LJ Idol Presents:

Maybe people can lift each other up

and perhaps they are just

crabs in a barrel

The deadline to link your entry back to this thread is Tuesday, Oct 28th at 8pm EDT

Have fun!

I believe in same sex voting in the polls: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/565570.html

I also believe in the right to vote for someone of a different sex in the polls.

Whoever it is that you love, you have the equal right to cast a vote for them! Which is how it should be!

I didn’t even have to “evolve” this position, it’s one that I have kept from the very beginning!

So, get out there and take advantage of it!

While you are getting out there and doing stuff, there is still a vote going on to determine who will be coming back into the game. Just to clarify (I did last night, but I’ll do it again) it’s someone who left between Week 21 and this week! Which does limit it, but also makes it more of a challenge! : )

Some games may no longer be afoot, but this one definitely is!!

I had some comments to make about things that came up yesterday – but honestly, that pales in comparison to the loss of Maurice Sendak.

What an amazing talent and (from everything that I’ve ever read from/about him) a great guy.

Thank you for sharing your world with us Maurice. You will definitely be missed.

***

On the Idol side of things, there is a poll going on - http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/565570.html

And an unofficial poll, for contestants only, to determine who people want to see receive the “Back in the Game” token! http://the-day-setup.livejournal.com/9279.html

There are days when you can just rattle off the first bit of nonsense that comes to mind, and then there are days like these.

I’d trade days like these for nonsense days in a heartbeat. But then again, that’s part of the problem.

Long ago, in what seems like a completely different era, I had an assistant who routinely scolded me for not being hard enough on Idol contestants. She told me that I was naïve – that I couldn’t act like they were friends or that they would act like responsible adults.

In what seems like not that long ago, I’ve had other people scold me for treating problems between contestants as just that – problems between contestants, things that reasonable adults, responsible human beings could solve without needing some Big Brother to step in and treat them like children.

After all, we HAVE children who participate in Idol, and granted they were under the supervision of their parent(s) who monitored what they saw and interacted with, but they also behaved themselves well beyond their years.

So, the people getting worked up about being me “too nice” (their words) aside – it’s not unreasonable for the default to be “people are going to behave like adults”, until that is proved differently.

Unfortunately though, that means when it’s proven to not be the case, it’s usually at the level of being an actual problem.

In this specific case, although I was monitoring the votes that ended up mattering to an elimination (the people going/those who were close), I didn’t take the extra time to examine every single account to make sure no one had fallen into the trap of being an asshat about it.

I’m sure most people know what I’m talking about by now – but if you don’t, we did have a situation, and a voluntary withdrawal from the game over misuse of an alternate account for voting purposes.

The hell of it is, because you can’t verify if “Aunt Sue’s” account really IS your aunt, usually I can look into it a bit, and if it looks suspicious, and let it go with a warning that I don’t want to see it happen again.

The people who end up banned have all been doing it with multiple accounts and shown a disregard/almost joy over the idea that they were “getting one over”.

So, in this case, it’s less of the offense, and more of the cover-up. Which is often enough the case in such things.

ellakite has posted about his reasons for leaving on his own LJ, so I won’t go into it any further than I actually have – BUT I will say, if you are doing this as well, and I just haven’t caught up with you yet, you are on notice.

I understand that stress and self-esteem issues make you do all kinds of stupid things. But when that early assistant would point out those things – I would point to the fact that ultimately, you are playing for a title and an icon. The real prize is knowing that you can endure everything to make it to the end, and what you do with that knowledge in the rest of your life.

There is literally no reason to do it. But much like the contestant who claimed that Idol “ruined her life” because of how hard she was pushing herself (not just in Idol but in everything else) there is no accounting for the decisions people make that seem to defy logic.

I may actually BE as naïve as she thought I was. I may not be the hands-on out of control egotist that some people think you have to be to run a successful community. But despite this, I still believe that if you treat people as adults, they are going to act like adults more times than they don’t.

***

The topic is due today: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564152.html
The work room is open for those who still need a little extra help to get it done: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564316.html
And there is a Home Game for those wishing to participate: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564699.html

Most of all, there is hope that people will learn the right lesson from this – that there is nothing to gain and so much to lose and not even consider going down that path.

May the Fourth Be... nah, I can't do it.

I see other people doing it, but even I have limits and standards. ;)

I'm sure someone here will go ahead and post it and then we can all kick them as the smelly degenerate hippies that they are!

After all, it's just a date on the calendar that someone thought sounded clever. It's not anything important, like it's the funeral of Star Burns!

So put away your tinfoil Ravenclaw hats and your Wookie phasers, or whatever it is you people have!

There's ACTUAL important stuff going on in the world! Like natural disasters and starving children and the new topic! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564152.html

(Not in that order though)

Also out there at this hour are the Results from last round: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/563724.html
the new Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564316.html
and, by special request, a Home Game thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/564699.html


That oughta hold the little bastards... oh wait, was that microphone still on??? *quickly goes to commercial break*

Some weeks are easier than others for you. Not just the topics, but getting the time to concentrate on writing. During intersection weeks, there are times when things just click between people and other times when they don't.

How do you take those rough patches and make them into something positive?

That's important after all, being able to use those hurdles as growth opportunities is one of the biggest cliches in the book! ;) So, obviously, there must be something you learn from them!

How do you manage to transition back into thinking about your entries as a solo act? Are there people that you have previously intersected with that you continue to use as sounding boards?

Another week and another fight to the finish result!

Before we get to that, we have the matter of the Jury and who they decided to keep safe this week. It was another tough and close vote, but yachiru edged ahead of the pack and claimed victory.

Congratulations!!

Now we have the sad part of the day, saying goodbye to a couple of contestants who have been with us for this journey that we have been on, together, since last October.

Making it to this point is definitely a plus, but I know that everyone would much rather stick around in the actual competition for just a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, their time in the competition itself has come to an end, and they are walking across the aisle to the Jury, to help determine how this is all going to play out!

The two contestants leaving us this week are: theafaye and wyliekat.

Thank you both for a terrific run, welcome to the Jury, and I really hope that we will continue to see Home Game entries from both of you!

A few words from clauderainsrm:

Welcome to the Redux of Week 26.

For those of you living in a cave somewhere (or perhaps living in luxury with full access to the outside world), last week the remaining 17 contestants had to write 3 entries each. Then there was a vote and the each of their entries that finished last had to be overhauled. Some of them went with massive rewrites, some with a touch here or there, and still others started from scratch. All of those approaches, as far as the competition goes, completely valid. Which ones will give the best results though? I guess that is where you, and this week's poll come in!!

The lowest this week will have to rewrite everyone's entries from this week... OK, maybe not. But that would have been pretty funny!

Instead, we will be losing the bottom 3

Which, at this point, is kind of like picking which puppy you are going to kick.

(Note: I can't believe that I am saying this, but it looks like nyxocity has missed this week's deadline. Which means that she is leaving us this week. It is a very sad and anti-climatic departure on such an exciting run! Hopefully everything is OK.
The bottom two will be leaving us as a result of this poll.

Everyone is good at what they do, it's a matter of determining what you like the best - and are willing to come out to support! So read, comment, vote - and tell your friends to do the same (especially the first two, the last one never hurts, but I know ultimately people prefer the first two options!)

The poll will close Wed June 1st at 8pm EDT, the start of another month together. Will we see another?

( Click here to Vote! )

So there you are: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/465868.html

People always want feedback on what their fellow contestants (and jury members) think about various pieces. It's one of things that I've heard every season, that people wished that they heard more feedback. There it is, in results from three different entries. What did they like? What didn't they like as much?

That information is right in front of you, and now it's your turn to take that knowledge and do something with it!

Everyone was told what the "least favorite" entry of the group was - you are getting your very own Second Chance.

Use what you have learned. Solicit feedback and rewrite that entry. (you can complete scrap it and do something new of course, but where is the fun in that??)

Maybe it was perfect the first time and everything was just extra perfect. ;) But it ended up on the bottom of the pile of your work, so here is a chance to take another swing at it.

Link your revised entries here by Sunday May 29th at 1pm EDT Have fun!!

A co-worker is selling popcorn for her son's scout troop. The sign at her desk says that it is $1 a bag.

Well, actually, it says that it is "$1 a bg".

I imagine that it just too much energy to spell it all out.

***

What do you feel like spelling out today? What don't you want to bthr w/?

****
It's the final day of helping to decide your fate this week, so all current contestants and jury members need make their selections! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/464664.html
It's open until 8pm EDT, but remember, this isn't just clicking a button. So if a bunch of people do their usual waiting until last minute, that means everyone else is going to have to wait a little longer for the results. :)