Dammit....I may have made a huge error doing something. Last night I started re-watching the series "Lost". I had no freaking idea there were so many episodes....and I had stopped watching as religiously around season 3 or 4. Soooooooo.......I did not sleep last night at all and will be celebrating Mother's Day with raccoon-like rings around my eyes and a distant look in my pupils from trying to figure out a few minor things I had not noticed when I was watching the series the first time. The not sleeping was not caused by the show.
I was not sleeping anyhow, so I figured a couple of episodes would knock me out. Believe me, I made honest attempts to snooze, but failed miserably. I thought I was ready to sleep several times and had shut down the laptop and doused the lights. Argh...it was a trick of my carcass. I did nod off a few times last night while watching the episodes and woke myself up with a couple of really loud and robust snores. These bodily emissions were not as bad as last week....I was waking myself up by both snoring AND farting. Yes. Charming and devastating, eh?
I digress.
I found a "Lost" website that looked pretty good for fans. The site is here:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
The season finale is at the end of this month. Unfortunately, the site is not allowing new members to post, blog, or do much of anything but research the existing information. No big deal. I just had one question I can't seem to locate an answer for and am a bit tweeked. The tweeking is more from lack of sleep than anything else, I'm sure, but the tweek is still there.
My question is very simple and is a result of an observation that I'm sure many people have made: In season 0ne, episodes 1-13, there are a few scenes where they have common hand tools, in particular an ax that was used many times in the early parts of the first few episodes, and a shovel I noticed leaning against a tree in episode 13. Where on earth did those tools come from!?!?!?!?!?
I can almost believe the ax may have been on the plane for emergencies, but I have never personally noticed a full-sized ax on any passenger-type airplane...unless they are stowed or hidden in places only the crew can access.
The biggest "HUH!?" was the shovel in the above-mentioned season one, episode 13 scene. Charlie and Jack were coming out of the jungle heading towards a fire pile that was in the process of being built for the next night. It's roughly 31 minutes into the scene. Charlie and Jack are picking up sticks of wood and are about to start walking towards the pile. At the right of the camera shot and to the right of Charlie, a shovel is leaning against a palm tree. M'kaaaay....why would a passenger airliner have a shovel on board? This is not a survival-type shovel that folds up and is compact. This is a full-blown, garden variety shovel.
Realistically, it's not that big of a deal. I'm just very curious about an explanation for these two large, sharp, utilitarian farm implements being aboard a passenger airliner originally flying from Australia to Los Angeles.
Some of the curiosity comes from an incident that happened to three close friends of mine that just happened to be visiting Hawaii. In particular, they were in an area where some scenes were shot. I apologize for not remembering which island they were on. The three friends were strolling in a jungle area at the edge of a beach when Tammy (one of the friends) noticed a peculiar looking "rock". Upon further investigation (helped along by copious amounts of alcohol, I understand), the "rock" turned out to be a pillow that had been painted to look like a rock for a scene.
From what they had heard from a few locals who were in the area, the "rock" was used in a scene where an unfortunate soul landed their noggin during a fracas of some sort. It was either a fight scene where somebody got knocked to the ground and bounced their coconut on the "rock", or somebody was running, fell, and THEN bounced their melon off of the "rock".
Apparently the set designers, gaffers, or whoever had left the "rock" there after the scenes were shot and the film crew and cast bugged out. An oversight, I'm sure. If anyone out there has ever been involved with a location-shoot and the ensuing pandemonium, you can probably understand how something painted to look like a rock could be left behind in the scramble to get the hell out of the current location to go film in the next location.
It is very easy for things to be left behind, especially if the set designers and artists are good at their craft. Hell, we've almost left behind children, siblings, and mates in our scurry to evacuate a location....Note I said "almost". It has not happened to us in 20 years, but there is always time for a first.
The exception would be a few folks who had gone "Feral JackAss" on us at a few conventions, spring breaks, and weekend jaunts away from our wives/girlfriends. We can be rather unforgiving when people get a case of The Ass and need to get knocked down a few notches to cool their attitudes.
There have been a few times when some people should have been abandoned but were not, thanks to the kindness of our collective rotten hearts. Some soap-boxers may get roofied and ass raped in the future if they can't keep their nose out of other's business, be nice and civil to people in general, and quite judging people around them. Just don't be a dick. Not that hard.
I am fond of the saying "Just because you don't like it, don't mean it ain't no good." I have to hold myself accountable to that saying most of the time. I don't always like or enjoy what I am seeing or being exposed to, but those events may be the cat's meow for many other folks. The older I get, the less tolerant I am of idiots, drama, and folks who have no business drinking alcohol or consuming things of a recreational nature. That stems from working in the haunt industry for so many years and seeing guests at the worst they can possibly be without flinging shit at each other and us.
I've noticed my tolerance for people in general has gone completely South and I am less willing to get involved with events where large groups of people have the opportunity for the herd mentality take over. I'm afraid I may be one of those people who snap and start screaming incoherently and flinging feces at the herd so they will unass my area of operations.
I definitely do better with dogs.
The whole idea of "Lost" is appealing to me, sad to say. Being stranded on a fairly sizable island with a good supply of hot ladies and mostly intelligent folks who can take care of themselves in a survivor-type situation. At least I think it is....I may change my mind when I get caught up on the last three seasons and finally find out what that black, smoky, dinosaur-sounding, freak-of-nature beastie is and why polar bears were on the island. (If there were polar bears, could there have been Eskimos, too?)
I may be more comfortable with a "Castaway" type of scenario, but I would need more than just a whacked-out volleyball named Wilson to chat about the newest fashions in seagull attire and fiddler crab housing issues. I'd at least need a good dog to help drag Wilson around.
