LJ Idol Presents:

 Right up until the final moments before I closed the poll, I thought it was going to be a tie and that we would have our first tie-breaker of the mini season. 

Instead, one voter ended up making the decision. 

Two votes could have made it a three-way tie. Three votes... well, you get where I'm going with this: Every single vote matters, and has an impact. 

In this case, it sends   oxymoron67  to the Home Game. 

Thank you for coming out for this mini season. It really means a great deal to me. I hope we will be seeing you in the home game. 

 "Back in the day" there was a topic that I rather liked - where people would take a look at their "hometown news" and pick a story as a springboard for their entry. 

I've had that on the "possible topics" list for years now, it just never seemed to be the right time (considering that state of the world and what news has become) 

But "local news" (the kind of stuff the rest of the country/world doesn't see because it's not sensational enough to go viral tends to be interesting. 

So, in that spirit - what's going on in YOUR local news right now that is just "interesting"? Or that other people might find amusing? 

(I'm not sure if people in bigger cities are at a disadvantage in that things are more likely to go viral due to sheer population or more advantaged because more things going on) 

***

Speaking of viral - www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/the-20-best-viral-personal-essays-of-the-past-20-years-120615753.html

One of these started as an Idol entry during Season 8.  Can you guess which one?  ;) 

***

Will one of THESE entries go viral and end up on a "best of" list a decade from now? Not if you don't vote for it and tell other people what you are reading!  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1147601.html

A few words from clauderainsrm:

The Week 3 poll is always a little sad when we’ve had the standard two byes. It’s the first time when we say goodbye to people who were interested enough to sign up, but couldn’t make it happen for whatever reason. There are wonderful ideas in their heads, but we never got to see any of it. :(

This time there are two people who are being eliminated before the poll starts. But we are going to have a lot of people hanging on tne edge after this week. Hopefully they will be able to get some positive momentum going!

But that is later. This is right now. Goodbye to our friends bittyjane  and garnigal . Thank you for coming out this mini season, I hope that you will have the time to Home Game!

*turns dramatically* As for the rest of you… we are going to lose one more this week, the person with the fewest votes. So make sure it’s not one of your favorite entries!

Read. Comment. Vote. Then let other people know what’s going on here! That is the ONLY way we can keep this thing going, if you keep spreading the word and asking people to take the time to read. I already have a completely messed up idea for another mini season that will either be fun, or a hilarious train wreck. Either way, that’s a good time! But that can only happen with participation!

As I mentioned, the person with the lowest votes will be eliminated this week. The poll closes Saturday July 27th 9pm ET.

Good luck!

 

 I accidentally posted the new prompt to my personal DW account last night. The messages I woke up to this morning were "You didn't post a prompt" NOT "you posted it to the wrong place"... which just goes to show that no one else is looking over there either!  ;) 

I've since posted it to the correct place   therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1146151.html

The results post was (fortunately and unfortunately) posted to the correct place however therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1146053.html

It's going to be the first Idol poll of my new job era, so I wanted to make sure it was at a point where you not only had a few days to write, but that I would be able to get as much done ahead of time as I could (just in case there was anything that needed to be fixed at last minute, since there is no way I can get away with staying up late. :D) 

We're going to be trying some things out, kicking some wheels and seeing what works best over these next few weeks. So bear with me and I will bear with you. (Which is, as we know, better than "man with you"  ;)    ) 

***
Speaking of "trying things out" I've been thinking about how people aren't really talking in the Green Rooms these days and how a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that so many of you are connected through other social media outlets. Whereas "back in the day" this was the main source of interaction so you'd see a lot more of it.  Now a lot of you already know what is going on in each other's lives before someone even posts.  which, of course, is a disadvantage for the newbies among us and doesn't encourage them to speak up because no one else is talking... 

So I was thinking about this and stumbled on the one time in recent memory that *did* get more responses. Not a ton of them. But more than we've been getting (from my memory. I didn't go back and prove that I was wrong. That's what you are probably going to do. )

Tribal Councils during our Survivor event.  Where I would ask people direct questions.  Most people didn't like the "strategy" questions that come up in Survivor. But they did seem to enjoy the writing ones.  I can't ask 50 people a question every day. But I CAN direct questions to a few people. Not every day. But maybe once or twice a week. (Probably on weekends going forward) 


Will it pull people into the conversation? Will people opt out completely? Who knows! Let's find out together!

oxymoron67  - First and foremost, welcome to the mini season! I'm glad to have you here.  I was scanning back on your previous entries and it hit me on just how much you enjoy playing with dialogue and bits of conversations from your real life. How much of that is that you are just naturally attract interest characters in your life and how much is it that you just have a good ear for catching that kind of thing and applying it to your writing? Have you worked much with full scripts (plays/script writing) to continue to flesh out some of these moments? Or do you prefer the bite-sized re-telling that come from capturing specific moments? 

reidharriscooper  -  Sooner or later WE are going to end up meeting/hanging out. I'm in full agreement that Deep Ellum needs to be experienced both during the day *and* night, because they are almost two different places. (I enjoy both of them) My Facebook cover photo was taken in Deep Ellum. (for those who follow me over there). I've never been to the Houston Meow Wolf (or any of the others) but I HAVE been to the one in Santa Fe and that was a LOT of fun. I'll admit though that I had the same issue that I've had in escape rooms. I keep expecting them to be these futuristic, technology to the point of magic, places and then I see the actual practical effects and go "Oh, I should probably stop trying to open these drawers. They don't open portals to other realms. Need something bigger for that!"  :D)   It's no surprise (given your background) but you are really good at capturing the essence of pop culture and travel. I hope to see more of that, while continuing to dig deeper into the human/emotional impact.  

unmowngrass -   This is going to be embarrassing, but when I read your entry this week I had the thought "I should introduce her to my FB friend. I think they would get along!" You seemed to be in similar places in your life and personal growth. Spoiler: I realized TODAY that YOU are that FB friend.  :D  So you should meet yourself some day. I think you would get along, with you!  I love how your entries are an "old school" approach to what Dreamwidth/Livejournal is about - detailing your personal journey through life. Given the naturalism you mentioned in the entry - do you find the same comfort in being able to walk around your inner thoughts in front of other people? Do the two relate directly or is it just about being that open book and being able to fully relate to other people? 

mollywheezy     While scrolling through and deciding "Who should I talk to this time around?" you jumped right out immediately because I'm absolutely fascinated by the choices in your week 2 entry. You are also someone who tells personal stories, which is something I admire. But this time around, you decided to tell someone else's story - in first person - with yourself as a supporting character! What was that mental process like? How did you come to the decision of what to write about, and what was it like taking yourself out of your own head and putting yourself into the head space of your friend? How did that impact the perspective and given that Julie recently passed away (echoing the sympathies already expressed by others) did you feel closer to her by being able to tell a story about her life? 


***
For other folx - Do YOU have any questions or comments for these 4? Anything else you would like to add or comment on from Week 1, 2 or what you would love to see them do for future weeks? 

Regardless of your answer to that, anyone have anything cool going on this weekend? 

 It was just announced yesterday that the Amazing Race will finally be coming back! The season has been completed (after they had already done several legs pre-COVID shutdown) and is currently being edited. 

So things internationally are at a place where an Amazing Race can be filmed! That's definitely a big step forward!

***

How are things for you on this Veterans Day? 

***

Remember that the deadline to post your entries is next Monday... so keep writing, and definitely keep reading those that are already posted!  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1105950.html

 The new prompt is up: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1105950.html

***
One of the things we were told yesterday is to come in each day as if this were a job application for our next job.  Which I'm pretty sure is just a weird way of saying "Don't slack off."  :D 

The next 6 months are definitely going to be interesting!

***
How has YOUR week been going? 

 The deadline for the second prompt has past, and I'll be posting the new one in a little while. (After my staff meeting, where we will "have questions answered" about what is happening with the company) 

But until then - have you read the entries from last week?   therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1104538.html

What were some of your stand out favorites? What was it about them that captured your attention? 

There were two polls, but I'm only going to make one Results post. Because this is the big one. The one that everyone has been waiting to see how it was going to turn out.

And besides, this week had unexpected results in both polls. So we might as well just put all the "Wha..." responses all in one place.

We're start with the main competition, since that is also where we are going to end, and might as well make things circular.

Once again, I asked for the Jury for their picks for who would receive immunity this week, and once again, it was really close. This time it came down to *a single vote*. That's the theme of the mini season after all. Those close calls and the one vote that either came in, or didn't. In this case, that one vote gave someone immunity - and changed this week's results for a second week in a row.

Congratulations to kehlen- who received this week's immunity, who was actually on the chopping block this week. This means they survive another round.

Leaving us this week from the main competition and joining the jury is

the always great megatronix 

who will definitely be missed.

Thanks to the immunity, we also have a 3-way tie for that second spot between codenamewanderlust , kimschlotwrites  and murielle . Which means there will be a Sudden Death Write-Off to determine who will be leaving us. More on that later.


Now for Second Chance, they had their own unexpected results. The people joining the Jury are:

alycewilson 
oxymoron67 
reidharriscooper 
stellinas 


I'm really sorry to be losing you, but I hope that we will be continuing to see you around with the Home Game, the Green Room and of course in your role as the Jury that is helping to shape how this all plays out.


Those joining the main competition, and in the hunt to win it all are

dmousey 
itsjust_c 
spilledink562 wolfden 
yachiru 

There are two names who are missing. Because they tied. Which means that the final spot, that last shot at getting into the main competition is coming down to a one-on-one literary slug fest between
babydramatic_1950  and blue_velvet ! It's another Sudden Death Write-Off!

***

For those in the Write-Offs, here are your instructions. It's Open Topic. Meaning you can write whatever you want.
You have until tomorrow, Sunday Jan 20th at 9pm EST to link your entries back to the dedicated thread below.

Have fun!

 The week that didn't seem to want to end, has finally come to an end. 

The 6 way tie was broken.  Which means that unfortunately, there are two writers we are going to be saying goodbye to today. 

It was, obviously, a tough decision for people to make - because the voting was pretty close across the board. 

But in the end, we are saying goodbye for now (but hopefully we will see you again in Second Chance, and Home Gaming until then)  to divinemusings  and oxymoron67 !

Thank you so much for really helping us raise the bar for this mini season, and making each vote a little more difficult each time! 



For the rest of you - you may have survived, but make sure you are getting your Week 4 entres in! 

Being at a punk musical festival is hard work.

Or at least that's what my body is telling me today. Maybe it's saying "I wish I had discovered this 20 years ago", but the main festival wasn't around 20 years ago. So if I had discovered it, there wouldn't be much to discover. And this is only the "Pre-fest". The main one starts tomorrow in Gainesville. We kept saying we were going to go, until we decided against it. As much as I'm going to have that feeling that the party left town and is continuing without us (because it will), and as much as I'm going to miss seeing some of the bands who didn't come down for the Pre-Fest (and I will) , I've got to say that it's a lot for an out-of-shape guy in his late 40s to handle! Still, worth it.

I do have a story I want to tell about the last show of the night Bad Cop/Bad Cop - because I'm still pissed off about it, but I'll just leave this note for myself in hopes that I'll remember tomorrow. If I don't, someone remind me. :)


***


Remember to read, comment and vote for your favorites! Send your votes to clauderainsrm@gmail.com and please add your user name to your email. Even if you are convinced 100% that I know who you are, this season there are a lot of new names to familiar faces, so it's better to be overly cautious than lax.