Monday, December 14, 2009

Lost in 108 Words

I just stumbled across a great contest, and because of my brilliant writers over here, I wanted to let all of you know about it and send you in the direction of it. The question: What has Lost Taught You? You have to answer it in 108 words or less. The contest is outlined here, and wait'll you see the prize: swag like you've never seen, including the Jacob's Cabin print from the Lost ARG. Wicked. I've already sent in my entry, but I know you guys will probably come up with something way funnier. And when the contest is over, I hope you post some of them below so we could see what some of the entries look like (I'll post mine then, too). I've wanted one of those ARG prints SO badly, but I just never get my act in gear fast enough to get over there to buy one in the 23 seconds you have before time runs out on each one. This contest is for charity, which is amazing. What an awesome contest for someone to run!! (And it's a fantastic blog, too!)

The contest only runs until tomorrow, December 15 (!!) so hurry on over there and get your entries in now!

25 comments:

The Question Mark said...

Hey, Nikki. Thanks for the link to the contest!! Here's what I submitted:

What has LOST taught me? Well, where do I begin?...

Don't forget to press the button; never trust a hot man in a Prada suit; never trust a hot woman with freckles; don't throw knives unless you have psychic powers; sometimes it's okay to get caught in a net; polar bears a'int as soft and cuddly as they seem; don't trust the captain; no matter what happens, Jacob always loves you; the 'H' in Dharma is silent; Paulo lies; Richard's eyes are just naturally dark like that; and whatever you do, for the love of God, DON'T press the button!

Have a cluckity-cluck-cluck day.

Fred said...

Below, my 108 words of LOST meanings to me:

Surgeons count five whenever they screw up. We’re all special; but that doesn’t mean we’ll live. Sacrifices are required. Never trust fate. Assassin: torturer; interchangeable. Lose your keys, lose an island. Run (name here) run! Stale beer in a pinch. Keep up with your reading. Push Other’s button. Time travel: not a good idea. Bury atomic weapons; don’t play with rocks. Never trust your mother, at any age. Some people just have the touch. Polar bears: dangerous; smokie, trying to quit. Australia is the key, around whose neck? Keep lying. Forestall pregnacy till home. Bald actor: you don’t know what I’ve gone through to get (this part) here.

Batcabbage said...

Thanks for linking this, Nik. I've just submitted mine. I thought I'd resurrect the fine tradition started by Nikki - The Lost Haiku! Here's my entry:

What I’ve learned from Lost
In haiku form, as you see,
Because they are fun.

If I time travel,
Befriend a nerd with a rat.
He’ll find my constant.

Some islands can heal
But don’t expect any kids,
You can’t have them there.

Some doctors do drugs,
But are very heroic.
They grow ugly beards.

Polar bears are fierce
So keep a con man redneck
On hand. He’ll shoot it.

Don’t trust the bug-eyed.
They could be homicidal
And ambiguous.

Former Iraqi
Torturers aren’t always bad.
Some are ninja-like.

As for the monster,
It’s smoke, and makes metal sounds.
Just leave it alone.

And that’s what I’ve learned.
________________________

Verification word: dinga - 1. A female dingo. 2. A dingo ninja.

Nikki Stafford said...

Great submissions, guys!!

Batcabbage, you kill me. I don't know if you know this, but the guy who runs the site posted your haiku on his facebook page as one of the more original ones he's seen! :)

Batcabbage said...

@Nik: Thanks! Wow, that's cool. I'm off to check out the contest page now. Can you post your entry yet Nik?

________________

Verification word: cardise - what happens when the mechanic can no longer help.

Rebecca T. said...

Aggghhhh! I missed it :( But I'm gonna come up with one anyway and post it here just for fun.... Batcabbage, Question Mark and Fred - genius. :D

Nikki Stafford said...

The runners up were just posted at RamHatter's site (I didn't see any haiku... does that mean our Batcabbage could possibly be the winner? Don't forget all of us little people when it's announced!!) ;)

Here's my entry, but it doesn't touch the brilliance of the ones all of you came up with. I love these!

And yes, Sonshine, please post one just for the heck of it -- I love reading these!

Here's mine:
Live your life right the first time, because even a hydrogen bomb won’t give you a second chance. Take that physics class. Always keep a chocolate bar in your back pocket; you never know when you’ll need to share one with an island villain. Don’t trust Dad. Avoid bunnies with numbers on them. When you can’t type or write a message, try tapestry. Read more books. When running from a terrifying cabin, try not to disrupt the circle of ash around it. If you live together... you’ll probably still die alone. If you smell smoke, stand still and don’t blink. And if you want to cannonball? Cannonball.

Fred said...

Wow, Nikki, we all at this site are ever out of it! I just read the 14 that made semi-finals for the LOST contest, and not one was really like what we all here posted. Man, I feel like I missed the whole point--MEANING, MEANING, not humour. Oh, well, that's how it goes.

On the flip side, my hat off to Batcabbage for his haiku. OLE!!! That was tremendous. And also to Question Mark and yourself. Well, even if we were off the mark for what was intended in the contest, let's all just cannonball. After all it is the Season for being happy with what we have, the friends we have and family. And Question Mark, I have to push the button, or I can't send.

Batcabbage said...

That'a a great entry, Nik! Nice work on mentioning the bunnies! I forgot to do something about those evil, EVIL BUNNIES! (I miss Anya.) I've just been over to read the list of runners up and the winner - it wasn't me. Oh well. The ones on the list and the winner were a little more serious than my entry, dealing more with loss of faith or gaining of faith and Jesus and things. Mine was more about the goodness of haiku and funny and stuff and that. Funnily enough it was won by Christopher Lee, who I've been watching in cheesy '70s vampire movies alot lately. Congratulations, Count Dooku! Use the power of the Dark Side much? Something something Dark Side, indeed! (DISCLAIMER - I'm fully aware that it's probably not the awesome vampire/evil Jedi/all around brilliant actor Christopher Lee. From my lawyer, Batkitty - anything said in this post is intended for humour, and not to be taken seriously in any way, much like Batcabbage himself).

Let's see some more, people! Doesn't matter if you didn't enter the contest, just post 108 words here, and see who can make us laugh enough to make whatever you are drinking come out your nose. Or something less messy.

Oh, and @Fred: Thanks! :) You should do 108 words too!

Batcabbage said...

@Fred: I'm a moron, you did your 108 words! See? Take nothing I say seriously! I forgot how much I liked your 'We’re all special; but that doesn’t mean we’ll live.' So sorry, my friend. Doh!

Batcabbage said...

@Fred: I just read what I last posted, and I should clarify: you can take me seriously when I say I liked your entry, because it was damned funny. Just a clarification. :) Good god, I shouldn't post when I've just woken up.

Fred said...

@Batcabbage: yeah I agree, the winners were more on the serious side. I was very touched by some, as their feelings of LOST were almost life changing. But most did find significant meaning in the show. For me it's always been a wonderful, wonderful show. Like you I hope we get a few more entries here, just for the fun of it. It would be nice to have some side splitting humour--and then some dark haired girl can come walking out of the jungle and ask what thread do you prefer for stiching up that side splitting humour.

Batcabbage said...

@Fred: I'm with you, for me Lost is just some of the best television broadcast today. I'm glad some people have gotten what they have from it, being life changing and what have you. It's just not that way with me. Actually, I like that when we get serious here and on the rewatch blog, it's getting serious about the details and minutia of the show, rather than how it's affected our lives. Anyway. Bring on the side-splitting! :)

Nikki Stafford said...

Sigh... I'm so disappointed. Honestly, Batty, I've been checking that site all day because I was CONVINCED you had it.

Question Mark and Fred, your entries were superb as well.

So, none of us won. I noticed a couple of names in the runners up who have posted over here before.

But here's what I loved about the contest: I didn't post my entry, and yet those over here who DID post theirs ended up submitting something very similar to mine. We were a little tongue-in-cheek, while still showing how much we love this show and how much it's affected us. I love that we're kindred spirits and came up with very similar entries. That said a LOT to me.

The winning entry was really well done, and was a vulnerable one, as he said. I'm a Christian, and always have been. While I can't say a television show has ever affected my faith, I do believe a lot of TV is faith-based (witness the church-going on The Simpsons or Friday Night Lights; the fact that a cross can vanquish evil on Buffy; the number of times the Old and New Testaments have been referenced on Lost). I saw the credentials of the blogger, and right away I knew he might be looking for something much deeper. But I decided to stick with what I felt, and I went for the humour rather than the feeling. You all know how I feel about Lost. And what thrills me is you feel similarly about it.

And while none of us quoted the Bible in our entry, I think the way we act over here is commendable and could be considered "Christian" in certain circles: everyone is so polite and generous and caring about everyone else on here, and it's a friendlier place than many of the blogs I've visited.

So let's be happy for Christopher, even if I think all of you deserve your own Jacob's Cabin print. If I had any ability in the illustration department, I'd draw my own and send it to each of you. But, sadly, if I were to try, it would end up looking like a pentagon with a stick for a chimney sticking out of the top. I'm a really crap drawer.

What has Lost taught me? See above. What has this contest taught me? Just how much we're all alike, and how much I love our little community over here. Yay team!

Batcabbage said...

Wow, Nik, what a great post. Thanks for your confidence in my entry! :) I have to admit, I didn't think I'd win, but it was nice that the guy posted it on his facebook page, and he emailed me saying he admired the creativity, which was really nice. And all joking about the Dark Side and Christopher/Count Dooku, I wish him all the best, and congratulate him on his excellent and deeply personal winning entry.

Nik, your post previous describes everything that we all love about your your blog. Everyone is respectful, fun, and are genuinely interested in Lost. I think the first thing most of us do after a new episode of Lost is come here to see what you've said about the episode and post our thoughts, and read everyone else's. And with the rewatch, even more people have come on board and become regulars. The more the merrier, says I! But most of all, thank you, Nik, for creating the blog, and bringing us all together.

No, (sniff), I haven't gone all weepy, Batkitty is cleaning and there's dust. Honest! :)

Unknown said...

@Batcabbage: I am dying laughing... Just dying.

P.S I love how you Christmasified your picture. Brilliant.

Batcabbage said...

@AchingHope: Glad you liked it! And yes, Santacabbage has made an appearance. :)

BTW, my last post was supposed to say 'all joking about... aside'. Proofreading is off today, apparently.

The Question Mark said...

This post is the most uplifting thing I have ever gone & read! Who needs The Secret when we've got Nik @ Nite!
Congrats to Master Christopher Lee (I loved you as Count Dooku, the Funniest Gosh-Darn Sith Lord in the Whole, Wide World!)
Also, congrats to you, Fred, Batcabbage, and Nikki, for your absolutely wicked 108 posts! We totally cannonballed, and that's what matters! I thought the contest was uber-fun and allowed us to be creative (yay!).
So cheers to you all!

Oh, and P.S., Christopher Lee:
We'd LOOOOOVE it if you could surprise us during season 6 by playing Magnus Hanso. Come on. You know you want to!

Rebecca T. said...

I agree with all the previous comments. I wrote my 108 words and came up with a very similar approach as most of you who have posted. (Maybe that's cause I read these first, but I think it would have gone that way anyway)

I haven't had a chance to read the winning entry, and I'm sure it is excellent, but I think one of the main things that binds this group together is our wacky sense of humor and slightly off-centered way of looking at the world and at Lost. We have so many running jokes and gags here we could almost create a sit-com. So I'm not surprised that we all came up with a similar, slightly comical, yet serious list of things that Lost has taught us.

All that aside, here's my 108 for what they're worth...

Lessons Learned: Everyone has secrets. Live together, die alone. Monsters exist. Miracles happen. Love quadrangles make the ships go round. No one is what they seem. Children are special. Annoying people die hysterically horrific deaths. Daddy issues wreak havoc. We are the variables. Picnics are evil. We have to go back. Nothing stays buried long. We're going to need to watch that again. Always have a plan. Time bloops cause nose bleeds. Some parents will do anything for their children. Some won't. Jesus Christ is not a weapon. Re-read books- you might catch something you missed the first time. Death is not the end. Everyone needs a constant.


As for that last one - you guys are mine :)

Marebabe said...

@Everyone: Awww... c'mon, group hug! I was browsing and noticed that there were a LOT more comments here than I saw earlier, so I just spent the last half-hour or so reading your comments and soaking up the feel-good rays! I love this group, I truly do. I hope that someday we can all be in the same room together. How much fun would THAT be!

Rebecca T. said...

@Marebabe: That is totally a dream of mine, to actually get to meet some of you face to face. I wonder if we'd all get along famously or if there would be awkwardness without the anonymity of our keyboards and computer screens.

I'm hoping to make it to the Lost conference Jan '11, so maybe some of us will get to meet up then :D

Marebabe said...

@Sonshine: A couple years ago, in the midst of being hassled and delayed and, in general, being badly treated by the airline that my husband and I had chosen for that particular travel occasion, I said out loud, with complete sincerity, "I am NEVER flying again! I don't care what I might have to miss because I can't drive there in time." As you may have guessed, I am now thinking hard about the Lost Conference in January, 2011. Maybe flying to Hawaii wouldn't be so bad...

LoyallyLOST said...

Dang! I missed it! I just love our little bunch of Losties on here! They have a sense of humor & see the lighter side of LOST. Or, so it seems from these on this blog! I love QuestionMarks' entry! Sooo cool! I think all of these should have won!
Ok, off to do my cannonball!

LoyallyLOST said...

LOST CONFERENCE?! THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOST CONFERENCE?! I have feelings of panic~because I may not get to go! I have butterflies in my tum-tum~because it would be sooooooo cool to go! I am about to cry~because I may not get to go!
Please, is this true? If so, what are the details? Details, people! DETAILS!!! Ok, maybe I should do a cannonball. That might relax me!!!

Marebabe said...

@LoyallyLOST: Relax. Remember to breathe. That's better.

Not much is known about the Lost Conference at this point, since it's still over a year away. Nikki posted the first and only announcement I've seen about it, and you can read it for yourself by going back one month on this very blog. The date of the article was November 18, 2009. I'm sure that Nikki will keep us informed as plans for the conference take shape.