Girlfriend of the Week

I know you have been wondering where the GOTW has been and well let me tell you:  I have been working on this. This is just about every girl that has ever been on Lost.  There are a few that I just could not find a picture for, but this is just about all of them.  You will notice the old ladies and the young girls are on here as well.  I did not discriminate.

After the jump is a list of every one of these girls.



Alexandra Krosney
Alice Evans
Alicia Rae
Allison Janney
Andrea Gabriel
Andrea Roth
Angelica Perreira
Anne Bedian
April Grace
Ashleigh Ann Wood
Bai Ling
BarbaraVidinha
Beth Broderick
Brittany Perrineau
Brooke Mikey Anderson
Carrie Preston
Cynthia Watros
Diana Scarwid
Elisabeth Blake
Elizabeth Mitchell
Emilie de Ravin
Evangeline Lilly
Faith Fay
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
Grisel Toledo
Ivana Michele Smith
Jackie Maraya
Jenny Chang
Jenny Gago
Jill Kuramoto
Joanna Bool
Julie Ow
Julie Bowen
June Kyoto Lu
Katey Sagal
Katie Doyle
Kelly Rice
Kiele Sanchez
Kiersten Havelock
Kim Dickens
Kimberly Estrada
Kimberly Joseph
Kristin Richardson
L. Scott Caldwell
Lana Parrilla
Lela Loren
Leslie Ishii
Lillian Hurst
Madeline Carroll
Maggie Grace
Marguerite Moreau
Marsha Thomason
Mary Mara
Mary Ann Taheny
Maya Henssens
Meilinda Soerjoko
Melissa Farman
Michelle Arthur
Michelle Forbes
Michelle Rodriguez
Mira Furlan
Mirelly Taylor
Molly McGivern
Monica Dean
Natasha Goss
Paula Malcomson
Rachel Ticotin
Rebecca Mader
Reiko Aylesworth
Robin Weigert
Roxanne Day
Roxanne Sarhangi
Sabrina Carlye
Sally Strecker
Samantha Mathis
Sandra Le Bat
Sarah Farooqui
Sheila Kelley
Sonya Walger
Sora Jung
Starletta Dupois
Sung Hi Lee
Susan Gibney
Susan Duerden
Susse Budde
Suzanne Krull
Suzanne Turner
Swoosie Kurtz
Tamara Taylor
Tania Kahale
Tania Raymonde
Terasa Livingstone
Tess Yong
Thekla Reuten
Tomiko Lee
Tracy Middendorf
Vanessa Branch
Veronica Hamel
Wendy Braun
Wendy Pearson
Yunjin Kim
Zoe Bell
Zuleikha Robinson

That is a long list.  Hope ya enjoy...

Another Lost Video

This is a video of the opening scene in reverse with an inset of the final scene.  It is actually pretty cool how close they mirror each other.

Game of Thrones Season Two Preview

Okay, I know I just posted something about Game of Thrones, but then I saw the preview for season two (not the teaser or making of video) and had to post it.  Just deal with it.  I make the rules around here.

Season 2: Preview - You Win or You Die

Game of Thrones Banners

I saw these and just had to make them my desktop background (I would love to have a few of these as shirts).  After the jump you can see all of them.

10,000 Hours Later

During this week's episode of Alcatraz, Sam Neill's character mentions to Dr. Soto (Hurley) that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert on something.  This is not the first time I have heard this statement.  Is it true?  Where did it come from?  Is this another one of those "humans only use 10% of their brain's" myths?

Anyways, I decided to do some research type "10,000 hour rule" into Google.  Apparently the idea comes from some psychologist (naturally he is Swedish, and this where you ask yourself "what does Josh have against the Swedes?") and I am guessing that if you read his original work on the matter, he is very specific and probably even says what I am about to say...but, who cares about that, this seems like something that I should mock.

The reason that it is a popular idea is because of Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, where he talks about people who have become super great because of putting the time and effort into their field.  He uses Bill Gates as an example.  That one makes sense to me.  The one that does not make sense is The Beatles.  I honestly do not believe it was the fact that they practiced for over 10,000 hours in Germany is what made them huge music stars.

Look, hard work is a huge part of success.  And the idea that if you put 10,000 hours of working in your own field, you will become an expert at it is probably true (especially if you break it down to something simple):  for example, if you are a barista (spell-check says this is not a word) at a coffee shop and you work there long enough to achieve the 10,000 hours (at 40 hours a week, at 50 weeks per year it would take 5 years), then you will most likely have mastered the art of making a soy latte. 

Does this apply to everything in life though?  I want to become a master in the field of bench-pressing a car.  I will spend 10,000 hours trying to lift a car and at the end of all that hard work, still will not be able to lift a fucking car!  Hell, I could go about it two different ways:  I could go to a gym and work out everyday, just doing different bench-press exercises.  And at the end of the time, I could still not bench 2000 pounds.  Or what if I lay underneath my car everyday for 8 hours, pushing as hard as I can on my car...will it ever actually move?  Absolutely not.  I do not recommend trying this.

I have decided that I am going to practice for 10,000 years on trying to win the slam-dunk contest...well, I think you get the point.

Okay, maybe physical things do not actually work.  What about the piano?  I bet I could be pretty damn good at playing the piano if I practiced for 10,000 hours.  Yeah, I could play the piano, but could I actually compose a great piece of music?  Doubtful.

So these are the things that Alcatraz causes me to spend time thinking about?  Definitely a keeper...

Hey, TV Shows are Back!

Now that the holidays are over and our lives are finally back to normal, television shows can resume (or premiere...or start a new season, whatever).  I will now tell you about everything I watched this week.

Alcatraz
It has Hurley and Sam Neill.  Obviously I am going to check it out.  After the premiere, I can only say that I will need a few more episodes before I decide if I like it or not.  I mean, the story is pretty interesting, but will it take forever to receive answers?

Basically, all the inmates from Alcatraz disappeared (it was all covered up) and now they are starting to return.  Neill's character (Hauser) is now hunting the convicts as they return, along with a hot cop and Hurley.  It seems that Hauser's assistant was a doctor back then who did experiments on the prisoners and has not aged since...hmm.  Very weird.

There are some silly things though.  I mean, Rebecca Madsen (played by Sarah Jones, who was Polly Zobelle on Sons of Anarchy and the pregnant fugitive on Justified and is smoking hot) dresses in super-tight pants (I am not complaining), but would a cop really want to wear pants like that while working?  Especially when she constantly ends up chasing people? 

Second, Hurley (I will not even bother looking up his character's name) has a PhD in criminal justice and is some kind of expert on Alcatraz.  For some reason he is perfect to work as Madsen's partner.  Even though Hauser seems to have spent his entire life studying and preparing for the moment these guys start returning.

Being Human
Seriously, why do I watch this show?  I might have to stop.  What happened?  Who honestly cares.  Hell, that show that came on after it was actually better (Lost Girl).

Justified
Now this is an awesome show.  Everything was pretty much perfect.  Without going into too much detail, let me tell you about the awesome stuff:
-Raylan pulling the table cloth on Fletcher Nix (who is an awesome villain and better be back at some point).  I knew Raylan would come up with something, but I did not imagine it would be that simple and then still shoot him in the arm. 
-Boyd fighting Raylan in the U.S. Marshalls office, which seemed a little odd at first, but then you realize that Boyd is now locked up with Dicky Bennett.  I love when Boyd has a plan (he always has a plan).
-Ava hitting a dude with a frying pan.  Seriously, the funniest thing I have seen in like a month.

White Collar
Neil and Peter save Elizabeth and catch the bad guy.  The big thing that happened though was that Neil had to decide whether he wanted to stay in NYC or run away with the treasure.  Obviously, he chose staying in the city and continuing his job with Peter.

The thing that interested me though, was where did Neil learn to shoot like that?  Is there anything he is actually bad at?

Royal Pains
This is one that Lindsey and I enjoy watching together.  It is basically like House, but a tad more upbeat.  The season picks up where we ended last time, with Hank's patient accidentally receiving the wrong medication from Divya (who was also working at the hospital without telling Hank).

Evan finally receives the General's permission to marry his daughter, but then has it taken away when Evan stands up to him.  Naturally by the end things were pretty much resolved.  Also, Divya tells Hank that she gave the patient the wrong meds, which will probably cause Hank to not trust her. 

Also, I am tired of the whole Jill/Hank story.  Get her to Uruguay already.  I think Hank should just go on a rampage banging his patients.  It seems like all of them end up being attractive women, who flirt with him.

Person of Interest
I expected a little more from this show.  I hope next season they shift gears a little bit and focus more on the machine.  I am more interested in watching Reese investigate Harold than each week's victim (which ends up being about the same as an episode of Human Target).

Archer
Burt Reynolds and Archer together, yeah it was pretty much as awesome as expected.  There were so many funny parts, but my absolute favorite was the elevator joke.  A super-slow elevator and then a discussion about putting in a bat-pole.  

Community Season 2

As some of you know (those of you that read this post), I am a fan of Community, but I am about a year behind.  I missed season one, so I got it for Christmas and well, you get the point.  Anyways, I finished season two the other day and I must say that it was also pretty damn awesome.  Fortunately, I was smart enough to DVR season three, so I can start watching ASAP.

The great thing about the show, I said this before, but I will say it again:  it can be many things all at once.  It can be hilarious, with traditional jokes, slapstick style humor, or insane situations.  It can also be pretty emotional when it wants to.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

-Abed delivering a baby in the background and then referencing it during Shirley's delivery.
-The two-part paintball episode.  So much awesome stuff in that one.  Especially since Sawyer showed up as a badass paintball mercenary.
-The zombie plague and how it ended up with Chang sleeping with Shirley.
-The trampoline.  That was such a silly thing, yet it really helped cement the idea of Pierce as the villain for the rest of the season.  It seemed to me that this was the moment that we saw being excluded truly bothered him.
-The number of moments where we thought maybe Jeff and Annie might get together, but then it gets made fun of during the fake flashback episode.
-Troy's 21st birthday, which ended up with Britta and Jeff realizing that they both were talking about the same bar.  Troy never orders a drink and ends up driving everyone home.
-Abed and Annie kissing, while Abed is in his Han Solo role.
-The Christmas special, which was kind of sad and yet very funny.
-The Valentine's Day episode was pretty awesome.  Starting with the fight about the Barenaked Ladies, Troy and Abed going for the same girl (but instead of doing the typical sitcom thing, they do not compete over her), Britta trying to teach Annie about being homophobic (although, the lesbian turned out to be straight, who thought Britta was a lesbian), Pierce's drug addiction, and Jeff eventually sending the group a very sweet text.  Pretty awesome.

There were more moments, but I cannot think of anything else.  I bet we can all agree though that Alison Brie is still hot...

Funny Football Videos

My brother sent me this on facebook, and I know it is pretty much everywhere, but I will still share it with you.



Also, I got this one from Rumbunter, which is also pretty funny.

HAHAHAHAHA...Aliens

I love these...

Happy New Years!

Most of you assumed that I went out last night to celebrate the new year.  Actually, I stayed at home with Lindsey because she was not feeling well.  I know, I am an awesome boyfriend.

So, instead of being out at a bar, drinking too much and making a fool of myself, I was at home watching Archer and then Planet Earth.  Seriously, I could watch Planet Earth every time it comes on.  I am pretty sure it is the reason that HDTV was invented.

Something you may not know about me:  if something piques my curiosity,  then I will spend way too much time reading about it and then reading tons of other stuff as well.  Allow me to give you an example.  Last night on PE they mentioned the kodkod and showed this video of one.



I wanted to know more about the different kinds of small cats, so I went to wikipedia and started reading about the kodkod and other species.  The great thing about wikipedia (and yes, I realize that it is not always all that accurate) is that you can just keep clicking on things and at minute you are reading about kodkods and the next thing you know you are now reading about Hispania (I will give points to whoever can figure out how I got there...)

This is a picture of the margay, another tiny cat from South America.  These little cats are adorable, but the margay has a trait like the clouded leopard:  it can climb down trees and (if I understand this correctly) climb a tree upside down.

Seriously, I want one of these two cats as a pet.  And it has nothing to do with this Archer clip...

Complex Code

Well James, you did it.  You solved the Christmas code.  Unfortunately, you have forced me to get a little ridiculous here.  This next cipher is a little more complex than the previous one.  Good luck...also, the keyword is somewhere in this paragraph.

c aoc nnaynrioot aecoZapouoty oi  e et s mh.seiif tlzu nh fdnwt t hutr rgetiewggnodynuiis p snrituimer og.

 All this talk of ciphers and codes made me think of spies...and honestly, are there any better spies than Archer and Lana?

Breaking Bad/Simpsons

Almost perfect...

Game of Thrones: Season Two Teaser

Tease - Cold Winds Are Rising

Boardwalk Empire: Sutter Take Note...This is How You End a Season

Last week was a pretty awesome episode, but I failed to write about it since I watched it on Tuesday and wanted to focus on Sons of Anarchy.  We see through a series of flashbacks, how Jimmy ended up with Angela and what caused him to leave Princeton.

Basically his mom got drunk while visiting him at school and when he tried to put her in his bed, she started kissing him.  They had sex.  Seriously.  That one thing that we all suspected, but never wanted to discuss because well, most shows do not do that to a main character.

Needless to say, after banging his mom, he left Princeton and joined the Army and went over to Europe to fight za Germans.  And before I any further, I have to say that James Darmody is a real motherfucker.

Anyways, on to the awesomeness of the finale:

-Richard and Jimmy forcing the turncoat to write a confession saying he set Nucky up and that it was all Eli.  Then killing him and making it look like a suicide.  That is when those two are at their best, being completely badass.

-I was pretty excited to see Nucky reconcile with Jimmy and then with Eli.  Jimmy tied everything up nicely for Nucky.  Fixing the Chalky White/KKK problem was pretty badass as well. 

-The ending was probably the most shocking thing I have seen in awhile.  Jimmy goes to meet Nucky because he has Manny for him.  Unfortunately, Jimmy walks into a trap.  Apparently, Nucky believed Eli over Jimmy about who tried to kill him.

Jimmy gives Nucky a little lecture about what it is like to kill that first man.  Then Nucky shoots him in the head and tells him that he is not seeking forgiveness.  Most people seem to believe that this is the first person Nucky has ever killed, but I do not think so.  The way he said "you do not know me James."  Leads me to think that maybe in his younger days he did kill some people for the Commodore, and tried to rise above that...

It was seriously a shocking moment though.  I cannot believe they would kill off Jimmy.  It was a great move because it was hard to imagine how they could all coexist.  I actually thought Nucky was going to shoot Eli and allow Jimmy to kill Manny, but I think I like this ending better.

-Also, how pissed is Nucky going to be when he finds out that Margeret signed the deed of land over to the church?  She needs a bullet.

SOA: CIA Ex Machina

The episode started off pretty cool.  I had no clue how Sutter was going to get the club out of the RICO mess, but then he reveals that the CIA is working with the cartel.  No more RICO case.  Nice and easy.

Then, Romeo informs Jax of all this.  He says that if the club does not help the cartel get the guns from the Irish, then they will allow the Feds to take SAMCRO down.  The Irish only want to deal with Clay, so therefore, Jax has to allow him to live.

Jax does visit with Clay and gives him the lowdown on what will happen.  He will step down as president and he will make sure the Irish are happy.

After that, the episode goes downhill.  There is a good amount of talking and tidying up of small plot lines.  The season ends with Jax sitting at the head of the table,  Chibbs as his Sgt. at Arms, and Opie not showing up.  Tara shows up to lend her support and Gemma sees them together and thinks of herself and JT.

The best part aside from the way Jax threatens Clay, was learning that the girl that Tig ran over, was the daughter of some major player.  I am guessing this guy must be the big boss of the Niners.  He will be an O.G.  I am guessing that will be a major story for next season.

I look forward to next season.  Or at least for the start of Justified...

SOA: The Truth About J.T.

The episode was pretty good.  I feel like this has been spread out over too many episodes though.  They could have honestly cut this down a little bit.  Allow me to explain in a bit.  First, what I liked.

The Good
-When Unser is there with Clay, I thought for sure that he was going to kill him somehow.  Maybe smother him, or just put another bullet in him.

-Tig.  He turned his back on Clay and now blames himself for being shot.  His running down LaRoy's girl was pretty badass.  I loved the chase scene and then the joining of Jax and the others.  I just have on question:  when Jax is shooting at them, did no one else call the police and report a biker gang shooting at SUVs?

-Also, Tig at the hospital was pretty cool.  I felt bad for him.  I wonder how much he knows about JT?

-Gemma finally comes clean with what happened to JT.  Needless to say, Jax is not too happy.  Tara makes herself useful and provides Jax with a method to kill Clay.

-I also loved Opie's disbelief in Jax's promise to do something once he knows the whole truth.  Apparently, Opie is a little tired of these promises.

The Bad
-Gemma's overall plan.  What the hell is she doing?  At first she does not want Clay killed, then she does, then she wants Jax to know.  I get that she had to find the letters and remove the elements that blamed her, but she could have went about everything in a simpler way.

-Tara.  Her whole "tell me you love me" thing was pretty damn weird.  I will have no problem if she takes a bullet.  Also, just like Gemma, what is her plan?  Did she hide the letters that implicate Gemma?  I was confused during that whole exchange.

-Jax's reaction after shooting Opie.  He wants Unser to say it was some black guys.  He then gets pissed at Tig for going after LaRoy.  What the hell did he think would happen?

Predictions
-Lincoln Potter is not kidding when he told Juice that he does not want the club.  He will get the Irish and the cartel, but leave SAMCRO out of it.  Maybe he has some connection to the club...

-Jax will take over the club, and with the IRA/Cartel out of the way, I think he will decide to stay and help push the club back towards what his father envisioned.  Either that, or Tara will die at the end of the season and force Jax to want revenge.

-There will be a war with the Niners.  Will that be the big thing for next season?

Boardwalk Empire: Wife Murdering 101

Allow me to explain something:  if you owe a Jewish butcher $5000, you should probably just pay him.  Jimmy just learned this the hard way.  Manny shows up at Jimmy's house and grabs Angela.  He is holding her hostage while he waits for Jimmy to come out of the bathroom.  As soon as the door opens, Manny shoots, but it is not Jimmy.  It is Angela's girlfriend.  She begs, but Manny still shoots her.

It will be all out war with Philadelphia, but the real question is this:  what will Nucky do when he finds out?  Will he help Jimmy, or will he just stay out of it and not care.  Maybe this could be the thing that helps reconcile their relationship.  Maybe not.

Other awesome things:

-I love the numerous references you can catch if you pay attention.  Like Sacco and Vanzetti in this episode. 
-It was great how Angela and Jimmy had that great moment before she died.  Maybe things were going to get better between them.  Probably not now.
-I wish I had a desk drawer full of Ty Cobb autographed baseballs. 
-I guess sending in the guys with billy-clubs was probably a dumb move on Eli's part.  Also, he is becoming a bit of psychopath.  Nucky should probably have killed him awhile ago.

SOA: Opie's Revenge or Clay's Downfall

Honestly, the majority of the episode was pretty weak.  I think it was pretty silly for them to bring back
Wendy at this point.  Does Jax really need something else to worry about?  Also, Gemma keeps acting like she has a plan, but what the hell could it be?

The Otto stuff was cool, well played by Sutter, but again, it just felt like filler until we got back to the Opie story.  Finally though, we got what we all wanted:  Opie's revenge.

Opie confronts Jax to find out if he knew anything about Piney's death.  He then shoots out Jax's tire and rides off to confront Clay.  Jax believes it should be brought to the table.  Oh do not worry Jax, Opie is bringing it to the table...

Jax steals a hearse and then some guy's crotch-rocket.  Opie gets to the clubhouse and Clay is waiting for him.  I honestly thought Clay was going to shoot him, but Opie is too smart (or just too pissed).  He smashes through the door and forces Clay to sit down and does not listen to the lies coming from Clay.

Jax shows up and tells Opie that he does not want to have to shoot him.  At this point, I thought that Opie might listen.  Then he shoots Clay twice.  And judging by the previews for next week, Clay dies.

The club is not in a good place right now.  Will Gemma tell Jax the truth about Clay?  Probably not.

Jeopardy Was Wrong!

I wish I could have been on Jeopardy tonight and rang in when this answer came up:

I sat there confused and the guy who answers it also seems to just guess: who are the Huns?  Why would this be a bit confusing to those of us who actually studied Ancient History?  Well, the Huns invaded the Balkans in 447 A.D.  Unless Attila the Hun (the aptly named "Scourge of God") somehow managed to travel back in time to fight the Spartans...

First time I have ever noticed a mistake on the show.  I feel so smart.

SOA: Kozik Exploded

I enjoyed last night's Sons of Anarchy, but it did not need to be a ninety minute episode.  From all the previews I saw and read about the episode, I thought more would have happened.  Unfortunately, stuff happened, but not what we expected.

-Gemma changes her mind the next day and tells Unser that the club has to worry about the cartel and Clay needs to be around for that.

-The showdown between Clay and Jax almost happened anyway.  Jax confronts him about his mom's face and Clay tries to pull the "it's my old lady, mind your own business."  That worked on Tig, but not so much with Jax.

-Then they go hunting for Mexicans.  I figured at some point someone would have to die, hell maybe like a major character.  Sadly, it ended up being Kozik.  I am guessing Sutter hates Kenny Johnson, since he kills him in his shows via explosion.  In The Shield, it was with a grenade, and in last night's episode, he stepped on a landmine.

-Speaking of Kozik exploding:  his arm lands on Juice.  That dude is not having a great season.  As he leaves the minefield, he goes on a suicide mission just trudging his way out.  Needless to say, Chibbs confronts him.   Later Juice finally tells Chibbs why he is suicidal.  Well he leaves out the whole Assistant US Attorney thing, but he tells Chibbs that his dad is black and that the sheriff is threatening to tell the club.  Chibbs laughs at him and asks what his birth certificate says.  Then Juice answers his phone and checks in with Link's people. 

-Otto is going to rat out the club.  Unfortunately, his whole reason is because of Bobby lying about Georgie being dead.  Well...Bobby, Tig, and Opie kill Georgie and get him to confess to being responsible for Otto's wife's death.

-The best part of the episode was a continuation of the ending last week.  And it came at the end of the episode.  Tig sees Gemma, turns in his Sgt at Arms patch to Clay.  Opie goes to the cabin and finds his dad dead.  Wayne shows up to tell Opie that Clay killed his father.

Next week seems like it should be pretty good.  Will the club have to stop Opie from killing Clay?  I really hope that Clay is able to kill Tara.  I know that is mean, but she is such a useless character.  I think it would take Jax down an interesting road.