Monday, August 20, 2012

Cancer Gets LOST is Live... and More LOST Thought Winners

Notice the bib?
Go to CancerGetsLOST.org for all the details!
Hello my dear friends -

How have you all been? Good, I hope!

I'm slowly but surely getting my life back in order now that Little Des is seven months old. But if it weren't for my fellow blogger JOpinionated launching the most awesome charity auction of all time on 8/15 (LOST Day, of course), who knows when I would've finally gotten this post up!

So here's the deal: Jo and her producing partner Jared Wong founded Cancer Gets LOST, a charity event that benefits the National Brain Tumor Society 100%. As in, every single cent raised from their auction, live webcast and party is going to the NBTS. Jo's dear friend Jackie passed away this month after a four-year battle with brain tumors and cancer, and I can't think of a better, more wonderful way to help keep Jackie's memory and spirit alive.

Jo and Jared have gone ABOVE AND BEYOND in pulling this thing together. I mean, I really urge you to browse through the CGL site on your own, but here are a few spoilers: they got everyone from LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof to Jorge Garcia (Hurley) to not only help promote the cause but also sign and contribute incredibly cool and rare items for the auction. A LOST Pilot script signed by Damon and the one and only JJ Abrams? Check. The musical score to Locke's mind-blowing "Walkabout" flashback, signed by LOST composer Michael Giacchino? Check? Props from the show? Check, check check! You get the idea, right? And there's actually a lot of great stuff from other popular TV series as well. I'm not going to do it all justice—you just have to promise me you'll scroll through all of the 250+ items (and counting!) yourself, m'kay? And if you simply want to contribute to Cancer Gets Lost without bidding on anything, there's a way to do that, too. Just contact Jo or Jared and they'll help you out.

The online auction will remain open until 8/29. There's also a live charity webcast this Saturday, August 25 from noon - 4 p.m. PST, and I'll direct you to all of the info for that event here. Let's just say some very familiar faces are going to pop up on the stream and you'll definitely want to tune in!

And finally, if you live in or near Los Angeles, you need to get your behind to the Cancer Gets LOST party this Saturday evening, August 25, for a chance to hang out with the LOST fan community once again. Details are here.

OK! Geez, I hope after all that I've convinced you to go check out the auction. Swear on The Island that you will! You really don't want to anger Smokey, now do you?

Let me know if you end up being the highest bidder for anything and I'll do the same in a future post. If it's not already extremely obvious, I am just so thrilled that the LOST community has pulled together to support Jo and Jared and their cause in this touching way. If that doesn't scream from the mountaintops how special the series was, is, and will always continue to be, I don't know what else could.

NOW... onto announcing the most recent LOST Thought contest winners. Since I made you guys wait so long, I added a winner to the mix. Here are the four randomly selected new owners of LOST Thought and the scene that's stuck with them most from the series:

Dave Murray:

"On the evening of May 3, 2006, I was up by myself watching Lost in the dark while the rest of the family slept.

Michael: "I'm sorry"
Ana Lucia: "Sorry for what?"

My mouth opened and I raised my arms over my head.

Libby: "Michael?"

I stood up.

L O S T

Frozen, standing up with mouth open and arms raised. In time I sat down and lowered one arm to reach the remote and play back the last recorded minute."

Oops. But I did it for Waaaaaaaaaaallllllttt!
Damn.

Elizabeth Koelle (Kindle):
"Wow, there are so many, it's hard to choose just one! I lost track of how many jaw-dropping scenes there were. But to this day, I think of Claire and Charlie whenever I have peanut butter, so the scene where Charlie offers Claire the imaginary peanut butter still makes me smile. :)"

One of the sweetest moments in the series, for sure. Literally (if the PB was real!)
Mmm.


Alyssa:

"That scene in Deus Ex Machina really set this show apart from all the others; SO powerful!

But I have to say the moment that sticks with me to this day is when Charlie writes on his hand: Not Penny's Boat. That moment has so much building up to it: Desmond will finally see Penny! All the problems are solved! They'll get off the island!

Charlie is such a beloved character, and his sacrifice, the music (oh, the music!), the cinematography... all of that building to what was a huge shocker for me. That image of his hand on the glass—it gets me!"

Might be the best "last words" ever.
So tragic!

AND

Jennifer:

"My "most memorable" (and it doubles as most favorite") scene was Desmond and Penny speaking on the phone in "The Constant." I loved that the entire episode wasn't linear, and that we got to learn so much of their back story. I remember trying to explain it to a friend the next day, and I know I sounded crazy! Time jumping...consciousness shifting...! I was also swearing that it was the most amazing episode yet (and I still believe that)! Years later, I eat up the idea of time travel and timeline hopping by getting my regular dose of "Fringe"! But man, do I miss LOST."

An epic screenwriting achievement if there ever was one.
Brilliance.




If you're one of the winners, please leave a comment below (or contact me through Facebook or Twitter if we're connected there) and let me know your email address so I can get in touch with you. I will not publish the comments you leave with your email addresses, so no worries there.

Thanks to all who participated! You can read through everyone's memories here—I promise you it's worth a few minutes of your time. And if you didn't win, remember that you can get your LOST fix through LOST Thought, edited by Pearson Moore, via paperback or Kindle. I've liked hearing from people who enjoyed my joint-chapter with Jo—keep those comments comin'!


Alright, that's enough for today, but guess what? I'm going to be back soon because I'm interviewing a couple of LOST fans that put even my fandom to shame. So stay tuned for that and best of luck securing some great items in the Cancer Gets Lost auction!

Cancer Gets LOST site

Cancer Gets LOST online auction

Cancer Gets LOST live webstream page for this Saturday from noon - 4 p.m PST

- e

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Happy Two-Year Lost Finale Anniversary/LOST Thought Contest Winners/New Contest!

This looks like a Bad Guy if I ever saw one. (Shot from new ABC fall series 666 Park Avenue)
You've let your readers down, e.
July 8 Update: The latest contest is now closed—I'll announce the winners shortly!

Hello my dear friends -

How's that for a long blog post title?

First things first: I have to sincerely apologize for taking so long to post the LOST Thought winners. The delay was due to a few crappy things going down: 1) I have developed some serious wrist/shoulder/upper-body/Lord-I'm-Old issues since little Des arrived, and 2) our vet found a big ol' cancerous tumor in my beloved doggy's mouth and so we've been taking him to radiation sessions outside of Chicago on a weekly basis for the last few months. It has blown my schedule to pieces.

The bad news is my physical ailments are no better, but the good news is that my dog's treatments succeeded in shrinking his tumor to the point where we should be able to enjoy the summer with him before deciding if more sessions are necessary.

So there's my sob story. I'm supposed to have these things below on around the clock, but find it pretty much impossible to wear them for any length of time outside of when I go to sleep.

I know you're jealous of my cool wrist braces.
Nothing says "You're falling apart" like a custom-made splint! (The one on the left)

However, I knew I had to rally and finally get this post done because today is the two-year LOST series finale anniversary (can you believe it?), so what better reason is there to fire up the ol' Long Live Locke blog again? And to try to make up for the delay in posting the 20 winners of LOST Thought, I'm going to offer up a few more copies in a new contest.

First, however, the winners!

PAPERBACK VERSION

1) Tierney Kain
2) Sammy Jean (Samantha Myers)
3) Mair
4) Television Lady (Anna Adams)
5) Dan Kempner
6) Cathy Fitzgibbon
7) DML (Doug Lang)
8) Diatribes and Dish (Kim Hromatka)
9) notWalt (Mark Robinson)
10) Colby (Janelle)

E-BOOK VERSION

1) Rob (Rob Lammle)
2) Sherylm (Sheryl Mellor)
3) Dustin N. (Dustin Noel)
4) Barb Halaburt
5) (MsBlueKatt) Judi Mark
6) Joshua Bower
7) LtGoose (Gustavo Bonis)
8) Barmat (Matt Frye)
9) Sally Hunt
10) Aunt J-Ha (Jennifer Woiccak)

In the interest of getting this post published TODAY, I decided against attempting to copy and paste everyone's responses in. But if you are reading this, chances are you miss the show as much as I do, and so I encourage you to take a look through everyone's responses about what reminds them of LOST here.


TO THE WINNERS: If you're connected to me on Facebook or Twitter, please message me with your mailing address (if you won the paperback version) or your email address (if you won the e-book version) and I will get LOST Thought out to you. If you're not connected to me via those sites, then please leave a comment on this blog with the necessary info (leave your email address no matter what so I have a way to get a hold of you) and rest assured I will NOT publish it for all to see.

July 8 Update: The latest contest is now closed—I'll announce the winners shortly!

TO EVERYONE ELSE: I'll give away two more signed paperback copies of LOST Thought and one more Kindle version. What do you have to do to be in the running to win?

Share a LOST scene that has stuck with you over the years. 
(Don't forget to leave your name and your paperback vs. e-book preference, too!)


It doesn't have to be your favorite scene, just a scene that you can't seem to shake. For me, that would be Locke pounding on the hatch door and then the light suddenly coming on at the end of Season 1's "Deus Ex Machina." I was watching the show with a bunch of friends when it first aired and remember the complete silence after the episode ended. We all were just like, "Whoa." Watching it again, I still get goosebumps.








OK, that's it for now. When I announce the additional three winners (which I really, really, REALLY hope to do next week) I will cover what the major LOST cast members are up to these days, as well as chat a bit about great LOST community events like Cancer Gets LOST and the 2014 fan reunion in Hawaii!

Until then, if you're jonesing for some LOSTness, check out the two-year finale anniversary Facebook chat that's taking place at 9 PM ET tonight!

And if you really, REALLY miss me, you can check out my newest site.

Namaste.
- e

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Win a Copy of LOST Thought!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Hello my dear friends -

As I mentioned in my last post, I was totally honored to contribute a chapter (which was a joint effort with my good friend and fellow LOST blogger JOpinionated) to Pearson Moore's LOST Thought. Our chapter, entitled "Disguised Culture," takes the form of an instant-message chat, and we had a blast doing it. We rip on The Haters of the Finale and The People Who Just Didn't Get It, have a debate over just how much Desmond knew during Season Six, complain about how Sayid got shafted in the afterlife... etc, etc. Trust me, you will laugh. It'll be just like old times.

The book was published a few days ago, and the copies I ordered to give away to 10 lucky LOST fans just arrived. Even though Pearson had forewarned me about how big the book was, I was absolutely blown away when I saw it. I mean, this cover shot to the right does not do it justice. This thing is like a college text book (only in paperback). It is freakin' HUGE, and it is full to the brim with LOST goodness. I'd meant to just quickly flip through it right as my little Des was waking up, but when I saw the chapter that Andy Page (aka DarkUFO) had written about the incredible history of his most-popular-of-all LOST fan site (which, as many of you know, I contributed to for the last half of the series' run), I was totally sucked in. Don't call Child Services on me, please.

And then of course there are equally awesome chapters written by my man Ryan Ozawa from The Transmission podcast (remember that Ryan was the one responsible for me getting to meet "Locke" (Terry O'Quinn)!), the esteemed Nikki Stafford of the Finding LOST book series, Lostpedia administrator extraordinaire (and overall cool dude) Sam McPherson, and a second chapter (in the form of a thought-provoking essay) from Jo. And that's in ADDITION to approximately ten bazillion more chapters from other leading LOST scholars and writers. I am not exaggerating--this book is amazing.

I asked Pearson to sign 10 paperback copies for me to give away (I'll add my signature and a little note as well, if the winners would like that), and then I'll also give away 10 eBook versions (through Amazon) to those who prefer that format. Why? Because I miss LOST tremendously and I miss all of you terribly, dammit.

Here are The Rules to enter. Please make sure you read them carefully!

1) I will pick the winners at random, but I'm still gonna make you work a little bit. In the comments section below this post, tell me about something that's made you think of LOST in the past few years since the series has ended. I'm not talking about a direct LOST reference in another show or anything like that. I mean something like, "I saw some dude with a ridiculous facial hair at the grocery store and immediately thought of Mr. Friendly and his fake hillbilly beard." You get what I mean.
2) Along with what's reminded you of LOST in the recent past, please also include your first and last name (but NOT your email address--I'll ask for that if you win) AND whether you'd like a paperback version or the eBook version. You have to pick one format or the other--if you say "either is fine" I can't count it.
3) I can send the paperback copies anywhere that I'm allowed to ship to from the U.S. And I can gift a Kindle version through Amazon to anyone with an email address.
4) Just like "it only ends once," you can ONLY ENTER ONCE. Any scammers will be disqualified.

That's it! Remember, you MUST indicate whether you would want a paperback or Kindle version.

I'm going to keep the contest open until midnight Central Time on Sunday, March 11. I'll do my best to post the winners shortly after that, but bear with me because Little Des is kind of running the show in my condo right about now. When I return to announce the winners I will also comment on all of the new series I'm watching (or attempted to watch and then gave up on) this year, including: Once Upon a Time (though I already wrote a bit on that here), Alcatraz, Person of Interest, Hawaii 5.0, Awake, Touch, The River, Smash, and probably a few others I'm forgetting because I'm sleep-deprived.

I review all comments before publishing them, so if you don't see what you submitted for a while after you send it in, don't worry. It'll eventually be there.

That's it for now. I can't wait to hear what's reminded you of LOST!

Oh, and if you wanna just buy the book for yourself or another LOST nerd, you can do so through CreateSpace or Amazon. And a whole bunch more information on what the book covers can be found here.

Good luck and I'll see you back here at some point shortly after March 11. I promise.

- e

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. ANY SUBMISSIONS LEFT AFTER 10 AM MONDAY 3/12/12 WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Thanks to all who entered -- be sure to check back shortly for the winners!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Welcome to the World, Little Brotha!

Hello my dear friends -

How in the heck are you?

Those of you who keep up with me via my personal blog, According to e, were aware that for the majority of 2011 I was pregnant. And so now I'm happy to share that little Desmond Fox arrived the morning of January 24. Like his namesake, I dare say he is uniquely and miraculously special (see video below if you don't remember that line from LOST's Season Five premiere...)—but I bet all parents think that about their kids, huh? And yes, the middle name is a shout-out to none other than Agent Fox Mulder from The X-Files, the show I loved the mostest (as evidenced here) before LOST hit the scene.

For those of you shocked that I didn't name my firstborn Locke, let me remind you of two things: 1) since 2008 I'd been writing for Redbox alongside film critic Locke Peterseim, who (nicely... and justifiably) banned me from naming my son Locke and further diminishing its originality (let's just say he wasn't a fan of the show), and 2) do y'all not remember John Locke's fate? Um... it wasn't too pleasant. I don't want my kid to end up possessed by an evil Smoke Monster guy. Whereas not only was Desmond a universally beloved character who had a happy ending, but his name also has other significance for my husband and I. I'll keep those reasons private, except for this one: Desmond means "man of the world," and seeing as how we love to travel and intend to take Des with us on many adventures, we thought the name couldn't be more fitting.

Since it's taken over a month for me to post some pictures of my little guy, you can bet that I'm a bit pressed for time most days. However, we're slowly but surely getting into a groove, and I'm hoping to resume posting on a regular basis over at According to e (and a few other sites) soon.

What finally got me off my behind to check in with you all today is that within the next week (probably within the next few days, actually) I'm going to be running a LOST-themed contest here on Long Live Locke, for which there will be 20 winners of the soon-to-be published book LOST Thought by Pearson Moore. I'm going to give away 10 (signed) paperback copies and 10 eBook versions to lucky readers, so stay tuned! My good bud JOpinionated and I contributed a chapter to LOST Thought, and I think you guys will really get a kick out of it. But more on that when the contest goes live.

Until then I will leave you with ridiculous pictures of teeny Des getting his first glimpse of both LOST and his namesake (during D. Hume's most famous scene from "The Constant," of course), as well as him with some oh-so-nerdy "toys."







The "uniquely and miraculously special" line from Faraday to Desmond comes shortly after the 1:19 mark:



Now remember to check back within a few days for the contest and your chance to win a copy of LOST Thought!

I also plan to write about the TV shows I'm watching nowadays (in one big block on the weekends, thanks to the miracle of DVR technology) as I get many questions about that on Facebook and Twitter. So you've got that discussion to look forward to (and hopefully join in on) in the near future, too!

Hope you have all been well and that 2012 has been as good to you as it's been to me so far.

- e