Oahu, Day 2: Jin, Meet Sun!

If I told you that these hotel discoveries were coincidences, would you believe me? Because they are!

I was strolling around downtown Waikiki this morning, and recognized the green marble outside of The Royal Garden Hotel because that is where Jin first met Sun (see photo above; his head is down as he opens the door for her). Below is my photo of the front entrance; notice the same gold ornate table right inside the door.

We are very excited to meet up with Ryan & Jen from The Transmission this evening, as they live here and have been providing excellent Lost news and analysis since the beginning of the series on their fantastic podcast!

And of course tomorrow we will be on the Lost Tour all day long. So no, I will not be sleeping any time soon. And yes, it's worth it. I planned our entire vacation around this brief trip to Oahu for Lost. That is love; I am lucky that my valentine is a fan...and doesn't mind my dedication to a television show.

:)

- Jo

LOST at Comic-Con: The EW Panel

Before I begin, I would like to first acknowledge a few fantastic new Lost friends. Please visit their sites and listen to their podcasts, because they support and entertain all of us.

TheODI
Prior to today, I'd only known him through his blog and MySpace page, and was fortunate to sit with him and his team of Lost bloggers (including Tapdawg, who posted this live from the panel) in the 2nd row this afternoon. We secured seats early, and had a prime view of Damon & Carlton. Tomorrow morning, I will be joining them at 6am to wait in line for entry...to wait in line for the noon Lost panel. Here is TheODI's Comic-Con blog, including exclusive footage of the Dharma video which was delivered via Bluetooth to lucky fans.

The Transmission
Ryan & Jen host a great Lost podcast from Hawaii, and it was nice to finally meet them in person as well! They have audio of the entire panel here, including yours truly on the mic (more about that in a minute).

Get Lost Podcast
Eric and Jeremy's podcast is sweet! Although they weren't able to attend CC this year, they were nice enough to contact me about calling in a report from the field, and I left them a rambling message which may air on an upcoming CC podcast.

Because I am attending this behemoth event primarily on my own, it was so nice to finally connect with all of them, and I appreciate how they've allowed me to join in the fun. I am a tiny fish in the giant sea of Lost bloggers, and they're all making me feel more welcome in the community.

Anyway, about the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries: Showrunners panel...

Let's just get this out of the way. Although I almost passed out, I was able to scramble up to the open mic to ask Damon & Carlton a question. Of course I've been constructing one for weeks, just in case. I inquired if they chose the name Jeremy Bentham for Locke specifically because the real philosopher Bentham had designed the panopticon (which I believe to be the island). The short answer is yes. My heartbeat was out of control for a good hour. And even though I'm loathe to self-promote in a large crowd, I did introduce myself as Jo from JOpinionated (and also mentioned that I have a specific interest in JB). Believe it or not, I am much more shy in person than I am here 'on paper.' Anyway, it was a true highlight to have the opportunity to address Darlton live.

The panel was moderated by EW's senior writer Jeff 'Doc' Jensen, who writes the most thorough and thought-provoking Lost analysis of any television columnist out there. He is a must-read following each new episode and throughout every season.

Most of the other sites listed above have extensive notes from the panel. I, on the other hand, am clearly incapable of multi-tasking. The long and short of it:

• The Octagon Global Recruiting alternate reality game is a way to offer further mythology for the 'hardcore fans'
  
• Season 5 will feature more about the Freighter Four (Charlotte, Faraday, Lapidus, Miles), in a 'different' and 'improved' way
  
• Desmond's flash of Claire & Aaron on the helicopter (leading to Charlie's sacrifice & death) will see a logical resolution

Obviously tomorrow at the Lost panel there will be so much more.

I plan to bring my laptop and report immediately following the panel, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and following my insane journey.

LOST & Fringe Podcasts (updated again!)

I am thrilled and honored to have been asked to call in and speak on three podcasts about:

1. My recent experience as Jeremy Bentham online (a future conversation with the JoshMeister's LOST Blog and Podcast)
2. Lost at Comic-Con (now up on the Get Lost podcast)
   
3. The screening of J.J. Abrams' new show Fringe (for Tuning In With Wayne Henderson; air date unknown)
   

This is a first for me, and I definitely need to call in more often.

I've considered doing my own podcast, but I tend to speak entirely too quickly and go on various pop culture tangents, not to mention that I don't like the sound of my voice (well, on tape anyway).

Now Hear This: LOST Podcasts

Bored at work? Need an additional LOST fix before Thursday night?

Go download the following Lost podcasts! They're usually very insightful and quite entertaining at times. Both are free and available on iTunes and their respective sites.

1. The Official LOST Podcast
2. The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack

The first podcast is hosted by ABC, and features perspective from LOST executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (see photo above; they're not dating, it just looks that way). The second podcast is hosted by two very dedicated fans who have thousands of listeners and great theories, not to mention occasional phone calls from Hurley himself, Jorge Garcia.