When TPS Reports Come In Handy ...

Kind of a beautiful little story here. Good on ya, Disney.

Relentless Pursuit Of The White Tulip In Hopes of Avoiding A Life in the Amber: A Farewell To The Epic “Fringe”

 “The time we had together, we stole. I cheated fate to be with you.” ~Walter to Peter

“You were my favorite thing, Peter. My very favorite thing.” ~Walter to Peter

“It’s not about fate, Walter, yours or mine. It’s about changing fate.” ~Donald/September

They say nature abhors a paradox—and so does television. That’s why the story of “Fringe”—the little paradox that could—is simply a phenomenal tale.

Developed by “Lost” and “Alias” creator (and now “Star Wars” heir apparent) J.J. Abrams, “Fringe” was created in the shadow of “Lost,” yet it eventually and unexpectedly cast its own amazing light. And despite the fact that it didn’t fit any of the accepted and preconceived parameters of what a primetime TV show should be about, the fact that it lasted five tremendous seasons is testimony to a stellar cast and a development crew that was dedicated to pushing the boundaries.

“Does it ever feel like every time we get close to getting the answers somebody changes the question?” ~Peter

“People die. It happens. Sometimes they even die twice.” ~Walter

The team at “Fringe” never expected a fifth season, so when they were accorded one, they elected to treat it as a love letter to the fans who had stuck with them since the beginning. That allowed a rarity in television—a show receiving bonus episodes to go out on its own terms, and “Fringe” answered the bell, peppering the final 13-episode season with déjà vu of old cases, buttoned-up storylines and other stuff.

The two-hour series finale was mesmerizing and emotional. The writers added so many perfect little touches, none better than the Walter-Astrid exchange:

Walter: “It’s a beautiful name.”

Astrid: “What is?”

Walter: “Astrid.”

The show created so many iconic images: the laboratory, the white tulip, the bullet necklace, hell, even Violet Sedan Chair. It harkened up memories of epic shows ranging from “Star Wars” (the Observers’ leader, Windmark, was a dead-ringer for Emperor Palpatine) to “X-Files” (with some natural Scully-Mulder connections between Olivia and Peter, as Walter referenced by saying, “I don’t think there’s anything sadder than when two people are meant to be together and something intervenes.”).

And sure, it became obscure and difficult to follow at some points, what with Peter becoming “weaponized,” jumping between universes and parallel doppelgangers. But the overriding story arc was always omnipresent: the evolution of Walter from a cold, clinical scientist to a warm, open healer. Actor John Noble’s ability to transform Walter from institutionalized abuser of technology to father figure to his team carried the entire series.

“I suppose I’ve learned that crazy is a lot more complicated than people think.” ~Walter

By the end, “Fringe” had become so much more than the “lab show” so many have envisioned it being. At its core, it was a show about the true meaning of sacrifice—and second chances. It was a show about defining love—and learning to say goodbye to it. It was a show about embracing mental illness—and learning what it means to be a father. It was a show about forgiveness—but also worthiness.

The absence of truly original programming on network television will make the loss of “Fringe” even more difficult to overcome for faithful viewers. But such a void is a small price to pay for the privilege of having been invited into the “Fringe” universe.

Either one of them.

Limerick Friday LXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIX: Hero Worship Takes Another Hit, Plus The Underachievers Take On The Overcheaters

More than a liar, that Lance

A bully and a douche, at a glance

A yellow bracelet on the shelf

Can’t wear it and be a better self

Learn to look at our “heroes” askance

One thing you have to say for the ultra-rich

Without conscience, they love to bitch

Phil Mickelson the latest of jackasses

To complain about paying taxes

Shut up and worry about your career in a ditch

Corruption is standard in the Big Easy

But that bitch Nagin was particularly sleazy

The ex-mayor indicted

New Orleans is slighted

Politics in Louisiana makes you queasy

From their lofty hypocritical perch

They sold fake division-champs merch

The fraud has gone underground

But you’d better believe it’s still around

UNC praying the NCAA stops its search

Gutlessness cost them the other night

Selfishness and a lack of fight

Matador defense on display

Turnovers and foul trouble all day

Can the hard things be done to put it right?

Last time …

Limerick Friday LXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXVIII: A Fraud Tarnishes The Golden Dome, Plus “Fringe” Says Its Final Goodbye

Manti Te’o, what the hell

A fraud or an idiot, can’t tell

Lazy journalism on display

And hero worship, I’d say

Character counts, even in the NFL

Te’o said Bill Brasky was a third-round steal

Roomed with Kaiser Soze, tried to cop a feel

Said high school coach named Rute Knockne

Said Anthony Munoz couldn’t block me

Degree from Hogwarts: “a pretty good deal”

State might not be a fluke

Throttled the Devils of puke

Jefferson fouled out

Then proceeded to pout

Even the refs couldn’t save poor Dook

But then the Pack went to College Park

And stumbled around in the dark

Played in brutal fits and starts

Blew an ugly win with brain farts

Focus and sharing were way off the mark

Playing chicken with fiscal cliff tiff

Stalling the assault weapon riff

Partisanship overriding what’s best

Divisiveness won’t take a rest

Maybe Congress should be next off the cliff

Of nostalgia, already a twinge

The intensity is sure to singe

A two-hour series finale awaits

The team will learn their fates

Oh, please don’t leave me “Fringe”

Last time …

This Is Not The Meth You're Looking For ...

Losing the (Star) War on Drugs ...

Going Ghetto In Glasgow

Half-Pence > 50 Cent

Limerick Friday LXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXVII: Can The Wolfpack Take The Next Step, Plus “Fringe” Enters The Home Stretch

A measuring-stick game for the Pack

The Dookies coming for an afternoon snack

Coach K brings hand-checking “D” stops

A barrage of threes and a bevy of flops

Can State finish when it’s time to attack

Tide rolled by a whopping score

Stop me if you’ve heard this before

A juggernaut he’s built

Unchecked by decency or guilt

Great coach, plus egotistical whore

Getting back into the work flow

The going has been pretty slow

A lax start to 2013 for the team

At the top, will there ever be any cream?

Can it be salvaged, I just don’t know

A new logo awaits the ‘Fins

And I await on needles and pins

If it’s like the last 15 years

It’ll come with WTFs and tears

Shake your head and pray for 8 wins

 

The return of “Fringe” on the fly

To kick off a three-episode goodbye

Can the Observers be stopped

Before Olivia and the Bishops are popped?

Cue the heart-pounding intensity, no lie

Last time …

“The Wind Through the Keyhole” Offers Seductive Déjà Vu of King’s Mid-World

“There’s nothing like stories on a windy night when folks have found a warm place in a cold world.”

“We are ka-tet. We are one from many. Be grateful for warmth, shelter, and companionship against the storm. Others may not be so lucky.”

“ ... the sound of the wind has always made me think of good times and far places.”

If you’re a Stephen King of any degree or ilk, you likely grew an Oy-sized tail at the news that King was rolling out another “Dark Tower” book. And while “The Wind Through the Keyhole” was a novella-length Dark Tower 4.5 that went by way too fast, it still opened up a lot of possibilities as to how King could bundle similar side-adventure-style stories within the epic series.

While “The Wind Through the Keyhole” managed well on its own merits, functioning on the story-within-a-story-within-a-story approach, it resonated most as an emotional reunion with old friends to faithful Dark Tower readers.

Some quick observations:

• Is the Covenant Man Randall Flagg (“‘Do you know his name?’“‘Nay, nor need to, for I know what he is—pestilence with a heartbeat.’”)?
• “Unspeakable Merriment” would be a great band name.
• Even as a notoriously slow/contemplative reader, I burned through this one in a little over a week.
• “‘What’s America?’ “‘A kingdom filled with toy-loving idiots.’”
• Mid-World is comprised of two sometimes-overlapping universes—much like “Fringe” in that respect.
• I assumed that spotting his father dead in the water was going to turn out to be just another mirage.
• “‘Look not long at what’s offered, for every precious thing has wings and may fly away.’”
• The theme of forgiveness resonating at the end could have led some to view “The Wind Through the Keyhole” as a bit of a morality tale, but I could argue that much of the series could be read that way.
• “It was not fair, it was not fair, it was not fair. So cried his child’s heart, and then his child’s heart died a little. For that is also the way of the world.”
• I don’t recall so many elements of Spanish being part of the low speech.
• Couldn’t help but think of Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” when the issue of befriending a tiger arose.
• That wasn’t exactly what I thought Everlynne intended to “give” to Roland.
• I tried hard not to laugh when the ka-tet was holed up in Gook village. I’m not sure I succeeded.

Even after some 4,000 pages of the Dark Tower series, even this small morsel had me yearning for more. Will King yield to the masses and rattle off a handful of similar side tales to appease Faithful Reader? Time will tell, and as in King’s own words, “Time was a face on the water, and like the great river before them, it did nothing but flow.”

“At some point he slipped down their covering enough to see a trillion stars sprawled across the dome of the sky, more than he had ever seen in his life. It was as if the storm had blown tiny holes in the world about the world, and turned it into a sieve.”

“Time is a keyhole, he thought as he looked up at the stars. Yes, I think so. We sometimes bend and peer through it. And the wind we feel on our cheeks when we do—the wind that blows through the keyhole—is the breath of all the living universe.”

“In the end, the wind takes everything, doesn’t it? And why not? Why other? If the sweetness of our lives did not depart, there would be no sweetness at all.”

Car-kour

Geniuses or death-wishers? (For the record, I would have been injured just diving into the car like the dude did near the beginning.) You be the judge, but fun to watch either way ...

Limerick Friday LXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXVI: The Circle Of Life

Welcomed a remarkable little guy

Then a loss with no time for goodbye

A year full of sadness and joy

My heart with my Mom and little boy

As thoughts of both in a 2013 sky

Last time …

The Circle Of Life, 2012-Style

A lot of good, a lot of bad. That's not 2012. That's life.

Onward and upward ...