Ever heard of the demographic phrase “middle America”? Get ready for a glimpse into that world. A world that keeps the show Two and a Half Men on top of the comedy ratings and where one can never have enough varieties of Doritos or Mountain Dew. And while this woman is a glaring example of why the rest of the world mocks us for our obesity and unfounded arrogance, you can’t help but wish for one split second you could leave behind your sarcastic, jaded viewpoint and be as emotionally invested in something, anything, as she is in the outcome of American Idol. Still the Land of the Free at least…

Update: video embedding has been disabled, but you can view it here.

-John

Welcome back to another exciting installment of GTM-OE. I’m happy to back guest-hosting while Rhett continues his excavation of ancient Mycenaean ruins. There are only so many people who can translate both Linear A and B; his genius keeps him from the show yet again. The video clip above is your first clue, leave guesses in the comments section and I’ll update as necessary. Good luck…

Update: no correct guesses so far, although I think my favorite answer is Vegas Vacation. Here’s your second clue:

Update II: We have a winner! The correct answer was The Deer Hunter, the 1978 classic where Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro participate in a ridiculously intense round of Russian roulette in a Viet Cong prison. Congratulations to ggill for being well versed in some of the finer offerings of American cinema. Be sure to tell all of your friends how great you are ggill, but only for this week, because next week is a holiday and no one will be observing your greatness while on vacation. Thanks to everyone for playing and I’ll see you back here next week.

ggill’s prize:

-John

We finally have to say goodbye to one of television’s finest dramas of all time. But not before your East Coast Host brings you a scintillating podcast discussing the series finale, the series as a whole and the show’s legacy and place in television history. While we no longer have Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and the rest to enthrall us every week we do have the show’s good friend, Neal, to help wax poetic about all of the revelations and mysteries LOST has given us. An epic show needed an epic finale - but now it needs an epic podcast with epic hosts. Look no further, your candidates have been chosen…

Preorder the entire series now at Amazon

This commercial is ridiculous, as is the standard for Nike’s World Cup promos (just go to youtube and search through all their old ads to see what I mean). Not only is it brilliantly shot and showcases the game’s greatest stars, but it blends pop culture references, music and the hopes and dreams of every nation into a three-minute window of a possible future. It’s pretty rad…

(thanks to PCC2C reader Joel and Seth Meyers’ Twitter feed)

-John

Here is a recap of LOST, seasons 1-5. Looking forward to a very bittersweet finale on Sunday; hard to believe it will all be over soon. Take note of the schedule on ABC below:

Saturday:
8:00pm - enhanced version of the ground-breaking pilot episode.

Sunday:
7:00pm-9:00pm - recap of the entire series
9:00pm-11:30pm - 2 1/2 hour series finale
12:05am-1:00am - Jimmy Kimmel’s “Aloha to LOST” show

-John

Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff have been out in force this week promoting LOST and the forthcoming finale this Sunday. Last night they stopped by Letterman and read the Top Ten list. #5 is incredible.

-John

This is from an old art show that happened back in December, but I think it’s worth revisiting as we draw closer to the final chapter of LOST. The picture above, plus many other fantastic pieces by gifted artists, can be found here at the LOST Underground Art Show - some of which are still for sale.

-John

Blk Jks Secretly Canadian

I probably should have saved this band for next month when the World Cup starts since it hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, but why wait? A little bit of funk, a little bit of rock, a little bit of ska, and a little bit of Caribbean influence all come together to give these guys a unique and upbeat sound. Start rocking them out now so when your nation wins in the opening rounds of the greatest sporting event in the world you’ll be ready to celebrate in an appropriate style.

-John

As we get ready to say goodbye to one of television’s greatest shows, LOST (which is the best of all time if you ask me), let us relive the glory of another of TV’s priceless gems through the majesty of rap music.

(found via PopCandy)

-John

Welcome back to another exciting edition of GTM-OE. I’m happy to be guest-hosting while Rhett perfects his various tribal dialects before implementating a crop-sharing system between neighboring villages in remote parts of eastern Mongolia. The picture above is your first clue, leave guesses in the comments section and I’ll update as needed. Good luck…

Update: No correct guesses so far, although I did like the Hoosiers submission. Here’s your next clue:

Update II: Still no correct answers, but let’s see if this last clue can tie it all together for you:

Update III: We have a winner! The correct answer was Raiders of the Lost Ark, which continues this week’s LOST-themed posts. Some of you had some good reasoning with your sports movie guesses, but in the end one man was able to utilize Devo to come up with the right answer. Congratulations to CC for being that man. Be sure to tell all of your friends how cool you are CC, but only for this week since next week leads up to Memorial Day weekend and no veteran wants to share the spotlight with you. Nor should they have to. Thanks to everyone for playing and I’ll see you back here next week.

CC’s Prize:

-John