Nothing is Irreversible.

More? Of course.

1. I used to think the final battle of LOST would come down between the proverbial MAN OF FAITH and MAN OF SCIENCE. I don't think that anymore. I think this will come down to Jack and Sawyer. John is important, no doubt. But those two have been butting heads from the beginning, and now with Juliet gone the way she is, (and Sawyer blaming all of it on Jack DESPITE telling him to drop the nuke) the anger will grow and grow. Bitterness, over a lost love, especially, could provide a seeding hate that could create the Jacob/Smokey Man rivalry. I was so hoping she was going to tell him she was pregs. . . . but that would have been a little too TERRI BAUER for this show. Wouldn't have worked. See, earlier this year, I totally thought that Juliet would carry Sawyer's child and Kate Jack's, and these two boys would somehow get displaced back to the day of the full Sobek statue and continue the sins of the fathers, so to speak. I don't think it's out of the question, necessarily, but. . . it doesn't seem quite so fitting anymore.

Sawyer is shittin' PISSED. Well, I am too, actually, Juliet was my favorite girl after all. I had such high hopes for her.

I had a very difficult time watching Smokey Man kick the hell out of Richard. BE CAREFUL WITH HIM! He might not show age physically, but I'm sure he's EONS old, kids.

Also, Jack just can't have this terrible luck follow him around for much longer. It's like the misfortunes of John Locke, pre-island: No one should have to deal with that much misery in one lifetime. Jeez. It's all happening for a reason, definitely: The Nuke doesn't work (well, not all the way), Charlie is angry at Jack for saving his life, The coffin containing Christian is M.I.A., Juliet croaks, Sawyer blames Jack, Sayid (at first), etc. Hopefully this is teaching him things for whatever the last main event will be.

JOHN? He seemed like a regular jolly old soul on the plane back! I don't remember him being quite so personable in any of the flashbacks before; he hammed it up with Boone AND Jack, very confident, very impressive! As I recall, he was NOT quite so chipper during the first flashback before the boarding of Oceanic 815, wasn't there some issue about the wheelchair and him being carried on? And Hurley? The "Luckiest Man Alive?" Hmmmmm.

Oh MAN! Six days is WAY too long to wait for the next one! My son watched the last part of it with me this afternoon and was quite concerned about the "cuts" on Sawyer's face. I told him he should draw LOST tonight for an art project and he decided he would draw The Smoke Monster coming out of John Locke, thought I'd share it with you. Kate and Sawyer also made an appearance, along with a yellow Dharma bus.

It's Go Time, Bitches.

I have been waiting for this night for eight months. It's 7:21 pm, central time, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself until it starts. I'll be back, after it's over, to add what I'm hoping to be a blathering of brilliance to the rest of this post.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that."
BEST LINE OF THE NIGHT.

There was a comment on one of the earlier episodes, season unknown, when one of Ben's others (not the Temple Group), I think it was Danny (Season 3, maybe?) said, "SHEPHARD WASN'T EVEN ON JACOB'S LIST." I wonder what that means, now that he WAS on the new one (in the guitar cross).

In the recap of last season, Sun said she talked to a man who said his name was CHRISTIAN and Ben had a very shocked look, almost one of recognition. I never noticed that before. I wonder what's up with that.

The ash keeps Smokey away. So earlier, when they were looking for the cabin, they saw a line of ash around it. So Horace builds the cabin, Jacob uses it and then Christian starts using it?

So when Smokey dragged the Frenchman through the hole in the temple, it wasn't really the temple? Just the outside of it? He doesn't just get to roam around in there, right?

Getting warmer. . .

This one was way more what I'm talkin' about. . . .
No Kim, minimal Taylor, and something happens! GREAT!

I did kind of enjoy Renee Walker a little bit better with all that black shit on her face; somehow she looks all good and innocent after she washes it off in the shower, which doesn't really jive with what happens next (being made to get busy with the Russian). Why did she need to take a shower anyway? I mean, obviously he wants her junk. Nakedness is not going to help matters.

Jack seems really put off by her having relations with Vlad. He actually is quite convincing as the jealous boyfriend type, maybe because he hasn't yet been able to "deliver" with any of the chicks he shacks up with. . . he just gets his manhood sliced (symbolically) left and right, once you really think about it.
He impregnates his wife, TERRI, but does not get to meet the fruit of his loins as TERRI is killed by NINA, with whom he's also had romantic relations. NINA outsmarts him for 3 seasons before he finally kills her. BLOND GIRL (from season 2) is thrown over by Jack, presumably due to his heroin addiction. CLAUDIA, Mexican girlfriend is killed due to complications during attempted escape during heroin addiction. AUDREY. . . loses her mind trying to get Jack out of China and is incapacitated. That chick he shacked up with (with the teenage son) almost gets gassed to death because of terrorists who want Jack. Not a great track record with the ladies. And now Renee. Lotsa luck, you two.

I also had a chuckle at the Russian hood, to Jack, "du hast eine Amerikanische Accente." "Funny, NOT AS BAD AS YOURS!!"
They could have coached that guy a bit better, Keifer did a way better job with the German lines, if you ask me.

Nice glasses.

I'm getting hopeful. I enjoy how this time around (SO FAR) they've kept all the bad business out of the White House. I just think that's bad for the morale of this country. I mean, we could all sort of buy it back when W. was in there, just because we were living with a moron for a president, so seeing one on 24 wasn't a stretch. Although Allison Taylor was pretty dense last year, I think this could only be seen as a dig toward what I'm sure the writers thought would be the would-be president, Hilary.

I still vote for a comeback by Nina Meyers. BEST. WOMAN. ON THE. SHOW.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

This is a movie that I really, really would have enjoyed when I was about 16. I wanted to like it a lot now, but I am definitely not the target audience for this sort of film, although i will say that it was entertaining. Supposedly it was based on a true story (Bringing Down the House by Ben Mizrich) of six actual MIT students who counted cards in Vegas. The story is good but the film took way too long to get where it needed to go. I've said it before and I"ll say it again: occupational insider stories need to be extremely well done when they try to branch out and have a plot outside the real meat of the story. This unfortunately was not accomplished here, all the extraneous crap just got in the way and left me feeling bored and impatient for the gambling. Maybe I'm just an impatient viewer.



This, however, is infinitely more my style. I don't know why, but this one is my favorite. Maybe it's just better without Julia Roberts skulking around, annoying me. This whole movie is just. . . clever. Having the subtitles on really helped with the gambling terms and some of their more "inside" banter. I love, love, LOVE when everyone wins at the end. Dollar amounts above their heads? YES! The little looks they give each other to set things in motion? YES! The music? YES! Just brilliant. Well done, everyone.

2 hours of Bauer.

a few things so far, about 30 minutes in.

1. "JACK BAUER?" how many times can it be uttered?

2. Freddie Prinze is fine, but the girlfriend who also works for CTU is very mannish. A tall, mannish-looking mannequin. I don't want to seem prudish, but somehow I think a more professional dress code needs to be implemented? The sleeveless dress doesn't quite seem office-appropriate for CTU. Leave the jacket on, or take a page out of Renee's book from last year. I can't take you seriously as an CTU analyst when you look like you should instead be an Aveda consultant.

3. Bubba Gump is the director of CTU.

4. Horace (mathematician) from LOST is the Russian terrorist.

5. The "hitter' is very Amanda Plummer in Tales from the Crypt (PEGGY!) creepy. Meredith Michelle Reed. Ick. Blonds don't usually fare well on this show. Kim, the chicks in season 2, etc.

5. Kim Bauer sucks, as usual. Just gross.

6. Kim Bauer's hairstylist on the show has continuously made poor decisions for her, if it's been the same person all this time.

7. Grandpa Bauer? Whose bad idea was this? I hope for the sake of the plausibility of the story here that somehow this granddaughter factors into something significant down the road, otherwise, why, WHY do this? We realize that Jack is getting old, we do not need him in a grandfather role to further confirm this fact. AND NAMED TERRI, of course. This utter ridiculousness is almost completely page for page out of the Twilight books (and that is NOT a compliment). Although if you want to get picky, you could argue that Kim Bauer was the catalyst that set Terri Bauer's ultimate death in motion (I, for one, completely blame Kim openly for this, little spoiled teenage brat that she was, sneaking out in season 1).

8. I think that sawing the Russian's hand off may have been a bit too . . . reckless for Walker, in the first 4 episodes, anyway. She was always the "play by the rules" chick! Perhaps she's turned a corner and gone off the deep end.

9. Back in 2006 when I was (correctly) prophetizing Tony Almeida's eventual return, someone on a myspace group said it would never happen. That it was so far fetched that it would be like Nina Meyers and Ryan Chappelle strolling, arm-in-arm into CTU one day. Given the way that the show has gone in the last two seasons, I no longer think that even THAT is out of line as a plot twist. I actually would welcome Nina's return, joyfully.

10. You might think I am being overly critical of the show. I probably am, but that doesn't mean I still don't love it dearly. I do. There will always be room in my heart for Jack Bauer, no matter how outlandish the show gets.

Are you fricking KIDDING ME?

unbelievable. I love it.

Absolutely. Fricking. Brilliant.

I think it should surprise NO ONE that this glorious film achievement was written by none other than JOHN HUGHES. Of course it was. Director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless, etc.)? Also one of my favorites. I think if I would have gone into film back in the late 90s, these two would have been my best friends (besides JJ Abrams).

One for Clark, one for Rusty, ONE FOR JACK. . . one for Clark.

Let's just count the genius moments in this film:
1. John Astin (game show host) totally MAKING OUT with Audrey/Audrey's rapid fist-pumping dance when they race out onto the stage after winning grand prize

2. "Oh kids, I've saved the best surprise for last." "WE'RE TURNING AROUND AND GOING HOME!"

3. Audrey's food dream.

4. "The hills are alive with the sound of Griswalds. This shit's been around for a very long time. . ."

5. DO YOU WANT THAT IN THE CAN? "No, I'll take it right here."

6. "Do you wanna watch cheese or snow?"

7. "WE KNOW. BIG BEN, PARLIAMENT!"

8. Holy SHIT! Is that dude from the bathroom (who almost jumps into the tub with Ellen) FRICKING **HAGRID?**
OMG> HE TOTALLY IS! I just looked up Robbie Coltrane and he is listed as MAN IN THE BATHROOM on the film credits for European Vacation! I KNEW he looked familiar!!! Wow!

9. okay, well, bathroom scene with Hagrid and Ellen, juxtaposed with bedroom scene with Clark and the blond Englishwoman. "Ellen, honey, when did you quit shaving your legs?" "For Christ's sake, they don't even put numbers on the goddamned doors!"

10. The **vehicle** they drive (orange hornet-shaped mobile) through France and Germany.

11. THE PASSPORT PHOTOS

12. "He may pork her Russ, just eat."

13. "Dear Audrey, I miss the shit outta you. Luckily Debbie's been coming by to cheer me up." "THAT BITCH!!"

14. "My family and I are looking for sex." "Schweinhund!!"

15. "Hey look, Dad, BED PANS!!"

16. The entire German folk dance scene and chase.

17. The entire train ride when they are all annoying each other with different actions.

18. "Debbie? AUDREY. Listen, we got a little score to settle and you know what I mean, so if you wanna salvage the last bit of our friendship you'll do me this favor: Yeah, I need you to book me on a Pan-Am flight outta Rome, into Chicago, TODAY! Yeah, I'll hold. Bitch!"

I saw this film IN THE THEATER with my parents, and my cousins and uncle. I believe my brother was along, so in 1985 I would have been 9 and he would have been 6. And people wonder why we're twisted.