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!

What does a rockin' young single lady do with almost a whole day off in New York City?

Why, go to the Natural History Museum, of course!

If the Natural History Museum in London is a cathedral to science, the one in New York is ... a ... bank?


Of course it was built in the 20s, so the change in architectural styles is just something one has to live with.
( More inside... )


That's all for tonight as I actually have to work tomorrow ...

Shrub Monkeys #109 can be read ova' he-ah!

I forgot to post about this, many pardons! Just a heads up updates may be a tad sporadic for the next couple months while I work on storyboards, commissions, aaaaaand a piece for a super awesome comic anthology due in February, BUSY BEE!

Aion players-

( holy crap )

YAY! The website for the last project I worked on finally went live! Check it out!



Fizzy's Lunch Lab is web-exculsive content for PBS that teaches kids how to make smart food choices. I did storyboards for some of the webisodes. It's a really cute project and the website has all sorts of cool educational stuff for the kiddies. New recipes and games and videos and episodes will be coming out every week for the next 40 weeks!

I know it's not everyone's favorite, but I really really enjoy working on educational children's programming. I always remember how much I liked shows like this when I was a kid, and how much on an influence it had on me when I was growing up....Plus, I like feeling like I'm using my work to make some teeny piece of good in the world..even if it's just "don't eat too much pizza". ;)

OMG it has been a rough couple of weeks on SO MANY fronts.....I am kind of amazed I'm still in one piece.

Thanksgiving and a 4 day weekend at home with family is all thats keeping me going right now..you have no idea! Also OMG TURKEY AND STUFFING AND CRANBERRY SAUCE OMG I AM GOING TO GAIN 10 POUNDS YUM YUM YUM

In other news, I've been reading The Name of the Wind at the insistence of a friend of mine, and I gotta say it's pretty damn good..it's been awhile since I've read any proper high fantasy, that wasn't typically found in the Young Adults section..LOL

it has inspired some doodles..


Kvothe and Bast as I tend to see them...Bast isn't quite right tho.....

2 MORE DAYS OMG

What I Have Learned in New York
Part 1


1. Crosswalk signals are optional.
2. They call them 'short blocks' not just because they are shorter than the long blocks, but because they are really short.
3. If you want to eat your pizza hot, don't eat it while walking.
4. 'Flyover country' is really boring at night.*
5. Sesame Street has conditioned all American children to feel slightly at home in this city.


It was only a half day. But there are ( photos! )

Tomorrow I have almost the whole day to myself. It's taken me much less time than I expected to acclimatise to the Big Apple, which makes me very optimistic for the next three weeks ...

*I leave the relative interest of this area during the daytime to your own judgment

Tadaaa!

So far I have seen:
1. A lot of traffic
2. My hotel room

Going out to explore as soon as my hair dries ... there is a Timmy's on the way to 'work,' ahahahahaaaa ...

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.

Packin' up the laptop ... goin' ta NOO YAWK CITY!

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.

Postcard winners!

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for sending so much joy our way. Frank is still blushing with excitement over the love notes, proposals, propositions, and occasional intimate photos sent from his admirers around the world (China, Norway, Japan, and Poland just this week)! At his request, we blindfolded Justin, one of Frank's BFFs, spun him around in five dozen counterclockwise circles, and asked him to point to ten random postcards/envelopes pasted to the wall. After a brief trip to the bathroom, he chose the following lucky winners, to whom we will give a six-month paid account token (for paid, basic, and plus users) or, for our permanent account holders, a $15 voucher for the LiveJournal gift shop.

So, without further ado, the winners are:

1. seraphene
2. fotog
3. boykitten
4. seshat_6
5. anti_aol
6. lisalees
7. katrinkacat
8. mistyboston
9. _woody_lein
10. another_slender

Bugs, Tweaks, and Enhancements

1. We fixed a bug from the last release that was causing screened comments to become unscreened if they were edited
2. If you happen to be gaming around the corner, check us out on Facebook and be sure to spread the word!
3. We've added new vgifts to celebrate Thanksgiving! Check out our feathered friend, below!

Give more with charitable vgifts

In honor of national adoption month, we're offering a charitable vgift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that provides healthcare and adoption to orphans suffering from life-threatening diseases. LiveJournal will donate 100% of gross proceeds from the sale (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries vgifts in the Virtual Gift shop. We'll keep you posted on how much we raise!

Photos of the week

We're delighted to showcase yet more incredible photos from some of our brilliant LiveJournal photographers around the world. Keep posting (and tagging). And be sure to show some love by commenting on the awesome view at lj_photophile.

Check out this week's photos and more amazing user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. See you next week!

This makes me terribly sad.....

Jean Claude is dead at 74

I LOVED the works that she and her husband created. The Gates was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. I've always envied Matthew's coworkers because they got to help with the installation and got to meet them. My heart breaks for Christo...those two were an amazing team, and they made so many beautiful things together. :(

You can dress them up and take them out, but animators are still animators even if they throw a glamourous Hollywood wrap party.

Incidentally: You know you've been watching too much League of Gentlemen when you spend a good while carefully applying makeup for the first time in over a year, then step back to cast a critical eye on your handiwork, and see Pamela Doove.

In the space of twenty-four hours this weekend, I watched – no, I imbibed – all of Series 3 of Doctor Who, thanks to the magnificent benevolence of bluejeans07.



I hope it's not just the camaraderie, coffee, and sleep deprivation talking, but I think that was my favourite series yet. I like Martha a lot better than Rose, the scripts were a lot tighter and didn't rely on being zany and cool to skate over logic gaps and contrived endings, and the whole thing just ... rang. Also, The Master? So fun. In that evil, love-to-hate-him kind of way. I hope the four-beat tapping thing was a reference to The Pitch of Fear, but they didn't go all the way through with it so I'll never know for sure. My only disappointment is ( a spoiler for The Lazarus Experiment ). Oh, and then there's also ( a spoiler for the end end... )

But these are quibbles. Mostly it was great fun. And they spent two whole episodes in 1913, which gets them a gold star from me. Nothing beats kids with Gatling guns defending their school against the guy who should have played Young Riddle, especially when you throw in the hymn that Cherry & Co. sang in the TV adaptation of The Worst Journey in the World. Those episodes were so entertaining I wasn't even bothered by the romance. Yeah.

Anyway, the one drawback was that once upon a time I listened to an episode of 'Beyond the Vortex' on BBC7 where Nicholas Briggs talked about why they are leaving the Time War as a big blank in the canon. Because I have no self-control in this matter I will now proceed to ruin/enhance all mentions of the Time War for you, dear readers, now and forever:

"How do you dramatise a time war? Are you going to be saying

I mean, how, what is a time war? How do you dramatise it? 'The Time War' ... what a brilliant name for something that Russell came up with. It just sounds like the possible end of everything. The Crack of Doom. Terrible. Why spoil it by trying to make it like, I dunno, the Crimean War or something? It would just devalue it."

Amen, Mr Briggs. Amen.


And now I must spend several hours drawing my hands in penance for that awful awkward pointing thing in the last pose...

givesushope
It's that glorious time of year when we reunite with loved ones (we neglected all year), stuff our faces to excess, and pass out in front of the TV. Perhaps a recalibration of the thanksometer is in order. A spin-off of the popular GivesMeHope.com site, this community invites you to document moments of kindness, generosity, and pure human love.

veggieslackers
Despite its mainstream appeal, Thanksgiving is not for everyone. There are those struggling with food disorders, for whom this day causes endless conflict. There are the cash-challenged, who can't afford the gluttony we've grown to expect. There are the lonely, who don't have loved ones nearby. And let's not forget the vegetarians, who decry the animal cruelty. But there's one more group we often overlook: the terminally lazy! This community of lazy vegetarians offers easy recipes for an animal-friendly feast.

fashin
Just in time for holiday shopping season, this fashionista community brings you the world of haute couture in the form of sumptuous photos, video clips, and candid commentary. There's also a sugary sprinkle of mainstream movie discussions and debates on such pressing social issues as manicure styles and celebrity colonics. If you need a break from the daily grind to indulge your girlie side, this is twinkly pink on steroids.

( VIDYA GAEM )

ALSO!! Before I was just throwing around the idea of going back to school just cos I was kinna bored and unsatisfyed with my art and the fact that I was becoming "complacent", but I think I really am going to go back to school now. cambryn and her friend Matt took me to Gemini School of Art and man, it is perfect. We did a little portfolio review with the owners and just talked with them for a couple hours and it was really inspiring, I feel like if I did do the course there, all the missing pieces would be filled in, and I could get a job anywhere. Anyway, dunno how I could pay for it but I'm just excited, I hope I can figure out a way to get in.