The most wonderful time of the year, Lost and those eyebrows on Joseph Fiennes!

Yes, it's Christmas season once more! Silver bells on every street corner and meeting smile after smile (did Jay Livingston and Ray Evans ever notice those check out lines at the mall before composing this song?!!! Smiles? Humbug!) The best thing about Christmas for me is the prolonged Christmas break people in academia take around this time of year. This means no one in the lab besides me. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that students in my lab do a lot of the work and generate papers for me. However, when it comes to working in the lab, I'd rather be all by myself with the music playing way too loud. That decibel level is probably not very safe for my tympanic membranes (that’s eardrums for non-geeks/nerds) but that's how I enjoy it. Although I use my ipod when people are around, there's nothing like free range music!

A little secret about me: when others are in the lab, my ipod is often turned off although the earbuds are in my ears. I found that this method is the best way to avoid being interrupted. Makes your students and colleagues think twice before talking to you. It's true that collaboration is a basic ingredient for nurturing successful science (that, and humongous egos), but can't we collaborate without too much interaction?

Nothing beats working in the lab and checking out youtube videos while waiting through an incubation period. These days I'm mostly youtubing Lost promos and videos (now this should be Oxford's word of the year, youtubing. I really liked last year's word, "unfriend.” Speaks true to my essence, unfriend). Thirty days to go before the premiere of Lost’s final season. This will be my favorite Christmas present…a month belated, but still my favorite this year. For those who have been living under a rock since September 22nd, 2004 or who find this show too demanding, well, Geico caveman you're too lazy!!!

Let me give you a dumbed down version of Lost's previous five seasons. An airplane crashed on an island. The survivors tried to get off the island. Polar bears, black horses and dead people appeared. Some survivors left the island. For some reason they went back to the island, time traveled and tried to change the course of history. They attempted to prevent the airplane crash by setting off a nuclear bomb in the 70s. Last season's finale left us with the bomb going off. Who will survive the bomb and will they succeed in changing history? Will they all be gobbled up by the smoke-monster? Oh, what's the smoke monster, you ask? Well, I don't know! It's a monster. Made of smoke. I'm not sure if the producers know, but spoilers say this will be explained during this final season. Can't wait for that. My theory is it’s LA’s pollution, personified. Now you're up to speed. Do yourself a favor and watch the show. Be part of history. Why should we care for "belonging" and being part of history, you ask? Well, I don't care about belonging, but you might, just saying! I watch it for the joy...and the sore brain muscles. Lost is a pleasurable masochistic experience! A non-pleasurable masochistic experience: the first six episodes of FlashForward. The episodes that followed were less painful. The network (ABC) promoted this show as the next Lost, which didn't do it any favor; nor did Joseph Fiennes' constantly furrowed eyebrows. Those eyebrows are distracting. Another set of eyebrows I find distracting, those hijacking Zachary Quinto's (Sylar, Heroes; Mr. Spock, Star Trek) forehead. Zach please get a real stylist! You did the nose, why not the eyebrows?

Best eyebrow-method acting: Joseph  Fiennes

    Most distracting eyebrows of the year: Zachary Quinto

FlashForward and eyebrow acting are a story for another day. Now, I should chat with OKteChy22 from that personals website. Something might be brewing. Will Lonely Boy drop the "Lonely" bit by the end of this week? Hmm, The Boy Blog sounds like a blog with a completely different direction! I'll let you know how this went in tomorrow’s blog. Stay tuned. I have the mind to invite OKteChy22 for a chat over a cup of coffee, a non-digital one.

-Oh, and yesterday’s guava was exotically scrumptious! I have a guava recipe to share. Soon.