Still No Closure for Flight 370

The sad truth is that even the Malaysia Air Flight 370 families think there is a cover-up of some kind.  Every time “debris” is spotted the attempts to reach it is thwarted.  That makes it all the more difficult to really believe that this mystery has been solved. 

It’s hard to say where the fault lies.  It’s too early to point fingers or place blame.  But the way this whole situation has been handled has led to people being suspicious.  Even the Chinese government allowed families to protest at the Malaysian embassy in China, a rare move for a government that has never permitted public demonstrations. 

Until there is definitive evidence that Flight 370 went down, I don’t think anyone will be able to accept that it’s gone.  This has moved past the realm of conspiracy theories.  Instead of guessing, people need proof.

Interview with the Vampire Re-Read: Post 1

“I see,” said the vampire thoughtfully.

And so it began.  I’m reading the 20th anniversary special edition of Interview with the Vampire that I bought back in 1996.  The cover is embossed and decorated beautifully.  It seems very fitting that I’ve never really read this copy.  Now is the perfect time to crack the spine and delve.

One thing that really stands out to me now is the interplay between Louis and the reporter.  The reporter is very aware that this evening is taking an unexpectedly dark and dangerous turn.  He can’t even light his own cigarette. 

Louis is aloof, introspective, and he seems out of place in the 1970s, which makes his interaction with the reporter so interesting.  In fact, the reporter seems out of place, too.  From what we find out later about Daniel Molloy, his character really lacks depth at this point.

More to come…

Lost’s 10 Year Anniversary and Malaysia Flight 370

It’s ironic and fitting, in a way, that it has been a week and a half since we “lost” Malaysia Air Flight 370 and then the cast of Lost reunites at PaleyFest for the 10th anniversary of the show’s debut. 

http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/12-highlights-from-the–lost–paleyfest-panel-054715551.html

Several members of the Oceanic 815 crew came together along with the show’s creators and producers to dispel some of the myths about the show’s biggest mysteries (spoiler–they explain the church scene during the finale!)

Obviously I do not wish to make light of what’s going on with Malaysia Air Flight 370, but what I do like is that so many people are keeping their hopes up that the plane landed somewhere.  Just like Schrodinger’s Cat, at this point the plane is neither crashed nor landed.  There is still hope that it’s out there somewhere, intact, and the passengers are safe.

Thanks to Lost, we have hope.

Lizzie from The Walking Dead is F-ing Nuts. And Brighton Sharbino Needs an Emmy

Brighton Sharbino needs an Emmy for her performance tonight.  Sharbino’s portrayal of Lizzie was the epitome of the word “visceral,” and given her age…holy crap.

If you haven’t seen The Walking Dead episode “The Grove,” then stop reading and go watch it.  Holy crap.

When Lizzie has a meltdown after Carol kills her Walker playmate, we see just how messed up this little girl is.  She can’t distinguish between killing people and killing Walkers, and in a way, Carol is making it worse by praising Lizzie for being brave while trying to get Mika to step up and kill.  Mika doesn’t even want to kill the deer.  Mika is a beacon of light in a dark world…and tonight her light went out at the hands of her sister.

When Carol sees Lizzie standing next to Judith’s blanket with bloody hands, she freezes.  Judith is alive…but beyond the blanket, Mika is dead.  Lizzie says they have to wait for her to come back, and then “they’ll see.”  The girl sees something that no one else can see in the Walkers, and she’s a liability.

At the end of the episode when Carol takes Lizzie out to the grove, Lizzie is more worried that Carol is upset that she pointed a gun at her than the fact that she killed her sister.  Carol tells her to look at the flowers and she shoots her.  I don’t think anyone would dispute what Carol did.  Lizzie is a huge liability.  And Brighton Sharbino’s wide-eyed crazy performance made it all the more real.  And all the more visceral.

After four seasons of The Walking Dead, I don’t think I’ve seen anything as shocking as I have in tonight’s episode.  Frankly, it wouldn’t be as shocking if not for the performances.  These actors delivered a gut-wrenching performance tonight.  And I think people are going to be talking about it for a long time to come.

Project Vampire Chronicles: The Re-Read

In 1994 my friend took me to see Interview with the Vampire in the theater.  I was 14 and all I knew was that I was mesmerized.  I’d never heard of Anne Rice or Lestat or the books.  For me, it was just a movie. (And it’s crazy to think that the movie is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year!)

At the time, I wasn’t concerned with symbolism or imagery.  I just liked the movie.  As a history lover (later I would graduate college with a double major, with one being History), I fell in love with the idea of watching a character move through so many time periods.  I never overlooked the part about what a vampire must do to survive; I liked that Anne Rice’s characters didn’t forget that either.  I thought it was a smart way to portray their eternal predilection: some vampires relished it, some abhorred it, some tolerated it, and some managed to survive by doing the least amount of damage possible.  The same can be said of conscience: some vampires are directed by an eternal crisis of conscience, while others choose to embrace the spirit of carpe diem.

A few weeks later my family went to the mountains for Christmas, and we stopped in a little market on the way to buy snacks.  There on the book rack was a copy of Interview with the Vampire.  I bought it, and I spent the rest of the trip enveloped in the world of Anne Rice and her vampires.  We returned home five days later, I rushed to the bookstore and bought the sequels: The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, and Tale of the Body Thief.  I read those in a matter of days.  I couldn’t get enough.

Memnoch the Devil was the first book that came out while I was a fan.  That was 1995 and I was 15, and while I found the book to be entertaining, I have to admit that it didn’t resonate with me.

Years have passed and now I’m 33.  A new book in the Vampire Chronicles is being released in October and it features the Vampire Lestat.  You might recall that Anne Rice said she would never bring Lestat back after his exodus in The Blood Canticle.  Interestingly, that was released back in 2003 when Anne Rice had been embracing Christianity.  In 2010 she famously split from Christianity and returned to her supernatural roots with The Wolf Gift.  That said, it will be interesting to see if Lestat is still pursuing sainthood.

I’ve decided to embark on a journey.  I’m going to re-read The Vampire Chronicles before the new book comes out, and I’m going to post my thoughts, reflections and comments on my blog.  I’m hoping to find things that I missed before.  I’m really looking forward to this little journey.  I hope you’ll join me along the way, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you!

Mayasia Air Flight 370: Some Interesting Links to the Latest Developments and Theories

The story of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is getting stranger and stranger.  Now Reuters is suggesting that the plane might have landed on a remote island.  Instead of terrorism: Piracy.

Well, why not?

Here are a few interesting links:

Clyde Lewis: http://www.groundzeromedia.org/all-right-good-night-its-just-plane-coincidence/

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Chazdizzy3’s blog: http://chadizzy3.blogspot.com/2014/03/malaysian-airlines-mh370-modern-day.html

NBC: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/one-u-s-theory-planes-disappearance-act-piracy-n52941

The Sochi Puppies Have Arrived!

Gus Kenworthy’s Sochi puppies have arrived!

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/the-sochi-puppies-are-coming-031214

The puppies landed in New York on Wednesday and were reunited with Kenworthy on Thursday.  Sadly, though, one of the pups, named Sochi, passed away.

Big thanks to Gus Kenworthy for bringing these beautiful dogs home with him and giving them a great life.

Puppy Love Rules!

Clyde Lewis Weighs in on Missing Plane–Hiding in “Plane Sight”

From Ground Zero Radio:

http://www.groundzeromedia.org/plane-sight-unseen-the-odyssey-of-malaysian-airlines-flight-370/

I’ve been waiting to hear what Clyde Lewis had to say about the missing plane.  Flight 370 has been missing for days.  Terrorism has not been ruled out.  A plane crash has not been ruled out.  Aliens have not been ruled out.  It’s crazy.  For all we know, it passed through a temporal rift and is stuck on an island somewhere, just like the passengers from the Oceanic 815 from Lost.

Clyde Lewis has an interesting take on it.  So do the callers on his show this evening.

What do you think?

Oceanic 815, I mean, Malaysia Airlines Mystery Continues to Deepen

Here is an article from the UK’s Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10689060/Malaysia-Airlines-live.html

The use of the word “unprecedented” is very interesting.  The plane went missing a few days ago and no one knows where it is.  Passengers used stolen passports, but now the claim is that they “likely weren’t” terrorists and they might be Iranian.  The oil slicks spotted have been ruled out as belonging to Flight 370.

Is anyone else concerned about this?  A plane went missing.  Passengers were able to board with stolen passports.  No one can find the plane.  These are all huge problems in my book.

Right now it’s a bit like Schrodinger’s Cat: At the moment, the plane is neither crashed nor safe.  It’s somewhere in the middle.  And if it didn’t crash, then it has either been hijacked and hidden away somewhere (this is totally possible) or maybe aliens took it.  In all seriousness, nothing has been ruled out.  Again, this is the problem.

Is the Malaysian Airlines Missing Plane the New Oceanic 815?

I don’t mean to make light of the awful situation with the Malaysian plane.  I just happen to think that it never crashed and it somewhere else.

Like the show Lost, I truly believe that something happened to the plane and the passengers.  With all of those stolen passports, who is to say that the plane wasn’t taken somewhere else? If the pilots had been in on it (or even if they weren’t) if there were enough people and a solid plan, the communication signals could have been disarmed and the plane could have been taken elsewhere.

So far no groups have taken responsibility for it, nor has anyone found debris.  Until they find it, the possibility that it didn’t crash is still valid.