Green Room

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

and then there were *30*!!!

With the last two winners being women (with the best finishes by a guy being 5th and 8th: both of them being lifeofjason) the last two Sudden Death boots being men - and the sheer overwhelming odds stacked against them numbers wise: CAN a guy win LJ IDOL?

Comments

[dizzydog.livejournal.com]

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I gotta say though, at least this saves me from having to attempt the LEAST FAVORITE TOPIC OF ALL TIME! I'll still follow along and vote for ya's, and I'll be back next season to try to crack into the top 25 at least :) Thanks to everyone that read my entries and voted for me along the way!

*moved from the new topic thread, oops :)

[techempage.livejournal.com]

~volunteers to beat you~

[nonabloch.livejournal.com]

I was saved! Thank you thank you! To all 18 of you that voted for me, thank you.

I will attempt to be non-pathetic this time around...although with the LEAST FAVORITE TOPIC OF ALL TIME, it could be bad.

[jenny_evergreen]

Aw, geez. I drag my best friend into the home game and we get THIS topic? Great timing. Oy.

Of course a guy CAN. Whether one will this time...*shrug*

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

I gotta say, as glad (and RELIEVED) as I am to have dodged a bullet and survived SUDDEN DEATH, I really am sorry to see evansmj have to go.

I really did enjoy his posts, and his SUDDEN DEATH post was so very sweet.

But thanks guys... for keeping me around another week.

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

What's the guy to girl ratio in the competition and the girl to guy ratio in eliminations?

[marjory.livejournal.com]

Well I'm female, so there's the first 'fess up for the stats!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Well I'd say it's a fair bet that more women have been eliminated number wise. Just because there were far more women coming in from day one. There were also more guys than have *ever* played. *combined from both seasons*.

I'm not sure if this speaks to the makeup of LJ or the makeup of the portion of LJ who knows about the contest and was interested enough to take part!

[nonabloch.livejournal.com]

Me female too.

Diaglogue

[spydielives.livejournal.com]

Voice 1: Is this where I 'fess up too, or do I try to stay under the radar just a little longer, and hope they vote for me because they think...

Voice 2: Do you seriously believe anyone still has any doubt what your gender is?

Voice 1: Hush! I might have a good thing going here.

Voice 2: Um, Dude Spydie, you are talking to yourself in your head. Again. Uh, no. You don't. We are admitting it.

I happen to be a girl, well, a bit more mature than that, but definitely of the female persuasion.

[twirlandswirl.livejournal.com]

Will there still be sudden deaths in the Top 25? I hope not.

And, hoooo-boy! I didn't even check where I was in votes/ask any of my friends to vote for me. I totally forgot... glad I was safe! *whew*

[lifeofjason.livejournal.com]

I shoulda tried again. Next time you shall witness the might of Jason Sensation!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

You know, I didn't even think of it at the time, but I'm rather glad that I *DIDN'T* go for any of the obvious topics this week! V-tech, Earth Day OR using the date 4/20 for something on the legalization issue

[evansmj.livejournal.com]

Better to go out this way, in a week where pretty much everyone (hopefully) read my entry. Congrats to oceansedge - I knew from the moment I read hers that I was doomed. Mine was simply too focused on one thing. To be sure, it was one of those important moments in my life. I probably made a mistake by writing about the most important events in my life too early in the contest.

Well, I'm going to do the home game route. However, I've reverted all my LJ Idol posts back to Friends-Only, to match the rest of my journal. If anyone reading this who is not on my friends list still wants to read my entries, please just hop on over to my journal, and comment to the Friends Only Banner post, and I'll be happy to add you as a friend. No obligation or pressure here - but if you found what I've said to be interesting and you want to hear more, I'm happy to share - but you've got to opt-in!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that - at least there was increased exposure, and hopefully people *will* decide to opt in, you couldn't ask to meet a nicer guy in this place o'LJ!

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

Focused on one thing can be good, I often worry my posts are too scattered - trying to include too many ideas in one post.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Can a guy win LJ Idol ? Yes, absolutely. Is zebrapix not a guy ?

Phew - I really dodged a bullet this week. I was in the bottom two the entire time until... after I stopped checking the vote counts !

[zebrapix.livejournal.com]

There's no way I'm going to win, but I appreciate the thought. Each time I've tried to work out a Top Four, they've each been all female. My entires are not consistent and when you look at the vote potentials of the leaders, my money is on...

...not me. :) I'll have my Sanjay moment very soon.

Heads up!

[bettybaker.livejournal.com]

bateleur's entry kicks ass this week.

Re: Heads up!

[marjory.livejournal.com]

It does! I think my hair turned white from all of the sniggering I was doingn (that is my excuse anyhoo).

some comments

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I've been getting comments from a few people that I should say more about my opinions on various contestants. My fear has always been being seen in doing too much in the way of pushing my personal favorites OR more importantly, having someone think "Oh, Gary doesn't like me as much - I can't win!" Which is about as far from the truth as you can get. I'm one vote. At the end of the day, that's the hard and fast truth of it. I cast exactly one vote. I can have more influence than that, but I try to hold it in check as much as possible.
That said - people have asked for my comments. Not "constructive criticism" or what I think of them as people (I'd say this group has more potential for a better final ten than both of the previous seasons) but rather just some random bits of game commentary.

There *will* be some of that other stuff later. Heh, yes I just said that out loud so the secret is out. But for right now it's just me with a comment sheet saying a few random things about each contestant and what I would have seen from them.
But keep in mind how many people I thought were "sho-ins" to make it to the top 25 are no longer here! So anything can happen!!!


agirlnamedluna: She's been solid for most of the contest. A few slips here and there that didn't really factor in. I think she's got a really good shot at making it beyond the Top 25 but needs to step up to the plate and deliver the kind of entries she is capable of writing more often. She could surprise a lot of people.

bateleur: A sleeper in the competition who is just starting to stand out. The latest entry is hilarious and I think you are going to be seeing bateleur's name for awhile if the trend continues.

beldar: Honestly? Not sure. Some weeks have been better than others. Could really end up surprising me. Has made - or came premade, not sure, a lot of good connections during the competition that might help him pull it out.

bettybaker Being completely honest with you - the dark horse to win. I think she's been playing a really good game.

brandedeclipse: Last year's 4th place finisher. If she steps up to the plate and starts delivering like she did last year, there is no reason we shouldn't see her go at least as far. The self doubt might hurt her though in getting that far, but that's the only thing. The talent is certainly there.

controlld_chaos: Might just be the biggest shock of the contest that she hasn't done better vote wise. I'm not revealing state secrets that I kind of want to be Jill when I grow up!*g* Entries haven't been rocking everyone's socks off, but she's absolutely hilarious when she's "on".

deyaniera: Another surprise, and another veteran. The surprise is that some of the entries haven't been up there with previous ones with the "wow" factor. It could just be that I *know* how great she is, and so when she does anything less I know it, unlike people new to me who could turn in something not up to their level and I would never know it. She's sticking around for a good long time though - with a combination of a rabid and loyal friends list *and* the fact that as soon as she sees this she's going to know that I'm challenging her, swear at me for a few minutes and just knock it out of the park next week.

dydan: Another shocker, for completely different reasons. I *didn't* know her early on, and now I do. When we first met I thought she would do well, but not as well as she has. I think she's only starting to blossom, in every aspect, inside and outside of the world of this competition.

gnomeangel: The smartest player ever to play this game, and I don't say that lightly. There's still plenty of time for that to be reaccessed and someone else to take the title. But for now it's hers. The question being was if she can keep up the pace she needs to maintain. Has she spiked too soon? Or does she have more plans in place?


imafarmgirl: With her first entry I told friends of mine that we were looking at the winner of Season 3. There have been some ups and downs since, but I think if she steps up that could still hold true.

Re: some comments

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I actually never thought I'd make it very far, especially since English is a language I *speak* perhaps thrice a year, and then it's usually to show the way to a lost tourist, which is increasingly rare now that I don't live in Brussels anymore LOL.

part two - hopefully it saved right *this* time!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

jesterstear: Another of the really not sure. Didn't expect to see him around at this point. Which means there is much more than meets the eye and could be someone to watch as the game continues to see the growth.

johnmill79: There have been some weeks when I've been completely floored and thinking he's a major contender. There have been some "oh, that was a good entry" weeks. If he can figure out what that "it"ness happens to be, and can harness it on a weekly basis, he will go far.

kithan: In all fairness, the person left in the competition, the person that I am closest to *outside* the competition. I think she's done a decent job, but she's as surprised as anyone else that she is still around. She definitely has the ability to make it quite a bit longer, but if she will depends on stepping up *and* motivating her supporters to get out the vote.

marjory: As embarrassing as this is to admit, majory didn't register on my radar until the last couple of weeks. There have been a lot of folks like that, who just came in and put out good entries week after week. Their numbers stayed fairly decent and they stuck around. By not spiking in either direction, she's been going under the radar. The next couple of weeks are going to be extremely telling if she is able to surge upward in the ranks. From what I've seen, she has the ability, but then again, so do a lot of people in the competition. So she's gone from under the radar, to someone I plan on watching.

mysticpenguin: I could almost say a "see above" here. It's going to be interesting to watch.


nonabloch: One of the few "hand picked" people that I encouraged to take part in this season. I think she could go very far. I thought that then, I think that now. Honestly though, I don't know if she thinks she can win/really cares how far she makes it. She SHOULD make it much further, but a lot of that is on her shoulders, and how much interest in her entries she can attract in the coming weeks.

oberonia aka autumn_lyric - changing your name mid-stream is a risky move contest wise. But it doesn't seem to have hurt her. If anything, her numbers seem to have gone up. Maybe it got people's attention and she was able to keep it. Not sure. Either way, I don't see her going anywhere anytime soon.
oceansedge: When she had to step up, she did. It's going to be interesting to watch over the next couple of weeks to see if she can maintain that level of support.

rebellibrarian: Just about everything I said about nonabloch applies here as well, although I don't know her as well. It's really surprised me that she hasn't done better numbers wise than she has.

Re: part two - hopefully it saved right *this* time!

[nonabloch.livejournal.com]

OMG!! Are you saying that I dont care??? That I dont wanna win????? OMG!!!!

I'm crushed!!!! I'm fallen!!!! My life is over!!!!!


Oh wait. See my latest LJ Idol entry. You're in it. :)

part three

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

shalanna and shannihilation: I'm combining them because for the longest time I DID mentally combine them. The names were just too close together and neither one of them was doing sticking out. As I've seen them, they obviously are two different people. But I think they have the same strengths, and challenges in this competition of taking that next step. The problem being that the way to get there is different for everyone and I look forward to seeing how they address that.

spydielives: I've known her more from the Green Room than her entries actually. This week's entry certainly was an interesting twist on the subject, and I hope it gets the appreciation it deserves. She has a solid base of support though that should carry her through.
oceansedge: When she had to step up, she did. It's going to be interesting to watch over the next couple of weeks to see if she can maintain that level of support.


strangestgirl: An early stand out that never seemed to take off. Still not entirely sure why. On paper she's got everything she needs to win. Not sure where the disconnect is.

swirvel42: Another of the surprises for me. Has done much better than I thought she would have. But much like the others with this description, has a base of support problem to overcome.

the_dark_snack: Solid talent but may have ended up overshadowed by some of the bigger names in the competition.

tryslora: Another of the surprises. I hate to keep repeating myself, but there are some people who have been putting out good entries week after week but for some reason just haven't hit the elusive "it" factor that propels them further. Could it happen? Absolutely. The tools are all there. Will it? I have no idea.

twirlandswirl The queen of the last minute entry and the contestant with, at this point, the greatest will to win. She's climbed out of a tremendous hole over the last couple of weeks, going from the person most likely to be booted next to a serious contender. Of course her last minute posts have made her *always* a possibility to be the next person out!!! As the person out first in Season 2, because she forgot she even signed up!(!) she definitely has the "story arc" going for her.

wbahner The more I see, the more I think he is going to go further than anyone would have ever thought the day he signed up.

welfy: The odds on favorite. She was almost out the first week when she didn't get the entry in on time, but was saved by the largest amount of votes in LJ Idol history. She's been playing it low key since, but honestly, it's like trying to hide an elephant in a cabinet. She stands out. When she has votes, she stands out. When she doesn't have votes, she stands out. Solid writer, seems to be really nice with a really large friend base. She's the person to beat. I actually feel bad about the fact that I'm so-so about that. I think she's quite talented and more than deserving, but there is very little narrative potential in a welfy win other than sometimes good things keep happening to good people! She's just been that good for that long.

zebrapix: Most people's pick to be in the finals next to welfy. He doesn't think so, but the rest of the world seems to agree with that. Really talented writer who has gained a lot of ground in the competition, from just one of the pack to one of the "score board leaders". Does he have what it takes to pull it out the stops and keep going to the end?

Re: part three

[twirlandswirl.livejournal.com]

...so I'm a bit scatter-brained.

We needn't mention I nearly did the same thing this season, as well.

I still consider this my first season.

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

clauderainsrm your secret is out!

NOW we know where you get your topics!! (http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=197)

[dizzydog.livejournal.com]

The wheel is scary, I'm reading the list of what they wanted on it and going "uh huh, yep, that one tooo", while comparing it to my LJ and my friends list :)