CHRISTIAN: Well there is no now, here.
JACK: Where are we, Dad?
CHRISTIAN: This is a place that you all made together, so that you all could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
JACK: For what?
CHRISTIAN: To remember, and let go.
JACK: Kate – she said we were leaving.
CHRISTIAN: Not leaving, no – moving on.
JACK: Where are we goin’?
CHRISTIAN: Let’s go find out.

When we watched Jack, most surely, breath his last breath, joined by the always trusty Vincent (who had a thing for “being there” for the newly dead) and view the plane overhead, we knew it was an end. It might not be the one I expected, it was well-crafted explanation that in the end – there is no definitive answers.

As an adult, LOST has been a vehicle for conversations with folks I never would have had a connection with. It allowed me to wonder about the effects of science and faith on our lives. And it made me empathize and hate characters all during one hour. Even after the last few moments of LOST, I was still attempting to fully grasp what was going on. And honestly, no ending would have been 100% perfect in my eyes – as I wasn’t really read for the adventure to end. But to spend the last few moments with a character, Mr. Jack Shepard, whom I watch evolve over the years, was a nice good bye. The writers of LOST are to be applauded for giving us folks with a bizarre craving for knowledge and mystery a reason to tune in each week. A show that was steeped in the popular culture was such a salute to the popular culture. Whether its clever tie ins to theories and plots from beloved books, tales and films or quip dialog while people are getting chased by mercenaries, polar bears and a motherfucking smoke monster, LOST never forgot its single function – to engage and entertain. If you walk away from tonight’s episode not completely enthralled in how enraptured we all are, than I feel bad for you. JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and actually ABC – thank you for inviting us all along on the ride. Even though it just ended, I have no problem tuning into the pilot and started again from the very beginning. Because in true LOST fashion, who knows how it will turn out this time? So let’s all try and figure out where we are going next.

Tomorrow, I will have a wrap up of LOST coverage, including the hilarious goodbye show courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel, and we’ll get to discuss the island for just a little bit longer. 4 8 15 16 23 42 and Namaste.

While Haim had fallen on hard times the past few years, even at one point selling teeth and hair to cover his debts courtesy of addiction, he will be best remembered as the free spirit and adorable teen idol he once was. His career blossomed overnight and his starring roles in films like Lucas and The Lost Boys confirmed that not only was he a heartthrob, but he had the chops to succeed in this business. He partnered with Corey Feldman, the duo was dubbed “The Coreys” by the 80′s media, for seven films, including Lost Boys, License to Drive and my personal favorite,Dream a Little Dream (which I purchased from a local video rental place for $20). “The Coreys” were synonymous with partying, young Hollywood, box office success and 80′s excess. Haim found himself at the end of the decade with a crazy drug habit, fledgling career and an even sadder private life. Haim all but disappeared in the early 90′s with flop after flop at box office and addictions eating away at him.
After a drug induced stroke, Haim found himself on the road to recovery in 2004 and returned in 2007 to the spotlight with his reality show “The Two Coreys“, which followed Feldman and Haim for their quest to move back on top of the Hollywood food chain. The show lasted two seasons and brought the best friends back together and as Defamer ridiculed to the point of not on the reality program, back and ready to work. Haim saw little lift to his career from the program and recently just wrapped up production the thriller, American Sunset. Today, Haim passed away, ending a possible career resurrection and the possibility of a happy ending.

As a child, there were few things better than Corey Haim. His looks, charm and humor were the essential pre-teen package and I would have followed him to the ends of the earth. While someone dying THIS young is tragic and sad, what is really sad about the whole thing is that its not surprising. Haim was a casualty of Hollywood, and by that I mean a child star who was used up until he couldn’t give anymore, and then medicated to hide the pain. Its common practice in Hollywood, but sometimes there are those folks that actually deserve to continue to work, who have a gift and should be respected. Unfortunately, Haim had to battle various demons while attempting to take back his career, and his childhood was riddled with divorce, abuse and overt exposure to adult themes.

The glimmer and hope that was once his signature fell away as time went on and sadly, its not an easy thing to get back. As the similar child star story continues to play out, the pain of being unloved as an adult is sometimes too much for them to handle. And Haim is just another story to add to the growing pile of stars who taken their own lives, consciously or accidentally. Haim is the reason I actually added a category Sadness to my blog, because you could see that deep down all the guy wanted to do was act and entertain the masses. He was not happy with addiction and was even more depressed by his lack of ability to truly kick what ended up taking his life. Hopefully, we can learn the proper way to treat people in this business, avoid tearing them down and learn that medicating does not always “fix” the problem. But I can only assume that this will not be the last sad story I need to recap on this blog. Little boy lost, Corey Haim will be greatly missed and I would like to personally thank him for bringing hours of entertainment to my life. Aloha Corey. And hopefully you can now truly rest.

Let’s remember him this way, shall we?

• Plain and simple – Betty White is hilarious.
• She has been involved in television since before the world knew who Lucille Ball was and has production and writing credits under her belt, as well as experience on radio and live programming, giving her that improv edge so necessary to succeed at SNL. She was an award winning cast member of some of the most beloved American sitcoms of all time, like “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show“, and has a new show coming out on TVLand, which will probably bring the channel its largest ratings to date.
• She ain’t afraid to play dirty. With her appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson where she called Sarah Palin a crazy bitch or when she pretended to be a drug dealer, White has no fear about going too far. She has also provided a much needed laugh at the usually stale Comedy Central Roasts, and her chat with Chelsea Handler when she was promoting The Proposal last year is hysterical.
• Speaking of The Proposal, Betty White brought the funny backstage as well, with her various behind the scenes antics, which were caught on video by FunnyorDie.com. Not only did she score a number one movie at the box office, but she she scored a number one with the young generation of comedy lovers with this.
• White is no schlub when it comes to gimmicks and will go above and beyond to rock a joke. Her turn in a Snickers ad that aired during the SuperBowl shows that the actress has no issue with getting physical.
• Betty has been recognized with nearly every entertainment mile marker, including Emmys and most recently a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. The next obvious step is a gig hosting SNL.
• RATINGS. While SNL has been picking up steam recently, it still needs a massive boost to its ratings. I think picking a host who is not under the age of 50, female and a classic comedienne might the perfect way. I have a feeling my grandmother would stay up just a little later on her Saturday night if she thought Rose Nylund would be hosting SNL. And think of all the amazing skits, beyond the recalls to her many quality sitcoms. And guest stars – its a no brainer.
• And finally, because Lorne Michaels has allowed Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake to host the show like a bazillion times, but never Betty? Jesus, if January Jones can do it, a moldy pencil can, so lets give Betty a try. Come on, what would you do to see Betty White in a Digital Short raping or dancing with Andy Sandberg?

So, lets all collective do what we have to do and get the vote out. Or just contact the powers that be at NBC and SNL and tell them we will forgive the networks asshattery on the Conan O’Brien debacle if they do this one thing. Oh this and canceling “Heroes”. Is this too much to ask?

Image via NYTimes

Conan was feted by some of the biggest stars in the business, who came to support the man and say thanks to what he did. O’Brien in between big name guests like Tom Hanks, who created the Coco moniker, Steve Carrell and Neil Young, wanted to make sure that his fans, especially the youth who created this movement in support of him, knew that thinking big and being positive would not let you down in the end. O’Brien said, “To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism- it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere.”

He rounded out his last night as host with a rocking version of “Free Bird” performed by Will Ferrell, his wife Dawn, Beck, Billy Gibbons, Ben Harper and his band. O’Brien joined in on the fun, grabbed a guitar, which presumably was from his massive personal collection, and wailed away. Oddly enough, this song became one of my favorites courtesy of the soundtrack for a little movie Tom Hanks was in himself. You might have heard of it, Forrest Gump? Check out O’Brien and his band of merry rocker.

For me, the program was emotional on various levels. O’Brien was the first last night talk show host I grew up with. By the time I was old enough to get it, Leno had already taken the throne from Johnny Carson after his first vicious battle for the spot with Dave Letterman. And Letterman, while funny, was too old for me to get. O’Brien was quirky, awkward, smart and more than anything into “my” pop culture. He opened my eyes to a different level of humor, alongside “The State” and “Kids in the Hall”. He was the antithesis of standard late night programming. And something that has yet to be noted in the nearly thousand pieces that have pontificated over this late night debacle is the amount of exposure his program brought to not yet big names in music and comedy. When Neil Young ended his beautiful performance tonight, and we found out he was more of a Conan supporter than to be expected, he thanked O’Brien for what he has done for “new music”. And it’s true, what Johnny Carson was to comedians in the lates 70′s and 1980′s, Conan was to indie rock bands in the 90′s and early ’00s. He was the only place I would ever see some of my favorite bands get any coverage outside of MTV and knowing what occurred behind the scenes, he had his hand in picking out the majority of the musical quests. He got “us”. We weren’t just an audience to him, we were his people and he ours. Micheal Ian Black explained it best why this whole mess has seemed to really effect my generation. If someone like O’Brien can get screwed by a big corporation, what’s to keep us safe? It was almost a slap in the face to anyone who doesn’t like the average comedian, the anti-Dane Cook in us all. For all us kids, who grew up on bizarre tripped out cartoons, after school specials and found humor in Ween songs, its a real dose of reality that in fact we can not have it all. So from the bottom of my heart and from one pale, red-headed Irish kid to the next, I want to thank you Conan O’Brien. I want to thank you for entertaining us for years, opening my eyes to comedy and music I had no idea existed, backing your staff in your original move to LA and in your contract negotiations and for most importantly, keeping it classy. I know you are going to go on a much deserved and well, legally mandated vacation, but I want to let you know you have a supporter in me for life and I will be waiting with a cowbell for September 1st to come, if only for the better weather. You go Coco. You go.

Trailer via ComingSoon