Iphigeneian Swap

Monsters

Bowler Hats

Copper-Colored Machinery

Complicated Magic/Religion Plots

Snappy Banter


Sherlock Holmes gets 4/5! Though unfortunately lacking on the monster front, it delivered quite well on all other counts. I was pleased aurally by the violin parts, aesthetically by the color palette and a number of satisfying moustaches, and generally by the secondary issues like plot and acting and all that jazz.




*This key does not apply to Movie Musicals, as they are held to different standards like "references to other musicals," "sparkley bits," and "Hollywood Stars embarrassing themselves" [see: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, John Travolta].

christmas music

aids wolf - pressing graphite

Holiday debuggery

We know there were a few kinks with the holiday promotion. We've been working very hard to get them ironed out. If you have a paid/permanent account, keep on sending those coupons. Here's an update:

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Tweaks

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Celebrate with holiday vGifts!

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Photos of the week

We're back with more dazzling pictures from around the world. Congrats to marlenemcc, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our fourth photo contest. We hope you'll click over to LJ_Photophile poll and tell us your picks in pics!

For more fantastic user content, we'll meet you under the cut. ( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for reading. Here's wishing you the very merriest of holidays. We'll see you next year!

SCHOOL. IS. DONE (for 3 weeks).
Thursday - Sunday were completely hellish. I wort a research paper every fucking day.

But now I'm home. And there's snow!!! And there are all my friends to squeeze in and hug and catch up with and all that fun stuff.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve which is my favorite holiday EVAH! (Yes, Christmas Eve, not Christmas... I'm Polish and my family is Catholic ... we celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the Feast of St. Stephen (the 26th). The best is by far Christmas Eve because it's packed with tradition... we share oplatek, we eat noodles and poppy seeds, we have 13 dishes for some important reason that I don't know of, we eat only seafoods and no other meats. AND.... WE OPEN ALL OF OUR PRESENTS! (except the ones from my mom and dad.

I'm excited for New Year's Eve --- hello Kansas.

I am getting super fucking excited for Ecuador/Chile and any/all countries/continents that I encounter in those six months. I am ready for Antarctica and Carnival. I am ready to speakitdaspanish every day all day. I am ready to learn about Chilean culture, dictatorships, and social movements. I am ready to work with the indigenous population. I AM READY!!!!

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

So, part of my favorite thing about winter break is the free time to read whatever the hell I want, not bound to my courses or my research. I do love most everything I read for school, but I love this expectation-free zone where I am free to read whatever I want! Guilt-free! It is a joyous time in my life.

And so, since I arrived here yesterday and proceeded to become astoundingly sick with Mystery Flu, I have had time to do some reading. First, I polished off "The Dark Knight Returns" which I'd started on the plane. THEN I pilfered through my stack of Unfinisheds and took up Ms. Virginia Woolf.

AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DISCOVERED?!
My edition of "A Room of One's Own," which I bought years ago, has a forward by Susan Gubar! Of Gilbert & Gubar! Of "The Madwoman in the Attic"! Which makes sense, I mean, since their theory is all about women, women in fiction, and women writers, and AROOO (aroooooooo!) is about much the same, but how did I not know! Oh man. The world of literary criticism is small, you guys.

Do you think that Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar decided to go in on it together on account of the fact that they have matching initials? I think that might have played a key factor, if it were me.



Back to Virginia, now.
Next, possibly The Brothers Karamazov if I feel ambitious. Probably depends on how long the Flu sticks around.

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

click here to see no. 564

click here to see no. 566

click here to see no. 567

click here to see no. 563

Get to know My Guests. Want to know who's checking you out? You can now view the 100 most recent, logged-in users who visited your journal during the past 30-day period with My Guests. For those who prefer to fly under the radar, you can update your My Guests privacy setting here.

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Get ready to check your vital statistics!. To begin, mouse over Journal in the upper nav bar and select My Stats from the dropdown menu (Horizon) or select My Stats under Journal in the side bar (Vertigo). If you're using another design scheme, you can visit My Stats directly. You'll find My Guests on the My Stats tool bar.

Happy holiday promotion!

We're delighted to tell you about our holiday coupons, which will help you share the love with your LiveJournal friends! If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can send up to 10 LiveJournal Basic/Plus users a $10 coupon for an annual paid subscription now through January 15th, 2010. Recipients can upgrade for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25). Please note that these coupons are not transferable and cannot be used to renew existing paid accounts. If you're a Paid/Permanent user, you can send out your holiday coupons now!

Tweaks and Enhancements

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2. Whitelisting: We've released a new option to help you moderate your busy communities more efficiently. If an entry contains a link to a whitelisted (i.e., trusted) site, it will be posted automatically without need for moderator approval. If a post contains a link that is not on the whitelist, you'll be prompted to approve. To access this option, please visit settings for any community you maintain and select the third option in the Community Moderation box (located in the lower left-hand corner). Click the enable link to custom-edit your community's whitelist, which has been prepopulated with trusted domains. You can manually add or delete URLs in the text box. Please note: If you're the maintainer of an unmoderated community, you may see the radio button for this setting checked, even though it's not active. This is a known issue. Please select whichever option you prefer and click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. If you're happy with your current settings, then no need to do anything!
3. TMI, dude: We've added some fun FREE sponsored vgifts! You can send up to 50 TMI vgifts to mutual friends (btw, you cannot send free vgifts to communities). If you're a Paid/Permanent user and you want to view sponsored gifts, click Show sponsored gifts on your homepage or visit the sponsored gift page. These vgifts will only be available through Wednesday, December 23rd.

You can view more awesome user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Until next time, stay snug!

In short...I put my iron fist down and got the party not only canceled, but Nicole is moving out.

I can be your best friend or your worst enemy - that decision is up to you.

click here to see no. 556 (collage!)

click here to see no. 558

click here to see no. 559

click here to see no. 560

click here to see no. 561

click here to see no. 562

if you are in dallas i will be there seeing family for christmas and doing a signing at lonestar comics on dec. 23rd. okay

i will be closing book orders on thursday morning i think so i can finish shipping and not think about that over christmas. i will reopen them early january

animal tropical - 20 miles

It was a strange night, thinking that it would be my last in Senegal. Everything doesn't really feel like it's my last day, and to know that I am leaving here (without knowing I'll return) is somewhat bittersweet. More sweet than bitter, but still. More importantly, the other students here are people that I am definitely going to miss. But I will be able to keep in touch with people, so I hope that all goes well. I leave at about 1 am Wednesday, but have to leave at about 10 to get to the airport on time. I'm all packed up, and I just am ready to actually go.

I do not want to take my History of Islam final. But I guess I have to.

to go home and see all of my Lowellians. I miss them... a lot.

I've been thinking a lot about "where I come from" and "how I came to be" which has led me to a renewal of appreciation for my past.

1. I started research on my lesbians & HIV infection paper and found some scary things out:

* If a woman has sex with a man just ONCE she is forever considered epidemiologically heterosexual, despite how she herself identifies or how many women she has slept with.
* HIV infection is possible through sharing of sex toys (actually I already knew this, but the fact that it's never really talked about or stressed is interesting/scary)
* Dental Dams as a preventative measure? Who uses them? Who has even seen once? I know that at my local CVS there are NO dental dams. So I ask you blog world ... have you seen them? Have you ever used them? Do you know of people who use them? (And finger condoms aka finger cots? I've have never heard of these either!)
* Over 60% of HIV infected women were never asked if they had sexual relation with women

2. I read an article title that said "Will Houston Make Gay History?" and thought.... did Whitney Houston come out?! Huh? ... even though I know about Annise Parker and have actually been semi-following her election stories. A girl can be hopeful thought, right?

Have any of you guys seen "Rock n Roll High School"?
because that is what my life feels like right now.