It's a Swedish tradition to make "semlor" (that's the plural, singular is "semla") for Fat Tuesday (or as they call it, "Fettisdagen"). Donald decided to make them this year. He got his recipe from his mother, but here's one online (in English) if you're interested.
I think he's only made them once before since moving to the US, and I don't remember much about them, so I'm a bit curious. I guess we'll probably make them over the weekend, which will be a longer one than usual for us, since he's taking Monday off. :o)
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I'm feeling a little bit nostalgic for the 90s today. Just thought I'd let you know. (g)
Seriously, though-- at the time, I never thought "Yeah, boy, these are the years!" Just like there probably aren't many people walking around today thinking "Early 2008 is the greatest time of my life! If only this year could last forever!" And yet in ten or fifteen years, some of us will probably look back fondly and think how simple life was for us "back then".
I'm not saying that I'd like to relive the 90s-- no more middle and high school, thanks; I've had my fill-- but we're all allowed a little nostalgia. ;o) This particular bout was brought on by a familiar song I heard while grocery shopping yesterday. With a little creative googling, I identified it as "Hazard" by Richard Marx and even found the music video on YouTube. (I keep telling you, this Internet thing is downright nifty!) It's not a warm, fuzzy song at all, but it still brought back a lot of pleasant memories. Funny how even an ominous song about a murder can be nostalgic, huh? Or maybe that's only true for the dark and grungy 1990s. . . ;o)
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LOST finally returned with a new episode last night. Which I'm sure you already knew, if you care at all.
Still, just to be on the safe side-- If you haven't seen the newest episode, there are spoilers coming up now.
Big, bad LOST spoilers!!
Right now! After just another line or two of warnings!
. . . So stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled! ! ! (This also applies if you haven't seen the show and don't give a hoot about it.)
--So, what did you think? As far as season premiers go, this one probably wasn't the most spectacular the series has ever offered. (Remember the disoriented feeling when we realized that the first few moments of that one premier wasn't a "flashback", but was following the normal routine of someone in the bunker, just moments before John blasted off the door?) Still, it wasn't bad. It did feel pretty hopeless, though. . . I mean, the ones (six, I guess, since Hurley referred to "The Oceanic Six", right?) who made it off the island seem to be in trouble. I'm a bit confused and lots curious, but that just comes with the territory for this show. ;o)
Here are some things I was thinking about while I watched. Feel free to comment/discuss in the comments section, if you like. Or not. (g)
- They need to stop "killing off" so many characters. I'm getting tired of it. Yes, every now and then it's a powerful plot twist, but it's also possible to overdo it. I like some of the secondary characters better than their precious Jack and Kate, but given the rate at which they keep flicking these characters into oblivion, I don't want to get too invested in them!
- So, since Hurley is going to hide and Jack and Kate aren't-- and based on the preview for the next ep.-- I guess we can assume that they aren't immediately rescued (since we know all three of them are rescued). I wonder who the other three rescued castaways are. . .
- I'm sure the folks on the message boards have been playing around with theories since the season finale, but who do you think was in the coffin? Someone related to the island, almost certainly, but it must not be someone they liked. (Not friend or family, Jack said, and Kate wondered why he thought she'd come to the viewing.)
- Is Jack's dad still really alive? Jack was drugged up and somewhat out of it when he referred to his father, so it's possible that he just slipped up, but the other doctor (albeit maybe a new kid on the block) didn't look startled, so it seems likely that he is still around. Very, very weird.
- Something FutureHurley said gave me the impression that some of the people are still on the island. But that doesn't make sense, unless they were hiding. Otherwise, you'd think they'd be "rescued" even if they said they wanted to stay.
- What does GhostCharlie want FutureHurley to do?
- And based on what FutureJack said, we get the impression that they're not supposed to give away the truth about the island-- or something like that. (At least, Jack seems worried that Hurley will say too much.) What's the big secret? Did they have to agree to secrecy in exchange for rescue? Are they protecting whoever/whatever's still on the island?
- Incidentally, I'm not sure if the "future" scenes are really supposed to be set in "our" future. I'm not such an obsessed fan that I recall when the plane crashed, how long they've been on the island so far, etc. Maybe the "future" in the show is actually our present? Anyway, for ease of use ;o) I'm referring to "on the island" as "present" and "back in the real world" as "future".
- Speaking of present vs. future-- Do you think this episode and the season finale set the tone for the whole season? Instead of flashing back to character's lives before the crash, will we continue to flash forward to their lives after rescue? (Or at this point, since the season finale may have started in the "future"-- I can't recall-- maybe they're still flashbacks, but they're flashing back to the island and the new status quo is the "future", off the island. . .)
- When FutureKate and FutureJack meet (in the season finale), she says she has to go because "he" will be wondering where she is-- or something like that. I wonder who "he" might be. . . It could be Sawyer-- maybe he wouldn't be too happy about Kate going to meet Jack-- but that just doesn't feel "right". It must be someone else. . .
- Weird how people's lives are so intertwined in this show, isn't it? (g) Of all the detectives for FutureHurley to talk to, it just happens to be one who knew Ana Lucia. What was the point of that, do you think? Just to forcefully remind Hurley of the horrors he experienced on the island-- and bring on the hallucination and panic attack-- or was it setting the stage for something more with that detective?
- That "haunted house" thing is creepy! (g) Who do you think they eye peeking out at Hurley was supposed to belong to? I mean, we saw a shadowy figure (Jacob, I assume) in his spooky rocking chair. . . Then up pops this eye! If it's someone else, then who? John Locke, who conveniently turns up a moment later? Could John have gone back to the shack in search of Jacob? You wouldn't think so, considering how he turned tail and ran away the first time he heard the disembodied voice, but John's a strange character, so who knows.
- The whole "Jacob" thing is just so weird that I don't even know where to begin with it. What is Jacob? A ghost? The black cloud of smoke? (No, probably not.) I hope they'll at least show us soon how Ben came to find Jacob.
- Oh, and while they're at it, can they please explain to me why that one guy (the one who looks like he's wearing eyeliner) looks exactly the same age "now" as he did when he first met Ben as a kid, even though Ben looks 30 years older? (g) Maybe the guy just has good genes and a great nutrition/exercise plan-- or a skillful plastic surgeon-- but I'm skeptical.
