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Found in Lost: Thoughts on "There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1"

Staff — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:19:00 +0000

We’re nearing the end here. Only two hours left! Stupid writers strike. Anyway, click through for (tardy–sorry!) thoughts on Part One of the finale. And not that it’s any surprise, but I feel obliged to point out as usual that spoilers lie ahead.

TOPH TUCKER ’08

First of all, great Oz reference in the title. Lost is really an amazingly similar story—catastrophe plops our hero(s) down in a strange land that’s totally isolated from the “real world,” and they have to make it back, but it’s a bittersweet farewell, etc. And certain folks from home, interestingly enough, show up in that strange new land—with the multiple parts played by the same actors in Oz, and the “ghosts” in Lost.

Second of all, great to see some more of Richard. It’s nice to have him back. And I love the mirrors. Can we assume Ben was communicating with the rest of the Others? Apparently in morse code his message said “seize.” As in, “I’m going to allow myself to be seized”? Or as in, “Seize Kate and Sayid”? Or as in, “Follow me, ambush the bad guys, and seize Keamy and the other freighter people”? Or something else?

Third of all, more coolness: we finally figure out when Jack finds out that he’s related to Claire and thus Aaron. Could this affect how comfortable Jack feels about raising Aaron? Does Kate know? And Sun’s buyout of Paik was very cool. Also: what about when Hurley walked into his abandoned house to find the coconut and whispers? At first I thought we were seeing elements of the island “leaking” into the illusion of the “real world,” which would go well with Hurley’s theory that they’re all dead. But no, it was just a party. But the writers are clearly hinting at stuff there. I loved how clueless Hurley’s dad was—“Hey! How’s everybody doing? [laughs] What are you talking about? Building a fire or huntin’ boars?” It was nice to see the numbers return, too.

Fourth of all, has anyone else noticed how Memento-esque this past season has been? Well, it really started with the Season 3 finale. But consider: that flashforward was the farthest forward we’ve seen yet. Ever since then, they’ve been working their way in both directions, forward on-island and backwards off-island. And in 2 weeks, the two plotlines will meet. And… then what? Where will the story go after that?

Fifth of all, I have faith in Ben’s plan.

Sixth of all, great to (sorta) see the Orchid. If you haven’t seen the orientation video that was a Season 3 DVD extra, do so now:

Seventh of all, moving the island… OK, so we’ve seen things ostensibly teleported to around Tunisia before. The polar bear that Charlotte found, for instance, and Ben was wearing a jacket with the Orchid logo when he landed in the desert. (I don’t believe he walked. Besides, he asked what year it was; it makes sense that time and space travel could be all wrapped up into one.) Can the Orchid teleport to there? Moreover, can the Orchid only teleport to there? Will the whole island be plopped down in the middle of the desert? Haha. I doubt it. Also, it’s clear now that moving the island won’t solve the Keamy problem, so it’s just one part of Ben’s plan, probably to keep Widmore from finding the island again. I bet the Keamy problem solution has to do with the monster or the Others or both swooping in to ambush (/”seize”) them.

Let’s look at the Orchid logo for a moment. We’ve heard from the producers that the Orchid is tied to the time/space properties of the island, and we know it’s very dangerous. (Could it be tied to The Incident? Maybe teleportation requires enormous energy, so it has to draw on the electromagnetic anomaly, so it caused a leak and… yeah. Everyone seems to be scared to be around when it is used.) Anyway, logo. The spiral-like design (although it’s actually just concentric rings) is definitely reminiscent of time/space/teleport/time travel/wormhole stuff. And what’s that thing right in the middle? A hook, something to tether the time-traveller so (s)he doesn’t become unstuck in time like Desmond did? A split, a branch in possible futures? A, um, bird?

Moving on: with the freighter laden with explosives and the helicopter not big enough (or having enough range) to save everyone who is saved, neither of those is looking like a great rescue method for the 6. Could something entirely new be introduced? Could they be teleported off? Am I overthinking it?

But one thing I think is key is this: we can’t assume we know enough to even have a clue what happens next. The freighter took this show in an entirely new direction. Prediction may be impossible.

Season 1: intro to the island and characters
Season 2: the hatch
Season 3: Hydra Island; the Others
Season 4: the freighter
Season 5: ???
Season 6: ??????

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s see where the Oceanic 6 are now:

Jack: With Sawyer at the Orchid
Kate: With Sayid and the Others, trekking through the jungle
Hurley: With Ben and Locke at the Orchid
Sayid: With Kate and the Others, trekking through the jungle
Sun: On freighter, with Aaron
Aaron: On freighter, with Sun

Also worth noting: Ben is captured by the freighter people. When he confronts Sayid at Naomi’s funeral, Sayid asks how he got off the island:

SAYID: How did you get off the island?
BEN: Your friend Desmond had a boat. Remember? The Elizabeth. I followed a heading to Fiji. Then I chartered a plane.

So when the Oceanic 6 leave, Ben is still on the island.

Also remember that Matthew Abaddon, ultra-creepy deep-voiced guy, told Locke that he’d seen him again some day. Abaddon is (apparently) one of the Widmore guys. Could Locke end up getting captured and taken to him?

Assuming the Oceanic 6 get off by the end of this season—and it would be very annoying if they didn’t, haha—how could that work? Either the island people need to get to the freighter, or—if the freighter’s going to blow up—Sun and Aaron need to get back to the island and get, you know, teleported out or something. Frank could pick everyone up in the helicopter, fly them back to the freighter, and then the island could teleport away and disappear, meaning there’s no point in trying to fetch more folks from there. And then the freighter would go to Fiji or something.

Alternately, as the freighter explodes and the island skedaddles, the 6 could squeeze onto the zodiac or helicopter and teleport through a wormhole in the storm that surrounds the island. (Without some kind of teleportation, neither has the range it needs.)

I don’t think the finale will be anything as huge as the introduction of the flashforward last season. But it’ll be good. I’m excited.

Images from Lostpedia

Found in Lost: Thoughts on "Cabin Fever"

Staff — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:06:00 +0000

After a brief break, we’re catching up on our weekly Lost analysis–sorry about the delay! Scrambled thoughts follow. Click through, and leave yours thoughts in the comments. One more episode! (And of course, as usual, spoilers follow, so only continue if you’re up-to-date.)

TOPH TUCKER ’08

It was great to see Locke’s childhood, completely with obligatory “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” moments. The concept, which some people have suggested, of Richard as Locke’s dad is definitely very interesting. (Great to see Richard back, btw.) I thought the same thing when he was standing there at the window. I don’t know how it would work, of course, but there’s definitely a connection there. Perhaps Richard is the immortal recruiter, finding “chosen ones” through the ages, people to lead the island. Abaddon’s appearance was also awesome. We last saw him giving instructions to Naomi and chatting with Hurley post-island in the mental institute, so we have to assume he’s with Widmore. Nifty that both Widmore’s people and Richard had both sought out Locke before he ever reached the island. Also fascinating the Abaddon believes he’ll see Locke again. That means that either Abaddon will reach the island—unlikely—or Locke will be captured by the Widmore/freighter people—more likely.

As for Locke being born on the island (supposedly the hospital looked like the medical station)—another interesting theory, but Emily was rushed to the hospital cause she got hit by a car, right? And there aren’t really many cars on the island (that we know of). I guess it’s possible that she was moved to the island in-between, but that seems awfully obtuse. Hmm… it’s also super-interesting that Ben and Locke’s mothers are both named Emily, and even look alike.

Claire’s totally dead. Dead dead dead. And almost certainly dead ever since her house exploded. It’s like her dad came as if he were the Grim Reaper or something. And now all those ghosts are hanging out with Jacob, who I now think is Horace’s “ghost.” (How creepy was Horace’s ultra cyclical cameo?) The only issue with that is that it would mean Jacob hasn’t been around for very long at all—only since Ben’s gassing of the Dharma Initiative. That doesn’t really make sense. But Horace the fact that Horace was shown to be building a cabin is definitely significant.

The question, I suppose, is whether all these “ghosts” are the same sort of thing. Are the appearances of, say, Yemi and Ben’s mom and Christian Shephard the same phenomenon? Because there’ve been comments that say Yemi’s appearances were manifestations of the monster. If the same is true of Christian and now Claire–is Jacob the monster??? Does Horace = Jacob= Monster????

OK, so it doesn’t make sense that Horace is Jacob in a purely literal sense. But it does sort of make sense (as much as these things can) that he and other dead people have been assimilated into the consciousness of the island. There was another comment on one of the official podcasts about the monster’s confrontation with Eko, where Eko’s life’s memories were flashing in the smoke. They suggested that perhaps the monster was “downloading” all this stuff from Eko’s brain, and from there it created the Yemi-ghost.

That doesn’t fully explain this, or even come close, because these ghosts clearly know things their, uh, victims don’t. But still, it’s an interesting concept—that these half alive/half dead guys exist in the consciousness of the monster, and perhaps in the consciousness of the island itself. And if you look at the monster’s alternate name of “Cerberus” and the mythology behind that name, Cerberus is the guardian of the underworld. So the smoke monster is the link, the bridge, between the land of the living and the land of the dead. The island is the Garden of Eden and the underworld all wrapped into one bite-size mobile invisible magnetized package!!!

Responding to other comments people have made about this episode: Sayid’s plan is indeed a little ridiculous, Locke’s test was indeed cool (Book of Laws was interesting, and I think that was the comic book Walt read the day of the crash, with the polar bear), Aaron is indeed Luke Skywalker-esque (as an orphan with a destiny who’ll probably at some point be guided by “dead” people), and the island-on-wheels thing is indeed sorta weird. Besides, the helicopter was already on the island! Is it gonna just slip out from underneath it or what!?

UPDATE: OK, so the comic book was a different one. But check out the cover! “What was the secret of the mysterious ‘HIDDEN LAND!’” “Does it pay to ignore the ‘VOICE OF WARNING!’” And look at the city above the city! Reminiscent of the Lost logo for this season, with the city reflected in the ocean around the island. It’s like the hidden land—the island—is a parallel universe, right next to our own but impossible to detect. We could be getting into wormhole territory here.

How frustrating was it when Jack determined he was being told to follow the GPS signal??? And in that ultra-creepy long shot of the helicopter approaching, I totally expected it to just blow up, indicating that there had been a scuffle and Keamy had died, triggering his suicide bomb or whatever. Either that, or I expected it to nose-dive straight into the ocean as Frank attempted to bring the mercs down with him. And how cool was Keamy being unable to kill Michael!? And what’s up with this total war/shock and awe Plan B they’ve got up their sleeves? Will this season end in a fiery inferno?

I liked when Locke gave Hurley the option to go back, and Ben complimented Locke on his sneakiness, and Locke said he wasn’t like Ben, apparently meaning he was being honest. When it comes to leadership style, that’s big.

OK, time for an overview of freighter politics.

There are four factions. The mercenaries, led by Keamy, are a strike team working directly for Widmore. They will do whatever they must to extract Ben. The researchers are an exploratory force, meant to test the waters—and they knew very little of the merc’s plans, albeit more than we know they know. And then there’s random staff, the captain and the doctor and Minkowski and Michael and maybe even Frank counts. And then there’s the Island faction, which Michael also sorta belongs to, plus Des and Sayid.

The mercs are the big guys. The support staff is just ferrying them where they need to go, and certain aspects were outsourced to researchers eager to get their hands on such an island. And the Island faction is clueless, except Michael, who’s beyond suicidal. And besides, they’re not really freighter people (except Michael), they’re just visiting.

So Keamy and Captain Gault had an agreement that Gault would provide ferry services for this slightly shady group. Sort of (very much) like how—OK, Star Wars reference time—in Empire Strikes Back, Vader had an agreement with Lando to use Lando’s facilities in Vader’s quest to retrieve Luke for his master:

[Palpatine / Widmore] very desperately wants to get his hands on [Luke / Ben]. His hitman is [Darth Vader / Martin Keamy]. [Vader / Keamy] enlists the help of [Lando / Cpt. Gault] so as to gain access to [Lando's / Cpt. Gault's] resources–specifically, his [carbon freezing chamber / freighter]. But after interactions with [Leia and Chewie / Michael and the Losties], [Lando / Gault] realizes he’s on the wrong side. He defies [Vader / Keamy]–and pays the price: [loss of his mining facility / death].

The interesting thing now is that almost all the important boat people are either dead, or not on the boat. Who is on the boat? Desmond and Michael are. I feel like now would be a pretty great time to take the helm… hmm…

NOTE: I actually wrote all this shortly after the episode aired, but I’m only posting it here now, so some of it is out-of-date compared to what we’ve now seen in There’s No Place Like Home Pt. 1. Specifically: we’ve gotten a little more clarification about moving the island, it turns out Jack was right to follow the GPS after all, and Keamy’s device triggers a bomb on the *freighter* (not that he’s wearing himself). And it looks like I was right about Desmond and Michael taking the helm of the freighter. For more on that, see our article on There’s No Place Like Home Pt. 1.

Image of the comic source

Other images from Lostpedia

More good analysis

Relive Monday’s election speech highlights

Staff — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:11:00 +0000

Here’s a very, very abbreviated version of Monday’s speeches, focusing on some of the funnier moments. There’s some amazing stuff that had to get cut, so if people are interested we can post some more, but YouTube holds you to 10 minutes.

Andrew Garcia–overrepresented much? Oh well.

Trivia Tuesday No. 2

Staff — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:59:00 +0000

Answer to last week’s trivia question:
The largest tire producer in the world (by number of tires produced yearly) is… the LEGO Group. OK, so they make miniature tires, but still, they make more than any other manufacturer.

More LEGO trivia: On average, there are 62 LEGO bricks for every person on Earth. Eight LEGO bricks can be combined in 8.3 trillion different ways.

An Irish syndicate once gamed the Irish lottery by brute force attack, buying up almost all 2 million combinations of lottery numbers. They ultimately made modest gains of about half a million dollars.

Challenging the Rokokas alphabet mentioned last time, but arguably not a genuine alphabet, the Beghilos alphabet contains only ten letters. You may know it by its other name, Calculator writing.

The International Space Station has a hefty multimedia library, including Star Wars, Lost, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Apollo 13, and so on—but, oddly enough, no Star Trek.

Hydra are apparently biologically immortal, and do not undergo aging.

To be answered next week:
The internet can be aptly described via metaphor as what enemy of seaborne vessels around (parts of) the world? And why?

Note: yes, we realize we skipped a week, but we had even more trivia than before in an effort to make it up to you.

Blooper: The Can’t-Miss Beaver Event of the Night

Staff — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:39:00 +0000

TOPH TUCKER ’08

I don’t know how closely you watch the bcdschool.org calendar, but it’s pretty handy. If you had looked last week, though, you’d have spotted something that probably wasn’t supposed to be there.

Friday, May 9, 2008
2:00 AM
Test Upcoming Game Title
WH Test Team vs B.C. High School , Berwick, Brooks A

test game description. test game description. test game description. test game description. test game description. test game description.

Three teams at once!? But wait, it gets better.

If you click on WH Test Team, you’re taken to a team description page. Apparently we beat Berwick 78 to 3 on April 10th! Oh, and the uniform is “hot pink,” the departure location is the cafeteria (or dining hall, as Mr. Manning would say), the dismissal time is 2:00 AM, the departure time is 12:50 AM, and the pick-up time is 4:30 AM. Go figure.

Iron Man 2 already set for April 2010

Staff — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:48:00 +0000

TOPH TUCKER ‘08

The summer blockbuster Iron Man began showing in theaters last Thursday, and took in $100.7 million domestically on its first weekend. Its worldwide total currently stands at around $198 million. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive; it stands at a 93% “fresh” rating on rottentomatoes.com. (I mean, it’s no Grand Theft Auto IV, with that ridiculous 99% average, but hey, what is?)

Those of you who saw Iron Man and stayed through the credits (please do) got a pretty heavy-handed tip-off that there’d be a sequel. Today Marvel announced that sure enough, Iron Man 2 will hit theaters on April 30, 2010. (Clear your calendars!)

The more interesting part of the announcement was that, in addition to The Incredible Hulk coming this June 13, Marvel will also be releasing Thor (June 4, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011), The Avengers (July 2011), and Ant-Man. Moreover, these films will all exist in the same “universe.” That is, Robert Downey Jr. will appear in The Incredible Hulk as Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), and they’ll all co-mingle in the films after that. This is possible thanks to Marvel financing these newer films independently, as opposed to licensing its superheroes to outside studios (like it did for Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four).

What do you think? Is this new strategy a winner? Was the film any good? How crazy is GTA’s average? (OK, that last one is a little off-topic.) Leave your comments below.

Further Reading:
MSNBC.com: Iron Man 2
MSNBC.com: Iron Man box office receipts
Iron Man on BoxOfficeMojo.com
Iron Man on RottenTomatoes.com

The Mysteries of Beaver: The History of Baba and Coco

Staff — Mon, 05 May 2008 05:28:00 +0000

MADDY KIEFER ’08 and TOPH TUCKER ’08

It may not really be the sort of mystery you’re used to, since you’ve probably never heard of it or even seen any hint of it. But sixty years ago, the Beaver campus, in addition to students, had a small collection of animals! A storybook written by the fourth grade class (oh yeah, they also had an elementary school) in 1940 tells the tale of two of these animals: Baba the lamb and Coco the goat. Rescued from the archives, read the full story (with pictures!) after the break.

THE HISTORY of BABA AND COCO

Story by
Joan Adie
Dotty Beckwith
Isabel Closson
Nancy Eaton
Patsy Fahnestock
Barbara Hicks
Anne Hopkins
Edie Howes
Teedy LaCroix
Joan Olmsted
Isabelle Paine
Pegsy Tyler
Judy Wyatt
Nancy Fay Williams

Photographs by
Pegsy Tyler
Miss Lincoln
Miss Lundstedt
Miss Torrey
Dr. Williams

Manuscript Writing by
Miss Lincoln

To
Miss Voorhees
who loves animals,
especially
these two,
this book is dedicated.

—

THE HISTORY
of
BABA AND COCO

by CLASS FOUR
BEAVER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

MAY 1940

—

INTRODUCTION
This is a book about two unusual animals. You may have heard of Mary’s little lamb who went to school, but did you ever hear of a goat and a lamb who went to school together? That is what Baba and Coco have done. Many times this year we have heard their feet come tap-tapping down the hall and into the classrooms. They have even been in plays.They are great friends although they are very different. Baba is calm and patient. He has quiet manners. Coco is just the opposite. He is frisky and mischievous and is likely to set a bad example for Baba. He is a smart little goat and he knows it very well too. He cannot bear to be last. He has even grabbed the first page in this book, even though it is mostly about Baba.

This is Coco. He looks like an ordinary goat, but he isn’t. Once he went down the slide you see in the picture. When you run, he comes jumping after you. He has a tiny tail and when you spank him, he wags it

Here is Baba, our lamb. His wool was three inches thick, so Mr. Crory sheared him. But you will hear about the shearing somewhere else in the book. This is when he was not sheared. He is visiting the rabbits. Don’t you think his wool looks thick?

Coco is feeling lively today. He knows it is meal-time and he is eager to get breakfast. We shut the log cabin door when we get his food so he won’t gobble it all up. He gets very impatient when he is waiting and jumps up on the door. But the door is locked and he can’t get in this time.

Baba knows we are putting his food in his pan inside the log cabin. He is trying to get the door open to get in to his food. But he isn’t as frisky as Coco is. He waits patiently and does not jump for his breakfast. There is a pail of water outside the door, but Baba is not interested. He says, “Breakfast comes first.”

Baba and Coco are eating their meal of grain. If you were to push Coco on his forehead he would make a funny little noise to show you that he did not wish to be disturbed during meal time. When Coco, the fast eater, finishes his meal he goes to Baba, the slow eater, and finishes eating out of Baba’s dish.

This is the day that everybody has been waiting for, and that is to see Baba being sheared. Mr. Crory is shearing him. His legs are tied together so he will not kick. The children are watching from outside the fence. If you touch Baba’s wool, it is very oily. It is yellow inside. Baba is being very good.

How would you like to help shear Baba? That is what we are doing in this picture. Everybody is going to have a turn. Nowadays our wool clothes are made in factories. Children do not often get the chance to cut the wool off the lamb and go through the whole process of making something useful out of it.

Coco was taken out for a little walk so that he wouldn’t make Baba excited while he was being sheared. In this picture he has just come back and is wishing that Baba would come and play with him. Poor Baba is having a bad time of it, but he is almost finished.

Now the shearing is over and Baba is feeling a little embarrassed without his coat. He does not know what is going to happen to it.

If you could have seen Baba’s wool when it was first cut off! It was dirty and greasy and full of straws and sticks. So we washed it and dried it and picked it over till it was clean. Then one sunny day we went out-of-doors and dyed it blue and red and yellow. Some of it we left white.

Before wool can be spun it has to be carded. The cards have little wires that comb the fibres so they all go one way. We are carding in this picture. Coco has come to see what it’s all about.

Spinning is the most fun, even though it is hard. You give the spindle a twirl and that twists the thread. Sometimes it breaks, but you must not be discouraged. A little practice will make you a good spinner.

At last we have begun weaving. Back and forth, back and forth go our shuttles. The gay colors are growing on our looms. The cloth will soon be done.

Coco is inviting Baba to spend the summer with him at camp and Baba has accepted his invitation. Do you think they will be glad to come back to school next fall? We hope they will be able to go into the fifth grade.

We want to say thank you to Madame Lannoye for helping us about spinning.
We also got ideas about spindles from
The Weaver’s Craft – Simpson

Thanks to Ms. Boylan for finding and scanning the storybook

Found in Lost: Thoughts on "Something Nice Back Home"

Staff — Mon, 05 May 2008 05:16:00 +0000

OK, so we’re a little later than usual, but here’s our weekly Lost analysis. Enjoy! DON’T CLICK THROUGH IF YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT UP!

TOPH TUCKER ’08

This was a nice Jack-centric episode, and filled in a lot of missing pieces to the story. Interesting how Hurley thought things were TOO happy, but by the end of the episode that’s clearly proven incorrect. Still, that the idea that they’re all dead has been given any sort of serious attention is interesting.

I liked the Red Sox reference and the Millennium Falcon, by the way. I’m glad to see Aaron’s on his way to becoming as big a Star Wars fan as Abrams and Lindelof.

Jack’s dad–that’s interesting stuff. First of all, is it possible that the smoke alarm was set off by the smoke monster, appearing in the form of Jack’s dad? …or was it just a low-battery alarm? Also: where’s Claire off to? (And what’s up with Sawyer and Claire?) Interesting about whether Jack is fit to raise Aaron. Remember that psychic said he had found a nice, good couple in LA? Could that have been referring to Jack and Kate, years before they were a couple in LA? Or must it really be Claire who raises Aaron?

For a few episods now I’ve been wondering how much the research team knows about what Keamy and Co. are doing. I mean, they’ve been helping them out, disabling the Tempest and what not, but did they expect them to just start killing people like this? Miles certainly seemed surprised by his gruesome find. Could they turn good? I trust Frank; I trust Daniel, just because I like him, but I’m not sure whose side he’s on; I don’t trust Charlotte at all; and I trust Miles in the sense that even if he’s not loyal to the Losties, he’s not loyal to the Boaties, either. (I liked Daniel’s ‘attitude’ speech.)

What exactly did Sawyer want Kate to do? Does he feel responsible for Aaron, since he was trying to take care of him and Claire, and apparently failed? And how do they have regular phone communications with the island? I mean, isn’t that a big deal? I guess Ben had a phone.

Moving on to the main storyline–Jack’s appendix. Rose’s comment is especially interesting:

ROSE: I was thinking, “Why did he get sick?”
BERNARD: Why? It’s just–it’s just bad luck.
ROSE: The day before we’re all supposed to be rescued, the person that we count on the most suddenly comes down with a life-threatening condition, and you’re chalking it up to bad luck?
BERNARD: Well, what are you saying, that–that Jack did something to offend the gods? People get sick, Rose.
ROSE: Not here. Here, they get better.

It seems to me that the island, or some closely associated entity, sometimes exercises its power over your well-being as a tool.

Here are the implications of all we’ve learned about the island and healing: many injuries heal faster on-island; this healing power can be withheld or revoked; injury or illness maybe may be inflicted as punishment; this power over well-being extends off-island (Michael); certain people are “needed,” or just favored.

Let’s detour for a moment to talk about the Temple. Here’s the Lostpedia entry:
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Temple

The logo is pretty interesting. Reminds me of a tree. But I imagine it’s not just any tree. Tree of Life, anyone? I mean, looking at the logo, combined with the healing powers, combined with (!) the discovery of the bodies Locke called “Adam and Eve” in the caves… I’d say we have a pretty solid body of evidence.

Island = Eden
Barracks (within fence) = Garden of Eden
Monster / Ben / ??? = Snake?
Widmore = Exiled from the garden.

I may have talked about this before in one of these articles. But the Temple logo is a critical new piece of evidence that I hadn’t noticed before.

Adam and Eve, found as they were outside the fence (in the caves), had been exiled from the garden. And anyone who can’t find their way back has been exiled.

So if it’s the Garden of Eden, then there’s a Tree of Life, and a Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. There’s tons going on in Lost about knowing what is
good (“we’re the good guys”) and what is not. And there are these healing powers. Fascinating stuff.

Note that the Garden of Eden is generally placed, geographically speaking, around, oh, northeast Africa/Mesopotamia/Persian Gulf–aka opposite the globe from the estimated position of the island, where some weird stuff tends to show up, like the polar bear and Ben (teleporting?). Also, according to Wikipedia, the garden was apparently “one of the four holy places that the Lord has on Earth, the other three being Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, and the ‘Mount of the East’.” I think I’ve mentioned the idea that the island is just one of several special spots on Earth, and that Widmore’s quips to Ben suggest that by that time she’s hiding out in one of the other ones. Hm. Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm.

And take a look at that image up top. Does that look like the island or what!?

Image from Wikipedia

Microsoft pulls out of Yahoo deal

Staff — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

TOPH TUCKER ’08

Last night, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote in a letter to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang that Microsoft had decided to abandon its three-month bid for the faltering Internet giant. He wrote, ?I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table. But clearly a deal is not to be.? This comes as a surprise to many who had been expecting either a done deal, or an announcement by Microsoft that it would go hostile.

Early reaction online has been that by rejecting Microsoft?s offer, Yahoo! is putting the nail in its own coffin. One blogger titled his post ?Ballmer to Yang: Dear Jerry, Drop Dead.? Another called the move ?Yahoo?s Hari-Kari.? Yahoo?s stock will likely plummet to near its pre-bid point, and it could face stockholder revolt.

Yahoo! has threatened to outsource search advertising to Google, either to ward off a Microsoft bid or to intentionally cannibalize a key Yahoo! business in the event of a hostile takeover. (Apparently Yang was threatening to burn Moscow.) However, such a deal would face regulatory scrutiny, as an alliance of the #1 and #2 search providers would leave an overwhelming 85% of the market in Google?s hands. In addition, it would essentially throw away the heaps of work that Yahoo! has been doing in that critical arena. Even by signaling it would consider such a deal, Yahoo! is practically admitting defeat.

While most pundits see this outcome as a loss for Yahoo, there is also the belief that Ballmer botched the deal. Still, if Yahoo stock drops to bargain basement levels, Microsoft could return later this year with another deal. Alternatively, it could pick up the scraps of AOL or expand its Facebook alliance.

UPDATE 5/5/08 12:27 AM: Sure enough, Yahoo stock has fallen 17% (and counting), while Google and Microsoft have gained.

Further reading:
Microsoft Press Release
MSNBC Article
MarketWatch Article
Yahoo?s Nightmare Scenario: I?m From Google and I?m Here to Help!
Microsoft To Yahoo: Take a Hike!
Yahoo Responds: ?The distraction of Microsoft?s unsolicited proposal now behind us?
Microsoft has options after dropping Yahoo bid
Yahoo CEO Yang is now on the hot seat
Ballmer?s drive was key element in Yahoo bid

Where are they now? – Mr. Lenci

Staff — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:48:00 +0000

TOPH TUCKER ’08

Kent Lenci taught 6th Grade Humanities and 7th Grade History at Beaver for several years, in addition to briefly serving as Middle School Dean. He may have left four years ago, but his legacy lives on…

Mr. Lenci sends along this message:

“Anna Soybel’s ceramic pig adorns my window sill at school (yes, I know that she, too, has moved on from the Beav), and Frankie Orangecapris (the attractive, orange rat) hangs from my bulletin board (I believe he was named by the [class of '07]). I teach seventh grade history and head the social studies department at Brookwood, which is a coed, pre-K through 8 school in Manchester, MA. To most in the Beaver community, it is old news that Jessica Stillman and I were married in July of 2006; to some it may not be.

“I think of you all often! Best wishes to the whole crowd.”

As for anyone wondering about the whereabouts of everyone’s favorite class bird, he says, “I fabricate my own enticing birdseed, which has lured Wheedle from whence he once perched outside my former classroom.”

Don’t worry, I bet he still visits now and then. Many thanks to Mr. Lenci for the update!