My life is going awesome right now with school, student teaching, and other stuff. This semester is the best one I've ever had so far. I'm a big ball of feeling great and enjoying everything, which is new for me. I'm not epically annoyed by everything and hating everyone in the world. It's nice.

My list of vids to feedback and rec is getting longer and longer. It still includes stuff from VVC. I'm working my way through the DVDs slowly and I'll have everything posted before the end of the year. Hopefully.

VID RECS (VVC disc 2 - premieres from themed shows):
dualbunny's I Want What I Want (Bionic Woman) - A sleek and beautiful exploration of Jaime and Sarah, how their characters weave around each other and show how their stories interact.

maichan808's Fun with Real Audio (The Girlie Edition) (Supernatural) - LULZ.

I made a Whiskey vidlet, The Night, with the prompts: Dollhouse, epitaph one, The Night by Morphine for the Itty-Bitty Viddy Ficcy Thon.

VID RECS:
danegen's Slobo Babe (Lesbian Vampire Killers) - Has me LOLZ-ing forever. The movie is complete crack and it's well used in the vid with good timing.

giandujakiss's A Charming Man (Supernatural) - Excellent song choice, interesting lyrical interpretation coupled with brillant musicality in the visuals.

newkidfan's Human & Monster (Supernatural) - A beautifully subdued pair of companion vidlets that feel bittersweet and sad.

FIC REC:
serrico's Primogeniture is a Supernatural fic of Claire, Castiel's vessel's daughter, set post-Rapture that hurts in a good way.

Lastly, I've become a resident of Zombieland by zombifying myself.

People in fandom tend to forget that there's a person behind the anon submitted vids. They think it's an excuse for them to rude about a vid because their friend's name isn't on it.

VID REC:
Right in Two (Supernatural plus additional source footage) - I'm not seeing the vid the way that a lot of people are. I see it as a genuinely thoughtful and thought out vid.

I read it as the angels come down to earth (Castiel mainly for the vid), looking down on the human "mud monkeys" as lower beings. The news clips seem to come from human events that show the worst of human behavior, like race riots, deaths during civil unrest, riots rising from rallies, racial tension from gang rape, protests turning violent, and police shootings. Castiel takes this all in from the world that's all around him, noted by the tv. The use of the sequence of Dean's death in the 2:20s and the eye zoom makes me think the vidder is implying that it's like hell on earth.

Castiel figures that God is in heaven and has given up on the earth on the awful creation, so Castiel gives into the human nature of the vessel. Castiel and other angels become so influenced by the world around them that they seemingly participate in the reenacting out of the events, the stink of humans and earth having taught them racially modivated violence.

Concept-wise, it's like the vidder is saying that people are taught by the media to see people that are racially different as the "bad guy."

I don't know if this is the intent behind the vid or not. It's my interpretation of the vid, which I'm not going to try and say is the meaning. It's one person's opinion.

vid title: Choose Life. music: Transpotting monologue (Ewan McGregor, Irvine Welsh, John Hodge, and Danny Boyle) with Lust for Life (Iggy Pop). source: Supernatural duration: 1:03 notes: Created for Vividcon 2009's challenge show, IDIC.

summary: What life will Dean choose?

notes added:I don't like having to expand on my vids unless I want to do so, but I feel like I have to explain my reasoning for making this vid for the challenges vidshow. The theme used for the challenge, as always, is left open to interpretation.

Simply, the Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations aspect is the different possible lives Dean has been shown within the series.

Not as simply, the theme was "IDIC," which I researched and found the concept to be a joke. The first thing I read put me off doing a challenge at all because of falseness of it, but I went a different direction than expected because I couldn't get behind the concept. Within the show it's a prestigious Vulcan award of merit, celebrating the vast array of variables in the universe – the sea of possibility that a Vulcan-trained mind can navigate. In the real world it's a cheap ploy to sell replica merchandise to fans that the actors wanted nothing to do with. The challenge was kind of hollow for me. I decided to go with how the Vulcans went from violent wars to generally adhering to a philosophy of non-violence. The vid explores if Dean would trade his violent life for a more peaceful one, which is a lie.

download: BAM vid vault stream
18.1mb xvid avi via sendspace

( embedded BAM vid vault )

nightchik and I complied the Understanding Meta Vids (I C WHUT U DID THAR) vidshow (she ran the panel at VVC) for 2009 vividcon.

Vids that exist on a meta level, working in more ways than one, often suggesting a basis beyond the individual fandoms of the source andmore about a larger concept and/or fandom itself. Vids that go beyond the narrative of their source, commenting on the nature of that narrative, connecting with outside meanings, or placing the story in alarger culture context.

Everytime I thought we had a good description I'd realize it was excluding some type of meta or possibility for meta. I had no idea how tediously difficult it would be a write a definition for what meta vids are. We went for a wide range of meta topics, so I hope people didn't look at it and reject the vidshow in the basis that it's not what they consider to be meta. Meta has a wide variety of possibilities and these vids are some of them:

( On to the playlist! )

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? While this was the playlist for meta vids used in the vidshow, I encourage others to drop links in the comments to other meta vids. Feel free to spark discussions as well. I'm sure they'll be notes coming from the meta panel and I'd love for online discussion as well.

Title: Dorothy and the Snake
Fandom: Supernatural
Character/Pairing: Anna/Lilith
Timeline/Spoilers: 4x10 - Heaven and Hell
Rating: M
Originally written for femslash_today's fireworks09: porn battle.

( Dorothy and the Snake )

It's been a while since I've done a recs post. I had some ridic computer problems, then I was vidding non-stop and I don't watch vids while I vid. I have this deep fear of ripping someone off without realizing it. I've missed a ton of recent vids and these are a few that I've enjoyed.

VID RECS:
aycheb's Nobody loves you (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) - Amazing structure and use of the black and white. The change of pace and flow into Weaver is glorious, especially with the added layer of it being her voice. I really like the way the vid takes time with clips and allows them to breathe. I love how long and drawn out it feels. The doors opening is brillantly edited. Coming back to Ellison as the focus with Weaver and then John Henry brings Ellison into focus and the things he was faced with and how he reacts and interacts with the new information. This vid connected me with Ellison in a way I didn't in the series. Beautiful plays of light too. And the use of the graves with "all humans die eventually."

kuwdora's Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect (Heroes) - The movement and meticulous nature of the clip choice is thrilling. The song is so perfect for Sylar. He's right there in the lyrics and in the feel of the song and Abbey was able to pull him out and calculate him exactly. Sadly, there are some amazing Heroes vids that are underappreciated because of the lack of interest in the show, but that shouldn't hold anyone back from enjoying this vid. It's so freaking good. My reading of the vid is colored by my view of Sylar, so I see Sylar trying to change for other people, but ultimately rejecting it. He's so many different people and things, but some of them were forced on him instead of a choice. He's a watchmaker's son, then he was a Petrelli, then he was an orphan, then he was a million other things. But in this vid, he dreamt he was an architect instead of fixing the work of someone else. Death is his art and he makes it with his hands day after day.
With bonus vid commentary.

mithborien's Goodnight, demon slayer (Supernatural) - Extremely well edited with how Sam and Dean as grown ups are barely in the vid at all and their adult faces are obstructed or distorted when they are. Very cool idea of keeping the on them when they were younger, yet still hinting at their grown up lives within the show.

Macro rec for obsessive24's Fall of Man (Supernatural)

sol_se's So What (Prison Break) - I want to know this Gretchen character. She looks like my kind of woman. I stopped watching Prison Break before she was on, but I'm able to get the gist with clip choice, parallel clips, interesting interactions and connections, facial movements, and narrative. I want to be her PIC because Grechen is in ur show, brakin' up ur sausage fest.

winterevanesce's Like a Boss (Supernatural) - Oh shit. Great clip choice and sync. HI-LARIOUS lyric use too.

Title: Much Ado About Nothing
Fandom: The Big Bang Theory
Characters/Pairing:
Spoilers: None beyond the premise of the show, so pilot

( Much Ado About Nothing )


Title: You Disappearing Son of a Bitch
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters/Pairing: Dean and Castiel
Spoilers: season four

( You Disappearing Son of a Bitch )


Title: Don't Hold Back
Fandom: Heroes
Characters/Pairing: Claire/Sylar
Spoilers: None

( Don't Hold Back )

The internet is so dead you'd think it was a holiday or something.

VID RECS:
giandujakiss's Believe (Supernatural) - Amazing song choice with movement that makes me want to stop blinking.
giandujakiss's One War (Dark Angel) - Beautiful working of layering that adds meaning and communicates so well. The progression, structure, and focus are amazing.

gigglemonster's Be My Yoko Ono (Stargate: Atlantis) - Really cute and quirky clip interaction with a natural feeling pacing.

halcyon_shift's I Want to be Evil (Multi) - Great transitions and connections within multiple sources and many of my favorite characters.

heyiya's Exit Music (For A Witch) (Merlin) - Excellent subversion of the show and characters. The vid has a soft feel, then the hard edges start poking out.

maichan808's Kinetic (Supernatural) - Nice flow of beautifully understated images.

sweetestdrain's Empty Hearts (Merlin) - Great stucture and detail to relationship that makes the vid feel like a ballet of hope for all of them.

tearful_eye's Riddle in the Sky (Merlin) - Stellar editing, yet I can't really put into words how amazing this vid is. It's so rich and heavy, the weight of the visuals and music coupled with the editing and lyrics.

Ok, I've watched this video about ten times in the last two days. I have no idea exactly what makes it and Sara Schaefer so great, but I've watch it so many times that I need to pass it off to my flist: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBzOfUTGTts]


VID RECS:
butterfly's Jacob Marley's Chain (Merlin) - A haunting Uther vid with simmer and barely contained emotions in the languid editing.

charmax's Smile (Buffy and Angel) - BEWBS ARE KEWL in this cute and fun vid.

deirdre_c's Supernatural (In My Pants) (Supernatural) - You haven't lived until you've laughed with this vid.

millylicious's Pandora's Box (Heroes) - She is a sick genius and I loves it. The vid is so creepy and amazing that I want to have it's scary Elle and Sylar babies.
millylicious's Soldier (Merlin) - Quiet sadness soaks this Hunith vid right along the sheer joy and beauty.

obsessive24's Love Lockdown (Battlestar Galactica) - An amazing destruction and construction of Gina/Cain that uses repeated imagery to give a more full representation with limited source.

COMIC/COLLAGE:
dogeared and aesc's Escape Velocity (Stargate: Atlantis) - This blew my mind with creativity and innovation. It's set before 5x16 with the Vegas!verse that pays such mind to composition and interaction between text and image that I could stare it at.

I had another doctor's appointment. She said I did a lot of healing this week and it's looking great. It's to the point now where I won't have to have skin graphs. Last week they mentioned that I might have needed it to close up the skin over the muscles at the bottom of the wound because it was tunneling. I asked about physical therapy because they mentioned it last week, but the doctor said it's difficult to tell right now because I still have a ways to go before we can discuss it. That pretty much ends the good part. There's a secondary wound on the back of my thigh now. It's not the exactly the same as the first; it doesn't look the same, but it hurts the same. They put antibiotics on it and a dressing, telling me to call if it got worse. The whole thing has me freaks out again. They didn't do any tests or take a sample, so it can't be that bad. I'm just freaking out because that's been my general state of being for the last month. Freaking out and terrified of dying some awful death.

Most of the doctor's at the hospital thought it was an insect bite, while some thought it was a puncture from a scrape or something else, but there was never a conclusive answer. It wasn't the original wound that was the reason it was so serious. The infection was the major thing. The MRSA was what caused the whole thing. I flipped my shit when I came home and had everything cleaned from bleaching my clothes, sending stuff to the dry cleaners, sanitizing everything, and everything, so an insect bite is unlikely if it's happening again. I would have sprayed a thin layer of Purell all over the house if it was possible.

I'm feeling really screwed up, more so than usual. Libby brought up that I haven't let many people touch me at all. Before all this I was weird about people touching me anyways. If I'm not expecting to be touched, I flinch. Libby said I've become every weirder about it. One of my friends made a comment about it a few years ago because I would shrug his arm off my shoulder and he took it personally until he finally asked me about it and I didn't even realize I did it. Lately I only let the nurses and doctor touch me and I snap at my family when they try to hug me or anything. For a few days in the hospital I was told not to touch anyone because they weren't sure what I had and they thought it might be contagious. I guess I took that a bit far, even after they said I was cleared. I haven't voluntarily touched someone else in a month. I haven't had anyone over to the house and I barely talk to my friends on the phone. I'm only really talking to Amanda and Cassey. I made plans to go to Amanda's and watch a movie, but now there's a second wound and the doctor said it would be best if I stayed home until everything was checked out. I've forgotten what some of my friends look like. I'm pretty sure whatever I had going on with J. is over because I didn't tell him I was in the hospital and he found out from someone else. He sent me a bitchy text message saying that he never felt close to me emotionally. In that whole string of texts he never once asked me if I was ok. He knew I was still in the hospital, but he thought it was a good idea to have a text argument with me. He knew how I was before we got together and I don't feel to bad about because he has another girlfriend. When I'm honest with myself, I didn't call him and I didn't even think about it, which says something. I don't miss him much either. I miss other people way more.

So now that I've puked my emotional guts out have some VID RECS:
charmax's It's Not Over Yet (Merlin) - Amazing construction and editing of motion with skilled implementation of symbols.

lsketch42's Crackdance (Supernatural) - A cute and fun vid that is extremely rewatchable.

obsessive24's Red (Merlin) - The imagery and feeling of predestination is startling with the tone of the vid and the tension.

talitha78's Creator (Chuck) - With so few Sarah Walker vids, this one says something interesting with the footage using the Intersect imagery and slight glimpses into her internal emotions.

tearful_eye's Dido's Lament (Stargate SG-1) - Sadly beautiful editing with swaying motion, like a quietly hard lullaby.

VID RECS:
bradcpu's Man in the Box (House) - A fluidly kinetic, energy filled, extremely well constructed look at some deeper parts of the show, character, and interactions. It's like the Teachings of Gregory House's Questionable Ethics When Getting the End Diagnosis Justifies the Cruel Means.

hollywoodgrrl's Run for Your Life (Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars) - Creepy and odd vid to a killer remix with the right balance of cutesy music matching and serious editing mojo.

tearful_eye's Souvenirs (Life) - Great editing cues with the weirdness of the music and brillant clip choice coupled with a messily perfect vid of calculated choppiness!

untrue_accounts's Low Red Moon (Supernatural) - Such elaborate symbol use and connections with a sharp eye for quirky movement to the beats.

vid title: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
music: Dana Fuchs, Joe Anderson & T.V. Carpio's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from the Across the Universe soundtrack
source: Supernatural, Planet Terror, and Zombieduck (with addition footage from I Know Who Killed Me)
duration: 3:52
summary: Within the Supernatural universe, there is Planet Terror with zombies. Those zombies are from Zombieduck. Also, there are strippers.
notes: Made for 2008 VVC Challenge
warning: Ummm... blood, guts, nudity, sex, guns, and rock'n'roll. Please don't let your grandmother watch unless she's superawesome.
Oodles of meta on this vid in the comments of this post.

download: 30mb avi and BAM vid vault.

( lyrics )

( embedded BAM vid vault )

Today I hit snooze for 4 hours. That is a new record for me. I'm glad that for the first time in months, I had nowhere important to be today.

Everyone should go enjoy heyiya's Battlestar Galactica flavored meta, Why I heart the Cylons: integrated meta, vid recs and notes on Sons and Daughters.

VID RECS:
Remember when I said that BSG was producing some of the greatest vids ever? Yep, it's still happening. chaila43's Cathedrals (Battlestar Galactica) - There have been many character studies of the woman of BSG, this one focuses on Three, Laura, and Caprica. There's an innocence to the editing that gives way to lovely lyric interpretations, clip choice, and an instinctual editing style. It's lush and languid in a way that allows the viewer to organically connect with the characters through their search.

sweetestdrain's Lágrimas (Supernatural) - The musicality is beautifully rendered with glitching and static noise. The whole piece is moody and sweetly creepy. It's a quiet story with well chosen scenes and shots from limited source.

The Fifth Wheel (in which I flail over all the pretties from The Fourth Wall as I plow through them):

Mister Anderson's Every Penguin Dance Now (Happy Feet) - Throughly enjoyable, Extremely well executed lip sync-ing, great rhythm in the editing and motion, and completely adorable. I love the slides on the snow at about 3:00.

meivocis's The Noose (Heroes) - There's something about it that I love, but I can't put my finger on it. The editing is odd and off kilter in a meaningful and interesting way. The clip choices and the use of the source with the music is insipred. All that comes together into an amazing vid.

winterevanesce's Sick (Resident Evil Trilogy) - Holy crap, this vid is so kick ass. There's great clip choices and the coloring and effects, which are grossly awesome. Using the remix version of the song is fantastic.

cherryice's Only (Battlestar: Galactica) - The way all the characters are weaved together in such a complex web is amazing. There's deep thought put into it and amazing motion. I don't really have the words to express myself, suffice to say: lksajfldlkeyboardsmashofamazingnessadf.

gigglemonster's The Scars of All I'll Ever Know (Supernatural) - The layering conveys so much meaning in so little time. Also, yay for manip smooches. The coloring and effects are so pretty and the AU comes across beautifully.

VID RECS:
chasarumba's Gemini (Jekyll) - The opening is very stylized and executed. The transformations, pacing, use of lush coloring, and power of the music is amazing. So many strings and threads of the series come into a cohesive movement with the music. The dynamics of the music are expressed so wonderfully. It's the 11th second and I'm sold completely, then I'm pulled in deeper. The never ending motion of "Hyde" with all the whirling and twisting of him and the camera is contrasted beautifully with the creepy stillness of him in the foyer with the boys. The vidder isn't afraid of holding on that clip and letting the composition and contextual meaning of the shot sink it. Expert use of the visual language of that episode.

lim's Sandman (Stargate: Atlantis) - Rather terrifyingly cute verging on disturbing reworking of McKay and Sheppard into a comicbook style.

sockkpuppett's The Fifth Circle (Supernatural) - When I sat down to type feedback for this vid, I found myself grasping for the right phrases and platitudes. First, I view the vid as an unrealized reality. It's a look at what could and might be. It's a hypothesis, from my view, but maybe not the vidder and maybe not another viewer. The use of external footage is melded with an expert touch. The motion and connections between the disparate sources pull together to create a believable world. The mood and atmosphere is set up and the tone is conveyed within seconds of the vid. There's an ethereal quality that makes my heart ache for Sam and Dean. The contrast of dark and bright with the use of glow and layers is beautiful. I never would have thought that What Dreams May Come could be used for Supernatural, but the vidder makes me believe it wholeheartedly. As with so many of sockkpuppett's vids, I find myself ill-equipped to comment because I lack the ability to express why I appreciate the vid.

I broke one of my resolutions on January 4th. I wasn't going to "be all up in celebrity gossip", but com'on. Britney Spears was taken to the hospital for a mental evaulation. How can I not "be all up in" that?

I almost, almost got to see a real hardcore bar fight last night after the game. One of the guys was two seconds from doing one of those hard chest pokes to the other guy, but his brother and wife settled him down. In hindsight it was stupid to go get drinks when the game was on. Amanda (Noel Fielding to my Russell Brand) and I met up with Marcus and Nikki at the smallest bar I've ever been in, The Joyful Mug.

VID RECS:
astartexx's Take Me Home (Deadwood) - Harsh song and recolor that suits Alma completely with the melodic editing and fades.

raspberry_splat, humansrsuperior, and leviathan101's Winter in My Heart (Doctor Who) - Perfectly alligned layers and effects that make the vid feel ghostlike.

sweetestdrain's Growing Up (Supernatural) - It's a giant ball of Supernatural awesomeness with motion, movement, editing, and pacing to die for.

Since a few people have asked for it, I'll post a link to my the girl or the weapon? edit of Michael Andrews' score here as well.

CD meme
Follow these easy steps:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result in your own journal:

My New Years Eve was rather crappy, so I’m going to pretend that 2008 begins on January 2, so that my year doesn’t start horribly. Please indulge me in this delusion.

I think a softer world sums it up fairly well.

( real life resolutions )

( fannish and vidding resolutions )

You know you vid too much when:
I had a conversation with a friend about how the area where we live is greatly influenced by the past economy, which is as boring as it sounds. Decades ago the economy was centered on the trains that went through, but now the arcitecture reflects the change in economy because there are so many train stations that were converted for other uses. That's when my brain went off on a sidebar to the thought that in the vid of my life, my therapist's office would be contrasted with the art studio I had my internship at because both buildings were originally train stations, but were converted. Of course that section would include the charcoal substraction piece I did of a train. Yep. That's a sign I vid too much.

VID RECS:
halcyon_shift's Faultline (Supernatural) - Subtle movement, strikingly perfect music, and great POV changes that come together in an understated way to make a sad and amazing vid.
halcyon_shift's Patterns (Life) - An absolute masterpiece of flares, desaturation, gradients, layers, and motion that makes you feel like you're on a beautiful ride.

Fabella's What Goes Around (Heroes) - Of course, Sylar's feelings for Mohinder would be best expressed through a song from Justin Timberlake.

lcsbanana's My Old Man Had A Pistol (Heroes) - Matt and his seemingly shiny and bright surface with the dark and sad interior.

shati's Help is Coming (Heroes) - A fully realized vid of sadness and hope with seamless and natural editing.