LOST "316" Thirty Second Review, Plus "LOST Untangled" Video

Welp, they made it back to the island ... all of them. Jack, Sayid, Kate, Sun, Hurley, and Locke's body, as well as Ben. Here's the brief skinny:

• Jack, Sun, and Ben met with Eloise Hawking (Faraday's mother). The church is actually some sort of Dharma site.
• She said the island moves and they can track it with an oddly convoluted pendulum doohickey.
• She decides they can recreate the crash by taking Flight 316.
• Meanwhile, Desmond shows up to give her the message from her son. He says he's through with the island. She warns him the island isn't through with him.
• Somehow even Hurley and Sayid show up for the flight. Kate, too.
• One of the crew on 316 is Frank Lapidus -- the helicopter pilot who saved the original six.
• The plane doesn't seem to crash, yet Jack, Kate, and Hurley all personally crash on the island.
• They are met by Jin driving the Dharma van (which looks new) and wearing a crisp Dharma uniform. Oh. And he has a gun.

My guess is that they've arrived in another time, a time in which Jin had to join Dharma to survive. Then again, I could be totally wrong.

Here's this week's LOST Untangled video ... gosh, these crack me up:

Quickie American Idol Update

The three voted into the top twelve from last night's group are:

Alexis Grace
Michael Sarver
Danny Gokey

And Tatiana cried. Out of all of the ones not voted into the top three, she was the sole drama queen. I'm so not surprised.

I would have rather Anoop Desai had made it rather than Michael, but I think he has strong wild card possibilities. I can only hope never to see or hear Tatiana again.

American Idol - The First 12 Group

Now, I can't promise to do this each night, but I'm here now with a look at the first group of twelve. I'll be updating this post sporadically as the show airs. From this group, all but three will be eliminated. The judges seem to be playing Three Nice Judges against One Mean Judge. Guess who is whom? Interesting, each contestant's parents have been with Ryan for the after performance interview. What if there are family issues?

Jackie Tohn: Eh, great first name, lots of energy. I don't think she'll make it.

Ricky Braddy: Wow. What a voice! I don't really remember this guy much, but he's good!

Alexis Grace: Better than Jackie, but still not amazing like Ricky was. Hmm ... even Simon is liking her. He's comparing her to Kelly Clarkson. Maybe I'm wrong -- no. I'm not. I think Ricky was better!

Brent Keith: He's a bit country. I think he could probably have a hit country record right now. But will he make it? He's good, but he's against a lot of talent tonight.

Stevie Wright: Hmmm ... off to a rough start, methinks. Nice girl, but I'm not seeing her making it or winning it all.Weird outfit -- she has HUGE feet. Phew, Randy agrees with me. Well, he didn't mention her feet. The judges aren't thrilled at all.

Anoop Desai: Ah, here's some talent! I'm not overly thrilled with the song choice. But he can sing! The judges agree with me so far. None of them seemed to click with the song choice, but Anoop should do well.

Casey Carlson: She's doing an old Police song. I'm just not getting into it. Not good. So far, the guys have been much more impressive than the girls. Once again, Randy is agreeing with me ... Cara, too. Paula, too. Simon tells her she was atrocious. She looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

Michael Sarver: This is the oil rig guy. I enjoy his voice ... let's see. Country, yes. Um, he might want to reconsider his dancing style. Definitely not bad, but not the best of the guys so far tonight. Randy has an issue with the performance, so does Cara. Gee, I should be a judge. Paula liked it. Simon isn't thrilled, but likes Michael.

Ann Marie Boscovich: She's going for Aretha ... already a better choice than some of them. Decent, but not awe-inspiring. Okay, the judges are agreeing with me. She didn't "kill it."

Stephen Fowler: I want to like him, but this Michael Jackson song is sounding a bit off key or something. Randy agrees with me ... pitchy and not good.

Tatiana Del Toro: It's a shame. She's singing better than most of the other women and some of the men. Too bad. I so don't like this excitable girl drama queen. She must go away even if she's stellar. Simon just called her a drama queen, desperate to be famous.

Danny Gokey: I really love this guy ... and he can sing! Paula is up and dancing. Heck, let's cancel this season and declare Danny the winner. He's my favorite!

My three pick for tonight is: Danny, Anoop, and then either Ricky or (more likely to be voted in) Alexis.

The Amazing Race - Season Premiere Blog Gathering

Yes, it's time for ... The Amazing Race! Yay! I'll be writing a more thorough review for TV Squad a bit later tonight, but this is the place for the party! I'll update the post here with important events and all are welcome to join us in the comments area. Margo is running the pool and may your team (or mine) win the first leg! Once again, Zoetawny has created yet another spiffy show logo for the blog. Have I mentioned that she rocks lately?

It's off to Switzerland. I don't like Preston and Jennifer and they're living up to my expectations.

Pit Stop Order
1. Margie and Luke (YAY!) - won a trip to Mexico
2. Tammy and Victor
3. Mark and Michael
4. Mel and Mike
5. Amanda and Kris
6. Brad and Victoria
7. Jaime and Cara
8. Kisha and Jen
9. Steve and Linda
10. Christine and Jodi
11. Jennifer and Preston -- Philiminated

Off Topic: Roofus the Cat

I haven't seen Roofus the Cat for nearly a week. Although I was pretty sure I was just missing him, I was a bit upset that he stood me up for my Saturday work commute. After all, Saturday is almost the "sure bet" day. Just a minute or two before my train was to arrive ...

Hey, what's that walking along the roofs?

Why, it's Roofus the Cat about to go onto the fire escape!

Look! It's Roofus ON the fire escape!

And, then the arrival to his favorite napping spot and my train comes in at the same time. Clicking on any of these images will make them open larger in a new window. Then you can just click back to this page.

Later tonight -- it's the blog party for the season premiere of The Amazing Race! C'mon back and join in on the fun!