clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
It was going to come to this sooner or later - a sizable tie.

The first strike goes to [personal profile] mollywheezy . Unfortunately this is her third, which means the last rookie left standing has left the competition (but hopefully is going to be sticking around. It's been really great having her here)

The other two strikes are a taken up by the tie.

With the 1st strike for [personal profile] bleodswean 

and the 2nd strike for [personal profile] d0gs ,  [personal profile] hwango  and [personal profile] marlawentmad 

***
We now have 8 contestants remaining, and just to give you a heads up I've decided that the 3 Strikes twist is going to end at the Top 5. After that it will be a sprint to the finish. 
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
A few words from [personal profile] clauderainsrm:

What can you expect from this poll? Some really good entries from talented writers?
Results that are probably going to end up being really close (if it’s anything like the past weeks)?

Could you predict that the lowest 3 votes will be receiving a strike? Which, at this point means ⅓ of the contestants in the poll will be on the receiving end?

That means that you need to read, comment and vote for your favorites - and then spread the word. Not just for one entry, but for everything you love. (and there is a LOT to love, even with so few entries)

The poll closes Sunday October 30th at 8pm ET. Good luck to everyone!


Poll #27727 ’Week21’
This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 52

Vote For Your Favorites!

banana_galaxy's entry
15 (28.8%)

bleodswean's entry
12 (23.1%)

dadi's entry
17 (32.7%)

d0gs's entry
12 (23.1%)

flipflop_diva's entry
15 (28.8%)

gunwithoutmusic's entry
14 (26.9%)

hwango's entry
12 (23.1%)

marlawentmad's entry
12 (23.1%)

mollywheezy's entry
8 (15.4%)

clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
 The new prompt is due tomorrow! therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1131270.html

*
**

How have you been doing? 

I'm OK. We're now officially down 2 people again, with M leaving on Friday. She's going to work 8 hours a week for the next month. It's going to help, but we need someone AT LEAST 8 hours a day. 

Some of those duties are going to be moved to Accounting though, which is nice. Even better - they are trying to hire our former team lead (and my friend) for the position. Unfortunately, I don't think they are offering enough to get her to come back. But we will see. 

I've managed to get my workload down to about 60 hours a week. Which is MUCH better than 70. Of course, that was before M quit. 

But I'm trying to spread out the workload so it doesn't all come down on one person AND it's our slow season, as opposed to when everything was hitting full force, in the middle of a transition. 

Personal life - most watching things. We finished the new season of The Mole. Highly recommend. 

new season of Survivor  so far- would not recommend. 

Steelers season - would not recommend to anyone other than people who like to see the Steelers fail. 

FEST - We had planned on going, but we didn't get tickets in time. So: Nope. Not going. 
Probably for the best given that the car is now in need of major repairs (as in "that place where you need to determine if repairing a car from 2009 is worth the money or you should just go ahead and get something "new".)  (New to us anyway - although used cars as almost as expensive as new ones right now)



clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
 Maybe you saw this coming. 

Or at least now that it's happened you can look back and say "Yeah, that makes sense" 

This week's prompt is 

"Black Swan Event" 

The deadline to link your entry back to this post is Tuesday, October 25th at 7pm ET.

Have fun!




clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
I knew the results this week were going to suck.

With a Top 4 like this - you knew it too.

We were going to lose someone talented. Someone special to the community.

True to form, that is what ended up happening.

We are losing [personal profile] bleodswean  this week, in what is becoming a trend you can mark on your calendar - that she will write amazing stories and make it easily into the Top 5 gathering new fans as she goes.

That she's a really talented writer is obvious but I think the under reported story though is how much she loves Idol.

We have our differences when it comes to, well, a lot of things :D - but at the core there is a love of writing and of this community that shines through every word she "speaks".   

In a year where we have lost so many old friends, it's nice to know that over the last few years we have gained some really good new ones. 

Thank you E - for coming out this mini season and helping to make it special.
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
The poll closes TONIGHT https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1063125.html

End Game officially starts showing TONIGHT.

I don't have spoilers for either, but I'm sure both are going to be a great ride. Grab your popcorn. (or even better, VOTE to help determine how that first one is going to go. I'm not sure that Thanos really cares one way or another about your opinion on how Endgame turns out)
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
There are some serious events happening over the next couple of weeks: Game of Thrones is ending, End Game is closing out a cycle of Marvel movies that have been happening for over a decade. And of course, our Literary Prize Fight is coming to a close with fight scenes that rival both of those events: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1063125.html

We might not have the big budget explosions happening on screen, but we've got the "Man, that's good!" explosions happening in your brain when you read what the Top 4 have submitted. Well, that and the explosive charges I've set around your house - but those are just for fun!

and of course, tonight is both Survivor AND the Amazing Race! So life is pretty fully right now.

Well, if life can be defined as "things I'm watching on a screen", which, I'm pretty sure that's the definition.

I just started Barry as well...

What sort of screen-filled life are YOU enjoying right now? Or are you doing that fake "actually going outside" thing?
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
A few words from Gary:

And then there were four.

It sounds like the start of something dramatic and exciting. Something to fill folk with dread.

If it does, then you’ve come to the right place.

Because when this poll closes, we will have three contestants left standing!

So make sure to read, comment and vote for your favorites! Because the finale is right around the corner, and one of them is going to be your winner!

Who it will be isn’t going to be decided this week - but we’re getting closer, so that should definitely be something on your mind.
These four certainly aren’t making it easy.


The poll will be closing Thursday, April 25th at 9pm EDT! It’s a small window to make a huge decision!

Good luck to everyone!




Poll #21870 Week21
This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 49

The Ballot

bleodswean's entry
16 (32.7%)

halfshellvenus's entry
19 (38.8%)

hwango's entry
20 (40.8%)

sonreir's entry
19 (38.8%)


clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
When I came up with our logo for the season, of Shakespeare's famous knock out of Hunter S Thompson - I didn't know that we would be fast approaching the finale so close to Shakespeare's birthday!

Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

Hopefully he will be getting a few more nice presents today https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1061894.html (because today is the deadline!)


***

How is your Game of Thrones Death Poll going?

Hopefully better than your Great British Bakeoff Death Poll.
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
I was wondering where everyone's entries were: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1061894.html but then just recalled that I changed it from my original intent of a Monday deadline to it being Tuesday. Monday seemed about the right amount of time, but with Easter, I decided to give you a little break.

And then forgot about it. :D

***

Did anyone do anything special - for Easter? To celebrate the weekend? To celebrate our Top 4?
clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
 It's Easter weekend, or 420 weekend depending on your point of view.  Either way involves hallucinations about giant bunnies bringing you candy to much on. 

Or the feeling of coming back to life after being stuck in a cave. 

It's really surprising that these days don't always fall on the same weekend when you think about it. ;) 

I'm only sort of celebrating the first one and find the second annoying. :)  Only that second one gives me a headache to be around though,  Well, OK, maybe the former can at times as well. :D

***

Seriously though - Happy Easter. Hopefully you are doing something special with family or close friends. 

We didn't have any plans so apparently we will be celebrating by going out to the Thai Temple, a local Buddhist that has a delicious marketplace, We're hoping that the crowds will not light tomorrow. 

***

For those who missed it, we had some results on Friday: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1061887.html  that pretty much shook the entire community, which is what happens at this point in the competition. 

Also- there is a new topic: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1061894.html  which is also a thing that happens at this, and every other point during the competition. 


clauderainsrm: (Default)
[personal profile] clauderainsrm
 There are some weeks where the topic might seem great.

Some where it might seem really bad. 

There are other weeks though,  like this one, where the topic seems pretty 


OK


Yes, that's the topic. 


The deadline to link your entries back to this post is Tuesday, April 23rd at 8pm  EDT. 

Have fun!
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
There are some weeks where you sort of know what's coming and although you may not be happy about it, you have time to make your peace with it.

There are other times when you think you know what's going to happen and then things change.

This week was a little bit of both of those things.

To call it a "blow" just means that every week until the end is going to be a shot to the gut.

Fortunately, we are close enough to the end that we won't be without these two for long. (Or rather everyone else will be joining them soon!)

Leaving us this week are [livejournal.com profile] halfshellvenus and [livejournal.com profile] kickthehobbit

Personally, I really enjoyed the entries from both of them - but that's the point we are at, where the best thing you can say is that you were happy with the writing you've done. (Really, that's every week!)

Thank you so much for coming out, and I hope that we will see you in the Home Game!
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
I went to the news feed to see if there was any interesting enough to talk about this morning.

The good thing about how personalized the news has gotten is that you can find things related to your interests. The bad thing is that I'm sure I've missed important things happening in the world because the top stories are all about what is happening on the Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead.

I'm sure Captain America being the 5th highest opening ever has some bigger picture relevance. But I'm sure there's something more important in the world that is happening right now.

For instance, the top headline could be about the poll happening right now: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/928666.html

I can easily see that being one of the most important things happening in the world!

***

I was just looking at this, and thought it was interesting - of the Top 10:

1 member of Team #Hack
5 members of Team #Avocado
1 member of Team Clueless
2 members of Team Weird Sisters
2 Team Ocelot (1 of them was also on another team)

2 of the current contestants started out as Rivals. 8 started on Teams. So I think the verdict is "Teams were a benefit to getting to the Top 10".

What will happen next? *shrug* That's up to the voters!
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
Hello and welcome the Week 21 Weekend Edition of the Green Room.

Or "Happy Mothers Day Weekend" for those of you who are Mothers, or who have Mothers, or are just outright Muthas... ;)

There is a poll - that is cause for celebration: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/928666.html pick yourself out some nice surprises there, and remember to read, comment and vote for your favorites!

***

It was mentioned yesterday, so I'm putting it in this GR, "Post 3 things that most people don't know about you"

That's kind of difficult, because I'm not sure what people don't know about me at this point. But then again, there are a lot of new faces that has shown up since the last time something like this happened, so maybe there are things that people don't know.

Hmmm... trying to think of some...

- I spent a couple years as a registered lobbyist. (As part of a Student Government group, we formed an independent PAC so we could lobby on education issues without using student activity funds and/or school equipment, considering that we were going against the administration on a lot of issues)

- It's been over a decade since the last time I did it, but I really enjoy firewalking. Although I think I was even more comfortable walking across a bed of broken glass.

- I always wanted kids, specifically a daughter. I ended up having two, in not so straight forward ways (one is my niece and the other is my almost-bonus daughter)

(The fourth being that I never really liked cats much in my youth, and now I have two. One that I love dearly, the other is also present. :D)

I'll probably have some more if the chance comes up. Just writing those down makes me think there are a lot of things people might not know about me... although I'm sure some of them folks *do* know...

How about you?

-
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
A few words from [livejournal.com profile] clauderainsrm:


No Super Delegates.

No nomination process at a convention.

No “Boaty Mcboatface won, but we’re giving the victory to David Attenborough”

Just a collection of entries, in two polls that will guarantee you a good time.

So, pull up a chair and sit in front of your computer for a little bit. You were going to do that anyway. After all - the computer is where conversations about Lemonade happen. Take a break from that for a few minutes to read some great new entries!

As a result of last week’s poll, everyone received an extra bye (a “get out of jail” card for an individual entry. Since there were two topics this week, that meant people who used it only had to use one.)

This week, the scores of the two polls are going to be added together, and divided by the number of entries they submitted (1 or 2) to determine who will be leaving us.

The two contestants with the fewest average votes will be saying goodbye.

The poll closes Monday, May 9th at 9pm EDT

Good luck to everyone!






[Poll #2044128]


[Poll #2044129]
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
Cynthia came into the room this morning and said "Why are you still here?"

That's when I realized it wasn't Saturday! Oops.

Of course, I should have known that because I didn't post a poll the night before. Because everyone knows the deadline for contestants to get their entries in is Friday evening!

http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927053.html

So if you've been oversleeping, it's time to wake up!

I ended up getting to work late, but fortunately the fact that I'm more awake means that I've probably ended up getting just about the same amount of work done! ;)

***

What have you been "sleeping on"? How are you going to wake up in the Top 10? (or for those of you who are not in the Top 10, are there any "sleepers" in the ranks that you think people need to be paying more attention to, because they are awesome and you never hear enough people talking about their work?)
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
Good morning.

I had the weirdest dream last night. People were *really* riled up about Facebook.

Good thing that was just a dream and all those comments I saw yesterday were actually about the Ghostbusters trailer!

***

Seriously though - one of the more interesting balancing acts of the job is trying to take in the often opposing feedback I receive (the differences between the people who commented in public and those who emailed me after those comments started being posted was *huge*). So I'm still digesting them and, as usual, trying to come up with a way to make the various factions that make-up Idol hate me equally! :)

Idol itself is a microcosm of that interplay between opposing forces, and I think that's what makes it work so well - and what makes it so difficult to explain to someone on the outside at times. Because it's a competition. But it's a community. It's a community where bonds form in the midst of voting each other out! :)

It's a place where people share personal details about their live - often in the context of a public vote.

It's a constant shifting of where those lines can, and should be - and honestly, it's something that every single season decides where things are going to be *for them*. They have to balance those things as well, as I fine tune the bigger picture to make sure nothing gets too far out of balance.

It's this breathing, evolving thing - and it's as frustrating as it is wonderful to behold.

You might say that Idol itself is about the line between friends and rivals - and how to walk said line to the end. ;)

Which is something that the Top 10 themselves are trying to figure out.

Speaking of which - the topics are due tomorrow: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927053.html Hope to see you all there!
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
I was looking at the Top 10, trying to figure out if I had anything to say to them individually. I was asked to do so by a contestant, and I like to try to follow up on these types of requests.

So I took a look - and I realized something. Of the Top 10, 7 of them are on my "They are going to win" mental list. Which isn't to say that the other 3 are dead in the water. Quite the contrary, I think they actually have pretty strong chances to make it to the end and could pull off an upset. What I'm saying, or attempting to say, at the very least is that I can easily come up with scenarios where it's any one of 7 of the remaining 10 contestants that ends up in the winner's circle, and people being really happy about it.

I even, briefly, considered a "Why you won't win" list with the same sort of anonymous listing of factors of why I thought all 10 might end up going out. But I'm not sure that's entirely constructive, even if I'm probably right. ;) (Obviously I will be wrong about one of them!)

***

In other news: May the 4th Be With You!

I also saw that the new Ghostbusters trailer had the worst reviews of all time. My first thought was "F- the MRAs" because they have been trashing this movie since it was first revealed there would be an all-female cast. I've actually been pretty excited about the movie.

Then I watched the trailer. It's definitely not *the worst* trailer of all time. But my excitement for the film has definitely taken a hit. Really hoping that it's better than it seems, because I really don't want to give the MRAs an "We told you so!" moment. (which would have *nothing* to do with having an all-female cast", but that would certainly give them ammunition in the "See, we're not being sexist, we just knew it was going to be bad" argument)

***

The new topics are waiting for you: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927053.html

as well as a new Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927346.html
[identity profile] clauderainsrm.livejournal.com
Good almost afternoon!

Last night I cut the baby into 10 parts: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/926733.html

Posted the new topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927053.html

and the Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927346.html

There's also something interesting happening on our Facebook, and the Work Room discussion is continuing on Twitter.

But the *most* interesting things are always happening right here at Idol Proper! :)

What is "interesting" about your life right now?

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