Comments on: Interview with a Sphinx: Deciphering Lost’s Hieroglyphs

By: who’s john cabrera? » Sketchy Temple Glyphs

who’s john cabrera? » Sketchy Temple Glyphs — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:54:19 +0000

[...] new set was actually our second grouping from Part 1. But that’s still good news, because all we really got from that pillar side was the big [...]

By: who’s john cabrera? » Follow a Compass When You’re Lost

who’s john cabrera? » Follow a Compass When You’re Lost — Sat, 09 May 2009 05:47:20 +0000

[...] archaic stuff in the underground tunnels; more hieroglyphics . If you’ve had a chance to read my two part post on deciphering the Lost hieroglyphs, you know that all the pillars down there have the same 4 sets [...]

By: who’s john cabrera? » Interview with a Sphinx: Deciphering Lost’s Hieroglyphs Pt. 2

Thu, 07 May 2009 07:36:00 +0000

[...] Hey Folks, welcome back. If you missed Part 1, here it is – http://johncabrera.com/?p=1435about now from the Sahara [...]

By: who’s john cabrera? » I Gott… I don’t know… Lost?

who’s john cabrera? » I Gott… I don’t know… Lost? — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:41:31 +0000

[...] and Part 2 of my Deciphering Lost’s Hieroglyphs series is coming [...]

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:21:03 +0000

Bennu! I’m glad you stopped by. Ur name is legendary round these parts. And by that I mean Ed mentioned your Egyptological prowess during our correspondence. What do you make of some of these glyphers?

By: Bennu

Bennu — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:33:50 +0000

Hmmm…interesting.

By: Dominy

Dominy — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:16:14 +0000

Well, thanks to Ed, I think I’ll have to start watching the show again. I think you’ve piqued my interest. After the polar bear thing I was a bit put off.

By: JR Tschopp

JR Tschopp — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:59:08 +0000

I’d read a bunch of your posts, but hadn’t made it that far yet. I definitely like the idea of the Island as Atlantis and started thinking along those lines as soon as I saw the giant statue earlier this season (wrote up a piece on it here: http://jrtschopp.com/index/?p=392 ) It just seems to fit and I definitely think you’re on to something with your theories. Definitely good stuff.

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:19:32 +0000

JR, HOLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you read the second part of my first Lost post here at my blog?

By: JR Tschopp

JR Tschopp — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:54:06 +0000

I find it interesting that one of the glyphs mentioned “the ones from the west.” I know that is typically a reference to the land of the dead, but I’ve read a couple articles by Fortean authors that posit that its initial meaning was for Atlantis and that over time as the memory of Atlantis faded in Egyptian memory, it began symbolizing the dead. Not saying I buy it, but it’s the kind of idea I’d draw from if I was the writer of a paranormal/sci-fi drama.

By: Kelli

Kelli — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:39:42 +0000

Is it possible that Richard never healed Ben and when he said he’d be different he actually meant that his heart might be eaten? Maybe Ben has always been “dead,” or as dead as one can be on Lost. Also, I wonder how any of this ties into the healing powers of the island, for example John’s legs, John being shot and left for dead, Rose’s cancer, etc. Could this be the hearts that are lighter than the feather being “saved” and therefore given new life, rather than being eaten? Were they waiting for a leader who’s heart was not too heavy and that is why John was the best candidate? I always enjoy your posts and discussions on Lost. There are so many details to the show and it’s fun to try to really break them down. Finally, luvs teh lolz!

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:52:40 +0000

Itz, I also really love your observation that a bunch of characters we’ve met (Frenchmen, Christian) seem cold… almost heartless. Like their hearts are gone. Maybe even Locke too.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:42:08 +0000

Levels! HA!

I like your idea of a labyrinth though. Didn’t Ben actually use the world “within” when he said that the temple was a half mile away… “a half mile within the wall”?

Maybe Richard took Ben literally inside the wall that is like a corridor that makes up a big labyrinth and he walked the whole half mile to get Ben to the temple to heal him?

But now I’m just talking crazy.

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:27:15 +0000

Yeah, exactly. That’s what I meant. 3 levels. Richard and little Ben on the top level. Ben and Locke on the middle level. And Ben fell through to the lower level. But who knows… maybe there are even more levels. This is fascinating on so many levels.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:18:23 +0000

My bad… by “under the temple” I meant under the temple including the grounds. I’m more familiar with Chinese temples which include the whole area within the walls. In Ukiah, up here in Mendo County, is one of the first Chinese Zen Buddhist temples in the United States with one of the largest Buddhist communities in this Hemisphere. It’s called “The City of 10,000 Buddhas” and it’s grounds used to be a county metal hospital. It’s over 400 acres and people around here just refer to it as “The Temple.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Ten_Thousand_Buddhas
It has a great vegan restaurant but is super creepy. Weird energy left over from the mental hospital IMO.

But anyway… through your post it just looks like you told him that they were in a temple. I didn’t know there was much discussion on where they actually were and the context on the show.

Also, I assumed that they were not on the same level that Richard took Ben into but below that level. *shrugs*

Looking forward to more!

By: Ed R

Ed R — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:23:35 +0000

No dental appointment- no insurance;)

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:58:34 +0000

P, actually, the area that Ben and Locke are traveling through isn’t the Temple at all. It’s the wall around the Temple. That includes the level that Richard took little Ben into, the lower level that Locke and Ben were walking through before the floor fell, and the even lower level Ben fell into. If you remember, before they even entered, Ben told Locke and Sun that the Temple itself was over a mile past that wall. And I did tell Ed that. We actually discussed a bit about whether this might be a labyrinth style protective barrier. I’m still unclear whether Ben meant that the Temple was over a mile away once they cleared the barrier, or if the barrier itself was over a mile thick.

Regardless, I think the cemetery above refers to the island more than an actual cemetery. More of a metaphor. But the image of there being a cemetery is pretty cool.

Anyway, there was a lot from our correspondence that I left out of this post. Some of it I hope to include in a part 2 if it gels with anymore of Ed’s findings. But that, of course, hinges on whether Ed finds anything else… or if Ed ends up having a dentist appointment this week.

By: Johnny Hugel

Johnny Hugel — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:20:09 +0000

Very interesting, good job you two.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:05:55 +0000

So… Smokie is Ammit? It is interesting… I think we always just assumed that smokie was the JUDGE and the executioner. Nice to finally know we were wrong.

Egyptology is so confusing because depending on what you read, different gods have weighed the heart against the feather. Something I read said that Anibus weighed it, Thoth (AKA: Tehuti) recorded it and then Ammit ate if it was heavy. There is a chance that the set design folks used Tehuti’s text because it said what they needed it to say. So if that is the case, we still have a grab bag of gods it could be.

The cemetery above could be a literal cemetery within the walls where the temple is. John, I’m curious why you didn’t tell Ed that the photos were taken from tunnels and rooms UNDER the temple. Time constraints? Yeah, Ed seems like a busy guy.

So… the dead leader stuff. Jacob is what I’m thinking. Or could the text have been referring to the island as more of a figurative cemetery? There are a bunch of dead people running around on it. Past leaders included.

Man this stuff is so subjective.

Great stuff guys! Thanks for doing this Ed. And pardon if my ramblings are uneducated. I’m just a dabbler in this stuff since my Archeology classes in college.

By: itzel

itzel — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:17:59 +0000

LOL I loved this! and it made me laugh too! Ok so a couple of interesting things here, you guys rock! I’m really curious about the thing that maybe it’s a cemetery, maybe there’s where all the Others that have died are buried? maybe even the crew from the Black Rock? And wow!!! about Tehuti, the Lord of Time? yep this has to have some significance with the time travel and all, but also that thing about eating the heart, I don’t know it kinda sounds like Smokey to me… I mean, what if it literally eats the heart of those that have come to life? Lock anyone? Christian? And then, those theories that state that guys that came back to life are somehow “infected” like the french men, and now Locke, maybe could be viable.

This was awesome John! There’s just so more things that we need to know about this complicated show… and I love it!!! Thx edrafalko as well, you’re teh awesome 2! lolz.