Thursday, December 31, 2009

Spend Your Holiday Cash on a New LOST Book (or Win a Copy, If You're Lucky)

IT IS NOW 9 AM CT ON 1/4/10 AND THIS CONTEST HAS CLOSED. I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS WITHIN THE NEXT DAY.

Hello my dear friends -

First and foremost, Happy Last Day of 2009. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to move on to 2010 already.

The reason I'm posting this fine afternoon is because I wanted to tell you about something that will not only help you pass the time between now and the LOST season premiere on February 2, but also thoroughly prepare you for The Final Season -- even if you've been participating in a LOST Rewatch. It's a book by my extra-awesome friend and fellow LOST blogger and DarkUFO recapper Vozzek. Vozzek is one of the few LOST bloggers that I've actually had the pleasure of talking to (yes kids, ON THE PHONE) and he is truly a great guy. I certainly wouldn't have survived some of the ups and downs of this year without him.

So here's the deal -- he has a book of completely new (and spoiler-free, of course) material and it was published last week: Things You Never Noticed About LOST: Past Perceptions and Future Theories. I just returned home from my holiday travel yesterday, found my copy waiting for me and let me tell ya, it's GOOD.

Vozzek spent the hiatus watching Seasons One through Five again and forming several overarching theories about what could be going on with our dear Oceanic 815 survivors. He's got over 244 pages of ideas that will make you pause and say to yourself, "Wow, I never thought about it that way." In the short time I've had the book in my possession, there have already been three things I read that have made me want to pop in certain episodes and see some of the curious things that Vozzek's pointed out for myself.

Things You Never Noticed About LOST is $11.95 plus shipping (and yes, he ships internationally). If you order it here from his site, there's a box you can check during the purchase process if you want him to sign it, and he'll inscribe it with whatever you'd like as well. Or you can order it from Amazon (but the inscription/autograph option isn't available there).

OR you can win one of three copies I'm giving away. He'll write a note and sign the book for all three winners, and the contest is open to anyone, anywhere. All you have to do is tell me something tongue-in-cheek that YOU'VE noticed about LOST over the past five seasons. You know, like "I've noticed Sawyer tends to be shirtless an awful lot." I'll pick my favorite three and announce the winners -- or maybe I'll let Vozzek pick his faves? -- on Monday, January 4, so get your submissions in (to this blog... nothing sent via Facebook or Twitter will be considered) by 9 AM Central Time that day, please. And just one entry per person. I won't publish anything rude or offensive, either, as I'm sure you all know.

Eminent LOST theorist Doc Jensen of Entertainment Weekly featured Vozzek as a "super-fan" recently; the interview starts about halfway down the page here. I highly recommend checking it out to learn more about Vozzek and his book... but of course I had to ask him a few questions of my own, so here they are:



e: First off, congratulations on publishing the book -- I know it was no small undertaking. What made you decide to write it?


V: People who've read my recaps have been asking me to put them in some kind of book format for a while now. I never wanted to do that - it seemed a little cheesy (okay, a lot cheesy). Still, the thought of writing a book about the intricacies of LOST was pretty attractive to me. You can read a lot of books about what happened during the last five years of LOST, but not a whole lot of them explore why it happened. That's my favorite part.


e: What was the hardest part about writing it?

V: Believe it or not, rewatching the show. Having seen through the end of season five, any viewer doing a rewatch is a lot more educated. There are so many new things to notice... so much important stuff happens, it's hard to pick and choose what you want to talk about and what you need to leave out. And with all the repeating themes, scenes, and dialogue? It's just a lot of research. I could be writing about a scene that happens in season four, but also need to make references to near identical scenes in seasons one and two. Breaking the book down to individual chapters helped a lot when it came to keeping focus.


e: Did any of the theories you’ve had significantly alter once you rewatched the last five seasons?

V: The way I perceived John Locke changed an awful lot. Once you know he ends up being "occupied" by the man in the black shirt, you start to wonder how far back that control goes. Even as early as the first four or five episodes, you start getting the impression that John was being used as a vessel (for lack of a better term). But at the same time, he was still Locke, too. I also started exploring the signs that Locke was manipulated by more than one opposing force.

Jack's character also becomes a lot more interesting during the rewatch. From the moment the plane crashes to the very first decision Jack makes (choosing the color of thread Kate sews him up with), there's evidence that Jack is very different from the rest of the Flight 815 survivors. Stranger in a Strange Land doesn't just refer to Jack's vacation to Thailand. Isabel's words to him are a lot more important when you start thinking that way.


e: Yeah, you know, the only season I watched again was Season One, and I was really struck by how much crap Jack had to deal with -- it was RIDICULOUS how much everyone relied on him for absolutely everything. I think many people have forgotten about that over the years. But now we've come to the LAST season for the show. How do you feel about the series coming to an end this year?

V: Excited, but of course sad. Like everyone else I can't wait to see how the show ends, but I'm going to miss watching new episodes. I keep consoling myself with the fact that the show's fanbase is way too enormous to just go away once the final credits roll. No matter what, we're going to have 120+ amazing episodes of LOST. There will always be boards, forums, and people who want to discuss ideas, concepts, and theories. I have a feeling we'll get some overall answers to the bigger questions by the time the show ends, but the writers will still leave a lot of things open to interpretation.


e: OK, one last question, but it's a biggie: How do you think the show will end?

V: With the LOST logo. ;)


e: D'oh! You're totally right -- you heard it here first, folks!



OK everybody, get your Things I Noticed contest entries in by Monday, have a happy and safe New Year's celebration, and come back next week to see who the lucky three winners are. Or if you can't wait until then, just go ahead and buy Vozzek's book right now -- I promise you, you'll love it.

Oh, one more thing: I will still be running a January contest on the site (and a bonus Twitter-based contest as well -- so follow me, won't you?) and it will probably commence next week, so stay tuned.

Until then,
- e

IT IS NOW 9 AM CT ON 1/4/10 AND THIS CONTEST HAS CLOSED. I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS WITHIN THE NEXT DAY.

91 comments:

wg said...

I've noticed that Kate's opinions and actions are easily influenced by whoever (whomever?) she's with at the time.

Deann said...

I've noticed that Ben has really big eyes.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that Jack's body hair changes. From really hairy to moderately hairy to baby smooth bald. What's up with that? Is there a man groomer on the island?

Jenni said...

I've noticed that the LOST hiatus is nearly as long and painful as my pregnancy was, but it will hopefully have just as great an outcome!

RowanRaven said...

[My apologies, e., but I meant to write this instead...]

I've noticed that, no matter the weather or setting, Desmond's hair is absolutely, completely well-conditioned.

doug... said...

I've noticed that whenever I hear the words 'destiny', 'brotha', 'hatch', 'smoke', 'island', or 'dude' in everyday language, I think of LOST.

Katrina said...

I've noticed that I still don't know what one snowman said to the other

Amanda said...

I've noticed that no matter how much they show Widmore, he will always be Cal the rich old dude from the OC in my eyes.....

David AM said...

I've noticed that the boars on the island hate the survivors. LOL!

Aunt J-ha said...

Since watching Lost, I notice each time an airliner flies over my head and can't help but wonder whose on board and what they may be hiding.

Scott said...

I've noticed that Hurley must have a secret stash of peanut butter somewhere. I know they havent been there too long on the island, but dude is still pushing 4 bills. The island must manipulate space, time, and metabolism.

Unknown said...

I've noticed way too many things that aren't significant in the slightest.

Alex said...

I've noticed that everytime something rustles in the jungle, I immediately think that it's Vincent, though it's usually just the smoke monster. Sigh. No matter how awesome Smokey is, Vincent holds a special place in my mind.

NotSoBadLit said...

First, Happy New Year!

The things I've noticed is that Ben seems to lie a lot.

Unknown said...

I noticed that you shouldn't tell Locke what he can't do.

Unknown said...

I noticed that John Locke mysteriously looks like Mr. Clean...

MollyFaraday said...

I have noticed that I have the heavy urge to shoot a gun (or just hold one all badass) everytime I watch Lost. They get to shoot at something or someone almost every single episode, and I am quite jealous because it looks like a good time.
Plus, if you think about it, where would Lost be without guns?

MonkeyFace said...

i've noticed that the island has an affinity for good looking people. There were no ugly others, no unattractive DI folks and our Losties are all seriously attractive....and the unattractive ones seem to die pretty quickly.

Ha Ha!

Thorny_Nettles said...

I've noticed that any time there's a mysterious box, in any form whatsoever, and we don't know what's inside it, whether it be a locker, an incubator, an elevator or a coffin, the restrictions of a wheelchair or a big metal box crashed on the beach, I'll make money if I bet people that it's John Locke.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that this "best show ever" will end with more mysteries than when it started...Just like LIFE... which has the same NUMBER (4!) of letters as "Lost"... and Jack... and Kate... and John... and Hugo... and (James) Ford... and Rose... and Arzt... and Hume... and Pace... and Anna (Lucia)... and "Best" and "Show" and "Ever." Full Stop.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that life for the survivors (and the viewers) would be a lot less frustrating if they would just talk about things when they happen.

Nathan said...

I've noticed that Kate has freckles. That may have something to do with the nickname Sawyer gave her.

Kyle Stedman said...

I've noticed that the beginning of season 3 really WAS the weakest time for the show, even though I staunchly defended them when they aired.

Sweettooth30 said...

Hi Erika, After watching through for the 14th time (Seriously) I noticed somthing I didn't catch all the other times through. In the Incedent, Season 5 finale, when Jacob is visting everybody, one stands out like a sore thumb, Ilana, And that the fact that her face is bandaged up leads me to beleave whatever caused this to happened hasn't happened and is in the future, IE season 6. What lies in the shadow of teh statue? the one who protects us all, See how Ilana is the one asking the question and Ricardo,.....sorry Richard is the recpient. Well we now know that Jacob lies in the shadow of the statue and he was protecting Ilana....Hmmmmmm

Nussy said...

I've brought this up in one of Lost Live Chats but I hope it still counts for this. Rose is the Smoke Monster. Think about it.

aquaboy1976 said...

I've noticed that Kate deals with sadness in a very adult manner.

Ian E said...

I noticed that in the original cast photo from season 1 (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-pGkeGjJTvs/SzzRBh3CkyI/AAAAAAAAJW4/QRDagMq0UYM/s320/lostcast.JPG), everyone looks very clean and proper (with the exception of Sawyer and Charlie). Locke even has a white t-shier under a white button down.

Elizabeth said...

I've noticed that the women always have shaved legs and underarms, despite what must be a dearth of razors on the island.

Sharon Rose said...

I've noticed that practicality and assertiveness is expected from the guys (John v. Jack), but hated or suspicious in women (especially Anna Lucia - when bad stuff was going down and everyone freaked out that she behaved appropriately for an emergency situation).

Fingers crossed for the win... thanks for a great contest!

Luis said...

I've noticed Rose is always right and everybody should do as Bernard and do whatever she says =P

Maram said...

I've noticed that both Ben and MIB (Jacob's Nemisis) cannot kill Widmore and Jacb respectivley ..

--------------------------------Widmore: are you here to kill me ?
Ben: we both know that I can't do that

MIB: Do you hav any idea how badly I wanna kill you
Jacob:Yes

Kristy said...

In the re-watch, I've noticed that even though some characters started Season 1 with long hair (Hurley and Sawyer come to mind), their coifs still look *amazingly* short compared to the end of Season 5.

Leslies_a_Bitchin_Name said...

I've noticed the two fastest and easiest ways to get off the Island are:

1) The Submarine, and
2) getting a DUI

Rachel said...

i've noticed that no matter how many times i re-watch it i always notice something new.

girlwithasong1133 said...

I've noticed that Hurley tends to say what's on everybody's mind

Bernie said...

I've noticed that Most Lost Followers find it hard to believe "Final Season" actually means it's Finished, Over, Done, Not going to be continued!
Waaaaaa!

elevatordance said...

I've noticed that the majority of the LOST characters have a problem with their Dads. I'm wondering if Man in Black is really Jacob's dad and not a brother or a peer?

Matt in Dallas said...

I've noticed that we all are a bit more 'well read' after these amazing 5 seasons.

Sherylm said...

I also noticed that there is a typo in my entry...it should read "BAD things happen" and not "back things happen" :-))
So could you please repost it:

I've noticed bad things seem to happen to those around Hurley. Could he be cursed? Could it be...the numbers ?!?

Unknown said...

I've noticed that episode titles gives us the answers, so if "Dead Is Dead," then "Whatever Happened Happened!"

MonkeyFace said...

One more: I've noticed after watching LOST the sudden need to know EXACTLY what Vozzek noticed.

=)

ben1086 said...

I've noticed that people have really, really, bad hair. (Younger Jack in the hospital, young Ben stealing the baby, younger Faraday).

Marms37 said...

I've noticed that I never can remember the numbers

helkatmat said...

I've noticed that time seems to move much more slowly during LOST's hiatus and it speeds up as soon as the season begins.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that I can't wait until Feb. 2!

sheler412 said...

I've noticed that on "LOST" night I act like my mother did in the 80's when it was "FAME" night. LOL.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that that meat shop looks an awful lot like the funeral home. Hmm.

TFKoP said...

I've noticed that Claire screams "my bay-beeeee!" a lot.

Happy New Year!

--joe mason
orono, maine

Jennifer said...

I've noticed that Kate tends to look out of the corners of her eyes, particularly when she is thinking hard about something that Jack or Sawyer said.

clayton short said...

i've noticed that many of these characters appear in many other movies, like ben in saw and juliet in santa claus 2, and that maybe it all ties into lost

comixguru said...

I've noticed that this show is about survivors of a plane crash on a weird tropical island.

michelle said...

I've noticed that (most) seasons end with John's dead body, and I'm shocked every time!

Marebabe said...

I've noticed that Australia's the key to the whole game.

Laura M said...

I've noticed that Sayid has terrible luck with women. Shsnnon dies, Nadia dies, and the chick in The Economist dies. He should really just give up. Or maybe date Kate...

Mark S. said...

I've noticed that the writers are toying with our minds, and I'm sure they are laughing all the way to the bank.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that Sayid has incredibly long, luxourient, and well-groomed finger nails for roughing it on an island.

B.L ZAGO said...

I've noticed that the LOST ones are us, and how great was that feeling during all the show!

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that in the first episode of season 2 Desmond has REALLY bad sneak attack music.

MrKatJacks said...

I've noticed Jack tends to steal other character's catchphrases.

Laura said...

I've noticed the total lack of any "real" wildlife on the island aside from boars and the occassional polar bear.... Where are all the monkeys, birds, snakes, lizards and other creepy crawly things that are normally on a tropical island?

confessions of a pastors wife said...

i've noticed that the lost writers didn't need to think of names of people and places. Living in Honolulu you see the names everywhere! Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Tanaka restraunt (Tanaka is dead episode) and the list goes on!

LeslieS said...

I've noticed that I still get freaked out whenever I think of Niki and Paulo's "incident" of being buried alive, no matter how unimportant their case was.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that people in the hatch are the only ones who play vinyl anymore. Sad...

Kyle Amato said...

I noticed that Locke shaves his head but doesn't shave his face. Wouldn't it make sense to do it all? Weird.

toby said...

I've noticed that I've gotten very picky about watching other television shows over the last five years. Nothing else even comes close to Lost!

b3rt4 said...

I've noticed that Hurley meets Faraday only once - in 5.14.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that everyone in the show is an expert in knocking people down with one hit

lostieforever said...

I´ve noticed that there are A LOT of inverted images, more than 200 icluded the very first with Jack at the beach right after the crash, and I don´t know why!

hilightnotes said...

My submission is something I noticed all the way back in Season 2 during my recent rewatch. It made me both laugh out loud and feel kinda sorry for ol' Locke. It'll take me a moment to give some backstory to explain what I noticed. Here it goes:

As I'm sure you all remember, back in Season 2 Mr. Eko brings Locke a film strip inside a Bible he found in the Arrow Station. Locke is very excited to stitch it into the Orientation video, expecting a huge reveal (Mr. Eko smartly warns "Don't mistake coincidence for fate"). When it turns out to only be Pierre Cheng warning about using the computer, Locke is sorely disappointed.
But, in classic Locke style, he wanted more. He searched for meaning and explanation.
In "The Long Con", Sawyer comes down to the hatch to find Locke ruffling through the pages in a book. He is holding the book out in front of him, upside down. When Sawyer asks what he's doing, he claims he is "alphabetizing".
Yeah right...
So what was he doing? And why was there a whole pile of other books on the table which he had seemingly done the same thing with?
What he was doing, was looking through every single book in the hatch bookshelf, trying to find another film strip.

I hate to hate on Locke -- he is one of my favourite characters -- but that is just pathetic.

Sean C said...

I've noticed that, more often than not, whenever the survivors return to the beach (Jack & friends from his stay with the Others, Michael after recuperating in the hatch, etc) the first people to realize someone is coming is Sun and/or Jin. Almost always. And I've always wondered why.

Connor Dunlap said...

I've noticed that because of all he Daddy Issues, there are a lot of Cowboys.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that pedestrians in LOST tend to get hit by cars/busses.... a lot, like at least one per season. Seriously people, look both ways and to those that are driving the vehicles, watch the damn road!

Also survival of said accidents is directly related to how central you are to the show. Sawyer gets smacked by a car, walks away. Michael gets hit, recuperates with a broken leg or two. Locke's mom makes it out okay, and baby Locke is just dandy. Nadia, Edmund Burke, and others... yea not so much.

Webmaster said...

I noticed Kate's bra and panties didnt match the day of the flight... how tacky.

RachelB said...

I've noticed how odd that Oceanic Flight 815, originating in Sydney Australia, seemed to have only ONE survivor who was actually from Australia.

I've also noticed that I now call everyone "Dude".

Unknown said...

I've noticed that Jack makes terrible eye contact.

Anonymous said...

Dude, I've noticed that Hurley's character was the first one cast, he was never supposed to be on the island, and that more about him has to be revealed in this last season for us (or is it just me?) to understand this significance.

Rebecca

Kadavir said...

I've noticed temporal hemorrhaging has never looked so good!

Murat said...

I've noticed that no matter how many times I re-watch the entire series, there are still things that pop up here and there that we had NOT noticed.

freckles said...

I noticed that I have never been so obsessed by a tv show before that I would spend hours scanning the internet for theories and explanations; and I never expect to be again.

Unknown said...

I've noticed Jack has a perfect five year 5 o'clock shadow that even George Michael would be envious of.

NorthEasternGirl said...

i've noticed that locke can do whatever he wants (including (kinda) coming back from the dead).

Ashlie Hawkins said...

I've noticed that a bottle of MacCutcheon's is always a good option.

ImpulseOK said...

I noticed that if you make and anagram of Hugo Reyes you get "Heroes Guy". And that Richard Alpert buys long-sleeved shirts from H&M.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed Vincent maybe more then what he seems he just a little too smart for a dog and when he shows up he help move things along .

Keeping Pace said...

The "Thing I've Noticed" is that the show and the Island itself are constant-ly asking both us (the viewers) and the characters to 'dig deeper', metaphorically and literally.

Throughout the show, there's always been a game the writers have played with us about looking for clues and not taking things at face value. Anagrams such as Mittelos (lost time), Hoffs-Drawlar (flash-forward), and the more recent Canton Rainier (reincarnation) are them checking our attention. And ever since we saw that Jacob lives inside the Four-Toed Statue I've been kicking myself that the clue was there all along because the name Jacob in Hebrew means "heel," hence why the statue only has a foot remaining.

Then there've been all of the lies from the characters, most notably Ben, Widmore, Locke, Sawyer, Juliet and Michael. Conspicuous statements have been made about how "Nothing stays buried on this Island," and Nikki & Paulo being buried alive, as well as finding out that Henry Gale wasn't who he said he was by digging up the actual Henry Gale's grave stand out. We and the Losties have been trained to look beyond the obvious, the surface of things, and find the truth, what/who is behind what they've experienced.

As for the actual digging that we and the characters have been -- and should still be -- doing, it started with the buried Hatch in S1 and then went deeper with the pocket of electromagnetism underneath the Swan in S2. We learned that the Dharma Initiative made nearly all of their stations deep within the earth and there has to be a reason why. In S4 we saw the hidden purpose of the deep underground Orchid station, and Ben showed us that beneath it was a frozen wheel that stimulated a pocket of exotic matter which manipulated space-time and moved the Island. Ever since I saw that, I can't help but wonder what's on the other side of that wall which excited those particles?

Most recently, in S5 we got a glimpse at the wall around the still as-yet-unseen and mysterious Temple. As Ben found out, under the wall there are tunnels, and under them are apparently more chambers, 1 of which houses a shrine with a vent from which Smokey emanates. Dare we ask what is underneath that vent? Not only that, but we found out that the little ancient door hidden in Ben's house in Dharmaville which allowed him to summon Smokey back in S4 was actually part of a much larger settlement which the Barracks were apparently built over. After swimming through a pond, Jack found out from Richard and Ellie that the Tunnels beneath the Barracks are where the Others 'buried' Jughead. And lastly, we keep getting the hint that bodies which aren't properly buried or disposed of (Christian, Yemi, Horace, Alex, Locke, etc.) become able to be impersonated or duplicated by either Smokey or Jacob's Nemesis (who might just be one and the same or at very least boss and henchman).

We keep getting shown that there is an underground world to the Island which helps explain --- and is the source of --- most, if not all, the mysteries of the show. It's almost as if the show itself is like an iceberg, with what seems like a massive amount of it above water, but deceptively the much larger portion of it is what lies beneath. I am a firm believer that ultimately they will reveal that something which ties into all the major mysteries will be what's buried beneath everything we've seen on the Island, and maybe be the cause of the Island's existence itself. I've got my hopes set on a crashed human spacecraft from the future :)

& I said...

I've noticed that taking a shot every time Jack asks for someone to get water is not the best way to watch LOST.

Matthew Cox said...

I've noticed that some bombs are really hard to blow up.

mrclean8 said...

I've noticed that Jack provides us with a hilarious new Jackface for every intense scene. He should have been assigned the job of DHARMA (scary) clown.

1miletogo said...

I've noticed that Locke likes to push buttons, but doesn't like his buttons pushed.

Unknown said...

As I've been re-watching I've noticed the Ben lies even more than I thought he did the first time around.

Erika (aka "e") said...

IT IS NOW 9:02 AM CT ON 1/4/10 AND THIS CONTEST HAS CLOSED. ANY COMMENTS LEFT AFTER THIS POINT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Thanks to all who played... I will have the winners posted within the next day.

- e