Monthly Archive for February, 2008

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Lost Observations – “Eggtown”

Published on Friday, February 22, 2008 in TV Shows and TV: Lost - The Show. 0 Comments

Well, I’m a tad biased, but I thought it was another good episode of Lost last night! As always, here’s the “if you haven’t watched it yet and don’t want to know any spoilers don’t read the Internet today” disclaimer.

Now that we have that out of the way…

Here are some of the questions I have from the episode.

What does the weird bearded guy yell at Kate when she’s going into the trial? I’ve listened to it a few times, and I just can’t make it out. I’m sure some of the audio-gurus out there will have it deciphered before I even post this.

Edited to add: I just looked, and someone deciphered it! Apparently, the weird bearded guy yells “We hate you!” backwards! (In true Lost style…a lot of the audio things are backwards…) Check out this link!

In Jack and Kate’s ‘cover story’ they reference eight survivors of the crash. Are they counting Claire and Aaron as two people or one? Who are the people who supposedly died right after the crash and didn’t become part of the Oceanic Survivors? Is Aaron considered one of the Oceanic Six? I tend to think so, because of what Kate’s lawyer says about using his presence in the courtroom to “generate tremendous sympathy.” I can’t think of anything more heart-wrenching than a woman saving a pregnant woman from a plane wreckage only to have the woman die and then go on to raise her son.

It really makes me wonder where Claire is. Did she die? Did she get captured? It makes me sad. (Yes, I know this is just a TV show…)

I really don’t think Kate is trying to pass Aaron off as her own flesh and blood. If so, the math just does not work. Nor do the accounts of their supposed cover story. She would have had to have been big and pregnant at the time of the crash, and the Marshall would have reported that. I think Kate agreed to keep Aaron safe in the event of Claire’s death (or capture? or something?).

Does Jack know that Aaron is his nephew? (If you remember, Claire is Jack’s half-sister…Jack’s dad had an affair with Claire’s mother…)

The writers did a great job of leading us to believe that Jack wouldn’t want to see the baby because he was Sawyer’s…or maybe his…or something, but we find out at the end that the reason Jack doesn’t want to see the baby is because it’s Aaron, and I can’t even imagine what Jack wants to forget.

And, we can’t be the only people who yelled…”well, the baby sure looks like Sawyer’s!” before Kate referred to him as Aaron. Doh! Sneaky writers!!

And, apparently Daniel has memory issues? I really wonder what his back-story is.

And, what is the significance of $3.2 million? After Ben asked Miles, “Why not 3.3? Why not 3.4?” the look on his face was priceless. He knew exactly why Miles wanted $3.2 million. I wish we did!!

I also think it’s interesting that so many people (Locke, Sawyer) have told Ben to his face that they are on to his games, and then they fall for it. Every time.

So…where is the helicopter? We know that Sayid makes it back to the future safely, so I’m not too concerned. And, I know that the previews are always edited beyond belief and often used to deceive us, but didn’t it look like a Future Desmond was fighting with a Past/Current Desmond? Time travel has always boggled my mind. I mean, doesn’t Desmond meeting himself kind of alter the course from there on out? I get dizzy just thinking about it.

And, speaking of time travel, I liked how John told Ben “maybe you’ll catch something you missed a second time…” He was referring to reading a book that he’d already read, but it could really be a reference to a whole bunch of things.

I already did a search for what “eggtown” refers to, and there are some interesting thoughts out there on that, varying from how it refers to a bargain that turns out poorly for both parties to a reference to a story involving chickens, rabbits and roosters (and thieves, heroes, perilous journeys and redemption). (You can check out the Lostpedia site for more info…or do a search on Google.)

So, I can’t wait to read the recaps and look at all the fun stuff that surfaces from this episode. Be sure to check out Tubular and Dark UFO (on my blogroll).

Well…what did you think of the episode?

You heard it here first!

Published on Thursday, February 21, 2008 in Claire, Conversations and TV Shows. 1 Comment

Okay, it’s no secret that we let Claire watch Lost. Before she turned two, we didn’t really let her watch television. Sometimes we would have it on, and she’d be in the room, but she didn’t really watch any specific shows with us.

Now, she watches things like Mythbusters, Psych, and Monk. She loves Lost. She’s also hooked on Project Runway.

We love that show! There is something really cool about the challenges and seeing the work that goes into the outfits, and of course, the runway shows are fabulous. (Do I dare say, fierce?)

So, yesterday, I’m changing Claire into her pajamas, and I said, “Do you know what’s on tonight?”

“Lost!” she screams. “I wanna watch Lost!”

“No…not Lost. That’s on Thursdays now… Do you remember what’s on Wednesdays?”

“Project Runway!” she screams. “I wanna watch Project Runway!”

Oddly enough, she was right!

So, we watched it, and she loved every minute of it, even though it was just the reunion show before the big finale next week.

Well, today, I was going to be naughty and search for pictures of the different collections, because I know that Fashion Week already happened at Bryant Park, and I’m dying to see what the designers came up with.

Claire is sitting on my lap, and we’re looking at the pictures.

All of a sudden, she screams, “It’s Kiss-chin!”

I nearly fell outta my chair. Sure enough, Christian was on the screen.

“Who’s this one?” I asked, as I clicked on the next picture.

“Kiss!!” she said. And, it was Chris. Okay, this is bizarre.

“And this one?”

“Sweet Pea!” She screamed.

No way. This is spooky.

“And this one?” I asked.

“Jill-enn!”

Sure enough, it was a picture of Jillian.

“And what about this one?”

“Rah-mee!” she shouted at the picture of Rami on the screen.

“Claire, I can’t believe you have the designers memorized! That’s crazy!”

“I’m not crazy!” she said, laughing.

“I know you’re not crazy. So, who do you want to win? Momma’s favorite is Christian. Who do you want to win?”

And do you wanna know what she said?

“Rah-mee is gonna win! My favorite is Rah-mee!”

So, there ya have it. Rami is Claire’s predicted winner of the Season Four Project Runway. Personally, I’m sick of all the draping, but apparently Claire loves it. She must realize that he has other tricks up his sleeves.

Up to this point, I’m most impressed with Christian as a designer, but I’ve liked parts and pieces of all their work. I still need to find some shots of the collections…I got a little distracted by the fact that Claire, who is barely two, has the designers memorized.

“Get out of the car!”

Published on Thursday, February 21, 2008 in Jokes. 3 Comments

One of my friends emailed this to me this morning. I laughed so hard I cried. I don’t know if it’s “true,” and I usually don’t post things like this, but this is HILARIOUS.

Read it for yourself:

Get out of the car!

(This is supposedly a true account recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida.)

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.

She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, “I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!”

The four men didn’t wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad.

The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition.

She tried and tried, and then she realized why. It was for the same reason that she wondered why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat.

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down.

She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake.

The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn’t stop laughing.

He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair and carrying a large handgun.

No charges were filed.

Moral of the story? If you’re going to have a senior moment . . . make it memorable.

If this doesn’t make you smile today, I don’t know what will!!

At least she didn’t say it was pink

Published on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 in Claire and Conversations. 3 Comments

Claire, running over to the living room window: “Oooooooh, I heard it! Daddy, did you hear it? I’m watching it!!”

Daddy, sitting on the chair drinking faux tea out of a pretty princess teacup: “What’s that, Claire?”

Claire, up on her tippy-toes, looking out the window: “A yellow car!”

Daddy, coming over to look out the window for himself: “What yellow car?”

Claire, still craning to see: “A blue car!”

Daddy, still looking out the window: “What blue car?”

Claire, still on tippy-toes, this time pointing: “Right there! I see it!”

Daddy: “You mean that white van?”

Claire: “Yes! That white van! I heard it. I’m watching it.”

Note to self: Claire needs to work on her colors before we put her on full surveillance detail.

Souvenir

Published on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 in Photos, Travel and Travel - Europe. 3 Comments

I’ve been so busy…and sick…and busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to sort through my hubby’s pictures from his different business trips yet.

He asked me what I wanted him to bring back for me from his London trip, and I told him that I only wanted a few things:

1. Please look the wrong way first and the wrong way again before crossing the street.

2. Please bring me a London Tube Map. Yes, I’m a dork, and I think those maps are so cool.

3. Please find and photograph a cute little red telephone booth.

Well, he said the first one was the hardest to remember, but they actually have “LOOK LEFT!” or “LOOK RIGHT!” painted on the ground.

He brought me not one, not two, but three different versions of the London Tube Map. A man after my own heart…

And, after a day of searching, he brought me this:

Isn’t it cute?
And red?
And so cliché?
And, did I mention how cute it was?

My hubby was an overachiever and not only got a picture of the red telephone booth, but he got a castle (part of Windsor) in the background! And, if you look closely, you can see an airplane flying above!

(You can click on the photo to enlarge. Clicking a second time will make it even bigger…)

Bonus points for a really cool souvenir! I love it!

My words, trapped

Published on Monday, February 18, 2008 in Blog Business and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

I had something rather disconcerting happen last week. I wasn’t sure how to write about it, so it’s been tumbling over and over in my head…waiting for the right moment to come spilling out. On one hand, it’s not that big of deal. On the other, it quickly morphs into something much larger.

It all started when I googled myself. (No matter how I type that, it sounds so naughty.)

If you’ve spent any time on the Internet at all, you’ve used Google. You’ve used it to find all kinds of information, and you’ve probably even googled your friends and neighbors. Who wouldn’t? It’s okay to admit it. Curiosity gets the best of us, and we search for public information. It’s perfectly okay to do, but sometimes we feel guilty. We look around to see if anyone’s watching, and then we click through the items looking to see what we can find. We feel like a voyeur. A stalker. We’re not, but we can’t help but wonder what information is out there.

And then it hits us. What’s out there about us? What does the Internet say about me?

So, we look. We google. We poke around, searching for whatever others can see about us.

So, last Tuesday, late afternoon, I decided to google myself. Specifically my blog. Up pops the standard links. Good. Everything is appearing on Google like it’s supposed to, I think. I’m about ready to move on to searching for something else when something catches my eye.

I see my blog title on a pretty major site. That’s odd. I’m not a part of this major site. Why would a link to my blog be there? I click on in for a closer look.

Up pops a picture of a woman and her username. Under her picture and her username is her “about page.”

All of a sudden, I feel as though the air has been knocked out of me. I can’t breath. My words are spilling across the screen, but they’re trapped under this woman’s picture and her username.

My words.
My About Page.
The exact wording.

This can’t be happening. Someone is talking about my life as if its her own. Someone has stolen my voice. My words. Me.

I’m trying not to panic. Maybe there is a rational explanation for this? Maybe I’ve misunderstood what I’m looking at? So, I close all the windows and do the search again. The same result.

I feel so violated. Sick to my stomach. I can’t breathe.

I immediately contact the webmaster of this particular site. The only way to communicate directly with them is via an impersonal form. Empty boxes. I fill it out, click send and hope for the best. I still feel helpless and out of control. I want resolution. Now. At the speed of the Internet. I want this to go away. Rectified. Fixed.

My words.
Someone else’s picture and username.
How could this be happening?

I then open another Google page and try to find the woman in this picture. I find her username elsewhere and find an email address. Google, is indeed, a powerful force. Using my most professional voice, I summon every ounce of the benefit of the doubt and compose my email.

Surely this is a mistake? Did you know this was out there? Could you please help me remove it? Plagiarism is a huge accusation, but I don’t use that word. There has to be a nicer, more rational explanation.

And, I wait.

Miraculously, the woman writes back right away. She has no idea how this has happened. She has a direct contact at the website. This contact is alerted and takes immediate action. A plausible explanation for such a mix-up is given. My content is removed from under the other woman’s picture and username.

Crisis averted.
This time.

What about next time?

I do another search just to be sure.
It’s still not there.
Everything is where it should be.
For now.

I don’t want to cloister myself or my writings away from the outside world. I want to share with others. I want to be seen in the bigger picture. But this just serves as a reminder as to why I keep what I keep private and I only share what I’m comfortable sharing.

So, have you googled yourself lately?
You should.
You may be surprised at what you find…

Google Sent Me

Published on Sunday, February 17, 2008 in Blog Business and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

I’ve been poking around in the info that Google gathers for me on a daily basis about the visitors to my site. This information always intrigues me, so I’ve come up with some very plausible scenarios.

Scenario One

Me: Hi, can I help you find something?

Nice person wandering around my blog: Hey, how’s it goin’. Oh, don’t mind me. I don’t need anything specific. I’m just looking…

Me: Okay! Let me know if you need any help finding anything… (Um, I think that person has paint in her hair. Should I say something? No…that would embarrass her….)

Nice person who totally has paint in her hair: Well… Google sent me. Actually, I came here looking for “Filoli Gold Ecru” or “Filoli Antique Lace” or anything about how to get through this home-improvement project without killing my husband. Or how to hide his body so that the authorities don’t know it was me? Or…never mind.

Me: Ah, yes. The Filoli colors. They can be found with Icelandic, Churchill Hotel Wheat, and Spicy Cayenne in the Home Improvement Category. Actually, you can type in ‘filoli’ in the little search field on the blog, and they’ll come right up. I even have pictures of the paintchips! (Now, I drop my voice to a whisper.) And, it’s probably harder to paint the room without your husband. Or not? If not…we have some shovels over in aisle 5. And, the wheel-barrows are out back.

Scenario Two

Me: Hi, can I help you find something?

Blurry-eyed person, who looks to have been crying: “do i need medice because i’m a perfectionist”?

Me: Ummm…do you have any other symptoms?

Blurry-eyed person: sobbing…muffled response

Me: Well, first of all…I’m not a doctor, so my advice is to not get medical advice from Google. Second, most perfectionists I know have to capitalize their ‘i’s’…and thirdly, you spelled ‘medicine’ incorrectly. So, you’re probably not a true perfectionist.

Blurry-eyed person: wiping nose on sleeve…looking up through tears. Really?

Me: Here’s a Kleenex.

Scenario Three

Rocker Wannabe: Yo. What’s the easiest song to sing 100% in expert in Rock Band?

Me: Dude…

Rocker Wannabe: No, for real. I don’t wanna waste my time. I have friends’ scores to beat. I have stars to earn. Just cut to the chase.

Me: Dani California, by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rocker Wannabe: For real?

Me: With a little bit of practice and a little bit of luck, you, too, can get the elusive five gold stars. It’s the song that worked for me.

Rocker Wannabe: Dude.

Me: For real. They’re a really pretty gold. And, they’re really cool. And, your friends will be super-jealous.

In unison: Rock on.

Scenario Four

Me: Hey, how’s it goin’?

Person in a trench coat: “I’m looking for information on Lost.”

Me: Recaps of the show, the Missing Pieces snippets, or spoilers?

Person in a trench coat: Both. All of it. All three. I want all of it. Looks around nervously.

Me: Hey, I recognize you from somewhere…

Person in a trench coat: I don’t know what you’re talking about…I was never part of an X-Files Club, nor did I have anything to do with that Twin Peaks forum.

Me: Riiight. My mistake.

Scenario Five

Me: “Imaginary conversation” has resulted in 21 visits!?

Random person: Oh, hey! That’s why I’m here!

Me: You are? Why…

Random person: Because I like conversations like the one we’re having right now…ironic isn’t it?

Too heavy

Published on Saturday, February 16, 2008 in Claire, Conversations and Language. 4 Comments

Setting the scene: Momma and Claire are playing. Daddy has taken one of the cars to the car wash. It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Claire: “Daddy went bye-bye! Daddy went to work!”

Momma: “Well, Daddy went bye-bye, but he didn’t go to work today…it’s Saturday!”

Claire: “Daddy went bye-bye! Him went to the airport!”

Momma: “No, Daddy didn’t go to the airport this time. But, remember when we went to pick him up from there?”

Claire: “I can’t pick up Daddy. Him’s too heavy!”

It’s a good thing Daddy doesn’t read this blog on a regular basis, or he’d get a complex.

Lost Observations – “The Economist”

Published on Friday, February 15, 2008 in TV Shows and TV: Lost - The Show. 6 Comments

Wow. Wow. Wow. That about sums up the latest episode of Lost, “The Economist,” doesn’t it??

If you haven’t seen it yet, please don’t read any recaps today. Bookmark this and come back later, after you’ve seen it. As much as I love the thrill of finding out things in spoilers, watching the first few minutes of the show last night without a clue as to what was going to happen was awesome. And, seeing the end of the show without having seen any spoilers was awesome, too.

Seriously. Please be warned. Still wanna read what I have to say? Okay…here we go.

Like I’ve said before, I’m not going to re-cap the shows here. Therese at Tubular has a great re-cap, and I’m sure there are others out there as well. Dark UFO has awesome screencaps and Easter Eggs posted on his site as well.

But, here are my thoughts and observations from the show last night.

I have always liked Sayid’s character. In fact, he’s always been one of my favorites. A couple seasons ago, when they were saying they were going to kill off some characters, my brother told me that if they killed off Sayid, he would stop watching the show forever. I probably wouldn’t have gone to that extreme, but I would have considered it.

Sayid is one of the few characters who actually seems to think things through on the island.

At first, I was happy to see that he’d made it off the island as one of the Oceanic Six. But then I was curious as to why the golfer was afraid of Sayid as soon as he said he was one of the Oceanic Six. Why? Because he knew his life was in danger? Because he knew he was on some list? Some other reason?

But, as soon as Sayid said, “I insist, Mr. Avellino…” I was like, “Wait a minute! That guy didn’t say his name! How did Sayid know…” And, then my head exploded with what happened next.

Just like the other Oceanic Six, Sayid’s life is a little stressful away from the island. Interestingly enough, Sayid is not just a hit man, but now a conman of sorts, which seems to be a common theme with Lost. And, just who is being conned? Everyone? Including us? Hmmm…

And, what did we learn about Ben!? First of all, he has a secret room in his house. All creepy master-minds need to have a secret room, so that is understandable. But, he has enough foreign currency and different passports to rival Jason Bourne’s persona. What? Seems as though Ben hasn’t spent his entire time on the island, after all. And, then we have the shocking surprise at the end. Sayid is working for Ben? (Or someone who looks just like him! kidding…) What incident did Ben use against Sayid to recruit him?? (He said, “I don’t need to remind you about the last time you used your heart instead of your gun…”) So ominous!!

Some other interesting things from this episode: Time is at least 31-minutes different from the island and the outside world. Naomi and Elsa had on the same bracelet. Who exactly is “N” and “RC” (RG?)? And, we still have no answers as to why Naomi had Desmond’s picture.

So, what did you think of the episode? Every time I think we’re on a certain path, the writers throw us for a loop. I love it! I love being totally surprised. I mean, I thought something was up with that Elsa lady, but I think I was just as shocked as Sayid was about how that turned out.

It makes you wonder just who is on this list, what exactly they’ve done, and how this all fits into the story.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Published on Thursday, February 14, 2008 in Claire, Milestones, Photos and Valentine's Day. 5 Comments

I know it’s cliché to devote an entire post to Valentine’s Day, but why not? In fact, I’ve decided to go one step farther and devote this post to photos.

(A note about the photos: You can click on each image to enlarge it. Clicking on it a second time will make it even bigger.)

Here are some pictures from Claire’s first Valentine’s Day back in 2006 (she was just 2 ½ months old!):

(She’s wearing a cute little outfit from one of her aunts. This photo shoot was challenging because Claire kept trying to eat the cute little purse another one of her aunts crocheted for her!)