Letters to the Editor
Earnest
Published Letters: 4
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Lost - the second coming of Oz?
[Read the article: Tease me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Am I the only one who sees similarities between the storytelling in Lost and HBO's series Oz?
Oz was the first show I had seen with this bite-by-bite narrative, which used short scenes, each advancing the plot or illuminating a character, strung together in a fast pace that left me and my group of friends on the edges of our seats for the entire show. I used to say that Oz was like a soap opera for guys.
I see the same pacing in Lost, and the mysteries and answers remind me of the foreshadowing in Oz. Sometimes, the writers would foreshadow a major conflict, other times, what they foreshadowed never came into play. Each scene, however, typically stood on its own, and also shed a little more light into what was going to happen, who did what, or why a character behaved as they did.
My friends and I really appreciated this organic style; you never know what is going to happen. In Oz, when a character was introduced you never knew if they would be killed off in the same episode, kept around for a subplot spanning two or three episodes, or possibly even kept on-board to become a major player in the series.
Lost does not impose the same short life expectancy Oz did on its characters, but it really feels similar to me. And I have to say, I love it!
To respond to some other letters here, it does seem as if the writers are "making it up as they go along," but the show (like Oz) is extremely watchable the entire way, and engrosses viewers with similarly complex characters. Frankly, I am very impressed that ABC has managed to keep Lost coherent. I doubted that they would be able to tie all the loose ends together in a meaningful way.
So, I guess I am willing to sacrifice a little bit of continuity (and realism?) for the entertainment value of being strung along. This is the aesthetic of Lost, and while a detail here or there may not match up (although I must confess I have not caught many of these myself), the show is intelligent and entertaining, and once you have been indoctrinated by the history and characters, quite rewarding.
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America the Codependent
[Read the article: When Democrats collapse]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How do we deal with the Democrats? Should we feel sorry for them, or blame them for not fixing the situation?
Well, let's see. When a woman chooses to stay with her drunk-ass husband who beats her, what do we say?
So, the Democrats are like the country girl who married the football player-turned-car salesman: they've been beaten so many times, perhaps they've just grown used to it. They could walk away from the table at any time, but will they? Of course not! "It just wouldn't be right!"
The Republicants are like the husband: belligerent, drunk, and behind the wheel. They'll beat the Dems for walking away, for staying there, for speaking up, or for staying quiet. They have a big old fist - you know him as Rupert Murdoch - and have a real problem with being told what to do.
Now, the Republicants wrecked the family car and got a DUI in 2006, and the Dems feel emboldened. "You need to stop drinking and driving! You already wrecked our car, and now we're borrowing this one from China!"
"Shut up, b*tch! I didn't wreck the car - it's fine! Now YOU'RE going to make me wreck if you don't shut up! You *always* try to kill me - you just hate me and want to destroy our whole family! You hate Jesus, and our country, too! NOW GIVE ME MY BEER!"
This is where any sane observer hopes the wife will call the husband on his bullsh*t. And like every weak-willed, codependent wife before, the Dems cave - too afraid to stick up for the family, too afraid to leave, too blinded by fear to even see their options.
"No, YOU wrecked the car!" (Dems hand George back his beer and turn around quickly to pout and feel sorry for themselves).
Now will the wife eventually get pissed off, report the husband for his crimes and divorce him? Surely she knows all of her neighbours will cheer her on...
The answer?
Only when she hits rock bottom.
Good luck America..
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Genie? Try putting the alcohol back in the bottle
[Read the article: Maybe he really is "the commander guy"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... Cause this guy is a dry drunk.
You really think he drove his daughters drunk until he was 40, and then magically transformed through the grace of God?
He is delusional, a megalomaniac, and a criminal.
And, he has made it clear that his "exit strategy" from the presidency is to postpone all failure until the next president!
Just wait for the Rebublicant noise machine; once our new DEMOCRATIC president is elected, they'll wait maybe a couple weeks before declaring every problem in Iraq to be the Dem's fault.
And he'll get away with it, too! I just can't wait for him to drink himself into the grave.