Above and beyond the series itself, I was profoundly inspired by several people during the last six years. Below are my belated notes of gratitude.
First of all, this site would not have existed if it weren't for my friend Jaime K. During S1, she asked me to email her my theories after we'd talk about them, and she would then send them on to her fellow Lost friends. In the middle of S2, she exasperatedly said something to the effect of "why don't you just start a damn Lost blog already?!" I certainly had no idea that this would reach the interested eyes of anyone outside of our circle of friends and family. To this day, I continue to thank Jaime for the kickstart and success of this site.
I'd also like to drop Dharma pallets of gratitude to the following members of the media, influential mentors who became friends through our coverage of Lost.
Natalie Abrams, TVguide
Tara Bennett, Lost Magazine (and co-author of the official Lost Encyclopedia)
Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly, The Washington Post Celebritology Blog
Maria Elena Fernandez, LA Times
Maggie Furlong, AOLtv/TVsquad and host of Instant Dharma
Eric Goldman, IGN TV
Jeff Jensen, EW
Jace Lacob, Televisionary
Erin McCarthy, Popular Mechanics
Therese Odell, Houston Chronicle's Tubular
Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune's The Watcher
Whitney Matheson, USA Today's Pop Candy
And then, of course, there are my fellow Lost bloggers and podcasters. You will not find a more supportive, eclectic and friendly group of dedicated fans anywhere. These are my people, and I have a feeling that we'll be in each other's lives for far longer than six seasons of a show...
Anil, The ODI
Cat, Sci-Fi Party Line
Jay and Jack (and Colleen!)
Karen Mauro, Karen's Lost Notebook
Erika Olson, LongLiveLocke
Ryan and Jen Ozawa, The Transmission
A very special thank you goes out to my good friend Jon Lachonis, whom most of you know as DocArzt. He opened some very significant doors for me, and I will cherish those opportunities for the rest of my life. In Lost terms, Jon truly is one of the good guys and he always has my back.
I also must thank a large group of folks who enhanced my Lost experience exponentially: YOU. In all sincerity, I appreciated every single comment that you emailed, left here or on FB and Twitter, as well as your awe-inspiring generosity with the many charitable donations. Your feedback over the years has been invaluable and I would not have continued to write about Lost as in-depth or as frequently without your amazing support.
In addition, I'd like to give a few shout-outs to: my logo designer & buddy Brian K, Sharon Z in LA, the Lost ARGs crew, the Lost Weekend crew, Ed, Jeff and Matt from KOS Tours on Oahu, those of you who supported my Jeremy Bentham blog/experiment, my friend and Lost quilt guru Bonnie (who has attended just about every Lost event I've ever been to), my neighbor and fellow geek girl Hillary, and Neal Gold in NYC...for sending an epic email several years ago that I printed out and posted in my office to remind me exactly why I put so much time and effort into covering one single show.
I would be remiss if I did not also thank the obvious; the people who have inspired me to explore and pursue my dreams - the creative team behind Lost. I had the great pleasure of meeting and speaking with the following folks at various events, all of which were memorable and enlightening experiences: Carlton Cuse, Javi Grillo-Marxuach, Jean Higgins, Adam Horowitz, Eddy Kitsis, Damon Lindelof, Gregg Nations and Liz Sarnoff. In addition, I really appreciated the generosity of Noreen O'Toole for her assistance with one of my charity fundraisers, as well as Jorge Garcia and Beth.
And thank you to Erin, Jeffrey, Richard and everyone on the ABC/Disney publicity team for your hospitality over the years, as well as the awesome Lost DVD team (John B, David D and Corey R).
Apologies in advance if I left any of you out above - omissions are inadvertent! Thank you for taking the time to read through this ramble, and for your readership and support.
Regardless of the roads we will all now travel, I hope our paths will cross again. Danke, gracias, mahalo, merci and namaste.
Thank you for believing in me.
-Jo
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9 comments:
I think I'm going to cry again!
We all lived vicariously through you, Jo! And it was exciting to see your growth and development in the blogging world. Your pure joy as you got your press pass and covered the Red Carpet and met/interviewed the cast was awesome to watch!
I remember meeting you for the first time at your Wine Meet & Greet and instantly felt like a long-time friend!
Look forward to continuing that friendship as I watch you live your dream!
I couldn't go the whole run without leaving a comment. I am one of the lucky ones that get to see you almost every day and your work has made me proud to know you. Of course you know I've got your back and will continue to push you to do bigger and better things and I will admire from afar knowing what a great job you are doing to enrich people's lives on something they care deeply about. You rock!
Jo, even tho we know you only via the blogosphere I just wanted to say thanks for being such a positive influence in every world you touched - from LOST to your work on behalf of charities. Good luck with the new "Jo's Pod" (OK I just made that up) and everything else. Lenny G.
Thanks for the shout out Jo... glad to be a part if it, although I just make pretty things and you did all the hard work. It's amazing to see your logo(s) and my art on so many people. I'd like to THANK you.
Wow, thanks Jo. You know I love ya too :) (and Lisa!) You have 1,000% enhanced more people's Lost experiences than you probably even know, so thank YOU for always being one of the friendliest faces a Lost fan could see and thank you for everything you've done for the community. See you in July!
Thank YOU Jo!
We go waaaay back with the online community, and all I can say is...Look at how far you've come and how your life has changed!
You keep on moving forward because the future is what you make of it.
It is an honor to call you my friend.
xoxo!!!
You are the epitome of awesome. You redefine what rocks. We're blessed and thrilled to know you, have met you, and joined you on this incredible ride.
I love that all of these people contributed, but remember that none of it would have stuck if you weren't so dang good at what you do. Thank you for your unflagging energy and enthusiasm about this show. You have entertained me, made me think, and have put up with my half-baked theories which were never even close to being as well thought out, detailed and researched as even your shortest blog post! You are awesome. I am so glad that more doors are opened and we can read your Jopinions on lots of other things, too!
THANK YOU, jo. For 6 years of awesome!
<3 If it weren't for this show and your blog, we'd never have become friends. A double gift! xoxo
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