LJones41 Blog

FAVORITE LIVE PERFORMANCES

The Marvelettes Medley of Songs - Motown Revue at the Apollo Theater (1963)

Devo "Girl U Want" - "Fridays" (1980)

Johnny Rivers "Secret Agent Man" - Hollywood Palace (1966)

Thelma Houston "Don't Leave Me This Way" - Unknown PBS Special (2002)

The Beach Boys "Help Me Rhonda" - "The Andy Williams Show" (1965)

Buena Vista Social Club "El Cuarto De Tula" - Live at Amsterdam (1998)

Michael Jackson "Another Part of Me" - Wembley Stadium (1988)

The Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love" - Unknown Variety Show (1964)

Rufus Thomas "Do the Funky Chicken" - Wattstax Festival, Los Angeles Coliseum (1972)

My original opinion of the Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle pretty much resembled those harbored by many fans. I found it badly written and not worthy of characters - especially these three - who managed to irritate me to no end through most of the show's six-season run. I might as well be frank. Although there had been times when I found some of the "LOST" characters likeable, I had realized after my umpteenth viewing they were people I would avoid as much as possible. Many of them possessed traits I found very frustrating to watch. And many of them had committed some pretty terrible acts. Why should I care about which character ended up with whom? However, my viewpoint had changed after I experienced an epitome regarding not only the show's main love triangle, but some of the others also featured.

Yes, there were "love triangles" other than the one between Jack, Kate and Sawyer featured in the series. During different segments of Season One, a love triangle nearly formed between the South Korean couple Jin-Soo Kwon and Sun-Hwa Kwon, who were experiencing marital problems, and fellow castaway Michael Dawson. But that potential triangle disappeared near the end of the season when Jin, still estranged from Sun, had decided to help Michael construct the latter's raft and become one of the passengers. This act had led to Jin and Michael becoming fast friends. And any sexual attraction between Sun and Michael had eventually eroded. Well . . . somewhat. I did sense a little bit of their attraction by late Season Four, but it seemed pretty obvious that Sun was more devoted to the romantic renewal of her marriage and Michael was more focused on his friendship to both husband and wife.

Another love triangle that manifested during Season One featured former Iraqi soldier Sayid Jarrah, former Southern California socialite Shannon Rutherford and her stepbrother, Boone Carlyle. Although Shannon and Boone had been raised as siblings, her father's death led to Shannon being cheated out of an inheritance by Boone's mother and the former's attempt to scam money from him in Australia - a scam that included Shannon's seduction of Boone. By the time of Oceanic 815's crash, the pair were constantly at each other's throat. But when Sayid had recruited Shannon to help him translate some papers he had snatched from a French castaway who had been on the island for years, Boone's jealousy ignited when he became aware of a growing attachment between the former Iraqi soldier and his stepsister. This love triangle eventually with death - Boone's in late Season One and Shannon's in early Season Two.

However, the main love triangle that most "LOST" fans refer to had existed between Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Not long after Oceanic 815's crash, both Jack and Kate managed to form an emotional bond that seemed to be more about friendship, instead of romance. But it did not take Sawyer very long to express his own romantic and sexual interest in Kate. This triangle managed to reach its height from Season Two, when Jack became aware of Sawyer's interest in Kate; and early Season Three, when Kate and Sawyer had sex, while all three were prisoners of the Others. Many fans have blamed Kate for being flaky and unable to make up her mind over which man she preferred. And to be honest, many were not fans of the love triangle arc.

But after years of rewatching the series, I have finally come to the conclusion that the love triangle between Jack, Kate and Sawyer had never existed. Not really. I now suspect Kate's feelings toward Sawyer had always been about attraction and affection. But I do not believe she was ever really in love with him. This feeling really drove home with an observation Sawyer had made in the Season Four episode, (4.04) "Eggtown" and during Kate's conversation with John Locke in a flashback from Season Five's (5.07) "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham". In the latter, Kate had refused Locke's request to return to the island in order to save those left behind, including Sawyer. Not only was she not interested in risking her probation and her false and cozy life as Aaron Littleton's fake mother in order to return to the island; she was still experiencing bitterness over her breakup with Jack in Season Four's (4.10) "Something Nice Back Home". And in "Eggtown", Sawyer and Kate had argued over her decision to leave Jack's group at the beach and join him, Locke and a few other castaways hiding out at the Others' abandoned compound from the Kahana freighter passengers. He had accused her of turning to him, whenever her romance with Jack was endangered. And Sawyer was right. Around this time, Jack was openly expressing interest in former member of the Others, Dr. Juliet Burke. Kate also needed Sawyer's help to distract Locke, while she questions Miles Straume, one of the freighter's passengers, who had become Locke's prisoner. Kate had already acquiesced to having sex with Sawyer during a late Season Three episode, after seeing Jack and Juliet get chummy. As for the cage sex she and Sawyer had in (3.06) "I Do", I suspect it was a case of mercy sex on her part. Especially since Sawyer was in danger of being killed by Danny Pickett, one of the Others.

Ironically, while many fans either condemned Kate for either being flaky or just using Sawyer, they never condemned Jack for creating his own false love triangles in order to hide his jealousy of Kate and Sawyer. I believe Jack first became aware of Sawyer as a possible threat to his relationship with Kate in Season Two's (2.09) "What Kate Did". In that episode, a badly wounded and barely conscious Sawyer had expressed his love for her inside the Swan Hatch and in Jack's presence. For some reason, Jack saw this as a sign that Kate might return Sawyer's feelings. And when his kiss with the fugitive turned bad (she was experiencing an emotional breakdown at the time over another matter), his jealousy really ignited. Jack eventually started focusing his attention to fellow Oceanic castaway, Ana-Lucia Cortez in order to arouse Kate's jealousy. And it worked. For at least four episodes. Sawyer's con against the castaways for the guns and medicine - one that involved Sun being briefly assaulted by fellow castaway and Sawyer's partner-in-crime, Charlie Pace - eventually led Jack to briefly suspect Ana-Lucia of Sun's assault and an attempt to start an all-out war against the Others. Jack's suspicions put the final kibosh on his friendship/romance with Ana-Lucia.

Jack's brief Season Two flirtation with Ana-Lucia proved to be nothing in compared to his attempt at a faux romance with Dr. Juliet Burke. How did this come about? During his period as one of the Others' prisoners, Jack managed to escape from his prison, a Hydra station aquarium, and reach a surveillance room that revealed a camera focused on Kate and Sawyer cuddling in a state of post-coital sex inside one of the bear cages. Not only did this revelation led a jealous Jack to agree to operate on Others' leader Benjamin Linus's tumor but also develop a close friendship with Juliet. A friendship that led to the brink of a romance. This so-called romance between the two doctors experienced a quiet death in Season Four's (4.10) "Something Nice Back Home". While treating Jack's appendicitis, Juliet noticed how he had wanted Kate to be nearby during his operation and realized he truly loved the younger woman.

Looking back on these emotional conflicts on "LOST", it occurred to me the only true love triangles featured were between the Kwons and Michael Dawson, and the Boone Carlyle-Shannon Rutherford-Sayid Jarrah situation. Because it seemed to me those "triangles" featuring Jack Shephard and Kate Austen were basically manifestations of their own insecurities, willingness to use others and bad decisions. What makes this even more ironic to me is that Kate has received considerable criticism for her willingness to use Sawyer to hide from her insecurities and jealousy . . . and Jack has received little or no criticism for his willingness to use both Ana-Lucia and Juliet for the same reasons.

DOBERGE CAKE

For years, I have heard about New Orleans, Louisiana being something of a "foodie town". But after learning about the origins of this latest dish, I am finally beginning to realize that this might be true. And what is the latest dish I just learned had originated in New Orleans? Namely a dessert known as the Doberge Cake.

The Doberge Cake is actually an adaptation of a Hungarian dessert known as the Dobos Torte. Beulah Levy Ledner was the daughter of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants who had settled in St. Rose, Louisiana in the late 19th century. By the beginning of the Great Depression, she had moved to New Orleans where she started her own bakery business from her home in 1931. Sometime between 1931 and 1933, Ledner created her own version of the Dobos Torte. 

Ledner kick started the Doberge Cake by following the recipe of the Dobos torte with layers of Genoise cake. But instead of spreading each layer of cake with buttercream and topping the whole thing with a layer of hard caramel glaze; Ledner spread each cake layer with a custard filling and iced the whole cake with buttercream and a thin layer of fondant icing. The traditional flavors used for a Doberge cake are chocolate, lemon or caramel. Many times, the cakes are made with half chocolate pudding and half lemon pudding.

A man named Joe Gambino purchased the name of the cake, the recipe and the retail shop from Ledner in 1946. She also promised that she would not reopen in New Orleans for five years. After a few years of illness, Ledner reopened her bakery in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, under the name of "Beulah Ledner, Inc." As her business and popularity grew, her son, Albert, designed and built a new building for a new machine to mass-produce sheet cakes using his mother's recipes. Ledner opened another bakery on May 21, 1970 and operated it until she retired in 1981 the age of 87 and sold her business and the Doberge recipe to Maurice's French Pastries. The latter continues the business of baking and selling Doberge cakes in Metairie.

Below is a recipe for the Doberge Cake from the Genius Kitchen website:

Doberge Cake

Ingredients - Genoise Cake 3⁄4 cup butter 2 cups sugar 1⁄4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs, separated, whites stiffly beaten 1 cup milk 3 teaspoons baking powder 3 1⁄2 cups cake flour (measured after sifting) scant teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation - Genoise Cake Cream the butter, sugar and salt until smooth.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, and blend until smooth.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk.  Beat until blended. Add vanilla and lemon juice.  With a spatula, fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Grease 9-inch cake pans.  Pour ¾ cup batter into each pan, spreading evenly over bottom.  Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.  Repeat process until batter is completely used, to make eight thin layers.

Ingredients - Chocolate Pudding 2 cups granulated sugar 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons cornstarch 2 kitchen spoons cocoa (heaping spoonfuls) 4 tablespoons bitter chocolate 4 eggs (whole) 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 cups milk

Ingredients - Lemon Filling 1 1⁄4 cups white sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 3 tablespoons flour 1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 1⁄2 cups cold water 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons sweet butter 2 teaspoons lemon peel, finely shredded 1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation - Pudding and Custard Stir all dry ingredients together in a saucepan, then add the remaining ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove from fire to cool.

Ingredients - Chocolate Buttercream Icing 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1⁄2 lb oleo, softened (margarine) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup cocoa 1 ounce bitter chocolate, melted

Ingredients - Chocolate Icing 1 cup light brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 4 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, melted 1⁄4 cup butter 3⁄4 cup cream 1 teaspoon vanilla

Ingredients - Lemon Frosting 6 ounces cream cheese, softened, room temperature 3 cups icing sugar 1 teaspoon lemon peel, finely shredded 1⁄4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1⁄4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preparations - Chocolate Butter Cream Icing Cream sugar and oleo, then add cocoa, then the melted chocolate and vanilla.  If too thick, add a little hot water, very slowly, until the consistency is right.

Preparations - Chocolate Icing Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and let it come slowly to a boil, then boil about 10 minutes until it thickens.  Beat until thick enough to spread.

Preparation - Lemon Frosting Beat cream cheese, icing sugar until fluffy.  Add 1 tsp lemon peel, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp lemon extract and beat till smooth.