Said Abd El Gawad

These water bottles were produced for the official LOST auction held in August 2010.  Although I wasn't there in person, I was online most of the weekend checking out pictures and videos and also participating in the auction itself.

Somewhere along the way I picked up this DHARMA-branded water bottle.  I'm not sure now if this was fan-made or came from the ABC store.

My LOSTie pal Bonnie (@andalone on Twitter) recently sent me a "DHARMA drop" (apparently Ben hasn't paid her a visit yet) which included the items below. Thanks Bonnie! Ajira Airways stickers DHARMA swan station tattoos Postcard featuring artwork by John Hopkins

While driving around town recently I noticed a familiar silhouette on the road behind me. I quickly passed a camera to my daughter in the back seat and she snapped a pic. Hurley, dude, an orange paint job isn't enough to fool me. Why are you following us, dude? Is there another job opening on the island. 'Cause that would be awesome.

The other item I received from Ryan and Jen Ozawa is this quite funny Travel Safety Instruction sheet for Ajira Airways. I recall that something similar was part of the swag available at the reveal of DCAAPB's Ben Linus poster at Abe Lee Realty in Honolulu back in November 2009. (Ryan was on-the-scene for that reveal.) This sheet looks like a repro to promote the Sunset on the Beach premiere. By an uncanny coincidence I actually received my copy of Todd Slater's Ben Linus print the same day that I received this in the mail. Spooky!

Well-known LOST fan Ryan Ozawa offered up a bit of LOST swag to those who donated to the Hawaiian Humane Society in memory of Nunu. I received three items, including two buttons from the big Sunset on the Beach season 6 premiere event in Hawaii. I didn't attend that event in person, but I did follow along via various video and twitter feeds.

My final bonus goody is this DHARMA bottle opener. Nominally used as a means to liberate the cap from a DHARMA beer bottle, in a pinch it can also be used to pick the lock of a Haliburton or destroy a DHARMA time travel booth.

Another of the bonus goodies I received was a set of these disposable plastic DHARMA cups, perfect for a mid-70s hootenanny!

I purchased a few items from one of the good folks who frequents lostargs.com; the purchase was related to a chartity auction with which he is involved. I was surprised and delighted to find some extra goodies in the package when it arrived. One of these was a set of 4 DHARMA coasters.

There's nothing better on a cool Island eve than a taste of rum from a DHARMA shot glass.

There's nothing better on a hot Island day than a cool lemonade from a DHARMA pint glass.

I was very saddened to learn in early June that Jorge & Bethany's dog Nunu was killed just as they were leaving Hawaii to return to the mainland. Nunu appeared in a Season 6 episode of LOST but had enamored herself to me (and others, I'm sure) with her guest spots on Jorge's blog Dispatches from the Island as well as Jorge & Bethany's Geronimo Jacksbeard podcast. Ryan Ozawa, a LOST fan and resident of Hawaii, tweeted a link to which donations could be made to the Hawaiin Humane Society in Nunu's memory. I happily made a small donation. Soon after Jo Garfein of jopinionated.com fame offered a LOST fan pin to those who made a donation. Little did I know that when Jo said "fan pin", she really meant "fan pin"!

My LOST shrine has grown enough the past month that it probably warrants another photo. Et voilà:

I was somewhat surprised recently to realize that I've only been collecting LOST goodies for less than a year. (Discounting the seasons 1 through 3 DVD sets which I purchased in late Spring 2008.) Along with rapidly diminishing wall space occupied by LOST posters, my LOST shrine has now expanded to three shelves. Compared to some of the world-class LOST collections I've seen it is rather puny, but it certainly brings a smile to my face every time my eyes light upon it. Behold my LOST shrine, circa June 2010!

The Apollo candy bar has made several appearances on LOST, and as part of The LOST Experience ARG in 2006 replica bars were manufactured and distributed. Although the LOST Experience was before my time, I recently picked up a couple of these treats to add to my LOST shrine. Here is an ad promoting the ARG, taken from the back cover of LOST's official magazine issue #6, Sept/Oct 2006:

The LOST finale aired on the 23rd of May 2010. Count me in the camp of those who thoroughly enjoyed every minute of The End . Thrilling. Emotional. Nostalgic. Surprising. Satisfying. Even two weeks later I continue to process the events of the finale, as well as the entire series as seen through the prism of its final chapter. My son and I watched both the pre-show and the finale itself. My daughter joined us at about 10PM. Although it is "only a TV show", LOST has managed to wrap itself around our emotional core in a way that eerily resembles reality. Tissues were is short supply at the end of the evening. Setting the mood for the LOST finale watch. A toast to the show that has become such an integral part of our lives. Can you guess who are favourite character might be? Changed into one of my LOST T-shirts from teefury.com. Another great shirt from TeeFury. Two prints from the Lost Underground Art Project, and a very special print with plenty of wonderful memories...

My daughter had a birthday recently and look who showed up for cake that day! Looks a bit like Kate is searching for a candle to light. I also enjoy the way Hurley seems to be wistfully (and hungrily?) staring at the icing. Oh, I almost forgot -- Vincent was there too. Sideways Vincent, by the looks of him. Here's a clearer shot of the cake.

Back in January I won a Dharma beer koozie in one of Erika Olson's monthly giveaway contests. A few days later I won a Locke Lives T-shirt in a separate contest put on by Erika and DarkUFO. My lucky streak ended there, however -- the shirt arrived in the mail a few days later but the koozie did not arrive. No doubt the MIB was involved in the MIA koozie. Either that or a postal employee saw the word 'beer' on the package and brought it home for the weekend. I let Erika know that the koozie didn't arrive. She was sympathetic but noted that she had just sent out the last of them. I was happy enough with the T-shirt, so moved forward with an expectation of koozielessness. (Not a word, Mr. Spellcheck? REALLY?) In early April I received an email from Erika. She had uncovered a few more koozies and offered to send one if mine had still not arrived. It hadn't so I gratefully accepted her offer. As a bonus, when it arrived it included a note from Erika written o...

The season premiere of Lost's sixth and final season aired last night. I broke out a few decorations to help celebrate. I watched the show with my son and daughter, both Lost fans. My son was very excited that Lost was finally back on the air. My daughter was also happy, but fell asleep part way into the second hour. For the first hour I wore my Locke Lives T-shirt that I won in a recent contest. Unfortunately my Dharma koozie, which I won the same week as the T-shirt, hadn't arrived in the mail yet so I wasn't able to enjoy Dharma beer during the show. The second hour I switched to a Polar Beer T which I bought at teefury.com late last year. Carlton wore this T (well, not this one, but same design!) at the Gallery1988 gala in December. I thought this was the best premiere since the pilot, so I'm really psyched for the balance of the season.

And, just for the record, here is my personal ranking: Hurley Charlie Ben Sawyer Mr. Eko Desmond Juliet Jack Locke Daniel Miles Kate Jin Sayid Michael Sun Libby Claire Charlotte Ana-Lucia Shannon Walt Boone