Sunday, December 20, 2009

LT318: Three Shall Become One

CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

It has been said on the show and in supplemental writing that LOST is about a space within being larger than the space outside an object. This applies directly to the concept of the Magic Box.

What if the island under or INSIDE where actually much larger than the island itself? Could the Magic Box being the Temple? Or you might be thinking of the TARDIS from Doctor Who – that box which time transports the cast.

If we go down that route (and yes, down does seem to be the proper direction to use here), then I’m leaning back on Artificial Intelligence. A big A.I. or RPG game is at play then.

Well, it is something to ponder…if it strikes a chord with you, drop a note.


DID YOU KNOW?

That episode “316” and “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” were to be reversed?

That the final episode is reordered and re-edited with different lines on the Blue- Ray version compared to televised version?

The “?” in the middle of the Blast Door Map is indeed the Pearl Station?

And the Looking Glass station is not just for communications (source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk1MrAJowpM).



ESSAY #10: The Trinity

The concept of the Trinity is well-founded in Protestant religions. The Trinity consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Our Bible indicates a team of “bad guys” led by Lucifer (or Lew for short). The hierarchy on this team is unclear.

On LOST one could suppose that God is the Father, the Son is Jacob and the Holy Spirit is Smokey. However we are left with two major weaknesses. First, God as the Father is too easy for we have yet to have any reference to a higher being. Not that we need one, but it should doesn’t help when trying to justify the doctrine of a Trinity when all the players aren’t at the table.

Second drawback is that Smokey appears to be evil. Now we need to use the “mirror concept” and say for every good there must be a bad. So if we have a Holy Ghost we need an Unholy Ghost. This leaves with a bigger question, “where is the good Holy Ghost”.

Ok, scratch the Trinity thing.

All we really have to support the Bible to LOST theory is that we have a good guy (Jacob) and a bad guy (Man in Black). In this regard we have ample evidence.

For example, Satan tempts Christ in the wilderness – lots of that going on LOST Island.

And we have the forever struggle for control and worshippers – we see two sides playing tug-of-war with people every week on LOST.

So maybe the writers switched gears on us and made the Holy Spirit and bad thing as suggested. This still leaves a major question: who is the God who is in charge and where is he? Now if that doesn’t sound like LOST, I don’t know what does.

And before I leave this topic, does anyone remember who Ethan attempted to kill Charlie? Didn’t he hang him from a tree?


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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, December 13, 2009

LT317: Forsaken But Not Forgotten

USA PROMO COMING TUESDAY

If you watch the Forgotten you will see the US promo for LOST Season 6.

If you don’t watch the Forgotten, check back with LOST TIDBITS and there will be a link to the video.

There have been previous promos and teasers. Here is a collection of some of the best:

At comic con:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXnAaTFlRw8

Fan based and top notch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TmCiC7QJiU

Official #1 promo from ABC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXjlRBXjSJ8

The Willie Nelson promo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOgn_aMb8YU

Another quality fan promo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww2-ZHhxBnk


LOST UNIVERSITY

The college courses are well underway. The course videos have been removed from YouTube, but I’m hoping to provide some summaries of important pieces of interest.

Most of the content is a reworking of things we already know. There is a reading list provided for each course, but time is such an constraint for humans that I’m not sure if I’ll ever get through them all.

So check back with TIDBITS (most Wednesdays and Sundays) for updates and info.


ANOTHER POLL

I read where a poll was held to name the best prop on LOST. The top four vote getters were…

#4 – The Swatch Station Hatch Door
#3 – The Dharma Wheel in the Cold Room
#2 – The Countdown Clock (my favorite)
#1 – The Four-Toed Statue

This poll should be held years after the show goes off the air because the latest thing always gets more votes than it should. I saw recently where Transformers made a list of the Top 25 Movies of All-Time…the poll was taken about two weeks after its release. You get my point.


READING LIST

I’m hoping this new book will be out soon. It is entitled “Things You Never Noticed About LOST: Past Perceptions and Future Theories”. It would make for great January reading before Season 6.

If anyone hears of a release date, shout out!


ESSAY #9: Family Ties

I’m in a musical mood while writing this essay. The subject matter is family ties and the song lyrics in my head include, “You’ve got be cruel to me kind, in the right measure. Cruel to be kind, it’s a very good sign. Cruel to be kind means that I love you, baby. You’ve got to be cruel to kind.”

Now if those words don’t seem contradictory, then what does? Along the same line are the lyrics that have confused me over the years, “Come on baby make it hurt so good. Sometimes love don’t feel like it should. You make it hurt so good.”

**

Lew’s jealousy had reached a boiling point with his brother, Chris. A recent tournament found Chris enjoying the champion’s spotlight while Lew observed the events from the back of the room. Lew wondered why all his attempts to discredit his brother had failed.

After the press interviews Chris had made his way back to his private room. Lew had followed him quietly. Lew stood just outside the door and summoned all the strength he had. He reached for the door handle, turned it and opened the door.

Chris did not react in surprise. At first Lew was worried that his brother had expected him. But this thought spurred his anger on even more. Lew marched to his brother and grabbed him by the shirt. He proceeded to pull him up and out of his chair where he struck him. Lew spit in his brother’s face. He ripped his shirt off of him.

On the wall was banner from some previous chess championship where the cloth unfurled from a metal rod held by a triangle of cord. Lew grabbed the banner off the wall and jabbed his brother with the metal rod.

And all the time Chris never fought back. This angered Lew even more.

The beating was vicious and continued for several minutes. At one point, Chris peered through his bloodied vision and noticed a man was standing in the doorway of his room. That man was his father. Now it was Chris’ turn to be confused.

A second later and Lew was about to deliver a fatal blow to his brother. Chris made one desperate plea to the man in the door way. He said, “Father, father! Why have you forsaken me?” And with that, his father turned his back on his dying son and walked away as the crashing thud of prior tournament trophy was heard and felt in Chris’ head.

**

Many scholars have pondered the verses that describe Christ’s death on the cross and his plea for his father’s assistance…and subsequent refusal. It is nearly impossible to understand how God the Father would have permitted such a thing to happen.

And then words of the songs come rushing back into my head…you have to be cruel to be kind. The Bible suggests a higher purpose was being served and therefore the death of Christ (and Chris) were justified.

My thoughts then make it back to LOST where Christian seemed to hurting his son…or was it just a Boy-Named-Sue Strategy? Cooper mocked his son’s lack of reality because who really needs two kidneys? Roger beat his son away from him. Hurley’s father abandoned him.

Maybe you know someone who has had similar experiences. When I’ve met people like that they all have a common response, “I wouldn’t change a thing for those experiences is what made me who I am today.” Jack, Ben, John and Hurley wouldn’t be who they are without the nurture (or lack thereof) they received.

We hear catchphrases along this same line such as “tough love”. It that some excuse which makes the authority figures feel better or does the long-term benefits outweigh the opposite approach of enabling? I think Season 6 is going to answer this question.

The scene most perplexing to me and the motivation behind this essay is where John is asked to kill his father by Ben. Everyone expects John will do it. I just don’t understand that reasoning. But then I don’t understand how God turned his back on his son – that seems like an impossibility and yet, we are told, it happened.

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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, December 6, 2009

LT316: Reach for the Sky

CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

I enjoyed reading about this one: Frank Lapidus is the new leader.

The idea stems from two facts: the real John Locke is dead and he was called a “candidate” by this new group led by Ilana and Bram.

Supporting evidence includes the fact that everyone recruited for Naomi’s team has been on the island previously…why not Frank as well then?

The theory goes like this: Frank was to be the pilot of Oceanic 815 and for some reason of Fate (or Abbadon) he was not the pilot. Even Smokey realized this when he paid a visit to the cockpit and found Seth Norris instead. Angry about this, Smokey killed Seth. There have been rumors that Seth (aka Parkman from Heroes) will make another appearance on the show. This could be a flashback to explain the handoff of flight duties from Frank to Seth.

Smokey is also upset because he realized Frank “broke the rules”. Smokey realizes that Frank is a candidate as well. Frank is a candidate to be the vessel for Jacob’s soul which needs a new host. Smokey realized that with Frank not onboard Oceanic Flight 815, then a substitute would be used…cue John Locke. But now the course corrections (a flying term) have brought Frank back to the island.

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Some suggest that Frank is named after Frank Tipler who has carried on the philosophy of the Omega Point – a seemingly major concept behind the show.

Frank Lapidus has a middle initial of “J”…for Jacob?

And let’s not forget that it was Jacob who ordered the building of the airstrip on the island. Did he know that Frank would need it to land one day in the past…er, future, I mean?


TEASERS

As you know, LOST TIDBITS does not do spoilers. But when the producer conducts an interview, it is fair game. Here is what he said:

- On what will be answered: “The questions that count will be answered, and the questions that fans don’t want answered won’t be answered, but I think what they’re looking for is a real sense of resolution, particularly on a character level. Who’s going to live? Who’s going to die? Who’s going to hook up with who? Why were they all brought here in the first place? Was it arbitrary? Is there meaning behind it?”

- On who’s returning to the show: “I do think it’s safe to say that that final season of the show in a lot of ways is a curtain call for all the actors who kind of made these iconic performances and we’re hoping that a lot of them come back for one final appearance.”

- On the possible explanation of what the smoke monster is: “If you do not see a dinosaur by the end of the season premiere of season six I think it will be safe to conclude that the monster is not a dinosaur. But that’s not to say that you won’t see one. I’m just saying you will know.”



ESSAY #8: Can You Hear Me Now?

Lew’s rivalry with his brother, Chris, continued to brew until it turned into jealousy and was quickly moving towards full-fledge hatred. After making life-threatening claims, his family ordered Lew out of the house as a young man. Of course, this only made the fire that burned within grow even hotter.

Lew devised a plan to bring discredit to his brother by starting a rival Fan Club. But not for himself, but for the worlds #3 ranked player, Hume. His goal was to do anything just to steal the attention away from his champion brother. With his portion of the family “settlement”, Lew was able to fund a very competitive fan base for Hume.

Over time the Fan Club grew in influence within the chess world. The Hume Fan Club was able to secure more seats on governing councils and won the presidency of the World Chess Foundation. Lew was getting his people in place. The group began to pursue television and marketing rights – all favorable to his pawn, but moves that many were beginning to realize would harm the game in the long run.

One day Lew had an idea to start a radio station which would not only serve the Fan Club’s interests, but provide a platform that could be used to undermine Chris with mass media. With shady deals in place, the group began construction of their first radio tower. It would broadcast in English so to reach the widest audience.

The radio station would never take to the air. Lew’s father was advised of his prodigal son’s plans and he shut down the operation. Lew was powerful when motivated by his hatred, but his father was even more powerful in the business circles.

And so the plan to spread propaganda from Lew’s mind never materialized. Station BABEL would never broadcast a single program. As a reminder, however, his father did erect a small watt tower in the original plan’s spot and then broadcast a looping message, “4…8…15…16…23…” No one ever knew what it meant, but Lew seemed to know and bristle when asked about it my reporters.



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Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

LT315: A Little Help, Please

POINTS OF NOTE

We have not seen the Temple yet. John said that he and Ben were going to the tunnels under the Temple. I wonder what it looks like?

Will Ben have to return for judgment after killing Jacob as he did for killing others? Or is the instruction to do whatever John says going to be his redemption? The obvious conclusion is that Smokey and John are one in the same and Ben is again being a pong of some greater force and game.

The art game is about to come to an end. One more poster remains to be revealed. I’ll summarize when it ends.


ESSAY #7: Alien Intervention

Somewhere on Earth a man claims he was approached by an angel and told to build an item no one on the planet had ever seen, or thought of or heard of. It was built using precise measurements and designs provided by the alien. People who observed the man mocked him…until it began to rain and then Noah had the last laugh.

Somewhere on Earth a group of people were moved to build a place of the dead. There is no record of this event performed around 23 hundred years before Christ. It took over 15 hundred years to complete. And yet no record exists and the technology to accomplish this feat appears to be outside the possibility. And yet…Stonehenge stands today.

Somewhere on Earth tribesmen began a series of carving in order to honor their ancestors and to show the power of their clans. The marvel is the size of these carvings. Some reached 23 feet tall or higher. They were made in a manner advanced for these people around 15 hundred CE. The head statues of Easter Island remain a mystery.

Somewhere on Earth a group of 20,000 to 30,000 workers would gather to erect pyramids in Egypt over an 80 year period. The architecture is amazing and rumors still persist that “outside assistance” would have been required. They house the dead.

Somewhere on Earth a group of travelers discover the remnants of a large statue. All that remains is the lower part of one leg and one foot. The travelers claim they were “abducted by time” and when they awoke the statue was complete. It appears to be the statue of an Egyptian god. The travelers claim that black smoke emits from the base of the statue and appears to be “aware and alive”.


SPAIN HAS THE GAME RIGHT

Must admit it was nice to have a little validation on the chess theme. If you haven’t seen the promo to Season 6 running in Spain you can click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C56Lgl6DorM

Producer of LOST calls it one of the best he has ever seen.


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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, November 29, 2009

LT314: Incoming and Going Out

MAYDAY

Ajira Flight 316 crash landed. The year off-island was three years after the Oceanic 6 left. This would make it very late December 2007 or very early January 2008.

When the plane was landing the Numbers could be heard over the radio. Beside the fact that some viewers thought the voice sounded like Hurley, the fact remains the Numbers were looping. It is possible then that the plane also time travelled back in time. Now Sun and Frank (and later Ben and John) paddled to the other island and found the buildings were showing age. However, the Numbers have been looping for 16 years, so it could be that the buildings were in a state of repair prior to Oceanic Flight 815’s arrival, fixed up and then fell into victim to entropy again.

Or the plane could have jumped back just a handful of months into mid-2007. Or more likely to pre-Oceanic 815.

If the Ajiria flight did transport back to an earlier date, then Jacob met the Oceanic 6 AFTER Ben kills him. Let that rattle around in your brain a bit.


JACK IS BACK

No, not that Jack. I’m talking about Jack Bender. He is the producer and lead director of LOST. As you know they rotate directors for each episode of LOST (you did know that, right?). His directing experience includes The Sopranos, Carnivale, and Alias.

It has been confirmed that Jack Bender will be directing the final series episode of LOST.

In a recent interview he revealed that his wife has contributed her voice to some of the hidden messages that we simply know as “The Whispers”.

I’m thinking this is one cool mystery that will not be left unresolved!


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

I became skeptical very early reading this theory. But it was interesting. Here’s the theory: 99% of the characters are actors putting on some big con game for a small handful.

That’s right, the crash, the smoke monster, and shootings and killings – all faked. It would take a lot of technical trickery and unlimited dollars to pull this stunt off.

But for what purpose? It has been suggested for the sake of a large-scale psychological experiment – like the Dharma Group has been conducting for years.

I’m reminded of those real-life famous tests where volunteers are told they are in charge of an electrical shock device and during testing they had no qualms pushing the button and shocking their subjects. Later it was revealed that the “student subjects” were the actual fakes. I forget the name, but this has been done before but on a much smaller scale.

One twist to the theory was that the purpose of this massive con game is quite serious. It might be to discover a true world leader or a person with special talents, skills and…abilities. Maybe there is some secret society who is looking for a certain person they believe will play a major role in some major future world-event. Once that single person is identified, the purpose of the experiment will be revealed. At that point the show ends with this new leader actually re-entering the world with a real job to do.

Imagine that revelation being made to this “messiah”. From behind a curtain walks a laughing Mr. Ecko, Boone and Shannon and Ethan, etc.

Hey, I don’t label this section CRAZY for no reason!


ESSAY #6: CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU

The rivalry between the two brothers grew over time and mostly due to the growing resentment felt by Lew. Chris seemed to not even notice or acknowledge his brother’s jealousy. While many things would irk Lew perhaps the most annoying to him was a Fan Club established for Chris.

The president of the Chris Fan Club was a man named Chuck. The word “fan” is short for fanatic and Chuck was a full-time fanatic. Chuck was dedicating most of his waking hours to bring tribute to his favorite celebrity. Little else seemed to matter to the president of the club. Due to his hard work the fan club began to gain membership at a staggering rate. This is a major feat considering sport was chess. The game may not have the world’s largest fan base, but they are dedicated and die-hards.

Lew hated Chuck almost as much as his brother. At nearly every event there was Chuck singing his brother’s praises to whoever would listen. So Lew did the only thing he could do: he befriended him.

Until one day fate caused Chuck to become distracted. A woman named Beth decided to join the Fan Club. She lived in the same town as the president and so the two found their paths crossing from time to time. Beth was a beautiful woman and Chuck found himself thinking about her more than his previous obsession. The only problem was that Beth was married.

Chuck began telling himself that he had no chance with a married woman and so he would keep the relationship as friends. But his mind knew that his heart lied. It began with getting together for coffee to conduct some business for the club. As they grew more comfortable with each other Beth revealed that her husband was out of country on assignment for the military.

It was then that an evil planned entered Chuck’s mind. A friend of Chuck’s was also fighting overseas and happened to be in the same platoon as Beth’s husband. Every man has his price and for the right amount, Chuck’s favor was granted.

Over coffee a few weeks later, Beth broke down crying and revealed that her husband had been killed by friendly fire.

Several months later, Chuck and Beth were married. In the receiving line a man met the bride and groom. With proper introductions, Beth told her new husband, “I’d like you to meet the man I suppose is responsible for us being together.”

A puzzled look crossed over Chuck’s face. He replied, “What do you mean, I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting this man.”

Beth explained, “I met him at a local chess club and he thought I might be interested a famous national player, Chris. He then gave me a flyer that told me about your fan club, so I joined. The rest is history. So, I’d like to you meet…Lew.”

Lew smiled and shook Chuck’s hand. The smile on Lew’s face made the hairs stand up on the back of Chuck’s neck.

**

You might recognize this story as a loose interpretation of two people. First, the groom is Chuck – short for Charles as in Charles Widmore. As we know Charles couldn’t keep his eyes off an outside and had a child with that woman. The bride is Beth which is so of a play on Bathsheba. She is the literary character who King David notices and so orders her husband to the front lines to die so he could have her.





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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

LT313: Sacrifice

ESSAY #5 – SACRIFICE

Lew and Chris were brothers but shared little else in common other than their love for the game of chess. Chris was the dominant player and Lew resented the fact. Over time, Lew devised many schemes to revenge the jealousy he felt.

As young men it was the habit to enter world class chess tournaments. In one particular match that was nearing the end, the brother made his move and announced to his opponent, “Checkmate in two moves”. But he did not remove his hand from his piece. After an extended pause he told his opponent, “If you agree to sacrifice your best piece in the very next turn, I will not place you in checkmate. “

The entire room seemed to hear and soon everyone was watching this game. The brother continued to hold his piece until the opponent made his decision. Give up his best piece or lose in two turns. It hardly seemed like a choice.

The brother making this odd offer was Chris.

Meanwhile, in another place and at another time, God ordered Abraham to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed and took his son to a mountain, tied his son to the altar, and raised the knife high intending to kill his newborn child. Then God interrupted and provided a substitute sacrifice.

Meanwhile, in another place and time, a doctor was making the ultimate sacrifice for his son. He abandoned his career and his life so that his son could be saved from the same kind of life he had. Some consider the doctor to be a waste of human being. Others consider Doctor Shepherd to be a great man.

Meanwhile, in another place and time, a man was dragged out of a garden by a mob of angry men. The group beat, stabbed and eventually killed the man. All the time his father stood by watching and choosing to do nothing. The son’s last words were directed to his father. He said, “Why have you forsaken me?” The location of these events is called Calvary.

“Boone was a sacrifice that the island demanded.”
- John Locke


THE AUCTION

ABC has announced they will hold an auction of LOST items after the May 2010 finale. It is being named after the parent company and the event is called “Disney D23”.

If interested, check out ProfilesInHistory.com for more information.


SEASON SIX NOTES

Word is the show returns on Tuesday this season beginning February 2.


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

I rate this 1.0 but here goes. Someone has taken the time to analyze all the prophecy type movies, popular conspiracy formulas and such. They claim that when looking for a pattern that the same conclusion is reached time and time again. The pattern can be summed up in one word: Vincent.

I’ll try to decipher just one of the thought threads and share it next time on TIDBITS.


Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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.

**

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

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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.”


**

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

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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

Sunday, October 25, 2009

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.

**

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

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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

Sunday, October 18, 2009

LT306: Taking a Closer Look at…

…SEASON 6 PROMO POSTER

There is another Season 6 promotional poster which you can see below:



If you click on the image you can see a larger version which helps highlight the glyphs found in the letters. The poster was analyzed by Dr. Allen from Brown University. He is the guy who alerted the LOST fans that the statue was actually Taweret, protector of mothers and infants. He translated the hieroglyphics and found this: “Who is the guide?” and “Who is the leader?”

Thoughts?


…TELEVISION

If you look closely at episode four (isn’t that a LOST number?) of the new show FlashForward you’ll see a familiar face: Charlie. I must admit the show is not on my must-see list, but this revelation made me wonder if this show isn’t actually some sort of spinoff. It would interesting if slowly we find FlashForward is an explanation to some LOST mysteries.

If you happen to be watching Desperate Housewives you’ll see an Oceanic Airline plane flying overhead. Some sources from ABC are claiming this is the actual Flight 815 in the skies. What could that mean?


…MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Episode 4 has been released. The Dharma Initiative documentary has been released. The highlights are:

- A link has been made from the Dharma Initiative to one wealthy man, Alvar Hanso

- Alvar attended college in Michigan as an exchange student and lived with a family named, DeGroot.

- The DeGroot son later attended college in Denmark and his graduate research was funded by Hanso.

There was a comment about Hanso later giving up his weapons and fringe technology research out of guilt for the human cost. That’s strange because as of 2004 Hanso was still funding D.I. and had yet to resign/disappear from the foundation’s work. How did a 1970’s documentary know what was going to happen? Maybe we should research the funders behind this documentary? Could it be the Widmore family? HA!



**

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

LT305: If I Could Change Just One Thing

GAME UPDATES

In quick summary, the off-season game continues to drop clues that have yet to add up to much – at least in my mind. The latest have featured the group, 88 Keys, which happens to somehow tie-in to polo, Ralph Lauren and a blog.

The first that jumped out to me was that a piano has 88 keys and Jack is seen playing a piano at the Others compound as well as Charlie getting the Christmas gift of a piano. Recall that Charlie also had a vivid dream regarding the piano in the water. I took that to be symbolism, but maybe I’ll to re-examine that scene.

In the LOST University experience I found one thing that was kind of cool: those t-shirts they gave away to new registrants. Here is a picture:





I like the polar bear!


AT ATTENTION OR AT EASE?

We have learned that the US Army arrived at the island sometime in the 1950’s. They brought with them their bombs which at that time were being tested in the South Pacific.

When contemplating this piece of information I had to wonder what significance the Jughead bomb has on the LOST story. When first introduced many speculated that the bomb would explain the radiation sickness. That does not seem to be the case. There were other theories but none of those seem to have a part now. So why include it? Why introduce an Army?

It could be in part that the writers introduced an element that was capable of finding the island. We have gathered that this is not an easy thing to do. The resources available to the US Army however would qualify it as a viable candidate.

We also know that Widmore seems to have discovered its location because he sent the Freighter to retrieve Ben.

And of course Richard and company found it.

Dharma Initiative seems to be a separate entity that also has learned to locate the windows of entry via the Lamp Post station. Do you recall that in that station there was a photograph on the wall of the island and it appears to have been taken by the Army? Does this imply that Dharma was watching the Army?

This still may end up being a big government conspiracy story in the end. The DI could merely be a group dedicated to preventing the evil plans of US black ops. And to everyone’s surprise they found the island to be inhabited by Richard and his merry band of recruits.

This then leads me to what is so special about the island that all these groups are willing to spend cold hard cash and lives to find it, own it and use it?

I’m left with time travel as my only real answer. The US Army would most definitely enjoy sending a bomb back in time to use in various historical campaigns. This might make Dharma the moral compass group who would only use the island’s time travel for the common good. Widmore is thinking of perhaps capital gains. And Richard is merely a pawn caught in the middle of these puny humans.

Then Jacob and the Man in Black come along and throw religion into the mix. Are we to debate the morality of time travel?

Something to think about.


**

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, October 11, 2009

LT305: Read Me A Story

TELL ME A STORY THEORY

I came across a wonderful thread that suggested that the island is a book. Well, it is more like a library since this is where all the books become real. What a “novel” thought, if you’ll pardon the pun.

It is true that LOST references many books including Through the Looking Glass. The character slips down a rabbit hole to another world. The references of rabbits and even an episode title are obvious so I won’t rehash it all. Instead the readers of the post jumped on this idea and here is a summary of characters that each survivor might be:

Jin’s full name is Jin Swoo Kwon. This can be scrambled around to Swoo Kwon Jin. Twist your mouth and you get something like this: Seuss Knows Gin. Dr. Seuss was expelled from his magazine job when caught drinking gin. He needed an alias after that, so Seuss does know gin. Consider that Jin offers some people a little seafood in the first episode…one fish, two fish, three fish, Jin fish. Jin is Dr. Seuss.

**

Hurley is Winnie the Pooh. Just like Pooh, he has trouble spelling words like B-O-D-Y-S. The shape is similar. Change Pooh’s love of honey for ranch dressing and we have a winner! Switch Pooh’s name in reverse and you get H-O, H-O-O-P which matches nicely to all the H-O’s we see around Hurley as well as the classic game of hoops we call Horse…which Jack had scored H-O.

**

In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” we observe Henry the angel with a copy of “Tom Sawyer”. Also in this movie are the loveable Muppet characters, Bert and Ernie. We also see Kermit from the Muppet Show on a monitor in LOST. Kermit’s eyes are actually ping-pong balls, which Sawyer played. Kermit has 11 points on his neck detail. Sawyer played ping-pong with a 11-point must rule. Hurley told Sawyer once, “Dude, you look green.” Sawyer is Kermit.

**

Boone was a bonehead on the show as we saw from stealing water to trying to save Rose’s life with a ballpoint pen. He was seen wearing an Aces shirt which refers to the Red Baron, aka Snoopy. He brought “Watership Down” to the island which is about rabbits, including one named “Five”. Snoopy’s favorite book is “The Six Bunny Wunny” series written by Mr. Sweetstory. Sweet, you say? Boone said he was a lifeguard…or can I say Lifesaver, the sweet candy…which has FIVE flavors. Boone is Snoopy.

**

The Temple could be the Library of Alexandria. Many of the books seen on LOST have been banned.

**

Wendy is the character from Peter Pan…complete with freckles and the ability to fly…while Kate is a flight risk. Kate slept outside of Farmer Ray’s home in a little shack known as “Wendy houses” in Australia. Kate is Wendy Darling…whose last name is a popular catchphrase of Sawyer’s…whose daughter is name after a song with the lyrics, “Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine.”

Hey isn’t there a Peter Pan peanut butter which Claire and Charlie shared?

**

And the Freighter Four match up nicely to the Fantastic Four comic book characters.

**

Anyway, I thought it was a decent theory as far as theories go.


SCHOOL IS IN SESSION

The LOST University semester is underway. There was a note to contact a Professor Nusseldorf at 818-824-6300. It you press the star key during his voice mail it asks for his passcode. Still waiting for that to be hacked.

They school is sending out t-shirts to all the Freshmen who have registered.


OTHER NEWS

The producers have convinced ABC to not release any footage from Season 6 in their promos. Kudos to those guys…I hate previews.

**

Damon will be attending Earth2Comics convention in four days. If he lets something slip, you’ll hear about it here!

**

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

LT304: Tripping

I’m back from San Antonio were the humidity was higher than the temperature. Heat indexes at 108 degrees is not my idea of a good time. The good news is that I lost eight pounds just standing outside on the Riverwalk. The bad news is that I gained 15 pounds from the beer I drank just trying to stay cool.

Anyway, upon my return I scoured the Internet and found these TIDBITS:


MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

The general feeling of this never-aired documentary is less than thrilling. When I went looking for TIDBITS the best I could find new was something about a “fleet” of submarines. Could it be there are a handful of subs we know nothing about? It would explain why Ben lets John blow up the one we have seen.

Also, there is a payee on the quick shot of invoiced named “WAKY”. We’ve seen this before but the meaning escapes me.

There is also a suggestion that the Dharma Initiative is a splinter group. I wonder who and where the main group is today?


PAINTINGS UPDATE

I must admit that the ARG’s do not hold a lot of fascination for me. So the habit is to sit back and let others collect the interesting TIDBITS and I’ll glean from there for you.

With that said, PURPLE has caught my eye a few times. Then this picture is released in connection with the LOST paintings being auctioned:





The thing to notice is the purple creatures and that they are knocking over trees. It makes me think of mythology and how people will use mythology to explain the unexplainable. I don’t think this is suggesting the island’s original inhabitants were purple, but there usually a few accurate hints such as them being large enough to knock down trees.

We COULD take this and connect it to the Henry Gale balloon who worked for a company out of Minnesota which then leads to Paul Bunyan who also knocked over trees. But that would just be silly. Instead, let me make two suggestions.
First, Smokey is unexplainable to the ancient people who lived there so they made up a story to explain him. That would suggest they had never seen Smokey or the color surely would have been black, not purple.

Second, let me offer this: could we merely be describing giants with a bit of artistic liberty? If you despise the Bible-connections that I make, you are going to hate this one, but the Bible describes a race of “giant men”. Goliath is the famous one, but there is a more obscure reference. That vague reference is about “women of men” and “giants from heaven”. With a literal interpretation we are talking about angels or demons having relations with human women. The Bible describes their offspring as “giants”.

Ok, before I move on, please notice the snowy landscape.


**

Well, this is the stuff that I found on my return. This isn’t related, but here is what I learned on this trip:

- Never fly through Chicago

- Americans are great at ruining Mexican food

- I really miss the Internet when it is not available to me

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

LT303: Seeing What I Missed

RADICAL PREDICTION

Came across a radical prediction that might interest you… Let me set the stage for you. I mean radical in the way “Dallas” was radical. Wasn’t that the show where at the end we learned it was all one big dream? So something like two years of the show was really a 3 second dream.

This prediction I found offers the same kind of radical prediction: we will discover that everything seen for five seasons really happened in about 23 seconds of time. The basis for this is a book introduced in the show, “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.

As a reminder, this book is about a man who is being hanged. As they release the trap door, the rope breaks and the man falls into the river below and escapes. The rest of the story is about the man avoiding being recaptured and making his way back home to his lovely wife. He finally makes it home and as he is running towards her, he feels a jolting pain in his neck and sees a bright light flash. Then everything goes black.

See, he never escaped at all. In the split-second between having the trap door release and his neck snapping, his mind imagines everything the book details.

This would be a radical twist, but also allows the writers to explain away any conflicts or contradictions. Will it be a dream as in “Dallas” or something other thing like the trauma that comes with a plane crash? They say one’s entire life flashes before their eyes right before a major threat. Hmmm…


COMIC CON VIDEO

Here is my excuse: it has been a very busy summer! I made the mistake of signing up for 5 college courses during the sunny part of the year and it nearly wiped me out. Anyway, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. And I NEED an excuse for I somehow overlooked the video at Comic Con this past July.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlhkqAwEgvQ

In this one, Hurley is the owner of…well, you just watch it.

And this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfoqYmGS6Xw&feature=channel

How can Oceanic claim they have a perfect flying record?

I’m starting to get some ideas from these teasers that were overlooked, so be sure to check back next week on LOST TIDBITS.


EDITOR’S NOTE

I will be at a conference next week so TIDBITS will take a short break.

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, September 27, 2009

LT302: The Arts

PRISON BREAK

I head an interesting theory about LOST being a prison camp. The evidence if one looks for it is there: temple walls, indoctrination rooms, wardens and guards, security fences, work farm, food drops, slave ship, etc. It is not uncommon for prisons to have been used for social experimentation as well.

We do know that Hurley and Libby were mental patients at one time. Add in those who think they see dead people and other strange stuff and we have ourselves a Cuckoo Nest that Jack Nicholson would be at home with!

I’m not sure how to specifically apply this theory since the writer was vague on those details, but the idea made me stop and ponder. Share you ideas!


TOM SAWYER

SAWYER: Your name.

COOPER: A conman goes by many names friend. I've been Alan Seward, Anthony Cooper, Ted MacLaren, Tom Sawyer, Louis Jackson, and Paul...
SAWYER: Tom Sawyer.
COOPER: I was young and Huck Finn was taken. And the ladies loved that one. Made me charming.
SAWYER: Well how about that.
COOPER: How about what?
SAWYER: Sawyer's my name too.

I was going through old episodes and this exchange caught my attention. I decided to look up Huck Finn on Wiki and see what I could learn. Here is a snippet along with my comments in parenthesis:

The main theme of this book, according to author Mark Twain, is the conflict between consciousness and conscience (talk about LOST!). Huck is the son of a vagrant drunkard (Ben’s father). Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas in return for saving her life (decisions and consequences). The widow attempts to "civilize" the newly rich Huck. Huck is kidnapped by his father but manages to fake his own death and escape to Jackson's Island (did someone say island?), where he coincidentally meets Jim, a slave (like on the Black Rock ship?) of the Widow Douglas's sister, Miss Watson. Jim is running for freedom because he has found out that Miss Watson plans to "sell him South" for eight hundred dollars. The two take a raft down the Mississippi in the hope of finding freedom from slavery for Jim and freedom from his father and controlling foster parent for Huck (the whole father-son theme).

Now I’m convinced that LOST is a retelling of Huckleberry Finn. HA!


THE ART GALLERY

Several LOST-related activities continue to be released including some new posters on the Carlton and Damon Polar Bear website.



There are hidden clues for the computer geek to find, but nothing overly revealing to me at this point. I’ll keep you posted if something pops out as a vital clue.


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Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

LT301: An Open Letter

NICE JOB BEN!

Michael Emerson won an Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama last Sunday. Well deserved. In his acceptance speech he reminded us that he was asked to fly to Hawaii for a guest role. Now four years later he realizes he was given the role of a lifetime.


SPEAKING OF REMINDERS

It might be of some interest to you to know that I've been reviewing all past seasons of LOST with a friend. There are plenty of websites doing that same thing, but most of what I read on those have been little more than a rehash with little new insight. So I haven't bored you with the same details.

There are times when something new does come along. Currently, my friend and I are on Season 5, Episode 3, "The Little Prince". She wrote to say that the episode left her totally confused. You should be aware that she shares about half the interest of the readers of TIDBITS in things we discuss. Well, maybe not even half. But bravo to her for the effort she puts forth.

Anyway, I wrote back to try and help explain it and found myself sort of revealing a new layer of Season 5 that seems to have been overlooked a bit. So I thought you might enjoy reading the letter here:

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In short, this episode explores shifts in time happening on the island. The actual dates are secondary to the experiences they have. The Survivors have quickly figured out that this strange behavior is happening. Because of these “time jumps” they are able to view their lives and world as a whole from some unique perspectives – although they are mainly concerned with only themselves. Daniel seems to the one exception because he seems to know the dangers involved with the atomic bomb named “Jughead”.

This chapter then contracts the erratic life of the Survivors with the life of the rescued Survivors (the Oceanic 6). These people have been off-island for three years and have gone on with their lives. Oh, it hasn’t been easy for any of them, but they do live in a straight-forward and linear fashion. This is very different from the island Survivors who could wake up at any time.

One question that comes up then is, “Who is happier?” Would you say the island Survivors or the Oceanic 6 are happier? I think this question is similar to asking if a Lottery winner’s life actually gets “better” or not. It appears the answer is that neither side is very happy. The Survivors on the island live in a constant state of confusion while the Oceanic 6 seem cursed and life is always in turmoil. Funny, but I can’t help but think of the cliché about the grass being greener on the other side. The Oceanic 6 are slowly coming around to the idea that returning to the island might be the best thing for them. I’m sure the island Survivors are thinking life back home sounds pretty good right now.

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The time jumps are a bit confusing and probably meant to be that way. Let’s examine one such challenge.

When we last saw Jin in late 2004 he was on the Freighter and it was exploding. We then see him next in the ocean as if he was blown clear of the exploding Freighter – so it should still be late 2004. But the French team that picks him out of the water happens to be Danielle Rousseau’s team from 16 year prior! I’ll admit that is very confusing to humans who only think in a straight-line of linear time.

The confusion might be cleared up when the next time flash happens and we get to observe Jin. Will he stay and time travel with Danielle or will he be left on the same schedule as Daniel and Sawyer and Locke?

One way you might think of all this time jumping stuff is to think of Forrest Gump. Remember how he was interjected into historical events? Jin just seems to have “fallen” into 1988 when Danielle’s life raft was passing by. Fate or coincidence?

Once the Survivors begin to figure out exactly “when” they are, they might be able to use this to their advantage. They can learn about past events. They can share secrets of the future with those in the past. When they return to the proper time, will events then have changed? Think of “Back to the Future” movie!

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Another way to view this is to consider the standard way of telling a back story. In the first four seasons the writers would do “flash backs” to fill in the background story of the characters. This is similar but instead of someone sort of “remembering” what happen, this time they get to “live what happened”. How cool and freaky would that be at the same time?

Now might be a good time to remind you of what Danielle has shared about her time on the island. When Sayid was first trapped by Danielle she explained she was pregnant. She delivered a girl and named her Alex (or Alexandria to be precise). The baby was kidnapped by the Others. Her crew got some sort of sickness. One of the crew lost their arm. She was forced to kill them or be killed because the sickness was affecting them.

If Jin can remember these details he might be able to “change history”. Or is history already played out and there is no changing it?


Don’t dwell on whether time travel is possible or not (it probably isn’t), but imagine this from God’s perspective. God does not live in a world of time. He sees, knows and lives all points in time at the same time – yesterday, today and tomorrow. He knows of what we call a future and He remembers the past. If all events are not linear along a straight-line then this is how God might see events. This line of thinking then brings us to the debate of free will versus predestination. Are things already decided for us? Or are we deciding things for ourselves as we go through the present?

LOST is exploring these concepts.

Are these concepts religious in nature or scientific in nature? Scientists consider the possibility of time travel and then worry about the paradox of a man going back in time and killing his own grandfather – would he then die as well? Religious debate these concepts in order to understand how our names can already be written in the Book of Life and what the Bible means when it says the 144,000 have already been chosen.

This is what makes LOST so cool.

So enjoy the ride. Ponder the possibilities. And then dismiss them or your nose may start bleeding one day!



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And thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, September 20, 2009

LT300: So, A Needle Pulling Thread

LOOPING BACK

A thought crossed my mind recently that went like this: all the flashbacks we have seen were done to show the connectivity of people, places and things. What if Season 6 shows some of those same flashbacks, but things change in them?

One of the best candidates might be John Locke NOT being thrown out the window by his father. That might explain why we see him walking around now.

It would seem that if this does happen then there should be one major event change. Something that makes the flashbacks drastically different – and we might assume, to make the flashbacks “correct”. The only big thing I can think of would be a bomb of some sort. Hmm…

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Sort of related to this is the tapestry. We have seen a section of it missing. That piece was found in the cabin by Ilena’s group. How can you mend a broken tapesty? Is it possible to weave a change into that spot?


IT IS ALL RELATIVE

Dutch – we know there is a Dutch connection via the Hanso Foundation. Also Dutch is a man named Willem JACOB van Stockum.

Emily – John Locke’s mother’s first name. Also Willem Jacob van Stockum’s mother’s name.

General Relativity – several references on the show to this science. Also the subject of papers written by W. Jacob van Stockum.

The Dutch military man (another commonality) wrote about a concept called “closed timelike curves”. It has been praised for its simplicity.

Closed timelike curves is something that exists in spacetime and suggests that these loops are “closed” by the fact they return to their original starting point. This opens the door of possibility to a time machine. This technical stuff goes over my head quickly so if you wish to read more on this then search for Minkowski space.

Wait, did I just Minkowski? As in the communications guys on board the Freighter who dies of a nose bleed?

Willem Jacob van Stockum died in a plane crash.


THE LOST PAINTINGS

Paintings continue to show up slowly. You can check out this link to view them and post some comments as to their possible meanings.

http://damoncarltonandapolarbear.com/dcpb/x/




Above is one of the many pieces of artwork found. Click on each image on the link above and you’ll see this game is spiraling out to some far-reaching corners.


UNEXPLAINED EVENTS

This news article was recently posted:

At approximately 11:59 p.m. last night, Campus Security received hundreds of calls from students, faculty, and other members of the community reporting an unexplained bright light coupled with and an ear-piercing noise. Several calls also mentioned a slight nose bleed following the event. Campus Security insists that there is no cause for alarm as it appears to be an isolated incident. Health officials will be available to answer any questions between 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. today in the quad.

This article was released on the LOST University website.

And don’t forget that Registration for the coming semester begins September 22. TIDBITS will be enrolling and reporting back to you.


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Enjoy,
KC

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

LT299: Deception

DISCLAIMER

This post is going to focus on religion. Worst yet, this post will focus on a single religion: Christianity. Faithful readers of LOST TIDBITS are aware that there is a religious theme throughout LOST. We are also aware that several religions are represented on the show. But for ease of example and discussion, I’m going to use Christianity. Blame it on Christian Shephard, if you will. HA!


COUNTERFEIT

The Bible and indeed, many other religious works, refer to the Devil as a counterfeiter. The Apostle Paul describes the Devil as the “prince of the power of the air”. As I researched this topic it seemed to me that right away we have a description of Smokey as the airborne entity.

Could it be that the devil in LOST is the master of Smokey? We just have to think back to the Blast Door Map to find the reference to Cerberus, the guardian dog of Hades. Could Smokey/Cerberus’ master be the devil on the show? Is the Man in Black this devil?

The Bible clearly describes the Devil as a deceiver. His greatest con game is not easily recognized for his offers and promises are close counterfeits to the real deal. If one wishes to fool a store clerk, we wouldn’t offer Monopoly money. The crook who escapes detection is the one with the best counterfeit money. And yet, at the end of the day, the offer of compensation is still just a fake.

Likewise on LOST, the devil character is not going to be obvious. How many times have we switched characters from the “good guys” to the “bad guys” and back again and again?

The Bible has an interesting comment on the devil’s deception. The Scriptures claim that the deceived doesn’t know he is being deceived. This brings me to the prime example of John Locke.


TWO VOICES

Philosophers and pastors have preached for years that we have two voices within us. Some use the example of a devil standing on shoulder whispering in one ear and an angel on the other shoulder whispering in that ear.

I think we shouldn’t miss the word “whispers” in that above paragraph!

The point is that life seems to be a tug-of-war. Which inner voice do we listen to? How do we know the source of each piece of conflicting advice? I believe John Locke struggles with these same questions along with most of the Survivors.

John often feels he is following the proper guidance. He calls it “the island” or “Jacob” or “destiny”. Christianity calls it the Holy Spirit. But what if Locke is being deceived by a close counterfeiter? I wonder if this isn’t what has gotten Locke into a bit of sticky wicket.


THE BIBLE THEME CONTINUED

It must be pointed out that the religion of Christianity requires a sacrifice for the shortcomings each human possesses. That sacrifice is the death of Christ – the mirror image of the Devil in many ways. After all it is John 3:16 that says “And God so loved the world that he gave his own begotten son…”

Could Jacob’s death then be part of the larger plan? If this overlay of the Bible story to LOST is anywhere close to being the ballpark, then look for Jacob to resurrect himself in three days.


SUMMARY

Christian. Shephard. Flight 316. John 3:16 on Eko’s stick. Smokey. Cerberus. Deception. Redemption. Resurrection. Mirror image. Good and Evil. Black and White. Sacrifice. Choices. Free will or Predestination.

If you were given this list of words there are two valid answers that connect all of them: The Bible…and LOST.

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Next TIDBITS I hope to spend a bit of focus on another section of the Bible that deals with the Devil being cast into the Bottomless Pit. Can you say the cabin?


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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC

Sunday, September 13, 2009

LT298: Artificial Intelligence

LOST UNIVERSITY

The ABC summer game, Lost University, is being paired with a DVD to be released September 22. Yep, that’s five years to the date of the crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815.

There appears to be two semesters of courses that allow us to dig deeper into the meaning and purpose of LOST. This should supplement my real-world college courses since I need more to do in my life! HA!

The courses are offered on-line – again the registration date is September 22. It isn’t clear if you must have the Blueray discs. I’ll keep you posted.


MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Part 2 of the 1980’s documentary series, Mysteries of the Universe, has been released. If you recall, ABC discovered the old video footage when doing some cleaning up of its archive files. The series was never aired (for reasons unexplained), but now with the popularity of LOST, they have decided to release the only episodes still intact.

On September 8, the second section was released (Part 2 and Part 3 as Part 1 was…well…lost). It begins its focus on a church in Los Angeles that we recognize as the place where Mrs. Hawking has that swinging pendulum in the basement. Here are the revelations from the documentary:

-- Over $.15 million donated to the church by the Dharma Initiative Group

-- Invoices from the church reveal supplies of a wide variety of curious items that could supply a colony for an extended period of time such as 1.4 million tons of seed, ammunition, animal care supplies, drugs and soft restraints.

-- The land the church sits on is owned by a third party – a dizzying array of shell companies

-- Techniques by former potential staff include brainwashing techiniques

-- Discovery of a submarine fleet by the church and supporting groups

I’ll keep you up-to-date on the next airing!


MY WORKING THEORY

In the last few posts we have been examining the working theory of good versus evil, the role of shoes, and the various states of “living”.

If you search on “The Computer Theory” you’ll find some older posts which suggested some supercomputer is behind all this stuff and the reasons for this theory.

In the process of looking for a final theory before Season 6 begins I was led back to religion and science being co-mingled. Then it hit me…

What if all these theories we have been kicking around are intertwined? For example…

Jacob is for good, Man in Black is for evil.

Jacob feels technology will destroy mankind eventually, Man in Black believes technology is required for mankind to exist.

Jacob is supporting the Others, Man in Black supports the Dharma Initiative.

Jacob is a man of faith, Man in Black is a man of science.

So where does the computer theory come in? I suggest that the Temple is the super computer – some sort of mega-artificial-intelligence machine. That relates to the four types of dead people outlined in the previous post.

I’ll try to flush out these ideas and suggest where they could lead LOST for Season 6 in the next few posts, so keep checking back!


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If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks!

Enjoy,
KC