Sunday, June 29, 2008

Strunz and Farah at the Montreal Jazz Festival





Strunz and Farah will be performing tomorrow evening, Monday June 30, 2008, at Club Soda at 7:00PM at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Again, this is a rare opportunity to see one of the most remarkable and enduring guitar acts in the world.

Above is a two part video from their live performance in Napa, California of the piece "Vela". The top video is part 1, and the lower video is part 2, which is a continuation of the song from the show. Absolutely awesome!

I was at the Catalina Jazz Club shows this past weekend in Hollywood and they were spectacular, with new material of middle Eastern and Gypsy orientation. The interplay between Strunz and Cuban percussionist genius Jimmy Branley was nothing short of blood boiling. Jorge's solo's on "Vela" are some of the most intense playing I have ever seen, with shades of Mclaughlin's dramatic performances with the original Shakti. The whole show is a triumph. If you are in the festival area, GO!

Tony

Freeway Series wrapup...Oy Vey.




Gabcast! Stop this noise in my head #14 - Choking Dogs gag in the clutch

Two out of three ain't bad, but you knew Loney wasn't gonna get that big hit didn't ya?...didn't ya?....uh huh...uh huh...Ahhhh.....



Dodgers take two of three from the Angels in strangest Freeway Series in history.
Game one Dodgers win 6 to 0. Game two, a no-hit loss by the Angels who lose 1 to 0 without allowing a single hit. Today, Dodgers blow golden opportunity to sweep with bases loaded and gut check failure by Loney. Hey, it ain't his fault. When was the last time you remember a dodger getting that big hit? Huh....yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Just put the damper on my weekend, instead of giving me that extra boost of Geritol for the soul. The Blue sure know how to take the steam out of happiness, let me tell you.
Juan Pierre mashed at second. When does it end?

Thursday, June 26, 2008

An homage to you.



Come to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it's a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe
I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe

Open the door
And show me your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like you
And you hold the key

Never again
would I turn away from you
I'm so heavy tonight
But your love is alright
And I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly
You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe
And I shall believe

This song represents all of the stuff that i am going through at the moment, it's how i feel.
My life has been so uncontrolable, i feel it slipping through my fingers...anyone know how to regain control?

----------------------------

My friend, I will believe with you.

Sai Ram.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

How do I hate thee, let me count the ways.



In Harville Hendrix's depressing book "How to get the Love you Want", he suggests that most of his clients who found something that they thought made them happy, quit therapy. His position is that in order to confront one's real problems in life, one needs to remain miserable, or at least discontented enough to be "sick and tired of being sick and tired". This has a kind of sense to it. How many times have I seen people leave the step groups when they found the "love of their life" or got some kind of ideal job. If that is the case, I must be some kind of role model as far as he is concerned.

Today just happens to be a day in which every person, place or thing feels absolutely and unuterrably intolerable. The worst of all is the ten minute drive to work that feels like five and half hours. From the moment I hit the front gate at Hollywood High, I just wanted to put a mask on over my head, or at least a bag, the unknown commedian would approve no doubt. I have opted out of smiling, or even half gesturing a curl of the upper lip, responding to people with a perfunctory nod and aura of stay as far away from me as humanly possible. There are just two days left to this school year, far and away the most wretched of my life.

Anhedonia is defined as the inability to give and receive pleasure, or at the least to FEEL pleasure. Each day I wake up and glump my way to a job that has virtually nothing to do with what I feel I am here to be doing, I close down a little more. My friendliness declines a little more each day and I begin to move inward, away from humanity and away from God. After all, he is the one who keeps me in this frozen mire right. He can change things in a country minute, cause he's God. He simply chooses not to up to this point, at least in a way that is "reasonable" according to my principles. (It is not helping that a Holocaust video is playing behind me in class, further dampening my waining faith). It does strike me that I may be mildly depressed. Okay, maybe a little more than mildly. It also doesn't help that people are so shrouded by their own narcissism that they could care less about how anyone else but their most immediate peeps are feeling, the rest be damned.

Maybe the most hideous thought of all is the knowledge that even if I had a job doing what I supposedly loved, and the right relationship, money, disposable wealth, etc...NONE of it would make me happy. No wonder people clutch madly for religion or spirituality. At least the hope that there is meaning in our absurd life fills a void. Today, the void seems unfillable.

It certainly doesn't help that I am dealing with a tooth that just doesn't seem to want to calm down. I had a cavity filled last week on a molar (something about molars and despair). It started hurting badly which predicated I seek the counsel of an Endo. He X-Rayed and found no absess. He is treating me with Prednisone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory which may or may not be working. It may be making me psychotic though.

Heck, I could go on and on in this petty pace, till the last syllable of recorded time. The truth is that I find most people disgraceful and dreadful cowards. Whether this is a symptom of a chronic human position or some new decline in our humanity is yet to be determined. The bottom line is I don't feel safe out here anymore. I do have a solution that may work:

Ban public schools.

And get me the hell out of here.

Pathetic Losers.




Gabcast! Stop this noise in my head #12 - Dodger's bitch slapped by White Sox

Business as usual at Dodger Stadium. The AL laughing at the Dodgers and all of us once again.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Comedian tested limits of speech and society

This story was sent to you by: tforkush@juno.com

Truly one of the kings of comedy. May he Rest in Peace, that old shit, piss, motherfucker, tits, cocksucker, ass, and cunt master.

--------------------
Comedian tested limits of speech and society
--------------------

He gained notoriety for his 'seven dirty words,' but his incisive commentaries were as clever as they were vulgar.

By Rich Connell and Jason Song
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

June 22 2008, 11:29 PM PDT

George Carlin, the acerbic, Grammy-winning comedian whose career spanned more than 50 years, died of heart failure Sunday evening after being admitted to the hospital complaining of chest pains, his spokesman said. He was 71.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-carlin23-2008jun23,0,4144791.story


Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

Dodger Tony's Dodger Recap.



Gabcast! Stop this noise in my head #11 - Dodger Recap

Summary of Sunday's game against the Cleveland Indians. Did the Big Blue Wrecking Crew salvage one from the AL?

RE: Bill Shaiken's article "Dodger's GM Ned Colletti faces tough decisions".

The problem with retaining Colletti through the end of the season, and relieving him of his duties at that time, is the loss of the Winter Meetings yet again at a crucial time in the rebuilding of the franchise. In Rafael Furcal's contract year, and with other critical personnel decisions to make, you would want a new GM in place way before then. Most other teams function this way and it is not unusual for organizations to replace GM's in the middle of the season. The Dodgers are too conscious of public image to do that and will be saddled with another lost off-season if they choose to make the same disastrous mistakes and resist a purge.
 
Anthony Forkush
Los Feliz





Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.

Suck on this, loser boy.

The Dodgers do two things extremely well:

Number one, they are excellent at NOT hitting with runners in scoring position.

Number two, they are superb at finding ways to lose games.

Believe me, it takes a great deal of imagination to perform those feats so well at such a high level of futility.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Oh, frack off Frank and Jamie! (McCourt not Bozian!)

This loss tonight was absolutely galling and appalling. I haven't posted in several weeks but I am in a really pissed off mood at the moment after watching that big tease by our not so loveable losers.

Two thoughts right off the bat: Number one: if I could NOT be a Dodger fan anymore I would. But its kind of like saying if I could NOT be a fan of a certain music, or of a certain kind of woman, or food etc. But I am starting to pray to the big Blue God in the sky to let me outta this thing.

That loss tonight was shameful. Really! This group of players should simply be ashamed of themselves. Their complete lack of ability to play fundamental baseball is just nauseating. You could say that they fought for the tie to push it into extras, but once again it was simply more of the same. It also is time for Broxton to move into the closer role and see how that goes. Saito clearly is no longer dependable and Broxton seems to be figuring it out lately.

I really hope to wake up tomorrow from this long dark national nightmare. The one thing the Dodgers do well is lose. That is a fact!

This team is worse than last year, which is unimaginable!

What a charade!

A modest thing but thine own




As the Dodgers come home to meet three stalwarts of the AL, visions of Dodger Dogs are dancing in my head. A little three game win streak has me reinvigorated and strains of "ya gotta believe" are playing in my heart. The Reds, sad lot that they are, roll over each and everytime the Blue come to Great American. Dusty looks about 85 years old in that dugout and our boys definitely gave em a good ol' fashinoned LA drive by whoopin.
Rumours are flying regarding a Chad Billingsley/Matt Kemp for Jay Bruce trade, something that would hurt but I would do that in a country minute for the twenty year old phenom who is cleary going to be a great player for the Reds and soon.

Reality will no doubt sink in when Cliff Lee and CC take the mound tonight and tomorrow day. Our only hope is the nasty inferno that will engulf the Ravine during Sat and Sun, day games both. Sabathia could huff and puff his way to a loss and hot weather may be a welcome balm for the Dodgers. Then comes the White Sox, lets hope the weather stays hot, and the Angels, which is a sweep any way you look at it.

The D'Backs/Dodger dance continues with we win they win, we lose they lose. Somehow with the terrible play of the West, LA is still in it, bizarrely enough. Furcal is still months away, if he will return at all, and more players are falling out of the roster onto the DL, Penny and Kuroda the latest.

On a sad note, the Mets fired Willie Randolph in a classically classless New York fashion. If the Dodgers were smart, they would offer him a position immediately within the organization. But when have the Dodgers exhibited smarts?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Chick has spoken-it was a mismatch.




Just prior to the finals I predicted a Boston win in five games. I almost had my wish, but I think they wanted to win it back at the "gawhden".

Let me just say how proud I am of the Lakers, an overachieving team that, somehow, was just two games away from hoisting a banner up from their own petards.

The cold hard reality, however, from a man who doesn't watch basketball at all, was that this was all about selfishness versus unselfishness, joy versus brooding arrogance, hip hop versus rape.

No one was a truer and more passionate Laker fan than I. I adored the Lakers, especially Ervin and Kareem. When Shaq came to LA I was a huge fan. But then something foul was afoot. We all noticed it after the first "can you dig it?" celebration downtown, remember the white boy dance of oh what the hell was his name anyway? There, in the background, away from everyone else, shooting his water gun, was a separate and disconnected little egomaniac child genius. We shouted and hooped and hollered, but there he stood and we all felt somehow slightly uncomfortable, didn't we?

Then the disagreements and the rumours started. Finally it all ended and the joy left LA to Miami where he rightfully won another ring.

The darkness became something even more horrible. Everything we feared suddenly became very terrifyingly real.

Kobe Bryant was evil.

Kobe Bryant remains evil.

Evil cannot and will not prevail, even if it wears the purple and gold.

The Celtics are the good guys I'm afraid to say, in this situation. That is why I pulled for them and knew what the result was. I just didn't know it would be this final and this definitive.

Get your LA asses out our house. Take those flags off your four runners and Hummers and Priuses and go tell someone what you just saw and what you just were told. Testify to LA about the glory of joy and defense.

And send that devil child somewhere far away from the city of Angels.

Congratulations bean town!

Monday, June 16, 2008

The absolute stink of failure.




From Jon Weisman's DodgerThoughts.com website of earlier today:

Bad Moon Rising
2008-06-15 21:47by Jon Weisman
Through 69 games, the 31-38 Dodgers are two games ahead of the pace of the worst team in Los Angeles history. The 1992 Dodgers started the season 29-40.

In 50 years, only one Los Angeles Dodger team (1995) has made the postseason with a record below .500 at this stage.

(It isn't just me folks. This is truly one of the worst Dodger teams in history through the first 69 games. Not surprising given the difficulty of that sexual position. I wonder if the brass knew this was coming and actually hired Torre to deflect the attention that they knew would ensue from the crap fest at the Ravine.
What a disgusting and pathetic group of nothings. Kind of like my little ol' life over here in downtown loserville).

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Codestructive No Mas!




Breaking Free From Co-dependence

Written by Kathi Stringer

July 12, 2003

Co-dependency is a style of relating to others that could be in the form of aggression, submissiveness, people-pleaser, neediness and etc.

First, We Identify Co-dependency.

The fit. It would seem that if we put a people-pleaser with a needy person, we would have an ideal fit. We don’t. What we have is co-dependence. Each person ‘needs’ the other person to feel ‘whole’ due to his or her unconscious pathology. Neither is whole in their own right but is dependent on the other to maintain a certain ‘completeness.’ Eventually, when each person is out-of-sync with the "giving and getting," there are accusatory problems and blame, i.e…”You don’t appreciate me enough when I…” or “You never give me enough when I…” The people-pleaser cannot please enough or the needy person cannot get enough. This becomes a problem when one individual is sick of the co-dependent relationship and having to deal with the burden of being out-of-sync. What may happen next is the threat of change. This change of course does not go over well with the other individual. There is massive resistance. Why? Because change is seen in the other individual as REJECTION (a LOSS). When the people-pleaser changes, the needy person views this as REJECTION and will try and prevent this loss through all sorts of road-blocking behaviors. On the other hand, if the needy person becomes more independent, the people-pleaser is also afraid of rejection and won’t be ‘needed’ any more. The core of both pathologies is ‘rejection.’

Now, We Identify Wellness

Wholeness. When both individuals are complete in their own right, then, we have a mutual beneficial relationship. Here, each individual brings something into the ‘relationship’ to promote growth, rather then to patch a defect. When each individual is complete, the relationship builds and moves along. On the flip side, when individuals are ‘fused’ due to incompleteness, there is no movement, only a constant state of repair.



An analogy

Co-dependency would be like a medic on the battlefield attending to the patient. The patient is chronic and the medic will not give up. The medic continues to repair the patient over and over again. Neither of them is moving anywhere. They are stuck on the battlefield. The patient is too hurt to move and the medic is too busy repairing the patient to move himself. The patient has a false sense of security of being chronically repaired by the medic. The medic has a false sense of security of being needed by the never-healing chronic patient. On the other hand, if both were whole individuals in their own right, there would be no need for a patient or a medic. Rather, the individuals can actually meet and move on through life’s journey without the cumbersome repetitiveness of chronic repair.

Solution

Change. “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” Because co-dependency is FUSION, there is a major problem with change. Change in either person is seen as REJECTION to the other person. 1. If I ask and you don’t give = rejection. 2. If I give and you don’t take = rejection. Let's see this dynamic in motion. The people-pleaser of the family can never do enough. The takers hound the people-pleaser with criticism. The people-pleaser will ALWAYS be one short of the stack and will continue to be abused while chasing the proverbial carrot to be ‘worthy of love.’ The people-pleaser will break down in tears because they can never do enough or give enough. The people-pleaser is locked into a false illusion that if they finally jump high enough, run fast enough or anticipate every need well in advance, that they will finally be worthy of love. NOT A CHANCE! Such behavior is disrespectful of one’s self. If one cannot respect one’s self, the unconscious family logic feels the same way.

Practice!

No! Have you ever noticed a two-year-old when they learn the word NO!? They love that word! “No” to a two-year-old means “My way, not your way.” ‘No’ means the hatching into independence. “No” establishes the boundaries of self and not-self. “No” is a healthy way for the toddler to break away from the mother – infant FUSION. Healthy toddlers have a knack for saying ‘no.’ It is as if to say ‘no’ is a method of promoting self-discovery and growth. The co-dependent person can learn a lot from the toddler and begin the process of self-identity by simply saying, ‘no.’ For example, “No, I don’t need your help on this, I can do this myself.” Or, “No, this is something you need to learn how to do for yourself.” In both of these examples we have seen now “no’ works for the people-pleaser and the needy to establish independence OUT OF co-dependence.

Clarify

This does not mean we cannot do endearing things for each other. Far from it. The difference is this, when we do things for each other without patching a defect, we are grateful. Endearing jesters are like those nurturing notes or cards we give to each other. They are unexpected. However, when EXPECTED, the nurturing that is offered is received as a target of criticism, a form of entitlement. “You owe me, not enough…” rather then “That was so sweet, thank you!”

More thoughts on co-dependence

In a co-dependent relationship, there is really no satisfaction. Notice the prefix ‘co’ in co-dependence. This means that BOTH parties are psychological SLAVES to each other. It is like a freak of nature that both are joined in the mind by a delusion. One cannot go anywhere without the other psychologically. Where is the satisfaction in that? It is as if they are both psychological Siamese twins. To break apart would mean certain death to each delusional twin. However, with a bit of mind surgery (treatment), separation into independence may be achieved. Some surgery on twins are more dangerous than others. It just depends on how many psychological structures are co-habited and if the patient is willing to accept the risks in treatment for an independent and free life.

Should I?

Risk. Is independence worth the risk? If you think not, imagine being joined at the hip with a Siamese twin for life! If this is unacceptable, get a coach, (treater), learn to say ‘no’ and take a risk!

The gray days of me.



I don't know who this man is, but I Googled the word "pathetic" and this Forkush clone came up on the screen. It seemed appropos, what with my lifes situation and all. It's a good life, uh huh.

The statistics of the Dodgers lately are mind numbing. The fact that they remain three and a half games back of the Snakes in a division that may be worse than some of the triple AAA affiliates is a tease. Matter of fact, the Blue have been spinning their wheels at 3 and 1/2 for what seems like a month now. D'Backs win, we win. D'Backs lose, we lose. It's a waltz, know what I mean jelly bean?

Here are some stats the chew your fat over: The Dodgers have scored one run or less in 10 of their last 17 games. They have scored one run or less in TWENTY of their games this season (they have played 65 total games), all of them losses. They are last in the NL in home runs, runs scored and hitting with runners in scoring position. Their pitching has been pretty damn good, not a whole lot of complaints there. But their team hitting is unwatchable.

As a fan and analyst of the game of Baseball itself, of course I attempt to "figure out" the problem. That could be an oxymoron as far as Baseball is concerned, "figuring out" the game and a teams woes. What I came up with today may change tomorrow, but here it is.

The Dodgers have a history of signing veteran players realatively late in their careers. They hardly ever give mad money to veterans in their primes. This means that they tend to be more injury prone, in general (Jeff "Iron Man" Kent notwithstanding). When a veteran player breaks, it is the job of the General Manager to go out and replace him with a veteran player of competency. This will insure that the younger players continue to have a solid veteran presence on the field. If you have this, the chances of playing "consistently" increase. The likelihood that a prolonged team slump will happen is logically less. This creates an atmosphere that the GM supports the team and the residual psychology of winning returns. Teams then can execute fundamental team offense because, and here is the key, THEY HAVE THE CONFIDENCE OF THE ORGANIZATION HAVING THEIR BACK. Hitting with RISP is a psychology of clutch. It is the ultimate in unselfishness offensively. Young players simply cannot be expected to overcome these things alone and without mentoring on the field.

The Dodgers do not care about winning.

PERIOD

The Dodgers history is to replace injured veterans with minor leaguers. They have done this throughout their history and the results are a basic inability to play solid fundamental consistent baseball.

The Angels are the only quality baseball team in Southern California at this time.

They may remain this way for the forseeable future.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's dreck?





I'd say the above referenced paintings pretty much describe how I feel right now after watching the Dodgers eat maggot shit to the Cubs in the first game of what will surely be a four game sweep at Chavez Ravine. After Sunday, the Big Blue Buttfucking crew will have eaten crap a total of roughly 15 out of the last 17 games. All that being said, they are still only a paltry four games out of first in the worst division in the history of the league.

In addition, I spent roughly a year supporting my candidate Hillary Clinton, only to watch her get digested by Obama and spit out into the pits of Hades and back to whence she came. Another casualty of the Tony Forkush factor of failure.

Add to that the woeful decripitude of my acting career, the laugh in your face rejections by women for the past twenty five years, the terrifying lonliness, the isolation and empty phone machine messages, living in the heart of Hollywood with the rest of the lost souls, alone and on my own and....well, I'd say you pretty much get the picture.

If you put two and three and four together, a pattern starts to emerge. A pattern of mmmmmmmm.......
PUNISHMENT!

And one wonders why one continues to keep reaching, Charlie Brown like for the elusive spiritual football that the lord thy God keeps wrenching from our attempts at immortality. This may be the single greatest image of the futility and absurdity of the human condition. That poor little bald kid who can't help himself and keeps risking, trying, trusting. Only to have the absolute inevitable waiting for him, as it waits for all of us. We keep seeing the light that say's "no entry" to our deepest desires and human hopes. Things that others are awarded with impunity by the Universe and its creator. Are they the meek? Do they supplicate with more fervor than I, with more piety and honor? The wretched of the earth are given the keys to the Kingdom over and over, and I am given Matt Kemp.

This is not to say I am ungrateful, though, of course, I am. It is to say simply that three to four major areas of desire are closed for repairs because...and this is paramount...GOD WILL NOT ALLOW IT!

Why, you ask?

NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!

And that is the answer to that. End of story, next scene please.

Clearly the reason these portals remain blocked is due to my sinful acts of pride. I desire the above mentioned dreams AHEAD of the Lord, and he knows this. He sees I am a man of God who understands my wickedness and he wants me to enter the Kingdom with him, but I cannot as long as I place ANYTHING ahead of him. It is simply decreed it be so. He gives the unrighteous everything they deserve here on earth because he knows that the gates of Heaven are closed FOREVER to them anyway, why not let them have a good time until the jig is up, oh wicked fools.

I get to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in order to be prepared for the holy reunion with my creator. He has removed these foul objects of decay over and over again, barring the way, in preparation for the annointing of my eternal soul.

And it is close, my God. It is so close. I can feel it and know that your commands are my deepest desire. Thank you for bringing me to you by vanquishing all things of this earth that wreak of pestilence and fornication without love.

I have sinned and the son of man has come to bless me by destroying my hopes and dreams. Thank you Lord. I await your chariot to home, out of the hideous bonds and chains of death. Lift me up out of this despicable inferno to the light of Havona.

Monday, June 02, 2008

I would love a show called "Lost" being a Dodger fan.



These are a series of blog entries on Nikki Stafford's blog site devoted to Lost. Near the end is a guy named "KeepingAwake" who excoriates me for being me.

What else is Jew?

Tony Forkush's Lost blog entries:

I humbly enter the fray with my disjointed memorialization of last night.
Am I mistaken that there was an episode where Jin purchased a large Panda bear for someone that we assumed was Sun? The final tableau showed this to not be the case and, yet, the two of them seemed to be extant in Korea after the rescue. However, Jin seemed to be in a false or alternate reality, perhaps one that did not contain Sun at all. Am I hallucinating this particular rorschach?

The drama is now biblical cum allegorical, with shifting semifor between abstract philosophical mentation and "heart" or "presence" higher spiritual dimension. The confrontation is now between the Egoic and the transcendent. Freedom lies not in the past nor the future but in the furtive present, eternal, sublime and mythically unknowable.
As Cambell says in Power of Myth, man is meant to have an experience of the divine not a direct knowledge of it.
Without this provocation with our, dare I say, souls, ontological existence is barren and "panoptic".
Indeed of our own making.
Freedom lies somewhere between the two.
1:12 AM

*

Two cents extra:

While the bulk of interest in pursuing the secrets of "Lost" seems dedicated to its ultimate solution of the riddle, I am concerned more didactically with the overall meaning of the piece. The bravura, unshakable interest bordering on obsession I have with the show is that it contains both, seemingly, answers to our questions (rabbit hole notwithstanding), AND some semblance or possibility of inherency. This is not just a TV version of "Myst", this is a prolix devotion, a meditation (Dharma, Richard's "Dalai Lama" testing of the young Locke)which seems to offer some kind of enlightenment, irradiating and bursting, suffuse with love and potentiality.
The definition of Dharma is life's purpose. The seed of one's life, freely given by agencies within and without of our consent, ever moving us forward to selfhood, reminding us of the "game" that we, in particular Western paradigmatic "thinkers", are playing in this dream. The pretension that we are not "Jacob", all of us, is a fiction played out by the Ego to move the show forward. It is a reminder of who and what we really are, and of where we come from and are going, but always NOW.
As we cathect with this fellowship, in the dark, in our own voyeuristic fantasies, the parable is devastating to our staid and risk-less "lives of quiet desperation".
"Lost" begs us to know that we are the substance of the universe itself, making itself remember to embrace the drama and LIVE.
1:49 AM

*

Thank you Mr. Redeem for clarifying the time frame re: Jin and his Panda. I was unclear when watching it.

Thank you Ms. Emma for introducing Homer into the equation. I accept your theory that there are elements consistent with his lyric poem, particularly the almost chorus like whispering "others" of Richard, etc. The large foot statue appears like something that Jason and his Argonauts would encounter. In my mind there is a subtextual search for some sort of "Golden Fleece", certainly internally, where I believe the bulk of this show resides.

"Lost", in my mind, could very easily share a doppleganger title of "Home". Thank you again Mr. Redeem for surreptitiously and with good intent introducing this vast and ubiquitous theme. All of us begin from home and must return to home. The final image of season four will always be an image of death in a coffin, WITH A NOM DE GUERRE, with Jack utterly unable to accept this final act of surrender, the thing he simply cannot do, hence Nikki your bolded introductory quote to this posting. None of the six can speak the name Jeremy Bentham as human beings dare not speak the name of their finitude.

From the moment of episode one, we were presaged this mystery and the Island's conquering, resurrectory power over human life. At least as it chooses (Boone, Shannon, Ecko, Michelle Rodriguez...echo drool sentiments...are they hidden as well?).

The cloud to me is where the formless others return and reappear depending on circumstance. They are its personification, and they it. They are there to provide nourishment in the transition from form to formlessness. But I digress.

I haven't a sailor's clue as to where the Dharma food is coming from, and the eternality of it, its infinite supply (Turning water to wine...multiplying the loaves and fishes). Very much looking forward to finding this out, hardy har har.

A show about watching a show.
Ce'st la vie.
3:03 PM

*

I appreciated the creators focusing on Walt and his queries regarding the truth.
One thing that all perplexed me and begs explanation is the comic book that Walt was reading with the Polar Bear in it. Could this be a memory of some past existence or a foreshadowing of/ or psychic projection ala Solaris, where one's thoughts become reality. Is there any difference between reality and thought on the Island. And shouldn't the Island have a name at this point?

Since Locke has been visited by the Others his entire life, one wonders if there has been this entire experience already. In other words, wasn't there a manifest on the boat which specifically KNEW where Ben was going to be at the exact time he approached the Orchid? This was the "fail safe" manifest.
And if the Jeremy Davies character had already encountered Desmond before, isn't it possible that the other characters Desmond had contact with in his flashbacks are also pertinent in some fashion to his present reality?
Also Claire's impact on the psychic she visited and his ominous reaction.
Why do they need the children?

(small voice) help.

*

Oh, and what about Penny and her "arctic station" and "underwater transmission chamber"? It seemes she actually has some understanding of where the Island may be and has actually arranged for certain constructions to assist in finding Desmond. She appears to have a significant insight as to the circumstance, including finding them in the ocean. Could SHE be Dharma Seed?
Hmmm?

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The image of Ben at the Donkey Wheel is pure Nietzsche. The themes of "Will to Power", the "Ubermensch" and "Eternal Recurrence" are all present. It is a stunning moment of symbolism. Ben unleashing the bright light of utilitarianism, forging his own "smithy". I encourage everyone to read about these concepts. They are heady but clearly omnipresent in the show.

Wikipedia is a very good resource for this.
2:23 AM

"Forging in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race".
-James Joyce
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
2:28 AM

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I still have an impulse to believe that the theme of eternal recurrence is vibrant within the show and is an element that links the worlds together. It seems to me to be possible that the entire events of the show HAVE ALREADY TAKEN PLACE BEFORE, and are happening yet again but are somehow recognized by certain actors (metaphorically speaking) within the larger drama. While this messes with our Cartesian world view, or at least certainly mine, it makes some sense that this model is being used by elements to change the unchanging sequence of previously recorded events, or things. But as things are not real, they can be altered unless there is the theme of eternal recurrence which suggests that they cannot be. If that is the case then it is the way in which these characters DEAL with what is happening to them that matters more than what is actually happening, if you get my drift. (I hope you do, cause I could just see Hurley saying "whoa,dude".

This show can precipitate a short stay in a sanitarium with Hurley if one is not careful.
5:43 PM

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KeepingAwake said...
Tony Forkush, I tried to email you, but couldn't find your addy.

Why are you here? All of a sudden? In unintelligible prose?

Are you a Lost fan, but having extreme difficulty in expressing your views? Or are you merely trying to drive traffic to your blog? I honestly cannot tell.
6:34 PM

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Hello Keeping Awake.

Very interesting comments.

My blog is dedicated to the Los Angeles Dodgers, so not seeking to redirect there.

This is my first blogging related to "Lost", so this may or may not be the appropriate blog site for my pontifications. I noticed The Lost Blog and am investigating further.

Thank you for your compliment regarding unintelligable prose. My Postmodern grandmentors would be delighted.

Seeking to come to terms with Lost rather than solve it.

Ta

Sunday, June 01, 2008

70 degrees and sunny.




I would rather not focus on the soft underbelly of Jonathan Broxton for a moment, and instead focus on a far more ominous and disconcerting perception. I use the word perception because memory is far more sustaining than numbers.

For as long as I can actually recall since 2000, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been a roughly .500 team that, on more occasions than not, have simply underachieved. The method of their mediocrity changes from season to season, but it is simply ubiquitous.

As I have said more than once, you could take every player from the world championship team of the prior year, trade them all to the Dodgers and they will end up being a .500 team, then go 0 and out in the post.

It doesn't matter who the owner is, what the GM does, who is managing and coaching, and of course who is ultimately playing on the field. .500 is the name of the game, baby. Remember Al Davis: "Just Win Baby!". The Dodgers motto is "Five Hundred Baby!". Or "we aren't as good as we think we are".

It boggles the mind, this extraordinary consistency in hitting the middling middle. It is what I like to call the thermostat of mediocrity. It regulates the Dodgers and if they get to far ahead of that location, then the team will compensate in any way they can to return to this safe and secure silly little place. Losing is really not what the Dodgers do. They win roughly half of their games, and lose the other half. They neither win NOR lose.

They IDLE.

There is some sense to this. Winning disturbs the "Fan Experience" (as I have mentioned time and again). It requires people to actually follow the game, hence not being automatized into consumerism. I find it rather hilarious that the rest of the baseball country wonders why the Dodger fans rarely vote for players in the All Star Game, unless prompted to by a major campaign from the front office. Get with it folks. The game of baseball is totally secondary to the Dodger organization. It is irrelevant whether they win or lose. What matters most of all is the perception of stability and the coffers swelling to gargantuan proportions so that Frank and Jamie can enjoy another Southern California hacienda.

Wake up LA.