Dial M For Me

We've mentioned the things Bobby is carrying with him before, haven't we? We've talked about his blue pen and his leather folder. No, we haven't talked about his switchblade shown below. And he also has a pocket handkerchief habit; it didn't slip my attention. But above all, he uses cell phone, is of vital importance in his job. As far as I see; Bobby doesn't like talking on the phones, neither do I; just one of the worst time wasters. The only episode we see him chatting excessively is The Extra Man (S01E06). In btw I've noticed that NYPD of LOCI prefers Motorola brand. Bobby's cell phone in the episode Purgatory (S07E11) was Motorola V3, before that he was using Motorola V188 (Grow - S05E01). Way back in the year dot, I used the same one. And correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I remember the first time we see him using cell phone (Ericsson 388) is the episode Homo Homini Lupis (S01E14). Anyway they say if there's anything worse than a girl living alone, it's a girl saying she likes it. Oh yes, I'm enjoying my independence! Oh no, loneliness not always sucks! But Bobby, if you ever need anything, no matter what it is or wherever you happen to be you can call me.

You Are What You Eat

The actual phrase emerges from a gastronome named Anthelme Brillat-Savarin as he wrote in Physiologie Du Gout Ou Meditations, 1826: 'Dis moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es' (Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are). Later on, in an essay entitled Concerning Spiritualism and Materialism, 1864, Ludwig Feuerbach wrote: 'Der mensch ist, was er isst' (You are what you eat). For those who have missed; our detective likes to eat Veal Parmesan (sauteed veal cutlet in a breadcrumb and cheese coating served with tomato sauce). As far as I know; the dish originated about 400 years ago, in Italy, famously known as Veal Bolognese. Well, no, I'm not gonna give the recipe of it as I don't wanna insult your intelligence (we all have access) or bring up an ethical dilemma by suggesting that 'Meat is murder' though I strongly support the view. But freedom of choice, the most precious of gifts granted to human beings matters and applies here. Anyway Feuerbach believed that religion is the dream of the human mind. In his words; we have created God as an image of perfection, all loving and all powerful; all the things we would like to be but are not. Feuerbach by coining the phrase 'You are what you eat' provided the intellectual backbone to a whole generation of free thinkers so that Friedrich Engels put it, late in life, 'We were all Feuerbachians'. As a follower of Kant and critic of idealism, Feuerbach was in fact attacking Christianity (Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you; John 6:53) hence his proverb has become the very essence of philosophical materialism. On the other hand, according to the book 'Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet' there are seven personality patterns related to your eating preferences and one of them is Set Routine (exercising the same routine over and over). Goren likes Veal Parmesan enough to order it five nights in a row at Sal's Restaurant:) Allright, seriously, can what you eat tell you something about your personality? Probably not. Those readings are very similar to horoscope readings, I think. Anyway the below is a scene from the episode A Person Of Interest (S02E23). Bobby staring at his Veal Parmesan in pleasure. You really didn't see it coming! I mean the Wicked Witch of the West:) Next scene please!

My White Whale

Call me Lovefool. Some years ago, never mind how long precisely, having little or no brain in my head and nothing particular to interest me in real life, I thought I would sit about a little and watch LOCI. And this is how it started...

Of all the nerve! I'm writing a novel. And mind you, the influence of Herman Melville and the episode Anti-Thesis (S02E03) are much in evident. Anti-Thesis is the episode that marks the debut of Nicole Wallace who appears in multiple episodes over the rest of the seasons. In looking back over the episode, for my part, it's always been kinda heart-breaking. Speaking of Anti-Thesis, let's recall the legendary conversation on Moby Dick between Bobby and the nutty, shall we?

Nicole Wallace: In American literature, the descent into madness is usually preceded by obsession. A consuming obsession. Example, anyone? Alright, I'll get you started. Moby Dick. What characterises Ahab's obsession? Yeah, in the back.
Robert Goren: The dogged unrelenting pursuit of evil.
NW: Interesting. Evil. I always fancied it was man's unrelenting pursuit of his own potency.
RG: Sometimes a whale is just a whale.
NW: Nothing is ever just something. Not even detectives.
RG: Or professors. Or graduate students for that matter.
NW: That sounds a bit ominous.

As we all know Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels in the English language. And I wish I could say the best is yet to come about my 'novel'. But it's not all it's cracked up to be. Unfortunately when I get confused, I mix up all the languages I know *sigh*. Hence if Moby Dick stands for a Gorgeous Phantasmogoria, mine can stand for a Gorgeous Algolagnia:)

Maybe A Whale Is Just A Whale

But Certainly A Detective Is Not Just A Detective

Video Game Killed The TV Star?

No, not really:) Couple of years ago I was one of those PS2-Xbox freaks, I spent not only sleepless nights but sleepless weeks playing Neverwinter Nights, Morrowind etc., had countless desktop plus laptop crashes, threw tens of mouses-joysticks aganist the wall:) Ah, I miss those days... Actually I'm still insanely fond of games like Moto GP 08 or WRC 3 which are much more safer for me but that's another issue:) Anyway the big idea is; as you might know, Law and Order: Criminal Intent has a PC game named The Vengeful Heart. Released in 2005, the genre of game is adventure and it does feature over 60 different environments, all of which you, assuming the role of Robert Goren, have the freedom to explore at your own discretion and leisure. In The Vengeful Heart, a bank executive has been found dead in his home. As Goren you will survey the murder scene, use psychological tactics to interrogate witnesses and push the investigation to completion. The main question is; are you sharp enough to scour the crime scene, interview suspects and track down the killer just like Goren. The sequel of Law And Order: Criminal Intent is named as Dark Obsession. And in Dark Obsession, a man is found floating in the East River. The police need to find out who he is and what happened to him. Again as Goren, you have the opportunity to uncover a trail of drugs and to find out who wanted the victim dead. Furthermore you can survey the murder scene, use psychological tactics to interrogate witnesses, collect evidence, run tests and solve challenging puzzles in order to arrest the perp. I haven't finished the game yet, still working on it! (In between, you can play it online or download the trial -not compatible with Vista-) Ah yes, I can listen to Robert Goren talk all day! Some says game is not good enough. Well, I couldn't care less! Just to hear him, I can play it forever. Btw, you can buy the game online if you like: Amazon LOCI Game

Big Is Beautiful

Unlike the bigger the better cliche, small size has always had its unique philosophy. Such as the book; Small Is Beautiful. It's a collection of essays published in 1973 by economist E.F. Schumacher. Though a bit outdated, in any event it's truly a classic in ecological economics and Schumacher's visionary simplicity created a humanistic movement in the field by encouraging the reader to look for a deeper understanding of the world as well as sparked a revolution by calling for smaller scale technology to end poverty. If my memory serves me correctly; before Schumacher, in 1959 Richard Feynman suggested a variety of experiments and technologies that could be achieved at small scales in a lecture carrying the title There's Plenty Of Room At The Bottom. Well, today, thinking small has become fashionable and Nanotechnology stands for this fashion: Make it small; make it nano. Isn't it beautiful how simple nature is? Speaking for myself: No, not really. Don't misunderstand me. Occam's Razor has always been the logic of my reasoning and Keep It Simple Stupid is the way of my acting:) But good things don't always come in small packages! Besides small things please small minds:) I'm not talking about Rubenesque BBW/BHM neologism or any kind of feederism, I'm just talking about our detective aka Bigfoot. For those who may not know; Bigfoot was a screen name given to Goren by Eames to lure a suspect in the episode Kissinger (S07E15). I suppose, for a deeper understanding you should watch the episode Jones (S01E05) first. Recap: Robert Goren is a big man. TA-DA! He's not only gorgeous, he's every inch sexy. And those who still disagree, I'm writing 'Big Is Beautiful' on the board 1000 times for you! Big is beautiful, big is beautiful, big is beautiful, big is beautiful...

The Bigfoot (Please Don't Customize Your Settings!)

Crouching Bobby Hidden Dragon

While I was reading the Hidden Treasure of Jalaluddin Rumi, a groundbreaking classic on sufism this funny, intriguing idea suddenly flashed into my mind. The dirty little corner of my mind is online, I guess:) You might all know, though considered as dead, Latin is still the dominant language in medical education. As practice makes perfect; I keep using Latin words just for fun occasionally. Very briefly, since our first hominin, Homo Erectus; we have had enough of Homo specifications throughout the history. Homo Economicus (F.Taylor), Homo Faber (Max Frisch), Homo Ludens (Johan Huizinga), Homo Academicus (Pierre Bourdieu) etc. Because of his lean, I've made up the term Homo Italicus for Bobby:) Now I'm changing it to Homo Subsido.

For more: Crouching Bobby.

Close Encounters Of The Third Woman

For the past seven seasons we've never seen Robert Goren having an affair. However let's recall all the women in his life. Beyond dispute, our first lady is Goren's mother; Frances Goren (The War At Home S06E08), (The Brother's Keeper S06E15), (The End Game S06E21). Goren has always been sensitive to his mother. Just a brief info; she used to be a librarian till she developed schizophrenia in her early thirties and spent the rest of her life at Carmel Ridge. She was also diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent major surgery. In The End Game; Goren faced the possibility that the serial killer Mark Ford Brady might be his father because of her; later DNA results confirmed that Brady was indeed his biological father. It was also the same episode where Goren's mother and father died. Well, what a woman! His partner Alex Eames takes the second place. Eames is practical, calm, steady. She's a woman with both feet on the ground who knows what's what. Besides she has always displayed respect to Goren and supported him under every circumstances. Also she once referred to him as an acquired taste. (In The Wee Small Hours Part II S05E07). So she definitely has good taste and as long as she keeps her hands off our detective as she used to, I'll keep on appreciating her:) We can put Nicole Wallace, a sociopathic conartist, thief, serial killer and also the archnemesis of Goren in the third place (Anti-Thesis S02E03), (A Person Of Interest S02E23), (Pas De Deux S03E13), (Great Barrier S04E04), (Grow S05E01), (Slither S05E11), (Renewal S06E22), (Frame S07E22). We first met her under the alias Elizabeth Hitchens working as a literature professor in 2002. And soon after murdering Goren's brother Frank Goren with poison, she was killed by Goren's mentor Declan Gage in 2008. Well, I've never liked her anyway. So third place is still open. Well, I guess enough of all this serious talk! So let's look at the others who had a chance to 'get intimate' with our detective one by one.

Irene (Enemy Within S01E10)

Robert Goren's ex-girlfriend. A Tall, skinny, Brooklyn broker with dark hair and dark eyes. So is she your type? For a change, how about a green eyed, blonde, petit girl, at the same time an MD, pursuing a Ph.D?

Isobel Carnicki (But Not Forgotten S03E04)

So you are holding the hand of a married woman? Ouch! That hurt! Slow down a bit, I think I'm not ready to see the rest.

Margie Timmons (Pas De Deux S03E13)

And now you are dancing with a married woman?!! ... Sniff... Sniff... Boo... Hoo...

Nelda Carlson (Semi-Detached S04E01)

And another married woman with Borderline Personality Disorder... Hmmm... I see; married women are your type then! I can get married, no problem. So how about a green eyed, blonde, married, petit girl?

Beth Harner (Masquerade S06E06)

Now you are having dinner with a middle aged woman? Allright, no problem. I can get older if this is what you are looking for. You know, now these days surgeons can create miracles... Oh, well! What the hell, I'm really tired! My point is; take me!

Leslie LeZard - (Smile S07E03)

Pissh! You little nutcase! I saw you. You gave your business card to Goren twice. Anyway you got what you deserved in the end.

The Return Of The Goren Lean

I wasn't expecting so soon either:) Our detective and his lean are both back. Please enjoy. Btw, all the vids in my pc seem to run well. I still don't know the reason why but after uploading, some of them look shaky, bumpy etc. Viddler may be one of the reasons... Well, anyway I'm done with Youtube. So sorry for the inconvenience.

Goren Lean

According to tv.com; Vincent's trademark Goren Lean for LOCI originated from the pilot when he leaned over in an effort to meet the eyes of a seated guest actor. Creator Dick Wolf was on set and loved the move that became a staple of the show. What a lovely coincidence:) Well, it has always been fun to watch Bobby when acting weird. And his lean, the weirdest act of all; is there anything cuter than that? Maybe a kitten?

None Have Your Beauty

Let's start this month with something fabulous, something amazing, something lovely, something wonderful, something magnificient, something gorgeous, something spectacular, something delightful, something irresistible, something incredible, something haunting, something divine... Let's start this month with Robert Goren smile: Robert Goren Smile