Right before the site loaded, I thought to myself...

"I bet they're gonna make us come up with our own theme music."

Creepy, no?

And so the fight begins for the 2nd immunity spot for Challenge 3. The one not guaranteed to Morgan and Tim...

So long to Eric and to SG. SG, I will tell my cousin in Portland to visit your church of Elvis. And Eric, I hope you can find solace in the voluminous bosom of your beloved.

man that is fucked
eric and sg were both strong bloggers. erics writing was weird and awesome and sg's style took me deep. i really liked both of their last entries.
but i guess thats why they were taken out? strong individuals vs strength in numbers.
sad to see them go.
really am. dang.

I'm not sure why I've been voted off; I can only assume it's because you hate people who had heart surgery.

Whatever the reason, I'm sorry I didn't get to know everyone better. I am sad, because I feel there were journeys we had yet to take together. Places in the mind that have only been seen by the likes of great writers like Jules Verne or Michael Crichton. Magical lands, far up in the clouds, where candy corn is used for prosthetic legs instead of wood and people drive their hybrid cars on the left side of the road.

I hope somebody out there enjoyed what I had to say through my words. I knew from the start that I didn't really fit in. That I was an "outcast". I think I had hoped that there was a place for people who were different and who had heart surgery, but I guess in this crazy, modern world, there's no room for someone so unafraid to get political. To write about things that are real. Things that matter. Not just stupid bullshit about foul-smelling candles and imaginary girlfriends.

I don't want to sound judgmental, I know you kids today would rather do some 'ludes and swing dance to the Brian Setzer Orchestra than talk about what's going on in the world today, but it hurts, you know? But not unlike auto-erotic asphyxiation, there is a euphoria that comes out of the pain.

I feel honored just to be selected as a finalist, to get to compete against all these other talented bloggers. Just 11 months ago, I was stuck in a hospital bed, awaiting heart surgery. Now look at me: I'm sitting in a regular bed entering a blogging contest!

I hope that if my writing pleased you, you will check out my regular blog, http://www.hollywoodphony.com. Feel free to leave me comments and drop me an email if you want to chat. I'd love to stay in touch with all you great kids.

I had fun, but it's over now. The cyanide pill I took should be taking effect very soon. Hmmph, looks like the sun is going down. I wonder... will I dream?

I knew it was me because i can't remember who, but that person made a comment in the chat room at mike didonato's blogsite that said my name and eric's name so i figured out that that was the alliance, but what can you do? A hint to the three who are out in the cold--Tim of Tivoli sent me an email and it arrived in my bulk folder, PLUS he mentioned the alliance, like he felt guilty about it or something!! Off to find a SPACE, I already have the RENT!! The landlords just won't take my MONEY!! Thank god the ultimate blogger competition did, now I learned how to vimeo!! Check it out. THANKS!!

that is so effed and sad.
SG Pierce is so good she scared everyone.

Boo hoo.

anyone surprised by the ebay reveal?

I WAS!!! OMG!

Killer video challenge, dudes! The musical bit just melted my heart!

Also, great cameos! (Wink.)

i was surprised. it seems if SG dropped $200+ on a spot in the game, she would have been all over the posts/forums/comments a lot more.

her wild style set her apart and i figured she was a chosen contestant because of this.

Well, I thought it would be SG because she was advertising something important to her and looking for a rent buddy. So, it made sense that she might have invested in that opportunity.

Wow. It's an exhausting few days at work, then home to work my brains out on this challenge. I'm going to give you guys my all, man.

I can totally see how the exhaustion will build up--just like real reality TV. Right?

I saw this before the contest started, and I took it for granted that everyone else had seen it too and was just kidding about not knowing who it was.

Best video yet.

What are you linking to Lauren?

I don't get anything from that ebay link.

Hey, 11 bloggers with 22 total votes; only a 20 vote spread. What's up with that?

Where are the 2 missing votes?

J.John, I think Lauren is pointing out the auction winner was from Oregon!

I'm sure I'm not the the first to think it, but The Ultimate Blogger competition has officially jumped the shark. Sorry dudes. I love my brother, and think fondly of Steve and Mike, but am I the only one who has noticed the utter lack of intrigue in the video content, entries, and comments? I just want it to be good, and it's not, so far. My bad for any hurt feelings in advance.

jumped the shark is the stupidest term in pop culture history.

my bad for any hurt shark feelings in advance.

It's a perfect pop culture phrase for something that has since lost its glory. You do dig pop culture, no? Why else would you do this formerly beloved thing we know as "The Ultimate Blogger"? The references are all transparent, the chides, appropriate. I dig you, do you not dig me?

BTW: Your half-hearted rebuke was indicative of all that I chastise. Refer to your video-challenges from season one. Take a long, hard look. Compare. Contrast. A green screen will not be your savior of content. This is no knock upon the talented works of Cabel or Mr. Birdman, but an overall indictment of mediocrity, sirs. Know This.

deja vu anyone?...

joel, you said the exact same thing last year.

and if my memory serves me correctly, steve also retorted the same thing.

i'm all for some drama, but let's mix it up, gentlemen!

Sarah,
Cite your sources through the handy use of HTMLinks. It is hard to understand you otherwise. I may have stated during season one that I was bored with certain things, but my comments were not as broad-based as my overall distain that I am expressing with all that is season two. I am not a proponent of drama, but a catalyst of excellence. Feelings be damned. Damned I say. I am your Simon Cowell. You are my fat black chick or effeminate young boy. This is the word of Joel.

(Thanks be to Joel)

good lord, like i can remember where it was in order to link to it..

it's the shark comment- that's all i'm talking about. i'm just poking fun at you two boys- no harshness intended :)

Jump the shark comment from Ultimate Blogger (One).

I'll quote:

Does the term "Jump The Shark" mean anything to anyone?

Posted by: Joel Conrad Bechtolt at May 19, 2005 08:43 AM

And again:

A video with Steve and Mike riding motorcycles jumping an actual shark might save this abortion of a contest. Till then, keep it up, lazy asses!

Love You,
Joel

Posted by: Joel Conrad Bechtolt at May 19, 2005 12:10 PM

Also, Joel double-posted the "abortion of a contest" comment.

Joel, I will probably regret expending the energy to engage you and your comments, but I'm curious what you've been up to?

What awesome, creative things have you been accomplishing that might allow you to critique others in this manner?

Finally, some sense of discourse.

You're welcome, Steven, Michael, Jonathan.

heh - this being said from someone who still follows American Idol. I'm just sayin... ;) Who freakin' cares, dude.

But I loved the video! And the song was so well crafted. I mean, I can spell "Steve" now! You can't learn that in school, people.

Yes yes. The video was a revelation.

Just as a general rule, remember not to feed the trolls.

I don't know who this Joel guy is or who any of you are or really what any of these references are about, but I'm not going to let that stop me from saying that I am right about this controversy. Chachi was no mere "Fonzie ripoff" but rather a fully-drawn character with some serious depth to him, played to the height of intelligence by a wonderful actor and humanitarian, Mr. Scott Baio. Also, if this contest had been modeled after "American Idol" for blogging instead of "Survivor" for blogging, I would still be in it. Because I sing better than all of you. And if anyone comes up with an American Idol for blogging show, you owe me money.

But this troll was a contestant last year? Or just a troll from last year...

which would be really odd.

P.S. Tim and Morgan are done. Pressure them to post. I want to see what I'm losing to.

At least no ones talking 'bout gnomes! They get testy if you gossip about them behind their backs.

For the record, 60-70% of all G-Rad forum posters on the topic of this show are arrogant, nerdy SOBs that hurt my brain. And not because I'm too intellectually stimulated. Because you somehow (by internet magic or what, I don't know) have the ability to stop blood flow to my important parts. I could only imagine what life would be like if you fuckers were tabloid writers.

As indifferent as I am to Joel and how he tends to Joel up the comments, I have to give him credit for livening things up in between challenge posts. Without the UHUBUGGG (or however you spell it) providing commentary, it has been kinda quiet. I get the feeling that there is a lot of chatting going on between the players behind the scenes, but that doesn’t really satisfy us fans. It would be nice if, say, you guys posted new comments every five minutes or so, thank you. That way, I have something new to read every time I reload.

Hee. I thought that 60-70% of all G-Rad forum posters on the topic of the show were us contestants!! I'm kind of nerdy deep inside, but I promise I'm not arrogant!

xx

we are tabloid writers.

yeah, i for one have really missed UHUBUGGG.

whoa... are you confusing joel with a g-radder? oops! oh yeah.

So Joel isn't on G-Rad or a prevous contestant. That is amazing.

I think this year's crop of contestants are too busy working/going to school and finishing challenges to chat at all ever. Either that, or no one likes me.

Hmmm...

That sucked.

As soon as I wrote that, I remembered that I've often seen Joel on G-Rad.

Previous contestant, not on G-Rad.

Great challenge video. So funny. News desk was terrific, weather was terrific, and especially the song where Steve spells his name.

Also, was that Steve singing his own parts?

Also...

I have something of a special request. Is it possible to set it up so entries only link to Vimeo videos, as opposed to embedding them in the entry page?

Safari doesn't support .avi files, so it downloads those videos automatically when I go to the entry page. Also, it makes the page load much slower anyway, and I may not want to watch every single video.

Again, really awesome challenge video.

Thank you.

Andrew,

I just put a new system in place. I've created a "click to play" for each video so now they shouldn't load until you click.

I hope this works for everyone!

Great. Thanks Jona. There is still one that is loading/downloading, Zoe's NYC entry for Challenge 2.

The click-to-play thing is really cool and I don't know how you did it but I think it has something to do with your magic.

I DON'T MEAN DO-DINI

Look at Tina go! She's the coolest person alive. Truly commited!

Hometown Hero

Wow, she really is truly committed and the coolest person alive. Luv, another Tina fan

that was steve singing his own parts.

The parts where Mike was not singing, that was his own voice.

Hey, by the way, this video looked fantastic! Thanks to Susan for lights and stuff, and I for one really am enjoying what green screen is bringing. Stuff is cool and stuff!

OK, I just caught up on all the entries, and I have to say that I am so into this challenge! Every entry was so fun and entertaining. Thanks, Challenge Brothers!

I saw Slipknot (for free) at the Rose Garden!

Total rotating drumset!!!