Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting

It is late into the evening here as the first day of battles have just come to a close. We have four matches for you tonight that are sure to have you all on the edge of your seats. Our first match believe it or not is:

Captain Atom

Versus

Green Arrow

What? How can this be? This is a first round match? It sure is folks. Now at first glance you would think that Captain Atom with the power of a nuclear power plant coursing through his veins he would be the sure winner. One would think. To write off the Emerald Archer so quickly is not doing Oliver Queen any justice. The guy died and came back from the dead, ya know. The guy is also doing Black Canary. So here are some of the highlights of the fight: in the beginning these two veterans of the Justice League began very slowly showing just how much respect they have for one another. Captain Atom shot a bolt of quantum energy at Arrow who reacts with a grenade arrow. The impact is the same as a star going supernova. They battle this way for some time as Ollie reaches for an arrow and realizes he is down to his last shot, literally. He pulls back on the longbow, closes his eyes, and recites the mantra; "I do not shoot with my eyes, I shoot with my heart.", and lets the arrow fly. The arrow seems to miss it's mark, barely nicking Captain Atom. It soon becomes apparent however, that the shot did exactly what it was meant to do - slice through Captain Atoms containment suit. With his suits integrity broken, Nathaniel Adams' energy begins to leak out and with it all of his power. Ironically enough the arrow struck Captain Atom behind the ankle, right in the Achilles heel. Winner - Green Arrow.

Our second fight of the night is of the mystic sort. We have a sorcerer taking on the very power of hell itself. We present:

The Mystical Dr. Fate

Versus

The Blue Devil

Another battle that went toe to toe for some time. In the end Dr. Fate was able to remove the demons curse and turn the Blue Devil back into a normal man. The Blue Devil, now once again Daniel Cassidy, was happy to regain his humanity and remove himself from the tournament. Winner by TKO - Dr. Fate.

In our next to last match of the opening day of battle we present another "Female Fury" battle. No bra and panties match here folks. We have declared this match a "Lingerie Pillow Fight". While the contestants get in their, eh hem, "battle gear", let me take a moment to introduce the combatants:

Cassandra Cain aka Batgirl

Versus

Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress

Whoa folks, not only do we have another cat fight with two super heroines, we got them from the same comic book family. And did I mention they are in lingerie? I did, didn't I but it can't hurt to mention it a second time! Well, not only do both of these ladies come from the pages of Batman comics, at one point they were the same person. Huh? Let me explain that one. At one point Helena donned the cape and cowl and became Batgirl until Batman stripped her of the title. She reverted back to her Huntress persona and is still on Batman's bad side because he thinks she is too violent. I'm serious, that's what he said! Now, with all that being said, it may make one wonder what chance does Batgirl have? Did I mention this incarnation of Batgirl is the daughter of not one but two highly trained assassins? This should be a blood bath. That is, it would have been except for the fact we put 'em in lacy lingerie and gave 'em big fluffy pillows. No batarangs, no crossbows, not even a flash grenade. Just a lot of feathers. It's another back and forth battle when the violent streak of the Huntress rears it's ugly head. She somehow manages to slip a brick inside of the pillow and clocks Batgirl. Winner by knockout - Huntress.

In the finale for the first evening of battle we present:

John Henry Iron aka Steel

Versus

The Invisible Kid

.

This was the best picture we could get of him. Sorry, we tried. Anyway, on to the battle. We sent the invite for The Invisible Kid not really knowing which one the Legion of Superheroes would actually send, if any. Would we get the original one in the green suit and the gold headband? Would we get the African American version that speaks french? (I'm not making this shit up folks!) Or, could we get the newest one that dresses all in black and wears a black headband and is gay? Well, I don't frigging know cause he's invisible. After watching John Henry swing his large sledge hammer around like a retard tangled in a spider web we assumed that somehow the Invisible Kid had lost. Actually were not sure if he really showed up. Winner - Steel.

Well the sun sets on this first day of battle and as the winners rest and allow their wounds to heal we will be back tomorrow with eight more battles.

Round 1 Part 1

The battles have begun and we have some early round results. As I stated last post, Superman versus Booster Gold was the first battle. Unfortunately Booster didn't have Blue Beetle to help him out and Superman beat him easily. Winner - Big Blue

Our second battle pitted Batman, the Dark Knight, versus Starman. For this battle the only Starman that would enter the tournament was Thom Kallor, most likely because he is borderline schizophrenic and the voices in his head told him to enter. As it turned out, that was lucky for us! This battle was pretty back and forth, especially for a first round match. Starman seemed to be on the verge of winning the battle, and giving us our first upset. He has killed in the past and who is to say his psychosis couldn't lead him to doing it again as it seemed this "killers way of thinking" was giving him the edge. However, in a startling development, Batman discovered Starmans weak point: the Sloppy Joe. After downing a plateful of the "manwiches", Starman forgot that he was in a battle and headed back to the sanitarium for his meds. Winner - Batman by forfeit.

The third match of the day was the first "Furious Female Fight" special attraction of the day. Princess Diana herself squared off with Shadow Lass. It didn't take long for Wonder Woman to squash the hopes of the second hero from the 30Th century in as many battles. This battle had some special rules put in place as it was not a battle to the death or a last (wo)man standing match. With the special "It's Cheeks' blog so Cheeks gets to make the rules" rules in place, this was declared the first "Bra and Panties" match of the tournament. The first lady able to strip her opponent to just her bra and panties would be declared the winner! Unfortunately for us, Shadow Lass was able to turn to her shadow form mere seconds before she lost the fight. Winner - Wonder Woman.

Um ... isn't Wonder Woman's costume made up of just a bra and a pair of panties? Hmmm perhaps we need to investigate this further!

The final battle was almost over before it even began as Green Lantern Hal Jordan was scheduled to battle Vigilante. Unfortunately we were informed that the Vigilante we originally had invited to the tournament had committed suicide. We decided to declare Jordan the winner in a "no contest", but right before declaring this, another Vigilante, the original cowboy version, rode up on his Vigilante cycle shooting off his six-shooters and singing "Home on the range". In the shortest match so far, Green Lantern, with the help of his power ring, formed a giant green fly swatter and squashed the singing cowboy in six seconds. Winner - Green Lantern Hal Jordan

Even thou he lost, Starman still has one of the coolest costumes in the tournament!

That's the first part of the first round of the tournament and all four of our number one seeds made it on to the second round. Very soon we will be announcing the second part of the first round as we have all of the number eight seeds versus the number nine seeds. These should be some of the hottest contested matches yet. Will there be any upsets? Check back later for all the details.

The Beginning of the End

Seventy-five percent of the time, today would be March first. Seeing as how we have a leap year at this time, it's still February. How about if the next year we add the day to June so we make a warm month a day longer instead of a cold one. Wouldn't that be better and would it make that big of a difference? But I digress. The reason for this blog is to announce the unofficial beginning of this years March Madness. Not talking about college basketball here folks. I have a very different field of 64 in mind. In the past I have done (not on my blog but in real life, not that my blog isn't real life, just not published here on my blog, I mean but you get the idea) a field of 64 for Elton John songs, Pearl Jam songs, female actresses, and other topics. This year I have decided to have an all out battle of epic proportions. I present to you the biggest and baddest field of 64 ever:

Any questions?

Have you ever pondered the age old question; "Who would win in a fight between ________ and _______ ?" Well, for the next month this blog will try and answer some of those questions. I have chosen some of the most elite superheroes in the DC comics universe to square off in no holds barred battle to see just who is the best of the best.

All of these heroes and more wait to do battle in my version of "March Madness"

Now before you go bitching and saying I'm not being fair to Marvel or any other comic publishers, keep in mind I'm not a big Marvel fan and never have been. Always been a DC fan boy. So if you don't like it, do something about it and make up your own field of 64. Also, it was not easy to cut the field down to just 64. In the Dc Universe there are literally hundreds of heroes past, present, and future heroes that I could have chosen. I feel that I have chosen some of the obvious and some of the not so obvious. If one of your favorites didn't make it in, again tough, deal with it, and see the suggestion I made earlier in the paragraph. This here is my blog after all. Tee He!

Got a problem with that?

All the action starts in less then 24 hours! Right here during the entire month of March!

Some of the fights scheduled for tomorrow include number one seeds versus number 16 seeds. As well as some number eights versus number nines. Get ready 'cause it's gonna get ugly!

Some of the fights have already begun. Not looking good for Booster Gold!

The Answers

"We must ever maintain the principle that the people of this continent alone have the right to decide their own destiny." -James Knox Polk
I was remiss in observing President's Day, so as a way to make up for my blunder, I introduce you to one of the forgotten Presidents.

Manifest destiny. Many of us remember that catchy phrase from school history lessons, even though at the time we may not have quite totally understood what it really meant. It's the concept of manifest destiny, though, which is taught in school (if at all), rather than which President championed it as a principle of freedom. As a result, President James K. Polk remains one of those six Presidents crowded into the period between 1840 and 1860 which tend to become a hazy blur, rather than attaining the place of greater prominence he actually deserves. In fact, a leading historian called Polk "the one bright spot in the dull void between Jackson and Lincoln." Despite this, Polk, who "came out of nowhere" to become President in 1844 and accomplished all he set out to do during his administration, managed to return to obscurity and remain there.

Polk's expansionist agenda led to disputes with Mexico over Southwest regions and the failure to resolve those disputes resulted in the Mexican War in 1846. When the United States proved to be victorious in 1848, the peace treaty added over a million square miles in the Southwest and Far West, including California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state. Under Polk, "manifest destiny" - the idea that acquiring western lands was proper and necessary in order to secure the noble purposes of the United States - resulted in the country now stretching from sea to sea, thereby locking out the possibility of foreign intervention in those areas which had become increasingly under the influence of the maturing United States. It also provided opportunities of unparalleled freedom for Americans to move West and still be under the protection of the United States government.

Polk remained focused on the ideals of "manifest destiny", as opposed to merely acquiring land for its own sake, and rejected suggestions that the U.S. seize parts of Canada up to Alaska or the entire nation of Mexico. Polk properly reasoned that those acquisitions simply weren't needed to serve the legitimate purpose of securing the nation and its noble purposes from foreign intervention. President Polk worked extremely hard during his term and at the end of it, suffering from exhaustion, decided to return to private life even though he remained popular and probably could have won a second term. He also felt he had achieved what he had set out to do, and simply didn't need to return to the office. At the age of only 53, he died at his Nashville home a mere three months after leaving office.

It's hard to imagine the United States without the vast expanses of the Southwest and Far West - particularly the State of California. The taming of these areas became an important part of the country's folklore and national identity. Yet all this might not have been, had President James Knox Polk not pursued his principles with such vigor. Therefore, it's strange indeed that there is so little national remembrance of this man and the critical role his presidency played.

Survivor Guide

As was the case many times through history, a demand sometimes is made by the masses. I have received some emails about my pictures I posted on the blog from our recent vacation in Disney. It appears some of you (Russell, I'm lookin' at you beeyotch) have requested some photos of me and my princess to be included in the pictorial history of the vacation. It didn't take as long for my defences to fall. In fact quicker than Amy Winehouse will be back in rehab (I said no no no) the wish had been granted. Here now are some personal pics from the vacation.

This is a pic of my lady love at the end of "Drinking Around The World" day in Epcot. Yeah, she's feeling no pain!

Here I am at the end of the same day. Notice that I have short sleeves along with a pair of shorts on (that you can't see but they are on the lower half of me). The temp at this point is around 45 degrees and the windchill is somewhere in the high 30's. Refer back to the previous picture for the sweatshirt I was offered, but refused to accept.

Two days later we have breakfast with Pooh at the Crystal Palace. This is one of my favorite pictures from the vacation. Don't they look sooooo cute together?

Here I am with Tigger the same morning. Notice the primo sweatshirt I was now sporting. Yeah, I was kissing up to Tigger to get a good picture op. Guess what? It worked. Told you I wanted the perfect sweatshirt.

Who doesn't love Eeyore? One of the waitresses in the restaurant was nice enough to take our picture together, for a change.

There's your damn personal snapshots. Now get off my back. Oh, and I hope you all like the new blog colors. Now stow it!

Past, Present, and Future

Lost is not kind to lovers, especially on Valentine's Day. For the second straight year, our beloved crypto-drama has aired an episode on February 14. And for the second straight year, Cupid was kicked in the nuts. Last year, in the trippy time-travel tale ''Flashes Before Your Eyes,'' Desmond toggled back to his breakup with Penelope, just to break up with her all over again. Last night, in ''The Economist,'' Flash-Forward Sayid fell for a woman he shouldn't have, and ultimately broke her heart — with two bullets to the chest. (To be fair, the femme fatale shot him first.) These things happen when you play secret-agent assassin for Germany's most morally ambiguous veterinarian — Benjamin Linus. In his off-Island future as a member of the Oceanic 6, the former Iraqi torturer smokes European fat cats for über-Other Ben, who in his off-Island future has a croaky, low phone voice (All the better to delay the last-scene reveal of my true identity, my dear!), runs a pet hospital in Berlin, and manages a global conspiracy on the side. The Man With 1000 Passports has a whole list of bad people he wants dead, ''people [who] don't deserve our sympathies,'' as he told Sayid. Note to Ben's customers: Pay that doggy-grooming bill on time!



The episode's title, ''The Economist,'' was a reference to the job allegedly held by Sayid's current target, a powerful mystery man whose name went conspicuously unmentioned. It also suggested a key for reading the story. This was an episode about ''bosses'' and ''senior management'' and the minions who toil for them; about trade negotiations and merger proposals; about recession fears and hostile-takeover threats. It was a snapshot look at the information economy that shapes everything on Lost, one where secrets and inside information are valuable currencies, with hostages and guns running close behind. It was also an episode about the internal corruption that occurs when romantic idealists are forced to become cutthroat businessmen. (Literally.) Who's The Boss? Or where's the boss? That's what Locke was asking as he led his tribe to where Jacob's cabin should have been, only to discover that his house of sprits had disappeared from its circle of ash/salt/kitty litter. Abandoned by his Island god, Locke looked, yes, lost, and banged-up Ben was quick to jump all over that: ''He's looking for someone to tell him what to do next,'' the devilish Other told Locke's disgruntled flock. With Hurley showing signs of instigating a shareholder rebellion over the Charlotte-hostage issue, CEO Locke squelched the dissidence and shored up his office by playing the fear card, brow-beating Hurley with some tough talk about the cost of compromise. Did Flash-Forward Hurley's regret over choosing Locke over Jack begin here?The Negotiating Committee, meanwhile, in Happy Helicopter Valley, the Jack Pack negotiated the terms of rescue with freighters Daniel Faraday (twitchy physicist), Frank Lapidus (bushy-faced pilot), and Miles Straum (angry young ghost whisperer), who, of course, may not be there to rescue them at all. The shifty trio made it clear they weren't flying anywhere without Charlotte, so Sayid stepped up and said he'd hike to the Dharma barracks and negotiate her release. Jack wanted to come, but given how the good doctor tried to shoot Locke in the face the last time they squared off, Sayid thought he should stay behind. Control Freak Jack got a proxy at the table, however, by sending Kate with Sayid and Miles. He felt her presence would give Sayid more leverage, as Locke wouldn't dare attempt any underhanded knife-in-back stuff, not with Sawyer there to play bodyguard. Yeah, you could say it was a contrived way to set up the possibility of more sex scenes between the old Hydra humpers. Still, it felt like classic emotional Jack. You could tell Kate wasn't thrilled with Jack treating her like a pawn on a chessboard, and my hunch is that what we really saw in the moment was the beginning of her dawning realization that as much as she may dig Jack's cheese, he's got a lot more getting over himself to do before they can have a flash-forward future together, much less swap valentines and spit.

Arriving at the Dharma barracks — or, more recently, New Otherton — Sayid, Miles, and Kate found Hurley tied up in the closet, allegedly left behind by Locke. It was a trap, one that exploited Sayid's soft spot for his friends and loved ones, a fatal flaw that makes both him and Hurley the most easily manipulated of the castaways. I thought Sayid should have seen through this ruse, and his failure to do so continued a dubious tradition of super-soldier Sayid not living up to his Republican Guard pedigree. Maybe I'm selling him short. Sayid was probably content to let Locke play and win his little mousetrap games, just as long as he sealed the deal he had come to make. I think he knew he would: His package was much too appealing. He offered Locke a hostage swap — Miles for Charlotte — plus himself. Sayid had come around to Locke's belief that the freighter people are nothing but bad news. His master plan, he told Locke, was to infiltrate the freighter and gather intel — corporate espionage. Locke was sold.

Meanwhile, as upper management haggled in the billiard room, Kate and Sawyer caucused in Ben's bedroom. The shaggy rogue explained that he has no intention of leaving the Island because there was nothing but a prison sentence waiting for him back in the real world, and since Kate was looking at the same fate, hey, why not stay with him? Kate was dubious: ''How long, Sawyer? How long do you think we can play house?'' Saywer was bold: ''Why don't we find out?'' I was impressed with the former con man's risky emotional frankness. I was also intrigued by the fact that this scene took place in Ben's bedroom, with all those tribal masks all over the place. Hmmmm. Sawyer's you-complete-me pitch may have swayed Kate, because she didn't return to Happy Helicopter Valley with Sayid and Charlotte. The ''I blew it'' look that passed across Jack's face when Sayid told him the news was pretty priceless.

Sayid discovers Ben's secret stash of passports, foreign currency, and suits. Clearly, Ben does a lot of traveling for work. (Remember, the Others do have that off-Island company, Mittelos Biosciences; presumably, Ben is the boss.) Long ago, I wondered if the Others had an airstrip on the Island, so I wouldn't be surprised to discover Ben has a corporate jet, too — plus a hangar full of old Oceanic airplane parts. You know, leftovers from the false evidence that the Others planted in the Sunda Trench. (Just a theory.) Now, if you're going to go all crazy on me and claim that the multiple passports and husky-voiced Flash-Forward Ben are evidence that there multiple Bens in the world thanks to alternate universe/wormhole theory, I'm in! (FYI: The name on the Ben passport Sayid examined looked to be Dean Moriarty — a character from Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Moriarty is also the name of Sherlock Holmes' nemesis. Just so you know.)

Another scene I bet you'll be going nutty over was the one where Daniel Faraday did his rocket experiment, which concluded with his admittedly ''beyond weird'' discovery of an apparent 31-minute time differential between freighter reality and Island reality, where time seems to pass more slowly. What does this mean? I don't know — but I immediately went to barnesandnoble.com and purchased Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time so you guys can borrow it, read it, and then summarize it for me while I eat grapes and watch Big Brother. Seriously, I'm crunching theories, but it takes time for me to do quantum physics. It takes me mere seconds, however, to do some cheap biblical analysis! Did you see the numbers on Daniel's clocks? One said 3:16, while the other said 2:45. As it happens, Daniel 2:45 is the culmination of the story in which exiled Daniel earned an exalted place in King Nebuchadnezzar's court by interpreting a dream concerning the future of Babylon and how ''the fourth kingdom will be a divided kingdom.'' Hey — that sounds like the fourth season of Lost! Meanwhile, Daniel 3:16 is part of the famous story of how Daniel's friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in the fiery furnace but were saved by God. How might that apply to Lost? Well, thematically, the story deals with three men who refused to abandon their spiritual beliefs and bow down before a false idol — a story that stands in stark contrast to Sayid's flash-forward arc.

In the opening scenes of ''The Economist,'' we were given two quick, quiet moments that re-established two very important things about Sayid. First, we saw him praying. Sayid, if you recall, is a spiritual man, a Muslim. Second, we saw him tenderly shut dead Naomi's eyes and examine her bracelet, inscribed with ''N., I'll be with you always, R.C. (or G not sure of the font)'' Sayid, recall, is a romantic (see: Nadia; Shannon), and I bet that his desire that Naomi be sent home for a proper burial appealed to his religious convictions and sentimentality. Yet in his flash-forward future, Sayid ain't exactly living according to those ideals. In fact, like James Bond, his license-to-kill existence makes a mockery of the sanctity of life and love. Sayid remains sufficiently decent in the future that when it was finally time to move against the Economist, he came clean with Elsa, as he had genuinely fallen for her. But then she pulled a Casino Royale on him: It turned out she was an undercover lover, too, seducing him in hopes of smoking out Ben's identity. Elsa was Sayid's mirror twin, and to make sure we got it, Sayid smashed a mirror reflection of his Lady From Shanghai doppelgänger before popping some caps into her.After Sayid stumbled into Ben's safe house/vet office for some first aid, his boss mocked him for his weakness. Then Ben dropped this intriguing tidbit: ''Need I remind you what happened the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun.'' Sayid's response was even more mysterious: ''You used that girl to recruit me into killing for you.'' But Ben the master manipulator hit him where it hurts the most: the bottom line. ''Do you want to protect your friends or not?'' Sayid looked like a man over a barrel. What did he say about Ben earlier in the episode? ''The day I start trusting him is the day I sell my soul.'' Welcome to Hell, Sayid. Now get that game face on — there's work to be done.

Survival Guide

More pictures from our trip to Disney.

The geyser by the pool at the Wilderness Lodge. Actually more "faithfull" than Old Faithfull in that Fire Rock Geyser (the name of the geyser at Widerness Lodge) erupts every hour on the hour.

No, this is not one of the ferry boat drivers, its the remains of one of the unlucky pirates on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

See, I told you some Lost stuff was coming up. This is on the menu board at the ABC commisary at Disney Studios (formerly MGM).

You heard of the saying "X marks the spot", well, for the Pirates and Princess Party it really did. This was one of the landmarks we had to look for to find the treasure spots scatterred throughout the Magic Kingdom. Arrr there be treasure there Matey.

Another shot of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. So awe inspiring that I actually teared up a bit.

A Tale of Survival

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve been around. Seems the place isn’t any worse for wear, thankfully. Little more dusty than I remember and who decided on these colors? Geez, I gotta change that soon, but onto another topic. What a vacation! I can’t tell you how awesome of a time we had at Disney World. Can’t believe it took almost 40 years for me to get there. Won’t be another 40 until I get back, that’s for sure! The weather was awesome except for one night and the following morning. In the mid 70’s most days and the 50’s most nights. The one exception being the day it was only 60-ish for a high temp and it got down to 39 the night before and it was raining and very windy. The wind chill that night was 31. Of course I was in shorts and a Hawaiian type shirt (you just know I was gonna wear one of those down there eventually), which didn‘t help matters. Needless to say I froze my cheekies off. Even though my lovely Princess offered me her sweatshirt which I, of course, refused. What kind of Prince Valium would I have been if I had taken her up on her offer? Well, a warmer one for one thing but regardless, it was my own fault. I had many opportunities to get a sweatshirt for myself but didn’t because I wanted to get the perfect sweatshirt and that day I just didn’t see it. I did, however, find it the next day, so waiting it out paid off even if I was a little frost bitten.

The totem pole in the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge the legend states that you have to touch the bears nose for good luck

The parks were a lot less crowded than I thought they were going to be. The longest wait we experienced was about a 35 minute wait for Star Tours which is a Star Wars ride. It was well worth the wait. Cannot believe how detailed they are in all the parks as well as the resorts. Our resort, the Wilderness Lodge was perfect! Designed like a lodge from the 50’s in Yellowstone, it was a secluded and scenic paradise. I can’t say enough about all the parks, the resorts, and the people that work there. Sure there were some things we were disappointed with, if I thought otherwise I would say I was fooling myself. Some of the food was less than I had expected (although they give you plenty of it no matter where you eat), MGM wasn’t as fun as I had anticipated. Also we had the opportunity to walk through the Grand Floridian Resort and proceeded to make a hasty retreat. Wholly crap was I out of place. How can I put it, ah, perfect, here try this; picture Larry the cable guy dines at the Ritz Carlton. Yeah, just like that.

The Pirates of the Cribbean ride at night during the Pirates and Princess Party. Notice the cool lights and the fog. Great atmosphere!

The hot tub at the resort was awesome, we managed to enjoy that two of the nights we were there. What a great way to relax after hoofing it all over Orlando for fifteen hours every day. No Splash Mountain, that was closed but we didn’t really miss it. The day in Animal Kingdom was too cool for Kali River Rapids so we didn’t go on that either. It’s a water ride where you get soaked, enough said. After seven days and seven nights, we still didn’t see everything, but that’s okay, we gotta leave something to do for next time. Next time you may ask is going to be October, for Halloween. Yeah, two Disney trips in one year. Only difference is we are planning to drive down this time. The plane rides were pretty harrowing and we want to skip those this time. Not saying we won’t ever fly again, just not next time.

I was a little skeptical about the trip in the beginning. I hoped we weren’t wasting a lot of money. Yes, you spend a lot of money going to Disney and we spent more than we needed to, but we wanted to do it right the first time. Which we did, we also learned how we can do it a whole lot cheaper next time. Comparing our two trips (yeah we’ve already been looking into prices and packages) the one in October will end up costing us about half of what it cost us to go in January. Same park tickets, same hotel, same amount of nights. Half the cost. We just have to watch how we schedule the meal plans and we will be able to spend a lot less on souvenirs as well.

Tink on top of the treasure chest in the P & P parade

The Pirate and Princess party was beyond belief. After the sun went down and the lights came on, they quickly empty the park and let those with special tickets and nifty little purple wrist bands back into the park for four hours of Pirate and Princess wonderment. This is also something I thought was going to be more “kiddie” oriented and we wouldn’t enjoy it as much. Wrong again. You go in the park and there are different lights throughout the park. We had been in the Magic Kingdom at night before, but for the Pirate and Princess Party, they use different lights, as well as put on a different night time parade and a totally different fireworks display than the usual Wishes performance. Wishes is great, the Pirate and Princess show is that much better. Also did I mention smoke machines? Lots of them making the park a foggy wonderland and a little bit on the creepy side. The parade? All I can say is 40 foot pirate ship and the only time you see Tinkerbelle in the park (except for her nightly Wishes fly across the sky above the park) and not just walking down the street, she’s on top of the Pirates treasure chest! We went on a treasure hunt and got our gems and jewels (think Mardi Gras beads and you get the idea, and you don’t want to know what we had to do to get some of those beads!). We also got a tutorial on how to be a good pirate from Captain Jack Sparrow himself. Not Johnny Depp, but a damn good impersonation none the less.

Captain Jack Sparrow shows us all how to be good pirates

Let’s see, some of the other highlights were drinking around the world at World Showcase in Epcot! Good times. Biggest surprise that day? I like Sake. Second biggest surprise? My Princess is a very loud drunk! Yes, that was the most inebriated I have ever seen her. Another nice surprise was we both like hard cider (Strongbow and Woodpecker respectfully) as well as Moosehead beer. Who woulda thunk it? Eleven alcoholic beverages and nine hours later we were ready to call it a day. Not as hard to do as we had expected actually, in fact that was the first night we took a dip in the hot tub. It was also the night of the bitterly cold winds. Wonder how cold I would have been if I didn’t have alcohol in me? Animal Kingdom, a park I really didn’t have a lot of hope for, turned out being a better park in our opinion than MGM (or Disney Studios, whatever you want to call it), which I said was mildly disappointing. It looks like a big confusing city, enough said. Or maybe not, I got lost twice walking around that park with the park map open and in front of me. Even with all that said, MGM is still a must see for us when we go back in October.

Fireworks display for the P & P Party. All I can say is WOW!

We did just about every show, every ride, and every attraction we put on our “must see” list, some of the rides twice (like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean) like I said Splash Mountain was closed as well as Spaceship Earth (the big golf ball thingy in Epcot) so we hope to catch those in October. We also hope to be able to spend some time in Downtown Disney next time. Downtown Disney is more adult oriented with night clubs and restaurants geared towards the mature crowd (he he, yeah mature, who me?). So until October, you’re stuck with me back here. Speaking of which, some good Lost stuff coming soon.

The Journey

See you in a week bitches!

Destination Lost

Parasol ... Check!
Plumes and Feathers ... Check!
Lots (and I do mean LOTS!) of alcohol ... Check!
Purple dress ... Check!
Face Paint ... Check!
Glockenspiel ... Check! (thank god for spellcheck)
Long Johns ... Check!
Even more alcohol ... Check!
Even more plumes and feathers ... Check!

Hmmm?

Now where the hell did I put those goddamn golden slippers?

Reckoning

It’s hard to fathom that Lost’s fourth season begins in just about a month. I guess it’s true that after a few months in seclusion, you acquire a sense that all things are eternal. From this day forward, all Lost geeks can reset their internal cycles and pretend they are just waiting out a slightly longer than normal holiday hiatus. While we’re waiting for Lost to return, though, maybe it’s time for us to break a little radio silence and do a little theorizing on some of the latest Intel to leak out of Lost island.

One of the biggest things to come up during the time Lost has been resting between seasons is the orientation video for a yet to be discovered new station on the island. I am talking about the Orchid station. You can look it up on You Tube if you haven't seen it yet. At first many fans wrestled with whether or not to accept the film as canon, mostly because of Dr. Marvin Candle, under yet another pseudonym, famously dropping the f-bomb. A new, not so authorized, picture has shown the world that "The Orchid" not only exists, but will be featured around midway through the fourth season. It’s purpose is still unknown, but a curious set of dinosaur-sized bones sticking from the ground near the station stirs memories of a four-toed foot, and questions over just where the rest of that statue is. If we get too see it with the writers strike still going on i still unknown.

In the video, a bunny is apparently duplicated by accident. Now, what is important about this is that Lindelof and company have made a few promises. They have promised no clones. They promised no twins, or at least that twins were of no importance. But they never said no duplicates from alternate time lines. Although, they have told us that the future, as seen in flash-forwards, is set. I’m not saying that by process of elimination the producers have begun to present us with the bare bones of the more fantastic elements of the story, but they may have. Then again, there is another aspect to television, particularly of the mystery variety, that is sometimes overlooked completely. It is an illusion.

A good mystery is like a good magic trick. I recently spoke with someone who was into street magic. He talked about part of the art being creating the question of whether there was a genuine paranormal force involved. If the audience only thinks of it as a trick, they look for the moment they are fooled, or wonder when it took place. Good magic, in other words, depends on good lies. When I found out that the best mind reading acts involved stooges, I thought that was a bit disingenuous. But the trick, according to the guy, is to make the audience wonder how you were able to pull that off without a stooge. If they believed the lie that the stooge was not in on it, the trick was successful because what the magician wants the audience to believe is that he somehow used trickery to create the illusion of mind reading, and not just used a stooge who was in on it. Two principles of magic that translates very well to the way a story is effectively predicted in a production as open to the media as Lost is. The point of all this? Lindelof and Cuse will never lie to us, but they are masters of semantic illusion. Many theorists are stopped dead in their tracks by what Lost’s writers tell us is accurate, and not. But it would be a mistake to assume that there are any absolutes when it comes to how fine a grain Lost’s-story smiths will winnow out the details of their epic in progress. With The Orchid being canon we know that at least some variation of the concept of duplicating, cloning, or twinism exists in some parallel sensibility, and we also know that the writers have used sly tricks of semantics to avoid admitting that this element exists.

Take comfort that no matter the fact that our crazy theories are shot down, only to be validated through a loop-hole of language, the mission of the Lost crew is to excite, dazzle, and amaze us with a story that in its purest form springs from the unexpected. Even if that requires a little verbal slight-of-hand. In case you haven't seen them, there are some more of the "Lost - Missing Pieces" mobisodes out now. The best one, in my opinion, is the titled "Room 23". It's about Walt and what happened to him when he was taken from the raft and put in room 23. Apparently Walt did not like that too much and Juliette and Ben get to see some of his power. A pretty powerful and unnerving few minutes. Dr. Arntz is in another new one and the latest is Sun and Michael, from way back in season 1. The Sun/Michael short may be the one that raises the most eyebrows to date. Go check it out, you should find it on you tube as well. The newest info I have been able to gather is still in the rumor stages and not what I would credit as a spoiler yet, but it might be going into that stage very soon. All I can say right now is it involves who is now being called "The Oceanic 6". There are six Losties getting off the island and that's it. Some of the rest either decide not to leave, can't leave, or die before getting the chance to leave. More info aplenty to be coming up soon.

Twas The Night Before

Wishing all of my blogger friends the Merriest of Christmases and a good start to the new year. As a special added bonus here are some more pictures from season 4 episodes that is now about 5 weeks away. Damn gettin' close now.

Juliette doing her booby version of the one cheek sneak. On a related topic that has nothing to do with Lost, just saw The Santa Clause 2 with Elizabeth Mitchell, if you watch this movie it's difficult not to think of her as "Juliette".

Desmond looking a bit the cocky Aussie. Also on a related note, just saw The Nativity with Desmond playing an adult Jesus.

Claire leaves the world of the happy people and treks further into the jungle. Huh? Saw Santa's Slay with Bill Goldburg playing a serial killer Santa and Emilie De Ravin is the heroic heroine.

First picture of the Orchid Station. Coincidentally I have a Christmas orchid blooming right now.
Guess Sawyer is about to take Ben off of his Christmas Card list. For good. Didn't know how to tie this one in with Christmas. Sorry.

Now I gotta go start making with the Merry!

A short rant

This is not related to the holidays, Lost, movies, books, or any other such thing usually appearing on my blog. It's about credit and debit cards. Actually it's about a commercial that is circulating on the TV that I'm pissed and insulted by. There are several versions of the commercial. The first one I saw was a man getting his lunch at one of those cafeteria type restaurants. Might even be the cafe at work, who knows, it doesn't matter. Everybody in line in front of him swipe either their credit or debit cards to pay for their meal. There is music playing and everything is shown as going quick and smoothly like an assembly line until this guy gets there and pulls out cash and the music stops, people stop cooking, everyone stops smiling and moving, and everyone just stares at the guy. Like he has committed a crime or something. It's money! Oh, so sorry it's not a stupid piece of plastic that makes me think I have more money than I do. There's a few different versions of the commercial. One causes a funeral procession in New Orleans to stop. Another version shows I-Pods actually stop working if you try to pay with cash. A hundred years ago nobody heard of credit cards, fifty years ago only the wealthy had them. My grandparents paid in cash or nothing. Not having the cash meant they couldn't afford it. But not you, Mr. Businessman. People like you have no need for cash as long as you have you plastic fantastic fun card. All kinds of people use them whether they actually have the means to pay the bill or not. And why wouldn't they? We don't really need to carry all that cash around with us do we? Let's just use our flexible platinum friend. Yes! Please do feed my ego. Give me more plastic and more credit and more finance charge, we love them. I hate them, (I, however, do use them for major purchases and at the holidays, but only if I have to) I hate the companies and I now hate their commercials. Bank of America just had to borrow money from a third world nation to pay off their debt. Who knew? Now the credit card companies have credit cards? Who the hell gets to hold onto that puppy? How friggin' dare they make me feel embarrassed because I have they money on me for the purchase I want to make. Also, just a little information for all those people that need to put a cup of coffee and a pack of Bubbalicious on a credit card, in case you didn't notice, that's me behind you. I'm the one waiting, cash in hand, for you to swipe your card. "Does the black stripe face me or away from me? This way? Oh, upside down?" Beep! "No try it again." Beep! "Nope, not this time either." Wipe it on your pants. Beep! How about that time? Holy shit! You don't have two dollars and fifty-five cents on you? Just how over extended are you? Yes, after you swipe your card a few dozen times, wait for the cashier, push approve or accept, or whateverthefuck, and sign your stupid name, you are finally on your way. I got a cup of coffee and I pay for it and I'm on my way. I'm the pissed off guy walking past you in the parking lot (I'll pass you in the goddamn vestibule if I have exact change and ain't gotta wait for the clerk to count out my change!) Now they have those credit/debit card combo deals. Oh goody, another decision to make. Guess if I had a gun in my glove compartment, I'd have a choice to make to. And believe me, it's not a choice of if I fire a warning shot first or not. Get some cash in you pockets and pay for your shit and get out of my way you pompous shit wad. How dare you. How dare you!

Now it really feels like Christmas

The last few years this has been my favorite Christmas song. Yeah, I still like the traditional songs like O Holy Night and Little Drummer Boy, but I guess this is my favorite modern day Christmas song.

Enjoy!