dallowayward.

Caps: Mad Men S2

2009-08-05T09:02:25Z

Update, 8/22: Finally got the rest of the caps up! I got back from DC/NYC last week! My feet needed an entire week to recover. To be on topic, though: I'm super psyched for season 3!

I've had trouble finding good quality, unmarked Season 2 caps, so I made my own from the DVD set. The bad caps have been weeded out. All caps are unmarked and are in .jpg form, size: 853x420 pixels.

Click the images to see a full-size sample, and click the episode title to download the zip.

As always, Comment/Credit/Be Awesome.

*Opening Credits only capped in first episode

*2x01 . For Those Who Think Young* 1,893 Caps; 90.8 MB
*2x02 . Flight 1* 1,503 Caps; 63.9 MB
*2x03 . The Benefactor* 1.450 Caps; 71 MB
*2x04 . Three Sundays* 1,580 Caps; 78 MB
*2x05 . The New Girl* 1,440 Caps; 61.2 MB
*2x06 . Maidenform* 1,348 Caps; 64.5 MB
*2x07 . The Gold Violin* 1,340 Caps; 72.1 MB
*2x08 . A Night To Remember* 1,589 Caps; 73.9 MB
2x09 . Six Month Leave 1,570 Caps; 76 MB
*2x10 . The Inheritance* 1,585 Caps; 80 MB
2x11 . The Jet Set 1,360 Caps; 57 MB
*2x12 . The Mountain King* 1,555 Caps; 75 MB
2x13 . Meditations In an Emergency 1,660 Caps; 76 MB

Note: Caps on this page have been recolored/cropped for aesthetic/vain purposes. Clicking the image will take you to the original cap.

Please let me know if there are any problems.

Apparently I Enjoy Period Dramas

2009-07-30T22:43:11Z

001-020 . East of Eden
021-035 . Jane Eyre (2006)
036-052 . North & South
053-074 . Doctor Who
075-084 . Mad Men
085-094 . Arrested Development
099-102 . Misc TV (Merlin, Torchwood)

Teasers:

East of Eden

01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20

Jane Eyre

21-25
26-30
31-35

North & South

36-40
41-45
46-50
51-52

Doctor Who

53-57
58-62
63-67
68-72
73-74

Mad Men

75-79
80-84

Arrested Development

85-89
90-94

Misc TV: Merlin and Torchwood

95-98
99-102

*Bonus points for knowing where the quote in the Merlin icons is from. ♥

Mixes of Crack and Symbiosis

2009-07-10T03:00:40Z

So my big project this summer (an animated Mad Men mood theme) is much more time consuming than I expected; it probably won't be finished until the end of summer. Which means icon productivity has been nearly non-existent.

In the meantime, however, I've finally finished my Master and Doctor mix(es), so yay!

If you're looking for something shippy or cracktastic, scroll down a bit to see the B-side of this mix.

While The Doctor and The Master aren't brothers in the literal sense (though a couple of the songs, "Oh Napoleon" and "Curs In the Weeds," are specifically about wayward sons/brothers/immediate family), they are the last sons of the Time Lords. The Master kept The Doctor imprisoned for that whole year when he could have easily killed him, and despite The Master's actions, The Doctor wants only to forgive him and keep him alive. While he gave the Sycorax "no second chances," The Master, who is responsible for millions of deaths, gets nothing but second chances. And I think that most of what The Master does is directly in relation to The Doctor: The Doctor is a steward of the Earth? Well, I'll just make them my slaves, that'll show him. He's like a little brother trying desperately to gain the attention of or one-up his older brother. I think their relation is epitomized in this exchange:

The Doctor: Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please. Please! Just regenerate! Come on!
The Master: And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?
The Doctor: But you've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons, remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left. I have no one else.

Their relationship, as the last remaining Time Lords, is symbiotic. The Master may be an evil twin, of sorts (if only symbolically), but they are nevertheless connected and are two sides of the same coin and all that business. No matter how badly The Master treats him or others (and it obviously breaks The Doctor's heart every time he does), The Doctor still tries to tame or pacify him, but not defeat him like many of his other enemies -- like he's just his screwup younger brother constantly in and out of rehab. They are family, in the most human sense of the word. Much more John Smith and Harold Saxon than The Doctor and The Master in these moments.

Well, anyway, that's my two cents. Hopefully the songs reflect that.

ZIP HERE

♥

Mirror Noir - A Doctor & Master Mix

Lyrics, quotes and visuals:

01. bloc party | pioneers

The Master: I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so
they would never find me, because I was so scared.
The Doctor: I know.

If it can be broke then it can be fixed
If it can be fused then it can be split
It's all under control... All you need is time
We promised the world, we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?
So here we are reinventing the wheel
I'm shaking hands with a hurricane, it's a colour that I can't describe
It's a language I can't understand, ambition, tearing out the heart of you
Carving lines into you, dripping down the sides of you
We will not be the last.

02. arcade fire | black mirror

I walked down to the ocean after waking from a nightmare
No moon, no pale reflection, black mirror
Shot by a security camera, you can't watch your own image
And also look yourself in the eye, black mirror
I know a time is coming, all words will lose their meaning
Please show me something that isn't mine
But mine is the only kind that I relate to

03. rufus wainwright | rebel prince

The Doctor: I've been alone ever since. But not anymore. Don't you see?
All we've got is each other.

Where is my master the rebel prince
Who will shut all of these windows
It's these windows all around me
It's these windows who are telling me
To rid my dirty mind of all of its preciousness...
Confounded anger burning with love for me

04. the acorn | oh napoleon

The Doctor: That's when the Master saw eternity... He stood in
front of the Untempered Schism... You stand there, eight years
old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child.
Some would be inspired, some would run away, and some would go mad.
Martha: What about you?
The Doctor: Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped.

Talk about your peace of mind, the one I found so hard to find
Mosquito stuck in amber mine, don't want my body trapped in time...
Will I follow you home again?
How's it feel to disappear, like seriously, just disappear?
And take a stab from papa's spear, getting drunk on rotten air
Bite my tongue, I taste your blood...
Oh your charm is getting cold
This kind of love ain't bought or sold

05. the black keys | run me down

The Master: So it came to pass. That the human race fell
and the Earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new
dominion as master of all. And I thought it good.

Run me down in the winter, run me down spring
Got to the place, can't do a goddamn thing
But after a while, you ain't gonna run me down anymore

06. horse feathers | curs in the weeds

Martha: And what is he to you? A colleague or—
The Doctor: A friend, at first.
Martha: I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something.
The Doctor: You've been watching too much TV.

With hell on your face, dirt on the walls
In the back of the place, you grew and complained...
It's like marrow without bone to live in a house with no home
Where the son is the darkest seed
He crawls with the curs in the weeds

07. right away, great captain! | devil dressed in blue

Well after all the enemies
Staring back inside of me
I wrote a tune so it seems
That convinced me to always sing.
Well I am but a kitchen sink
The place to make the others clean
But you keep coming back to me
I've never felt so old

08. bambi get over it | bad man

Well he's a bad man, mama
He's a bad man, oh I know...
Who's gonna save me now, honey?
Who's gonna save me now?

09. phosphorescent | wolves

The Doctor: I have one thing to say to you. You know what it is...
The Master: Oh, no you don't!

Mama there's wolves in the house
Mama they won't let me out...
They tumble and fight and they're beautiful
on the hilltops at night they are beautiful
Blazing with light
Is the whitest and the tallest and the biggest one
She's muscled and fine when she runs

10. my latest novel | i declare a ceasefire

The Doctor: You wouldn't listen. 'Cause you know what I'm going to say.
I forgive you.

I declare a ceasefire, cause otherwise I'd find it hard
In among the crossfire where arrows simply pierce my heart
And puncture my desire to put aside the previous part
Analyzing dialogue, an arsenal so lightly thrown...
Please put down your guns, lower your weapons
Oh, I declare a change of heart

The Doctor: Weapon, after weapon, after weapon. All you do is talk,
and talk, and talk. But over all these years... and all these
disasters, I've always had the greatest secret of them all. I
know you. Explode those ships, you kill yourself... that's the
one thing you can never do.

I'm really not much of a shipper in general (unless there are nerds involved), but I am aware of this ship and it amuses me; so I of course, as a b-side to my srs bsns mix, had to make the lullziest, most cracktastic mix of old school cheesiness that I possibly could.

Erm...I'll leave interpretation up to you. Basically, it's strictly for the lulz. Enjoy!

ZIP HERE

♥

2 Steps Forward/Back - A Doctor/Master Crack Mix

Lyrics and visuals:

01. styx | renegade

Oh you public menace!

The jig is up the news is out they've finally found me
The renegade who had it made retrieved for a bounty
Never more to go astray, this will be the end today of the wanted man...
Lawman said get him dead or alive
Now it's for sure he'll see me dead...
Hangman is coming down from the gallows
And I don't have very long

02. the rolling stones | (i can't get no) satisfaction

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

03. bruce springsteen | i'm goin' down

We get dressed up and we go out, baby, for the night
We come home early burning, burning in some fire fight
I'm sick and tired of you setting me up
Setting me up just to knock-a knock-a knock-a me down, down, down, down

04. paula abdul | opposites attract

Baby seems we never ever agree
You like the movies, and I like T.V...
I like it quiet, and I love to shout
But when we get together it just all works out
I take 2 steps forward, I take 2 steps back
We come together 'cause opposites attract
And you know--it ain't fiction, just a natural fact
We come together 'cause opposites attract

05. bob seger | night moves

We weren't in love, oh no, far from it
We weren't searchin for some pie in the sky summit
We were just young and restless and bored
Livin' by the sword...
We were gettin' our share
Workin' on our night moves

06. whitney houston | i wanna dance with somebody

Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away
Ive done alright up till now, its the light of day that shows me how
And when the night falls the loneliness calls
Oh I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me

07. cutting crew | (i just) died in your arms

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must have been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight

a mix for the not-so-sane at heart

2009-06-11T23:35:01Z

This mix sort of came about accidentally while I was making another mix about the Master (will be posted eventually), so I thought I'd post it before I went away for the weekend to attend my 500th graduation ceremony. Nearly every time I thought I'd found a song for him, I discovered it was much more applicable to her issues/particular brand of crazy.

The songs are pretty much in chronological order, charting her progress through Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords. As per usual with my mixes, it's an...eclectic selection of music. Hope you enjoy!

ZIP HERE

♥

Saltwater Queen - A Lucy Saxon Mix

Lyrics and visuals:

01. Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody

I’ve been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can’t reach
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you

02. The Morning Benders - He's a Rebel

When he holds my hand, I'm so proud, 'cause he's not just one of the crowd
My baby, oh he's the one to try the things they've never done
And just because of that, they say:
He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should
But just because he doesn't do what everybody else does,
That's no reason why I can't give him all my love
He's always good to me, always treats me tenderly
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh no no no
He's not a rebel, oh no no no, to me

03. Rufus Wainwright - Pretty Things

Pretty things, so what if I like pretty things
Pretty lies, so what if I like pretty lies
From where you are, to where I am now
I need these pretty things, around the planets of our phase
Everything's a sign of my astrology
From where you are, to where I am now is its own galaxy
Be a star and fall down somewhere next to me

04. Samantha Crain - Traipsing Through the Aisles

A web of confusion spun by spiders
Crawling faster towards redemption
See them crawl, see them crawl, see them crawl...
I'm a spinning windmill, turning keys in locks tonight,
But safe inside your arms, I've seen the trees outside a window
I'm lost, I'm lost, I'm lost
And I'm lost inside my home, in my clothes
In the roads, in my own mind
And I know it's not a sign, I just might stop this time
I did something wrong, I did something wrong, I did something wrong

05. Other Lives - Paper Cities

We sent them all across the ocean; many lives were taken
But I didn't cry, I didn't know them
And I just looked on with no expression...
Put down your banners and flags, this war you've made won't last
And your country's just lines on a map
They're drawn up, they don't last
Paper cities burning, the ashes fell like rain
And when the fire was over everything had changed
People come together, reminds us we're the same

06. Bodies of Water - Under the Pines

We all went out underneath the alder tree
And in alder shade we spoke so carefully
But way back against the knotted pines
It was dim, and things grew honest then...
Now all of the tendons of the world are loosed
And in the dark light of pine we spoke the truth
Yes way back, oh things grew honest then
Paths diverge into the boring mist
Under and under and under the pines

07. The Builders and the Butchers - Black Dresses

Little sister there's blood on the tracks
And a lit cigarette but you're not coming back
To a town that was built on black gold and iron hearts...
And she doesn't mourn for a man's come and gone
She's worn the color of black all along
She was born with a stone where there shoulda been a heart
And she wore black dresses, and she never cried in the morning
She's got a bottle and a paper so she can forget her name

08. Kyte - Eyes Lose Their Fire

She smiles, hides, life's about falling
Eyes bloodshot and lost in a mask
They all wait, crowds have been forming
Noise spellbinding out of control
Eyes lose their fire

09. Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I and II)

Someday my pain, someday my pain
Will mark you
Harness your blame, harness your blame
And walk through
With the wild wolves around you
In the morning, I'll call you
Send it farther on...
What might have been lost -
Don't bother me

10. The Battle of Land and Sea - Saltwater Queen

With the devil peering close by on the street
With a little boy charm and anchors of wide heavy iron at her feet
She whispers and cries in harmonies for her saltwater king
Oh heavy are you my boy with demons in your sleeve
They're trouble placing razors and pins underneath your feet...
You whisper and cry in harmonies for your saltwater queen

So, So Random

2009-05-27T08:54:56Z

Hello, I'm back! Here's a giant batch of icons. The majority of them, except for the classic actors and films, were made for a bunch of different icon challenges that I never got around to posting, so it's all quite random (especially the miscellaneous section). I just finished an insanely busy semester (only one year left!), during which I was only able to bust out about an icon a week. So I'm looking forward to summer, and to hopefully being more productive around here ♥

001-044 . Doctor Who (Series 4)
045-089 . Classic Actors
090-106 . Film (Persuasion [2007], Born Yesterday, Bringing Up Baby)
107-126 . Television (Mad Men, Ugly Betty, Ashes to Ashes, Pushing Daisies)
127-137 . Miscellaneous (Stock, Modern Actors)

Teasers:

Doctor Who Series 4: (it was the theme for doctor_who_lims, in which I got runner up!)
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-44

Classic Actors: (Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Judy Holliday, Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, John Garfield, James Dean)
45-49
50-54
55-58
59-63
64-67
68-70
71-73
74-76
77-80
81-85
86-89

Misc Film: (Persuasion [2007], Born Yesterday, Bringing Up Baby)
90-94
95-98
99-102
103-106

Misc TV: (Mad Men, Ugly Betty, Ashes to Ashes, Pushing Daisies)

107-116
117-120
121-123
124-126

Miscellaneous: (Stock, Modern Actors: Lucy Liu, Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Hathaway) (all from a LONG time ago)
127-130
131-134
135-137

ETA 6/18: Some green Donna...

Caps: East of Eden (1955)

2009-03-23T02:54:10Z

I totally forgot I made these over Winter break, but I found them and decided to post them in a fit of procrastination (sadly I still have approximately 2 hrs of free time a week at the moment. Summer's only 2 months away!) So enjoy. Yay, for Biblical allegories! (Or not, in most cases.)

They're split into 2 Zips. Please comment/credit/be awesome. Thanks!

East of Eden (1955)
Starring James Dean and Julie Harris
Caps: 2050
Size: 720x283
Samples and Links beneath the cut.

*click for full size*

Zip 1 :: Zip 2

And I made another banner, because I'm a nerd, and Jimmy D's ridiculously pretty.

♥

Too Many Subjects for an All-Encompassing Title

2009-01-26T11:06:47Z

I kind of went crazy and decided to do a bunch of icons on some movies/fandoms I haven't really attempted yet. I haven't been feeling terribly creative (unless you count my super-ingenious center cropping), but I wanted to get these out anyway before the new semester starts (today, boo!). I wanted to do BSG especially, because I've been watching forever and it's almost over. There was a lot of ground to cover, so I decided to stick with one episode (Of course, it's the one in which their environment is completely washed out, so most ended up B&W). For reference to the other show I iconed (a completely rambling Merlin wank), see end of post.

And of course, girly movies. The novel of Atonement is better than the movie, which is true in most cases (except maybe Fight Club), but the movie was very pretty regardless. A Little Princess and Strictly Ballroom are old-school loves of mine, and I couldn't not make icons of all the pretty, pretty dancing. (I do apologize in advance for #44. He was just so ridiculous and sparkly.) /End looong ramble. So anyway, icons!

001-022 . Atonement
023-040 . A Little Princess
041-074 . Strictly Ballroom
075-088 . Battlestar Galactica
089-108 . Merlin

Teasers:

Atonement:
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-22

A Little Princess (1995):
23-27
28-32
33-37
38-40

Strictly Ballroom:
41-45
46-50
51-55
56-60
61-65
66-70
71-74

Battlestar Galactica: (From "Sometimes a Great Notion")
75-79
80-84
85-88

Merlin:
89-92
93-96
97-100
101-104
105-108

In which I try to figure out why I watch this show:
OMG. I'm not entirely sure why I enjoy Merlin so much. It's...not a terribly good show. Every episode is like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure/Mad Libs. Literally every episode goes like this: (1)Someone is mortally ill and/or enchanted/(2)suspected of witchcraft and arrested/(3)has to fight someone to the death (choose one), so one of the cast members must (a)go on a quest to find the magic ingredient to save said ill person/(b)break arrested party out of the castle dungeon/(c)find/create the magical object/spell that will assist the person with their fight.
And in every episode, each character will do exactly this: Uther will be an ass and will be outsmarted by the not-terribly-intelligent people around him, Gaius will be very concerned about someone's well being, Arthur will be a bitch, but will learn his lesson by the end (until next episode), Morgana will be outraged by something, Gwen will be adorable but pretty pointless, and Merlin will be awesomely dorky but will simultaneously struggle with not being "out" as a warlock.

Maybe that's why I enjoy it. It's awfully campy, which is always a plus. And it's kind of the gayest show on television without actually (canonically) gay characters, to the point where there's almost nothing "sub" about the subtext. If it weren't for this and Merlin's unrelenting dorkiness, I would have given up on it a while ago. But anyway, it's basically just crack, though here's hoping they raise the game a bit next season.

A Lemony Mix + GIFspam

2009-01-24T21:27:13Z

Here's a 30 Rock / Liz Lemon mix I made. (It's my first non-Who one!) It's a somewhat random blend of 80's cheesiness and bouncy indie. It was kind of tough finding songs to fit (at least in my music library. Most of it's pretty twee and not very aggressive. Lemon's hardcore.) But I managed to stick with her more whimsical side. Enjoy and bow down to your nerd queen.

I kinda have no explanations this time, except for some visuals, and even those have tenuous connections to the lyrics at best. Most of the awesome GIFs are by myprettycabinet, but I'm not sure if all of them are hers (the stills are by me). If you see one of yours, let me know, because I'd love to credit you. ♥

+ 3 header/friends only banners & 2 icons at the bottom

ZIP HERE

♥

Lyrics and visual "explanations":

01. Jukebox the Ghost - Good Day

I think that I would like to invite everyone I've known dead or alive
To a street where we can be, totally free
They will come in droves, wearing their hearts on their sleeve but oh!
How good it felt to have them worn just like they should.
Did everybody say what a good day that it was?

02. Lisa Mitchell - Neopolitan Dreams

I like the way that you talk, I like the way that you walk
It's hard to recreate such an individual gait...
Deepest of the dark nights, here lies the highest of highs
Neopolitan dreams, stretching out to the sea
You wait your turn in the queue
You say your sorry's and thank you's
I don't think you're ever 100% in the room
You're not in the room

An executive is like THIS, Liz Lemon's like THIS.

03. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I want to be the one to walk in the sun
Oh girls they want to have fun
That's all they really want, some fun

Hey Liz. How's the telescope?
I don't know Kelsey, how's your mom's pill addiction?

04. Tilly and the Wall - Pot Kettle Black

I bet you think we didn’t know, didn’t even see the tides change
But it’s a small, small world, girl, getting even smaller every day...
The trash washes up to shore, even in this landlocked place
The shit gets thicker, it’s toxic get it out my face...
Pot kettle, pot kettle black, talk that, talk that smack
Pot kettle, pot kettle black, watch your, watch your back

05. El Perro Del Mar - Party

Is it so hard to see?
I don't want to cause more trouble
I just want to be a part of you
Come on over baby, there's a party going on
Bebop bebop a loo la

I can have it all!

06. Billy Joel - Vienna

Slow down you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart tell me why are you still so afraid?
Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day
But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want, or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through
When will you realize Vienna waits for you...
You got your passion you got your pride
But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?

Where's my mac and cheese!?

07. Dawn Landes - I Won't Back Down

In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
I'm gonna stand my ground and I won't back down
I won't back down baby, there ain't no easy way out
I will stand my ground and I won't back down

08. Rufus Wainwright - April Fools

And you will believe in love
And all that its supposed to be
But just until the fish start to smell
And you're struck down by a hammer
So let it all go by looking at the sky
Wondering if there are clouds and stuff in hell

Lemon, OUT!

09. Ben Kweller - Lizzy

Her feline past lives are plain to see
Their similarities are shown in this life again...
Like mamma said, don'tcha let it go to your head
When you know your book is read...
Lizzy I'll write, I'll sing telegraph, telegram, telephone
Tellin' you I'll be home soon

10. Huey Lewis & the News - Hip To Be a Square

I like my bands in business suits, I watch them on TV
I'm working out 'most everyday and watching what I eat
They tell me that it's good for me, but I don't even care
I know that it's crazy
I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that
It's hip to be square

One minute dance party!

11. Dent May - You Can't Force a Dance Party

And I'll be in the corner, reading poetry and prose
You can't force a dance party, you can't force a dance party
You can't force a dance party, but for you I'll try

*click for full size*

Christmas and Awesome Ladies

2008-12-22T06:14:09Z

Yeah, so, it's been a while. School and work conspired to keep me away from many enjoyable things, but finals are done and I'm back, so yay! I was able to do a couple of LIMS contests for the first few weeks of the semester (30 Rock, Doctor Who [Donna]), so here are those, plus a bunch of Christmasy icons. I also had to get a new computer, so if anything looks wonky with the coloring, that's probably why.

Hope everyone has a good holiday break!

001-028 . 30 Rock
029-052 . Doctor Who
053-085 . Meet Me In St. Louis
086-125 . Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Teasers:

30 Rock: 1-17 for 30rocklims, the rest from Ludachristmas
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-28

Doctor Who: all for noble_lims, so they're all Donna.
29-33
34-38
39-43
44-48
49-52

Meet Me In St. Louis:
53-57
58-62
63-67
68-72
73-77
78-82
83-85

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:
86-89
90-93
94-97
98-101
102-105
106-109
110-113
114-117
118-121
122-125

Fandom Smorgasbord

2008-09-08T06:28:28Z

Here are some icons from a crapload of fandoms. Some have been hanging around for a while, some were the result of my last grasp of freedom this week. Yep, it's school time again, which means the slow reader gets to read at least 1 1/2 novels a week. Nose, say hi to your old friend, Grindstone.

So hope you like these. If you haven't heard of any of these shows, I highly recommend any of them without reservation. Go forth. Be entertained.

001-032 . Mad Men
033-046 . Dexter
047-060 . Arrested Development
061-070 . Friday Night Lights
071-085 . Ugly Betty
086-094 . Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Teasers:

Mad Men:
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-32

Dexter:
33-37
38-42
43-46

Arrested Development
47-51
52-56
57-60

Friday Night Lights:
61-65
66-70

Ugly Betty:
71-75
76-80
81-85

Pride & Prejudice (2005):
86-90
91-94

Mix(es) For the Season That Very Nearly Killed Me

2008-08-10T20:03:47Z

200+ watchers/friend people, yay! That's pretty awesome. *happy dance ensues* Ahem. Anyway.

Huh. This mix turned out relatively mellow, which is a bit odd, considering Donna. It kind of took me for-freaking-ever to do, especially the latter half of the season. As with the other mixes, a song for each episode. Hope you enjoy!

A Doctor Who Series Mix, V4: For We Are Bound By Symmetry

*Sample lyrics and explanations*

4x00 - Voyage of the Damned: The Lord Dog Bird - The Gift of Song In the Lion's Den
The lion's den is stretching out before our eyes
We're in the thick of it, you and I...
Falling through the clouds in a lonely way
That we know how to show them the way
And the gift of song comes bringing us all peace
[So this song is mostly unintelligible, but it's the feeling here, not the words, that's important.
And it's a rather glorious feeling to start the season off with.]

4x01 - Partners in Crime: Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
Every night my dream's the same, same old city with a different name
They're not coming to take me away, I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay
There’s a weight that’s pressing down, late at night you can hear the sound
Even the noise you make when you sleep can’t swim across a river so deep
They know my name 'cause I told it to them,
But they don’t know where and they don’t know when
It’s coming, when It’s coming...
Keep the car running
[Donna's just been waiting. And waiting. But she'll be ready when he comes.]

4x02 - The Fires of Pompeii: Mumford and Sons - Roll Away Your Stone
Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine; together we can see what we will find
Don't leave me alone, not this time, for I'm afraid of what I will discover inside
You told me that I would find a hole within the fragile substance of my soul...
But darkness is a harsh term, don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see
Seems that all my bridges have been burned
You say how that's exactly how this "grace" thing works
[Guh. This song. Luff. Anyway, Donna, throughout the episode, is full of questions, mainly about the
Doctor's decisions and actions. She tests and questions and challenges him and his temporal authority
constantly, though he gives as good as he gets. But then, he's forced to make a terrible choice: the
burden of a Timelord, he explains to her. She sees the Doctor in a moment of greater conflict than
perhaps any companion has seen before. But she gets it - she pushes the button with him and makes it
her burden, as well.]

4x03 - Planet of the Ood: Bodies of Water - I Guess I'll Forget the Sound, I Guess, I Guess
Though my heart once was broke it's been mended
And the sting of the fracture has ended
But still the sound of the hearts that are breaking...pervades
Before the day that I first touched your face
Oh the roar of these things filled my ears...
There is a noise that is taking the place in the hollow of my inner ear
It is far more than the sum of its parts, a white noise sure as the sun
[Kickin' horn section? Ba-ba-bums? Giant group sing-along feel? It's like this song is tailor-made for
my particular brand of musical nerdiness. And okay, so he doesn't forget the sound of the Ood's
slavery song, but because he shares it with Donna, he at least gains some mutual understanding/empathy
that he normally doesn't have. As with the last episode, she gains a greater understanding of what
it is to be a Timelord. Even then it is too much for her to fully bear.]

4x04 - The Sontaran Stratagem: The Old Believers - Granny's Song
I'll bet you haven't changed a bit...
Nothing makes it to you and nothing makes it to me
It's a bright hot morning but the air is tight
Better figure us out, man, make things right...
That old house was a home of mine
[Donna returns to her old home flooded with love and nostalgia, both for her previous life and her
recent adventures.]

4x05 - The Poison Sky: The Acorn - Dents
I can see your years in my reflection, dents and cracks embedded in my skin...
And all the miles that we have put between us
Have been filled with loving blisters and sour truths
One by one the seasons change you, maybe once but not for all
Time can't paint the picture for you; dying leaves need time to fall
Let me be the one you're running to
[Martha, having now spent time away from The Doctor, can reflect on all the good and bad he has brought
her. Despite what her time with him has made her, she still cannot completely stifle the devotion she
once so ardently felt.]

4x06 - The Doctor's Daughter: Delta Spirit - Strange Vine
You're such a strange vine wrapped around my neck, all twisted up between my steps...
I'm tripping and falling over things we just couldn't get over
I tried my best to get it off my chest
Songs we never wrote, seeds they wouldn't sow
We're taking it all to the end and we're planting our own garden...
Maybe I'll make a home with you...
[This is the closest the TARDIS has ever come to being domesticated. Had Jenny not "died," I imagine
it may have been a bit like the Partridge Family bus. Donna would have made a pretty kickass mom.
Her BS tolerance level is set at zero; kids wouldn't get away with shit.]

4x07 - The Unicorn and the Wasp: Miracle Fortress - Little Trees
Basing everything I say on the red read words you've been sending my way
At the end of each day I'll have lent you a phrase
That I've read to regret 'til I'm red in the face.
I won't ask for a cure, not for a verse,
Not for a glimpse from the Heavens of Earth...
Chasing history round with the birds,
For the secrets in sounds and the weeping of work...
[A somewhat frothy episode in turn merits a rather cheery-sounding little song.]

4x08 - Silence in the Library: Lenka - Like a Song
I can't forget you when you're gone
You're like a song that goes around in my head
And how I regret, it's been so long
Oh what went wrong? Could it be something I said?
Time, make it go faster; I'll just rewind
To back when I'm wrapped in your arms.
[Lyrically, this song doesn't quite fit the mold I was going for. While I imagine River to miss The
Doctor when he's gone, I highly doubt she'd be so girly about it. But musically, it almost feels like
it could be her theme song (it's somewhat reminiscent of Rose and Martha's themes).]

4x09 - Forest of the Dead: The Decemberists - Red Right Ankle
This is the story of your red right ankle and how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled and how the skin was softly shed
And how it whispered “Oh, adhere to me, for we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been, we together make a limb.”
This is the story of your red right ankle...
This is the story of the boys who loved you, who love you now and loved you then...
Some had crawled their way into your heart to rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you; this is the story of your red right ankle
[I actually found a song that was called "Where Has Your Husband Gone Donna?" but I figured the title
was a bit too on-the-nose (plus, in the song, the husband drinks himself to death: not exactly applicable).
This is probably one of my favorite songs ever, both lyrically and melodically.
In a way, this episode is a bit reminiscent of The Doctor's time as John Smith. Only Donna is human. This
life could have been an actual possibility for her. So when it and her seemingly ideal life and love are forcibly
ripped away, it is of little wonder that she needs more recovery time than The Doctor. He at least got
the satisfaction of facing his enemies, of knowing he saved the universe, despite how horrible he found
the punishments he enacted (in Family of Blood). Donna is simply without.]

4x10 - Midnight: Devics - If We Cannot See
You were born with a heart that can never be filled
And a head like snow that can never be still
There are streets paved in gold that shine so bright
That you force yourself to look away
If we can't see now, we might never see
We only kill ourselves more slowly
[The Doctor needs to watch himself. And never go anywhere without Donna. Look what happens!]

4x11 - Turn Left: The Secret Life of Sofia - Nanda Devi
When you were born your eyes were closed
And you were indistinguishable from the other babies, we argued over names...
When you were old enough I began to teach you which greenery you could eat
To survive alone out in the wilderness, like me
The earth is the grandest of living things
And with it we are linked inextricably...
But I'd only introduced you to the glory of mountaintops
When the avalanche swept me from the face of a dear friend...
We were like specks of dust in nature's beautiful broom,
Nanda Devi, rejoining the river
[That Donna never was one for reverence, but in her time with The Doctor, she's certainly become worthy
of it. Indeed, the most important woman in the whole of creation. If only she still knew.]

4x12 - The Stolen Earth: My Brightest Diamond - Inside a Boy
Inside a boy I found a universe
And in his eyes are a thousand stars
On a dark sky we are clouds, we are whispers
Like fauns and shape-shifters
Our edges can never be found out
No, our edges keep moving further out
We are stars colliding
Now we crash like lightning into love
[Oh Rose.]

4x13 - Journey's End: Wilco - On And On And On
On and on and on we'll stay together yeah
On and on and on we'll be together yeah...
One day we'll disappear together in a dream
However short or long our lives are going to be
I will live in you or you will live in me
Until we disappear together in a dream
Please don't cry we're designed to die...
On and on and on, we're going to try
[Yeah. It was either end it on a somewhat happy note or go cry in a corner. Seriously though, does
RTD get off on crushing peoples' souls? Does he collect them, keep them on display in a jar? Frak.]

ZIP HERE

Doctor Who Series Mix, B-Sides: We Expected Something More

A few alternates from the above mix, plus some that generically encompass
the whole current series (as in 2005 on).

*Sample lyrics and explanations*

The Dying Seconds - In the Dying Seconds
(Instrumental)

Millbrook - The Shores and the Plains
Will you walk the shores with me and
Will you walk the plains with me my love?
Will you wait the storms with me and
Will you come away with me, my love, somewhere?
[Sort of general, all encompassing, "Hey, let's go exploring" song, applicable to most companions.]

Rufus Wainwright - The Tower of Learning
I'm looking for the tower of learning
I'm looking for the copious prize...
I really do fear that I'm dying
I really do fear that I'm dead
I saw it in your eyes what I'm looking for
I saw it in your eyes what will make me live
[Another sort of general song. The Doctor (and most of the companions) seem to be in search of something,
whether a good time or answers - and they tend to find some approximation of it in each other.]

Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds, there is a tree as old as me...
I climbed the tree to see the world when the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
Cause, I built a home; for you, for me
Until it disappeared from me, from you
And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust
[My super-cheesy alternative track to The Doctor's Daughter.]

The National - Start a War
We expected something, something better than before
We expected something more
You were always weird but I never had
To hold you by the edges like I do now
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
[That Doctor, he's a meddler.]

The Trio (Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt) - Wildflowers
Just a wild mountain rose, needing freedom to grow
So I ran fearing not where I'd go...
Hitched a ride with the wind and since he was my friend
I just let him decide where we'd go
When a flower grows wild, it can always survive
Wildflowers don't care where they grow
[Applies to most companions, really.]

Sunset - The World is Awaiting
The city is sleepwalking...talking in a stupor
While computers rust away on shelves
The world is awaiting
[Very atmospheric and lyrically pertinent to the restless longing exhibited by most of
those people in the opening credits.]

ZIP HERE

Oh, and here's a blank version of the first cover.

Previous DW Series Mixes:
[ series one ] [ series two ] [ series three ]

3 Hobbity Tuts

2008-07-31T04:02:50Z

Tutorial
Here are some tutorials that were requested from my last set of icons. Nothing particularly innovative, but maybe they'll be helpful.

I didn't have the original PSDs, but I tried to get them as close as I could. But they all use a similar technique, anyway (I tend to use the same techniques with some variations for individual shows and films). Please try to ignore any glaring inconsistencies.

Program: Adobe Photoshop CS2
Includes: Color Fill layers, Color Balance, Levels. NO Selective Coloring.

Go from this: to --->

Or from this: to --->

Tutorial #1: Aragorn

From this cap from Crystal Fires Cap Archives:

Crop your image however you like. My original image was so dark, I'm using a version with a Screened layer at 100%.

Lighten up the image as much as needed.
I used 3 duplicated Screen Layers at 100% and one Softlight layer at 30% on top of those.
Fug, right? And kind of washed out. We'll get to contrast later on.

It's quite blue, so I want to add some brown and yellow. I make two Color Fill layers.
The first one I fill with a dark reddish brown (#571005) set at Exclusion 29%.
The second one I fill with an orangey yellow (#fba010) set at overlay 21%.

Yes, it's still ugly. But the layers will help smooth out some of the grainyness and add some richness, colorwise, in the long run (especially the exclusion layer).
Also, the yellow layer will be too strong on most images (I tend to go with it set at 6% or so), so keep that in mind.

Now, contrast. BENEATH the 2 color layers, I add a Levels layer (New Adjustment Layer --> Levels).
I got these results by playing around with the little sliding marks, so do the same with yours. I just put the numbers here because I can't take screenshots. Now for my favorite part: contrast!
I also fussed a bit with coloring in the color Channels. I did not alter the Output levels.

Channel: RBG. Input Levels --> 32, 1.00, 247
Channel: Red. Input Levels --> 0, 1.00, 255
Channel: Green. Input Levels --> 9, 1.00, 255
Channel: Blue. Input Levels --> 21, 0.93, 227

Much better. But I'm still not satisfied. I want some more reds and yellows, so on top of all those layers, I add a Color Balance Layer (New Adjustment Layer --> Color Balance). Again, adjust as needed for individual images.
Shadows: +1, +2, -5
Midtones: +10, -7, -3
Highlights: +10, +10, -8
Preserve Luminosity Checked

Finishing touches. I go down to my original layer (I don't condense until everything's finished).
I go Filter->Sharpen->, then Edit-> Fade Sharpen to 55%
If you sharpen ALL the layers, or duplicate from an already sharpened layer, you're going to get some crazy oversharpening. It doesn't matter which layer you sharpen/blur, whatever, just make sure it's only one.

Then I use the gradient tool, move the mouse down and to the left, and I have a light texture. I set it to Lighten 35%. Fin:

Tutorial #2: Frodo

Go from this: to -->

From this cap (same source):

Crop your image:

Lighten/Layer duplicates as you see fit. Here I used 2 Screen layers, the first at 100%, the second at 37%
On top of those, I have a Soft Light layer, 100%.

Now, I'm just going to use all the same layers I had before, but at different settings.
Dark Brown Exclusion layer 48%
Orangey Yellow Overlay Layer 7%

Underneath those, a Levels layer.
Channel: RBG. Input Levels --> 44, 1.00, 237
Channel: Red. Input Levels --> 8, 1.00, 252
Channel: Green. Input Levels --> 0, 1.00, 255
Channel: Blue. Input Levels --> 0, 1.00, 238

Color Balance! (New layer on very top.)
Shadows: 0, 0, 0
Midtones: +10, 0, 0
Highlights: +10, +10, -8
Preserve Luminosity Checked

Final touches. I sharpen an image layer. It's a bit too grainy, so I use the Surface Blur filter and then go to Edit-->Fade Surface Blur so that it's subtle.
Then I create a new layer at the top. I use a size 13 paintbrush in white.
I put a blob in the corner, go to Filter-->Blur-->Gaussian Blur, 16.8 pixels
I set the layer Opacity to 41%, and FIN!

Tutorial #3: Boromir

Go from this: to -->

From this cap (same source):

Crop your image, then duplicate and screen. (2 Screen Layers at 100% and 1 Soft Light at 50%)
-->

I kind of have no clue what I did with this one, except for 2 of the 3 light textures, so I'm kind of doing this one from scratch.

Dark Brown Exclusion Layer, 35%
Directly under that, a Levels Layer:
Channel: RBG. Input Levels --> 44, 1.00, 237
Channel: Red. Input Levels --> 8, 1.00, 252
Channel: Green. Input Levels --> 0, 1.00, 255
Channel: Blue. Input Levels --> 0, 1.00, 238

Still a bit gloomy, so I'll add a Color Balance Layer to lighten it up.
Shadows: 0, 0, 0
Midtones: +10, 0, 0
Highlights: +10, +10, -8
Preserve Luminosity Checked

I honestly have no idea which texture I used last time, but this one seems to fit the bill, so we're going to use this texture from cielo_icons set at Screen 70%:
---->

Next, a texture from lookslikerain at Screen 100%
---->

Finally, I sharpen/FadeSharpen an image layer. I then create a new layer at the top and use a white 13px paintbrush at the bottom of the frame.
I go Filter-->Gaussian Blur 14.0 pixels, Layer Opacity 79%
Done!

A Big Old Fashioned Icon Post

2008-07-19T04:57:37Z

Anyway, here's a TON of icons that have been piling up in their designated folder. They're nearly all from various LIMS contests, most of which I was very lucky to do rather well in. As usual, there are many alternates

001-028 . Lord of the Rings
029-055 . Friday Night Lights
056-072 . Stock (Tulips/Clocks)
073-112 . Disney (Mostly Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast)

Teasers:

Lord of the Rings: (01-15 made for lotr_lims, which I won, yay!)
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-27

Friday Night Lights: (28-36 for lims_fnl, in which I got runner-up, yay!)
28-32
33-37
38-42
43-47
48-52
53-55

Stock: (A few for bwlims, which is ongoing)
56-60
61-65
66-70
71-72

Disney: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, misc. (LIMS entries: 74-100 for d_ladicontest, which I won, yay! and 101-107 for disney_hush, from which I was eliminated)
73-77
78-82
83-87
88-92
93-97
98-102
103-106
107-110
111-112

A Mood Theme with Pluck

2008-07-08T05:17:34Z

Unfortunately, Livejournal's mood theme system does not have the moods "badass" and "amazing" repeated over and over, so I had to make do. I love a good bantering duo and these two were just ridiculously awesome together. Quick/vague note about the finale: Donna in particular just took her awesome to an even higher level. I'm still devastated.

The theme spans all of Series 4, so SPOILERS abound. Got it? Good.

[01] Doctor Who Mood Theme (S4)
35 . Doctor Who Icons (from Mood Theme)

Teasers:

Preview HERE
PLAIN THEME
BORDERED THEME
Instructions by crackified
Let me know if something doesn't work or there's any trouble.

ETA: Bordered Theme Samples:

ecstatic	drunk	flirty	envious	cynical

Doctor Who: Images used in mood theme
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35

Misanthropic Mood Theme

2008-06-28T01:47:02Z

Yay, Black Books! One of my favorite shows ever. Hope you enjoy the mood theme as much as I enjoyed making it (although it was a bit difficult, as Bernard has approximately 2 expressions: angry and drunk).

[01] Black Books Mood Theme
16 . Black Books Icons (from the Mood Theme)

Teasers:

Preview here
Theme HERE
Instructions by crackified
Let me know if something doesn't work or there's any trouble.

Icons
01-04
05-08
09-12
13-16

Fanmix of Impending Doom

2008-06-01T21:42:31Z

Free time, where has you been all mah life?
I seem to be drawn to the word "story" for my titles, but it's not my fault; the lyrics keep giving me phrases with that word. We'll see how it goes next time.

Same as before, a song for each episode in the second series. Corresponding episodes just in the liner notes, this time. The front and back covers don't go together at all, but whatever. I just sort of let each image guide me.

This one is a little weird - quite a bit more mellow than the first one. The whole series was just rife with HAPPY HAPPY, IMPENDING DOOM! and I guess I went a bit more with the happy portion. Anyway, enjoy the awesome tunes.

A Doctor Who Series Mix, V2: As The Story Goes

*Sample lyrics and explanations*

2x00 - The Christmas Invasion: Panda Bear - Comfy in Nautica
Try to tell me how to do it
Only because I'm new to it
Coolness is having courage, courage to do what's right
I'll try to remember always just to have a good time
Try to show me that you know me...
[A song about finding one's identity seems fitting for an episode in which the Doctor
spends his waking monologues doing just that. Rude and not ginger indeed.]

2x01 - New Earth: Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
And I'm not going back into rags or in the hole
And our bruises are coming, but we will never fold
And I was your silver lining
As the story goes
I was your silver lining
But now I'm gold
[Cheesy, I know, but it's kind of ridiculous how giggly they are at the start of this ep, and this
is the most effervescent song I can think of at the moment.]

2x02 - Tooth And Claw: The Clash - I Fought the Law
Breakin rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won.
[They fight the law. The law wins. Yeah.]

2x03 - School Reunion: Beirut - Nantes
And I'll gamble away my fright
And I'll gamble away my time
And in a year, a year or so
This will slip into the sea
Well it's been a long time, long time now
Since I've seen you smile
[Aw, he missed his friend.]

2x04 - The Girl In The Fireplace: The Killers - Read My Mind (Like Rebel Diamonds Mix)
Slippin’ in my faith until I fall
You never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again
She said I don't mind, if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Put your back on me...
The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun
When you read my mind
[There is mind reading involved...]

2x05 - Rise Of The Cybermen: Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique
Well this heartbeat ain't for free
You gotta work you damn machine
You keep on runnin, you keep on fighting
You keep on going you damn machine
[IDK, there are robots? Suck it. I've no love for these two episodes. And I was
in a jammin' mood when I chose this.]

2x06 - The Age Of Steel: The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
I went out into the night, I went out to find some light
Kids are swingin from the power lines, nobody's home so nobody minds...
And the power's out in the heart of man,
Take it from your heart put it in your hand.
[Continuing with the industrial-sounding theme...]

2x07 - The Idiot's Lantern: The National - Fake Empire
Tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on
Do our gay ballet on ice, bluebirds on our shoulders
We’re half-awake in a fake empire
Turn the light out say goodnight
No thinking for a little while
Lets not try to figure out everything it wants
It’s hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
We’re half-awake in a fake empire
[They're just in their own little world. Too bad they don't know about story arcs, or they'd
know that it's about to hit the fan.]

2x08 - The Impossible Planet: Tony Lucca - Devil Town
I was livin' in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh Lord, it really brings me down about the devil town
All my friends were vampires
Didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself in the devil town
[Yeah, a bit literal. But it's an awesome song. (Though I seem to be looting the Friday Night
Lights soundtrack for this mix.)]

2x09 - The Satan Pit: Rufus Wainwright - Go or Go Ahead
Nowhere's now here smelling of junipers
Fell off the hay bales, I'm over the rainbows
But oh Medusa kiss me and crucify this unholy notion of the mythic powers of love
Look in her eyes, look in her eyes; forget about the ones that are crying...
Go or go ahead and surprise me
Go or go ahead and just try me
[Aaaaand then much less literal. The song itself is rather esoteric and trippy, which fits the
Doctor just fine.]

2x10 - Love And Monsters: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
...They could not keep from keeping on
We'll cross that bridge after it's gone
After we have passed it, yeah
Ooowe, ride me high
Tomorrow's the day my bride's gonna come now
Oh oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair?
[Again, happy, happy, unaware of impending DOOOOM.
Plus, Elton's just about a comprehensible as a Dylan song.]

2x11 - Fear Her: Essie Jain - You
First time I saw you was when I knew
That I would give up everything for you...
Even if there was no radio, I'd talk to you
It doesn't matter if the lights should blow
Cause I'd see you...
And if I see you again
I know I'll never have to wait around for you
It doesn't matter if the brakes don't work
Cause I'll stop you...
[Worst episode ever, but whatevs. That doesn't mean the mix needs a sucky song.
The song feels very Rose (and perhaps even the Doctor, in their
oblivious state at the beginning of the ep).]

2x12 - Army of Ghosts: Basia Bulat - I Was a Daughter
Oh what a story
This is how they'll all remember me
We were the lucky ones that would survive the flood
With potted flowers in our blood
Pretending that we don't know where we bleed
All the pretty fall
We fell asleep but we couldn't hear their little words
We swam in the rivers, sang with the birds
Gave away our hearts before we knew what they were
[We're totally gonna be giggly and tra-la-laing forever and ever and...oops.]

2x13 - Doomsday: Rose - I Fill Up The Time
I'm feelin' the days go by...
I can't stand having any free time
To recall your smile
Not to mention your eyes
I fill up the time
And I forget to miss you...
I've figured out every hour in every day
Except tonight
[Rose, post D-Day, pre Bad Wolf Bay. The lyrics are perhaps slightly more bitter
(and more explicitly about a romantic relationship) than this context merits,
but I just think it's a very beautiful, very quiet, very sad song.]

ZIP HERE

Plus, plain/bordered versions of the cover.

100% British Post

2008-05-27T02:53:07Z

001-034 . Doctor Who
035-058 . Ashes to Ashes
059-071 . Life on Mars
072-096 . Spaced / Black Books
[2] Doctor Who Banners
[6] Spaced Banners

Teasers:

Doctor Who: (01-17 made for doctor_who_lims)
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-34

Ashes to Ashes: (35-42 for a2a_lims)
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-58

Life on Mars:
59-63
64-68
69-71

Spaced and Black Books:
72-76
77-81
82-86
87-91
92-96

*click for full size*

Doctor Who Banners

Spaced Banners

My First Fanmix

2008-05-09T06:17:25Z

Yay, my very first fanmix. Please be gentle. Basically, each song aligns with an episode, so one mix is an entire season. I plan to do one for each season of the new series.

I tend to associate the tone of a song with an episode more than the actual lyrics, so some are looser fits than others.

Oh, and I'm not particularly shippy, but feel free to interpret these however you'd like. Let me know what you think!

A Doctor Who Series Mix, V1: Let's Become Stories

*Sample lyrics and explanations*

1x01 . Rose: Rufus Wainwright - Across the Universe
Images of broken light which dance before me
Like a million eyes that call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe
Jai guru deva om, nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
[Rose's mindset prior to leaving with The Doctor - tired of her life and beginning to open her mind to the universe.]

1x02 . The End Of The World: Yeasayer - Sunrise
Put the world up on your shoulders,
I'll stand and watch it get older/colder
You can take a million years out of my hands,
But I'm starting to lose my place,
In the circles that I trace,
And if I echo only then will my face...
Get in the sunrise
I want to get in the sunrise
[Again, Rose, still wanting to travel, but beginning to see some consequence.]

1x03 . The Unquiet Dead: Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost?
I could sleep
When I lived alone
Is there a ghost in my house?
[...I know. But it's a pretty song and I'm shallow.]

1x04 . Aliens of London: Bat For Lashes - What's a Girl to Do
And when he asked me: 'Do you still love me?'
I had to look away, I didn't want to tell him
That my heart grows colder with each day
When you love someone, but the thrill is gone
And your kisses at night are replaced with tears
And when your dreams are on a train to train wreck town
Then I ask you now, what's a girl to do?
[Eh, a bit more hyperbole is needed to completely make the translation, but poor Mickey.]

1x05 . World War Three: A-Sides - Diamonds
Let's become diamonds; let's become gold.
Let's learn to keep on goin'; and never grow old...
Let's become stories; let's become ghosts
Let's learn to hold on close to those we love most.
Let's never die, oh. Let's just shine, shine, shine;
All day, and all of the time
[Nine and Rose embarking on another adventure.]

1x06 . Dalek: Embrace - Ashes
I've waited, and given the chance again,
I'd do it all the same, but either way
I'm always outplayed, up on your down days
I left it the right way, to start again
Now watch me rise up and leave all the ashes you made out of me
When you said that we were wrong, life goes on...
[Oh, Doctor. He may have destroyed your entire race, but at least you aren't chained in a basement in Utah...wait...nm.]

1x07 . The Long Game: The Kooks - Tick of Time
What did i do in a past life, oh to deserve this
Yeah the way I make myself
He's far too innocent to be a part of such a cruel world
And it is, and it is and it is
[Nine and Rose really seem to be enjoying each other's company in this ep, and this song has that
mutual gratefulness to it (plus, the word "time" is in it, to make it extra dorky).]

1x08 . Father's Day: Beirut - A Sunday Smile
All I want is the best for our lives my dear,
And you know my wishes are sincere.
What's to say for the days I cannot bear...
We burnt to the ground, left a grave to admire.
And as we reach for the sky, reach the church of white...
A Sunday smile you wore it for a while.
A Sunday mile we paused and sang...
A Sunday smile and we felt true
[I think this song encompasses the bittersweetness of this episode wonderfully.]

1x09 . The Empty Child: Dixie Chicks - Top of the World
I wish it had been easier, instead of any longer
I wished I could have stood where you would have been proud
But that won't happen now, that won't happen now.
Theres a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world
[Nancy's song, no question. But I think it could apply to any of the more
downtrodden tertiary characters in the Whoverse.]

1x10 . The Doctor Dances: Rufus Wainwright - Beautiful Child
When I am older than these small goddamn hills...
And when there's nothing to gain, or bring me pain
Or pin the blame on you or myself
And when they finally fall
These wailing walls and burning crosses
Gods, twilight and all
Oh, how I'll feel, oh, how I'll feel
Oh, how I'll feel like a beautiful child
Such a beautiful child again
[I know, I know. It breaks the cardinal rule of mix making, but both songs totally
exemplified the feeling I got from these episodes.
So, yay, happy Doctor, finally!]

1x11 . Boom Town: DeVotchKa - Till the End of Time
Oh who put all those cares inside your head
You can’t live your life on your deathbed
And it’s been such a lovely day, let’s not let it end this way
And everybody knows where this is heading
Forgive me for forgetting
Our hearts irrevocably combined
Star-crossed souls slow dancing
Retreating and advancing across the sky until the end of time
[Aw, they're all so cute, unaware of the impending doom.]

1x12 . Bad Wolf: Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
We know a place where no planes go
We know a place where no ships go
(Hey!) No cars go
(Hey!) No cars go
Where we know...
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream...
[Um...there are no cars in space? Again, it's a pretty song. Just pretend it works.]

1x13 . The Parting of the Ways: Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
It doesn't hurt me.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, It's you and me.
And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road, be running up that hill,
Be running up that building
[Rose, taking up the mantle of savior of humanity...or something.
Plus, the whole glowy bit felt rather 80's, anyway.]

ZIP HERE

LOL, +1 icon.

I meant to make more, but I got impatient to post the music.
I'll probably just add it in my next post.

Icon.palooza

2008-04-18T17:06:42Z

What's this? I'm still alive? And making an actual post? Yeah, it's been a while. School is, as they say, kicking my ass. I'm in a momentary lull between several soul-crushing projects, so I'm taking the opportunity to post some of the stuff I've been making sporadically over the last few months. Lots of flotsam and jetsam from icontests and such.

P.S. My kitty owns your SOUL!! (#101-103)

001-024 . Friday Night Lights
025-044 . Lost
045-059 . Pushing Daisies
060-074 . Australia
075-094 . Misc (Atonement/Stock)
095-112 . Stock (My photos)
[3] Pushing Daisies Banners

Teasers:

Friday Night Lights:
01-05
06-10
11-15
16-20
21-24

Lost:
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44

Pushing Daisies:
45-49
50-54
55-59

Australia:
60-64
65-69
70-74

Misc (Atonement, Stock):
75-79
80-84
85-89
90-94

Stock (my photos):
95-98
99-102
103-106
107-110
111-112

Caps: A Star is Born (1954)

2008-02-18T01:28:29Z

Starring Judy Garland and James Mason
Caps: 1500
Size: 768x432
Samples and Links beneath the cut.

*click for full size*

Zip 1, Zip 2

If you haven't heard the song "The Man That Got Away," please, do yourself a favor and download it now. It hasn't been called one of the greatest musical numbers in motion picture history for nothing.

Also, a You Tube video of it: here.

Tutorial: Amelie

2008-02-03T07:09:34Z

I know. Not new icons. School just started and my schedule just imploded into negative free time. But I thought I'd use the little I do have to do an instructional post.

Warning! This is especially for images that are overall too much of a dull yellow. Made mostly to get a semi-realistic skin tone. It's gonna look really odd with normal caps...like an explosion of neon blue. Examples of caps in the cut.

Go from this:
to this:

Made with CS2. NO SELECTIVE COLORING. Presumably translatable. 7 steps.

Credit where credit is due. This tut is an outcome of much fiddling with this lovely tutorial.

Step 1: Start with an image.

Step 2: Duplicate and screen your layers.
I did 1 duplicate on Screen 100%, then another on Screen 22%.

Step 3: New Color Fill Layer - 4f150b - Exclusion 44%
(any dark brown should do, really)

Step 4: New Color Fill Layer - f09800 - Overlay 9%
(a deep golden yellow)

Step 5: Color Balance Layer:
Highlights: +10, +10, -8
Midtones: +10, 0, 0
Shadows: 0, 0, 0

Step 6: Brightness/Contrast Layer: -8, +11
(to be adjusted for each image)

Step 7: Color Balance Layer:
H: +9, +15, +100
M: +22, 0, +36
S: +19, +9, +32

There you have it! As always with tuts, adjust the levels and %'s for different results.

Some of the original screencaps, to get an idea of the type of yellow it works best on:

Also made with this tut:

Omar Little Approved This Post

2008-01-18T04:45:04Z

Hola, it is me! This and the next post or so should be fairly random, as I'm in a bunch of different LIMS & icontests and need to burn off the entries, but of course that's nothing new for me. And in an effort to broaden my iconing canon (though I can hardly call it that), I present my first ever icons for The Wire, which is an amazing show and you should totally go watch it now (unless you have a low tolerance for excessive violence, language and bureaucracy).

001-015 . Amelie
016-045 . Pushing Daisies
046-063 . The Wire
064-103 . Disney

Teasers:

Amelie:
(01-05)
(06-10)
(11-15)

Pushing Daisies (Contest Entries, Episodes: 1-3):
(16-20)
(21-25)
(26-30)
(31-35)
(36-40)
(41-45)

The Wire:
(46-50)
(51-55)
(56-60)
(61-63)

Disney (Contest Entries, Misc)
(64-68)
(69-73)
(74-78)
(79-83)
(84-88)
(89-93)
(94-98)
(99-103)

Caps: Once

2008-01-09T00:30:09Z

Caps: 1250

Size: 768x432

*click for full size*

Zip 1, Zip 2

My alternate banner, because I'm a dork who likes pretty pictures.

caps: his girl friday

2007-12-20T22:40:51Z

Starring: Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
Caps: 1850
Size: 616x464

*click for full size*

Zip 1, Zip 2

Mama, I'm a Mood Theme Now

2007-12-17T06:28:19Z

I made this a little while ago, but hadn't gotten around to posting it. Not my best, not my worst, and the icons are super generic, but I can live with it. Hope you like it, though!

Again, both plain and bordered themes, with a preview of both.

[1] . Hairspray Mood Theme
20 . Hairspray Icons (from the mood theme)

Preview here
Theme WITH borders here
Plain theme here (NO borders)
Instructions by crackified
Let me know if something doesn't work or there's any trouble.

Bordered Theme Samples:

creative	recumbent	drained	enraged	sleepy

01-05

06-10

11-15

16-20

ETA: Request.