Lost, Season 5, Episode 3

“Jughead”

Daniel Faraday: He (and Charlotte and Miles) get captured by the militants, led by blond girl named Ellie (see Ellie and Ms Hawking below). She says to him, “You just couldn’t stay away, could you?” implying that these forces have dealt with Daniel before. She also blames Daniel’s “people” for planting the land mines, so it’s obvious that the forces (Others?) believe that he is with the hostiles. Something happened to him at Oxford because Desmond can find no records of a Daniel Faraday at the university. Does this have something to do with the girl in the hospital…did she take part in one of his time-travel experiments and was affected by the test? For Charlotte, Daniel confesses his love for her while convincing Richard Alpert that he needs to take care of the hydrogen bomb’s leak (in 1954).

Ellie: When she asks Daniel how he knows that burying the hydrogen bomb will work at covering up the leak, he tells her that in 50 years, the Island is still there.

Teresa Spencer: Girl who is in some sort of condition…awake but unaware. Something happened to her during one of Daniel’s experiments...maybe he unstuck her consciousness during an experiment? Her sister says she’s sometimes “away”, and then she’s talking and asking for her dolly, or talking to her dad (who’s been dead 5 years.) This sister, Amanda, says it’s a blessing that Charles Widmore is paying for her care. This catches Des off-guard.

Miles: While being led through forest, has intuition that they walked over a grave site containing 4 US soldiers. One died of radiation poison, he says.

Charlotte: Could she be suffering from radiation poisoning from the leaking hydrogen bomb? Whatever she has, she’s in a bad way: nosebleeds, memory loss, collapsing unconscious.

Locke: The time is 1954. Tells Richard that Jacob sent him. Smart man, that John Locke. He shows compass to Richard, but Richard isn’t aware about the compass because for Richard that time with John hasn’t happened yet (his meeting John in the original timeline.) But Richard doesn’t believe him, so Locke gives his birth-date and birth place and tells Richard to go see him in two years when he's born. Is it Locke’s visit to 1954 during the time-hopping that actually inserts him into Jacob’s sights as a future leader for whatever is happening there?

Desmond: In England looking for Daniel’s mom at Oxford U. He’s having a hard time convincing Penny of how he has the memory of Daniel knocking on the hatch door. When she asks him to promise to never go back to the Island, he says “Why in God’s name would I want to go back there?” We’ll find out soon enough. Des finds all of the equipment Daniel used in his abandoned lab at Oxford, including the maze that he used when training his rat, named Eloise. Desmond goes to see Charles Widmore in order to find out where Daniel’s mother is and learns that she is in LA. (The woman that Ben went to see in the lab under the church in Episode 2 The Lie?)

Richard Alpert: When Richard tested Locke as a child, Locke did not pick the compass. In this episode, Locke gives the compass to him, telling him to give it to him later. Richard, in testing Locke as a child, must’ve been checking to see if Locke was time-hopping as a child (he wasn’t). Richard is in charge of the Others back in 1954. He also believes Daniel to be part of the hostiles, asking him if he’s come back for his bomb.

Juliet: Knew that Richard Alpert was on the Island during their 1954 time-hop. How?

Charles Widmore: As has been implied in the last couple of seasons, that Charles Widmore was on the Island before (an Other), is confirmed in this episode in wicked awesome style (even though the military jumpsuit he’s wearing has the name Jones on it). It would seem that the rivalry between Ben and Charles did indeed begin on the Island. Was Widmore Richard’s 2nd in command until Ben came along? What made Widmore leave the Island, and why can’t he go back now? (He must’ve moved the Island at some point in the same way that Ben did.) We also learn that Widmore was funding Daniel’s time-travel experiments in later years.

Ms Hawking: Eloise Hawking. Eloise can be shortened to “Ellie”. Ellie is the name of the blond girl in 1954's timeline that is with Richard’s group and led Daniel to the bomb. If Eloise does turn out to be Daniel’s mom, it would appear that Daniel knew he’d be seeing her during these time-hops.

Jughead: The name of the hydrogen bomb, also the name of the episode. When Daniel finds the leak in it, he says it needs to be buried under lots of concrete and/or lead. Remember that the Swan Station had a very thick concrete wall that was hiding something, causing Sayid to comment that he hadn’t seen so much concrete since Chernobyl. Was the bomb buried there?

Double-take:
--Forces speaking Latin. Juliet knows Latin.
--Eloise Hawking (Daniel’s Mom?). Ellie (which could be short for Eloise) is the blond girl. Eloise was also the name of Daniel’s rat in the maze. Coincidence?
--Penny and Desmond name their son Charlie. Which at first seems like a nod to Charlie Pace, but don’t forget that Charlie is from the name Charles…as in Widmore.

Questions Answered:
--Charles Widmore was part of Richard Alpert’s group on the Island.
--Richard Alpert visited Locke in the hospital when he was born because Locke had told him about his birth-date and birth place during the time-hop to 1954.

Questions:
--Is the girl in the hospital the step in Daniel’s time-travel experiments where he learned that each person has to have a constant to come back? Is she also the girl in the picture with Daniel that Desmond found in Daniel’s lab?
--Any chance that Penny and Charlotte are sisters?
--The janitor says that he heard that Daniel Faraday was trying to send “rats brains back in time”. Why only the brains? Was he trying to send the consciousness back in time to a previous time in the rat’s life? Meaning, was the experiment intended to eventually lead to the sending of a person's older and wiser consciousness back to a point in time when they were younger, thus giving them the advantage of fore-knowledge of the Island, it's mysteries and things to come?
--Who is Jacob? Is it Jack? John Locke?
--How old is Richard Alpert?
--Will we learn when the Black Rock and/or Danielle Rousseau’s ship landed on the Island? Those would be great back-stories.
--Is Locke’s temporary paralysis he suffered in Season 1 when he and Boone were at the drug-plane tied in with his being shot by Ethan in last week’s episode? Somehow the results of the being shot may have carried over when the Island was time-hopping. (Hat-tip, Jenn)
--Where the hell is Claire in all of this?

Tune in next week for “The Little Prince” (episode 4 of Season 5).

Until then, stay away from bombs leaking radiation.

Wednesday’s Word

Word: Yow-uns (N.)
Definition: young ones

Usage:
“My granddaughter Lisa asked her mother to buy her some overalls for her first day of school.”
“Ayuh, thay’s no accounting for what yow-uns want to wear nowadays.”

(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

WZON Hot Stove Night

January 26, 2009

This is the sixth year that WZON has hosted its Hot Stove Night event. While this was only my second time to go (last year being the first), I can say that this year’s was just as good as last years. It’s hard for me to pick one over the other as far as one being better.

This year’s event, held last night (Monday), saw the return of the two men who were last years guests: Joe Castiglione (on his sixth visit), and Gordon Edes (on his third). And joining them for his first experience with this great event was Don Orsillo, the NESN Red Sox announcer.

For nearly 120 minutes these three guys gave us insight into the Red Sox’s off-season, trades that have occurred, where they see the Red Sox going in the 2009 season, and also some personal stories which were very funny.

A special guest this year was Bangor-resident and current Philadelphia Phillie Matt Stairs. Matt was crucial in the Phillies run to the World Series, where they won by beating the Tampa Bay Rays. Matt was there to receive an award he got as Sports Story of the year, voted on by WZON listeners and Bangor Daily News readers (his two run homer against the Dodgers in the NLCS). He seemed very humbled by the honor and in receiving the award. The crowd, despite being a Red Sox crowd, gave him a standing ovation and cheered loudly when he took the stage to receive the award from Dale Duff, the PD of WZON. And even better, Matt was sitting RIGHT BEHIND ME! That’s right Philly fans…your player was at a Red Sox meeting, and I think he loved it. (Matt coaches the local John Bapst hockey team during the off-season when he is living back in Bangor.) Did you know that Matt has hit over 10 home runs a year for his past 13 seasons?

Matt Stairs (Philadelphia Phillies) and Dale Duff (WZON)

Don offered a funny story of when he was 21 and broadcasting AHL games, as the “rookie” who was announcing for former NHL players, he told of a time when his luggage somehow disappeared on a trip to the Eastern Canadian coast for a string of games, but the players were showing up on the bus wearing his shirts. They had kidnapped his luggage and were wearing his clothes!

As questions were put forth, they each offered their own take on the question, but I found it most interesting (and awesome) to hear Gordon say that he fully wants to Jason Veritek back with the Red Sox next year. Tek has been getting a lot of negative press, mostly to do with the decrease in his offense this past year, but for a catcher to try to come into the Sox and work with these pitchers…there’s no one better suited than Jason Veritek. Joe and Don both agreed with Gordon that Tek needs to be here at least one more year. Take that, Tek-haters. (Did you know that only one catcher in MLB history has caught 4 no-hitters? Any idea who that is? If you said VERITEK you’d be right.)

(left to right): Gordon Edes, Joe Castiglione and Don Orsillo at WZON Hot Stove Night

Joe again, like last year, offered his take on baseball happenings with the Red Sox is his light, breezy way. He noted that he left 80degree, sunny Florida to come up to this event (it was near 10 degrees last night), asking, “Can you believe it?”

Sponsors of the event had games to play (tossing ball through a hole to get into a drawing for a $100 bill); raffle for Portland SeaDogs tickets; raffles for Red Sox tickets; and one sponsor even had lobstah rolls and clam chowdah for us.

At the close of the event, everyone sticks around not only for the autograph session, but also because WZON raffles off the three recliners/chairs that Joe, Gordon and Don sat in, as well as Red Sox tickets, photo-mints (I won the Red Sox Opening Day 2008 photo-mint – when the Sox got their rings for the 2007 World Series) and other items.

WZON Staff included: Dale Duff, Clem Labree, Jeff Solari, Pat Spekhardt, Bobby Russell, Sales Goddess Carrie, Lost-fan Jen, Big Bill, and Kenny V, to name a few.

All in all, another great Hot Stove Night put on by WZON, their staff and the sponsors. Thanks to Joe, Gordon and Don for making this trip, a trip that both Gordon and Joe say they love to come up for because they know the reaches of Red Sox Nation stretch quite a ways above Boston.

(left to right): Don Orsillo, Gordon Edes, Joe Castiglione at WZON Hot Stove Night

Looking forward to having them all (?) back next year. And, hoping I win tickets again…

Monday Morning Chuckle

Ummmm...is this softball team sponsored by the catholic church? I don't advise signing your kids up for this league...even if it is the Final Registration.

Lost, Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2

“Because You Left” and “The Lie”

Well, the producers were right when they said that things would be coming at a quicker pace now that the show has been given an end-date of next year. And Season 5 began with the first two episodes and they rocked.

My wrap-up is going to combine the two episodes. And away we go.

Loved how the show opened up, with the flip-clock changing from 8:14 (two of the numbers) to reflect the Oceanic flight…..8:15 (and of course 15 is also one of the numbers). Nice touch.

Marvin Candle: We already knew he was on the Island, but this shows he’s deeply involved with the study of the Island’s features. With him waking up and putting a record on for his crying baby to hear, we learn that he had a family on the Island. In the orientation video for the Arrow Station, he refers to it as a defensive strategies station. He’s later referred to as “Dr Chang”, so this is likely his real name.

The Island: The Island is in a state of time-flux, unable to anchor itself to a specific time since Ben did the whole “we have to move the Island” thingy. Could be that the Island also needs a Constant, and maybe that Constant (Locke? Ben? Jack?) isn’t on it anymore, so the fluxing is happening as it tries to get stable. As the Island is time-hopping, it goes from current time, to past time, and possibly future time. Maybe the return of the Oceanic 6 (O6) will make it stable again, but in what timeline?

Daniel Faraday: Hello! On the Island when it’s discovered that there is a “chamber” behind a wall while working on the Orchid Hatch, the chamber that houses the Island-moving-wheel (“…that will help us control time”, says Candle/Chang). When Daniel shows up during this past-time situation, it’s likely he goes there at some point that we haven’t been shown yet as the Island is time-hopping. During the time-hopping, and after telling Sawyer that nothing in the past can be changed, he gets Desmond out of the Swan Hatch and tells him that when he remembers this, he’ll need to go to Oxford and find his mother, and her name is…..?

Charlotte: Doesn’t do much in these episodes, but the fact that she’s forgetting things (her Mother’s maiden name) and also has the nosebleed could be happening because being from the Island originally (as she implied last season but has not yet been shown to us) she could be experiencing unique symptoms of the time-hopping. It’s doubtful, and sad, that she won’t be around too much longer. The relationship between her and Daniel is growing nicely. Maybe she has the sickness that Aaron was receiving the vaccinations for after he was born (that Charlie gave to Claire from the parachute-supply drop.) Maybe it’s the sickness that Rousseau said wiped out her crew.

Jack: According to Ben, it’s “because you left (the Island), Jack” that all of these things keep happening to the O6. As he begins to realize it’s fruitless to fight the fact that he (and the other 5) have to go back, he begins to work with Ben to make this happen. Gone is the ugly-ass beard, gone are the pills (thanks, Ben), and gone is the notion that he can continue to fight it. When Ben asks Jack “did he (Locke) tell you what happened to them after you left the Island” and Jack says “no”, we learn that at some point while off the Island and before he died, Locke must’ve contacted Jack. When? I guess we’ll find out at some point in the future….when we time-hop to that episode. ;-)

Locke: aka Jeremy Bentham. Locke’s role in the whole Lost story is still being defined, but it’s obvious that he (along with Desmond and likely Daniel) is the key to the resolution of whatever is happening on the Island. It’s interesting that he has to die in order to “save the Island” and bring the O6 back to it. (nice allegory: Locke, the savior, will probably have to ‘rise’ from the dead at some point, as in the christian mythology, which permeates this series). The big piece of the puzzle will be getting Locke’s body back to the Island now that Ben has body-snatched it from Hoffs/Drawler Funeral Home.

Kate: After being visited by lawyers (from Agostini and Norton) who want blood samples from her and Aaron to determine if she really is his mother, she goes on the run (the story of her life, eh?). At that point, she gets a call from Sun, who just happens to be in LA (to see Widmore, perhaps?) and would like to see Kate and Aaron, and that leads to….

Sun: It shouldn’t come as any surprise to us viewers that Sun continues to be a manipulative, lying, deceitful be-yotch. She is not a nice person and hasn’t been at all throughout the series. She definitely takes after her Dad. But she’s so good at being evil! She is likely the one who sent the lawyers to Kate’s (or was it Ben?) to get blood samples from her and Aaron. And the fact that she reminds Kate that Kate was the one who said “I’ll go back and get Jin (on the freighter)” but wasn’t able to save Jin shows that Sun is just a nasty person. And yes, Sun, you do hold it against Kate. We still need to find out who Sun holds responsible for her husband's “death” (side note: Jin is not dead): likely Ben and Jack. If it is Jack, Sun is definitely using Kate to get close to Jack (“by the way, how is Jack?” she says with a side of sarcasm). She is likely working with Charles Widmore now too, but we don’t know if it’s a mutual relationship, or if Sun is just using him to like she does everyone else.

Hurley: The moral conscience of the show is not cool with the whole “we have to lie” thing. This continues to eat away at him and is affecting how he is handling things. “We never should’ve left the Island!” he says to Sayid. Despite Ana Lucia’s ghost telling him “do not get arrested” he goes and turns himself into the police (to get away from Ben) saying it was he (not Sayid) who “killed those four guys…or three guys, however many. I did it”. Now, in Hurley’s defense to disobeying Ana Lucia’s order to not get arrested, Hurley had also been told by Sayid to “do the opposite” of anything Ben told him to do. So, when Ben said “you have to go back to the Island”, Hurley did the opposite. The “I (heart) My Shih-Tzu” t-shirt was hilarious! Too bad his luck continues to be bad.

Sayid: Spends most of both episodes knocked out from the drug-darts. What an acting job, eh? Prior to being incapacitated, however, he does have a couple of good fight scenes, and killing the guy by throwing him down on the dishwasher door where the knives were sticking up…well, that had to hurt.

Desmond: Wakes with Penny after having the dream of Daniel telling him to go Oxford to find Daniel’s mother. He is special, according to Daniel, and the “rules don’t apply to you”. What rules? The rules of time-travel? The rules of being unstuck in time (maybe Desmond can change events)? In any event, Desmond is, in my opinion, the most important piece to this puzzle of Lost….brotha. He is Daniel’s constant (which might imply that Daniel is unstuck in time) in the same way that Penny was/is Desmond’s constant.

Richard Alpert: What time is this guy from? Can’t tell what his age is since he doesn’t age. Is he from the Black Rock days? Is he one of the Island’s original inhabitants? Is he Charlotte’s father (okay, I’m just throwing that out there cuz it popped into my mind as I was writing this)? Maybe he’s Locke’s father? He is definitely watching over Locke: he first visited Locke in the hospital (1956) when he was born prematurely. Then he visits him again when Locke is about 5 and asked him to choose from items that he thought were already his (including a compass, vial of sand). He came to Locke (via Locke’s science teacher) again when Locke was in high school inviting him to attend the special science camp being sponsored by Mittelos Labs, which Locke turned down. Now, after Locke was shot by Ethan, Richard knew exactly where to find him to remove the bullet, and again gives Locke a compass. Is the compass going to be Locke’s constant?

Charles Widmore: Pulls Sun aside at the airport and demands she respect him. He asks her what she thinks they have in common, to which Sun replies, “To kill Ben Linus”.

Ms Hawking: The lady who Ben goes to see who is working on a math computation as a pendulum swings, placing sand-lines on the floor in a hatch below a church. This is the lady that Desmond met in the pawn shop while looking for a ring for Penny (“Flashes Before Your Eyes”). What the hell does she have to do with all of this? Maybe she can track the Island while it’s unstuck…

Claire: Where are you??

Other Losties seen in the episode:
--Rose and Bernard
--Frank Lipidus
--Vincent

Time-Hopping:
1. Locke witnessing the Nigerian plane crash that we learned from Season 2 had Eko’s brother (Yemi) in it.
2. Ethan Rom meeting Locke before they actually knew each other and Locke telling Ethan that Ben will be making Ben the leader. Ethan of course doesn’t believe him.
3. Beach Losties learning that their camp is not on the beach because, as Daniel tells them, it hasn’t been built yet.
4. The Swan Hatch restored during another jump (when Daniel talks to Desmond).
5. Beach Losties being attacked with flaming arrows. Who shoots arrows anymore? Perhaps people who could’ve been on the Black Rock?

Funny Lines:
--Hurley to Sayid: “Maybe if you ate more comfort food you wouldn’t have to go around shooting people”
--Ana Lucia (the ghost) to Hurley: “Oh yeah, and Libby says hi.”
--Hurley to his Mom in reference to Sayid: “He also has this double-life where he does crazy ninja moves and spy stuff.”
--Hurley to his Mom: “…and there was a button we had to push every 108 minutes or…well, I was never really clear on that.” (Nice nod to the viewers who are all wondering why also)
--Hurley: “I need a cool code name.”
--Richard to Ben after Locke asked what the compass does: “It points North, John.”

Music:
--Willie Nelson “Shotgun Willie” (record that Marvin Candle/Chang put on for his baby)
--Cheap Trick “Dream Police” (playing in store that Hurley bought his Shih-Tzu t-shirt)

Double-take:
--Both Marvin Candle/Chang and Ms Hawking saying “Then God help us all”. Kind of tacky.
--At the airport, Flight 23 (one of the numbers) was boarding at Gate 15 (one of the numbers)
--Record skipping in Candle/Chang’s house at the start of the show, and Daniel later says that “whatever Ben did it dislodged us, kind of like a record skipping.”
--Hurley’s Dad was watching Expose on the TV, but I assume that Nikki’s character has been replaced. Razzle Dazzle!

Questions Answered:
1. The Orchid Station was built to harness the power of the Island.
2. Locke has to die to save the Island and bring the O6 back.
3. The Island, after disappearing, is time-hopping and has yet to anchor itself back in a stable timeline.

Questions:
1. Was seeing Marvin Candle/Dr Chang’s baby significant? Who does this baby grow up to be? Miles Straum, perhaps? Yeah yeah…different last names and all, but…
2. Remember when the Losties always heard the whispers coming from the forest? Could the whispers be their own voices as they have been time-hopping forward in time and backwards in time?
3. Why would Sun show the picture of Ji Yeon and say “I’d like to see her and Aaron playing together one day?” Aaron and Ji Yeon would not be that far apart in age. Sun is a liar, but might get her wish if Ji Yeon somehow goes back to the Island with everyone. Of course, they’ll be playing together on the foot of the 4-toed statue…
4. After the flaming arrow attack, who were the guys with the guns that got Sawyer and Juliet? There uniforms have not been seen yet in this series. Is there another group on the Island or is this a sign that it landed in another past time when there were different inhabitants? (If the Losties landed back in the 80s before The Others wipe out Dharma, then both groups wouldn't know who they were and would attack them, it seems.)
5. Who is Jill, the lady working in the butcher shop that Ben goes to see and agrees to put Locke’s body in the cooler for holding? And who are Gabrielle and Jeffrey (Ben asks if they’ve arrived yet)?
6. Ms Hawking tells Ben he has 70 hours left. Left to do what? Get back to the Island?
7. Is possible that Ms Hawking is Daniel’s Mom? I know I know…Daniel told Des to go to Oxford (England) to find her and I assume that since Ben is in LA to get the O6 together that he also went to see Ms Hawking in LA. Well, LA is not Oxford, England. BUT, she is doing math calculations…
8. The bodies that were found in the caves in Season One….are they the bodies of Losties that we know?
9. With the Island time-hopping, will we see: Rousseau? Alex? Charlie? Eko? Boone? Shannon? Nikki & Paolo (hope not)?
10. Will Hurley REALLY pay back the money he took from Sayid’s wallet to buy his t-shirt? ;-)

Whew. I think I have carpel tunnel syndrome.

Tune in next week for “Jughead” (episode 3 of Season 5).

Until then, watch out for flying, flaming arrows.

Wednesday’s Word

Word: Able (Adj.)
Definition: physically strong

Usage:
“Dwight heisted that piano up them stairs most all by himself.”
“Heard tell. Said he didn’t mind the other fellas getting a free ride, but he wished they wouldn’t drag their feet.”
“He was just kidding them. But he’s able, Dwight is.”
“Ayuh.”

(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Did You Know Tuesday

Did you know that it’s awesome to know that after 8 years of absolute failure by the Bush administration to have the glimmer of light and hope with the incoming President Obama and his new administration? The fact that this great country again has the opportunity to show the world that we are a decent people and not the absolute morons that the previous administration has made us out to be?

A partial list of the Bush administrations' massive failures:
1. He took over the government in 2000 with a nearly $230 billion dollar surplus. He has left over $4trillion in debt. (and yet the republicant party accuses the Democrats of doing nothing but spending money).
2. Left the US with the worst recession since World War II.
3. Left the US with the worst unemployment in over 30 years (over 7.5 percent).
4. Left the GDP down.
5. Attacked a country that never attacked us AND was never a threat to the US (and lied to the American people and the World about the reasons for occupying Iraq).
6. Presided over the worst terrorist attack in US history in 2001 (after ignoring warnings passed to his administration from the outgoing Clinton administration that there was a lot of chatter about terrorists planning an attack on the US with an airplane).
7. Presided over the worst crash of Wall Street since the Great Depression of the 20s.
8. Completely failed with his handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster (“That’s good work you’re doing, Brownie.”)
9. Violated the Geneva Convention by allowing torture of prisoners.

10. Allowed for the wiretapping of American's even when they were not being accused of any crimes.

11. And let's not forget the whole debacle of his nominating Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court.

12. He stood by Karl Rove despite Rove being implicated in the leak of a covert CIA agent's identity.

This list goes on and on and on. The only good thing to come of all of this is that it will not take history long to determine that George W. Bush was, without a doubt, the worst president to ever be elected in the United States. Shame on the Supreme Court for putting him into power back in 2000, and shame on the Americans who voted for him when his record was as bad as it was.

President Obama…it is with GREAT appreciation and relief we welcome you as President of the United States today. You have a huge pile of shite left for you by the outgoing (mis)administration, but it is your hope and determination that fills the majority of this country with the optomism that you will help us dig out of the hole left for us by the Bush/Rove/Cheney/Rumsfeld reign of terror and lies and abject failures.

Today, Tuesday, January 20, 2009, is a great day.

Monday Morning Chuckle

-23F

On Friday, it was -23F overnight here in Orono, Maine. Upon sunrise, the temperature s...l...o...w...l...y started to go up, eventually reaching the amazing high temperature of.....7F! Yes, high temperature for the day reached a whopping 7 degrees by 1pm.

Many of you (who don't live in he midwest) might be wondering...."Hmmm....I wonder what -23F looks like?" Well, wonder no more. I took a picture of it. It looks like this:

Can't you just feel the cold seeping into your bones??

Saturday Morning Shows That I Miss

Wednesday's Word

Word: Skinboat (N.)
Definition: a Windjammer cruise craft

The etymology derives from either the amount of overt epidermis on deck or the covert activities below.

(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Did You Know Tuesday

Did you know that the youngest player ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is Boston Bruins great Bobby Orr at the age of 31? The 3-year waiting period for nomination was dropped when Orr was forced to retire (as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks) in 1979 because of continuing knee problems that plagued him his entire career.

Despite the bad knees, Orr’s amazing abilities and skill have made him one of the greatest hockey players of all time, and that’s not just blowing smoke. Check out these amazing stats:

--won 2 Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins (1970 and 1972)
--is the only hockey player to ever win the Norris Trophy (top defenseman), Art Ross Trophy (points), Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP for a team), and Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup MVP) in one season (1970)
--won Norris Trophy additionally in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975
--won Art Ross Trophy additionally in the 1974-75 season in which he became the ONLY defenseman to EVER lead the league in scoring
--won the Hart Trophy additionally in 1971 and 1972
--won the Conn Smythe Trophy again in 1972, becoming the first NHL player to win this award twice
--first defenseman to score 40 goals in a season (1974-75)
--the highest +/- (+124) in one season ever in the NHL (1970-71)

Upon his retirement, Gordie Howe said, ""Losing Bobby was the greatest blow the National Hockey League has ever suffered."

Orr played for the Bruins from 1966 – 1976 before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that has since been exposed as fraudulent due to lies and deceit of his then agent, lawyer Alan Eagleson who was buddies with the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks. However, because of his ongoing knee problems, Orr was only able to play 26 games with the Blackhawks over his three years there. He never cashed any of his paychecks from the Blackhawks because he said he was paid to play hockey, and if he couldn’t play, then he wouldn’t take the money from them. What an amazing guy, athlete and person.

You can have your Wayne Gretzkys, Guy Lafleurs, Rocket Richards, Mike Bossys, Mario Lemieuxs….all great hockey players without a doubt. But for me, the greatest hockey player of all time was Bobby Orr, who resides in the Boston area and is a player agent for the great Boston Bruins.

Bobby's number 4 was retired by the Boston Bruins and raised to the rafters of Boston Garden in 1979.

Orr will be 61 on March 20th of this year.

Monday Morning Chuckle

Saturday Morning Shows That I Miss

Who would've thought that Olympics between cartoon characters would be so awesome??

New Years Eve...Redeux

We all know that Times Square, on New Years Eve, is a mass of bodies all standing around (drunk) waiting for midnight so they can not only welcome in the new year, but they also get to watch the gigantic ball (made of crystal and lights) - which likely costs thousands and thousands of dollars to maintain and operate - drop to signify the changing of the years.

Seeing as how NYC isn't close to us up here in Eastern Maine (and quite frankly, we find nothing fun about being crammed with a couple of million people on a street in New York), we have our own ball drop.

Say what you will....it might be cold up here on New Years Eve, but we still have fun without taking ourselves, or the overrated New Years Eve celebration, too seriously.

Wednesday's Word

Word: Quee-uh (Adj.)
Definition: tetched, balmy, not quite right in the head, queer

For example, “woods quee-uh” is said of someone who has spent too much time in the woods without human companionship.

(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

WZON Hot Stove Night....The Buildup

It's that time of year when Bangor's sports leader in radio, WZON, begins the hype for their upcoming 6th Annual Hot Stove Night. You may remember my post about it last year. It's a time to talk about the Boston Red Sox with people who know the team and players far better than any of the fans.

This year will see the return of Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione and former Boston Globe writer Gordon Eades, now with Yahoo Sports, as the special guests. Joining them this year will also be Don Orsillo, Red Sox announcer on NESN. That is a wicked awesome line-up.

There will be the return of tons of free food at the event, free drinks (non alcohol), and a whole lot of giveaways....from leather recliners to Red Sox tickets to ice fishing gear and MORE!!

The only way to get a pair of tickets to this event, of which there are only 500 tickets available, is to be the correct caller when you hear WZON play the special sounder/jingle. Last year was the first year I had the opportunity to attend, and I won tickets pretty early in their giveaway. This year they just started to give the tickets away for this January 26, 2009 event yesterday. And I'm happy to report that yours truly, TFKoP, scored his pair of tickets last night! YEAH BABY! Can't wait.....


The only bummer is that there will be one thing that won't be accompanying them this year that did last year....the World Series Trophy. Unless Bangor, ME resident and Philadelphia Philly Matt Stairs comes to the event and brings it with him.

Happy New Year!

Have a great 2009 everybody. This year starts to get better by one million on January 20, 2009, the day that George Bush is finally out of office after 8 of the worst years in American history.

It is important, however, to acknowledge the one successful thing that Bush did while in office. He did something that I, quite honestly, never thought any US president could do, and that's make Richard Nixon look like the a great president.