Darlton on New LOST Cast Members

Ooh, nice. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse broke radio silence.

These LOST executive producers - called Darlton, for short - spoke with Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly about the five new LOST cast members.

'Lost': Five Fresh Faces

Out of the five (Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung, Rebecca Mader, Lance Reddick, and Jeff Fahey), I've only seen Rebecca Mader. She was on The Devil Wears Prada as one of the Runway girls. There was no British accent on her character (unlike Emily Blunt's Emily who isn't British in the book) so I didn't know she was British.

It's nice to know that each new character will appear in more than one episode. So unlike Isabel, the Others' sheriff, who only appeared in Stranger in a Strange Land then disappeared. It's only when Darlton appeared on Comic-Con 2007 that we learned the character is dead.

So excited! So, so excited!

In the meantime, it's up to us - the hardcore fans and otherwise - to speculate and theorise on these new characters. Not to mention, everything about Season Four, and Seasons Five and Six.

The Song of the Lonely and Depressed

Irvine

Written by Kelly Clarkson and Aben Eubanks

::Published by Smelly Songs/EMI April Music, Inc. (ASCAP), DigbyOmega Music (BMI)::

::Kelly Clarkson, My December (2007)::

Are you there?
Are you watching me?
As I lie here on this floor
They say you feel what I do
They say you’re here every moment

Will you stay?
Stay ‘till the darkness leaves
Stay here with me
I know you’re busy, I know I’m just one
But you might be the only one who sees me
The only one to save me

Why is it so hard?
Why can’t you just take me?
I don’t have much to go
Before I fade completely

Can you feel how cold I am?
Do you cry as I do?
Are you lonely up there all by yourself?
Like I have felt all my life
The only one to save mine

How are you so strong?
What’s it like to feel so free?
Your heart is really something
Your love, a complete mystery to me

Are you there watching me?
As I lie here on this floor
Do you cry, do you cry with me?
Cry with me tonight

Are you there?
Are you watching me?

Kelly Clarkson said in an interview that this song was written after a really crappy day, I believe the last stop in her Addicted tour, in Irvine, CA. I think Kelly was crying out to God, because she couldn't take it anymore, whatever it was that drove her to write this. She was wondering about the Christian claims that God is everywhere and is with us in everything.

I know the answer to her questions, I do. I know, in my mind and in my heart, that God is with us always. I feel Him weeping sometimes when I'm weeping.

I've had these dark days and nights, like she was singing about in "Irvine," and I don't deny that I sometimes felt that God was so far away.

These days, I've been feeling so lonely. I felt it the most on the night that I watched The Bourne Ultimatum after work. I could have called my friends, but with G taking care of her baby, L being very pregnant with her first baby, and the rest of them having busy careers, they'd decline anyway. Being surrounded by couples, families, and cliques didn't help my self-esteem that night. Sure, there were a few solitaires in the auditorium, but that still didn't help.

It's not easy being single. Especially if it's a self-imposed no-dating-for-a-year policy. The fact that my best friend A is happily married with a child made my single status just a little bit harder to live with. (I'm truly happy for her, but I gotta be honest: I can't help feeling envious.) Then G entered a relationship and had a baby; L secretly got married while in the Philippines and is now pregnant with her first child; J just got married; a few church friends got married and one of them just had a baby; A just got engaged; and C also got engaged!

What is happening to my friends???

Not only that. My so-called family is not helping. I've been sick twice this month and all I hear from my mother are variations of "I don't believe you're sick" and "You're going to get fired." Really supportive of you, mother. My boss treats me a lot better than my mother does. My sister snorts at my living-in-a-condo dreams. My niece and my nephew screw up a lot of things in my life. My brother-in-law is finishing my room in the basement, which is bound to make me feel a lot lonelier and colder this winter. And my mother recently admitted to me that my brother is her favourite child - which means she'd been lying to my sister and me since that chaotic and painful night in February 1997.

*Sigh*

Back to the double-edged sword that is my singleness. Do I need a man? I'm not gonna lie. Yes, I do. Do I need one now? Right now? Maybe.

I only want someone to love me - and for me to love - apart from my so-called family and friends. He doesn't have to be Antonio Banderas, Adam Rodriguez, JC Chasez, Matthew Fox or Matt Damon. I'm only asking God to make him - the one He's preparing for me - a true Christian (ahem, ahem!), someone who can make me laugh, who can stay with me through my many ups and downs, who will try his best to understand me (I only need him to try, because understanding me is not going to be easy for anyone), who will be honest with me (I don't want skeletons in the closet; if there's something I need to know - kids, ex-wives, etc - I want to know as early in the relationship as possible), who will be a good father to my future children, and who will be good to me.

Is that too much to ask?

God is probably reading this as I write and He must be saying, "Not yet, my dear, not yet." That's fine with me. But what if He was saying, "No, My daughter, I want you to be single for the rest of your life, for Me?"

I'd be sad, but I know it'll be all right. He has a plan for me and He know what's best for me. I only hope that He'll give me a dog and make me live in Switzerland while I serve Him without a husband and children.

But why do I still feel so alone?

I need a good cry...

Al-Qaida Murder Plot Against Justin Timberlake???

I read on the morning paper that the al-Qaeda is plotting to kill Justin Timberlake, David Beckham, and P. Diddy, among others. The article said the al-Qaeda thinks these men represent the bad - "criminal" - Western influence on the Muslim youth.

Let's analyse their lives and influences, shall we?

Well, we all know Justin Timberlake as the ex-*NSYNCer who ditched his four friends to make it big on his own. When I say "big," I mean HUGE! ENORMOUS! GINORMOUS! What are his songs about? Initially about how Britney Spears cheated on him (allegedly), how he reacted (pissed off, of course!), and then he shot the "Cry Me A River" video that all but confirmed the cheating rumours. For creative and cathartic purposes, that's fine - although I was pissed off at him. Anyway, eventually his songs became about rocking our bodies, making love with senoritas, bringing the sexy back (I believe Prince snorted at this because he and I agree that sexy was never gone), his love, karma (about Elisha Cuthbert and his BFF Trace Ayala - cue "What Goes Around... Comes Around"), and summer love. Then he started making out with Janet Jackson (which, of course, led to the Superbowl half-time show in 2004) and dating Alyssa Milano, Jenna Dewan, and Cameron Diaz. After breaking up with Cameron Diaz, he (allegedly) hooked up with Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel, who is his current girlfriend. Also, he has created his own record label and, generally, life has been going great - wait, freaking excellent - for him. All of this is happening while his former band mates are trying to stay afloat in the entertainment business. Lance Bass came out, makes movies, produces movies, etcetera; Joey Fatone is now a TV host and Dancing With The Stars runner-up; Chris Kirkpatrick is now in that VH1 show Mission: Man Band with other boy band alums; and JC Chasez is struggling to get his new record Kate out (Jive truly sucks!). Can you tell Justin Randall Timberlake isn't one of my favourite people?


David Beckham, on the other hand, is a star soccer player from the UK, whose wife is the former Posh Spice. They have three boys and they recently moved to L.A. as David now plays for the Major League Soccer team L.A. Galaxy (although he's injured). I don't dislike him as much as Justin Timberlake, but I don't care for him either. I don't follow soccer, unless it's a FIFA World Cup year, and I've outgrown the Spice Girls. At best, I'm indifferent towards the Beckhams. Anyway, David Beckham is supposedly a very good soccer player, but I haven't seen him win a game for any of his teams (maybe he has, but I don't care anyway). Also, his wife is a notorious spender and is filming a reality show for NBC (I think) to depict their move to LA. And the couple spend a fortune on their sons, even in the most mundane of things. In short, they are rich and famous, but their lives are more about the hype than the substance - at least, so far (I wouldn't care anyway).


P. Diddy, also known as Sean Combs or Puff Daddy, is a mega-successful recording executive, back up singer, performer, producer of MTV's Making the Band, writer, arranger, clothing designer, and Broadway actor. He also has four children with two women, whom he never married. He has been involved in several legal battles, the most notable of which is the trial against him for weapons violation, bribery charges, and other charges related to a nightclub shooting on December 1999. He was eventually acquitted on all charges, but his co-accused, rapper Shyne, was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. As a performer/writer/record producer, he extensively sampled songs which has been heavily criticised by some. During the 2004 U.S. presidential elections, P. Diddy, among other celebrities, encouraged young people to vote with the "Vote Or Die" campaign. However, it was reported that Diddy, along with Paris Hilton and Ludacris, wasn't even registered to vote. Can you say hypocrisy?

Anyway, so here's what we've got: a pop/R&B superstar who writes sexually charged songs and bitter songs, a hyped-up sports star, and a hypocritical and at-times unoriginal hip hop mogul. Nice.

I went to the Wikipedia article on Islam (I know Wikipedia isn't exactly reliable, but it's a start) and didn't find any specific crime that would fit all three stars, except unlawful intercourse (between unmarried couples?) and consumption of alcohol, I guess.

So, if there are any Muslims (al-Qaeda-loving or otherwise) who read this entry, please tell me why the al-Qaeda would consider the above male stars as having criminal influences on Muslim youth.

What if it's true? What if the al-Qaeda attempts to murder any one of these men?

What would happen to those who love them? How would they react? Most likely, they'll demand that Osama and his friends die a really horrible death in the hands of the U.S. soldiers.

Would the soldiers care? The women perhaps?

Would I care? Hmm... I'm indifferent towards David Beckham and P. Diddy, at best, so I'd probably grieve for a moment then move on.

Justin Timberlake is a different story, though. I will not grieve. I will not be sad. I won't be too happy, but I definitely won't be sad. He deserves it.

"Cast Away" - The True Story of LOST's Creation

This is an interesting article...

"Cast Away" - Chicago Magazine - August 2007

Now I know why the credits look like this:

So it turned out, Jeffrey Lieber has no creative input whatsoever in the show's first three seasons and three remaining seasons. He's being credited as a creator just because he wrote the first draft of the pilot episode. That's cool. ABC recognised someone's hard work even though it was a one-time thing.

However, how come Mr Lieber gets "60 percent of the 'created by' credit, while Abrams and Lindelof split the remaining 40 percent" when Mr Lieber has never collaborated with J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof in the creative process?

How fair is that? Sure, Mr Lieber had the original idea. But that's peanuts - nothing - compared to the dedication that J.J. and Damon have put in the show.

Unfair.