Folks:

Just an FYI, Here is the email I received from WDHE, who is apparently handling the matter pertaining to Disney's failure to include captions on rental versions of their Pixar movie, Up! No changes made to the email other than redacting my personal email address from it.

Up Captions/Subtitles‏
From: WDHE Report Problem (ReportProblem@dvd-videosupport.com)
Sent: Fri 12/04/09 10:53 AM
To:

Dear Eddie, Thank you for your patience while we worked to resolve this matter. We are happy to inform you that we have developed a resolution for this issue. Please reply to this e-mail with the name of the store from which you rented UP on DVD in order to proceed. Again, thank you for your patience. Regards, WDSHE Consumer Relations


I responded that I had not rented Up, that I had been lucky enough to have a friend who had purchased the movie at a retailer, and that friend loaned it to me to watch with my son. Since I responded to that within minutes of their sending it to me, I have not heard back from them. From all accounts I have been reading from others (Marlee Matlin, etc.), they are claiming it was a manufacturer error now. Quite a turnaround from what they directly told me. Oh well, it was "C.Y.A." time in Bollywood, apparently. And by the way, OKAY movie, not the world's best, but my son liked it.

Eddie

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

freeskiers
While some of us long to escape the cold, dark stretch of winter for hot tropical beaches, for others, there's nothing quite like whoooooshing down those shimmering sugar alps. If you're fond of freestyle skiing, get ready to slide down the slippery slopes in good company. This passionate, international community shares travel/gear tips, anecdotes, photos, and videos for those who can't get enough of the sweet stuff.

seasonal_icons
Need some extra twinkle to decorate your place? Check out these dazzling holiday-themed icons. If you're an artist, you can post your own creations, provided you abide by the simple rules (which is to say, all cheer and no politicking). Be sure to comment and give credit if you wish to borrow a little spirit (no direct links, please). If you're feeling a touch of humbug this season, this is an instant shot of festivity.

handmade_gifts
High on creativity, but low on cash? You'll find tons of brilliant suggestions for do-it-yourself crafts sure to please everyone on your holiday gift list. Offering detailed instructions, photos, budgets, timelines, and active support, you'll soon turn spare remnants of fabric and time into cherished keepsakes. Be sure to search entries and read user guidelines before you post for help!

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!

( Read more... )

Curtains

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

I have a unique perspective on this question. I grew up Hearing, but an illness cost me my hearing at 17. Of the four left, I'd definitely choose to keep my sight. I get enough crap from the world as a Deaf person. I wouldn't want to add Deaf-Blindness to it.

**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,

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're high on adventurous spirit, but low on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about inexpensive hotels and youth hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

bookfails
Planning to do your part to help boost the declining publishing industry this holiday? Better check here first. Sure, there are plenty of folks who post glowing reviews of their favorite books. But what about the epic fails? Compose and/or discuss snarky, incisive critiques on the books you despise most.

foundphotos
Ever stumble across a frayed photo in your grandmother's attic? How about a faded picture tucked in the sleeve of an old novel at a used book sale? This is the place to post them. An amazing, eclectic collection of photographs sure to delight anyone with a penchant for history or nostalgic memorabilia.

note_to_cat
Having trouble conveying the concept of accountability to your cat? Now you can share letters to your significant felines and give public witness to your declarations of love and domestic negotiations. Whether you want to publish an apology for falling short on your cat-nip obligations or you need to raise a delicate hygiene issue.

I didn't even know this was possible, but Google Maps is seriously weird. I just sent the following to the local movie theater.

Hey! Don't know if there's anything you guys can do about it, but Google might be causing you to lose business to University mall Theaters!

I have lived here for 10 years and I love Cinema Arts. A friend who is new in town agreed to meet me for a movie today. She typed "cinema arts theater" into google and hit "get directions" and set out. When I texted her to ask where she was, she said she was turning onto 123. She lives in Annandale so I had said it was a straight shot up 236, what was she doing over there?? She said her directions were 123 to Braddock...I said WHAT???

Turns out that when you click "get directions" you are given directions to University Mall theaters, over by GMU! The address is right - 9650 Main St - but the map shows University Mall, you can see the Patriot Center on there and everything. There is a dot that says "Cinema Arts" right where the University Mall theaters are.

I don't know if you guys can write to Google or anything but this is a weird mistake, I never saw anything like it before!

Somebody commented on my site and said "I love that theme, where is it from?" Of course I had long since forgotten, but the link was at the bottom of the page, so I sent the person to InfoCreek WordPress Themes. As I found the theme I was using - "Aspire" - I discovered another great one there, "Jeans" - so I implemented it. Things will look decidedly more blue now.


I wish there was a way to convert WordPress themes to LiveJournal styles so I could have the same design on both sites, but it doesn't work. Ah well. You have to visit my site to see it.