Red Velvet Cupcakes

OK so Ms. Hristodoulou convinced me to make these so I'll be bringing them tomorrow.
Thanks again for the spanikopita by the way.

Ms. Moore and I were talking about the idiosyncrasies that go along with baking and how it's the luck of the draw with cupcakes...Sometimes they come out like muffins.

I mean, there are some non-negotiables, like ensuring that your butter, eggs and other wet ingredients are room temperature. Then there's baking time. In any case, drop by 239 to get yourself a cupcake. Last time they were gone by 3rd period.

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 12: Everybody Loves Hugo

[I am DVR'ing the season 2 premiere of Glee in another room.]

Finally, back to the island!

So we start with Dr. Candle narrating a biography of Hurley at a man of the year dinner.

Aww, it's Libbys grave. Hugo goes to have a talk with her letting her know everything that's been going on.

So we already know that Michael is dead since he comes to talk to Hurley, but is it him or MIB? I think it's MIB because when Isabella spoke with Hurley, she warned him and Richard that MIB must never leave the island.

By now we know this is just MIB trying to thwart the plan to blow up the Ajira plane.

Now I'm starting to think maybe Hugo wasn't crazy after all, he just had the ability to talk to dead people.

Oh snap, there'll be an appearance by Libby per the opening credits.

Is her name supposed to be Rosalita?

OK, good job of beating the audience to the punch not only with "Cynthia Watros" in the credits but the Rosalita thing that Hurley says.

Libby revealed that they know each other somehow...such as from the island.

Ilana said she's been training her whole life for protecting the candidates who may replace Jacob.

OH SNAP, Ilana went and blew herself up Dr. Artz style !!!

Sawyer's getting tired of Sayid and his covert operations.

Hurley found Ilana's bag of ash.

I'm disappointed and sad to see Ilana go. I thought she would somehow be connected to the ancient timeframe of the island, namely around when the staute was built. Bummer.



Back in LA, Desmond's on his mission to gather the 815 passengers. He tracks down Hurley in the middle of a depression-triggered fried chicken binge. Hurley's chance meeting with Libby is aligned with the whole other life thing.



MIB asked Desmond about Whidmore's intentions and is taking Desmond to "see something."

Love Ben's candor about how Ilana died. Again, this is what the audience is thinking.

Oh snap, Hugo blew up the Black Rock. It was a priceless antique!

Hugo tells Myles that [dead] Michael told him to blow up the plane.

Myles is experienced with talking to the dead. Hopefully he will inform Hurley that maybe every dead person isn't who you think they are, or were.

Hurley buys himself some time, literally, with Libby. She says that in her memory she was a survior in a plane crash and they liked each other.

This is similar to Charlie, Desmond and Penny from last week.

Libby says she's at the mental hospital voluntarily. She and Hurley plan a date. What would Eloise think of this?? She would probably would be very upset such as when she didn't want Desmond pursuing Penny.

Oh snap, it's young Jacob appearing in the bushes again! MIB angrily tells Desmond to ignore the boy.

Let's see if Hurley passes Richard's test to prove that he's talking to Jacob. Nope.

Ben and Myles go with Richard. Jack and Sun go with Hurley. Hurley looks like he was lying about being directed by Jacob. They're going to talk to MIB who will try to either kill them or turn them evil.

I am wondering how Sawyer has managed not to be turned evil up until this point.

Oh snap, Sun still can't speak English.

Hurley admitted he didn't see Jacob and Jack says he knows. Jack is remorseful over Juliette's death. Jack is finally taking a back seat with the whole leadership piece. Wow.

Hurley says he knows what the whispers are.

I think Michael is lying...saying the whispers are people who are stuck on the island and "can't move on." This better not be the writers' idea of a big reveal! Because that would suck. WHAT ABOUT WHEN THE OTHERS APPEAR RIGHT AFTER THE WHISPERS FROM THE LAST FIVE SEASONS???

OH SNAP!! Hurley saw flashes from their life on the island together when Libby kissed him...and Desmond was watching the whole time.



MIB was going to show Desmond a well he describes as "very old."

MIB asks Desmond why he isn't afraid...

Desmond says "What is the point of being afraid?"

MIB pushes Desmond down the well which I saw coming a mile away.

Hurley and the crew show up at MIB's camp.

Hurley's innocence is priceless.

I don't think we've seen the last of Desmond.

Why does MIB look so pissed at Jack?

In the parallel universe, Desmond runs over Locke as Locke wheels himself from Dr. Linus's school.

Huh??????

I enjoyed this episode better than last week's. I know lots of people thought last week was totally awesome. Next weeks episode is entitled "The Last Recruit" and it looks like it's gonna be INSANE! Can't wait.


It's very interesting that they chose to show a flash of Sun's note asking Lapidus "Did we make a mistake?" in reference to going with Hurley.

Well if you don't know by now, LOST is the best show ever!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 11: Happily Ever After

So I've been so busy with work plus my afterschool GED job and rehearsals for the play coming up, I didn't blog about this episode in a timely manner. So here goes:

After last week's episode in which we learned that Desmond was The Package, it only made sense that this one would be Desmond-centric. The twists and turns were aplenty in relation to the parallel timelines and what would have happened had 815 never crashed.

So some poor dude gets killed in the first few minutes when Whidmore insists on trying out his huge crazy flux capacitor electromagnetic thingamajiggy. Desmond is able to withstand the force and we get our episode...one in which he never met Penny, is a valued employee of Mr. Whidmore and Whidmore is married to none other than Eloise Hawking. Well, that would make her Eloise Whidmore.





And get this, Daniel Faraday, who is in turn Daniel Whidmore is their son. Daniel tells Desmond that Penny is his "half sister." What's that all about? This was definitely an episode that brought more questions than answers for me. Maybe I was tired when I watched or it was the anxiety of returning to work after a week and a half off...

Interesting points:

Charlie is released from jail into Desmond's care and tries to commit murder-suicide when Desmond sees a flash of "Not Penny's Boat" on Charlie's hand as he's trying to get Charlie out of the car. How they filmed such a comprehensive scene underwater I do not know. What a great show.

In the flash sideways, Desmond is Whidmore's right hand man, even drinking the very expensive scotch that Whidmore once told Desmond he was worth less than.



Whidmore doesn't seem to have a good handle on his mission. The question still lingers as to whether he's more interested in apprehending MIB or Ben. Or both?

Desmond survives the electromagnetic contraption and wakes up ready, willing and able to assist Whidmore with whatever his mission is only to be ambushed by Sayid who thwarts the game plan.



So that should make for a very good episode next week. But it's a Hugo-centric episode so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. It's sure to follow the lottery winning storyline, but will Hugo still be plagued by bad luck? In episode 4, he appeared to be A-OK, even describing himself as "the luckiest man alive." Will the bad luck start after 815 lands safely?

Desmond introduces himself to Penny who agrees to meet with him for coffee, but Eloise warned him not to pursue any visions he's been having because he's "not ready yet." Who knew she would be so central to how this is all wrapping up when we first met her as the proprietor of the pawn shop in London? Funny thing is, even then, she was trying to stop him from going any further with Penny.



Finally, Desmond is now going to try and gather up everyone from 815 and try to make sense out of what's happening to them.

Moving on:

The next few episodes should be jam packed with content, more answers and clues towards the finale. Episode 12 is titled "Everybody Loves Hugo." Can't Wait. LOST is the best show ever!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 10: The Package

OK to be honest, I don't have very high expectations for this episode
but here goes:

I guess that's Smokey with the night vision...and how much of people's
conversations has he heard up to this point?

Jin and Sun are released from LAX sans the $25,000. Bummer

Back at the hotel, the tables have turned...it appears that Sun is the
aggressive one of the two and by the way, they're not married. I
guess Jughead changed lots of things before Flight 815.

Whidmore's team shows up and drugs a few people to get Jin.

We learned that Smokey can't leave the island unless all candidates'
names have been crossed out. This is a revelation.

Flocke shows up at Sun's old garden to recruit her. Run, Sun, run!


[Although she's pictured here with Ben...a compassionate Ben?!?]

Oh snap, it's Keamy at Sun's door! But isn't he dead?

Come on now, Sun has been on the island long enough not to run into a
tree. (But at least she ran!)



Whidmore's team has Jin and Flocke is very upset.

Oh snap, they took Jin to Room 23. That's where the Others were
holding Carl.

Oh snap, Zoe's got a stun gun.

Jin demands to see Whidmore.

It appears that Claire is more sane that we were led to believe.

What does Flocke mean Kate's name isn't on the cave wall "anymore?"

Love Sawyer's sarcasm: "Cant you just turn into smoke and fly your $%#
over there?" Flocke says he can't do that. Is it that he can't or is
he afraid that they've erected the pylons Sawyer was talking about?

Where's Hurley...and Richard?

I thought this would be kind of a filler episode but I guess they
can't really afford those with only a few episodes left to the series.

Will Keamy discover Jin wherever he's hiding in the hotel room?



Who's the other goon? I thought these guys were dead.

Oh snap, Keamy made a racist remark: "Feels like I'm in a &*%$ Godzilla
movie."

Oh snap, it's Patchy from the Flame Station and he's still a multi linguist!



These cameos are insane!

Sun can't speak English anymore after running into the tree and bumping her head!

Richard's back and he appears to have a plan.

Flocke encounters the pylons and Whidmore's army over on Hydra Island.

Oh snap, Flocke and Whidmore are face to face!

Flocke went to Hydra to get Jin. Whidmore lied and said he doesn't have
Jin. Flocke declares WAR!!!

OK this episode officially rocks.

Richard says they're going to Hydra Island. His plan is kinda
lame...to blow up the plane so Flocke can't leave on it.

Sun's infuriated...tells off Richard in Korean.

Oh snap, this episode was a flashback! It's Keamy and the other dude
at the restaurant when they're killed by Sayid.

This show is ridiculously well done!

Turns out Keamy was supposed to kill Jin for the $25,000 Jin was transporting. Sun's father is COLD!

Keamys gonna freeze Jin to death anyway.

What is the package in the submarine??

Aww, Jin sees Ji Yeon for the first time. Whidmore's playing the fatherhood card.

Whidmore to Jin: "It's time you see the package."



OMG the suspense is extra crazy stupid immense!!

Sayid didn't kill Jin...that's good.

Patchy's pissed that his comrades are dead.

It's an armed standoff between Jin and Patchy. We know from the Island that Patchy is prone to sudden moves! Jin and Patchy fight and gunshots go off.

Oh snap, Jin shot patchy in the eye. It's cyclical.

Noo! Sun got shot in the stomach...and she's pregnant.

Who is the package?? (Whidmore said it's a person.)

Enough of Jack and Sun's Hallmark moment in the beach!

But wait, is that Smokey playing the role of Jack?!?

Desmond was on the sub! Is he the package??? If so, why is it so important that Jin see him?

Is Desmond a candidate? Or does Whidmore just want him away from Penny?

Would've been nice if the package was Ji Yeon and she is the mystery Kwon.

Next week's episode looks great.

LOST is the best show ever!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 9: Ab Aeterno

OK, it’s the moment we’ve been waiting for!



So Ben revealed to everyone that he’s known Richard since he was 12 years old and that he hasn’t aged.

Who is Hurley speaking to in Spanish? Is Jacob multi-lingual?
He says it's not Jacob. Well whoever it is, it's someone who's dead.

Oh snap, Richard’s Puerto Rican?

Who is that playing the wife, Penelope Cruz? Jennifer Beals?

Richard and his wife Isabella were going to The New World so he learned to speak English. Just like Sun learned to speak English to start a new life.

Richard gave all his money to the doctor.
I guess they don’t have universal healthcare.

OK so it turns out Richard killed the doctor by accident.

Oh this is jacked up, they’re gonna hang Richard. It was an accident. Geeze!
Let’s see how he goes from prisoner to the Island.

They were gonna hang him but then he revealed he could speak English. See why it’s important to learn another language?

Looks like Richard is being sold to Magnus Hanso as a slave. Whoa, a throwback to Season 2. So Richard was a slave…I knew it!



The Black Rock is headed to the Island as evidenced by the statue of Taweret. But didn't The Black Rock come to the Island on a sunny day in the finale of Season 4? I will chalk this up to the sudden weather changes on the Island as evidenced by seasons 1-5.



Oh snap, The Black Rock crashed into Taweret! That’s why only one foot is left.



I love this show.

Why is dude killing everyone??
OK, he says because if he doesn’t kill them, they’ll kill him.
It’s obvious Richard is a man of faith from the scenes back with his sick wife, which is an allusion to Locke’s beliefs.

Smokey to Richard’s rescue?!!

Oh snap. OMG. Smokey is killing the slave master’s crew.

Smokey killed the slave master Flight 815 style!!

This episode freaking rocks!!

[Commercial] I can do without the V recap!

OK Nestor Carbonell deserves an Emmy for this physically demanding sequence.

Richard’s seeing dead people…must be Smokey in disguise.

Isabella thinks Smokey is the devil. It’s important to note that she looked into his eyes and all she saw was evil. She’s a credible source because again, it was clear that she and Richard were Christians.

OMG this is heartbreaking! “Isabella! Isabella!”
MIB comes to Richard's aid?
He introduces himself as “a friend.”
Jacob introduced himself to Hurley as "a friend." Hmmm, very interesting...
MIB tells Richard he’s dead.
Is he lying??
WHY DOESN'T JACOB GET TO PEOPLE BEFORE MIB DOES WHEN THEY GET TO THE ISLAND?

MIB says he wants to be free. (That's what he told Sawyer also.)
MIB wants Richard’s help. (Just like he wanted Sawyer's help.)
MIB frees Richard from his chains.

“It’s good to see you out of those chains.”
MIB is clearly using Richard to “kill the devil” who is Jacob.
So he’s lying to Richard because we know MIB is Smokey, which means he was appearing to Richard as Isabella, just like he appears to Jack as Christian Shephard.

My money is on Jacob as “good” and Smokey as “evil” because Smokey doesn’t mind killing people at whim.

So Smokey wants Richard to kill Jacob just like he wanted Ben to kill Jacob.
He’s waited a long long time by the time Ben kills Jacob.

MIB says the same thing Dogon said to Sayid…”if he speaks, it will be too late. Kill him.”

MIB tells Richard the devil has his wife. Richard’s not buying MIB’s spiel.

If the ship crashed into the statue, how did it wind up so inland?

Oh snap, someone’s kicking Richard's &%$...It’s Jacob and he can fight!

"You’re not dead." (Jacob to Richard)
So why does Richard tell the Losties they’re dead if Jacob proved to him that he’s not dead? IS HE WORKING FOR MIB??? But if he is, why is he so petrified when he realizes Flocke is MIB after Ben killed Jacob???

What an awesome episode and what a great show!!!

Damn, it’s 9:53 already?? No more commercials already!

What’s with all these new wack shows? None of them will measure up to LOST so why bother watching?

Will Jacob explain the ash?

Jacob says he’s not the devil. And no one comes in unless he invites them in.

Jacob says he brought the ship to the Island.

The Island is the only thing keeping the darkness (MIB?) where it belongs.

Jacob says MIB believes people will come to the Island and do each other in.
Jacob feels they will get there and help each other out.
So Jacob brings people to the Island to prove that they will do the right thing.

Jacob gives Richard the “job” of representative for people he brings to the Island in the future.

Jacob grants Richard eternal life as requested...Jacob says he can't bring anyone back to life. But wasn't that what the spring at the Temple did?

Richard buries the gold cross in place of Isabella then digs it up in present day.
He says he changed his mind…wants to follow MIB!!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well at least we know Richard wasn't working for MIB all along if he's saying he changed his mind.

What a beautiful location!

"Your wife sent me!" (Hurley to Richard)

Oh snap, it's Isabella! Is it Smokey or really her?

OK so it turns out Hurley was talking to Isabella at the top of the episode.
THE WRITING ON THIS SHOW IS SICK.

Hurley’s Spanish is awesome.

What does she mean “we are already together?” She’s dead. Or does she mean in spirit?

She said Richard has to stop the MIB or they will all go to hell. So the Island is not hell.

OK MIB wants off this Island!

OK so now we understand why MIB wants the candidates dead.

We still don’t know MIB’s name…Is it Esau?

I bet the boards at abc.com are off the HOOK right now!!
Only 7 new episodes until the series finale.

OK this episode is up there in my top 5.

LOST is the best show EVER!!!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 8: Recon

Work has been so crazy that I FORGOT TO WATCH LOST AT 9 PM ON TUESDAY NIGHT!!! Well thank goodness for DVRs because I woke up at 3 am and realized what happened so I watched it then.

In the first few minutes of the episode, we learn that Sawyer does not have the sickness that Sayid and Claire have. This is good news.



Recon was a Sawywer-centric episode. In the flash sideways, we learn that Sawyer is a detective with the LAPD and Myles is his partner. He had recently taken some time off to go to Australia and returned on Oceanic flight 815 to return to his job tracking down con men, particularly Anthony Cooper, the man who caused his dad to kill his mom and then himself. There was no insight as to whether he has a daughter or any kind of relationship with her. Funny thing is in LAX, he asked the airport police the meaning of the code they called but if he was a cop, he would have known...or maybe it was just Sawyer being himself.

The cameos were prevalent in that Myles arranges a date between Sawyer and Charlotte. So it appears that Charlotte never went looking for the Island and is alive. The date didn't go so well as Charlotte accidentally discovered the family pic and an article of the murder/suicide.

Sayid is still on the dark side and Claire is still crazy...she tried to kill Kate.

I'm kinda over the cameos in the flash sideways...Sawyer apprehends Kate who is as usual on the run...Get to more of the big questions already.

Flocke sent Sawyer to Hydra Island to check out Whidmore and his team who arrived on the submarine. He's tricked by a woman named Zoe who brings him down into the sub to converse with Whidmore. BIG QUESTION: Why is Whidmore suddenly interested in Flocke and no longer Ben? Is he after them both? And what was the relationship (if any) between Whidmore and Jacob? Whidmore admitted to Sawywer that the freighter crew was sent to kill everyone on the island. Sawyer is now a double agent as he told Whidmore that Flocke would be coming and then told Flocke everything. Saywer clearly thinks one of these guys will get him and Kate off the island.



Well this episode was all well and good but what I'm totally stoked about is next week's Richard-centric episode!!! Finally, we will learn all about the mystery that is Richard Alpert.







How and when did he get to the island? Why wasn't he as close to Jacob as we were led to believe? Is he good or evil? Was he a slave or a slave-master on the Black Rock??? Ab Aeterno definitely promises to be a series-defining episode. The trailer alone was insane! What does Richard mean when he says "All this is not what you think it is" in reference to the Island? Here's to next week...LOST IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 7: Dr. Linus

Once again, I am typing while watching this episode:

The excitement is immense.

Please let this episode live up to "Sundown."

I thought Myles was gonna lie for Ben. Kinda glad he didn't because that would be too predictable.

I love Myles's sarcasm. He's like the new Sawyer.

By the way, where is Sawyer?

So in the flash sideways, Ben takes care of his dad instead of killing him.

Wow Ben and his dad were in Dharma just like before and then left the island. Does that means The Purge never happened?

Oh snap, Alex is in Ben's history club. They have a great relationship.

Ilana revealed to Sun that she's a candidate and that one of the 6 will be chosen to replace Jacob. Sun is like whatever girl, where's my husband?

That's cold...Ilana is making Ben dig his own grave.



Is Ben gonna be killed in his own centric episode?

Looks like the textbook Ben's teaching Alex from depicts the Black Rock.

Myles revealed that before he died, Jacob had hoped he was wrong about Ben. That's a biggie because it speaks to the whole good versus evil thing.

Yo Ilana is not playing.

Why would Richard tell Hurley not to believe what Jacob says? Funny how he could turn like that after all their history. Richard also reiterated that his agelessness is due to Jacob's touch. But if Jacob's touch results in agelessness, why wasn't that the case with Kate and Sawyer? They were touched as children. That kinda doesn't sound right...

Ok so Ben is still manipulative in the flash sideways...getting Artz to hack into the faculty email to get evidence of the principal's affair with the school nurse.

Richard returned to his chains on the Black Rock. I knew Smokey's statement was literal.

Richard can't kill himself just like Michael couldn't kill himself.

I think Richard may be testing Jack to see if he has it in him to kill someone. But we already know he is capable because he attempted to shoot Locke at the radio tower after Locke stabbed Naomi but there were no bullets in the gun.

Gotta love Hurleys comic relief.

Ok is Jack crazy? He's gonna blow himself up along with Richard.

Woooooow. They can't die!!!!! The dynamite didn't blow up.

Is Ben gonna be killed by Smokey/MIB/Flocke?

Oh snap! Smokey let Ben go and told him to go the other island a la Season 3.

OK now Ben has the principal by the balls...he's the old Ben we're used to.

Oh snap! Alex's last name is Rousseau which means Danielle could be somewhere in LA.

Ok Ilana is too savvy to have gotten herself in this position...to be held at gunpoint by Ben.

Wow, Ben's speech about why he killed Jacob turned Ilana around and she's willing to work with him.

Too many commercials...seems like more than usual.

I think Ben got played. His basis for blackmail was stronger than the principal's but this also shows that the island is where his true manipulative skills are their strongest.

Has Ben turned over a new leaf...helping Sun, joining forces with Ilana?

I will never trust Ben, not after all that he's done...maybe I'm wrong.

Wow what a touching reunion on the beach with Jack, Hurley, Sun, Myles and Lapidus.

Smokeys gotta be pissed at this point.

Ok who's in the sub?

Oh snap it's Whidmore!!!

The teaser for episode 8 is cryptic...not much info was given.

Good episode all in all I think.

LOST IS THE BEST SHOW EVER.

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 6: Sundown

So for the first time I'm typing while watching so here goes:

OK, looks like a Sayid-centric episode...he's in a love triangle with Nadia and his brother...seems like Sayid's niece and nephew like him better than their own dad.

I thought from the title that this episode would be about Sun and why she didn't flash back to 1977 last season. Those darn LOST writers!

Why didn't Jin explain to Claire that Kate took Aaron because no one knew where Claire disappeared to?

Is it a wrap for Jin? Will Claire kill him?

Will Claire kill Kate at the Temple?

Come on now Sayid can't kill the MIB...the show would be over!

Is it a wrap for Sayid after Flocke pulled out the dagger?

What a great episode so far!

Will LOST finally win the Emmy for best drama?

Will Sayid fall for Flocke's spiel?

This Nadia stuff is redundant move on already!

What will Smokey do at Sundown?

LOL - Kate has the translator hemmed up!

Does Claire's "sickness" prevent her from rationalizing Kate's actions?

Here we go again with Cablevision and losing channels. ABC?! Oh _____ no!

Can Flocke kill everyone as long as they're in the Temple surrounded by the ash?

Oh snap, it's Keamy! And he's a chef!

Oh snap, Sayid shot the goons including Keamy! Now that's the Sayid I know, just kill 'em all!

Oh snap, it's Jin in the walk in fridge....obviously working for Sun's father.

What awesome writing! This is insane.

Will the last few minutes of this episode follow thru?

What's with the baseball???

Hold up, so The Samurai's son was a music prodigy and a baseball player?

Who/what is the MIB??

Oh snap, Sayid drowned The Samurai!!! And he killed the translator!

I am on the edge of my seat...now that the Samurai is dead, is it a wrap for them all??

What about Kate and Myles??

OMG could this be the best episode ever??!

Ok Sayid's officially evil! Looks like the sickness has officially reached his heart.

Will Sun and Jin be reunited??

So Smokey doesn't know about the secret getaway panel!

Claire kinda sorta helped Kate escape the wrath of Smokey.

Where are Jack and Hurley?

What's this weird music??

What will happen to our Kate??

Hooray for Ilana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew she was important!

It's after 10 pm. Will my DVR stop recording???

Where are they going??? Where is Flocke taking them?

Clearly Smokey isn't thrilled about Kate accompanying them. (Even though she's not on Jacob's list)

Will Ben die next week???

If there are 10 episodes left, and tonites episode was so totally awesome,
what's gonna happen for the rest of the season?

Where's Sawyer? Does he have the illness as do Claire and Sayid?

Check out a sneak peak from next week's episode:



LOST IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!

LOST: Random Thoughts and Questions I Want Answered!!!

This "Last Supper" pic of LOST is a bit sacriligious but totally cool as well. Notice the strategic placement of the characters.

So I watched Season 3 this past weekend and I found it to be a great refresher course on several subsequent things LOST. (Yes, the whole season because that's what weekends are for.) Season 3 is quintessential.

I wanna give a shout out to Mr. B. and the guys from 281 for reading my blog.

What is the true significance of the numbers?

WE WANT A RICHARD-CENTRIC EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will Flocke (Fake Locke) kill Sawyer?

Will Sawyer join forces with Flocke?

What will Ilana do with Jacob's ashes?

Did Richard arrive on the Black Rock as a slave? Is that what Flocke meant when he said "It's good to see you out of those chains?" He couldn't have said it as they traveled to the Statue because Richard would have known it wasn't Locke.

How does Walt play into all of the recent developments? After all, he is "special."

Why did Claire show up in the cabin with Jack's father Christian? Is Christian a manifestation of the MIB?

How did Ben control Smokey when he unleashed it on the Freighter Folks if he didn't even know that the MIB is Smokey or who Smokey is?

How does the island wind up under water?


Shout out to my fellow I.S. 68 LOST fans: Lopez and Monaco.

Where is the rest of the statue of the Egyptian goddess Tawaret?

Lost is the best show ever!

I hope the new season of Glee doesn't overlap with Lost.

Namaste!

LOST: The Final Season: Episode 5: Lighthouse

"Lighthouse" was a Jack-centric episode. We learned that JACK HAS A SON in the alternate parallel universe/flash sideways. So the big question is Who's the baby mother? This is huge! I was explaining to a friend that when The Hatch exploded, it changed everything, not just the events of September 22, 2004, i.e. the crash of Oceanic flight 815. Anything could have happened up to that point. Therefore, it is reasonable that Jack had a son. We also leanred that just like Michael and Walt, Jack doesn't seem to know much about his son, namely the fact that his son is a musical prodigy. I think this will be huge in the next few episodes. It's TOO OBVIOUS for Kate to be the mother...that would just be too simple for the complexity of LOST. The Samurai turns up in Jack's flash sideways as the father of a child auditioning for the same music school that Jack's son David is trying to get into.




We caught up with Claire and the BIG REVEAL was that she and Smokey/Flocke/The MIB are "friends." This came much to Jin's surprise being that he is aware that this person is not Locke. How's he gonna get himself out of this situation? Perhaps they will all go back to the Temple. Claire was pretty upset to learn that Kate has been raising Aaron for the last three years. Claire is clearly the new Rousseau. And speaking of Rousseau, her name was on the wheel at the top of the lighthouse. That means she was a candidate.

There weren't too many big reveals in this episode but what was kinda cool was the 360 degree contraption at the top of the lighthouse that dials up candidates' names and shows vignettes from their lives in a mirror. Jack angrily broke the mirrors when he found out that Jacob had been watching him. This was kinda weird...I figured so what? Is it more important to Jack that he was being watched or the reason why he's on the island in the first place? Again, there were numbers attached to the names. There MUST BE more significance to the numbers so we are patiently awaiting that reveal.

However, it is cool that Hurley has ongoing, sporadic communication with Jacob. The Samurai backed off when Hurley told him he was a candidate. So Jacob still gets respect even after his death.

All in all, I was looking for more big reveals in episode 5 but I guess they are coming soon. We were reminded that "Adam and Eve" the two dead bodies in the caves (from season 1) were still laying around and that are obviously two of our Losties. My guess is Rose and Bernard. It could also be Kate and Sawyer. Who knows? I thought that Jack would remind Hurley that it couldn't be the two of them as Hurley suggested because one of them is a female. ABC built enormous anticipation with next week's trailer...



...but they promise that "questions will be answered." Can't wait! LOST is the best show ever!!!

LOST: The Final Season, Episodes 1-4

So we're 4 episodes into the FINAL SEASON OF LOST (The best show ever) and I'm just getting around to my reviews. These 4 episodes have thus far answered several important questions and resolved a couple of mysteries, however, the season is just getting started and there are many more enigmas yet to be unveiled.

Season 6, Episodes 1 and 2: LAX Part 1 and LAX Part 2:
Jack's plan (blowing up Jughead) worked (or did it?) and the Losties arrive safely in Los Angeles. However, they are still on the island at the same time. It's a parallel timeline! First we had flashbacks, then flashforwards. Now it's flash sideways! What is Desmond doing on the plane headed from Sydney to LAX??? He should have been in the Hatch at that time. The producers say we're gonna get all the answers this season but this is another pretty big question right out the gate.

The MIB is the Smoke monster. (Huge revelation)

The characters keep running into each other at LAX. The Man in Black (Jacob's nemesis) who we met at the end of Season 5 has overtaken John Locke's body and is now on a mission. We learned why there was ash around Jacob's cabin. Juliette and Sayid both die but then Sayid comes back to life after taking a dip in a strange jacuzzi at The Temple under the leadership of some bearded Asian dude who's in charge. Noteworthy are the Egyptian themes and the Kemetic Ankh.

The MIB tells Richard, "It's good to see you out of those chains." Message board fans have linked this to an ancient Greek myth...more on that later.

One more thing...If Juliette's message to Sawyer (via Myles who talks to the dead)was "It worked," how does she know??

Season 6, Episode 3: What Kate Does:
So Kate hijacks a cab that Claire (who we haven't seen for quite some time) was in. Claire was on her way to meet the adoptive parents in LA, who we learn are now separated and therefore won't be adopting Aaron. This is aligned with episodes from ealier seasons where it is established that Claire is supposed to raise Aaron and no one else.

Sawyer leaves the Temple and Kate follows him. He has clearly had enough and goes back to his old Dharma house for some quiet time, reflection and mourning. Sayid gets tortured by The Others and Claire shows up at the end very Rousseau-esque with a gun. According to the Asian leader dude, she is infected with the same supposed illness that Sayid now has. Pretty good episode.

Season 6, Episode 4: The Substitute:
OK so just when we thought we were going to get a Richard-centric episode, turns out it was a MIB (Man in Black) centric episode. We are still in the dark as to why Richard does not age and who he really is. Revealing and amazingly revelatory, we got some insight as to the numbers' significance. We saw Ilana take some of Jacob's ashes and then she, Ben and Sun buried the real John Locke back at the original beach.

The MIB takes Sawyer to a cave (shot at a beautiful cliffside location BTW) where the Losties' names are all over the walls. Some names are crossed out and the MIB states that Jacob brought everyone to the island to see if they were suitable for the job of leader. I enjoyed this episode.

Weekly recaps forthcoming from this point. Lost is the best show ever. This final season has been awesome so far. It's kismet that the show moved from Wednesdays to Tuesdays because I'm now working until 9 pm on Wednesdays.

Asian Barbecued Ribs

My nephew and I are about to tear these bad boys up!

The recipe was not that difficult. All it took was some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, Chinese five spice, pineapple juice, ketchup, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic and fresh smashed ginger. Oh yeah, and the ribs, of course, trimmed of excess fat. The ribs came out sweet, spicy and sticky. I opted not to garnish with sesame seeds.

Now if it would just stop snowing...

I WANT MY FOOD NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first post of 2010 is a frustrating and sad one. I am losing my mind without the Food Network. It's been over a week now. At first it was like a cruel joke that has gone too far but I think I'm going through withdrawal at this point. Enough already! Meanwhile, I'm missing shows like:

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Paula's Home Cooking
Barefoot Contessa
Everyday Italian
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Cooking For Real
30 Minute Meals
Unwrapped
Dinner Impossible
Iron Chef America
Ace of Cakes
Food Network Challenge
Chopped!

These shows have become an integral part of my day after work and weekend downtime because I truly enjoy cooking but more importantly, eating. I am going to have to watch vicariously through my fellow foodie and chef Ms. Kinast. I WANT MY FOOD NETWORK!!!!

In any case, I'm trying my sister's recipe for barbecued ribs tomorrow...hopefully they rival Ms. Lentini's.

Fried Chicken

The Popeye's on Flatlands Avenue and East 83rd Street is now open. God help us all.
I'm anticipating Ms. Verdier's debut in a vegetable suit a la Josephine Baker in front of the establishment warning prospective patrons of clogged arteries.

UPED Community Outreach Project #1

Selected seventh and eighth grade Academy of UPED students visited the Flatlands Family Residence today. The facility provides an array of services to displaced women and children in the East New York/Canarsie area.

The students read essays and poems and donated food and toys to those in need. Reporters from the Canarsie Courier were in attendance. The students were accompanied by Ms. T. Hall and Ms. Brathwaite. Here they are in their T-shirts at the facility.


I spoke to the students when they returned and asked them a few questions. It was clear that they were sincerely touched by the experience, especially given this time of year and the implications for holiday celebrations. Most students expressed gratitude for what they have and stated that it was an eye-opening opportunity which would allow them to be more appreciative of their blessings.



Congratulations to the Eighth Grade Team for being the first to complete their community service project! Still to come: The Sixth Graders' coat drive and the Seventh Graders' food drive.

Empanadas

This appetizer is a bit labor intensive and time consuming but it's worth the effort.

First, chop up some onions, garlic and olives:




Then start thawing your empanada skins:


After that, saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil:


Then season some ground beef with these spices and add to the onion and garlic saute:



Brown the ground beef well and break up any large pieces:


Add some sofrito and lastly, the chopped olives:



Roll out each empanada skin slightly...don't overdo it or they'll tear:


Fill the center of the skin with a good amount of the cooked meat mixture:


Seal the edges with a little water and then press around the empanada with a fork:


Repeat 9 times:


Now the unhealthy part...fry the empanadas in vegetable oil:

If you don't roll the skins, the empanadas will have a smoother, more uniform look.
If you do, they will have a bubbly appearance and come out a little crunchier.
By the way, the skins will brown pretty quickly. Drain the empanadas on paper towels.

Eat the empanadas!

Make sure you give one to Ms. Montalvo.