The 8-Bit Generation are those born in or around 1980 who knew a time before Nintendo, Nickelodeon, and personal computers.  Their favorite video games are The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, and Final Fantasy.  Their technology’s performance could still be influenced by blowing harder on the controller or by demagnetizing the tape deck before use.  If you said, “I don’t know,” you were likely to get slime dumped on your head.  In 1986 Double Dare debuted and the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up.  We knew technology could fail us and that we were all still human after all, but we all still had land lines and it was expensive to call long distance.  900 numbers ruled late night television when Nick at Night was still playing My Three Sons.  Nowadays it plays past episodes of Full House, the same show that played when the 8-Bit Generation was in elementary school.

Some elementary schools had Apple II’s, but by the time they got to middle school, public schools had begun buying personal computers (PCs) running DOS and the first versions of Microsoft Office.  By high school they would have PCs running Windows 95 and the Internet.  They would be the last generation to grow up without having the Internet their entire high school career and the last generation to not have cell phones in the class room.  The closest any of the 8-bit generation had to a cell phone in high school was a beeper because most cell phone’s batteries were so large you could only use them in your car.  Most Internet connections at home were dial-up and AOL ruled the land with it’s floppy disks.  The first CD-R drives cost $400, more than some computers cost today.

The 8-Bit Generation went to college in the middle of the Dot Com Crash and 9/11.  They graduated with less hope of finding a job than their immediate predecessors, Generation X.  They still dressed like they did in high school.  They think a Polo over a t-shirt and some stone-washed jeans is cool and if you swap the pants for some khakis and add a sweater they’re dressed up.  They believe white shoes are for dorks and prefer leather shoes like Dockers or Doc Marten’s.  They think of Angelina Jolie more of a Hacker than of Salt. They believe the future is possible and that it is here.  They don’t want to work, but they will.  Not everything was handed to them, but they did have it easier than their parents, but their children may not.  Those children, the sons and daughters of the 8-Bit Generation are now in kindergarten and elementary school.  They are using iPhones and iPads to communicate and play games.  They’ve never known anything other than always-on broadband Internet, streaming movies, video games on cell phones, and text messaging (they don’t even know or care what AOL is).  They are the 64-Bit Generation.

As someone who is laughably prone to hyperbole, it may may seem inconsequential that I laud it as the greatest television show of all time.  You may be asking yourself: “What is so great about it?” or “How can a modern show compare to TV classics from other eras?” or “What kind of a weirdo, fanatical, booger eating, sci-fi dork would care so much about a TV show?”

These are all fair questions.  I am not sure if I will be able to suitably answer any of them for you (but I don’t eat my boogers, by the way).  It is my hope that this article piques your interest enough to watch the first episode for free online on hulu.com.  If you are not engrossed in the tale of Flight 815 after 8 episodes, then I ask your forgiveness for presuming your interest in the fields philosophy and sociology.  If you find your mind and heart constantly returning to the question of “What is the meaning of life?”, then prepare yourself for a vivid, elaborate, amplified discussion of that very question that IS the show:  LOST.

What the uninitiated know or (don’t know) about the show varies.  I will presume that you know (or consequentially, inform you of) that

If something on the show leads you to believe what you are watching is “unrealistic”, take comfort in the fact that you are experiencing a vivid, detailed, highly personal metaphor.  The line between fiction and science fiction is fine, but don’t let crossing it ruin the truth is being illustrated for you within the framework of the show.

The most expensive pilot in television history sets the stage for one of the greatest serialized story lines in any medium.  This article is written with the knowledge of the first five seasons of LOST under my belt.  The mosaic has not been revealed completely, but enough has transpired to produce a sense of nostalgia in me while watching this episode.  Partly because of the production value, and partly because of the timeless locale, the show doesn’t feel five years old.  While some things, like hyper-color t-shirts, don’t age well, it’s a good sign that LOST will.

One challenge of an ensemble show is to find the balance between individual character development with keeping the audience interested in the fate of the whole group.  With flashback being an integral part of the LOST storytelling process, the pilot episode starts in the middle, with Jack lying in the jungle, seemingly unaware of how he got there.  Soon enough, he emerges from the jungle and sees the wreckage of the plane he was just riding on.  We soon see a flashback with Jack on the plane, having a strong drink just before the turbulence hits.  With his future alcohol struggles, it almost feels like an Easter egg to see Jack drinking just before being brought to the island.

Charlie is right in the throws of heroin addiction, and it is quickly apparent.  He’s a likable character, but it would be hard to tell if it is his drugs that make him so.  The actor, Dominic Monaghan, was just coming off of a journey through middle earth with the rest of the Hobbits in Return of the King, so there were a fair amount of LOTR fans who tuned in out of a quasi-loyalty to the Trilogy.  Charlie sets up the end title frame perfectly when he asks the group:  ”Where are we?”

LOST

It’s great to see how quickly Kate and Jack connect with each other based on her finding him in need of a make-shift surgeon.  You wonder if this shared moment is what set the trajectory of their relationship.  What if another attractive female from the plane happened to stumble upon Jack at that time?

On July 4th, 2009, right in the swing of our Great Recession, I officially took a part-time position as a Customer Service Representative with my local video store. As a consultant for services that are not tangible and not immediately reflected on the bottom line, the waiting list for my attention and concern was at zero. I found myself able to complete my tasks, make new contacts, write a few articles, and still have disposable time throughout each day. But these duties were not impacting my bottom line in the way that I wanted them to, either. I decided that it was time to go back to a mode of making income that helped me in my youth: hourly pay to provide a low-skill service.

To my surprise, my first task was not to wait on customers, familiarize myself with the DVD shelves, or even learn the computer system. Rather, it was to mow the grass outside. While setting up the lawnmower, a piece slipped and pinched my thumbnail hard enough to leave a mark. It was the kind that I immediately knew would either cause my thumbnail to fall off, or would simply remain unsightly until new tissue grew to replace the damaged area over the next several weeks.

As I started to mow the grass, I thought: This is kind of cool! I do this at my own house every week, and now I get to do it while “on the clock”. After a couple of hours, I was finished. As I drove home, I thought: “I can do this. This is just something that will get me by while I’m building up my consulting business. Maybe I can meet some interesting people while I’m working and turn that into an opportunity for business.” It turned out that I was only half right.

How eReaders (also written e-Readers), which are digital readers for eBooks (also written e-Books) have taken over the tech news and gadget landscape? From Amazon’s Kindle™ which was first released on November 19, 2007 to Barnes and Noble’s nook™ which was first released November 30, 2009 to Apple’s iPad which was released April 3, 2010, there clearly is a revolution going on in how books are read, purchased, stored, and shared.

The first chart shows the dramatic rise in news articles related to ereaders starting in 2009. This chart also highlights the differences in spelling of the different terms for ebook readers. While there is no official way of spelling it (both ereader and e-reader are acceptable), Google Trends clearly shows that “ereader” is used more often or is more popular. In general I think that if hyphens can be avoided, they will be, just as in “e-mail” is more often written as “email.”

The second chart shows the steady rise of Amazon’s Kindle, followed by the nearly identical rise of Barnes and Noble’s Nook an Sony’s Reader. Other ebook readers like the Que and Alex don’t yet register in comparison to the traffic of these other major players, but if you compare Apple’s iPad against this chart, it makes the Kindle look pathetic in comparison.

Now these are mostly news trends and not necessarily a reflection of popularity or quality, but it does highlight a tipping point in the use of ebook readers that happened at the end of 2009, about a year after the market crash in 2008. Despite a recession and a bad world-wide economic situation, consumers have still went out and purchased not just ebooks and ereaders, but e-reader accessories, which can sometimes equal or cost more than the ereader itself. Nook covers, for example, average around $25 each.

How about you? Do you own an ereader or plan on purchasing one in 2010? Answer in the comments below.

Most everyone knows how to say a phone number: you say it in sections, area code, prefix, then the number (sometimes called the “line number”). Kevin James if famous for the phone number rhythm, “Bum bum bum, bum bum, bum bum.”

Anyway, I thought of him when I saw this sign in Elwood, Indiana: Home for Sale, but see if you can figure out what the actual phone number is.

I was browsing Google News > Science / Technology and saw two articles about the “secret” to Apple’s success (one is the Apps, the other is Kids!) and two articles about iPhone outages (one in NY and the other in London). Seriously? Is this all we have to talk about? Okay, Apple is successful (highest stock price ever!) and the iPhone is great (best cell phone/PDA ever!) but is there really no other innovation going on? Is this what the economy has done to us? There is Google, Nokia, Apple, and Microsoft. Everyone else can go home. We’re done here.

Arnart sold Hummel look-alike figurine with a crown label designed by German artist Erich Stauffer. Arnart was big importers of cheap Japansese goods in the 1950′s and 60′s, which also with a crown label.

The first Hummel figurines were sold in 1935. The figurines are all based on the drawings and paintings of children by sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Much of the art was done in the 1930s.

In addition to figurines of children, there are figurines of saints – a stylistic departure from the figurines of playful children which was copied by Erich Stauffer for Arnart. Hummel and Erich Stauffer were both artists, but Hummel worked for Goebel and Stauffer worked for Arnart Imports (also known as Arnart Creations, among other names).

Hummels were made by Goebel up until June of 2008 when Goebel discontinued making them. It is important to note that Hummel is not a brand or a company, but a line of porcelain figurines distributed by the Goebel company. All Hummels are Goebel figurines, but not all Goebel figurines are Hummels.

Not only was the Japanese ceramic industry smaller in scale compared to the Chinese, but the porcelain marks were also applied for different reasons that on the Chinese porcelain. Personal signatures by the artists involved, such as Erich Stauffer, are quite common. We also find a different attitude towards what marks that are put on the Japanese porcelain and in particular the export porcelain from the 19th century and onwards.

The entire range of Imperial reign marks so common on Chinese porcelain, genuine or not, is mostly lacking. The marks are more commercially oriented, such as with Arnart Imports, are more numerous, and can vary even within a set of pieces. They can indicate the name of the factory, the potter, the decorator, the pattern, the customer, the exporter, the importer or both or a part of them or maybe just say “Made in Japan”, “Japan”, “Nippon”, “Happiness” or “Good luck” in any number of ways.

Increasing the confusion are the hundreds of porcelain decorating firms active in the early to mid 20th century simultaneously putting many different marks on the same wares seemingly at random but probably for some reason. To take just one example, the Noritake company which has been active for about one hundred years only, are thought to have used over 400 different marks.

Arnart Imports Inc., owner of the Erich Stauffer figurines, is still in operation and is currently located in 230 Fifth Avenue, New York. The company specializes in porcelain gifts and decorative accessories. First registrated trade mark is the Crown and A’s mark registred April 30, 1953. A mark looking like a bee hive, was first used the last of December 1957. Both were cancelled in 2001.

	Arnart Imports Inc., mark registred in 1957. Cancelled June 6th, 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Crown and A’s mark in use since April 30, 1953. Cancelled February 17, 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Crown and A’s mark in use since 1953 combined with the ‘bee hive’ in use since 1957, both cancelled in 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Royal Carlton, was registred for porcelain tableware, in 1957; Royal Crown was registred for use on animal and bird figures 1965 – 1987. Several similar ‘Royal’ marks with a crown and a brand mark exists, all from the second half of the 20th century.

This is a guest post written by Zac Parsons.

As someone who is laughably prone to hyperbole, it may may seem inconsequential that I laud it as the greatest television show of all time. You may be asking yourself: “What is so great about it?” or “How can a modern show compare to TV classics from other eras?” or “What kind of a weirdo, fanatical, booger eating, sci-fi dork would care so much about a TV show?” These are all fair questions. I am not sure if I will be able to suitably answer any of them for you (but I do not eat my boogers, I’ll have you know).

It is my hope that this article piques your interest enough to watch the first episode for free online on abc.com.

If you are not engrossed in the tale of Flight 815 after a handful of episodes, then I will ask your forgiveness for presuming your interest in the fields of philosophy, psychology, and sociology.  This is not a show designed merely to titillate and help to escape from “reality”.

If you find your mind and heart constantly returning to the question of “What is the meaning of life?”, then prepare yourself for a vivid, elaborate, amplified discussion of that very question that IS the show: LOST.

It is a show that gives color, clarity, and context to the questions of your conscience.

Wondering when Twitter will fade.

If something on the show leads you to believe what you are watching is “unrealistic”, take comfort in the fact that you are experiencing a vivid, detailed, highly personal metaphor. The line between fiction and science fiction is fine, but don’t let crossing it ruin the truth that is being illustrated for you within the framework of the show.  What the uninitiated know or (don’t know) about the show will vary, of course. That framework simply is….

A group of people are stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific.

You’ve heard the hypothetical questions:  ”What book would you read if you were stranded on a deserted island?” or “What would you do if you could start your life over in a new place?” or even “Would you sleep with _________ if he/she was the last person on earth?”  LOST tries to answer these questions (and more) by putting characters of the ilk of classic historical archetypes on the island:

• A doctor with a knack for leadership and mind built up in the world of science, logic, and reason, Jack Shephard believes that all problems are solvable, and that he can help to solve them.  (His father’s name, Christian Shephard, may remind you of a certain religious metaphor)
• Beautiful and innocent on the surface, Kate Austen struggles to define herself apart from the men in her life.  Her relationships with men are as varied and different as the characters in a book like…. hmmm I don’t know…. Sense And Sensibility?
• As carefree man, with plenty of reasons to be bitter about life, John Locke believes that his past has made up his present and future.  He let’s destiny and fate drive him forward in life with little fear or trepidation.
• With a name like “Sawyer”, you may immediately recognize the connection between this southern con man who lives by his own rules and the characters of Mark Twain’s stories.

The REAL John Locke. Too bad Adrian Brody wasn't available.

It’s fun to have a new character introduced and to guess what argument or theory that person might represent.  LOST is a teleological journey to an end point that was decided before the show was even picked up.  Instead of sitting around a table and wondering where to take the story next, the writers are simply giving depth and detail to each episode, each of which is a tile to be placed on the board for the mosaic.

What the final picture looks like, only the creators know, which is a lovely metaphor in itself.

If you still don’t get LOST, then I won’t encourage you to get any further lost with me.  But if your interest is piqued, please join in the conversation and get LOST with the rest of us.

You may remember my articles on the evolution of Jack Shephard from earlier this year.  If not, you can find part 1 here and part 2 here.  If you are already initiated into LOST and won’t be spoiled by information from seasons 1-4, I highly recommend watching this compilation clip on Youtube about the dichotomy between Jack and John Locke.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIgXEq0ue2Y&feature=related

It will probably benefit from being updated at the end of the show to represent Jack’s full character arc, but it is a strong piece in its own right as it stands now.  What do you think?  Is Jack “there” yet?  Is he still on the journey?

A LOST fan created a fantastic trailer for the show base on the character of John Locke and his moniker of “Man of Faith”.  It is nearly pitch perfect in it’s portrayal of the “box man”.  It is posted on Youtube, but you can check it out here:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e7g5KsLs0o&feature=related

The Mirror Matter Moon theory is one of the most prominent theories on LOST to explain what the island is and why it might behave like it does. Essentially, the island is a moon made of mirror matter. There are two types of matter, the matter we know and love, and the opposite. We can exist in either habitat, but one can not see the other. This is why the island can not be seen until you cross into area around the island – into the mirror matter moon.

LOST might be a multi-layered homage to yin-yang duality (where one side can’t exist without the other). The universe that we live in may have two sides, each invisible (or “dark”) to each the other. Matter operates in the same way on each side, but they are two different universes so stars and planets formed in two different ways. The sides are different according to “mirror reflection symmetry,” meaning that left and right are reversed on the very small scale of particle physics. The particles on our side (Portland) have “left-handed” interactions, and the particles on the other side (Starboardland) have “right-handed” interactions. This right-handed dark matter is known as mirror matter. In the words of Locke in Episode 1: “… Two sides… One is light… One is dark.” Note which hand each stone is in.

Imagine a small, invisible world developed on a dark mirror matter asteroid that crashed into Earth long ago. The island would be a continent on a world “on the other side of Earth,” as the producers have hinted. But this chunk of dark matter also contains exotic material that allows the natural formation of wormholes between the two sides. Thus this dark island connects the two sides of the universe and is a place of epic duality. Mimicking the ebb and flow of yin and yang, dominance over the island continuously shifts between light, faith-based (see Manichaeism), and dark, science-based, factions. When one side becomes too dominant, its power wanes and the other gains strength. Furthermore, the conflict incorporates the yin-yang-like struggle for power between Jacob and Esau. As they can’t exist without each other, for the conflict to end, both sides must perish or the sides must merge.

The light side faction is headed by someone who is born on Earth, moves to the island, and loses his or her father; and the dark side is led by someone who is born on the island and moves to Earth (e.g., Hanso, Aaron). These representatives are symbolic of the dots in the yin-yang. There also seems to be a supernatural force that ensures the balance between factions. That force achieves its ends by communicating through ghosts and ensuring the movement of certain people, like Aaron, back and forth. It’s probably meaningful that 815, the US Army, Juliet [thanks Christine], and possibly Desmond, may have all arrived on an equinox, when light and dark are most balanced.

Shannon has found her belongings and retrieved a bikini to take advantage of the sun. Boone arrives to tell her that he and the other survivors are going through the wreckage and salvaging everything they can. She makes it clear that she has no intention of helping. What’s the point, they’re going to be rescued any minute, right?

Jin wades through the tide pools gathering sea urchin. Sun is watching from the beach when Michael arrives to ask her if she has seen his son, Walt. Jin overhears the conversation and chastises Sun for having the top button of her sweater open.

While searching the woods for Vincent, Walt stumbles across something lying on the ground. Michael catches up with him and scolds him for running off without telling him. Walt shows his father, Michael, the handcuffs he found. Sawyer attacks Sayid, who he believes is an Iraqi terrorist who blew up the plane. They are soon stopped by Michael and the now returned Jack.

Jack, Kate, and Charlie head back to the beach. Kate asks Charlie what he was doing in the bathroom, and he says he was sick, but in a flashback, it is revealed that Charlie had been doing drugs in the bathroom, and attempted to flush his stash but had been prevented by the sudden onset of turbulence.

Elsewhere, Boone lays into Shannon for being incredibly selfish. She lashes back at him and tells her brother that she is going on the hike to find high ground with the others. Knowing she won’t change her mind, Boone goes along to look after his sister. Charlie and Sawyer decide to join the group at the last minute.

Sayid manages to repair the transceiver, but it does not have a signal or much battery life. While working on it, he reveals to Hurley that he was a communications officer with the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Gulf War. While reading a letter sadly, Sawyer decides to go with Sayid and the group (Kate, Charlie, Shannon and Boone) to bring the transceiver inland in an attempt to reach higher ground and get a better signal.

Along the way, they are attacked by a charging polar bear, which Sawyer shoots and kills. He then explains that he got the gun from the body of a dead U.S. marshal. Sayid accuses Sawyer of being the marshal’s prisoner. Kate takes the gun from Sawyer, and Sayid instructs her on how to dismantle it. At this point, Sawyer becomes relatively disliked by the other survivors.

Shannon attempts to understand the signal. A flashback shows the final moments of the flight. Kate is talking to the marshal, the same injured man to whom Jack had been tending, on the beach. On the plane, it can be seen that Kate is wearing the handcuffs that Walt found in the jungle. As the turbulence hits, the marshal is knocked unconscious by a falling suitcase. Kate uncuffs herself, and puts the marshal’s oxygen mask on him before attaching her own, at which point the tail end of the plane suddenly breaks off and falls away.

Back at the beach, the marshal wakes up during the operation and asks Jack, “Where is she?”. Inland, Sayid turns on the transceiver and it has a signal. However, it is being blocked by a transmission in French that has been repeating for over sixteen years. Shannon translates it: “I’m alone now, on the island alone. Please someone come. The others are dead. It killed them. It killed them all.” The group gives each other meaningful looks before Charlie says “Guys, where are we?”.

My wife has decided to start watching LOST again from the very beginning. She’s seen all of the episodes once already and I’m not sure what started her on this quest, but she has been noticing a lot more this time around and delights in the character development that happens early on in the show. This is an example of the last email she sent me:

Michael: “How does a huge place like this never get discovered?”

Apparently, she thought this was either important, hilarious, or both. She commented to me about the compass scene in the first season where Sayid borrows Locke’s compass only to realize that something is not right. Sayid just figures the compass is not functioning correctly, but we now know that there is massive magnetic disturbances on this island (and that the sun’s position may be skewed if you believe the Mirror Matter Moon Theory).

My wife also sent me the picture of the little girl watching Hurley on the screen. I don’t remember if I noticed this the first time or not, but it made me wonder (and we have no way of knowing at the time) what people or things do we see that later on in our life become very important parts of our life? It also shows the creativity of LOST’s producers in weaving the characters story lines so deeply into each other.

So last season we found out that Locke may really be dead and that his impersonator is probably the Smoke Monster, who is in a good versus evil battle with Jacob. This battle is similar to the other ying yangs we find on the island, such as Jack the healer and John the hunter in the first three seasons. Then of course there is Hurley, who sees dead people and Miles who can hear them. They now have teamed up to form a kind of dynamic-duo regarding dead people. This is far from the original Hurley, seen here relaxing on the beach in this humorous comparison between him and a pregnant Claire.

My wife sent me that picture too. She thought the picture was funny. There is a similar picture of her and I sitting on the couch. It’s not always funny, especially when you’re part of the comparison.

Long live LOST and bring on 2010!

Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) awakens in the jungle, disoriented, battered and bruised. He doesn’t know where he is, but notices a yellow Labrador retriever darting through the bamboo forest. As he forces himself up and winces in pain, he discovers a small bottle of vodka in his suit pocket. Finally able to stand, he crashes through the jungle vegetation, begins to hear sounds of people screaming, then emerges onto a beautiful beach, where he is confronted by the carnage of the airplane crash of Oceanic Flight 815.

All is in chaos. People are screaming. Once out onto the beach Jack sees the plane crash and the survivors in shock. In the confusion, one survivor gets sucked into a still spinning turbine. Jack, a distinguished surgeon, darts from one survivor to the next, organizing them, giving orders and administering medical aid. In quick fashion, he rescues a man pinned under wreckage, assists the pregnant Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) and enlists Hugo “Hurley” Reyes (Jorge Garcia) to watch her, and administers CPR to Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell), saving her life.

After the initial shock of the crash passes, Jack retreats to a quiet area beyond the beach to tend to his own minor injuries when he notices Kate Austen watching him. He asks for assistance, which she reluctantly gives by helping suture the wound on his back. During the procedure, Kate reveals that their plane had broken apart in mid-air. Hours later on the beach, while Kate curiously observes Jack tending to a critically-injured unconscious passenger, survivors Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) and his ten-year-old son, Walt Lloyd (Malcolm David Kelley), discuss what to do with the bodies in the wreckage, while an uninterested James “Sawyer” Ford (Josh Holloway) looks on. Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) organizes a clean-up crew, while Hurley salvages meals from the plane’s galley and distributes them to the survivors. Shannon Rutherford (Maggie Grace) refuses chocolate offered by her brother Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder), believing that rescue is imminent.

That night, the peacefulness of the camp is disturbed by loud roaring noises and crashing trees emanating from the nearby jungle. In the morning, Jack decides that the survivors need to send a distress signal to have any hope of rescue, and he believes the best solution is to use the plane’s transceiver, located in the cockpit of the plane. Kate claims to have seen smoke from somewhere within the jungle and asks to come with Jack to find what is hoped to be another part of the plane’s wreckage. With Kate and Charlie Pace, Jack sets off into the jungle to find the cockpit. As they move deeper into the jungle, they encounter a sudden rainstorm. When the trio finds the plane, resting against a tree, they are forced to climb through the rows of seats to reach the cabin. Inside, they find the pilot still in his seat. Charlie disappears into the bathroom while Jack and Kate find the pilot (Greg Grunberg) awaking with a start from a concussion. He tells them that the plane had lost radio contact six hours after take off, where it turned back for Fiji and hit turbulence. The plane was a thousand miles off course when it crashed.

Meanwhile, on the beach during the rainstorm, a group of survivors takes refuge in the wreckage. While huddled there, a young Korean man, Jin-Soo Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), tells his wife, Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim),in Korean that she should remain close to him at all times. Even though most of the survivors have taken shelter, John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) remains outside and sits alone in the rain on the beach with his arms outstretched and seems to enjoy the moment. Back in the plane’s cockpit, the conversation is interrupted when the strange roaring noise that the group heard from the jungle the previous night returns. When the pilot investigates, he is seized by something outside, which drags him through the cockpit window, prompting the trio to grab the transceiver and flee. During the escape, Charlie falls. Jack returns to help him, while a terrified Kate runs on. After the monster disappears, Kate, Charlie and Jack reunite and find the pilot, his bloodied corpse suspended in a tree top.