Green Room - Week 14 - Day 2

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I don't like catfish. There I said it. I'm the squeaky wheel.

"Why don't you like catfish?"

I dunno. There's just something about the taste that doesn't really appeal to me.

"Why? Seriously. It's just like every other fish."

Not really. There's an undercurrent in the taste that just doesn't sit well with me. Every once in awhile, sure. If it's cooked just right. But those aren't as often as times I enjoy other fish. Especially when I go out. It has to be special.

'WHY? This makes no logical sense. It's just another fish. Fish are good."

Um... what? I don't like it. I really shouldn't have to go into it. Sometimes people don't like things.

"It just makes no sense to me. I can't figure out why someone would say they did not like catfish. I'm just trying to understand."

Whatever. I think I'm done with this. I said that I didn't like it all the time, specifically in this setting, not that I didn't like it.


***

Insert alycewilson style moral of the story here: Some people don't like catfish. Some people do. Some people though just don't like eating it when they go out, even if they might eat it all the time at home.

It's all good.

We can talk about catfish as long as we remember that it's OK for people to disagree without overly pushing or pulling from either side. After all, at the end of the day, it's just catfish.

***

That completely unrelated to *anything* note aside - I brought this up yesterday in the Green Room rather late in the day -

WHO isn't getting the love they deserve?

It occurred to me that early on there were some folks, especially newbies, who were kind of feeling out on the edges and not really connecting to other people or feeling like they were being noticed in the crowd. That's never a nice feeling for anyone.

Given that we are on the *internet*, I'm going to go out on a limb and say there isn't a single person within the sound of my cyber-voice who hasn't felt like the odd one out now and again.

It's part of what fuels so many problems between people, when someone feels like their voice is being lost or overlooked.

MOST of the people mentioned early on ended up getting attention and now are considered either "front runners" or at least "solid".

So I'm going to put it out there again, to the people who have benefitted from the idea of finding that special overlooked gem:

Take a look at the votes over the last couple of weeks. Who isn't getting the attention you feel their work deserves?

***

That said - Survivor last night!!! Whoo hoo!!

***
That said again - So, what are YOU doing today?

Comments

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Aren't catfish bottom-feeders? Most bottom-feeders have a muddy flavor compared to other fish in my experience.

[sra33.livejournal.com]

See, I just don't like fish.

Today's my work "VDay Party". We're going FONDUE! Chocolate, Cheese, and all the things you can bring to dip in it. ^^ I brought Ritz, Pretzels, Pretzel Sticks, and Oreos. Mmmmmm.....

[marjory.livejournal.com]

Fish are brain food, but not in comparison to fondue, especially chocolate fondue. It's scientific fact.

[marjory.livejournal.com]

In dire need of a partner (http://marjory.livejournal.com/275644.html). I seem to have spent stupid amounts of the last 24 hours or so waiting to hear back from people!

Who's game?

I'm nice, I tell you.

I also have no opinions on catfish.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I am pretty sure I saw misalady asking around. You two might work well together.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I will be going to New Orleans tomorrow and thus expect to be getting a LOT of catfish. Fried catfish. On poboys. With spicy mayo.

I listed a few of the folks I felt didn't get enough love in the last green room! I have to go to work now but I can list a few more later!

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

My son is the biggest Percy Jackson and the Olympians fan (a book series)

He has been counting down the days until the movie releases for like a whole YEAR, I kid you not. I got tired of hearing how many more days, actually.

He's only 8 but, yesterday, when I won two movie tickets to a midnight showing of Percy Jackson, I did let him do with his dad last night to the movie at midnight.

I know he'll be tired today but that was one of the best things in his life, seeing the movie of his dreams before it even came out.

Our newspaper is AWESOME to offer those tickets up to win!!

BTW, they both said the movie was amazing, funny, great effects, etc so you might want to at least watch a trailer, especially if you have kids.

I may be a bad mom for waking a kid to go to a midnight movie but, I have to say, I'm happy he had a good time:)

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Aw! I don't think that makes you a bad mom; I think that's so wonderful.

Also, I want to see Percy Jackson, too!

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

Just sent off the draft of my post to my partner feeling pretty good about it. Now it is time for more tea and trying to brave that huge bloody hill called rewriting the first bloody chapter of my book. Seriously, I am SO grateful for the LJ Idol competition, it constantly prods me to write something I might not have written otherwise. This it really serves to loosen up my creativity. I wish every day was a LJ Idol day.

Also, I am one of those that loves to discuss catfish versus narwhals and whether there are underwater bees, or kittens in trees or anything. I am still not sure what I could learn from the discussions yesterday, I am left feeling more than a little confused. I guess it might be to keep discussions with people I already know I can talk to. I did not anticipate things blowing up so badly, especially considering the discussions we had during the gatekeeper rounds. So, sorry people who were hurt!

I wonder how many posts this turn will be about fish now...

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

What about discussions on fish bushes and bacon trees?

[stormkitty.livejournal.com]

I don't mind catfish, but I've found that it's way easier to screw it up than it is to cook it well. So I'm picky about my catfish. Kinda like the other things this isn't related to at all. ;-)

Anniversary dinner last night was a success: I made New York Strip steak, crash hot potatoes, yummy little chocolate cakes for dessert (I cheated and used the ones you add some water to and stick in the microwave), and some great wine. We're such an "old married couple" (not married yet, though) that after dinner we settled in for some TV and capped it off by watching Archer on FX (LOVE THAT SHOW).

Today, cleaning and then my little bro is coming by to visit this evening for dinner and Rock Band. I finally got a solid idea for my entry so I need to work on that today and send it to my partner.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

Yay that the anniversary dinner went well:)

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps you're not going to believe this, but my agenda for today includes dissecting SHARKS. There will be about 55 nine-year-olds, at least a dozen three-foot sharks, fish guts and oil everywhere, and a lot of squealing.

And when I come home I'll definitely have to wash my clothes.

And my shoes.

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

Wow. Some people really have a life:) My 8 year old has ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS wanted to dissect a shark. For about a year at age..4? 5? He told me when he grows up he wants to "catch a shark, cut it up and eat it" IT was his big goal in life.

What a cool school...dissecting that young. Good luck!!!

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

Last night I went out for Belgian beer, which in my not so humble opinion, is superior to catfish. There. I said it. I'd rather drink beer than eat catfish.

So glad that it is Friday! Hooray for Friday! And that means tomorrow I go on my vacation to balmy Maine. YAY!

Have been working a little on my entry for this week, but I still have a long way to go.

As for people who might not getting noticed as much as I'd like, I'll put two out there for now:
cobycaroline: She has a real knack with words and has posted some truly beautiful pieces. Since the beginning, she's been someone I've liked--and I'm baffled some weeks when she's not performing better.

rivermirage: Another person who posts thoughtful, lovely works of writing. Her piece from weeks ago about ending her engagement is still stuck in my head.

There are definitely a lot of other people, too. Those were just the two that jumped out at me when I did a quick look-see.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Agree on both of these!

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

1. I'm not sure who isn't getting the idol love they deserve, I'll have to get back to you on that one.

2. Sometimes it is hard to express strong opinions online because it is so easy to get defensive and to misread what other people say.

I don't like to eat any fish, not catfish, or blue fish, or even anything from the sea. but that doesn't mean I don't like to look at them sometimes or keep a fish tank full of fish, or enjoy other things about them.

When we can't see the other person's face it's hard to know if they are being silly, or critical, or just trying to understand what you are saying. And I do know about that, because if I'm not thinking about it I come across a little too harsh in most forms of internet communication.

3. As for feeling left out, I think this is the first time i have felt left out in idol, but I am sure it is my own fault. Until a couple days ago when my schedule changed, I just didn't have any time to leave comments, or talk to people in the greenroom. I see all these people having great conversations and getting to know each other and keep thinking, "I need to get in on that!"

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

3. You have an adorable icon, so I'm sure that you will have an easy time integrating into the conversations and getting to know people. So, just jump on in.

[comedychick.livejournal.com]

Personally I never really know if I'm in the mood for catfish or not until I try it, no matter what the setting is.

*looks back over her notes* Um, just in terms of who I wanted to recommend last week, but votes didn't reflect how good I thought they were, I'll say sonarvampress (though her partner was being recommended everywhere), lawchicky and drippedonpaper (I thought they pulled off a pretty damn good intersection together, if I do say so myself), java_fiend (has been a favourite for a while, and while he does decently enough in the polls, he's not pulling the highest votes, so maybe there are people skipping over him).

Also, yes I'm probably going to sound really biased here, but I thought my first partner, kutiechick wrote the best Trip Trapping entry I've read (disclaimer: I haven't read them all) and I didn't think her votes reflected that, which made me sad (and not even because she was my partner that week).

As for my day, it is already practically over. I just finished watching "He's Just Not That into You," after saying goodbye to a male friend I'm crushing on, who came over this afternoon. Whilst it was already pretty obvious he's not interested in me, watching that movie has just made me feel a bit depressed about it. What's worse is I tried to relate our friendship to two of the characters in the film who end up together. Lame.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I think sonarvampress deserves an extra mention because she's one of those people whose entries weren't among my favorites early on and I think she's gotten progressively better and better over the course of Idol.

[negativeneve.livejournal.com]

I don't like catfish because when you cut off the head it still continues to move...for a LONG time afterwards.

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

that would creep me out!

[kenakeri.livejournal.com]

What I'm doing?

Mourning my son's first haircut. He finally decided he was fine with cutting it after four years, seven months and eleven days of life, but his dad and I were almost in tears.

He's going to "big school" in September and I have to register him next week after Carnival. He's proud to "Have short hair and getting bigger like Daddy".

The worst part is I didn't remember to keep a curl.

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

It hurts as they grow (from a mom of 3)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I have no real opinion on catfish, except that they can't be ALL bad 'cause they are part cat, LOL.

YAY Survivor! I hadn't realized the first episode was going to be 2 hours long - I didn't get to bed until around 1:30 am because of it, but there was NO WAY that I was going to go to bed without having watched it!!

Our bowling team lost all our games last night, but it wasn't my fault - I bowled a bit above my average (which is currently 112) for both games - I got a 124 and 119. We lost partly because one of our opponents (who had a 105 average) bowled a 167 and a 147. Sheesh, some people!

I made a red velvet cake for work today (well, me 'n Betty Crocker) - yum! Otherwise, not much going on here. I'm just glad it is finally Friday and there are no narwhales lurking about! :)

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

I'll agree with kittenboo here and say it's the first season I've felt a little out on the edge. Perhaps it's because I've been slammed with work shortly after the season started and I'm working a full-time job instead of part-time, on top of being full-time stay-at-home-mom and having a part-time business for some extra income. But still, it feels weird.

As for not enough attention: I found crimsonplum wasn't getting enough attention in the beginning, I haven't checked the latest polls to see if she did or not. I always recommend daughterofodhin too (putting you out there!).

I'll go out on a limb and say I find the polls often to ... give a weird result. The discrepancy in quality is not at all as big as the votes seem to indicate. I know they say it's like in a tennis match, where 6-0 6-0 may seem like a terrible punishment for the player who lost, while they may have played the game of their lives and just barely lost the points at 40-30 (well you get what I mean), and that this is what is happening, but still. Then again, it has always been like that, I guess.

Okay, and since I've gotten lots of extra work on Friday (and sent a pissy email about that), I'll just retreat to doing some work and say that when this last batch is over I should go back to normal! And I also need to write the awesome story alexpgp came up with for our intersection. I really hope I will pull it off *G*

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree about crimsonplum. I just took her off my list as I saw you recced her right before I did.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

To not mention the same people I mentioned yesterday, I'm picking a few others. And trying not to mention the people who've already been mentioned here.

I really consistently like fourzoas posts; I feel she has a great dry wit and approaches her entries with perspicacity and even-handedness.

tamaraland's posts are also usually favorites for me. She's got a solid, direct voice and speaks with a sense of conviction. She's also great at personal narrative.

m_malcontent tends to take a lot of risks and tries out new things every week.

furzicle is apparently one of the most fabulous teachers ever! She's told some great stories-- some true, some not.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

fourzoas and tamaraland were two of my early favorites. Around Week 3, I started marking people on my spreadsheet as people I should read every week, no matter how busy I might be, and they were both highlighted.

[gildedage.livejournal.com]

I don't have any recs. I just wanted to say that I was in the Jackson MS airport and there was a kid's t-shirt that had a terrifying airbrushed catfish on it with the words "Here Kitty Kitty!" and I wanted it, but sadly I can't wear child sizes.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

Maybe you can make one for yourself! Or find one online in big kid sizes!

[lyrical-liessss.livejournal.com]

I'm not gonna lie, for once I'd love to put out an entry that's worthy of getting recommended (not that I don't try). Because every time I see one of those recommended entries, I absolutely love the entries that were recommended, and feel it's like a huge honor.

That's just me being a kid though. *sulks* haha.

So, I started an organization on campus, a UChapter for TWLOHA, something I've written on in the past. *cough* my icon. And now we've got to raise $1000 for them to come speak and bring two performers to USF. Being a president is hard...

[finding_helena]

"for once I'd love to put out an entry that's worthy of getting recommended (not that I don't try)"

Yeah, same here. :)

[beldar.livejournal.com]

Catfish are bottom-feeders by nature, so they basically taste like whatever has settled to the bottom of their environment. River cats (like the buffalo catfish eaten by po' folks in the Mississippi Delta region) are very strong-flavored, while farm-raised cats are more palatable for the general public, though still distinctive.

To compliment that flavor (and due to its origins in Southern cuisine) catfish usually has corn breading, further distinguishing it from other fish.

But the main reason the_dark_snack and I aren't into catfish these days was that due to growing up in Arkansas we're kinda burned out on it. Whenever there's a fish fry or fish supper or fish buffet or generic "fish" on the menu there, it's catfish. We find it refreshing that in the north "fish" means cod, or more recently tilapia.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

So if I were to toss lots of cheetohs into a catfish pond....

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

Now I really want fish. And I am the only one in the household that eats fish. Boo.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I'm the only one in my household who likes pork chops, so I only ever eat them when we go out to eat. Ah well...

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

I like catfish with lime juice!

I also like the work of m_malcontent and walkertxkitty and think they were bith great Intersection partners. :)

[pricelessone.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, I used to (very occassionally) go fishing with my dad. And I am not kidding, every single time, I caught a fish, it was a catfish. I thought they were disgusting with those ugly black whisker things. My dad never let me hear the end of it. LOL.

I can't help but suggest that we recall a fabulous writer who left the competition several weeks ago: meee_tooo. She got my vote five times before she byed out. She was consistently amazing, and I wish all the time that she was still in the running so I could have the pleasure of seeing what she could come up with next. I'm not sure she ever got the recognition she deserved for consistently bringing amazing writing to the competition while she was here.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

I don't have time to figure out "who's overlooked" because admittedly, I don't look at the polls that closely. I will say that it amazes me sometimes that some contestants seem to run away with the votes while the vast majority of us are middle-of-the-road with our votes. Week after week I've found the talent to rise, and I've read some really great entries here, not always from the same people. I'm just glad to be among you all at this point.

Today, I'm working, and then my usual job as mom, and then it's FRIDAY :)

[crimsonplum.livejournal.com]

FRIDAY YAY. Did you get the car taken care of?

[beautyofgrey.livejournal.com]

Maybe these people have been mentioned, and maybe not (I've had a horrible headache for two days and can barely read for long)...but I think that the following people deserve some golden narwhals, or something:

crimsonplum
intrepia
flashpapertiger
lawchicky
java_fiend
magsscribbles
oberonia
rattsu
rivermirage
twistersflower

I should also say that I haven't followed their poll results from week to week, but I don't see them rec'd out a lot, and I wish I knew that people were reading them and loving their stuff as much as I do. And yes, I am friends with many of them, but that largely happened after I read their stuff in this silly game. :)

Also... I don't like seafood. Especially when my co-workers cook it in the microwave at work.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

Awww thank you :)

[oberonia.livejournal.com]

My Valentine this year is my dog, Sherwood. Today, he's getting a bath and a haircut and I'm going to get him a big treat. :)

I'm definitely feeling like an odd duck this week, though.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Oh, I forgot to get a Valentine's treat for my pets. Do you think they'll be disappointed?