sopwith59

alphistia @ 09:28 pm: So much for the end of history...
Historian Francis Fukuyama notoriously predicted the "End of History" after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Thank God that hasn't turned out to be the case! What a two decades of carnage, terrorism, politcal stupidity, and economic folly it has been.

Twenty years after "Die Wende" in East Germany and two years into the worst economic downturn worldwide since the Great Depression, people yearn still for a better life.

Capitalism promises much but delivers only plastic junk made by slave labor in China. Soviet-style socialism WAS NOT the answer, but don't think for a moment that laissez-faire capitalism combined with neo-con politics are the future history of mankind.

People of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your (plastic) chains!

Majority of East Germans liked communism better
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,634122,00.html

Free market flawed BBC, poll shows
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8347409.stm

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 09:49 am: Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/9/09
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.

Tags: flash fiction, sixwordstories

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 09:46 am: Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/9/09
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.

Tags: dailyfoodie, food, photography

sopwith59 @ 07:30 pm: Henry and me in Central Park this afternoon...
The light was especially beautiful. And Henry seemed to love this part of the park (near West 100th Street), all the flora and fauna...

theljstaff, posting in news @ 01:15 pm: LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam counter-attack, RSS feeds again, CSI Deadly Intent contest

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... )

Tags: csi, photos of the week, postcards, rss, spam, writer's block

sopwith59 @ 10:46 am: Best laid plans, rearranged...
My brother just called to tell me the Guggenheim Museum is closed Thursdays!

I'd never have guessed that. So much for our plan.

But he said today he'll come uptown and let me treat him to lunch... and we can try the museum on Saturday, instead...

Kandinsky, see you in a couple of days...

alphistia @ 12:20 am: My kind of architecture


This is a building in West Virginia at the Gesundheit Institute, an alternative medicine site run by Dr. Patch Adams (Robin Williams made a silly movie about him around 10 years ago...)

I like these kinds of quirky and humanely designed buildings. Beats corporate skyscrapers or strip malls in every possible way.

alphistia @ 09:08 pm: Pleasant surprise from Cincinnati
When I left the Cincinnati area when I was 18, it was with a strong feeling of a real hearty "good riddance". I felt stifled and alienated there. I was gradually realizing I was gay, and also coming to terms with being a pointy-headed intellectual. Going 80 miles south to Kentucky's main college town for 4 years was a very nice way to broaden my horizons, and so was the move to New York within weeks of getting my undergrad degree in 1980.

Cincinnati had some embarrassing moments during the next 30 years...such as a number of comments from the racist owner of the Cincinnati Reds who had some sympathy for Hitler, for example. Or the local sheriff who closed down an art show and indicted the gallery's director on obscenity charges. Then there was the local ballot initiative to put the small gay community in its place. It won. Oh, and terrible riots after the police shot a series of black suspects dead.

To their credit, Cincinnatians tried very hard to do the right thing after each of these events, most of which I read about in the New York Times because they were so embarrassing, they made national news. Marge Schott, the owner of the Reds, was disciplined and eventually forced out as owner of the team. The sheriff continues to be an overzealous thug, but the jury that heard the case for The Contemporary Arts Center exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's photos tossed it out. Ordinary people saw that the case was a waste of time and an infringement on freedom of speech. Cincinnati eventually rescinded the anti-gay ordinance, too. And a lot of soul-searching went on after the riots in 2001, and race relations are somewhat better now. There have been several black mayors, including the current one who was re-elected yesterday.

Cincinnati has always been a conservative place. Religion was and is still more important there than in places on the east or west coasts. There is a local provincialism that still grates when I visit there. But that is true of most places, including NYC ;-)

Quite a lot of the most provincial Marge Schott-like narrow-minded yahoos have planted themselves in the exurban tracts of McMansions that surround the city's core. They loathe Cincinnati and avoid it entirely. Actually, that's not such a bad thing since you don't have to listen to them whine unless you tune in local talk radio. What's left behind in the city are poor, working class, and middle class blacks, gays of all income levels, white middle-class urbanite professionals from outside Cincinnati who work for Procter and Gamble or other corporations, and some lower-middle class whites, particularly in Cincinnati's west side. Most of these people are moderate Democrats. Cincinnati went for Obama last year, and so did the county it is in, but the surrounding exurban counties voted solidly for Bush.

So perhaps I should not be surprised to learn that Cincinnatians voted overwhelmingly yesterday to tax themselves just a little more to support their local public library system. It's one of the very best in the country, but state funding sources have been drying up, and drastic cuts were being proposed. Fortunately those will not happen now.

Also, Cincinnatians voted down a cynical attempt to force any rail-based projects proposed for the city to be approved in a referendum. That's like asking residents to vote yes or no every time the fire department needs a new fire truck. In cities like Cincinnati with an over-dependence on cars, there are a certain number of cranks that think that any public transportation is the devil's road to communism. They particularly dislike streetcar and light rail projects. Many people actually kind of like trollies and trams though, but anti-transit nuts think that all public transportation should be a form of punishment for those not rich enough to spend thousands of dollars a year on one vehicle for each member of every household. Anything other than that is an attack on the American way of life. Fortunately, Cincinnatians saw through this ruse, and a long-delayed streetcar project might now get built.

In any case, I'd happily ride the streetcar as an early retiree some day soon, between the wonderful downtown branch of Cincinnati's public library and the wonderful main library of the University of Cincinnati, a few miles away. One thing I'll always appreciate is Cincinnati's wonderful libraries :-))

sopwith59 @ 06:55 pm: A birthday cake for Henry

On November 5, Thursday, I'll be meeting my brother Henry to celebrate his 54th birthday.

How is that possible?

Weren't we just 17 and 21 years old, gallivanting around Europe together with our Eurail passes? (sigh.)

The tentative plan is that we'll go to the Guggenheim Museum to see the Kandinsky exhibit, admission will be my treat, and I'll give him some gifts I've carefully chosen and wrapped...

as well as cake!

Either I'll hand over a box containing the entire cake I baked today, or present only some portion of it--in the interests of helping his self-restraint (as he is borderline-diabetic, and baking sweets for him is not doing him the greatest favor). But this is a special occasion, after all...

Anyway, I enjoyed the elaborate cake-baking process this morning. I'd been thinking about a recipe from a blog written by my brilliant OB-GYN, Peggy Polaneczky, whose many interests include baking.

http://theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com/2009/10/chocolate-chip-birthday-cake.html

Since I'd been considering this for a little while, I'd already bought the Presto self-rising cake flour and milk, but had to run out for more eggs (as this recipe calls for separating four and I didn't realize I was down to three).

Huff, puff! Back from the supermarket, ready to go... I decided to begin by whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks, then spooning them into another bowl, cleaning the stand mixer's bowl, and proceeding with the other steps: creaming butter and sugar, etc. I used the blender to grind the mini chocolate chips into a mix of chips-and-powder, as described on the blog.








































I'd carefully sprinkled grated chocolate across the top, but after baking, what resulted was a central puddle. I guess the rising batter made all the small pieces of chocolate slide downhill.



Okay, I confess I cut myself a small piece tonight. I had to make sure the cake was a success!





My verdict: satisfactory!
Okay... even better than that. Very, very good.
Not to be conceited about this or anything...

sopwith59 @ 01:14 pm: A long, lurid tail...
...is what this scarf will be when it's finished.

Recently, browsing in one of the 99-cent discount stores in Kensington, Bruce's new neighborhood, I noticed an array of yarn hung on a back wall.

Only one skein remained of this bright orange acrylic, perhaps having been bought up for Halloween use--but in any case, in such circumstances I tend to pounce, as if the lone item were calling out, "My kind is very popular! See, I'm the only one left!"

Maybe I will have to nerve to wear this come Thanksgiving, or else it may be some unlucky friend's Christmas gift...



I have certainly been seeing a lot of orange lately, and even finding myself wearing the hue, at times--e.g. I have this jacket, an Icelandic brand called Cintamani, in "tangerine."



And I have this Patagonia top in "wild salmon":



I've always tended to wear a lot of gray, black, and neutral colors.
Huh. Maybe I'm reinventing myself... yeah, that's the ticket... as a pumpkin?

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 09:55 am: Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/2/09
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.

Tags: aiyatheydidnt, chinese entertaining, chinese pop culture

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 09:53 am: Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/2/09
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.

Tags: fashion, gossip, wendylady2

ljspotlight, posting in lj_spotlight @ 09:51 am: Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/2/09
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.

Tags: soldiers_heart, veteran's day, veterans

sopwith59 @ 12:52 pm: NYC Marathon Expo, inexorable vortex of hoopla, celeb sightings, and stuff!

I rose early yesterday and by ten o'clock had found my way to a desolate stretch of 11th Avenue. At 33rd Street I entered the belly of a vast glass and metal-beamed behemoth.

The Jacob Javits Center was full of nervous, lanky, sneaker-clad people--runners from all over the world soon to take part in the 40th running of the NYC Marathon (tomorrow morning).

O the ransacking of racks of shiny clothes, the flashing of bills and credit cards, the scuttle of fingers toward free samples, pens, memo pads, rubber bracelets, candy... I walked wide aisles named for the boroughs, between mountains of shoes, gloves, socks, caps, tops, shorts, tights, and gizmos, all claiming to hold innovative magic: windproof, odor-fighting, energy-boosting, spine-aligning...

The Marathon Expo brings out the avaricious consumer in everyone, including those who might have first embraced the sport for being simple, spartan, with no need for costly gear.

And I, who care nothing at all (ahem) about celebrities, ended up having my photo snapped with one.



While my friends Sharon and Bonnie approached the counter for their goodie bags and t-shirts, I spotted Anthony Edwards, the actor. (I used to watch "ER" now and then, over a decade ago.) 

Edwards stood beside his friend Toby Tanser, a local running coach with whom I am slightly acquainted. (We've exchanged emails and most recently, compared notes on Iceland where Toby spent some of his youth.)

I summoned the nerve to tap Toby on the shoulder and say hi.  I also found myself gushing to his friend.

"I've seen your video clip!"  I told the probably-jaded-by-fan-adulation actor. (I meant the humorous video in the link below, which Toby had shared on facebook). "I'm a big fan. Can I take a photo of you guys?"

"Let me take one of you  two," Toby said--hence the photo above, where I look a bit starstruck and Anthony Edwards a bit reluctant. (Later, though, the PA system announced the booth where he was appearing. I guess he's not that shy.)

 "Good to see you!" Toby said finally, smiling, polite and charming as always.

I might add that Toby is a founder of Shoe4Africa, a charity to which I've donated, and which Anthony Edwards (his best buddy, I am told)  helps to promote. AE is running the marathon this year, and has been interviewed about it in the NY Times and Runners World. The guy gets around.

He also made a funny video pretending to be a clueless jerk of an actor readying for the marathon, anticipating that it will be just like a "five-hour TV special!"

The clip is at Anthony Edwards returns to TV in the NYC Marathon from Anthony Edwards - Video


Later, I told my mother about the encounter. I know she thinks Anthony Edwards is cute.

"He's married, you know," she said.

dwell, posting in lj_maintenance @ 05:17 pm: Network Maintenance - Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 04:00-05:00 GMT/UTC
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

alphistia @ 11:35 pm: Asian "Mafia" on the 7 train
Tonight one of those little episodes of life in NYC that make this city such a wonderful place to live...

I slid onto an empty seat in an empty subway car deep under Times Square after another mind-numbingly dull day at work. It was the tail end of rush hour so the car wasn't empty for very long, and just as we were about to leave, 14 (I counted them ;-) young Asian men came inside and sat all around me.

They were American-born Asians with completely Americanized accents and mannerisms, although I wasn't able to figure out if they were Chinese or Korean, the two largest ethnic groups living along the 7 line (it's not called the "Orient Express" for nothing). Oh, and they were ALL cute - probably college guys. They had a very easy familiarity with one another and were likely friends who'd known each other since high school.

The "ringleader" was a very good looking young guy with a natural air of leadership about him. Within a minute of pulling out of the station, he'd told the "gang" they were going to play Mafia Assassin until they got to Flushing, the huge Asian neighborhood 25 minutes away. And they did! Not boisterously, not obnoxiously, just having fun as they knocked each off one by one under the direction of their "mob" leader and made "accusations" against each other as to who the assassin was.

They went through several rounds and were just about to start up again when the train pulled in to my station at 40th St/Lowery in Sunnyside. I glanced over at the two guys sitting right next to me, both already "dead" but not knowing who the "murderer" was. And I said quietly to them: "I'm the killer - I'm the mafia assassin" and got up and left. They burst out laughing and their 11 friends who didn't hear me were asking almost in one voice: "What did he say? Who IS HE?"

And then I heard 14 male Asian guys let out a HUGE laugh all at once as the subway doors closed behind me -- since of course the "dead" ones must've repeated what I said to them.

That was fun :-)

theljstaff, posting in news @ 10:53 am: LiveJournal Major Notes: Search super-tweak, postcards, and amazing user content!


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.

Tags: lj_photophile, photos, postcards, qotd, spotlight, writer's block, yandex

sopwith59 @ 10:07 am: Smörgås Chef

Yesterday was one of those rainy, windy days that could easily inspire a rain-check request... but Bruce and I met for lunch, my treat. We were celebrating his birthday (which was Monday the 26th) at Smörgås Chef West Village. It was our first time at this place: cozy, uncrowded, unpretentious. We were wet and a bit cranky, but we drippingly, appreciatively settled into a booth.

Bruce ordered a Bass beer and the gravlax sandwich; I had seafood chowder and a "Nordic Caesar salad" (though it didn't seem particularly Nordic to me).

I used the 15%-off discount coupon I'd received at the Norwegian Festival.

"I was there! Did you see me?" asked our server, Gabrielle, a pleasant, grinning girl in a very low-cut, abbreviated floral dress and boots. ("Her cleavage is fun," Bruce remarked as she bounced off.)

Gabrielle handed me two cards that offer future discounts if I go online, complete a survey, comment on her service (that's how I learned her name) and then receive a code.

Hmm. Should I complain about the fact that she foisted on us... I mean, heartily recommended a dessert as her favorite, riskrem, "rice cream with cherries and almonds"? Nah. Bruce admitted it was "chalky in texture" but pleasant in flavor.

As we were leaving, we were informed that the two men in the next booth had also used that discount coupon. "Did you run?" Bruce asked the two elderly fellows. "My roommate did," replied one man. (Roommate? Or is his unemployed grandson living with him, I wondered.)

We ventured back into the damp outdoors. Later, Bruce said he was running a fever. As I said, not the best day to be out and about.