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In “Walk the Line,” June Carter refers to Johnny Cash’s voice as “Steady like a train, sharp like a razor.”

Amen, sister.  When I think of Johnny, without fail I’ll get an image in my head of an old steam train– big, black, strong & steady.  And of course that classic Cash chicka-boom rhythm sounds just like a trusty ol’ train a rollin’ round the bend, and right on time– so reliable, you could set your watch to it.  Yeah, Johnny Cash sang a lot about trains, prison and hard times– and we all know through his epic lyrics that the beauty of the train is that it represents the freedom of leaving the past behind.  All that crap that you just need to separate yourself from with miles and miles of railroad track and dust. A new start, a second chance.

There’s also something lonely and soulful about a train ride– staring out as the barren landscape goes drifting by.  It’s just you and that train.  It holds you there firmly, with nothin’ to distract you from who and what you’re leaving behind– as the soothing click of the rails beneath your feet reminds you that soon it’ll all be long gone.

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Well if they freed me from this prison,

If that railroad train was mine

I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line

Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay

And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away…

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I’m gonna climb aboard and ride until I learn to smile

I’ll be knockin’ out the blues while I’m knockin’ out the miles

With my guitar beatin’ rhythm to the click-clack of the wheels

I’m gonna sing the blues ’cause that’s the way that I feel

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Conductor go and tell the man to shovel on the coal

It doesn’t seem as half as bad as long as I can roll

Give me another ticket and I’ll stay and ride with you

There’s nothin’ left to live for in the world we’re rollin’ through

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Back in 1974, Johnny Cash narrated and starred in Ridin’ the Rails: The Great American Train Story where Johnny talks about trains– their importance in American history, and his own personal, nostalgic love for ‘em.  Granted it’s the 70s, so you know that there’s a certain amount of hokiness to the production that you’ll have to bear– but for hardcore Johnny Cash fans it’s still a gem.

Johnny Cash singin’ City of New Orleans–

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Johnny Cash covering The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down–

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Johnny Cash and the workin’ hobos of the rails, singin’ Crystal Chandeliers and Burgundy–

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“I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It’s still my symbol of rebellion —against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others’ ideas.” — Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003)

If you play guitar “Walk the Line” great song on which to practice your walk-ups and walk-downs because:

1. there so many of them;
2. the tempo of the song is so fast;
3. the song is in at least three different keys.  So, you not only get a lot of practice on several chords, but also on several walk-ups and walk-downs.

“Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues” are great songs to be able to play.  People at least know the choruses / refrains to these songs and can sing along, which will make you a hit at any gathering! : )

This week’s The Man In Black is the best of the series so far. A nicely nasty and satisfying tale, with some horrible moments. It’s almost worthy of a place in The Gloaming…

Oh, and that thing about the weird coincidences? That every episode of theirs reflected something we were doing? That’s nothing to worry about. There was nothing spooky this week.

Apart from the fact that the villain of the piece was called Nathaniel…

Sweet screams…

I do hope you’re all listening to The Man In Black on BBC Radio 7. If you like what we do, you might want to have a listen.

When the first episode was broadcast on Halloween, a day after the release of Daed Skinny, I was amused to hear a number of similar elements: a lead character who wastes away, hair dropping out, and a weird prominence for loose teeth. How rare, I thought, and continued writing Episode 2.

Episode 2 is called Silent As The Grave, but its original title – the one that I planned for it originally – was ‘Death Us Do Part’. Have a listen when it comes out at the end of the month, and you’ll find out why. Episode 2 of The Man In Black is called… ‘Death Us Do Part’. Again: rare…

Then I listened to their third episode, ‘Flesh’.  I don’t want to give too much away before we release Silent As The Grave. However, we finished recording it last Wednesday (before The Man In Black came out), and had the rough cut on Friday afternoon.  The sharp of ear may well notice at least one… similarity.

It’s enough to make you believe in ghosts…

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Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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Let’s just finish out this week with Johnny Cash — if that’s alright with y’all?  Never can have to much of a good thing — and it just don’t get any better than this in my book.

It was 1968, and Johnny Cash was finally at a place in life where he was able to get a grip on his drug addictions — with the love and support of his wife June.  Johnny had always wanted to perform at Folsom — ever since he first recorded the tune Folsom Prison Blues back in 1957 for Sun Records.  After years of delays caused by management changes at  Johnny’s record label, and battles with his own personal demons, the time was finally right.

Backed by the legendary Carl Perkins, the Tennessee Three, not to mention June Carter Cash (a musical dynamo in her own right ), Johnny and company set out to California’s Folsom Prison to put on one helluva show (two shows actually) for the penned-up boys in blue.  The resulting live album At Folsom Prison was a huge success that reignited Johnny Cash’s career, and is an enduring classic that is hands-down required listening for all Johnny Cash, American Roots, and Country Western music fans.

From the moment you hear that “Hello — I’m Johnny Cash” and that guitar — you’re flat hooked, brother.

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Johhny Cash at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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June Carter Cash & Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison, 1968.

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Johnny Cash performing onstage at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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From Inside Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison–

At Folsom Prison in 1968, Johnny Cash gave a concert that would later famously give his fans a peek inside prison walls.

Gene Beley was at the prison the day the record, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, was made. A friend had invited the young Ventura Star Free Press reporter to the concert, and Beley decided to bring along a tape recorder.

Beley’s recording is familiar, but it’s from an entirely new perspective: that of the audience. In an excerpt from his essay about the event, published this fall in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Beley recalls the night before the concert:

We arrived at the El Rancho Motel and checked in. Cash was nervous about the weather in Nashville. He feared that the snow and ice would make it impossible for Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, the Tennessee Three, and Columbia’s A&R man, Bob Johnston, to fly to Sacramento. So he called Nashville and found they had left and were laid over in San Francisco. While waiting for the others, we all met in one of our rooms. Reverend Gressett said he had a favor to ask of John.

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Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison with the Reverend Gressett, 1968.

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Johnny cash at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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“Johnny, I want you to hear a song written by Glen Sherley, an inmate in Folsom, serving five to life for armed robbery. You’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to tell you about it but I thought if you could mention tomorrow that you’ve heard the tape, it would please that ol’ boy who wrote it.”

“Does anyone have a tape recorder?” Cash asked.

“I do,” I replied, and went to get the reel-to-reel Sony recorder that I had brought to record the concert for research purposes.

“All right, this is a take on ‘Greystone Chapel,’” a deep voice, similar to Cash’s own voice, said on the tape. Then the singing began:

Inside the walls of prison, my body may be,

But the Lord has set my soul free…

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Johhny Cash playing at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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Famous shot of Johnny Cash flipping the bird -- the night before the Folsom Prison show in his blue jumpsuit and cowboy boots, 1968.

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As the lyrics filled the room, accompanied by a bass beat from the prisoner’s guitar, Cash’s usual straight-faced, deep-creased cheeks began changing to a smile, with his eyes glowing, radiating enthusiasm.

There’s a Greystone chapel here at Folsom,

A house of worship in this den of sin.

You wouldn’t think God had a place at Folsom,

But he’s saved the soul of many lost men.

When the tape was finished, Cash said, “This has got to be recorded as a single, and I want to record it tomorrow on the album during the show.” Cash began scribbling the words down in a notebook and tried singing the phrase, while beating out the rhythm with one hand on his knee, the other hand tapping a pen on the desk.

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Johnny Cash and June Carter at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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That evening Cash was dressed in a blue jumpsuit and cowboy boots when his A&R man Bob Johnston and the other performers arrived.

“Do you ever work on a stool?” Johnston asked Cash.

“Yes, that’s what I plan to do,” Cash said.

“Are you going to have someone introduce you?”

“I thought I’d come out and introduce myself and sing.”

“Great!” exclaimed Johnston. “Come out and say, ‘I’m Johnny Cash!’ They’ll go wild!”

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Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, 1968.

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Here’s Johnny performing the classic Folsom Prison Blues on his 1970’s variety show–

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OK, I can’t resist.  Here’s another classic A Boy Named Sue, this one live from San Quentin–

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Johnny Cash – “Flesh and Blood,” Pop #54, Country #1

By Joel Francis

Johnny and June had only been married for three years when Cash penned this love song for his wife. In that time, Cash had rejuvenated his career with two hugely successful live albums recorded in prisons and earned his own weekly television show.

Although these endeavors burnished under the name “Johnny Cash,” June Carter was no less responsible for their success. With a smoldering strength, she challenged and sustained as her man finally kicked the drug addiction that had plagued him for the better part of a decade and proudly supported him through his rejuvenation – personally, artistically, commercially and otherwise.

The list of adjectives used to describe the Man in Black is a million miles long, but “devoted” has to rank near the top. In “Flesh and Blood,” Cash celebrates his love for his wife and slips in some sideways admiration for his savior.

Bolstered by his omnipresent boom-chicka rhythm section, Cash rhapsodizes about afternoons spent outdoors and nature’s beauty. The majesty of Mother Nature is a feast for the mind and spirit, Cash sings, but “flesh and blood needs flesh and blood, and you’re the one I need.”

Cash grows philosophical on the bridge, for as great as the day had been, he knew it was all temporary. “Love is all that will remain,” Cash intones. In the New Testament, Jesus talks of three types of love: agape, eros and philia. For most of the song, Cash has been singing about eros, or romantic love. But in the bridge, he shifts to singing about agape, or godly love, and philia, love between friends. Eros will fade, he implies, but agape and philia will sustain. This clever turn not only subtly sows a bit of gospel, but universalizes Cash’s eros love for his wife into the broader forms, expanding the palate to a love everyone can understand.

In the 1969 documentary “The Man, His World, His Music,” there is a scene of Cash rehearsing the song at home for his wife. The song was sweetened with strings in the studio, but its soul was intact there on the sofa as Cash found a way to say what every woman wants to hear: All this other stuff is nice, but as long as I’ve got you, I’ll forever be happy.

It had been suggested to Conrad Noir and Marco Sparks that they were the last two people on the face of the planet who had not seen Swingers, the 1996 Doug Liman-directed film starring Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, and Ron Livingston, so… they watched it. This is the excerpts from their commentary while viewing…

Conrad Noir: Wow. Jon Favreau. Look how tiny he was way back when.

Marco Sparks: Yeah, he got really big since this, didn’t he?

Conrad: Yeah, really big. Like a combination of fat big and working out/compensating big.

Marco Sparks: Also, he looks like a child molester. Big or small, he looks like he shouldn’t be allowed near a daycare.

Conrad: I’m going to confess something to you here…

Marco: Oh, this is going to be juicy…

Conrad: I actually really, really, really, really like big band music.

Marco: …

Conrad: And stuff like… Frank Sinatra? I like Frank Sinatra.

Marco: That was not a juicy tidbit.

Conrad: What did they call him?

Marco: The Chairman.

Conrad: Not The Boss?

Marco: What? No. Springsteen is The Boss. Sinatra – Ol’ Blue Eyes – was The Chairman.

Conrad: The Chairman sounds cooler. Has more prestige.

Marco: Well, I think it all goes back to The Boss’ blue collar roots.

Conrad: Either way, I like that shit. Not Springsteen, but… The Chairman. And big band music. And like jazz, too.

Marco: What a sexy fact.

Conrad: “The guy behind the guy behind the guy.” Yeah, I like that.

Marco: Yeah, that’s good. I’m going to start referring to you as that.

Conrad: Nah.

Marco: No? Why not?

Conrad: Cause… Just nah.

Conrad: When you first mentioned that you wanted to watch Swingers today I forgot about this movie and thought you meant something else entirely.

Marco: Like what? Oh, like some movie about actual swingers? Like, at a swingers’ party?

Conrad: Yeah, something more polyamorous.

Marco: Sorry, this isn’t The Ice Storm.

Conrad and Marco: KEY PARTY!

Marco: Okay, we’re like 20 minutes into this thing so far. Vince Vaughn: Money or not?

Conrad: Ehhh. Are you asking if I actually think he or his style is cool?

Marco: Yeah, sure.

Conrad: Well, it doesn’t matter, does it? His style is all geared towards getting these “beautiful babies,” right?

Marco: “Beautiful babies.” How condescending.

Conrad: Yeah, How child molester-ish. But, anyway, it doesn’t matter… his style, or whatever. It’s all kind of shallow. All that matters is if it works, it seems.

Marco: True, true. Also, I would never use the “money” slang how they do.

Conrad: How do you mean?

Marco: For example, look at what you’re wearing there. Nice shirt. Nice pants. They look costly, but in a good way. To me, that’s money. Richhhhh.

Conrad: So, in other words, “blinging?”

Marco: Yes, right. Although the bling impies that you have the physical objects of wealth hanging upon thyself, like perhaps you just returned from Jacob The Jeweler.

Conrad: What a weird reference, but I get you.

Marco: I’m just saying here: A billionaire probably dresses a lot different from me or you, right?

Conrad: Sure, though if I was rich, I’d dress however the fuck I wanted. I wouldn’t care. I’d be Hugh Hefner if I had the cash to back up telling people to fuck off.

Marco: I’d dress like a cross between The Dude and a hobo and maybe a Scottish person.

Conrad: What?!

Marco: But I digress… If I tell you that you look “so money,” and even to the point that you don’t even realize it yourself, I’m saying, that you look bling-tastic, though not necessarily because of the chain around your neck or the ice on your grill or other places. But I wouldn’t use it in reference to how good I think your skeezy 90s greaser look is or anything like that.

Marco: Hey, that girl is cute.

Conrad: Yeah, she is. Good make up.

Marco: Yeah.

Conrad: She’s a Dorothy.

Marco: A what? Oh. I get it.

Marco: No, Favreau, you scum, shut up about your ex-girlfriend!

Conrad: This has happened to me before.

Marco: Going on about an ex in front of a new girl?

Conrad: No, no, no. But me and a buddy at two girls’ house. Only, the two girls were so ghetto. And the one that was designated “mine,” well, I had nothing to talk to this girl about.

Marco: Right. So what’d you do?

Conrad: I told her I was going to the bathroom.

Marco: Uh, okay.

Conrad: Yeah, then I snuck out the window and walked home.

Marco: Wow.

Conrad: Yeah, man, that was a long walk.

Marco: Watching this reminds me of how much I like Liman’s second film, Go.

Conrad: Yeah, it’s good… Wait, what did they say that guy’s name was?

Marco: A boy named Sue? Ha ha.

Conrad: What is that? Besides a stupid name, is that a Johnny Cash thing?

Marco: Yeah. The Man In Black.

Marco: Look at this fucking hair!

Conrad: Yeah, 90s styles were not great.

Marco: And bowling shirts! Bowling shirts! Arrrghhhh!

Conrad: Arrgghhh!

Marco: Aagggrrrghhh!

(Collective groaning and griping about 90s hip fashion continues for a moment or two.)

Conrad: They just look like stupid greasers.

Marco: Emphasis on the stupid, perhaps. To me, the only place – at least now – where you should see bowling shirts is maybe in a bowling alley or at, like, a Big Lebowski festival or something.

Conrad: Ron Livingston has had such a weird career.

Marco: Yeah, seriously. Him and Doug Liman both, though Liman got a little more of what he deserved. But Livingston doesn’t look like he belongs in this time period, you know?

Conrad: Then what time period does it look like he belongs in?

Marco: Better left unexplored. I like how he gives all the good advice in this film. But this goes back to what I’ve always been saying…

Conrad: Which is?

Marco: You shouldn’t trust a guy named Trent. A “Trent” is going to be an asshole. It’s guaranteed.

Conrad: Look at this shit. You people always have that one black guy you associate with, don’t you?

Marco: Wait, “you people?”

Conrad: And in this particular case, that one black guy just happens to be that dude from Becker.

Marco: Thanks to Tarantino, this is a scene you saw in every 90s independent movie: A bunch of characters sitting around a table, usually at a diner, talking about technical aspects of a 70s movie while the camera pans around them.

Conrad: Dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick!

Marco: 37 dicks!

Conrad: The 90s auteurs had some penis issues, yo.

Marco: You said it, man.

Conrad: Who is this chick? She seems familiar.

Marco: I think it’s… Brooke Langton? From Melose Place? She looks kind of like Franka Potente, right?

Conrad: Melrose Place? Oh, yeah,  yeah! I wonder if she’ll be in the new Melrose Place.

Marco: Okay, so this right here, this is the genesis of Vince Vaughn’s entire career…

Conrad: Oh? This is your exegesis on the protean career of Vince Vaughn?

Marco: Yes, but not so protean. In every film, he’s basically the kind of sleazy guy who is always giving you pep talks to do something fairly self destructive, not to much for his amusement, but just because he’s a bit off.

Conrad: Yeah, I can see that.

Marco: And the thing about Vince Vaughn is he’s a team player. He’s Magic Johnson. He’s only as good as what he gets. That’s why Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers works, but not so much in something like The Break Up.

Conrad: The Break Up was like watching a man trying to juggle some pianos while painting with his toes on a trampoline while his pants were around his ankles.

Marco: I fully support that analogy.

Conrad: So you’re from California. Did you ever hang with a crew that was packing heat?

Marco: No, well… yes, but Fav’s got a point here. People live in California because they don’t want to live and be carjacked in New York and also because they’re better than everyone else.

Conrad: Yeah, you’re from California. That’s for sure.

Marco: When one of your buddies whips out a gun that he has for no reason, it’s time to call it a night.

Conrad: I feel like white people in the 90s loved to reference Compton and Boyz In The Hood. Black gangster culture was such a weird museum peice for your kind back then.

Marco: “My kind?”

Conrad: Wow.

Marco: Oh no.

Conrad: This is perhaps one of the most humanly uncomfortable scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie.

Marco: I’ve spent a lot of time in the city of angels over all of my years, and maybe it’s because of the movies, but at the same time, I feel like the movies portray it very accurately: There’s something sleazy happening there. As much fun as you’re having, parts of it are always shallow and hollow and you always feel like you’ve just come back from doing something horrible.

Conrad: You’re talking like… Bret Easton Ellis mashed up with film noir?

Marco: Yeah. And you’re stuck in traffic the whole time.

Conrad: Right, right.

Marco: It’s like 100 miles of freeway connecting little cities together, but as a government cover to deconstruct part of human interaction or something.

Conrad: But the sun is always shining there. Ron Livingston just said that.

Marco: Yes, true, but it’s like too bright. It’s hangover sunshine. The kind where you feel like you’re too close to the sun.

Marco: Ugh.

Conrad: What?

Marco: Fuck.

Conrad: What?

Marco: Fucking… shit, man.

Conrad: What the fuck are going on about?

Marco: Fucking… Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Conrad: Oh. Yeah?

Marco: Man, I thought I escaped this time in my life.

Conrad: Yeah.

Marco: I fucking hate swing music.

Conrad: Yeah, I don’t like it either.

Marco: No, no, no. I fucking hate it. I hate Brian Seltzer!

Conrad: Actually, it’s Brian Setzer.

Marco: Hate!

Conrad: Okay. I understand. I don’t like swing music either. Or rockabilly music.

Marco: Rockabilly! Hate!

Conrad: Though I do like psychobilly.

Marco: Yeah, punkabilly and psychobilly is okay.

Conrad: Like the Reverend Horton Heat.

Marco: Yeah, but… Oh, is that Heather Graham?

Conrad: Hell yeah, it is.

Marco: I feel like Heather Graham deserved such a better career than the one she got, you know?

Conrad: Goddamn, she’s hot.

Marco: Yeah, there’s definitely that.

Conrad: She just looks crazy. But in a hot way. Like something insane is about to happen when she walks into the room.

Marco: Like in Killing Me Softly?

Conrad: Is that movie good? I’ve seen the pictures online but never saw it.

Marco: Eh… Look, I’ll put it this way: It was erotic.

Conrad: Suck it, Lady MacBeth. That sounds like the Heather Graham I like.

Marco: She just has that light in her eyes. And yet, you get the feeling people want to cast her as a sexbot, like a living, excited sexbot.

Conrad: Stop right there before I get turned on.

Conrad: Oh man, this diner scene…

Marco: Yeah?

Conrad: Yeah, it just got real. There are too many people still like this.

Marco: And Vince Vaughn is one of them.

Conrad: Yeah, but it’s funny. It’s all good.

Conrad: This movie is very accurate in it’s depiction of a bunch of asshole guys just hanging out and bar hopping and trying to pick up “beautiful babies.”

Marco: I dislike that term. “Beautiful babies.” I mean, it’s all kind of demeaning, right? But “beautiful babies?” That’s no good.

Conrad: Uh… sure, but yeah. This movie feels authentic to me, to a degree.

Marco: I’m surprised that these guys aren’t trying to go home with any girls. I mean, this is still Los Angeles, right?

Conrad: Well, personally, I don’t want to fuck every girl I meet out at bars.

Marco: Really?

Conrad: (after an interestingly long pause) …No. Plus, it sets a bad precedent.

Marco: Sure, sure. Also, he’s getting home and it’s not even 3 in the morning. That’s a bit early, right?

Conrad: Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, if I have to work in the moning, I may get home around then, but typically, I’d keep vampire hours if I was out “partying” with the “boys.”

Marco: Let’s go party then.

Conrad: I’m not sure you’re money enough to handle the beautiful babies hunt.

Marco: I think the resolution to the girlfriend back home situation to be somewhat realistic/believable. Do you concur?

Conrad: Yeah, I guess.

Marco: I mean, I was actually siding with this unseen girlfriend back east for most of the film…

Conrad: You dislike Favreau that much?

Marco: Dislike? No, that’s too harsh. I dislike the situation in Iran or the recession, things like that. Favreau is just an ugly man, and I therefore think the girlfriend back east was just pityfucking him for those six years.

Conrad: Real talk.

Marco: And she “misses” him? Misses him? What, like the desert misses the rain? Please.

Conrad: Right.

Marco: But then she said she left him for a guy named Pierre. That’s cold blooded. That’s unforgivable. Am I wrong?

Conrad: You are not wrong. And Heather Graham.

Marco: And Heather Graham. Yes, sir.

Conrad: I think we’re in agreement there.

Marco: I think we are. I remember that this movie was always so talked about back in the 90s, like one of those big hyped things, you know the kind that supposedly contained the rules?

Conrad: The rules?

Marco: For like… “The Cool.” Like Dazed And Confused. Or Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Lost In Translation. These are the rules, for “the cool.” This is how things are. This movie is fine, not bad at all, but “the cool?” I just don’t know.

Conrad: Yeah, I get you. “The cool” is not always what it’s cracked up to be.

Marco: Uh huh.

Conrad: That Vince Vaughn is a funny, silly man. I feel like we should’ve gotten drunk before watching this.

Marco: Perhaps some of us already are.

I was watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding the other day. Anyway, I was watching the part where Nikki and Angelo are fighting. It reminded me of my best guy friend, who I’ll call Bob. It reminded me of us because we fight like we were brother and sister. Plus he can infuriate me and B-Shawty, you know why. I won’t really get into how but I know that he cares for me like a sister. Anyway, other people who have seen us interact have also said that we fight like we’re an old married couple like Miracle Max and Valerie from The Princess Bride. I think what it is is that we’ve known each other long and well enough to know what ticks each other off and what buttons to push, etc.

Año de Publicación: 1969
Nacionalidad: EE.UU.
Discográfica: Columbia
Producción: Bob Johnston

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Lista de temas:

01 Big River

02 I Still Miss Someone

03 Wreck Of The Old 97

04 I Walk The Line

05 Darlin’ Companion

06 I Don’t Know Where I’m Bound

07 Starkville City Jail

08 San Quentin

09 San Quentin (bis)

10 Wanted Man

11 A Boy Named Sue

12 (There’ll Be) Peace On The Valley

13 Folsom Prison Blues

14 Ring Of Fire

15 He Turned The Water Into Wine

16 Daddy Sang Bass

17 The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago

18 Closing Medley (Folsom Prison Blues/I Walk The Line/Ring Of Fire/The Rebel -Johnny Yuma)

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“San Quentin“

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“Folsom Prison Blues“

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“Hurt” de su álbum “American IV:The Man Comes Around”

When I watched Clean House: The Messiest Home In The Country 3, the show pointed out that the mom said either that she was overwhelmed or that things were overwhelming constantly. That made me think of The Princess Bride because Vizzini always used to say “Inconceivable!” He would always say “inconceivable” whenever he was frustrated like how the mom would say overwhelmed or overwhelming. I thought it was funny because they used a word a lot to describe their frustration.

29/5/9

“A flash in the pan”
Common definition: Something showy that initially impresses but doesn’t bring any real results. (e.g. “The singer’s career as Elvis’s long lost brother was just a flash in the pan.”)

First use: The term has been known since the late 17th century. Elkanah Settle, arse-licker of the Earl of Nowich, in Reflections on several of Mr. Dryden’s plays, 1687, had this to say: “If Cannons were so well bred in his Metaphor as only to flash in the Pan, I dare lay an even wager that Mr. Dryden durst venture to Sea.”

WAAL; FUCK YOU, SETTLE ! (if that is your real name, arselicker; you fucking coward!) –
you didn’t even write “Notes and Observations on the Empress of Morocco” –
(probably that pitiful treacherous plagiarist clod Shadwell )
- you never even met her!
Maya told me you asked for an audience
but she told her secretary to tell you to fuck off -
you fucking lying shit!

May Mr Johnny Cash
dip your hand in warm water
for the rest of your few remaining days!

Jack & me
went to sea (or – as you so pretentiously spell it – “Sea”)
(in a beautiful pea-green boat; fuck you!)
two guys, out on The Waters
many a time!
BEER & FISH make a writer; fuck you!
(oh, bad luck; Hemingway…)
[fuck you - Fitz NEVER even left The Shore -
but look at the joi he brought to you miserable critics!
An Inspiration to SO many many terribly much worserer writers!]
{oh, fuck; why wasn’t he wearing the scarf..?}

Jack Dryden was an excellent Navigateur
and good all round on deck -
no loose ties,
nothan rattlan round ,
good with a knife,
a fine hand;
excellent company.

* * *

AND you can get fucked AGAIN, SETTLE! (if that is your real name, arselicker; you fucking arselicking coward!)
DO NOT invent stories about My King!

There was no “long lost brother”
’twas a Myth created by me, Mr Tom Waits, Br Leonard Cohen & Jenny from The Jennys
after a couple o’ tequilas & such.

There is, however, a story
about The Brother Who Lived
(which cannot be supported in fact
but endures to this day)
& is ridiculously conflated
with the History of Mr Johnny Cash

but, really, can’t we just put this all behind us?

DAMMIT! – why does cactus have this effect on normally decent humans?

Jack & Alex were right – you are Dulness’ bitch!
(but I must admit that you have succeeded in infecting the entire UK (with the possible exception of Wales – ta, Dylan) with decay, imbecility, tastelessness and an inability to deal with either the spoken or written languages –oh; and, perhaps, The Entire World!)
However, I hear you ended up playing a dragon
in a hand-made green leather suit in a fucking market!

Oh, World Domination!

I thank the Brothers of the Charterhouse

for spoon-feeding you gruel
and wiping your worthless arse
until you so graciously died.

Get fucked, SETTLE, you arselicking, plagiarising coward!
The Spectre of Spartacus shall be ON YOUR ARSE immediately!
NO RESPITE in Hell either – DO NOT SLEEP!!!

May Jesu take pity ‘pon your soul.

“Well, you’re not getting rid of me that easy” It’s the line said to Rose by Jack, one of the main dude’s of LOST. And he couldn’t be more right. About the show, himself (the fact that he’s travelled on the Island, off the Island, in Time, and has eventually ended up meeting Rose everyewhere he goes) Kate, Locke (Death isn’t a problem – Just be Taken control of by some mysterious guy!), and everyone/everything else on the show. With that, the new post about the LOST Rewatch have started, and oh boy, we have a lot of ground to cover!

Soo. What happens?

Walkabout is the first episode in which we meet Locke fully for the first time. He is fucked up, miserablea and has anger problems – Again like Anakin in Star Wars – Episode I & II. We also start with some humor on LOST now. In my oppinion, Rose has always been hysterically sarcastic and insanely funny! We get a little backstory on Rose and her husband, Bernard, and a scene where Locke – plays RISK. May this be one of the first signs that he’s just a piece in a game or that someone is playing a difficult and complex game through him? Another thing that moves on in this episode is Michael and Sun’s relationship, Sayids plan and Sawyers awkardness. Claire and Charlie also begins taking control over their situation.

The Season 5 Finale Again…!

“They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.” “It only ends once. Everything else is just progress.” Oh, yeah! The first words in the season 5 finale episode “The Incident”. I have said that I wasn’t through with that episode before, but now is the time to move a little further!

The first words on LOST uttered by the Mysterious Man in Black that may actually forshadow all of LOST’s six and final season. We’ve seen the Oceanic-survivors come. They’ve fought against the Others, Rousseau, each other, Polar Bears and a hell of a lot more! We’ve seen them when they have destroyed things; Locke destroys submarine and Hatch, Jack and Juliet activates bomb, they’ve destroyed each others emotions, weapons, trust, everything that comes their way. They’ve even manage to destroy parts of the GREAT PLAN and their destiny! Of course, this was fixed very shortly after by Ben, Jack and Jeremy Bentham aka John Locke. Just as Rose said in the Season 5 finale: “We’ve travelled 30 years back in time, and you’re STILL finding ways to kill each other on!” No one could have said it better. Wondered what actually happened to them when the bomb went off, and the rest probably travelled in time, and causing the Incident… Hmm, maybe they are the “Adam and Eve” skeletons… Anyway, let’s move on. We’ve now arrived at the corruption. And as I read that, I thought; Hey, they haven’t corrupted anything! Well, when I think about it, actually they have. They’ve corrupted The Others, The Dharma Initiative, Themselves (Michael’s treachery in the last episodes of Season 2) and then they’ve been corrupted. So, rule that one out. The only thing that conversation doesn’t give an answer to is, How does it end? And why doesn’t it do that? Because that would mean that they’ve spoiled the whole sixth season! LOST starts off in the modern world. Why? If it had jumped from the crash of The Black Rock and Oceanic Air Flight 815, or been just about The Black Rock-survivors, we still would have seen the mysteries on the Island. Maybe not so much, but still! It would eventually become the same show. So, why do we follow the Oceanic Air-catastrophe so closely? Because, as Jacob said, “It only ends once. Everything else is just progress.” We are to witness the final, last and inevitable end of it all. We are to see how it ALL ends, not just the story of how some people’s life on the Island is. So, if the ending had been told in that conversation, we still wouldn’t know the ending. Because the final ending may be different than all the other endings. Still want to hear how it all ends? Well, it has already ended. Think about it; we are to witness the FINAL end. That said, it has already ended. But the FINAL END hasn’t ended yet. It’s just begun. But it has ended… Like all of the other “crashed on THE Island”-stories usually ends; Death.

The Black Rock – All of them died. We don’t know how, but they’ve all died, except (maybe) Ricardos Alpert(os?)
Danielle Rousseau’s science expedition – They were all killed by Smokie (to stop them from interfering with The Man in Black’s master plan…?)
Yemi’s Plane – They all died (Also here, we do not know what happened – But Mr. Eko managed to do everything on the list, if I remember correctly.)
Air Balloon – Henry Gale, the owner, Died (The question is, did he manage to do something on the list? Or did Benjamin Linus do it for him…?)
Elizabeth – Desmond’s boat, ended with the death of Kelvin (And Desmond corrupted The Hatch, fought Kelvin and eventually killed Kelvin, thus ending the circle)
Naomi’s Helicopter – This was in season 3. She did it all – Arrived, fought with the wounds and verbally, corrupted the mind of Desmond, making him believe she came on Penelope’s bill, then died)

And finally…. The Ajira Airways 316! That plane made it possible for the Oceanic-survivors to travel back in time and destroying an atom bomb, infiltrating and corrupting the Others (The Man in Black) and oh boy, they did fight with each other, the Dharma Initiative and now the Others will fight on Jacob’s side against the mysterious Man in Black! Remember that this crash has already ended with death; Jacob’s. The final and last end begins when the Oceanic-survivors from 1977 arrives in present time. And they will destroy The Man in Black, fight along with the Others, corrupt the Loop-Hole and finally, end it with the Death of the mysterious Man in Black. Which brings me to another thing; maybe the theory with a new timeline is true after all… Maybe that’s what they’ve corrupted? The original timeline? Anyway, now you know this theory. Enough about the end of LOST – it makes me sad just thinking about it. Let’s move on to Smokie, Locke and Jack!

Smokie, Locke and Jack

This is the first episode where someone actually sees the Monster aka Smokie. And if Smokie can appear as people, then both Jack and Locke have seen it. But only Locke has seen it’s true face. That is, if Smokies true face isn’t the Man in Black, of course. But something makes me believe that the Man in Black has the same control over Smokie that Ben had; He can only summon it. Again, maybe the Man in Black has a little more control over it. I don’t know, and I really don’t want to! The fun thing about this is that when Locke sees the smoke monster, nothing happens. We don’t really know what’s happening. Maybe he is judged? Maybe he learns to control it? Or maybe Smokie and the Man in Black already have started to take control over him? Now, the LOSTPEDIA blog, which you can read HERE, theorises that maybe Locke didn’t see the black Smoke Monster that we all have grown up with, but something else entirely? Either way, he denies it when Michael asks about it, but WE know he saw something. The question is, what? Well, we could ravel on about that for HOURS; it’s much more fun to theorize a little again!

Jack talks with Kate – Jack sees dead father – Dead father enters jungle – Jack runs into Jungle, Kate follows, no one’s there… (Fanfare); Locke steps out!

We know that Locke has met Smokie by now, or atleast seen The Smoke Monster, but is it possible that he is dead already? No, it is not. His body isn’t found before Season 5, in the Ajira Airways-Plane. But maybe the smoke monster already has taken control over bits and pieces? Like Lord Palpatine gradually takes control over Anakin’s will, making him do things that helps his choice about moving over to the dark side… And that again comes back to LOST being a story kinda like Star Wars. But in all large, epic stories about good vs. evil, you have some version of this scenario, right? Anyway, I really enjoy the last part of this episode, where Locke looks on his (almost) burning wheelchair and smiles. He has been granted a huge favor, by the Islands healing powers. But is it really the Island? All of his anger problems ends with his power to walk once again, but is this really a good thing? It makes him mad, and not only that, he also begins to be fanatic about the Island, their destiny and so on. I think the Smoke Monster or the Mysterious Man in Black (we have yet to find out wether he is the Smoke Monster or another being) gave him the power to walk once again, for it was needed so he could believe in the Islands powers and, ultimately, seal his own destiny in a large and complex Risk-game, where his role is as a Colonel, or a guy that’s operating under orders from a general. Now, this general is probably the Man in Black. And so goes the theory!

Until next time, folks, where we will dwell further into the Islands mysteries. But now, just at the end, a little notice about Fringe; they have these “next episode clues”, remember? Well, maybe it was just a clue so that we could do the same thing with LOST? It is funny, how these shows keep having things in common! See you later, Aligator-Headed-Giant-Human-That-We-Originally-Thought-Was-Anubis!

Hello. Then we’re off to rewatch all of LOST 103 hours, which will end when the Sixth and Final season begins its run on ABC January 2010. It’s a long road to redemption, eh?

In these posts, I will cover everything that seems important. I will use these episodes to make new theories, and I won’t sum them up. On LOST and Found – It’s theory time!

So… The Pilot. It is wonderful, I must say that. And we will start with the line “We have to go back”. Remember that one, from the end of the third sesason? Well, here it is again. but now it’s Kate’s line, telling Charlie that they have to go back for Jack. Interesting, as their “go back” will eventually mean back to the Island and the other people that was left behind.

The Pilot continues, and we see Locke, and the first clues of his ”specialties” arrive. The fun thing about this is that we also see the clues that his tale is much like Anakin’s tale in Star Wars, and hence the ”2 sides, black and white” scene with Walt, and the Anakin scar on his face. See? We’ll get back to this one.

And now, we also see the great polar bear. It’s this one;

Now, this one just looks stupid. Right 'mate?

Not this one, which actually is the original.

Looks really terrifying! Right dude?

I kind of liked the original better. It looked more… I don’t know. Real. Or not. At least we could have laughed more. Anyway, we now know where these mysterious polar bears originally came from; The Dharma Initiative brought them to the Island to perform certain experiments. Once more, what we first thought was something supernatural, explained with science. In other words, nothing supernatural about this one. But all this talk about supernatural things brings us to Walt, which might just be the real “chosen one”, and thus the true leaders of The Others. And so on to the Star Wars-theory, and the Locke/Walt scene with the backgammon.
What’s poetic about the scene with Walt and Locke in the Pilot is that in Backgammon, you have black and white (or good and evil). And as we now know that Locke is the bad guy (but he’s white), then is Walt the good, black guy? Hmm. The writers have promised us that we will see more of Walt (haven’t they?), and my theory is that he may be coming back to the Island with Desmond and Penelope, or with another plane. Actually, another plane is more likely, when you think of the Islands thing for repeat. (Remember, the Oceanic 6 – Ajira 316) But what I don’t understand is how his character’s life will move forward. I mean, he’s living with his grandmother. Will she die? What will happen to him so he can get back to the Island? And then the final question: Is his story done? Is it the tragic story we’ve been witnessed to in ”The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” and the Michael-episode in Season 3? Or is it more to Walt’s story with the Island? Personally, I think that Walt is not done with the Island at all. The Island and LOST has been all about destiny; that will mean that Walt’s purpose on the Island was to set in motion all of the things that has happened. And he actually has! Without Michael’s urge to get Walt from the Others, none of this would probably have happened! Or not. Since Locke would stop pushing the button either way, and then it would have happened anyway. So, what is their destiny? Hmm. Maybe we’ll talk more about Walt and Michael in the following episodes. Now, onto the Locke = Anakin theory!

Locke’s fate is kinda like Anakin’s. He is “the chosen one”, but what does this mean? In Star Wars, it’s said that Anakin is to bring balance the Force, which he does. He goes over to the Dark Side, and becomes a sith. There can only be 2 Siths at one time, and thus he brings balance to the force. Locke’s fate? He is the loophole. He is really the good guy, but then he dies (Anakin didn’t – He went over to the Dark Side instead. Death is kinda like the Dark Side, ain’t it?) and becomes the tool of evil. Anakin is also the Tool of Evil. And what’s funny is this image:

Notice the Anakin-like scar?

Notice the Anakin-like scar? Well, sure I did! That brought me to the mentionted theory above!

And we’re moving on. To Rousseau’s distress call that’s been airing in 16 years. To the 48 survivors. And to the Numbers, that keeps popping up even before we knew of their existence.

And then on to the brilliant pun line of Pilot Part II: “Guys, where are we?”, said by Charlie when they hear the distress call. The first flashbacks, that only are taking place in the plane. Little do we know that most of the story is being told in flashbacks. But that gets clearer in the next episodes.

Then off to The mysterious Vincent. All from the beginning, something is scary and mystifying about him. But what’s the deal? No clues have been delivered. Yet.

The Marshall, who is waking up in this episode and searching desperately for someone/something. Hmm. May this be the first loophole indication?

Sawyer is getting closer to Kate, Boone and Shannon are arguing to hell and back, the monster that “killed them all”, and the LOST show that starts out almost like a horror movie in the jungle and turns into a time-travelling show. We’ve certainly gone a long way since the first season!

So, that was the Pilot Rewatched! Can’t wait to see you later, when I’m rewatcing Tabula Rasa! It will be fun!

Before we begin again, I would just like to tell you that from this post on, we will again watch LOST from the beginning. It’s called The LOST Rewatch, and you can read about it here!

Now, we will talk about who’s good and bad in LOST and why.

I am going to assume that Jacob is good and The Man in Black is bad. So…

GOOD:

Jacob
The Others
Ilana and the rest of the 316-fellows
Faraday’s Mother

BAD:
The Man in Black
Charles Widmore

NO KNOWLEDGE:

Most of the people on Ajira Airways 316 and Oceanic Air 815.

And that was it.

Proof that Charles Widmore is bad? Well, he told Locke to get back on the Island, because “There’s a war coming. And if you’re not on the Island when it’s on, the wrong side is gonna win”. So… The returning of Locke to the Island, was that good or bad? The sending of Faraday and all the others, was that good or bad? The people that worked for Jacob said to Miles in “Some Like it Hoth” that he shouldn’t take the job on the Island for Charles Widmore. Charles Widmore and Benjamin Linus is on opposite sides. And Benjamin is with the Others. Am I right or am I right? Well, smell you later, where we will talk about The Pilot! This’ll be FUN!

First off: It was epic. That last scene? INCREDIBLE! And the white LOST logo? GREAT! It was all rather new. Can’t wait till new season!

Surprises

The thing about LOST is that, now as season 5 has ended, this is going to be the number 1 topic of discussion of LOSTies. We cannot get a clear answer, because this has never happened in the real world. And if it had happened, we would still not be guaranteed that was what happened on the show. (And teqniqually, as one of my friends pointed out, if it had happened in reality and changed the future, we wouldn’t know now, would we?) Because if it is something that Damon Lindelof and the other writers of LOST can do, it is to surprise. They are the masters of surprise.

The Incident

The last scene in the fifth season of LOST, opened a lot of questions and new storylines. For example, all of season 5 have been building up to this point. We do not know what is going to happen. We do not know if the Whatever Happened, Happened theory is right, and that the LOSTies in 1977 have helped build the future that have always been. We do not know if the Variables theory is right, and we have a whole new timeline now. Either way, Jacob is sentral in the new season. And, I’m coming to that.

Now, at the end of the fifth season we finally found out WHY we haven’t gotten to know so much about The Incident; If we knew too much, that last scene wouldn’t have worked out. If we already knew that “The Incident is that the Dharma Initiative drilled to far into the ground, and then some guys came out of the jungle, there was a gunfight and a nuclear bomb eventually went off”, that last scene wouldn’t have been exciting at all. But, as we’ve never really known what the incident was, only that it lead to the numbers and the button (which we still don’t know the meaning of) that last scene in the fifth season is VERY exciting!

In the last scene, the bomb goes off. I’m pretty sure of this.

In the end of the episode, before LOST shows, you can clearly hear a bang. Or?

Jacob, Esau/Locke and Ben

Yes. Then, off to Jacob. Did you notice that touch in all of the flashbacks? I certainly did! And Doc Jensen has some interesting theories of this. One is the Harry Potter/Malacrux theory. Jacob left a little of his soul in each of the characters, so that they could bring Jacob back after his death. Another theory is that they now can live after the nuke, and that they will be VERY important. (I like to think they’re chosen) And hereby, we come on to Locke and Jacob, and the mysterious guy in black which we will call Voldemort. Or Chris. We’ll call him Chris. (Just kidding, actually we’ll call him Esau, but that’s not because I think it is his brother. I’ll come back to that.)

But before we move onto the great What/Who is Esau?-thingie, we will talk more about…That last image in the season finale. Yep, the white LOST logo. It’s important, dont’t ya think? Well, atleast I think. And it is very significant that it was a WHITE flash. Because what happened the last time there was tons of white flashes on the Island? Yep, Time-Travelling. Hence the “They’re Coming”-quote from Jacob that pissed pretending-Locke off. Big time.

Anger leads to people breaking rules?

And then, yet another mistake(?) LOST just made. OK, it was cool enough to watch pretending-Locke kick Jacob into the fire because he was pissed, but still. It doesn’t work out. Like some-guy-on-the-internet-which-I-can’t-find-again says in his theories of the finale, maybe whole of LOST is like the epic story of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, which really is about the life and death (murder?) of the Sandman aka Morpheus, which is orchastrated by another one of the Endless (?) because of the Rules that the Endless cannot kill each other (hence the Locke/Esau quote “You do not have any idea what I’ve been going through to get here…”)  Now, it seems that these rules are on the Island also, since Esau is talking about a loophole to kill Jacob, which means that he finally found that loophole, since the season ends with the death of Jacob. But what is the loophole? It seems to be Ben, but is it really him? Hmm, that theory will be discussed. But now, back to the thing about Locke and Esau. And when we talk about that, the thing about Esau telling Richard through Locke that he needed to say that original-Locke had to die so that Esau could take over his body and thus use the loophole! Whew, long sentence that one…! But further on: If Esau needed a loophole to kill Jacob, what is the deal with the fire…? Now, you don’t know what I’m talking about? Need explanation? Well, read on, matie!

In the final scene with Ben, Jacob and Esau/Locke. Ben asks: “What was it that was so wrong about me?” Then, Jacob answers: “What about you? And here, the thing about Ben lies: What does he actually know about the things that is going on with Jacob and Esau? And this is important, because if he knows what is going on, then the whole scene with him and Jacob were just acting. Wait a second now! Does that sound like Ben back in business or what!?

And here we again start with a little theorizing; What was the deal with Esau/Locke’s last act; kicking Jacob into the fire. Doesn’t that means his breaking the rules? Because Jacob wouldn’t necessarily have died of the stabs delivered to him by our dear friend Benjamin Linus. He could still have been rescued. And this means that Esau broke the rules, and thus needs to be punished. And who is the punisher? We got to know that in the Dead is Dead-episode, episode 12 of Season 5, where Benjamin Linus went to be judged by… The smoke monster! And then we are soon off to my great Sandman-theory again.

The big, great Sandman-Theory of LOST

Earlier in this post, I said part of my(and part the-guy-on-the-internet-which-I-can’t-find who made me think) theory of LOST being another, Island version of Neil Gaiman’s great epic tale about Dream of the Endless’ death in his comic book series The Sandman. Now, as I’ve told you before, the story is about the life and death (murder?) of the Sandman aka Morpheus, which is orchastrated by another one of the Endless (?) because of the Rules that the Endless cannot kill each other (hence the Locke/Esau quote “You do not have any idea what I’ve been going through to get here…”)

But that is not all of the tale. You see, Dream of the Endless has killed his son, Orpheus and this is something that stands against the rules, and thus, Morpheus aka Dream needs to be judged. This story begins in the ninth volume, named The Kindly Ones. Now, the thing that is fascinating about that volume is that it takes all of the information that Gaiman has given us in the past eight volumes, and then he makes ALL OF IT equally important. All of the storylines, characters and events are in that volume. We have met all of the people in that volume before. Shortly, this is what it really is about. Now, that is the exact same point that LOST has come unto now; It’s time to figure out what the story really is about. And it’s really about Jacob and his war against the Man in Black aka Esau/Locke.

That is the story we will get to know in the sixth season. But something is different from the Sandman-comics. We don’t know the background story. Just the murder, in addition to bits and pieces of the complete background story. But back to the Sandman Theory: As I said, Morpheus needs to be judged by The Kindly Ones; and this starts to commence when someone kidnaps Lyta Hall’s baby Daniel, which Morpheus has said is his to claim when the time comes. But it is not the Sandman that has taken her baby. She goes into some deep journey and ends up with making the Kindly Ones take action and avenge the murder of Orpheus, the Sandman’s son. It turns out at the end that it has all been a mistake (or har it), but it is one piece of words/picture that is just AWESOME and that really says it all; The Sandman, Morpheus or the King of Dreams and Creations if you want, he truly WANTS to be judged for the murder of his son. He sends one of the nightmares (The Corinthian, the new one if you wondered) along with one of his ravens, Matthew (F0x? Or Raven?) to find Daniel, the baby of Lyta Hall. It is time to claim him again. Why? I’m getting to that.

While this happens, a faerie that has been working for Morpheus some years, named Nuala follows her brother into the land of faerie again, after recieving a boon from Morpheus: she can call him anytime and anywhere through this boon, and he will come no matter what. As the story progresses, Nuala hears he is in trouble, and calls out on him to save him. In reality, this is what weakens both him and his realm, and finally leads the Kindly Ones to take they’re revenge. Real epic moment, when Dream calls for his sister Death and has the “end of life” conversation with her before they touch, and he is gone. The Kindly Ones have fullfilled their purpose… But it was all according to the Sandman’s plan! Because when he is dead, Daniel (Lyta Hall’s baby that the Sandman claimed after he got kidnapped, which started it all) become the new Dream. Although he is white instead of black, thus reversed.

Now, let’s draw this up on LOST. We have the death of Jacob, instead the death of Morpheus. We have the Mysterious Man in Black/Esaus/Locke instead of the unknown “man/woman behind the curtain” in the Sandman and so on. This leads me to believe this:

Jacob has not done something that is against the rules. He is doing all of this to make the Man in Black do something against the rules, kill him, and then the Man in Black/Locke/Esau will be judged by the Smoke Monster which is this universe’s Kindly Ones. But in order to do this, Jacob must die. And that can’t happen. So, the thing is that it is a HUGE twist in here, that spins the Sandman plot and changes it radically; They have mixed the characters. You see that one now, don’t you? But, as the Sandman, Jacob has a fail-safe. The LOSTies from 1977. And ofcourse, Daniel, the baby. But this one, you’ve already guessed, right? It’s Aaron, who is transformed to the new, pure and reborn Jacob, that still is different than the original. That leads me to believe that Ben knows about some of this. Like Loki in the Sandman story, he tried to get his hands on Aaron, and he is also a great lier and deciever.

But back to Aaron: this next piece of information is something I picked up on LOSTpedia. That’s right, it’s the LOST wiki. Now, read!

• The biblical Aaron is a descendant of Jacob through Levi, Kohath, and Amram.
  • He is also the brother of Moses.
• Nicknamed “Turniphead” by Charlie. In the 2004 Japanese anime film Howl’s Moving Castle, the character Turniphead (who is a scarecrow) turns out to be a missing prince who was under a witch’s spell.

Now, let’s begin with a little theorizing again, shall we? We have Aaron, which is related to Jacob. Wait, was that in LOST or in the Bible…? Now, the brother of Moses. Hmm. What important things did Moses do that can relate to LOST? He wrote the ten commandments! Or, as I like to call them; THE rules!

But who is this mysterious Moses-figure of LOST? Personally, I got this great idea at first that it was Walt, referring to the first season where he appears to stop the rain so that he and his father can go search for his dog. But then, I remembered the ten commandments. And Walt can’t have written the rules.

The little thing that destroys so many theories right now, is that we know that the sixth and final season of LOST won’t involve time-travelling. Or so they say. But hang with me on this one; As in Sandman, someone has said to Clair like Morpheus said to Lyta Hall; I will, one day come to claim your baby. But instead, someone said to Claire, your child will be important. That’s kinda the same thing, right?

Got my Sandman theory, then? Jacob planning to make Esau push him into the fire, making him the murderer instead of Ben and then watch as Esau is judged by the Smoke Monster. Meanwhile, Jacob becomes reborn or reincarnated in the body of Aaron. And Aaron needs someones help to get to the Island. Me suggests Walt and/or Desmond. Maybe even in the same boat?

Well, that was LOST and Found for now. And we haven’t gone through half of the latest episode yet! The reapperance of Vincent, Rose and Bernard was pretty neat. “We travelled thirty years in time, and you’re still trying to find reasons to kill each other on!” That WAS neat. And that pretty much clears up their story; They are to live like Robinson’s for the rest of their life. Happy and together. Unless they are becoming parts of the new storyline, and travelled in time with the rest of the LOSTies back to 2007. Or beyond…

It is much we haven’t discussed. But we will discuss it eventually. I just want to say two more things before I leave:

1. My LOST and Fringe being one show theory was pretty cool. But it was AWFULLY wrong. To make it up to you: The LOCKE-theory was right. He wasn’t the same Locke. But still, he wasn’t the smoke monster.
2. From this day on, the LOST and found-blog is with on the new LOST Rewatch thingie. You can read the schedule HERE!

… God’ll cut you down

Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What’s down in the dark will be brought to the light

Johnny Cash has been a hip topic ever since the man in black found his face in the big screen features thanks to an impeccable performance by that little live-wire, Joaquin Phoenix. And because of that movie we’re probably all familiar with his songs Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, and my own personal favorite Rusty Cage. Addiction, depression, and a whole host of personal demons spawned brilliantly sincere pieces of musical Americana, even if some of his biographical facts were stretched during the making of his mystique. He was tireless and prolific during his heyday, and we most certainly have his wife, June Carter, to thank for the longevity of his creative process. In light of that, what I find most compelling is what he did musically after June left him for those big rock candy mountains in the sky.  In the final album released during his lifetime, American IV: The Man Comes Around, you mostly find covers with appearances by notables such as Fiona Apple, Nick Cave, and Don Henley assisting the legendary musical giant. And did I mention it was produced by the accomplished Rick Rubin? Johnny and his talented cast of contributors took music that was already adored, stripped it down to its bare bones, and gave it a sentimentality rarely seen in pop music with any authenticity behind it. Granted, Reznor’s original version of Hurt has soul to spare, but the fragility in Cash’s version is what reinvents the song and makes it more real: reality that can only be conjured by a widower approaching his deathbed, reality that has no home in the hearts of youth no matter the amount of emotional trauma those young years have endured. Gut wrenching blues drip out of every pore in this man’s body and drip all over everything: covering the instruments and their manipulators. 

For instance, The Man in Black’s Personal Jesus with acoustic guitar riffs provided by The Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ John Frusciante:

Versus Depeche Mode’s original:

Or how about his version of Hurt 

Versus Trent Reznor’s NIN original:

But why covers? That question has stuck in my mind ever since I bought the album when I was a senior in high school. Why not pen odes to your beloved wife’s departure? My guess is that he just couldn’t produce the words to make it right, but knew them when they crossed his path. And maybe, just maybe, he learned a few more things about himself at the end of his life (without the steady, reassuring hand of his wife by his side) by taking the creative output of others and making it his own; not a bad way to leave this life behind, when you think about it. Regardless, it was a hell of a high note on which to end a stellar career.

Go buy this album immediately if you haven’t already done so, and break your own rusty cage.

If I had a time machine, I’d travel to 2010 right this fucking second.

An abridged version of my reaction to the 4 minute pre-credits opening teaser to the episode: “Oh, hey, is that…?” “Well, look at that.” “Hmmm.” “I bet that’s… Oh, it totally is.” “Who’s this fucker? And who’s this other fucker?” “Are they… Is that… HOLY SHIT.”

There’s not even words to formulate an abridged version to my reaction to the ending. I’m literally typing this 8 minutes after the ending of the show and I feel like I got fucked hard. Or kicked in the balls hard, and it was glorious. I saw the light. Destiny found.

Looking around the room in the sweaty, luminescent afterglow, I see my underwear hanging from the ceiling fan. My pants are outside. I only have one sock on and the other is probably floating around there in time and space. I’m going to take a moment to collect all the various parts of myself, including my thoughts, and then come back with some quick thoughts on the season finale of Lost, entitled “The Incident.”

The Incident? You can sure as shit say that again, man.

The episode starts perfectly: Two guys enjoying a little chat on the beach as they scan the news on the horizon. They’re apparently (im)mortal enemies, working against or at least in conflict with each other, but there are rules to their engagements. One of these guys is Jacob and the other, the one who thinks that it always comes back to mortal sin, goes unnamed. And this tender little moment where one swears to the other that he’ll find a way to kill him? It all takes place in the shadow of the statue.

I just love that they can set up a huge overarching mythos for the show and this season in particular in the four minute teaser to the season finale and it already feels so natural and perfect.

Ben. Ben’s had one of the major storylines/character arcs this year and… Well. How fascinating that Ben has become the exact opposite of what we’ve known him as for the entire show so far: A victim. Haven’t you heard, Ben? Only fools are enslaved by time and space.

from here.

The statue:

Goddamn. Look at that fucking thing. Most likely, that’s still Anubis because of the ankhs, but there’s also the theories about Taweret (nahh) and Sobek, which actually make sense too. Sobek was a creator God and also carried around ankhs.

In fact, no, never mind, that is totally Sobek. You can tell by the crocodile mouth.

Jacob. More on him soon, because… it’s kind of hard even wrap your head around this character, you know?

But I find it very interesting that when he visited characters in the past, he always made sure to touch them. Physically. And the camera made sure to let you know that.

Is that his personal way of wrapping destiny around  you in such a way to deliver you to the Island?

Or is he giving them a second chance at life, not just in the moments he touches them, but in a reset post-Eden world? Are they still prisoners to time or are they free? Is the destiny that they’ll find in 2010 the ones that they themselves will create?

Little Kate. Wasn’t she adorable?

And she totally had the right stuff.

Big Kate. Not so bad, but you’re kind of all over the place here, Kate. But so were all of your friends too.

Jack. Jack does come off kind of crazy here, and a little possessed, but I guess it’s nice to see him there, to see him not so apathetic anymore. Also, Jack has a bomb! On one hand, there’s something very noble about his wanting to hit the reset button and see what was meant to be, but on the other hand, wouldn’t it be more noble to win back Kate the hard way? I’m going to have to agree with Sawyer on “what’s done is done” and suggest that if Jack wanted to be worthy of Kate, then he should get to work on being worthy of Kate. But then again, blowing shit up is also cool and they have to do that at the end of every season, right?

Desmond. I don’t mind mentioning that the last three episodes have suffered from an extreme lack of him, but maybe it’s for the best. For both Henry Ian Cusick and the show legally but also… Well, it’s nice that Desmond and Penny got a happy ending to this season.

Evil Twin John Locke. Oooh, Jacob’s Enemy is interesting, isn’t he? Knowing what we know now, I love that in “Follow The Leader” he made sure to have Richard go talk to his past self/past Locke to ensure that Locke does indeed leave the Island and meet his fate (death) like he’s supposed to.

The Real John Locke. You know what? This feels like the perfect ending to the real Locke’s storyline. Throughout all of his struggles to be his own man, to be something more than himself, he was always being used by somebody for something. Even after he died. Also, I loved that they used the same camera angel reveal for his body here that was used in the funeral home at the end of last season’s finale when they opened that mystery box.

The ending to every class science fiction time travel story ever. I like how Miles has seen at least one and can suggest that maybe this is a predestination paradox. Which all leads wonderfully to…

“Aw, fuck it.” Isn’t that the gist of the rest of the 815ers in ’77’s decision? It kind of echoes Sayid’s sentiments from the previous episode. Either Jack/Faraday was right and this will work or at least they’ll all be put out of their misery and go down swinging.

Charlie. I like how the show is starting to slowly fold back in on itself, ouroboros-style, echoing itself.

Foreshadowing. It was all over this episode and hinting at nothing but bad things for Juliet. And then bad things happened to Juliet. And then that glorious ending…

Sawyer. I’ll say this for Sawyer: “What’s done is done.” That and he’s the kind of guy who kicks a man in the balls…

Bro Fight! This starts off a serious tussle, with some solid punches being thrown, some manly grimaces and growls, and even a kick in the balls They Live-style. Nice. But then it quickly devolves into…

A coupla guys having a sad little cat fight in the jungle. That may be a little harsh but still. Beat some sense into each other, fellas, if you can.

Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor. You have interesting taste in literature, Jacob.

Rose and Bernard. I respect their new take on life up to a point. To them, it’s not “whatever happened, happened,” but “whatever happens, happens.” They’re very much in the present day, living each moment as it comes and enjoying it as if it’s the last, as long as they’re together. That’s nice and sweet and all, but it’s also a kind of giving up. But for them, it makes sense since every moment they’ve had on the Island so far has felt like borrowed time to them. But more to the point: Are they the Adam and Eve skeletons?

The Rules. There are so many. One set applies to Jacob and his Enemy. But there’s also rules to time travel, iron clad rules it would seem, and I’m happy that so far the show has never deviated from those rules. In fact, every fascinating thing they do only seems to reinforce the stated rules when all is said and done. But even those rules just need a loophole, right?

Time Travel. What do you think? Are our heroes going to make it home? Or, just like Scott Bakula in Quantum Leap, are they going to be left hoping that the next flash is the one that takes them home?

Sayid. Damn.

Sun and Jin. I was hoping these two would get back together this season, but having another thing to look forward to next year is not such a bad thing.

Quick theory on Jacob’s Enemy: He’s the smoke monster. A Loki/trickster type, one has no problem reading people and then impersonating them, especially the dead, and if you remember Ben’s judgment from a few episodes back then you’ll remember that Alex and Locke were never in the same room together. That and I’m going to assume that Jacob was never in that cabin, not that we’ve seen when Ben or Locke or Hurley visited it, and that it was Jacob’s Enemy.

Jacob’s Cabin. “Someone else has been using it.” I’d even theorize that Jacob’s Enemy was probably imprisoned there in the circle of ash and that when Locke came to visit and his foot disturbed the circle, he freed him. And not just freed him, he introduced himself to Jacob’s Enemy and gave him exactly what he’s been looking for all this time: A loophole.

Also, Jacob’s Enemy: would presumably be named Esau, right? That or Edom?

Locke, again. This whole season the writers of this show have been working a magnificent magic trick on us with this character, playing on what we’ve always wanted to see and what little knowledge we’ve had about where all this is going. The knowledge they’ve given us. The knowledge we’ve followed faithfully, even when it conflicted with other knowledge they’ve given us, like the fact that “Dead is dead.” But I guess that’s just part of the beautiful dance that writers and con men have in common with their victims and audience: they desire to be so perfectly and wonderfully fooled.

People with guns. They just don’t understand shit at all. That’s why they have the guns, right?

The argument above is rendered invalid when it comes to hot girls with guns. They can do whatever they want pretty much always.

That guy Phil. He can eat a dick. Or a metal pole! Ha ha!

And let’s not forget this:

Or:

“Come on, you son of a bitch.” Great last line, great last moment. “The Fork In The Outlet?” Please, they may as well have just called this “One last WTF.” Way to go, Juliet. I think she shows, not just in that last moment, but in the entire episode that one person changing their mind can make all the difference.

One last thought for you, just a little something to hold you over for the next 8 months or so: THEY’RE COMING!

Easter is coming in a few short weeks! As the non-Christian world grabs onto parts of our traditions, they still come up rather bunny-centric. Still, if you check your local listings, the Bible seems to be dusted off and handed to the network scheduling department this time of year. From the looks of some of their productions, it seems most just flipped through and looked at the pictures, where others seem to do a decent job of portraying the messages in an accurate way.

Now the first thing to realize is that movies are a different medium than a book. Things will have to be changed just to make the jump. On top of that, the Bible is not usually stories, but histories. Thus, to make a film, the story must be extracted from the history. With this in mind, a fun family night might be reading the Bible account and then watching the movie. (Sometimes we would do the Bible account over morning devotions beforehand .) Then we discussed what was changed and why. Most changes are made for dramatic interest, to simplify for a modern culture (like Moses’ 2 brothers in  Prince of Egypt: ). If there is going to be a problem with the changes, it’s often that they try to remove the supernatural from the story (“Peter and Paul” with Anthony Hopkins) or try to make God into the universal force for good in all men (“The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston).

I am always up for a well done Bible story, (I recommend Testament: The Bible in Animation) but moving toward the celebration of Jesus rising from the dead, you may want to focus on Jesus himself!

There are some very good films with Jesus; there are also some awful ones.

Of course The Passion of the Christ” is the obvious front runner. Picking up the story of Jesus in the Garden as he prays for the cup to be taken away, this is the struggle between the ultimate powers in the universe. Casting Jesus in the mode of sacrificial superhero, he battles to give up his life for the world, as Satan tries to stop the sacrifice. This is intermingled with flashbacks from Jesus’ life that become much more poignant when put in the framework of his death.

Then there is the Campus Crusade funded “Jesus Film” that goes almost word for word from the gospel of Luke. This is not as well done a film. It’s more a well done book on tape with nice pictures. (You can see the movie on line.)

Friends of mine who are now going to work for the “Jesus Film” ministry have just told me about the next development. The “Visual Translation” of the Jesus film will use the vocal tracks and then add all new music and sound effects for an anime version of the film. This new version is being headed up by director Barry Cook and you can see animatics of two of the scenes on their web page.  http://whoishe.org/animationproject

I personally love The Miracle Maker“. This is the story of Jesus done by an amazing Russian Claymation team and an English group doing traditional animation used for flashbacks and whenever something spiritual (like the casting out of demons) happens. The story is sewn together by the struggles of a religious leader and his sick daughter. Will he let her suffer, or will he bring her to Jesus to be healed? This film spent months in the theaters in England . Here, it was shown once on ABC family before going to DVD; how sad.

You can now watch the Miracle Maker on line at Hulu.com

This may also be a good time to introduce your family to “Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel of St. Matthew .” This very quirky (read – “Weird”) offering from the 70’s has a group of thrift shop sheik hippies called out of the world of New York to act out the parables through the streets and monuments of the city that doesn’t sleep. They often move events to offer thematic continuity and artistic comment. At one point Jesus faces the “Pharisee Monster” who hits him with all the questions that are sprinkled throughout the gospels. This confrontation ends with an artistic representation of the cleansing of the temple. In the stage show the Resurrection is incorporated into the curtain call. Here we are told it will happen in the closing songs and then see New York go back to its life without taking notice of the gift it has been given. (There is also the unintentional irony of the song “All For The Best” and it’s big finial on the twin towers.)

Of course if 70’s hippy rock is not your thing; The Jesus story is narrated and serenaded by the Man in Black himself in Johnny Cash’s Gospel Road.

Taking one step away you have “Ben Hur”. Tied for having received the most Oscars ever, this swashbuckling Charlton Heston classic shows a man’s spiritual journey to forgiveness set against the backdrop of the Gospel story. This is a great movie for people who know the story of Jesus. You will see more of the story by filling in the blanks.

In “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, ” we have Jesus interjected into a fantasy world . Here we see the sacrifice of Jesus illustrated in thematically graphic and personal terms. We can all relate to selling out all we should love for brief personal pleasure or “sweeties”. It is wonderful to see Jesus as Lord of everything, even the imagination of man, in the character of Aslan.

Finally , we can look at movies that offer us “types o f Christ.”A “ type” is a character that has their own story but , when you stand back from the details, you see the story of Jesus. In the Bible, characters like Joseph ( who is sacrificed by his family, and then goes on to become ruler and savior) and Jonah ( sent with a message to a foreign land, sacrificed, “resurrected” 3 days later to offer repentance) are types of Christ. Jesus even references Jonah as a type in Matthew 12:38-41 Matthew 16:4, and Luke 11:29-32 .

Fiction writers have also used the “type of Christ” to allow their story to point to Jesus. This is very popular with film makers. Just check out the trailer for the recent  “Superman Returns”.

In the film (or film series, depending on your point of view) “Lord of the Rings”, there are three characters that point to Jesus. In “Fellowship of the Rings” you see Frodo and the Ring. The Ring is the force of evil in the world. Frodo, though it is not his to deal with, takes the evil of the ring on himself and bares it in order to destroy it. In “The Two Towers” we re-visit the sacrifice of Gandalf. We are reminded that he gave himself to save his friends from a demon (another symbol of evil) and was then sent back to be with them in the battle. Thirdly in “Return of the King” (as if that title isn’t a dead giveaway) we see Aragorn enter into the realm of those living in death because they refused to follow the king. He enters death to give the people an offer : You may follow me and I will set you free from this death. His later rule as king is a nod to the second coming of Christ.

In the 1954 Marlon Brando /Karl Malden classic, “On The Waterfront”, a local priest realizes that Jesus would not stand by and let mob bosses and crime ruin the people he is supposed to be serving. In a wonderful speech we are told that when people are killed for doing what is right, it is a crucifixion. This sets us up for a “ type of Christ” I call “the freedom bringer.” (SPOILER) At the end of the movie, Marlon Brando’s character has decided to stand up to the mob. The result is that they take him out back, with all the waterfront workers standing helplessly aside, and beat him within an inch of his life. This is where we see an illustration of the resurrection and the people set free. This is also the movie with the famous “Could have been a contender” speech.

Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” is a dark film about zombie/vampires. It is being released on DVD in time for Easter. This may seem like an oversight, but it may have been a part of a marketing plan. By the end of the film you realize that the Zombies are symbolism for a people infected with evil who need the blood from a sacrificial savior to release them from there torment. (You can read my full review here.) I have heard that the DVD has two versions of the film. I have seen the theatrical version and can not comment on the alternate version.

You can also see acts that artistically bring to mind Jesus ’ sacrifice in movies like “To End All Wars” , “Man On Fire” , “Meet John Doe” , and “I Robot” . “I Robot” has the entire trinity, but unfortunately also has weirdly pro-cussing messages.

Unfortunately, some films will use the connection to Jesus to bring a “new” message or to suggest Christianity to be wrong. Where The Matrix’s Neo, Star Wars’ Anakin , and “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” all have used the character of Jesus and even some of his words, they are not there to point you to Jesus , but away — or beyond — him ( as some of the film makers may tell you) .

What Is Your Recommendation?

As part of your family time this season, it would be great to find one of  these films that would be appropriate for your entire family. Then, do not just watch it together. Afterward, talk about what the film was saying about Jesus. Who in the film emulated the person of Jesus? What characteristics did the character share with Jesus and what was different? And what do I notice about Jesus that I may not have seen before or have not though t about in a while?

This is just another fun way to have film watching do more than just fill a couple of hours.

For more – Check out the Q&E Extra – The 6 Jesuses of Film and Literature

UPDATE (8/3/09): I’ve delayed including any copyright images from Deviant Art that I’ve gained permission for, until now. All in all I emailed around 15 Deviant Art members, received 7 replies, and all but 1 of the 7 granted me permission to use their images. Some required no conditions, others wanted me to include a link. So just as a small token of thanks, I’ve decided to link back to all the members (and the images in their original context) that allowed me to use their images. Cheers guys.

Here is one of the email responses I received:

Hi Tam, Fantastic, I feel honored you chose my drawing and happy to hear you are a fan of James Dean. I’m looking forward to seeing my work on your blog. Have a great day! Dave Torowski

So lets kick it off with the ‘Rebel without a cause’, James Dean- James Dean- Little Boy Lost by Fruksion

The ‘Man in Black’, Johnny Cash- Johnny Cash by WakenTheDead

Tony Montana and his ‘Little Friend’- Tony Montana by FASSLAYER

This is an unbelievable shot. Thunderstruck by AC/DC.. ahem.. I mean TBakkebaard. I encourage everyone to visit the link to view the full size shot :0 Truly breathtaking…

I was in Shanghai recently, so I decided to include a picture that really encapsulated the city. This is Disappearing Shanghai. by sinsong. This is such a beautiful image that veers away from the typical ’skyscraper shot.’ It really shows the haunting blend of the new and old city…

And of course, no blog entry would be complete without a picture of myself- The GODFATHER by my pal Peter Mahoney (angelgaby)

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As a requirement for our Copyright assignment, we are required to write a permission letter to obtain permission to use Copyrighted work. It was recommended that we use the Deviant Art website, which contains original artistic works and easy access to member information. So here is one of the permission letters I sent to a member of Deviant Art, to get permission to use their copyrighted material.

19 February 2009

140 Royal St.
East Perth WA 6004

Dear Daniel Cherubini

I am currently enrolled in Web Design at eCentral Tafe in Perth, Western Australian and would like your permission to include the following material to place on an internet blog.

“Blade Runner”
http://exmakina.deviantart.com/art/Blade-Runner-7769315

The material to be placed on the internet blog is required for a course assignment regarding Copyright. It will be accessible to all users via the internet as a blog post on a WordPress blog. The URL of the blog is as of below:

http://revolver87.wordpress.com/

Are you the copyright permission owner of this image? If you do not control the copyright on all of the above mentioned material, I would appreciate any contact information you can give me regarding the proper rights holder(s), including current address(es). Otherwise, your permission confirms that you hold the right to grant the permission requested here.

If you have any conditions regarding the reproduction of this material, please let me know.

I would greatly appreciate your consent to my request. If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at:

revolver_878@yahoo.com

Best Regards,
Tam Nguyen

Once I get permission from at least one of the members, I will publish the image on this post.

Tillåt mig presentera veckans låt: Volbeat – Sad Man’s Tongue! En hyllningslåt till en av de största artisterna genom tiderna, nämnligen Johnny Cash aka “The Man in Black”

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F.ö. så lovar jag att det inom en snar framtid kommer ett inlägg som faktiskt är värt att läsa.