Tweaks and enhancements

• As a number of you reported, a service interruption impaired sending and receiving notifications for a couple of days. This was due to an avalanche of snowflake cookies. We've removed the free snowflake cookie and unclogged the pipeline. Timely notifications should resume shortly. Please note that there's a backlog in our queues, so you'll be getting earlier notifications first. For more details, check out this post at lj_maintenance.
• In anticipation of the new year, we've embarked on a self-improvement kick to boost our backend (pun semi-intended). This will allow us to offer you a holiday promotion in the next few weeks (yes, we're listening and working very hard to make it happen). We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and support.

Holiday vgifts are here!

We've added some fantastic new vgifts to help you spread holiday cheer. We also hope you'll honor AIDS Awareness Month by purchasing virtual red ribbons. Priced at $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.

Introducing: LJLimericks

We cordially here do invite you
To craft a fine limerick. Might you?
Each week, a new theme,
Then a poll, that's our dream
Winner posted on news to delight you!

In honor of all the brilliant writers on LiveJournal, we've created a brand new community: ljlimericks! Each week, we'll enter a handful of limericks into a poll (which we'll tuck snugly under an LJ-Cut). The winning poem will be published in the following newsletter. In addition, the author will receive a virtual blue ribbon! If you have the time, come drop us a rhyme. Please keep the "Nantucket" stuff on the downlow, since this is a youth-friendly community. Our first prompt is: Insomnia in winter.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible images from our global photography community. Congratulations to sempre_marseeya, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our second lj_photophile poll.

We hate to squelch your creativity, but, as a courtesy to other users, please post only one photo at a time and keep the main photo no larger than 350x350 (so images display properly via mobile and on friends pages). You can link to a larger image and/or post photos under a cut. Just so you know, we select photos for the poll blindly, based on user comments and staff feedback. Please continue to vote, comment, and, of course, enjoy. You can check out the week in pictures and view more awesome user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

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

doorwindowwall
A stunning collection of images sure to delight anyone with a penchant for architectural elements, this talented community, largely from New York, is hoping to attract new members from around the world. Featuring an eclectic variety of photos depicting doors, windows, and walls, there's an interesting balance of interior and exterior shots, many from urban streets, some from ramshackle rural farmhouses. Wonderful!

+ oh hey, LJ, thank for that handful of comment notifications. now could i maybe get the other dozen or so that you're still hiding? one way conversations are fun for no one. thx.

+ in much more heartfelt thanks, THANK YOU, GUYS, FOR THE SNOWFLAKE COOKIES!! \♥/ that was such a treat! and so unexpected! :D big, big love right back atcha.

+ in running news, we tried something new last night to change things up: we ran home from work. it's 2.5 miles, slightly uphill. i think the most challenging part was actually the cold (45-50 degrees). i still had to walk a little here and there, but in the second half of the run, i was determined to keep jogging for this one particular long stretch without stopping, and i did. i high-fived myself, it's true. took us about 35 minutes, start to finish, and then we got a ride back to work to pick up our cars (YAY). i think we'll be doing this one again, it was actually kind of fun. and maybe next time we'll try running back to work as well. that would bring it up to 5 miles (and the second half would all be slightly downhill, so definitely not as hard). i can dooooo this, yes i can.

+ first sentence of the first post from each month - ( 2009 edition )

+ it's almost the weekend, flist! i'm so excited, i have BIG plans, whereby BIG i mean: knitting! christmas shopping! laundry! massive cleaning! and then maybe some cocktailing, like you do. also, it's supposed to rain, rain, and RAIN SOME MORE. perfect for curling up with a good book and a hot mug. \o/ and what of you, flisters? exciting to-dos?

Real time comment notifications - I has them :D *crosses fingers* Let's hope it stays that way.

♥Fluffy Drabble Day♥
Title: Kisses
Author: Beren
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Pairing: none
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: Merlin/Arthur
Word count: 100
A/N: For peki and fluffy drabble day
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Merlin smiled at the nice lady in white and then turned to Arthur and kissed him firmly. Surprisingly Arthur kissed back, which, when they finally broke apart, made Merlin smile broadly. He'd been wanting to do that for so long and Arthur looked just as happy about it.

There was something he was supposed to be doing, he was sure, but he couldn't remember what it was. He had Arthur and that was all he could think about.

The next morning he woke up naked, curled around Arthur and his brain said 'sorceress', but he couldn't bring himself to care.

♥Fluffy Drabble Day♥
Title: The Best Twin
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel
Pairing: none
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word count: 100
A/N: For peki and fluffy drabble day - go on, you know you want to write one :)
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Bill leapt on Tom and hugged his twin tightly.

"What was that for?" Tom asked when Bill finally let go.

"You're the best twin in the world," Bill replied with a bright smile and exhibited the new jewellery on his wrist.

He had found it neatly wrapped on his pillow with no note.

"I didn't give you that," Tom protested, blushing pink.

They did not buy each other presents, it was kind of a rule, but Bill wasn't stupid.

"Of course you didn't," he said, patting Tom on the arm; sometimes his twin was so sweet, "you suck at lying."

Is it just me, or did LJ start working and then stop again?

I've had a whole load of back dated comments in my inbox, and I've had some comments today (more than yesterday), but not all of the ones I should have had.

Is this happening to everyone else as well?

Title: Glitter
Author: Beren
Fandom: Cinema Bizarre
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Strify had glitter in his hair and Yu was debating with himself whether to mention it. It looked adorable and had occurred when Strify had had an encounter with a Christmas decoration hanging on the set of the show they had just done. Strify might love it or not, it was a dilemma.

As he was contemplating, Kiro bounced up, waved a piece of mistletoe and kissed him fully on the lips; perfectly normal Kiro behaviour. Then Kiro bounced over to Strify, kissed him as well and went, "Ooh, glitter," before bouncing off again; so much for that internal debate.

I have noticed that several people have Formspring accounts, but like an idiot I have failed to bookmark them all. Formspring does not make it easy to find people, so my lovelies, I was wondering if you would be willing to help me and drop me a comment with a link to your formspring account if you have one, so I can keep track?

*hugs*

P.S. incase you missed it and want to play mine is here: http://www.formspring.me/berenwrites

... to gblvr for the adorable seasonal octopus sitting happily at the top of my user info; he's adorable.

Title: The Future
Author: Beren
Fandom: Panik
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Linke looked out of the window at the grey drizzly day and wondered if that's what the others saw in their future. The dream was over and he had helped kill it, but it had had to be done.

He saw things, always had done, glimpses of what was to come, and there had been nothing but grey turning to black around them. Now when he looked at David and Timo he saw sunshine and when he looked at Franky there was a bright glow. Juri and Jan had their lights too and he knew this was for the best.

Grabbed from lirren

( Fic meme )

Baaaaaaaaaaa :)

http://www.formspring.me/berenwrites

I have received two comments today, but only on community posts. I hope LJ fix it soon.

(You wouldn't think that sentence was long enough to make mistakes, but I managed to type both cummunity (ooo er misses) and fic it - LOL).

Title: Small Gestures
Author: Beren
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: none
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Draco had kept to himself all year and was planning on continuing to do so even though it was Christmas. It seemed better to remain apart even though he had returned to complete his education.

That was until he found Harry Potter crouching down with a crying first year. Neither noticed him so he stepped closer to see Potter trying to mend a broken toy. Each time Potter spelled it, it fell apart again.

"You have to remove the anti-sticking charm first," he said, almost surprising himself.

"Thank you," was the eventual reply and, to his shock, Potter actually smiled.

Title: Jingle Bells
Author: Beren
Fandom: Cinema Bizarre
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Kiro looked at the sensible object in his right hand and the not so sensible one in his left. They were off to do an interview and they were supposed to be doing the serious musician thing, but it was Christmas. Kiro adored Christmas.

Five minutes later he bounced into the hallway jingling all the way thanks to the bells on his reindeer scrunchy. Strify raised an eyebrow at him so he just grinned. If there was one thing he had learned from losing his dad it was celebrate now and be damned about tomorrow. It was time for joy.

Title: Season of Giving
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Author: Beren
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by the BBC. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings/Spoilers: none
Word Count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Camelot was attacked by a sorcerer just before the mid winter feast. To Arthur's horror, Merlin absorbed most of the attack and then simply fell over. After convincing his father that Merlin had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, he had Merlin rushed to Gaius.

"I know," was all he said when Gaius asked him leave, "just save him."

The fact Merlin was a sorcerer did not scare him, losing Merlin did; it was supposed to be the season of giving not taking. Three days later Arthur received the best gift possible; Merlin opened his eyes.

Title: Dangerous
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Warnings: none
Word count: 100
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)

Gustav was keeping one eye on Bill and one on Tom and it was giving him a headache. The twins were his friends and he loved them in a brotherly (very manly) way, but they were dangerous. Mysteries made him nervous and the whispering had been going on for days.

When he realised he had lost sight of both of them he almost panicked.

Luckily he was saved the embarrassment when Bill gave him a coronary by leaping out of a cupboard and shouting, "We have presents!" at the top of his lungs.

Like he always said; dangerous, but fun.

Happy Birthday to:
angelsk for yesterday,
snarklebubbles and julietta_lynn for today,
carnimiriel, partitioning and indigocat for tomorrow,
coniraya and hazelhazard for the 10th,
my dear twin thwax, babydracky and ariana_shade for the 11th,
konniemacian, taradiane and corsiva for the 12th and
nymphadora17 and oconel for the 13th

Many Happy Returns to you all.

Thank you so much to all the lovely people for the snowflakes:
clear_stream18, babydracky, lunamazes, ccmom, karaz, bishieobsessed, tootiredtosleep and temaris

They were such a lovely surprise. I've been mostly offline since Friday because of our anual Christmas bash, so they were a treat to come back too.

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

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.