There are two queens in Wonderland. They are sisters. One is good, and one is bad. Only one may rule at a time. The White Queen is good.  She loves all creatures and has taken a vow not to harm any living being.

The Red Queen is bad. She dislikes her sister, the White Queen, and is jealous of her popularity with everyone in Wonderland. The Red Queen, when Alice returns, is running Wonderland. She has the crown and is the ruler, until the Frabjous Day when both queens battle for domination.

On Frabjous Day, each Queen presents their “Champion” who will fight on their behalf. Alice is the Champion of the White Queen. But, Alice isn’t ready to be a Champion. And, Alice is not prepared to fight the Jabboerwocky, the Red Queen’s Champion.

Or, so she believes. Thanks to Alice’s Wonderland friends, she finds her inner strength and “muchness.” Once her confidence is restored, she defeats the Jabberwocky. The White Queen is  crowned as ruler of Wonderland and the Red Queen is banished. And, all is well again in Wonderland.

So, Jacob is like the White Queen. They both like the color white.

Smokey/Man in Black is like the Red Queen. They both do not tolerate disobedience.

Is Richard more like the Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat or the Caterpillar? Or none of them?

Who will be Jacob’s Champion? We know the Candidates, but which one will be the Champion?

Jin or Sun, Number 42

Sawyer, Number 15

Sayid, Number 16

Hurley, Number 8

Jack, Number 23 (Shephard- could be Claire or Christian, maybe? or even, Aaron?)

Or, will the candidates work together and all be champions in their own special ways? Everything that Rises Must Converge.

Stay tuned. . .

Photo summary:

This episode should’ve been called “Party with Smokey at Sundown”

Sayid crossed over the dark side, aka Team Smokey. He did enjoy payback against his torturers- see below in RIP part.

Claire is cuckoo and Team Smokey all the way. This week she sang songs for us and told Kate she didn’t need to be rescued. Silly Kate.

Here’s the main man/being on the Island. No, it’s not John Locke.

It’s this guy in John Locke’s body. Resident Island bad ass: Smokey aka Claire’s friend aka the Man in Black.

This guy is funny. He got separated from Kate when Smokey came to party at the Temple. I hope he’s okay.

Hurley is funny too, but we didn’t see him this week. He’s stuck with crybaby Jack on his trail of tears.

RIP Temple Master aka Dogen aka Asian stereotype. Next time: don’t water board people to “save” them. It’s not nice.

RIP “translator” (Lennon). He had an untimely demise in the Miami Vice movie too.

Kate. Shut up.  Stop talking about how you’ve been taking care of Aaron. Claire might kill you.

This scary guy died. Again. In the Sideways timeline. Thanks Sayid! So happy you did it. Keamy deserved it. Again.

Poor Jin. Last week, he was trapped in Claire’s jungle cuckoo nest with Smokey. This week, he’s locked up in a freezer in the Sideways timeline.  Sayid finds Jin after he takes out Keamy. Will Sayid help Jin?

Sundown. No more light, darkness takes over. Smokey likes the dark, and dark colors.  But, the sun doesn’t stay down forever.

Number 10: Realistic portrayal of what would most likely happen if I approached Aziz.

Number 9: Andy Samberg back off my man! Notice Aziz is wearing a suit. Stylish.

Number 8: Even though he’s a comedian/actor, Aziz can probably  perform surgery if necessary. And, he won’t freak out like this guy. See this excellent Ultrabrown post on his role as Big Ed on Scrubs- also includes video clips!

Number 7: Baby Aziz. Yeah this doesn’t count really. Everyone’s baby photo is cute. Is that a real tree with snow on it? Awesome.

Number 6: He has a healthy appetite.

Number 5: Everyone needs their beauty sleep. Even awesome comedian/actors like Aziz. He ate too many sandwiches, so his eating hand needs therapy. I’m not sure if this is even Aziz, it could be a friend’s brother/cousin/inmate.

Number 4: Aziz has no fear.That lion was probably his pet and he now uses it’s dead skin for decoration. Notice he is wearing a suit, but without a tie. He’s cool like that.

Number 3: Ignore background guy (Rob Huebel) who is ruining this photo of Aziz laughing/smiling.

Number 2: Have you ever seen a guy wear a trench coat like this in your entire life? No, I didn’t think so.

Number 1: The headband says it all.

Nationwide documentary premiere followed by panel discussion on December 14, 2009.

Time:
7:30 p.m. Eastern
6:30 p.m. Central
5:30 p.m. Mountain
8:00 p.m. Pacific (Tape Delayed)

Panel discussion will be in NYC, and then broadcast nationwide following documentary.

See here for event info.

Movie website here.

See here for NYC tix.

Yes, I saw New Moon, even though I couldn’t finish reading the book because the writing was soooooo third grade, and I couldn’t take it anymore. But, I love werewolves, and they never get as much attention as those bloodsuckers, and I had to see New Moon.  Werewolves are always the underdog- get it? Ha ha ha.

Anyway, I’m wondering whether this girl has any Desi heritage (“Charges dropped in ‘New Moon’ taping”). She got busted for taping part of New Moon in a Chicago area theater, and is very fortunate they did not proceed with charges.

Excerpt from  the Chicago Tribune: “Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, said prosecutors dropped charges because the studio that produced the movie did not want to proceed. If someone is to be prosecuted, she said, the statute requires the consent of both the movie’s producers and the local theater.”

Click Chicago Tribune link above for full story.

Yeni Cammi or New Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding is an independent research organization focusing on U.S. domestic and international policy and it’s impact on various U.S. communities. They have a new batch of reports on their website ranging from alcohol use by Muslim college students to the AIDS epidemic in Muslim Africa. Below are details about their report on the Muslim Friday prayer sermon, or Khutba (and Khatib is the person who is giving the sermon).

From ISPU:

The Muslim Friday Khutba: Veiled and Unveiled Themes
The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) report by ISPU fellow, Dr. Mazen Hashem. (Both Sunni and Shi’a mosques were reviewed.)

The Friday noon prayer is a special Muslim congregational prayer that includes a short address called the khutba. No strict requirements or specific prayers are necessary for this address, and so its content can vary widely. For an outsider, the khutba sometimes sounds like a civic address and at other times like religious moral advice that is thin on rituals except for few religious expressions in Arabic.

This study surveyed a wide range of khutbas looking for general patterns and themes.  It seems that many khutbas lack relevance to the people’s lives and others show a lack of sophisticated knowledge. public speaking skills and limited English proficiency of some khatibs adds to the problem. Improvement in these khutbahs can be implemented through an attempt to foster sense of responsibility among khatibs and by rotating khatibs among mosques.

I am happy to share this great piece (“Weaving Dreams”) from emel magazine (August 2009 issue):

“Zolaykha Sherzad has made a life-changing career move, from award- winning architect in New York to founder of Zarif Design in Kabul. Mariam Mahir talks to the lady behind the fashion house about her faithful determination to re-awaken her country from decades of muted creative expression, preserving traditional Afghan costume.”

See Zarif Design to learn more. Zarif means fine or precious in Dari.

Turquoise Mountain Arts is another group working with local Afghan artists and craft masters to preserve Afghan culture and provide support and training through their foundation.

Here’s a good story about following the “rules of the road” in Pakistan. Ha! 

See more about this photo by Nick Brandt and other big cat art at Mariam Kamal’s site.