therealljidol | Green Room - Week 25

Why Mr Gary. With this extra hour, you are truly spoiling us...

The weather is miserable and I am stuck indoors with five stir crazy children. All I need is more time to read the entries I've already read :oP

ETA: Aaaaaand first! I have lost count for how many of those I've had this season. Guess it makes up for two seasons of none at all!

Edited 2011-05-16 12:21 (UTC)

LOL! I finished my reading and voting the day the poll opened so this has just been one long, boring weekend of watching the poll not move at all.

And yay first!

I finished my reading and voting the day the poll opened

Apple polisher. :-p

Yet another thing you make me Google because I don't know what it means!

Hahahahahahahahahahaha... sheeesh. Foreigners. :-p

Haha yeah, now that one I knew for once :p

LOL I had to google it as well!

You're FIRST!!!!!!

:throws confetti:

Yeah, it's miserable over here too. It's supposed to be like this all week :p

I'm surprised by how not miserable the weather is here, considering we're heading into winter.

Of course, now that I've said that, I'll wake up tomorrow morning to find it's storming, or something *knocks on wood*

Agree, we could use some miserable weather here too.

Oh no, that *knocks on wood* was me hoping the weather stays exactly how it is right now! I hate miserable weather :D

Ooh, I'll gladly send you some!

Wooo Hoooo for your first! I'm on the "Anybody but Dom" wagon for firsts. :-p

I gave her pre-warning so she could jump in before me. That's gotta count for something, right?

lol... trying to build up the credits in your Karma account? :-p

I need those? I thought I was already at the peak! :D

I think you're still upside down, come to think of it. Better start rackin' up the credits!!!

You flipped it upside down, didn't you? *shakes fist at you*

hahahahahahahahaha... I *knew* that Topsy-Turvy would come in handy!!!

Ahahahaha! Best response ever!

Between the craziness that has been my weekend and my body's apparent hatred for me right now, I completely forgot about the jury!

Also still can't quite believe there are only 25 people left in the game. Not long to go now!

Also also, I have "Go Your Own Way" stuck in my head, which I don't mind since I love it. YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAAAAAAAAAAAAY, GO YOUR OWN WAAAY!!!

Edited 2011-05-16 12:30 (UTC)

Haha now I have it stuck in my head! We just played it on Rock Band last night too!

And did you play it well?

That's one of my favorite songs on drums, so yep! And Java kicked butt on drums. I just need my niece here to sing it since she loved that song too :)

Awesome! You could have your own little band in the making :D

Seriously... down to 25. 21 after tonight. Ack. It's gettin' scary scary scary!!!

I love that song!

I just can't believe it's going to be over soon. Where the hell did the time go?!

It flies apparently!

Well then, it just needs to fly right on back here!

*drags her feet to try and let

theafaye get first*

We're getting so close to the end of the game now, it's scary! And an extra hour, Gary? You must've had a great weekend or something. Although I suspect there's really an evil reason behind this. Like the fact that if I have to take my son to school tomorrow because he's gotten over his sickness, I won't be home to watch the majority of the last hour of the poll. That scares me. I prefer to watch that last hour and know where things are going!

LOL, I don't doubt his inherent evil nature for one second ;) The extra hour is just a ruse.

Exactly. He's just trying to lull us into a false sense of security ;)

Which, of course, makes one wonder what he has up his sleeve...or in his head...or orbiting his apartment...

Well he did say it's about to get stranger, so... I'm scared. Really scared!

...I totally skimmed that part. Now I'm worried.

I skimmed it the first time, too. Then I re-read and went :O

As did I!

It's a good idea to always read what he says very carefully because if there's one thing I've learned about Gary is that he at least warns us for what lies ahead (well never exactly, but at least an idea something is coming). We just have to keep our eyes open and hold on :)

His hints are about as clear as mud. lol...

I usually do, but I just got stuck on the whol jury thing 'cos I'd forgotten about it! I will pay even more attention from now on! :D

Edited 2011-05-17 00:59 (UTC)

Heh, I picked up on it right away!

Then again, if I were still playing...

I don't envy you guys one single bit. I'll just sit here and nibble my fingernails for all of you :eek:

There must be some perks to still being in the competition though, right? RIGHT? I mean, I'm glad I'm still in at this point, even if I am scared up to my eyeballs!

My mind went straight to the jury part 'cos I'd forgotten about it.

I'd rather not nibble on my fingernails, so thanks! ;D

I try to *not* wonder what is running around in his head. I don't think there's enough brain-bleach on the planet to deal with the aftermath of that.

And an extra hour, Gary? You must've had a great weekend or something.

Bow chicka bow bow... :-p

I suspect he had a great weekend and is distracted with more fun things ;)

I'll miss it too, probably. It's the difference between 1am and 2am for me, and I'll probably fall asleep somewhere between 1am and 2am and then not see until the morning.
Although, you know, watching it doesn't actually change the result ;)

I had no idea until this comment that you were in the UK too! I fail.

And I am an early to bed, early to rise type, so bed's at 11 at the latest, which means this extra hour means nothing to me because no way could I have stayed up until 1am anyway XD

Well to be fair, until that comment I had no idea that you were in the UK either. I think I just assume "American" unless I hear otherwise. Which is probably entirely the wrong thing to do, but statistically likely!! ;)

I am a late to bed, late to get up kind of a person. Student life is so challenging ;)
(Early to rise, early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy and dead. Just sayin'!)

Haha same here. Everyone online is American! Or so it seems XD

Yeah, I'd likely sleep between 1am and 2am too! You're right, it doesn't change the result, but it still somehow comforts me if I can see what's coming!

I find no comfort in biting my nails off. Last week one of my nails did half fall off. I have no intention of repeating the experience.
Although to be fair that was an unintentional kayaking mishap, rather than an idol-related-nailbite. But it sounds cooler if it was because of idol ;)

No matter the actual cause, Gary will assume it was Idol related :D

I'm sure it was. Somehow idol causes everything...
Indirect idol influence.

Exactly!

I'm without vehicle for an indeterminate period of time due to a cracked fog light and having to pass a state inspection (which I can't without getting said fog light fixed). Obviously this means I must shelve my emergency grocery shopping until later on unless I wish to schlep down to Former Employer's Main Competitor in the pouring rain :p

Oh, and I chopped off a good portion of my hair! I don't care what SO thinks -- I look cute, dammit.

I look cute, dammit.

Which is all that matters, dammit!

Exactly, dammit!

Ack! I'm sorry to hear about your vehicle! That really sucks!!!

And SO hasn't come around yet??? Need I smack some sense into the lad? :-p

Top 21 in less than 21 hours?

Ahahaha, I love it! Especially since I watched that today XD

BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS, WHATCHA GONNA DO?

I need to watch it again, it's been a while! We quote this movie all the time-- "This is a stupid problem to have" :D

"You know, Dan Marino should definitely buy this car. Well, not this one, 'cause I'm gonna fuck this one up. But he should definitely get one just like it."

Also: WOOSAH.

*LOL* "If this was my car, I'd be PISSED!"

Also: Yes, you do know what the fuck I'm talking about.

It just might have gotten real, but who's to say what will happen next week? Or the week after? Or every single week until the Top 3?

http://youtu.be/oigZEt99WdI

Edited 2011-05-16 13:00 (UTC)

HAHAH I love the commentary in that link!!! XD

Bad Boys II = One of my favorite movies ever. Strange but true.

Good morning all! Was nice to have a weekend without being preoccupied with the poll. =)

Was gonna take some time off from Idol writing, but the topic touched on something I've been wanting to do, so here's my Home Game entry (http://beldar.livejournal.com/737236.html), now that y'all have read and voted on the the regular ones.

There's been a few good home game entries this week! I've been reading the ones I've seen because I ran out of contestant entries to read XD

Is that supposed to be a hint?

;)

Yes. Write a home game entry and step on it! :P

Where are the rest of the Home Game entries???

I've read one each by

fourzoas,

sharya,

i_17bingo and, of course,

beldar. :D

Ahhhhh... of those,

beldar is the only one on my flist.

fourzoas is the only one who isn't on mine, but I managed to catch her link in the GR last week :D

Edited 2011-05-16 15:30 (UTC)

But, but, but! I don't need an extra hour, I already did my reading and voting. :p

It's going to be rainy rainy rainy here for the next several days. Which means no bike rides for me. Boo. I really have been enjoying getting into biking.

In other news, this whole being advised to not lie on my back thing is getting old already. And I've got several more months of it.

Because my husband is in South Africa right now (Cape Town, to be specific), I am going to be jumping around the green room a lot this week.

vaguelyclear just shared this picture (http://i.imgur.com/pJKoi.jpg) on her journal, and from that picture, I invented the word "manfume." Though she informs me it is already on Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=manfume) :( I thought I was being clever!

I've also, in my boredom this weekend, been learning about corpsing (http://www.metafilter.com/103511/corpsing-giggle-fits) and couldn't stop laughing at this example of it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un__imwE3vg&playnext=1&list=PL5C9056BAB779FF49).

Edited 2011-05-16 13:04 (UTC)

There's a name for that?!? LOLOL!

Reminds me of all the plays I did in high school and uni where everybody would intentionally hide stuff on the set that would insure that somebody would break character at precisely the correct time ;) It was so evil, but so much fun umless you were the one breaking character!

Which are you surprised about? Manfume or corpsing? LOL.

comedychick: informing you of useless information you didn't need to know since 1983 ;)

That is hilarious.

The corpsing! Although I do agree "manfume" is an apt description of that photo too ;)

Yeah I didn't know there was a word for it either.

joeymichaels sent me that link because I was whining about being bored. XD

Manfume, LOL. I am so going to work it into a conversation this week XD

You totally should! People should use that word more often XD

So jealous that you get to read up on corpsing and I'm stuck with drivel that actually contains phrases like "concentrate on the operationalization of deratting preparedness"

LOL, yeah, but presumably you get paid for that? I don't have a "job" - not one that pays, anyway!

Omg that last link made me laugh so hard. XD Now I MUST use the term corpsing whenever I do get around to improv'ing. XD

HEEHEEHEE And so my evil plan to infiltrate the universe begins... I mean, uh.. *shifty eyes*

Yeah being afraid of corpsing is probably one of the reasons I haven't had many attempts at improv.

Yeah see I haven't really had that rough of a time when I'm on stage in "actor mode" I can usually stay in character pretty well. I think what might start getting me if the audience is laughing too hard I'm going to want to join in on the fun. XD The biggest "audience" I've ever had was fellow classmates, and there's, what? 14 of them? Not to hard to "ignore".

I haven't had much stage time as an actor, though I'm pretty good at not laughing at my own jokes when I do stand up, so I guess I should be able to stay in character? I haven't really done much improv in front of a big audience, though. Just once.

Yaknow, I've never done standup, but I would consider standup harder for me than improv, because I can delve into a character and BE that person, but with standup I'm.. me, hah, and I'm telling a joke, and I tend to laugh at my own jokes so I'd just fall apart trying to do standup. XD

The trick is to practice the material so much that you no longer laugh at your own jokes ;)

Oh and! From that clip alone you can tell that sometimes corpsing makes a clip even funnier than if it was read through straight. ^^

Oh yeah, I think so too!

Fun time getting a dental crown this AM. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Go Reds! AW

An extra hour to freak out, huh? Gary, you're so kind :p

Though I do have a couple entries I need to read still, I was going to do it from my phone at work...but yeah, I probably should actually work today. I'll see if the extra hour lets me finish up and makes time for me to give more comments.

For now though...I'm at work. Ugh for Monday's...

Ugh for Monday's indeed. *HUGS*

*hugs* Mondays need to die a horrid death...

Yes, yes they do. But then Tuesday would take its place and we'd have to kill it too!

I'm okay with that...

Three day work weeks would work for me.

I could totally deal with 3-day work weeks. :-)

Heck, I'd be happy with working a bit longer and have more days off even. But alas, work has to suck your soul right out of you or it's simply not work :p

Well I want to find a job that I can enjoy and keep my soul intact! lol... Pipe dream, huh?

Pfft. I'll believe it when I see it :p

Though I'd bet Bigfoot is more likely to exist...

hey now, Bigfoot totally exists!!!!

I knew I could get you going on this one :P

It's true. Bigfoot is real. Harumph.

He's certainly more real than a job that doesn't suck your soul out :p

lol... meaniehead!

Oh, I bet he's got more than letting us freak out up his sleeve! :D

I still have some entries left to read as well, and I need to finish voting.

Haha I'm actually thinking the extension has very little to do with evil plans and more to do with making Gary happy outside Idol. Or so I hope ;)

Well, I hope so, too! It did occur to me that something may have come up for him outside of Idol, but Gary being Gary, I remain suspicious *G*

Well even if Gary is happy, he doesn't go easy on us regardless...but I do hope it's for good stuff cuz he deserves it :D

Well, afternoon here. But that doesn't alliterate.

So. The pimping question. We've already discussed the whys of it, but I'm wondering about the wheres. Where do you pimp (if you choose to)? Do you just do an open post on your LJ? An f-locked one? A filtered one?

What about beyond that though? Do you ask communities for support? Your FB friends? Tweet for votes? Do you ask individuals privately?

Is it OK to take an LJ contest outside of LJ? Why or why not?

My answer is pretty straightforward. If I don't tell my husband to vote for me, he doesn't pay any attention at all. He is the only person that I can do this to - anyone else just gets an f-locked mention of the poll at some point while it's open.

What's your approach to drumming up support? Anything you think is ethically shady?

I don't know how it rates in the "okay"-ness but I crosspost all my LJ stuff with Dreamwidth so I don't know if that counts as cross-promotion...

But I don't mention Idol on my other quasi-blog-things, so... Yeah.

With that out in front, though, I don't really have distinctions of what's "ethical" in the game 'cause it's like that LJ-friending essay (http://k4t3.org/publications/hyperfriendship.pdf)

locknkey mentioned where the ethics of Idol depend pretty heavily on what it is you're looking to get out of the competition.

I DO however have quiet distinctions I hold about what's classy and what's not.

Classy is drumming up support for a couple other people while you try to call attention to yourself. It's classy because it's not just asking for votes for yourself but also bringing other people up with you. You talk a little about what someone else has done well on top of what you did well.

Which is awesome.

Alternately, I think all's fair during the intersections because by not pimping your own group, you run the risk of feeling like you dragged someone else down. Which is neither true nor fair to one's self, but it's hard to imagine that you wouldn't feel that way. Which is why I tend to pimp much harder during them.

And I know that I've taken the unclassy option a few times 'cause I just want to stay in the game so much or felt that I could top the entry I begged on if given another week.

It's not classy but I think we can all be forgiven our moments of churlishness.

It's cool, for me anyway, if people want to pimp all over the place. I mean, if it's about using your social networking skills, I think that's pretty fair game.

Otherwise, we might as well just submit it all anonymously and have people vote on entries divorced from names. And what fun would that be?

But I DO go on.

What if one draws attention to other people without mentioning themselves? I've done that a lot with most of my rec lists. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't mention my own entry in them, though.

Having said that, I can't remember the last time I've asked someone to support only me in a poll, and recommended at least one or two other people to read & support.

Edited 2011-05-16 14:50 (UTC)

I think that's classy to not even mention one's self when you've got a horse in the game. A part of me says that you're still mentioning yourself because you're the one doing it and the like but whatev. It's classy.

And it is doubleplus classy to go and rec if you don't have a horse in the game.

Heehee. So, like, when I went and mentioned everyone's entries in the last round two poll, even though I wasn't in that poll... is that doubleplus classy? I dunno. I'm just trying to encourage more people to jump in and read everything to balance out the single votes that come in from pimping :P

Doubleplus helluva classy, I'd say.

And, heck, feel free to add all the superlatives you wanna to it.

Woot woot! :D You flatter me so ;)

I never flatter.

Anyone--anyone at all--who does that sort of thing is classy.

I've had the dilemna this season of choosing whether or not to promote my favorite journal entries/writers. I doubt any cares what I think this season, but I wouldn't want my pimping of certain entries or players to work AGAINST those players b/c others perceive it as the player having a loud and vocal fan club gathering votes and an "unfair" advantage.

There are people who think that? o.O I think I've recommended most if not all of the remaining contestants at least once! If not in my own journal, at least in the green room.

I think the only truly 'unethical' thing would be use of shell/secondary accounts to vote for someone. As in, if someone has five LJ accounts, and they use them all to vote for Whoever, or if they ask friends with multiple accounts to do the same, etc.

Everything else falls into just 'how do I want to play the game' -- something that's up to each person to decide what they'd like to do week to week. Which of course will be different from person to person, and hence why we have Idol and not (similar to what

alephz said above) a blind competition submitted anonymously and judged by a panel.

That's not only unethical, though, that's illegal according to game rules!

Indeed it is, though we've seen Gary mention a few times this year situations that skirt along the edges of that, etc. Meaning only that someone wanting to do that could probably find a way to do it, and it would remain the one truly 'wrong' thing that someone could do, IMO.

I have a secondary account that I've posted to for years, but I've never used it to vote for myself. I wasn't aware it was actually illegal according to the rules (although that makes sense), it's just one of those things that never even occurred to me as a possibility. I would definitely consider that unethical.

Totally off topic but I think you just had a birthday yesterday so I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! If you didn't... errrrr... well... this was all an illusion. :-)

lol -- it is my birthday today, yes! Thank you! :D

Nice! I hope it's a really good one for you!

Oh, yes! Happy birthday! :D

Personally I don't like to drum up support without encouraging people to read other entries, too. But as I mentioned to

alephz, I'm not even sure when was the last time I asked someone to only vote for me without considering who else they might like to support, or if there was someone at the lower end of the poll I thought could do with extra support, or whatever. I don't like to only think of myself in these things because I've made so many friends in the competition that I'd feel bad if I avoided trying to get them/others equal attention. But I know not everyone is like that.

Still, the reason I posed one of my questions last week was because I'd worry I was going to inadvertently take out someone in the competition I wanted to keep in so I can keep reading them.

Besides, I think eventually when you rely too much on pimp support, you stop getting reader support. I'd rather have reader support.

Edited 2011-05-16 15:10 (UTC)

I have a filtered list of people I post to in my LJ--the ones who like to be reminded when it's vote time.

I don't really post anywhere but on LJ, so I've never taken the competition outside. As for what's ethical or not, well, pimping is open to everyone, it's a tool everyone can use unless it's a closed vote week. It's really up to the individual to judge for themselves what they feel is "fair". Although personally, I think winning the whole thing just because you have massive flist support would be kind of bogus.

Most of my pimping is done on LJ. I do take it to FB sometimes because I have LJ friends over there too, but that's only when I'm slightly worried since I obviously get less support there...but sometimes I don't like looking ridiculous like I do now. I know the power of my flist. It's huge. I'd rather get a little nudge since I don't base my actually care to be top of the polls based on pimping alone. I'd rather do well without it if I can, which is why I rarely pimp and always wait to gauge how I'm doing without it first. It's not a pride thing for me as far as having to always be on top even if that means pimping...and honestly, I'd rather not overstay my welcome simply by pimping alone. If I was botto
For long enough, I might consider that a sign that it's my time and not pimp. Who really knows. But we all have rough weeks and I don't judge people for their pimping. It's a fight to stay in sometimes, sure...but that's because we all love it so much :)

Personally, I don't take it outside LJ and DEFINITELY not to Facebook. That's not an ethical stance. It has everything to do with me not wanting family members to even know I *have* a blog, let alone read it.

I've kept the secret up for nine years so far. :D

Meta food for thought on an otherwise miserable Monday afternoon :)

This season I made the effort not to pimp as much as I'd had in previous seasons. It was an experiment to see how far I could go just on the basis of my writing alone. In that sense, I was pleased -- of course I would still love to be playing, but overall, I did better than I thought I would.

Would I still be playing had I pimped my last entry? I don't know. Like so many others, my non-Idol FL is very quiet. I might have picked up a couple of more votes, but not enough to have saved me, I don't think. Then again I could be wrong, but given how quiet that part of my FL is...

When I have pimped, it's always to my general locked FL. I've never gone outside of LJ. I once pimped, out of nervousness, to a community my very first season. The moderator was kind enough to let me, but only for that one time. I honestly couldn't tell you how many votes I got from that. And I completely understood the mod's stance on it too, which is why I never did it again.

I've played seasons where I pimped every single week not just for my own entry, but others as well. Many were grateful for the reminder while others were, shall we say, were so turned off that they skipped right on by and told me so. What do you say to that, really? Yeah, it's my journal and I'm in this game and I'm sorry that it bugs you, but OTOH...it was just really awkward.

What I think is shady? Oh, so many things. Some I've seen in past seasons. I don't care to ever see them again.

Now I'm curious what you deem as unethical...mainly because I'm always curious at what people see as right and wrong here. I doubt I do any of them. I pimp. I pimp my friends and entries I like. I might engage is snarky commentary with my boyfriend, but outside of that, I doubt people would say I'm unethical.

But I guess I still wonder what they see as "bad".

This is why I tend to use the far-more-personal/far-less-loaded term "classy".

'Cause while I may think something's like school on a saturday (no class), other people may think it's just fine as opposed to a statement relating to a more concrete-and-universal-sounding "ethics".

That is true. It's mostly an opinion when it comes to things like this. I know certain things annoy me, but I wouldn't say they are wrong because there's no rule against it...such as someone who bashes those who pimp but secretly does it themselves. That would be "un-cool" in my mind...but others might not care one little bit. I don't even mind secret pimpers, though I'm usually open and honest about my own pimping and I would never criticize others since I do it myself (only as a last case scenario and I always pimp my friends too...but hey, that's just how I like doing it. To each their own...)

I'm just curious what turns people off versus what they deem as okay. . Just a personal curiousity of mine :)

To poke your curiosity, because it's early morning and I haven't had a coffee yet...
I've avoided this discussion because I'm entirely not sure what my feelings are on it: I'm a confused little soul.

I don't pimp, really. I don't even link the poll in my posts, and I rarely discuss idol outside of my entry posts. I do have people on my flist from idol (obviously, it's how I found it!) but I don't especially pimp, even to them.
When I see other people pimping there's a little petulant child in my head who jumps up and down says "that's not fair" - because to me, it's kind of not...
BUT it doesn't have any effect on who I vote for, because I read all the entries and vote for the ones I think are the best pieces of writing. And I would never, EVER be so presumptuous as to say that pimping/not pimping is wrong/unethical/uncool. Just, I can't personally get past the block of "But it isn't fair!" and do it myself, if that makes sense?

On the other hand, I think pimping is going to become necessary, isn't it? This is an incredible group of 21 writers, all of whom have talent and skill and know their craft. And it's not "just a writing competition" - it's more like... a "writing game". I think what

joeymichaels says just below here is really apt, actually - for me at least: Promoting the writing is what matters.
That way, you encourage people to read the entries. That's what matters, isn't it? - that people read the entries. I could never bring myself to say "go and vote for me" because I don't think that's fair, but I would gladly say "go and read these awesome entries and vote for your favourites."
But as I said, what other people do is up to them isn't it? It wouldn't have any impact on whether I voted for them. I guess I'm just not so great at the "playing the game" part!

Promoting the writing is a good thing. I'm in favor of promoting the writing. If promoting the writing has the additional effect of garnering more votes, rock and roll, but if the only effect it has is more people reading, then rock and roll to that, too.

Honestly, if I felt like there were just a handful of people I'd like to support, I'd focus on them, but (even as we approach the final weeks of the contest), I'd still be promoting 3/4 of the current competitors - and at that point, it comes across more as "don't read the people I don't like" as opposed to "read the people I like." You know?

In regards to cross posting, I wasn't even aware such a thing was possible.

I haven't pimped yet this season... still holding that card and hoping it doesn't backfire and I get eliminated before I went and used it! I just post a link to my entry on my regular journal because I want my friends to read my entries! And sometimes I post a couple of others they might like as well. But I don't link to the poll. (Yet :P) If someone reads my entry, there's always a link to the community on that, so if they want to they can click that and then find the poll and vote... I know some of my friends actually *have* gone and done that which makes me feel nice :D

I don't have a massive flist, and I only mention idol stuff on a filter so that cuts out perhaps half of my flist, and to be honest it does kind of worry me a little because I *don't* have that massive load of support I can call in if need be ;)

Goddamn, I spend all weekend watching the poll do nothing but for the occasional single voter to come in and now that I should be going to bed, votes are jumping in all over the place? Why does all the interesting poll stuff happen when I'm meant to be sleeping?!

I just got my last few entries read and voted on (I totally vote as I read -- helps make sure that I don't miss the deadline and not get any votes in at all, lol), so there's a bit of jumping coming from me -- sorry for screwing with your sleep! ;)

haha no it's not just you. There's been like an additional 30 voters in the last few hours!

I noticed multiple pimping posts this morning, so I'm guessing that has something to do with it. The final scramble to ask for help.

Oh, I know. Pimp posts tend to occur more often on the last day. They just freak me out because I don't think I could generate that amount of support if I tried. :P

Edited 2011-05-16 15:44 (UTC)

I remember last season being both amazed and a bit jealous at the amount of support some people were able to drum up for themselves.

It also makes me miss those days on LJ when I had a ton of active flisters who I could always chat with...

Yeah, I think that's mostly what it is for me, too. Awe and a little jealousy. Most of my flist isn't particularly active at all. The ones that are mostly follow Idol already and as such I don't need to ask them to vote, or if I did, it'd be silly because they already know where the vote is. Posting rec lists like I do is to try and generate more interest in the competition itself from the remaining flisters who don't actually follow. But I'm more likely to find those people on IM or FB if I wanted to ask them to read and vote. Luckily I haven't had to test out how much support I could get this way!

I've totally texted you! But all I hear are crickets chirping these days. :-p

Once I get my phone charged up, I'll try to remember to text you. I've not been a fan of my phone lately, because my ex has been sending me alternating texts of how much he still loves me and how much he wants to hurt me. Sometimes when I hear it buzz I just ignore it, because I don't want to deal with another message from him.

:( That sucks. Can you block his number?

Well that's why you have me :P

I can generate that amount of support if needed apparently! I'm a bit amazed at how much I got overnight!

Shh, giving away my pimping secrets ;) (though I'm thankful you haven't had to ask people very often to support me, and it generally is only there to counter the other pimp support)

Interestingly, you also asked people to support someone else, and her votes didn't increase as much as yours. I dunno, I guess some people don't always choose to support the people you ask them to, either!

Shouldn't you be in bed? :p

I can never drum up as much support for others like I can myself. I think people nay not read through what I have to say and just click :( but I can get a little support apparently. I think my friends list really only feels loyal to me (and maybe

java_fiend now. But yeah...it's not as helpful. I can't ever claim I can save others with my support, but I can drum up some extra votes and give a nudge in the right direction sometimes.

That's why I went to bed before I saw this comment :P I'm not even proper awake right now. It's 5:20am and baby feeding time rather than awake time.

That's kind of sad if they don't read! If they really care about you, they should at least read what you have to say, even if they don't choose to support who you want them to!

Some obviously do read since she still jumped a bit...but I think lots of my friends really don't care about idol, they just blindly vote. I can't be sure, but it's the one reason I hate pimping. I don't like blind support getting me through each week. Luckily, I haven't had to ask often.

Most of my active flist are idol folk though. So I'd think they would vote for me if they like me and see I'm in danger, and it just depends on if they are friendly with who I'm pimping too. I can usually drum up support for Java just as easily. The others vary :/

I still have some entries to read today. I didn't read anything over the weekend. Friday we went out to dinner for our youngest kids' birthday. Saturday my husband and I went to dinner and had fajitas and margaritas and then went to see Thor in IMAX, to celebrate our seven year wedding anniversary. I love it when movie sound makes my chair rumble. And on Sunday we had a nice relaxing day outside in the pool

So we've got an immunity coming into play, another secondary round this week, AND things are about to get stranger? Insanity.

Also? BLARGH! Mondays!

Aww happy anniversary :)

java_fiend and I went and saw Priest this weekend. I need to see Thor too. I'm a sucker for action flicks!

How was Priest? I keep seeing those ads and wondering... :)

We really liked it! But it's our type of movie...we like strange, creepy stories about dystopian societies...so we enjoyed it. I can see others not caring too much for it though since it is very different and the vampires are creepy instead of sparkly and romantic :)

Thanks! :) Thor was AWESOME, you should totally see it in the theater. Great special effects, story, acting and sound.

I want to see Priest really badly, it's totally my kind of movie, but I'll probably wait for the DVD since there are so many other big movies coming out soon that I also want to see. Was it as dark, exciting and creepy as it looks?

Well I'd like to see it, but I also HAVE to see Pirates next weekend...unless Java and I pull a double feature again, it might have to wait...I do hope it stays in theaters long enough (I'm going to be in Missouri the following weekend).

It was very dark and creepy. Maybe not as dark and creepy as I would have hoped, but it certainly fits the bill. I loved it still, but like I said, I like odd movies that others hate fairly often.

Ahaha! I was just telling Java in another thread that I'll probably miss Priest in the theater since I'm going to see Pirates next weekend! Two movies in a month is quite expensive, and my husband would never go for three just for that. I would, but then I'm a big movie buff.

Oh, I can tell from the previews that it's my kind of movie. I'm a sucker for horror/action. I was mostly wondering if they executed it as well it looks in the previews.

Well when I mean double feature, it's two for the price of one :P lol nah, we only did it once just because he was shocked I never had done it before. My small town didn't have a movie theater though, just a single screen drive-in!

Hmm well it's hard to say because I was surprised a bit that it went the direction it did. I got the idea it was something different...but that was probably just me. I liked the concept a lot though!

Oh, I WISH they did double features where I live *LOL* The concept is unheard of around here.

Haha Well it's unheard of here too..we just made it our double feature since I had never theater hopped before. I was so scared we'd get caught, I'm not sure I could do it again :p

*facepalm* Okay, NOW I get it! *LOL* I did that once, just to do it, but I was scared, too.

Haha! Yeah, Java was all cool and relaxed and I kept saying "let's just go...". It was two movies we couldn't decide between (Black Swan and True Grit) and it was very empty that day....

But yeah, he totally pulled me in :p

She was so funny. It was like she expected the SWAT team to roll in, throw us in cuffs and send us down to Gitmo. lol....

In Malaysia, movies only cost about US$4 to see in cinemas! One time I went to see one for about US$2. It's because they have to compete with the cost of buying the movies pirated, I think, which is... a little cheaper than seeing them in a cinema on a weekend, but more expensive than seeing it on a weekday...

You'd think this would encourage me out to see movies more often, but you'd be wrong! I am so bad at treating myself to movies, especially when I'm still breastfeeding and I feel weird about leaving both kids with my maid too often. It's funny, I'm more inclined to do that to shop for groceries than I am to see movies! What the exciting life I lead! XD

Woooo Hoooooo! Congrats on the anniversary!!! :-)

Thanks, hon! :)

How was Thor? I hear mixed things about it...

I've never been a fan of the Thor comic, but I really enjoyed the movie. Great special effects, action sequences, acting, sound and the story was well told. It could have just been a popcorn-muncher, and it has those aspects, but I think they created a sense of drama and the acting helped to keep it grounded and give it a little more emotional depth. The performance of the guy who played Thor was perfect IMO, he struck the right notes of a god-like being, even on earth in ordinary life, without ever seeming ridiculous. I thought it could have been longer, to let some aspects play out a bit more thoroughly, but they did great with the time they had.

It's like anything else, I guess. Some people will love it, some people will hate it. But if you like action mixed with a bit of mythology and sci-fi I'd say you'll probably like it.

Interesting. Honestly, I know nothing about the comic... I know nothing about any comic actually. lol... but I've enjoyed most all of the comic book movies recently. I'm a huge fan of the X-Men movies and I loved Iron Man. Now you have me interested in Thor! :-)

Thanks for the review.

I worked in a comic shop for three years once. It was my job to know everything about all the characters *L* So I read current Thor (at the time), and knew his history, even if I didn't particularly love him. The X-Men comics, though, they were my one true love. I love the movies, and the third is my absolute favorite. First Class looks like it's going to be awesome, as well.

Also, Iron Man, Thor and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) are all going to be in The Avengers next year :)

First Class does look like it'll be a good one. And I liked the third installment too... but I know a lot of people hated it. I don't know this history of Jean Grey/Phoenix but that's where a lot of folks I know felt cheated. *shrug*

lol.... The Avengers... did that have to do with Scarlett Jo in the last Iron Man?

The haters can stand to the left. Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix is my favorite comic book character of all time. I loved the storyline in the comics (fascinated me and broke my heart as a pre-teen). And they did change it some for the movie. She regained control just long enough to off herself in the comics, but having her regain control just long enough to let Wolverine kill her gave it so much more meaning for me. And DUDE, they killed Scott Summers (Cyclops) in the FIRST REEL. I would've given them my firstborn for that ALONE. I still grin and get gleeful whenever I think about it *LOL* I cheered in the theater.

She's going to be in it as well. The Avengers is an extremely famous team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow (Scarlett Jo), Hulk, Hawkeye (who makes a cameo in Thor), and Nick Fury as the one who brings them all together.

Wow! Not a Cyclops fan, huh??? lol... Sheeeesh. What did the brother ever do to you??? lol...

Huh. Interesting. Captain America is one I want to see too. That one looks interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for Avengers. That could be a really fun flick!

Two words: Whiny b*tchboy. Never. SHUT. UP. Picture one forearm permanently attached to his forehead. Always with the moaning and the angsting and not feeling like he was good enough for anything. Like, this guy is leading the X-Men? Seriously?

Should be fun! I don't know if you're familiar with Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly/Serenity, Alien IV) but he wrote it and is directing.

OMG AGREE SO HARD! Cyclops is like my most detested superhero character ever because of that.

Yes! This!

I LOVE angst, don't get me wrong. It's hard to turn me off angst. But there's a right way to do it, and a wrong way, and Cyclops is an example of doing it wrong. I never understood why he was leading the X-Men, or what Jean saw in him when she was so strong. Thus why I cheered when they killed him in the first reel of X-Men 3. :D

Yes, exactly! It's funny because one of my closest friends LOVES Cyclops. I'm glad to know someone who agrees with me!

hahahhahahaha... that is brutal. Poor Scott. lol...

I LOVED Firefly. I thought it was one of the best shows ever!!!

Woooo Hoooooooo!!! A Green Room! Oh how I've missed these!

pixie117 and I got out to see Priest over the weekend and loved it. We had a lot of really nice, mellow downtime together and it was so wonderful. And we played lots of Rock Band which is fun. Even though I still look like a chimpanzee having a seizure when I play the drums. But oh how I hate having to leave on Sunday evenings. Booo on that.

I am sleepy as all get out today. I stayed up WAY to late reading The Hunger Games last night. I totally couldn't put it down. The lovely

pixie117 had suggested it to me a while back... but I forgot and just happened to stumble upon it while I was shopping for a book on my Kindle. I really love it so far.

I still have a few entries to read so I'm glad the deadline got pushed out a bit. But wow are the polls scary. Yikes. And with the next Round 2 set to go off... I is a Nervous Nellie, I tell ya.

Hope everybody had a fantastic weekend!!!

I hate you leaving on Sunday too. It just makes Monday even more sucktastic and dreadable :p

But it was a fun as heck weekend, as always! And you're advancing in Rock Band very well! You'll move up from the chimpanzee having a seizure level rather quickly!

*HUGS* It definitely does, honey.

And I dunno... I think I may be stuck on the chimp having a seizure level for quite a while!

*hugs* weekends with you really are the highlights of my weeks, honey.

Oh I just know that you'll progress to the regular chimp mode very soon! :P

And you're the highlight of my weeks too, sweetheart. :-)

Ooooohhh... dare to dream!

*hugs* you're just too sweet <3

I'd say it's more than a dream, honey...especially on the guitar. I think you're picking it up really fast. I've been doing it longer after all. I've played these songs a hundred times, it didn't happen overnight :)

Not as sweet as you are. :-)

And why can't it happen overnight!!! :-p

That's debatable.

Because it can't, sillyhead!

Nope. Not up for debate. Nope. Uh uh. No sireebob!

But why nooooooooooooooooooooooooooot! *stomps foot*

I really want to see Priest but I'll probably wait for it on DVD since next weekend I want to go see Pirates *G*

Okay, so that's the third time I've seen people mention reading The Hunger Games already this morning alone! Is it really that good? I admit to not paying it too much attention since it's sort of touted as the new Twilight.

The polls are really scary. I have a feeling the final hour may look a lot like the last poll's. Talk about harrowing!

Oh yes... I'll be taking

pixie117 to see Pirates next weekend. We loves those movies!!! :-)

I really think it's a good read. Granted, I'm halfway through the first book... and actually, I didn't know it was a series until today... but as of yet, I've not seen hide nor hair of a werewolf, a lame emo girl or a sparkly vampire. :-)

So far, it's a really great read. The characters are fantastic and the storytelling, in my opinion, is riveting. The concept of the book absolutely fascinates me and I think it's really, really well done. I had no idea it was being touted as a new Twilight and I think that's a terrible comparison. This book actually has some substance whereas I don't think Twilight does. Though to be honest, I've never read Twilight but it never interested me just because of what I *have* seen of the books.

I would really suggest The Hunger Games... in my opinion, it's a great read. It's not going to change the world and it's not a super-deep intellectual/philosophical piece (though I think you can find elements of both) but it is a really enjoyable read in my opinion.

This one looks like it's going to be a lot less bloated than the last two, which I'm really excited about. I mean, I loved them, but they tried to do too much, especially in the third one.

Well, it's not being called the new Twilight, but the comparisons are there because they're wildly popular YA books set around a young girl. They're the next big YA thing, especially now that the movies are being made, so being compared to Twilight can't be helped.

But it sounds like these books are far more mature and well-written. I might give them a shot. Are they dark? From the premise, it sounds as if they would be. I need something that's gripping. Like, I tried reading Harry Potter, but I just couldn't get interested enough.

Oh I think you're right. And I think jettisoning Orlando and Keira will be better overall for the movie.

Interesting... lol... people slay me. The fact that the book is set around a younger woman is where the similarity to Twilight ends. Katniss is a badass girl. Unlike what's-her-face from Twilight. It is VERY dark, very mature and very well written. At least in my opinion. I tried to read Harry Potter but couldn't get into it at all. The Hunger Games had me from page 1.

Unlike Bella, who breaks a bone every time she moves so Edward has to carry her everywhere? *LOL* Okay, dark, mature and well-written, I'm in for that. Maybe I'll buy it for our 13 year old girl and read it when she's done.

lol... Thankfully, I've not read a word of Twilight. I wouldn't sully my brain. :-p

Honestly. I turn my back for TEN SECONDS and there's a whole green room and the poll is having a party
Yikes.

Although by "ten seconds" I actually mean 24 hours.

Today the updated, edited version of my "Jestam" entry (a short play) is being performed at my Student's Union. I'm very excited by this :D

Oh that's awesome about your screenplay!!!! I'm so happy for you!

Haha, yeah it was pretty cool :D

Today the updated, edited version of my "Jestam" entry (a short play) is being performed at my Student's Union.

Congratulations! That's awesome!!!

It was very awesome! Thank you :) :)

Congrats on your screenplay becoming a play! That's got to feel awesome!

:) It does! It was really cool to watch people acting something that I wrote. Although, you know, also TERRIFYING. It's going to make me into a thrill seeker, I can see it happening.

OMG grats!!

Hee! Thanks!! :D

Presumably it's been performed now... how did it go?

It went pretty well overall :) It's weird and awesome and terrifying all at once, to be fair!

Hurrah! And yeah, it's interesting getting to see people perform something you've worked on, isn't it? :D

Yeah, as a playwright it's kind of essential but oft-overlooked and difficult to actually DO in real-world terms. As a student it's great because there are more opportunities in that sense. I mean, I'm writing dialogue, basically, and you can't always know what works and what doesn't until it's up there in three dimensions. Plays are for performing, not for reading :)

Yes, exactly! Man I love writing dialogue :D

And...I've got my Jeep back.

It no longer has a back seat. They had to remove it to get to the nonworking seat belts. I can't pass inspection without them.

I'm dreading to think how much this is going to cost.

:head desk:

*confused* Are they going to put the seats back in?

They're not going to replace it until my next day off. I need the Jeep to get to work tomorrow morning, I don't necessarily need the back seat for that, so...

I'm just praying I'm not going to get stopped for an expired inspection sticker. Or having to explain as to why I have no backseat at the moment :eek:

Um, yeah, that would be awkward! Wishing you luck in not being stopped!

Woooo Hoooooo! Congrats on getting the Jeep back. Sorry about your back seat though. Yikes that sucks.

Internet, I learned this weekend that my blood has a crazy high platelet count. I'm sure this means I have a super power of some sort. Now I just need to figure out what it is.

I also want to publicly say how awesome the discussions in my entry for last week were and how happy I was to get to have them. Thank you guys, for indulging me so. ♥

Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh... a super power. Maybe you can fly? turn invisible? Shoot excess platelets out of your eyeballs to smite your enemies???

I feel like I'd have to shoot a LOT of platelets out of my eyes before I could use them against someone. I'd also have to be able to control them with my mind. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE I HAVE THAT ABILITY AND I HAVEN'T BEEN USING IT. I am just an underachiever aaaaaaaall over.

Maybe I should just be Clot Girl. Able to not bleed out from a single wound.

Oh man... lol... Clot Girl is just so unpleasant sounding. lol....

I vote for Platelet Girl! It sounds so much more exciting! The clot thing kinda goes without saying.

So I am at the vet with

kittymichaels right now. He is getting fluids because he's been vomiting for the last bunch of days and is dehyrdated. Poor old thing has lost two pounds since December. He is still doing all his regular things, still a delightful little pest, but he just can't seem to hold any food down. Not that he doesn't eat. Indeed, he is as voracious as ever.

Cats are confusing.

Anyhow, I am obviously hoping for a full recovery still, because I love this cat beyond reason, but I also recognize that he's seventeen. That is a wonderfully long time to get to spend with such a cool kitty. I'd love to make it 18 or 19, or even 20. But only if those could be happy years for him.

*sighs*

*hugs* I'm sending good, healing vibes his way. Poor old guy....

java_fiend had a scare with his 17 year old kitty this weekend too. He wasn't eating and he was throwing up. Not a good weekend for black cats I guess. But he came through just fine and I'm keeping Kitty Michaels in my thoughts today. Losing a beloved pet is so painful. Even if you know it'll happen one day, you never want that day to come. I'm hoping he has many happy days left in him <3

Kitty Michaels is bizarre because he doesn't really alter his behavior at all when he's not feeling well. Indeed, he'll sit on the computer desk and purr at me, vomit, then return back to the desk and purr at me some more.

Anyhow, he's at home now with a hump of fluids and some wet food. Thanks for your positive thoughts!

Most cats (and even dogs) won't alter their behavior. It's a survival instinct held over from their wild ancestors. To show illness or injury would show weakness to predators, so they don't. It makes our jobs as pet parents even harder that way :(

But I'm glad he's home. I'm sure the vet would have kept him if it looked really bad. Still sending healing thoughts!

Cats are most definitely confusing and yet entirely awesome little creatures. I'm keeping lots of good thoughts for

kittymichaels man. I know how it is to worry when they're having issues. My boy is 17 and still going strong but I always worry whenever he has an issue. So I definitely get your concern. Keeping you both in my thoughts.

You know, my vet always reminds me that any years after ten are bonus years, so I am glad I've had seven extra years with him. Selfishly, I want more, you know?

Thanks for your empathy!

Dude believe me, I know. I know that one day it will happen... as it happens to us all... but I will never be ready for that day. He's been a part of my life so long, just as

kittymichaels has been a part of your life so long that they just become a part of our family... and we'll never be ready to see family go. It's rough. It really is.

Hang in there, man. And tell

kittymichaels that he still has many lessons to impart to , tuna and chicken to devour and seasons of

therealljidol to win so get back to normal pronto!!!

I think he's already claimed victory in all future seasons, so he's covered in that regard!

I've lost two dogs over the last two years, and I found with both of them that I knew their time was coming. I'm not sure if cats differ that way, but with dogs it's when they stop eating and being active that it might be time to start worrying. If Kitty's still eating and active, then that seems like a hopeful sign.

I'm keeping you both in my thoughts, and wishing Kitty a speedy, full recovery!

Cats, as I mentioned, are strange. When our white cat passed about a year and a half ago, she was just as active and engaged right up to the end as she'd always been.

Anyhow, I still have hope for Kitty Michaels, but I'm bracing myself. Thanks for the thoughts!

You had three cats at the same time? I thought it was just Kitty and Grey Cat.

Oh, and well wishes for Kitty! He needs to survive long enough for me to bring him tuna.

Edited 2011-05-16 22:20 (UTC)

White Cat was cat #3. Somewhere in my journal is the sad tale of her decline and passing. She was genuinely an insane cat - insane in cat terms.

Awww. She must have passed not long before Idol season 6, then? This is the first I've heard of her!

Poor Kitty!

I had to put one of my dogs down a few years ago (she was the first pet our family ever had), and I hated having to do it because she was mentally still with it, but her body wasn't - the vet told us afterward that her back legs were more or less paralysed. I knew it was the right decision, but still... :(

I do hope he makes a full recovery, and that you get a little bit more time with him!

He's done a good job keeping wet food down today, so maybe that is the secret for keeping him around and happy for a few more months.

*crosses fingers*

Wow, over 200 comments and still no page 2! I'm impressed :D I should probably go back to sleep for the next hour... I don't think I'll be taking my boy to school today given how he seemed last night.

Edit: LOL it's a public holiday today anyway XD

Edited 2011-05-16 23:41 (UTC)

Are you trying to get a page 2?! Spamity spam mcspamspam.

I'm just trying to stay awake. It's 1.32 and I kind of think I might as well.
But I'm too tired to actually do or say anything useful. I guess I'll just join you in the quest for page 2.

No, there needs to be like 5 or so more commenters before there'll be a page 2!

I appreciate your distractions. It keeps me from refreshing the poll too often XD

I guess everyone else is at another party that we don't know about!! I wonder what's so good about that party? I'm curious like whoa.

And cheers, you just reminded me that I haven't refreshed in a full five minutes. Must rectify.
Wait...
I see what you did there!

IKR? We're obviously not part of the cool people club! OR MAYBE WE ARE AND WE'RE THE ONLY ONES IN IT! Since we totally stayed beyond everyone else in the GR ;)

WE ARE THE COOL KIDS AND DON'T WE KNOW IT!! ;)

Green Room - Week 25 - Day 8

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject