No specifics, just wondering.

Mine just came last week, it was NOT in a hard box and my mailman, who is usually very good, crammed it in the mailbox. Luckily the mailbox is big and the SSL books are quite flexible so no damage was done.

Wow everyone's so early. Is Wordless Wednesday morphing into Tacit Tuesday? Sorry. Its late. I say dumb things when I'm sleeptyping. Mine's up now too.

I don't know, I think it'd be hard to lay these particular problems on anyone else's feet other then Bush's. He's the most unpopular president EVER and everyone knows what a mess he's made. p.s. I'm only speaking for myself (as I'm the only one I CAN speak for) though the polls show.......

Hi Molly's Mom/Astrid! Welcome back. :seeya:

I agree with Mrs Mungo re the Wright/Obama thang. My fave democratic candidate was Kucinich, which should tell you just how far left I am :coolgleamA:. I should also add that at no point did I really think he had a snowball's chance. Too bad. As for Clinton, I like her a whole lot less then I did a year ago. Obama I like a whole lot more then I did a year ago. In fact, much to my surprise, I really like him. I hope he wins the democratic nomination, which barring some bizarre mathematics he will. If that math occurs, and Clinton becomes nominee, I doubt Obama would accept an offer for vice president if she offered it. Obama is the one candidate who I feel has the most chance of actually bringing about change in the way government is done. He's already stood strong on his ideals of how a candidacy should be run. Either way, Clinton or Obama, I will happily go to the polls and vote for either of them because I want Republicans OUT.

Oh yeah, I know I can make my own list and personal little reading challenge, but I kinda like the idea of being a part of big one. Otherwise I'm just kinda...reading. :rolleyes: And what's NEW about that???? :tongue_smilie: Thanks for the link to that blog, I hope I find one there that I can do.

I would love to do the 888 challenge, but I don't honestly have the time or energy to pick 8 categories and the books to go in them, much less actually read them. I read books, don't get me wrong, I am always reading at least one book. Right now I'm reading a Stephen Hawking book and a book about relativity, it will take me at least a month to get through these books because I am studying them very hard. So....where's my point......oh here it is......I would like to join a reading challenge that is maybe just a teensy weensy bit smaller, little less ambitious. Is anyone else doing something like that?

I spent a lot of time exploring paganism in general before deciding it really wasn't the path for me, mainly because I couldn't get past my definite atheism. I still took away some meaningful things from my readings though. I think its a beautiful way to live, and I'm glad to know that there are people on the board who practice it.

Mine's on my ankle too. Its a blue Grateful Dead dancing bear. I didn't cry either. But I completey had to watch every move that tattooer made, every needle prick, when usually I cannot look at that kind of thing like when I give blood. I'm getting my next one, either a horse on my hip or a bigger one on by back that I will need to have an artist draw up. I have the idea, but I need an experienced tattoo artist.

Today I'm taking a truckload of things to the thrift store, also going to try to find a few office chairs while I'm there. The kids were complaining about the hard chairs they have to do schoolwork in, so I tried them out, and the kids are right. Also going to library while I'm out. DH is going to be re-routing the heater vent in our room, putting it on the other side of the room so we can move our bed without blocking it. We're also going to be spraying the exterior of the house because the ants are back, and there is nothing I hate more than ants in my kitchen. Tomorrow is housework...ugh.

I think Prof Moriarty had a different first name though. The whole show is FULL of references to literature, philosophers, mathematicians...you name it. Are they clues? I don't know. I asked the same question about 3 pgs back. It would seem to me that it would indicate a portal of some kind. Oh I know, that was totally a fake out! Who didn't go "ahh, so thats how come Claire didn't make it" for a few brief moments? ETA: yeah they are sometimes clues, the character Daniel Faraday is named after Michael Faraday who experimented with elecrtomagnetism. So there's one of the many examples of where the reference fits the character.

Yes Parabola, it does. The Sahara is primarily in Northern Africa. I looked it up. BTW, you spend entirely too much time talking about Lost. Go get a life. :tongue_smilie:

He gave the name Dean Moriarty, we've seen that name on one of his fake passports. And I think thats the name of the character in Jack Kerouc's On The Road. Thats what I asked too, Tunisia is where Charlotte found the polar bear. Its in the very north of Africa. Does the Sahara desert, where Ben "landed", go as far North as Tunisia?

No worries, its all in good fun. This show inspires a multitude of responses and debates, thats why its so GOOOOOOOOD :001_smile: Somehow, the cabin seems to move. I want this explained at some point. Also want to know who or what Jacob is, and why Jack's father is in his cabin, and whose eye was looking at Hurley. So I hope the cabin is still where Hurley saw it. So far, they've hardly given us any info about Jacob, I'm ready for some!

Thats fine, don't feel sorry for him. No biggie. I don't feel sorry for him either. He put himself in the position he is in. I felt bad for him though because he made a big mistake in underestimating Widmore and it cost him his daughter (who of course isn't his real daughter, but who he raised like she was). I, personally, think he absolutely believed that Alex would not be harmed. I didn't at first, I was amazed that they finally showed Ben being truly cold and heartless. Then I heard him say the line about they changed the rules. And I saw how reacted, he was in shock. He really did not believe Alex would be shot. And I cannot wait to see what happens when Ben and Locke and Hurley get to Jacob.

The hurley bird is a big bird that has shown up a couple times on the show. One time when Hurley and some others were going through the jungle, the bird flew by and screeched. Hurley thought it screeched his name, so its been called the Hurley bird ever since. I think its was even captioned screeching "Hurley". White Rabbit was the name of one of the episodes in season 1. There was also the white bunny rabbit with number 8 on it that Ben used to con Sawyer, are you referring to one of those? As for the theory...there's a lot to it, isn't there? Someone has put a lot of time and thought into it. And its certainly compelling. Most of the time, I don't think it is an accurate theory, but then I read on that website and come across something that makes my blood run cold because it explains so much. But then, there's also an equal number of times I've read through there and I'm like..."thats ridiculous" I've also recently heard a similar theory that Ben and Widmore are playing a game, with people. A chess like game where they manipulate people (i.e. how Ben manipulated Sayid on this episode, etc.) and the winner gets the island. This episode really hinted at that, with the losties playing a board game, and the reference to the "rules". Its also possible that the writers are aware of these game theories, and are throwing them into the story. Maybe as false leads, or as just a nod to the fans. They've done that before. Quite a few times. Thats why Paolo and Nikki are dead!

Ben is manipulative and ruthless, sure. Doesn't mean he's not human. The fact that he can elicit all kinds of emotions and responses from the viewers shows how effective this character is. He honestly thought that Alex would be safe, he thought he would be able to explain to her that the words he said about her were a bluff. Its very sad that he didn't get that chance, for both her and him. Ben is a complex character, and he has done a lot of terrible things, but like any human on this planet now matter how "evil", he has some positive qualities. Just my thoughts. I would never trust Ben, but I sure would respect him. Yeah, Sawyer is a hero, he probably always was, it was just hidden behind all his revenge/conman exterior. Now its kind of like he's been freed since he killed Locke's father. And of course, just being on the island has changed him.

I think you can watch it at abc.com now.

The rules must be the ones by which Ben and Widmore are playing. Maybe not actual written rules, but maybe just the way they had played against each other so far? Have you heard the whole "Lost Is A Game" theory? And why can't Ben kill Widmore? Can Widmore actually not kill Ben too? And if Ben can't kill Widmore himself, it apparently also means Ben can't send people to kill Widmore or he could send Sayid or someone else. Does widmore have the same restrictions? Why is that? At first I wondered if they couldn't kill each other because they were each other's constant, because apparently it looks like Ben at least can travel through time in some way. But then I realized Ben actually physically travelled through time (and apparently space as well) so do you need a constant when you are physically time travelling, like one does when its just their consciousness? So, I don't think thats it. Its more likely another rule. Its definitely a power struggle between Ben and Widmore, but I think there's another "player", and its the one that is maybe the sentience of the island, or something like that. Its the one that sends dead Charlie to tell Hurley to go back, and its the whispers....or something like that. I think there's still an unknown here. Yes, Ben is something else. So manipulative and cold, and I still find myself occasionally rooting for him, and in the case of last night, feeling bad for him. As for Ben siccing the smoke monster on Mr. Echo (I miss that guy, he was great character too), maybe he doesn't control it to that extent? Maybe he just had it contained and then released it, he knew Keamy and the other boat people were "bad" so he figured the smoke monster would go for them. Question: is the Sahara desert where Ben landed in Tunisia? Charlotte's polar bear was found in Tunisia, just wondered if that was where Ben also showed up, that might indicate a portal of some kind. I love this show.

Yes, Smokie is one of my favorite parts of the show too, the mystery of the island. And the whole time discrepancy thing, whatever the whole of the truth of that should turn out to be! And apparently Ben DOES control it, that was a pretty good reveal. I love Ben, he is a GREAT character. Always intriguing. Great actor. I thought the best line of the show was the one about Australia is the key to the whole game. Makes ya think. The numbers came from Australia. So did the entire plane and everyone on it, but thats a given. Anyway, great show I'm soooooooooooooo glad its back. The commercials every 8 minutes though, that was awful.

Being moral and being religious are two different things. Its possible to be one and not the other. Very possible.

We're atheist. Even in a public school, there is more exposure to a "creator/god" then I really want my children exposed to. However, that is only one of a MYRIAD of reasons why we chose to homeschool.

I ordered it too! Last week. I'll be using it on my 7 yr old, and also possibly on my 5 yr old, I'll have to look through it first to see if its something she can handle. And I *bought* the teacher's manual because I'm not at all secure in my ability to teach a dead language that I do not even know. :D

My doc did a version on my 3rd. She told me going in that it probably wouldn't work. So we were both extremely surprised when not only did it work, but it worked the first time in about 2 seconds. Then I went into labor and had the baby right there without leaving the hospital. :D Actually I started having contractions which is something I always did after getting an exam while pregnant. When they saw the contractions, they decided I was going into labor so they kept me on. I'm pretty sure that if left to my own devices, the contractions would've slowed and stopped on their own. But, I also think it would've been very easily for the baby to slip into breech again just as easily as he slipped out of it. I think my doctor thought that as well because when my contractions did seem to be slowing ever so slightly she came in and broke my water.