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

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."

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. :)"

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!"

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."

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

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!

The April Contest Winner(s)!

Hello my dear friends -

Wow -- reading through everyone's favorite lines from Lost was like a fantastic trip down memory lane. And here I was silly enough to think that I'd keep seeing the same five or so bits of dialogue over and over again. You guys covered nearly every season and character -- I loved it! Though I do believe the top vote-getters were "Not Penny's Boat," "Guys, where are we?", "We're not going to Guam, are we?", "You've got some... Arzt on you," "You guys got any milk?", "Jesus is not a weapon," and "We have to go back!" (Not calculated scientifically, just my observation as comments were coming through.) Hurley and Sawyer seem to have churned out the greatest variety of memorable lines.

So I've actually got three winners to announce: the LLL reader who was randomly selected out of 196 entries and will receive one of the five winning Design Contest t-shirts from CafePress, and two others who -- unbeknownst to them -- ended up picking MY favorite scene in the series, so I'll send them each one of my last-remaining Dharma Beer koozies, if they're interested.

Drumroll please...

The winner of the t-shirt (and I'll throw in a koozie, too) is: Steven

His favorite line was one of the most popular from the series premiere, Charlie's "Guys, where are we?"

The commenters who have the same favorite scene as me and therefore are welcome to a koozie if they'd like one are: John Trew and RodrigoSnz... and the scene is:

Locke: Why do you find it so hard to believe?

Jack: Why do you find it so easy?

Locke: It's never been easy!

If you want to revisit that scene from Season Two's "Orientation" for old time's sake, here it is (at the 2:10 mark). I literally cannot watch it without my eyes welling up, honest to God. For me, it encapsulates everything I love about the show, and is applicable to situations in my own life as well.

Congrats again to the winners... please send me a comment through the site with your email address so I can contact you and we can go from there to get you your prizes.

To everyone else, I hope you enjoyed this contest... perhaps we'll get some more favorite lines out of tonight's episode? I think the chances are high!

- e

The April Contest: What's Your Favorite Line?

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Hello my dear friends -

We're barreling toward May 23, so you best make sure you have a Lost-inspired outfit ready for the big finale. And what better Lost tee is there than a free one?

That's right, it's time for another contest. Remember the CafePress design competition I wrote about a few months ago? Well, they picked winners for each of their five categories (you can see them all here), as well as an overall champion (featured on the left), and now YOU have a chance to own one of the winning tees, courtesy of CafePress.

All you have to do to enter is tell me your favorite line of dialogue ever uttered on the series, and please include the character who said it (it's OK to have a few lines said by different characters... but only if they're a part of the same conversation, and it's also OK to choose the same line another person already submitted). I'll pick the winner randomly, and therefore you can only enter once... or else you will be tossed aside like a stale fish biscuit. Lost fans from all countries are welcome to participate.

This contest will end at 11 PM Eastern Time on Monday, April 12. I'll post the winner on Tuesday.

Have fun and good luck!

- e

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

The March Contest Winner

... is Robbie Freeman, randomly selected from over 160 Lost fans who told me what piece of memorabilia they'd love to snag from the set, as well as their favorite Detour Designables tee.

Robbie said, "No doubt about it, it would have to be Charlie's Drive Shaft Ring." Good pick! For his efforts, Robbie will soon be sporting the shirt to the right.

If you've got a few minutes, I highly recommend scanning through everyone's responses -- while the Dharma van, Faraday's journal and Eko's Jesus Stick were probably the items mentioned most often, there were also some more, um, unusual entries... like Locke's infamous orange slice. Whatever floats your boat, people!

Somebody wrote me that Jorge Garcia (Hurley) recently talked about what he wanted to take with him on the new podcast he's been recording with his girlfriend Bethany. I don't know what he'd decided on though, as I haven't had time to listen to "Geronimo Jack's Beard" yet (is that the best name ever, or what?), but if you're curious I'm sure you can find his comments among one of the previous recordings here. And if you know what his response was, leave it for me in the comments so I don't have to wait until I get a chance to listen to all of his podcasts this summer!

Thanks to everyone who entered; I'll definitely have another contest in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that. And more importantly, enjoy the show tonight and remember that it's due to run six minutes long, so set your DVRs accordingly!

- e

The March Contest: Which Lost Prop Would You Want?

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Hello my dear friends -

It's time for the March contest... up for grabs this time is a Lost-inspired t-shirt of your choice from the very awesome Detour Designables. One of their tees, "We Have to Go Back," recently won the Island Category in the CafePress.com contest I wrote about last month. And as you can see to the left, they have some other extremely cool options the lucky winner can select from as well.

So here's what you have to do to be entered into my random drawing:

1) Via a comment left on this blog and specifically under this post (no FB or Twitter entries this time, sorry), tell me what bit of Lost memorabilia you'd love to have if you could keep absolutely anything from the show. It CANNOT be one of the actors/actresses/characters/Vincent. I'm thinking more along the lines of a prop... like the arrow that killed Frogurt. Maybe that's a bad example.

AND

2) In that same comment, paste in the product page URL for your favorite Detour Designables Lost-inspired shirt after browsing their online store here (most Lost designs are at the top, but I also saw an Oceanic 6 one about halfway down and a Fish Biscuits one in the last row...)

AND

3) Check back Tuesday morning to see if you won, because once I post the winner I'm only giving them a few days to claim their prize before I select someone else. I will cut off the contest at 10 PM Central Time Monday March 22 and announce the winner the following morning.

Anyone can enter from any country, but you can only enter once. And I'm not going to publish any inappropriate comments, so let's keep it clean, folks.

Good luck!
- e

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

The February contest winner is...

... Marianne!

This just proves that it's never too late to enter a contest, as our lucky winner was actually the last one to submit her comment before the deadline yet was still the one chosen at random. She liked this Widmore Industries shirt best:

Congrats, Marianne... get a hold of me by Thursday night to claim your prize!

And thanks to everyone else for entering. There are new shirts being added all the time at the CafePress Lost store, and their design contest ends tomorrow, so keep on the lookout for cool items you might want to get before the series finale.

In semi-related news, this is a crazy week for me so all I can promise is that my write-up for "The Substitute" will be up by Tuesday.

Until then,
- e

*NOW CLOSED* The February Contest: Win a Lost T-Shirt... or a Trip to Hawaii!

OK, so *I* am not giving away a trip to Hawaii.

But the fine folks over at CafePress are!

For you creative types out there, be sure you check out the ABC and CafePress Lost t-shirt design contest soon -- the deadline is this coming Thursday, February 18. The grand prize (picked by one of the show's producers) is a four-night stay for two on Oahu!?!?! WHAT!?! It's times like these that I wish I could draw something more impressive than stick figures. Ah, well.

They're also awarding five prize packages which include $200 gift certificates for CafePress.com, Seasons 1 - 5 on DVD, and a shirt signed by the majority of the cast. This is an INCREDIBLE contest for the artistically inclined. Get all of the details here. I would love it if a Long Live Locke reader won -- I know how crafty you guys can be. Good luck!

As for MY February contest, well, I'm not springing for an Island vacation for any of you -- I already used up all of my frequent flyer points doing that for myself for the Season Six premiere. While I was running around on the beach I actually had on a shirt I got from CafePress and tons of people asked me about it. Now you, too, have a shot at your own too-cool-for-school tee if you just do a few simple things by 8:30 PM EST this coming Tuesday, February 16th.

1) Look through the CafePress Lost store here, and find a tee that you like. Click onto its product page and copy the URL up top. There are lots of different items available (magnets, hats, bags, etc.), but let's keep it to the shirts for this contest, m'kay?

2) Let me know which shirt you liked the best by pasting its URL into a comment in the comments section for this post. While you don't have to put in any contact information, make sure I have some way to identify you if you win (as in, don't leave an anonymous post). And don't worry, if you win and you decide you like another shirt better, you can switch when the time comes for me to take your order.

3) Live in any country on earth. (Sorry, aliens. You know I love you, though.)

4) Enter only once. By 8:30 PM EST on Tuesday, February 16. As in, before the next episode airs on the east coast.

That's it! Good luck! I'll pick the winner at random and announce the lucky guy or gal at some point on Wednesday the 17th.

- e

*THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED*

The T-Shirt Winners

Yet another incredible display of creativity from LOST fans with this contest! If you have a few minutes, definitely scroll through the 155 award categories submitted here. I guarantee you will be entertained. Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter.

And now, the twelve winners, who were picked at random.

***We had a few entries from different people who actually had the same username, so I'm including the submissions and (where applicable) blogger profile links for the winners just so there's no confusion:

NobleLawyer - Best Death Scene: Charlie

Arwengreenleaf - Most Easily Misled: John Locke

MonkeyFace - Most Episodes Performed without a Shirt: James "Sawyer" Ford

Kim-the-girl - Best Cry Scene: Juliet

Luis - Best Anti-Aging Make-up: Richard Alpert

Alexistran - Most Invisible: Jacob

Amber - Best Overreactor: Doc Arzt

Fiona - Aaand the award for Best T-Shirt worn throughout the whole series of LOST goes tooooo.... HURLEY! ...for the "I ♥ My Shih Tzu" Tee.

Brandon - Most Honorable (has never told a lie): Jin

Lisa - Most Wishy-Washy: Kate.

Kelly,UK - Least lucky in love: Sayid

Josh - Best Use Of "SONOFAB*TCH": Juliet :(
(This one was actually one of my favorite entries because you'd THINK the winner would be Sawyer, but I agree with Josh that Juliet put his infamous line to better use when banging on Jughead at the end of Season Five.)

There you have it!

WINNERS: I need you to contact me either through Facebook (if we're connected) or this blog. I must have your email address as well as your mailing address. I will not publish any comments with your personal information that you send in through the blog. I must get your information by Tuesday, January 26 -- otherwise your shirt's going with me to Hawaii to be given away at the premiere.

Thanks and congrats!

To everyone else, I intend to have two very short posts up between now and the premiere on February 2 that are not contest-related -- woo hoo!

- e

Win a LOCKE LIVES T-Shirt:The January Contest (Part 2)*CLOSED*

NOW CLOSED.

I'll admit it: I'm sick of running contests. And I'm sure many of you out there are sick of reading about them. So this will be the last one until the end of February, OK? I'm just trying to ensure that any overseas winners receive their goods before the premiere, and that's why I'm back with one more chance to win a LOCKE LIVES t-shirt now that the Twitter contest has wrapped up.

(As I said in my last post: While I personally believe that we'll see Real Locke alive and well again before the series ends, I chose the saying for this t-shirt more as a play off of my blog's title, and as an homage to the Frodo Lives! slogan from back in the day -- if you don't know what that's about, you should really click the link, it's pretty hilarious.)

Let's get to it. If you watched the Golden Globes Sunday night, then you were probably as bummed as I was that Michael Emerson (Ben) did not nab the Best Supporting Actor statuette. At least LOST composer Michael Giacchino was recognized for his most excellent work in Up, though, right? (Trying to look on the bright side.)

The Globes inspired me to hold a little awards ceremony of my own for this next contest. If you want the chance to don a LOCKE LIVES shirt, then make up an award category and tell me which character would be announced as the big winner. For example: "Loudest: Michael," or "Best Accent: Desmond," or "Most Secrets: Ben." Entries can be funny or serious -- I'll still be picking the winners at random, so all that matters is that you give it a shot. You must also enter in your size: Medium, Large and XL are all I have left. See the post below this one for information on sizes.

Here are the rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) Open to anyone in any country that I can mail to from the U.S.
3) I won't publish anything spoilery or vulgar.
4) Only comments entered into this blog will be considered -- no tweets, Facebook messages or emails.
5) Give me a made-up awards category and the character who would win.
5) If you don't enter in your size you will not be considered. Medium, Large or XL only. See the post below this one for information on sizes.


You have until Wednesday at 8:30 AM Central Time to enter.

Good luck!

- e

Hey Twitterers... Win a LOCKE LIVES T-Shirt *CLOSED*

NOW CLOSED.

Time for the second contest DarkUFO and I are collaborating on this month: we've got ten LOCKE LIVES t-shirts up for grabs.

While I personally believe that we'll see Real Locke alive and well again before the series ends, I chose the saying for this t-shirt more as a play off of my blog's title, and as an homage to the Frodo Lives! slogan from back in the day (if you don't know what that's about, you should really click the link, it's pretty hilarious).

It's obvious what's on the front of the tee -- what's on the back is my Long Live Locke URL.

Here's what you have to do to win one:

1) Follow both @erikaolson and @DarkUFO on Twitter. (You must have a Twitter account in order to follow someone.) Andy (who runs DarkUFO) has several spoilerphobes following him -- including myself -- and therefore you can rest assured that he does not tweet any spoilers. He will write something like "SPOILER -- Episode 6.11 Centricity" and then include a link if you want to know more, but that's it. You must be following both of us in order to be eligible to win.

2) At some point before 10AM EST on Thursday, January 14, tweet:

I'm following @erikaolson & @DarkUFO in order to win a #LockeLives shirt to wear during LOST's final season (SIZE) http://bit.ly/8ZPkcB

*** You must enter in one of the following sizes in the parentheses above, exactly as written below:
MEDIUM
LARGE
XL
XXL

(See below for information on the sizes.)

3) That's it. Anyone can enter from anywhere, as long as we can mail to you from the U.S. We will only accept one entry per Twitter ID. Andy will randomly select TEN winners on January 14 and we'll announce them shortly thereafter.

So here's the deal on these shirts -- they run big. They are a 50/50 cotton/poly blend and so they won't shrink too much. I didn't realize this when I ordered them, and therefore I'm already out of Smalls. I am 5-foot-8, 130 pounds and a Small fits me perfectly, so I'm sorry to all the other similarly sized ladies out there -- I got nuthin' for ya. A Medium might still work, especially if you're somewhere cold and can put a long sleeve tee under it.

My husband is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds and likes how the Medium fits him best -- but the Large looks OK, too.

Here's what a Large looks like on him, with a t-shirt on underneath:



And here are two pics of what an XXL looks like on him, still with another t-shirt on underneath.


Yes, he must really love me to put up with posing for those pics, huh? Hope they helped!

At some point after we close this Twitter contest I will run a blog-based contest in order to give away a few more shirts to Long Live Locke readers, so if you are not on Twitter, just hang tight.

If you are on Twitter, then good luck!

- e

The Koozie Winners

As always, I had such fun reading through everyone's comments. I highly recommend you take a look through all of LOST toasts, too. They can be found here.

I'll keep this short as I intend to post again tomorrow with the rules for a new Twitter-based contest.... and then I'll be back a few days after that to run another contest here on the blog for the same prizes -- LOCKE LIVES t-shirts. (I'm rushing through these contests because it takes two weeks for overseas delivery and I'd like to ensure everyone, no matter where they are, has their prizes before the season premiere. That's how considerate I am, you're welcome.)

So give a round of applause to the Dharma Beer can koozie winners:

RobPerrin

Cheryl from Lakeview

BBKiddo

Marebabe

Paige

Aunt J-ha

Lori Fish

and

Aquaboy1976


Congrats to all of the winners... you can leave me a comment below with your email address and mailing address (I won't publish them), or if you're connected to me on Facebook you can send me a message there or DM me through Twitter.

Everyone else, sit tight -- more chances to win other LOST goodies soon!

- e

Last Chance to Win a Dharma Beer Koozie: The January Contest (Part 1)

UPDATE: 1/12/10 10:06 AM CT. THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

OK, this is gonna be quick because there's not much to say except that I only have a handful of Dharma Beer koozies left, and I want them off my hands. The Twitter contest for them is over and another Twitter-based contest (for a different prize) will start in a few days, so I'm giving Long Live Locke readers one last chance to be the proud owner of a can holder that will transform any drink into a Dharma Beer. These are fun little party favors that my husband designed and, since I've been asked this a lot, no, I have no intention of selling them. I'm almost out and I want them to find a happy home with some deserving LOST fans.

To win one, all you have to do is give me a short toast for the final season of LOST. And do it quickly -- by 10 AM Central Time tomorrow (Tuesday, January 12), to be exact. One entry per person, and anyone from any country can enter, as long as I'm allowed to mail to you from the U.S. ONLY entries here on Long Live Locke will be counted -- no tweets, Facebook messages or replies to the emailed posts, please. In addition, if you include spoilers I will not publish your entry.

I'll still draw winners (eight of them) randomly, but you must submit a toast in order to be considered. It could be something as simple as "Here's to the end of the love triangle!" or more involved, like "Final Season of LOST: May your answers be many, and your Nikki and Paulo scenes be few, if any."

Good luck and have fun! I will post the eight winners tomorrow afternoon or evening.

- e

UPDATE: 1/12/10 10:06 AM CT. THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Win a Dharma Beer Can Koozie... If You're on Twitter

Hello yet again -

As many of you know, back in Season Four, my Long Live Locke posts began to be republished on DarkUFO, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) LOST fan sites. (I was going to add "on the web" -- but is there really any other kind of fan site than one that's online? I think not.) In order to get our readers even more excited about the so-close-we-can-almost-taste-the-imaginary-peanut-butter Season Six premiere, we're joining forces to host a Twitter-based contest.

Here's what you have to do:

1) Follow both @erikaolson and @DarkUFO on Twitter. (You must have a Twitter account in order to follow someone.) Andy (who runs DarkUFO) has several spoilerphobes following him -- including myself -- and therefore you can rest assured that he does not tweet any spoilers. He will write something like "SPOILER -- Episode 6.11 Centricity" and then include a link if you want to know more, but that's it. You must be following both of us in order to be eligible to win.

2) At some point before 10PM EST on Friday 1/8/10, tweet:

I'm following @erikaolson & @DarkUFO in order to win a #DharmaBeer can koozie to help ring in the final season of LOST http://bit.ly/5gqWry

(It'll probably work best just to cut and paste the previous sentence exactly as it is -- it's exactly 140 characters.)

3) Um, that's it. Anyone can enter from anywhere, as long as we can mail to you from the U.S. We will only accept one entry per Twitter ID. Andy will randomly select TEN winners on 1/9/10 and we'll announce them shortly thereafter.

The Dharma Beer can koozies were created by my husband as little party favors for this past fall's Zap2Locke Con, as well as for any LOST shindigs we host in the coming season (meaning, they're not available for purchase anywhere). They are collapsible white foam can holders that make any canned or bottled beverage look like a Dharma Beer. They even fit around some plastic and glass cups. You will be the envy of all your other Lostie friends (and Sawyer) if you have one, trust me.

At some point after we close this Twitter contest I will run a blog-based contest in order to give away ten more koozies to Long Live Locke readers, so if you are not on Twitter, just hang tight.

If you are on Twitter, then good luck!

- e

The "Things I Noticed" Winners Are...

Hello once again -

Thanks to everyone who entered to win an inscribed copy of Vozzek's new book, "Things You Never Noticed About LOST." It was extremely hard for us to pick our three favorite submissions, so we ended up with one he liked the best, one I liked the best, and one we both agreed on. However, I'm not going to tell you which is which. (Sorry.)

So here are the three new owners (well, after they leave me a comment with their email and mailing addresses) of Vozzek's labor of love:

LESLIE'S A BITCHIN NAME, who so astutely observed: "I've noticed the two fastest and easiest ways to get off the Island are: 1) The Submarine, and 2) getting a DUI."

and

SHELER412, who kept it real with: "I've noticed that on LOST night I act like my mother did in the '80s when it was FAME night."

and

STACEY, who declared: "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." Ain't that the truth!


Congrats to our winners... leave me a comment with your email address and your mailing address (I won't publish them, of course) and then I'll email you and we can go from there.

To everyone else:
1) Remember that you can buy "Things You Never Noticed About LOST" on Vozzek's site and he'll sign it with whatever inscription you'd like. Or if Amazon's your thing, you can buy it from that site here (but no autograph option is available). I'm about halfway through it and I can't believe how many theories Vozzek discusses that I haven't really considered before. And I call myself a LOST blogger! For shame. Also, my husband, who is nowhere near the LOST nerd I am, has been reading it and enjoying it as well -- I mention this in case anyone is wondering if it might be over the head of a "normal person." No, it's not. If you've watched the past five seasons of LOST, this book is for you, no matter your level of fandom.

2) Check back soon, because within the next few days I will post the first of two official January contests here on Long Live Locke... and I'm going to close them within 24 to 48 hours after they launch in order to ensure everyone gets their prizes before the February 2 premiere. The Twitter-based contest will launch shortly, too.

Oh, and Happy 2010!

- e

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.

Give It Up for the December Contest Winner

Hello my dear friends -

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who entered the drawing for the limited edition Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit. I absolutely loved reading why you thought Dharma should come to your hometowns. But all you want to know about right now is WHO WON, right?

What I did to pick the winner was assign a number to every entry (per the order in which they were received). Then I found a web site that generates random numbers, entered in the appropriate range and waited to see what the Internet pixies came back with. The number returned was 69 (if you click on the picture below you'll be able to see the page more clearly), and so the winner is... ERNIE.



Ernie said that Dharma would love Baton Rouge because they could use the underground tunnels at Louisiana State University, would feel comfortable around the "out-there, hippie researchers on campus (similar to the DeGroots)," and could make Mike the Bengal tiger their new mascot. I think you've convinced them, Ernie.

I have to admit I was really pleased that a longtime fan of my sites won this awesome DVD set. How's that for good karma? Ernie's been one of my most faithful commenters over the years, and in the summer of 2007 he started a blog of his own, Gulf Coast Offense. It's a sports-focused site on which he also shares his Lost thoughts every once in awhile, so be sure to check it out. Congrats, Ernie!

And I truly thank everyone who gave this contest a shot and submitted a creative entry. If you have a few spare minutes, I highly encourage you to check out the thoughtful and often hilarious responses to the question, "Why should Dharma set up a station in your city?" I also thank the fine folks at Buena Vista Home Entertainment, who made this giveaway possible -- they rock, no?

Remember that if you really have your heart set on the special Dharma version of the Season Five DVDs, you can order one here while supplies last. The regular set of DVDs can be found here. They hit shelves tomorrow!

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at a few particularly cool extras that are part of the bonus features.

This one is a deleted scene from "Namaste," and it brings to mind the debate that episode inspired among viewers at the time it aired: did the gang stuck back in the '70s do something to change the future? Because these barracks that Frank and Sun were at with Christian looked totally different than we'd ever seen them. This clip shows even more evidence of something fishy going on, with all the boarded-up doors and windows and whatnot. Of course we now have the benefit of having seen the rest of Season Five and knowing that the time-traveling Losties very well might have changed things when Jughead was detonated, which would explain the drastically different appearance of Dharma's Island headquarters.

Courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. ©ABC Studios.


Building on that, here are Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (and Jorge Garcia (Hurley) and Jeremy Davies (Faraday)) discussing the possibility of Jughead giving our Lostaways a "do-over."


Courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. ©ABC Studios.

Sounds like the perfect set-up for Season Six, huh?

Speaking of Season Six, it's barreling toward us now, and I have yet to post my thoughts on what went down at Comic-Con this summer. I haven't even shared pictures of Zap2Locke Con or my recent venture into Lost ARG territory. I truly hope I'll get to these things ahead of February 2, but it's doubtful I can crank out any more posts before 2009 draws to a close. So check back in January for the next Long Live Locke contest and perhaps a few show/theory-based posts for the first time in a long time.

Finally, as a reminder, in addition to the January contest I'll run here on the blog, I will hold a Twitter-based contest as well, probably starting shortly after the calendar rolls over to 2010 (is it just me, or does that just sound so... futuristic? 2010!?!). Therefore, if you're on Twitter, be sure you're following me at twitter.com/erikaolson.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season and I will "see" you all in the new year. At that point we'll have only one more month until Season Six begins. Can you believe it?

- e

The December Contest: Dharma Comes to Town

UPDATE: It's 10:34 PM CST on 12/6 and this contest is now closed. I'll post the winner at some point tomorrow.

Hello my dear friends -

Some of you who've been reading my blogs for a while might remember my dreadful experience with the Great Condo Flood of '07 (during Lost's hiatus, thankfully), as well as another invasion of sewer water I had this past spring, a mere two hours before "Follow the Leader." That incident was such a mess that I was forced to have to cancel my Season Five finale party a full week later. Can somebody say "bitter"?

Now that Season Six is only two months away, I've decided that I have to protect my Lost viewing experience by any means necessary -- I can't chance having it ruined again by Mother Nature. (Because as Ben might say, Mother Nature, like Destiny, is a fickle bitch). Therefore, I currently have contractors at my place, digging up my front yard (if you can call it that, it's like a three-by-nine patch of grass) and installing an injector pump that will hopefully keep my downstairs dry every time the torrential rains hit Chicago from here on out.

Why am I telling you this? Because 1) I thought you cared about me, dammit! and 2) The pump project is the reason I'm late in posting the December contest today -- the workers had to cut the electricity to my DSL router for several hours. My yard's still in ruins but my connection is back, so here we go:

Up for grabs this time is what might be the coolest thing I'll ever give away: A limited edition Season Five Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit. Check it out:


This is not your normal Season Five DVD set. The regular set can be found here... whereas the Dharma version is being offered in extremely limited quantities and features unique packaging -- complete with old-school floppy disk holders for the DVDs and an honest-to-goodness Dharma Orientation VHS tape.

The DVDs are Region 1 format, so unfortunately this contest is only open to those in the U.S. or Canada (or those in other areas who happen to have an R1-compatible player).

Here's what you have to do to have a shot at winning the kit: Tell me why Dharma should set up a station in your hometown. If I were entering, I'd say something like, "The Dharma Initiative would love the polar bear at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and the sharks at Shedd Aquarium, and would have a ball running psychological experiments on Cubs fans, as they clearly have a higher tolerance for pain and disappointment than most other human beings."

I'll hold a random drawing for the winner, so no need to kill yourself over a crazy-creative reply, but in order to be eligible you definitely do need to write something about why Dharma would like your 'hood.

One entry per person, and remember, only those in the States and Canada this time around.

I'll close the contest around 10 PM Central Time Sunday, December 6 and will announce the winner Monday, December 7. Both the normal and limited edition Lost Season Five DVD sets will be available for purchase on December 8.

Best of luck!

- e

PS - In addition to the January contest I'll hold here on the blog, there will be a bonus Twitter-based contest, so if you're interested, you can follow me at twitter.com/erikaolson.

UPDATE: It's 10:34 PM CST on 12/6 and this contest is now closed. I'll post the winner at some point tomorrow.

e on Video: The November Contest Winner & the December Contest Prize Revealed

Hello my dear friends -

I thought I would take advantage of my beautiful Island-like vacation surroundings and conduct the drawing for the November contest winner on video. (Something about doing it from my condo once I'm back to cold, dreary Chicago didn't seem quite as fun.) I didn't venture too close to the camera because I'm giving Kate a running for the nickname of "Freckles" right about now. Actually, Sawyer would probably call me something like "Bugbites" or "Weird Sunburn Pattern Chick" instead, but I digress.

I announce what's up for grabs in the December contest (which I will post on December 1) as well, so press play below for the details. It's a very large file, so it might take a while to load.

I'll be back soon with the details for the next contest. Congrats again to the latest winner!

- e

The November Contest: "Thanks to Lost for..."

11/26: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED... WINNER ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

I vowed to post the November contest in the month of November (unlike, say, what happened with the October contest), and I'm stickin' to it!

This time, we're going back to a luck-based format, but I'm still going to make you work just a teeny bit. Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, let me know what you're most thankful for in regard to Lost. It can be funny or serious... like, "I'm thankful for Shirtless Sawyer" or "I'm thankful to have met other Lost fans" or whatever. I'm just going to draw the winner out of a hat (though I might feature a few of my favorite entries in my next post)... so all you have to do to qualify is write what aspect of the show you appreciate most. There is no specific format I'm looking for, sentence-wise.

Since the September contest winner, DWTenent, picked the Shannon action figure (he already had the Kate figure), Kate is back up for grabs in this contest.

If you do not want the Kate action figure but still want to submit a comment, PLEASE write: "DO NOT WANT TO WIN" in your entry.

I will close this contest the night before Thanksgiving at 6 PM Central Time, November 25.

I'll accept just one entry per person. Even though Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday, ALL Lost fans obviously have something to be thankful for about the show, so I'll leave this contest open for anyone, though I reserve the right to negotiate with the winner if he/she is internationally based and the shipping costs end up being outrageous.

So there you have it... good luck!

I will announce the winner at some point between November 26 and 30th.

In the meantime -- to all of my American peeps -- Happy Thanksgiving!

*** And heads up... one of the next contests I run will be Twitter-based, so if you are on Twitter you can follow me at @erikaolson to get the details next month. (And don't worry, I'll still have blog-based contests going at the same time.)

- e

11/26 THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED... WINNER ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!