The Lost/Dixie/Rainbow Connection

Tonight is the airing of the second to last episode of Lost. It answered some questions (more so than most of the episodes so far) and, I think, did a decent job setting the stage for the series finale this Sunday. Although I'm not a Lost fanatic, I do have some theories that I wonder about for the finale and will try to be concise in explaining. I believe that Jacob and the Man in Black are, in addition to being a "good and evil" pairing, that they reflect both the obsessions with human nature (MIB) and the innate goodness of humans (Jacob). Also, I believe that Kate is going to play an integral role and end up being the "protector" of the island in the end. All of the survivors ended up on the island by accident, so why can't the protector of the island become the protector by accident? Additionally, out of the "flash sideways" sequences, Kate has the least to live for off the island than the other candidates, so it would makes sense that she would rather be somewhere she belongs rather than a pursued criminal off island. In the present time, she took care of Aaron after leaving the island, but without him, there's no reason to go back. That's the end of my Lost rant. I just wanted to write all this down before the finale airs. I'm sure I'm completely wrong on all counts, but at least this show is getting wrapped up before it gets even more complicated (if that's possible).

In random news, I made my first phone call to Indonesia to my friend Diana today. Talk about crazy. I joked with her that 20 years ago it would be much more difficult to even think about making a phone call that far away. It cost me less than $2 to talk with her on her cell phone for 10 minutes. With email, skype, and other technological advances, it makes it feel like she isn't that far away since I can just call her up on my computer (well it's a little more complicated than that, but still, this technology stuff is really great).

The last Netflix documentary I watched was "Shut Up and Sing" about the Dixie Chicks. This documentary follows the group from the time of the start of the scandal to the tour and album afterward. I think the whole debate brings up a great argument of freedom of speech in that an offhand comment at a concert can cause a culture (country music) to boycott and turn their backs on one of their beloved groups at the time. Regardless of how you view the original comment, the media circus that followed and blew things out of proportion threatened to ruin the careers of these women. The comment had happened on their world tour, so it took a while for the group to perform in the United States due to the international tour schedule. Despite their worries, the first concert was greeted with cheers and applause by the audience while a group of protesters practiced their right to free speech outside. Instead of ruining their careers, they come back with a Grammy award winning song and album. The scrutiny surrounding this album put a lot of pressure for them to even decide what kind of music they wanted to pursue. One of the parts in the documentaries describes a death threat Natalie Maines had in Dallas and how they still went on with the show despite the risk. Interesting documentary.

Here's one of my favorite songs from them that is lesser known (from what I can tell). Slightly depressing, but I think it's thought provoking about things like faith, how we treat those around us, and our legacy after we are gone. It describes a man who was mistreated by his mother, thus taking out the lack of love on his wife and daughter. Even without the music video, the song is really hauntingly beautiful (duh, good music shouldn't need a video). With just the song, it can be a lyrical take on someone who didn't have faith in their life (to a higher power or what have you) and is realizing that they should have done things differently in retrospect.


Top of the World by the Dixie Chicks



This week marked the 20th anniversary of Jim Henson's death (May 16) and the 30th anniversary of the Mount St. Helen's eruption (May 18). I put one of my favorite Dixie Chicks songs up, so now I am putting my favorite Henson song here.

Rainbow Connection with Kermit


And to end this post, I'll add two songs that were sung at Jim Henson's memorial service. I watched a few of these videos and the whole service is incredibly touching. It's both a celebration and a mourning of someone's life.