LOST Analysis: Eyeliner Richard Returns!

Okay, so last week's analysis plum never happened. Sorry. It was a cra weekend. Let's just leave it at I adored how much shirtless Jack there was. And did you notice the Johnny-Castle-emerges-naked-from-the-bed in-Dirty-Dancing-esque scene where Jack MAY have flashed a little bit of somethin' somethin'? (You and I both know my friends and I weren't the only ones who rewound that part of Dirty Dancing ad nauseum).

Last night's LOST episode catered to the obsessive cultists out there. And by obsessive cultists, I mean me. Locke episodes are always so packed with symbolism. I have to discuss this one with bullets. There's no other way. I'm simply not that organized today.

*Love the 50s regalia in the first scene. That was my FAVE era. I'm so sad I missed it. It's so Lorraine McFly meets Pleasantville infused with some Mad Men. Pass me my POODLE SKIRT.

*The Geronimo Jackson poster in Locke's locker is significant. Geronimo Jackson has now come up in three Locke episodes.

*The oft repeated phrase "Don't tell me what I can't do." made a cameo.

*Poor John Locke. He's such a character straight out of a Balzac novel, even from childhood. How sad was it when adolescent Locke got locked in a locker.

*Portland's Mittelos Labs wants to recruit young Locke for Science Camp, but Locke must have had a psychic screening of Mean Girls because he pretty much declared it social suicide (like Damian says with regard to the Mathletes club).

*Abaddon!! What's up with his nearly shoving John's wheelchair down the steps? Abaddon told him to go on the walkabout further reinforcing that all the survivors of 815 were lead to this island on purpose; that all this is all predetermined. Abaddon creepily tells John "you'll owe me one." When you and "me" run into each other again. While I loathe the structure of that sentence, it's pregnant with meaning, I'm sure. I'm working on that one.

*The doctor washed up already ON-island due to the time delay on the island.

*Horace introduces himself and goes through the whole scene twice. That whole scene was reminiscent of the fish meeting each other scene in that Monty Python movie.

*The ornery captain is killed by Power Trip Keamy.

*Car accidents are a major theme of LOST: Emily Locke gets hit by a car which precipates John Locke's entrance into the world 3 months early... just the first thing of many he's forced to survive. Also, it's a car accident in the RAIN. Rain is always the harbinger of death or dark and twisty events. A bizarre theory: could Emily have actually died in that accident and this reality where Locke exists is an alternate one? Perhaps Eyeliner Richard (whom I totes think is a dead relic from The Black Rock, BTW) is some kind of Grim Reaper...

*Love the "pit stop" Locke and co. make. Hilar.

*Was Eyeliner Richard testing Locke to see if he remembered his items from a past life? That's the way the Tibetan monks determine who the next Dalai Lama is (and regular lamas, as well). From wikipedia: "Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or yangsi (yang srid), is conducted. Familiarity with the possessions or attributes of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the tulku. The search for the reincarnated mindstream typically requires a number of years. The reincarnated being is then installed and trained by the other Lamas."

I once watched a documentary on how they determined Gehlek Rinpoche was a lama. His book Good Life Good Death is fab, read it. Lama, by the way, is the title for a Tibetan teacher of Dharma. Coincidence? I think not.

*John plays backgammon even as a child, in keeping with the games theme within the show. He is also seen in season 1 playing backgammon with Walt. Also, note the black and white colored pieces in the game, representing the dark/light theme heavily prevalent in the show.

*Comic books have appeared on LOST before, and this one is about a "Hidden Land." The whole scene was kind of Sixth Sense-y as well. Hurley was shown reading a Spanish comic book on the plane and later, Walt was seen reading the same comic book on the island.

Could Locke and Ben be the same person? Jeff Jensen notes in his EW article that both men were born prematurely to women named Emily. Also interesting: both men were born in the second trimester... remember, no pregnant women on the island made it to the third.

I'm DREADING the upcoming 8 month hiatus. Destiny's a fickle bitch, n'est-ce pas?

LOST Update

I watched it at 2am last night and a) fully agree with Jeff Jensen of EW's assertion that Claire is actually dead - she didn't survive the fire and b) I thought that ep (which was PHENOM) was absolutely teeming with Vanilla Sky and Alice in Wonderland references. Oh, and I'm beyond in love with Jack. Be back Sunday with more thoughts on the ep.

Have a great weekend, gals!

LOST Analysis: The Doctor is Fine

Le dénouement d'Alex, owner of the best hair and perpetual rose-stained lips on the show.

As for the doctor being fine? Well, Jack is at least. Appearance-wise, anyway. I hate this new development about his ruptured appendix.

So, the worst thing imaginable happened last night. I was out during the faux premier last night. My roommate Carrie had tickets to a screening of Deception (filmed in my office building!) and an afterparty. Who could turn down those plans? Even when LOST is back? Not me. I couldn't. So Carrie and I returned home circa 11:30pm last night all set to watch our fave show... and the DVR DIDN'T RECORD it. Because of the show's ridic new time slot which I totally hate. My DVR was only set to record it at 9pm. For some reason, it used to record the show last season when the show was at 10pm. This time, it didn't. Carrie managed to record the last 25 minutes (apparently, you can record stuff from an hour ago... but not longer). So I couldn't watch the beginning until THIS MORNING. Deception, by the way, was merely "meh." It was semi-predictable except for one totally awesome part. The best character in the movie is this scoopy-backed mini dress that Michelle Williams rocks. The second best character is her hair. You'll see. It comes out today.

So this episode alludes to Indiana Jones left, right, and center. Unfortunately, dolls, that is not one of the 80s movies in my repertoire, oddly enough. I saw one of the movies within the triology IN the 80s and barely remember it. It's embarrassing for me to admit this as a LOST junkie, a pop culture scientist, and an 80s expert. I got nothing, analysis-wise for this reason. I did, however, notice these things.

Jack takes a pill, which he says he "prescribed for himself," while Kate looks on suspiciously. This foreshadows Jack's pill addiction and attempt to self-prescribe after he gets rescued.

Literary References
The man Sayid executes is named Ishmael, which was also the name of the narrator in Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick.

This episode's name, The Shape of Things to Come is a reference to H.G. Welles' novel The Shape of Things to Come, a work of sci-fi in which a cabal based in Basra attempts to inflict its notion of world-wide utopia on the planet.


Games
Back at Camp Locke, Hurley, Locke and Sawyer play Risk. Games are a mage theme of the show.

Ben
Ben cannot kill Charles Widmore because he's been on the island, I assume. Much like how Michael cannot be killed. The fact that Ben controls the smoke monster from a creepy portal behind his secret closet room was pretty wild news. So it's safe to assume that he took out Eko himself? And for the first time, Ben's attempted maniupulation of Keamy ("she means nothing to me... she's not my daughter.") doesn't pan out the way he'd anticipated. Also, we now have confirmation that Ben is able to time-travel, although it seems it doesn’t afford him with an exact ETA. He looks surprised when the woman at the hotel tells him it's October 24, 2005. Dude needs a De Lorean.

MacCutcheon Scotch
MacCutcheon Scotch once again makes a cameo in Charles Widmore's night table. It helps him with the nightmares. Also interesting: the oil painting in his bedroom is Black Rock Storm, seen at the Southfield's auction of the Black Rock ledger.

Halliwax
The name on Ben's Dharma jacket when he arrives in Tunisia is Edgar Halliwax, one of Marvin Candle/Mark Wickman's aliases.

What did you think of this ep? I thought it was phenom, I only wish I were better-versed in my Indiana Jones knowlege!

Gucci Westman Appointed New Global Artistic Director of Revlon

I look forward to seeing what she does for the brand! I've been kind of over Revlon for the past few years except for their utterly phenomenal self-adhesive Lash Fantasy Faux Lashes.

In other news, LOST returns tonight from its Writers Strike induced "spring break!" Rumor has it, the smoke monster is making an appearance and there will be some Tunisia scenes... and according to Jeff Jensen, the word of the ep is Basra. I'm attending a movie premiere tonight, but if you think I'm not rushing home come hell or high water to watch LOST, you don't know me at all.

Help for Handling the Hiatus

Hilar. Thanks for sending, Sean!

LOST Analysis: Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore

What a finale! I can't WAIT for the show to resume on April 24, despite how much I loathe the 10pm time slot. I'm pressed for time this week, so I may expand later. But for the meantime, I've discussed a few bullet points:

*The Shining is referenced, and not for no reason. The movie is also the story about a man with a son who has telepathic abilities. Much like those of Walt.

*Mama Cass Elliot: The song playing in the car when Michael tries to kill himself is "It's Getting Better" by Mama Cass Elliot, who also recorded "Make Your Own Kind of Music," the song played by Desmond while he's in the hatch.

*When Libby appears in Michael's vision she is carrying blankets, just as she did when he shot her.

Michael trades Jin's Rolex watch for a handgun with which to kill himself. On the island, Jin tried to kill Michael over the same watch

*Ben calls Michael "one of the good guys," an oft-uttered phrase on LOST.

*Tom, as previously implied in "A Tale of Two Cities" ("You're not really my type, Kate") is gay. The whole Arturo "indulge when I'm on the mainland" scene was totally hilar. I think Tom is my fave Other.

*Tom tells Michael he has "work to do." Walt told Locke he had "work to do."

*The bomb Michael is given has a button labeled "EXECUTE", much like the computer in the Swan. That makes me feel like the interconnectedness of the show could be that this is the hallucination of one person, kind of like that movie Identity. There are so many things backing the fact that this is all in Hurley's mind while he's at the mental insitution that I keep coming back to it.

What do you think?

Update your bookmarks to http://beautybloggingjunkie.com

Beauty News: Evangeline Lily is the New Face of Davidoff

This is HUGE, dolls. It's the perfect fusion of my two fave things: LOST and beauty. LOST star Evangeline Lilly has been signed as the new face of the Davidoff Cool Water Woman fragrance. Of her decision to work with the fragrance, Lilly said: "For me, the Cool Water Woman is a perfect representation of feminine beauty: strength and sensuality versus pure sexiness."

Photo credit: British Vogue

Update your bookmarks to http://beautybloggingjunkie.com

LOST Analysis: Everyone DOES Love a Panda.

I successfully predicted that Sun makes it off the island AND I still think that Jin dies. Even though it pains me. Last night's LOST episode moved me to tears, friends. I heart that Jin and his full character realization arc. But most of all, I heart his covetable cheekbones. As my mom says, he IS two walking cheekbones. He's one of my fave characters. I clapped for him when he successfully asked Jack to pass the cereal in English.

Did you notice that Jin's tombstone indicated the date of death as 9/22/2004 — the day Oceanic 815 crashed? But my roommate Carrie pointed out that there was an additional date in 1980... anyone know what that's about? There was a third date of 1976, presumably the year Jin was born. I'd love to know what you think.

I was STUNNED when that bitch Juliet informed Jin that Sun was having an affair what may as well have been one million years ago. Come ON, Juliet! She totally deserved the slap in the face that ensued.

Captain Gault is an ornery character, n'est-ce pas? I'm not as up on my Ayn Rand as I should be (although I have read The Fountainhead). Thanks, Jeff Jenson for including this info in your EW column:
"There's a John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, written by Lost-cited author Ayn Rand. In Shrugged, Galt is a mystery man who has invented a powerful new source of energy and has vanished off the face of the earth. Turns out he and some other 'captains of industry' (Wikipedia's phrasing) have formed a secret society in Colorado. I'm not a Rand guy; never read the book. I'm certain that connections could be made here to Dharma and the Others, Ben and Widmore."

Jeff Jenson also points out (referencing Wikipedia) that Captain Gault is also the name of a maritime adventure hero created by writer William Hope Hodgson. Captain Gault is a ''captain for hire'' who is ''highly placed in a secret society....In general, he reveals himself to have surprising reservoirs of specialized knowledge. Where he got all this knowledge is generally not revealed; we get only these tantalizing hints at the character's past. Much like the structure of LOST itself, right?


Regina is seen reading (upside down) The Survivors of the Chancellor: Diary of J. R. Kazallon, Passenger. It's an 1875 novel written by Jules Verne about the final voyage of a British sailing vessel, the Chancellor, told from the perspective of one of its passengers (in the form of a diary - does this not remind you of the Black Rock ledger?). At the beginning of its voyage, the Chancellor carried eight passengers and twenty crew members. By the end, only eleven people (five passengers and six crew) remained alive. The rest killed themselves after going mad. Quite self reflexive that Regina should be seen reading this. Could Regina be the R.G. on Nadia's bracelet? Maybe that's why she committed suicide...

Sayid uses his taloned-beyond-comprehension hand to shake the hand of Kevin Johnson who is MICHAEL. The bloodstained wall scene was somewhat reminiscent of the bloodstained Hatch where Radzinsky blew his brains out.

The Flash-Forward/Flashback Fake-Out
I totally fell for it. I have to say, I noticed that Jin's enorm cell phone was kind of 2001... but I simply chalked it up to cultural differences because he was in Korea. LOST, you won this round.

The Stuffed Pandas
Represent the show's black and white/dark and light theme. Also, Bernard tells Jin they are the "good guys," an oft-uttered phrase on LOST.

Who funded the 815 crash? Whose bodies did they use for the fake-out? Where IS WALT? And can Sayid cut his nails now that he's in a semi-civilized place? Thanks.

Photo credit: lostpedia.com
Update your bookmarks to http://beautybloggingjunkie.com

Have a minute?

Take the BBJ LOST coverage poll.

Take the BBJ week-long feature poll.

Take the BBJ demographics poll.

Who's the Resident Botoxer on the Island?

Because I can't imagine how Harper's managed to have so much work done. Explain that mystery to me, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

Other than the phantom Botox, last night's LOST episode was PHENOM. It was one of my favorites of the season. First: I love the title's quadruple entendre:
It references that fact that Juliet is:
1. "The other woman" whom Goodwin is seeing;
2. "The other woman" aside from Kate, whom Jack has feelings for;
3. A woman who was one of the Others; and
4. "The other woman" for Ben, referencing the woman whom she looks just like (Harper says to her, "You look just like her." I'm thinking maybe this refers to Annie?)
Left: Oil sketch of Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, as Miranda, by George Romney

I love the new Dharma station's name, The Tempest, named after my one of my FAVE books. In fact, I am planning to do a Channel This Literary Character series and Miranda was first on my list. I've always seen her depicted in paintings with gorge red hair and rosy cheeks. We're into that idea, right? Let me know how you feel in the comments. In case you're interested, others include Catherine of Wuthering Heights, Amy of Little Women, and ALL of the characters in Valley of the Dolls. I envision a Channel This Movie Character series as well, including Holly Golightly, Lorraine from Swingers, Penny Lane from Almost Famous, and Patricia Franchini in A bout de souffle.

The Tempest
The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare, which was first published in 1623 (two of the numbers). I love the LOST writers' commitment to Shakespeare (see: Juliet). It tells the story of the king/sorcerer Prospero and his daughter Miranda, who are stranded on a mysterious desert island that has mystical properties. Prospero raises a storm, or tempest, which causes a passing ship containing his enemies to run aground. Using magic, spirits and a man-beast creature named Caliban, he separates and manipulates the survivors of the wreck for his own purposes. The play ends with Prospero restored to his former glory. Sound familiar?

Ben's character, I've always thought, was very Prospero-inspired. His relationship/protectiveness of Alex is the first parallel that comes to mind. Like Miranda, Alex is usually a naïve, sheltered girl. She has great intelligence, but seldom transcends her passive role. Ben's MANIPULATION is also highly reminiscent of Prospero. Interesting to note: at the end of the play, Prospero drowns his books and renounces magic.

Also interesting: "TEMPEST" is a US government codename for the concealment of so-called "compromising emanations" in part through the use of Faraday cages to contain the electromagnetic radiation of entire buildings.

Tempest is also the name of an 3-Dimensional arcade game produced by Atari in 1981.

Jackuliet?
I don't enjoy the development of the relash between Juliet and Jack. I still don't trust Juliet, and something about that kiss was strange. I get that Juliet is very damsel in distress, and Jack is nothing if not a knight in shining armor, but this scene just didn't work for me. The amazing Jeff Jensen of EW feels the same way. Read his article, he also points out that at this point in the LOST timeline, the tsumani occured on December 26, 2004. So the severe rain that occured during this ep may have been a nod to that in addition to being a nod to The Tempest. What's up with Ben's smarmy posessiveness of Juliet? I originally got the feeling that they had some kind of tumultuous past, that they'd been involved from his sour grapes attitude toward her in her first episode, "Not in Portland." But I'd totally abandoned that theory and just chalked up Ben's weird behavior to his all-around ridiculosity until this episode. The creepy crush subplot was genius. Juliet is sort of like Prospero's slave Ariel whose gender has always been hotly debated.

BTW, I owe every bit of my literary/LOST analysis knowledge to this man, Jefferson Kline. If you happen to be a BU student, or live in Boston, look into taking one of his classes. I took three while studying there and they changed my lifestyle. I also recommend his books Screening the Text, and Bertolucci's Dream Loom.

What did you think of this episode? And doesn't Juliet have the most gorge, adaptable mane on the planet? I'm working on finding out how she achieves those curls. Stand by.

Also, just curious, and I'm experimenting with PollDaddy:


Photo credit: LOSTpedia.org

LOST Analysis: BBJ is Your Beauty Constant.

Minkowski finally shows up... looking like HELL. Dude looks like Tom Hanks in Philadelphia.

In case you haven't realized, I'm DEEPLY into Back to the Future II. I actually liked the sequel better than the original. Though it came out when I was 9, I went to see it opening day with my brother and his friend John. My brother bought his ticket. I bought my ticket. John tried to buy his ticket, but they were sold out. I'd bought the last one. I was all, "see you, John. Guess you're catching the next show." My brother insisted that I have my mom pick me up while he and JOHN saw the sequel I'd been waiting 4 years to see (at 9 years old, that was approximately half my life). I wound up seeing it a few days later, but know what? I mean, it's been nearly twenty years. And I'm still pissed about it.

Know what I'm not pissed about? The fact that last week's LOST was fraught with BTTFII references. Way to go, LOST writers. I so salute you.

The Similarities
*Charles Widmore bidding for the journal of the Black Rock's first mate. The contents have not been published and are unknown to anyone outside the family of the seller, Tovard Hanso, who must be related to Alvaro. This is just like old Biff stealing the Sports Almanac! I'm DYING to see how that plays out.
*1996 and 2004 Daniel Faradays were a tribute to the multiple Doc Browns in BTTFII.
*Daniel sends Eloise to the future much like Doc sends his dog Einstein to the future in the De Lorean.
*The CHALKBOARD scene in both LOST and BTTFII. In case you don't remember the BTTFII scene, here it is:


Another reference: a fave show of mine, Quantum Leap. This science fiction television series' plot involved scientist Sam Beckett leaping to various points in time, usually constrained within the period of his own lifetime. In some cases, the time-traveler was able to get in contact with characters of his own past, resulting in a predestination paradox.

What did you think of the episode?

LOST Analysis: Raised by Another?

Kate's looking pretty glam, n'est-ce pas?

Why on earth was this episode titled Eggtown? When I googled it and wikipedia'd it, all that came up were LOST references. So that obvs gets me nowhere.
I TOTALLY called that Aaron was the "son" Kate was referring to. And now, we finally know who "he'll be wondering where I am" refers to. The question is, was Claire not able to leave the island? Or did she die? I can't figure out whether Jack is all weird about seeing him because he feels guilty about not "saving/fixing" Claire or is it just the fact that he found out that Aaron is related to him? And remember Claire's psychic's prophecy that Aaron would grow to be "bad" if he weren't raised by Claire, who's "good?" Kate has been most decidedly thrown into the "bad" category, although she most of the time she resides in the grey area between the two. This is most often symbolized with her volleying between loving Sawyer (who represents the "bad guys") and loving Jack (who represents the "good guys").

Kate's flash forward, much like those of the rest of the Oceanic Six, represents a personal hell for her. Here's why. Her mother is in a wheelchair and on oxygen, and is essentially knocking on death's door. Though Kate is still demonstrably upset with her mother for calling the cops on her, this is still deeply upsetting to her. We've seen how non-maternal she is when Claire asks her to hold Aaron and she pretty much refuses. When she winds up playing mommy to Aaron, it's intensely ironic. I think she's grown to love and care for him, but this is clearly not an ideal situation for her. AND, Kate's MO is that she is a nomad who can be tied to no one and no place. For her to have to settle to stay in-state raising Aaron (obviously preferable to being in jail, but still) is the ULTIMATE hell on earth scenario for Kate. Also interesting: remember the title of the 10th ep in the 1st season, "Raised by Another?" Just saying.


OR is this really Sawyer's kid? Could it be an entirely different child? Perhaps Kate was lying to Sawyer to test out how he felt about her being pregnant (it's been confirmed that women on the island are ridic fertile). The child does look remarkably like him. He also looks just the way you'd think Aaron would grow to look. LOST, you're KILLING me. Anywho, that would explain Jack's saltiness about the whole situation. And it takes into account Desmond's prophecy that Claire and Aaron make it off the island together. If she got pregnant on-island, the reason this child looks about 3-4 years old is because time moves more quickly off the island than on. That's the reason Walt "returned" looking like he'd aged 3 years.

The original 8 to whom Jack referred in his false testimony must be the Oceanic Six plus Walt and Michael. They must be included JIC they show up.

This was the second time that Patsy Cline song, "She's Got You" was played during a Kate episode. It was also played during "What Kate Did" in the diner where her mother worked. I'm going to have to investigate the significance of Patsy Cline in Kate's lifestyle. V. interesting.

What kind of sum is 3.2 million dollars? Other than it's a transposed 23 with a decimal point, one of numbers.

Interesting trivia:
Shawn Doyle (did you recognize him as Bill's brother on Big Love?) previously worked with Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Juliette, in the film Frequency. The film involved time travel where Doyle's character, a serial killer named Jack Shepard, is prevented from killing Mitchell's character. If that isn't cra, I don't know what is.

VALIS: the book that Locke gives to Ben is this novel by Philip K. Dick. VALIS is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, which is the author's gnostic vision of one aspect of God. Dick's novels often feature protagonists immersed in dissolving or fluctuating realities.
* Notably Dick throughout his life claimed to see ghosts of his twin sister who died five weeks after birth, i.e. "The Bad Twin"
* The edition of VALIS shown in the episode was published by Vintage in 1991.
* VALIS is about the search for God, who turns out to be a mental virus projected into our minds by an orbiting mechanical intelligence in order to manipulate humans. The "Messiah" in VALIS is a two-year old girl named Sophia. Read more about VALIS on Lostpedia.org.

Not important but funny:
I love how no one knocks or waits to be invited in in Locke's new dictatorship located at Otherville. It's very college dorm. Obv, these people are very comfortable with each other, but it's hilar to me how no one has re-captured their sense of social norms once they went back to living as "civilians."

Just a sample of the outstanding Q's:
WHERE is Minkowski? What is he DOING all the time that he can't come to the freaking phone? Is Daniel an idiot savant? Who can't remember 3 cards? And the real question: Has Jack ever looked cuter in a world than he does when he's on the stand at Kate's trial in a suit?

This show is brill. I think I need to go to grad school for LOST. Done.

Photo credit: Lostpedia.org

Four Down, Two to Go: Sayid is the Oceanic Six's Fourth Member

Freighter clock, showing 3:16.

Oops, I was totes wrong about Sayid being one of the Oceanic Six! He's so been on the backburner lately, I plum didn't even consider that he would make it off the island.

I thought this was the best ep of the 4th season, so far. It's pretty wild that Sayid, who's never trusted Ben (remember he was so hesitant in the "Henry Gale" days?) is now working for him. "The day I trust Ben is the day I sell my soul," which Sayid utters in the beginning of the episode just reeks of irony. Clearly, this is Sayid's version of Hell. Remember I said that each of the other Oceanic Six members appeared to be living in a different version of their own personal Hells? I think the reason for this is the fact that they've returned to an alternate reality. In Sayid's case, he's forced to work/kill for a man he hates. I'm SURE Ben has manipulated him using Nadia as bait, somehow. I'm interested to see how this plays out.

The fact that time on the island is 31 minutes off from "off the island" further validates my theory of time travel and alternate realities being involved in LOST's plotline. I think Ben travels through time to be simultaneously on and off of the island. That photo Miles is carrying of Ben seems to be taken of him while he's working as a vet in Berlin, a la this episode's ending. Also, I loved the secret doorway behind the bookcase in Ben's house in Otherville that housed his many faux passports. That secret closet is every girl in Manhattan's pipedream. Can you imagine? Not that I'd be using MINE to store creepy fake IDs. P.S., one of his aliases, Dean Moriarty is a nod to both a character in one of Jack Kerouac's novels, On the Road and Sherlock Holmes' arch nemesis, named Moriarty. Another cra fact: Jack Kerouac also wrote a book called Dharma Burns.

Eyes are one of the central themes in LOST. The closing of eyes specifically performed by Sayid symbolizes his future of closing his eyes to his moral compass, i.e., his full allegiance to Ben. Don't forget that Sayid has always been a fantastic judge of character. I always base my judgements of questionable characters by his reactions to them. He knew that Ben was an Other when he was posing as Henry Gale, as I previously mentioned. He also trusted Danielle, the French woman, even while she was holding him captive and was demonstrably cra. The fact that Sayid hasn't made up his mind about the Freighter Four means that I haven't yet made my mind about them.

Elsa, the woman Sayid falls in love with and then kills looks a lot like Shannon. I'm sure that's no coincidence. Even if she were only introduced to remind us collectively that people off the island with access to showers and heat tools can still achieve fabu Rapunzel waves. Elsa's name has two cinematic references:
The first is Ilsa Lund, the tragic female lead in Casablanca, a movie that centers around political intrigue, clandestine love affairs, and a cafe. Elsa was also the blonde, German femme fatale in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Elsa may alternatively be a reference to Dr. Elsa Schneider from the third Indiana Jones movie: a blonde Austrian professor and Nazi sympathizer who seduced both Indiana Jones and his father in order to learn the secret location of the Holy Grail. I can definitely see Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse being ENORM Indiana Jones fans, can't you? Personally, I was hoping it was a nod to Elsa Klensch, former host of Style, a show I LOVED in the early 90s that used to be on CNN on the weekends. I mean, Elsa Klensch is an uppercrusty Brit with a sleek black bob whom I'm pretty sure rocks nothing but Chanel. Elsa Klensch, I'm sure has zero to do with this episode. Still, she's by FAR my favorite Elsa.

Ben tells Sayid that the list of those he wants dead "don't deserve our sympathies." This relates to the good vs. bad theme. Ben has said numerous times that he's good, or one of the good guys. I'm DYING to know what this is about. Last I checked, good guys don't hire hit men. And did you love when Sawyer refers to Ben as "Gizmo" from Gremlins as much as I did? . The likeness between the two of them is pretty uncanny.

WHO is R.G.? Could it be Regina, whom Daniel is talking to on the phone? WHO on earth does Elsa work for? My guess is Penelope Widmore's father. And Daniel reminds Frank to return using the EXACT same bearing they came in on, so reminiscent of how Ben told Michael to escape on the boat using a very specific bearing... does that mean that Daniel is the man Ben has on the freighter? What do you think?

Best V Day Card I've Ever Received

From my roommate, Carrie:


Happy Valentine's Day.

xoxo,
Fabulista and Jack

Daniel Faraday is One of the Most Annoying Characters on TV

Guys, I KNOW. I'm so 4 days ago with this stuff. Moving and unpacking has allowed me zero time to blog about LOST. P.S., if you're so not into LOST, skip this post. I'll be back tomorrow with regularly scheduled beauty reviews. Analyzing LOST on this blog is the only time I use my French Literature degree.

I have to say, you KNOW I love this show... but the new format, flashforwards, diminished amount of literary/cinematic references, and new characters hastily thrown in makes me feel like I'm now in a Remedial Math class that I'm failing... when I used to be scoring A's in AP English. It's still interesting and I'd never stop watching... but I have few predictions and much less insight. It's v. frustrating. I found a couple of things by googling the names of the newcomers, who in my humble O, were folded in with the same care and subtley as Nikki and Paulo were, i.e., none. Here's what I thought about the Nikki/Paulo sitch, FYI.

Some things to note:
Charlotte Staples Lewis is a nod to Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Faraday: Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to electromagnetism as a field of study. From Wikipedia: "He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena." In this episode, Daniel Faraday comments on abnormalities in the light rays on the Island and defines himself as a physicist.

Apocalypse Now: Sawyer calls Locke "Colonel Kurtz" after Marlon Brando's character in this movie (1979). In the movie (but not in the original book, Heart of Darkness), Colonel Kurtz is a great man who leads his followers out into the jungle where he subsequently goes insane. The reference is also to Locke's baldness (Brando was shaved bald in the film.)

Why does Miles plug in a dustbuster and have the capability to speak with the dead? And then steal their money? He's clearly clairvoyant when it comes to the dead. When he went up to the late Naomi, I actually thought I was watching another ABC show, Pushing Daisies, for a hot second. I learned later that the machine he used is some kind of fan that makes the room cold so he can conjure spirits of the dead, much like in The Sixth Sense. Remember how in the presence of the dead, a room will get much colder?

I think Charlotte is a member of a rogue sect of the Dharma Initiative. Maybe she's the child of one of the original members whom Ben killed in The Purge? The rest of the motley crew I'm not too sure about. Why is Naomi sent to go with them? Her discovery of the polar bear skeleton gave me the chills.

I think the Oceanic 815 plane that was found at the bottom of the Sunda in the Sunda Trench of the South Pacific indicates that we're dealing with an alternate reality, as I've mentioned before. It could mean that powerful forces are trying to hide the existence of the castaways, but my gut tells me that's not the case.

And I'm torn between thinking Ben's mole on the freighter is Michael (press about this season confirms that Harold Perrineau, who plays him, will be returning to the show) or could it be Charlotte, whom Jeff Jensen explains in his Entertainment Weekly column looks suspiciously like his former Dharma days pal Annie? I'm leaning more toward Michael. What do you think? Also, instead of coming to get Ben, I'm thinking perhaps the "Freighter Four" came to save Ben. Similar plot structures were used in Alias... perhaps in Ben's genius master plan, he's arranged for this entire thing, complete with a staged shooting of Charlotte.

What do you think?

Who are The Oceanic Six??

Thank the LORD that LOST is back on. I simply couldn't live without it another day. BTW, the first thing you should do the morning after a new ep is aired is read Jeff Jenson's article on it in Entertainment Weekly. The man is GOLDEN. He is a genius who gets every literary, cinematic and even scientific reference. He knows his stuff. He is the one who pointed out that Minkowski, the name of the guy on the other end of the phone in last season's finale "no doubt, is a nod to Hermann Minkowski's theory of four-dimensional space-time, which has inspired many Lost theories." That's impressive.

Usually I watch the new episode and then watch it once more right afterwards on DVR. I'm that kind of loser. This time, I watched the episode in the "LOST bar" that is a fantastic venue for viewing because while it's difficult to get a seat (I got one in back of a dude who was wearing, no joke, a Dharma Initiative khaki jumpsuit a la Roger Workman. Can you even? I immediately told him I was OBSESSED with his outfit), everyone gets free drinks when someone on the show dies, AND free shots when anyone says "The Others." What's better than that? My friend Lauren and I have made this a new tradition since thoroughly enjoying last year's finale experience there. The only problem is that I can't obsessive-compulsively call my brother to discuss every detail during the commercials and then rudely hang up mid-sentence, dismissing each other with, "BYE! IT'S ON!"

My theory for The Oceanic Six: Obviously, Jack, Kate and Hurley, but I think the others are Sun, Claire and Sawyer. We'll see what happens. I have a feeling Jin is the one who dies while they're still on the Island (there was a commercial showing Hurley at a grave site that I'm pretty sure was on the Island). I also wonder if maybe the "future" to which The Oceanic Six have returned is an alternate reality? Jack, Kate and Hurley seem mysteriously misplaced and things just seem off for them, especially for Jack, of course. Why would Hurley want to return to the mental institution? Is that the only familiar place he has left? What happened to his family? Is this a sort of Back to the Future 2 situation, as in when Marty McFly returns to his house only to find it inhabited by another family who attempts to shoot him?

Creepy Matthew Abbadon, the suited dude who says to Hurley, "Are they alive?" is a reference to Abbadon, the name for the angel of the Abyss in Revelation. This angel does the work of God in binding Satan and hurling him into the Abyss. Could the "Abyss" in this case be the Island? Matthew seemed intent on kidnapping him to get him to come back... I'm wondering if this is so that Hurley can help him locate the 815 folks who weren't saved, i.e., not the Oceanic Six. Could Abbadon be one of the "NOT PENNY'S BOAT" guys? I'm leaning toward that as opposed to a creepy Other. And WHERE is Eyeliner Richard? And whose eye is it that we see when Hurley finds the (apparently mobile) Jacob Shack? Can you BUH-LIEVE Christian Shepard is its new resident? Is he Jacob? So many unanswered questions. Is he assuming Christian Shephard's body? I'm thinking yes.

What somewhat disappoints me about the new flashforward format is that the show seems to be less rich with literary allusions. I've kind of got nothing analysis-wise... other than the biblical references. There were biblical references for sure before, but they were interwoven amongst other literary references as well. I also have the feeling that the premiere was supposed to be two hours, but was bisected due to the WGA strike. It felt a little incomplete to me for a premiere. And, we weren't WOWED the way we were with the discovery of Hatch Inhabitant Desmond, or the fact that The Others hold bookclubs in a darling condo community. That said, I still adore the show and thought it was well done and certainly ignited my 8 months without LOST-starved theory production.

Oh, and I loved the Gym Class from Hell Scene where the tribe splits between Jack, the Man of Science and Locke, the Man of Faith. How does Hurley get off the Island if he chose to go with Locke? And I LOVE snarky Ben-on-a-leash's comment that he's "going to go with Locke, if it's all right with Jack." Hilarious.

The real question which my friends Lauren and Carrie and I debated at length is this: does Matthew Fox look better soaking wet from the rain and scruffy on-Island or does he look better clean-shaven and in a suit prepared for surgery? To quote Natalie Sands from the epic Girls Just Want to Have Fun, "Decisions are the worst."

Feel free to comment/theorize away in the comments section! Be back with a beauty review later today.

Photo credit: Lostpedia.org

Trendora.com Lifestyle Award Nomination!

Wow, friends. January is FULL of highs and lows for me. First, I was BEYOND delighted to be featured in WWD's top ten beauty blogs. That same day, I found out that a very good guy friend of mine from college / ex boyfriend hybrid was having a child out of wedlock with some girl he's been seeing all of five minutes. It was weird news to say the least.

Today, I was unpleasantly surprised to learn what a certain NYT contributer thinks of beauty bloggers... but then later, I found out that I was nominated for a Trendora.com Lifestyle Award! Trendora, BTW, is a fabulous online designer shopping site based in Luxembourg. I'd like to thank whomever nominated me (you're a doll!) and Romy and Michele for drawing my attention to the importance of using the word "lifestyle" incessantly and even replacing the word "life" with it regularly. "I mean, look at our LIFESTYLE. Look at the way we live."--Michele.

P.S. Tonight is the NIGHT I and fellow LOST fans have been waiting for since last May! I eagerly anticipate the premiere like you wouldn't BELIEVE. My best friend Lee has the added bonus of being able to watch the show for the first time in 2008 on her BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday, doll. You are the wind beneath my wings :) I'll be back tomorrow with a recap/analysis. Don't you miss those? :)

Island Items

Guys. It's T minus 3 days till the LOST premiere. I cannot WAIT. I love that it's back in the 9pm time slot, I'm getting used to its new Thursday schedule, and I'm working on getting over the fact that there are only 8 episodes at the moment due to the Writers' Strike. In honor of my fave TV show returning to the airwaves, I've created a list of 3 items Claire wishes she'd packed on her unwitting move to the Isle of the Losties. You'd think that since it was revealed that her psychic may have known her plane would crash, dude could have given her a hint to pack some of her long-lasting products. Right? Here's what I'd have recommended that Claire toss into her carry on:


Fiberwig Mascara $22
Fiberwig creates "false eyelash-like" results. It's formulated to create fabulous lashes with twice the amount of micro-fine interconnecting fibers, the instant drying formula creates a long lasting film coat around your natural lashes. Best of all, its water-resistant formula is easy to remove with warm water, without risking damaging or losing your natural lashes. A jet-black fiber film coats the surface of each lash with long-lasting, clump-free, lash lengthening color that's resistant to tears, sweat, and oil. My lashes were INSTANTLY transformed into a fringe of which I hadn't seen the likes since last I frequented Lucky Cheng's. Okay?


Kai Body Butter $55
Do as Oprah does: this honeysuckle-scented rich creme was listed as one of her "favorite things." Ingredients include safflower seed oil, vitamins A, C, and E, aloe leaf extract, chamomile flower extract, cucumber fruit extract, and apricot kernel oil. Absorbs into skin in the blink of an eye to provide 24 hours worth of smooth glowing skin. My friend Stephanie, a fragrance fanatic, could not keep her nose away from my arms, which I'd slathered up with Kai prior to her arrival to my apartment for a Friday night pre-drink sesh. A little goes a long way to keep skin hydrated.


CoverGirl Outlast $9.27
I have always said that drugstore lip color and mascara can be just as good as those purchasable at the counter. Claire would be loving CG's Outlast. First, it comes with its own uber-moisturizing creme stick balm to prime the surface for lip color (you can also use it after applying color, as the directions indicate). Then, apply lip color, wait 60 seconds for it to "set" and don't press lips together. The color LEGIT lasts all day. You'll want to reapply the balm so your lips don't dry out. For a more natural look, blot after applying and top with some gloss for a lip stain effect.

Happy Monday!

Photo credits: Amazon.com, eluxury.com, drugstore.com, lostpedia.org

"I am a Dentist, I'm Not Rambo."

Flash-Forward me to FEBRUARY. I'm still reeling over the finale or piece de resistance, if you will, of LOST. Yours truly watched it in a bar in the East Village where free shots of jungle juice are served when anyone mentions "the others" and free drinks are distributed when someone dies. What's better than that? Not one thing. The introduction of flashforwards kept me up at night in a good way. My precious Jack is NOT in a good place, friends. This upsets the fabulista to the ENDTH degree. How is it possible, in a world, that he manages to look spectacular with a beard? I used to subscribe to the theory that only two men on earth should rock facial hair: Alex Trebek and my dad. But I'm going to have to add Matthew Fox to that list because even in an Oxycontin-soaked suicidal rage, that man is a cupcake to a carb-starved woman. And he loves Kate. I died. DIED when he said that, and I really wasn't in a position to be so emotional in a room full of NYU students. I go back and forth with whether or not I think she's good enough for him. I'm interested to see what happens in the next season with the two of them. And who is the "him" to whom Kate must return? Sawyer? Her former cop husband? Is it taco night? PS did you notice that he wants to perform a surgery when he's in no condition to do so as he is drunk and on drugs? The metamorphosis is complete: he has BECOME his father. Remember I said that about Ben, Jack, and Kate?

SO many literary and movie references. Obv, the Alice in Wonderland theme is heavily prevalent. Sawyer doesn't know what to DO with himself. (Sidenote: every time I say that, I have to sing Cameron Diaz's character's hilar karaoke song that she sings off-key in the bar. "You could never be Jell-O." Done.) Is this situation not SO reminiscent of Inigo Montoya after he kills the six-fingered man who killed his father? Once he kills him, he's basically experiencing "the rest of his life" after its peak/culmination. THAT'S an awful feeling. I'm pretty sure the Sawyer Satisfaction Saga resumed when he killed Tom. Remember at the end of season one when he told Tom, "You and me ain't done, Zeke." While I loathe the structure of that sentence, I love that he was able to make good on his claim. Amazing.

Ben saying that Naomi isn't who she says she is a throwback to Walt in season two saying that the others "aren't who they say they are". What's the DEAL there? Penny doesn't know about her, I wonder if Ben was telling the truth. I guess I just have to wait SEVEN MONTHS until I find out. In other news, Locke finally killed someone (Naomi) disproving my theory that the island heals him and that he's a "good person" due to his not being a killer. Did he turn a corner? Will he not be mystically healed by the island anymore? Slash I was SO excited to see that he was alive that I actually clapped. In public. I did the same when I saw Vincent. Where has he BEEN all my life slash all season?

Jeff Jenson on EW pointed out that the voice on the phone is said to be that of a guy named Minkowski. This is a nod to Hermann Minkowski's theory of four-dimensional space-time, which has inspired many LOST theories. Could the flash forward be a "personal hell" specific to Jack? It certainly seems that way: Kate is with someone else, his ex wife is pregnant and estranged from him, he's addicted to drugs, he can't be a doctor, he's talking about his father as if he were alive (is that just his drunken haze?), and he desperately wants to return to the island. And yet? He's still a hero.

I also had an emotional meltdown when Charlie died. On one hand, it was inevitable, how many times were they going to prepare us for it? On the other, I'll miss his character immensely. It was he, after all, who first killed an Other (Ethan). Glad he got the heroic send off his character deserved. And is Mikhail the Michael Myers of LOST? Why won't he DIE? SER.

Kate shows up at the very end and clearly, not being on the island is agreeing with her. Girl got into her stash of 2007 cosmetics/hair stuff and is rocking the hell out of all of it. I know it's at least the end of 2006 because Jack is using a KRZR, not released until then. Remember the writers said once, cryptically that "time does not necessarily move at the same pace on the island as it does off the island"? Perhaps that explains Walt's rapid aging within a span of 2 months. Back to Kate. Her hair looks fab, her eyes are defined to the max, but it's her BLUSH that I am coveting. Get the same rosy cheeks by using my new fave, Becca Beach Tint. It's oil-free, watermelon-scented (to conjure images of days spent on the island subsisting on fruit and fish) and just plain gorge.

To help with your LOST withdrawal, I recommend seeing Fearless with Jeff Bridges. It's about a guy who survives a plane crash, saves many others and his entire life changes once he returns to his former life and family. Sound familiar?

LOZt

First of all, who is Richard's plastic surgeon slash witchdoctor? Sign me UP. Guy looks amazing and is apparantly, at least 70 years old. Maybe he's drinking from some kind of Otherville Fountain of Youth? You know, like that villain in the Huggabunch movie? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him. The dude wears eyeliner. Just saying. PS for years following my viewing of the Huggabunch movie, I swore I could travel through my mirror. Lots of bruising ensued.

Oz references were ALL over Ben's flashback episode. Specifically, Return to Oz. Have you seen that movie from the 80s with Almost Famous's Fairuza Balk? It's one of my FAVES. In the 80s, that's what I was DOING. Renting Return to Oz weekly from Movie World on Bethelem Pike in Spring House, PA. I don't know why my parents didn't just buy it for me. It was either that movie or Maid to Order. I ser never rented one other movie for a period of 5 years.

Anyway. The dead bodies strewn all over the island after being killed by Ben's "purge" was totes reminiscent of when Mombie/the Gnome King of Oz turned all the Oz's citizens to stone and you see everyone in various stages of movement as statues all around the city. The fact that Ben chose to go by Henry Gale is SO Oz (Henry Gale was Dorothy's uncle). Jacob = the Gnome King… he shows himself only to a select few, is running the show through the façade of another (in Oz the other is Mombie, in Otherville, it's Ben).

What's the deal with the return of the bunny in the bag? That was so very bizarre the first time that I plum can't believe that ridiculosity made a repeat appearance. Are we to believe that Ben has a constant supply of white albinos he keeps around just for toting around the island in messanger bags? SO STRANGE.

The dad theme was also prevalent, specifically that so many characters actually BECAME their dads whom they despised:
Ben became a "workman" just like Roger
Kate became an evil doer just like Wayne, her biological father
Jack became a doctor just like his father

Also, Kelvin referred to the Others as "the hostiles" to Desmond… which is strange because it seems that all of the Dharma initiative on the island was killed off… or where they? Was Radzinsky safe in the Hatch at the time of the purge?

And what's up with the fact that killing your dad grants you the ultimate respect in Otherville?

Lost Lamb Locke

Love, love, loving LOST lately. And I love alliteration, clearly. So, my theory that Locke's dad is the Real Sawyer was confirmed, that was satisfying. ALMOST as satisfying as the scene where Sawyer kills him. I mean, that was on the level of the Shawshank Redemption scene where the warden is found out. You could also compare it to the feeling one gets when one sees the innards of clogged pores sticking out of a used Biore strip like individual blades of grass. What's better than that? Not one thing. Anthony Cooper has proven himself to be the most vile villain since Cruella DeVille.

These Locke episodes KILL me to watch, despite the fact that he's the second most fascinating character on the show (I find Sawyer the most interesting of all). The tragedy he's endured inspire feelings of sympathy I haven't had since reading Balzac's novels in college--specifically Sarrasine, Le Pere Goriot, and Le Colonel Chabert. I mean, he was ostracized Frankenstein-style by yet another community? What GIVES.

And Naomi landed in the ocean upon her arrival onto the island… how is it that every person who makes it onto the island has blacked out through the last leg of the journey? Juliet was on some mage tranquilizers, The 815-ers all fell into the ocean or woke up from an unconscious state (other than sleep) on the island. No one remembers how they got there, except for Kate (she said she saw the whole thing in the first ep), and she could be lying. It gives legitimacy to the theory that they're in purgatory, or Anthony's theory that they're in hell. OR if you read last week's article in EW about LOST, it could be about quantum physics, meaning they've been propelled into an alternate reality where they lived as opposed to another in which they died. VERY Back to the Future Part 2. Anyway. I'll suffer severe separation anxiety after the season finale.