Monday 15 February 2010

Ratatouille and 7th Cavalry as June 2008 begins

The first day of June 2008 commenced as a lazy Sunday, returning to bed after I was ready to rise for the day, and returning to sleep and to what appeared to be a prolonged dreaming sequence, not enlightening, but not disturbing.

I had gone to bed disappointed with the outcome of the Britain's Got Talent vote and switching on the television news to see if the event was mentioned, and in what fashion, I found that Larry King was interviewing the finalist of American Idol, at least nine of the final twelve with Michael Johns away in Las Vegas but on relay. There was no mention of Amada Overmyer and her photo is not with those going on tour or of David Hernandez so the tour may be for the final ten. An indication of the success of the programme in America is that the ten are performing a total of sixty shows in fifty cities with double shows in West Valley City Utah, Newark New Jersey, Long Island New York, and Kansas City. If financial circumstances were to change it is the kind of show I would get to see and these new artists are performing their best numbers. I was also pleased to read that Texas gave a great welcome home to Jason Castro which is yet another indication that it is impossible to pigeon hole the U.S.A, or individual states, and although there are predominant characteristics, it can also be a land tolerant of extreme variation.

The examination of the tour list also reminded that in the US communities which we regard as only small towns are called cities. In the Uk to qualify for a City stats there usually has to be a Cathedral, although two places have qualified in recent times without one, and of these one is Sunderland which has a population the second largest to Wichita biggest city in the whole state of Kansas.

The late start also meant a late lunch of stuffed shoulder of lamb with roast potatoes preceded by a glass of Arco del Castillo Gran Reserva 1998 from central Spain. The relaxed mood continued, and there was cause for a small celebration as somehow I had managed to reach the reduced target of 100 new work sets in the month, over 2500 new cards. On Monday I do serious work on the in tray and then on Tuesday other outstanding household work and activity, with the cricket on Wednesday, possibly Thursday if the weather is poor.

I have no sooner put down my pen writing of the Battle of La Drang river which was fought by the re-designated 7th Cavalry Helicopter special unit than Channel 5 was showing the Randolph Scott film, The 7th Cavalry in which he volunteers to bring back the body of General Custer and the other officers after the massacre of Little Big Horn. The film has its heroics and pays respects to Indian culture but is hampered by a key theme in which the attractive and bright daughter of a Commanding officer falls for a Randolph who looks older than me.
The film of the day was Ratatouille a film which I have wanted to see if it lived up to the hype and the enthusiasm of many of the critics. The story is of a rat who is the creative among a tribe of rats with an interest in gourmet food and its cooking and becomes the chef genius behind the inherited owner of a top Parisian restaurant. The film title is the dish which is prepared for the top food critic and for the bistro which rat and man combine to provide good food for the people and the rat family of Paris. Who will like this film?

Foremost it is not a children's film except perhaps for nine to eleven year old boys perhaps although most will find it boring and the dark bits not scary enough. It will have been good entertainment for teenagers at weekends with their minds on other things. The cinema making tricks will of interest to film makers and Peter O'Toole is the great voice behind the super critic and Ian Holm that behind the head chef. There are several ludicrous moments in the film especially when the intelligent, determined and likeable female chef falls for the idiot son of the former owner. This is a homage film to the rat by those who not like human's much.

The film includes an animated documentary on behalf of rats, arguing that it was not rats but the rat flea which carried the plague with decimated humans and rats in Europe and that rats only become aggressive when cornered and only become a problem when short of food. This may be so but given that they breed faster than rabbits they are a threat to human life unless strictly controlled. It is accepted that they are intelligent and creative and that humans abuse them as they are ideal for experimental testing. There are religions and other cultural taboos about eating rats which if properly reared and kept disease free, as with all other animals, birds and fishes, are on fact a good source of food. Now there's a thought for someone enterprising for an animal based Ratatouille!

The event of the day was the final episodes (81-83) of the fourth season of Lost. The first of what is a three parter was shown last Sunday and the other two this evening. The first conclusion is that as I predicted the episodes confirm that the storyline that only six survived Oceanic flight 815 was a deliberate lie to protect the others, although why this remains an issue is still puzzling because Ben does move the island from its space time positioning just as the Freighter is blown up. The two events occurring within a short period of each other offers the possibility that not everyone left on the freighter dies.

One revelation only applicable to me is that as a former devotee of the Australian soap Neighbours I had previously failed to recognise that Penelope's daddy, Charles Widmore, the organiser of the faking of the deaths of all on board Oceanic Flight 815 is being played by Jim Robinson, and his role is set to expand in the last two series. He was appearing in a London show when his part in this and presumably subsequent episodes was secretly filmed in London during the screen writer's strike which held up this season

In the final part episode of this series Penny is reunited with Desmond and they agree to keeping quiet about the rescuing of the six who were on the flight by taking them close to another island so they can make their own way to the shore pretending that they have sailed half way across the ocean in a life raft from the plane, thus the gaps are filled as how and why only six have survived.

One of my philosophical and spiritual themes is that everything is connected and timeless in the sense of eternity and has a continuing and unending existence but fixed in its moment of time but which we can remember if we are involved or were involved and which others can also interact if they have the facility to do so anywhere in the endless universe. I have previously also mentioned that those human societies who have no word or concept for physical death as a terminating experience are closer to the truth of existence than those with the concept have been able to grasp.

In the subsequent documentary feature the programme writers and designers argue that at the end of season six, some thirty five episodes away, the final outcome and explanation of everything left to be explained will leave the audience satisfied that using time to travel the journey will be considered worthwhile. There are hints although given the track record which are red herring and which are part of the overall grand design of great architect will only be revealed later. Jack the former doctor, former survivor leader is known to be the half sister of Clare and therefore the uncle of her baby which is brought up by Kate as her child. Clare who disappeared on the island and then appeared to be part of the Jacob island force reappears in a dream like sequence to Kate warning her not take their child (mother and care mother) back to the island. Having had district birth and care mothers myself I am intrigued by this aspect of the series. Ben appears to Jack when he visit's the funeral parlour to establish if Jeremy Bentham is dead, the character who has appeared to Kate, Jack and Walt, who reappears with his grandmother to ask Hurley why eh has not be contact, but when Jack opens the coffin it is Locke who is there who has been left in charge of the island by Jacob and Ben as part of the overall grand design. Moreover Ben explains to jack that his attempt to die in a plane crash as a means of getting back to the Island is futile as all six have to return to the island together. There is also the clue that Jack's father has a major role.

One reason that I do not believe that Jin husband of Sun is dead because he was on the deck at the edge of the boat when the explosion occurs and the helicopter does not fly over the wreckage to check if there are survivors assuming there are not. The separation of Sun from Jin is important because we already know that when she returns to her homeland she uses her Oceanic flight compensation to take control of her crooked father's financial empire and she comes to London to deal a deal with Charles Widmore. Previously Ben has joined forces with Sayid who both are seeking vengeance over the respective deaths of Ben's daughter and Sayid's wife and when Charles Widmore is confronted in his room he told that his life will not be taken but that of his daughter who is hidden away, and I speculate if this is Clare! Meanwhile Sayid has killed the Widmore agent keep tabs on Hurley who has hidden himself away in an asylum but Sayid has come to take him away as the asylum is no longer safe and Hurley ends his game of chess with the words, Checkmate Mr Echo. The title of the end episodes, There's no Place Like home comes from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ so one needs to remember that film is about. When Hurley returned to his family his discovers that his father has rebuilt his old and treasured car but Hurley's joy is short-lived when he reads one of the dials which shows the same number which won the lottery which led him to take the flight which took him to the Island where the numbers where again shown to have such significance and therefore it has to be assumed, for the moment, that these number will have a continuing significance. One obvious red herring introduced by he documentary is the relationship between Jack, Sawyer and Kate and whether Kate will wend up with Jack or Sawyer. We learn that Sawyer who was on the helicopter leaving the island jumps into the sea and successfully swims back to the island enabling the helicopter to return to the freighter and stay sufficiently to refuel and for Sun to take the space place with the helicopter then having to ditch when the island disappears and the occupants are rescued by Penny's searching boat when they take to the life raft. The other reference which may become more relevant is to the episode Through the looking glass. Interestingly two other endings were shot in which Sawyer and Desmond were the men in the coffin rather than Locke.

I also watched an episode of Morse over two days as it was shown twice overlapping other programmes on both days but at times which enabled to see most of the whole, thus finding out what and why.

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