4 episode and it seems Jack's dad has been a busy man.

My bet: Jacob is using the body…sort of that needs human matter but only if dead. I'll bet that if we dug up Nikki and Paulo their bodies might be gone to. Of course, why didn't Jacob "use" the Dharma bodies from the pit? Hey, I'm still working on all this…four years isn't enough time to expect answers from me yet! J

OCEANIC AIRLINES BUYS COMMERCIAL TIME ON ABC

Does anyone else think the line behind television and reality are beginning to blur a little bit? During the premier of "I Dream of George" that followed LOST, we were treated to an Oceanic Airlines commercial.

During the airing of the commercial, it is interrupted by a character from the Find815 game saying, "You can't trust these people. We found the airplane!" or something to that effect.

THE ARTIST

It looks like Arts and Craft time (FYI – a Missing Pieces webisodes was entitled "Arzt and Crafts"). An igloo makes me think of the time I lived in Alaska four winters. Yeah, we measure time there in winters not years. Anyway…it also reminds me of that cold Monitoring Station we saw at the end of Season 2. Remember the two Portuguese workers who were playing CHESS? The monitoring station looked more like a tent of some sort to me and not an igloo, but it does involve cold weather. And Hurley painted what appears to be a white Eskimo man holding a harpoon and a couple of fish (biscuits). The man is likely on his way to hunt polar bears. Is this all from Hurley's mind???

Speaking of chess…in another Missing Pieces webisodes it shows Jack and Ben playing a game of CHESS while Jack was a guest in Othersville. And in this episode Hurley's mysterious visitor sat down at a table with a chess game on it.

Whatever it means, Hurley is making good use of the 16-color paint set.

LAWYERS!

Well, he SAYS he is a lawyer. Mr. Matthew Abbadon. Creepy. He claimed to be representing Oceanic Airlines and wishes to "upgrade" Hurley's seat on the plane of life. But notice how he was unaware of Hurley's distaste for an ocean view. It's like he has no idea Hurley spent three plus months on an island beach staring out at the ocean. And he doesn't seem to know the fate of the people he is inquiring about.

Interesting enough, the January game played, Find815, introduced the word "Abbadon" during the month. A quick search reveals this is a Bible name – no surprise there. It means "place of destruction" or "underworld" in the Greek language of The Revelations. Underworld is the word that the 108 Timer reviewed when the clock began showing those Egyptian hieroglyphics.

In the Bible, a character is named Abbadon and the Hebrew word means "Destroyer". Revelations call this character the leader of the "locusts". These locusts were allowed to devour the good people on earth.

Outside the Bible the term is also meant as a pit or cave where people would perform ritual acts to prove they were worthy of their God's mercy.

And back to the Bible, a second character has the same name, but this time it is an angel. This angel's job is to guard the bottomless pit where Satan is cast and kept. When someone says guardian, I think of the Smoke Monster. Some say when this lawyer left the room he had a trail of black smoke following him!

So, we have good and bad connotations of the word. How fitting for LOST to do this to us!

ARTWORK

We see a CHESS board at the Santa Rosa Mental hospital. And some more artwork by the patients there. Looks like some variations of the Oceanic Airline logo. And we see a brown mask that reminds me of those we saw in Ben's house in Othersville. I have to say it again, are we just inside Hurley's head? To explain this feeling I have, it would be as if the holodeck in Star Trek was programming to program immediately whatever the person in the room thought should be present. Oh yeah, that cleared it right up for you I bet!

Victory?

MORE ARTWORK

Did you catch the Dharma shark and symbols on the chalkboard?

IN HURLEY'S WORDS

Why did he refer to the island as an entity, "it"?

Who were Hurley and Mr. Lawyer Good News referring to as "them"? The island survivors or the Oceanic 6 team?

SHARP EYES

Did you notice that Hurley crashed in the Car of Destruction? That's right. This is the same Bonneville that keeps showing up: hit Locke in parking lot, hit Michael and put him hospital, and crashed into Kate when escaping the hospital.

CHARLIE AND THE MARKER FACTORY

"I'm dead and I'm here." Spooky stuff. But where ever Charlie is there is a nice supply of waterproof markers. This time his message is:

RANDY

You might remember Hurley's friend from the Mr. Clucks:

And who later got stuck in middle management for the box company Locke worked for.

When Hurley crashed his car it ended at Circuit House, an electronics store where an employee ran out to film the scene. Yep, looks like Randy is still stuck in middle management. Or is he ALWAYS going to be in middle management? By that I mean if each time loop changes some things, some things never change. Sorry Randy.

EPISODE 2 – CONFIRMED DEAD

We start our review of this episode with a dead bear…polar bear…in the desert. And wouldn't you know, it is wearing a Dharma collar

This episode was properly named as we revisited the dead pilot:

FYI – the phone number is real, so if you have any information about the crash, please call. I called and told them I saw the pilot on Heroes but they didn't think that this information was very helpful and hung up on me.

So, the crash was staged! Notice the helicopter on top of the TV set. The helicopter on the island is number "842M". When military personnel use code, the word for "M" is "Mike"…as in Michael perhaps?

THE DEVIL WANTS BEN

So, Mr. Lawyer hires Naomi to find Ben. Why? Why? Why? It is also interesting how they have a picture of Ben that appears to be off island. Watch him turn out to be a higher management boss of Randy and the box company Locke worked at!

And do you think it odd that Oceanic staged the crash near Bali? Everyone knows the route the plane was suppose to take and the radar would confirm it for a while. I suppose it could fit since they were "1,000 miles off course" but why not towards their destination of Los Angeles? Hmmm…

EPISODE 3 – THE ECONOMIST

Oh, I liked this one…Sayid on the golf course and fully loaded. Why did knowing Sayid was in the Oceanic 6 did that scare his eventual target?

THE BRACELET

The bracelet was interesting:

The two bracelets do not appear to be an exact match. And why did Sayid act like he knew the bracelet on the island when the flash forward to his contact in Berlin hadn't happen yet? Time loop anyone? Is that R.G. initials you see?

Many are supposing the N. stands for Naomi, so does the second woman, Elsa, have an E.? Or do they all have N. and when combined with the other initials come up with N.R.G. – or energy.

And "I'll always be with you"? Take that literally and could this mean "Smokey" or something similar?

THE LIST

Back to someone having a list! Sayid is a hired gun by none other than Ben. Holy snot! This show is insanely wonderful.

This list of Ben's is of "bad guys" at least in his mind and Sayid either agrees or is held in control by Ben. Does this mean the list on the island was also bad people. I recall that list being referred to as "his list" and saying who was and was not on it.

EVERYONE HAS A BOSS

Ok, let's think this one through. So Sayid works for Ben as a mercenary – probably anyone Ben believes could harm his "mission".

When Ben stuck the needle in, did you get the feeling that Sayid would heal and spit the bullet out of his body right on the spot? It is almost like Sayid is immortal, which he had better be since they now know he is coming for them. How would anyone know this really since the only people to identify him are dead? Yes, they will now look over their shoulder more but one would think people like that lived worried lives anyway.

Remember Sayid said something about the day he trusted Ben was the day he sold his soul? Maybe he trusted Ben down the road and did owe him. But how does Ben hold people in check so well? We know Cindy, the airline attendant, was convinced to join Ben's group. Juliet is held captive. He got Jack to play football, chess and the piano which is pretty impressive considering he was feeding him grilled cheese with toothpicks in them while prisoner in a fish aquarium – just a few days earlier.

Enjoy,

KC