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.

I'm so not looking forward to classes starting again for the MAT. Remember before I started at my placement, when I was getting so tired of the work and frustrated by how I couldn't produce anything high-quality because I was so overwhelmed? Well, we haven't even started class yet, and already I'm feeling that way again. I'm trying to do this tech project that we have due tomorrow (tech, by the way, being my least favorite of the classes I have to take), and none of the sites we want to work will let us do exactly what we want. It's all really unhelpful and frustrating and confusing. And it makes me annoyed because none of the work I'm doing in these classes is anything I really want to do. I'm in for another six weeks or so of convoluted classes that I always feel lost in. I was really optimistic earlier today, and getting plenty of stuff done, but now I'm just kind of gloomy and I've given up on accomplishing anything much. I just know this is going to happen every day for the foreseeable future, too, and that just makes me dread going to class even more.

Sorry to be such a downer. :(

I'm waiting for my laundry to be done in the dryer, which is the main reason I'm still up. After I retrieve and fold it, I'm going to bed. Whatever, I'm so used to 5 hours of sleep at this point that it won't make any difference. :P

I had my last day at the middle school yesterday, and it went really well. The kids were totally sweet and wrote me goodbye messages and everything, and I realized that I did get kind of attached to them after 4 weeks. I do still firmly believe I'm meant to be a high school teacher- I just feel so much more comfortable and in my element there- but the middle school placement was beneficial, all the same. At the very least, it taught me that middle school isn't as bad as I make it out to be. If the job market is slim enough in a year that I have to take a middle school job, I might not be happy about it, but at least I'll no longer approach it with the kind of dread I might once have. They're crazy, but I'll admit they are kind of sweet.

One thing that I find odd and which makes me unhappy, though, is the way the curriculum is approached nowadays for middle schoolers. Specifically (and this 100% has to do with the standardized testing focus), my middle schoolers do reading skills, language skills, writing, and study short stories from an anthology- but they don't really read many novels. We do have literacy labs where they get into groups and choose from a selection of books to read together, but middle school teachers don't really teach novels that much anymore, at least not that I've seen.

I can't remember reading a single short story when I was in middle school. You know what I do remember reading? The White Mountains. On My Honor. Bridge to Terabithia. My Side of the Mountain. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The Diary of Anne Frank. Call of the Wild (which I didn't actually read- the first book I had ever been assigned in school that I didn't finish- but it was assigned to me, which is the point). The Giver. Flowers for Algernon. And a bunch of others, which I don't remember as much. Many of these are still favorite books of mine today, and I really loved reading them. Short stories are cool and all, but very few short stories that I've read in my entire school career have stuck with me in the way that a book does. Part of the reason I'm so attracted to high school, I think, is because I can actually teach novels without being criticized for detracting from the mandated curriculum, which doesn't place them in middle school as much.

This isn't to say, by the way, that I object to focusing on reading skills in middle school. Honestly, I think the general idea they have is right. It makes absolute sense to me to teach kids how to perform the physical action of reading in elementary school, refine their reading and language skills in middle school, and give them more opportunities for literature examination and analysis in high school. What I don't like is that the schools seem to be doing this in an exclusive way, and I think that all of these components should be present throughout the levels- just with more of a focus on one or the other at a given time. That's not crazy, right?

Look at me. I'm a teacher, thinking about teacher things. ;) Laundry should be pretty much done now- good night!

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... )

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.

Forgot to mention another thing: At my parents' recommendation (and they know what I like, so I typically take all their suggestions in this area seriously), I've been renting Season 1 of The 4400, the show about people who are abducted by aliens and returned decades later with special abilities. The comment my parents gave when they recommended it was "It's just like Heroes in the sense that normal people suddenly wake up with special powers, but this show handles it better than Heroes did." Which is true, although overall I found the first season of Heroes to be more engaging than the first season of this one. (It probably helps that Heroes had a full 1st season, and there's only 6 or so episodes of The 4400 Season 1.) I don't want to do a lengthy, spoiler-y review, but I will say that the pilot is the strongest moment of the series as I've seen it so far. However, each of the subsequent episodes is also strong, so even if I don't find it that addicting, it's still enjoyable. I plan to rent Season 2.

What really surprised me, though, was how little fanvidding there is out there for this show. I have no plans to get into the fandom, but I did some browsing for vids, and it's astonishing that no one makes vids for The 4400. I mean, come on. "All These Things That I've Done" by the Killers? Perfect song choice, but nothing on youtube. "Second Chance" by Shinedown? Sounds like it could be written for the series as I've seen it so far. And yet, nothing. So my only real question is, where are all the vidders? :(

Anyway. Just wanted to share that.

It's that time of the year again! :) I really struggled with what to dress up as this year, since I didn't bring back anything in particular and didn't feel like spending a lot of money on one-time-use costume items. So I was going to dress up as Echo from Dollhouse, because all that really requires is a solid color tank top and a pair of black pants (and I'd just walk around with a blank look on my face reciting the show's catchphrases). But I look nothing like Echo, so I'd probably spend more time explaining the costume than actually enjoying it. Even people who watch the show might not be able to tell that that's what I was.

Then I remembered: when c27beanie and gingerrose and fizzlefly and I went to Baltimore for Otakon last year, we dressed up as Captain Hammer fangirls from Dr.Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! And I have the shirt with me! So I changed gears in terms of Whedon shows. Now I'm a Captain Hammer fangirl for Halloween. :P I'm going to Hallowgreens, the big on-campus Halloween party, tonight, and I know there are people there who will get the reference. Katey is going as Carol from Where the Wild Things Are. I'll try to post pictures if I can remember to take them.

I have to admit, though, the thing I'm most excited about this year is getting trick-or-treaters. Back at home, the number of families that trick-or-treat has gotten so low as I've grown up. It used to be that everyone brought their kids around; we have a typical suburban neighborhood, mostly townhouses, so it's the perfect environment for it. But maybe people just don't trust each other the way they used to, or it went out of style, because my parents only get a handful of people coming to their house on Halloween. I know for a fact, though, that tons of people will trick-or-treat in the apartment complex where I live now, so we've bought quite a bit of candy and we're ready to go. I'm excited to see what everyone is wearing.

On an unrelated note, I feel like such a good reader. :) Back in April, through my own chain of lj hearsay, I got ahold of a gay fiction novel called Zero at the Bone. It is a romance, and something of a sexy one at that, but it's also a really intense and complex suspense story about a murder witness and a hit man on the run. Anyway, I've been recommending it recently to a number of people on my flist, and they've all loved it. It makes me happy because, well, it's a good book, and also because Seville is a first-time author, so I feel happy that I contributed in some way to increasing her readership. :)

Tomorrow's my mom's birthday! And November 1. Wow.

Happy Halloween, everybody! Post pictures of your lovely costumes if you can!

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

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.