Homies

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

Perjantai-iltana sateisen Lontoon keskustassa Stanstedin lentokenttabussia odottamassa. Onneksi oli Terhi seurana!

Isa parlamenttitalon edustalla.

Thames-jokea ja London Eye-maailmanpyora - huomatkaa aurinkoinen ilma!

Big Ben ja parlamenttitalo.

Hengahdystauolla.


Patsas Buckinghamin palatsin edustalla.

Lauantai-iltana syotiin meksikolaisessa ravintolassa.

Nikon ja Jennan kanssa metroasemalle lahdossa tutustumaan Lontoon yoelamaan.

Ripleyn Usko tai Ala-museossa: mina ja maailman pisin mies!

Koko poppoo London Bridgen luona.

Aamupaivakahvilla.


Luonnontieteiden historian museo.

Ja seuraavan kerran sitten Lontooseen kesakuussa Bon Jovia katsomaan!

Tulee ihan pikapostaus nyt, vasyttaa ihan hirveesti ja piti tulla tanne yliopistolle klo 9:ksi jo. Yritan tassa lahipaivina laitella kuvia ja hieman pidempaa matkakertomusta.

Mutta siis, oli tosi kiva viikonloppu, ja ehdittiin nahda suht paljon naita Lontoon nahtavyyksia kuten Buckingham, Oxford Street, Big Ben, London Eye, Parlamenttitalo, London Bridge ja luonnontieteiden historia museo. Lisaksi kaytiin Camden townin markkoinoilla ja matkustettiin maanalaisella. Tuli kaveltya niin kauhiasti etta jalat on ihan poikki. Etenkin maanalaisten portaissa tuli juostua enemman kuin laki sallii. Saa oli hyva, aurinko paistoi koko lauantain, illalla tuli vahan vetta ja sunnuntaina puolipilvista.

Lontoo on kylla ihan liian iso mulle, ja siella on liikaa ihmisia. En koskaan muuttaisi sinne. Kiva siella on kayda silloin talloin mutta asumaan mua ei sinne sais.

Ah – what a glorious Saturday! The sun is shining, I am listening to Collings and Herrin standing in for Adam & Joe on 6Music and we made people laugh at the Nottingham Comedy Festival yesterday, which is ‘job done’, in my book.

It was quite bizarre though, as the We are Most Amused show ended up being the last show of the evening and the last but one show of the entire festival. Initially, the programme had been affected by Jongleurs closing down, but at the Canalhouse (a fab pub with a canal running through the pub itself!), it seems as though comedy turned out to be a little fruitier than the venue had anticipated.

It appears that on the Thursday night, someone took exception to the comedians swearing and some of the slightly more risqué material and complained to the management, and the lady was concerned because her bosses from the brewery were in. This made her threaten to cancel the last show if there was too much bad language or obscene material. The organisers pre-emptively pulled the last show, but we would have already been on our way to the venue, so we were allowed to go ahead and asked to curb our use of mots d’argot. Ah – problem! Not a problem for my act, as I don’t swear (I’ve actually had people coming up to me after a show and telling me I should which is bizarre, but I don’t because you need to be yourself and I don’t think swearwords sound right coming from my mouth). However, some of my acts do, or even if they took such emphatic words out of their repertoire, would still have some of the content to contend with. A bit of notice, and we could have sorted that out, either with choice of acts or a bit of time for comics to write around their set. We coped with it as best we could in the circumstances, though inevitably a few slip-ups occurred.

The landlady had been really looking forward to the event – which coincided with a beer festival and a 1940s-themed night with jitterbug dancers and people dressed up in 1940s outfits – all with the aim of raising money for the Victoria Cross Memorial fund. Managers in pub chains have to juggle fire sometimes and it was terrible that she put in these restrictions when, I believe, there are other pubs in the chain that host comedy nights, so they should know what comedy nights entail.

I feel bad for the organisers, Helen and Rachel, who did a sterling job of organising the whole comedy festival, and who were put in the awkward position of having to tell their acts about these eleventh-hour changes.

Nottingham is a fantastic city (guns and gangs aside) and it should have a comedy festival. And that venue would be superb for a regular comedy nights – but not if it is going to have those restrictions. We are used to seeing non-sweary comedians on the BBC, but if you go to pubs and clubs, that’s where comics try out their material on audiences, and they need to do so with full freedom of artistic expression. Comedy is self-regulating in that, if you are offensive, you will struggle to get gigs as people are less likely to want to book you.

I’m having a debate with N who feels slightly differently about swearing used in comedy. He thinks I am a bit old-fashioned because I say things like, “Whilst I’m not offended by swearing myself, I don’t like it.” Where N feels that, if “done correctly”, it’s “a legitimate use to increase the emphasis of the ridiculousness of a situation, and to emphasise the ridiculous is the definition of British humour”.

It’s terrible arguing with him – you should hear some of the language!

What I will say though is that swearing is not such a big thing in this day and age and it’s a bit naïve to expect a comedy night going on in a pub after 9.30pm to be, in effect, child-friendly. Racism, misogyny, now they’re offensive.

Well, the show went on, and it was a lovely night. Pete Smith, Al Grant and Ben Briggs were all diamonds. The show was well-received, and I think we did Northampton and Derby proud. Well done us!

( and now… Kelly Brook is rhyming slang for what? )

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Karmea ilma ollut tanaan, vetta tulee valilla kaatamalla, sitten ei pariin minuuttiin sada mitaan ja sitten taas kaatamalla vetta niskaan. Ja sitten kun siihen lisaa Atlantilta puhaltavan tuulen niin ei oo kovin kivaa.

Toivotaan etta viikonlopuksi tulisi natit kelit, Lontoo kutsuu huomenna! Kotiin palailen erittain myohaan sunnuntai-iltana.

Today there will be no wordcount, as I have had zillions of things to do. Tomorrow I am back in the office, so today was the last day to sort things out really, so I have had to prioritise.

Editing has taken up most of the day, apart from a flurry of activity confirming a headliner for Earls Barton on 20th (again). I feel I can at least relax now that's sorted. So the line-up is now Kevin Dewsbury, Al Rudge, 80's Luke, Rich Wall and MC Pete Teckman. What a fab line-up, though!

Both N and I are on stage tomorrow night in Birmingham. So I need to be nice and relaxed and not launch into poetry as it's comedy. Damn - swapping around is hard!

Then I have another couple of days off later in the week. So weird that I have used up so much holiday and have so little really to show for it. I think a weekend sortie is probably called for - if I can spare the time...

So November wordcount - 520. But I have a review to write as well. I will have a think about all the words I should have written.

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

wendylady2
Designed to rescue fashion victims everywhere, this Brit-based community reads like a rag-ezine. Published once or twice weekly, you'll view bizarre highlights of the global fashion scene through captivating photos and delightfully snarky editorial. Sit tight for a virtual fashion tour from the runways of New York to Milan to Paris and back home again to London in homage to the adage: you can't buy good taste.

soldiers_heart
A passionate community for veterans of all ages (mostly American), plus families, friends, and supporters. View poignant snapshots detailing life in combat and back on civilian soil in the form of original artwork, personal narratives, poetry, and photos. Be forewarned that members don't shy away from describing their disappointments, disabilities, and struggles.

Took another test and its negative. So what the hell is wrong with me?1

I signed up to NaNoWriMo - even though I have too much to do.

Here is my pledge: I will at least think about what it might be like to write 1666 words a day for the next 30 days.

Sleep would also be nice.

Jee, sain viimeinkin aloitettua Psykologian historia ja filosofia-kurssin kurssityon, eli 4000 sanan esseen ja siihen liittyvan 10 minuutin esitelman. Onneksi palautuspaiva on vasta 15.joulukuuta. Olen tahan asti keskittynyt kirjoittamaan 6000 sanan ADHD-reporttia, mutta sita ei oikein voi enempaa tehda ennen kuin saamme tutkimuksellemme eettiset luvat ja paasemma aloittamaan aineiston keraamisen.

Esseeni aiheena on psykologia ja vallan kaytto, eli miten psykologia on siita lahtien kun siita tuli ns. oikea, tieteellinen tiede, tukenut teorioillaan silla hetkella vallassa olevaa yhteiskuntaa. Esimerkkeina mm. alykkyystestien kehittaminen ja niiden kaytto luokittelemaan ihmiset parempiin ja huonoimpiin rotuihin. Kaytannon esimerkkeina kaytan Suomea, jossa myoskin on ollut kaytossa "alempiarvoisten" ihmisten sterilisointi.

Eilen oli Suomi-koulu, ja sen jalkeen pidettiin opettajankokous koulun opintosuunnitelmista. Meilla on varsin hyva joukko vetamassa tata Suomi-koulua!

Ensi perjantaina matkaan viikonlopuksi Lontooseen leikkimaan turistia isan, Maija, Satun, Nikon ja Jennan kanssa. Jee.

Just got back from the Halloween Slam, so I can stop feeling nervous now.

I had a wonderful first round and got into the semi-final. This is what I set out to achieve and had no hopes of getting further than that... actually, my mom reckons I managed to mentally sabotage my chances of getting in the final, as I messed up the poem in the second round, but still amazingly, managed to get a really good score - higher than my first round,in fact. Ah well, chalk it up. I need to do more of these things to increase in confidence and I'll do better another time, maybe.

It was lovely to see some people I know from Wolverhampton. I was disappointed that Jane wasn't there, but I should come back more often really.

Anyway, I had some good responses from people, and it was a most fun night, and the curry was lovely.

The slam was won by Brenda Read-Browne, who is quite simply, excellent.

I will put my editing head back on now. After a bit of a kip, that is.

EDIT: If you're reading this, our maintenance is OVER! The problem was not found on our equipment, which means we'll have to work with our ISP to fix this small problem -- which also means another maintenance window in the future -- but at least we have eliminated our side.

Thank you everyone, and a special shout out to rekoil for giving me a great suggestion AND also the opportunity to feel like I've just called in to a local radio station.

Have a great day, night or afternoon wherever you may be.

---

Hi everyone, sorry for the late notice but I'm going to have to do some testing on 1 of our 4 internet circuits TONIGHT; Friday night or Saturday morning depending on which time zone you're in.

Most of us shouldn't notice any impact, though there may be some slowness or lag when I switch traffic on to our other ISP circuits and then another hit when I stop the tests. If a page won't load or times out, try hitting refresh 1 or 2 times and it should load then. If it doesn't work at all... trust me, I'll be typing really really really fast to try to undo whatever I just did. Hopefully you'll have some Halloween candy (if you're in the USA and celebrate that kind of thing) nearby to take away the bitterness of a small site outage. :(

Here's the handy-dandy Website That I Always Use to get a feel for when the maintenance will start in your area. Our site traffic historically dips on Friday afternoons until Saturday morning which is why we tend to pick this time for maintenance work.

( tech details )

status.livejournal.org will, of course be updated before and after the maintenance window. Or else marta will get mad at me. :D

bt

Right, yesterday was all about the boy. Today, I admit to one of my foibles. Okay. Just one of my foibles.


I Love Cakes

The papers say they're fattening
and not good for your health,
but I don't care and so I've grown
my very own cake shelf.

I just don't trust the Daily Mail
or even the Current Bun;
their ontological oncology
just isn't right for some.

So, I'm a little lardy-cake,
but no sponge, that's for schizzel.
I don't mean to fudge the issue,
but they're talking lemon drizzle.

Parsnip, carrot, jaffa cake;
buns with a cherry on top.
That's four towards your five a day-
don't tell me I should stop!

From Dundee to Madeira,
via Blackforest Gateau,
I think, perhaps, I can see how
my diet may have plateaued.

But I won't get in a flapjack
about my expanding belly.
I'll just have cake-hole surgery
like I've seen done on the telly.

Alas, my thin and youthful days
seem like a distant dream.
A mini-roll should cheer me up
'cause life is butter-cream.

Okay, so that's a bit speedy, but it's quick and fun and says I love cakes, so that works for me.

Huge thanks to all the people who sent me cake suggestions - I told you it was all useful stuff.

Now though, I think I'm going to have a banana, which is a bit healthier.

In response to user comments from last week, we want to let you know that we'll remain LJ cut-free for the next month in order to get more eyeballs on our evolving newsletter. As for product coverage, that continues to be our top priority. For more granular detail, however, we recommend you join lj_releases.

Super-tweak for Yandex search

Some of our beta testers expressed privacy concerns using the Yandex search engine. Here's why: Last week, when you ran a search, you could see the usernames (and only the usernames) of everyone who commented on an entry, even if that entry was switched to Private or Friends Only after it was originally indexed. You could NOT see the actual comments from Friends Only or Private posts. In response to your input, we've implemented a fix to keep all user activity currently marked Friends Only or Private completely hidden. If you'd prefer your public content not to be indexed by Yandex, click here and use the settings labeled Search Inclusion (this covers your entire journal) and/or Comment Search Inclusion (which covers comments only). To test drive Yandex search now, click here.

Postcards from the edge

Several years ago, we asked LiveJournal users to send postcards to help us decorate our dull, white-washed offices. Since a good idea warrants repetition, we're at it again (same issue, new address). We hope you'll surround us with LiveJournal love by sending your postcards to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. We'll post snapshots right here. Be sure to include your username, since we'll randomly pick 10 lucky recipients to win free paid account time.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

If a friend or relative makes a racist or homophobic remark, do you tend to confront them or let it slide? Are you more likely to confront them if it offends you directly or someone else who seems reluctant to speak up?

1. I find it easier to stand up for other people, and i wouldn't let it slide if they made a rude or hurtful comment.
2. Usually if a friend makes a racist or homophobic remark, I tend to let it slide. I think that while i would not say such things myself, I have no right to censor those around me.
3. This happens all of the time. I confront some relatives, but I refuse to if they are drunk or watch Fox News.
4. I'd let it slide if it was just a private remark... As much as I despise bigotry and intolerance, I know that you can't change people-they have to change themselves ...
5. Confront! confront! confront! Politely, but without equivocation.
6. SPEAK UP. Always, always, always speak up. Letting something slide lets ignorance win. No matter if it offends me directly, or someone else, I will confront the speaker and let them know that's not ok.
7. I don't get offended personally. As an immigrant, woman, gay and person of color if I took every single potentially offensive remark seriously I wouldn't get anything done.
8. I punch them in the balls. With my mind.
9. I do speak up, but often very timidly because I feel that I'm white and therefore I don't really have any authority to lecture someone on what's racist and what isn't...
10. Generally speaking, I do not let this shit fly, because it reduces me as a person, to this non-person and it replicates the destructive discourse that makes sure that sexual minorities, racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, trans people and every intersection thereof into something other than human... And sometimes... I'm just too tired to deal with it, so I roll my eyes, make a sarcastic remark and hope the conversation moves on quickly.

For more daily questions and user comments, join writersblock. FYI, we don't want to invade your privacy, so we haven't credited individual users for their responses. We'd appreciate your feedback on this!

Spotlight community of the week

We can't resist making one last midnight trip to the ol' pumpkin patch. If you adore crazy costumes, fiendish festivities, and bottomless candy consumption as much as we do, this community has just what it takes to light up your jack-o-lantern.


halloween_fan

Photos of the week

We received so many incredible photos, we had to close our eyes and point. We uploaded a selection of awesome images at our new lj_photophile community. Please join and start posting (try to keep the width at around 625 for the sake of consistency)! We'd love for you to tell us more about your photos! You can help us select spotlight photos by commenting on your favorites. Once again, we thank you for making our online world more beautiful!

shutter	pancetta	ilya_gorokhov

Curtains

Thanks, again, for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you next week.

Okay, if I get through to round 2 on Saturday, this is the Vogonish piece I will be performing.

Feel my pain, people.

Slob

I've no wish to be complicit in your life of grime,
but I've got a busy schedule and I really don't have time
to sort out all your crap; I only wish I had.
I just thought I'd mention that it's making me look bad.
'Cause when I walk in through the door, it looks like you've been robbed.
Life is never easy when your boyfriend is a slob.

Is there dust on every surface? No - all surfaces are stacked
with papers, mugs and DVDS - the dust's on top of that.
Is there nowhere you can put these things? Dare I suggest a shelf?
- and the answer I am looking for is not 'do it yourself'.
You could clear out the cellar, but then that's a massive job.
Things are never easy when your boyfriend is a slob.

The kitchen sink is full of grease, the kettle needs descaling;
you've tried to do some washing up, but mostly you've been failing.
I thought I'd help with hoovering, but found it rather tricky;
do you have any explanation why your carpet is so sticky?
No, I don't think I'm nagging you, and really I'm no snob,
it's just that it's not easy when your boyfriend is a slob.

You say you'll cook me dinner and have candlelight for two,
but I'd find you more appealing if you had a nice, clean loo.
Besides, I've seen your dining room and don't think we'd be able
to have a game of footsy with that bike under the table.
I wouldn't eat a tin of soup you'd heated on that hob,
you're at risk of salmonella when your boyfriend is a slob.

You demonstrate such apathy that my words can't help but fail.
You've got more unopened post than the flippin' Royal Mail.
You've got more books and papers than the entire British Library.
I want to help you sort it out, but must I resort to bribery?
You want me to move in with you? That will only happen if
we roll up our sleeves together, and with elbow grease and Cif,
we'll scrub and scour everything, and with a little care
we'll have your whole house sparkling like a diamond solitaire.
But if you were to ask the question now... I think I'd sob;
It's not that I don't love you, but you really are a slob.


Brought to you by the Power of Hindsight, with additional funding from Elements of Truth.

Pariisin majapaikka ja lennot varattu, mennaan sinne maanantaiaamuna 14.paiva, keikka on keskiviikkona ja takasin Liverpooliin lento torstai iltana. Eli pitas ihan hyvin ehtia tutustua Pariisiin. Yota ollaan Paris 144-nimisessa pienessa B&B:ssa, joka sijaitsee alle kilometrin paassa siita keikkapaikasta, eli Bercysta. Metroaseman pitaisi olla 100 metrin paassa, eli sielta on kateva menna keskustaan. Hintaa tuli noin 32 euroa per yo per henkilo, eli ei paha! Lennot maksoivat vajaat 60 puntaa, eli nekin aika edulliset.

Oon menossa luovuttamaan verta 100ml parin viikon paasta yliopiston tutkimuskayttoon, ja saan siita 30 puntaa. Lisaksi ajattelin ilmoittautua meidan laitoksen tutkimukseen, jossa taytyy neljan viikon ajan kayda kerran viikossa yliopistolla syomassa ilmainen aamupala ja lounas, ja siitakin maksavat 30 puntaa.

Mitapa sita ei tieteen hyvaksi tekisi! Ja jollakinhan se pitaa nuo reissaamiset rahoittaa...