LOST has this magical habit of surpassing itself with each episode. The final season was destined to be memorable and I certainly haven't forgotten a single frame. This episode in particular had a revelation, two reunions, one meeting, and a whole lotta awesomeness.
Let's begin with the revelation. Locke revealed that he had been taking the form of Christian, Jack and Claire's father, for some time now. He said he only did it to show the survivors where water was back in season one...um, hows about no? Christian has appeared multiple times since then, and he even used Christian's memory to turn Claire into a squirrel monkey. Locke is obviously a bad buy up to no good, but his rationalizations for his actions make me wonder if he actually has a point or if he is legitimate crazy, as in evil and in need of a white jacket or a blow to the skull. Who knows?
One of the reunions take place between Jack and Claire, who were finally given an opportunity to talk. Claire seemed overjoyed at the prospect of having a big brother, especially one who was on her side. Jack, likewise, seemed to be excited to see her. Lord knows Jack just loves saving people. That's a big brother trait through and through, so hopefully he does that. Hopefully you wind up saving her once this season, Jack. Because you kind of left her behind three years ago and you blatantly left her behind at the end of this episode. Even I was hurt by that. Jackhole.
While Jack and Claire were reuniting, bonding, and losing faith in the original timeline, the alternative timeline had their first meet. Claire was going to a lawyer when Desmond, fresh off the "I-know-what's-going-on" boat steered her to an stranger's office. This stranger happened to be the dearly-smithereened Ilana who died just last week. Everybody is alive and well in this alternative universe. Claire unexpectedly gets pulled into the reading of her father's will, a father she never even knew. Jack shows up with this son David and the pair are stunned to learn of Claire's paternity. So stunned that they have to leave after maybe two minutes. They left, coincidentally, to go save Locke. What a small city.
I'm trying something here. I was going to simply comment on the flash sideways as if they were an independent series, but I love the actual LOST universe too much to do that. For now. I didn't decide to do it today because Sun and Jin FINALLY reunited after 29 episodes apart. That's three years. A season and a half. They are the couple that needs to stand the test of time for this show to really be about life and love. Jin has to meet his daughter and they have to all reunite as a family.
So hopeful, however. The writers will kill anybody.
NEXT WEEK: Repeat! Yay, what happened to no repeats? In two weeks, there are explosions and decisions are made. It is a must-see. I'm nervous. I'm nervous and scared.
Aside: Terry O'Quinn can make the angriest face . He just pulls it and I'm forced to look over my shoulder to see if he's watching me.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a marine conservation organization that uses "direct action" to protect sealife.That direct action includes intentionally damaging ships that partake in mass fishing, whaling, and netting, among other sealife infractions. The organization was founded by Paul Watson, a former Greenpeace board member who disagreed with the organization's nonviolent approach. His desire to attack resulted in his separation from Greenpeace and his creation of the SSCS.
The SSCS's tactics are extreme, to say the least. Their mission is to "end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species" by using "innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas." So...they will literally attack your ship to the point of it becoming inoperable. One one hand, their tactics is admirable. They are tenacious in the same vein as the better-known PETA. They have slight credibility over PETA because they aren't harming individuals, but rather individuals' means of harming wildlife; PETA will just throw a bucket of blood on you. It's actually ironic (and it really is ironic, not just a coincidence) that their official title is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, when they harass and assault individuals. Pot, meet kettle.
This calls into question the ethics of direct action. Direct action is not always unlawful. Some forms of general activity are completely legal and ethically sound. There is nothing improper or wrong about the idea of a protest or a strike. The execution is relative. The SSCS, in my opinion, is not ethically sound in terms of their direct action tactics. It is unethical to harm someone and their property, for any reason. It isn't frowned upon to do so all the time, but I would still say it is unethical. It must certainly be unethical, then, to ram a ship into another ship in salute to the whales and the fishes. I said before that their actions are admirable; it is incredible that people would go through such lengths, albeit dangerous, because of something they believe in. The idea is admirable. The actual execution of said idea is a tad bit unhinged. This...
...is ridiculous. I understand the desire to provoke change, but there should be a line. I'm pretty sure there is a line, and I think the SSCS crosses it.
1. an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding money and, in some cases, issuing notes and transacting other financial business.
A bank is a financial intermediary used by the majority of Americans, and the world, to hold and protect their money. Banking in the United States is generally synonymous with retail banking, which refers to institutions that deal with customers directly. Examples of retail banks are Chase, Bank of America, and Wachovia.
Most retail banking institutions offer the same generic services:
Personal checking and savings accounts
Business checking accounts
Credit cards
Certificates of deposit (CDs) - Accounts that accrue interest over an allotted period of time; can be liquid, meaning accessible and able to be withdrawn, or can be fixed, meaning the only way to withdraw is to pay a penalty charge
Loans (personal, auto, mortgage, home equity, business, student, boat)
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
Online banking is a feature that most banks have adopted in the new millennium. The Banking Act of 1933, also known as the Glass-Steagall Act, established a staple of the banking industry that is still prevalent today - the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC insures the safety of deposits made to banks that are members of the corporation. Since 1980, the FDIC had insured $100,000 per depositor per institution, which encompasses checking and savings accounts. In 2008, the insurance limit was raised to $250,000 per depositor to ease the public's fear of the banking industry crumbling around them.
Banks are incapable of going bankrupt in America; they would be taken over by the government and would eventually be sold to a stronger banking institution. The only downside of bank failure is the incapability of choosing where your account will be held next. Many people hold accounts at different banks to maximize on the insurance capabilities; each depositor is insured for up to $250,000 at each individual bank, meaning you can easily have a million dollars federally insured if spread across four different banks. Every banking institution is not FDIC-insured, though.
I sat down with with my grilled cheese sandwich and my Rockstar energy drink to finally watch MASH. I was already intrigued before it even began because the subsequent television show is so prestigious and well-renowned. I was fully prepared to laugh hysterically.
I think I laughed maybe three or four times. I laughed when Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Duke (Tom Skerritt) arrived at 4077th surgical hospital. The overlapping introductions were amusing. I laughed when Major Houlihan was arriving and her welcome wagon was facing the opposite direction. I laughed when Trapper (Elliott Gould) punched Burns (Robert Duvall) in the face, mainly because I knew that I recognized Trapper but I couldn't place him for the life of me. When he punched Burns he let out a yelp and started talking and his high voice clashed with his appearance and it was hysterical. Burns and Houlihan having their sex broadcast throughout the hospital was so awful and so great. The long take after they realized what was happening was great cinematography.
The entire "Suicide is painless" scenario was my favorite part of the movie. Painless Pole's (John Schuck) dry plea for ideas on how to kill himself was perfect. The staff's vibrant ideas made it all the more enjoyable. And then the serenade combined with his suicide attempt was entertaining, mainly because of how long it lasted. The fact that you got to see how far their joke carried on make it funny.
Other than those few instances though, I didn't follow MASH that well. I can appreciate that it is a comedy. I can appreciate the cultural relevance of it all. I didn't laugh as much as I thought I would have but I think that if I watched it again, I would be able to pick up on the more subtle bits of humor.
Association football is known by a few different names: football and soccer. Perhaps there are just two names for it. Association football is the world's most popular sport; as of 2000, over 240 million people play association football across over 200 countries.
The origins of football, in terms of kicking a ball around a field, span back as far as 3000 years ago. The Ancient Greeks and the Romans used football for military training. The Chinese, Japanese, Italians, Persians and Vikings also engaged in leisure reminiscent of modern day football.
The game was also played in England, in the British Isles,. Public schools across the country allowed their students to engage in different forms of play; some schools favored a no-hands approach, which would later become association football; other schools allowed their players to run with the ball and even tackle other players, which would be known as rugby football.Both forms of play were referred to as football though, as no officials rules were in place. In 1848, the schools began attempts to reach a consensus on what the official rules of the game would be. In 1863, the two were officially distinguished when the Football Association was formed. The Football Association adopted rules from Cambridge University.
The first timed match of 90 minutes was played in 1866 between London and Sheffield.
The first international match was held in 1872 between England and Scotland. Great Britain began holding matches regularly, even before the appeal of association football could reach the rest of Europe.
Two Scottish players, John Love and Fergus Suter, are believed to have been the first footballers to receive some kind of fiscal recognition for their talent. This occurred sometime around 1885.
Keefe shows what some consider to be the only two outcomes to joining a gang. And it is interesting that the van is going full speed towards either death or prison - he's implying that these kinds of people know exactly what they are getting into and that they can see the end of the road coming up fast. They just don't care. Yay for social commentary.
Walt Handelsman, Newsday
This cartoon is referencing the recent scandal involving (I think, because I didn't really follow the story) Republican officials using party funds to hire strippers or prostitutes. I think that was the story that broke a week or two ago. I honestly don't want to look because I'll be distracted for at least an hour. This cartoon tackles two social issues, though. Some politicians do things that completely counteract their political agenda. As well, the media can take harmless statements and twist them out of context. And then an innocent elephant loses his job. Tough break.
Jeff Stahler, The Columbus Dispatch
This cartoon is self-explanatory. Times are so hard that financial advisers are taking jobs away from teenagers. I have a friend who got a job as an Easter bunny at the mall. She didn't need to, but she did anyway; she also has a college degree. If you happen to read this, said friend, I love you.
Ed Stein, Rocky Mountain News
Well, duh. Of course marriage equality would ruin every other marriage in the nation. Gay men and women getting married is practically like a man being forced to divorce his wife and marry another man. And we can't let that happen, America. We can't. That, and that alone, is what will damage the sanctity of marriage. For shame.
I'd like to commend Ed Stein for drawing this.
Ted Rall, The Los Angeles Times
This comic is poking fun at the parents who have "extreme" ideas on how to protect their children. Like the comic about the touchy republican, this comic shows how people can easily manipulate a situation. The kids in the school district got the book banned, not the parents, but this is something that parents have been known to do in our society. The policy probably passed because a good portion of parents would be horrified to learn that their children could pop open a dictionary and learn what 'oral sex' meant. I wonder what they would do when they realized that 'shit' and 'bitch' are in the dictionary too.
Joe Heller, The Green Bay Press-Gazette
Here's the necessary economy cartoon. It's sad, really; so many people are involuntarily having to give things up everyday. Hopefully someone saw this and laughed about their misfortune.
LOST has this magical habit of surpassing itself with each episode. The final season was destined to be memorable and I certainly haven't forgotten a single frame. This episode in particular had a revelation, two reunions, one meeting, and a whole lotta awesomeness.
One of the reunions take place between Jack and Claire, who were finally given an opportunity to talk. Claire seemed overjoyed at the prospect of having a big brother, especially one who was on her side. Jack, likewise, seemed to be excited to see her. Lord knows Jack just loves saving people. That's a big brother trait through and through, so hopefully he does that. Hopefully you wind up saving her once this season, Jack. Because you kind of left her behind three years ago and you blatantly left her behind at the end of this episode. Even I was hurt by that. Jackhole.
