LJ Idol Presents:

Good morning and welcome to the last day of Week 0.

Yes, I finally just said that. I know it was a long "week". But I'm hoping that people appreciated the additional time more than they were offended by a week being longer than it "should be". :)

Today is the deadline to get me your votes for the Veterans entries: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/950046.html and it will also be the day when we find out what the advantages are that the Newbies, and a Veteran, are going to have at their disposal.

So make sure to finish your reading and get in your votes! If you have sent them to me and *haven't* received a confirmation email (as of this post), please let me know. (Note: the closer we get to 7pm EST, the longer it may take to send out those emails. But as of the moment I hit "post" on this, I'm caught up)

Also of interest - today is the day when the WEEK 1 TOPIC will be posted! Which means this train is about to leave the station. (before picking up steam, going full-throttle, jumping the tracks and crashing down the side of the mountain)

So if you are reading this, and you still haven't signed up, or if you know someone who you think *should*, that window is shrinking rapidly: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html (it closes on the deadline for Week 1 entries, which again, you will find out tonight!)

***

I've seen a lot of requests for spreadsheets lately. Heck, I've made a few because I still haven't made mine yet!

I've seen some people who literally only have a list of names, and others with detailed colored charts on who received their votes which week, as well as other criteria.

What you have, or don't have, on a spreadsheet, is highly personalized.

For those of you who DO like keeping spreadsheets - what sorts of information do you keep track of from the season? (and do you have one I can borrow? :D)

What suggestions do you have for anyone who has an interest in keeping one, but has never ventured down that path before?

There are people talking about boycotting Chili's due to their treatment of a Veteran on Veteran's Day.

What chain restaurants do YOU think should be boycotted due to their treatment of FOOD? ;)

***
Speaking of Veterans, well, a different kind of veteran at least:

Remember to get me your votes for Week 0 of the Veterans poll by Thursday! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/950046.html


Under "Information you can use": I'm ready to make two announcements that I will now bury in a Green Room post. So hopefully you're paying attention. I'm not just putting it as a comment though, so that's good, right? ;)

(Seriously, I'll make an "official post" about it as a reminder, but I'm thinking about it now...)

You will have two byes this season, good between now and the Top 50.

That's two "free passes", where you can sit out and rest a week. Life happens, especially around the holidays. So there's two times you don't have to worry about it. Once you miss the third time though, you are automatically eliminated. There *is* a Patron level though where you can earn a "Bye to give someone else" though. (For those keeping track of such things)

Also - the Sign-Ups are still open: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html and that's tied into the bye situation. I WILL be closing them at the deadline to get your entries in for Week 1.

I can't say the actual date for that yet (obviously) but for those still trying to make up your mind, or those trying to get their friends to join in on the party, that is going to be the time to keep an eye on.

Good (very early) morning. Or whenever you are reading this over the weekend. Just look outside, or at a clock and pretend that was what I just said to you about the time of day.

***

After an election cycle that pushed so many people to the breaking point, and still has some afraid - after weeks/months of being cited as someone calm and who is willing to talk about issues, I finally ended up going after someone with verbal knives on social media today.

It wasn't because of who he voted for though, or that he was coming onto someone else's FB thread and trying to stir up unrelated shit. It was, quite frankly, because he is a bad person and I've just gotten tired of pretending that he's not.

Of course, I may have stirred up some drama of my own, but thankfully I was hanging out with his daughter and his grandkids at the time and they were the ones who told me to "Go for it" in responding to him. So I think I was justified.

But then again, doesn't everyone?

No big moral lesson here. Just a slice of my life, in this moment. Expand on it however you will.

***

There is a poll for the newbies that is up right now: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/949440.html, so make sure to go check it out!

Sign-ups are still ticking upward. If you know someone who wants to get in on the action, now's a great time for them to do so!

***

Any weekend plans?

A few words from clauderainsrm:

Welcome to Week 0 of LJ Idol Season 10!

Or, if this is your first time here, let's start at the top - Welcome to LJ Idol.

I am Gary, your host on this journey.

Week 0 is named that way not only because it's before Week 1, but also because it's more of a "practice round". There are no eliminations.

That doesn't mean though that the "votes don't count". This week, whoever has the *most* votes in the poll will be receiving an undisclosed advantage that may help them later.

Speaking of the poll, when you click on it, you may notice something unexpected. So I’ll come right out and say it - it’s ONLY the newbies. It’s not *all* of them, because this was an optional week. So it’s just the newbies who were brave enough to put themselves out there when they didn’t really have to do so!

You can vote for as many of the entries as you want to support. So make sure to get out there and read, comment and vote for your favorites!

The poll will close Sunday, Nov 13th at 2pm EST.

But what about the veterans? Their entries are located here: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947738.html There are more of those to read, and since it’s a “slow start”, and I want you to concentrate on the Newbies first and foremost, I’ll just tell you to go ahead and start reading these once you are done with the newbies. I just won’t tell you why. :)

Good luck to everyone!

[Poll #2057545]
Want in on the action? Sign-ups are still open! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html

Here are the links: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947581.html (newbies) and http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947738.html (for veterans)

http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html for Sign-ups.

***

There are a lot of things I'd like to say right now.

I know some people are upset - and there are some people who are really happy.

I'm sure there are some people who want to see nothing but a wall of cat pictures.

The Green Room is your space, for whatever you need it to be today.

Good morning.

As I understand it, there are some "Americans" who think they are having some sort of "election" tomorrow. I'm not sure why. My army of flying monkeys are already on their way to take over.

Don't worry. I fully intend to be a firm, but just ruler - who only occasionally forces the population in battle to the death writing matches. Things will be fine!

***

Speaking of - yesterday was fairly busy, so here are some links for you!

The topic thread for newbies: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947581.html

The topic thread for veterans:
http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947738.html

The Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/948116.html

***

I've been asking some more questions, and rather than put them in the FAQ, I will answer them here:

- Are Sign-Up still open? Yes. Yes they are! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html Please keep spreading the word!

- When will sign-ups close? When I announce that they are closed. I will give you advance notice when that happens. :)

- I have an alt account, can I use that as well as my usual account? You can write under both accounts, but you can only vote with one. Also, if you are veteran, an alt doesn't make you a newbie. Please use the veteran link for Week 0 topic. Thanks!

- Can I promote LJ Idol in another community? Only with the permission of that community/group's owner/moderator/whoever it is that can make that sort of call. I don't want people promoting their stuff here without my OK, it's kind of rude IMO, and I don't want anyone doing that to someone else.

- Is LJ Idol a version of (insert another group here)? Heh. Nope. In fact the group that was directly asked about was founded by former Idolers who did the rare thing of actually getting banned from this site and went to make "their own version". (there's a long version of that tale, but that's the short one.) LJ Idol has always been LJ Idol. In 10 years, the closest thing I've ever heard that predates us, and the concept, is a Harry Potter fanfic group - as part of a bigger event, did a couple weeks where they wrote entries and voted on them. I've never seen that thread, but apparently it exists and happened a few months before I had the idea for Idol. We're our own thing, and I hope you will come to agree that it's a pretty great thing!*

(* I may be a bit biased)

- Is it true that I have an army of winged monkeys that are poised to take control of the United States and install me as dictator?
To be fair, there are also land sharks.

***

How was your weekend?

-

Take at look at the subject line, that should help you decide "Am I in the right thread?" If you have identified yourself as a newbie, this is the place for you.

If you have taken part in Idol before, if your name (or a user name you have used) is on this list: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html , or if you think "well technically, you could consider me a newbie, but..." If there is a "but"/"if"/"kinda" in there - please go to the other thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/947738.html

Now that it's just the newbies, I'll let you know that this is the Week 0 topic thread for you.

It's an easy start, with something that I almost always use for "Week 0". It's not mandatory. No one will be eliminated.

I'll talk more about it in the Work Room (which will be posted in a few minutes, keep an eye out for it) but for now, I'm going to bold the Week 0 topic:

Introduction


and let you know that you have until Thursday, Nov 10th at 8pm EST to link your entry back to this thread. ( Please note: this thread is for links only. Entries are posted in your journal and comments are posted in the Work Room.)

Have fun!