Lost - SOS

The recap of this episode is here

One thing that Bernard has helped me to realize is that no one wants to leave the island:

• We found out in this episode that Rose was healed on the island and it was the mysterious powers on the island that healed her. Of course, because of her healing, Bernard wants to stay also.
• John Lock wants to stay because he was also healed on the island.
• Mr. Echo wants to stay because he is most likely wanted in his country and he now has a chance to be an island priest. It is a chance for him to start life over.
• Kate wants to stay because she is wanted by police.
• Charlie might want to stay because he has conquered his drug habit on the island although he has become an out cast.
• Jin thinks the island healed him and he was able to get Sun pregnant. So maybe now he will want to stay.

Other thoughts about this episode:

• Like Mac said, It was nice to see Jack get out of the hatch and get that "Obe-Wan Mojo" going. He was becoming insufferable in that hatch.
• So Rose, knows John's little wheel chair secret. Wonder if she is the only one?
• Mr. Echo is building a church....Good for him.
• I am pretty confident in my manhood but I must admit, Bernard has really penetrating blue eyes.
• How is it that Jack is such a good shot with a gun and is a card shark? Where did he get that tattoo?
• Rose lies to Bernard, just so he will leave her alone. She is now on my "Do not trust list."
• What ever happened to the nano mist monster? Have not seen it since Mr. Echo's backstory.

Judas wrote a gospel?

This past week the discovery of the Gospel of Judas was released. I have been asked a lot about it at work and even some of my friends had some questions about it. So I wanted to put my thoughts down writing as to what I thought about it for posterity sake.

1. This is old news: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/gospel_of_judas/
2. This seems to me to be all about money. Why else release this find right before Easter and before the movie, “The DaVinci Code” comes to theatres.
3. This is a Gnostic writing that was clearly denounced by the church and its leaders.
4. To that point, why is it that when, someone tries to defend there beliefs that supported by the majority, they are deemed deceitful (case in point is all the talk about Irenaeus). Yet when someone writes pure fiction about a religion they are enlightened thinkers and there motives are never questioned. Irenaeus was martyred for his beliefs.
5. Why is it that the media was so reluctant to publish the Islamic cartoons, but were falling all over themselves to publish these controversial findings?
6. Also, why does the media never interview good, popular conservative scholars? Instead, they find some hillbilly no one has ever heard of who makes a fool of themselves. If they need a list scholars I could provide that to them and I am just a lay person. Seems to me they purposely stack the deck.
7. Why do these scholars not apply the same skepticism to Gospel of Judas that they do to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Lost - Dave

Click here for a synopsis of this episode.

thoughts about this episode:

• As has been the case in the past, after there has been a really action pact, secret revealing episode, they follow it with a more character driven slower episode. I have notice from the blogs that some people don't like that approach. Myself, I like the variety of types of episodes because it keeps the show fresh and it will allow the writers to keep from "jumping the shark" sooner.
• This backstory about Hurley reminded me a lot of the movie "A Beautiful Mind". Hopefully ultimate secrets behind the show is not that this island is some sort of dream. That type of existential world view ultimatly leads one to meaninglessness. If "life is but a dream" then we humans lead a pathetic existance and the ultimate question we should ask is: "Why not suicide?". The Christian world view says that we here for a purpose and that purpose is to Glorify God. That is why Christians cherish life so much.
• Sawyer nickname of the week: When someone asks if they saw a plane. Sawyer calls the person "Tattoo".
• Well it looks like I was wrong about Henry Gail not being one of the others.
• But it looks like I was right about Libby being a psycho ward patient instead of actually being a doctor. She still could have been doctor too. I suppose it possible for a psychiatrist to be a patient.

Review - Shibumi 6/10

Shibumi is a story of a prodigy, Nicholai Hel. He has a Russian mother and German father whom he never met. He is a genius who knows half-dozen languages and is welled versed in culture. Living through the 2 world wars, he matures and develops into the worlds most accomplished assassin.

I was torn on whether I liked this character or not and about half way through the book I even found myself rooting for the enemy. After all, the enemy, Mr. Diamond, is only doing his job bringing a murderer (who also murdered his brother) to justice. That changed for me though when Diamond becomes more ruthless and unethical than Nicholai.

My thoughts on Nicholai first the bad:

• Nicholai is full of himself, and he thinks he is a better person than the world around him.
• Nicholai is a murderer and has little regard for life.
• His pantheistic world causes him to think the Earth is god and thus greater than the human lives that live on it.
• He treats women like objects, and even pays for them like they were some sort of commodity.
  
  Good thoughts of Nicholai:
• He is a devoted, trustworthy friend.
• He only does assassination jobs of people who are terrorists and murderers themselves. He is sort of a vigilante for hire.
• He is intelligent and is always learning.

Despite the book’s some what heavy handedness, the story is not all that bad which is why I can just slightly recommend it. The hero in my mind needs his own dose of justice and never receives it.

Lost - Lockdown

For a synopses of the show click here.

• Locke and Henry were both caught in bold face lies in this episode. Now I have to add them to my suspect list. I can't implicitly trust either of them anymore because I know they are capable of not telling the truth.
• I still think Henry is not one of the others. Not sure why I think that other than it seems to obvious that he should be. Who is this real Henry Gail. Was that his balloon? Why would his attacker put a cross on his grave? Too many questions.
• Here is great link showing the map on the wall. It even has the notes deciphered. Could this be Desmond's doing? Or the guy he was with?
• Where is Desmond? Michael? Walt?
• So with the food drop, we now know how the hatch is getting stocked with food and modern equipment (i.e. washer and drier). We also know now that there are people not on the island who know there are people on the island and possibly know that the plane crash victims are on the island. Are they part of Dharma?