LT100: Octagon Global Recruiting

CELEBRATE

This is posting 100! WOW!

THE EMAIL

During the Season 4 finale we saw a commercial offering new job opportunities for the Dharma Initiative. That had us all rushing to the website for Octagon Global Recruiting. All that was offered was to leave an email and they would be contact me later.

Then one day, I get the email. It looks like a Job Fair will be held in San Diego during the same dates as Comic Con. This is the event that LOST producers typically use to tease us with some LOST goodies. Last year they showed the unedited version of the Orchid Orientation tape.

If you can’t make the show, the web site says the rest of us will be contacted later and then we may get to take those exciting tests to see if we qualify as a research assistant.


WHO IS OCTAGON GLOBAL RECRUITING?

My guess is that this is a new company was established by the Dharma Initiative which strongly implies the Hanso Foundation is getting up to speed to a DI2, if you will. Taking things at face value, this is just a recruiting agency and nothing more.

Except their company logo happens to be patterned off the Dharma logos. So, again, this is likely a temporary company established to handle the hiring? Or just how many subsidiaries does Hanso Foundation “own”?


CARBON COPY

Not in the sense of twins…let’s not go down that path again. But in carbon copy an email to someone else. I noticed my email had an address in it that read:

hansvaneeghen@octagonglobalrecruiting.com

I tried. It gives an out of office reply for Hans Van Eeghen. Says he will be getting back to me shortly.


TIME TO GOOGLE

Using variations of the name, I hit upon this site: http://www.henokiens.com/index_eeghen_gb.php

Now one has to take care that we aren’t hitting a fan friendly site, and not the real deal. You will find things on the “international family”, time travel, Jacob, and tons of other things to keep you busy for days.

I’ll post back when more time is available to review the site. For now, I’m focused on the fact that this company’s leadership had a son in days past named Jacob. Gosh, was he a slave on that Black Rock? Sort of like the ghost who won’t move on?

Enjoy,
KC

LT99: Switching Job is Always Difficult

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING

It has come to my attention that some TIVO viewers missed out on the Octagon Global Recruiting commercial during the season finale. In cased you missed it, check out the web site which plays the commercial here: http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/


IT DOESN’T HURT TO LOOK

What if we were offered a Dharma Initiative job for real? Would you consider it? Maybe it is just that side of me that hopes something like this is possible, but I signed up as an interested candidate. I got this email:

Octagon Global Recruiting, on behalf of the Dharma Initiative, would like to thank you for registering your expression of interest in our latest volunteer recruitment drive.

We will be launching in San Diego on July 24th at Comic-Con International offering select registrants the opportunity to take an exciting aptitude test that will give applicants the chance to demonstrate their unique talents.

The Dharma Initiative hopes you will be able to join us to find out more about their ground-breaking new research project. We will contact you closer to the date with more information.

For those not able to join us in San Diego, Dharma's full recruitment program will be made available online to registered recruits after July 27th.

In the meantime, the Dharma Initiative urges you to spread the word. Invite your colleagues to join the team at http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/ and take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity.

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION OF THE DHARMA INITIATIVE:This message and its attachments are confidential and may contain information which is protected by copyright. It is intended solely for the named addressee. If you are not the authorised recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to the authorised recipient), you must not use, disclose, print, copy or deliver this message or its attachments to anyone. If you receive this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and permanently delete this message and its attachments from your system. Any content of this message and its attachments that does not relate to the official business of the Dharma Initiative or its subsidiaries must be taken not to have been sent or endorsed by any of them. No representation is made that this email or its attachments are without defect or that the contents express views other than those of the sender.


HIDDEN MESSAGES

In that email header we find the phrase, “March has 32 days”. What?!?!

A quick Google of this phrase returns a link to a comic called “Mystery Tales”. In edition #40, there is a short story called “March Has 32 Days”.

The four-page comic story goes like this: A group of scientists are gathered to discuss what they have observed: that March had 32 days. Then the story shifts to a man who builds bridges. It is the day before the grand opening, so he plans to check the bridge for structural integrity. Before he can perform the inspection, his wife calls him and asks him to meet her at the airport before she catches a flight. He chooses to go to the airport and the bridge collapses. He is torn up with grief, but the next morning his calendar reads March 31..again! This time he passes on the airport visit and instead inspects the bridge, finds a flaw and saves any future harm.

Interesting observations are:
- The time to meet the wife at the airport is 11:15
- On some schedule board at the airport the numbers 42 and 8 can be seen

THEORY: LOST IS A COMIC BOOK

Also found in Edition 40 of the comic “Mystery Tales”…

Another story called “Hidden Land” which reads, “Within Fred, as within all men, there exists a small spot, a hidden land of dreams, of power and prestige, an unattainable land…except on rare occasions!”

**

There is another story called “The Travellers”. It is about an ancient civilization that made a ring that would allow time travel. Now the Ancients want the ring back.

**

Could LOST really be based on this comic book…I only wish the Edition was 42, but hey…

In case you think some of us fanatics tend to over-analyze, do consider we have seen this comic book on the show:

That’s right. It was among the items for young John Locke to decide which he already owned. Now the hidden message in Octagon Recruiting email…yeah, this was meant for us!


NUMBERS PUZZLE

In the last LOST TIDBITS, we discussed the new number of 305. Yet, don’t forget that Michael and Walt were given a heading of 325 to leave the island.

Now we learned 305 is the number of days that Ben travelled forward in time, so maybe Michael and Walt jumped 325 days into the future. OR…twenty days after Ben lands in Tunisia, something major happens?


NUMBERS AND COLORS

We have clearly noticed the suggestion of the importance of the numbers. And many have observed a color pattern – if nothing else, the black and white theme, but there have been other suggestions like the color of one’s shirt or the thread used to sew someone up.

Now consider Synesthesia…the ability to see numbers as colors. It sees that some people who can do difficult tasks with ease – like play the piano by ear – tend to see the music as colors. Math students have similar number to color connections. Personally, color has never seemed to help me remember anything other than a yellow light makes my foot step on the gas pedal harder!

What I mean is that if I saw music as color, numbers or shapes, it doesn’t seem that it would help me more than just learning to read the notes on a scale. But in the never ending search to solve the riddle of LOST, this deserved mentioning.

FYI – some are suggestion that the six LOST numbers match up to the Oceanic 6. This reminds me that once the producers told us that the number 23 was the most important number. Or did they mean character 23? Or day 23 on the island? Arrgh! My head is beginning to hurt again which means that’s enough for this post. See you next Wednesday.

Enjoy,
KC

LT98: Always Keeps You Guessing

HURLEY’S LIFE JACKET

You just can’t tell if LOST is telling us something or that we spend way too much time looking for stuff, but in the liferaft…

…Hurley seems to have his life jacket magically disappear. Could the life jacket be Smokey?

Go back and rewatch the scene on ABC.com...it really disappears.

PENNY

Lots of chatter lately about whether Penny is in big trouble. I mean after Ben promised to get revenge. If Ben keeps his promise (HA), then he is likely to send none other than Sayid to do the dirty work. But after rescue and spending a week with Penny, do we really think Sayid will kill her down the road? Unless of course she made him sleep on the deck or something terrible like that!

CHARLOTTE’S FAMILY TREE

Post a comment if you think you know who Charlotte’s parents will be. I’m thinking either a Dharma child or maybe Charles Widmore is her daddy…making Charlotte and Penny step-sisters in the way Christian had two families. Think Bad Twin.


I HATE IT WHEN PROPHECY FAILS

In that “supposed to” category falls Desmond’s prediction that Claire and Aaron would be getting on a helicopter. Sure, there is still time to accomplish this in the future, but the prospect is looking pretty bleak considering Claire is dead (right?) and Aaron has already made one helicopter ride before his first birthday.

PSALM 46

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Now consider how Ben lifted his hands and said, “I hope you are happy now”, reminds me of speaking to God than to Jacob.

And of course Jacob and Esau are Bible characters fighting over their rightful inheritance.

A NEW NUMBER

I submit 305 is the new LOST number. We know this is the heading to take to avoid the time warp.

But did you notice that the Orientation tape in the Orchid hatch began to rewind on John at 3:05?

And of course John 3:05 was carved on the stick by Ecko. Side note: Ecko “knew” to carve that on the stick or at least was motivated to like some sort of inspiration. Why would the island kill off a messenger? Unless Smokey and Island aren’t on the same team…or the two of these things are on the Other team. Hmmm…

And if you get your calendars out you will find that Ben jumped exactly 305 days into the future after turning the Dharma Wheel.

And when Penny gets that phone call alerting her to the magnetic anomaly the clock reads 3:05.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Could Ben’s bankroll actually be Hurley’s money?

Could the nightmares that Walt has actually be when he is projecting himself on to the island?

JEREMY BENTHAM

This philosopher was a proponent of utilitarianism which means the ends justifies the means. He felt the best action of government was the choice that resulted in bringing about the most good to the most people. His student expanded this concept and coined the phrase socialism.

Bentham also did not subscribe to the natural rights theory where mankind is given rights above those outlined by laws or beliefs. It is good to remember that when Jeremy spoke in class it was at a time when the opposing view was the divine right of kings.

This might help explain why John Locke took on this name as an alias. He is the total consequence man – that his actions be not judged, only the outcome. Think Ben blowing up the boat and saying, “So?”. Unless Locke could show a bad outcome for causing the C4 to make shark bait, then Ben was asking to not be judged.

And in many ways we see this same behavior in Locke when we use the word like “reckless” to describe something he did. Knocking Sayid on the head, killing Naomi, destroying the Countdown Computer, etc…well, “So?” He will argue that the outcome was justification for the means.

Then last night, I’m reading my textbook for school and on page four the words jump out at me, “Jeremy Bentham”. Cool, but it was a bit humbling to realize the writers of LOST know more about philosophy then I do.


Enjoy,
KC

LT97: Watch Me

ANTIPODES

Every child seems to have pondered where they would be if they dug a hole straight down and came out on the other side of the planet. The start place and ending place are called antipodes. I mention this because the LOST produces used this term and it may explain where the island moved. The antipode of somewhere in the South Pacific could leave Ben and his polar bear in Tunisia.

It should not be forgotten that the time to travel from one side of the planet and then THROUGH the planet to the antipodal is 42 minutes.

But why just Ben and the bear in the desert? Where’s the island? Well, maybe the punishment for Ben is to go to the antipode, but the island stayed right where it isn’t (think time, not space). In ten months, which would make it October 2005, the island will reappear right where it is as the rest of the planet plays catch-up.

Personally, I think we need to recall all the use of star maps we have seen on the show. As Marco Polo noted when he traveled to the Southern Hemisphere, he could not see the Northern Star down there. With a little effort this summer, I’ll try to see what geographical points are possible using the LOST star maps.


LOOPS

We’ve discussed on LOST TIDBITS before how Jack seems to be looping with his experiences on the island. For example, when he wakes up on the jungle floor he seems to know what direction to run, where to look for the crash and so on.

After thinking on this I’ve reviewed Locke’s behavior and it hit me like a ton of bricks. He is also looping through events he has experiences. Now this isn’t so far-fetched when you consider what we have seen happen to Desmond in the jewelry store and with his photograph. So, when reviewing the earlier seasons with this in mind, I found these hints:

- Predicts accurately when it will rain
- Locke knows exactly how-to things like making paste
- He knows how to make medicine for a head wound on Boone
- He stops Sayid from finding the transmission point
- He knows how to build a cradle
- He knows to bring knives in order to hunt boar
- John knows that Charlie is looking for his guitar and he knows where to find it

This implies that several people are looping, if not everyone. And this might fit the producers description of LOST as a mosaic – a bunch of little pictures that when combined and properly placed contribute to a larger big picture.


WAS JACOB AT HURLEY’S PARTY?

At Hurley’s party a young boy is seen walking around in a jersey bearing the number 42.

He seems to smirk in a knowing way. Yeah, people can see lots of things in this show if they look hard enough, but it keeps getting mentioned on boards and that qualifies it for thought. It has garnered enough attention that the consensus is that we are seeing “Jacob” as a young boy.


WATCHES

Besides the obvious tie-in to time, the watches may play a more pivotal role then we have imagined to this point. We know Jin was ordered to deliver a watch to some guy in California. Before boarding his flight, a man in the bathroom reminds him of his mission.

Once the plane crashes, Jin becomes very protective of a watch that Michael finds.

In Missing Pieces, we see Jack’s father give him a watch before his marriage to Sarah.

A quick search on “watch” and “electromagnet” reveals a Phillips Stein Teslar watch that contains a chip that claims to protect the wearer from electromagnetism. The selling point is that a world filled with waves from the microwave, cell phones, computers and televisions…that a person wearing this watch will have less stress and sleep better. This chip was invented in 1986.

Or the watches might just contain a tracking device and not meant to suggest protection from time travel. I do know that watches have been given to people on the show and that seems important.

Notice in the above picture that Sayid and Jin are wearing watches. Where did they come from? Jin gave his away to Michael earlier.

And we see Sun and Daniel with watches on in the above picture. Besides WHERE did they come from, we have WHY are they wearing them? Ok, Daniel is recently here and has some reason to wear a watch, but the Survivors? Time of day has little bearing on life unless you have to be somewhere at a certain time. Recall when Sayid wanted to find the French transmission they used bottle rockets? Why not synch watches and set a specific time?

In might be interesting to note that even Richard wears a watch from time to time.


Enjoy,
KC

LT96: Hanso Makes a Comeback

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Just for fun, a website estimated the cost of Widmore’s attempted takeover of the island. Not counting fuel or artillery the price tag came out to $7.1 million. Now rich people don’t get rich by throwing money away, so there must be a return on an investment that size to make it worth it.


CODE 14J

Remember when Locke’s game of Risk was interrupted by the phone ringing and it said, “Code 14J”. That seems to be a military job classification entitled, “Early Warning System Operator”. Personally, it sounded like a recording to me, but if that was your job you might sound a little synthesized by the time this call needed to be made!


HANSO FOUNDATION RESURFACES

You can’t keep a good man down…or a good foundation it seems. www.thehansofoundation.org is up and running again. Check it out and look around for clues. One thing that caught my eye was under Executive Bios where Mr. Thompson claims to have been cured of cancer. Bet Juliet’s sister would like to talk to this guy. Or did he talk to her already???


FRANK TALKS

The helicopter pilot, Frank, was interviewed recently and the question was “Why does your character seemed a little bit too laid back?” His answer: “This might not be his first island.”

Hmmm…he didn’t say “not his first visit to THIS island”, but “not his first island”. Has then guy been chasing a moving island before? This sort of leads to a theory that I’ve ignored, but now sounds a bit more plausible…there are multiple islands below the surface that rise and fall as needed.


PLAY IT AGAIN, SAWYER

After countless replays of the Sawyer’s whisper in the ear of Kate, I have concluded he said this:

“I have a daughter in Alabama...I need you to find her...tell her I'm sorry.”

Maybe.


I ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN

Ben’s words. And a plan he might have involving Jack who Ben will use to lead him to Penny. While many think the Desmond-Penny story arc is over, I think it may have just begun. And as a side note, what guy wouldn’t be proud of a girlfriend who tells you, “I own a monitoring station”?


POSITIONING

I’ve watched and re-watched the finale and still can’t make out exactly where the helicopter was in relation to the island. In one shot it seems the ship is horizontal to the coast line and the next shot it appears perpendicular to it. And of course, in some shots, I can’t see it at all. HA!

I’ll keep digging for the details.


Enjoy,
KC

LT95: It's Good To Be Back Home Again

Well, the trip didn't yield a lot of LOST clues, but did discover the bus line that ran outside our assigned hotel was route number 42. And one of those buses on that route was number 815. I always waited for the next bus.


CALLER ID

Recall the strange phone call that Kate received? It was in reverse. Straightened out, the voice told her, “The island needs you. You have to go back before it is too late.”

My guess is the voice belongs to Sawyer.

And after the phone call she goes to check on Aaron and finds Claire in the bedroom. But did you catch the picture on the wall?


Yeah, same drawing as from the illustrated “Alice in Wonderland” book.

COMMERCIALS

Late in the finale we have Octagon Global Recruiting commercial. Check out the website here: http://octagonglobalrecruiting.com/

If you are going to be in San Diego in July, be sure to fill out an application. At least enter your email to get creepy emails this summer.

Does this mean the Dharma Initiative is starting back up again? Or could this just be the original sign-up in 2008? Yeah, think of the possibilities.

Be sure to notice the designs on the edge of the logo – it stands for “fixing that which has been spoiled” and “duration or longevity”. It seems Dharma may have learned its lesson and it going for a sequel. They are hiring after all.

TIME TO VOTE

Had Richard not intervened, who would have won: Keamy or Sayid?


CHECKMATE

Other than the obvious themes in this scene (games, Hurley seeing dead people, black and white pieces, etc.)…

…it was nice to hear a reference to Ecko.


JJ STRIKES AGAIN

You might have caught the previews for the new show on FOX this August called “Fringe”. I can’t make up my mind if Abrams is building on LOST concepts or what exactly. I can tell you the preview includes these odd similarities: cows, strange medicine shots, teleportation, plane incidents, reanimation, time references and…Abaddon!

There is an extended trailer out there (3:25) if you are interested. Sounds like it has some possibilities.


ALTERNATE ENDINGS

My read on this is sort of unclear, but the director made three possible endings – which mean three different people were filmed in the coffin. Those three were Locke, as we know, and Sawyer and Desmond.

The lack of clarity comes from whether they were trying to keep spoilers from leaking or did they really have a choice to make up until the last minute? Somewhere, I hear the Swan hatch alarm beeping. Quick, somebody push that button.

Search for “Good Morning America Lost Alternate Endings”.


COVER STORY

The cover story deserves more scrutiny, but for now let’s point out that there is a bit of conflict with Oceanic going along with Jack’s story if it is Widmore who is pushing the buttons.

And we need to determine who the extra 3 survivors were. That’s right, THREE, no TWO. For now I can tell you that the three in the cover story all actually died on the island…Charlie…check back next week for the rest of this story as it unfolds.


MINOR OBSERVATION

Share your thoughts if this observation triggers something, but it started when a question was asked about Keamy’s detonator device. Why would there not be a delay like when Daniel was testing his rocket?

Answer: the delay only effect mass, not waves. This is why the phone calls were in “real time” between island and freighter, but the rockets red glare was late.

The exception to the “mass impact” theory is if said mass enters on a heading of 305.

Now that has always confused me and again if anyone can help…please leave a comment. (NOTE: Comments are reviewed before being posted…sorry, too much junk posts were being left. Still I will read them and post the related comments.) My confusion is heading 305. Imagine a clock. The center is the island. The freighter is sitting on the “4” and if you go 305 degrees you cross the island (center) and end up somewhere around the “10”.

So, if Point A began on any other number than “4” would a 305 heading cause the line between Point B to not cross the center point of the clock face? I guess the idea is that I’m suggesting an established “door” in the shield which means heading is not as critical as coordinates would be.

Or does it mean that do leave the clock face (island shield) you simply have to cross the outside border at an angle of 305 degrees? But even that would imply that the “cross-ee” would need to know where that outside border is, right?

Any help or thoughts?

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

A closer look at Hurley’s snack food reveals a fictional product, “Molly Fisher Fruit Rolls”.

However, Molly Fisher is the name of a mysterious rock monolith in Kent, Connecticut. It sits near Hatch Pond. The rock has inscriptions similar to hieroglyphics we have seen on LOST and have yet to be interpreted.

GOOD TO BE BACK

LOST TIDBITS should be back to twice per week. I aim for Wednesdays and Sundays. With the Octagon recruiting and lots of other topics, we should be able to pass the time together this summer.

The next edition will take a closer look at the positions of the freighter and helicopter – heck, even Sawyer and Jin (yeah, even Jin), so see what possibilities might exist on who is where.


Enjoy,
KC