Slow Steps

This is your mid-week reminder that you have until Saturday, November 14th, at 10:00 AM Central to submit your icons for this week's challenge.

Information regarding this challenge can be found in this [ post ].

I've received 04 phenomenal icons and more are definitely appreciated, so SUBMIT!

On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.

I'll be sending a thank you card to a Korean professor and would like someone to correct what I've written below. I'm sure it's mega awkward.

Thanks in advance!


권선생님께

저는 Fulbright* 지원 도움에 감사드립니다. 이월에 한국위원회가 지원을 논평하면
알리겠습니다.

What I want to say/write:
Dear Dr. Kwon,

Thank you for helping me with my Fulbright application. I will let you know in February if the Korean committee will be reviewing it/the application.

Fulbright= 플러브라이트 ?? I still have trouble with "Konglish".

Also, what's a good way to end a letter/note?

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.

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.

Icon Post. Going to stick with simple colouring for now xD
Enjoy ^^
[03] Nagasawa Masami
[15] Yoon Eun Hye
[04] Seto Koji
[02] Okada Masaki
[06] Aaron Yan
[12] Kamenashi Kazuya
[05] Akanishi Jin
[17] Fashion (Tanaka Miho)
[16] Aragaki Yui (Girls' Locks)
(This entry will be kept open. From now on, I won't be locking entries anymore! Old entries will also be unlocked to the public xD)



MORE @ itsumademo_sky

Here are the results! Thank you to everyone who submitted, voted, or both. ^__^

( Winners! )

Congratulations!

oxygene will be doing banners this week unless otherwise stated. All winners from First to Mod’s Choice can receive a banner, so if you won and would like a banner leave a comment saying so.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The submission post for Week 257 has gone up and can be found [ here ].

This is the 257th challenge. It’s the same as always -- theme, lyric, and image. You can enter up to 2 icons for this challenge.

Theme

The theme for this challenge is Texture. If you decide to do this theme, you must use this texture: You can edit, color, crop, rotate, resize, etc. the texture, -- be as creative as you want -- but the texture should be somewhat identifiable.
texture by loveicon.

Lyrics

If you decide to use the lyrics, you must use at least three consecutive words and make sure that the only text used on the icon are from the provided and chosen lyrics.

(  How We Operate – Gomez )

Image

If you decide to use the image, the only image that should be used on the icon is the one I've provided.

( Hiyori + Shinji )

Your submission must fit LJ's size standards: 100x100 or smaller, 40kb or smaller. Remember, when sending your submission, please include both the img src and the url like this:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v15/mdoogie/LJ%20Icons%202/Bleach225.png

You'll have until Saturday, November 14th @ 10:00 am Central to submit your entries to this screened post.

AAA; Hide-away (Versions A+B+C)
Release Date: October 21, 2009
Language: Japanese
Genre(s): Pop, Pop-Rock, Electronica
Purchase: YesAsia

01. Hide-away [ LISTEN ]
02. Hide & Seek [ LISTEN ]
03. Find you [ LISTEN ]
04. With you
05. Hide-away -dino starr Mix-
06. Hide & Seek -SCR ReVamp Mix-
07. Find you -Super Mix-
08. Hide-away (Instrumental)
09. Hide & Seek (Instrumental)
10. Find you (Instrumental)

AAA returns after their incredibly successful summer dance single, Break Down, with a triple a-side single that explores their talent as a seven-member group, and also in two gender-based units.

Hide-away, the main promotional song and only group song on the single, is a dance song (with some interesting ballad-meets-hip-hop choreography) lead by strong synths and a variety of vocals. Takahiro Nishijima (commonly known by his nickname, "Nissy") and Naoya Urata take the primary lead for the verses, while Misako Uno and Chiaki Ito dominate the vocal bridge and chorus segments. Mitsuhiro Hidaka (commonly known by his last name, Hidaka) raps throughout, but most effectively during the opening of the song, and the bridge. The strong maintains an uncertain, mysterious atmosphere throughout, accentuated by the melancholic lyrics, tinged ever-so-slightly with optimistic hope. "Hiding myself, in an endless labyrinth / Seeking my way, now I can hardly find you." The misguided, lingering vocals also contribute to the mysterious, almost-climactic atmosphere. Vocally, it's a decent song. Arrangement wise, it's a decent song. Nothing makes it incredibly, but nothing makes it horrible, either. AAA has had better, and they've had worse. While it perhaps isn't necessarily an accurate representation of their talent, I do really like the bridge (Misako! ♥) and Naoya's beautifully textured ballad-esque solo after the first chorus.

Although the five boys are present in the music video for Hide & Seek, only three of them actually sing here - Takahiro Nishijima, Naoya Urata, and Mitsuhiro Hidaka. As you may have already noticed, all of the songs on this single take the same base melody, and change the lyrics and arrangement appropriately for differing atmospheres and general interest. Hide & Seek takes a gritty/dirty trance approach with sliding, distorted Shinichi Osawa-inspired house production. It sounds like a "tame" version of an Osawa song, in that it's not completely dissembled or experimental. Overall, it's okay, but the synthetic instruments give me a headache after a while. However, there are a few great parts of this song, namely Hidaka's main rap, and the Takahiro/Naoya vocal bridge; it acts like a shining ray of hope in an otherwise misguided attempt at sounding edgy.

Find you, of course, is the girls' "answer", I suppose you could say, to the boys' song. Or, perhaps you could simply refer to it as the counterpart. Misako Uno and Chiaki Ito get to showcase their vocal talent on what I consider to be the strongest song on the single. The arrangement is fun, multi-leveled, and effectively illustrates the two central sides of femininity - innocence and attitude. The girls' pure, airy vocals sound quite lovely over the always-building pop-rock arrangement. The chorus is definitely the highlight as their vocals are feathered in two central layers; the main melody, and the echo. The climactic build-up right before the chorus is also an awesome lead-in. I can't get over this song, really. It's fantastic. I find the arrangement to be quite intelligently thought-through, and the way that their vocals have been placed is just... perfect. I've always been a huge fan of Misako, so I think she sounds great here (especially during the bridge - she hits the high notes beautifully). I've never been a huge fan of Chiaki's vocals, but I'll admit that she doesn't sound half-bad here, especially during her version of Naoya's ballad-esque solo after the first chorus. Great song.

With you, the ending theme of the newest season of InuYasha (officially titled InuYasha: The Final Act), is exactly the same as Hide-away. The only difference is the lyrics. Honestly speaking, I prefer the lyrics to With you because they're sweeter, and of course, completely suited for the love story in InuYasha. I also think that - for whatever reason - the members sound better here, vocally. So, if you ask me, this is the superior song of the two.

Now, on to the remixes! Hide-away -dino starr Mix- takes almost a comical approach. It blends video game synths with cirus-sounding instruments. It's actually quite bizarre! I don't think it suits the theme very well, although it does a good job of lightening the mood...?

Hide & Seek -SCR ReVamp Mix- is what Hide & Seek should have been. These lively, energetic house instruments definitely suit their vocals much better than the original arrangement, and I absolutely love all of the little details they've thrown into this remix. The extra chords, the Super Street Fighter inspired break-down's, the pumped up yells during the chorus ("Yeah! Come on! Let's go!"), and the overall lovable charisma. Awesome stuff.

At first I shrugged off Find you -Super Mix- as far too wacky for my liking, but after a few listens, I grew to love it. Again, the instruments and break-down's sound like they're right out of a retro video game (Ganbare Goemon, maybe?), but that actually adds a lot of nostalgic charm to it. Sure, the arrangement doesn't fit the theme, but in this case, I think it works. At least somewhat. For some reason I'm drawn to this, especially the rough rap bridge (the contrast between the cute rap and rough instruments is great!) and enlightening vocal bridge. The way the instruments soften with Misako's vocals as they reach their peak, and then swing right back into their normal melody is awesome. I also really like the cut-and-paste addition of a line from their rap at the end of each chorus - "Oh yes, I just find you only." This is a surprisingly good remix, although I still prefer the original.

Ultimately, Hide-away is okay, Hide & Seek tries too hard to be something that it is not, Find you is awesome, With you is sweet, and the remixes are worth listening to.

Overall Score: B

I received 14 fantastic icons for this challenge, so thank you for participating and good luck to everyone! XD

[ Here ] is a link to the submission post as a reminder of what the themes were.

In order to vote, reply to this screened post with your 3 favorite icons in order of preference. Then choose an icon for the Special Category. The special category for this week is Best Color. Please make sure that the icon you choose is different than the three you’ve already chosen. Meaning all 4 icons/numbers must be different.

The more votes I get ensures that there are accurate results, so if you can, please vote. Remember DON'T vote for yourself, and DON'T get your friends to vote for you. If you need to recast your vote, then delete your previous comment, and in your new comment let me know you're re-voting. The format could be:

First: 15
Second: 45
Third: 22
Special Category: 30

or if you prefer:

15, 45, 22
30

Remember, you must chose a different icon for each category for your vote to count.

( Get Thee To Voting! )

You'll have until Sunday, November 8th @ 8:00 pm Central, to get your votes in.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED

Hey Folks,

I am planning on moving to Busan soon so long as my visa documents work out.  I am going to be living in Sasang-gu in Busan.  I can't find very much info on Sasang-gu and was wondering what people might know about it there.  The things I have heard weren't the most encouraging. So if any of you have lived there, visited there, or know people who have then please tell me your thoughts on Sasang-gu.  Also any websites that may help in this realm would be amazing. 

Much Appreciated,

Brian

I should probably know how to say this by now - alas I don't know much of your conventional "traveller's" Korean usually taught in textbooks *prefers to devour grammar books rather than workbooks*

How might you go about asking a shopkeeper or clerk to buy something? Would it literally be "I want to buy this, please", or more along the lines of "Please give me x", as I've heard before? I ask because I'm in contact with native speakers tomorrow and don't want to fudge everything up and make a fool out of myself. ♥

감사 for any suggestions!

여러분 안녕하심니까?

A while ago I knew of a website where you could watch short news clips in Korean. They had transcripts along with them and I found it tremendously helpful; however, I've lost the website address and can't find it again. I think the videos may have been Nocut News, but I'm not sure. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about and if so, do you know where it is?

Alternately, any suggestions for other sources of Korean listening material that also have transcripts or subtitles? I'm specifically looking for so-called authentic materials, like news clips or movies, rather than material tailored to second-language learners.

Sharing songs in HQ; 320kbps...

(click album covers to download)

• 2PM - 기다리다 지친다 Waiting For You Wears Me Out
• 2PM - I Was Crazy For You 너 에게 미쳤었다
• F(X) - Chu~♡
• Big Bang (TOP, TaeYang, G-Dragon) - Hallelujah
• Park Bom – You & I
• SS501: Rebirth (mini album)

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... )

Hello all-

Even though I have a medium-large dog and (regular-sized)cat, I managed to find an TEFL position in Daejeon that was willing to accept all of us!

The problem now is traveling with my pets. I already have travel arrangements ready, with all of the vaccinations and health certificates. The problem now is getting from Incheon airport to Daejeon. There are shuttle buses, and I have friends who say that the bus driver should let me on the bus, and maybe I would have to buy seats for my dog (who would be in a crate)I don't think there would be a problem with my cat, because many people say that's ok.

Does this seem plausible to travel with my dog, though? If not, are there any other suggestions as to how I would travel with my dog from Incheon to Daejeon?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Amy

This is your mid-week reminder that you have until Saturday, November 7th, at 10:00 AM Central to submit your icons for this week's challenge.

Information regarding this challenge can be found in this [ post ].

I've received 04 wonderful icons and more are definitely appreciated, so SUBMIT!

Title: Cause an Effect
Rating: T
Warning: Hints of violence
Characters: Sho, Shoko, Ren, Kyoko, Reino
Word count: 1,030
Summary: Reino. Kyoko. The woods in Karuizawa. Not a very good combination, especially when Sho and Ren and the paparazzis find out.
Notes: Not sure if this is what the prompter wants...

( Cause an Effect )

 I hope that this isn't too annoying to ask, but I'm just curious what "율리안나언니" means.
The only word I can make out is the last, which is 'big sister' but other than that I'm not too sure.
The "Anna" part could be a name or is it a negation?

If anyone can tell me what it says, it would be most appreciated.

감사합니다 ^_^

Hey guys,

Is there a slang/idiomatic meaning to 'hyeonmi' (sorry, stupid computer REFUSES to activate hangul typing) besides 'puffy rice'?

Cheers