Below are the most recent 5 friends' journal entries.

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
spiral_fire	1:56p	Helping hands meets loving paws With bell ringers on every corner, in every shopping mall and store, it is hard for us *not* to be reminded of the tremendous need of those less fortunate than ourselves. Families without homes, people in need... the hopes and prayers of many resting on the shoulders of the selfless volunteers of the Salvation Army and Red Cross. Many of us will spare the change from our pocket, or donate to the Toys for Tots or Harvest for the Hungry. But in this season, we should not forget the silent prayers of our homeless four legged friends, each hoping to be loved, each hoping to find a home. They have no voice to tell us of their need. Only the hope and sad longing in their eyes speaks of the deep need to be loved and cared for, and the promise that they will love and care for us in return. The wagging tails, the warmth of a purr, the nuzzling, licks and hugs of furry friends - the nicest gift to humanity - unconditional love on four legs. In our pain they love us, in our despair they give us hope, and in our joy they remind us of all that is good about being human. And they are the forgotten victims of these hard economic times. A family who loses their home often must also lose the family pets. These dogs and cats are turned over to the animal shelters, but more frequently I fear, they are abandoned or left locked up in the empty house with no heat, water, or food. Hurting, afraid, and alone they cannot understand what has happened to them. The "fortunate" ones sit forlorn in cages at the animal shelters, hoping against hope that their People will come for them and take them home. The less fortunate... well... While it is my wish that these animals might find a home, I absolutely do not advocate a spur-of-the-moment adoption of a cat or dog. Pets - like a child - are something that take a great deal of consideration and planning, and therefore it is not something to be rushed into. I do, however, encourage you to volunteer your time, donate food and toys, and if possible money to your local no-kill shelter. Help them help the furry children - the lost, the abandoned, the unwanted and unloved. No-kill shelters are dedicated to saving pets, keeping them warm and safe until new homes can be found. But they need our help, for they too have been hit by this Depression we find ourselves in. A quick Google search of your state no-kill animal shelters and animal rescue volunteer groups will yield an abundance of websites. Most shelters will take donations of toys, blankets, money, your volunteer time for playing with the animals, and even pet food and kitty litter (shelters may have special requirements for that). If you can give nothing else, remember that every dollar helps, so please give what you can and make a difference to a fur child near you. If you like this LJ post and want to convince others to help to, please consider re-posting this in your LJ or linking people here. If you have a favorite animal charity, please add it to this and your LJ post. Best, Jackie (2 Comments |Comment on this)
flinx	1:49p	1 week left to vote for me and Anne in TAFF! Hi there! Anne and I are running for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund this year, and we would greatly appreciate your support. If you have already voted, I appologize for bugging you, but I wanted to remind people that we are fast approaching the deadline of December 22 to vote! Short version: Go to http://www.taff.org.uk/ballots/taff2010.html for a ballot to vote. Long version: The fan fund sends fans one way or the other across the ocean each year, to either a major event in North America or to one in the UK. This year's TAFF delegate(s) will go to Eastercon in London. See http://www.taff.org.uk for more info. Anne's never been to England, and both of us would love to see more of the UK in general. We would very much like to go meet fellow fen there, and would probably extend our trip to Ireland and possibly Germany. TAFF, like other fan funds, is supported by donations. Anyone sf fan who wishes to vote is requested to send along at least a small donation to the fund with your vote. Other than that, any fan can vote (If you don't think the TAFF administrators will recognize your name, you are asked to name a well-known fan who knows you and can vouch for your fannishness. This is to keep us from passing out ballots on the street corner, but is not intended to discourage fen from voting. If you do this, you have to name someone other than ourselves or any of the people who nominated us for TAFF). The voting deadline is December 22. The TAFF ballot is available online at http://www.taff.org.uk/ballots/taff2010.html. You can print it and send it with a check to vote. Or, if you want to vote online, you can; there are directions at the bottom of the ballot. It involves sending a paypal donation (please add extra to cover paypal fees) to one of the administrators (e.g. Chris Garcia at garcia [at] computerhistory.org) with all your voting info in the paypal comment. If Anne and I are chosen we'll make sure there's a full online voting form in future years. We are committed to going to Eastercon if selected, and to administering the fan fund diligently (raising money for it and running the selection process) for two years, as well as of course producing a trip report. As to other destinations we might take on our trip, we're not quite sure, but they would definitely include Edinburgh, Scotland. Here is our platform from the ballot: Brian Gray & Anne KG Murphy He's a microbiologist. She's an engineer. Together they run cons, playtest games, sing and dance, concoct gustatory delights, write zines and blogs, perform sketch comedy, and generally have a good time doing anything from reading sf to chopping wood. (We didn't say they aren't weird. Oh YES, they're weird.) They promise to use their powers only for good, and not run scientific experiments upon unsuspecting international fandom... however tempting that might be. But as trained observers, they look forward to documenting cultural differences across the Atlantic divide in a trip report. An eeeeeevil trip report. With photographic evidence. And tissue samples... Nominated by: John Scalzi, Steven H Silver, Geri Sullivan (North America), Paul Cornell, Cheryl Morgan (Europe) You can also see more about us, and our friendly competition (Frank Wu, frankwu), at Chris Garcia's fanzine The Drink Tank, issue 231, http://efanzines.com/DrinkTank/DrinkTank231.pdf. In addition to voting, if you feel comfortable putting in a word for us in your blog or twitter or what-have-you, we would really appreciate it. Thanks! Brian and Anne (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
spiral_fire	11:41p	Knight of Swords Finally, another card down! This is the Knight of Swords - The Philosopher card. I bet those in the Barony of Cynnabar will recognize who this is! I love how the eyes came out, very strong, very powerful. Next on board is the Page of Cups... (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
nfdaughter	3:40p	Hmmmm.. At first I was startled, but once I read the explanation, I say, okay. No asp for me, though. Your result for The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test... Antony & Cleopatra You scored 27% = Tragic, 34% = Comic, 47% = Romantic, 45% = Historic You scored Antony and Cleopatra. Taking place some time after the murder of Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra tells the story of the geopolitical power struggle between Rome and Egypt following the rise of Octavian Caesar to the thrown. The play, however, is not just some stuffy history textbook, full of war and politics; it's also a romantic love story containing elements of passion, jealousy, romance, and revenge. Like Antony, you are probably an outgoing individual, willing to make a few sacrifices in order to do what you think is right. However, like Cleopatra, you may also be a little jealous and vein. Keep doing what you think is right, but make sure you make time for your significant other, otherwise you and/or your lover might end up on the business end of a poisonous asp. Ouch! Take The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test at OkCupid Current Mood: pensive (Comment on this)
Monday, December 7th, 2009
spiral_fire	12:19a	birthday in retrospect It's been a long week and I should have posted this sooner. My birthday was only on Tuesday (Dec. 1), yet it seems like months have passed since then. I went to dinner with friends and we went to see the lights in the town square for my birthday. It was beautiful all lit up, and very cold! I started thinking about birthdays as a child and how much has changed in how we celebrate it. It's kind of strange and a little sad that we as adults often choose not to make a big deal about the passage of another year, where as a child, it was as big a deal as Christmas. Mom would have the relatives over, she would bake a cake. I would get to have friends over on a Saturday for a birthday party. Games, party favors, presents, ice cream, a cake with candles, everyone singing "Happy Birthday" in a darkened room. I remember birthday parties I went to for friends too. Birthday parties at Chuck-E-Cheese, with those really creepy singing robots and all the games and rides. A Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party when I was 7 was the first time I'd ever had pizza. Don't you ever wish you could experience your birthday now like you did when you were a kid? There is something truly wonderful about a grab bag of cheap-o party favors - like those puzzle games where you have to move the squares around to make the image, or the game with all the B-B's rolling around and you have to get them into the holes on the board. I think its important that on our birthdays, even if we don't want people singing to us or a cake with candles, that we should do something a little different and special to remember the day, and do something good for ourselves. Memories are all we are left with, this life and lives past. We should try to make our special days a little more special, so that they illuminate our mental journals, even if only for ourselves. (3 Comments |Comment on this)