And I wanted to thank you. Yes, you. For leaving comments, referring your friends, listening by reading and returning time and again. Without you I would quite literally be talking to myself on paper.

I realize that it can be a huge commitment for some to read blogs, let alone two of them. There are millions of others out there, thousands of which cover pop culture and Lost. I truly appreciate every set of eyes upon these pages.

Clearly, I’m feeling rather sentimental. In addition to the day’s online milestones, I decided it was time to share something of a more personal nature.

Without getting too detailed and entering TMI territory…in a few weeks I will be having major surgery to remove a non-cancerous mass that is 7.5 cm wide (imagine a small, filled water balloon) and obstructing essential areas. My friend Jaime has aptly assigned it a name – Fiona.  She is my ogre, and once we’ve parted ways, my life and health will greatly improve. I’ve never been a fan of Cameron Diaz anyway…

So I will be home for 4-6 weeks starting in early November; stay tuned for very random movie reviews and blog entries written while under the influence of (prescribed) meds. Once again I will turn to you for DVD recommendations, from fabulous indies to guilty pleasure comedies!

You all rock and allow me to roll. Thanks again, and see you soon.

- Jo

 
I have created a few related quizzes for the occasion, with gift cards and cool Lost and Comic-Con prizes to give away (as well as Matt Nathanson CDs and merchandise). 

So grab a friend and come on down to the 55 Degree Wine cellar lounge to say hello on October 16, have a glass of vino and chat with other people who speak our pop culture language! Light snacks will be provided, and there will be a no-host cash bar for the wine.

If you’re planning to attend, please RSVP to jo@jopinionated.com. I look forward to seeing and meeting you!

Although I’ve been working for days on a new blog template in order to unveil the new logo in grand style, my lovely hosting service (yes GoDaddy, I’m talking about you) has decided to combine the old with the new and it is not pretty.

So please excuse their dust and stay tuned for the actual new look in the next few days.

Thanks!

The winning designer is Brian Kelley, for his second entry:

We are going to tinker with it a bit and perhaps change the background color, but when I placed this particular logo atop a mock up of my new blog template and upon t-shirts and other merchandise, it really popped and looked both amazing and professional.

I informed Brian via email today, and for his winning design, he has chosen to split the $100 value prize in two; $50 cash (for a new Wii game) and a $50 iTunes gift card!

THANK YOU so much to Josh B, Nick H, jbyrondeansigns, John N & Anna H for their contributions! I am in awe of your artistic abilities, my friends.

Thank you to everyone who participated – I really appreciate it.

Thoughts??

I will post all on Monday so that you can post your thoughts and vote on your favorites from the 10 entries.

Thanks Anna!