More glorious “Lost” fan-baiting

Yesterday, we talked about the series of Lost “Missing Pieces” web episodes. Today, I want to bring your attention to another manner in which Lost’s producers have been baiting (placating?) fans in the recent weeks leading up to the premiere of season four (which, in case you live in complete, desolate seclusion, is TOMORROW!!). I’m talking about “Find 815“, the second “alternate reality game” (or ARG) shedding light on and adding more questions to the ever-growing Lost mythology. These ARGs take place primarily online and consist of different videos, e-mails and other clues leading to fresh fodder for Lost-ophiles, the idea being that we’re observing and/or taking part in events that are corresponding with (and therefore part of) the story lines on the actual television show Lost.

The first Lost ARG, known as “The Lost Experience“, took place (in the most literal sense) in 2006 and centered around the story line of a young woman searching for answers about the mysterious Hanso Foundation. The current ARG focuses on the quest of a former Oceanic Airlines employee who wants to know what happened to Oceanic flight 815 — because his flight-attendant girlfriend was one of those on board. Apparently, the game is set to culminate in the hours before Lost’s season four premiere, leading one to assume that a semi-major revelation may be in store. [Here's a great website with continuous updates about "Find 815".]

As always, if you don’t care about Lost, you may feel that you just wasted several minutes of your incredibly precious time by reading the preceding text. But since you’ve made it this far, I’m assuming, dear reader, that either you’re just as big a Lost fan as I, or else you’re searching for some kind of path to cultural enlightenment, and you think I might just be able to cast some light on the trail. Either way, click on some of the preceding links to find out more.

Dave’s Film Festival: catching up

As you may recall, dear reader, some weeks back I began viewing selections for Dave’s Film Festival, a new event on the industry circuit that consists of me borrowing films from the local library, watching them, and giving you my thoughts on each. Unfortunately, while I’ve been keeping up with the viewings, I’ve been derelict in providing you with my analysis. And though, in the interest of time, I won’t give full recaps, I’ll play a little catch-up by telling you what was viewed, with brief summation of each (in order of viewing):

Serpico (1973) – A crime drama by director Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. Gives the story of a hippie-loving cop who busts a corruption ring engulfing much of the New York City police force.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – A landmark film noir effort by director John Huston. Profiles a bank heist gone wrong, as well as the backstabbing and repercussions that follow.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Another Lumet/Pacino film, outlining yet another failed bank heist. Famous for the line “Attica!”, yelled repeatedly by Pacino to stir up the crowd outside and turn the event into a spectacle, which it was.

The Conversation (1974) – Starring Gene Hackman as a surveillance man struggling with regret and paranoia, this was the film Francis Ford Coppola made between the first two Godfather pictures, and it stands tall even compared to those.

Network (1976) – One more Lumet picture, this a somewhat farcical tale of a television news program overtaken by a ratings war and general ’70s decadence; famous for the line “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more!”, yelled by a news anchor. While that portion of the film was entertaining, an interwoven story line about a love triangle rang hollow and brought down the entire film.

The Fearless Freaks (2005) – A documentary about Oklahoma band The Flaming Lips by Oklahoma filmmaker Bradley Beesley, this was an entertaining look at one of the more daringly creative and influential rock bands around today.

Okie Noodling (2001) – Another documentary by Beesley, this time looking at the predominantly southern art of “noodling” or “hand-fishing”, which consists of shoving one’s hand in a mud hole in hopes of enticing a large catfish to latch on. Engrossing.

Barton Fink (1991) – One of the early critical successes by the film-making team of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Tells the story of a New York City playwright in the 1940s who attempts to make a go of it in Hollywood.

Solaris (2002) – Starring George Clooney, this is the second film version (the first was in 1972) of a Polish novel in which a mysterious planet plagues the astronauts orbiting it.

Lost: Missing Pieces — baiting the fans and making them like it

If, dear reader, you feel you may not know me as well as you desire, there is really only one thing you need to know right now: I love Lost. The television show, that is, in which a group of plane crash survivors try to come to terms with the mysterious happenings taking place on the Pacific island on which they’re stranded. In recent weeks, much of my time has been devoted to fan sites about the show (despite E.J.’s constant deriding), and it’s because this Thursday, the show will return from a nine-month hiatus with the premiere of season four, and I am beyond ecstatic. But more on that later.

In the past few months, Lost’s producers have kept fans baited by a series of 13 two- to three-minute web episodes (or “mobisodes”, as they’re sometimes called) featuring new, tantalizing scenes from story lines from the show’s previous three seasons. Titled “Missing Pieces”, they have ranged from the seemingly pointless to the amusing to the suspenseful, but none have been as potentially mind-blowing as the final installment, seen here. I’m not going to try explaining it to you; either you watch the show and you’ll understand, or you don’t and you couldn’t care less. There’s not much middle ground. This final one may be my favorite of the bunch, though it’s in a dead heat with this one. You can watch all 13 here or here.

Unique Profiles: Hunter S. Thompson

Another brief post for the people. This second installment in our “Unique Profiles” series focuses on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, largely accepted as the original practitioner of the “gonzo” style of journalism. Several books looking back at Thompson’s life have been released in the past year, including this one by some of his former colleagues at Rolling Stone magazine. The book leans heavily on first-person accounts from people who knew Thompson. Here’s a review of the book from the New York Times Book Review by TIME magazine writer Joel Klein, and some excerpts from, what else, Rolling Stone. Read and enjoy.

Dave’s thinking about getting a MacBook Pro…but E.J. is encouraging him to wait

Well, I haven’t made a post in a few moons, now, so I thought I’d share with you one of the reasons why: My ongoing deliberation over whether or not to purchase a new MacBook Pro laptop computer. (In case you don’t know what one is, you can find out here.) However, by sending me recent Apple rumor threads like this, this and this, E.J. is, so far, successfully persuading me to wait it out in case Apple comes out with an updated model of the device, which they are supposedly going to do soon. How long can I wait? Only time will tell…