"Well, Sorry I Missed That, Uh, Charity Thing. But This Was One of Those Truly Glorious Hampton Weekends That You Always Hear About."

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK DUE TO SITE PROBLEMS]

In the vein of the title of this post, I apologize for waiting almost a week before posting something new. Yes, I was, in fact away during the long weekend at the Summer House we rented in East Hampton. As you probably know, the weather was pretty much perfect, so the weekend went quite smoothly. The only glitch is that we did not have our cable hooked up yet (happening this Friday), so I was unable to catch any of the Mets-Marlins series, and was forced to get scoring updates by listening to the FAN in my car or stopping at The Blue Parrot on the way back from the beach. Still, missing s three-gamer against the worst team in the NL was a small price to pay for a mini-vacation. A few thoughts on a Wednesday afternoon that inexplicably feels like Tuesday (yes, yes, I know, "Tuesday has no feel!" "Monday has a feel." "Friday has a feel.")

1. Some leftover thoughts on the Lost Finale: (a) Mr. Met made a great point in the comments--it's difficult to believe that Walt would just allow Michael to flee after learning of what he did in order to procure their release from Camp Others. Unfortunately, Mr. Met also referred to The Mind of the Married Man as a "pretty good show," so he loses some points there. (b) If, as we discovered, the Button is "for real" and pushing it does prevent catastrphe, then why slow up the world-saving process with requiring the Numbers to be entered before the button is pushed? Why can't they just press "Execute" every 108 minutes? (c) Most people seem convinced that (F)Henry is the leader of the Others. I was actually under the impression that (F)Henry was merely the "ranking officer" (as EW.com put it) on the dock, but that there is still a "Him" out there that he is reporting to (FHenry did refer to a "Him" when Sayid threatened to kill him in the Hatch). I guess we'll see.

2. Very happy to see Lastings Milledge on the Big League club. I had the pleasure of watching him up close and personal in St. Lucie at Spring Training this year. From what I could see, he looked like a star in the making. Of course, I was probably 3-deep into 24 oz. Kirin Ichiban oil-cans, so my scouting acumen may have been somewhat compromised. As others have noted, 'Stings's swing looks professional, though to me, the rest of him still looks like the 21-year-old kid that he is. ,Notwithstanding, 'Stings should provide us fans with hours of summer amusement.

3. Speaking of the Mets, with Mrs. Bookie off to downtown pilates this evening, and Mr. Bookie (me, that is) feeling a little under the weather, I look forward to a relaxing evening of watching Pedro duel it out with Arizona phenom Brandon Webb. Should be a big-time match-up. Maybe for the occasion, Keith Hernandez will even decide to wear something that doesn't look like he slept in it the night before.

4. Back to the beach, for a moment, it really was a great weekend. With the rainy week that preceded, the pool was still a little too cold for any long-term swimming activities (and the ocean was positively freezing), but I still managed to get in the water a little. Thanks to my non-resident parking parmit (only $250 for us City Slickers), we were also able to visit some East Hampton beaches. I felt very big-time to learned that the non-resident permits have sold out, so the rest of the riff raff (yes, we are part of said riff and said raff) will be kept at bay for the duration of the summer. We also checked out a new restaurant/lounge called, appropriately, 27 (the old Napague Stretch in Amagansett) and The Stephen Talkhouse, which now boasts a $25 per person cover on Saturday and (Holiday) Sunday nights. I mean, the band was good and all, but paying $50 before I walk in the door just doesn't seem right to me. Does anyone have a connection or know some guest list I can get on? I'll have more to report as the summer wears on, but for those interested in the latest on life and gossip of the East End, check out a blog called "The Beach" which is brought to you by the same folks who produce Curbed (a NY-centric real estate blog). Hat tip to Mr. Maybe I Can Help, who turned me on to it.

***Update: Congratulations to The Skipper, on the birth of his baby boy, Noah!! We all knew you (literally) had it in you, Skipper! A hearty Mazel Tov from BookieD!