LOST and Found

So here are my 2 or 3 cents on LOST. For those of you lucky enough to have seen the Show through carry on, those that are currently watching or may watch in the future, there will probably be some spoilage in the following paragraphs.

So off the bat, the finale in my opinion was great. It went out on a high note and doing everything that LOST does well. Drama, action, comedy, love, death, science fiction, good, evil, black, white, gray, faith, chance, the grounded and the ridiculous. It answered questions and yes it through out some new ones. Frustrating? Maybe a little, but its the sort of thing the show does and it will allow it to be debated for the next months and through the power of dvd and syndication, forever. The show is easily one of the best series ever produced simply because it has found a way to balance all of the things above, do so in a serialized structure, and do it consistently for 6 years (well at least 4 and a half years, I'm looking at you parts of season 2 and 3).

Through my readings on the internet and twitter, People either seem to be on board with the finale or dead set against it. Some even go as far as to say it was a waste of 6 years. Wrong. If one episode made it a waste of 6 years than you need to reevaluate your rating system. That's like eating a basket of fries and crying because there was no ketchup left for the last one. You weren't complaining about all those other fries, and if that last fry had been made correctly to your specifications, some of the other fries would have been over done. Or digested too quickly. Too salt. Ugh, the extra brown one. You get the idea.

What so many people over look is that the show has always been about the characters. The first and last shots are of Jack's point of view. Yes they crashed on this island. Yes Charlie is all "Where are we?". Yes there is a pillar of smoke and polar bears, four toes statues, barracks, hatches, electromagnetism and time traveling bunnies. But none of that means shit unless it affects the character growth of these people who are shown with some much depth, care, and defects. LOST is how these people feel, the island is just a place that is testing those feelings. Half of the story of LOST has taken place off the island, so why is so much dependent on that being completely fleshed out.

As soon as surly, suicidal Jack uttered to Kate "We have to go BACK!!" it was obvious that getting off the island isn't the point of the show, other than a metaphor. Live together, die alone. Those words have been uttered countless times throughout the series, and most of these people were simply islands when they arrived. Divorced, widowed, without lost lovers, literally and figuratively with out fathers, adopted, pregnant with a dead beat boyfriend, liver-less, through and through broken. The island tested these peoples survival, and they each ad to grow. Once these people grew, they were given peace. Some saw it on the island, like everyone's favorite ice cream swirl Rose and Bernard. Most got to see it through the afterlife, or at least found that they could look back upon their time served on earth and try to make amends for what they have done.

I felt that there was no more beautiful a scene as the final time Locke and Ben spoke. Ben, who truly was one of the good guys, didn't feel he was ready to move on after the things he has done. Locke now knows what Ben what fighting for and fighting against, forgives him. Its a step in the right direction, as is his time served as the Richard to Hugo's Jacob. But he has to be completely at peace before he can move on. Michael and Eko were not there in the church in the finale. Though it is known that Eko (I'm too lazy to look up his real name, and its 38 letters and two hyphens) wanted more money, he may not have been at peace on the island. Michael was not, that's why he is stuck there. But a small part of me realizes that's ok because it meant that Walt got to live a normal life in New York, probably followed by pro ball cause the kid was like 6'8" by the season 3 finale. Was he special? Yep, do I wish we got more of him? Yep. But in this world they created there are probably countless Hugo's, Walt's, Miles', and Locke's. Don't forget the Desmond's, Brotha. His uncorking of he electo-pool was a favorite scene of mine as was the following scene of jack being baptized in the yellow stream after re-corking it. To have John Locke live on through Jack allows the show to come full circle and gives Locke the respect that he was due after so much heart ache. I'm not exactly the religious type, but the death of Jeremy Bentham was the sign that Jack needed to go back. The others ended up coming along, but it meant nothing until their tried and true leader stepped up. Jack haters can hate, but he has always had the best interest of the group in mind, even when it didn't work. Locke did to, even wen they opposed. It really was faith and science merging that saved everyone. Some escaped the island, to take care of their baby, spend all their diamond money, or in the case of Richard and Frank, unbutton their shirts and sip Mai Tai's. Others perished. Hurley and Ben marched the island on. The cycle I'm sure continued, they come, the steal, the murder, etc. While it may have always ended the same on the island, in death none of these people had to die alone. Now they just have to wait for the next airdrop of Dharma ranch.



All of LOST's allure can summed up in the moments where Jack is convincing Hurley to be the next Jacob. Tense, emotional, faith, growth, and humor. Hurley was scared to take the job, but he did, because Jack believe he could. That scene worked not because Hurley talked to dead people but because we know he lacked confidence. We now that because of all the time we spent watching him struggle with weight, sanity, luck, and love. Was there some crazy sci-fi going on there? Sure there was, but who cares. All I saw was two friends sacrificing something for each other and the everyone else they cared about. It was a beautiful scene, a beautiful finale, and a fabulous send off. Now what am I going to watch?

Winter Coats and Tiger's Strips

So another winter is upon us and once again I find myself at the ridicule of my peers. To answer them simply, "yes I know it is cold outside and yes I know I am not wearing a jacket." I get it, these friends, whom many of which are women, are showing their maternal concern. I think I draw the line when the male teller at Wells Fargo makes a comment. I have many reasons for not wearing a traditional winter coat during this time of year. Like to hear them, here they go.

1. My body is a furnace. Most peoples body's operate at 98.6 degrees. My Body thinks that shit is too cold. My body only reached 98.6 degrees on a Kelvin scale. Even just this morning I was leaving the YWCA after working out and I had to stand outside for like five minutes without my hat on and my jacket unzipped, or I would have sweat on the bus for its complete 20 minute trip. Don't even get me started on exiting the shower during the summer. I sit around wetter then a waitress sitting shotgun in Tiger Woods' Escalade. Or any woman for that matter. Jesus, who didn't Tiger fuck.
2. I don't like being bogged down. I like to travel as light as possible. A hoodie and gloves, and a hat and a jacket, plus long johns, and knee socks, and boots. I can't handle all of that. I feel more over dressed then Elin Woods feels next to any of Tiger's whores (that's two). And a scarf is like a 21st century noose, not exactly my kind of strange fruit.
   
3. Where am I supposed to put all of this shit. I'm 26, my friends and I like to go to the bars, have a drink or 6, sings some karaoke (No diggity), and not sweat my ass off (no doubt). Where the hell am I supposed to put this big ass coat? Coat check? Not taking my 3 dollars. Hanger? I'm not just leaving this at the front of the restaurant. Lay it over the stool? I don't want mine or someone elses booty sweat all over it. And it you put it over the back of a chair, it will slip up and get all nasty (like a New York Club Hostess, that's a Hat Trick my Cablinasian friend). If I wear a hoodie (and I love hoodies) Im good to go in ever situation.
   

So am I cold, not as much as you may think. Do I appreciate your concern, yes. I just don't need to hear it every day. Once every two weeks is just fine.

So back to this Tiger Woods thing. Wow. Everyone is coming out of the woodwork to claim their piece of the pie. Waitresses, porn stars, hostesses, I think one woman was a cat lady. Seems like Tiger would hit anything with his 5 wood...

I guess this makes me wonder a few things. Is Tiger a sex addict? Is it just cause he can? Do these girls do something Elin won't? More often? At all? How did she find out? Couldn't Tiger have been more selective? Why does everyone care (aside from his family)? And most of all, why is everyone so surprised? What reason has there been to think that Tiger is any different that any other athlete. If Tiger was a basketball player, he would be playing golf this weekend. Shawn Kemp is still discovering children at a rate of 1.2 every month. I'm not excusing wat he did, not really cool, especially since Elin is pretty hot, but really it isn't anyones business. And I (sadly) an interested by it, but not really surprised. More often then not males (especially pro athletes) are a product of their surroundings and opportunities. They were there, so he pounced. Though I bet when he, Federer and Jeter found that lost cat, they didn't know they were in for a wild night of love making.

Randoms....

So I just watched the movie Terminator Salvation. Meh. Were there a few ok action set pieces sure, but between those events the acting just kinda laid there like Terri Schiavo. But even Jesus would have pulled the plug on this one. Plus Common should stop making movies cause he can't act. He literally made what should be a hopeful phrase "It worked!" sound worse than his album Universal Mind Control. If plugging a different anonymous black man or rapper into Wanted or Smokin' Aces means he goes back to making good albums and not crap club music, then please do it. Seeing 1984 Arnold was nice though. Bring in James Cameron, since the only good Terminators were the first two.

Speaking of Cameron. Avatar comes out in a few weeks. Even the TV commercials say "movies won't be the same" after it comes out. Really? I guess the 3d is supposed to be cool (though i think it only really works with animation, like UP or Coraline(both very good by the way)). Paradis has pointed out that he has yet to make a bad movie, which I naturally wanted to argue. After running through his filmography I realized he was right. Terminator, T2, Abyss, True Lies, even Titanic reached levels of high comedy with people ping ponging of propellers and the band continuing to play their instruments as people are sliding off the ship. Hilarious. But I'm not sold yet. Right now it looks like Matrix Revolutions meets Dragonheart. And all those 12 foot tall blue people creep me out. And you know that they are going to have some gross lizard sex. If you ride your dragon home after a one night stand, is it a fly of shame? Glide of Shame? I dunno, I probably just go see Sherlock Homes over Christmas. Cause who doesn't love a Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr bromance.

Lost is only two months away. Final Season. Whose giddy? I am. I just hope Walt comes back and schools everyone with his teleporting, backwards talking, bird homing skills. And that Sawyer just talks back to people. And Ben utters the phrase "fickle bitch" every episode. can't wait.

I'm currently stuck listening to 5 songs ad nausea. In no particular order.

• Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) by Kid Cudi. Maybe my favorite track off of his great debut album. Seek out the album if you like introspective, forward moving hip hop. Plus this track is produced by Ratatat and features MGMT. Pretty, pretty good.
• Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I was sad to hear that this band was in town last week and I didn't know about it. Nice pseudo-country rock track with a infectious hook (Home, Let me come Home, Home is Whenever I'm with you) and I love when a song breaks down into a little speak along story.
  
• 40 Day Dream by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Another great track from this new group. Worth listening to just the following verse:

I been sleepin for 60- days and

Nobody better pinch me
Bitch I swear I’ll go crazy
She got jumper cable lips
She got sunset on her breath now
I inhaled just a little bit
Now I got no fear of death now

• My Girls by Animal Collective. Simply put, its like listening to Brian Wilson on acid. Wait, that's what the Beach Boys did. Well then its like Brian Wilson, Roger Troutman, and Daft Punk making a song about love, family, and contentment with both.
• La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong. My old timey kick brought me around to this gem that I had heard before, but never gave its proper due until recently (thanks for the heads up Chaus). Just a beautiful song. Go download it now.
  

Also, I just found my second blog that I made called Simons' Says on the left side links. So if you are looking for more of my politically insensitive and grammatically incorrect rants, help yourself.

Turkey Day

Pleasantly uncomfortable. The only way to truly describe a good Thanksgiving. A little turkey, some mashed potaters, end it with some 7up cake (what!?) and that's good stuff. Makes me wonder about a few things I'm grateful for.

DVR- I actually spent the first couple hours of my day today catching up on some of my shows. Since there isn't anything good to watch during the day (Young and the Restless notwithstanding) I can get my fill of The Office, Modern Family, or V in my jammies. Beautiful.

Micro-Brews- Sometimes you need something tasty to sip on and we have some great midwest breweries. Summit, Surly, Lift Bridge, Leinie's, Bell's, Two Brothers, and Furthermore, just to name a few. Check out Surly's Coffee Bender if you love a good stout.

Swill- Sometimes you just need a cheap PBR or Premium to was chill out after a long day at work.

Metro Transit- I would like to say I ride the bus as a way to help Al Gore battle global warming, but I'm not. I just like to read for twenty minutes and listen to my iPod. Plus there is no better people watching. Cat ladies, homeless people, kids ditching school, and people who talk to themselves about who is after their organs. Plus that little girl who asked her mom if the person leaving the bus was going to catch another one was too adorable (cue canned "awwww").

Pizza- Even a bad pizza is still edible. I'd eat a Jack's pizza everyday if i had to, but Dulano's is just down the street. And they have awesome cheese bread.


Vikings- Our team is super sweet from top to bottom. I'm almost ready to accept Grandpa Brett as our *cough* leader.

Cartoons- I love a good cartoon, especially ones that play to the top of their intelligence. UP, WALL*E, The Iron Giant, Lion King, Emperors New Groove, and the movie I had the pleasure of seeing post turkey, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Ok, technically its claymation, bu you get the point. Check it out nowish. Funny, heartwarming, smart and plenty of cussing.



New Twins Stadium- Outdoor, full view baseball. Delicious... I just hope they honor the Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome by keeping the name Dome Dogs.

Twin Cities Music scene- Whether its home grown music like Atmosphere, Heirupsecs, or Solid Gold, or the countless great bands we have come through to our many sweet venues, not much beats seeing a live show.

Finally, obviously I am grateful for all my family and friends. Without them I wouldn't have anyone to bounce and of these random ruminations off of. That and they are supportive and stuff. Love you peeps. You all know who you are. Ok, sorry not you. Stop crying. Wow I thought they would never leave this blog. Looks like its just the cool kids now. See you soon, pals.

The truth is here, the truth is here...

So I had the benefit of seeing the Brother Ali concert at First Avenue this past Friday. First of all, if you are a fan of hip hop music, you need to do yourself a favor and check him out. His four albums are all great, all with their own sound, feel and voice. His latest album, US, is maybe his most personal and at the same time his most open, spitting tales of homosexuality, slavery, and rape on top of his own struggles to be a father and a husband. As most likely the only white albino rapping muslin in the states, whether talking about himself (Forest Whitiker from the album Shadows on the Sun) or the Government questionable practices (Uncle Sam Goddamn from The Undisputed Truth) he attacks the mic with a fearlessness that is refreshing in a climate of safe ring-tone rap. That same fire is all over the stage in his live shows, and First Ave the other night was no different. When Ali spits, you listen, something akin to lyrical assault. And when he isn't commanding all of your attention, then the sound scape of Minneapolis producer Ant have no issue holding court. simply put, you need to check him out.

But something confused me the other night. As a Tall-American (6'2") I take a bit of pride in being able to see an reach just about anything. My friend Chaus is height-challenged (5'2"-5'5", depending on heel size) often finds herself missing out on things. Well some how, at the show on Friday, I felt myself in her shoes on numerous occasions. Somehow, every few minutes I found myself behind someone taller then the one before the last. At 6'2", I should have issues seeing anything on stage, but here I am blocked out. It made me angry and not at all envious for my lankyless amiga. Then one of the skyscrapers in front of me thought everything I said was hilarious. Am i kinda funny? Sure. Can you laugh at something I say to my friends? Yeah, i guess. Can you look at me and smile every time you enjoy one of my musings on life? Not unless you're 36-24-36 (maybe if shes five-three). I really wish his girlfriend (and I use that term lightly) would have intervened, but I guess she just likes him to be happy. Boy was he, just wish he'd stop Lookin' at Me Sideways.

Example of people at the show.
(L-r. Fish, Frog, Monkey, Chaus, Simons, HOMO-Erectus, Brother Ali)

Elizabeth Lamber: The Future of Female Sports

Yep, I said it. This maybe the most opinionated thing I've said in my blogging history. But Elizabeth Lamber is the missing link between the popularity of female and male sports.

To start, maybe you need to know who Lamber is. This video via YouTube (via ESPN) should do nicely. You watch it. Pretty messed up stuff huh. But after the initial viewing, I actually thought about it. Hair pulling aside (meow), which was pretty brutal, she was guilt of playing hard and, sure, a little rough.

As a male who played sports in some organized capacity since I was 8, I have grown accustom to the physicality of competitive sports. Honestly you just don't make it very far in male sports unless you can battle. Are females not competitive? No, but I would argue that with sports there is a big difference between the top and the bottom of the competition spectrum. I feel this same spectrum is narrower in male sports because more males play with what is called a "killer instinct".

Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest player in basketball history. Did he train harder then most players, absolutely. But what really made him the nest is that he wanted to be the best at any cost. Namely, he was a dick. He has done a great job of hiding it during his time in the NBA, but one only has to look into his basketball hall of fame speech (or the cliff notes version, via this Rick Reilly Blog entry on the same subject). He is self- serving, egotistical, and even upon winning 6 NBA Titles, still not completely satisfied with how he left the game. Its not enough to kill the horse, he get his joy out of beating and dismembering it.

Another example is Kobe Bryant. We all know he is willing to take what he wants... But as arguably the best player in the game today, he plays the game the way it has to be played to get ahead. Rough. He twice in as many weeks got fined for elbowing a player in the face after they blocked his shot (all in a fluid athletic motion, damn you Kobe). Last year he got heat for elbowing Houston Rockets player Ron Artest in the face during the playoffs. The results? A NBA title and now Artest is a Laker. Artest respects the way that he and the Lakers play the game. Probably how much they pay as well, but really Artest, a hard nosed defensive stopper, wants to play with like-minded rough players. Aka Winners. Brutal, sure, but its what get and keeps people interested.

You can say what you want about lack of athleticism in female sports, but that's bullshit. There is plenty of talent there. I could care less if there is dunking in the WNBA, what bothers me is the divide between the good and the not as good. The ones who will play rough to get ahead, and those that complain about it.

Some of Lamber actions in the New Mexico - BYU game were a bit much, but even she hit it on the head when she said to the New York Times that she is being judged differently because she is a girl.

“I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it,” Lambert said. “It’s more expected for men to go out there and be rough. The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh, we kick the ball around and score a goal. But it’s not. We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to. The physical aspect has maybe increased over the years. I’m not saying it’s for the bad or it’s been too overly aggressive. It’s a game. Sports are physical.”

When more women can play aggressively and physical, the attention from the masses will notice. Anyone who has ever seen a Premier League Futbol (European Male Soccer to us Yankees) knows that all of those things that happened during her game, happens in the first half of most games. Why can't it happen in female sports too. I'd watch more often. Maybe that's sexist, but I prefer to think its really just survival of the fittest.

Movie You Should Probably See Nowish: UP

I love Pixar. Almost every time they make a movie they out do themselves. Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars (maybe not as much Cars, but still better than most), and Wall-E. Every movie seems to out do the last one in terms of quality, look, and depth of characters. Pixar doesn't simply make cartoons, they make animated films that span not only the basics of entertaining kids, but hook grown ups as well with serious issues and character development. Not that these aren't things written many times before, but it never hurts to point it out again.

With the last two movies, I think Pixar has really hit stride in terms the messages it will put into a "children's movie". With Wall-E, Pixar made a love story that crossed over language barriers and social structures. It managed to be heartwarming and critical of the increasingly wasteful and lazy ways our society uses it resources. Be those resources natural or personal, it found a way to address them that was not only pointed and subtle, but all the while hilarious. Not a small feat, but it seemed almost effortless in their hands.

With UP, they managed to top what I thought was my favorite of their films (and maybe my favorite animated movie ever). I don't know of many films that can start with such a heartwarming and devastatingly real love story in its first twenty minutes, almost completely devoid of dialog. I dare you to make it out of the movie without crying once (let along those first twenty minutes). But have no fear, what happens then is an uproariously funny movie about an old man fulfilling his wife's last wish. It's like the Bucket List, but with real live humans. Yeah, I said it. The movie is completely worth watching simply for the dog Dug (great name), and his particular hate for squirrels.

I don't want to say too much. Part of the pleasure of the movie is the details and discoveries you make along the way. But if it is available to you, do not hesitate to go pick it UP... sorry.