givesushope
It's that glorious time of year when we reunite with loved ones (we neglected all year), stuff our faces to excess, and pass out in front of the TV. Perhaps a recalibration of the thanksometer is in order. A spin-off of the popular GivesMeHope.com site, this community invites you to document moments of kindness, generosity, and pure human love in 350 words or less.

Tags: gives us hope, moments of kindness

veggieslackers
Despite its mainstream appeal, Thanksgiving is not for everyone. There are those struggling with food disorders, for whom this day causes endless conflict. There are the cash-challenged, who can't afford the gluttony we've grown to expect. There are the lonely, who don't have loved ones nearby. And let's not forget the vegetarians, who decry the animal cruelty. But there's one more group we often overlook: the terminally lazy! This community of lazy vegetarians offers easy recipes for an animal-friendly feast.

Tags: lazy vegetarians, veggieslackers

fashin
Just in time for holiday shopping season, this fashionista community brings you the world of haute couture in the form of sumptuous photos, video clips, and candid commentary. There's also a sugary sprinkle of mainstream movie discussions and debates on such pressing social issues as manicure styles and celebrity colonics. If you need a break from the daily grind to indulge your girlie side, this is twinkly pink on steroids.

Tags: fashin, fashion. celebrity fashion

Bonjour, mes amis!

Voting is underway for Week Two! The poll will be open until 1pm EST, Tuesday November 17.

The holidays are upon us, and with that in mind, lacombe has come up with a Fun Holiday Idea! Check out this post to find out more about the Holiday Flames!


This week’s Writer’s Showcase features ephemeralbreath!


The Week Three Topic has been posted! You have until 4pm EST, Saturday November 21 to get your contest or just for fun entries in!

To our Most Awesome Editors, the Week Two Editing Post is up! Thanks to all of you for editing each week, and thanks to Jacques and Pip for putting so much into getting the chart together- you all rock!


In my second last year of high school, I became very good friends with a girl whose family had arrived in Australia from Afghanistan. When Laila and I became friends, she told me about how dangerous living in Afghanistan was, and how her family fled their country, across Pakistan and into India.
She told me that when crossing the border into Pakistan, women who were caught would be killed instantly, so she had to make her crossing at night. She became separated from her family during this crossing, and wasn't reunited with them until they arrived safely in India. Laila was 15 at the time.

Her family lived in India for a year and a half, while they waited for their application to immigrate to Australia to be processed.

Laila's family was lucky to be able to come and live in Australia by legitimate means. Many people from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka flee their countries because they fear for their safety. They leave in boats, in the hope that they will be able to make it to Australia, where they have heard that they will be granted refugee status. Unfortunately, a lot of these boats are not fit for such journeys, so these asylum seekers are either picked up by Australian Navy ships, or sadly end up losing their lives.

Right now, the numbers of people trying to get to Australia have increased, possibly due to the abolishment of the temporary Protection Visa, which has been replaced by a permanent protection visa. This visa is granted to people who have applied for asylum, who have been authorized to enter Australia, and who meet certain criteria. Once they are granted this visa, they receive support from the Australian government to settle in Australia.

Previously, asylum seekers have been sent to detention centers, however most of these have been closed down, and the majority of asylum seekers are being processed off-shore.

The idea behind this, as far as I understand it, is to discourage asylum seekers from trying to get to Australia, as they would not be brought here for processing. This has caused some problems. The most recent boatload of asylum seekers, picked up by the Australian Navy, have staged hunger strikes in their desperation to be brought to Australia.

Some sort of deal seems to have been struck- those asylum seekers who are deemed to be in danger if they return to their country, and who meet the criteria for refugee status, will apparently be processed by Christmas after which they will be transported to Australia to settle. Over the weekend, 22 of the 78 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka agreed to be processed in Indonesia, so left the boat.
This is only one boatload of asylum seekers. Others who have tried to reach Australia have been intercepted by Indonesian authorities. Their future is uncertain. Those who have already been considered refugees will probably be settled, while the rest will be placed in detention before being processed by Indonesia and sent home without having access to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner.

I feel for these people, and hope for a positive outcome for them. I remember how grateful Laila’s family were to live in a country where they would be safe, so hope these asylum seekers can be settled in a country where their lives are not at risk.

Does your country have similar problems with asylum seekers? If so, how is this issue being managed?

Tags: chatter post, reminders

While capping, I realized -shall we call it a "non coincidence"- about the famous and worshipped ring. Now as far as we know Bradley likes to wear it also outside the show, so it's probably they've been building on the character.
The weird thing... but also the sweet thing is that apparently also Arthur's mother wears a ring on the same finger where Arthur does.
Do you think they did it on purpose, just to make them share something.. to underline the belonging?

Tags: news: merlin
Current Mood: blah

Hey all!

Next month, lots of people of many different religions and non-religions will be celebrating a season of giving. And since so many of us are close here, and many people have suggested this to me over the years, I thought I'd help us coordinate something a little special here for us.

This year, we'll be spreading the love with out first-ever Holiday Flames!


Here's the scoop:

1. Sign up in the poll below and fill out all requested information.
2. In a week, everyone will receive TWO addresses, and accompanying information.
3. Send a gift of your choice to each address. Spend no more than a total of $20 USD on each gift, postage included. ( Click here to convert your currency )
4. If all goes well, you should receive two gifts by mid-December from two randomly-selected Flame members!
5. In the last week of December, I'll post a public "Thank You" post for people who want to send a thank you shout out to their anonymous and not-so-anonymous gifters!

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Join in with us! Just fill this out if you'd like to participate:

(Only I will be able to see the results of this poll, so don't worry about sharing your info. You have to be a member of the community to participate, but feel free to join just long enough to fill out this poll.)

Poll #1485831 Holiday Flames Participation Form
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 25

What mailing address should I share with your gifter? (P.O. boxes OK)

What name/username should I say is receiving the gift? (Anonymous is just fine, too, if you don't want to share your name)

Is there anything in particular you do NOT want, are allergic to, or cannot enjoy?

What gender are you? (Feel free to skip this one if you want)

Anything else we should know? (Feel free to leave this blank if you're all set.)

I'll close this poll at 12pm EST on Sunday, November 22.

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Thanks, guys! <3
 

Tags: random fun
Current Mood: energetic

Hey all!

I'm not including a paragraph with this week's topic. I like the idea of leaving this one "old school", which is the way we used to post them, because it's the kind of topic I feel would be cheapened by anything else.

*** New Members: Welcome! Check out the Main Contest Rules for info and guidelines on how to play! We're in the middle of our monthly contest right now, but you're always welcome to play just for fun this month and join in the heavy hitting next month!***

--- Please remember to submit your entry link in the poll below! ---

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Your topic for November, Week 3 is....

Accidentally Perfect

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Click here to edit your submission
Poll #1485816 Contest Entries, Week 3, November
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 2

Please link your Week 3 entries here.

Submit your "Just for Fun" entries here.

Other notes, such as R-ratings, NSFW, genre, format, and length can go here.

*** Your Contest Entries are due Saturday, November 21, 2009, at 4pm EST. For week 3 we ask that you try to keep your entries below 2,000 words to help the readers catch as many as possible. Good Luck! ***
 

It's done!

We had enough editors, with about 10-15 extra edits flex room and a couple standby editors of we'd needed them. We're doing OK, peeps. :-)

Notice that in this version of the chart the links are black-- you can still click on them, but they're more readable now. This was pipi's idea, and a fantastic one. Also- jsut so you all know, pipi does about half of the work for the editing chart every week, which is why I'm able to post it so much earlier than usual. THANK YOU, PIPI!

No one has more than four edits this week, although I had to stretch things out a bit. rephen, since you seem to be done with your shenganigans, I've added you back on the editing list. :-) Let me know if that's not ok!

( The Edits )

Tags: editing
Current Mood: accomplished

 
Hey all!

Just getting organized for the weekly editing post.


Status Report:

This week, from what I understand, we lost the following editors, who missed two weeks of edits in a row, or at least didn't check them off:

asianprincess61, although I think I'm forgetting something here.
caterpillar, although again, I think I'm forgetting something.
chaos_ride
lorlele

Let me know if I made a mistake or if you're still interested! :-)

I have eight editors on hiatus, mostly for NaNO. 13 Editors are catching up for various reasons, 9 of which didn't do their edits from last week. This, combined with the makeup editors from the editors we lost, means that we're very tight this week. I'm hoping that we have enough for everyone to have two edits, but I can't promise anything right now. I'll do my absolute best for ya'all. :-)

Editors- THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! :-) You make a huge difference!

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

( The Editors, as I understand them... )
 

Tags: editing
Current Mood: cheerful

This week, -Merlin- deserves his own post.

( this horse is even dumbier than you Merlin! )

Tags: news: merlin, review
Current Mood: confused