Mookie47

Inexplicable 10-hour power outage last night. The weather's not even bad at all.

I appear to have lost my computer permanently -- I set up Age of Empires II and now everybody wants to play. Matisse took an 8-hour turn yesterday, and when Mum starts....

I am a little slammed with end of term papers and projects at the moment. I am reading you all and will get with the comments and things soon.

But...

I'm gonna have to really enforce a week off the journaling services. I have to use what I have of my "holiday break" for getting a foothold before some of this stuff eats me alive. All days will be study days, with the exception of Thursday in which I stuff myself with free turkey and other om nom noms  at mom's house.

I hope you all have a good week. Keep up the good journaling. I will need some non-textbook reading for when I come back! ^_^ v

Phoenix's Universal Laws of Computing:

1) Your computer is stupid, but completely obedient. It will do exactly what you tell it to do, whether or not that's what you actually want or, indeed, what you thought you were doing.

2) Your computer is out to get you. It hates your guts and wants you dead. You cannot let down your guard even for a moment. Save early, save often, and back up everything regularly.

3) Your computer can tell if you're afraid. It will do everything in its power to keep you that way. You have to show it who's boss, and that had better be you.

We are starting this years InsaneJournal holiday sale. From now until the end of the day Friday, November 27 we are going to be holding a sale on Self-Committed[paid] accounts and Extra Userpics.

The prices are be as follows

Self-Committed[paid]
1 Month -> $5
6 Month -> $15 $10
12 Month -> $25 $18

Extra Userpicx
6 Month -> $10 $5
12 Month -> $20 $15

Then on Friday November 27th from 8am until 4pm (Eastern US time) we will be running a very special sale on Permanently Insane accounts.

Just got word that this is now in circulation to be put on the ballot next year:

CREATES SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONAL RULE FOR SPEECH BASED ON THE BIBLE. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Exempts speech based on biblical authority from existing constitutional and statutory restrictions applicable to all other speech, including restrictions against discrimination and hate crimes. Repeals constitutional provision denying protection to acts of religious expression inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State. -Snip fiscal impact.-

Oh, state of California. WHY? This beats out the mandatory Christmas music in schools for the coveted position of "#1 thing Phoenix is most disgusted at the idea of being obligated to vote on in 2010." Driving parents across the state batty is a much less evil thing to try to violate the establishment clause with than promoting violence against queers (and, soon enough, Jews.)

On my way home from the university,I have to drive down a busy freeway along with people zipping at speeds above the legal limit. Today, I took the slow lane, driving about 5 under the limit which is more relaxing to me...especially after nursing a headache for the majority of the day.

In front of me is a man on a red motorcycle with his longish hair flapping out of the back of his helmet. I think to myself that he must be really chilly, because it is autumn here and the temperatures are reflecting that.

I continue to follow him to my exit and he takes it too. At this time, I notice that he is wearing a red jacket. He turns left, I turn left.

He gets into the left lane, I get into the right so that I can make my turn on the next street at the stoplight. As we are both slowing down at the red light, I look over and see that he is wearing - a red fur Santa suit cuffed in white and complete with black boots and a real white beard.

Cue me looking at him out my window and smiling. I point when he notices me and say "SANTA!" through my window like some star-struck little kid filled with Christmas glee. He looks at me, smiles and waves. ^_^

We went our separate directions after that, but I am still smiling.

It's at those times when I just wish I had my camera with me!

I am so completely exhausted today. I have a low-level headache that refuses to go away. I am close to resorting to the excedrin that I have in my bag. I am also having issues with my eyes today. They are all watery and runny and gummy. It's gross. I just thank my lucky stars at this point that I am not wearing eye make-up for the amount of rubbing that I am doing on my eyes. Bleh.

Spoke to my history professor on my redirect for the term paper. Have narrowed the focus down to the Nanjing massacre and Unit 731. He feels that even that may be too much and suggests that I choose one or the other. If that is the case, I may have to go with Nanjing with a passing mention to Unit 731 as they go a bit hand in hand. I think I will make the final decision this weekend based on what I have found in my sources. I certainly have more information on Nanjing, I think. And I have just checked out two more sources from the university library - one of which I wanted a few weeks ago, but was already checked out. I win.

One more class today and then homeward I go. I'll make it.

Also, you'll remember that on Monday I had a test in history that I continued to stress over. Turns out that on the essay portion I received and "A" and the test portion, an "A-".

So, what is my problem?

See, I stress myself out unrealistically. Now if only I could figure out how to make myself stop that.

Hey y'all! :) Name's Billie. I'm 19, an artist, college kid who's trying to figure stuff out. I blather on about random stuff but it's sure to keep you entertained. :D I love music, bands include AFI, Kill Hannah, HIM, and Linkin Park. I like The Simpsons and Futurama, and my favourite movie is Zombieland. I need new friends because my friends page hardly moves and I'm bored and want to meet new people. Haha.

Just add me and comment this post, I'll add ya right back! =D

Cheers!

octopon - Pirates of DarkWater fandom asylum. Completed!

gotham_gazetteCompleted!</i>

vagrant_story - Vagrant Story fandom asylum. Pending/WIP.

Please keep in mind that I will be retiring Vagrant Story and Gotham Gazette if no further interest is shown.

And,

Please feel free to join commedia; a personal project of mine, aiming to review and analyze comics (and other selected media) that feature DC Comics' The Joker.

It is currently a WIP because I am still going through my 500+ hardcopy!issues collection. I do not download torrents/scans.

Two important polls need to be voted on, as seen here explaining two routes the asylum's project can take. IE: spoiler free reviews, spoilerific reviews, etc. This asylum will continue to be WIP until further interest is shown.

I am also open to affiliating with other comic book and/or Batman related asylums, except for RPGs.

First day of work = success. Phoenix = tired. The week = just beginning.

I sat down yesterday and planned out some things for handling schoolwork. Just seeing things written down is helping me understand the reality of what I have to do versus the OMG FLAIL of what I think I have to do. I have decided that I am only going to study until 6pm every daay and them put it away. This way I can have some semblance of an evening to watch a movie with Writer or read a book.

In doing this, I have started to calm down a little. I realize that not only I am stressing myself out, but I am making myself sick. So, I have to learn to handle this better. 

Writer did some wonderful things: I have been graced with fresh fruit at mealtimes, the laundry is being done, and I have a person to bounce term paper ideas off of. The little things...they help so much. I am starting to feel a little more balanced.

Now, these end of term assignments - wow! I am going to have to take them a little bit at a time.

First, I have a group project on Kashmir. I have decided to do my portion on the Kashmiri Pandits (the refugees). The violence done to them is akin to genocide and the pictures I keep running across are graphic.

Second, I decided back in September that I was going to write my term paper on the Second Sino-Japanese War, but the topic is huge and I have to narrow it down to something more manageable for a thesis. Silly me, I decided to tackle the Japanese war crimes of Nanjing and Unit 731. So, yeah, more violence...more small doses.

As if in response to my overload of graphic photographs, I have a kitteh on my desk. Hermen is good for a cuddle or two. ^_^

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/labyrinthfans/

For fans of either David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly and Jim Henson and Brian Froud.

I am Colleen (ninetieschic) on this and Sam will probably choose some outlandish un.. no doubt lol.

I will get to comments soon, but until then, thank you all for your suggestions on stress relief. I am looking into a few of your ideas and I'll let you know.

But, I am determined to have some "me-time" this week. I want a free day without the worry of school work and such. So, I am planning an outing for Friday or Saturday.

Now, here is where you come in. I would like each of you to give me between 1-5 things for a treasure hunt! It's been years since I have done one of these and I think it would be a good fun thing that focuses my mind on having some fun. 

Here's how I am going to play the treasure hunt:

1. You comment to me with 1-5 things to hunt down and find.
2. I take a picture of the thing and post "trophies" here in my journal for all to see.
3. If I am unable to find the things on the list, I will find a substitution.
4. I am allowed to interpret the things on the list in any way I see fit.

So, hit me with some items...send me on the hunt!

Richard O'Brien hasn't been publicly ID'ing as third sex/transgender for very long, has he? Only it seems so logical that I can't quite believe it wasn't already well-known, but I hadn't heard until today so....

(Typing this post took forever because I am learning Colemak and all the keys are where I don't expect them to be.)

(Thanks to everyone who commented about my grandfather. I still haven't really processed it so I can't really say more on the subject yet.)

You guys, I think I am getting sick again and I think that stress has a lot to do with it. Seriously, I have been having these annoying headaches lately that could be due to eye-strain and stress (hello, I think my blood pressure is elevated). And now I am having gut issues along the lines of heartburn and well, let's just say that the bathroom is something I am starting to dread and fear.

I need some serious relaxation tips, so if you have any, please throw them out my way.

So, the stress (this is probably going to be some long rambling crap...)

Most of it is centered around school. I still have so much to do and so little time to get it done. I am hoping that over the holiday break I can play catch up, but you know I feel like I have no time for me. Even though this is highly unrealistic, it FEELS like it and that is a problem.

This weekend, I spent the majority of my time on homework. I got a summary and an essay knocked out and a little reading in. The essay is part of a take-home test and while I thought that I did very well on it at first, now I am starting to have doubts. It was almost refreshing to be in class today to hear that everyone had problems with the essay due to the 5 page limit and the amount of information that you had to include. But you know, I still worry. Then came the in-class test. I...think I did well? But again, I have doubts...

The thoughts just spin out of control. See, in my mind, in order to get scholarships to pay for school, I have o have this overwhelmingly high GPA. Currently I have a 3.66, am in the honors society and am holding  my own, but somehow that doesn't matter. I have to do better.

And you know, I know that  should go easy on myself. I have had a really tough few months. I mean, during this semester alone: sickness has been rampant in my house, my partner was laid off, we had to go on food assistance and unemployment, I have dealt with very loud antics from my neighbors, my partner has been fighting major depression, one of my cats died unexpectedly, I had issues with my financial aid that scared the heck out f me, my family has been having issues regarding my grandmother and her care, and I have not been sleeping very well. Also, my diet has turned to hell and I haven't been getting enough water...which to, can account for my headaches.

So, I should be a little easier on myself, you know? But I'm not. I could use a vacation, but can't afford it.

I could do without my body trying to get sick again. And it all goes back to stress.

Any tips...any at all? What do you do to relax when you are under stress? How do you stop the spinning thoughts and worry so that you actually enjoy the relaxing?

I'm listening.

My name is Chris and I am 19. I am a mechanic/lifeguard and I go to school full time for fine arts. I am from PA and it's pretty great if you enjoy being bored out of your mind 24/7. My music taste is pretty eclectic, I can handle anything but country, but I prefer something heavier. I love horror movies and bad slasher films. I love plaid. If any of this interests you, add me.

hi i'm daizi. i've had a journal on here for awhile, then left. i'm mostly going to be updating about my weight loss journey, sometimes about my life, if you'd like to add me on your weight journals or if we used to be friends definitely add me! :)

My grandfather just died.

I still don't know how I feel.

Here are two story/art challenge communities for any of you who like to do such things.

First one is story_arc

Everyone has seen the various prompt communities. This one is for the writing/drawing of story arcs, or a multi-chaptered fic/picture series. Using the prompts, you work all of them into a single universe, as series of stories or artwork that relate to each other. Or, alternatively, into a single story, each prompt being used for a single chapter.

To some, that'll be easy. To others, it's a lot more challenging. You get a pick of prompts, and we welcome claims of all types. Pairings, threesomes/moresomes, single people, over all fandoms. Collaborations are welcomed, though we request that both parties join the com.

The second is mix_n_make

Everyone has that song that reminds them of a person, a fandom, a story or art idea just waiting to come forth.

Well, here at Mix n Make, we not only share that feeling, we encourage you to make the image in your brain a reality.

The goal: Make a playlist and write/draw what each song inspires of you. They can be as short as three songs, or as long as you want to make them. Not only can you share your favorite songs, but you can get those bunnies out of your brains and shared with the rest of us.


Come join us, we take all fandoms and original works.

hey kids! my name is jillian, i'm twenty-two years old and i recently left ij for a week but i couldnt stay away so i returned with a new journal. i currently work a shitty minimum wage job but i'm in the midst of applying for art school for photography! i just started a new relationship with this boy and he is the epitome of perfection. i'm addicted to facebook games, horror movies, twitter and listening to hardcore music and/or going to shows. i have five tattoos and just one piercing but i'm working on more! add me!!!

I'd like to invite you to come share in these comms on IJ

beinghumanfic - Being Human - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
crusoe_fic - Crusoe - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
darkbluefic - Dark Blue - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
darkfic - Dark Fic - multi- fandom stories with a dark side - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
eastwickfic - Eastwick - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
fastforward_fic - FastForward - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
inplainsitefic - In Plain Sight - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
inthedollhouse - In The Dollhouse - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
lietomefic - Lie To Me - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
makebelieve_ij - Makebelieve - multi- fandom - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
minutefic - Minute Fic - multi- fandom - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
ncislosangeles - NCIS Los Angeles - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
promptsrus - Prompts R Us - multi- fandom - offers prompts for the curent fandoms as well as old and rare fandoms. Also many author choice prompts
psych_fic - Psych - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
rifts_anomalies - Rifts & Anomalies - multi- fandom - shows dealing with time travel and spacial rifts - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
riftsandanomali - Rifts And Anomalies - multi- fandom (This was a mispell, but...) - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
sentinel_fic - The Sentinel - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
theforgottenfic - The Forgotten - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
thelistenerfic - The Listener - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
thesuperheroes - The Superheroes - multi- fandom - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
timeschildren - Children Of Time - multi- fandom focusing on Dr Who and the various spin offs - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
torchwoodfic - Torchwood - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
uncle_fantasies - Man From UNCLE - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
whitecollarfic - White Collar - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
xfilesfantasies - X-Files - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons
xmenfic - X-Men - Discussion, general, hetero and slash fic & icons

multi_fiction - Multiple Fandom Fanfiction Archive.

Looking for a place to post your fanfic? Have an idea for a fanfic? Know of a fic that is so good it deserves to be recced? Well, multi_fiction is the place for you.

We accept fanfic, challenges, and recs in any fandom, any pairing. We are indiscriminate with a lot of things. Just follow our posting rules and everything else goes.

~~~~~~

t_31_bang - T-31 And Counting....Bang!

A mini-big bang asylum, we have a 31 day schedule. Included in those 31 days is time for prompts acceptance, sign-ups, writing, and then posting. You have 20 days from the moment sign-ups close to write 5000 words, that's 250 words a day, on a prompt you select from a prompts post.

~~~~~~

heroes_fiction - Heroes Fiction.

Are you a fan of the NBC television/comic book/online series Heroes? This is a fanfiction asylum dedicated to the entire fandom. Any type of fic for it is allowed.

~~~~~~

sanctuaryforall - Sanctuary For All.

Helen Magnus set up the Sanctuary Network for the Abnormals of the world, carrying on the dream of her father that they might have a place to go. At sanctuaryforall, that fandom is alive and well. We accept anything based upon the show/webseries, from fic, to music videos, to icons and news.

~~~~~~

startrek_redux - Star Trek XI (Redux).

The new movie has inspired a resurgence in the flagging genre. Fanfic, fanart, icons, fanmixes, everything your heart can think of is accepted here, so long as it is based in part upon the movie.

~~~~~~

alikelyscenario - A Likely Scenario.

Needing inspiration to write? Well, this is a table challenge where we give you a table containing a scenario and five prompts. Once you sign up for one of our 21 tables, you write five drabbles/ficlets/vigenettes/fics for the five prompts based upon the scenario provided. Curious? Come on over and check us out.


Fanfiction: dreams put to words. Come experience it with us.
alikelyscenario ~!~ startrek_redux ~!~ sanctuaryforall ~!~ heroes_fiction ~!~ t_31_bang ~!~ multi_fiction

NAME: Krystal
AGE: 23
INTERESTS; music, photography, fashion, hair, art, writing, travel, sports, literature, drug culture, body modification, all kinds of things really.
HOBBIES; taking pictures, writing, drawing, painting, altering clothing, hair design, snowboarding, reading..
LOOKING FOR; I'm really looking for people who are active and regularly update. I'm an avid reader and I usually will comment - if I have something to say that relates to your entry. I don't want drama and I don't want people on my list who don't know how to type or who are seemingly lacking in the intelligence department.
ANYTHING ELSE; I work 2 full time jobs and I'll be returning to school soon so I'm pretty busy but I try to update a few times a week. I post a lot of photos of myself because I am vain but I make up for it by posting my photography and pictures of things I deem interesting. I'm brutally honest and I talk about sex and drugs pretty openly. I'm an athiest and a vegetarian but I am not a preacher. Feel free to add me!

Its that time again; keep in mind to always read the userinfo before joining an asylum. :)

graphix - a complete graphics asylum from icons to layouts.

ijelite - another complete graphic asylum (mostly icons & layouts)

iconism - an icon-only asylum

christians - a place for Christians and non-Christians alike to discuss the Christian faith and have fellowship.

addme - a place to meet other IJ users and gain a friends list!

My name is Jessica, but you can call me Jewsica. I'm a 19 year old vegan atheist. I've been dancing since I was 6 and I especially love hip hop and ballet. Eventually I want to go to school to be an artist, or maybe a photographer. I have a black bass and I've been playing it for a few years now even though I'm not very good. I have a 2006 white Chevy Impala and I love it. I've done some bad things in my life, but I don't think it makes me a bad person; I just have really poor judgment, but I'm working on that.

Brought to you by the impending release of Avernum 6, I present:

Phoenix's Personal Top Ten Games You Can Get, sorted by license.

-Nethack. I've been playing for years and haven't beaten it, but that's not really the point. It's a D&D-style dungeon crawler with ASCII graphics (unless you play one of the graphical spinoffs) and it is freaking impossible. I love it. Open-source. Systems: Seriously just about anything.
-Parallel Realities' games, especially Blob Wars and Project: Starfighter. Blob wars is a platform-jumping, mad-shooting game, kind of like Mario but with more gore, while Project: Starfighter is a more complex sort of space shooter with a storyline and some devilish hard missions mixed in. Serious frustration potential, not to be missed. Open-source. All systems.
-The Ur-Quan Masters, AKA Star Control II. Adventure game in space. An alien race known as the Ur-Quan have conquered most of the galaxy, and most other races are enslaved or gone. You are a human, equipped with a starship from a long-dead alien race known as the Precursors, fighting to free Earth and all the galaxy, building alliances with alien races ranging from the obnoxious to the really cool. Oh, and you can't take too long, because if you do everyone in the universe is slaughtered. Open-source. All systems.
-The Battle for Wesnoth. Not so much a game as a game engine, allowing a wide variety of games to be played within it. It's a classic turn-based RPG in a Tolkienish universe, and I'm actually tired of it, but not because of the gameplay. Open-source. All systems.
-Dink Smallwood. Another game engine, this one for single-player RPGs/adventure games. Many user-contributed stories, ranging from the cool/silly to the bad. Open-source. All systems.
-The ScummVM freebies but not Flight of the Amazon Queen unless you're willing to overlook a lot of sexism. Beneath a Steel Sky is an excellent adventure game set in a dystopian future Australia, where a giant supercomputer is running an oppressive society. You have to, of course, defeat the supercomputer. Lure of the Temptress is nastily complicated in that you can make it so there's no way to win more easily than should be possible, but is also a lot of fun. Games are free, interpreter open-source. All systems.
-Privateer: ASCII Sector. Be a merchant, mercenary, pirate, or some unholy combination thereof in a quest to make enough money to buy a better ship to make even more money... you get the idea. Infinite randomly-generated quests that are always challenging, cool ANSI graphics and a wide variety of paths to choose make this my #1 de-stressing game -- when I want to really focus on something other than whatever's stressing me out, I can play this thing for hours. Freeware. Win/Mac/Lin.
-AGDI Interactive's Sierra game remakes. Quest for Glory is a classic adventure/RPG, this one set in the desert city of Shapeir where you, having successfully saved the valley of Spielburg from its various troubles, must defeat four elementals and then the evil wizard who created them, or the world will be destroyed. Three character classes, four major game paths, many more gameplay options. Mazes! Monsters! Magic! Puzzles! Millions of ways to die! Chance of getting Rickrolled! I love it. Then the King's Quest games are pure adventure, less RPG (no stats to build) and heavy on the puzzles -- violence rarely profits you, even in the remakes. King's Quest II remake is breathtakingly complex, especially given that most of the original game was boring. Freeware. Windows, run well in WINE.
-The Avernum series. Above ground is the tyrannical Empire. In the caverns below is Avernum, a former penal colony now a chaotic system of tribal and local societies. You create a group of four adventurers -- D&D style, yes -- and embark on a massive quest made up of many subquests with even more optional side-quests, because these games are huge. The demos alone are so big that it takes days to beat them, if you're playing regularly. Shareware, and not cheap, but worth it. Systems: Win/Mac. I haven't tried in WINE yet.
-Gazillionaire III. I guess I really like space sims. You are a merchant with a huge debt, a spaceship you must fuel and pay crew to work on, and a bunch of cutthroat competitors all cheating and competing to make the biggest profit. It's a game of ruthless capitalism where a combination of luck and knowing when to cheat just might let you win. Shareware. Windows, works perfectly in WINE.