Said Abd El Gawad

I have never been to The Island, nor have I been to Oahu. However, I am just back from vacation in southern climes, and while there attempted to take a few faux-LOST photos. For your viewing pleasure, my FLOST portfolio: Above: Arriving at the beach camp. Nobody was around on this day, so I set off through the jungle to find them. Above: Trekking through the jungle. Fortunately the 815 survivors had laid down a path and put up safety ropes. Very thoughtful -- must have been Hurley's idea. Above: Along the rocky shoreline where The Elizabeth washed up on the Island. Above: Heading through dark passages on the way to The Temple. Above: Arrived at The Temple! Why is it so quiet around here? And what's with this black soot covering everything?

Justin Sena is an artist and LOST fan who recently started creating silkscreen poster art in a style similar to that of the DCAAPB series. He also started a site in December 2009 from which he sells his LOST prints as well as work from a series of "guest artists". Justin's first poster is entitled System Failure and features an airplane flying over an island. I liked the poster, though not enough to purchase it. Justin's second print is entitled The Exit , and this one immediately piqued my interest. It is a striking visualization of the portal between The Island and the Tunisian desert that is used Ben in season 4 and Locke in season 5. I really like Justin's colour choices, and most of all love the way that the image encapsulates one of the most fantastic plot points in the series. Also this print covers an important aspect of seasons 4 and 5, seasons which DCAAPB for the most part ignored. Each half of the poster on its own is impressive, and their power ...

Back in mid-January the good people of lostargs.com organized a competition designed to help victims of the Haitian earthquake. (It was actually the ninth of a series of lostargs.com contests related to the Lost Underground Art Project, but unique in its humanitarian bent.) I contributed to the cause but, alas, did not win any of the fabulous prizes. Around the same time, blogger JOpinionated put together her own contest with a similar aim -- to help victims of the earthquake. Jo graciously agreed to accept donations made via lostargs.com as entries in her contest as well. This time I was thrilled to win a copy of an Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk comic signed by the author, a certain Damon Lindelof. Many thanks to lostargs.com and Jo for donating their time and merchandise, and to Damon for providing his signature for this very good cause.