Season Three, Week Sixteen, Topic Two

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

First, a few words from our congenial host, clauderainsrm:

The second topic is in, with a few of you doing that last minute slide under the gate.

At this moment, we have 25 contestants. By the end of this vote, it will be 22. 3 of you will be leaving us this week — and the combined totals of this poll and the last one will be determining which 3.

To keep things interesting, THIS poll will be friends only. Why? So it's not just a repeat of the last one numbers-wise.

The other poll IS still open, so remember to keep up the voting, both here and there!

Voting starts now and ends on Thursday May 17th at 1pm

Good Luck!

Now, let the voting begin!

[Poll #985232]

Comments

[spydielives.livejournal.com]

Message to onyxblue1: I think that works very well!

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And thanks for the suggestion in the first place! I did have to go and look at your source code, even after looking at the tutorial (http://community.livejournal.com/howto/24298.html) in howto, because it just wasn't working. I think it looks good this way, too.

Second Thoughts Part 1

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Considering how personal the topic is I feel weird about commenting, so I'll keep my "this is a contest" hat on as firmly as I can and proceed from strictly that standpoint wherever I can!*g*

welfy: The usual brand of welfy goodness with a tribute to her mother. It's really hard to criticize it really. . . it wasn't her slamming anything out of the park but it was extremely sweet.

wbahner: Maybe the hardest to comment on, since obviously there was a lot of emotion behind those few simple and powerful words. From the point of an entry, well there really wasn't much. Sometimes you don't need a lot of words to get your point across though, and this may well be one of those times... not really sure to be honest.

Second Thoughts Part 2

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

twirlandswirl: A solid entry/tribute to her mother. Much like welfy's there is a lot to be said for the story of her mother's life. It didn't steal my lunch money, but it was quite good.

tryslora: Remember how I said tryslora was someone I couldn't get a read on at times, and that she went on and off my radar alongside marjory? Well with this entry - and the washer story especially*g* - means she's on my radar and should be there for quite some time to come.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 2

[oberonia.livejournal.com]

tryslora was among the first group of people I added from the contest. :)

Re: Second Thoughts Part 2

[marjory.livejournal.com]

I am On-And-Off-The-Radar Girl and am currently considering Super-Hero Outfit options.

Hey! Interesting sub-thread! I choose titanium alloy tights, a tin-foil hat and a purple shiny leotard with OAOTR sewn into it in sequins.

Anyone else? :)

Re: Second Thoughts Part 2

[(Anonymous)]

I just let my mom read it and she started crying, heh. :D

Re: Second Thoughts Part 2

[twirlandswirl.livejournal.com]

...yeah, that was me.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 2

[tryslora]

Thank you! I'm all gleefulhappy now. *grins*

It's amazing what memories doing laundry on mother's day inspires. And how many odd looks one gets from one's husband when one leaps up from sitting on the floor of the laundry room and runs to the computer and starts typing furiously.

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

agirlnamedluna ftw =)

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

. . . "for the win"?

Second Thoughts Part 3

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

How funny that these two entries would be side by side, since they are reverse mirrors of each other - if you two HAVEN'T read each others entries, I strongly urge you to do so.

I'm a sap, I'll admit it - I teared up a little at both.

the_dark_snack: Solid and revealing entry that gave a great deal of insight as well as asking an important question about the nature of Motherhood - the answer to which, IMO, is a complete and utter "Yes, you are".

strangestgirl: MUCH stronger entry than her last one. I think this one is a much better show of who she is, and a solid argument for staying around in this competition. Will it be enough to overcome the first entry though?

[bettybaker.livejournal.com]

I really love being able to see at a glance what clauderainsrm has written from what onyxblue has written. That's cool!

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

Good. I hope everyone else is at least tolerant of it. I might knock down the font size next time. But I do want to make sure people don't think I'm the one doing the star-gee-star thing!

[oberonia.livejournal.com]

hah I'm winning...that'll last about 5 minutes. *snerk*

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Nah, yours was an awesome entry.

Second Thoughts Part 4

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

DAMN. These two back to back...just... damn...

Both of them are letters to their mothers. One is an open lette - the other was sent, and includes the response.

Both are extremely powerful entries and if not THE best from either contestant are certainly up there.

spydielives: Absolutely wonderful entry - and heck, I'm going to chalk it up as an example of the contest doing some good, even if the credit in reality is all yours!*G* A MUST READ for this round.


shannihilation Another MUST READ You want to have your heart torn out and stomped on a couple times... read this entry. Heart wrenchingly brutal and honest.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 4

[spydielives.livejournal.com]

*blush* Thank you.

I may have to think less and write more... more often.

(At least to my mother)

Second Thoughts Part 5

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

shalanna: I feel sorry for shalanna this week. There's no other way to put it. She posted a funny piece on her hoot of a mom, at least what she could say without getting smacked in the head!*g* Unfortunately, if people are reading the entries in order she's sandwiched by luck of the alphabet in between a couple complete and utter gut checks. It *could* help her, after all, no matter which way you're reading (from the bottom or from the top) hers is a delightful and heart warming distraction. But after getting hit on either side, it may not be enough to make the entry stand out. Which is very unfortunate, since it deserves to be read and appreciated.

rebellibrarian: This may have been my favorite entry from her this entire competition. It's one of my favorite entries this week. hECK - since I started this last time, might as well continue and mark this a A MUST READNot really a lot to say about it other than it's about the loss that some people have to deal with during a time when most of us aren't thinking in terms of loss and it hits HARD.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 5

[bettybaker.livejournal.com]

I read entries in the order that they're posted in. How long it took someone to write an entry (or how long they put off writing the entry) has a subtle effect on how I judge it, on an intuitive, subjective level.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I can't access kithan's entry. Is it friends-locked ?

[bettybaker.livejournal.com]

I can't access it either.

Second Thoughts Part 6

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

oceansedge: A rather candid look into herself and the relationship she has with her children and motherhood itself. Extremely solid entry in every way.

oberonia: One of the disadvantages of doing this after the voting has started is that I tend to be a bit swayed in "is this better IMO than the level of support it is getting"/"should this be hyped more?". Since it's currently ahead by a few votes, it doesn't. It's coming from the same place as kithan's, which just by the luck of the draw I read first and because I talk to her more on a daily basis packed the bigger punch for me. oberonia connected the dots more than kithan did though and produced an entry well worth checking out for her thoughts on what sort of mother she would like to be.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 6

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

Except that no one can check out kithan's right now, unless they're on her friends list.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

mysticpenguin: Where else can you get an entry about being childless, salute to mothers (especially those with special needs children) and a little kid "drinkin' and drivin'" in the same place?*g* Worth a look just for that bit alone!

marjory: "I love you, Mum, even if you are as daft as a brush." I think that says it all. Quite funny/touching.

Second Thoughts Part 8

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

kithan: OH great, first review of the morning and I've left myself on this one!!! Thanks Gary. Geez. I love this entry, and I am completely and utterly biased about it since it's a subject we've talked about before on the phone. Which means there's a personal connection that helps me make the jump straight into it and hits on an emotional level without any prep. The question is going to be can OTHER people come in "cold" and have her thoughts on what sort of mother she wants to be do the same to them? THAT I'm honestly not sure about.

johnmill79: From what sort of mother someone wants to be, to what sort of mother someone actually HAS - it's a good and complimentary pairing. Solid entry and while it's far from his best, it's still a really nice read.

Second Thoughts Part 9

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Two stories of remarkable women, again it's interesting to me how so many of these seem to dovetail together just by what people happened to pick for their user names and that 2 seems to be the number that I can post at any one time at work!*g*

jesterstears: A recycled post with some new material in it. It's still good though. Not knock you down and run awaay with your wallet, but maybe in your face bothering you for change.*g*


imafarmgirl: Ok, again I'm biased. Not because I actually know her - but because I'm a fan and I can't hide that. Her style reminds me a lot of tru2myart's in tone and structure and she just has a really solid storytelling voice that takes you in and holds you there for awhile. Which is not to say that this is one of her best, but it'S still well worth a read.

Re: Second Thoughts Part 9

[jesterstear.livejournal.com]

Change nothing, I'm just begging for votes!

"Got any spare votes, man? Come on, just one... can't you see I'm suffering here? Hey, don't walk away from me!!! BASTARD!!!! CHEAP BASTARD!!!!!"

Sorry, got carried away with the method acting there... :-)

Second Thoughts Part 10

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Before I say anything else, I'm going to make 2 points. (1) Both are one my friends list/I like both of these women quite a bit and (2) I've noticed that I tend to be harder on the people that I know and like and a bit less so with those I like but don't have the personal relationships with. So bear those things in mind when I say that I thought both of these were well done, but at the end of the week, when the dust has settled, I don't think many people outside their circles are going to remember them as stand outs. Both have done far, far better. Heck, they've both done worse!*g* Two good, solid entries that are certainly nothing to be sneezed at - and certainly are fine benchmarks on why both should be kept around at this point in the game. But they both seemed to lack that certain extra... whatever it is...
so instead of going point by point I'll just mention a standout point in each:

dydan: I really liked the "Divine as Mother" aspect. Very clever take on the topic.

deyaniera: The straight forward approach of a tribute to her remarkable sounding mother, with an acknowledgement of knowing exactly how lucky she is to be able to say that.

Second Thoughts Part 11

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Two MORE friends of mine... geez... and they both made lists of things they learned from their mothers! I'm starting to think that you guys set this up on purpose!*g*


controlld_chaos: I believe it was mysticpenguin who pointed out that her mother was "mad wise", or something like that. She certainly did bring the practical, and kind of funny! Not a bad list at all.


brandedeclipse: See above, without the mad wise comment. I think it was interesting to see how, as a mom, she has applied what she has learned.

Second Thoughts Part 12

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

bettybaker: LINE OF THE WEEK: "So here's to our moms. May they never enter our beds. 'Cause that's gross". Remember what I've been saying about kicking my butt and taking my lunch money? bettybaker's got an extra milk and dessert right now. She went in a direction very much her own and put her mark down with Doc Martens on the forehead of this contest as a serious contender. A MUST READ

beldar: A very sweet list for what sounds like a very sweet woman. I might have something better to say if beldar wasn't sandwiched in by the alphabet between two powerhouses. But as is, I can say that it was a nice tribute.


agirlnamedluna aka aclevergirlnamedluna: The time table format had me a little worried, but it worked for the piece. Again, making form conform to substance is always the way to go and she did that.
Me, age 35 - enjoying the heck out of her entry. A MUST READ

[newsong.livejournal.com]

My favourites were mysticpenguin, oceansedge, shannihilation, the_dark_snack... Each for very different reasons. Notably, none of these are funny at all, thus proving that that isn't what it really takes to win in my books...

This was a good batch, and only 5 people didn't get my vote.

I was really impressed with the story-weaving of a few of the entries. It was like going into someone else's world for awhile - but since I read all the entries one after another it was really surreal. Kudos, LJ Idol has really improved my online reading list and I'm really glad I found it.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really glad that you've taken the time to come here, read and most importantly to comment and let people know what you think! The more comments the contestants get, the better. I was HOPING that if I made some comments that other folks would follow suit!

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

My entry came at just the right time for my Mom. :) She had just had a really rough moment, and it was really great for her to read my unvarnished thoughts on her and know I love her and appreciate her. So, even if clauderainsrm didn't think it was a home-run, Mom did. :D

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Which is the only real audience that counts!