Straight No Chaser

Contest Musings

i just summed the scores to date, because my curiosity was killing me.

a clear first and second, the order of which will be determined between now and wednesday. (they are, incidentally, exactly who i'd have picked if i'd done it without numbers, just based on my cumulative reaction alone.) then a three-way tie for third. ugh. but this is jumping the gun, anyway, since there's still time, between now and wednesday, for everyone to fill in the gaps with missing entries and stuff.

i haven't written about it much, the childishness and the pettiness and the fact that several people i genuinely like and respect have (a) shown very little return respect for me and for the sort-of-difficult but well-intended activity i'm trying to run, (b) turned a fun thing into an opportunity to tear one another down without really knowing the first thing about their targets as people, and (c) pretended, for some reason, to be less talented than they are, be it out of laziness or to make a point, whatever.

i'm not going to write about it now, either. that i know of, not one of the contestants is younger than i am, and i'm definitely not going to lecture anybody. but yes, congratulations, you've succeeded in making me very frustrated and very edgy, and yes, that frustration IS evenly distributed--doesn't favor anyone i supposedly "like" more than anyone else (which is bullshit, anyway, that whole idea--i did this in numbers. numbers).

so, thanks.

in spite of your efforts, i'm still having fun with this. i just issued twelve fives, in a row, to twelve great entries, which did warm my frustrated little heart. and if my opinion counts for anything (which i'm pretty sure all but two people have been careful to assert that it doesn't), everyone who has tried to has done a really awesome job.

that's what i think.