My Version of Groundhog Day

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Jason

Marmota monax, aka the whistle-pig, the woodchuck, the land beaver and -- most notably -- the groundhog

I know we went through all the pomp and formality of the “official” Groundhog Day exactly two weeks ago. For the briefest of moments, the world (or at the very least, viewers of the Today Show) turned an eye toward Punxsutawney, PA to ask that age old question: “What is Groundhog Day all about anyway?” The answer, we’re told, has something to do with the duration of the present winter versus the onset of impending spring — which is contingent upon Lucky the groundhog seeing his shadow as he emerges from his burrow, presumably after repeatedly viewing the 1993 Bill Murray classic.

That’s all well and good, but I have my own personal version of Groundhog Day that has nothing to do with subterranean-dwelling marmots or obscure Pennsylvanian townships. No, I’m talking about the four words that serve as a death knell to winter and a harbinger that spring is just around the corner: pitchers and catchers report.

For months, the only baseball conversation has been hot stove related. When will Matt Holliday sign? Will the Jays deal Roy Halladay? The arms race between the Yankees and Red Sox continued with the acquisitions of Javier Vazquez and John Lackey, respectively. And while this necessary season of the baseball calendar is a fun little distraction, we’re finally ready for real baseball again. And I couldn’t be more ready — ready for news about roster spot competitions; ready to see how this season will come into shape; I’m even ready for the inevitable news of spring training injuries. (Braves fans, I doubt this is the news you wanted to hear the day before pitchers and catchers report. The entire 404 area code will be holding their collective breath on this one.)

I’m planning on blogging regularly about the upcoming baseball season. Go Cards!

Posted in Baseball, General | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Covenant God

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Jason

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the covenant nature of God. Throughout the Scriptures, God initiates covenant with His people: Adam, Noah, Abram, David, the nation of Israel. I think all of this says something about God’s nature, His heart, His essence. God seems deeply committed to the idea of covenant. It’s as if He’s going out of His way in Scripture to let us know that all these covenant stories point to the heart of a covenant God.

Gary Chapman writes about the difference between covenants and contracts. Contracts are temporal and they’re focused on services rendered. If you meet the terms of the contract, then I’ll pay you; if not, then failure to perform will cost you. Covenants, on the other hand, are permanent and selfless. The conditional “if / then” language of the contract is replaced by the unconditional promise in a covenant. “No matter what. I’ll never leave you nor forsake you. ‘Till death do us part.” That’s covenant.

We live in a contract world. But God calls His people to demonstrate covenant love, the kind of love He has first shown to us. The Hebrews had a word for this covenant love; kesed. In the Hebrew Scriptures, kesed is used often to describe the nature of God — His lovingkindness, His covenant loyalty, His faithful mercies which are new every morning. This kesed God — the covenant God — calls His people to embody this same kind of love, to not merely pay lip service to their commitment but to live deeply in light of it. The kesed God calls a kesed people.

This answers some of the pressing questions of our time. Why should God care if, for instance, our marriages falter? What difference does one more divorce really make in the grand scheme of things? Why does God care? The answer, I believe, lies in God’s covenant nature. God cares when covenant is violated because such a violation runs counter to His nature. When God enters into a covenant relationship, He is kesed. He is faithful; He keeps His end of the bargain; He is a covenant God. To disregard covenant as something meaningless and disposable is to minimize the essential character of the Almighty. That’s why God cares about covenant.

I write this on Valentine’s Day, a ridiculous holiday that has more to do with commerce and guilt than with real love. Valentine’s Day love is contract love. It’s “buy me something to prove that you care about me” love. What a sham. Real love — the kind of love that is represented in committed relationships — isn’t contract love. It’s covenant love. It’s commitment. It’s permanent. It’s kesed. It’s God.

May we love in the deep, abiding, kesed faithfulness of God.

May His love be the wellspring from which we live and move and have our very being.

And may we demonstrate God’s lovingkindness in a lost and dying world.

Posted in Devotional, God, Love God, Love Others, Scripture | Tagged , | 1 Comment

March for Babies 2010

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Jason

The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

About 12.5 million babies are born too early each and every year. I went into preterm labor with the twins at 20 weeks and was put on bed rest immediately after being given medicine to stop my contractions. At 33 weeks, our twins were born weighing in at 4 and 2 pounds. Almost 13 percent of premature babies are born between 32 and 33 weeks. I also went into preterm labor with Jackson at 26 weeks, but I was able to carry him to term with the help of medicine and rest.

Premature babies can suffer from a wide variety of health complications. Thankfully, Joshua and Abby Kate were both healthy and strong, just a little on the small side. We will always be grateful for the special care our twins received from the doctors and nurses of the NICU at this critical time in their lives. Since then, the March of Dimes has been a cause that has been very near to our hearts.

The March of Dimes helps give children like ours the attention and treatment they need. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and many life long disabilities. The funds we raise for the March of Dimes supports research that saves babies’ lives.
In honor of our twins turning 6 this year, we hope to raise $600! Please check out our personal page and consider making a donation to a very special cause that is near and dear to our hearts.

We would like to invite all family and friends out to this year’s March for Babies Campaign on Saturday, April 17, 2010. It would be our honor to have you participate with us in a cause that is so important to our family. We had the best time walking with our friends last year and we hope that you can join us this year!

Posted in Blessings, Kids, March of Dimes, Social Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bonnaroo

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Jason

All right, I say this every year, but I may actually have to do something about it. The 2010 lineup for Bonnaroo has been posted and I’m stoked and ready to go. Among the acts that interest me:

  • Dave
  • The National
  • Weezer
  • Phoenix
  • She & Him
  • Kris Kristofferson
  • Regina Spektor
  • The Gaslight Anthem
  • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  • Blues Traveler
  • The Temper Trap
  • and…of course…The Avett Brothers

I may just have to break down and get tickets this year.

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LOST Season Six: What Kate Does

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jason

First, some more recapping of “LA X” Parts 1 and 2. Hat tip to Doc Jensen’s “Things I Missed” Column for these important catches from last week’s premiere:

  • It looks like Desmond was wearing a wedding band in his scene with Jack. Is he happily married to Penny? Libby? Rousseau?
  • Also, in the scene at customs when Jin and Sun are stopped, we assume that Sun still knows English. But that may not be the case. Also, the customs attendant referred to Sun by her maiden name. It could be that Sun and Jin aren’t married and they’re on the run from Mr. Paik.
  • Sayid’s passport is actually an Iranian passport, rather than Iraqi. Maybe in the “other” world, Sayid isn’t a guilt-wracked torturer. I sure hope so. Guy deserves to have something good in his life.

Now on to my recap of episode 3 – “What Kate Does”:

On Island

First of all, how technologically-averse are these Others? Lennon wears no shoes; Dogen hunts and pecks on an old school typewriter; 1950s era torture implements; worst of all, they have to grind up their own prescription drugs. I only hope they have something better up their sleeve once Flocke / Smokey / MIB arrives at the Temple. I was hoping we’d see that particular scene at episode’s end, but I guess we’ll have to wait until next week.

The On-Island story followed Sayid’s apparent resurrection and the seeming consequences of the “muddy water” from last week. According to Dogen, Sayid is infected with an illness that will spread, a darkness that — if it reaches his heart — could be disastrous. More on that in a minute.

Other than Terry O’Quinn, Josh Holloway has been the early all-star this season. His Sawyer brims with sorrow and rage in nearly every scene.The engagement ring scene was an absolute standout in this episode. It really amazes me how much I’ve grown to love Holloway’s character. He’s become a really good actor. We learn here that Sawyer blames himself for Juliet’s death, which has me worried for his fate. We know from the previews that he meets up with Flocke next week. I hope our favorite rogue doesn’t come down with the same “darkness” that is afflicting Sayid and Claire.

It seems like On-Island Kate is pretty much over Jack. I could be wrong, but her decision to go after Sawyer revealed that she is more concerned with her reason for returning to the Island — to find and bring back Claire. Based on the closing scene, I have a feeling that’s going to be a tough sell, though. How Rousseau-esque did Claire look by the way? If her behavior (clipping off Justin and Aldo without hesitation) is any indication of where Sayid might be headed, this is all about to get pretty dicey.

I loved Jack in this episode. Say what you will about his el wimpo character shift last season, but I think he’s been through the fire and he’s come out a different man. Think of Locke’s comment last season: “I needed that pain to get to where I am today.” That’s a fitting way to describe this version of Jack. In some ways, he’s more driven than ever to “fix” whatever problems he encounters; but his process seems to be more measured now. It’s like he’s more aware of the great cost of some of his decisions; those losses of life have weighed heavily on the good doctor. I wonder if his willingness to swallow the poison pill intended for Sayid foreshadows Jack’s fate. Is he destined to redeem the ones he loves by giving himself up for them? We’ll see.

Off Island

Apparently, what Kate does is lend Claire a helping hand. Just like in Season 1, Kate is integral in helping Claire through her pregnancy. We also got to see the couple that was supposed to adopt Claire’s baby. I held out hope that this couple would play a significant role in Claire’s Off Island story, but apparently not. I guess the husband who left could still pop up somewhere here toward the end, but I kinda doubt it. I’m still not sure what we’re supposed to do with the psychic’s word to Claire from her earlier flashback: “You’re not supposed to raise him.” So who IS supposed to raise Aaron? I hope this is one of the mysteries that is resolved by season’s end. My guess is that Claire actually supposed to raise him.

In keeping with Darlton’s comments from last week’s podcast, I was watching for little signs that might be some kind of give away as to what was different about Kate’s story. She tells the body shop guy that she’s wanted for murder (which she was in her “first” timeline), but she seems to be telling Claire that she’s innocent.

And how about Ethan’s cameo?!? In another similarity to Season 1, Ethan plays a role in helping Claire get ready to deliver her baby. Maybe in this “other” timeline, Alex is an orderly. And Mr. Friendly works in the gift shop.

My favorite lines from the episode:

Sawyer: “He’s an Iraqi torturer who shoots kids. He definitely deserves another go ’round.”

Aldo: “What is this, a press conference?”

Hurley: “You’re not a zombie, right?”
Sayid: “No. I am not a zombie.”

Artz: “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!”

Posted in Television | Tagged | 10 Comments

The Sermon on the Mount 10

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Jason

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. — Matthew 5.8

As I sit down to write this, our community is still in shock. Last Friday, a young fourteen year old boy was shot in the back of the head by a fellow classmate at one of the local middle schools. The shooting took place a few miles from our home; we drive past this school three or four times a week. The shooter has been in custody at a juvenile detention facility all weekend. Today local law enforcement officials confirmed that this was a calculated, premeditated attack; the shooter was waiting for his victim in the ninth grade hall during class change, he walked right up to him and pulled the trigger.

We might ask ourselves, “What causes someone to do such a thing?” All we can say is we have no idea what goes on in the heart of another.

Kierkegaard said, “Purity of heart is to will one thing — God’s will.” Jesus speaks a word about purity of heart in the Beatitudes. And it’s no accident that he equates this purity of heart with vision. Those who will one thing see the world through that lens. Our “one thing” is the filter through which we receive and understand reality.

If my one thing is the will of God, I will see you as God sees you: a being lovingly crafted to bear His image in the world.

If my one thing is my will — my cravings, my passions, my interests — then I will see you as an object to help gratify these desires. Or I will view you as an impediment to those desires, as something to be removed or displaced or shot.

What is your “one thing”?

There’s an old video of me as a child. I’m just running around in circles in our back yard, like a dog chasing its tail. In the next clip, I’m running through the house; you’ll see a little blur in the corner every couple of seconds…that’s me as I go zipping through. My Mom told me that when I was young they would sometimes put my dinner plate on the hearth in the living room. I’d come running through, take a bite from my plate, and take off again on some great adventure as Han Solo or Indiana Jones.

Now I have a son of my own and he’s about the same age I was in the old home movie. And sure enough, he loves to run, too. He says to me, “Dad, wanna see me run speed?” And I say, “Sure, man,” and he takes off through the house, carrying his Tennessee Vols football, making his way to the end zone for one more Volunteer touchdown.

Joshua has never seen these old videos of me. But I know this: his one thing is to be like his father. I know it won’t always be like this; I’m sure when he’s a teenager, we’ll have our share of disagreements; but for now, I relish playing the role of hero to my son. And here’s the beautiful thing: without knowing it, Joshua is taking on my character, my nature. I see him out of the corner of my eye, watching me hold my spoon as I scoop up some of Sunny’s chicken noodle soup. And then I see him trying to hold his spoon the same way because his one thing is to do it like Dad does it. And I remember doing the same thing as a child, watching my Dad as he read the paper, as he brushed his teeth, as he walked across a room. And I remember copying his moves, because my Dad was my one thing.

Jesus is offering a new reality, a new nature, when the Father becomes our “one thing”. This is the blessing for the pure in heart.

Posted in Huntsville, Jesus, Kids, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount, Social Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Baja Relief

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Jason

Our church has been involved in the work in the Baja peninsula of Mexico for many years. We help oversee the mission efforts of about a dozen churches in Baja and many of our families have developed special relationships with the Latino brothers and sisters in these congregations. In late January, flooding in northern Baja destroyed many homes for these dear families. These flood waters also severely damaged many of the church buildings and washed out many of the crops that were ready to be picked. As a result, many of these families have nothing to eat and nowhere to go for work. The situation is dire to say the least, and sadly, nobody knows much about this because the disaster in Haiti continues to dominate the news coverage. But this is a serious situation as well, and I’d like to ask you to think and pray about how you can help.  (For a complete report, click here or visit the Baja Missions link in the sidebar on the left.)

On the heels of a major contribution to the ongoing relief effort in Haiti, the timing for this kind of disaster couldn’t be worse. But it’s in moments like this that the body of Christ springs to action without hesitation. Many of our churches in Baja have become soup kitchens for the poor and displaced in these communities. Our team leaders are already mobilizing a relief effort to help with rebuilding. Plans are already being made for more planting to be done once the flood waters subside. In all things, the Kingdom of God marches on.

I know that most of you who read the things I write do so because we have a church connection, so you’ve probably already contributed to this relief effort. But for those of you who don’t share that church connection with me, I wanted to make you aware of another tremendous area of need. We are partnering with other sponsoring churches here in the States to provide immediate financial aid to this disaster-stricken area. Food, water, clothing, shelter, diapers, socks, hygiene products…these are the things that are needed most in the Baja. If you’re reading this on Facebook and you’d like to help out, send me a message. If you’re reading this through WordPress, leave me a comment or email me at jason at mayfair dot org and I’ll tell you how you can help.

Posted in Church, Poverty, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

LOST Season Six: More Thoughts on LAX

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Jason

I’m still unpacking from Tuesday night’s data dump. The more I think about the episode, the more I like it. (A second viewing certainly didn’t hurt either.) I think my initial reaction was just pushing back from this “parallel universe” idea. (Since I’ve stayed spoiler-free, I had no idea this was coming.) However, I’m more and more intrigued by the concept of what would have happened if Oceanic had never crashed and how these characters fates would have been different. We’ve already been given a little insight into this: Hurley’s luck, Shannon’s absence on 815, no Michael or Walt sitting near Hurley, etc.

Yet, there were also plenty of parallels. Jack mending his wound in the airplane bathroom parallels his “physician, heal thyself” moment on the beach in the early part of Episode 1. Boone’s comments to Locke (“If this thing goes down, I’m sticking with you.”) are indicative of the Obi-Wan / Luke relationship the two shared on the Island. Kate’s marshall suffers the same kind of head injury in both realities. So the big question that emerges out of “LA X, Parts 1 & 2” is the same question we’ve been asking for a while now: free will or destiny? The episode seems to go out of its way to show that no matter the circumstances, Jack is destined to rush to help people and fix problems; and he seems destined to be hated for it no matter what — on the Island, by Sawyer (who blames Jack for Juliet’s death); and on the plane by Charlie (who makes the cryptic comment to Jack, “I was supposed to die.”).

But the great irony here is that Juliet is the one responsible for her death. In the S5 finale, it was her choice to jump the Dharma guy with the OJ, break out of the handcuffs and commandeer the sub back to the Island. It was also her choice to go along with Jack’s plan to detonate Jughead, albeit a choice spurned on by her assumption that Sawyer still harbors strong feelings for Kate. In the same way, it seems that Charlie is destined to die; however, Island Charlie chooses the noble death (saving his friends by dying in the Looking Glass station) afforded him by Desmond’s many rescue attempts.

So again we ask: Is Jack destined to be hated for his heroism? Or is his plight more a result of the free choices of those around him?

In this episode, Jack tries to revive Sayid after he’s “died”; Kate tells him to stop and eventually he does. I think we’re meant to recall the similar scene from Season 1, where Jack is trying desperately to revive Charlie after it appears that he’s been hung by Ethan. Jack pumps away, Kate tells him to stop, he doesn’t…and Charlie is miraculously revived. The difference here is that Jack has finally learned to let go of the things he has no control over. Don’t think that’s not important.

Desmond Hume aboard Oceanic Flight 815

The big wild card here is Desmond. I think he’s the key to understanding this. Maybe he’s mastered the whole time-traveling-consciousness thing and thus he’s able to materialize on the plane for a brief moment. Since “the rules don’t apply” to Desmond, I have a feeling we’ll learn that this isn’t 2004 pre-Island Desmond. I think he’s able to shift between realities, to see in “real time” (whatever that means) the same thing Juliet saw just before she died and thought, “It worked”.This screen grab seems to indicate that Desmond is wearing a wedding ring; could it be that 2007 Desmond (who is married to Penelope and father to Charlie) is somehow interacting with this alternate world to bring about some ultimate outcome? I don’t know and the whole thing makes my head hurt. But I think I may be on to something here.

Anyway, now I’m thinking Sayid never really died at all. If he did, then Miles should’ve been able to communicate with him. But just before Sayid is “resurrected”, Miles is looking at his body with a perplexed look on his face. When Hurley asks him what’s wrong, Miles just replies, “Nothing.” Maybe Sayid was never really dead to begin with; I’m thinking we’re seeing the same thing that happened to young Ben when Kate and Sawyer took him to the Others in 1977.

Once again, I’m amazed at this show’s ability to get me to think about weighty issues. I completely forgot to mention the “afterlife” themes that run through the show: Sayid’s rumination about where he’ll go upon death; Juliet’s curtain-being-pulled-back moment prior to her passing; the ankh in the guitar case, which is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life. I’m not sure what it all means, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

Posted in Television | Tagged , | 9 Comments

LOST Season Six: LAX, Parts 1 and 2

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jason

Okay, I’ve been a faithful devotee of this show for years now. Even when it didn’t make sense, even when it seemed they were making it up as they went, even during the polar bear cage days of Season 3. But I have to confess: this premiere was a major letdown, at least on initial viewing. I’m holding out hope that they’ll right the ship here, but its hard not to be a little disappointed at this stage in the game.

I’m REALLY not digging the “flash sideways” storytelling device. With the phrase “flash sideways”, the producers are referring to the LAX storyline. (For a detailed explanation of the “flash sideways” from Damon and Carlton, click here.) It seems that for at least part of this season, we’ll find out what would have happened if Oceanic 815 had indeed never crashed. We saw several of these implications early in the episode, most notably Desmond never shipwrecks on the Island. (I still wonder about Farraday’s comment to him from last season: “The rules don’t apply to you.”) I definitely wasn’t expecting this and I don’t really care to see “what would’ve happened”. How are we supposed to interpret this storyline? Is it “real”? Another possibility? How can it possibly be reconciled with any of the previous 100+ hours of the series we’ve invested in to this point? Like I said, it’s hard not to be disappointed.

At the same time, we’re witnessing an “alternate reality” where the bomb detonated and our castaways are blown back to the Island present in 2007. Juliet has a tearful goodbye with Sawyer, but she imparts this one little piece of info (via Miles) as she exits: it worked. Is Juliet somehow aware of these alternate universes? Will she and Sawyer have a fortuitous encounter in this off-Island universe? If so, I’m betting we hear her utter the same words she spoke as she died in Sawyer’s arms: something about grabbing coffee and going dutch.

As for revelations in this episode, we had several.

  • We were correct to link the Man in Black with Smokey.
  • The Man in Black alludes to Richard and his “chains”. I’m pretty sure this is a reference to the Black Rock, a slave trading ship from the 1800s. I’m betting Richard was a slave on the ship, the same ship we saw coming to the Island in the Season Five finale.
  • We finally got to see the inside of the Temple. Lots of hieroglyphs. Lots of dudes with guns and turbans. And muddy water that drowns you and then saves you. Weird.
  • We finally got to see what was inside the guitar case. I’m wondering if all of this means Jacob has now inhabited Sayid’s body, in a way that’s similar to the Man in Black’s use of Locke.
  • The volcano ash that surrounded Jacob’s former cabin was explained (sort of). Seems it was intended to keep Smokey out.

I still have plenty of questions:

Why the blood on Jack’s collar when he looks in the mirror in the airplane bathroom?

How does Charlie know he’s “supposed” to die?

What is it that has changed Hurley’s luck? How is it that he thinks he’s the “luckiest man alive” in the alternate timeline?

Why can’t the show spring for some better CGI graphics?

Most of all, what happens in an “alternative reality” when Jacob & the Man in Black have been presumably blown to smithereens with the rest of the Island? Isn’t this whole thing about some age old argument / feud between these two? How can this be played out in the “new” timeline?

What about you? Your thoughts? Did you love it or were you disappointed?

Posted in Television | Tagged | 17 Comments

LOST Season Six: At Last

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Jason

Well, LOST fans, we’re finally here. The beginning of end. With the premiere of Season six tonight, we’re officially in the last days of LOST-dom. To say I’m stoked would be an understatement. It’s been a long eight months since Juliet detonated Jughead and our screens went white. In the downtime, I went back and re-watched the entire series from “Pilot” to “The Incident”. Here are some of my random ruminations as we prep for the final season premiere of LOST:

  • The question circulating for most fans seems to be “Timeline reboot: Yes or No?” Was Jack successful in his quest to detonate the bomb and rewrite history? I’m tempted to say “yes”, but I think that might be too easy; I think that’s what they want us to think. If time was rewritten, what does that do to these characters that we’ve grown to love over the course of five seasons? Are all of these experiences — both redemptive and destructive — somehow just negated or “washed away” by Jughead? If so, that’s weak. At least I think so. I could envision a scenario where 815 lands in LAX but the castaways retain the memory of the “future” that never happened, but even that seems whack. And if everything is rebooted, what do we do about the “current” Island timeline of 2007 — you know, where Locke isn’t Locke and Ben stabs Jacob? I think Miles might have gotten it right in last year’s finale: Jack and co. may actually have caused the very thing (the Incident) they were trying to keep from happening.
  • At the end of Season five, Sun approaches Richard Alpert with a 70’s era picture of Dharma life. Of course, its a pic of Jack, Kate, Hurley, etc. Sun’s question to Richard: “Have you ever seen these people?” Do you remember Richard’s answer? “Yes, I watched them all die.” If Jack and the crew somehow “died” during the Jughead explosion / reboot, then how could Richard say he saw them die? I suppose Richard could just be lying to Sun, but I doubt it. I’m wondering if the Jughead explosion wasn’t quite as dramatic as we thought; perhaps there’s a little more 70’s era Dharma story to be told.
  • I worry about my boy Sayid. In the season five finale, he comments that he’s beyond saving, beyond redemption. Sayid, like Mr. Eko, is a remorseless killer who feels his actions have satisfied some deep internal craving for justice, for things to be made right. And like Mr. Eko, I fully expect Sayid to pay the ultimate price for this lack of penance. Think back to Ben’s “judgment” by Smokey in the bowels of the Temple. He’s only spared when he tells “Alex” how sorry he is for letting her die. Repentance seems to be at least one of the keys to redemption on this Island.
  • I just love how even now, five seasons and 100+ episodes in, I’m still captivated by the undergirding question Charlie asked at the end of the first episode: “Guys, where are we?”
  • Along those lines, I’m hoping the producers don’t feel the need to answer each of the show’s mysteries to appease a fan base that wants it all to “make sense”. Don’t get me wrong; I want to know what Smokey is, or why Locke is so special, or the true nature of Jacob & the Man in Black’s centuries old feud. But the older I get, the more comfortable I am with ambiguity. In that way, my engagement with this show has been similar to the character arc of Jack. At first, I was probably a rigid “man of science”; I wanted it to all make sense, to add up. I read articles about what the Numbers could mean. I theorized about who the Others were and what they wanted. But over time, I realized — like Jack — that this whole ride is better if you just roll with it. I guess what I’m saying is that while I expect a certain level of explanation and “answers”, I’m also okay with some of the more mythic elements of the show retaining their mysticism. So while I expect an answer re: Smokey (and the producers have promised one), I’m less certain that we’ll ever get a definitive answer to the “What is the Island?” question. And I’m cool with that.
  • My Adam & Eve prediction: Sun & Jin. At one point in time, I was convinced it was going to be Desmond and Penelope. But they’ve already had their happy ending (sort of), and after all the time-shifting loopiness that’s kept them apart, I can’t think of a happier ending for Sun & Jin than a lifetime together in the Island’s past. However, I’ve also had a long running theory that Adam & Eve would end up being Rose & Bernard. Who knows?
  • Speaking of Desmond, I hope there’s plenty more of his story to be told. He was severely underused in season five, and he’s actually become one of my favorite characters. I hope we get a healthy dose of Desmond in the final chapter of LOST.
  • Speaking of severely underused in season five, I guess we’ll finally find out what happened to Claire. Is she a ghost? I don’t really care. But one thing has always bugged me: so far, Desmond’s flash that convinced Charlie to give up his life has yet to come true. He told Charlie that if he flipped the switch in the Looking Glass and died there, that Aaron and Claire would get on a helicopter and be rescued. I’m struggling to see how that can happen at this point. And that annoys me. I’d be disappointed if they don’t circle back around to this; I hope it’s not a hole in the narrative.

Well, that’s enough for now. I’ll have a full recap of tonight’s episode posted by tomorrow. Until then, enjoy tonight’s premiere. Namaste.

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