It's Never Too Late to Say Goodbye - Is It? (Part 2)
In the ongoing series of "Gary catching up a few contestants at a time":
boiconfessed (Week 17) - If you had started at Week 0, there is a good chance that you would still be competing.
That's a pretty big statement given that when I'm writing this there are 21 contestants left, saying that one of those spots might have ended up being yours. But the more I think of it, I think there is some truth in it.
Your ultimate downfall was missing the run off deadline. But going back and looking at things again tonight I saw where you mentioned that your "Caged Bird" entry was rushed and disjointed. I thought that at the time, and rereading it, I see a lot of potential in it and even the disjointed energy I think could have ended up being focused on being more purposefully disjointed. Showing that "creative ADD" in action spiraling out, and your efforts to reign it back in. The material was definitely there and I think had you had a few more weeks under your belt in Idol, instead of being thrown immediately to the wolves part way through a season, from what I've seen in your work and your instincts, I think you could have ended up pulling it off.
"Breaking the Fast" http://boiconfessed.livejournal.com/61612.html was the entry that I heard the most people talking about. Obviously, the ability to be candid and honest with, and about, yourself is something you are able to harness in your writing. It's far too rare, in life and in writing about life, and people respond to it. I think though that if they missed, or don't remember your "Radial" entry http://boiconfessed.livejournal.com/59495.html that it's a decent indicator on why I think you could have been here. The raw materials are there. I think given the time and pressure exerted by the 16 weeks that you missed out of on, that people couldn't help but adore what you were writing.
I haven't seen you around - or any updates in awhile. I hope you are still keeping at it. For your sake and for the sake of the people who love to read your writing.
ask-a-sup (Week 15) - Let's get this straight. There was an SUPERNATURAL ADVICE COLUMN going on and it made it to Week 15? Seriously? Take a moment. Week 15. Supernatural advice column. I thought it was an interesting idea, and I thought that given the rate of early drops that "sup" could probably squeeze through a few elimination votes before becoming an interesting, maybe confusing footnote in the history of Idol.
A funny thing happened on the way there though. I really started loving these columns!! They were a whole lot of fun.
There were also times though, later in the process, that "sup" put that columns on the shelf and busted out with the writing chops. It's one thing to tell there is talent there in a "fun little project" and the glimpses had a lot of promise. It's quite another when it's in front of you, and, if memory serves, it was. I say "if memory serves" because unfortunately the non-column entries are no longer public so I wasn't able to go back and link them for anyone who might have missed them. So I can't even tell you if they are as good as I remember them being. But I do remember them as good - so those of you who *do* have access, take a look back at those entries and let me know! :)
For those who want to relive the fun though, here's the "winners of the kid's writing contest" sponsored by your favorite advice column! http://ask-a-sup.livejournal.com/2366.html
misalady (Week 18) - One of the things that was really exciting for me, personally, this season (and I'll admit, a little intimidating) was how many people "came out of the woodwork" to play for the first time. They had watched for multiple seasons, and finally decided to stick their toe into the water and see how they would do. Misa was one of those people, and I've got to say - she did pretty damn good.
How good? Well, Week 18 isn't too shabby at all - and thanks to the handy tag system she has set up, I can link you to *her entire run* on Idol!
http://misalady.livejournal.com/tag/lj idol
As I was reading back through the entries, trying to put my finger on what was so appealing about her work - the line "It's raw, it's real, it's me. And I love it." appeared in her entry about her time on livejournal. What she loves so much about the LJ experience is what makes her appealing. She *is* raw. With both the advantages and disadvantages of that.
The good though - oh, the good is worth it when it all comes together. I didn't have to get passed the title to remember this one: http://misalady.livejournal.com/749363.html - but really, I would go through the entire catalog. There is a lot of potential, and even though times have been rough over the past year, I hope that she continues to find the time to develop it.
dawny_darko (Week 14) - Her LJ is an expression of her life.
It's a simple statement and one that I think goes under appreciated. People want the "big splash" of an entry and IMO forget that the "J" stands for "journal". They forget the simple elegance of someone talking about what is going on in their lives. Their hopes, dreams and the stories that matter to them. Dawny_darko is an example of someone who hasn't forgotten, and during her time in Idol, managed to talk about the people and moments that were important to her - and why.
Your LJ reflecting who you are, and telling those moments, seems almost a lost art at times, with people pulling you one way or the other in what *they* want to see. But she manages to capture it from http://dawny-darko.livejournal.com/118784.html to rawness of stuff like this http://dawny-darko.livejournal.com/119451.html. (even the fiction manages to sound "true", because *she is*.)
She definitely wasn't one of the most vocal of contestants and I think managed to slip off the radar of some folks as a result. But it's well worth going back to rediscover what you might have missed the first time around - and learning that nothing she does turns out to be an empty gesture.
jack_batelin (Week 16) - I thought it was appropriate to mention "jack" in the same post as "sup" because they both had the same reaction from me when they first showed up - mainly a "Um - OK". In Jack's case though I knew "he" was coming having received the email asking me if writing under two accounts was OK. When I heard the premises I figured it was going to be interesting for a week or two until they either got bored or booted. One of those two was going to happen.
There was one thing that I wasn't counting on though - *just how good* the entries were going to be! I didn't know that our hard nosed named after Daredevil's short termed alter ego (and in turn named after his boxer father) detective was going to take off the way that it did! I think Jack was pretty surprised by that as well!!
In a lot of cases I will point to one or two entries that were particularly compelling or that I think people should go back and (re)read. In this one though, I'm pointing to the whole journal, since it was an ongoing serial: http://jack-batelin.livejournal.com/ I think it was a great tribute to the noir detective stories and definitely a unique addition to the Idol family this season.
There was no reason that I could see that it *would* work. But it did - and I think that is an outstanding testimony to the quality of the storytelling.
boiconfessed (Week 17) - If you had started at Week 0, there is a good chance that you would still be competing.
That's a pretty big statement given that when I'm writing this there are 21 contestants left, saying that one of those spots might have ended up being yours. But the more I think of it, I think there is some truth in it.
Your ultimate downfall was missing the run off deadline. But going back and looking at things again tonight I saw where you mentioned that your "Caged Bird" entry was rushed and disjointed. I thought that at the time, and rereading it, I see a lot of potential in it and even the disjointed energy I think could have ended up being focused on being more purposefully disjointed. Showing that "creative ADD" in action spiraling out, and your efforts to reign it back in. The material was definitely there and I think had you had a few more weeks under your belt in Idol, instead of being thrown immediately to the wolves part way through a season, from what I've seen in your work and your instincts, I think you could have ended up pulling it off.
"Breaking the Fast" http://boiconfessed.livejournal.com/61612.html was the entry that I heard the most people talking about. Obviously, the ability to be candid and honest with, and about, yourself is something you are able to harness in your writing. It's far too rare, in life and in writing about life, and people respond to it. I think though that if they missed, or don't remember your "Radial" entry http://boiconfessed.livejournal.com/59495.html that it's a decent indicator on why I think you could have been here. The raw materials are there. I think given the time and pressure exerted by the 16 weeks that you missed out of on, that people couldn't help but adore what you were writing.
I haven't seen you around - or any updates in awhile. I hope you are still keeping at it. For your sake and for the sake of the people who love to read your writing.
ask-a-sup (Week 15) - Let's get this straight. There was an SUPERNATURAL ADVICE COLUMN going on and it made it to Week 15? Seriously? Take a moment. Week 15. Supernatural advice column. I thought it was an interesting idea, and I thought that given the rate of early drops that "sup" could probably squeeze through a few elimination votes before becoming an interesting, maybe confusing footnote in the history of Idol.
A funny thing happened on the way there though. I really started loving these columns!! They were a whole lot of fun.
There were also times though, later in the process, that "sup" put that columns on the shelf and busted out with the writing chops. It's one thing to tell there is talent there in a "fun little project" and the glimpses had a lot of promise. It's quite another when it's in front of you, and, if memory serves, it was. I say "if memory serves" because unfortunately the non-column entries are no longer public so I wasn't able to go back and link them for anyone who might have missed them. So I can't even tell you if they are as good as I remember them being. But I do remember them as good - so those of you who *do* have access, take a look back at those entries and let me know! :)
For those who want to relive the fun though, here's the "winners of the kid's writing contest" sponsored by your favorite advice column! http://ask-a-sup.livejournal.com/2366.html
misalady (Week 18) - One of the things that was really exciting for me, personally, this season (and I'll admit, a little intimidating) was how many people "came out of the woodwork" to play for the first time. They had watched for multiple seasons, and finally decided to stick their toe into the water and see how they would do. Misa was one of those people, and I've got to say - she did pretty damn good.
How good? Well, Week 18 isn't too shabby at all - and thanks to the handy tag system she has set up, I can link you to *her entire run* on Idol!
http://misalady.livejournal.com/tag/lj idol
As I was reading back through the entries, trying to put my finger on what was so appealing about her work - the line "It's raw, it's real, it's me. And I love it." appeared in her entry about her time on livejournal. What she loves so much about the LJ experience is what makes her appealing. She *is* raw. With both the advantages and disadvantages of that.
The good though - oh, the good is worth it when it all comes together. I didn't have to get passed the title to remember this one: http://misalady.livejournal.com/749363.html - but really, I would go through the entire catalog. There is a lot of potential, and even though times have been rough over the past year, I hope that she continues to find the time to develop it.
dawny_darko (Week 14) - Her LJ is an expression of her life.
It's a simple statement and one that I think goes under appreciated. People want the "big splash" of an entry and IMO forget that the "J" stands for "journal". They forget the simple elegance of someone talking about what is going on in their lives. Their hopes, dreams and the stories that matter to them. Dawny_darko is an example of someone who hasn't forgotten, and during her time in Idol, managed to talk about the people and moments that were important to her - and why.
Your LJ reflecting who you are, and telling those moments, seems almost a lost art at times, with people pulling you one way or the other in what *they* want to see. But she manages to capture it from http://dawny-darko.livejournal.com/118784.html to rawness of stuff like this http://dawny-darko.livejournal.com/119451.html. (even the fiction manages to sound "true", because *she is*.)
She definitely wasn't one of the most vocal of contestants and I think managed to slip off the radar of some folks as a result. But it's well worth going back to rediscover what you might have missed the first time around - and learning that nothing she does turns out to be an empty gesture.
jack_batelin (Week 16) - I thought it was appropriate to mention "jack" in the same post as "sup" because they both had the same reaction from me when they first showed up - mainly a "Um - OK". In Jack's case though I knew "he" was coming having received the email asking me if writing under two accounts was OK. When I heard the premises I figured it was going to be interesting for a week or two until they either got bored or booted. One of those two was going to happen.
There was one thing that I wasn't counting on though - *just how good* the entries were going to be! I didn't know that our hard nosed named after Daredevil's short termed alter ego (and in turn named after his boxer father) detective was going to take off the way that it did! I think Jack was pretty surprised by that as well!!
In a lot of cases I will point to one or two entries that were particularly compelling or that I think people should go back and (re)read. In this one though, I'm pointing to the whole journal, since it was an ongoing serial: http://jack-batelin.livejournal.com/ I think it was a great tribute to the noir detective stories and definitely a unique addition to the Idol family this season.
There was no reason that I could see that it *would* work. But it did - and I think that is an outstanding testimony to the quality of the storytelling.