Consumerist: Sweet

The Lion King Sent All This Stuff To A Hospitalized Reader

Carey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:03:06 EDT

Drew was diagnosed with cancer last month. His chemotherapy kept him from using the Lion King tickets he had given to his girlfriend for Valentine's Day, so he told her to go with one of her friends. After the show, she stopped by the management office to ask if they had anything she could bring to Drew in the hospital. Though they had nothing on hand, they promised to send him "something special." A few days later, DHL showed up with up with all this free stuff and a nice personalized note.

Drew write:

Hey guys!

I really enjoy your site and always love to see articles about companies going the extra mile. I thought y'all would enjoy this.

Background: I'm 24 and in law school. I was cruising through life when about a month ago I was diagnosed with cancer (pre-b cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma). This has definitely put a kink in things but the outlook looks good!

For Valentine's Day this year, I bought tickets for Laura Beth (the girlfriend) and I to go to The Lion King when it came to Atlanta in April. On the day of the show, April 5th, I had been on chemo for three days and there was no way I was going to make the show. I tell her to take one of her girlfriends and they love the show, of course (it is pretty spectacular). On the way out Laura Beth stops by the show's management office to see if they have anything special that they could give her to bring me in the hospital. She tells her story about how her boyfriend bought the tickets for Valentines Day but now has cancer and is in the hospital and missed the show to these three girls who were described as "young and just married." They said they didn't have anything on hand but promised Laura Beth they would do something special.

Fast forward to this morning when DHL pulls up with a package. Inside is a Lion King coffee mug, sippy cup, t-shirt and note from someone at the production company. Pretty cool, huh?

Aw, that sure is sweet. Great work, Lion King!

Bungie Sent All This Free Swag To The Gamer Whose XBox 360 Artwork Microsoft Destroyed

Carey — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:30:32 EST

Remember Nathanial? Microsoft's repair center senseless erased the valuable signatures and cool artwork he had painstakingly collected on his XBox 360. When Bungie, the maker of Halo, saw what happened, they wanted to help—even though they had nothing to do with the calamity. They decided to ship Nathanial an awesome swag bag stuffed with signature-adorned freebies.

The bag contained:

Legendary Edition Helmet signed by most-if not all-of the studio staff
Halo 3 Soundtrack (two disc) signed by Marty O'Donnel (with "DO NOT ERASE!" written under his name)
Bungie Jacket
Bungie T-Shirt
Halo 3 Messenger Bag
Two Halo 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controllers (one covenant, one human)
Halo 3 Faceplate and Skins for Xbox 360
Four McFarlane Action Figures (MC, EVA Spartan, Brute Chieftan, Jackal Sniper)
Halo Actionclix Preview pack (Target exclusive sticker on the front)
Halo Actionclix Game Pack 4
Halo 3 Wall Graffix
Halo 3: Ghosts of Onyx Novel
Halo Graphic Novel
Halo 3 Wristband
Halo 3 Hackeysack

Nathanial is quite satisfied. In a letter to the gaming community he wrote, in part:

And finally, to the staff of Bungie Studios:
I cannot thank you enough for the outpouring of support that you have lavished upon me in the aftermath of the release of my story. Long have I known of your dedication to your fans and community, but I find this single act of kindness mind boggling. Apart from the fact that a few of you had signatures adorning my console, you had no involvement in what occurred. As such, you have far surpassed any response I could have anticipated. I don't think I could ever repay you for this.

Thank you all for what you have done for me. I wish each and every one of you continued success in your future endeavors.

P.S. Marty, I love the soundtrack, and I promise you that I will do as you've requested and not erase any of it.

Thanks, Bungie, for showing us that gaming isn't just about blasting apart marauding alien invaders. No, it's about heart, too.

Nathanial's full letter and more pictures of the swag are posted on Hawty McBloggy.

Bungie Unscrews Previously Screwed Gamer [Hawty McBloggy]
PREVIOUSLY: Microsoft Scrubs All The Valuable Signatures And Artwork Off Your XBOX 360 Case

Yes, Virginia, There is a Fruitcake Review Blog

Meg Marco — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:36:18 EST

Hey, what do you know. It turns out that some people do actually like fruitcake. No, we're serious. Anyway, a reader sent us a link to her friend's fruitcake blog. Yes, someone has been tasting and writing about fruitcakes since the summer. Why would anyone do this? I'm sure she has her reasons, and I'm sure you can read about them on her blog. Personally, we hate even the smell of fruitcakes, but to each her own.—MEGHANN MARCO (Thanks, Nancy!)

Review: Harry and David 2lb Fruitcake [Mondo Fruitcake]