LOST

We are LOST fanatics at our house. Oddly, we didn’t discover it on TV, and we didn’t discover it till this last Summer. Beth checked the first DVD out from the library, and it contained the pilot and the next two episodes, and we all got hooked. Over the last couple months we’ve been either checking them out from the library or renting them and then watching one or two episodes most nights so that we’d be prepared to begin this new season with everyone else.

I’m surprised to see a series on TV that has so many things I enjoy- mystery, a little paranormal craziness, group dynamics. The big draw for me though has been the character-driven style. Each episode focuses on the past of one character, and we keep getting more and more pieces of their individual stories. It’s a pleasure to see so much excellent acting.

The big Wuh-lah (Sirevaag for “I’m sad”) of this last week is that we recorded the pilot with only snatches of sound. We had figured out that we could record them each Wednesday night and then watch them after Deborah went to bed. Channel 2 comes in BAD here in Fairbanks for most people, and we didn’t realize how bad our copy was until we sat down to watch it. We could see everything, but hear almost nothing… Wuh-lah!! We got just enough to be very frustrated… I guess we’ll have to figure out what happened from the “from our last episode” notes next week. Plus we’ll probably be buying some new antenna hookup this week.

On the wacky side of things, my husband discovered DARPA this week… On the show there are all these clues about some government/research conspiracy theory type group called the Dharma Initiative. Well, we in the U.S. have our own DARPA, and here’s the facts he dug up about it:

“Quantum computing, a relatively new, forward thinking science, is an integral part of the new experiments in "teleportation." There is a large research effort underway in the U.S. including MIT (Massachussettes Institute of Technology) IBM and other major players in the tech field. Behind this research is DARPA, a truly odd arm of the Department of Defense that invests in radical technologies to eliminate the element of technological surprise in wartime.

DARPA was created by a mandate of President Eisenhower in 1958 after the Russian "Sputnik" satellite scared the crap out of Americans. Since then, DARPA funded research has led to many now commonplace technologies, including the Internet (formerly ARPANET, or DARPA w/o the "D"). Darpa now wants to advance this "teleportation" technology to transfer fully secure information across distances that cannot be intercepted, tampered with or eliminated. They are not trying to move "stuff," but data; physical data that can assist in the process of warfare that gives Americans a lethal advantage over their adversaries. Also under development are urban warfare data collection devices (flying robots) that can assess situations from above, around and inside enemy controlled territory. One unit under development is so small it can "perch" on a roof-top, windowsill, etc. and gather photographic, video and other intelligence information.

Amazing how fear plays such an overwhelming role in scientific development.”

Thank you, Jake, for letting me quote you!