UConn James

Well, that's the point, and there's the rub. When most every paper closes shop, there won't be much of anything left to link to on the Internet re: news. W/o it, what's the Internet going to become? Pornography (as ever), and a sounding board for dopes in message boards/chat who get their info from the broadcast media sounding board with 'news' like "Man Shoots Neighbor" --> a bunch of mouth-breathers saying, "He was always so quiet," "I never thought something like that could happen here." Over and over and over. Retard rodeo here we come. For a while now, folks have just been debating about how print media could survive in the digital age. They dragged their feet for the past couple of decades and no one seems to have come to any real answer. And they're going to die now. Them's breaks, boys and girls. The more people have grown accustomed to getting their news for free (as if it just writes itself) the more they now expect to continue getting their news for free. Well, that gravy train is going to be coming to an end one way or the other.

Some not so good news... but it's not dreadfully bad news, considering the powerhouse that is AI. (I just don't get the appeal or the point of Idol, tho. The entire concept is retarded, nevermind the people. I've never watched it. Not a minute. And I never will. What I do know is gleaned from talking heads and the moments where I can't get to the remote fast enough to avoid a blurb on entertainment news crap shows.) Overnights for 18 Feb. Overnights for last night. Why LOST’s Nielsen ratings struggles won’t matter much to fans Especially the bit at the end about the DVD sales. This is something I have noticed among some LOST fans --- they'll wait for the DVDs and watch it all at once.

Well, Desmond may 'get it' but with the island and 'the universe course corrects' he and they are essentially powerless to stop from being pawns. What we're seeing here this season is the players gathering all the pieces so they can play. At this point, it doesn't matter to the players if the ones they're collecting are not their pieces --- they just need to get them to the island. (For a better explanation, two players playing chess, setting up the board, the white player could arrange whatever of the black player's pieces he randomly picks up, to ready the board and get the game going. But. Once real play starts, you only use your own color.) He more lied about the sawed-off shotgun from under the desk. The woman Alicia(?) (who... looked like Ana-Lucia, has a similar name, and also appears to be a law enforcement officer, as she was escorting Sayid) saw something bulky go in the bag, not paper. And he showed her the flashlight. I've also been wondering what the ratings for the show have been for last week and this week, going head-to-head with American Idol. I remember seeing that the season premiere had a pretty healthy Neilsen (especially compared to some stretches in the past couple of years).

I don't know that the island is done with Ben... as Widmore said, there's a war coming. Now, it's all convoluted as to what exactly the sides are in the war. Is Widmore part of Dharma or is he going to try to rejoin the Others/hostiles? Just don't know enough to decide if Widmore is 'good' or 'bad' --- and I get the sense that there's a whole moral relativism thing brewing where no one is either one or the other; they're just acting in their own selfish wont. Some may be more evil than others in our eyes, for sure. It has me thinking back to Locke playing games, and that website "Lost is a game" as well as Desmond's line from the repeat last night that it's all a game. It's going to be interesting to see how Locke reacts to Ben. Whether he wants vengeance or whether he sees that what happened had to happen in order for them all to get back to the island. Locke needed to die and he died. Just odd to see Locke get to that point with a noose around his neck... even with his character's floating b/w faith and elation and then doubt and depression, it just seemed odd that after so many times of his faith and his purpose / destiny being renewed that he would just give up. I just wonder about the Others... whether they too are conning him into doing their bidding, telling him that he's their man, and then they're just going to dump him. Jokeman, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't after finding out about Jin, but you make a point that I was going to bring up about Ben's demeanor doing a 180. It was right after Locke said he was going to see a woman named Eloise Hawking in LA. Ben grabbed the cord and went at it. Going off from the above graph about some being more evil than others, what is yet to be revealed about Ben's actions (esp. with the suspected killing of Penny) we the audience will want him dead. And I'm talking we're going to want his head on a !@#$ pike, disemboweled, drawn and quartered. We're going to want it to hurt, and we're going to want him to see all of his plans fail right before he suffers an agonizing death. (Remember, this was --- did he mean it or was it more a play to get Kate's and Sawyer's release --- Jack's plan during the surgery.) I think last night was just the start to building up a real audience rage against Ben. As for the plane, well, we see that it did crash and at least half of the O6 were sucked out by the (final?) timeflash... 'My condolences' dude said all 6 were, tho. Am I right in seeing that they crashed on the smaller island from the first part of S3? Or is it another station? Also, 'My condolences' dude doesn't quite sit right with me. He seems to be a little too involved/interested/yet incurious (he didn't even look at the maps) for all of this to be new to him... and he seems to've found the station a little too soon. But I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night so I could be wrong.

The series went too slowly and there wasn't nearly enough action. There's only so much dramatic tension that can be built up by a guy looking at a computer or getting text messages in his basement, and they did that sh-- for ~ the first season and a half. It's really too bad that the character writing and action blend didn't get actually interesting until the last half of the second season. The finale was really good, which sucked b/c you thought to yourself 'Why couldn't the series have been more like this?'

Which lead me to wonder about it in an above post. Dude isn't affiliated but he got access. A post-BB-game presser isn't quite to the tune of the whole Jeff-Gannon-Gate thing at the White House, but you just wonder who gave this guy a photog pass (and did he even have a professional-style camera?) and what their purpose was. As I said, it may be a little passive-aggressive posturing from the U/state in Calhoun's contract year.

According to the senior Hartford Courant sports columnist I quoted above, the reporter was invited by Calhoun to discuss the issue in the hall after the post-game. (Which suggests to me that Calhoun's temper/irritation had subsided and he wanted to seriously address the question.) This invitation was declined. As I wrote above, this tells me everything I need to know about the questioner's intent. If Kreyske were really after the story, as any journo will tell you, he would have met with Calhoun. The guy didn't want an answer, he wanted a scene. And let's be clear. I'm well aware that officially you don't need any kind of credential/education requirement to be a reporter b/c that would be against the First Amendment. ... But, the man involved is otherwise a longstanding political operative in the Green Party, and I guess they are trying to make some kind of point. He is not a student reporter as the thread title asserts.

A good write-up by Jeff Jacobs of the Courant. Calhoun Owes Answer, Not Refund This last graph in my quote says all I need to know. Calhoun can be abrasive, it's his style, you just accept it. (And hey, he doesn't throw chairs and choke his players --- his abrasiveness is words.) He offered to talk to the reporter after the post-game and the little turd stole off into the night. Tells me all I need to know. Krayeske didn't want a story. He wanted a scene. Picked the easiest mark in Calhoun. (BTW, in something remembered by the state's journos, this dude was arrested for impeding the gov's inaugural parade a while back too. Anyone see a pattern here?)

That said, the governor wasn't too keen on the outburst. She called Calhoun's response an "embarrassing display." After a night's rest, maybe it was. He could simply have said that that's his negotiated contract, the team makes lots of money for the U and the state, he gives plenty of money back to the U and the state through his gifts and multiple charities, he doesn't want to talk about financials and that this post-game presser isn't the venue, next question. What can you say? It's the Irish in him, ya know? That personality that makes him an effective coach to the tune of 2 national championships isn't something he leaves on the hardwood --- it is him. A little gruff... but the dude didn't even come prepared with any facts or figures and admitted so on the tape. If he was really interested in discussing the financials, he would've and should've known the financials. As it was, this little turd was there to be the story. Wonder how all this affects a contract negotiation (his contract is up at the end of this season). Also wondering if this wasn't a little preconceived passive-aggressive stunt on the state's/U's part in advance of any negotiation... e.g. to create the air that the state is hard up and people want him to give money back, so he'd better not be looking for more than he's making now --- $1.6M/yr.

Back when I was at the U, I'd see him jogging around campus pretty often. Never said anything, he probably enjoys that as a moment of peace and I don't like to bother people. Saw and met many of the players --- men's and women's --- too. Actually sat next to Sue Bird in a gen-ed class one of the years they won the national championship... she's a good sh-- and pretty good-looking (I made no attempts there, tho). I hope this douchebag got the message not to f--- with a legend w/o hard proof. That was just an a--hole thing to do.

Besides the $ brought in via ticket sales, etc. ($14M for a championship, which we've won 2 under him), there's the free advertising he brings to the U. In the late-80s/early-90s UConn was a !@#$ hole. It was a !@#$ hole. Attention via the sports programs brought on $2B of state funding to make it what it is today --- an elite public university that now delivers back to the state three-fold in economic output. The athletic dept has been self-supportive for a long time, and same as other schools, basketball and football pay the way for the lower-tiered sports that are required for Title IX and give opportunity to a lot of students and enjoyment to fans. This is to say nothing of all the stuff that the coaches have given back to the U. E.g. For the library renovation, Auriemma donated funding for a large reading room and the book self-check-out center (which is why Calhoun's "I'm not giving a penny back' wasn't accurate, in his own favor). It's the way the books are organized that makes the coaches technically a 'state employee.' How many other single state employees bring in the kind of $ they do?

For the same reason why this is also called the 'Land of Steady Habits.' Connecticut Nicknames

That's an 'Oooo... I didn't think of that' on the Jin-Charlotte Korean thing. Then again, in her intro-short the girl at the dig site exclaimed that Charlotte was reading the news of the 815 recovery in every language she could find. As for the planes, that's not what Lapidus said when he called the 815 hotline. He said that he was supposed to have flown that plane, and that he knew the pilot "and that's not him" b/c there was no wedding ring. Also, the recovery video showed the Oceanic logos on the plane. But, yeah, add this in to why I think Lapidus is on the island.

As I've written before, Ralph is not going to make wholesale changes with this franchise. No talk of a new stadium, no naming rights deal, not even a full-time uniform change to the throwbacks which they already have (it would necessitate changing all signage, letterheads, business cards, the field logo...). This is for same reason why people in their 90s generally don't fix their houses beyond simple knick-knacks and emergency repairs. Why bother, just to have the new people come in and change everything themselves. Ralph is waiting to die.

Between sessions of covering my ears and loudly singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" whenever that c--- Eleanor Clift was speaking (often), on the "McLaughlin Group" over the weekend, someone made the great point. I think it was Monica Crowley. I think Holder did have a valid point, even if "cowards" was too strong a word for it (I see it more an uneasiness). If America wants to have this discussion... really wants to have this discussion... then there's got to be an end to politically-correct backlash whenever someone says anything. If you want honest discussion, you need to stop slapping wrists with rulers. The Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of this world need to stop showing up and crying 'You're a racist! Where's my $500M!?!?!' and then have the kind of standoff as what happened with Imus on Sharpton's radio show (the one where on every station break, Sharpton went into the control room with the same look as a boxer in the time-out corner and got fluffed by his staff). When someone makes an apology, accept the apology and move on "with malice toward none." Otherwise, thought stays secretly inside of heads, is never shared, and is never experientially changed by real interaction. If it's going to be real, this stuff needs to stop. Personally, I don't think this country is ready for it. A huge step was recently made. (A step that I think America had been ready for, for awhile but only lacked a decent candidate not rooted in the '60s mindset who could build and walk across the bridge rather than just set up a first pilon). We need to take some smaller steps now before we take another big one. We need to settle into the Obama presidency a little, and he needs to really fill the office. And as I said above, I think the 2010 census will have a lot of interesting things to show.

When my father's company went out of business after he was there for 35 years, he was the warehouse manager (it was industrial supply) and was the last one on the payroll. The owner did the liquidation of barrels of chemicals, solvents, cleaning solutions, abrasives, etc. My dad got it all on the trucks, then cleaned everything out of the building that had accumulated in ~75 years there. Metal racks, filing cabinets, desks, chairs, you name it. We took an old 1 1/2-ton diamond safe home and he uses it to store his gun collection (all legal). His old coworkers knew all this --- hell, he told them. To a man (and woman), they weren't pissed at him, they weren't even pissed at the company president. What's the use of blame? What, do you think if this guy hadn't left, CC would still be going strong!?! So, the liquidation is being conducted a little differently, necessarily b/c it's on a much larger scale... it's still a liquidation. CC is out of business. This is a fairly sizable life event for you, and a stressful time that's probably going to linger for several months. Dude is trying to work for some cash while a job is there b/c come July, who knows, where he moved to might close too. If you talked to him instead of projecting your feelings onto him as an explanation of his actions, for the average person, you'd probably find out that he's only human too. You're w/in rights if he's a grade-A *-hole --- and even at that, it's almost always better to just let the 'friendship' die of its own weight than to burn bridges for everyone to see the smoke --- but don't hate on a dude for doing a job while it's there. What's done is done.

Another quirky connection thing... He'd been forced to buy another seat on 815. On 316, he bought the remaining seats willingly, b/c he didn't want people to die in a crash. I'm also now of the firm opinion that 316 didn't crash, the Oceanic 6 (and the things they touch) were just kind of lifted from it, not unlike how the remaining group on the island has experienced the flashes. I wonder, tho... For the original 815 seat, was someone supposed to be in the seat that Hurley had to buy? (Perhaps the "my condolences" guy?) Coming back to this.... Yeah. With Jin in the new mini-bus, looks like their last landing spot was with the early DI period. And also looks like that's where the season premier's first scene where they discover the wheel came from... Faraday has to find a way to get all of them back to the right time of 2004. I'm backtracking on my thinking that the O6 will become an alternate string of reality. I don't think it's necessary, or even possible, according to The Rules for that not to happen. If they're taken to 2004 by Faraday, they need to let the O6 leave the island again for them to be able to return.... and this all has happened anyway --- even tho it maybe hasn't happened --- and there's no way to change it... if anyone follows this. (Getting this from how Faraday hadn't yet warned young Charlotte in his personal memory, yet Charlotte has that memory --- it hasn't hasn't happened, but it will and always has. Reference back to Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" and the Tralfamadorian concept of time). In the 'real world' it may be assumed that all of the O6 were perhaps flying to a reunion or something --- the powers that be with the Others outside network will cover it up. I wonder if Lapidus is back, too. I think he is.

I'm sure it ran along the same vein that Jack had to bring something of his father's to put in the coffin. As Eloise Hawking said, they had to re-create as many things of the original crash as possible. They had to bring items that the (maybe especially the missing) people have some connection to. Hurley brought a guitar case, as Charlie had with him on the flight. Sayid, presumably, had handcuffs on under the coat, as Kate had originally. The more I think about the Walt situation, I guess it wasn't imperative for him to come back to stop the time flashes. They were happening b/c the O6 left. Walt had left (and was allowed to leave) some time before that. His case is unconnected with "Because You Left." Tho, I'm sure he will be back at some point. I'm just wondering why Aaron didn't need to come back, as he did leave the island out of utero --- but then again, Claire's apparition told Kate to not take him back, and seeing as she was with Christian et al., I guess that's the way they desire it.

Was really beyond me why he needed to say this, especially at this juncture. This conversation he wants to foment is stupid. And I think we're all going to be more than a little surprised at what the 2010 census tells us regarding this, vis-a-vis interracial marriage, dating, paternity, etc. --- provided it's written even halfway intelligently. Nevermind that, yaknow, Mr. Holder, I think we've got bigger !@#$ problems than this 'Woe is us' crap right now. Get Bernie Madoff behind !@#$ bars, dude.

The "my condolences" guy played the terrorist cell leader in "Vantage Point" which starred Matthew Fox. I would say that it's a pretty good bet that he might be one of the people who were shooting at Sawyer, Juliet, Locke, et al. in the canoe. Especially given the water bottle with that airline's logo. That was pretty weird how the plane doesn't seem to have crashed. However, they were in 2007 and if the island was still in 2004 as they flew over, maybe it'll play out that the Oceanic 6 never existed... so the plane never existed. Or... The plane did exist, but the flash just plucked the O6 out, and whatever they were touching (as has been the case with the group left on the island)? Maybe I'll just pose the question... what's happening with the Others through all of this? Their story was just dropped mid-season last year. Does the Temple offer a sanctuary from the temporal shifts? Kate's reaction there near the beginning was pretty odd. That if she agreed to go, that Jack could never ask what she did with Aaron. Following, of course, from her dream where Claire told her, "Don't you dare bring him back!" I'm sure we'll find out. My guess is that she either gave him to Claire's mother, who was in LA... or... as the psychic said he found a couple in LA who could raise him. I think he wasn't lying about that, it just wasn't as direct a route as he made it out to be... but I think Kate may have given him to Hurley's parents. They're really the only ones left who fit that bill. Or am I wrong? I never noticed about Christian's shoes. Pretty sure, thinking back, that it was pointed out and it just sifted right through the filter. If I remember rightly, there were a lot of scenes when Jack was first on the island ("White Rabbit" especially) where Christian's ghost had his head dropping down over his chest --- Looking down at his shoes? I dunno. I'm just seeing Ben differently now after these episodes. He's still a weasel, of course. E.g. his "Who cares?" attitude when asked what's going to happen to the other people on the plane. This is not a man who believes in the Categorical Imperative. And he lied again... said he learned to read from his mother. It was a quip, but... still, his mother died at childbirth. He has such a neurosis about needing his story to match up with what appears to be some kind of prophesy, even tho it's a lie. Jin in the van surprised me as well. I thought it was going to be Horace. We don't know what year it is on the island, but that thing is in like-new condition. This may be the point where Faraday shows up at the orchid and delivers his message to Charlotte. Found this Lost "316" : Yeah. Looks like Ben followed Desmond, since he probably learned that he and Penny were together. I don't think we're going to like him when we find out what he did... and it may be the final straw for him re: the audience wanting to see Ben die. There's a lot of goodwill for Penny, we are protective of her, especially as mother to Charlie, and it looks like he did something pretty bad. I was a little surprised that Walt wasn't on board. But I think he will be getting to the island.

Dude, I don't want to sit here and debate qualifiers on what makes certain ground 'hallowed.' It is special ground for 50 families. Is that not enough? How many people need to die at a spot for it to hold special significance? This is like asking how much a human life is worth. What needs to be the manner of death? Who is the arbiter of deciding this? Looks like you've appointed yourself. At the site of the RI nightclub fire, where ~100 people died, there are plans to eventually have a memorial when enough funding is raised (kind of sad that it's still basically a mud pit with privately placed wooden crosses and flowers, but then again, it took ~60 years and Tom Hanks' pleading for the WWII memorial to be built). What a proper memorial is for that, for this crash, or any site of tragedy, is to be determined by those most affected. Not some dude on an Internet message board.

I am assuming that Walt's appearance to Locke came during a time-flash.... Walt has been curiously absent for awhile. Perhaps Ben and Eloise already have him on board? Hmm. Something to keep in mind.

Absolutely. And I'm sure that's what will be done, with a memorial. It's hallowed ground now. Before starting this up, people might have waited for what the family's wishes are. It comes from the best of intentions, but it's help that may not be wanted. EMHE doing a project like this would be the ultimate 'jumping the shark.' I just don't think they should, nor might they probably even want to attempt this story --- it's too big and too deep for reality teevee. That's just my opinion.

You have an overly high opinion/expectation of press releases. Just like you don't have to consent to a search, they don't have to release all information of their own initiative. Rest assured, more info will be trickling out.

Could have been for any number of legitimate reasons --- traffic-related, non-functioning light, spot check, someone not wearing a seatbelt, among many others --- but could also unfortunately be DWB. 'Til it's known, probably shouldn't be speculating; and if that is the case, ML's lawyer will have his say. If the police asked to search and were given consent, that's admissible. You can refuse permission, but a lot of people, even when they know they have incriminating items, grant permission, or don't not grant permission. If so, it's their problem, not the cops' (And for anyone reading this --- if a police officer ever asks to search your car, say no. It's a lose-lose situation --- it can only be bad for you. You can say 'No' to the police. And if they say they'll be back with a warrant, tell them that anything and everything listed on the warrant be it drugs, guns or a dead stripper in the trunk, had better be in the car or your lawyer will be salivating). Also, if the weapon was in/came into view of the police during the stop, it's within their power to then request info about it (same as if there's an open container, it opens another level), or make an arrest depending on the wording of concealment laws. Regardless of any criminal outcome, what's done is done, and Goodell will likely be taking a look into it... and what with the incident last year, might now be more inclined to send a message.