I'm quite proud of what we did...so here it is.

We watched it at church. Our church invited friends and neighbors. We had tons of food and three big screens set up. It was fun. But here's the best parts(and the reason I'm bragging):

1. We blacked out offensive commercials. Yup. We had a dude in the back with his finger on a button. Sunday afternoon, I printed out a list of the commercials in the order they would appear. Because so many commercials are released ahead of time now, we had a pretty good idea which ones to black out... So all the stuff you had to sit through, or hope your kids didn't notice...we never even saw it. Awesome, right? But we did get to see the good commercials. ("Where's the cat?" LOL!)

2. For Halftime - we showed two video clips. (This one about how football points to something much greater, and this one about how Simon Peter experienced grace.) Then for the remainder of halftime we played "Scene-IT" 80's edition. We just played the video trivia questions on the screen and I threw a piece of candy to anyone who got an answer right. It was a blast and far better then whatever you all had to watch. Oh, and I read later about some singer flipping you the bird. I missed that too. :-)

Now for some commentary about those two reasons my watching experience was better than yours...

1. Offensive commercials - This really irks me. The NFL, NBC and yes, even the advertisers are total jerks for this. Can they not imagine when they are designing a "sex sells" commercial that parents might be watching football with their kids (ages 6-12). There were probably (at least, at minimum) a million children watching.

Seriously? Is this what these advertising company employees, commercial writers and directors, and company executives who ordered and approved and paid for the ads would want their own children to be watching? The sheer crassness of this offends me to the bone. It makes me wonder if they are even human. I think that we should all write letters to the offending companies and tell them that their offensive advertising GUARANTEES that we won't ever use their products. And then follow through. Do not support those advertisers. Jerks. I should be able to watch football with my ten year old son without having to cover his eyes.

2. Half-time performers that do something obscene. OK, so MIA or whoever flipping the camera the bird is the first incident since the wardrobe malfunction. It will happen again. And NBC is blaming the NFL who produces their own half-time shows ever since the wardrobe malfunction. (That half-time show was produced by MTV, surprise, surprise.) And the NFL is blaming NBC for not having better time-delay and censorship equipment. It will still happen again. The moron who flipped the bird is getting publicity and name recognition out of this. That benefit needs to be taken away.

I have a very simple solution for this problem. Have all performers sign a contract ahead of time. Think about it. For the performer, this is the single biggest audience they will EVER have. It's a huge opportunity for any singer to sell albums. So before allowing them to perform for half-time include in their contract a "no obscenity" clause that says that if they do anything obscene that they will pay for all fines and costs that their action costs. (for apologies that have to be issued, for FCC fines etc, the lawyers that have to deal with the FCC, the salaries of the guys that have to monitor the delay feed with their finger on the pixelate button etc...) In addition, if they do anything obscene they will have to give 5 million dollars to a children's charity AND 50% of all profit that performer earns for the next 12 months goes to a children's charity. And they will do 500 hours of community service for the children of incarcerated people.

If the NFL and NBC were serious they would do something like that. But they won't. Jerks.

Abraham Piper reports: "Soon after The Simpsons debuted, People Magazine quoted Barbara Bush as saying it was one the stupidest things she’d ever seen. Here’s is Marge’s respectful response . . ."



And here is Mrs. Bush’s response:

Dear Marge,

How kind of you to write. I’m glad you spoke your mind; I foolishly didn’t know you had one.

I am looking at a picture of you, depicted on a plastic cup, with your blue hair filled with pink birds peeking out all over. Evidently, you and your charming family — Lisa, Homer, Bart and Maggie — are camping out. It is a nice family scene. Clearly you are setting a good example for the rest of the country.

Please forgive a loose tongue.

Warmly,

Barbara Bush

P.S. Homer looks like a handsome fella!

Not really. What I'm really doing is watching Bama Belles. But it's basically the same thing.

Pros: I'm watching it with Jill. I dig her, so that part is good.

Cons: It would take me infinity to list all the cons. Normally, I think of reality TV as a kind of cultural disease. Bama Belles, on the other hand, is like one of those diseases that consists of skin-eating bacteria, in which your eyes bleed and the calcium in your skull expands so that you become Elephant man until it finally crushes your brain and you, thankfully, die.

Slogan from an AT&T commercial I just saw (the context is an imagined future elementary school spelling bee that has been going on for 48 hours with no one eliminated):

Access to the Internet makes all of us smarter.

Well, OK, maybe not all Jeopardy! champions do, but at least one does.

Our very own "The Calvinator" who has been a regular Thinkling reader and faithful commenter for years now, just finished his run as champ on Jeopardy!

(OK, maybe he doesn't read us for research. If he had he would have nailed the Scalia answer.)

I watched you today dude. I'm sorry that I missed all the other appearances. My wife watched with me and we were cheering you on.

I do have some sad news for everyone. Calvinator got robbed today. He lost to some chick who does classical music for ice skaters or something. (I think someone must have sabotaged your buzzer.) Did you hear me yelling the answers at you through the TV? (I was yelling, "Kennedy! Kennedy! KENN-AAAH -DEEEE"! and "Appalooooooooosa!") Well, I know that TV doesn't work that way, and that it was taped, but still, I was trying to coach you dude. If only you could phone a friend....that should be a new feature on Jeopardy! I can see it now:

"Yes, Alex, I know I buzzed. But I don't actually know the question. But I'd like to use my "phone-a-blog" option. I'll be conference calling "The Thinklings". I owe those guys a lot for all of my success, and if anyone can help me, it'll be them."

Seriously though Calvinator, that's a big deal and we're proud of you. You know lots of stuff...and I can't imagine the pressure, plus timing the buzzer right... You were a worthy champ. Excellent job!

If you're game, I'd like to interview you for this blog and post it here. Will you let me know under comments if you are up for it?

Congratulations Calvinator!

(If any other Thinklings readers get on a game show, I want to know about it so we can brag on you!)

Oprah is hosting a "get your own TV show" contest or something. This guy named Zach entered. If he doesn't win, it will be proof Oprah is the antichrist.

Zach's oprah deal from Zach Anner on Vimeo.

As seen on the Jimmy Kimmel show after the Finale. I thought this was hilarious.

On a very side note, I was never much of a Jack fan, but after re-watching the finale I have to say that it will be a crime if Matthew Fox does not win an Emmy for his performance. Awesome.

I guess we're on a Lost posting kick, for a while longer. I'm wondering what we'll post on now that the show's done? But I digress.

I am on record as having loved and been satisfied by the Lost finale. Of course, not everyone feels this way. I think, for those who were disappointed by the show, it's helpful to try and understand the kind of art that Lost represents. The following is one of the most insightful things I've read regarding the Lost finale (from midway down this forum page). I think this poster has the writers of Lost pegged:

Having had a chance to think through all of the narrative collapse of the finale, I have now done my own "letting go," and come to peace with the idea that Darlton are visual surrealists. They added things to the story like the Donkey Wheel or the boy Jacob ghost demanding the ashes simply because they looked cool. That's a valid artistic viewpoint, I don't have a problem with it. It hasn't often been done on television, so in that sense it is innovative. Viewed through that frame, it makes perfect sense to put a hieroglyphic countdown timer in the hatch, or Dogen in samurai clothes, or even have Desmond hit Locke with a car. These things have critical visual impact in those particular scenes. Like Dali or Fellini or Beckett, they don't have to make narrative sense, because that's not the point.

. . .

I think that Darlton, like many nonacademic surrealists, simply don't know how to explain their work. To them, the scene where Brother meets with NotMom and says that he knows how to build the Donkey Wheel "because I'm special" is an answer. Never mind that as part of a larger narrative it makes no sense at all. As a momentary scene, it worked.

JJ Abrams, on the other hand, does work in narrative. He's open to the visually complex because it's cool, but he does use it to fit the story. His stories often become very intricate, but they do seem to make some attempt to connect the dots eventually, even if it requires genetic duplicates or falsified evidence. Darlton just play with the color of the dots, and throw in a diamond every once in awhile to liven things up visually.

When Darlton said the volcano would "play a part" in the end of the Island story, I don't think it meant any more to them than a reddish glow and earth tremors. Visually, there were some volcano elements.

Similarly, Jack's body turning up in the same place as Brother's after leaving the cave is visually striking. It doesn't matter if the narratives don't match given the kind of work they do. Same thing with the Ajira plane taking off at the end. Again, as part of a narrative it's a bizarre decision. But visually, a great moment.

Spoilers exist in this post . . .

****************



Well, 24, my *other* show (Lost is - well was - my favorite show) ended tonight.

I only have a few thoughts.

1. Chloe rocks. A brave woman and a good friend. Plus, she's the best techno-geek on TV.

2. It was nice to see Jack do the right thing.

3. It was nice to see Taylor wise up and do the right thing as well. It was maddening, on the other hand, to see her continue to take advice from Logan up until the time she finally wised up.

4. Logan . . . despicable to the end. And a terrible shot to boot.

5. Pillar. Irritating, but he didn't deserve to be offed by his boss.

6. Jack bit off Pillar's ear. I'm still processing that.

10. Nothing stops Jack. Not being stabbed, twice. Not being shot (by the way, there's a common meme on TV these days: the "straight through" shot that is evidently very easy to recover from. I don't know - if I got shot I'd be a big baby, incapacitated for weeks). Being ambushed didn't stop him either, even though it stopped everyone else.

11. Jack has amazing "look directly into the heart of the drone" vision.

Amazing, amazing . . .

I'm blown away.

Leave your thoughts in the comments thread.

Of the story's first-tier heroes -- Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Locke -- he is the only one who's never turned on any of his friends.

LOST started on September 22, 2004. I was there. Watched the first episode. The commercials alone had convinced me it was something special.

I just checked the thinkling archives to see if I tried to tell you people it was awesome. Turns out, I did. Here's what I wrote back on October 27, 2004. (A mere 4 episodes having been aired.) Read on in shock and wonder to see how right I was.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004
"Lost" Is A Great Show
Posted by Philip @ 8:13 am CDT | Edit | Delete | Send a Trackback
Filed under: General

Have you seen Lost on ABC? It's fantastic. It's about 48 people stranded on an island. I've always enjoyed stories about surviving a la Robinson Crusoe. This show is more realistic than Survivor ever will be. One of the things I like about it is that it's different than anything else on television. It's not yet another law/cop/medical/family drama. Each episode usually emphasizes a different character. There are flashbacks that reveal the backstory, and they are usually quite surprising. There are mysteries to be solved, about the island, about the people, about what happened. The show is well-written, and well-acted. The characters are complex, and in a way the show is kind of genre breaking.

What's great about the characters are that they are different from other shows. They don't fit into any neat stereotypes. For example,they have a long-haired overweight guy in his 20's, named "Hurley" that is just plain cool. The dude is funny, likeable and ...real. I watch him and think, he could be a friend of mine. There just aren't many shows that give realistic people good roles.

This is a show that I enjoy watching so much that it frustrates me when it's over. You feel like you are getting to know the characters and you actually enjoy spending the time with them, even though they are stranded on a deserted island and might die.

Another cool aspect of the show are the ethical dilemmas:
-What do you do when you have hundreds of bodies? Do you leave them for the wild animals? Do you bury them yourselves? Is it OK to burn them?
-Is it OK to go through dead people's luggage or take their shoes?
-If you discover that the liklihood of being rescued is very slim do you tell the others? Or let them keep hoping?
-If you are rescuing someone from drowning, and then see a second person what do you do? Do you leave one intending to go back for them?
-If someone is going to die in a few hours is it OK to speed up the process?
-If one of you is an escaped convict, do you tell the others?

And they go on and on and on... I love watching the show and asking myself, "What would I do in the same situation?"

It's awesome. If you haven't watched it yet, you should start. It's well worth it. I concur with what Jared said in another post. It's the best thing on television right now. It's on tonight. Record it or watch it. Get in now, while it's still getting started. I have a feeling it's going to be a great ride.

I'm not in a position to easily live-blog tonight's show, so - unless one of the other Thinklings wants to take on the duties tonight - leave your thoughts on the episode in the comments thread.

Since I won't be live-blogging the finale either (2 1/2 hours? No way! Plus I just want to watch that one), I guess my live-blogging days are over. It's been fun.

Tonight's show, by the title at least, sounds brutal. It also hints at answers (but we've been down that road before).

Also, we'll see if tonight's show debunks any of what I wrote here.

***** Spoilers in the comments thread *****

The time for questions is ovah!

With only 3 1/2 hours left of the show, many people are nervous that their questions won't get answered. I personally feel that a lot of questions have been answered, if not completely, at least somewhat. But I realize I'm in a minority.

I also feel like I'm pretty tapped into what's going on on Lost, and feel like I have decent answers to pretty much any of the remaining questions (and that's without resorting to speculation threads, which I avoid like the plague).

So, I'm offering a service. Leave your unresolved questions in the comments thread, and I'll let you know what the answers are.

This is fabulous.

[Hat Tip: Sherry]

I'll be starting the live-blog of tonight's episode shortly. I'm expecting that all the "I want answers, now!" people will at least be somewhat sated after tonight's episode.

The title of this episode reminds me of the French song Shannon sang in the early part of Season one. Remember? "La Mer"?

Major Spoilers below the fold . . .
Read the rest of this entry . . .

last night that I woke up this morning, only to find that Bill had live-blogged "LOST" last night, and all of you had been discussing it here on Thinklings, and so I was skimming a very long comment thread about a LOST episode that I had missed because they moved it to Sunday night without my knowing...

Tells you what sorts of things I worry about, huh?

Scary.

It's all becoming so clear . . .

Spoilers below the fold
Read the rest of this entry . . .