Last week results are in, and it's another Sudden Death Write Off!!! (in retrospect, this mini season should have been called "Sudden Death Write Off") therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1175899.html

The new prompt is up though for those who want to get started. therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1176122.html

How was your Thanksgiving? ( For those in the US who celebrate. )How was your Black Friday? (For those who celebrate.) How was your weekend? (For those who celebrate? :D) 

Anyone looked up the definition of the new prompt yet? Any ideas flowing? 

 It's strange to think that early voting has opened in some areas in the US in what feels like an election cycle that has been going on since 2015.  ;) 

The good thing though is that this may be the last time anyone has to vote ever again!  Imagine the luxury of just sitting back and not having to care anymore! This is why I've been advocating for years for people to just make ME the Dictator-for-Life!  Now that the Supreme Court is in the pocket and says things like "Any official action from a President is above prosecution" it is the best possible time to just install ME as your next leader!!! I don't have to co-opt the courts because the work has been done for me! I barely have to do anything to Congress because that place is a mess. Once installed I may have to do something about the conspiracy theorists because they could turn on me! But that's why you have the National Guard, to silence your political opponents!!!

Once all of that is sorted out, I will be free to pursue my true agenda - making the TRUE enemy within pay... and by "pay" I mean "write entries for Idol"... such as this week's prompt: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1170188.html

Anyone have any ideas yet? 

I will also eliminate people from the country, like I did in Idol last night: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1170020.html   But I will not allow anyone to sacrifice from THAT... I'll just keep you until we are done. And by "done" I mean when I have a true stranglehold on everything and by "you" I mean "you, personally. Yes, I'm talking about you!" 

So remember - Dreslinski 2024 Take America Back, and See What England's Exchange Policy is!! 

Posting this from my phone. So someone please post the relevant links below.  :) 

New prompt has been posted.  Anyone have immediate ideas? Anyone struggling?  Anyone planning on staying in their house until they come up with an idea? 

The results from last week were posted as well as a sacrifice to avoid a mass write off  One interesting fact about drippedonpaper’s sacrifice that wasn’t mentioned last night - she’s getting close to 100 Weeks   

At a time when a few others have been celebrated for their accomplishment, she opted to step aside for others   There’s not an award for that, but deserves to be recognized

The bus is almost to the giraffe enclosure so I’m going to hit “post” on this. Happy Friday Eve. 
 

 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? 

 Happy 21st birthday to Celena!!! 

(For those who don't know this information, that is my awesome stepdaughter.  :) ) 
So I'll probably be out of the house most of the day. If you need me though, email! 

***
While writing the "heads up" post explaining to people what to expect from the voting process, it occurred to me that I never did explain what the GREEN ROOM is about.  For those who have never heard the term: 

"In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre or similar venue that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage." 

(from Wikipedia) 

This is your space to relax, chat with each other. If you want to use it to bounce off ideas, feel free!  (We used to have a separate Work Room but let's just start with one room and go from there to see if it's needed) 

***
The new prompt has been posted and people have already started submitting entries: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1140427.html

I'll admit that I've forgotten how satisfying that was to have a thought in MY head that I put out into the world and then start seeing what other people create with it.  I didn't remember how much I'd missed it until the first couple people had posted and I started reading....

***
I've been asked by a couple people "can I sneak in?" after the sign up deadline - and I said "Yes"... because (and those who know me are aware of this) I'm going to side with having more people having the chance to play than being super strict about that aspect.  That said, the last sign ups I will be accepting before it's 100% closed is the deadline for the first prompt. So if someone sees your entry and goes "WOW! I didn't know Idol had started up!" or "What is that? Can I do it too?" let them know that yes, they can.   therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1138078.html
But they still need to get that first entry in by the deadline!

I do *try* to be understanding, especially since I know that the word about Idol being back has been slowly trickling out. 

***

I just saw this in my email. Goodreads put out a list of "

120 Book Recommendations for (Nearly) Every Kind of Summer Reader"

www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2770
Which books are on your list to read and/or have you already read? www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2770

For me it's
Dune by Frank Herbert (read when I was a teenager) 
Chain Gang All Stars  by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  (checked out from the library and currently sitting on my side table) 
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (read last year) 
James by Percival Everett (currently reading) 

 If there is one lesson from this mini season (so far), it's that "sometimes life happens" and we need to make the best of it. 

It's not disappointing to anyone else. Or, if it is, clearly they need to reassess their own priorities.  ;) 

It can still be a bummer... suck... be annoying if you are the one directly experiencing it. Or were just hoping for more.  I certainly know that people were hoping for more out of ME this time around. I definitely was.  But I hope that what you are getting is still enjoyable. 

That's kind of like every other aspect of life. There are a lot of things completely out of your control.... there are one or two things that are, as difficult as it is to believe, out of MY control.... (for now).  But we find a way to make the best of it. 

***

Last night's results are up https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1115656.html
and so is the new prompt https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1115986.html

***

What are YOU doing to help yourself get by these days? 

 It's our final week together here at DW.  Which is both sad and encouraging ( hopefully LJ won't be AS dead. But it probably will... long form social media has definitely taken a hit over the years) 

What were some of your favorite entries from last week?  

***
I'm headed out for the rest of the day soon, so I will be posting the last prompt tomorrow. 

How are you doing? 

 This week is apparently sponsored by hugedomains.com...  :)  I need to figure out how to get rid of that.  :D 

***

People haven't asked me if we are having a prompt this week, but I'm giving you the answer anyway - yes.  I'll post it later this afternoon. 

Until then though: 

- How was your weekend? 
- What were some of your favorite entries from this week?  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1107400.html

 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? 

 Good Morning and Welcome to Idol MInor+! 

I'm Gary, your host. (AKA clauderainsrm) 

This is going to be an interesting experiment that will last, I don't know, maybe a month and half. We'll have to see how it goes. :) But that's the plan anyway. 

For those of you coming in with no limited knowledge of Idol - just a couple ground rules:

When I post a prompt - it's a springboard for your creativity. Post whatever it is that you want to write (there is no restrictions on format. It can be a story, poem, art, songs - literally, whatever it is that it inspires you to create, that is welcomed here.) 

Whatever your thing ends up being - you post it in your space and link it to the original prompt post. 
Then you check out what other people have created and leave them comments! (and they will be doing the same for you!) 

It's pretty straight forward, but in the 15 years I've been running this community, there is always at least one person who gets confused.  :) So I like to spell it out. 

For those who ARE familiar with Idol, there are a couple differences worth noting: 

There is no voting. So that natural flow of reading everyone's work in order to see who you want to vote for isn't going to be there. I'd encourage you to check out some new people's work/change it up.

That also means that there are no "byes" or penalties for not writing in any given week. Show up when you can show up.  (But obviously if people stop showing up , that will impact how long this will continue) 


Idol Minor has Playgrounds, not Green Rooms. Take that to heart and have fun! Leave whatever baggage from your day that you are carrying at the edge of the park.  :) 

I hope to capture some of that fun everyone enjoys from the mini seasons we run for kids in this project.  But then again, the prompts are coming from Idol Patrons. So who knows how dark those are going to be in comparison!  ;) 
The first prompt will be posted later today.  Until then, mingle, get to know each other... check out the swing set and slides over there!