Who Cares about Sawyer vs Kate vs Juliet?

Lately, I've been doing a lot of pondering over the other castaways of "Lost." Not the members of "the gang," but all the others who crashed along with "the gang." I guess it stems from the fact that this season's main plot line is having the Oceanic 6 get back to the island to supposedly "save their friends" and that makes me wonder if by friends they mean the remaining members of "the gang" who are stuck on the island or "the gang" and the remaining castaways too. I mean, it doesn't appear really that they're that friendly with the rest of the castaways as they never (or more like rarely) do anything with them, invite them to all of their Lost-style games, or even do much in the way of talking to them.

So what do those people do all day? Do they run the camp and do the cooking, be the worker bees as it were, or do they just hang out all day? Do they also see dead relatives or run into the smoke monster? Has anyone elso run into Jacob's cabin, stumbled upon another hatch, or mysteriously recovered from any life afflicting ailments? Considering that a lot of "the gang" has strange connections to each other, does this mean too that the other castaways also have strange connections to the gang or even other castaways?: And, if they have, have they told anyone else so that Jack & Locke consider their stories upon the island's myriad of mysteries or does nothing exciting to happen any of them? Or maybe they're like everyone else on the show, running into strange after strange thing and never actually telling anybody?

Which raises another question, how much do they know about what's going on? Does Jack tell them about all the mysterious hatches and the button and the Others and three toed statues or does everyone else just think they're just stuck on some mildly strange island that is altogether not that bad of a place to be stuck on what with an entire hatch full of food and showers? And if that's true, considering all the things that have happened to them, what must they be thinking? After all, they're just sitting their, lying on the beach, and all of a sudden they're traveling through time and are getting shot at by flaming arrows. There must have been many times in the past couple of months on the island where they've thought to themselves "what the fuck?"

But what if they do know something is strange about the island and some of the craziness involved? Are they then even at all pissed off that whenever something happens, Jack takes off with Kate or Locke or Sayid and nobody else? Do they ever get insulted, thinking basically that they're the uncool kids to the gang's cool kids? And do you think they're even at all a bit pissed that every once in awhile, when "the gang" does something, even worse things happen to them, not the least of which is traveling back and forth through time?

And finally, just how many of them are there? We know a couple of them have been killed and two got killed last week. After three years away from the island, Locke and Sawyer (yes, and Juliet) just might be the only people left and if so, is it really worth going back to? It's not like anybody liked Locke and Sawyer's kind of dick. Maybe they should start the show like they do on BSG and announce just how many people are left on the island, changing the number anytime somebody dies. And, of course, adding to the total everytime somebody mysteriously comes back from the dead. That way, maybe we'd care that not just members of "the gang" get off the island, but everyone else does too.

Today was the last day at my month long job that turned into a five month long job. I think I've written about this before but I hate the last day of work, especially at a place-- like this one-- which was a really nice place to work. There's all the awkwardness of saying goodbye to people you don't really know that well or don't really like. And even though everybody says "send me your information so we can keep in touch" nobody really does, especially considering I was there for only five months (my guess is that "give me your contact information" when you're leaving is an automatic think, like saying gezundheit when somebody sneezes). Then there's the inevitable dread that somebody has something big planned and you get dragged into a conference room and presented with a cake.

Oh yeah, then there's the fact I hate saying goodbye in general, especially when there's a bunch of coworkers I really, really liked.


Since I knew about a week ago that today was going to be my last day, there's all sorts of additional weirdness involved, like who knows and who doesn't and who should know and how much do I want people to know? And while I say I don't care that much and don't want to turn it into a big deal, by the time it comes close, I kinda wanted to have some sort of big deal made. It's like how people are with their birthday-- people say they don't care but the closer that day comes the more they do care and start getting pissed that they're not getting birthday greetings. So as the week progressed-- the day even-- I started to wonder, "hey, come nobody's saying anything? Where my peeps at?"

Well, the peeps came out and it was a rough hour or two with lots of sniffling and goodbyes and did I mention that it was one of the nicest places I've worked at?

Which brings us to today's topic, mainly the whole "to hug or not to hug" thing with women, especially women coworkers. Now, I've usually been kinda anti-hug, or more like too uptight to hug. Now, I've mellowed out enough that I do and will occasionally seek out a hug. But what about with coworkers because there were actually a couple of coworkers who I actually kinda wanted to hug because I adored both of them. But who initiates the hug? Me? Them? Is it weird since it's a work thing? And if I hug a few people, do I have to hug everyone, even the one's I don't feel connected enough to hug?

It's also a weird things with hugs because with guys, you can shake their hands and that's good enough but you don't really shake hands to say goodbye to a female. Instead, I guess, you hug but hugging is such a more intimate thing than shaking hands as body actually meets body. Of course, women are more intimate and emotional than guys are so that makes some sense, but still.

Then there's my (ex) boss who's female and I felt like I could have hugged her but I wasn't sure because I don't know if she's a hugger and so there was this weirdness when I said goodbye to her because I felt like I should have but, as a guy and as someone who was at one point a boss, should I initiate it or should she? I finally said goodbye to everyone but now I'm feeling guilty because, darnit, I kinda feel like I should have at least hugged somebody.

Oh well. Anyways, I'm really going to miss working there.

Earlier I posed the question-- who sucks more, Fall Out Boy or Nickleback. Since I'm still not sure what the answer is, I've decided to break it down.

Pro Fall Out Boy:
-witty lyrics (or so I've heard)
-effort put into being somewhat original and different
-band leader actually got MTV to allow him to start his own show on MTV for the express purposes of playing music videos
-somewhat politically active and vocally supported Obama
-named after character in the Simpsons

Con Fall Out Boy:
-Despite attempts to be original and unique, songs are not very good
-Do not, in any shape or form, rock
-At all
-Grew hair out and donned ironically cool facial hair in an attempt to look like they rocked only to see attempt make them look even less like they rock
-Band member impregnated Ashlee Simpson
-Occasionally mentioned in stories that include the words "Paris Hilton"
-named after character in the Simpsons and still suck

Pro Nickleback
-Do somewhat rock
-It's always good to have a solid, meat & potatoes rock band out there in the world
-Have not impregnated anyone in the Simpson's family
-Never mentioned in a story that includes the words "Paris Hilton"
-While fans include kids under the age of 18, their fan base doesn't only consist of kids under the age of 18
-Do not wear eyeliner
-From Canada. Like Rush!
-Had a video which featured important, politically correct slogans

Con Nickleback
-May indeed rock, but not by much
-While it's good to have at least one meat & potato rock band out there, it would help if they didn't sound like every other meat & potato rock band in the history of meat & potato rock bands
-Also features issues with facial hair
-From Canada. Like Celine Dion.
-Wrote a song called "Something in Your Mouth" which features these lyrics:
"got to meet the hottie with the million dollar body
they say it’s over budget but you’d pay her just to touch it come on
needs to hit the big screen and shoot a little love scene
if Hollywood had called her she’d be gone before you holler come on"
-Did we mention there's not one hint of originality? AT ALL

I have this fantasy where one of those douchey right-wing pundits lose their job and their life savings due to the very economic policies called for by their douchey right wing views. They will then have to go out and find a job whereupon they discover that there is not much need in the real world for douchey right-wing pundits. In order to survive, they will have to live on unemployment and take a series of demeaning and random service jobs to keep from running out of unemployment because their influential columns have made influential people in DC think that people don’t need unemployment for long periods of time. They will also find themselves losing their healthcare and having trouble getting coverage because all the heart disease incurred from all those free, lobby sponsored banquets made them too high of a health risk. They will then have to go into medicare but will have trouble with that because their influential columns have made influential people in DC think that the health care system doesn’t need to be fixed.

The children of said douchey right-wing pundit will have to be pulled out of whatever prestigious place of academia for which they attend for either a public school if school age or community college if college age as they will be unable to afford nothing else. Unfortunately for them, even their connections wouldn’t be able to get them into Ivy League Schools as they won’t be able to afford them and all of their influential columns have made influential people in DC think that giving money to anyone who wants to attend college is a waste of tax payer money. As they had said many times, all these sorts of problems could be solved just by simply handing out tax breaks.

They will finally retire somewhere in the mid-70’s after spending the last few years of their life as a WalMart greeter, a company for which they had defended many a time in many of their think pieces but were now paying them barely above minimum wage and refusing to give them health benefits. At one point, they were heard to mutter something about the need for unions or increased benefits for the working class, but nobody listened to them anymore as they were only the mutters of a crazy old coot.

Naturally, they will die bitter and alone, mourned by no one

I'm watching coverage of Bush's final farewell speech and somebody mentioned that both Biden and Clinton made their last vote as a Senator today because they're about to start their new jobs, it finally dawned on me--- dear God, this is really happening.

I mean, like, wow.

Oh, one more thing on economics-- like a lot of people, I'm not that excited about Obama's stimulus package. An attempt at bipartisanship is all nice and wonderful but now, more than ever, is the time where the initiative should be taken and we should say screw that and once and for all, take an aluminum baseball bat to Reaganesque conservative economic and social theory and smash it into little, tiny bits. And then bash on it some more so that it's nothing but teeny-tiny little bits and pieces, bits and pieces that will then be thrown into a huge bonfire so there's nothing left of it but one giant, pulverized ash heap. And what should we do with that ash heap? Put it one of those vases people put the ashes of their cremated relatives and throw it into the ocean and let the fish eat it.

This will all be done in an environmentally conscious way, of course.

Due to certain, errr, tolerance related stomach issues, I have discovered that my new favorite drink is a soy chai late, something that embarrasses me to no end as I don't think it gets anymore pretentiously California. And speaking of coffee, I was at Peet's this morning and noticed that most of the counter people were people my age or slightly older. I know there's plenty of economic stats out there but I think another leading indicator should be the amount of middle-management types in their 30's and 40's who are working at coffee shops. Same with, say, people in their in their 50's and 60's bagging groceries at Safeway (that's my big fear as my next career plan).

For that reason, I think that part of Obama's big stimulus package should be subsidizing coffee shops because us middle aged folks need somewhere to work when we all get laid off and better Peet's than say the Gap or temp assignments involving filing. There should be part of the plan, however, which dictates the kind of coffee shop one works based on their previous position. People who are just cogs in the great wheel of capitalism, the kind who go to work to support a house and kids and do nothing that harmless, can get their picks of coffee shops. Those who were high powered executives at financial institutions should be forced to work at coffee shops at places like those on 22nd & Guerrero, the kind that involves crappy hand-me down furniture, snotty clientele, and the possibility of being caught in a gang related shooting.

There was an all-hands meeting at work today and one of the benefits of being a contractor is I don't really have to go. I hate them anyways because it all basically comes out as "blah....blah...blahh....bs....bs....bs....blah....blah....blah." Then they will talk about how wonderful the company is doing and how well they're handling the economic downturn, and then a month later they will start laying people off. Hell, I've been in all-hands meeting in which they discussed how much money the department I was working in was bringing to the company (somewhere in the billions) and a bunch of people at the meeting had been laid off a few days before.

It is also true about these meetings that if the word "outsourcing" is mentioned and quickly denied, they will begin outsourcing within weeks.

But, of course, everyone who goes to the meetings laughs at all the jokes, cheers at all the applause lines, and pats the Powers that Be on their backs for doing such a great job at the meeting. This all-hands meeting, from where I was sitting, sounded more like a party then an actual "State of the Company" meeting. So either the people involved were really funny and the news really good, or everyone was trying their darndest to pretend that the jokes were really funny and the news really good. You wouldn't want some boss to look out into the audience and think to himself "Johnson's not laughing. That'll go on his report..."

Heading home from a friend's house, I was listening to sports talk radio and actually heard this from an ESPN "football analyst" concerning next week's Steelers/Chargers game: "Well, the big thing is that Roethlisberger is going to play. That should be a huge factor." Uhhh, really? So you really think that the fact that the star starting quarterback is going to play in a playoff game will be some sort of factor in that game? Good one. And way to take a stand there too.

Anyways, next week Fox has the great Giants/Eagles game, a game that represents everything good and right with football, as well as a Cardinals/Panthers that I don't think anybody thinks will be any good or of any interest to anyone. Still, this didn't stop the yucksters on Fox Football from talking about what an exciting weekend of football they have coming up. Now, I know people at the sports networks have to hype up a game in order to get people to watch it, but I don't even think they think the game is very exciting. Just once I'd like some announcer to say something like "well, we got one great game next week and one that's not so good. So, watch it if you want, but if you want to run errands next weekend, that would probably be a good time to do them. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact I'm getting paid for this, I think I'd go take the kids to see a movie. I hear 'Slumdog Millionaire' is pretty good."

It appears that the big name in rock is the band David Hinderback. Or something like that-- I've heard that they're all different artists but I can't seem to tell the difference between any of them. It's all the same to me-- plain ole meat & potatoes rock featuring power chords, growling vocals, and power ballads. Lots and lots of power ballads all featuring strings, guitar solos, power chords, and big choruses.

The thing I never get about all those types of songs featuring those type of artists is that sounding that generic appears to be the actual point. Nobody involved in the making of those songs ever stops to think that having the song sound like millions of other songs might not be such a good thing. Wouldn't it be better if, instead of saying "great song! But you know what'll make it better-- how about a guitar solo here that leads into just you strumming on an acoustic guitar and we'll throw in a swirling orchestral background over the chorus which you'll sing endlessly. Also, don't worry about vocals or even your guitar parts because we'll throw it all into ProTools and it'll fix everything" they said "great song, but let's ixnay the guitar solo and instead of straight power chords, we'll throw your guitar through about ten different effect boxes so that it'll sounds like a cat crying out loud after somebody stepped on it's tail and over all that, we'll loop in a sample of some Tuvan Throat Singing and I'm just going to close my eyes on the mixing board and spin the dials and however it comes out will be how we mix it. Oh, and as for your singing, let's record your vocals after you drink about six margaritas and smoke a half a pack of cloves and we'll record it on one try."

See, if they did it that way, I'd be totally into David Hinderback.