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We can spend all day talking about the mythology and background revealed on “Ab Aeterno,” an intense episode of Lost–and I’m sure we will–but let’s say this first: fancy story aside, last night showed us a fine hour of acting, plain and simple. |
I’ve seen Nestor Carbonell in a variety of roles on TV (from Bat Manuel in The Tick to the CBS soap Cane), and it’s not like he’s been a slouch as Richard on Lost. But until this season, he’s had to play Richard on a single, subdued, sustained note of enigmatic cool. In “Ab Aeterno,” he almost literally made Richard into another character, showing us the decent, desperate, heartbroken man who would be transformed over 140 years as Jacob’s ambassador on the Island. |
It may have seemed like a lot of time spent to some viewers, but clearly Cuse and Lindelof thought they needed to show, not just tell, the circumstances that brought Richard to his current pass. And Carbonell sold it, embodied Ricardo’s horror as he lived through a Victorian-horror melodrama. Which is important, because they had to place us in the mindset of someone who believes, literally not figuratively, that he is actually in hell. |
So are they in hell? (That, and Purgatory, were among the first theories fans spun about Lost.) Are they actually in danger, as Ghost Isabella says, of going to hell? No, but Ricardo has come to what he thinks of as hell, and to a place that someone of his era and mindset will naturally interpret as hell. Unlike, say, Hurley, a religious, penitent man living on the Canary Islands in 1867 has not read sci-fi or seen a monster movie in his life. If he ends up in a place where he sees horrors, where the dead come to life (and are seemingly killed again), and a thing made of smoke snatches men up to their death—well, that’s hell, case closed. Someone of another era will give it a different name. |
It’s not hell–right?–but it is, “Ab Aeterno” told us more explicitly than ever, a metaphysical playing ground, where two forces are battling it out through human subjects, not unlike gods in Greek mythology. So what game are Jacob and Smokey/The Man in Black playing? We got the rough outline at the end of season 5–and fans have inferred or theorized most of the rest–but it was still a bit stunning to hear Jacob say it to Ricardo directly. |
To wit: Smokey is imprisoned on the Island. He is a malevolent force–call him evil, call him hatred, call him the devil if you want–who, if released, would spread over the world like, well, black smoke. (Or wine. I like the idea of a Wine Monster.) Jacob brings people to the Island, where–whatever they have done in the past–they have a chance to choose good over evil. (He is, metaphorically, the producer of Lost.) Jacob believes people can choose good. Smokey believes (as he said in the season 5 finale) that they always go bad in the end. Smokey tries to manipulate and tempt them toward that end; Jacob believes they must choose of their own free will. |
So far, so God-and-Devily. But what is “right and wrong” in the endgame of Lost, anyway? I’m glad, if this is the case, that the arc of the series is the characters’ redemption, and that they have agency to choose for themselves. Still, is their goodness going to be defined by which side they pick in this Island-god showdown? Why exactly, is it “good” to pick the jackass deity who strands innocent people in an Island hellhole over the jackass deity who deceives and or kills them once they get there? It’s better, maybe, but I’m not sure Jacob’s role in all this seems so holy. You crashed me on this terrifying rock so you could “prove [Smokey] wrong?” Have a freaking debate society and leave me out of it! |
In any event, from “Ab Aeterno,” the notion of the Losties finally saying pox-on-both-your-houses and rejecting the whole cosmic game seems less likely. Though I still see signs that Smokey and Jacob may be more alike than they let on: it was certainly interesting to see that, when Smokey tried to enlist Ricardo to kill Jacob, he gave him the knife and the same speech that Dogen (not Jacob, but his servant) gave Sayid to get him to kill Smokey. |
As all this unfolds, I hope that the other conflicts over the Island built over the last five seasons–the “science-based” story, if you will–aren’t wholly subsumed in the Paradise Lost scenario. How does Hanso, and his descendants in the Hanso foundation, figure into all this? Why did they come to see the Island as significant, and what exactly did Dharma want to achieve on the Island? How did Widmore get there in the first place, and what did he want–and what investment, if any, do Smokey and Jacob have in his war with Ben, and vice versa? The closer I get to the center of the onion, the more I want to revisit the layers. |
Those are all big-picture questions that (I will be a broken record here) are impossible to judge until the season and series are over. As an episode, “Ab Aeterno” again proved Lost’s ability to find the humanity in, and build a connection with, its most seemingly enigmatic characters. Hell of a job. |
* Is it just me, or did Titus Welliver get direction to deliver his lines like Terry O’Quinn—or, specifically, as O’Quinn-as-Smokey-as-Locke? Whether intentional or coincidental, Welliver’s phrasing and manner made clear he and O’Quinn were playing the same character in different bodies. Nice work. |
* So if Smokey gets off The Island, the world will become plagued with evil, hatred and malevolence. As opposed to…? |
* And about Jacob: did he strike anyone else in the 1867 part of this story as more tough and hard-assed than we’ve seen him in the Island’s present? A bit of an Old Testament Jacob? |
* I’ve been reading elsewhere about the parallels between the plot on the Island and Stephen King’s novels, especially The Stand, which at this point I am glad I haven’t read. But when the Man in Black took out the magic weapon and told Ricardo to kill his enemy, was I the only one reminded of HBO’s Carnivàle, and the murderous eternal war among the avatars? |
* When Ricardo saw Isabella in the hold of The Black Rock, the inference was that this was actually Smokey appearing as Isabella to manipulate him. Presumably Smokey had access to Ricardo’s memories after examining and flash-photographing him, yes? I could look this up but I’m not going to: is this the first time we’ve seen Smokey manifest as a person who (unlike Locke, Yemi or Christian) had not physically been on the Island, even as a corpse? |
* That CGI butterfly that fluttered into the Black Rock’s hold–I assume it’s significant, and I have no explanation for it. (My one theory, that the Island is actually Pandora from Avatar, is probably not too likely.) Speaking of CGI, credit to Lost for showing some scenes set on the ocean that did not look like a low-budget video game. |
* OK, this may be immature, but was anyone else wondering if Hurley and Richard were going to share a kiss, a la Ghost, when Ricardo was visited by the shade of Isabella? It would have blown the moment, I suppose, but still. |
* More seriously, when Isabella told Richard he’d suffered enough, were you thinking he was going to die? More to the point, were you, like me, hoping he would die, as a mercy to him? It’s a tribute to the show that it can cause a reaction like this to a character we’ve long known as one of the bad guys–or so, at least, we thought. |
Texas Tech has announced four finalists for the open position of provost and senior vice president. |
Each finalist will participate in an open forum where participants can learn about them and ask questions. |
� Lawrence Schovanec, interim provost and senior vice president at Tech. Schovanec's open forum is set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, in Room 169 of the Human Sciences building. |
� Michael O'Brien, dean of the College of Arts & Science at the University of Missouri. O'Brien's open forum will be 2:30 to 4 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 5, in Room 169 of the Human Sciences building. |
� Diane Chase, executive vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Central Florida. Chase's open forum will be announced next week. |
� Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research & innovation and dean of the graduate school at the University of Oregon. Espy's open forum will be announced next week. |
So now Stephen Harper needs the Indians. |
It seems everybody does these days — for all the wrong reasons. |
According to sources who have seen Harper consultant Doug Eyford’s confidential report, Stephen Harper’s bureaucrats have not done him any favours in moving the Northern Gateway file forward. Eyford told the PM that genuine engagement with First Nations is the only path left. For a variety of reasons, selling the pipeline to First Nations leaders is now an unofficial panic situation. |
As things now stand, the odds are against a deal with West Coast bands on the pipeline that is supposed to carry Alberta bitumen through British Columbia and out to Asian markets. |
From industry and government’s perspective, time is of the essence. They want a delivery system for Alberta raw oil before other countries with energy for sale put a long-term lock on the markets that are up for grabs, particularly China. |
By contrast, First Nations leaders will not be hustled into a quick or unsatisfactory deal. Northern Gateway is a multiple sore spot for them. They feel as though they have been ignored, marginalized and, to a degree, vilified. There was even a pitiful attempt to buy them off — with a 10-per-cent equity position in Northern Gateway. If it were only a matter of numbers, a deal-winning arrangement would be a stake at least three times as large. |
But it’s not just dollars. It is a matter of reasonable fears by First Nations leaders about protection of the land and water in the wake of the Harper government’s gutting of environmental regulations in its anti-democratic and notorious omnibus legislation. |
It is also a matter of trust: The Harper government doesn’t enjoy much of that in the native community these days. Normally, that wouldn’t bother a government that deals with opposition by taking out a baseball bat and going head-hunting. |
But this time bullying and bulldozing can’t bring the First Nations into line. They have the Constitution and scores of court decisions in their favour. This time around, it is the Harper government that will have to compromise — if the First Nations decide to give it the chance. |
The truth is, they might not bother. |
This time around, it is the Harper government that will have to compromise — if the First Nations decide to give it the chance. The truth is, they might not bother. |
Stephen Harper’s trust account is badly overdrawn. Native leaders will not soon forget how the Conservatives blithely walked away from the work-in-progress that was the Kelowna Accord. |
Although former prime minister Paul Martin wasn’t around long enough to implement a program that aimed at ending native poverty in a decade, his plan enjoyed wide support and created something even more seductive: a sense of optimism. |
Then-Opposition leader Stephen Harper claimed that he supported the plan to end native poverty and the principles of the Kelowna Accord, though he differed on how that should be accomplished. |
Put that in the same category with Harper’s promises not to mess with income trusts or the Old Age Supplement. Canada’s First Nations leaders have had their bags packed for that meeting for going on seven years but the invitation, apparently, is still in the mail. |
That statement covers more than one million people. |
But when Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan ruled in 2013 that Metis and non-status Indians were in fact “Indians” under section of 91/24 of the Constitution, the Prime Minister did not adopt the advice he once gave with such alacrity to the provinces and the territories to discharge their responsibilities. He decided instead to appeal the decision and dispute the ruling that said 600,000 “new” aboriginals came under federal jurisdiction. |
It’s the same story on reserves after seven years of Stephen Harper — the water is still poor, the housing Third World and the health outcomes a national scandal. The best Harper could manage during the Idle No More protests aimed at holding Ottawa to its responsibilities was to mock Chief Theresa Spence. |
The last blow to the PM’s credibility on the aboriginal street may well be the government’s vaunted native education legislation — a plan AFN Chief Shawn Atleo has already panned because it was conceived, as most of this government’s legislation is, unilaterally. |
It is not, in the end, that Stephen Harper has done nothing for Canada’s First Nations. There has been good work on human rights, for example, and real progress on the thorny issue of matrimonial reserve property. |
There has also been some progress on First Nation’s governance. But there has been no consistent record of striking the new relationship once promised, and which looked so promising in the lustre surrounding the government’s apology to Canada’s aboriginals for the cultural atrocities of the residential schools. |
There are things the federal government could do to help win First Nations’ support for pipeline plans. One is to make the bands in B.C. true stakeholders by recognizing the order of wealth transfer that must take place. |
Brian Crowley and Ken Coates of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute came up with some excellent ideas: developing an advanced, evidence-based pipeline and shipping system with input from First Nations and environmental groups; designating the corridor land for pipelines as reserves under the Indian Act, thereby creating another revenue stream for First Nations which could collect taxes; and creating an endowment to cover the cost of oil spills and their clean-up — though no one believes after Exxon Valdez or Deepwater Horizon that any fund could ever hold enough money. |
Even under those circumstances, Northern Gateway is still a very tough sell, and not just to First Nations leaders. The majority of people in British Columbia oppose the project. They know that one major spill could wipe out the B.C. coast, because every salmon, halibut, sea lion, gray whale and sea bird goes past the mouth of the Douglas Channel, where hundreds of tankers would be navigating. |
But the Conservatives’ push needs to start somewhere and it would probably be a good thing if Stephen Harper opts to meet with Canada’s aboriginals in some place other than court. There will never be progress on this file as long as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada owns the dubious record of having the biggest legal bills in the federal government. |
Trust is earned — not litigated. |
I was hoping to share some of the final bits of the Twitter Flight conference with you from my front row seat live and in beautiful mobile color, but was unable to. Seems like Periscope is having a bit of an issue right now that’s not letting anyone stream. Sucky timing, for sure. |
We’re seeing unusually heavy service loads and working on stabilizing the service. Apologies for the inconvenience! |
Twitter was using Periscope to show backstage footage before CEO Jack Dorsey took the stage and perhaps that rocked the house so much it went down. To be fair, it was a 2 hour keynote (that might have gone a bit long, not sure) and if anyone was trying to stream all of it they should learn what livestreaming is all about. |
It’s been down for well over 50 minutes and we’ll update you when we hear more. Luckily there’s a lot of developers around today at the conference, so I’m sure they’ll get everything going again. |
Just picture my Periscope from the end of the keynote being ridiculously awesome. I mean, it would’ve been wobbly but hey, gimme a break. |
The arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez exposes Venezuela’s Potemkin democracy and Hugo Chavez’s poisonous legacy. |
A few days after Venezuelan caudillo Hugo Chavez expired, his body saturated with cancer he believed was implanted in him by the CIA, I sat on an MSNBC panel encircled by academics sympathetic to the dead autocrat. Vastly outnumbered by halfwits and fellow travellers, I reached for the most conciliatory point available. “Chavez was no democrat," I muttered, after viewing clips of various silly pundits denouncing him as a dictator, "but words mean things." An authoritarian, yes, but he didn't quite rise to the definitional standard of dictator. “You can go to Venezuela, you can be in the opposition, you can read [opposition newspaper] El Nacional...” And on and on I droned. |
It was a tedious point, and one that, in pursuit of a narrow semantic argument, elided all the undemocratic developments in Venezuela since Chavez began his campaign of political and social polarization, his destruction of the country’s economy and already tattered democratic institutions. But compared to my fellow guests, I was something of a counterrevolutionary, a wrecker, an ideological deviationist serving the interests of the bourgeoise. Or the CIA. Or USAID. A particularly radical panelist, one of those sad little political pilgrims always sniffing out the next Third World utopia, had argued in the days after Chavez's death that "the biggest problem Venezuela faced during his rule was not that Chávez was authoritarian but that he wasn’t authoritarian enough." |
My academic co-panelist, so disappointed in Chavez’s apparently mild form of Castroism, can rejoice in the disastrous but sufficiently authoritarian rule of his chosen successor, the former bus driver and Chavez confidante Nicolás Maduro. But the Cuban-trained Maduro, who has variously claimed to have seen Chavez’s ghost in bird form and reported that his mentor’s apparition was spotted loitering in the Caracas subway system, rendered the autocrat-versus-dictator debate moot this week when he ordered the arrest of the handsome, telegenic, and Harvard-trained opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. It was Lopez and his allies who helped organize a series of protest marches in the past week, during which three people were brutally gunned down--and the weight of evidence, much of it marshalled by the usually pro-government newspaper Últimas Noticias, suggests that all three were killed by Maduro’s goon squads. |
So naturally, the government ordered the arrest of...Lopez. |
And yesterday, at the start of a large—and illegal—opposition march (the government had a counter demonstration, which oddly wasn’t declared illegal), Lopez gave a short speech and turned himself over to the National Guard. It was an astoundingly brave bit of defiance; after all, is there a place on Earth worse than the inside of a Venezuelan prison? And a lesser man, like myself, would have sprinted to the airport and hopped the next flight to Miami. But there was Lopez, after having tenderly kissed and bid farewell to his wife, being wrenched into a waiting police van, a Venezuelan flag in one hand and a clutch of white flowers in the other. A picture that perfectly illustrated the death blow to Venezuelan democracy. Lopez would soon arrive at a military prison to await charges of incitement (!), homicide (!!), and terrorism (!!!). |
Maduro, in the lunatic tradition of his lunatic predecessor, conjured a sinister plot: “We have been informed that the ultra-right wing of Venezuela, in tandem with the ultra-right wing of Miami, apropos the bench warrant, activated foreign groups to find and kill [Lopez] so as to fuel a political crisis and lead us to civil war." It’s not so generous to defame and arrest a political opponent, but look how generous they were in saving his life from his fellow fascists! |
Indeed, outside of the official newspaper of the 1932 German Communist Party, is there any other organized political movement in history that is so profligate in its use if the word fascist? And if we are to allow elastic political definitions when discussing Venezuela—the moderate opposition are National Socialists, for instance—I am going to slacken my rules governing the use of the word dictator: Chavez might not have qualified, but Nicolas Maduro sure as hell does. |
Sengoku Basara 3 could very much be summed up as a really diversified Dynasty Warriors clone. It’s not much of an insult or a too far from being considered a compliment, either. Nevertheless, for gamers who enjoy thousand-army battlefield games then Sengoku Basara will definitely appeal to you. |
We have a series of new video trailers available for viewing here at Blend Games and that means that it’s time for another gameplay media blowout, courtesy of GameTrailers. |
The videos showcase different characters and spotlight their moves, special abilities as well as a few boss encounters. For this game to be on the Wii it actually looks pretty good, and any gamer knows that it’s a testament to the developer’s capabilities to even have a game that runs on both the Wii and the PS3 and not have the Wii version dumb-downed to a little retarded quarter experience of the original (i.e., Ghostbusters). |
You can check out the new videos below or visit the Official Capcom Website for more info. |
Analysts at B. Riley upgraded Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) from Neutral to Buy. Guess? shares gained 1.35 percent to close at $15.02 on Friday. |
Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE: SLB) from Neutral to Buy. Schlumberger shares rose 1.20 percent to $67.30 in pre-market trading. |
Raymond James upgraded Dine Brands Global Inc (NYSE: DIN) from Market Perform to Outperform. Dine Brands Global shares rose 1.46 percent to $70.00 in pre-market trading. |
JP Morgan upgraded Acceleron Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: XLRN) from Neutral to Overweight. Acceleron Pharma shares rose 2.17 percent to close at $42.91 on Friday. |
Gabelli & Co. upgraded Visteon Corp (NASDAQ: VC) from Hold to Buy. Visteon shares fell 0.74 percent to close at $126.64 on Friday. |
Wells Fargo upgraded American Water Works Company Inc (NYSE: AWK) from Market Perform to Outperform. American Water Works shares rose 2.40 percent to close at $80.63 on Friday. |
Susquehanna upgraded Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ: FINL) from Neutral to Positive. Finish Line shares rose 1.26 percent to close at $10.48 on Friday. |
Analysts at Loop Capital upgraded United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) from Hold to Buy. UPS shares rose 1.32 percent to $107.00 in pre-market trading. |
RBC upgraded BP plc (ADR) (NYSE: BP) from Sector Perform to Outperform. BP shares rose 0.62 percent to $40.35 in pre-market trading. |
Bank of America upgraded Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE: BHGE) from Underperform to Neutral. Baker Hughes shares fell 0.04 percent to close at $28.03 on Friday. |
Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) from Buy to Neutral. Halliburton shares fell 0.97 percent to $47.98 in pre-market trading. |
JP Morgan downgraded Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) from Overweight to Neutral. Zebra Technologies shares rose 4.92 percent to close at $141.90 on Friday. |
Societe Generale downgraded General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) from Hold to Sell. General Mills shares fell 0.91 percent to $52.50 in pre-market trading. |
JMP Securities downgraded Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP) from Outperform to Market Perform. Endo International shares rose 4.57 percent to close at $6.86 on Friday. |
Wells Fargo downgraded Aqua America Inc (NYSE: WTR) from Outperform to Market Perform. Aqua America shares rose 2.79 percent to close at $35.00 on Friday. |
Jefferies downgraded Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) from Hold to Underperform. Mattel shares fell 3.25 percent to $16.10 in pre-market trading. |
Morgan Stanley downgraded Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) from Equal-Weight to Underweight. Albemarle shares fell 3.58 percent to $114.50 in pre-market trading. |
Compass Point downgraded AmTrust Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ: AFSI) from Buy to Neutral. AmTrust Financial shares dropped 1.24 percent to $12.77 in pre-market trading. |
Lake Street downgraded MiMedx Group Inc (NASDAQ: MDXG) from Buy to Hold. MiMedx shares rose 0.26 percent to $7.85 in pre-market trading. |
Imperial Capital downgraded Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc (NASDAQ: BUFF) from Outperform to In-Line. Blue Buffalo Pet Products shares gained 17.23 percent to close at $40.00 on Friday. |
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: SAGE) with an Overweight rating. The price target for SAGE Therapeutics is set to $225. SAGE Therapeutics shares closed at $164.15 on Friday. |
Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Corporacion America Airports SA (NYSE: CAAP) with an Outperform rating. The price target for Corporacion America Airports is set to $23. Corporacion America Airports shares closed at $15.55 on Friday. |
Analysts at JMP Securities initiated coverage on Sol Gel Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: SLGL) with a Market Outperform rating. The price target for Sol Gel Technologies is set to $20. Sol Gel Technologies shares closed at $11.13 on Friday. |
Analysts at Wells Fargo initiated coverage on Landmark Infrastructure Partners LP (NASDAQ: LMRK) with a Market Perform rating. The price target for Landmark Infrastructure Partners is set to $18.50. Landmark Infrastructure Partners closed at $17.75 on Friday. |
Barclays initiated coverage on VICI Properties Inc (NYSE: VICI) with an Equal-Weight rating. The price target for VICI Properties is set to $22. VICI Properties shares closed at $19.82 on Friday. |
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Chegg Inc (NYSE: CHGG) with an Equal-Weight rating. The price target for Chegg is set to $23. Chegg shares closed at $20.35 on Friday. |
Analysts at H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Intec Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: NTEC) with a Buy rating. The price target for Intec Pharma is set to $16. Intec Pharma shares closed at $5.70 on Friday. |
The child was flown to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, where, at about 5:15 p.m., the child died, according to the press release. |
The Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office, along with Illinois State Police Crime Scene Division, DCFS and the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office were conducting an investigation. |
In the press release, the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office said they “gave their deepest condolences to the family of the child.” The chlid was not identified in the press release. |
ZHANJIANG, CHINA - JANUARY 03: The marines of China navy participate in the annual military training on January 3, 2018 in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province of China. |
Taiwan deemed this “an intentional, reckless & provocative action,” which triggered “a 10-minute standoff” in the air. As Asia security expert Bonnie S. Glaser notes that, if intentional, this would be the first PLAAF crossing of the median line in about 20 years. In this case, it’s likely that Taiwan, not the South China Sea, prompted Beijing’s actions. |
Read the full article in The Washington Post. |
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