On the gap.

There is a wide gap in the world.

I was considering Haiti this evening. I finally decided to look through the collection of photos at The Big Picture (a news in photographs)and I was sorrowful.

I went to Google to explore what people are saying about Haiti and decided to follow the twitter* on it because it was the quickest way to hear from a wide variety of people.

The most moving pointed to the juxtaposition between my night, a Canadian (and American) night, and the night of a person in Haiti.

Canada: 24, Golden Globes
Haiti: Suffering, Death, hunger (just to name a few)

There is a wide gap in the world.



*If you are looking for an interesting view of this gap type "Golden Globes" or "24" into a twitter tracker and watch what people are saying. Do the same with "Haiti" The speed at which people are commenting is amazing, but the disappointments, excitements, cares and concerns are so different.

Lost in the Fringe

Ok so I started watching Lost.

I also watch Fringe.

Both are J J Abrams projects.

J J Abrams projects: very similar. Let's compare. (I should note I am at like episode 10 of Lost so please don't ruin anything for me)

1) Music- Panicky violins, loud timpani.
These are identical. In fact at times if I am not looking I think I am watching Fringe and not Lost. The only musical difference is the occasional Middle Eastern sounding notes that come out when Sayid is on screen.

2) Driving the Plot
As Mr Abrams admitted himself during a TED lecture, have a metal box. Now I think I just saw the actual metal box or something similar but the idea is drive home the plot with an obscure object that out of the blue enters the world of the story which causes more questions. In Lost you have numerous: French communications, metal boxes, invisible monsters (and I am confident a whole lot more). In Fringe: ZFT manifestos, a half brained scientist who pieces together the past, inter-dimensional assassins (and certainly a whole lot more).

3) Something for the stupid.
Now this may sound mean to all of you out there who don't get into the question game that goes with Abrams' work. But his shows (as proven above) are clouded in mystery. The thing is that if you aren't sharp enough to come up with the questions yourself or keep track of them, JJ has something for you. Once and a while two characters will talk and ask a bunch of unanswerable questions that stand to lead us nowhere but for those trying to keep up (and can't) center the mystery. It happens between Olivia and Broyles and it happened in the last episode of Lost I watched with Sayid and Sawyer.

Now I had a few more but they have slipped my mind (perhaps as a result of fringe scientists or the others). All this is to poke fun at two great shows (likely if I went back I could probably add Alias to this list cause Rambaldi devices are a dime a dozen but I couldn't remember enough).

The sad thing is is that these elements make great shows. Regardless of their similarities I'll still watch them both.

JJ thanks.

Patman the Lost

(On a side note I saw "The Book of Eli" today and if you like post-apocalyptic stuff you'll like this)