LJ Idol Presents:

There were a few minutes, around 8:30, that I had no idea what I was going to be saying tonight.

I thought I knew, coming into today, but there was a strong surge that made me wonder.

That said, the results are in and the final two are set.

But before we get there, we have to say goodbye to two awesome people, who are also talented writers.

One is a veteran and the other is the last remaining newbie.

Newbies have never won a mini-season (in contrast to the regular seasons, where a veteran has only won 2 of 9!) so there were definitely times I wondered if orockthro was going to be the one to break that curse. She wasn't, but she sure gave it a damn good run, and was the last remaining Avocado standing!

The other Avocado is also leaving, having come further than she has ever been in a season, mini-season or anything (she also did really well in Exhibit B) . There was *a lot* of buzz that she could be the winner. Who knows what would have happened if RL had not sideswiped her.

She is kathrynrose and she too is leaving us. (*kicks her on the way out*)

Thanks to both of you for your time and dedication - but most of us, for giving us weeks of awesome things to read!

I hope we will continue to see you in the "10th anniversary celebration" and of course when Season 10 kicks off later this year!

http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/938897.html is where the action is at.

But for those who missed it, there was a bit of action in yesterday's Green Room. Well, less action and more "action". (and not the kind Brock's Dad lamented either!)

I threw it out there "Are people really interested in a 10th anniversary celebration?" I got some comments in the GR itself and some via email.

But one of the themes that ended up coming up was very much the "Old School" vs "New School" ideas concerning Idol.

So I'm throwing it out there:

What are YOU getting out of LJ Idol?

Do you think there is a generational gap (be it actual age or time period involved) concerning how you see LJ Idol? (and should that play out ala Survivor: Gen X vs Millennials? :D)

Do the kids need to get off your lawn or do the old folks need to get out of the way? Or is there a happy medium where everyone can be happy? (Or, all equally miserable in a way that makes *me* happy - which is the most important thing!)

A few words from clauderainsrm:

There are 4 people left this week.

4 incredibly talented individuals who are one step away from the Finale of this mini-season.

Yes, the finale. End game. Friends and Rivals draws the curtain.

There is only this poll between them and it.

The only problem? Half of them aren’t going to get there.

We are losing 2 contestants this week!

Also - the poll is “friends only”, which means that you need to be a part of the community in order to vote. It’s really easy to do, but if you are someone who has been reading, and voting all along, but you haven’t taken the time to “friends the community”, there is a link you can click on the top of the page. It literally says “Join this Community”. It only takes a few minutes to go through the process - and it means you can help determine who will be in the finals! So, it’s definitely worth it.

You can join the community with the same account you vote with - from whatever platform you are using (FB, Twitter, Google, etc). LJ allows you to join because they want you here.

I encourage you to join because IDOL wants you here.

And of course the writers want you to join because they want to survive one more week! What better way to thank them for all their hard work than to get them to the goal line?

Read. Comment and vote for your favorites!

The poll closes Thursday June 9th at 9pm EDT

Good luck to everyone!

[Poll #2046731]

I think this weekend I officially became an old cranky bastard (in a way that I was only "pretending" to be before). A teenager was annoying me to the point of wanting to just start yelling at him, pretty much just by being a teeenager. ;)

It'a a good thing he wasn't actually on my lawn at the time!

***

What have you been doing this weekend?

I know what our Top 4 have been doing? They've been writing! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/937944.html

"May. 31st, 2006 12:18 pm

Last night I figured out how to make LJ Idol work, and be something that would actually be INTERESTING and not just a completely "look at me! look at me" Gary pleading for attention and love fest.

I mean, this thing could actually *work*. (either that or fall completely on its face, which, might be funny too.*g*)"

***

That was 10 years ago. I had mentioned the name "LJ Idol" a couple days before, as part of "other things that I could do" once "LJ Fights" was over. (LJ Fights was where I took every member of my friends list, matched them up and played it out what would happen if they were engaged in a death match, until there was only one left standing!)

I wanted to do something that was more interactive, but I wasn't sure what... so I came up with a bunch of names for things and put up a poll. LJ Idol was one of those names, but I had no idea what that was.

It came to me in a dream.

Over the last 10 years, hopefully it's "worked" more than it has fallen on it's face! :)

***

Btw - your entries are due today: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/935840.html and no, you can't call in with the "Fell into a gorilla pit" excuse.

The polls ended together, so I thought it fitting for the fates to be announced together as well.

I'll handle the main competition first. After all - Last Chance Idol has good news attached as well, and always end on the good news when you can.

The main competition is losing 2 contestants from the Redemption Tribe, one was a sacrifice: belgatherial and the other is leaving us by *a single* vote: ryl

Votes were extremely tight this week, and have every sign of continuing to be that way. At this point, any loss is going to be a painful one.

From the main tribe, we were supposed to lose 3 but there was a tie for that final spot - sending them to fill out the ranks of Redemption next week. (and continuing that tribe's existence)

Which means that the 2 people leaving us are two old and dear friends of Idol impoetry and sarcasmoqueen

Last Chance Idol is a little different, because it is not only losing people - there is the opportunity to gain some as well, as they earn the right to take their place in the ranks of the main competition for Week 26.

There are 4 who have the chance to move up, and 6 who are (hopefully) joining the Home Game.

Those leaving us this week are: kehlen_crow, kfp_rawr kristalsawesome, the_dark_snack, vik_thor and xlovebecomesher

For all of you leaving - thank you so much for everything this season. Eventually, we are going to get down to 1 person, so it's the same fate that is in store for everyone but that person - and one met by 200 or so folks before now. You have made it a long, long way and I hope you are extremely proud, because you should be. (Heck, even the people who were eliminated in Last Chance - you had an uphill battle and still came out swinging. That takes a great deal of something really special - especially to have made it to almost the very end of LCI)

I hope that we haven't seen the last of you and that you will be Home Gaming the topics and continuing to show up to chat, and cheer on your favorites!

Now the good news - because we really need some of that. We have four contestants eligible to join the main competition. They have 24 hours from now to let me know if they will be "moving up" or staying where they are one more week.

The people with that choice? crackpotpie, ellakite, meridian_rose and uncawes

Congratulations to you - and let me know your decision at clauderainsrm@gmail.com

Everyone thinks they are the good guy of the story.

Even people who say they don't, on some level, yeah, it's about them and their struggles against things that have led to them being in their position, that if only they could conquer, the world would see and appreciate them for who they are.

It's one of those tips you always hear for writing characters - that the "villain" probably isn't going to be thinking "I'm a villain!", they are ones out to make things better. Maybe "better" is "ruled by them" or "all humans are dead", but they can see things in a way that no one else seems to be able to process.

In real life, it's part of what makes interaction with people so much fun, and often frustrating... because they are often *not* just "out to get you", you are wrong, and they are going to show you that you are wrong! ;)

Which works just fine when you are the one correcting *them*... :D

The reality of course is that everyone is probably a bit of an asshole, and the middle ground is somewhere no one wants to be, but probably should find a way to get to...

Sure, there are definitely issues where that isn't the best move and where the "other side" has nothing to stand on. One of those, of course, is (insert your favorite cause here) because that's something where no reasonable person could possibly find disagreement on!!!

Often, people who are *trying* to do something good (from their perspective) discover that they have become someone else's bad guys. The Facebook example comes to mind, when they had enough of the fake accounts being used to harass their members and sully the message boards, they came up with a "Everyone has to use their real name!" policy to try for some accountability.

As soon as they did, people started complaining because of all of the *legitimate reasons* why someone might not use their "real name" online, and how they were putting them in danger.

Was Facebook out to harm those who suffered from abuse, or could possibly suffer if their "real name" got out? I really doubt someone was sitting in a Facebook office cackling over that idea. It probably came as a "Oh, didn't think of that... damn, how can we make this work?" moment that took them awhile to process and find a solution. (or just outright change directions and decide *not* to do it)

These discussions, and yeah, even the mini explosions that happen within online communities now and again are good because they are people from very diverse backgrounds coming together and discussing things, often from very different vantage points. As long as everyone keeps their cool, and actually *talks* about it, it can be a very good thing. Of course, since it's the internet, there probably isn't much hope for that. ;)

Then again, they are bad. We are good. That's all you really need to know, isn't it?!?

***

Speaking of "good" - there are TWO POLLS worth of good material out there, and you have to cast your votes on what is going to make it through to compete another round! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/795700.html is the main competition and http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/796295.html is Last Chance Idol.

What have been some of your personal favorites from each, and what was it about them that you enjoyed so much?

A few words from clauderainsrm:

Part writing competition. Part out-of-control roller-coaster. LJ Idol is a writing experience like no other.

Every poll is someone’s first time experiencing LJ IDOL, especially as we get closer to the Top 50 - so if this is your first time here, welcome!

Each week I post a topic (or in the case of this week multiple topics for them to select from), they write an entry and submit it for the poll.

The topics this week were: Intersubjectivity, Shibusa, Rapture of the deep, Captcha the flag and Overwatch

I post the poll and, in the words of Jeff Probst, the power shifts to the hands of the Jury. In this case, that is you, the voters.

Read the entries, comment on them (who doesn’t love feedback) and vote for your favorites to stay in one more week!

Then we repeat the process until we are down to one person left standing - our Winner, the LJ IDOL.

The poll is broken down into two groups (or tribes) - the main tribe and a “Redemption Tribe”. The contestants in the Redemption Tribe ended up there when there is a tie for who will be eliminated. One bad week is all it takes to go home, but with Redemption, if you hang on through that bad week, you still have a chance!

Two contestants from Redemption and three from the main poll will be eliminated this week. So if you read something that you love, make sure to tell people about it, so that they can have the chance to read it, and fall for it as well!

Unfortunately, we had a few people who had to drop out this week. When I say that they are “extremely talented” and that they will be “greatly missed”, that’s an understatement. I could have actually skipped that and just given you the names - and those who have been here before today would have been able to fill out that information for themselves.

Goodbye to kathrynrose, witchwife and xo_kizzy_xo

Thank you so much to all of you for coming out this season. I know that Real Life flattened you, but I hope that you are back in the swing of things soon. I really hope that we will see you continue in the Home Game.

(For those who don’t know - the “Home Game” is when someone who isn’t a part of the competition (either from elimination or you just didn’t get involved in time) can share their entry with the group. http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/795130.html )

As for the poll it closes Thursday October 23rd at 9pm EDT!

So make sure to support your favorites!

Good luck to everyone!

( Click here to Vote! )

It's finally Friday!!

Woo and even a Hoo!


I'm not all that certain what, if anything, is going on this weekend. But it will just be nice for it to actually be a weekend! :)

How about YOU? What are you looking forward to doing?

***

Last night, we had the Last Chance Idol results: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/794599.html
as well as a new topic for them: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/794726.html


The main competition is *also* writing their topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/793590.html

and both groups are sharing a Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/793644.html

and a Home Game: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/795130.html

***

Speaking of links, and Idol - I posted yesterday about what happened to our own shay_writes granddaughter, and several people asked me if there was anything set up to help the family with expenses. At the time folks asked, there wasn't. Shay's other daughter (the Aunt of the little girl) set something up last night: http://www.gofundme.com/nalei