# Lost 2.13: "The Long Con" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537 "2006-02-08T14:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/61 "2006-02-09T04:08:37Z")
What was the deal with the manuscript Hurley was reading? Was this a reference to something I’ve forgotten or is it something new? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/62 "2006-02-09T04:11:56Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > What was the deal with the manuscript Hurley was reading? Was this a reference to something I’ve forgotten or is it something new? I think there was some sort of media buzz a while back about a book tie-in–the “mystery manuscript” Hurley finds in the sand, belonging to a mystery author–relating to the show. It’s a novel merchandising idea if it’s true, I’ll give them that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/63 "2006-02-09T04:23:34Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It just occurred to me: The music Sayid got on his receiver at the end was “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. > > Glenn Miller’s plane was lost at sea and never found, in 1944. I was wondering if Hurley’s comment about sounds waves being bounced through time (jk, dude) was an allusion to this. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/64 "2006-02-09T04:25:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It just occurred to me: The music Sayid got on his receiver at the end was “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. > > Glenn Miller’s plane was lost at sea and never found, in 1944. I liked Hurley’s comment about how they could be anywhere in time. I was wondering if the Glenn Miller song could have any significance. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/65 "2006-02-09T04:44:25Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > IIRC, the basis of Sawyer’s con on Cassidy is the same con as that shown in the flashback last year that the real Sawyer ran on this Sawyer’s mother? I was recalling real Sawyer last year doing the same suitcase-falling-open maneuver. Yes, that was the same maneuver – I think almost the same lines, like Sawyer had that con scripted and used it on multiple women. I bet Jack’s now thinking… “Damn, why didn’t I just let him die when the Tailies brought him back…?!” ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/66 "2006-02-09T04:48:13Z")
And for those of you looking for book clues, Locke was shaking “[An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge](http://eserver.org/fiction/occurrence-at-owl-creek.html)” by Ambrose Bierce when Sawyer went to talk to him. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/67 "2006-02-09T05:00:10Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > I liked Hurley’s comment about how they could be anywhere in time. > > I was wondering if the Glenn Miller song could have any significance. Anybody happen to know what song was playing in the scene from _The Shining_ where Jack’s character is in the ballroom talking to the bartender while a crowd is all around him (the bartender and the crowd being phantoms, of course)? This would be the same scene where the bartender warns the husband that his son needs discipline. I know it was a big band song, but was it _Moonlight Serenade_, or something else? It if was, could that possibly be a vague clue from the writers about (one of) the mysteries of the island? Or am I reaching? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/68 "2006-02-09T05:35:37Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > And for those of you looking for book clues, Locke was shaking “[An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge](http://eserver.org/fiction/occurrence-at-owl-creek.html)” Dammit, I judge logged on to squee about that! Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/69 "2006-02-09T05:45:55Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I judge logged on… That is the damndest typo I’ve ever made. I suppose “judge” for “just” makes a certain kind of bizarro sense. ---
**Author:** ![Mirasol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Mirasol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirasol)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/70 "2006-02-09T06:08:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Two strange things about Sun’s attack: > > Why did Kate say Sun’s hands were tied? They weren’t. (I replayed it with TiVo) Sawyer sent Kate to Jack. He then picked up Sun, and you could see her arm dangling with no rope or bruise. I went back and watched it and it does appear that Sun’s hands are tied as she’s lying on the ground, just before/just as Kate and Sawyer run up to her. Then there is a short period of time where we don’t see her hands, and during which which Sawyer might be untying her, though its hard to tell for sure. Then we see the dangling arms as he picks her up shortly after. If Sawyer did manage to untie her, it was pretty quick. But maybe he used a knife, or maybe Charlie just sucks at at tying knots. > [@](#): > > And I think when the clock runs to 0 next week, there should be a jack-in-the-box clown on a spring, like in the Twilight Zone intro. Or even better, somebody’s head on a jack-in-the-box spring. Then Walt can wish it into the cornfield! Well, if Walt was actually around. Then again, maybe with the whole remote veiwing thing he wouldn’t need to be. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/71 "2006-02-09T06:10:39Z")
And the Sawyer-given nicknames continue: Jacko, Sheena, Analulu, and Tokyo Rose. He’s used “Hoss” already, but perhaps not in reference to Locke…? Damn…I didn’t see that bit with Charlie coming either. I don’t know much of anything about radio waves. Can they really bounce off the ionosphere and travel all over the place? Next week’s ep. looks disturbing. But I am dying to see what happens if they let the clock run out. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/72 "2006-02-09T06:29:12Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > I don’t know much of anything about radio waves. Can they really bounce off the ionosphere and travel all over the place? Someone more science-y will probably come along and explain better, but I’m pretty sure what Sayid said is accurate. The waves can’t just travel all over the place, but if a station is broadcasting somewhere in the Pacific, I imagine all of that open ocean allows the signals to travel much further than they would on, say, the US mainland. Sayid was simply implying that the radio signal could be a broadcast from a distant island or something. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/73 "2006-02-09T06:36:22Z")
A shortwave radio wave signal can be picked up just about anywhere at night if the atmospheric conditions are good. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/74 "2006-02-09T06:37:20Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > Anybody happen to know what song was playing in the scene from _The Shining_ where Jack’s character is in the ballroom talking to the bartender while a crowd is all around him (the bartender and the crowd being phantoms, of course)? This would be the same scene where the bartender warns the husband that his son needs discipline. I know it was a big band song, but was it _Moonlight Serenade_, or something else? It if was, could that possibly be a vague clue from the writers about (one of) the mysteries of the island? > > Or am I reaching? I don’t think it was Moonlight Serenade in that scene. I think it was _Midnight, the Stars and You_. It might be Moonlight Serenade at the end, but I’m not sure. (or maybe _I_ have them mixed up. And yes, bouncing off the ionosphere usually results in signals pretty far from where they began (like halfway around the world). I though I heard a ‘W’ prefix in there somewhere. Anyways, what happened in the rest of the episode? There was something about oil, Kate, Sun … after that it gets rather hazy. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/75 "2006-02-09T06:38:20Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > I don’t know much of anything about radio waves. Can they really bounce off the ionosphere and travel all over the place? Well I don’t know if it’s the ionosphere, but when I was 12, I routinely picked up stations from Washington state and Texas on my short wave. More recently the last time I drove down 80 through Nebraska, I picked up in order a Tennessee and Texas station somewhere around one in the morning, and this was on a basic car stereo. ---
**Author:** ![jaderabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@jaderabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaderabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/76 "2006-02-09T07:07:31Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Someone more science-y will probably come along and explain better, but I’m pretty sure what Sayid said is accurate. The waves can’t just travel all over the place, but if a station is broadcasting somewhere in the Pacific, I imagine all of that open ocean allows the signals to travel much further than they would on, say, the US mainland. Sayid was simply implying that the radio signal could be a broadcast from a distant island or something. I didn’t catch the call letters for the station because some non-_Lost_-watchin’ fool called to yap into our answering machine, but I thought they started with a W. That would put the station east of the Missisippi if it were a U.S. station, and it sounded like a U.S. announcer. Did they say anything more useful about the Glenn Miller Orchestra? For instance, did they say it was a live performance? That would be a clue that something’s amiss, no? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/77 "2006-02-09T07:22:09Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > I liked Hurley’s comment about how they could be anywhere in time. > > I was wondering if the Glenn Miller song could have any significance. I said to my lost group “this signal is from about 50 years ago”, then Hurley smacked me upside the head-- the writers are screwing with us again!!! Good episode. I thought it was Sawyer at first who too Sun-- you could see that whoever it was was wearing a dark shirt. It was long sleeved, but I let that slide. I didnt think of Charlie! Did anyone think that “The Long Con” was also the writers taking another dig at us? That they’re conning us, if not with the whole series at least that one episode. Was the waitress Kate’s mom? And what the hell is Sawyer going to do when he falls asleep and someone takes the gun. I kept thinking… this is why they kept that damn key around Jack’s neck. He didn’t put the silver case with the guns into the safe, so he’s got 4 or 5 guns on the side somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/78 "2006-02-09T07:44:30Z")
> [@jaderabbit](#): > > Did they say anything more useful about the Glenn Miller Orchestra? For instance, did they say it was a live performance? I’m trying to remember the vaguely-remembered classic science fiction story that this idea reminds me of. Probably Ray Bradbury. “The Marvelous Radio”? Something like that? Kid builds a crystal radio set and picks up transmissions from his (father? grandfather? some random person?) who died in the war? Honestly, though – I don’t think that scene signified much beyond Hurley basically being a solid dude and finding exactly the right thing to take Sayid’s mind of the dead bimbo. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/79 "2006-02-09T07:53:06Z")
But if they’re listening to a shortwave radio aren’t they limited as to the number of possible services that would be broadcasting music? The voice on the radio sounded American and I think that the only US shortwave service is Voice of America. I don’t think an AM signal can travel that far (across the Pacific) no matter what. Voice of America probably doesn’t play a lot of Glenn Miller now. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537/80 "2006-02-09T07:54:05Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > And for those of you looking for book clues, Locke was shaking “[An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge](http://eserver.org/fiction/occurrence-at-owl-creek.html)” by Ambrose Bierce when Sawyer went to talk to him. Make of that what you will. And Ambrose Bierce vanished when he was 71. He went into Mexico and was never seen again. And I’m sure that broadcast was old. The announcer, the way it sounded, everything screamed 1940’s. Of course, it could just be a ‘classic radio’ program or something. I wonder if it’s a coincidence that they were playing Glenn Miller - who also vanished and was never seen again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-13-the-long-con/343537.md?page=5)