A picture is worth 1000 words...

What he said

Go see Avatar (I saw it in 3D...sweet).

Dances with smirfs...

Go See Avatar...

Wait...

Wait...

Go see Avatar.

My Winter Break List

Hello All:

Remember that emo post of mine below...yes, that was fun.

Anyways, I'm done now for three weeks, and I'd like to share with you all some of the things I was hoping to accomplish in until the middle of January when my grades come back and I fall into a puddle of "blargh".

1. Going to see Avatar/Up In the Air/Nine

2. Renting Inglourious Basterds/District 9/The Hurt Locker

3. Exercise? Maybe?

4. Alcohol

5. Dollhouse Season 2

6. BSG season 4

7. Californication seasons 2 AND 3 (Yes...my love for DD died with my loss of Showtime)

8. A Law Journal Note on Procedural Due Process and its relationship to burgeoning issues of asset forfeiture (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

9. The 11 pound Turkey that I bought on sale at thanksgiving (it was 39 cents a pound!) and have saved until that point to make at some point over break. Have I done this before? No. Is it likely to fail? Yes.

Do I wish more than anything that you all were around to share it with me?

Yes.

Happy Christmas.

Let's be friends.

We should all get together again. That was fun.

I don't like Law School in November.

Blagh.

Flash mob dance at Wash U

I don't know if people have seen this. It's mildly interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmvW0SUBgFY

Thanks for the songs for the mix btw.

Cans

Hey, does anyone have a keystone can handy that they could give me the height of? I'm setting up a 'ruit table and I wanted to figure out how high we had ours. I have pictures of cans next to the table so I figure I can get a good guess if I can get the height of a single can.

Texts From Last Night

First off, Nick- I totally completed your assignment for the weekend. There were no embarrassing stories, but I had a great time, though not as great as when I was a slutty waitress- to date, my only slutty costume. Shame on me for making a bet concerning beer pong; I really should have known better. In the interest of full disclosure though, I had just finished my week of exams, so I didn't really need your efforts to push me towards a weekend of drinking. I was already on my way there. I know you're proud.

But on to important matters, do any of you read texts from last night? Cause I think it's hilarious and totally superior to fml. Some of those stories are actually kind of sad. These stories are all awesome. The following exchange is my current favorite.

(718): what happened last night?
(917): u kept telling him to fuck u optimus prime style
(718): that explains why his roommate kept saying autobots roll out this morning as i left

That roommate is my hero. I also enjoyed this one:

(267): After you pregamed and were plastered you saw the cop was parked illegally so you gave him a citizens arrest.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. Also, I enjoyed V tonight, but I think I was pretty biased to begin with. Elizabeth Mitchell and Alan Tudyk are my favs and how can I say no to a show about an alien invasion. Plus, it has Bailey (once again a tool- no surprise there) and that guy from the 4400. I really enjoy it when actors who do geeky shows band together and do more geeky shows. It only makes me love the more.

Halloween Costumes?

So I know nothing can top slutty waitress, grumble bear, jolly green giant, stripper lumberjack, fairy princess, and maverick, but I was wondering what all of your costumes will be this year. And don't tell me you don't have a costume. That's just ridiculous. Just to start you guys off: this year I will be dressing up as Professor Chaos. That's right: I'm going to flood the world using my outdoor spigot and destroy the ozone layer by spraying aerosol cans. It's going to be legen (and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the next half of that word is) dairy. Also my roommate Brent is dressing up as Sham-Wow guy. Word. Pictures will follow for sure.

An Assignment

Ok...I have an assignment for all of you. And for myself.

I'm aware that this year, rather than last, we're all a little busier. Especially Rissa...who decided to once again become a member of society. So, since we are coming up on a holiday weekend that happens to fall in what is, for me, the one brief respite I have between my giantly-stressful brief being due and the point at which I will have to start studying for exams, I think the opportunity needs to be seized, like a day in a Robin Williams movie.

So...at some point during Halloween weekend...you need to get drunk. Yes, you. Even you, Joe. You need to get drunk and have a good time and write about it here. Or drunkenly call me. That is it.

I, for one, will be drinking on Thursday AND Saturday (Friday I'll be working...sadface) so I hope to do my best to carry the mantle.

Hooray for taking a break from all, most, some, or part of our worries.

Vacuum Packed Reminiscence

1. My brother got married yesterday. It was a wonderful time. I'm sure pictures will present themselves in due time.

2. Robin, I'm a maybe for FF party-time. We'll have to play it by ear.

3. Everyone: Today Jessie and I went to Trader Joe's, and I wanted to buy something for lunch, so I got a couple of Pad Thai boxes. I had one of them this afternoon, and I was instantly hit with a memory of those Tiger Tiger Pad Thais that they used to have at Bear Mart that sold out every time they stocked them and were a major contributor to the Nick-Loyal-Gains-Twenty-Pounds Autumn of 2005 (along with, you know, cheese fries and 4 nights a week of drinking).

So anyways, I looked for them, andddddd: booyah.

Unfortunately, they are on backorder. But I really want some now, and I hope you all do too.

That is all.

Flash Forward Party?

So I watched the first two episodes and I'm going to have to echo Nicholas's tentative excitement. So whatcha think? Nick? Rissa? You other lame-o's who aren't going to join us anyway? Next Thursday. Let's do it.

THIIIIISSSSSSS MUCH!

*Holds arms apart to demonstrate a large quantity*

It's ok Nicholas, we still love you. Agreed on "No Surprises." Best part of the episode. You forgot 1)Dexter: Ok. There's potential here. I'm optimistic. And 2)Californication: Continues to be awesome.

I'm finally getting started on BSG season 1, so I don't know if we'll be able to do book club. Sad face.

How much of a dork am I that I kinda want to get a What the Frak T-Shirt?

First, I heard "All that she wants" on ye olde iPod today (so named because the right channel only works after 3 years of tree-abuse If I push the headphones in just...that...much, which gets annoying if I'm running) and I smiled and thought of Rissa yelling "Baby Time Won! BABY TIME WON!", which pretty much could brighten up anyone's day.

Also, Robin and Rissa, I just finished Season 3 of BSG yesterday and...damn. Awesome. Frakking awesome. Also, I've been using frak in regular conversation a little more than I'm proud of. Anyways, the local blockbuster doesn't have season 4 (and I have a shitton of work to do) so Robin, if you want to catch up, I'm all about having bookclub for season 4 if you want to do it.

Speaking of TV...I've watched the following Premieres:

House- Good, dragged a little, points for "No Surprises" in the intro.
HIMYM- Good, always starts a little slow...but during the part where Ted is trying to spell Professor I cough-laughed so hard I almost choked to death.
Big Bang- None of you watch this show. You should. It's hilarious. Nothing has changed. It's still hilarious.
Community- Potential.
The Office- Sucks.
Dollhouse- Meh. It's dropped on my queue.
FlashForward- I'll let you know next week. I need to see more, but I'm cautiously excited. It's not replacement Lost yet, but it's kind of like Aaron Rodgers. It might work out if everything else falls into place.

Anyways, I have to write a brief for moot court. It's due tomorrow. I can't stop putting it off.

Oh...and Rissa? Zombie Starbuck? WTFBBQ.

Yay!

So last week was my first block of exams, and I'm so excited because a) they're over and b) I passed. High standards, I know. I spent my past week/week and a half studying for tests at least 12 hours a day (though I did have exactly 4 two hour "breaks" during which I could take my exams- lucky me). I now know an inordinate amount about the back, shoulder, upper limb, and lower limb; all of which I will probably forget within the next few days. It was so miserable. But now I get to be all touchy-feely for a week and pretend like I sympathize with patients, so life is looking up for the time being.

Also, Dan, I hate to tell you this, but there are two way cute little asian men in our MBOD department, so you have some competition. Maybe you could make a list about why you're awesome, I'll review it, and we can discuss your place on my cute asian men list. Don't worry though, you're definitely higher than Hiro (from Heroes- I hate him), so at least you don't have to feel bad about being last.

For those who didn't see it

This is why other people hate America...and why I hate certain parts of it:

http://pubrecord.org/multimedia/5191/revealed-party-march-really-about/

Don't forget: Fascism and Socialism and Communism are all interchangeable if you don't know what they mean.

Smart and Lucky (but not really)

So I have this MBOD (Molecular Basis of Disease aka Biochemistry) teacher that I think is hilarious. Today, in class, we were going over recombination and new gene assortments and this was his example:

Dad contributes the Lucky allele: cause he's lucky to have found Mom
Mom contributes the Smart allele: cause Mom's are awesome like that

So in recombination, their kids can turn out one of four ways:

Lucky and Stupid- becomes a professional athlete
Smart and Unlucky- goes into business
Lucky and Smart- goes to medical school
Unlucky and Stupid- goes to law school

Obviously, we all cracked up. Cause who doesn't want to hate on lawyers a little bit (no offense Nick and Alan)? Also, it's clearly untrue because if medical school has taught me anything, it's that I'm an idiot and there are 50 million trillion things in life I don't know. FYI- a majority of these are related to anatomy, specifically origins and insertions.

Also, the other day he had a nice cartoon to go with his lecture on the ancestral symbiosis between eukaryotes and mitohondria. The eukaryote was like- hey, wanna see my actin and microtubules? And the mitochondria was like- wanna get in my genes?

Anyway, he's this way cute little asian man, and I heart him for bringing a little light into my life. Also, I have friends.

Nick's Interview Day

I had 3 job interviews today. Allow me to describe them.

1- Fine. First one they interviewed. Kept them talking long enough that I went over time. There was laughter and I managed to present myself as a responsible human being.

3-Great. Last one they interviewed. Kept them talking long enough that I went over time. Presented myself well and made good mention of my accomplishments. Was called a "strong candidate" Made union jokes. All was well.

2- COLLOSSAL AMOUNTS OF SUCK. THEY HATED ME. You know when you give an answer that's partially BS with the expectation that the other guy will pick it up and run with it as an opportunity to talk about himself? Yeah...I just got angry glares. WTF.

I have another one tomorrow and two on Thursday, along with a callback (whatwhat) next week.

Hopefully that'll make up for the giant folder of rejection letters in my filing cabinet. Thanks fellas...I'm also sure I'll have no trouble finding an exciting summer opportunity. (sarcastic face)

Stargate

So I realize that I have some serious TV to catch up on. But in the realm of movies, I must ask this question. How did I get this far in my life without seeing the movie Stargate? I saw a few minutes of it on TV this afternoon and decided to give it a whirl (found it later on iTunes). I must say that generally...awesome. I have no idea why we didn't watch this at some point during our hundreds of hours of movie watching in college.

If you have yet to see Stargate...I suggest you go out and rent/download/stream/netflix/whatever so that you can immerse yourselves in extreme violations of the prime directive (maybe?). Also Kurt Russel...

That is all

Stuff (creative title- I know)

Nick- no fantasy football invite for me? What- I don't count? I'll have you know that I'm already on a fantasy football team, and I named it Harry and the Potters. So there. But seriously, I'll only do it if it's an automatic draft; I don't want to put any real effort or time into fantasy football.

Also, Michelle Forbes. Awesome actress. Super bitch on BSG. St. Louis doesn't know what it's missing, and you sir are awesome.

And finally, this: http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/24/super-mario-makes-for-super-popular-pop-fodder/#more-25413. I only watched the first one, but I thought it was kind of hilarious.

Play Fantasy Football...and other thoughts.

So...I tried to send you all fantasy football invites. I assume that they got there, but if they didn't I can send them again.

You should play.

It will be fun.

The draft is next Sunday...so I'm just telling people to register, because otherwise I have to invent personalities to fill up the 12 slots, and nobody wants that--you all are more fun.

That is all. I miss everyone too. Due to my overachieverness I'm pretty much working 12 hour days 6 days a week from now until November. And I've been doing that since May. My summer, I kid you not, consisted of the 4 days I was in Boston and the weekend between me ending work and starting to mentor the nuggets.

Although I think the total beer count within that 6 day period is probably up around the century mark.

Also, Rissa, through the wonder that is Blockbuster 1.99 DVD rentals and nobody in St. Louis liking Sci-fi, I've been roaring through BSG. I just watched Bitchy McBitcherson of the Pegasus get hers...and I'm seriously dorking out. It's awesome.

So that wasn't all...but this is.

Word

Yah, welcome to med school life. Hopefully you find a group that you click with, Rissa, but just know that you're not allowed any real friends outside of us. I mean, seriously, who else is going to strip down to their boxers and repeatedly tell you you're not allowed to hook up with us? That's what true friends do.

Also, I go to bed at midnight. That just makes me sad.

Let me tell you a story called...

... things medical school has taught me (and yes, there will be an actual story/rant following the conclusion of this sentence, though by "things," I really just mean "thing").

I hate making new friends. I don't suppose I would have ever called myself an unfriendly person, but this past week and the orientation before it has made it glaringly obvious that I don't really like being forced to meet new people. I like the friends I have; I'm comfortable with them, and I don't care to go through the process of making all new ones every time I go to another freakin' school. During orientation, I went to bars on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, and Saturday night. The highlight of these outings was leaving. I don't particularly care for bars in the first place (though they are way better than clubs); I don't like beer, and I don't like continually making the same small talk with people I don't know. I understand these things are necessary, which is why I forced myself to do them, but it does not mean that I have to like them. I realized I was pathetic when I found myself looking forward to class a little bit just so I could quit going out on weekdays.

The worse part of all of this is that I only marginally like a few of the people I am hanging out with now, so I'm going to have to get in with someone else if I want to get out of my current group (total hassle). I really like my roommate so far, which is nice since I obviously spend the most time with her, and I like the people in my lab group, etc. The real is problem is these two guys that are always around, one of which I don't really care for, and the other of which I actively, seriously dislike, maybe enough to stop hanging out with all of them just so I don't have to stand in his presence a moment longer. The first guy- whatever- he's just kind of obnoxious, and he takes his cues from guy number two. But guy number two, Charlie, has got to be the biggest douchebag I have ever met. He always says people's names in a loud, high pitched voice when he sees them across the room, he throws food at squirrels while we're eating lunch (what are we- five?), he's always wasted, he thinks he's just about the best thing to ever walk this earth, and he's obnoxiously ingratiating. I can't even describe how much it hurts my soul to be near him. I kind of imagine it's like hanging out with Barney (from HIMYM) except he's not legendary/awesome, and I hate him.

Anyway, sorry about that. I had to tell someone, and I don't know my roommate well enough to be like- I hate this guy. I can't really tell what she thinks about him. Other than that, things are going pretty good. It's only the first week of classes so things haven't gotten too bad yet, though I can tell that'll be coming soon enough. Anatomy's fun: who doesn't like to dissect dead bodies? Answer: this girl in my lab room who threw up twice the first day in.

So to recap: the moral of this story is that I too miss you guys, and not just because you are made of win, but also because I am lazy and made of a little something called no fun.

District 9

It's awesome. Probably the best movie I've seen this year. Go see it so we can talk about it.

On an unrelated note, and to echo Joseph a bit: I miss you guys already. It was great having you all up here, even though it was only a few days. You all are always welcome in my place. I don't say it enough but I love you guys. You are my best friends and life without you guys is way less fun than life with you guys. I hope we can all get together again soon.

Kangs

I just finished Kings. It was very good but damn is that one cold, manipulative, back stabbing, self serving, aliegence switching family. I am not surprised it was canceled though. It has two problems: one is that it is intelligent (there are less smart people in the world and fewer of them watch TV) and two is that after awhile its hard to like anyone in the family and although you can like David he is hopelessly and innocently dedicated to them and doing right which makes it harder to want to see him win for such crappy people. Also it was poorly marketed. I saw an advertisement for it and thought it looked stupid. They didn't sell it correctly. I thought they were going for some comic book like nonsense with kingdoms in the modern age etc.

BTW have you guys been seeing an advertisement on hulu with the numbers 230 8-11 (or maybe 2311 811) with the 0 being an electrical socket? What is that about. There is a website 2311.org but all it has is the web-address written. I guess 8-11 could be a date (aug 11) for it going active. Can't find anything about anybody else trying to figure out what the deal is though.

I miss you guys. You guys are my best friends, through thick and thin... I love you guys

p.s. I had another hole in lung incident. small again. yay!

The Sound of Music

Jessie and I watched the first half of The Sound of Music (yeah...It's really f-ing long) last night, and Captain Von Trapp Definitely starts a number of comments with "Ho Ho Ho".

My immediate thought: Hmm...how did Dr. Ivens get back to pre-war Austria? And where is his combination brandy snifter/pipe?

Had a great time. Will be in detox mode for a while, though.

Dice Game

From Wikipedia about the history of Yatzee:

"The overall concept of Yahtzee traces its roots to a number of traditional dice games. Among these are the Puerto Rican game Generala, and the English games of Poker Dice and Cheerio."

Generala was the game I had been talking about.

Dice

Can anyone bring 5 dice or do I need to buy some or does no one care?

Oh yeah. . .

My lab is like a big concrete box, so my cell phone may not work. If it doesn't you can try my office phone: 617-452-3135

Also...

Rissa and Dan, are we still going to Rendezvous in the Airport? I, again, am getting in at 10:40. Dan, I know you said you were getting there earlier. Rissa, you said something too, but I forgot it. Can we find a Cinnabon or something and meet?

For those of you coming to Boston via airplane

(aka not Joseph). You're going to want to take the T from the airport. There should be a vending machine for tickets near the baggage claim. It's big and green and has pictures of cartoon people looking really excited to be taking public transportation on it. I think it's $2 per ride. Get your ticket and find the stop for the silver line bus. It's a big silver bus with a blue stripe down the side, you can't miss it. Take the silver line to South Station. From South Station get on the Red Line going towards Alewife. For you guys coming on Thursday get off at Kendall/MIT and I'll come meet you from work. Alan, when you get it take the train one more stop to Central Square. Central is slightly closer to my apartment, but Kendall is much closer to my office. I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys! Safe travels.

In defense of my previous idea

Ok...ComicCon is dorky...but the following things have been released thus far at this years:

1. Dexter Season 4 Promo: http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/07/dexter-season-four-trailer-video-.html

2. TRON Legacy Trailer: http://www.flynnlives.com/media/video/0xendgame.aspx

3. Charlie on Lost: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/07/lost-comiccon-panel.html

4. Epitaph One (half of which can be seen here: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=B7QEXUJ0) the Dollhouse episode that Fox didn't air and will only be on the DVDs (and which features the girl from Dr. Horrible)

Wait...wait...awesome.

Also, I feel like BSG book club might have to wait. I think the MIT undergrads realized that I don't go there.

Playin' with the Boys, and Rissa

Ok. So I was supposed to have training next week which was going to prevent me from taking Friday off but then the training was canceled so I am again planning to take Friday off. It's probably going to take me at least 2:30 hrs to get to Boston with traffic and at best it will take me an hour to leave from the time I get off work so I am thinking I will be there Thursday night 7:30pm at the earliest. BTW Robin where am I driving to?

This is good that we are meeting up cause I am missing the AJB pump fake, the Modaff incredible-bad puns, the Robin being loud because he's drunk, happy or mad, the P Loyal "Oh you" and the Rissa "Might Could".

Oh and I learned a fairly complex and strategic Argentine dice game that I thought you guys might like. We just need someone to bring 5 dies.

P.S. Rissa to answer your question about Maverick you need only to pay attention to the lyrics of the song:

I don't wanna be the moth around your fire
I don't wanna be obsessed by my desire
I'm ready, I'm leavin'
I've seen enough
You play too rough

and

After chasin' sunsets
One of life's simple joys
Is playin' with the boys

He doesn't want to come on too strong to this new chick because he'll get hurt if he lets that be the sole focus of his life so he goes out with the boys, enjoys "one of life's simple joys" and gets some perspective before he goes over to her place. And then he sleeps with the girl which is basically having his cake and eating it too.

The whole movie is basically about power plays: Maverick and the girl, Maverick and Ice man, Americans and Commies. See Maverick approaches her in the bar, sings this song in front of everyone embarrassing her and demonstrating unwavering self confidence and asserting himself as the dominant male (point 1 maverick). She rejects him for the old guy (point one Charlie). She turns out to be his instructor putting her in a position of power over him (point two Charlie). He corrects her information on an enemy fighter capability and refuses to give her the specifics of his engagement (point 2 Maverick). She then asks him out putting the ball in her court (point 3 Charlie). He makes her wait for him (point 3 Maverick). In class she teaches his maneuver "as an example for what not to do" (point 4 Charlie). She sleeps with Maverick (13 points for Maverick, game over, checkmate, gin and Yahtzee).

These are some important lessons here you can't learn from reading Harry Potter Rissa.

Just thought I would share:

So my mom had lunch with William Danforth II today. She was super excited. He was apparently in Raleigh giving some talk. Small world, huh?

Top Gun

So I was flipping through channels trying to waste some time and I stumbled upon Top Gun right as the beach volleyball scene was coming on- it was like magic. I mean, who doesn't want to watch 5 minutes of three shirtless guys play volleyball in jeans (plus Goose, but he's wearing normal eighties beach attire so he doesn't really count)? But as a side note, what is wrong with Maverick? Who would actually go to a date sandy, sweaty, and dirty? It obviously worked out for him, but still, poor move Tom Cruise, poor move.

For your Losting out pleasure:

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20209564_20209584_20291928,00.html

Summer 2010 Suite Reunion

I know we're two weeks from the current summer reunion trip...but I have an Idea for next year already:

Jul 22-25, 2010

San Diego, CA

ComicCon 2010

Reason #247 Why I Love Saturday: NBC plays something that's not Heroes

So is anyone besides Nicholas and me watching Kings? Cuz you should be. 2 words: Legen Dairy. Especially last week's episode. Oh Em Gee. Nick knows what I'm talking about. Anyway, moral of the story: watch Kings so we can discuss it.

That is all.

Bored?

BTW...if you have 7 hours to kill: tvtropes.com. It's like wikipedia...but more snarky, and solely focused on TV awesomeness.

And yes. I totally ripped it off xkcd today. Sue me.

Also, let's all harass Robin until he builds a new beirut table for us to play on. Because despite what he said on the phone last week...I have a sneaking suspicion that there hasn't been a lot of progress in that department.

Beuller?

I turned the blog back to public b/c I was afraid it was killing my blog-iGoogle feed. I hadn't seen any new posts in a while, so I thought maybe my feed was broken and that I was missing out on some juicy gossip...but alas.

Let the re-viving of the Suite Blogging begin!

Topic 1: Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool...

Biggest news day ever?

Wow...today was a little busy.

I'd like to point out that today was the reason that news orgs have canned obituaries ready to go. CNN had 1000 words up on MJ in like 30 minutes, it was nuts.

Also, I think facebook might have exploded.

Today: and the things that made me happy

1) http://scifiwire.com/2009/06/the-best-trailer-for-a-gr.php#more
Because I would totally watch this movie with Nathan Fillion in it. And I clearly recognize scenes from the new Star Trek movie, Firefly, and the Matrix (Revolutions) in this fan-made trailer.

2) http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/
The post about the furry Wild Things book totally reminds me of the monster book in Harry Potter. And kind of makes me want to buy it.

3) http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/06/17/test-pilot-flash-forward/
A.K.A. Lost 2.0. So despite the lukewarm review, I'm still way excited for it.

4) http://scifiwire.com/2009/06/9-reasons-star-trek-is-no.php
Self-explanatory.

5) http://scifiwire.com/2009/06/wolverines-new-cast-membe.php
Yes, the first movie borders on horrible (though in a good way). But no question, I'll still be lining up to see the Wolverines rock it out in round 2.

6) http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0670020559/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245295058&sr=8-1
Because I wish Hogwarts was real.

Two Things

1. Ok, I understand that we're dealing with a major threat, and that since I set my computer to automatically log in, its not that big of a deal...but come on people.

2. I need a new TV show...and a virus-free place on the internet to watch it. I don't want to have to start reading books here, people. Eyes on the prize.

Insensitive?

So I've recently started watching Rescue Me and a) it's hilarious and inappropriate (which I love) and b)one of the firefighter guys looks exactly like Dan Cohen. Seriously, you'll have to get on facebook for the full effect but check out Dan's profile vs. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00nN2yW9z62QU/340x.jpg. It's like Dan has an older, more attractive brother that we never knew about. Anyway, to my question: I wanted to share this on my other blog with Katie, Meem, Becca, etc., but is it okay to post this where Margaret can see? Is that just bad form on my part since they had kind of a bad break up? Or is it cool since let's face it- it's been over a year since it happened. Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions?

Also, no judgemental head shakes from you Nick Loyal. I'm totally coming for the Boston weekend. And when I heard that "My dick..." song the other night I freaked out I was so excited. But then I quickly realized I only really knew 3 words in the song: My dick... your dick... My excitement somewhat abated after that. The rest of my night, however, was pretty frickin' awesome.

Bean Town

I just booked my flight on JetBlue and I will be arriving in Boston on July 31st at 5:52 PM. I'll be there for the weekend (plus a few days), and I look forward to the three Bs (bros, beers, and beirut).

Direct Flights are more fun than sitting my ass in O'Hare. I'm sorry.

Dan, as the title of my post states, I was able to find a direct flight for 30 bucks more than it would have cost me to fly through O'Hare. While I'm cheap...I'm not that cheap, and thus I will be flying American Airlines Flight 1574 From STL to Logan. I leave at 6:50 and am supposed to arrive at 10:40. We'll see.

On the way back, It's AA 1809 leaving at 6:20 PM. I figure (and Robin tells me) that I can just take the T from the airport into the city. So I'll probably do that. but if you want to try and get there around the same time, I can always grab a GQ and a cup of coffee and wait for an hour so we can head in together.

Let me know.

Baaaston

Nick, what time is your flight/what airline are you taking?  I'm also thinkin' Thurs-Sun, so maybe we can be flight buddies!  Though it would keep up my streak of never sitting next to an attractive girl on a flight...  at the very least though, it'd probably be easier for Robin to make only one trip to the airport.

Travel and Fun

As I told Robin (and am now telling you) I'll be in Boston from July 30-August 2. Alan, you should come down earlier and be stupid with me. Joseph and Dan...you too.

And Rissa...

(shakes head in judgment)

Anyways, you know what's fun? Playing With WolframAlpha. I particularly enjoy these as well.

Apparently British people know exactly "what she wants"

Ok, so I've discovered this British medical drama/comedy called Green Wing. It's very strange but also hilarious and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The reason I bring it up is this: In the third episode, one of the characters finds out that his ex-girlfriend is getting married and having a baby. His friend then proceeds to follow him around singing "All that she wants." So that's at least one more vote for Baby Time.

Okay!

Ahh, just finished the Lost finale, and I have to say that you all are a lot more insightful than I am...  I especially like Joseph's noting of the Jacob/Esau thing, I'd never have thought about that.  I too have jumped on the Dorm Life bandwagon, it's excellent. 

Dorm Life

I too have jumped on the Dorm Life bandwagon. Part of the awesomeness is the nostalgia, but it is also really well done. The thing that freaks me out about it is...the show is primarily made by current UCLA undergrads. I was looking on facebook last night and 'Brit' is currently a Senior here. And now that I think about it I have this weird feeling that I saw her at the gym a few weeks ago...how strange. Great show though!

Chaalay

I thought this was kind of hilarious:
http://springfieldpunx.blogspot.com/

Group Shot

That episode of Dorm Life= Freshman year.

Awesomeness

Ok Rissa you are obviously very clever. Having said that I’m glad I wasn’t with you because I quite enjoyed my ignorant bliss. I have so many things to say I’m going to go point by point instead of trying to make this flow smoothly.
1) Black / White: Robin and Rissa nice catch on the white shirt black shirt thing. This is obviously a recurring theme. Remember the Desmond dream where Locke had one black eye and one White, the black and white marbles in the Adam and Eve cave (still wonder who they are) and several other things I can’t remember now. In a kind of yin and yang way these two fore fathers together make up some aspect of the island. They can not destroy each other because they are tied together as mutual but opposite beings. Those who know their bible stories will remember that Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac. During Rebecca’s pregnancy she would have pains because Jacob would try to get out of the womb when she passed a Holy Jewish site and Esau would try to get out when she passed a place of idolatry.
2) I find it interesting that Jacob doesn’t try to say anything to save himself. I also wonder if he is not dead. Isn’t the bandaged women he visits the one carrying the box around? If so then she must have been burned on the Island and got off so his going to see her would indicate he lives. Or was it someone else in the hospital? Also I find it interesting that when Jacob visits the people in the past there is a theme of them making promises they will not keep (Sawyer finishes the letter, Kate keeps stealing, etc).
3) I wonder who the “they” are when Jacob says they are coming. Could it be the people outside with the box? Esau seems scared of them.
4) I think its cool they brought the foot statue back. I really was curious about it at the time. I hope they explain more next season.
5) There seems to be an Egyptian theme in the show. The temple had Egyptian hieroglyphs, the dharma counter in the hatch had hieroglyphs, Jacob was making an Egyptian style tapestry. Do you think there is a reason for this or are they just using Egyptian because it seems mysterious and old? Jacob in the bible moved his family to Egypt. Are we to believe this Jacob is somehow linked to the biblical one? Doesn’t sound like LOST.
6) People seem to be operating under the assumption that the smoke monster was taking Ben’s daughters form. Couldn’t it also be that Esau took her form after the smoke monster retreated? If that were the case it would help keep the smoke monster more neutral in the whole arbiter theory.
7) Nick the white out doesn’t have to indicate the nuke going off. Remember there was a white out and a sound associated with the third and final ‘incident’. That could have just been the discharge of the energy. That could be one way to write the nuke not going off.
8) I love how they brought Rose and Bernard in as if just to answer everyone’s question. And the fact that they were hiding is very funny. The LOST writers seem to frequently give a character the voice of the audience (usually Hurley but in this episode they had Miles ask the whole “how do you know the nuke isn’t the incident” question).
9) Awesome. I was so excited through that whole episode. I was like Wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeefffffffuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkk!!!!!!!! for 2 hours. I am so excited for next season. I think they have set themselves up for some very interesting episodes with a new general plot that ties back into everything we have seen in the past when we were focusing on “Who are the dharma people, who are the others, how are they going to get off the island, how are they going to get back to island, etc”

Hubble

Hey. This is a little of topic but I wrote an email about Hubble to some family and I thought I'd share here:


The space shuttle Atlantis is in orbit right now working on Hubble. Thought I'd share some interesting Hubble related info. Atlantis captured Hubble with a 55 foot robotic arm and pulled it into the cargo hold. Hubble is the size of a school bus by the way. While approaching Hubble to dock Atlantis was having issues communicating with the satellite to tell it how to orient itself because Hubble couldn't handle the data bandwidth they were sending. They resolved the issue by communicating with another NASA satellite which then communicated with Hubble. There was a slight delay in the ship-to-ship conversations after that. On the first space walk they successfully replaced an old computer and the camera after wrestling for an hour with a stuck bolt (imagine if they had broken it). The new camera is 30 times more powerful than the last and both are the size of a grand piano. The first camera installed on Hubble was only ~1 megapixel (so I read). The second one was less megapizels than digital cameras you can buy on amazon. Hubble achieves its incredible resolution by stitching together dozens of photos. In addition to installing some new electronics the astronauts installed a docking ring to the body of the satellite that a boster vehicle will someday use to deorbit Hubble into the Pacific (kind of a sad idea). This entire process is being filmed with HD cameras and it is supposed to be turned into an IMAX movie. This mission is the 6th to last shuttle mission (I think that's right). The final mission will be completed at the end of 2009 although Obama has indicated he will approve more funding to keep the program alive into 2010 if neccesary to complete the next 5 missions. After that NASA will pay $51 million dollars for each seat on a Soyuz rocket. The shuttle replacement with be Orion on top of an Ares 1 rocket (anyone want to guess whose engines are on Ares? and the Space Shuttle for that matter). Orion is a capsule like Apollo or Gemini and will not have the capabilties like the Space Shuttle to perform tasks like servicing satellites. The first manned test flight of Orion is scheduled for Sept, 2014. You can bet everything you've got it will be far behind schedule.

Here is a site with a picture of the Shuttle next to Hubble silhouetted in front of the sun:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090516.html

Fulfilling my Nerd Quota:

Regarding Lost:

1. I agree with the Smoky/Esau/BSD theory. Just throwing that out there.
2. Are we actually sure that the bomb went off? Obviously the first inclination is that a whiteout=thermonuclear explosion (and if it didn't, they sure wrote themselves into a hole). I'm just questioning any assumptions I have at this point.


Regarding Star Trek:

1. ZOMG.
2. First, I love how the guy who jumped out with Kirk and Sulu was wearing a red spacesuit. The second he got in the shuttle I was like..."Ha, Ensign Rickey."
3. Second, I love how Sulu "fenced", which is totally a reference to "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Time". I'm a nerd. I pick these things out. Same thing with the fact that Kirk has a thing for green-skinned girls.

The moral of the story is that I'm a big giant dork. And apparently, Damon Lindelof is writing the sequel for Star Trek. Hoozah!

BSD

BSD (Black Shirt Dude) is Rissa's abbreviation for the guy threatening to kill Jacob at the beginning of the episode. I'm a fan so I'll be adopting that name for the rest of my post. Clearly also he's the one who's been masquerading around as Locke. (Also Rissa figured that out like halfway through the episode. Rissa you are my hero).

Anyway, Discussion topic number 1:
I'm now operating under the assumption that BSD is actually the smoke monster.
Evidence For: 1) The smoke monster is the only thing we've seen that can adopt the forms of other people.
2) It's been interested in Locke from the very first season, and has definitely had major influences on the actions of both Locke and Ben. In fact, I'm now pretty sure BSD was posing as Christian, especially since the mercenaries with Locke's body said someone else had been using Jacob's cabin. And Christian has definietly been influincing Locke's actions as of late.
3) It's a big cloud of black smoke, and they were really careful to juxtapose BSD with jacob wearing white, both at the beginning of the episode and at the end where Jacob is still wearing white and "Locke" is wearing black.
Evidence Against:
So the only flaw I've spotted in my theory is that "Locke" seemed surprised when Ben told him the smoke monster made him promise not to fuck with Locke. If BSD and the smoke monster were the same entity then he would already know that. But maybe he was just pretending to be surprised.

Discussion Topic number 2:
I think it was Rissa that mentioned this initially, but I think it's a cool idea so I'm gonna run with it. This dark guy/light guy juxtaposition combined with the fact that one of them wants to kill the other definitely calls to mind a God/Satan type relationship. One cannot exist without the other kind of thing. For a while now I've thought that the island was some sort of sentient being and that the smoke monster was its physical manifestation. This last episode has made me reconsider. I think clearly Jacob and BSD are entities (I'm not going to call them people because clearly they have magic powers or something) that are somehow connected to the island, but it's not clear exactly what this connection is. Maybe they are both manifestations of the island in a kind of split personality, angel/demon on opposite shoulders kind of way, but somehow I don't think so.

As you might have noticed, I am waaaaay more interested in the BSD/Jacob story line than I am in the "lets change the future" story line. I love Miles even more because he finally brought up the "aren't you worried the bomb is what causes the accident?" question. But still quite excited for next season.

Credit Where Credit is Due

BTW...Rissa and Robin totally called the John Locke being in the Box thing before it happened. They told me to post it beacause it'd be bragging if they did. So good work guys.

On a related note...WTF show. WTF.

On a random note...

To all you Scrubs lovers out there...I went to brunch on Sunday at this awesome place in Hollywood called The Griddle (Robin has been there), and I sat down next to Donald Faison (Turk). Very random! From the way he was talking to the waiter it sounds like he plays a lot of old school nintendo...like any awesome person should. Maybe he plays Burgertime?

Don't run, we are your friends!

I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with Joseph here. There's not a lot we can learn from sending people to Mars that we can't learn from observations from orbit or from the rovers. Mars is actually a pretty boring planet in the grand scheme of things, and there's plenty of more interesting rocks flying around in space. I actually went to a talk a few weeks ago about some of the larger rocks in the Kuiper belt (Pluto and a bunch of the other minor planets). Turns out we've actually learned a lot about how orbits (and subsequently solar systems) form. In summary: the time, money, and manpower we're putting into trying to put someone on Mars is way out of proportion with what we'll get out of it, and those resources would be better spent developing new instruments for observing other things in the universe. (Also, the idea terraforming Mars doesn't really make any sense, so this whole "backup Earth" thing isn't gonna happen either)

Oh, and bonus points if you remember where my post's title comes from.

Space the Final Frontier (in Picard voice)...

Nick,

The technology exists for the most part. It is more an issue of putting the technology together into a design. The Ares rocket will be the mode of delivery to destinations like Mars. If it runs on schedule (these things seldom do) it will launch humans into space for the first time in 2014. It will be powered by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X engines. The spacecraft the humans will physically fly in will be the Orion Capsule. It will have its first manned flight with the Ares rocket in 2014. A possible lunar landing is projected for 2019 and a first Mars visit has been hinted at for 2037. If funding was unlimited and schedule was a priority how fast could be get to Mars? Well a totally uneducated guess is before 2025. But we are just going to have to wait. I personally don't think sending humans to Mars is going to do much for science or the human race. Many projects would be of more scientific merit. It's like the ISS... sure its cool there are humans in space 24/7/365 but it is the equivalent of a high school science project in my book next to what others programs do for science and at 1/100th the price.

One...more...day....

1. I havn't seen Star Trek yet. I'm going on Friday. I'm excited. My mom saw it and she totally dorked out--which makes me happy. Its good to know I got it from somewhere.

2. I haven't watched Dorm life yet. But I will...

3. I will be drunk pretty much from 1 PM tomorrow until Friday. So, warning in advance if you get an unintelligible voicemail from me.

4. (The reason I got on here) A question for the more physics-inclined among us:

I was watching the news about how they're sending the shuttle up to fix Hubble and how they have the other shuttle on the pad b/c they think everything's going to go to shit, and it got me to thinking about space (Star Trek, no doubt, will not help this problem--as I would TOTALLY have gone to Starfleet Academy over Law School and rocked my ass some Kobayashi Maru)

Anyways...science people...assuming that the lawyers and politicians didn't fuck it up (as we so often do) and there was a sudden and exponential jump in NASA funding...when is about the soonest we could get somebody to Mars? Is it a technological issue? I'm aware that there's a time-window problem because it would take so long to get there, but I figured there was more to it than that. Anybody?

(Joe...if this somehow violates your security clearance, please feel free to respond in metaphor form.)

BTW...after writing this, I really want to go shoot off an Estes. I can't believe my Dad let me build those things.

As my customary farewell would seem oddly self serving, I will simply say... good luck.

I agree wholeheartedly with Alan. Star Trek == Awesome

I really enjoyed Eric Bana as crazed Romulan terrorist dude, even if the black hole stuff made absolutely no sense. I did like that they managed to create an original plot without angering the trekkies with the whole "alternate timeline" routine, but that they still made lots of references to the original series (Pike in a wheelchair, "Spaaaaaaaak", some of Scotty's quotes, the way Kirk sat in the captain chair, etc.). I did like Kirk's original solution to the Kobayashi Maru a little better than the new one, (for those of you who don't know: In the original series, Kirk reprograms the scenario so that all the Klingons are afraid of him).

Let's see, what else? Mr. Sulu's fold up sword, amazing and I want one. Also, along the lines of Alan's #4: I like that Hoth exists in the Star Trek world also. There's a scene that looks a little bit too much like the scene from Empire Strikes Back when they rescue Han and Luke. The camera even looks like it's from the point of view of a snowspeeder. I half expected Kirk to yell "Nice of you guys to stop by!" Also the Wampa cave.

I do have one question: If you were a giant ice monster, and you had a giant snow lion in your mouth, why would you throw away guaranteed dinner to chase after a much smaller human? I have one hypothesis: The ice monster wanted to go back to his ice monster friends and tell them "Hey guys, guess what? I ate Jim Kirk! That's right. James Tiberius Kirk. IIIIII ate him. Suck it, bitches." But apparently it wasn't worth messing around with old Spok weilding torches. Other than that I got nothing.

On a completely different subject: Joe, thanks for introducing me to Dorm Life. That show is wonderful. I watched all of them over about 2 days and now I'm sad that there's no more. Definitely makes me miss some Liggett 3 action. And I think Kappa Gopher Shane is a wonderful name for a faternity.

Live Long, and Prosper...

Yes Rissa, you should be excited to see Star Trek. You should all be very...very excited. What can I say? Maybe it was the fact that I finished my last big exam yesterday afternoon. Maybe it was the fact that I drank all afternoon starting at the end of my exam until I sat down in the movie theater at 10 PM. Maybe it was the fact that I was drinking while walking 2 miles to the movie theater with my friends, and just making it in time to see the most ridiculous trailers I have ever witnessed (Night at the Museum 2 looks like it was written by a 2nd grader, and GI Joe looks AWESOME!). But all I can tell you is SEE STAR TREK!!!

I'm not 100% sure that you all won't berade me for recommending a movie that was, need I say, ridiculous and silly and awesome and amazing all at once, but I don't care. That was the most entertaining and fulfilling 2 hours of my life since the first 2 hours of The Dark Knight. Things I loved about Star Trek:

1. It was action packed. From start to finish it did not stop to take a breath. It was not fast-paced because there was no story line...in fact it breezed through areas where it could have easily wasted an extra hour on 'developing' the mood, but it knew better. It was a wild roller coaster ride and I was happy to be aboard.

2. Leonard Nemoy. Need I say more? I don't care if they had to invent an absurd time-travel plot to get him in this movie...it was worth it. This is not some throwaway cameo or unfortunate casting decision that is a throwback to the fogies in the room. Nemoy is the shit, and he made this movie better. If it had been Shatner that got the cameo...it would have been a disaster.

3. Terrorism. That's right, I said it. Nothing makes for a great Trek bad guy more than a good old fashioned terrorist. Why? Because there's no silly political reasonable back story. The dude wants to destroy some planets? Done.

4. Hoth. See the movie and you'll understand what I mean. I'm pretty sure Lucas let them onto the set of Empire Strikes Back in this one...awesome.

5. Gene Roddenberry. The man, the legend. He created a universe filled with mystery, entertainment, and a string of one liners that function well in all scenarios. These lines can be throwbacks to a classier age of television ("Damnit Jim...I'm a doctor not a...") or they can be novel spins on an old theme ("Spaaaaaaaak!")...either way I'm sold. Good work sir, good work.

I may expand the list later...but that is all for now.

My B

So sorry I've been neglecting our blog as of late; I have no real excuse for ignoring you guys. Although, I was pretty surprised to see all of the posting going on. Anyway, about the whole meeting in Boston thing. I'm not totally sure if I can make that happen. I'm tentatively suppose to be moving to Memphis that weekend, but on the other hand, I don't actually have to be there until August 10th for orientation. So I'll see what I can do because I totally want to join in on the fun.

Joe- I totally love Dorm Life. I discovered this small piece of awesomeness while bored at work (coincidentally, Alan, this is also a time when I frequently nerd it up on Lost forums- I prefer Lostpedia), and while I was totally enchanted, my lab mates were not as on board. I think I really like it because it reminds me of Liggett 3. Not so much specific people or events or anything, but just the general freshman floor-ness of it all. So I don't know what my lab friends' freshman floors were like, but clearly they were not as awesome as ours or they too would have felt a small pang of nostalgia when watching Dorm Life.

Also, I found out what was up with all those weird what did you see promos: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/what-do-you-see.html. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, and I'm really hoping that this can be my Lost replacement come 2011. But I think I'm jumping ahead a little bit of myself and maybe just panicking over the impending series finale of like the best show ever. I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have any new Sawyer and Jack to look forward to. I'll probably just take solace in the fact that I no longer have to pretend that I care in the slightest about what happens to Kate. I wish she would just leave Sawyer and Juliet alone. We all know she's gonna eventually end up with Jack anyway, so I don't see why she has to destroy the happiness of the best couple on Lost (Jin and Sun are a very close second).

And finally, I am so excited for the new Star Trek movie that I seriously cannot contain myself. I tried to talk some of my friends into seeing it with me at midnight. Alas, this obviously did not work, and I have a feeling that I will be mocked all day tomorrow at the lab for being a Trekkie (which is sad because my Trekkie-ness is really only apparent in comparison to all of them. In fact, if anything, I'm of the opinion that I should be increasing my Star Trek knowledge). I think my goal will be to tell someone to live long and prosper just so they can all be completely and utterly appalled by the fact that they know me. If I was really up to it I try to make some Vulcan ears, but I don't see that happening. Regardless, I like my plans in life.

Things and Stuff

Nick, I award you one point for "Chekhov's Gun" prediction. I also award myself one point (if I can do that) for my "Angry army girl from past = Faraday’s mom" prediction.

Although I agree with Robin on the whole smoke monster issue I will say that I prefer iron filings monster to 'magic' monster explanations. I guess another counter argument to the steel dust monster would be that it appeared to me that in the hieroglyphs the smoke monster was depicted facing down an Egyptian god (Ra maybe) although that was my interpretation of the lithograph.

Everyone, if you have not watched "Dorm Life" check it out on Hulu (you will have to search for it). The first season episodes are all 5 minute shorts. The second season are 10 minutes I think.

Alan, Our Lady Peace is releasing their new album on July 21st. The video for their first single is coming out on May 25th and has 90210 star Shenae Grimes in it.

Robin I understand no part of your last post. Could someone enlighten me?

Oh, also. . .

I ain't no gay fish. You don't have to explain wordplay to me. I am a lyrical genius and the voice of a generation. But I do love me some fishsticks.

Fine Steel Powder?

Ok, so as a Physicist, I find the idea that the smoke monster could be fine steel powder levitated by magnetic fields to be an insult to my intelligence.
1: There would need to be some kind of moving source, either a big ass rare earth magnet or some kind of fancy electromagnet. Either way, this sort of thing would need to move around with the monster and would thus detract from its whispy smoke-like nature (as it would be a giant solid thing inside the monster). Also, what's levitating/moving the magnetic source?
2: No this can't be from fluctuating magnetic fields inside the island. Magnetic field lines (the lines the iron particles would align along) don't stop and start on source charges like electric field lines, they are continuous, so the monster would have to be a continuous ring, or part of a ring stopping and starting on the ground.
3: An oscillating field of that magnitude would do more than fuck with Locke's compass. Anything metal would be moving around, and also heating up from the resistive heating of the eddy currents produced in any conductor (not just magnetic materials).
All right, I'm done dorking out for now, but also:
4: Pretty sure that fence has something to do with sound, not magnetism.

I too am taking exams, although unlike the rest of you, no one cares what my grades are anymore. So I am currently 0 down, 1 exam and 1 presentation to go, but as I said, it doesn't really matter how I do, I just have to finish them. On the other hand, I will have an exam at the end of August that I very much do need to do well on. Yaaaay qualifiers!!

In response to Nicholas' question, they do sell beer in cans here believe it or not, although it is significantly more expensive than in good ol' STL. We have to go to a liquor store, but trust me, there will be plenty of canned and bottled beer for us to enjoy.

On a related note: My new apartment move in date is August 1 (which is a Saturday). I can keep my current place until August 15, but one of my roommates has to move August 1 as his lease will be up. So if you all are going to be here on August 1, I have a couple of options for you.
1. You can all help Brent and me move our stuff all in one day. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long but you know how moving goes. Advantages: You all will be rewarded with beer and some sort of sustenance. Also, you will all get to stay in my awesome new place with a back yard and cool roommates as opposed to my current shitty place with no yard and a roommate who glares at me and doesn't talk to me or do dishes. Disadvantages: You have to move shit.
2. You all can do something on your own while I help Brent move. Advantages: No moving shit. Disadvantages: lack of advantages discussed in option 1. and less time hanging out with the wonderful Robin Chisnell.
3. I can tell Brent to suck it and move his shit on his own. Advantages: we get to hang out more. Disadvantages: My new roommate hates me from day one.

Anyway let me know your thoughts on this. I'm ok with 1. or 2. or various variations on those. 3. is probably a bad choice so we'll leave that unless all other options fall through.

I am not alive

I also have 2 down and 2 to go...and the that realization is accompanied with a strange sort of exhausted out-of-body experience that is somewhere between a lack of motivation and a resignation to my role as some sort of outline-producing issue-spotting essay-writing computing machine.

Also on an unrelated note I was nerding it up on a Lost forum last night and read some crazy post-theory about what lies in the shadow of the statue?. The person seems to think the answer is smokey, but more specifically that the answer relates to what is 'inside' smokey, because if you don't know what's up with smokey then you aren't ready to handle the island. This particular blogger seemed to think that smokey was some sort of magnetically-floating supercomputer controlling fine steel powder (smoke...) that had gained consciousness somehow as a result of the incident. Basically people are insane, but I do like the idea of the 'smoke' being fine steel powder because that explains why the freaky magnetic fence gets in the way. Discuss...

I'm still alive

And I think this whole trip thing sounds stupendous. I'll probably only be able to make it out for a weekend+ if we do it during the agreed upon time...but you bet your ass I'll be there.

Query for Robin: Where is the closest place to buy beer from your future-to-be apartment? Or do they not sell beer in cans in Massachusetts because its against their puritanical roots and devotion to the Samuel Adams company?

Oh...and Alan, I totally didn't watch the Bulls-Celtics game. Your consideration was clearly invalid and did not induce a detriment on my part...something something...Jacobs&Youngv.Kent...somethingsomething...parolevidencerule.

2 down...2 to go.

Summer Adventure

From the conversations Robin, Nick, and I have had about a summer get together and Dan and Joe's posts it sounds like we are all basically on the same page. I am planning on heading out to Boston around the 1st of August and staying for a few days. I'll be in upstate NY with my parents for a week or so before that, and I have to come back to Los Angeles to prepare for school and interviews after the first week of August. Hopefully we can all arrange it so we can have a fun few days of nostalgia and beer in Keystone cans...

Blasphemies and poor manners

Robin, depends on the day and on the hour. Sometimes I want to put something up there worthy as a response to the people who are always putting bible scripture in their status. Other days I want to suggest that the people I hang out with here are just strangers I call friends. Many times I want to say something terrible that we all know is true. Anything to break the cycle of facebook statuses about everyday activities. Something to wake the people up and get their blood flowing.

Dan's proposal for a summer rendezvous looks good to me based on my current schedule.

p.s. I miss you already Nick. Thanks for taking a break from the books to come out for dinner with us.

Re: Joseph's facebook status

Joe, I was just wondering what the outrageous and true thing you wanted to say was. Also I think it is awesome that you scream at birds and droplets of water.

Summer get-together!?

Hey kids,

Robin said there some tentative plans for a summer Boston trip?  I think the best for me would be the last week of July into the 1st and 2nd of August, how do all y'alls schedules look?  We start school right after that, so the following weekend might not be so hot for me.  

For All You Scientists and NOVA Fans...

The Universe
Dark and Massive
Hot Dog Bun
Flashlight Universe

Primetime Sitcom Hotness Cage Match

Alan so thoughtfully just informed me that he saw a preggo Robin Schrebatsky on a beach in LA.

BTW...fuck you Alan. It's going to snow here on Monday.

Which led my brain to oddly think of who (as both are) would looked hotter pregnant, her or Allyson Hannigan. That question was rather quickly resolved, and followed with a separate question of why I was considering pregnant hotness--as that sort of thing really isn't my bag, baby.

Which...of course...led me to looking at attractive pictures of primetime sitcom stars on the internet.

Thus...my top 3.

1. Agent Walker

2. The Aforementioned Canadian

3. Ms. Pam Beesely

Standard followed: Primetime/major network (allowing CW)/Sitcom OR Dramedy

Maybe not . . .

But she does have a pretty wonderful stripper name.

My Brother's Fiance is Not A Stripper

And fuck you Dan, both for saying it and letting me think it was Robin/Alan who did.

Anyways, she is in a poetry MFA thing at UVA...so I mentioned our little dispute to her (as she's good at interpreting texts and whatnot). She replied as follows:

"Future brother-in-law,

I remember when this song first came out. Definitely thought it was about pregnancy.

But let's look more closely. She leads a lonely life (very sad.) She skips work to go tan at the beach and have fun. If "another baby" refers to another child, than we can assume she already has one child. Is this child going to go tanning with her? Is there a babysitter? A nanny? What effect will skipping work have on their financial situation? No, it all seems wrong. So I don't think she has children or wants more, unless she's very, very, irresponsible. But even then...if she doesn't want to take care of her current child, why would she want more? Unless she's the Octomom or something.

But I will say that the lyrics don't entirely rule out that possibility (that she's in search of another child, not that she's the Octomom.) While I personally think wanting "another baby" refers to wanting a one-night stand with a guy, there's no way to know that the other interpretation isn't correct."

So there...we all win.

Except Dan. Once again...Dan loses.

Rissa's mother would disagree

Rissa, I would like to be mad at you for placing your support behind such a preposterous argument but when you do it in such a foul mouthed and non-PC manner I can’t stay mad at you. What would freshman year Rissa say if she could see you now. I’m so proud at how far you came down towards our level over those 4 years.

What She Wants

Okay kids, I'm sorry I was away for so long and subsequently have yet to express my opinion on this topic. However, this gives me the opportunity to post a definite ruling on this timeless and eternal question. I feel I am qualified for this assertion based on the fact that I am both the deciding vote (thank you Dan for your completely irrelevant and absurd pistachio argument) and, among this group at least, uniquely female. Therefore, I am obviously much more equipped to understand the inner workings of the female mind than any of you; plus, who else is there to break the tie?

And my ruling is this: She wants a fuckin' baby.

That's right friends.

Baby Time = 3
Party Time = 2
Pistachio Time = 1

I think we have a clear winner. And here are the reasons why:

She leads a lonely life
I agree with the earlier stated sentiments that this woman use to have a baby, but for some reason, the child is no longer with her. The man she previously had in her life is now either dead or a total deadbeat (neither of which is a favorable outcome for her or her child). In fact, as evidenced by her clear dislike the opposite sex and her mistrust of men in general, it's probably the baby daddy's fault that her first child is gone . Maybe he took off with the baby, maybe it was a casualty of his meth lab exploding, I don't know. I'll leave that to you to speculate. Regardless though, she's obviously been burned by a man before, and this has led to the loss of her first child and her subsequent loneliness. The solution to this loneliness, of course, is to have another baby to fill up the hole that is now consuming her life. A baby offers unconditional love and companionship, something she has learned (from experience) that she will never get from a man.

She's going to get you
Yes, she is going to get you. I think this has two meanings.
1) She's going to hunt you down like the cougar she probably is and trip you into bed. She wants you, but only because you have the necessary equipment to impregnate her and end her life of loneliness.
2) She's gonna get you a second time by tricking you into fathering her child. This feeds into the line It's a night for passion/ But the morning means goodbye. You might think a night of passion is all you're giving her, but you would be wrong. This passion is merely a means to an end, a nice by-product to lure you into a night of unprotected sex. You never suspect that anything more will come of your encounter, afterall, she's gone the next morning, but she knows different. This is the real warning of the song: if you get with her, you're gonna have some kid running around that you don't even know about. And that's just bad news.

She's a hunter you're the fox
I would like to make the argument here that "you" is essentially synonymous with "your sperm." Yes, she wants you, but only because she has to first get you in order to get a hold of the good stuff. In a sort of package deal, by getting you, she gets you're sperm- the ultimate goal of her hunt. This hunter-fox line is also a probable indication of her cougar status. This only further supports the baby theory because that means her biological clock is ticking. She can always get a man later on in life; maybe not a quality one, but she obviously wasn't attracting quality men in the first place. A baby, on the other hand, is possible only within a limited time period. As for the analogy argument that Joe brought up, I'll point to Dan's statement that Ace of Base is Swedish and clearly aren't up on the intricacies of the English language. Expecting them to make appropriate analogies in a foreign language is obviously asking too much.

When she woke up late in the morning...
Contrary to what Joe believes, the purpose of her day is not to be lazy and irresponsible. This is instead her preferred method of catching desirable men. At the beach, she can better judge the attributes of her intended prey and then, once she has selected preferrable and likely candidates, follow up on these choices at a bar before making her final decision. If she repeats the beach scene the next morning, it is simply to celebrate a job well done. She has just convinced some poor fool to get her pregnant and then successfully discarded him. The best part is that he has no idea what has happened. After all her hard work, she deserves a day to bask in the sun and reflect on the improved quality of her life now that she will always have a child to provide her with the love that she so desperately wants.

In conclusion, the first line is really what says it all: She leads a lonely life. If a man was the solution to this problem of hers, then she would be looking for a boyfriend. A one night stand will still leave her lonely and desolate come morning UNLESS she can get a child out of it. Therefore, in order to end her life of solitude, her only option is to have a baby.

St. Louis

Nick, I will be in town April 24-27. Hope you can steal away from yours books for a little.

Vote or be a Communist

Well all male votes are accounted for and tallied. The score is:

Baby Time = 2
Party Time = 2
Pistachio Time = 1

Here in lies the problem with 3 party systems. The sun will never have to look upon an unending British empire again. Clearly Rissa needs to voice an opinion.

P.S. You still get spring fever when you have a job instead of school ... in case you were curious.

I saw the sign...a reassertion of the 'Baby Daddy Premise'

I must reiterate that she wants another baby.
All that she wants is another baby.

Robin's point is valid: She wants another baby
   * She must have had at least one baby before, but judging from her distaste for permanent male companionship I would agree that  scenario iii) is likely.  Though I can imagine how scenario i) would lead her to be both lonely and unable to form meaningful relationships with the opposite sex.

It opened up my eyes, I saw the sign
This woman is either incredibly shallow, which would make her a sort of Swedish anti-hero, or her's is a story of emotional growth and fulfillment.  She lives a lonely life, which is typical and understandable for a young woman who has made a few mistakes (whoops I got knocked up!) and was not mature enough to deal with them (maybe she left the baby in her car in the parking lot...maybe she gave it up for adoption...maybe daddy took it away).  She must be in transition now away from her life of laziness and excess on the beach.

Beware of what is flashing in her eye
There is a change in her (sperm) that indicates the use you (man-ho) have just been put to.  She drew you into this night of passion for selfish reasons.  Why would a night of passion be selfish and strange for a young man? Baby daddy boys, baby daddy.

I saw the sign/and it opened up my mind/and I am happy now living without you/I've left you all alone
Later in our tale we learn that her child has been a true revelation for her, and that she can be happy and not alone without a man by her side. Perhaps she has recovered her original baby from the man who took it from her (it turns out the guy in All That She Wants was shooting blanks…but I digress).

In the end this is an anthem for Swedish female independence an self improvement: note to self…always use protection when taking nordic women to bed…baby daddy, baby daddy

A Third Option

First off, yes, I'm still alive and reading the blog daily, cancel the search parties.

More importantly, I think you're both wrong.  Clearly what this woman is seeking is another of some unknown item; the baby is obviously just there for emphasis, like "I'm going to the market, baby, do we need pistachios?"  The lack of comma between "another baby" is probably because they're Swedish.

So having clearly established that she wants another of something, we need to determine what that is.  My guess is the song is about a record deal; perhaps Ace of Base sensed their two-hit wonder status coming, and wrote a song pleading for another record before they're "gone tomorrow".

This is why I'm in med school and not law school.

PS  Excellent use of DED Joseph

A 5 point response to Robin’s counter-argument to Nick’s opening argument

I must disagree, sir. She is looking for a one night lover. Not an 18 year responsibility.

1) The warning in the song states She’s going to get you, All that she wants is another baby.

She is after you, you being the target of her efforts. The baby that is all that she wants is you. If she were after offspring then the warning would state She’s going to get your manseed.

2) It’s a night for passion

If the objective or her pursuit was a child then this line would provide irrelevant information. If what she really wants is a child irrespective of the role of a male counterpart in the raising of said child and if this man was a disposable seed bank then why would the passion or lack-their-of be important to the message? Passion is only relevant if her goal is to have a passionate night with the man.

3) Beware of what is flashing in her eye

If she is after manseed shouldn’t the twinkle be in his eyes?

4) She’s a hunter you’re the fox

A hunter pursues a fox because getting the fox is his/her goal. If she were after the man for what he could do for her then a more appropriate analogy would have been She’s a farmer you’re the guano producing bat or She’s a thief you’re the egg laying chicken. The Fox (i.e. you) are the subject or her desire. She is not more interested in what you can give her that will have greater long term value to her.

5) When she woke up late in the morning
Light and the day had just begun
She opened up her eyes and thought
O what a morning
Its not a day for work
Its a day for catching tan
Just laying on the beach and having fun

We can tell from this description of her thoughts on the day in question that she likes a) sleeping in, b) skipping work/responsibilities c) going to the beach and having fun. If we consider the hypothetical scenario that she has had a baby (offspring) before then clearly she must know that a baby is a large responsibility and that visiting the beach and sleeping in will no longer be options in her life.

I Disagree

SHE DOES WANT TO GET PREGNANT

Sir Nicholas, your argument appears at first glance to be valid, but I believe you have misinterpreted. I shall address each of your points in turn.

1) She leads a lonely life

She lives all by herself and wants some companionship. Clearly she doesn't want the company of men, except for the bare minimum of what is necessary to produce said child. A child would be her constant companion, thus making her life less lonely.

2) All that she wants is another baby

I think clearly she had a baby at some point, but no longer. There are three possibilities:
i) There was some sort of accident/sickness and her baby died.
ii) Her baby has grown up and left home and now she longs for another one.
iii) Her ex took off with their baby.

I think iii) is the most likely since it also explains why she doesn't want to be involved with men again. (She's gone tomorrow)

Baby time fellas.

Baby time.

She Doesn't Want to Get Pregnant: A Lyrical Analysis of Ace of Base

I Understand that there is some controversy here. So as I sip my coffee and prepare to go for a soft j-jog, allow me to explain my point in the eloquent detail that my legal education has elucidated for me.

SHE DOESN'T WANT TO GET PREGNANT

First line, says it all:

She leads a lonely life.

It's not "She leads a lonely life, except for the rugrat that she leaves at home while she goes out to chase man-tail" she lives alone, in a one-bedroom apartment in the kinda-nice part of Jacksonville, and she has obviously gone out to a club that is a) Far too young for her or b) far too expensive for her to try and find a random fuck.

All that she wants, is another baby...

She wants ANOTHER baby...as in an additional one to the several she has already had. So I ask you, if she wants to get pregnant AGAIN, why does she lead a lonely life? Answer--because the EPT came up negative last month and she just popped on the patch. Party time fellas.

Party time.

Kings

So I just watched the first two episodes, and my first thought is wow. I got a lot more than I expected and was really impressed. I will admit that I found it a little predictable, but I can get over that. I feel like shows like this are usually restricted to Showtime and HBO, and I'm glad to see something new and different on network television. I think the idea of a modern, corporate-backed kingdom makes for a really interesting premise. Also I love Silas and his being grumpy and creepy all the time. Anyway, I enjoyed these first two episodes more than a lot of stuff I've been watching lately (not more than Lost, of course, especially not after that last episode: Sayid flashback==awesomeness), and I'm really excited to see where they go with it.

P.S. Joseph is right about our blog being D-E-D dead so I'm doing my best to revive it, even if that means it turns into a brain eating zombie and I have to trip one of you to get away from it.

More on South Park

Also, did anyone understand the reference they were making at the end with the headless chicken running around the board? I feel like it must be from something, maybe a 1984esque distopian future story.

Best episode I've seen in a while. I laughed out loud when the preacher said they were all morons for thinking the economy would be limited to one son, because it is omnipotent.

What's ridiculous about hucking squirrels at a man who has angered the economy?

Also I wanna invest in Margaritaville securities.

South Park and the economy

They took our jobs!!!

Yes!!!

Castle!!! Awesome. First episode was like Firefly + Dexter + Californication.

By the way, my safe word is apples

P.S. This blog is D-E-D, dead.

Rex-Goliath

Rissa: I don't believe a 47 pound rooster existed.
Robin: Your mom isn't a 47 pound rooster.
Rissa: That's right, Robin.
Nick: I appreciate your powers of observation, sir. . . But she does love a big cock.

Hostile Witness

Law people: I finally got around to looking into what it means when the judge gives you permission to treat your witness as hostile and I am underwhelmed. There has got to be something more than being able to ask leading questions. Maybe in the old law books there's a clause that says that you can strike a hostile witness across the face with your glove or have the bailiff remove his/her wig. Please look into this matter. That is all.

A Few Things

a) Nick, I think you're being a little hasty with the whole Heroes thing. It has gradually been improving in the back half of the season. Here's a few tips that I use to help enhance my Heroes experience. Ignore any scenes with Hiro or Ando in them. I'll tell you where that storyline is going. Hiro has no powers, but is going to learn that he can be a hero without them (deep, I know). Just as he learns this lesson, Ando, who we have been led to believe will kill Hiro int he future with his red-colored power, will instead use said power to jumpstart Hiro's ability and give him his time manipulating skills back (see Ando using his powers on Daphne and instead of killing her, supercharging her super speed). Hiro will also probably say "yata" again before the season is over. So now I've saved you some time, and you never have to watch any of the Hiro segments again. On the other hand, you should always pay close attention to the Sylar portions of the program as they are always the most interesting and usually involve killing/maiming of some sort. Everyone else is usually at least mildly tolerable, Matt and HRG being at the top of that list, Nicki/Tracy and Claire being at the bottom (though I admit those last two can be very trying, console yourself with their attractiveness). I would also reserve judgement on Dollhouse. The first episode was very mediocre, and while the second one was better, I can't honestly say Eliza Dushku is a very good actress. I will however give the rest of the season a try cause Agent Paul was Helo in Battlestar Galactica and I love him. I'm also now intrigued by Alpha.

b) I'm back on the Chuck boat, and I'm a little bit in love. I'm both sad and disappointed in myself for not watching this season from the beginning. Chuck is beyond adorkable, and I love all those crazy shenanigans they get into at the Buy More.

c) I also love Lost (big surprise) and if anyone wants to join Nick, Robin, and I in g-chatting during the show on Wednesdays please feel free. And by anyone, I obviously only mean Joe. Sorry Alan, but that's what you get for living in the Pacific Time zone, and Dan, we don't want you and your "other" friends anyway. I thought you knew that wasn't allowed.

d) And finally, don't feel bad about yourself Nick, I'm going to try to see Watchmen on opening night as well. I will obvi not be dressing up, but I think I'm going to try to bully some friends into going with me. It's time like these that I miss my nerdy Wash U friends...

Dead to me...

Heroes is officially dead to me. I am done with it. It serves no further purpose in my existence. It had been relegated to "watch me while you put away your laundry" status...but it has now fallen past that. Poor choice NBC...poor choice. I feel like I'm going to replace it with Dolllhouse--for I love me some Eliza Dushku.

As a word of warning, if anyone ever decides to train for a marathon, you will notice that your joints do not approve whatsoever. I walk around like an old man at school (which is good, because I didn't have enough old man traits going on already) and when I wake up my knees pop as loud as the back of a movie theater concession stand.

Speaking of movies (and BTW, Dan, I'm sorry I didn't e-mail you back sooner. I'm a bad person). I really want to get drunk and go see Watchmen at midnight. Jessie has already said she's not going with me, so I see no reason not to go opening night with all of the fat guys wearing comic book guy t-shirts who scoff at the inaccuracies of the film. It comes out the day before my spring break starts. I'm excited. If anyone wants to join me (in spirit/electronically/wants to drive your ass to the STL in early March [woo!] I highly encourage it).

That's about it. Going to Mardi Gras on Saturday...will try not to die.

Lost Musings

Note: I haven’t seen this weeks Lost so these are all based off of previous episodes.

Ok to start, stating the obvious:
Asian ghost whisperer = Asian scientist from Dharma movies baby
Angry army girl from past = Faraday’s mom

Now I feel like we found out just recently how red head woman was connected to the island as a youngster but now I can’t remember what the deal was. Will some one remind me?

I think its funny that Locke is the ‘Man of Faith’ and that the writers basically use him as ‘the sucker’. Seriously, how many times has someone come along, become his friend and then screwed him over. Now the Others say “come be our leader” and then after a week at most, “save the island Locke even if you have to die”. Granted he feels this is the real thing this time and this is what he was meant to do but he has felt that way every time. So Lost moral “Man of Faith” = Sucker.

So the island issue is hard to resolve. It has moved because it disappeared but it’s not moving with them because the island they go to is the old one. So more than one thing is happening here. Maybe there is some kind of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle at play. Island’s position in space becomes variable but its position in time is well defined: people’s position in time becomes variable but their position in space is well defined.

Now, as one of the two resident scientists I feel the need to say sciency things (Robin you can correct me if I’m wrong):

Chekhov's Gun:
Hydrogen bombs are made of a multistage system. The first stage involves a fissile material in a sub-critical geometry. The fissile material is surrounded by a conventional explosive. The first stage is separated from the second stage by an inter-stage. The second stage is made up of a fusile material (special kind of hydrogen) surrounded by more fissile material. The explosives implode the first stage, it becomes supercritical, a fission reaction takes place, the inter-stage directs the resulting x-rays and neutrons into the second stage where, if everything is just right, a fusion reaction occurs. There’s not really the same risk as you have in reactors of the bomb going critical because of the way the fissile material is arranged (in fact early H-bombs had a problem with not becoming a fusion reaction when detonated). The bi products of approaching super-criticality are not really electrical charge and magnetism as much as other things (x-rays and neutrons). So the whole hatch = controlling unstable H-bomb doesn’t really make sense to me. However, if you want to argue that the hatch exploding was the bomb exploding you could explain the fact that the island was not obliterated by the likely possibility that the fissile material went critical but that the fusion reaction failed to start. Harder to explain would be the lack of radiation burns on everyone.

Jin’s Alive?
High power explosives like the copious amounts found on the boat kill people in three ways: 1) radiation burns you to cinders before the shock wave even hits you, 2) shrapnel tears you to pieces and the deadliest and least realized 3) shock wave breaks every bone in your body into tiny pieces and rips the flesh off your body. So how did Jin live? Science!!!! I guess. Even if he was in the water, the resulting shock wave would have flattened his chest. Liquid is relatively incompressible, gas is compressible, water shock wave hits Jin, the air in his lungs compress to 1/100 of its original size, all of Jin’s ribs are broken and his lungs have holes in them. I am very excited to get to learn about Rousseau’s team though so I won’t cause a scene.

Basically, I am really excited about Lost again.

Nick that is totally random about the pneumothorax notes. I miss shee sha too.

Spontaneous Pneumothorax

The newest House opens with a lady having a Spontaneous Pneumothorax! Yay for my life.

Memories...

The other day I was running on the North Side of Delmar (Joe...I saw Andrea earlier in the run...she waved and I made an awkward wave/thumbs-up/rockstar horns at her while she was walking with a bunch of PFs.) and I ran passed the rip-off of a hookah bar there and somebody let out a big cloud of shisha right as I was going by.

Now, ordinarily I get a little perturbed when non-particulate matter strikes me as I exercise (cough...MetroBus...cough) but I totally had an olfactory memory that made me realize something.

I miss Sultan.

As such, I've decided to articulate my five favorite Hookah Memories. (Again...if this bothers any members of the audience who may have had Spontaneous Pneumothoracies in the past...my apologies.)

5. Obligatory Fraternity Hookah Reference: Alan and I freshman year following fratboy bowling when I first realized I could blow smoke rings (which, BTW, I did with a cigarette the day my finals got over and managed to impress several of my half-exhausted classmates).

4. This night...and all of the fun that revolved from it. Basically any circumstance involving Buddah--because what's better than a hookah with a 5 gallon water chamber?

3. The random night last year when Alan, I, Andrea, Joe and Rena (remember her? Anyone?) sat around completely spontaneously and enjoyed the wonder that was white peach. Mmmm...white peach.

2. Any one of the dozens of nights that we smoked and drank and watched movies and generally acted like idiots. Yay college. (Particularly- The night we watched Carlito's way. I don't know why...that just worked for me.)

1. The night that we watched Never Cry Wolf with the lights off and, I think, smoked for two hours straight. I firmly remember not being able to walk when I stood up to pee.

Public Service Anouncement

Time travel causes rapid vasodilation!  Signs and symptoms may included: nosebleed, syncope, loss of consciousness.  Do not time travel if you are pregnant, hypotensive, on medication for high blood pressure or ED medication, as this can cause a rapid drop in blood pressure.

PS Who else cheered when they saw Jin was still alive?  I guess a DUI isn't a death sentence for the interesting characters.

Alan, your job market might be shrinking. . .

Nick and I noticed that, according to Lost, there is only one lawyer in all of LA. I'm just worried that you may have trouble finding a job.

A plane crash that changed their lives forever...

And suddenly the cast of Heroes was stranded on an island somewhere in the ocean...and it was like Lost except...they...all...have...POWERS!!!

Oh dear, oh dear...(I just hope they don't use flashbacks as a narrative device)

4 8 15 16 23 42

Have you guys seen any of this stuff about what the numbers mean (http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Numbers)? Apparently, there was an online deal created by the producers called the Lost Experience that says they are constants in an equation meant to predict the end of humanity, and the goal of the DHARMA initiative was to change these numerical values and therefore prevent the extinction of the human race. This all fits in nicely with where the current season is going, but where was I when this happened? Anyway, my new favorite thing to do at work is browse Lostpedia for other important pieces of information that I have missed. It's a pretty good way to spend my day.

No ping pong balls?

I have to ask: excuse me Cambridge, Massachusetts? This evening my friend and I wanted to play some Beirut, so we went on a search for some ping pong balls. We went to the local grocery store, some corner convenience store, a CVS, and a Walgreens, none of which had ping pong balls. I feel like if we were still in St Louis, any one of these places would have had tons of ping pong balls. Not only that, but when I asked employees of these various establishments if they had ping pong balls, they looked at me with an expression I can only describe as annoyance with a little bit of disgust thrown in. Excuse me? I want to trade you money in exchange for a small plastic object that I will then use as an excuse to drink shitty beer. What is your problem. That is, except for the Walgreens guy, who smiled at me and then said in a wonderful accent, "No. Arr out. Too much paaaty tonite!"

In summary, I miss St Louis, where people appreciate beer and its combination with solo cups and ping pong balls.

So I just realized something . . .

If we're going to accept that the island really has moved, (which we kinda have to since we saw it disappear), then it has to be that the people on the island aren't just skipping through time, but space as well. I think it's weird that they never talk about this, since they seem to have a pseudo-science reasoning for everything else.
Come to think of it, time travel in any sci-fi story doesn't really make sense without travel through space since the earth is always moving. Your position on the earth isn't really a good absolute reference point.
All rambling aside: time travel makes no sense whichever way you look at it. I should get over this and move on. So far I think Lost has done a good job with the pseudo-science of time travel. I especially enjoyed how they sidestepped the causality paradox with Faraday's "If it didn't happen, it can't happen." I'm just waiting for their space jump explanation.

Dessie

Also I love how obvious it is that Desmond has to go back to the island. Penny says if you'll promise that you'll be safe then will you promise never to go back to that island. His reply...Why would I ever want to go back there? Not exactly the answer she was looking for...

Also Widmore!!! Awesome. Makes me wonder what the deal between him/Richard/Jacob is.

Chekhov's Gun

So...there's a rule in play/screenwriting called "Chekhov's Gun", which basically states that if you put a gun on the wall in Act I, it had better go off by Act III (because otherwise, there's no reason for it to be there).

This is what I was thinking about this morning after Last Night's lost.

All I'm saying, is that you don't just have a randomly leaking hydrogen bomb on this island. It's there for a reason. And if it's there, and it's unstable--one way or another, somethin's gonna happen.
If you're like me (Rissa...) you read all of the next-morning Lost theorizing, and I'm kind of upset b/c they co-opted the "The hatch and the 108 minutes are there to keep the buried H-Bomb from going off" theory.

But if that's the case--what's the deal? Why didn't the island go nuclear when Desmond turned the key?

Also...on a non-Lost-related note. I'm sick. I blame Jessie. We now begin our winter ritual of passing a cold back and forth until It's march and it fucking gets warm outside again.

Oh yeah...there's 7 inches of snow on the ground.

Fuck you California Boy.

The mysterious mothers

So I was thinking during/after last week's episode, and it seems to me that we have some interesting mommy issues going on in the first part of this season. I couldn't help but think that Hurley's mom was in for some pain when he told her the truth about the crash/island. I can just imagine someone kidnapping/torturing her to get that valuable information out of her head. Also this whole thing with Desmond/Faraday is awesome (The Constant was my favorite episode ever) but now we get to ponder about Faraday's mother. I don't know about the rest of you but I wouldn't be surprised if the mysterious white-haired lady is Faraday's mother (she has already encountered Desmond once in the "past"). Also the whole crazy church basement hooded Foucault's Pendulum thing was sweet in a strange way. Anyways that's my two-cents for the moment.

Also did anyone else watch the hour long recap before last week's episode? I swear there were some scenes in there from Season 4 that I never saw. I think they must have been extras or deleted scenes from the DVD or something...which makes me angry/want to buy/cheat/steal the DVDs from somewhere.

LOST

Alright I was a little skeptical about the whole 'magic' moving the island thing and this new season in general but I have been surprised. My responce to the season premiere ... Awesome! They are doing some neat stuff with the time travel thing and I hope they use it to give us some more background on the island. Even if they don't, there seems to be some good plot development at work again.

Secondly, Obama inauguration speech ... Awesome. I hope that he ends up being a good president. That is still to be seen. Being a populace president or a great orator unfortunately can have less to do with being a good president than people think. JFK was very popular with the people and yet that did not mean he was able to push his legislation through or work to get things done. If he hadn't been around for the Cuban Missile Crisis and been assassinated we'd probably look at him as one of the worst presidents.

Third awesomeness: There is a mineral called Cummingtonite. Wikipedia it. I propose that become the new "Girl's best friend"

Also..