Just in case you didn't, um, hear about it:

So, unless you've been living in a cave, and even then, you have probably heard that Lost is ending tonight. I thoroughly expect the finale to be an utter disappointment, leaving us all with more questions than answers and feeling completely let down and wondering why, precisely, we all spent so many hours watching this show, but I will be watching to have one critical burning question answered about the sole remaining thoroughly likeable, sensible, morally admirable character*:

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOG?

I realize, of course, that many of you have or will argue that Vincent the Dog was not actually a dog, and was in fact at various times a smoke monster, a ghost, a disguised Egyptian god, or even Something Else Weird and Strange. (For those of you that I have lost with this statement, I can only say that this is not the most coherent of television shows.) I also realize that the dog has not made an appearance for several episodes now, which is PRECISELY WHY I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIM.

So, you know, dog!

With that said, I'm not entirely sure when I will be seeing the actual show, partly because I've already been slightly spoiled for the last episode (although NOT ABOUT THE DOG, which just goes to show that people that post spoilers JUST DON'T CARE about IMPORTANT THINGS), but more because a last ditch attempt to sing and burn incense (not actually incense) in front of the TV still failed to gain the cooperation of ABC, which stubbornly continues to HATE US. (Or, love me during football season by blocking access to things which otherwise would be a loud weekly event in my fall life. Actually, thank you, ABC. While I'm at it, Fox, little convenient failures on Monday night next fall would be awesome. Thanks muchly. But I digress.) Since I'm not feeling physically great today, the tentative idea of heading over to my parents is also out (not to mention that doing that would involve answering the many moments of "huh?" "what" "where's [X character]" "what happened to the polar bear?" "what happened to the dog? I liked the dog" from my father, who has not seen any of the show since the second season and is still questioning why anyone would bother to tattoo a shark, another question I feel certain this show is not going to bother to answer). Since I feel certain I would have an equal hatred of the many, many commercials ABC will be airing during this event, I am surprisingly ok with this.

My initial plan was to watch the show Monday morning when it pops up on ABC's website and Hulu, but this plan ran into a slight snag: Monday is Landscaping Day around here, which, to put it mildly, is going to play havoc with the viewing experience. My main alternative free internet outlet is currently blocked by road construction, and more specifically, by a Giant Hole that the trike and I cannot navigate safely**, and since the road construction crews and the state of Florida aren't getting threatened by evil smoke monsters, I'm thinking the Giant Hole, unlike Lost, or actual answers to the show, will still be there Monday. That snag leads me back to the possibility of watching through less conventional/legal means. Hmm. Which in turn leads me back to my comment about commercials and not feeling particularly great. Hmm hmm.

Which is all to say I'm not sure when I will be posting my usual snark for the show, especially since I may (or may not) be vanishing from the internet tonight to avoid further spoilers, and especially since my usual snarking method is to pause the show whenever something Hits Me, so you all kinda get a running reaction. But yes, to answer the various emails in my box, there eventually will be snark.

I just hope the dog makes it.

* Actually, I would put Helen, a minor character, into this rare category of likeable, sensible and admirable as well, but we know what happened to her so I'm not all worried about her.

** On the bright side, the state of Florida is now acknowledging that we may "have a problem." So, progress!

Iron Man

Meanwhile, while we are waiting for Lost, some comments on Iron Man:

1. We went to an 11:15 am showing, which meant, unfortunately, that we were hit with screaming infants. We'd expected kids at that hour, and the vast majority of the mostly kid audience seemed to love the movie and cheered at the right places and wanted to go flying and were generally awesome, but those under the age of two, not so much, and this ongoing trend of bringing infants to movies that other people have paid to attend is more than irritating. In this case, it was bad enough that other parents went to find a theater manager to ask some of the parents to remove their screaming kids, which in turn led to arguments, often during dialogue. Sigh.

2. In between the screaming, we liked the movie, which drops the moral quandaries and philosophical tensions of the first film to instead ask this critical question: what the HELL is the costume department thinking with Gwyneth Paltrow/Pepper Potts' footwear?

I mean, seriously. These weren't just heels, these were, well, heels. Paltrow was tottering on them, noticeably, more than once, and having visible problems remaining upright in at least two scenes, which might have been fine, except that she is portraying a woman who has already, you know, tangled with Evil Kidnappers and Bad Robots and knows people are gunning for her boss/love interest and potentially her as well. This is the moment to lower the heels.

But still, a fun flick, if not up to the original, mostly, I think, because of a need to set up the upcoming Avengers and Thor flicks instead of focusing on Iron Man and the questions the film really could be asking, but isn't: what, really, does it mean to have world peace centered on one person – particularly a person who is dying? How do you approach death? I liked the Avengers bits, mind you (and also found myself cracking up at the thought of Tony Stark needing a Lincoln Electric welder) but the end result is something diffuse, scattered, sometimes unfocused.

Though, you know, killer robots. So, yay.