Lost (tv show)...who is Jeremy Bentham?

First of all, do NOT read this if you haven't seen the season 3 finale of Lost. There are spoilers and I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone.

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Some of you are probably wondering, who the heck is Jeremy Bentham? Well, some people feel that he is the person in the coffin from Jack's "flash-forward." If you look closely at some of the screencaps you can make out what looks like a "J' and a "ham" on the newspaper where Jack reads the obituary. Personally, I never look too far into stuff like that and I find it quite difficult to read anything from the screencaps.

However...I believe I have made an interesting find. On another forum someone posted a wikipedia link to an English philosopher named Jeremy Bentham.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham

I was scrolling through reading a little about him when I saw a startling connection. He was influenced by another English philosopher named...JOHN LOCKE!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke

Now...I'm sure some people have found wiki's entry on Locke before, but it is quite startling to be connected to this Bentham guy. There's alot of information on each, but I will post some of the interesting things here.

Jeremy Bentham- argued in favor of seperation of church and state, equal rights for women, animal rights, abolition of slavery and physical punishment, and he was also an advocate of utilitarianism.

John Locke- his writings influenced Rousseau (another strange connection), proposed that the mind was a blank slate, and he has this written on his epitaph: "Stop, Traveller! Near this place lieth John Locke. If you ask what kind of a man he was, he answers that he lived content with his own small fortune. Bred a scholar, he made his learning subservient only to the cause of truth. This thou will learn from his writings, which will show thee everything else concerning him, with greater truth, than the suspect praises of an epitaph. His virtues, indeed, if he had any, were too little for him to propose as matter of praise to himself, or as an example to thee. Let his vices be buried together. As to an example of manners, if you seek that, you have it in the Gospels; of vices, to wish you have one nowhere; if mortality, certainly, (and may it profit thee), thou hast one here and everywhere."

Now...I'm not one who usually believes in all of these connections, but I feel this is too much to be coincidental. The producers have likened their style to J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author) on several of their podcasts. If you are a HP fan you will know that this sounds exactly like something J.K. would do.

I also found an anagram for Bentham: "Ban them." Maybe someone bans Jack and Kate from the island?

The craziest thing about all of this (unrelated to Lost) is that I share a birthday with Mr. Bentham!

Pottercast Summer of 7 Tour

The crew at Leaky/Pottercast has outdone themselves. Today on the Harry Potter(HP) fan site, The Leaky Cauldron, webmistress Melissa Anelli posted a story announcing the Pottercast Summer of 7 Tour. All I can say is...wow. For Harry Potter fans, this will truly be a summer to remember.

For those of you who have never heard of Pottercast, let me explain. On August 22, 2005, hot on the heels of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's release, the Leaky Cauldron launched their first HP podcast. What began as a unique way to interact with fans, quickly turned into a phenomenon. Pottercast is now on its 88th episode and I don't know what I would do without my weekly dose of Potter.

The show's strongest attribute is its co-hosts: Melissa Anelli, John Noe, and Sue Upton. Within a few episodes you will know each one by their voice...and better yet, their personality. Their chemistry together is amazing and really creates a show that is both fun and informative at the same time. As cheesy as it may sound, listeners will feel as if they have made 3 new friends despite having never even met them (for those who haven't been to a live show that is).

The show is divided up into many segments that deal with all things Potter. From fan interviews to tackling the most difficult conundrums, Pottercast does it all. Fans across the country...and even the world have grown to love this weekly podcast.

As the show grew in popularity, the trio at Pottercast took the show to new heights. In November of 2005, Pottercast teamed up with Mugglecast (Mugglenet's own HP podcast) to host a live show in New York City. The show was a huge success and thus, the podcast decided to do more live shows. As of today, Pottercast has held live events in New York, Salem, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and even London, England.

With both the movie and book releases fast approaching, Pottercast decided to up the ante and make this an even bigger summer for Potter fans. The Pottercast Summer of 7 Tour will feature visits around 20 cities and 23 live podcasts...all leading up to grand release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21, 2007.

These podcasters are devoting months of their lives for HP fans...and all of it is free; both the weekly podcasts and the live-shows are completely free of charge! It is quite fascinating to realize that these people have lives and full-time jobs in addition to the podcast and the website. Their time, energy, and effort is given because of their love for the fans and HP.

We have J.K. Rowling to thank for the fantastic world of HP, but we have this podcast to thank for assisting in the creation of a fandom that could rival Star Wars anyday. To Melissa, John, and Sue (and all of the others that contribute in the making of this podcast)...thank you for your hard work, dedication, and loyalty to the HP fandom.