Brotha’
Seriously, Desmond always gets the best episodes. Season four’s The Constant is widely regarded to be the best episode of LOST. I wouldn’t argue with that. Before that, we had Flashes Before Your Eyes, another fantastic Desmond-centric episode. It seems like this guy gets all the breaks! Richard Alpert’s background story, fascinating as it was, can’t hold a candle to last night’s magnificent return of one of my favorite characters. There are several reasons why I like Desmond so much.
1. He’s an everyman.
2. He’s fighting for love and dignity.
3. He’s an exception to the rules.
It’s a fantastic recipe for a character, really. In the “real world,” he’s trying to earn Charles Widmore’s blessing to marry his daughter. Widmore concocts a plan to get rid of Desmond by telling him about a race around the world. Des crashes on the island (the SAME island, might I add, that Widmore used to live on) and gets stuck pushing the button to protect the world from some sort of cataclysmic event, which eventually happens anyway. Flight 815 crashes, the survivors try their best to, well, survive, and the outside world begins to take notice of the plane’s mysterious disappearance. Widmore buys a bunch of dead bodies and dumps them in the ocean to cover the whole ordeal up. Penny doesn’t give up on her love, and eventually makes contact with Desmond. In the meantime, we find out that his consciousness is constantly flashing between two time periods. HE’S THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. Anyway, he and Penny are eventually reunited and they have a bouncing baby boy, Charlie. Desmond gets ambushed and shot by Ben (who gets the living you-know-what beat out of him), ends up in the hospital, gets kidnapped by none other than his awful father-in-law, gets dragged back to the island, and is now back in play. Awesome.
If you rethink LOST to be a story centering around Desmond Hume, things become quite interesting. If you see it as his life plus an extension of his life through the people he’s touched and come in contact with, everything seems to take on a more linear aspect. At least to me. It’s the journey of a man who was everything short of spectacular who ends up being a hero. It’s inspirational. He was a man who had absolutely nothing going for him. He took a chance on greatness, only to find out that being a savior isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. He learns to do away with the petty things in life and to pursue the one thing he truly desires. It’s a good message for anyone to hear! Anyway, on to the notes from last night’s episode.
1. I personally thought it was great when the MRI guy gives Desmond a button to push. That’s just what he needs, right? Another button?
2. Desmond saw his reflection in the window of the police station. This keeps in step with every other “sideways story” we’ve had this season.
3. The stadium. We’ve seen this place at least twice before. I’ve never noticed that the chairs are red and blue. A very big nod to some Matrix themes, I think! (And so far, I haven’t read/heard anyone else mention this! Surely I’m not the first to catch this…)
4. Apparently, the one thing that gives people glimpses into their “true” lives is love. Charlie felt it. Daniel felt it. Desmond eventually felt it…with none other than Penny (who is, coincidentally(?) his constant). I’m still a little iffy about this concept, but we’ll see how it plays out.
I’m greatly looking forward to the rest of this season. My friend, Darrell, mentioned last night that we should start over from the very beginning as soon as the season ends. I agree. The show has taken several large, abrupt turns over the course of six seasons. And, let’s be honest with ourselves, here. This isn’t the same show we started out with. This is not about the survivors of Oceanic 815. This isn’t really even about the island. This is about a game that’s been going on forever, and now it’s time for it to end. I do terribly miss the first seasons. I loved when the divine and the mysterious were undertones, rather than the driving force of the show. Remember when the light came on in the hatch while John Locke while John Locke was on the verge of losing his faith? That was epic television. Or when all the guys push the DHARMA van down the hill and for one brief moment, all is right with the world? Or when Hugo walks up to Charlie on the beach and hands him the peanut butter for Claire? What about when we have that sequence that contained John Locke being told that he couldn’t go on the walkabout (“Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”), then wiggling his toes and standing up on the beach, and then watching his wheelchair burn next to the fire? Epic. Epic. Epic. And I hate to say it, but LOST will never reach the point of being truly, unbelievably epic ever again. Maybe the finale will prove me wrong on this one, and I hope for my sake that it does. But I just don’t think it can deliver those same heart-warming, bone-chilling moments anymore.
Let’s hope I stand corrected at the end of next month.
Something wicked this way comes.
Way back in the day when I was but a wee little child, I hated homework. Nearly half of my waking hours were already engulfed in the public school system, so why should I be further punished by means of coursework that I actually had to take home? Every weekday, I would long for the mystical afternoon and evening hours in which I would be able to ride my bike, watch television, hang out with friends, and generally relax after a hard day of being chained to my desk. Alas, my parents would insist that academics were more important than adventures and I would give in to their demands for completed work. I would give up my hard-earned hours of fun and freedom in order to plow through massive piles of worksheets and textbooks. I did what was expected of me, and I worked hard at it.
However, there was always that one guy in class who never did any of his work. Maybe he had a rather difficult personal life. Maybe he didn’t understand the assignments. Maybe he was just lazy. Whatever his excuse, he did not do what everyone else had to do. And do you know what happened to him? He failed. He quickly learned how tight a bond work and success have (or, rather, the short path between the unwillingness to work and failure).
Imagine that there are twenty students in a fifth grade classroom. One Tuesday afternoon, the teacher gives a homework assignment of nineteen arithmetic problems. The equations aren’t incredibly easy, so it takes each student about five minutes per problem. Each student, that is except the one who chooses to not complete the assignment. He doesn’t even take his book home. So, the next day rolls around and the teacher announces that it’s time to hand in the homework. The one kid who didn’t bother to work on his math problems raises his hand and tells the teacher that he doesn’t have his assignment. Instead of giving the student an F or making him complete this particular assignment in detention, the teacher asks each one of the responsible students to share one of their hard-won answers with the boy who didn’t even try to figure them out on his own. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it? Nineteen students gave up nearly two hours of their wonderful Tuesday evening in pursuit of excellence and a good grade, only to have to share their prize with the kid who made no attempt to do his own work!
Well, boys and girls, that’s pretty much how I feel regarding this horrible monstrosity of a health care reform. American citizens who are actually trying to make a living are about to be forced to give their hard-earned income to provide insurance (and abortions) for the people who are too dang lazy to get a freaking job! I am absolutely irate over this! Honestly, I absolutely loathe my job. But I keep waking up every morning at 7:00 (or 7:10…or7:15…anyway…) in order to provide for my family. Sure, it’d be a heck of a lot easier to lie around the house all day eating Lucky Charms and playing Mario Kart and living off of welfare and food stamps, but where’s the dignity in that? Maybe that’s what our country truly lacks as of late (besides common sense and a slew of other noble characteristics): dignity. And it’s not just the people living on the government’s dime that need a tall, cool glass of dignity. It’s the scum that we have “representing” us on the federal level, as well. Anytime your opinion or vote can be bought, I honestly believe that your vote has lost all power and meaning. If you can rally against a bill until you get a ride with Mr. President aboard Air Force One and your wife finds out that Mrs. President is her new best friend, your values are all kinds of screwed up.
How much longer are we going to stand for this, people? I’m tired of my wages going out to everyone else before I finally see my portion on payday. I’m tired of our bloated government using the Constitution as toilet paper as it dumps out law after freedom-crippling law! This is ridiculous, guys! Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done now.
For those of you who don’t believe that history repeats itself, America was founded by simple people who wished to escape this very type of governmental oppression. The only problem with doing this again is the fact that pretty much all of the land on our very small planet has already been claimed. Oh, well…
PS: Someone at work today likened Obama to Robin Hood. What we need to remember is that Robin Hood, no matter how compassionate his intentions, was still a thief.
This is all out of order
Depending on how you look at the world, it is either very gloomy or very beautiful outside. If you prefer the latter, I’m right there with you. There’s something mysterious and inspiring about rain. The way it sounds, the way it feels, the way it smells. Everything about it is just fantastic! I really enjoy having these huge windows all along the front of the store on days like this because I can see a nice portion of downtown in the downpour. But enough talk about the weather!
I’ve jumped on the bandwagon, folks. Last night, I purchased my first pair of Converse. I’m tired of wearing crappy-looking Nikes and other made-for-a-dollar tennis shoes. So, whilst at the mall, Heather and I went to Famous Footwear to see if we could find any foot coverings that were to my liking. We walked up and down several aisles (to no avail) until I was about to give up. And then, lo and behold! There, on the mass-produced particle board horizon was rising the most fantasical corduroy sun I had ever seen. I rushed over quickly, my heart pounding in my chest. A choir of angels began to sing harmoniously (which, thank God, covered up the Beyonce song that was playing over the store’s speakers) as I ran my fingers over the green ridges and the smooth, yellow interior. These shoes were made for me. And they were on sale. Hallelujah! I would post a photo of them here, but I’m afraid you all would be super jealous and you could attempt to burn my house down in order to retrieve the shoes for your personal wearing enjoyment. I’m sorry, but I do not wish to meet my maker over a pair of shoes. However, if I did have to, this would be the pair over which I’d prefer to do so.
Moving right along…
Six days, guys. Six. I’m actually kind of upset that I made my reservation at GameStop because the mall doesn’t open until noon. I could go buy the game at Walmart around midnight, but then I wouldn’t get my limited edition Lugia figurine that comes with the preorder. I guess I’ll be patient…
I’m such a nerd.
Did you guys hear Michael Giacchino’s acceptance speech last night at the Academy Awards? It was the best one I heard! It was short, sweet, and inspirational. He didn’t draw excessive attention to himself, nor did he rattle off an endless, boring list of thank-you’s. His message was very uplifting and I hope it had a great impact on children and adults alike. If you’re doing what you love, don’t let anyone tell you it’s a waste of time. I agree wholeheartedly. Just because you’re not the best doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean you’re worthless if you aren’t making money.
Heather and I rode our bikes on Friday night! I felt like such a little kid. :) It was so refreshing to feel the cool (okay, okay…cold) wind on my face. We rode over to my mom’s house and had a very fun visit with the whole family. It was dark when we decided to head back, but we still made it home alive. It was an amazing time with my beautiful wife. I can’t wait until it warms up a bit and we’re able to spend more time outside!
I’m really, really hoping for a phone call from a man by the name of Ed Lynn. He is the owner of the Marble Slab Creamery that is currently being assembled next door to Buffalo Wild Wings. I would really enjoy a job closer to the things that I enjoy doing. And I greatly enjoy ice cream. I hope I’m not getting my hopes up too high, but I need a new job. Pray for me!
It’s about time for me to wrap this blog up. I’m off to brave the final two-and-one-half hours of labor until I can celebrate my temporary freedom for the evening. :) I hope you all have an awe-inspiring Monday afternoon!
The Alternative
As many of you know, I am a very opinionated person. Then again, who isn’t? Maybe I just get the “opinionated” label because I am very vocal about my opinions. (Wait, I guess I’m not exactly vocal if I’m blogging about something. What am I, then? Textual? Blogual?) Anyway, this apparently took place a few weeks ago, and my personal take on this will form the meat and potatoes of today’s blog.
First things first: I had not planned on writing about this until my preacher said something to me about it Thursday at lunch. He said something along the lines of, “I saw in the paper the other day where those high school kids were drinking in the ballpark and I’ve been watching to see your comments on it.” So, David, here they are.
I’ll play the Devil’s advocate, first. A few years ago, a decent-sized group of high-schoolers (including everyone’s favorite local celebrity) was caught drinking and partying in an abandoned warehouse. While I was still in high school, someone from the Enid paper found photos on MySpace of some teenagers drinking in a local home. My point here is this: is there no real news for you writers to dig up? The headline of “Enid teens caught drinking” carries about the same weight as “The sun is hot.” Do we really need to publish this stuff? Come on.
Along the same lines, I really don’t like it when people use the “someone could’ve been hurt” line. Drinking any alcoholic beverage is dangerous to the drinker. The drinker’s actions could bring about danger to others. I understand this. But I also work in a pharmacy. Every single thing in here is dangerous if it is abused. If we feel the need to exploit every citizen’s wrongdoings based solely on the fact that someone could’ve been hurt, we’d have to write a dang column for everyone who comes through the drive-thru here. (By the way, the same would go for people who drink Starbucks every day. Caffeine is one of the most addictive substances in the world. Close to 1,500 people died last year from caffeine addiction. I’m really getting off topic with this, but remind me to write about caffeine sometime.)
Obviously, whatever type of punishment they’re throwing at these kids isn’t really doing anything to deter this type of behavior. Did you read the article? The handbook states that the correctional action for the students is two semesters of suspension or ten days of suspension if they go to see some specialist. That is a very large “or.” That’s like the judge saying, “You deserve the chair, but, if you’d like, you can peel potatoes for a week.” I find it a slightly ridiculous alternative. Actually, I find all suspension in itself a stupid form of discipline. Wait, you mean I get a year off school just for drinking beer in a baseball stadium? Sign me up! (Disclaimer: I’m not condoning this behavior. Also, I’ve never had beer.) But seriously. I find it especially hilarious when students get suspended for skipping school. That’s like giving someone a cake for being the most obese man alive. It’s not helping anything.
On the other hand, what they did is actually wrong under the eyes of the law. They are guilty of breaking and entering and underage drinking (and stealing, if they took the keys). Should they be punished? Yes. But a year off school sounds a little severe (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) to me. However, ten days of suspension sounds a tiny bit on the “too easy” side. Also, I don’t think this qualifies as a school issue. As far as I can tell, this didn’t take place during the school day. With respect to that, I don’t believe that the consequences should be academic. I say we make them clean the stadium after every game this year. Or they should spend every weekend this summer helping out the locksmith. Either way, I think my ideas are infinitely better than anything our school system could ever hope to come up with.
Regardless of how you feel about this issue, we can all agree on one truth: the greatest crime here is the Enid News and Eagle website. It is an atrocity. I could seriously make a better looking website on GeoCites, were it still around.
