let go / squeeze
run wild \ walk on the safe side
go crazy / maintain sanity
live freely \ have caution
love deeply / dont get attatched
take off & fly \ keep your head out of the clouds
obey the rules / trust your instincts
dont look back \ learn from your mistakes
delight in today / fear the future
follow your path \ blaze a steady course
trust in your heart / trust in your brain

my entire being is torn in two
for i know what should do,
but to follow my heart instead of my brain
will surely end in deeper pain.
i must close my eyes and forget it all
and hear my heart race as i fall

Uncouth
By:Samantha

My palms are sweaty
Choices are so shallow
Who's there for my inane frailty
I'm here to wallow

Breathing is hard
Dying becomes so easy
My conscience has been marred
I'm on my last breath and Im queasy

Broken beauty lies on her pillows
Hair frayed out pass the sun
It envelops pink and yellows
Her past the one and only shun


Shadow people dance on my forehead
Ignore the dead its the shadows that are alive
I can't even recount on what was said
I did so much to strive

The innocence died with your unborn
Runaway from the torn
My jawbone smells like your mouth
All is ripped from me I'm finally left uncouth

A Gift
By Samantha

Cloudy murmurs travel through my bones
Only yearning can ask you why
Weak speeches full of despairing tones
Nothing can bring you back to my home

Don’t leave is all I could muster
Read aloud about the two lovers
Does it seem truthful to our story
A full moon lightened with glory

Forests of travesty and untitled freedom
The sun sets whilst a bloom sets martyrdom
Kiss the hand that gave eternity
No return and no time for uncertainty

Help thee with escaping from the terrible truth
Away does my life saunter
Only if it would of stayed just a bit longer
And on this sacred path flowers wilt and night soothes

Endings aren’t always captivating
Sometimes they are filled with grief
A soul was taken while contemplating
Within the hollow awaited a gifted thief

And in my ending I waited the sun
And in the Feverish heat I knew I was done

Hi everyone,

My name is Lisa and I'm the editor of an online literary publication called 'Maverick'. We're currently looking for poetry that could be included in our magazine. If you have any work that you'd like to see reach a wider audience, or be used in a more commercial format then we'd love to see it.

Our magazine is non-profit, so sadly I would not be able to offer commission for your work, but you would of course receive full credit and copyright for your contribution.

Our first issue was released in December and has been well received, and I would like our next issue to be a similar success. If you wish to have a look, it's available at: http://www.projectmaverick.eu.

Thanks for reading,
Lisa

**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!

I feel the space, distance between us
will melt under the intensity
of the prolonged longing
I want to feel your hand
clasped to mine.
Thanks for the butterflies.
Immersed in thoughts
that spiral naughtily on the cusp
of wanting to possess you,
the part of you that makes
tingles
vibrate through my core.
Intellectual intercourse...
Let's push these plates together
a tectonic landslide of lust.
When the dust settles,
you can be my Valentine.
Can I be your glass slipper?

Fingertips pressed
tightly against that pulsing point
Zippered down
dress tossed to the floor
forgotten in a frenzy
Place your mouth
on this open craving kiss
lips throbbing to be touched
I love how your mind
meets twisted in the middle
my fantasies on one side
your satisfaction on the other
intermingled with sweat
and a cacophony of sounds
seeping through the gag
but oh please
your hand
is pressed so tightly
into my soul
and my reservations are left quietly
on the forgotten floor.

Tin Man

i am nobody
(we are the nobodies)
i see nothing, i hear the breeze
with my stomach twisted and biting—
with my mind engulfed and entrenched—
i wrestle free from heartache, from
from aches
from taking free
—away—

these are not the happy thoughts
of old, youths, and fledgling words

these are the eternities spent tucked
nift and deft and pickled and fickle

my heart is rusted and tin
tampered and dent
din, the sounds of furious swipes
scythes running across fields
barley and rye
where my childhood lied
now ruins, now tunes thrown from south
airy, cheery gold-dirt lands
still i stand, forlorn
brimming with pride, alone
a warning

i am still the tin man.

**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,