Hey Guys,

Unfortunately with our last release, and its instability, we were forced to roll back releases. Unfortunately in doing so, it would seem that our notification system has been broken somehow. Our engineers are working on this issue as quickly as possible. We hope to have a patch within the next day, so we can deploy our code and fix the notification system at the same time. Please *bear* with us ;)

Currently all notifications are being queued up so they can be processed as soon as the fix is pushed and verified to be working correctly.

Thank you,

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!

If I have to see yet another neck-rollin', attitude-havin' black woman presented to me as "comic relief" (Uh, hello 30 rock, Glee, any Tyler Perry show, etc.), I just might have to slap someone.

Why can't I have a cool-headed, beautiful and FUNNY black woman represent me instead of having to cringe every time I turn on the TV? Why can no black woman have a subtle, ironic flair, or an over-the-top personality that does not involve random Hollywood-conceived "jive", angry ranting or rolling of the eyes?

Unfortunately for me, a great many Hollywood writers (and some of their audiences) think that the neck rolling and the attitude is what makes the black female characters inherently funny. It is frustrating and it makes it almost unbearable to watch television shows that would otherwise be semi-humorous.

And, through no real fault of their own, none of my non-Black/mixed friends really get it.

Even after I've talked about it, most of them will continue to watch the shows because they honestly don't understand how utterly annoying and disturbing it is for me to see these same recycled characters presented as if they are (nudge, nudge, wink) ironic reflection of the Black American woman.

And people wonder why black girls have so many issues.

ETA: I know that my posts have been discussing race a great deal lately, but honestly, that is my life as a black woman. I can't help but discuss these things, especially since I am an open, active person who really can't ignore such irksome issues.

Coming out of Brothers last night:

C: That movie was super depressing.
Me: Jake Gyllenhaal is super hot.
C: That movie depressed me too much. If he showed up right now, I would have to turn him down.
Me: You lie!
C: No, I'm too depressed right now.
Me: You're telling me that if Jake Gyllenhaal appeared before you right now, and was like 'Hey, C, let's get it on,' you'd say, 'I'm sorry, Mr. Gyllenhaal, I'm just too depressed right now. Good day to you sir.'
C: Yes I would.

captaincatapult

( You've been waiting on the edge of your seat for my Bones post, I'm sure )

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.

Curtains

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

[written by various people, including myself]

General Puck
Family Matters

Puck/Quinn
Rescue Me
29 Things Noah Puckerman Thinks About Quinn Fabray
I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song
I've Been Losing Sleep
Pressure Cooker


Puck/Rachel
Easy Girl
Two Lost Souls Swimming in a Fishbowl
Waging Wars to Shake the Poet
All of Our Moves Make Up for the Silence
The High School Confessions of Two Good Looking Jews, part one and part two

Dear Anonymous,

Please keep in mind when commenting on my journal, that tone doesn't convey well, especially when people don't know who is speaking. I think you were possibly joking, but it's a little rude.

Anyway! I am exhausted. I stent 14 hours on campus yesterday, and still somehow didn't accomplish all that I needed to. I'm still moving along at a slow but steady pace. The 14th cannot come soon enough!

( Some brief thoughts on Glee )

Name: Then you would be wrong too
Characters/Pairing: Michael/Sara
Genre: alternative/missing scene from 4x17, het, angst
Rating: PG-13
Word count: approx. 5000 words
Summary: “Michael, he took the Company’s deal to save your life. For what it’s worth, I might’ve done the same thing.” “Then you would be wrong, too.”

Thank you dear spunkyar for the corrections, all remaining mistakes are, as always, mine.

For mavoisine . Happy Birthday dear, and get well soon, okay? It’s a bummer to be sick on one’s own birthday. :) *kiss*

Then you would be wrong too

**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,

Hi guys! I've been kind of scarce lately, but I DID get your emails about a member posting non-fic. I think I've gotten it all deleted. I appreciate the heads-up and am sorry it took me so long to get to it. Forgive me!!

Anyway, I see you guys are doing a great job tagging! I'm going to try to fix the layout over the next couple of days...it doesn't seem to be formatted right in my browser. If anyone is having trouble with it, leave a comment or drop me an email and I'll do my best to get it fixed.

Happy fic'ing!!

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!

I don't think I properly pimped this story by halfshellvenus:

Loose Connections

Go read it, it's like watching an episode of the show, it's so good! And leave Karen comments so she will write more! :D

Title: The Right Road (4/?)
Fandom: Prison Break
Pairing: Michael Scofield/Sara Tancredi
Characters: Michael Scofield, Sara Tancredi, Lincoln Burrows, Veronica Donovan, Frank Tancredi, various original characters
Rating: PG-15
Genre: AU, Non-Epilogue-Compliant, Alternate Reality
Length: 5,868 words
Summary: One single decision can sometimes change the world. Lincoln didn't go into that garage, and he didn't end up on Death Row. Michael didn't rob that bank, and he never stepped foot inside Fox River. Sara never fell in love with an inmate, and she locked the infirmary door every single night. If everything was different, would anything stay the same?
Author's Note:This story has evolved from an old plotbunny involving a chance meeting in the most ordinary of places, and was inspired by THESE WORDS OF WISDOM from some guy called Wentworth Miller. Many thanks to scribblecat for the gentle nagging and hand-holding and constant reassurances that I still knew how to type and make words appear on the screen. *hugs her*

The Right Road - Chapter Four

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.

I seem to have a few new people adding me lately, and since this meme is going around anyway, I thought it would be helpful to post a little bit about myself:

( about moi )

I got lunch with a friend today, and she edited my paper for me, which was a big help. I'm handing it in tomorrow; one down two to go. Though I was looking at the guidelines for my Indigenous Lit course and it only has to be 12-15 pages including works cited. I can't tell you how much of a relief that is! I feel like I can definitely get that done by Friday (and then I might call on one of you to help edit it, consider yourself warned).

For some reason I had a strange craving to watch old school Friends episodes yesterday, so I watched the first two. I don't think I'd ever seen the very first one before! It made me want to read some fic about Monica and Chandler before they got together. Does anyone have any recs? Or maybe want to write me some? I'll be your best friend!

Last night I went over to Farren's with Alyssa, just to hang out. Some of Farren's friends from back home were visiting, and we ended up having a really great night in, just chatting and stuff. But those girls smoke a lot, I smelled like an ashtray today. ICK.

Then I came home and watched America's Sweethearts, randomly. I love John Cusack.