LJ Idol Presents:

Some hellbilly has acquired dynamite and whenever he's got a case of Bud Ice (every morning for the past week apparently) he drives through this small village tossing 1/4 sticks out the window!!! TEH DRAMA!!! On a closed group FB the community is going bananas. Kin o' the hellbilly are po-ed that he's been outed, folks with small dogs, children, and heart conditions are outraged because it's a seemingly non-stop warzone. Very aggravating. And a bit frightening, although he's probably more dangerous to himself. All branches of police, the bomb squad, and BLM are up here trying to find him. He's hidden good and they don't have access to the FB thread which is hundreds of comments long now.

So, that happened.

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Every time I see "BLM" (and I've been seeing it a lot with the Oregon situation) I think "Man, Black Lives Matter is really involved with everything now!!"

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Perfect icon is perfect.

What about the Mormon connection with Oregon?

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halfshellvenus.livejournal.com

Are the dynamite sticks lit, or not? That seems like it would make a difference, though I suppose you could wig out over the implied future threat even if they're not lit.

Are the kin PO'd because people know who the hellbilly is now, or because he is who he is and they can't control him either? ;)

And is this the same hellbilly involved in the dog drama with the shooting earlier, or a different one?

Inquiring minds want to know...

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Heh. They are VERY much lit. He's blowing huge holes into the ground and breaking out windows. We're far from the road so we're just hearing thunder-like explosions. Others are closer and really getting the $%^& scared out of them. There's no warning.

Seems they are pissed because they feel it should be handled on the hill. Someone should consult with Poppa Hellbilly and let him sort it. But the authorities are involved now and I guess that feels like betrayal.

No, not the same clan.

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halfshellvenus.livejournal.com

Seems they are pissed because they feel it should be handled on the hill.
Hey, if it's been going on for a week, the folks on the hill clearly are NOT handling it.

Lit dynamite sticks? Put him in the slammer and let him dry out while he waits for a court date.

I would not have the patience to live where you do!

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watching-ships.livejournal.com

This is insanity! I'd be glued to that FB conversation.

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lordrexfear.livejournal.com

Hellbilly...

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/hellbilly

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adoptedwriter.livejournal.com

News in my newsfeed? I get a lot of local news via my local friends and the Cincinnati news sources. A former student of mine died in a car crash. It's under investigation. No other cars/drivers involved. Her vehicle went off into a ditch on the side of a road. No weather issues. They can't explain it. (for now) So tragic. She was a young mom too.
The Evil Fairy of Death needs to go away.
Death sucks.

AW

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roina-arwen.livejournal.com

So sorry to hear that! *hugs*

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xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com

I haven't been paying attention to my newsfeed. All I can say is that cold weather blows and my hands/feet don't appreciate it one bit.

:bumbles off to metaphorical rocking chair:

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I was thinking about yesterday's post a bit, and although it may not get seen here, I'll say it here anyway. :)

In the "fiction doesn't tell you as much about a person as non fiction" debate, there was one thing that I think that I overlooked when talking about it's origins in Idol. Something that I think sheds a great deal of light:

It first popped up as "a thing" in Season 3.

Season 1 had 9 contestants. All but one of them were friends of mine who already knew each other on LJ.

Season 2 had 25 contestants. Many of them were friends of mine, or quickly became friends.

Season 3 exploded to 75 contestants.

Season 4 was about 150.

and it keeps going up until Season 7 where it plateaus and Second Chance comes in and we end up in the neighborhood of 280-300 in Season 9 (overall).

The wanting to know each other through the work comes into being a thing when more people get involved.

I also found an "interview" I gave at the start of Season 3 where I was asked what I thought someone needed to do in order to win the game:

"clauderainsrm: If you look at the two LJ Idols - tinhuviel and tru2myart - you see two completely different people who won in completely different ways. HOWEVER what they have in common is big personalities who weren't afraid to also be vulnerable and open up to people. Neither one of them lost sight of who they were, or what was important to them, and that connects with people more than anything else anyone could come up with as a "sure fire way of winning".

Honestly, if you take the 9 seasons and 2 mini-seasons so far on the books, I think that formula still holds true.

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lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com

That's a really good point, about how the number of people participating has had a direct impact on the conversation about fiction and nonfiction. Truthfully, I think what people are really looking for is connections - you want to know something about the people you're reading, about these names you see pop up again and again.

That sense of connection can definitely be vaguer with fiction because on the whole you're not getting facts and figures. You don't learn that the person lives in this place and works that job and has that many kids and has this particular opinion about Topic Of The Week. You learn instead more conceptual things - this person thinks a lot about fairy tales, that person has a silly or punny sense of humor, this other person is a romantic. And those things are harder to pick up immediately, too. They aggregate, after reading. I definitely believe that fiction can share a lot of who a person is (it's almost all I write, after all) but there's a certain clarity and directness about nonfiction that makes it easier for people to identify with, to understand, and even to remember, I think.

That desire for connection is why comments and GR participation are so important. We have here not just a competition, but a community, and connection and conversation is part of what a community does. I love that community aspect, and I say that as someone who signed up in season 8 thinking she'd do nothing but lurk and avoid "that popularity stuff". I like talking to people, learning about people, reaching out and bridging a gap. It's definitely a wonderful part of this whole experience, and I think some people who have resolved not to do 'that stuff' will yet be drawn in. It happens (she says, sheepishly). I also understand wanting to just focus on putting words on a page, pushing oneself to write a thing and ignoring the wider context and conversation because of worries that it'll keep those words from happening. And gosh, time is a factor. (I read yesterday's GR eagerly. I'm only able to comment today because I'm home sick. Sigh).

Anyway. I haven't got a point. Just thinking out loud, and feeling appreciative. This place is great at connections, and I'm really glad for those I've made here, and those I'll no doubt make in the future. <3

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I also signed up in season 8 intending to lurk.

...whoops? :)

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lordrexfear.livejournal.com

So stay completely the enigmatic conundrum I'm always and maybe somehow people will one day love me?

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leaving this as a note for myself for later/tomorrow:

Open vs closed.

Hopefully I will remember what that means. ;)

It's part of the "Idol history series". Which I didn't intend on having, but you know what? I'm thinking a lot about it with 10 years coming up in a few months. (toward the end of this mini season).

On one hand it's making me want to finally do that All Stars season or a "Gary's Top 10" list or *something*... all of which would probably end up pissing off more people than it made happy. :D

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I have to say I'm curious about what your "top 10" list would look like, whether it's pieces, contestants, or moments from Idol.

I'm guilty of wanting to know too much, though. :)

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I'm considering a "Top 10 Forgotten Legends". Not the Big Names like a Tea or RM who were iconic.

But names that might not get as much attention these days, but who are still very much stuck in my head.

Although I probably wouldn't do them in any order, which kind of negates the whole "Top 10" and makes it a "10 names". ;)

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and leads to squabbling as people try to figure out who "number one" is or whatnot...

Hmmm.

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I just came up with 7 names without breaking a sweat. I'm sure that I will have more.

Maybe as an opening salvo to get people to talk about folks *they* miss seeing (but don't get mentioned often these days)?

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I can think of a couple. :)

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porn-this-way.livejournal.com

I think fiction can actually tip a person's hand more than nonfiction can just because the usual guards aren't in place. Speaking as someone who normally does nonfiction, I can usually spin a post however I want in order to show people precisely what I want or don't want them to see of me. Crazy ranting bitch? Fire in the hole! Whimsical screwball with a love of nerdy jokes? Behold my bad math puns! When I'm using myself as my own writing material, I can (usually, anyway - everyone has their off days) focus the spotlight where it's wanted and avoid shining it where it isn't. Various friends in various fandoms have even been surprised at how I present myself in other fandoms - none of it's lying, just choosing which sides of myself to show and which to downplay or hide entirely. Fiction though is an entirely other ballgame, in that it *feels* like the focus is off of you as a writer, so you're focusing more freely on your characters, plot, world creation, etc. As a result, you can project all sorts of shit into your writing with little to no restraint, structure worlds and situations based on your brain's inner workings, have certain recurring themes crop up, you name it. And it's super easy to not realize how much of yourself you're putting out there because you're filtering it through characters and made up stories and whatnot. So even if in *your* mind, it's total fiction, and not about you at all, it can really turn out to be just one of those scenarios where a cat sits by the window with its ass sticking out from behind the curtain and its tail twitching wildly, but the silly thing thinks it's hidden just because the top third of its body is.

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ryl.livejournal.com

So even if in *your* mind, it's total fiction, and not about you at all, it can really turn out to be just one of those scenarios where a cat sits by the window with its ass sticking out from behind the curtain and its tail twitching wildly, but the silly thing thinks it's hidden just because the top third of its body is.

That is the best definition of fiction I've ever read. I'm going to bronze it and keep it forever.

When I write nonfiction pieces, including my own journal entries, I totally have all my shields up. At least I do these days. Not so much in the past, but that's all locked down and privatized now. But when I'm going at it slantwise through a fictional setting, I can be more honest. Probably more honest than I'm comfortable with but it's okay because it's not *real*.

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prog-schlock.livejournal.com

The Big News in my News Feed are people claiming that President Obama faked his tears during his press conference yesterday. Reasonable people can disagree about the efficacy of various strategies to minimize murder stick incidents. However, I think crying over murdered children is an appropriate reaction and speculating that he couldn't possibly be crying (because dead children isn't such a sad thing I guess?) is just gross.

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I suggested (in a friend's post) that Obama was actually crying in joy because he was about to receive everyone's guns (via a big box he was sending around to collect them) so that he could then send them to his friends in ISIS.

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