CNN Just Had to Do It

Journalism is dead.

Saving Claire

I started to watch "Flashes Before Your Eyes" again from Lost, the episode that Ms. Hawking first appeared, because I felt it holds a lot of relevance to this season. And within the first few minutes I realized something really interesting.

Desmond saved Claire first.

Of course, we all remember quite well "ya gonna die, Charlie." We remember story after story of Desmond trying to save Charlie, but ultimately undone by "fate." The show drew us to Charlie being saved.

But Desmond saved Claire first.

At the beginning of "Flashed Before Your Eyes," Claire is drowning in the ocean and Desmond's intuition draws him to the water to save her. Now think of the other times Claire seemingly was in a situation that faced certain death when she was saved. It happened A LOT.

So if we go with the theory that time must unfold a certain way, that you can't beat fate, then Claire has been supposed to die for quite sometime. Her disappearance still remains a mystery. But maybe she's already been dead for quite sometime, like the other "dead" on the island. Perhaps she only came to terms with that fact when she saw Christian Shepherd, her dad.

I think Claire is dead. The question remains: when did she die?

Oh Goody Gum Drops!

Remember her? The crazy lady that said Desmond had to go to the island and push the button? That it would be the only great thing he would ever do?

Here it is to jog your memory, from the episode when Desmond first had flashes after the hatch exploded.

Desmond goes to buy an engagement ring for Penny at a store where this Ms. Hawking works. When she shows him a ring and he tells her he'll take it, she seems upset and responds by telling Desmond he will not. After Desmond refuses to give the ring back she explains to Desmond that she knows his name, that he will break Penny's heart, he will not marry her, instead entering the sailing race to prove Penny's father wrong, and that he went to the Island and pressed the button for three years until he was forced to turn the failsafe key. She says that if he "doesn't do those things," that "every single one of us is dead."

Once Desmond refuses to give the ring back she decides to take a walk with him. While on their walk she draws Desmond's attention to a man wearing a suit and red shoes. As she and Desmond sit on a bench she tries to explain to Desmond that he must not ask Penny to marry him. She says that it is his "path" to go to the Island. 

Then all of a sudden a large crash is heard behind them as the scaffolding from a construction job falls to the ground. As she and Desmond turn around, a pair of legs with red shoes is shown sticking out from under the pile of rubble. As Desmond realizes this is the man she pointed out earlier, she admits to knowing that he would die. 

When confronted by Desmond as to why she did not warn the man she informs Desmond that he would have been hit by a taxi the next day, and if she had warned him about that he would have broken his neck in the shower. As Desmond stares blankly at her she explains that the universe has a way of "course correcting" (a phrase Desmond later recites to Charlie), and that death cannot be avoided. Her last words to Desmond are that pressing the button is the only great thing he will ever do in his life.

Remember? She's back!

Other thoughts from tonight.

You see the baby at the beginning with the Asian doctor from Dharma? Telling you, that's totally Miles. Think I got that one right.

And the last time shift? They were clearly on the island when it was controlled by Widmore, or at least when he is there. Those guards had British accents. I'd say there were there in the 1950s or 1960s, before Dharma came in.

I was convinced for a flash that Ben was just manipulating the Oceanic 6 to get back to the island so he could get back to the island and takeover again. But now we see he is at the mercy of someone else. Our dear Ms. Hawking.

What a season it shall be...

1809

This year marks 2 centuries since 1809, but I think it is of some note what a year it was in terms of people born into this world. Not only was the president I share a birthday with born, but quite a large number of notable people who have made an impact on our world today. Here is just a few:

Louis Braille
Edgar Allan Poe (who's birthday is today!)
Felix Mendelssohn
Abraham Lincoln
Charles Darwin
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Kit Carson
William Gladstone

Question...

How can water be velvety?

Really???

Stop It!

Okay, so I get the whole Santa tracker thing meteorologists do on Christmas Eve. It's cute, I guess. And it's a great way for parents to get their kids into bed. ("Hurry up and get to bed, Annie, or Santa's not going to stop.") Not like the kid is going to sleep. He or she is too excited because it was just announced that Santa is on his way. And what happens if the kid sees another TV report on another station that says something totally different? But I digress from my rant.

Tracking Santa is cool. The fact that NORAD tracks Santa starts to push it, when NORAD probably should be worrying about the Chinese or North Koreans. What's downright absurd is when I turn on the radio this morning and I hear about an upcoming report on the "news" station:

Coming up next, you know Santa flies all over the world to deliver presents to all the good boys and girls. But do you know how he gets his reindeer to fly so fast? Find out after these messages.

Are you serious?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The economy's in shambles. The world's at war. The infrastructure of this country is falling apart. And somehow journalistic integrity dictates a story about the physics of the jolly fat man's mode of transportation.

Seriously!

Stop it!!!