LadySmoks

13 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

Towards the end of the video they'll show the numbers the Ukrainians are reporting.

Propaganda from both sides has been over the top, but from Kiev all depends on what they see as necessary to get more weapons.

4 hours ago, Alkpaz said:

Hurricane Ian just reached CAT 5 status with 155mph winds. In comparison take Hurricane Andrew which was a CAT 5 at 150mph winds. Andrew clipped south Florida. Ian is going straight through the center. 

My husband has family in Ft Myers. ((( This morning, looks as they will take direct hit.

1 hour ago, Kendo 2 said:

Lavrov lays it all out, and I mean almost everything.

I can no longer watch this entire video. My heart breaks and stomach turns. But this is the unprovoked attack on my city. My husband and I walked this sidewalk many times, and in the park there. We stayed together in an apartment less than 1,000 m from this place. We bought coffee at a kiosk by this building. These crimes went unpunished, and it only got much worse because Kiev knew they could get away with it all. 

So, I found (to me) an interesting VN/ game, Love of Magic, on F95, which prompted my work on characters for Dragon Valley. It is (to me) an interesting take on the Arthurian legend, "Once and Future King", with magic, dragons, gods and goddesses, demi-gods, etc etc. Nothing is quite as I hope to have it... eventually, but it's a start.

Owyn is an American, who is the result of a scheme set in motion by his godfather, Merlin (yes, THAT Merlin) and his father, the oldest of the gods, to one day assume the mantle of The Winter King, defeat a great enemy and rule Camelot at the side of Queen Emily Pendragon.

He is the last of the "first born", but known defective, as "Mother", the original goddess was gone, and Owyn's mother was the closest they could find. An unknowing Sorcoress of such power that she bends reality to her will without knowing she does it. So, Merlin and The Oldest place "software updates" along Owyn's path. He needs friends, love and his "Chosen" to fill the gaps.

Chosen Akane is a seer of a powerful Japanese clan, and his eyes. Chosen Molly is a sorcoress and reformed camwhore for demons of Elsewhere, and his connection to "the voices" that guide mens' fate. Emily is a cute girl he saved from a montrous assassin, and heir to Arthur's throne... love at first sight! Katie becomes his best mate and friend with benefits at Evoker school. And Bella, Chosen Werewolf... he draws on her self control to never allow herself to be the beast, but to contain it.

Pic background... Erec Pendragon has screwed up Camelot and lost too much political power to various factions of lords and nobles. To retain his power, he promised his (not as much of a virgin as he thought) daughter to marry into one of the noble houses. Owyn buys her this t-shirt...

3rd book is still being written, and I wait impatiently! Meanwhile, I will continue working on my Sims. )))

Yeah, it has gratuitous sex, but I am honestly taken by the storyline created by Droid. Also nice that the characters are more to "real" proportions, as opposed to every female being 44 GGG breast size! ))))

Current events in Ukraine were set in motion first by trying to overthrow Syria (Russian ally), then by the coup that overthrew the government in Kiev in 2013/ 14. Seeds were probably sewn long before, but... Understand that those given power by the west (US), were and are Nazis by the purest definition... National Socialists. Pure Ukraine, to which I am a half-breed mongrel. Search "Svoboda Party", and their association with Stepan Bandera, Right Sector, and other extremist groups. Also understand that to consolidate power, one of first steps was to ban their political opposition, Party of Regions. That alone is something unheard of in western nations, but was encouraged by west in Ukraine.

There was Minsk Agreement. All were ready to sign, but Kiev pulled out (many believe at the behest of US, which was not directly involved in the talks, rather laying ground for future regional influence).

4 years, and no further problems. Then the same powers returned in US, and talk of Nato missiles in eastern Ukraine again. My husband is military and knows strategy, and is puzzled by lack of air power early, and still. Perhaps military had lied about capabilities to Putin? Numbers of arms and hardware???

April, a ceasefire had almost been agreed to, and again, rumors are US "voices" convinced Kiev to continue. Biden slipped early on when admitting that "regime change" in Russia was his goal. He will fight with the lives of every last Ukrainian to reach that goal. He does not care, as missiles do not need a city. They sit nicely on scarred earth.

I lived thru the gas turned off in 2008. That was when I met my husband. It was a very cold winter, even in Lugansk. That was the last time Nationalists had full control, and were caught stealing gas intended for Europe. Russia shut it down to a trickle. It is possible that there will not be sufficient gas flow to light a pilot in Kiev as temps go down to -10 C in February.

1 hour ago, vancleef said:

I try and be fair when it comes to politics. I'm registered Independent so I don't blindly follow either party. Fetterman started off with the right idea and to his credit he did take a down and out neighborhood and got it partially running again. But his claims that he's the Savior of the Universe is just hot air.

Politics is always less of two evils! Few can stumble thru life without doing something good, even if by accident. ))) But to me, it's the blatant lies. Do not piss on me and tell me it was the other guy, when you stand there with your pants down!  I do not live in PA, but in NJ, but our TV and radio is from Phila, and PA politics is 24/7 right now.

So, Fetterman says Washington politicians are screwing everything up, yet he is member of the party in power, and screwing it up. The ads about him releasing felons as city crime rises would be more than enough for me to vote against him... which is the less of two evils! Both may be assholes, so vote for the "less" asshole... or against the bigger one. (((

I am wondering about this new bill, about campaign cash disclosure. My husband says he is sure it is as all crazy leftwing legislation, and the name has little to do with what is actually in the bill... filled with poison pills ($10 billion for green crap) that repubs will vote no to, then dems will cry about repubs blocking it.

8 hours ago, vancleef said:

He's a Trust Fund Kid masquerading as a Working Class Hero.

Another AOC? I looked it up, and yes... "poor little rich kid".

John Fetterman mocks Dr Oz for wearing 'Gucci loafers,' says he 'wouldn't last two hours' in Braddock

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11161373/Fetterman-mocks-Dr-Oz-wearing-Gucci-loafers-says-wouldnt-two-hours-Braddock.html

Basically, in his effort to paint himself as some tough guy, Fetterman is announcing just how dangerous the tiny town that he was mayor of is. Good job!

I believe him to be a leftwing DNA experiment of some kind, having exhumed samples from Lurch and Uncle Fester. I may be wrong, but you decide for yourself...

2 hours ago, Alkpaz said:

Yeah, not ever getting a drink with ice in it anymore. Someone posted that 80% of ice machines are like this. I believe it. I found this video after cruising around post this video:

Well, my husband says that Starbuck's actually gets regular cleaning and maintanence on ice machines in our area from HVAC company he works for. We don't buy their over priced, woke crap coffee, but at least the ice is clean!

Besides, that which does not kill you... etc etc etc... 

A reckoning is coming...

At least, this crap will not be taught to my son. We live in a small town in South Jersey, where my husband, his military service, "special" training, willingness to defend his family and ability to do so are very well known and respected. At a local school board meeting over the summer, he made a simple and clear statement... "The schools will teach our son to read, write and do math. We (pointed to himself and to me) will teach him everything else he needs to know about life. The manner in which I prosecute (military meaning, not the legal one) any derivation from that will be an unpleasantness you may wish to avoid." And we left before anyone had a chance to say something that would lead to "unpleasantness".

This stuff must be stopped!

When you have to tell an adoring crowd that they are supposed to applaud, maybe what you said isn't worth applauding in the first place...

6 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

Harley Quin is a unique and interesting character.  From what I can tell she appeals to women and girls. I can't see that character being mirrored or taken away from any other character.  Like Wonder Women there are characters that can stand alone and have deep rich backstories. More needs to be created. Same goes for insert your protected class.

Copy and rip off something else and it will fail. It has always failed. Might be interesting for a brief time but it will fail. Never stand by itself. Create something interesting and unique and it will stand the test of time.

My understanding is that she has "evolved" a bit, from Joker sidekick to super villainess in her own right... though always tied to Joker. She has her own skill set and abilities, as well as her psychosis. But being associated with a male character isn't a bad thing. Men and woman are often paired up in life... and theirs is a twisted love story! ))) Even 1960's Batman (I get to watch this with my husband and son)... Despite what wokers would call masogynistic, Catwoman was beautiful, brown skinned, criminal mastermind who was the boss of several male thugs. 

1 hour ago, endgameaddiction said:

Harley Quinn is white. That's good enough and really all it takes to destroy a character these days.

Perhaps, but the mental health people might get upset!

My 2 cents... Wonder Woman, as introduced in Batman Vs Superman, was pretty good. Beautiful, PRINCESS (demigodess), kicked butt, and had cool theme music! They touched on her emotional dettachment from "getting involved", but not too much. I do not think she was ever portrayed as a female version of a male character, which makes her even better... in my view. NOT "female Thor"... NOT female Ironman... NOT female Ghostbusters! OY!!!

But, wokeness isn't about "equality", rather about taking things away, and appropriating them, and throwing it back in your face, be it video games or movies... or anything else they can think of.

Exploring TS3 Dragon Valley, something was missing... Like a warrior Elf Princess. So, I made one...

Skyrim isn't the only place to find good armor. ))) Although, the exposed belly, and heaving under boob does seem to be a tad bit counter productive for armor, as it goes... but then again, have you seen what passes for armor in Skyrim???

1 hour ago, Alkpaz said:

Then this other beauty: 

I saw something about the solar panels adding to "global warming/ climate change". Probably find out it's the number 1 cause... that and smug farts!

Also saw CA plans to force the poor to take a bus by 2035 story on the news. Didn't see WA, but stands to reason they, NY, then the battle of NJ and NV over who gets to join that a-hole club.

Other news, NJ plans to implement CRT inclassrooms K-12 this year. I'm thinking to start a go fund me page for bail to keep my husband out of jail after school board meetings! Although, it's entirely possible that local cops won't even try to arrest him. ))) Reality is that locally, we still think it may not happen as the state wants. Could become interesting. 

21 minutes ago, Alkpaz said:

Well, I just "blew a gasket", after reading all that drivel over at LL. That site is going insane. Let me rephrase that site has already gone insane just moreso lately. Like "wow" levels. Need to post something cringy.. okay, here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-solar-panels-canals-drought/

the flip:

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/giant-desert-solar-farms-might-have-unintended-climate-consequences

So... The CIA is actually planning to build their weather machine in the Sahara?

1 hour ago, Nessa said:

There's a...  AHEM place online... that leaks paywalled mods. I dropped by a couple months back. They had a bunch of Schaken stuff. I checked some of it out. Every single one: mediocre to garbage quality. Why anyone would pay for that crap is beyond me.

As a side note, I've noticed much the same thing in the Sims 4 community. If it's paywalled, it's generally much lower quality.

OY! I would never use a site that does run around paywalls!  Especially TS4, so I can convert them to TS3.... and give it away for free!

Still, I honestly consider checking out Capt Jack Sparrow's TS4 game collection, so I have better access, just so I can convert a few of my very special Sims to TS4 and open a Patreon account.  TS4ers will buy anything! Probably all that Covid cash, and now that they don't have to pay student loans, TS4 Patreon accounts will do very well. )))

Heck, might even upload spam LL just for giggles to advertise my Patreon account. 

6 hours ago, endgameaddiction said:

If you've never heard of Schaken-Mods, now you have. This site started off, and probably still is, by stealing other people's mods and uploading them to their site just to have mods in their downloads.

In TS3, this is PandoraSims3. Similar to you, I used their CC when I first began downloading, but learned much was stolen. I basically deleted everything I had from that site.

2 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

If the theory is that this virus was made more deadly for population control or just as a weapon, yes, mistakes were made. However, I can't see China resorting to that to control population. They already do things to their population to control it. As for Hispanics etc. With the "theory" America was funding this. America was just having major problems with race relations and this comes out. Funded by primarily white, upper class this would work if there was an agenda to control any population.

In any case, it is very cringe that any weaponize was done to a common virus such as Covid. One thing that stuck me so hard was how fast the Chinese government reacted to a virus. When they have many flu and other things that originate there. Why this one? Why such a strong response? Also If I remember correctly, there was someone from the lab that died very early on (patient zero? Perhaps?  Very suspect at least for a lab leak, mistake.

As for being in a position to challenge them. Look back to Vietnam. Military generally had majority of their foot soldiers were minorities. If the USA encountered a war today, they would first use the currently enlisted men/women (which if I am correct has a large amount of minorities due to opportunities to better their life from the benefits) already. Then if there is a draft, I believe the same thing will happen as before.

I do get where you are coming from, just don't see it exactly the way you are seeing it. Perhaps you are correct, perhaps elements of both of our thoughts are correct, maybe we are completely off the mark. Just the thought that people can think something like this can happen is very sad.  History of the US (and other countries) just add to the possibilities of this happening.

Thoughts on why and what they hoped to accomplish will be speculated for years to come. As things are, still can't half the morons in this country to say it was a lab leak, because Trump raised the question and Fauci The Great told them it wasn't.

7 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

The problem with that theory is that whites and Asians do better when infected with the new strain that allegedly came from a China lab. I linked to the studies and info provided and no matter where I see the studies or who they come from it is generally the same.  You might have a point with using a virus that is a known one. It could be easier to pass it off as a naturally occurring virus change but, from what I know there are ways that experts can see if it was natural or man made. or so they say.  One of the reasons that this info was shushed when it came out ... very shortly after the pandemic started. One of the main people that shushed it was you know who

Remember that mistakes are made (not being as deadly to Asians), and that they probably were not done re-engineering the virus when it got out... or was being released in a control test to see how well it would work. Besides, I doubt China would care how deadly the virus was to others, as long as it killed enough of their peasant population.

And as to new strains, doubt it was part of the plan. Sure, they may have figured on mutation of the virus, didn't know if it would be stronger or weaker than the first, but with a single minded goal of cutting population, they wouldn't care.

I doubt China would target blacks and Hispanics, as no country with those as a primary population is in any position to challenge them should they become more agressive internationally. Dolphins in the tuna nets. (Although I believe that would more be Japan, but the thought line remains)

2 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

There are many other diseases that are still stored in various labs that would be better to release as a weapon.  Using this as a population control... Not sure about that.  It didn't really do much in the way of population control (total) , however, look at the groups that are most effected, Perhaps focused on specific race for racial control?

Think more devious. If you want to knock off as much of the peasant population as possible, you don't get some crazy foreign virus. You go to the backyard, where you have this nice little virus that many know of, and know it NEVER hurt humans. It's already found in regions of your target... poor villagers and rice farmers, who eat bats found in wet markets. They don't get much, but billions are still a strain on government, so time to thin the herd. 

Get the bat virus and see how deadly and contagious it can be made, and transmisible to humans. It will spread from village to village, and cut down the population, especially poor villagers... But first we need to be sure we have antidote for the rich, and our productive workers.

Oooopsy! What do you mean it got out? Either that, or it was to have been a control test that no one outside of China was to hear about. A few hundred dead villagers would not be big news around the world if the virus never got out, and China shuts the story down.

13 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

Fauci is OUT!  Bye bitch.

I'm sure Chairman Xi has a lovely estate waiting for him.

12 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

Makes sense since "covid" virus has been around for a long time without any indication of such serious infection. It was always on my mind that such a powerful version occurred so fast without scientific intervention. 

 

With all that Trump did, why wasn't he able to get this moving before he left, before now?

Covid in bats AND wet markets in same region for maybe thousands of years. Obama banned "gain of function" research in the US. So, people like Fauci and Collins funneled US taxpayer funds to a China government lab via 3rd party, basically money laundering, to do the Frankenstien experiments.

There is only one reason to increase contageousness and verility of a non lethal, non infectious virus (which on the surface, mimics flu symptoms)... a weapon. Honestly, I think the purpose was intended as population control within China, and the "leak" may have been meant as an isolated test that went way wrong.

Remember how US Pravda shut down Trump and anyone who mentioned a lab leak? And Fauci was the lead. Fauci was also the lead on Ebola, which made that mysterious jump from animal to human. I wonder if China had a secret lab there too?

Hoping more people might post game pics here, but in the meanwhile, I figured to post...

"An Interview With Death" 

Interviewer: Welcome, Miss Death, and thank you for agreeing to do an interview with me today.

Death: Thank you for inviting me... And just call me Death.

Interviewer: Okay, Death, let's get to it, shall we? Tell me about you. Your childhood, stuff like that.

Death: Well, I wasn't really "born", in the convetional sense, as people are. More like mom and Father decided to have kids, and poof! There I was! Basically the same with all of my brothers and sisters.

Interviewer: So, there was no... you know...

Death: OY! All the time back then, as I understand, but that's not how I came to be. 

Interviewer: Oh, I see. Kind of like magic?

Death: Perhaps you would call it that, if it helps your mind to comprehend.

Interviewer: You mentioned brothers and sisters. How is your family?

Death: Mother and my sisters are well, thanks. We don't see Father or our brothers much these days, though.

Interviewer: Tell me about them... your family, I mean...

Death: Mother's name is Lucifera. Father used to call her his Morningstar. It was so sweet. She was always his favorite angel. They had quite the romance since the dawn of time... more or less. My sisters are nice girls... in their own ways, but keep me busy some times. They are always out causing trouble... War, Famine and Plague... OY! Plague went overboard past couple of years. I hope she gives the world a break soon.

Interviewer: You didn't say much about your father. Your parents are split up?

Death: Well, mother and Father had a big blow up several millennia ago over some silly new toy that Father made... Actually, it was you... 

Interviewer: Me? I never met your parents.

Death: Not you specificly... man, mankind, people... you know. He made a boy and called him Adam, and a girl named Lilith. Anyway, he was spending all his time tinkering with his new toys, and mother felt neglected and kind of sabotaged the whole project. Woman's scorn and all... She left his Adam toy alone, but made Father's Lilith toy stop listening to his Adam toy, so Father made a new girl one called Eve. Then mother gave the Eve toy an apple or something as a gift for the Adam toy and next thing we knew, they were getting a divorce!

Interviewer: I guess it was one of those things where a little compromise from both parties could have saved a lot of heartache for everyone concerned? So, the divorce was messy?

Death: Father knew all the good Jewish lawyers. Haha! I mean, he was still making them, but...

Interviewer: I see. 

Death: Mother wasn't happy, and it turned into a huge boys against the girls celebrity death match. I still say Michael and Gabriel cheated. Never quite understood why Gabriel sided with the boys. She always was a bit of a tomboy, I guess. Butch hair style, never wore make up...

Interviewer: So, where are you all living now? You, your mother and sisters, I mean???

Death: Father did give mother a property called Hades in the settlement. It's not that bad, actually. Nice river Stix flows nearby. Lots of bonefish. Personally, I find the Kraken to be a bit of a pest, but Davy Jones let's him out all of the time, and mother never says anything. You must pay the boatman to cross the river, but it's only a couple of coins. We have lots of company though. You see, I also collect souls... Usually I just send Reaper to do it, but every so often, I make a special appearance for the really nasty ones.  Mother and Father made a deal that we get all the bad ones, but they aren't THAT bad... except for Hitler and Stalin... and Mao... maybe Ted Bundy... OY! And that Mother Teresa...

Interviewer: WAIT WHAT? WHO??? Mother Teresa!?!?

Death: Kidding! Just seeing if you were paying attention. But, I did make special appearances to collect those others. 

Interviewer: So, you have a sense of humor?

Death: Of course I do. I still crack up over the platipus! Father takes all the credit, but it was partly my idea, you know. Besides, I'm not evil as many think. I'm a necessary part to every story... "The End". Can you imagine if no one died? Ever??? Talk about population over crowding.

Interviewer: I guess that's true. So, about you're photoshoot... I see it went well. You're a lovely lady, by the way. When I was told I would be interviewing Death, I pictured this skeleton guy with a cythe wearing a cloak. 

Death: No, that's Reaper! No sense of humor. Loves her job though. Good kid at heart. Really needs to get out more... off the clock, I mean.

Interviewer: Speaking of "off the clock", how about you. You seeing anyone?

Death: My, my, I do declare! Are you flirting with Death, sir?

Interviewer: Me, no, I... I... didn't mean it like that... I...

Death: Oh relax! No, I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, although there is this cute succubus...

Interviewer: Ah... so you swing that way?

Death: Depends on my mood. My taste includes both snails and oysters.

Interviewer: Good to know... I guess... So, about the pictorial... were you nervous to bare all for the camera?

Death: A little at first, but my friend Grigori Rasputin had some tasty homemade vodka that loosened me up just enough. Fermented blood of virgins is so overrated. Mother swears by it. "Mother's little helper" don't ya know! Funny story about Grigori. He was one of my few slip ups. They killed the poor guy 12 times, but I had given Reaper the day off, and my nails weren't dry. Ooopsy!

Interviewer: I noticed you look a bit different in some of the photos. Horns, a tail... hooves in some, but not others?

Death: We... mom, my sisters and I can change form. Mom is strongest, and can appear completely human if she wishes... no scales... nothing! I have trouble with my eyes. I have been working on it, but just can't hide them. Same for Plague and Famine. I guess it has to do with the eyes being the path to the soul or something? And then there's War... well, she just doesn't care. Only reason she even hides her tail is because she doesn't want to cut holes in her grungy old leather pants! And the horns mess her hair. At least she usually hides that scar that Michael gave her.

Interviewer: During that celebrity death match you spoke of?

Death: No, they were just playing around with their swords, and got carried away. She says she likes it, and that's why she almost never hides it.

Interviewer: Well, I must thank you for chatting with me today. It's been quite interesting and informative. Hope you have a safe trip back to Hell.

Death: Thank you for such a gracious interview. I admit that I was more nervous about this than the pictorial. I hate "gotcha" media types. You were okay. And, I'll see you at your heart attack on 11 April, 2036... 

Interviewer: My, Wait, WHAT!

Death: Unless, of course, you start excerising more... and ease  up on the caffine! Tah!

This has been, "An Interview With Death"

"And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."

2 hours ago, endgameaddiction said:

It seems like when mods are free, creativity soars and we see a lot of really well made mods. And when Patreon and the likes exist, more mediocre mods are created. And people tend to run and support/pay for these low effort copy n paste follower mods at first glance.

I think more about the clientele. If enough people are willing to accept inferior junk... and actually pay for it, why bother putting in effort to make something good? As money is not my motivation, rather that I make things for myself and my game, and share when I think it's pretty good, PLUS... learning new (often old, but new to me) tools, tricks, methods, just trying something to see if I can, is how I approach things. Obviously, can't be said for everyone.

Do I think I could "sell" some of my content? Probably, as not many making open bottom for TS3, and my FemmeBots are fairly unique. Would I go that route?

17 hours ago, Nessa said:

Speaking of LL.....  it's virtually unusable at this point between all the issues. The borked uploads issue still hasn't been fixed which is requiring anyone with a modern mod to use a mirror. There's the weirdly enforced rules (some mod authors getting banned for no apparent reason, etc.)

Now there's another major problem: Sims 4. I do play Sims 4 on occasion but LL is inundated with tons of new Sims 4 mods daily (most of which are low quality unfortunately). Anybody posting a new mod for anything gets buried within a couple hours. I've already missed new posts from several people I know just because they are off the new files list in a couple hours.

A ton of us did voice concerns on the "not so secret secret" section but they have been largely ignored.

****

However since this is the cringe thread......

Check out some of the research in the UK!

Apparently it got so much backlash they finally decided to take it down.

What you describe about TS4 has been going on for a while, and has been the subject of several threads on LL. TS4 is Patreon ads. Never quite understood premade Sims. Take a bunch of CC from 20 others, slap it in one Sim and sell it? BUY it???