Forum:Total Drama Wiki Newsletter/August 2009

Advice Column
By Sunshineandravioli

Letter 1


 * Dear Sunshine…
 * I have the tendency to always be absent during challenges due to school. Every week I worry that I might get voted off. What should I do?
 * -No Good Underacheiver

Dear No Good Underacheiver...
 * I feel you. I often find that a challenge goes on when I’m offline and I completely miss it. My advice? Alliances work. Get in good with a few people, ask them to protect you, and hope you don’t miss much. If alliances aren’t your thing, just make some friends and hope they vote off someone else instead of you. If you’re really worried, ask someone you trust to sub as your characters while you’re not there. If you’re absent for long periods of time, tell an admin and they may post it on the site notice to alert people that you cannot do challenges and they shouldn’t vote you off. I hope this helps!

Best regards,


 * Sunshine

Letter 2
 * Dear Sunshine…
 * I have gotten a reputation of being a villain. How do I convince people there is a nice side to me? It's especially hard in camps when I try to eliminate people. What can I do?
 * -Not Nalyd
 * -Not Nalyd
 * -Not Nalyd

Dear Not Nalyd,
 * Sounds like you’ve got yourself in quite a situation. It’s hard to get rid of such a reputation, especially when you’ve done things to support it. To convince people that you’re not entirely cold-hearted, I suppose the best advice would be the old saying, “actions speak louder than words”. Anyone can say they’re nice, but it takes a truly nice person to be nice. Let up a little bit on the strategy and loosen up in camps- they’re supposed to be fun! Though you may be reading this and thinking, “is she insane?! People who act nice like that NEVER win camps!!!”, just take a look at Nalyd Renrut’s TDI Camp 4. The winner of this hard-core, chock-full-of-strategy game was none other than… Christin McClean. Probably the most nice, shy, strategy-less person you could get. And all it took was some close friends and a good alliance. And I should know. I was her. So all in all, just take things a little less seriously, loosen up, have fun, and SHOW people that the “villainous” side of you isn’t the only side of you.

Best of Luck,
 * Sunshine

Letter 3


 * Dear Sunshine…
 * People have been using my ideas in their camps. I am sure you know who I am, but what should I do??
 * -PurpleStar
 * -PurpleStar
 * -PurpleStar

Dear PurpleStar,
 * That does always stink, having a great and unique idea, putting it into action, and then finding that everyone and their brother copied it. I myself have been in this situation- on a whim, I created the camp Ravioli Academy, and the next thing I knew, school-based camps were popping up everywhere. However, as annoying as this is, sometimes you do have to remember that ideas occasionally overlap. The important thing is being able to decipher when the resemblance has gone too far. Let’s say, for example, I created a camp where the twenty-two TDI characters have to spend eight weeks doing challenges based around types of food, and the next day, a camp where custom characters, TDI characters, and wikia users do challenges based around types of food pops up. There is a good amount of difference there, so unless they used the exact same challenges as me, I’d say that should slide. However, if I made that camp and the next day one with a different name but the exact same thing happening was made, I would ask for it to be deleted. Use your best judgment, and I’m sure the admins will also help you make the right decision. I hope this helps you!

Sincerely,
 * Sunshine

(If you have a question for Sunshine, leave an anonymos letter on her talk page! It may be featured in the next newsletter!)

Comic
By Sunshineandravioli

Editor's Note
by Zakkoroen, Editor-In-Chief

So, originally, I was going to write a long-winded speech about how honored I was to be editor-in-chief of this fine newsletter, but I became wary of writing said speech, unless there was some kind of prize for being the millionth person to do so. So instead, I'm going to describe my Disney vacation. Why? Because I can!

I flew out to Florida early in June, and arrived at my best friend's house the same day. I stayed with him for a couple of days, and we played Rock Band. it was fun.

My family arrived that weekend, and we had some fun before it was time to go to Disney world.

My family and I stayed at the Yacht Club Resort. We could literally walk to Epcot from our resort in five minutes, though we didn't discover this till the vacay was half over.

We did Epcot and the Magic Kingdom on day one. Me and my older sister had a glorious time reliving our childhood, riding such rides as Spaceship Earth, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and, my personal favorite, the Haunted Mansion. The only attraction that really disappointed was the Enchanted Tiki room, which they soiled with Iago and Zazu. My little sis and I began collecting Disney Pins, a very addicting hobby. I had 25 by the end of the trip, most of which came out of an unwise deal my dad made with me.

There really isn't much to report, but my parents made me ride Expedition Everest (hated it) and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (I have been traumatized for life by that one). At Holywood Studios there was this Star Wars Weekends thing going on, and being a major SW fan, I got in on THAT action. Also at the Studios was this thing called Areosmith's Rock n' Roller coaster, and despite it having "roller coaster" in the name, Dad insisted that it was a simulator. He promised me 10 pins if he was wrong.

He was wrong.

One thing that was cool was that near the end of the Disney portion of the vacation was that we stayed at the hotel for a whole day and watched Phineas and Ferb (my favorite TV show) and swam in the pool, which has real sand fed onto the bottom.

After we left the resort, we stopped by a river cruise that allows one to swim with manatees, so that was cool.

We stayed for two night at the Wakulla Springs resort. We went on a real life Jungle Cruise- and I do mean jungle. The area had been used to film two Tarzan films, the Creature From The Black Lagoon, and Airport '77, among others.

We arrived home safely Thursday night.

So, yeah, expect an actual editor's note next time. Sorry for the not-so-professional one this month, heh heh.

Excelsior!


 * Zakkoroen, Editor-in-Chief

Episode Reviews
By Nalyd Renrut

The day Ocean's Eight or Nine premiered is one for the record books. Dozens of people came to the wiki and joined in the hunt for the episode. The episode starts with the two teams eating breakfast. The Gaffers are still mad at LeShawna. Seriously? Duncan and Heather think they have any right to be mad at LeShawna for lying. And now Harold, who switched votes against Courtney, thinks he can be mad at LeShawna too? Past Gaffer members, Gwen and DJ, also did their share of lying this season. The Gaffers are a team of liars, who win anyway. I think this opening scene bothered me the most because the fighting starting was so pointless. And Harold fighting Heather and LeShawna bothers me, personally, because I support both relationships. (HaroldXHeather and HaroldXLeShawna) LeShawna leaves after being harassed by her team, which I feel is completely out of character for her to just walk away. Where's the loud, proud, and bootylicious LeShawna we came to know and love in season one? Owen's jaw is finally un-wired. (Hey! Chris said 4-6 weeks for the jaw to heal. For us its been like 10 weeks, and for them its been like one week. 4-6 weeks would've been the rest of and then after the whole season!) Owen smells something in the kitchen, and somersaults his way in through the window. (Nothing like seeing a disgustingly obese boy somersault to get more food.) Owen is suddenly kidnapped! I'm sure Cartoon Network will cut that scene out for violence. Thank goodness, Chris is here! Oh, LeShawna and Owen being kidnapped is just a challenge. The Grips fear for Owen's safety, while the Gaffers couldn't care less about LeShawna. I completely agree with LeShawna's review of the Gaffers. The following scene of the Gaffers opening the safe disgusts me. Harold and Heather slap-fighting is completely out of character. Is this a sign of Harold manning up? I seriously hope so. Duncan calling Harold and Heather "the two H-bombs" made me laugh. The Grips have some great lines, as they really are all just happy idiots. The Brady-arch returns, and is twice as annoying. Harold yelling "Eh" at Heather made me sad. I am a Harold fan, and to see him acting like such a twerp makes me sad. I love when Justin is trying to get the combo out of Chris. "Uh, Justin. You're making me kind of uncomfortable." I think the perfume was pretty funny, and the fact that it worked was even better. The Gaffers selfishly leave LeShawna, and go to the boys' trailer to make equipment out of Harold's stuff. The Gaffers finally have a funny moment walking to the bank. The Grips are slowed down by Owen having a mental breakdown. So he eats some lip gloss, perfume, and mints ad is all set to go. And then, as if the green pants wasn't a big enough giveaway, we see that the teller is Courtney! Duncan passes out (how manly) and Harold and Heather return. Harold better hide because he's gonna get it! Or not. She doesn't seem to mind Harold, and she isn't mad at Duncan about him and Gwen. Courtney joins the Grips and none of them seem to happy about it. Courtney's whining got to me instantly and I was incredibly tempted to turn off the video. The best part of the episode, from the Gaffers, was Harold enjoying the bra. The Gaffers run out of gas and (despite being pretty much at the end when the Grips started running) the Grips are catching up! Until their car falls apart. The Gaffers win again, big surprise. However, all they get is Chris Cash. They can't vote off Courtney which means either Lindsay or Owen are probably the ones to go. Wow! Everyone votes for Courtney anyway. And can you blame them? Courtney's snobbishness and the Gaffer immaturity really ruined the episode for me. Wow, Courtney's even going to complain about Owen giving a farewell speech? What a sad way for Owen to go. I think if Owen has to go, a farewell speech and him not carrying a grudge is a great way to do it. "I love this game." When my cousin watched the episode with me, he told me his eyes watered at that part.

Overall, I think the episode was just average. I think they could've done a lot more if Harold stood by LeShawna instead of giving in. I rate this episode a 7.5/10

Featured Article Updates
By Nalyd Renrut

Welcome to another installation of: Featured Articles Update! Today, we focus on an upcoming Featured Article: Courtney. Users have been very patient waiting for Ocean’s Eight- Or Nine to premier, and soon the wait will be up! When the teams compete in a bank heist challenge, Duncan feels overconfident until he learns of Courtney’s return. This episode has gotten some mixed thoughts. The opinion of Courtney seems to be split 50-50 between users who support and oppose her return. Will the reunion be a happy one? Will Courtney’s return meet the high expectations? Find out soon!

Was Courtney coming back worth the wait? Yes No Maybe Undecided/No Opinion

Movie review: Up
By Zakkoroen (Disney-Pixar, PG, Animated)

As a rule, Pixar movies are sweet and heartfelt. Though some do not reach great heights of sweetness (Cars, anyone?), but others rise to the occasion (Finding Nemo). Up is somewhwere in the middle. It has its moments, but on the whole, the focus is adventure and comedy. So without further ado, here's the basic plot:

Adventure. As a child, that word meant more to Carl Fredrickson than life itself. His idol, Carl Muntz, left to capture a prehistoric bird from South America (Paradise Falls to be exact) after being denounced a fraud by his colleagues. On the way home from a newsreel, Carl meets a slightly strange girl named Ellie, who also adores Muntz. They make a mutual pact to go to Paradise Falls together, and their lives play out like a montage: dating, to marriage, to Ellie's tragic death.

Years later, Carl, after accidentally injuring a construction worker, spirits himself away by attaching hundreds of balloons to his house. However, he obtains an unexpected hitchiker: Russel, a young Wilderness Scout who needs to help Carl to earn a patch. Begrudgingly, Carl allows Russel to come along. When they reach Paradise Falls, Russel meets a giant bird he names Kevin, and a talking dog named Dug. Along the way, they discover secrets and a terrifying truth.

Up is in a class all its own: it isn't overtly dramatic or flashy, like, say, Star Trek. It's subtle. One moment, it has you laughing your face off, the next, gasping as Kevin gets hurt. It's tremendously well done, and I love it. The animation is crisp, fresh, and realistic, a testament to how far Pixar has come since their original short Wally B. It's very much worth it to see it in 3-D, since it gives the sense that your at a play. The characters seem to be standing outside the screen.

It makes me honored to give Up its final score.

And that final score is: 9.8/10.

Short Story
HOW COURTNEY GOT ONTO TDA

By Sunshineandravioli

(I thought that this would be appropriate, considering Ocean's Eight- Or Nine just premiered (finally!!!). I tried to tie up all the loose ends that were in the episode, ie. exactly how Courtney found the loophole, why she wasn't mad at Duncan, etc. Here's to hoping I did the job! -Sunshine)

“Miss True,” the voice on the other end of the phone sighed, “I’ve looked over this contract twice, and haven’t found a single loophole. These ‘Total Drama’ people are smart. I think you should reconsider…”

“Not a chance, Michael.” I snapped back. “I don’t care what you guys have to do, just find some way I can get back on the show!” Before my incompetent lawyer could attempt to convince me to give up once again, I pressed the ‘end call’ button on my cell phone and tossed it back onto the coffee table next to me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like the hotel I was staying in with the other losers, which had expanded from 7 others to 13 others since I’d first arrived. The ‘Total Drama’ company had been generous to us; this place was even better than last season’s Playa des Losers. It was just that I would be even more comfortable in the competition, racing towards the grand prize… and, though I hated to admit it, being with Duncan.

Just as the thought entered my mind, my teeth clenched, and my breath slid slowly through them with a hissing sound. No good, unloyal, little…

Resisting the urge to scream, I made my way to my bed, flopped face-down onto it, and buried my face in the pillow. It made it fairly difficult for me to breathe. Good.

A knock on the door of my room startled me. Over the past few weeks, no one had dared come and see me, too fearful of my inevitable wrath. So who was being stupid enough to see me now, when I was REALLY in a bad mood?!

I heard another knock, then a short pause. “Courtney?” a familiar voice called.

Oh, GREAT. The last person in the world I wanted to see right now, and she was knocking on my door. The idiot.

“Go. Away.” I growled through tightly clenched teeth.

There was a sigh, then another knock. “Come on, Courtney, I just want to talk.” Her voice sent the image through my mind once again, the painful image of MY BOYFRIEND with HER…

“I said GO AWAY!” I shouted, hands balling up into fists. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll LISTEN!!!”

There was more silence, and I buried my face in the pillow again, trying desperately to suffocate the tears I knew were coming.

“We’re just friends, Courtney.” Her voice came again, quieter this time.

I didn’t reply. I knew if I dared open my mouth again, I wouldn’t be able to control the stream of tears I was somehow holding back now.

“I know you don’t believe me, and you have plenty of reason to.” She continued. “But think about this logically for a second. That ‘Truth or Anvil’ thing was going on while they played that clip, right?” The reminder shoved the image into my head again, and it made me cringe. “Well, if I had been lying, the anvil would’ve fallen on me, right?”

I had to stop and think about that one. The anvil HAD fallen whenever anyone had told even the slightest lie. If she wasn’t truthful, she would have been crushed by now.

Man. Now I had no reason to be a jerk.

“Fine, Gwen.” I sighed. “I’ll give you that. I’m still mad at you, but I’ll give you that.”

She laughed for a second, and then there was another quiet moment. “He really does like you, Courtney.” She commented after a while. “He’s always talking about you, thinking about you. I mean, the dude sleeps with a picture of you under his pillow, for crying out loud.”

I couldn’t help but let out a giggle at that. He slept with a picture of me under his pillow??? I knew he had a softer side to him, but come on…

“And honestly,” she continued, “that’s really something. I mean, that he still cares about you after that whole ‘ditching him for the million dollars’ thing…”

I flinched. Oh, joy, another fresh wound.

“…Well…” she sighed after another long pause, “I guess that’s all… see you around, Courtney.”

“I’m still mad at you, you know.”

“Yeah. I know.”

I heard her footsteps outside, growing quieter and quieter as she walked away.

I simply laid there on my bed for a while, chin resting on the pillow. Then, slowly, I pulled myself up, walked to the window, and stared out at the starry sky. I remembered another part of the clip, one that didn’t make me flinch- Duncan, staring up at the night sky, just as I was now.

“I wonder if Courtney’s looking at the stars right now…” he had said.

I am, I thought, a single tear running down my cheek. I am.

A buzzing sound bluntly interrupted my happy moment. With an irritated sigh, I marched back to the coffee table where my cell phone lay, vibrating. I picked it up, and my irritation disappeared as I looked at the screen.

CALL FROM: MICHAEL

I quickly hit the ‘answer’ button and held the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Miss True,” my lawyer’s voice came from the speaker, “I think we’ve found a loophole. Would you like to file a lawsuit against the ‘Total Drama’ company?”

I stood there, in silent shock, for what seemed a full minute before my face twisted into a smile.

“Yes.”

THE END...?

User Interviews
By Nalyd Renrut

Nalyd: Today we are talking to TDI19, June’s featured user. So TDI19, what do you think got you to being the first Featured User?

TDI19: I am just really happy I am the featured user! I always try to be kind and responsible to everyone. Always extend a caring hand! I guess I am doing a good job! People voted for me for featured user on this wiki, and the TDI camps wiki!

Nalyd: Okay then. Do you have any history with the TDI wikis?

TDI19: I found the original TDI wiki around October 2008, and helped out around there anonymously. After the TDIFF wiki and Camp wiki came into play, I finally got a username, earlier in 2009!! I have been making camps, competing in tons, writing stories, and still helping out the original wiki! I have earned adminship on 4 TDI wikis. They include the Total Drama Wiki, The TDIFF Wiki, and The TDI Camps Wiki.

Nalyd: I understand you’ve been part of several celebrity scandals. Care to explain?

TDI19: Well, I was involved that angel thing at the MTV Movie Awards. I was the one who pulled the strings propelling the dude onto Eminem.

Nalyd: Wow. What would you call your greatest accomplishment on the wikis?

TDI19: I have has so many great times there. Hmmm.... I guess winning Nalyd's gruesome, terrifying, and nearly impossible competition Total Drama Author. I also think earning administrator titles on the 4 wikis mentioned earlier.

Nalyd: So what’s in the future for you?

TDI19: Well.... I am currently hosting Total Drama Author's second season with Nalyd. After that is over, I plan to continue making camps, and writing fics!! I can't wait for everything in my life, on and off the TDI wikis, and we will just see what I come up with next!! Thanks for reading this interview guys!! You all are awesome! Stay tuned for more stuff from me!! So is this it?

Nalyd: Yes. Go home. *lights go dark*

TDI19: Nalyd? Hello??? *no answer* Well then….

(This interview is between Nalyd and Nalyd, the featured user of July.)

Nalyd: Hello, Nalyd. I am very glad you could come to this interview. Congrats on being the Featured User for July.

Nalyd: Thanks, Nalyd. I'm glad to be here.

Nalyd: So, Nalyd, I understand you are completely against Shippings. Care to explain why you then added Flictings?

Nalyd: I suggested we add Flictings because it seemed Shipping wasn't going away... So I figured I might as well make things look better.

Nalyd: You hypocritical monster.

Nalyd: Thanks.

Nalyd: Anyway, I understand you are leaving the wiki in a couple weeks. Would you care to talk about that. (Nalyd didn't respond to this question at all.) Okay, then. Do you like this new direction the wiki is heading in?

Nalyd: I think the wiki is better than ever and we are doing what needs to be done. Every user has a voice, it's just a matter of whether or not they use it.

Nalyd: That was so deep. Can you tell me where Waldo is?

Nalyd: Waldo is in the hearts of every hard-working wiki-user.

Nalyd: Um, okay. Join us next month as we interview Webkinz Mania.

An Important Note
By Nalyd Renrut

TDI19, the person in charge of the newsletter, has put Nalyd in charge of the newsletter while he's gone. Zakkoroen quit the wiki, and is no longer part of the newsletter. Nalyd will be editor-in-chief/in charge while TDI19 is gone. We will need some new people working on the newsletter for September. Please apply here.