Fangasmic

( So how long did Supernatural manage to keep that closing scene of the season finale a secret? Roughly 2.3 seconds, basically. )

GUYS IT IS MANY MONTHS UNTIL THE PREMIERE. GIVE UNTO ME YOUR SPECULATION.

To: whyareyoulikethis, thatneedslube, damngirl
From: stopitsomemore
Subject: OH SHIT GUYS

Guess what I just found. A Supernatural thread on 4chan.

To: stopitsomemore, whyareyoulikethis, damngirl
From: thatneedslube
Subject: Re: OH SHIT GUYS

Fuck, why are you always in the second pit of the internet?

( Do you know why, readers? Because it's there. Because it's Everest. Because someone has to find pictures of Castiel baking in space. )

But here -- have a nice palate cleanser:



(Images all sourced from 4chan, to which thatneedslube rightfully refers to as the second pit of the internet, fair warning; all art was uncredited on the site, but if you recognize something as yours, please let us know, and we can pull it down if you like.)

The CW Blog (and yes, it hurts us at FG as a collective that our RSS reader has the CW Blog on it. In other news, you will never believe what is happening on Gossip Girl next week) has just posted new clips from next week's Supernatural!

( Click on through to get your daily dose of Eric Kripke punching you in the face! )

Okay, okay, I've mopped all the tears and running mascara off my face. Who else is PSYCHED for the 100th episode coming up?

This falls on our radar because certain members of the FG crew are absolutely embarrassing yuppies who hang around Slate.com all day long just hitting the F5 key, and it's an intriguing bit of analysis about the idea of heaven. Given fourth and fifth season trajectories on Supernatural, it's worth some discussion.

First off, the article on Slate is catalyzed by a book, Heaven, which digs up some interesting nuggets, probably the most interesting of which boils down to two points, which become even more interesting in the context of Supernatural, the series:

(1) The concept of heaven is constantly changing, influenced and shaped by the needfulness of whatsoever culture is calling upon it at any given time, and Johann Hari writes, "Show me your heaven, and I'll show you what's lacking in your life." Heaven was water for the desert-dwellers, freedom for slaves, and for sex-starved suicide bombers, it's 72 virgins, Hari says. If this is true, it casts last week's Dark Side of the Moon in an interesting light: was the partitioned nature of heaven its reality? Or some sort of construction in Dean and Sam's head? After all, they saw a ribbon of asphalt leading to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens -- who's to say that everything else they encountered wasn't somehow colored, too? Unless everything Ash and Pamela wanted was a monochromatic palette of BEING LEFT ALONE, too.

(2) The idea of a paradise after death for good behavior is, all things even, a fairly new concept:

"We know precisely when this story of projecting our lack into the sky began: 165 B.C., patented by the ancient Jews. Until then, heaven—shamayim—was the home of God and his angels. Occasionally God descended from it to give orders and indulge in a little light smiting, but there was a strict no-dead-people door policy. Humans didn't get in, and they didn't expect to. The best you could hope for after death was for your bones to be buried with your people in a shared tomb and for your story to carry on through your descendants. It was a realistic, humanistic approach to death. You go, but your people live on."

That's a big turnaround from the way I'd always conceptually understood the relationship of ancient cultures with a distinct paradise. (To be sure, this is specifically Judeo-Christian; many other and much more ancient cultures had their own post-life journeys, like those that inspired the building of pyramids and the fields of Elysium, where warriors retired after death.)

More than that, the article (and book -- oh, so derivative) posits that the idea of something after death, that something more was needed, came after the scattering of bones destroyed the guarantee that you would be near your loved ones in death. Circling right back around, because if heaven is the sterile, segregated space Dean and Sam visited in Dark Side, then I don't know. I'm pretty good with wrapping it up Earthside, and I'm not entirely convinced Sam and Dean wouldn't be, too.

(Oh, also, Michael Shanks was on it. SHUT UP. YOU'LL NEVER BE MY DANIEL JACKSON.)

The Wall Street Journal writes about truckers who knit and craft to pass the time between picking up hauls, which is a far warmer, fuzzier view of long-haul drivers than those advanced in shows like Criminal Minds!

( Anyway, the point is, these days, it's either Sam or Cas in the passenger seat of the Impala, and since I assume Sam is too busy repressing his burning incestuous desire for his bro, Castiel, angel of the lord, these lace patterns are for you! )

Best of luck, Castiel, angel of the Lord. Also, check here for supplies. FOR KNITTING, YOU PERVERTS.

• If you get 100% on this quiz, we're locking you out your house until you get a tan. (And fittingly, whyareyoulikethis just cheered 'cause she got a perfect score. Right.) Go test your knowledge of Star Trek fanfic here. Keep in mind, a perfect score is dubious; getting less than half, see your remedial reading here, please.

• Two new clips from Supernatural 5x15!

• Recap of Castle's panel at the Paley Festival!