Ooh, ooh, what now, what now!

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

Well, those damn warts haven't gone away, but when Clara saw that picture, she showed me the warts she's grown on her back. I don't feel like mine are significant anymore. Very ugly, Clairbear. Seriously. Where did she even pick up warts anyway? Kind of a mystery.



So I finally re-installed the operating system on this computer, which is not really a big chore or anything; I don't know why I hesitated to do it for so long, but you know, it's not my computer. I was just doing it as a favor, and also so I could use it again. I like it. It's a nice computer. Ever since, this is what the B-babies have been doing: playing Sims and making the ugliest facest possible. At least, that's what the boy does. The girl makes happy families with parents and cute babies with nice names, like Jennifer. The boy makes families of mutants and makes them all attracted to Vampires or something. Typical.

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I still haven't found a job, but I'm hopeful.

I thoroughly enjoyed Pitch Black. And Chronicles of Riddick. Why do they get such bad reviews? I mean, the weird thing is that the reviews for Chronicles were mainly negative because people were complaining that it wasn't like Pitch Black (which is a perfectly fair observation, too).

Anyway, Pitch Black (2000) was the movie to introduce the character of Richard B. Riddick, escaped convict/murderer, and aside from it and Chronicles, there's two video games and a 2004 anime. So I guess I'll rent the anime and that's it, 'cause I don't have an X-Box, and that's kind of sad to me. That's how I know it's good: I want more. Of course, considering that it has Vin Diesel in it, it's possible that I'm just so hormonal that holy god, I forgot to take my birth control pill today! Crap.

Edit: Hey, here's some video clips to show you what I like about the film!

"I'll kill you with my teacup."


"I absolutely believe in god."


"I'm a movie star! They need me!" (asakiyume, watch this one!)

Tweaks and enhancements

• As a number of you reported, a service interruption impaired sending and receiving notifications for a couple of days. This was due to an avalanche of snowflake cookies. We've removed the free snowflake cookie and unclogged the pipeline. Timely notifications should resume shortly. Please note that there's a backlog in our queues, so you'll be getting earlier notifications first. For more details, check out this post at lj_maintenance.
• In anticipation of the new year, we've embarked on a self-improvement kick to boost our backend (pun semi-intended). This will allow us to offer you a holiday promotion in the next few weeks (yes, we're listening and working very hard to make it happen). We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and support.

Holiday vgifts are here!

We've added some fantastic new vgifts to help you spread holiday cheer. We also hope you'll honor AIDS Awareness Month by purchasing virtual red ribbons. Priced at $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine.

Introducing: LJLimericks

We cordially here do invite you
To craft a fine limerick. Might you?
Each week, a new theme,
Then a poll, that's our dream
Winner posted on news to delight you!

In honor of all the brilliant writers on LiveJournal, we've created a brand new community: ljlimericks! Each week, we'll enter a handful of limericks into a poll (which we'll tuck snugly under an LJ-Cut). The winning poem will be published in the following newsletter. In addition, the author will receive a virtual blue ribbon! If you have the time, come drop us a rhyme. Please keep the "Nantucket" stuff on the downlow, since this is a youth-friendly community. Our first prompt is: Insomnia in winter.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible images from our global photography community. Congratulations to sempre_marseeya, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our second lj_photophile poll.

We hate to squelch your creativity, but, as a courtesy to other users, please post only one photo at a time and keep the main photo no larger than 350x350 (so images display properly via mobile and on friends pages). You can link to a larger image and/or post photos under a cut. Just so you know, we select photos for the poll blindly, based on user comments and staff feedback. Please continue to vote, comment, and, of course, enjoy. You can check out the week in pictures and view more awesome user content after the jump!

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Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay warm and safe out there!

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're tall on adventurous spirit, but short on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about bargain hotels and hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

Christmas is definitely not my favorite holiday. I don't like it. Your Christmas may be joyous. My Christmas is hell.

I've never spent a Christmas away from my family, and the way we do it around here, Christmas revolves around three things that I'm not fond of: religion, music, and my dad's weird sense of nostalgia, which doesn't really work for me because I never experienced the things he's nostalgic for. Heck, he's nostalgic for things he never experienced either.

He's the kind of guy who uses the same brand of hair pomade his entire life, and it's the same brand his father used, and it's not any good, it's just greasy but if he changes his hair pomade it means he changed his mind and that means he was wrong about something, how can he do that? If he changes - changes anything - he becomes something else! He becomes nothing! He'd be murdering his self, his identity! The hair pomade is him! He is the hair pomade! If you try to change that, you're murdering him. (This is also why he still votes Republican after George Bush invaded Iraq.)

The religious services? Unadulterated boredom. And I have to listen to the other kids whinge incessantly about the string quartets we do every year. They hate it on general principle, I think; nobody actually seems to enjoy playing or listening to music, though we all had to do it. Even my siblings who are now professional musicians or training to be one, don't seem to like music. They also hate that we have to get up early on Christmas morning, but we aren't allowed to open presents until after church; plus we go to the Christmas Eve service the night before, so everyone's tired and cranky.

Without all that bullshit, maybe I'd actually like Christmas more. But I won't hold my breath.

I don't want any gifts this year! I already got what I wanted in September.

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

freeskiers
While some of us long to escape the cold, dark stretch of winter for hot tropical beaches, for others, there's nothing quite like whoooooshing down those shimmering sugar alps. If you're fond of freestyle skiing, get ready to slide down the slippery slopes in good company. This passionate, international community shares travel/gear tips, anecdotes, photos, and videos for those who can't get enough of the sweet stuff.

seasonal_icons
Need some extra twinkle to decorate your place? Check out these dazzling holiday-themed icons. If you're an artist, you can post your own creations, provided you abide by the simple rules (which is to say, all cheer and no politicking). Be sure to comment and give credit if you wish to borrow a little spirit (no direct links, please). If you're feeling a touch of humbug this season, this is an instant shot of festivity.

handmade_gifts
High on creativity, but low on cash? You'll find tons of brilliant suggestions for do-it-yourself crafts sure to please everyone on your holiday gift list. Offering detailed instructions, photos, budgets, timelines, and active support, you'll soon turn spare remnants of fabric and time into cherished keepsakes. Be sure to search entries and read user guidelines before you post for help!

LiveJournal: The First Decade

Just in time for holiday shopping, we're thrilled to announce the release of our ten-year anniversary anthology. Published by Blurb.com, the book showcases a decade of extraordinary talent drawn from LiveJournal users around the world. This must-read compilation features stories, memes, photos, comics, editorials, graphic content, and more, including:

1. Excerpts from Oh No They Didn't (a/k/a ohnotheydidnt), the largest community on LiveJournal, covering celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and pop culture
2. A look at post-Katrina New Orleans from the journal of Poppy Z. Brite
3. Gripping narratives, including a poignant reverie on a blind date
4. Photography that spans the globe, ranging from old-fashioned Polaroids to underwater photography
5. Mouthwatering dishes from food_porn

What began as a late-night inspiration back in Brad Fitzpatrick's college dorm in 1999 has grown to encompass nearly 25 million users worldwide, with journals and communities covering every conceivable hobby, passion, and topic. To get your copy, please visit the Blurb Bookstore. For updates and entries from book contributors, please join lj_turns10.

Tweaks and enhancements

• You can now ban a user from all of your communities and journals at once. To access this feature, hover over the person's userpic and choose Ban user everywhere from the drop-down menu.
• Follow LiveJournal on Twitter!

Give a little to help a lot!

In honor of National AIDS Awareness month, we've added a new charitable vgift. For each red ribbon you purchase for $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine (we'll cover credit card fees). You can read more about IAVI at lj_cares. While we're on the subject, we raised $740 from our November fundraiser for Love Without Boundaries, which supports emergency healthcare and adoption of Chinese orphans. We thank you for helping us help others.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible pictures from our super-talented LiveJournal photographers. Congratulations to ilya_gorokhov, who is the winner of our very first lj_photophile poll.

We hope you'll continue to post, vote, and comment! A gentle request: Please post only one photo at a time and limit size to 350x350 (so images display properly on friends pages). And now, without further ado, get ready to cast your ballot and view more awesome user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay safe and snug out there!

**EDIT Thu Dec 3 23:24:15 UTC 2009 **

Hey Everyone, we are about to run the last alter job that we need to on our database servers. This will effect userpics / scrapbook / vgift images for the next few hours. Have no fear, your images aren't lost, there is just a really intensive process running on the servers which store the information for mogilefs. Thank you for your understanding and all the LJ love...

Hey LJers,

I just wanted to let you all know that we are going to be performing some mogilefs maintenance over the next few days. We will be upgrading our current version to latest stable as well as changing some db config information to better handle the amount of files we are currently hosting. This shouldn't cause a big impact on site stability, but you may see some minor delays with userpic / scrapbook images appearing or other requests associated with our mogilefs. We would love to not have that happen, but unfortunately with some of the steps we need to take we have to cause a delay with images. I figured this was a better solution than taking down all of LiveJournal because well lets face it, we all need our daily LJ fix ;)

Thanks,

Hey, y'all, check out this photo my cousin took of me and then put on Facebook:



I look incredibly breastacular there. I guess I'm the only one surprised by this but one can't really seen one's own boobs. The angle is all wrong. They look huge, is what I'm saying! My expression is kind of weird, though.

(I'm holding an iPhone, I think, and reading an annotated edition of Lewis Carol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that I totally borrowed from my grandfather.)

So what did y'all do for Thanksgiving? I haven't read anybody's journal. Tell me if something cool happened! The only interesting thing I did over the holiday was watch The Chronicles of Riddick on TNT. I'd like to make a joke about how it was Riddick-ulous, but I liked it! It was a pretty good science-fiction action flick. It led to me and Megan (cheapriboflavin) having an argument on the phone over whether or not Vin Diesel is black. My incoherent reasoning was that "Vin Diesel reminds me of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who is of mixed ethnicity but part African-American." Megan countered that that made no sense.

Hey, Megan, guess what. I just got the computer working again so I checked Wikipedia:

Diesel is biracial and has Italian and black ancestry. He has described himself as "definitely a person of color" and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity - Italian and a lot of other stuff".

As a matter of fact (and I found this quite interesting), one of the things that got Diesel his first big role was a short film called "Multi-facial," an autobiographical account of an actor of mixed heritage who can't get cast in white parts because he's too black, and can't get cast in black parts because he's too white.

So I'm right but I'm not going to brag about it because I think I just got lucky. My argument made no sense and maybe was a little racist. I don't know.

Also, a skunk sprayed the inside of our house. I don't mean the skunk was in our house, but I think it, like, sprayed directly into a vent or something because that smell permeates, man.

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're high on adventurous spirit, but low on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about inexpensive hotels and youth hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!