[By now, most people are used to the sight of little boys reclining onto a big black leopard. Today, there's one of those little boys sitting on a couch in the lobby, his little legs dangling over the seat with a big story book in his lap. He sits there, pouring over the final page of the big wedding between the Prince and the Princess - and then he notices something.]

Look, look, Dark Nation! The Princess is wearing a lot of white, just like Mama!

[... 8OOOO Then, he discovers something!]

... that's a big cake.

I'm consolidating the number of tags I have (or rather I will be once I'm done with this), but if you're looking for a particular thread or something, I've saved what the tags were for each entry and have listed them accordingly so you can still find them by name/plot/etc.

( The Doctor's Entries )

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!

[It's not too surprising to see a phantom thief in front of a jewelry store, but in broad daylight? That's a little unusual. Plus, he's just standing in front of the outer display windows - not looking at the hinges for the weak spots, but instead looking at the display of rings behind the glass. The weirdest part is that he's not hunting down the one with the most value - rather the ones with a few diamonds and sapphires here and there.

Weird indeed. Dark bites his lip - should he actually try buying one or something? Nah, stealing would be easier, but...]

**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,

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!

bookfails
Planning to do your part to help boost the declining publishing industry this holiday? Better check here first. Sure, there are plenty of folks who post glowing reviews of their favorite books. But what about the epic fails? Compose and/or discuss snarky, incisive critiques on the books you despise most.

foundphotos
Ever stumble across a frayed photo in your grandmother's attic? How about a faded picture tucked in the sleeve of an old novel at a used book sale? This is the place to post them. An amazing, eclectic collection of photographs sure to delight anyone with a penchant for history or nostalgic memorabilia.

note_to_cat
Having trouble conveying the concept of accountability to your cat? Now you can share letters to your significant felines and give public witness to your declarations of love and domestic negotiations. Whether you want to publish an apology for falling short on your cat-nip obligations or you need to raise a delicate hygiene issue.

[There's a blond looking in the shop window as if he has no fucking idea what to buy. The truth is, he has no fucking idea what to buy his girlfriend. Rufus presses his nose against the glass, maybe she'd like those shoes ...

That aren't practical because they have a heel and he could get stabbed with it. Maybe a nice pen? Again, he could get stabbed with it.]

Argh! Why is she so hard to shop for?

[Maybe a good book? But, it wasn't his bookstore, and his bookstore had everything and anything you could find. This place just seemed so lacking in comparison to the bookstore within Template. Hrnngh, he'll go into this "Lady's Wear" store - totally not suspecting that it's a lingerie store. Really.]

After working on this story for most of the past month, I think I'm finally ready to share the first part. Comments and crit would be greatly appreciated! I want to make this story the best that I can. And I hope you enjoy it!

Title: The Ivory Maiden
Part: 1/6(?)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3490
Special thanks to vampydirector for her beta help!


“So where are we this time?” Oliver asked as the TARDIS’ central column slowly wound down its movement, signifying a landing.

The Doctor was intent on his instruments at the console. “Filioris, it seems,” he said absently. “You know, I’ve never been there before.”

Oliver scoffed, crossing his arms over his T-shirt. “You? Not been somewhere? Sounds like the end of the world to me.”

“The end?” the Doctor cried, glancing up at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before he went back to his instruments. “What makes you say that? It looks perfectly viable to me.”

( It took Oliver a moment to realize the man was referring to the image on the scanner. )

Tweaks and enhancements

1. In order to improve site security, we've temporarily suspended the ability to change passwords for old email addresses that haven't been used for over six months. For further information and support, please visit our customer care page.
2. We've launched a new mobile site with an enhanced UI at m.livejournal.com. View spotlights, post to your journal, read and post to friends pages, and more, no matter where you roam! Please let us know what you think, since this will eventually replace our existing mobile interface. You can update your mobile preferences on your account page.
3. We've upgraded from Beacon to Facebook Connect to improve dual posting. If you've already signed up for Facebook Beacon, you're good to go. If you wish to update your Facebook Connect setting, visit Account Privacy settings and scroll down to the option labeled: "Send information about my updates to Facebook." You can choose Always or Ask each time. Remember to save (on the bottom left corner of the page). To learn more, check out FAQ 249. While we're on the subject, if you happen to be visiting that side of town, please join our Facebook fan page for a touch of home away from home.
4. You'll now receive the Writer's Block Question of the Day in the body of email notifications. To sign up for Writer's Block notifications, visit writersblock and choose the Watch Community option. Next, update your Writer's Block notification settings by checking the box to the right of "Someone posts a new entry to writersblock."
5. Paid and permanent users can now view, add, and edit Notes of commenters. Notes will appear beside the username of comment posters (instead of stars) on S1-themed comment pages.

Send some lovin' thanks to your friends with our holiday vgifts!

Photos of the week

We're so delighted with the immense talent of our growing, global lj_photophile community that we've decided to introduce a poll. Each week, we'll choose a half-dozen photos (based on user comments and staff feedback) and ask you to select a photo of the week. The winning photo will be announced in the next newsletter. If possible, please limit photo size to 350x350 to ensure that images display properly on friends pages. We want to thank you again (and again!) for sharing your passion.

Check out this week's photo poll and more fantastic user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks for joining us. To our American friends, have a fantastic Thanksgiving. To all of our international neighbors, we'll eat a little extra for you!

23/11/2309

Day Two of being a Small Electric Rodent

Spent two hours writing an email to my boss this morning with no spelling mistakes in it pretending I was sick (God bless Microsoft Word and its spellcheck). Accidentally shocked myself in the shower today. And I blew another lightbulb under the power of my own electricity. That takes the count up to three (3). FML.

... So, that was my day. How was it for everyone else?

65redroses
Eva is a vibrant young woman with Cystic Fibrosis who survived a double lung transplant. Read about her difficult recovery and personal triumphs over pain, isolation, and fear. Back in school, Eva now works part-time in a children's center and enjoys running and cross-country skiing. A documentary on her story, entitled 65 Red Roses, won three awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

meet_other_moms
A warm and welcoming "Add me" community for moms of all ages and backgrounds from around the world. If you're a mom, just post a little about yourself and start connecting with other mothers based on similar hobbies, musical interests, book/TV/movie preferences, or taste in humor! A great way for busy moms to socialize online.

kitchenfaq
Want to share a fabulous home recipe for coconut bread? Suddenly run out of confectioner's sugar with company on the way and need to find out a quick in-house substitute? Searching for tips on what to charge for a custom-designed wedding cake? Whether you're a professional chef, an aspiring culinary wizard, or a happy home-baker, you'll get delicious guidance from fellow and sister foodies.

[Just kind of wandering around on her own, looking confused-- this doesn't look like anywhere she's supposed to be, and while that normally wouldn't bother her, she'd prefer to break the rules of her own volition and not be dragged off to strange places kthanxbai]

[And she stops by the pool and puts her hands on her hips, looking a little miffed]

This isn't the palace!

Love my Yuki? Hate my Yuki? Feel that I'm missing a key part of his personality? Here's the place to say it! All comments are screened, IP logging is off, and anon is enabled. Please let me know how I'm doing! I'd really appreciate it. ♥

Alternatively, this post can be used for contact should I not be available for some reason or another with the below contact information, and also for prodding for plotting if the same problem occurs! o/

JAMIE!

mun | skycatcher aim | CATCH THE SKIES msn | kintoki(AT)live(DOT)com e-mail | takagugi(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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.