Well once again it’s Wednesday and I’m left wondering what exactly it was that I watched last  night. Thankfully Damon tried to let me know in advance what I should be thinking about:
Last night’s episode of LOST was titled RECON. Originally I would think of this as an abbreviated form of the word reconnaissance. After seeing the episode last night I would think that my interpretation would have been more on the money. SAWYER goes over to the smaller island at the request of UN-LOCKE to see what is up with the people from the Ajira plane crash. Reconnaissance, right?
It could be that what Damon was eluding to was that they were in fact conning us again. The whole flash sideways thing gave us another glimpse of the world where flight 815 safely landed. SAWYER and MILES are actually LAPD. Before this reveal we’re lead to believe SAWYER is the same grifter that we saw in the crashed 815 reality when suddenly ‘surprise’ he’s a cop! Congrats guys, you got me!
I don’t like to dwell in the flash sideways world very much, mostly because I don’t know a lot of what is going on there or where that side of the story is going. I do like, however, if you connect the dots one piece from the premiere actually does make a little bit of sense. SAWYER didn’t turn in fugitive KATE when he had a chance to in the elevator. Kind of makes him a bad cop, right? In the episode last night, however, it turns out SAWYER was keeping his little trip down under real hush-hush so he wanted to stay low profile. Turn in a fugitive and you’ve got questions to answer. Not very high profile.
So what about life back on the Island? Did we learn anything new? Turns out that ol’ SMOKEY JOE UN-LOCKE had a mother that was crazy, just like how CLAIRE is crazy. I’m sure that there are all kinds of LOST-philes on the Internet now trying to figure out how to connect the dots to prove that CLAIRE is the one and the same mother and UN-LOCKE is actually AARON. I don’t buy into it.
I was kind of shocked last night to discover that we were actually given a payoff from the final moments of last week’s episode when we learned that CHARLES WIDMORE and his non-yellow submarine has stopped and set up base on the smaller island (I feel silly calling it the Hydra island, sorry). I was even more shocked when SAWYER revealed the first real logical plan from any person on the Island: there’s two sides at war and he’s just going to stay out of the way, let them duke it out, and try to slip out the back door. BRILLIANT! I suppose this is the first time this type of plan can actually happen, however, since the LOST-ies for the first time aren’t actually in the center of the conflict. Still I bet the people that died by flaming aarow on the beach last season had wished they had given up their beach life a few seasons ago and just stayed in the caves instead of getting involved in all of JACK’s whacky shenanigans.
In speaking with a co-worker a few weeks ago I made the analogy that the beginning of this season is like the starting point of a roller coaster. You’ve got that long slow climb to the peak before you are moved along slowly to the first big drop and the ride goes all kinds of crazy, you lose your hat or sunglasses, kids scream (maybe some puke) and in the end everyone loved the ride. Right now we’re about up to the peak. Soon we’ll be carted over and then all hell is going to break loose. No sense in over-dissecting what is going on. Just try to get through it so we can be where we are supposed to before the big drop, right?
I’m looking forward to next week where we (hoepfully) see more of what’s going on with JACK and his crowd and maybe we get to see some of these split up people coming together. Next week marks the official half-way point in this final season so they just HAVE to crank things up, right?
I am, according to my doctor’s opinion, as clearly stated by him by means of a mark in a check-box on my physical chart, a male. Let us be absolutely clear on this point, lest there be any confusion. For my part, there is no question: I am certain beyond a reasonable doubt that my X chromosome is complemented by a Y chromosome.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
Mike Lombardo is a piano-playing geek-pop-rock singer-songwriter who likes to use hyphens when describing his occupation. He has been known to write songs about just about anything, including rocks and SAW 4. When not banging on a piano, Mike spends most of his time playing way too many video games or teaching small children how to bang on pianos. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mike is currently finishing up his second album with his piano rock band, the Mike Lombardo Trio.
Dave & William have been writing songs together for decades, yet have still managed to avoid finding a clever name for themselves. William writes the words; Dave the music… which is good because it doesn’t really work the other way ’round.
I’ve spoken to a few of his contemporaries in the past, and all of them described the drive and determination related in 
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I think a combination of political burnout and Michael Moore burnout led to Moore’s 
It’s a knife edge when a film decides to present a character whose situation is so bleak that the audience could be sucked down the same well of despair, but 
I’ve seen dozens of them by now, but I’m such a sucker for documentaries about The Beatles, even if that documentary is about the crafting of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles collaboration, Love, in 
Remember when you could make a filthy rich oil man a crime-solving TV hero? If you doubt such a show ever existed, look no further than 
Cast Bruce Boxleitner as an undercover spy who circumstances team up with a somewhat ditsy suburban Washington housewife, and you’ve got a show that still stands up as a pretty fun little romp – 
It was pretty much ignored in the theaters, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in the animated 
Sibling rivalries, iron fists, and a cinematic dynasty are explored in the fascinating portrait 
Fans of Greek! I know you’re out there, because 
It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned Warners’ wonderful on-demand DVD service, The Warner Archive Collection, but I’ll do so now with a pair of newly-available titles, first and foremost of which is a release of all 24 theatrical shorts comprising the 
Rediscover a lost piece of comedy history – and a groundbreaking female comedian – with 
Remember Wild Hogs? The middling, middle-aged empowerment road comedy with John Travolta & Tim Allen, amongst others? Well, Travolta’s back in what feels like the exact same film, 
A comedy about professional plagiarism and revenge gone decidedly offbeat, 
I think, by the time you get to the fourth season of 
It’s a classic veteran cop saddled with a young partner scenario in the UK’s 
Miss Conan and want to make up old Late Night bits on your own? You can do just that by laughing along with the complete 7th season of 
I just loved Comic Strip Live with John Mulrooney when I was a kid.
Why go on about the Oscar telecast? Why beat a dead horse? Well, one should not – the dead horse deserves more respect than the big “O” telecast. Every year it seems the Academy tweaks its dog and pony show and every year we, who love the entertainment industry, hope against hope that it will get better. Unfortunately, the powers that be always seem to find a way to muck it up. Was this year no different? In some ways it showed improvement, but with a glaring marketing ploy of nominating ten best pictures there was bound to be some abysmal failure to follow, and boy there was!
Ten minutes into Martin Scorsese’s new magnificent opus, “Shutter Island” I realized where the story was going and wanted to reveal it to my 16 year-old son, but I dared not. What if I was wrong? After another fifteen minutes I was captivated by Scorsese’s handiwork as a master of cinema and dismissed my knowing the outcome and enjoyed the creepy ride provided. This is not the personal voice of Scorsese that brought us such captivating cinematic landmarks as “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”. This is a more commercial venture that demonstrates not only his love of film past and present, but his prowess as one of the great directors of his generation managing to deliver an icy shudder (pun intended) to a powerful story.
Next to Popeye himself, J. Wellington Wimpy is the greatest character that cartoonist E. C. Segar created for his Thimble Theatre comic strip. That may surprise those of you who know Popeye and Wimpy basically from animated cartoons. But Wimpy is a character who expresses himself not through action like Popeye–indeed, Wimpy usually remains still and seemingly expressionless–but through dialogue. Aficionados of the Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s love the comments that Jack Mercer, the voice of Popeye, seemingly ad libbed in recording the dialogue. (By the way, 2010 is the centennial of Mercer’s birth.) Nevertheless, dialogue is not a strong point of Fleischer cartoons, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they reduced the very verbal Wimpy to a mere moocher of hamburgers. But to read Segar’s comic strips about the character is to continually discover new and surprising layers to Wimpy’s personality.
After the fight, in the February 5, 1933 strip, Wimpy is back at Rough-House’s cafe and, ever persistent, pulls his usual trick of inviting him to a duck dinner, “you bring the ducks.” Furious, Rough-House punches Wimpy, and Popeye, who comments later in the strip that Wimpy is “a frien’ of mine,” retaliates by hitting Rough-House hard. “The trouble with you is yer too blasted sensitiff,” says Popeye. That suggests that Rough-House’s hot temper is due to being overly sensitive, having too little control of his emotions, and that the usually deadpan Wimpy and Popeye are rather stoical in comparison. While Wimpy may not be a violent person himself, he’s something of a voyeur of violence. When Rough-House’s friends object to Popeye hitting him, Wimpy comments, “Let’s you and them fight,” and so they do, as Wimpy settles in for a big burger dinner, served by a woozy Rough-House. 
Perhaps Wimpy, who lacks “egocism,” simply has no desire to be rich, and is content just surviving from burger to burger. Similarly, though Popeye repeatedly earns or finds fortunes in Segar’s strips, he typically gives the money away as charity. Again, I remind myself that these strips first appeared in the depths of the Great Depression. By not caring about money, Popeye and Wimpy, each in his own way, triumph over the Depression. They not only survive in this time of hardship, but they do not fall victim to depression in the Depression. Part of Popeye’s heroism lies in his willingness to give away large sums of money to help the less fortunate. Popeye’s own “egocism” does not involve becoming wealthy. And Wimpy, in selflessly turning all that money over to his mother, proves surprisingly heroic as well. However much Popeye feels “disgusk” at Wimpy, one can see why Popeye nonetheless regards Wimpy as his friend. 
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
Edric is a returning veteran of the Masters of Song Fu competition. He has been writing music (off and on) since the early nineties. He wrote and directed a musical, The Pushcart War, based on Jean Merrill’s wonderful novel. He has written and/or arranged a number of songs for various friends – some commissioned, some as surprises. He loves acting in community theatre, and is inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Also – feel free to check out (and add to!) the “Happiness Board” on his web pages!
Legends foretell of a mighty duo, born in the frozen North. Two neighbors and friends will unite to form “Godz Poodlz” and battle the Mazters or Song Fu for glory and bragging rights! Godz Poodlz are Rüss Rogers and Rod Durre. Russ Rogers was once a member of “Kit and Kaboodle” (still available on iTunes) and currently performs in “Rusty’s Rocking Jamboree!” Rhod Durre was in the Goth Rock Band, “Sear!” Beware the Godz Poodlz Ear Worm! Godz Poodlz songs are bright, funny and tenaciously catchy. Come join Godz Poodlz Legionz of Fanz!
Spencer is trying to do things. Music is one of those things. It is painfully obvious to him, if not others, that he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. In the past he has been musically inclined with a guitar and occasionally with a piano. He is trying to be musically active once again, but this time he is attempting to do so while on the Internets. Creating music is a large part of his 40×40 list and he thinks this competition seems like “a Super Mega Happy Fun way” to rekindle his musical desires.
My name is Kylie, and I’m your everyday 17-year-old girl with a passion for music. I’ve been writing my own songs since I was ten years old, and nothing is more fun for me than to sit down with my guitar and unwind. Now I thankfully have a violin to add to my arsenal, and I’m armed and ready for my second go at song fu!
Caleb is a software engineer who pretends to be a musician on the internet. Self-taught in music theory, he is more comfortable writing a four-part instrumental fugue than he is writing a verse-chorus-bridge song. His favorite style of music went out of style at the end of the 18th century, but after discovering the likes of Weird Al, Dr. Horrible, and especially Jonathan Coulton, he realized that “omodern music” can be fun too. Now he is on a quest to update, expand, and diversify his musical knowledge and experience. In addition to singing, he plays a whole family of recorders, baroque flute, ukulele, melodica, pretends to play keyboard and guitar, and most recently, bass. He also uses virtual instruments because a real orchestra costs too much.
The Boffo Yux Dudes began in the 80’s and 90’s doing radio comedy, and promptly fell asleep for the next 15 years. Tom Giarrosso and Allan Morgan (Pop Machine) continue the tradition of trying to recreate their lost youth with exceedingly torturous music, instead of spending the money on therapy like normal people having a midlife crisis. Tom blames Mike Lombardo for showing him the Fu way of doing things, and now he has to listen to the voices and write songs instead of doing his actual day job.
Denise Hudson is a musician of non-determined hair-color from Austin, Texas who is married to an musicaphile Australian. She hopes that she typed up her bio correctly (alas, she cannot spell!); and additionally hopes she amuses you, but she is done apologizing now. 🙂 If she happens to make you slightly uncomfortable, she supposes there’s nothing to be done for it…
I’m “BucketHat” Bobby Matheson. I used to make cartoons for the internet, and sometimes still do, but mostly focus on my music right now. I write and record my songs solo, in my little make-shift studio, and when I play live, I often get some help from friends. Some of my music is funny, and some isn’t. More often than not, the humour is unintentional. My Influences range from Klezmer to folk, to punk and back again, which ends up sounding more like Zydeco than anything else (who’d have guessed?). I’ve been described as a “Cajun Buddy Holly” and an “Optimistic Elvis Costello”. It’s been said that I sound like “That guy from the Barenaked Ladies” and a “Nasaly Bob Dylan”. One of these days, I hope to have a description that is accurate.
Ian is a guitarist/singer/pianist/other-stuff-ist. He was a participant of Song-Fu #5, and is a member of Too Much Awesome. His songs have been described (by himself) as “probably not as funny as I think they are.”
Gorbzilla is a musician/band teacher in Mid-Michigan. He has been in a few bands over the years, most notably as the bass player/vocalist for the band “Satin Jones” and the guitarist/vocalist for the band “Jimmy Likes Pie”. The proud father of two future rock maniacs, Gorbzilla has been writing music for the past twenty years, and is currently working on his first musical Beer ““ Finally a Musical for Men based on the Haiku by Patrick “Horkmeister” Sweet entitled, “I Think I Threw Up”. He has been happily married for eight years, and is looking forward to this competition.
Governing Dynamics is the name of Travis Norris’s eternal sideproject, where all the stuff written by him goes when his current band (whatever it may be) refuses to play it. The music has been favorably compared to such bands as Eels, Radiohead, The White Stripes, and other bands that cool people like. It has been unfavorably compared to the tactics used by the FBI against the Branch Dividians at Waco. If he has to describe his music by genre (and refer to himself in third person) Travis calls it “alternative/shoegazer with a liberal dose of Midwestern rock”.
Two brothers from the midwest return to Song Fu with their brand of eclectic musical ideas. They don’t like to stick to a genre, and sometimes they suffer from swarms of bees.
Johannes “Jutze” Schult (from Germany) likes to live in a dream world where there has been no Grunge and where he is a talented singer. Sometimes his little folky pop songs find their way into the real world. Here they suffer from his hoarse voice and the do-it-yourself home recording production, struggling to appeal off and on beaten musical paths.
Common Lisp is the name for the music projects of yours truly, Paul R. Potts, and any collaborators I may be able to drag into participating. I am a middle-aged software engineer with four children, some home recording gear, and too many guitars. I have never written an original song. It’s about time, don’t you think?
Glen Raphael is a Manhattan-based software geek, circus performer, and guitarist/singer/songwriter who counts Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm as influences. He has recently written songs that featured killer robots, exploding pants, and the Statue of Liberty having a mid-life crisis. Though not all at once. Yet.
Inverse T. Clown is a jack of many entertainment trades, songwriting being one of his favorites. He has an album half-ready to be recorded, and is looking forward to garnering the patience to sit down and do it. Even more so, he’s looking forward to Song Fu 6. There is an ongoing series of internet covers of Inverse’s song “Today’s The Day” – and he loves them all – but it would nice to get some steam behind the endless REST of his genius, and Song Fu seems just the place to start it up. He’s funny, he’s clever, his music is synthetic, and he’s champing at the bit to throw everything he’s got to his clamoring fans. Stick around, and see why Salemites everywhere call this musical genius “The Future of Greatness”.
Coming in at twice Mike Lombardo’s age, Jeff MacDougall is back and ready to throw some Fu! When asked about the competition, he had this to say: “Yeah. That’s right. I’m back. *coughs* *mumbles*” This will be a Song Fu for the ages!
Taryn Miller is an 18-year-old, gluten-intolerant, crazy-hat-wearing guitarist (and other stuff too, but she’s played guitar longest). She hails from Winfield, Kansas – Home of Bluegrass.
I’m Joe Covenant. I’m Scottish. And never have enough time to do everything I wanna! Been singing and perfoming for over 40 years… (yes, I am 46.)… and I’ve nearly learned a 6th chord! Everything I do. I do for Song Fu. (If not for this ‘contest’ I would have never met and collaborated with so many talented people.)
Bram Tant is a Belgian coputer science student with a distinct love for music. Ever since going to music school as a kid, he’s enjoyed singing and playing the guitar, and has been writing songs for some years now. While he’s still learning to play the guitar, sing and write songs better, he improves with each attempt, and he makes up for it (and the lack of proper recording equipment) with his passion and enthusiasm. He would like to become a professional musician someday, but for now he’s satisfied with writing and performing for friends, family, and strangers on the internet.
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the FRED…
