Television

[Earl]

Supposedly there's a screenshot out there somewhere of the newspaper clipping -- which by the way, I found myself craning my neck to try and get a better angle on, as if I could, and that's exactly what the producers/writers wanted me to do, damnit! -- that shows the letter "J" in the name.  But there are a lot of "J"s out there; and if I recall, Ben isn't necessarily Ben's real name, is it?  And I'm not thinking about Henry Gale.   Will have to do some poking around when I get back to the world of DSL.

My decent into the blogs has already paid off. Here is something:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_RrObyQ3XzcY/RlaLOVYihnI/AAAAAAAAFnY/eCfTeGbNkYY/s1600-h/paper1.jpg

I don't see a date on the page, but the place where I found that link says that the date of that newspaper was 05April2007.

Another tidbit for the more paranoid viewer: In the hospital scene between Jack and his pregnant ex-wife, she asks him if he's drinking and he says he isn't. Then she presses him with, "Are you, Jack?". But what if the comma were removed from that sentence? Could "Are you Jack?" be what she is really asking him? Is it possible he is not really Jack? Hmm? Well?

[Earl]

Actually, I think this...

http://www.lostpedia.com/images/d/d4/Newspaperclipping2.jpg

...may be the screenshot you meant.

From what I can tell, it looks like the person mentioned in the obit is from New York.

[Earl]

Or there is this:

http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/05/newspaper-through-looking-glass.html

Stop me before I blog post again!

Come to think of it, I'll stop myself. It's Saturday night and there are gin-and-tonics to be enjoyed.

[barton]

Harrie, you don't want to know the things I had to do to achieve Junior Member status so swiftly.

[barton]

The clipping looks like it reports the death of "Jo...(folded area)...antham."   If we eliminate islanders who probably did not have an alias, that would reduce the possibles to a small group.  It also eliminates anyone who died on the island whose body might have been returned stateside after the rescue.  If it's Ben, then I think Ram Dass would have showed up, assuming he survived.  OTOH, that would suggest such interesting turns of plot and character, if it were Ben --- i.e. Ben would have to have revealed a really different side of himself, such that Jack would be able, at a later time, to actually shed tears for his demise.  Or is Jack actually shedding tears for the loss of whoever is in the clipping? --- perhaps the death, even of someone he hated, would bring up memories of terrible happenings on the island and bring guilt and grief rushing back. 

In short, we must wait.  But I get a chuckle at the intense scrutiny brought to bear on single frames of video and millions of bytes of speculation generated therefrom.

[harrie]

Earl, thanks for those links!

barton (though I miss your old name), I think EyelinerGuy/BabaRamDas/Richard "Don't Call Me Herb" Alpert might be the power behind the throne, so to speak.  He mentored Ben in the beginning, then gave him the reins; but he's always around, cleaning up loose ends (ie, giving Locke the folder on his dad and planting the idea that Locke doesn't personally have to kill him), and quietly running things in his own indirect way.  So if Ben gets taken out and you think you're going to leave the island unopposed, I'd definitely watch out for EG/BRD/RA; but I don't know that any of the Flight 815 people realize this.  Locke may, but he's not on their side.  So it could get interesting. 

Off to look for John/Joseph/Jordan Lanthams....

[barton]

Harrie, as you have no doubt discovered, a search on "John Lantham" will only yield about forty quadrillion hits of "Lost" blogo-mania.  The name doesn't ring any bells with me -- it's similar to Jonathan Lethem, a writer once known (before he went all mainstreamy and Brooklyn-nostalgic) for his penchant for bent-reality and surrealist stories in which people find themselves stuck in alternate realities.  I wouldn't be surprised if "Lost" writers are Lethem fans, and maybe giving him a little salute. 

I think Jack's tears for whoever died might be due to their being someone who could implement a return to the island.  Their death would lead to his suicide attempt because he feels his last hope of return has been dashed. 

[barton]

Benjamin Linus =

Bums Alien Jinn

[harrie]

... a search on "John Lantham" will only yield about forty quadrillion hits of "Lost" blogo-mania. 

Yeah, I know.  But for some reason, the name "Lantham" sounds so familiar to me.   Maybe it's the fact that I've been muttering "John Lantham...Joseph Lantham....Joshua Lantham...Jordan Lantham..... Jonas Lantham..." to myself for several days.

Not totally Lost-related, but not entirely not either -- on our flight back, there was a guy one row up who had on shades, headphones, the updated grunge clothes, and he was bopping furiously to his iPod or one of those gadgets.  So we started calling him Mr. Driveshaft as in, "Hey, check out Mr. Driveshaft."  Also on the flight, though not a Lost character, was Indiana Joan -- gray leggings, a safari-looking rain coat, and a safari hat.  She looked kind of like she'd shopped the J. Peterman clearance pages and decided to wear it all together.  The lesson here:  Don't get on a flight with me and the hubby.  We'll pick you to pieces.

[barton]

Being something of an aesthete, I understand.  My observation is that most men do not know how to dress or coif themselves.  Here are things I will view with great sadness in my fellow XY'ers:

Facial hair (except for the 5% of men who ACTUALLY look nice with a beard or 'stache)

Shaved head (ditto)

Combovers (the proto shaved head)

Shirts with logos, brands, aphorisms, slogans, mottos, quips, etc.

Untucked oxford shirts that are meant to be tucked

Tucked-in tees or polos that are meant to be untucked.

Indoor wearing of sunglasses

Most Hats (unless you play baseball, herd sheep or cattle, or are religiously bound to cover your head)  -- not looking stupid in a hat is an art, and not one to be undertaken lightly by amateurs....and PLEASE REMOVE THEM INDOORS, MORON.

Sagging pants  (the triumph of style over one's normal capacity for disgust)

Clothing that pretends to be scuffed, worn, and torn.  It always looks fake, somehow, and is the essence of form spitting on function.



best,

Fellow Picker-Aparter

[Earl]

But for some reason, the name "Lantham" sounds so familiar to me.

Allow me to suggest a possibilty:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our Nationa..."

[harrie]

But for some reason, the name "Lantham" sounds so familiar to me.

Allow me to suggest a possibilty:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our Nationa..."

THAT'S IT!!!

[barton]

Earl, that was painful. 

LOL

[TrojanHorse]

I'm glad i finally peeked into Television

My wife finally got me to check out Lost after buying the DVD of the first season and i was hooked.  I haven't known anyone else that really watches the show, so it is fun to read all your comments.

I really only make an effort to watch two other "series"  and those are  Monk and Psyche.  but only two eight week seasons a year so that's not a lot of TV watching...

[TrojanHorse]

Gotta be Ben. 

Second choice: Locke.

Could be Sawyer.  There is nothing saying that Kate wound up with him.