WARNING: Do not go any further if you haven’t seen this week’s episode. Spoilers abound.

Before I get into this week’s episode, can I just say that I don’t understand AT ALL the problems people had with last week’s (Across the Sea)? It gave a fairly decent account of how Jacob and Man in Black came to be on the island (if you paid attention to some interviews with actors, we also found out the year) and I’m not really sure why people were unimpressed. Was it that the answer to what they were protecting was too easy? Maybe.

Now, What They Died For. There was a lot of information here. Some twists and turns that may not be as twisty and turny as they appear on the surface (i.e., Charles Widmore being shot, Richard Alpert being thrown into the trees by Smokey — Richard can’t die, can he? I thought that’s what we’d just been told in Ab Aeterno). I don’t think that those characters can be taken away so easily. Clearly there is a story left to be told as far as Charles Widmore goes.

In the sideways flash we see Jack with an unexplained cut on his neck. I wondered if maybe our timelines were about to merge and so I checked Jack’s injuries from the original crash of 815. He did have a few faint scrapes on his neck, but nothing like the cut in this episode. So scratch that. (Pun totally intended.)

Back on the island we have Jack stitching up Kate’s gunshot wound, a nice parallel to the pilot episode when Kate does the same for Jack’s wound on his back. And if we’re really going to get into that mirror image stuff, Jack was stitching the front of Kate’s left shoulder; Kate stitched the back of Jack’s left.

At this point I would like to point out that Ben Linus totally shouted, “Citizen’s arrest!” in this episode and that, my friends, just makes me love LOST even more.

Later, we have some Ben and Danielle interaction in the sideways flash and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t squeeling to my husband about how they need to end up together. Gah. So, I really want Ben of Dr. Linus to be happy, but with some of the stuff he pulled in this episode, I am conflicted. It’s like he’s turning back again. The redemption we saw in Dr. Linus wasn’t evident in this episode. Not to me, at least.

Jacob gathers our remaining candidates and has a sit-down-chat with them around the campfire. Surprise, surprise, Jack “takes the cup.” (Care to get into any biblical imagery HERE?) He is told he must protect the light from Smokey…and I just don’t know how that’s going to be done. Are we going to have more deaths? I really need our remaining survivors to, you know, SURVIVE.

Favorite quote of the night: “You were all flawed. I chose you because you were like me. You were all alone. You were all looking for something that you couldn’t find out there.” – Jacob

This concert that everyone appears to be preparing for looks like it’s going to be a real shebang. And there’s nothing like everything culminating at a formal event. Evening wear, baby. Will things merge? Will the passengers of Oceanic 815 have some mass realization? Will the fact that they are gathered together in one place cause some massive…I don’t know, implosion of the universe, landing us all in some black hole? Okay, probably not that. But we’re gearing up for something big.

And to celebrate, Kevin and I bought t-shirts with this on the front (available at teefury.com on 5/18/2010 only):

What did you think of the episode? Any new theories? And how are you planning to celebrate/mourn the finale? What will you do after LOST?

It was heartbreaking to hear on Sunday what My Favorite Author From My High School Years (Nicholas Sparks) had to say about My Current Favorite Author (Cormac McCarthy). McCarthy has left his mark on American literature and it’s doubtful we’ll be forgetting about him anytime soon. Combine that with the fact that he has made this impression in such a short amount of time and it serves to make me even more flabbergasted as to why Sparks would just go off about McCarthy’s writing, while placing himself above such names as Shakespeare, Austen, and Hemingway in the same breath.

What is this guy thinking?!

Then it dawned on me.

He knows.

Nick knows.

Go back to the first line of this post. See that? Yeah. Umm…I guess I have some explaining to do.

Nick. We had a good run, dude. The first book of yours that I read was Message in a Bottle, which I picked up on a whim off a shelf at Wal-mart. You had me from the get-go. You were there for me when I was 15 and lonely and the only person in the world I could relate to was Jamie Sullivan (A Walk to Remember) and her plain Jane, Bible-toting ways. Honestly, as melodramatic as it may sound, that little novel helped make me see that it was okay to just be who I was and not care so much about not fitting the mold that I saw so many girls trying to slip into. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Because the novel was so open-ended and I had opted for the more positive of the two outcomes, Jamie’s death in the film slayed me. But I didn’t blame you for that. As a writer you let your babies go out into the world and live. And when you sell them to the highest bidder your babies end up tattooed and with mangled faces from the prison fights they got into. I don’t think that metaphor worked, but whatever.

When I read The Notebook something kinda clicked though. Your stories were starting to sound…familiar. Not in the way that makes a story relatable and not in the way that someone is taking what they know of your life and writing some trash piece of work in a creative writing course; just plain repetitive. And so I finished The Notebook and got started on a list of books that I felt like I needed to read before I went to college. Between me and my mom, I was still building a collection of your works, though to this day I have not read another one since The Notebook during (I believe) my sophomore year of high school. Still, I chose to go meet you because I thought that some day I would return and you would welcome me into the loving arms of one of your books.

Then along came Cormac. We met when I was in college and unlike many of the relationships I formed during those years, this one stuck. His voice was gravely and masculine. His words vivid and colorful. His pen a veritable brush against the canvas, making the dust and deep sunsets I’d grown up surrounded by seem so much more beautiful.

Since reading your words the other day I have wondered what it could be that led you to say such critical things about a fellow writer and in public. While this post was intended as a bit of a satire (I know very well that your little public breakdown and verbal vomit about how you are greater than the greats is not fueled by the fact that you are no longer my favorite author), however, I am as serious as can be in questioning — where has your southern sense of decorum gone? I’m not a proponent of using harsh words against someone or their work at any time, but couldn’t you have had the decency to keep your opinion to yourself? Simply saying, “I’m not a fan” would have been sufficient in letting the interviewer know that they weren’t going to get much out of that line of questioning. Instead you took the bait and ran without, making us all privy to your innermost thoughts on Mr. McCarthy and his novel.

I am guessing the truth behind the feelings we see expressed in the interview lies in jealousy. It is understandable that you would be covetous of the talent of a writer, whose own works when set to film produce Academy Award winning pictures. But, sir…please. Remember the things your parents taught you. Use a little grace.

No one likes a whiner.

No one likes a bad sport.

No one likes a narcissist.

And you, sir, have placed yourself squarely in each of those camps.

P.S., There’s very little chance I’ll be reading any of your novels or seeing any films based on your work again. And really, we know that’s what cuts the deepest.

30th Anniversary Stairway to Heaven
Elmore City, OK
April 17, 2010

If you’re going to be in Oklahoma this weekend you’re still looking for something to do, the City of Elmore City has you covered all day long! Smack dab in between Oklahoma City and Dallas, just off of I-35 you can get a taste of small town flavor and take part in the festivities.

This Saturday, Elmore City is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first prom held at Elmore City High School (now Elmore City – Pernell) back in 1980. You may know it as the historic prom that inspired the film Footloose.

Some highlights going on throughout the day:

• 10:00 a.m. — S. Main Street — 30th Anniversary Stairway to Heaven Event Kick Off
• 10:15-45 a.m. — Community Center — Dance Contests (Twist, Electric Slide)
• 11:00 a.m. — S. Main Street — Lawn Mower Races
• 11:30 a.m. — ECP Track Field — Lawn Mower Races
• 1:00 p.m. — Community Center — Oklahoma City International Folk Dancers
• 3:00 p.m. — Downtown Elmore City — 30th Anniversary Parade
• 4:30 p.m. — Community Center — ECP Alumni Meet & Greet
• 5:30 p.m. — Downtown Elmore City — Promenade
• 7:00 p.m. — S. Main Street — 30th Anniversary Street Dance

Complete Schedule
Directions + Map Pinpointing Storm Shelters (this is Oklahoma)

Hope to see you there! For more information, contact City Hall at (580) 788-2345

The City of Elmore City has no idea I’m doing this. I wasn’t asked. I’m just a little ol’ alumna that’s pretty stinking excited!

This week I had the privilege to review a book by one of my favorite Christian fiction authors, Liz Curtis Higgs. Her latest book, Here Burns My Candle, does not disappoint. Higgs once again tells the story of characters in Scotland with a biblical tale superimposed over their lives. This time we’re looking at the story of Naomi and Ruth. Theis book was a delight to read and I never wanted to put it down. Higgs has a way of doing that. Her books are some of the very few romances that I enjoy reading. there is something about the way that she handles the characters that I really love. They are round, believable, and most importantly — real.

Here is the publisher’s summary:

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

Here Burns My Candle is available for purchase from the publisher.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Jud, I don’t know who you are, but when I read your comment on this blog I could not keep myself from saying, “Amen.” Thank you for your willingness to speak truth.

I’d love to give you more credit than just your name, so if you’re reading this, please let me know!

1) I’ve read and heard enough from Mclaren.

2) Most American Pastors now refer to themselves as “followers of Christ”. Mclaren considers himself a “follower of Christ”. Ghandi considered himself a “follower of Christ”. The Dali Lama considers himself a follower of Christ.None of the latter three speak as to the ATONEMENT and the BLOOD of Christ. Myself? I follow the Chicago Cubs.

2) It’s ridiculous for McLaren or anyone else to use “the American Church” as a political pawn the way he does. As much as 80% of American Christians are “people who said a prayer” not in fact Born Again Christians. So it’s pathetic to say that American Christianity represents Jesus in the first place. A LONG time ago evangelism became a NUMBERS game. We are a people who create “experiences ” and manipulate peoples emotions… they say a prayer before they even think about the COSTS… we chalk one more up and they walk away ever battling doubts confident in the prayer they said.

3) The Holy Spirit represents Jesus. MANY in the Church (Pastors included) are Lost as can be… their lives are not led by the Spirit. Look around… our worship services are about the FLESH. The senses MUST be addressed because an emotional experience has replaced solid Bible teaching and discipleship, Godly sorrow and Repentance. WORKS and Social Justice are the fillers for opiating the carnal conscience.

4) Our creativity, our innovations, our “vision casting” our egos and our cleverness have replaced the cornerstone. We’ve become a people of self promotion. We aren’t broken and humble, we are smooth, we are slick, we are successful, we are appealing to the flesh. We are approved by the World. The pale echoes of the martyrs haunt us.

-Jud

This is preliminary, I’ll probably edit it and include it in my overall discussion of the series, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out there. Please understand that I am coming at this from (most likely) a different approach on dating and it’s informed by a Christian worldview. I’m really not interested in arguing my points right now and may be deleting comments that I deem inappropriate.

* * *

Okay, I’m almost done with the first one and here’s what I think so far…

• Yes, it is engaging. If you want a romance that requires little thought, this is it.
• The writing is juvenile, but probably does well to appeal to the target audience (only speaking for the first book here).
• The magnetic pull that Bella feels for Edward is incredibly disturbing to me and I will go into that later.
• Bella calls Edward her “savior” at least once and says that she would rather die than be without him…I don’t like that.

Here’s the deal. By the time all of this stuff is going on they have known each other for a few months, but have had about a dozen kind of probing conversations. And she’s “unconditionally and irrevocably” in love with him. I understand this is fiction, but what really upsets me is that there are teens and tweens out there reading this stuff and setting up some really ridiculous expectations for relationships. Bella does not question Edward (so far) on anything. He tells her time and time again that he is dangerous and that she needs to stay away from him. Bella feels no fear whatsoever in his presence and her chief concern from about 100 pages or so into this thing is him, how he feels, and what he is thinking. It is an all-consuming, obsessive “love” she feels for him (I’m sorry, but at this point there is nothing that makes me feel like there is love between them, at least nothing more than either A. the puppy variety or B. some supernatural hold he has on her that rids her of her senses in his presence).

This is a problem for me. And it’s a problem because it’s young girls reading it who don’t know the difference, who don’t know that this is NOT REAL. I’m not even talking about the vampire aspect. I’m saying that Meyer is selling some cooked up version of “love” to a generation of females who are going to understand how sadly mistaken (and misled) they were when they realize that this isn’t the way things happen and that ultimately your feelings are NOT what you need to be trusting. I feel like I can say this pretty well-informed at this point, since I have a few cousins that have been obsessed with these books since the first one came out (they were all around 12/13 at the time), who have CLEARLY had their views on relationships affected by this. Can’t even go there right now.

I won’t lie, it’s been an enjoyable, easy-to-read (if you can get past all of the CHAGRIN!!!) distraction that conjures up the butterfly feelings of crushes. I just can’t see it being beneficial for younger ladies. This is exactly the sort of thing I would have jumped into when I was in middle/high school and it was NOT what I needed back then.

It’s that time of year. Today I did the Black Friday thing, nothing crazy though. Just a few stops for gifts around Penn Square Mall in OKC. I link to that because it has a PHENOMENAL gift featured there: a Remote Control Tarantula. I have seen one of these things in action and you cannot go wrong. Myself, I’m hoping for an iPod Touch. I should probably tell my mom that since she doesn’t read this very often. There was a Christmas a few years ago where it seemed like Mom and Dad bought a lot of iPods. Now most of us are making enough money to buy our own. That won’t stop me from asking for one so that I don’t have to part with my cash though!

Now, more gift ideas!

• Yankee Candles, especially their festive scents. I love having a home that smells of fir trees, cider, and firewood. Feels like life in the country.
• Twilight – You know for the tweens you cannot go wrong with this book…as much as I hate to say it. But it’s likely you’re too late and they like, already have all of them and have seen the movie, have the posters and soundtrack, yada yada.
• Neti Pot – Is it inappropriate to get someone a neti pot? Because I’m thinking I’d like one.
• A one-year subscription to Real Simple.

If this strikes a chord with you, I recommend For Women Only (or, if you are a guy, For Men Only — I’ve read both).

This feels like a Pretty in Pink kind of day. Maybe it’s because I’m crampy and I associate cramps with being a teenager and angst and being interested in one guy while having two or three more interested in you while the first one couldn’t really care less.

And maybe it’s because the only other thing I considered watching was Atonement and right now I just don’t feel like it. It’s too soon. I watched it yesterday for the first time and it devastated me. Seriously, there was nothing happy about that at all. And I know that stories aren’t always happy. But the end got me. Once you get to that point (if you haven’t read the novel already) you can begin to put things together and the typing sounds in the score really make it all make sense, but an unreliable narrator really riles me up. Especially one that I have next to no compassion for and one who thinks that writing a story and “giving” two people a happy ending is really even close to “atoning” for her “sins.” I found it quite presumptuous of Briony to state that she gave the couple their happiness and that comment alone made me seriously question her state of mind. Is she losing it by this point?

I’d like to add that I didn’t feel any sort of compassion for Cecelia either, as I don’t think she gave Young Briony half a chance. She was a little girl who saw something she didn’t understand and ended up making something much larger out of it. Honestly, an adult can tell from the first second when he appears who the real culprit is, but what is a little girl to think? Certainly that the fellow with the most evidence against him is the guilty party.

I will say that it was terribly beautiful cinematography though. The racy content at the beginning makes it something I really can’t recommend in good conscience, but it’s very, very pretty. Not the racy content — the film overall. Sigh.

The way it’s stuck with me reminds me of the feeling I had after watching A Walk to Remember for the first time. I know what you’re thinking. She’s comparing a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel to one based on a novel by Ian McEwan? I understand. But I must tell you that at the time that film came out, it was something very close. I had never identified with a character so much as Jamie Sullivan (in the book) and the film made it all the more real (though less appealing in some ways). To see her situation and the change that she helped to spark in that boy by expressing her faith really touched me. To watch her dreams come true and then have her pass from this life to the next, well, it made me examine my life, priorities, and where I stood on a lot of things. I began to seriously consider the impact my words and the way I lived had (or could have) on people. If you can get past the cheese factor (which doesn’t bother me so much because I am a certified Cheeseball) there are some great lessons to be gleaned from A Walk to Remember. I would suggest the novel over the film though.

If you enjoyed Atonement, I recommend: Jeux d’enfants (Eng. Title: Love Me If You Dare)

I have no need for this, but I think it is one of the cutest pregnancy shirts I’ve seen. So I thought I’d share it with those of you who might have some use for it! Most pregnancy shirts that I see on celebrities annoy me (e.g. Britney Spears), but this one…this one is just perfect. By disco belly™.