There are two things I’ve been wanting to do lately. to do. Get back into writing fic, and write a Sims story. Well, thanks to some comments made on a message board I frequent (this one right here) the two ideas sort of merged in my brain. I thought, “Hey, I could write a Sims story using, say, Chloe and Lex. That could be fun!”

In a Sims Story is, you basically create some Sims, follow them through their life, and write about what they do and what happens to them. Usually with pictures. And you try to do it in a way that tells an interesting story.

I’ve never done a Sims Story before, but I think it will be fun. Let’s see, shall we?

I'm using the Sims 3, by the way. I'm not playing with any extensions because they slow down my game. But I might up and install one while playing.  

Now on to the story.


Chapter 1: Moving On Down...for a While

Our story begins some time in season 4, and things are pretty normal for good old Smallville. Lionel has wheedled his way out of prison. Lex thinks he and Clark might possibly maybe be friends again…but he’s not sure. And Chloe is bending over backwards for her friends, who don’t really seem to appreciate it. You know, the usual.

One day, Lex is working in his study (mostly trying to think of ways not to have to deal with his father) when the door bursts open.

In marches Chloe, looking as intense and determined as he’s ever seen her. Which is saying something.

“You know what?” she began without preamble. “If we don’t get out of here, this town is going to drive the both of us nuts. That or kill us!”

A thoughtful frown puckering his brow, Lex idly rubbed his chin. She did have a point. Despite its quaint and peaceful small town image, Smallville didn’t seem very healthy for anyone. Especially the...

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Title: Steven & Maria
Vidder: Dannyblue
Fandom: The Wisdom of Crocodiles (starring Jude Law)
Characters/Pairings: Steven/Maria (sort of)
Song: "Angels" by Within Temptation
Summary: This is a vampire movie I find myself going back to watch quite a bit. And, on a recent re-watch, this song popped into my head. Boy, does it fit.

It's been a while since I've recommended anything. But, thanks to YouTube, I was reminded of a show that must be shared with the world. So, today, I'd like to introduce to you a classic TV series called Baywatch Nights. As you might have guessed, this was a spin-off of Baywatch. Sadly, it wasn't nearly as successful, and only lasted two seasons. Something that makes it's many fans weep bitter tears.

What was Baywatch Nights about? Well it was about what Mitch (David Hasselhoff) got up to at night, when he was through guarding lives on the beach. What did he get up to? It usually involved fighting vampires, evil spirits, sea monsters, aliens, werewolves...You know, the usual.  

Here are the opening credits, to sort of give you a hint of what the show was like. You might notice a few familiar faces in the cast.



I love people's reactions when I tell them about this show, which is usually along the lines of, "What the hell does fighting vampires have to do with watching the bay?"

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Title: Bonnie Bennett - On a Mission
Summary: Bonnie Bennett is a badass.
Vidder: Dannyblue
Song: "On a Mission" by Gabriella Cilmi
TV Show: The Vampire Diaries
Warning: This vid contains spoilers up to episode 9, season 3.
Vidder's Note: Please watch and review. Feedback is much appreciated. :)

It's been a while since I've recced a movie, and here's one I just re-watched recently and had to share.

 

The flick is called To Wong Foo. Thanks for Everything. Julie Newmar. Which has to be one of the longest titles in the history of ever. Most fans shorten it to To Wong Foo.

 

To Wong Foo is the story of three drag queens traveling cross country, from New York to Los Angeles, in a rather dubious car. The drag queens are played by Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo. And they are awesome. Here's a clip from one of my favorite scenes. Although the movie is filled with favorite scenes for me.



 

 

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Okay, I did another version of my Mord'Sith Gwen wallpaper. Some people will claim it was because I'm all obsessive or something. But I'm not. I just had another take on it is all. And, if nothing else, it's certainly less red than the first.


Click image to enlarge.

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When I ran across the picture of Charisma Carpenter (of BtVS and Angel) as a Mord'Sith, I thought, "You know, I can totally see Cordelia as a Mord'Sith, so that's not a huge stretch." Which made me start thinking of characters you might not expect to be Mord'Sith, like Gwen. Then I thought, "But maybe Gwen would be a kickass Mord'Sith." And then I imagined Merlin or Arthur meeting Mord'Sith Gwen. After that, this wallpaper had to be made.

Click on the Image to enlarge.

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Title: Fade Away (1/1)
Author: dannyblue
Fandom: Lisa (a film from 1989/1990)
Word Count: A little over 200 words.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: "She avoided looking in mirrors for a long time after that night."
Warnings: If you haven't seen the movie Lisa, and don't want to be spoiled for it, do not read this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lisa, or any of its characters.
Author's Note: I don't know why I suddenly got the urge to write a fic for this film. I was just thrilled to be writing again. Plus I've always liked Lisa. After watching it, I often wonder how the 14 year-old main character will deal with everything post-movie. And a fic was eventually born. :)

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And, finally, it's time for part two of my 10 Vampire Dudes I Really Like list. After I posted 10 Vampire Dudes I Really Like, Part 1 , some folks suggested some vampire dudes they felt I was leaving out unfairly. And some even popped into my head all on their own. But I was determined to stick with my original list. Because I know me, and any kind of indecisiveness could lead to hemming and hawing, and part two never getting posted.

So, without further ado, five more vampire dudes I really like.

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Last year, to celebrate the Halloween season, I made two vampire fanmixes. (Taste of Blood and We Hunger.) This year, I present to you my list of 10 Vampire Dudes I Really Like. There are other vampire dudes I really like, but I wanted to limit myself to ten, and not spend so much fussing over trying to make a “definitive” list that I ended up not posting anything at all. (Which has happened to me many times before.) Plus, I’m sure there are some lovable vampire dudes I didn’t think of when I was making the list. But these ten will provide plenty of eye candy for the time being. Well, five for now. I’m splitting the list into two parts, because this thing is gonna be big. Well, big for me. :)

So without further ado, and in no particular order, here is part 1 of 10 Vampire Dudes I Really Like.

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Note: While I'm using AS, you can do this stuff in other programs too. 



Turning a gif into an animated icon can be tough. At LiveJournal (and many forums and message boards), an icon can't be any bigger than 100X100, and the filesize can't be more than 40KB. And while resizing and cropping a gif isn't too difficult, getting the filesize down from 300KB (for example) to just 40KB can be a much bigger challenge.

And what about the gifs you want to use in your LJ sidebar? If the gifs are too "heavy," they can make a page take forever to load. Which can really annoy the folks visiting your journal.

Luckily, you can use a program like Animation Shop to decrease the file size of your gifs.

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For your listening pleasure, I present to you an obsession mix. As many of you who've read my fic know, obsession is one of my favorite themes. And when I realized how many "obsession" songs I actually had, a mix seemed like a natural.

As you'll notice, I like songs that seem all romantic and sweet on the surface. But, when you actually stop and listen to the lyrics, you start feeling disturbed. And, in some cases, creeped the hell out.

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I haven't made a post in a while (much too long). And it probably seems strange I'm making a post for something like this. But I just can't help it.

Is this, or is this not, one of the cutest things you have ever seen in your life?



I'm melting over here. Melting!

And I haven't stopped saying, "Awwww," since I saw it.

I'll pull myself together eventually. But, until then...Awwwwww.

                   
You come across an animated gif that you would love to use as an icon, or in the sidebar on your LiveJournal. But the gif is 300x169, much too big for either of those. (Unless you have a really wide sidebar.) You're going to have to resize the gif. Easy, right?

Well, resizing an animated gif isn't as easy as resizing a static image. Use the wrong graphics editor, and your gif won't be animated anymore. Which would sort of defeat the whole purpose of what you're trying to do.

Luckily, there are two quick and easy ways to resize an animated gif. One uses Animation Shop. The other uses one of the completely free software programs I found during one of my freeware binges. (It's a harmless addiction.) And this program requires no installation. Bonus!

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Here are some gifs from the latest LotS episode, "Desecrated." There under the cut so those who haven't seen the ep yet won't be spoiled. I'm including the links, for those with dialup. And, if you decide to use any of them, please credit. :D

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Anyone who's ever watched Nightmare On Elm Street no doubt remembers the line. And there's an homage to it in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.


Not the most comforting thing to say to a person. But, when Freddy's involved, what else can you do?

Watching "Bound" over the weekend, and one moment stood out to me as particularly sweet. And who knew I'd one day refer to Cara as "sweet." But she kind of was in this episode.

Note: Use the links if your Internet is having problem with the gifs.



They are such gal pals.

I also made two closeup versions. Just because. :D

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Well, I've done three, so I can actually call this a series. This vid is about the similarities in the way Freddy meets the heroine (not including "minor brushes") in A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

Here's another homage to A Nightmare On Elm Street to be found in New Nightmare. This time, it's the famous "Screw Your Pass" scene.



And a lot of New Nightmare viewers end up strongly disliking the hospital staff for thinking the heroine is crazy. But, if you look at things from their point of view, given the way she was acting, you can't really blame them for thinking she had some mental health issues.

One of the many things I like about New Nightmare (Nightmare On Elm Street 7) is how it proudly pays homage to the original Nightmare On Elm Street. As this vid of the famous "Tongue Phone" scene demonstrates.



I'm actually thinking of doing more of these little comparisons. And I'm willing to take suggestions. :D

Another good episode featuring lots of gif-worthy stuff. (And there are links for those with dial up.)

We start with Cara.



Double Eyeroll

Because a single eyeroll just wasn't enough.

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I decided to try my hand at gif making. The latest episode of Legend of the Seeker was very gif-worthy, starting with Cara's Epic Eyeroll. (TM bradcpu .)



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To help get us all in the mood for Valentine's Day, I made a new screen saver. And it look something like this.


Download your Animated Hearts Screen Saver
And if you'd like to make your own screen savers, don't forget to check out the tutorial.

Howdie, folks. Here is a tutorial showing you how you can make a screen saver using just about any piece of video you can get your hands on. For example, I made a lovely screen saver using the opening title cards for Supernatural.



You can get that screen saver HERE.

Making screen savers isn't actually that complicated. However, figuring out how to do it, and what software programs you will need to do whatever it is you want to do, can be the hard part. There can also be some labor involved depending on what video you have to work with, and how fancy you want to get with it.

Right now, I'm going to give you the absolute basics on making a screen saver from a video. Later, I'll post tips and tricks for any issues that come to mind (or that I run across as I make other screen savers).

Let's get started.

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I put together a screen saver of the season 2 Legend of the Seeker opening. I'm sure LotS fans know what it looks like. But, just in case:

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