LJ Idol Presents:

(this weekend) Oh man, I can't wait to talk about that in Monday's Green Room!!!"

(now) *crickets in my brain*

If anyone can remember what it was that I wanted to talk about, let me know!

Maybe it was the importance of writing ideas down when you have them, so you can go back to them later! :)

The poll closes today, and it's *really* close http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/837688.html so if you have some last bits of love you want to send out to the universe on someone else's behalf, now would be the time to do so!

13 days into the month and I can't really tell that it's "African American History Month". Well, other than the feed from RRAP on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rrapmag/timeline or following them on WordPress: https://rrapmagazine.wordpress.com/

Other than that - I've seen more posts about "Galentine's Day" than about important PoC being honored.

Maybe I need a better feed.

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Of course, the *most* comments that I've seen is about how today is "Friday the 13th". So - who wants to go camping???

***

You can go camping *after* you read, comment and vote in this week's poll: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/837688.html

I take things to heart. One of those things was the comment about how people miss the "Goodbyes". I knew that I wouldn't be able to do them, so I thought I would throw a little something together.

The idea started out as *me* saying something that I liked about each of the Top 10. But then I thought "There is a poll going up today, I don't want to show too much preference for someone and that impact the results" (either for them or against them)

Then I thought "Maybe I'll just talk about their game" and that morphed into "I'll scramble their order and not attach names, so no one is completely sure who I am talking about!"

I started writing them and it turned more toward some generalized writing advice than I had intended. I still tried to keep it general though - and it's mostly the same advice. ;)

Take from it what you will:

1. Heisenberg was “The Danger”/”The One Who Knocks” in Breaking Bad. That’s you in Idol. I’m not sure that everyone even realizes it, but it’s your game to lose right now. Everyone expects the guy in the black hat and dark glasses and might walk right pass Walter White, until it’s too late.
Like Walter, the biggest threat right now is overplaying your hand. The writing itself is tight. I think your biggest concern is going too niche and losing your audience. Keep an eye on those things and I think we will be seeing you in the finals.

2 I almost wrote the “Heisenberg” bit about you. Because you definitely have the whole “Walter White” thing going on as well. ;) But your position is more of a Jesse Pinkman. In the end, you might actually be the one who finds a way to survive and win everything. But at the moment, I think you could be more behind the 8-ball than you think you are. Find a consistent rhythm within your work, it’s there. I just think you get in your own head and techniques a little too much and trip yourself up. Take Elsa’s advice and you could end up with an icon in a couple weeks.

3 You were one of my “Day 1” picks to win this thing. I think you’ve taken your foot off the gas in this home stretch though. You can still win this, but I think you might need some Jeff Probst yelling “YOU GOTTA DIG!!!” The talent is there, but I think you are going to have to slice something open on the literary front in these next few weeks to push you over the top. Cut away the fat and leave something exposed and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

4 You are your own biggest enemy. Stop handcuffing yourself with doubts. It’s amazing. Or at least it could be if you gave it the time it deserves. You have the ability to tell a well-crafted story, now let us in. Tear that wall down. Easier said than done in your case. But when have you ever been someone who did things the easy way?

5 Your head has been distracted by everything else going on, and I can tell. The work itself is still great. Not sure you know how to *not* produce anything that isn’t. Give us something unexpected in the next couple of weeks. Filter everything else out and throw a fast ball right down the center of the plate. Define yourself and show that you are a real threat to win this. Otherwise I think we could be saying goodbye soon, and I would hate to do that.

6 I’m not sure anyone really knows what to make your place in this competition right now. No one doubts that you are a legitimate threat in the coming weeks, but I’m not sure they have been able to fully measure just how big of a threat you might become. This makes you a wild card, who is bound to end up masking some people’s lives miserable. ;) Seriously though, one of the final challenges of Top Chef is “Show Us YOU on a plate”, challenging chefs to define themselves through their dishes. That is my challenge to you.

7 Your work has a quiet beauty to it. No one can deny that. There’s certainly the advice of “Stay with the one who brought you to the dance” – and sticking with what is working for you certainly isn’t going to hurt you. Sandra Diaz-Twine (two time Survivor winner) said something early in her first time out that always comes up in fan conversations “I CAN GET LOUD TOO!” Can you? I’m not sure you’d even want that. It might just not be what you do. Shaking expectations – and “getting loud” – might be a risky move. But right now I think you may need a risky move to get to the next stage.

8 I was looking the right phrase to define your work and stumbled on an article about looking for life on other planets. The line that got my attention was a quote from a scientist, “"The nanomotion detector allows studying life from a new perspective: life is movement," You are a nanomotion detector. At times, I’m not entirely convinced you know there is a game actually happening. Other times you seem to have really good instincts about those things. So who knows – maybe you are a dark horse candidate. My advice would be to either adjust the focus of your magnifying glass a little wider, to take in a little more of the world – or make it even tighter, so it leaves scorch marks.

9 Remember to breathe. It’s almost over. Take the time to slow your mental process down and really focus in. You have both “the craft” and some of the “emotional content” but also a tendency to over-think and get a little scatter-shot in your approach. Breathe. Focus. Execute your vision. Repeat as necessary. Don’t let other people in your head. Unless they are your characters. You have a real shot at winning this thing, if you don’t end up tripping yourself up first.

10 There’s a line between “having fun” and “getting too cute” with things. There’s a danger of crossing it. You haven’t. You may never do that. But the threat is real and I want to make sure you swerve into the open grass instead of into the grandstand. Now that I’ve said that, I’ll also add “Don’t over-think things”. Which could be contrary, but I think it comes to the same point: Don’t complicate things for the sake of doing it. Strip down what you don’t need and focus in on what you *do*. Figuring out the difference is going to make a huge difference in your work. As far as “your chances in the game” go, they are extremely solid. Watch out for hazards and don’t lose sight of what you are doing and why you are doing it.

***

Btw - we had our Quick Fire Results last night: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/837195.html
and your topic is due today! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/836302.html

While we are recovering from the double shock of Jon Stewart leaving the Daily Show and Charles Manson calling off his wedding, it's important to stop and reflect on what we still have:

We have a deadline: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/836302.html

We have Quick Fire entries to read: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/836597.html
(Although half of the field skipped it this week, guaranteeing that they would not be safe going into the vote for topics that people say they struggle with!) and a decision that will be reached this evening.

We also have a Love Thread.

Why?

Because we are at the Top 10 and I've been sensing that maybe it's time for another one - a chance for people to say nice things about the 10 remaining contestants and have some good will going into the last bit of slamming your heads into a wall! :)

I'll create threads for the remaining 10, and you comment on them! :)

You know these topics very well.

You also knew that you weren't quite done with them.

They first appeared in Week 20. They menaced you again in Week 25. You may have thought you were safe, until you had to do two of them for Week 32!!

That's only four of them accounted for though - and there are 6 topics. :)

So now you need to select another one that you have not yet completed:

Intersubjectivity, Shibusa, Rapture of the Deep, Captcha the Flag, the Bystander Effect, Overwatch

You have until Thursday Feb 12th at 8pm EST to link your entry back to this thread. (and let me know which one you have selected!)

Have fun!

You folks certainly do know how to keep life interesting, don’t you?

I was preparing for a battle to the death, fight to the finish, no-holds barred/no bars held 24 run-off. Instead, we get a drop: http://n3m3sis42.livejournal.com/1120057.html

n3m3sis42 - It was a truly brilliant run! You have a hell of a lot to be proud of, and having talked to you, I know you are well aware of it!

Going from not even being sure that you could write, to the Top 4, and getting noticed by someone from the Tesla Science Center? Yeah, I’d say that was a journey. (Even if, like Mirror Girl, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to make the connection with your name! :D)

Thank you for sharing that journey with us!

With posting her entry: http://pixie117.livejournal.com/688662.html

that means pixie117 joins notodette and whipchick in the last hurrah before the finale!!
http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/600343.html

Congratulations to the three of you. Now go kick some butt!

***

Before I let you go, a pet peeve of mine and something that shouldn’t be ignored It’s seems silly to be saying it now, but I’m saying it as much to Season 9 as I am to people who are currently assembled to see how this season ends!

I keep hearing “Idol is this” and “Idol isn’t that” to somehow justify why certain people make it further and others don’t. I understand, ego is involved. People like to assume that if only it wasn’t for this one little thing - that they would be sitting at the end. Maybe on any other day, they would be. You play out any given season 10 times and I’m sure there would be quite a few different combinations. It doesn’t take anything away from the people who won in our particular time line. Nor should it.

They are amazing and whoever walks away with this thing this season is going to be a worthy addition to them.

You know how much dumb luck comes into play in the writing industry? Ask any professional writer about their big break - I guarantee that it involved persistence and dumb luck, and a hell of lot of writing their fingers to the bone.

Idol is very much about the writing. It’s about the love, the passion, the times you want to pull your hair out and times you would just rather punch someone, it’s what you don’t get in a workshop and the stuff that if you are smart enough to apply it, can and will get you wherever it is you want to go.

Hearing people say that it’s not, it riles me up. I don’t say that Idol is “not just a writing competition” because it’s LESS. I say it because it’s MORE.

I think that’s something people frequently misunderstand, or misinterpret deliberately.

I like a variety of writers who come through this doors for a number of reasons. Some I think are technically awesome. Others move me on a primal level. Some, I don’t know - I just like ‘em. I think everyone who shows up is offering something worth hearing, and is bringing something vital to the mix, and to the experience.

The key is to figure out what that is, and allow your own ego to take a back seat for long enough to learn something.

This is something special here. It’s worth celebrating.

How do I know? Because of things like this: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/600657.html?view=62859601#t62859601

You don’t have to win to gain from this experience. You have to show up. You have to commit, and you have to turn around and do something with what you learned.

My winners are awesome. My contestants, in general, are awesome. Remember that, and treat each other - and Idol, like you remember that.

It’s the day we will find out who is in our Top 3! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/599276.html -( I don’t know who your favorite(s) is in that race (unless you’ve voted, and then I know! :D) but make sure to get out there and support them!) Community membership numbers are higher than ever, and of course, the Green Room is doing its best impression of a ghost town.

Which is a shame, because it’s not like we will be having very many more of them this season. I hope people will come out for the ones that we do have!

This week marks the first day of school for at least kids in the US. When do schools start “elsewhere”? Do they really have “schools” there? Why? It’s not like foreigners need an education! For that matter, considering that foreign extends to everything outside of my apartment, and there are no schools located in my apartment – do we really need them? Or can we just skip to the part where I have taken over the world and am crushing the rest of you under my iron boot????

Hmmm – maybe not iron. That would be impractical to walk around in, unless “you people” are carrying me. Then, I guess it would be OK.

You might be enjoying the Home Game entries http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/598739.html

Or diving into the Montage of what our Top 4 have been through: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al82Cm1lXTUvdDNpLXVTUlpkWko2MUhkYk15QVBjblE#gid=0 )

OR, you may be attempting to make ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS YOU WILL EVER MAKE IN YOUR LIFE: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/599276.html

(other than, “What do I buy Gary?” and of course “How big of a package of cookies should I send Gary?”” Is two dozen peanut butter cookies really enough???” And of course, “I wasn’t planning on having kids/any more kids – but now I guess I have to, or at least rename some of the existing ones, so that I can name them “Idol”) and all those other decisions that the voices in your head compel you to make, that keep you up at night… most of them involving me!

Regardless of which path you take, in which order – It’s going to be a good time!!

It’s a “Choose Your Own Adventure” that doesn’t end with you on the ground, dying! Well, I guess that *could* happen, but it’s far more likely if you step off the marked path!

After a rather busy day of keeping an eye on all the mini-fires set in the wake of this week's results, I decided to look back at how this season all began, just 10 short months ago! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/485391.html?

Remember coming in the door? All of those faces? The ones who stuck around and those who wandered through? The questions? The comments? The energy of a freshly painted Green Room?

Now look around. See those stains on the ceiling? That's going to take awhile to get that out. The scorch marks from where someone decided to start BBQing? Going to need to call in a specialist.

For 8 seasons now, I've got to see those faces come in, and see who develops over the course of time, and how that season is going to go.

We're not quite at the ending yet. But we are really close.

Close enough that I'm sure there are some people who came late to the party, or those who simply can;t remember that far back, who ask the question - What was the journey of these four? What can you tell us about them?

Thanks to our friends at the kathrynrose foundation - you can explore that on your own: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al82Cm1lXTUvdDNpLXVTUlpkWko2MUhkYk15QVBjblE#gid=0

It's a link to every entry from all four of them. A picture of their life inside of Idol, who they were when they started the season, and who they are now that we are at the end.

I'd highly recommend people go back and reread, and explore who these four remarkable people that we find ourselves with actually are!

While you are in the mood for exploring - you might want to explore the entries for *this* week, once they are posted http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/597827.html - today IS the deadline after all!

Which means anyone who wants to participate in the Home Game http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/598739.html had better hurry as well!

If anyone needs any extra help, there is always the Work Room for that: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/598038.html

If anyone has any extra time, and money - and a love of awesome science, check out: http://theoatmeal.com/blog/tesla_museum and help build a museum for Nikola Tesla!

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Question for the masses - I was also reading our Spotlight announcement post from the Sign Up week, and got to wondering, who came in from that and is still around? More to the point - how far did the furthest "Spotlight recruit" get this season? Just curious!
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I tried insulting mstrobel and general threats... so I guess you folks have given me so choice but to unleash the big guns... a picture of a cute puppy!!

You had your chance, now you have to deal with it!
( Read more... )

I'd say "Good Morning" to you folks - but there's been a twist, and the sun didn't come up at all. Just an empty chariot and a confused looking Arvak and Alsvid!

I think they are going back to take another look. If nothing else, they might bring the moon back, just to have something up there!

If you missed the excitement last night - then you may not actually have a pulse!

The results are in: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/597739.html
and there is a new topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/597827.html and Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/598038.html

The Home Game thread will be up a little later.

We're at the Top 4! This crazy ride is about to go over the edge into the canyon! Or maybe it already did! Is there a net down there? I guess we will find out!!!