Zephyrus of the Anemoi

I’m a big fan of J.J. Abrams.

I’m not gonna lie, he’s let me down a few times in the past. For example, the first half of the third season of Lost was pretty dreadful and without focus. But Lost has done well for itself since then.

I’m telling you this because I’ve been watching Fringe. At first glance, it’s got all the J.J. trademarks: a secretive corporation working on the outskirts of rational science, a massive conspiracy traced throughout the lives of one or more of the characters, and a strong female lead.

However, up until now it hasn’t really grabbed me the way Lost and Alias did. I just haven’t had that same feeling of being “sucked in” to the show. One reason has been that J.J. has been much more reserved with the doling out of the mysteries. While Lost went over the top with presenting mystery after mystery and not solving any until there were too many to count, all the strange happenings of Fringe point to the same large conspiracy. We receive small pieces of the same puzzle every episode.

The last two episodes in particular gave us some big hints that perhaps “The Pattern” (the overarching conspiracy for the series) may be tied to the backgrounds of all of the characters, not just those readily apparent.

I will continue watching the show, and recommend anyone with a strong enough stomach give it a shot, as well.

Just don’t expect Lost.

Hot on the heels of Black Friday, Shop-a-holic Saturday, and Sunday Bloody Sunday comes the newest member of the zany Chain-Shopping Gang. Advertising companies across the globe exploded with happiness at the prospect of encroaching closer to Christmas by one whole day for their “get-em-while-they’re-cheaper” deals.

Me, I did all my shopping on Black Friday.

I don’t even feel bad about it. It went smoothly. Checked out all the deals, went to the local Wal-Mart around 7 pm to scope out what products they had that were in competitors’ ads, verified that they would price match, and went to bed at 10:30 pm. At 3:30, my iPhone screamed at me to get out of bed and my wife and I quickly dressed and headed back to Wal-Mart. We gathered up what we wanted to price match, sat next to the kiosks they had set up for their own deals, grabbed a couple of them and made it to the aisle before the large majority of people.

All in all, it was pretty freeing. I recommend it to everyone.

Next year, be prepared for Terrible Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, Thirty-Percent Off Thursday, Freaky Friday, Seppuku Saturday, and Someone Kill Me Please Sunday.

I’m looking forward to the news.