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.

We hope you'll continue to post, vote, and comment! A gentle request: Please post only one photo at a time and limit size to 350x350 (so images display properly on friends pages). And now, without further ado, get ready to cast your ballot and view more awesome user content after the jump!

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Curtains

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

SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS FILMS AHEAD, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, LOOK AWAY NOW!!!!

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Alright, can't say I didn't give you fair warning, but I'll cut the juicy bits just in case. The quote source is here.

( First reason to SQUEE very loudly )

( Second reason to SQUEE very loudly )

It's an article translated from Spanish to English, hence why the grammar is a bit off, just fyi.

DAVID YATES CAN HAVE MY FIRST BORN CHILD, TRUFAX.

Now excuse me while I dance around the room while trying to contain my squeals of joy.

[diagnosis| ecstatic]
[background noise|Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol]

**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,

I heard the whistle of the shell before I heard the explosion, the shrill piercing sound that could spell nothing but death and destruction, and grief for those who somehow survived it. It was only as I rounded the corner that I realized that this time I would be more than a witness, more than a doctor rendering aid to one of those poor unfortunates who who might be lucky enough to survive with nothing more than the loss of a limb, or their sight. This time the explosion had struck the building that housed my family, and as I took the stairs upwards to our small apartment, I barely saw the injured or heard the cries of those who begged me for help.

Nothing mattered to me in those moments but getting to my family and on reaching them, finding them safe. It didn't happen. I heard my wife's cry for help as I reached the hallway and as I entered I was met by the sight of my baby boy's body buried under the rubble of what had been his crib, his tiny hand reaching for help that never came to save him. I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to leave him like that, but for the moment my wife and daughter were still alive, they had a chance if I could only get them out of the building in time.

The smoke was already making it difficult to breath but I had had to ignore it, Jasna, Danijela, they needed my strength, not my fear. I picked up our daughter and told my wife we had to go, only to discover a piece of metal had impaled her, when I laid Jasna down to see to her injuries, my little girl stopped breathing, and I realized I couldn't carry them both to safety. How could I choose between them? I'd already lost my baby boy, I couldn't lose my daughter too, I started CPR, and in between breaths tried to tell Danijela what to do to slow her own bleeding. I screamed for help until my voice was raw, but, no one ever came, and when I lost my wife I fought even harder for my daughter's life. It was finally my own exhaustion that forced me to stop, and my weakness meant the end of my daughter's young life. There was only one final thing I had to do.

I placed Jasna in her mother's arms before going to Marko's crib, I couldn't leave him buried like that. I begged him to forgive me for not being home to protect him as I pulled away the debris with my bare hands, even as I knew I would never forgive myself for failing them. When I had finally freed him, I carried him in to his his mother, and after placing him too in her arms I lay down beside them. I think I was hoping that if I went to sleep, maybe God would take pity on me and allow the smoke to claim me, that he would allow me to be with my family in death, but he didn't, the rescuers found me before morning. I was one of the lucky ones they said.

If only they knew.

Muse: Luka Kovac
Fandom: ER
Words: 447

Patient's Name: Luka Kovac
Fandom: ER
Word Count: 412
Partner Patient’s Name (canon): Abby Lockhart

John Beckwith: True love is your soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another.

I wish I could say that my relationship with my wife represented finding my true love, but, I'd be lying. As hard as it is to admit it, Abby's known from the moment we met that my heart would always belong partially to another. Her name was Danijela, and I loved her from the moment I saw her. Even though it's been 17 years since she died, I still love her, I know I'll always love her, and Abby understands that when I die my final resting place will be at her side with our children.

Danijela was 16 when we first met, or I should say when I first saw her, it took me some time to work up the courage to actually talk to her, but, from that first look she had my heart. I wish I could say that I knew exactly what it was about her that captured it, but I don't. It wasn't just one thing about her, it was everything, from the way she looked to how she interacted with those around her, and then I heard her laugh.

Danijela and I were inseparable, well, with the exception of the time she was in school and I was going through my military service. After we married, nothing outside of my work could keep us apart and I blame that closeness we had partially for why she and our children died. Maybe if we had been apart more she would have left Vukovar when I asked her to, but, the idea of being away from me was too much for her, so she stayed and those final weeks we shared cost us the rest of our lives together.

When we were together it was like we shared the same breath, the same thoughts, we could look at each other and know without speaking when one or the other was worried or had a bad day. I look at my relationship with Abby and I wish we shared a bond like that but, I know that kind of love only happens once in a lifetime. Don't get me wrong, I love Abby, I would do anything for her, but, she and I will never have what Danijela and I had, and I know that has to hurt her. So, she accepts what I can give, knowing that I will be there for her, to protect her, and most importantly to love her until death do us part.

What's this vampires who don't sparkle?

I'm conflicted on this one, from the trailer Daybreakers doesn't look like anything special (although a vamp drinking blood from a coffee takeout cup is so wrong it's right) bog-standard vampire fare but towards the end they are playing one of my favourite emo songs.
And if I only could
Make a deal with God
Get him to swap our places...

One to rent from Amazon I think.
  

When Abby and I first dated, it was during a time when I very rarely spoke about my life prior to my arrival in Chicago. Most knew I came from Croatia of course, a few who worked in the ER knew that while I had survived the war in my home country, my wife and children had not, only one, Carol, knew the full story. I'll never know what prompted Abby to open the door on my past that early morning all those years ago, but, I've often wondered if she regretted the decision.

The year was 2000 and we were lying in bed talking about a number of things from our relationship to a patient of mine at the time who was a Catholic Bishop. While I at first resented having to treat Bishop Stewart because of my feelings toward the Church and God left over from Vukovar and the loss of my family, before he died the man enabled me to find my way back to both.

I was a little surprised at first when the conversation settled into silence, then figured it was still early, it was just likely Abby wanted more sleep, and then very quietly she asked the question that started it all.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Um hmm."

"What was her name?"

"Whose?

"Your wife."

"Danijela."

"Did you love her very much?"

"Um hmm."

To some it wouldn't seem like much, but, for Abby and I it was huge. Everything to that point had always been about Abby, her life, or her problems, this was the first time she had asked about my life. Over the years there have been other times. She's learned more about Danijela, of our children, of our families, and most unsettling for her, of the war that separated us forever. But, those times would come later, we both had to grow first, to part ways and then find our way back again.

Muse: Luka Kovac
Fandom ER
Words: 317

I've had a new love/obsession for a while and earlier I realised I had not posted about it here. So I'm doing that now, whether anyone wants to know about it or not. :P



I absolutely adore Taylor Swift to pieces. I got her Fearless album for my birthday in September and I've been utterly hooked ever since. With most albums there's at least one or two songs that I'm not as keen on as the others and I'll usually skip them, but that's not the case with this album, I love every song equally and can listen to it straight through at least twice without getting bored. And every time I listen I take something new from the album, relate to different parts of the lyrics than I did on previous occasions. I usually have a new favourite song after every listen as well. I'll get around to her self-titled debut album at some point, but right now I'm loving this one too much to play anything different. My favourite album of the year without a doubt.

And it's not just the music, I love her crazy amounts too. For a start she comes across as incredibly humble for a girl of only just approaching 20 who has achieved what she has, the most notable being the youngest ever winner of the CMA Entertainer Of The Year title. She's bright and bubbly and happy and so incredibly cute, her smile makes me smile too. She comes across as a very ordinary and down to earth girl who just happens to successful in a career doing what she loves, she doesn't consider herself any different from anyone else at all. And she really, truly appreciates all of her fans and how much they love her and gives as much love back to them as possible. Like last week she played shows in Manchester and London, and at one point she left the main stage and walked to areas nearer the back of the arenas and sang three songs from there, so the people at the back got to experience the same as those at the front. And as she was walking through the audience she would hug random people as she passed them, I cannot explain how sweet and amazing I find that.

I've already managed to find a favourite quote from her too:

"Fans are my favorite thing in the world. I've never been the type of artist who has that line drawn between their friends and their fans. The line's always been really blurred for me. I'll hang out with them after the show. I'll hang out with them before the show. If I see them in the mall, I'll stand there and talk to them for 10 minutes. I don't care. I'm just a senior in high school who has a better job. Who am I to think I'm better than talking to people?"

♥ ♥ ♥

SO MUCH LOVE, SERIOUSLY. And like Lisa E she reads about herself online and was the unpopular girl who got picked on at school. She has Twitter and her tweets are absolutely adorable. She's been writing her own songs since she was 12 years old. The first thing she did when she turned 18 was register online to vote while still wearing her pajamas. Her favourite food is cheesecake and her favourite subject to write about is love. These are just some of the facts I've learned about her which I find beyond adorable, there are many more. And randomly, her song The Way I Loved You is THE song that reminds me of the current Lucas/Cuddy/House situation on House.

So yeah, love this girl very much. ♥

[diagnosis| relaxed]
[background noise|The Way I Loved You - Taylor Swift]

In honor of Christmas -

Credits:

Layout from: mintyapple - Here!

And header is from Deviantart - Can be found here. By sih393

Background image by mixremix

I posted a TBR list on my blog. Really just for me to help me keep track.

Was just wondering if anyone else has a problem with a large TBR & keeping track of it...

Bueller? ...Bueller?

http://dd03.blogspot.com/2009/11/im-so-behind-on-my-reading.html

I had a shit day and am in a fucking horrendous mood. Just want to burst in to tears about everything in general. 2009 has sucked and I want it to be gone right the fuck now.

Please spam me with anything that you think might cheer me up a bit, because my face has forgotten how to smile and I think it needs a reminder.

Hope you're all well. *big hugs and kisses*

I'm going to mope in the corner now. Call me when life has stopped sucking.

[diagnosis| depressed]
[background noise|Love Ain't Here Anymore - Take That]

• 19:35 Im torn. Out for cocktails and dancing or night in with tv and dishes? Is this a no brainer? #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

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!

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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!

I was lured in by the promise of man falls in love first and pining, which I'm a sucker for, but as it turns out Tamna is quite a good drama.

• It looks gorgeous.
• So far the main focus is on the romance and the characters but the action plot is interesting enough that I don't FF through it. Take note Da Ren Wu et al it can be done.
  
• The triangle is balanced, by which I mean there's no obvious leading man both William Park Kyu are strong characters and it's only my Kdrama cynicism ruining the mystery.   
• Great characters, I adore Boe Jin's family and Park Kyu interaction with the mother and little sister.
  
• For a drama based on a manhwa it's surprisingly lacking in OTT silliness.
  

Don't be fooled by the synopsis and the off putting promotional photos!

Is anyone else having problems with Viiki? The video screen just keeps spinning.