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Second Style Magazine Issue 38 – 4th Anniversary & Stylies Awards!!

Felicity Blumenthal — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:03:11 +0000

This is Second Style’s 4^th Anniversary issue. In a virtual world where a week is the equivalent of a month and where people come and go so quickly, 4 years is an impressive accomplishment. We’ve come a long way from that first issue, and have seen so many changes in the fashion world that is Second Life. The creative way that designers have pushed the seemingly limitless barriers of a virtual fashion world is what makes the pages and content of our magazine as amazing as it today.

Keeping up with a monthly publication, that has a staff of fewer than 20; in a sometimes quirky platform is a daunting task to say the least. The work starts before the previous issue has even been released, and continues on right up to the night before it hits the blog. Myself, HeatherDawn, and the entire staff put all of our efforts into giving you the very best images and ideas to look at, the most up to the moment fashion pieces, and the details on where you can purchase one of your very own!

This issue celebrates everything that makes up our virtual world, with the special addition of the much anticipated Stylies awards. The Stylies have been an annual tradition, where the public nominates their favorites, and then votes on a winner in each category. So be sure to check it out and see if your favorites have won!

We are also welcoming Fayne Khanr and Marc Gellner this issue. Marc will be putting his full attentions on giving the guys something to read! YAY for men’s fashion, we know you boys really get the short end of the stick, so to speak. So keep an eye out, he plans on giving you all shopping lists.

Fayne has taken over the Fresh Faces piece, which as many of you know was Ana Lutetia’s “baby” forever. We were so sad to see Ana go, as she has been a mainstay of Second Style Magazine, and one of the best people I know, in either world. But, she is off focusing on her real life, and we are happy to support her in all that she does. Fayne has taken on this project with much excitement, and is really looking forward to giving the piece some personal touches, which everyone will love.

Second Style Magazine hopes to be around for yet another 4 years, and to continue to improve, and change with the times. We thank you, all of our readers for your continued support, not only with the magazine, but also with the blog, and with the Second Style Island sim. HeatherDawn and I also want to thank our staff, for your patience, dedication, and flexibility. This magazine would not be what it is, without you. <3

~Felicity & HeatherDawn

READ ISSUE 38

I hid my husband.

Tymmerie Thorne — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:56:00 +0000

In honor of this hilarious take on a recent news item out of Huntsville, AL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw&feature=channel

...I hid my husband.

Actually, Jerremy won't be around this weekend. Sad face. So, I am trying to find ways to occupy my time.

True story: when I moved into my very first apartment without roommates, a man tried to break in during the middle of the night. He didn't get in -- the police got there in time. I have never been more frightened in my life. I was full of adrenaline for days - so I totally understand how agitated the people were in the original news clip. (NOTE: I sincerely hope that the perpetrator is caught. I am in no way poking fun at the crime itself - just the interview.)

100 Word Stories @ Circe’s Laurel Arts Isle today

What Is This Crap? — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:08:56 +0000

I've caught RoseDrop Rust doing some cool poetry and storytelling at Circe's place when I could, and I'm digging the vibe of her mushroom grotto. If my calendar is correct, I'll be doing an hour of 100 word stories there at 4PM SLT today. It's it's not correct, well, enjoy whoever is there and stick around until I make to to the mushroom-podium.

Next Wednesday's reading will be at Jack's campfire on Camalot. He got a new campfire setting from Heart that's very impressive and fits the mood of the corner: Come by early or stay afterwards to wander around, maybe find a place you want to settle in and call home.

273 of 365 Art by Bryn Oh

chestnut rau — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:50:00 +0000

(click to enlarge so you can read Bryn's poem)

Bryn Oh's Immersiva is genius and always inspiring.

ShopaholicFeed Lineup Changes

ShopaholicFeed Admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:00:21 +0000

ShopaholicFeed is bringing back a new sub-feed. This one is for the Posers! With all the buz about pose creations lately, we’ve decided to bring back the Pose feed.

Also, two of the feeds aren’t seeing a lot of traffic – Entertainment and Technologies. These two will roll into our Community feed. The community feed is for the blogs that are about SL lifestyles. We would love to see more of these blogs join ShopaholicFeed.

We’re starting to tweak our theme as well. So don’t panic when you see elements move. Hopefully these changes will make the layout more user-friendly.

Thank you so much for making ShopaholicFeed.com so awesome. We’re thrilled to support the 650+ active SL blogs.

Trying to lose weight is not fast, easy, or fun.

What Is This Crap? — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:21:57 +0000

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt anyway.

I saw the Mrs. off and did my morning walk to Central Market and back. The iPhone had my grocery list: green onions red, yellow, orange peppers cucumbers peeled garlic avocado I added raspberries, zero-calorie tea bottle (hydration on way back), and fresh spring rolls and that was it. When I got back, I sat for a bit, drank some more tea, hit the shower, and stepped on the scale. I had my eyes closed. I'd seen 215-220 for the entire month, hints of 214 early on before bouncing back over and over and over. The scale read 212. I didn't think I'd make my goal, but I did.

I'll set the timer at noon and start the situps routine until it's storytime at Circe's. My goal for August is 205-205. My goal for September is 198-199. My goal for October is 191-192. My goal for December is 184-185. My goal for January is 177-178. My goal for life is 175. This will not be fast, easy, or fun. (But right now, at this moment, it doesn't suck as bad as it did.)

50L Friday and Thememory – Great Finds

Joonie — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:21:00 +0000

Below are just a few of the things I found traversing the grid in search of goodies. On the weekends, depending on the designers involved, there are lots of treasures to be had. Below are just a few of my faves, either part of 50L Friday or Themeory (What I Love theme)

[Atomice] Love Affair top - Lake (Themeory

[Manadala] Takara Bangle w/ nails (50L Friday)

[PF] Pink Fuel-Broken Hearts Bleed skin in Chai
(comes w/ teeth showing or not) (Themeory)

Easy look to put together

(shorts and shoes found way in the back of my inventory closet)

(5th&Oxford) Rosalee Babydoll (50L Friday)

*Deco* Lumbermine Boot - Cherry (50L Friday)

I'm not always impressed with the items available, but this time I was not disappointed. Thanks to all the designers who offered us such awesomeness this week!

Fishing for the sun

What Is This Crap? — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:04:05 +0000

I send my shadow to the dock To go fishing for the sun It never knows what bait to use But my shadow still has fun

According To My Panties It’s Saturday

Gidge Uriza — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:51:56 +0000

I’ve decided to simplify my life and stop wearing clothes on my Saturday posts. Really, it’s just so much simpler. No more WHAT TO WEAR WHAT TO WEAR. I’ll just wear nuttin or next to it.

AND YOU WILL LIKE IT OR ELSE!

It’s a good excuse to acquire new skins each week, too, isn’t it?

The earth shaking sounds you may have heard over the past few days were the fashionistas stomping over to Baiastice to pick up the new PULCHRE skin release.

I am wearing the Porcelain tone today. For a light skin tone it’s got a fantastic luminescence. Plus if you like plucked into submission eyebrows – this one is for you.

As always Sissy has released her skin with both traditional “I am just a normal beautiful fashionista” makeups as well as more Haute-Runway looks (I just made that term up. You can use it.)

She’s also created some ruddy faced dolly looks for those of you who are keen on that. Not STRICTLY dolly but clearly inspired by the style.

There are 30 makeups available in each skin tone. I am not going to show you all of them because I kept hearing that scene from PeeWee’s Big Adventure in my head “There are over 1000 ways to prepare corn. ALL OF WHICH I will tell you about right now.”

But I think that I’ve shown you a really good sampling. So go get some Demos Girls!

Yeah I know, you can see a little nip in that first shot. That’s a little present for you.

NO – not for you. Behind you. Yes, you. That was for you. You are welcome.

Also, there are some other GORGEOUS Shots of the makeup done by Nadja Baxter HERE. If you’d like to see some of the other looks, I recommend taking a look. Plus she shows her boobies if you wanna see MOAR than I showed.

Alright Ladies – You know where to go……..RIGHT?

Skins – BAIASTICE - Pulchre – Makeups Worn in Porcelaine Tone
Hair – EXILE – Carly – in Champagne
Panties – 5Th & Oxford – from the Albero Gatcha Festival - Days of the Week Panties
-Bracelets – LOULOU – From the Albero Gatcha Festival
Eyes – Poetic Color Pink Ocean

Techie Hunt Funky FUN KEY launcher

ariel.wingtips — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:54:00 +0000

Fire GOOD!!! and the Ctrl Shift H "Home" Sim are sponsoring the Techie Hunt August 1 - 31.

Stop by for this fun prize from Fire GOOD!!!

Also - pic up some white rocket feet - the Letter of the Week (LOW) sale item.

Both available at Fire GOOD!!! main store.

Call for Designers on the community blog

communities@secondlife.com — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:37:50 +0000

Be sure to check out the Community blog that calls for Second Life designers to contribute to the 2010 Fall Fashion Lookbook. Submissions are due by August 11th.

Wait a minute, baby

Sophia Harlow — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:28:35 +0000

Oooo, new Gina skin out at the Dressing Room, today I think. Yep, just checked the feeds…out today so you can go buy it and be all sorts of gorgeousness.

Tuli does some of my fave makeup in SL. The colors are vivid without screaming DRAG QUEEN…which you know, there is nothing wrong with that..but sometimes I just want a lot of smokey subtle color. Also, I have a serious thing about lips…they are what I notice first and Tuli never disappoints. They are always luscious…muah!

The tunic I am wearing has been in my inventory for a long time but it is something that I always pull out over and over again. I would adore to wear in my physical life, it is just a lot of fun to wear. I am actually also wearing adorable shoes but…sadly you cannot see them. Trust me though…adorables.

Until next time!

xo – Sophia Harlow

Do you want itttt?

Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room LE :: Gina 05

Dress: [MG fashion] Eva tunic (white)
Hair: >TRUTH Hair< Farrah >

Poses:
Everglow
dollipops

Retro-Luxe

Sylvia Olivier — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:23:55 +0000

“Talk—half-talk, phrases that had no need to be finished, abstractions, Chinese bells played on with cotton-tipped sticks, mock orange blossoms painted on porcelain. The muffled, close, half-talk of soft-fleshed women. ” Anais Nin

Skin:
Baiastice’s Newest Skin Line Release Pulchura in Sunkissed w/hairbase No. 25.

Hair:
I Love Olive is having a Summer sale.. a pack of 4 was only 90L!

Lingerie:
Blacklace is having a half off gift card sale until August 1st.

Poses/Furniture:
LostAngel Industries.. Smoking hot Poses. First Purchase and I know there will be more!

Fast! Easy! Fun!

Tymmerie Thorne — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:54:00 +0000

...but, not necessarily in that order.

Today's in-world meeting with Philip and BK Linden used those three words a lot. I am all for making SL faster, easier and more fun. (Link to video or transcript of the talk.)

In a show of support for the new strategy, some creators have made shirts with the words! (I got this one at caLLie cLine's store for only $1L.

By the way - where are the fast, easy, fun shirts (or boxers?) for guys? It isn't just SL women who are fast, easy and fun. Just ask my husband Jerremy. Why, he is as fast, easy and fun as they come. That is why I married him! (OK - to be fair, I did see a pic of caLLie's tank on a man -- but it's too low cut for a guy like Jerremy to wear and not feel self-conscious.)

I am going to spend the weekend brainstorming ways to make SL fast, easy and fun. As I am sure many, many people and people who are bloggers will be doing, also.

272 of 365 Impromptu Concert in Edloe

chestnut rau — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:45:00 +0000

"The Truth Don't Matter Anyway" or so says Zorch Boomhauer

Twitter. We Obviously do it because we Can.

Bliss Windlow — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:32:00 +0000

You know .. like squeezing a pimple .. only messier. You just can't help yourself cause it is there... so we are compelled because in the world of sheep .. we know not why we would want to be on that large truck barelling down the highway. We can't read "Joe's Butchery Transport" on the side ... we just know the popular sheep got on there, that the silver of the truck against their white wool was stunning and hey ... someone said something about a kegger ....

So we are on the truck....

A report recently released below:

2010 USC Annenberg Digital Future Study Finds Strong Negative Reaction to Paying for Online Services

Annual Report Also Reveals Internet Reliance Reaching New Peak Millions of Americans use Twitter -- just don't ask any of them to pay for it.

The annual study of the impact of the Internet on Americans by the Center for the Digital Future found that 49 percent of Internet users said they have used free micro-blogs such as Twitter. But when asked if they would be willing to pay for Twitter, zero percent said yes.

"Such an extreme finding that produced a zero response underscores the difficulty of getting Internet users to pay for anything that they already receive for free," said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

"Twitter has no plans to charge its users, but this result illustrates, beyond any doubt, the tremendous problem of transforming free users into paying users," said Cole. "Online providers face major challenges to get customers to pay for services they now receive for free."

The responses about Twitter are reinforced by other findings in the Digital Future Study that explore Internet users' opinions about online advertising. The current study found that half of Internet users never click on Web advertising, and 70 percent said that Internet advertising is "annoying. "

Yet 55 percent of users said they would rather see Web advertising than pay for content.
"Internet users can obtain content in three ways: they can steal it, or pay for it, or accept advertising on the Web pages they view," said Cole. "Users express strong negative views about online advertising, but they still prefer seeing ads as an alternative to paying for content. Consumers really want free content without advertising, but ultimately they understand that content has to be paid for -- one way or another."

The responses about Twitter and Web advertising are among the more than 180 issues explored in the 2010 Digital Future Project, which is marking its 10th year of exploring the digital realm -- the longest continuing study of its kind and the first to develop a longitudinal survey of the views and behavior of Internet users and non-users.

See full report here: http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/2010_digital_future_final_release.pdf

Well technically this suggests we are on the truck but are going "hmmm not that much fun but hey ... I can't jump so I will hang with the other sheep...it's free ... whoot ... " as we hang our heads out the slats in the truck and wave at the car behind us and make funny faces... "look at us ... too cool for our pants ..."

OH and we don't wanna pay for the ride .. it has been free, we like free, and we are going to not get on "next time" if they start making us pay for the ride to the nice butcher shop. You can advertise on the sides of the truck but we just ignore that stuff about nice wool sweaters and the local lamb kabab shop. Nope not going to "hoof" on Bob's Curry House featuring lamb, Grandma's special hand knit wool scarves, and Jims Lamb Skin Seat Covers. But I do like the fact that everyone keeps posting more and more signs on the side of our truck and that there are sheep even dumber than my personal truck load that nod and say, "yes yes ... I will pay to advertise on the truck cause YOU tell me other sheep hoof on it all the time .. I never do .. but I am a dumb sheep, where do I send my cheque?"

Make it free and we will come ....

Except .. if you want to be really technically correct in this metaphor and boy do I like being correct ... no-one is going to be eating my thigh steaks a la twitter sauce at the end of the day ... so this is really a dumb comparison so forget I said anything... sorry to interrupt your twittering ... what was it you had on your toast this morning again??

Open Call for the 2010 Fall Fashion Lookbook!

communities@secondlife.com — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:59:48 +0000

This September, we are launching a monthly newsletter, which will highlight fun and exciting things happening in Second Life--Residents, fashion, events and locations inworld.

In alignment with New York’s Fall Fashion week, September’s newsletter will focus on fashion in Second Life, and will include the 2010 Fall Fashion Lookbook, showcasing SL designers and some of their fresh new looks for the season. Check out last year’s 2009 Fall Fashion Lookbook.

To reflect the vast variety of designs in Second Life, the submission process will be open to all Residents. Here are the specifics:

To submit your designs, please review fill out the 2010 Fall Fashion Lookbook Submission Guidelines and Form.
Designers are invited to submit up to 10 different designs.
We will be featuring styles that speak to those featured on the runways in New York, namely “Street Fashion” and “Haute Couture”. (no nudity please)
All submissions must be uploaded into the new SL Marketplace and follow the submission guidelines.
All submissions are due by 5pm PT on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010.
After August 11th, Linden Lab will review all properly submitted applications and assemble the Lookbook. Participating merchants will be notified by email no later than August 16th, 2010. Please make sure the email address associated with your Second Life and SL Marketplace account is up-to-date.

We are excited for the first edition of the newsletter and this year's Fall Fashion Lookbook. If you have any questions, please add them to this discussion forum.

Thank you for participating.

Blondin Linden

Summertime

Sylvia Olivier — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:55:23 +0000

Another awesome Fifty Linden Friday today.. Lelutka skins!!! Kyoot Bikini!! and a bunch of other great things.. SL Rocking Friday brings Baubles to my fingernails and wrists from Mandala. I’m really feeling pampered this week :)

Also new Hair from Fri.day! This is the Hailey hair which comes into two versions and I think it is a lovely addition to anyones hair collection. Fri.day’s textures for hair are wonderful!

The accesories around me are fabulous Artilerri Items from the Gacha Festival.. seriously.. Gatcha is addicting! Its like those things when I was a kid.. put a quarter in and get a prize..I would bug my mom so bad for quarters.

Fast Easy Fun

What Is This Crap? — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:18:40 +0000

Based on the number of times Philip said "Fast Easy Fun" during his presentation and Q&A, I suspect that he got a speeding ticket needing a trip to this traffic school. Or, Second Life is going to turn into a massive multistudent traffic school simulator so that people out on the roads don't get killed by student drivers. Either way, the future is bright... almost nuclear-explosion bright. So climb back into the lead-lined fridge, Indy, and don't stare directly at the mushroom cloud.

So, what do I really think, no-bullshit honest injun and all that? Fast Easy Fun is great joke fodder, but it's also what's been missing from Second Life and it's development cycles. If they go To an open Agile model for both the viewer and support backlogs, they have a fighting chance. And that follows The True Tao Of Linden: Fool your customers into doing open-source work for your for-profit company. If they retool search and the destination guide for a what's happening now and where, they have a fighting chance. (After all, didn't I suggest "Click The Clock" when V2 appeared? UI-Events-Search fail.) If they crusade against too many clicks and steps to make things easier, complete with a flexible anticipatory interface that packs v2 renderpunch under the hood, they have a fighting chance. (Go to Zha's litany against V2 for details.) If they curate signal from the cacophony of noise while soliciting valid feedback openly and not under NDA out of fear, they have a fighting chance. (Prokofy's terrified of this, because it means someone would throw her rants out like noise-filled garbage they are.) If they apply fast and easy to their support ethic instead of pawning off issues to drones with massive ticket queues, they have a fighting chance. (OnTyme is poorly named, based on rising queue times and worthless LiveChat/phone support as of late) If they focus on features and services that bring value to the customer instead of threatening limits and things that will make customers howl, they have a fighting chance. (M and T kept saying there'd be things about V2 people wouldn't like. What kind of stupidity is that when designing a product?)

Okay, so we've heard a lot of bullshit coming out of Battery Street in the past, why should we believe this dude's crap? The biggest reveal about Viewer 2 today was not that Phil finally admitted that it was a flop and had user-interface issues, but he finally took the time to explain why the Lab was so bullish on Viewer 2 and pushing it so hard despite the fact that it has been a gigantic source of failure and frustration among the current userbase. He mentioned the rendering improvements, lower crash rate, texture load via HTTP, and other things under the hood. Aside from Joe Linden's talk on Copper Robot, I think this is the first time that someone has been honest and open about the back-end improvements in detail instead of just throwing out buzzwords like "intuitive" and "improved" like Mark the Marketer and Tom Hale kept tossing out. I hope that's a sign that the Lab is letting their guard down, but as long as they throw out NDAs to cover their asses on things close to release (SL Marketplace, for instance), they still demonstrate a fear of their customer base. With user interfaces like Viewer 2 and jackasses like Tom Hale saying customers will howl over some of the things coming around the corner instead of coming up with solutions for those issues, they need to open that process up. Yeah, Phil said they'd be more open about that kind of things with their development cycles. But he has said that kind of thing before. And it didn't happen. Once bitten, twice shy? I will stand by the three words I have stood by since Colossus Linden (Greg Colosi) sat before the SLCC Music Track and shit on everyone who spent their hard-earned money to go to the Mecca of SL for proof that music was the "killer ap" of SL, Phil and M thinking so highly of music but blowing it off with every development project and web site improvement, back-burnering it at every opportunity: Acta, Non Verba The same goes for you, Philip Rosedale. I've heard enough words. Shut the fuck up, gather your generals, and get to work. Come back when you have something to show besides a new avatar.

Jennaa’s Style Defined

Jennaa Loire — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:30:42 +0000

One of my favourite quotes is “If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies” – Anon.

After having the same home for over a year, I decided that it was time for me to start over. It helps when you come across a house that you adore and for whatever curious and unknown reason, I simply felt the need to play with some new furniture and some new ideas for my home.

As I have mentioned before, my home is my sanctuary, and decorating your home is the ultimate in self expression. This week I was definitely in a ‘cheeky’ mood and I have put together a few photos that hopefully captured some of the free-spirited energy that I have felt.

In This Photo:

Table: LISP – Lullaby Clock Table. (Buy here)

Flowers In Vase: LISP Lullaby Flower Arrangement 1. (Buy here)

Sand Timer: LISP – Lullaby Sand Timer Table. (Buy here)

Diary: ::{u.f.o}:: ais’s dear diary old memory 4. I got this from the ALBERO Summer Gatcha Festival. 60+ gatcha machines full of quality items (many exclusives!) from ALBERO+cioccolata merchants and guests. This was so much! The Summer Gatcha Festival Series 2 runs from July 28th to August 14th. Then they are holding an awesome Trading Party! This will be held on August 14th at 5pm SLT (music by DJ Barb). The trading party is for everyone to come back to the event space and swap the items you got from the gatchas with other people’s items, to get the color/style you want! I can’t wait so I will see you there! (Buy here)

Mirror: LISP – Standing Floor Mirror (baskets with plant included). (Buy here)

Top Hat Lamp: LISP – Top Hat Lamp Stand – touch on/off light. (Buy here)

Curtains: LISP – Toile Curtain, Copyable. (Buy here)

Jennaa Wears:

Skin: -Belleza- Elle BL Fair 10. (Buy here)

Hair: fri.day – Mika – In the shade of Delighted Blond. (Buy here)

Cardigan: ::{u.f.o}:: clarissa chiffon cardgian first kiss. This is beyond cute! (Buy here)

Panties: {Gisaci} Barlu Fiore Panties (Optional) 1. (Buy here)

Pose: ..::DARE::.. Antoine Delicate Seated Barefoot. (Buy here)

In This Photo:

Radio: /artilleri/ The Levine radio *turquoise*. Another item from the ALBERO Summer Gatcha Festival. (Buy here)

Flowers: The Loft – Lillies Pink. (Buy here)

Fridge: The Loft – Castara Fridge. This fridge is beyond unreal! It not only gives you an amazing list of food and snacks to enjoy but an incredible choice of drinks to enjoy. The detail is amazing, Colleen has really outdone herself. A must have for any home. (Buy here)

Rug: LISP Diamond Rug. (Buy here)

All Icecream: =F= (Feather) Icecream_set_marble. (Buy here)

Spoon: (iTuTu)spoon. (Buy here)

Marshmallow Cup: (iTuTu)marshmallow cup. (Buy here)

Box: .:NsB:. (NOTsoBAD) – You get these boxes when you purchase something from NOTsoBAD. (Check them out here)

Jennaa Wears:

Skin: Adam n Eve Skin – Bianca t1 – Blush – Bewbs. Gorgeous new skins are now available from Adam n Eve. It is genuine challenge to find adorable skins and I for one, am extremely particular about the skins I wear. Adam n Eve have certainly created a winner in my opinion. This skin is flawless and quite simply… adorable. Make sure you head on over and check them out. (Buy here)

Hair: MIEL WED HAIR – blur special. Have you been to check out blur? You will find items (free and for sale) scattered around the floor about the sculptures. These are items created by our artists to help you blur with the environment. As a viewer of the art you are a participant of the art. You are the art itself. There are also poses, animations, sounds, and machinima to aid in your participation and full realization of the works. This is not a static artwork but rather a 4 week experience, after which it will only have been a blur. Make sure you get on over there and check it out before it vanishes. (Buy here)

Lingerie Set: !mPS! (mY pINKIE sKULL) Intimate Dots – Green. (Buy here)

Eyes: pc eyes by LL – fairy eyes – hansel bright (medium). (Buy here)

Pose: Olive Juice- Day Dreamer. (Buy here)

In This Photo:

Fireplace: {what next} Ciel Fireplace. (Buy here)

Suitcases: (iTuTu) simple leather trunk -lay (M) & (L). New! (Buy here)

Hat: **DP**yumyum: straw hat 01. New and I totally love these! (Buy here)

Lamp: %napoliy% Old Japanese Styles 01 (Desk Lamp). (Buy here)

Book: %napoliy% Old Japanese Styles 01 (Book-C). (Buy here)

Basket With Wool: (PA) Paper Antler – Crafty Cabinet Knitting Basket. (Buy here)

Bed: Little Boxes – Antique Bed Blondie Choco/Blue. (Buy here)

Fabric Rolls Against Bed: (PA) Paper Antler - Crafty Cabinet Fabric Rolls. (Buy here)

Curtains: LISP – Toile Curtain, Copyable. (Buy here)

Till next week, happy shopping!

Jennaa XoXo

Just the Way I Roll…

RylanCarling — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:41:34 +0000

Just about my favorite outfit inworld. When I’m working away and get sidetracked, but I’m in the middle of looking like a nightmare, I have this all ready in a folder “to go.” LOL! The shirt is a classic from Phoenix Rising, I’m especially fond of the loose tie. The pants are also from PR, but a different outfit! Seriously, that place is beyond spectacular for both variety and quality. My staples as always include, TRUTH hair, BELLEZA skin, and MAITREYA shoes. However, in this case, it’s the accessories that really make this outfit (including that tie!)

Accessories from MANDALA, Paper Couture, kOwP, ADDICT, HoD, and black gloves stolen from an Indryaoutfit are all added for “the look.” Any aviator glasses will go, but these are my favs from HOC.

And, let’s not forget the pose…the ladder from Glitterati – The Social Climber

WEARING:
SHIRT – Phoenix Rising- Push (Black)
PANTS – Phoenix Rising-Risk- Dress Pants (Slate)
GLASSES – HOC – Aviator style glasses #003 Female
Necklace – - .HoD. – The Path To Forgiveness (Female)
EARRINGS – [MANDALA]IROHA earring(Red)
RING – P.C; Water Over Wine Ring
RING – [AddiCt] LIPRING – [ < ] kOwP [ > ] Chained Lip Rings *4-SDD-S* ~ Silver
BRACELET – *[MANDALA] Takara Bangle /Argyll black bright
GLOVES – INDI – Gloves black
SHOES – Maitreya Gold - Shanti

BASE:
HAIR – >TRUTH< Michelle – espresso
SKIN – -Belleza- Elle BR SK 11 HB (cleavage)

If you didn’t get a Golden Ticket, how do you follow the love-fest today at 10AM SLT?

What Is This Crap? — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:59:37 +0000

So, if you weren't one of the people "randomly" chosen for a Golden Ticket to today's love-fest with Philip and BK Linden, how do you follow the fanboi-fest propaganda-push-and-spin in real-time as if it's one of Steve Jobs' Apple infomercials? From the Wiki:

Treet.tv Gateway: Live video stream, Twitter stream, IRC chat window
Audio-only Feed
Watch with a Treet.tv player, set to http://streams.treet.tv/live

There will also be watching/lynching parties throughout the grid, locations posted on the Wiki page. (And, I suppose, you can always ask Prokofy the name of her orthodontist so you can get the same orbiting CIA mind-control signals through your fillings, too.)

@RTLinden on Twitter brought up the fact that Treet.tv used to be SLCN before the Lab cracked down on trademarks, pulling a marketing 180 on some of their most loyal and successful customers by rewarding their loyalty to the brand and product/service with a slap in the face. I, for one, think Treet.tv is a much better brand name than SLCN.

It's cute.
It's easy to remember.
It's fun to say.
It's cross-platform friendly, which will be helpful when Philip and BK finish the job that M started by driving Second Life completely into ruin.

Pfffft. And people think I only see the negative in things. Heaven forbid!

If you're one of the few Americans not put out of work by Obamanomics and are doing your best trying to avoid joining your friends and former coworkers in the unemployment lines, the video, audio, and a text transcript will most assuredly be posted at some point to the official Second Life site. Rest assured, some moron who got a Golden Ticket for this event or catching the video stream over the Treet.tv gateway will waste everybody's time asking Philip about his goddamned hair, BK about his avatar and alt, and all sorts of meaningless shit that will make the jackass who asked the infamous "boxers or briefs" question worthy of a Pulitzer lifetime achievement award. Feel better now? Good. NOW GET BACK TO WORK, JETSON!

The shadows will consume all in their path…

What Is This Crap? — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:46:17 +0000

Jack Pitts has been consumed by the shadows... None can resist... the shadows will consume all.

I feel like I'm consuming everything, too. Even though I've been trying hard to keep my diet routine, I've been screwing up here and there.

Two bags of popcorn from World Market: 1000 empty calories.
Going by the break room yesterday and getting cups of cole slaw and beans.
Cherry ICEE while walking through Galleria.
Wheat toast and jelly at work.
Weekend grazing and binges.
Giving in to breakfast tacos and kolaches in the tunnels.

A little here... a little there... Failure. I first hit 215 on July 9th, but it was the result of a long workout and a lot of discipline. My goal for the month looked easy, and that's when I slacked off. Skipped a day or two of walks. Eased off on the situps. Picked up a toaster, painini press, and brought back bread. Now, almost 3 weeks later, I'm still at 215. But this time, I'm feeling bloated, exhausted, and aching all over. The chart shows a severe slowdown in the weight loss curve... I'm hitting 215 and bending off of it, not sliding through slowly. I do not consider my overall loss of 5 pounds for the month a victory, since I've hit a plateau and can't get past it. My first goal is 200, and the chart shouts YOU ARE NOT GETTING THERE... YOU ARE SPINNING IN CIRCLES... YOU ARE NOT MAKING PROGRESS... I cannot take solace in having dropped 40 pounds already when I have another 15 to go before setting my next goal. GOAL 1: 200 GOAL 2: 175 GOAL 3: Walk a half-marathon GOAL 4: Maintain 175 for a year There's gaps in my workout routine. There's red flags in my food diary. So, I did the Daffy Duck on Thanksgiving thing, turning up the intensity to the ludicrous for the situps and diet and walks. When temptation hits, a free chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A because lardass-fielder Carlos Lee smacked a home run off of the foul pole on Wednesday, I got it and used it for a rant video: I have the willpower to throw that fried and breaded greasebomb out, I have the willpower to pass up candy and garbage from the vending machines, I have made zero-calorie slushes my sweet-snack, but kolaches and breakroom buffets and other self-sabotages are not out of my system yet. It's not enough, Daffy. The hillbilly is outside the oven, lighting his match. And I'm blowing it, over and over. I know I can do this, I want to do this... I must try harder.

While the cat’s away – FLF Round Up!

Mouse — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:17:42 +0000

I’m back – Kess let me outta the well! And it’s that time again! Right now, it just occurred to me, how many times will I be able to write, “it’s that time again!” before I get sick of it… Anywho, it’s that time again. I have absolutely no idea what’s out there for Fifty Linden Friday this week. I’m preparing myself to be shocked! Oh and I heard a wee rumor about the anniversary for FLF coming up soon! I have a feeling it will be special – so prepare yourself! Click on the photos to get the SLurls…Okay, let’s go get some great deals this week!

Fodder for a Blog

Joonie — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:35:00 +0000

How do you decide who or what gets into your blog and who or what doesn't? I think I have been guilty more often than I'd like to admit to using my blog as a way to get a message to someone or to make a point. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. But when I let someone hijack my blog by allowing them to occupy space here, it takes away from what I really want my blog to be about.

Where do you find fodder for your blog? It's easy for me to look inward and occasionally share that here. Too easy, actually. I have been known to use this blog as a personal diary. People tend to make an assumption that they know me and my state of mind. Or want to be my friend because they "care" about me. As much as I appreciate that, and perhaps even unintentionally invited that by sharing personal thoughts and feelings, it is not why I write this blog.

So what do I expect? To be able to send out personal stuff into the blogosphere and not have people respond? No. What I do expect is that I will not be so lame as to put that stuff on my blog and then cry wolf when someone thinks they know me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my personal thoughts and feelings as much as I enjoyed writing them. From now on this will be about SL and only SL. Fun, fashion, art, creativity, and all things SL.

Thanks for reading! =)

JJ

Feeling beachy, thanks

ARIADNE KORDA — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:07:00 +0000

Vent du Sud brings you:

Opening 12.30 SLT - 21.30 Europe

at the Vent du Sud ART CAFÉ

Who? R0bin Helsinki, a fantastic photographer and inveterate traveller

What? Views from beaches all over the world: unusual, striking, unique (and affordable!)

Why come today? Because these photos are beautiful. Because R0bin is fun to talk to. And because today, there are gifts (including photos and surprise gifts at the opening) and dancing on the square!

How long? Until R0bin puts up a new series of photos, so don't wait too long - she has so many fantastic themes and ideas.

And while you're here, have a wander on our quiet beaches, admire the sunsets from a lighthouse... and feel free to come over in swimwear and dive off our dock (or watch the dolphin, the seagulls or the waves or take a pedalo ride around the island).

(Swimwear on me: "Swallow" by BareRose which is my all-time favourite and comes in 4 colours for 135L)

(PS: Find it at BareRose using their website here)

We would really, really love to see you at Vent du Sud later today (and the exhibition is already open so if you can't make it later, come on over right away)!

Time for a trim?

Tymmerie Thorne — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:48:00 +0000

I have given up on the Gatcha Festival for now - from Plurk (Add me!), it would appear that every avatar on the grid is there and no one can even see the machines from the lag. I'll live without getting all of the Duck Soup protest signs.

In other news, I am very excited about something! I am going to be an official blogger for this year's Shoe Fair! YAY! I'm not going to be doing any reviews, since I don't do that, but I will be having fun at the fair and will be writing about that.

Writing about shoes and shoe fairs means I will have to get a pedicure. While I was looking for a day spa in search today, I ran across a German foot fetish shop. Being A) easily amused and B) age verified, I decided to take a look.

It turned out to be pretty tame -- except for this painting that TOTALLY freaked me out. I have a thing about long toe nails. Shudder. I am going to have to sleep with a nail clipper under my pillow tonight or I will not feel safe.

271 of 365 Dignity and Resect

chestnut rau — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:26:00 +0000

Today the training was all about understanding human behavior. The trainer was amazingly interesting and worked hard to impart tools to help us be better managers. I am not convinced that sitting in a fancy lecture center with all kinds of AV equipment and dark chocolate mousse served promptly at 3pm each day is going to make me a better mentor and coach to my staff. Having said that there was a lot of research presented that helped explain why people act in the complex ways we do and the trainer suggested some simple things we can do to accomplish our goals.

What it came down to is this - we all need to act with integrity and honesty. The key to being successful is direct, clear communication. There was nothing revolutionary said but taking a few days out of the crush of the day to day to remember we need to treat each other with kindness and respect is always a good idea. So is dark chocolate at 3pm.

Saved

What Is This Crap? — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:19:21 +0000

Scott Jennings nails it on Second Life and Linden Lab:

First off, Linden Lab doesn't appear to know what its core business is. Hint: it's server hosting. Second Life is, essentially, a protocol. Everything content-related - game-y things, world-y things, people-with-cat-heads-meowing-things-you-really-don't-want-to-hear things - all of them come from the users themselves. Linden Lab just puts up the servers, and people pay Linden money to run them. They then presumably make that money back from other users, or run them as an odd hobby, or whatever. Linden doesn't care - and Linden shouldn't care. Their business is as Pakleds. They make things. That make us go. Second, after the server hosting is there and done, the second neglected feature that is killing Second Life - customer service. Or rather, the lack thereof. I'm sure it will surprise few MMO watchers that much of Linden Lab's recent bloodletting was in customer service. After all, CS doesn't make you money. You just pay for CS agents and they sit there and talk to users and don't make any money and what the hell, we got new Facebook clients to write!

Read the rest.

You know, if the hosting company I work for did that kind of shit, we'd lose business and get bought out by a bigger company that would wipe out the jackasses and whip us all into shape. Oh. Wait. That happened four years ago. (How the hell did I make the cut?)

Altya’s Dream Creations, A Fortune Quest and SL Absurdities

Honour McMillan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:30:00 +0000

It started as most afternoons in SL do, with me working hard on serious stuff. (No really! You can stop laughing any time now.) I got an IM from Ahuva Heliosense to say that Calli thinks I should have her Avatar. The "Calli" in question would be the fabulous SL Artist Callipygian Christensen and even though I was a bit nervous I decided to go see what was up.

Calli tp'd us to a cart on Car Wash stocked by Altya's Dream Creations where we each purchased a Jarhead Unibike Avatar for the enormous price of L$10. This is a loss leader price, it costs much more at the main store but at that price you're going to try them right?

It's very cool! A working horn and shiny wheels and you attract a lot of attention. :) We had bystanders watching us as we took our group photos (you just know they were saying admiring things about us to themselves).

Interesting quirks this av has - if you're wearing shoes when you put it on the shoes are mounted to the front of the bike. If, like Ahuva, you're wearing prim feet, well...............

There was an lm for the main store in the avatar folder so I went to see what else they have (see the loss leader cart works!). Lots of cool toys and stuff and at the back something really really interesting. At least I think it's interesting.

You know how people (starting with the guy with the chickens) have found ways to generate ongoing revenue streams from the same customers by required purchases of food etc., to keep your purchased pet "alive"? Not my thing, I have enough of them in real life. However, I will buy in to the idea of a Fortune Quest.

From the notecard on offer at the store:

Fortune Quest

What is Fortune Quest?

Fortune Quest is a challenging treasure hunt aided by clues made by us for a single item hidden somewhere in Second Life.

These clues will be made available for purchase on the day they are released and will only

remain for sale for 24 hours.

After 24 hours have passed the clue will be made available for FREE.

There will also be a simple H.U.D made available for purchase and although it is not needed to play the game it will be needed to claim the prize.

But the H.U.D can also help greatly in finding the item by letting you know if you have arrived in the correct sim/region that has the hidden Fortune.

This means that there is a chance that even during your normal travels you may stumble across the correct sim/region that the fortune is hiding in!!!

Cost?:

The price for the H.U.D and the clues will be kept VERY low so that it’s affordable for everyone to play.

L$15 for the clue

L$25 for the H.U.D

A new H.U.D will have to be purchased for each new game.

Again a portion of each sale will go towards growing the final prize as the game grows and continues to grow with each new player.

Why?

We wanted to create a game/hunt that is both truly challenging, enjoyable to play yet

not just another hunt that has you hopping from store to store down a predetermined list while filling your inventory with items you may or may not like.

With this hunt the prize is LINDEN DOLLARS that you can spend as you wish.

Who?:

Fortune quest is brought to you by Altya’s Dream Creations which also funds the initial prize.

But it does not stop there. A portion of EACH clue sold will also go towards the prize constantly growing as the game evolves.

When?:

The game is ready to start NOW but we wish to gather enough interest in it first before we start.

The more people that know about it the greater it will become.

With that in mind we have provided a Second Life Group for you to join as well as an alternative group joiner that does NOT take up any of your valuable group slots.

The Primary Second Life Group will also become the official group for players to discuss and share ideas about the clues.

We will use these groups to contact you in the future with more information related to Future Quest ONLY.

We also don’t like spam :)

Well that sounds intriguing - enough that I subscribed and will try the first game when it starts. Go check out Altya’s Dream Creations - they have some cool stuff and you might like the game too. :)

Credit for the build acting as a backdrop for my first photo goes to Moonbase - it seemed like an appropriate place for that avatar. It also looks like a sim I'll have to go spend some time exploring. :)

Feature Updates and Bug Fixes for SL Marketplace Beta

communities@secondlife.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:50:02 +0000

The Commerce Team is heads down this week working on more key features and functionality for the new marketplace. Below is a list of updates we made over the last week.

Feature Updates and Bug Fixes for SL Marketplace Beta

We added a “continue shopping button” when a shopper comes to your detail page from search results
SL Marketplace Beta orders now show in your transaction history as “MKT2” - Xstreet purchases continue to show in your your transaction history as “MKT”
You can now use bit.ly urls for links to more information on inworld items
You can now use bit.ly urls for inworld stores
We have added the “category tree” to the store landing pages
Edit link has been moved back to the right in “manage inventory”
The Carousel on the home page no longer rotates

Quick Update on an XstreetSL Issue:

Linden dollars showing on Xstreet or during a purchase as L$NA should be fixed.

Distributions Coming to the SL Marketplace Beta

This week we will be introducing the distributions feature to the Marketplace Beta, but this feature will function differently than it does on Xstreet today. The new marketplace will have distributions based on Percent's and not based on a fixed amount. The existing distributions on Xstreet will be migrated over and converted to percents. For more information, please see the Marketplace Wiki.

Be sure to refer to the the Marketplace Wiki for more specific FAQs, updates on features and other Marketplace project information.

We’ll be reviewing the forums this week, as usual, but will have limited time to respond during this busy time. In the meantime, the development team will be watching the Issue Tracker, so as you find bugs, please file them using the public JIRA, also known as the Issue Tracker. File them as Project: "3. Second Life Website - WEB" and Component: "Marketplace". More info on how to do that. A handy compilation of Marketplace bugs can be found here.

Important Information About Ozimals Exploit Patch

Elizabeth — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:20:00 +0000

As some of you may be aware, a change implemented in 1.3 designed to reduce incorrect parent generation distribution created a new bug. The bug would occasionally produce double nests without generation loss, generally on those same overburdened sims but also during lag spikes and other periods of high server load.

Ozimals began receiving reports on July 17th of using this bug to exploit and create multiple nests. The vulnerability exists because it was possible to use a set of parents to get multiple nests by picking them up in the second that the nest was created to avoid the drop in love and gens.

As soon as we received the reports we immediately began around the clock work researching and preparing a fix. We completed the fix and began testing just a few days later and have gone through 5 internal betas to completely close the exploit. Changes with the birth process must be handled carefully and tested thoroughly so as not to create more problems than are solved.

While the coding team put a fix together, Malk and I began to gather data on the number of occurrences and who the owners were. The vast majority of instances were one time only. However, there was a small group of around 30 people who clearly exploited the situation. Those people have violated the Ozimals Terms of Service and per the section below have been removed from the game, their bunnies have been removed from the grid and they can no longer own Ozimals products:

"People who exploit, scam, cheat, or cause grievous problems amongst the community could have their pets removed from the grid and be denied the right to participate in Ozimals games, present or future. This is not a step that we will take lightly, but we will take it if necessary."

We have comprehensive data on every single nest produced using this exploit and those of you who unknowingly purchased nests produced by these banned sellers WILL NOT be penalized or have those nests or bunnies removed from your possession.

Some of you expressed concern that we did not immediately come forward to announce there was an issue. There are two reasons for that. One, we wanted to spend the time working on the fix and gathering data on the exploiters. Two, we didn't want to give information out that was not common knowledge before we had a fix ready to go, because that would only cause more people to attempt the exploit.

We are wrapping up testing and should be releasing the patch in the next couple of days. Since this is an exploit fix, you MUST update your bunnies within 3 days of the release of the patch. Please start your preparations now for the upcoming patch.

We also are doing extensive data tracking and will be running these data reports several times a day until the patch is out and all bunnies have been updated - we will investigate all instances that occur and will continue to remove people from the game who attempt to exploit while the update is in process.

If you currently have extra nests accidentally produced by this bug from bunnies you own, you need to file a ticket at http://support.ozimals.com. to get those turned in and your account removed from the investigative process.

We understand that this is a serious step and we do not take it without a great deal of data and research. Our primary goal is to protect our customers and the integrity of the game that you play. We appreciate all the support we were given while we took the time needed to handle this situation properly.

If you have any questions please use the support portal primarily and alternatively, the thread we will be posting in the forums. We are going to have to continue extensive work to get this patch out and may not be able to monitor chat as frequently as usual to answer your questions.

Much <3,

Your Ozimals Team

[VIDEOS] I’ve got new Viewer 2.1 (and beyond) tutorials for you!

communities@secondlife.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:10:37 +0000

Friendly greetings! It's me, Torley (who?). You've asked and I'm answering! Following the launch of Viewer 2.1, I'm teaching you how to use features both big and small so you can get the most out of the new Viewer. Of particular attention is "Multiple-items on a clothing layer with multi-wearables". Let me show you!

Yes, that's right, you can stack up to 5 (five!) items on a clothing layer in 2.1. This largely reduces the need for workarounds like attaching prim tattoos or that other awkward one where a creator sells a "jacket, shirt, and undershirt" version of a clothing item. My gosh that was awkward, but it's fading into the past.

Some of these tips will be expanded upon in future posts (and embedded with text articles on the wiki help pages) and in some cases, my videos present bugs/shortcomings we're aware of and going to continue building on. ITERATE. In any case, I wanted to let you know that these are up right now, so check them out:

OMG NEW 2.1 STUFF!

Giving inventory with the Share button - Mis-drag often? Tired of flipping tabs? This is better.
Multiple items on a clothing layer with multi-wearables - As featured above.
The sidebar Appearance Editor - Connects some things that were spread apart.
Undo for accidental outfit changes - A little, good thing to know.
I previously covered a lot of the everyday usability tweaks in "Nifty user interface tweaks in Viewer 2.1 Alpha" (so some stuff has changed since then, but it's essentially still true). Stuff that makes you go "Aha! Wish I knew that earlier…" is my vanguard.

Not entirely new, but I see this stuff asked about a lot…

Mysteries solved! Practical how-tos! And a couple classics updated for 2.1.

Eyedropper tool to match textures and colors - Never used this? Worth a try to save time.
Moving objects like furniture - For beginners, like if you've moved into a Linden Home!
Saving textures to your hard drive - I see this often on the forums.
Uploading textures - Same deal here. Remember, Viewer 2.1 removed the inventory's own top menus, so use the gear and + icons at the bottom.
What "unknown creator" really means - I don't know when we're changing this to make more human sense, but at least you can have some insight into what's going on.

I'm delighted we have embedded videos back on the blog. Yoz Linden and I tested this amidst referencing Scott Pilgrim, which added to the excitement.

*ahem* What often makes great material for a video tutorial is stuff that's much easier to show than tell (removing layers of abstraction). As always, I gratefully accept comments here, and I also started a discussion thread for vidtut requests awhile back.

What's your fave 2.1 feature that isn't getting enough attention and should be better explained?

SL borked – Joonie bored

Joonie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:32:00 +0000

Can't log into SL. Logins disabled. But I see 22, 318 avs logged in.
So wtf? I'm a premium account! pfft

Hence, random pics. No info. No slurls. No fashion homage. So sorry.
Joonie is bored. Joonie needs stimulation. Joonie likes bright shiny objects.

If you were to think about leaving SL, what would change your mind?

Would you ever dress like this in RL?

This outfit is available at the Summer of Love Fair.
You can find the slurl in earlier Summer of Love posts.

Just checked. Now there are 18,729 online. Who are they? Do they have special priviledges? Are they on a diff server than me? Why am I addicted to SL? Am I addicted? gaaaah! too many question. Going to go see if my RL is still breathing.....

How to take a punch…

What Is This Crap? — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:37:51 +0000

A conversation I had recently with my shadow... "Seen the referral stats?" "Yeah." "You're getting bashed by the crazy bitch again." (pause) "I said you're-" "And?" "Well, I thought you'd want to know." "Like I give a shit?" "It's really pathetic this time." "And this is a surprise how exactly?" "Well, I thought you'd want to kn-" "I don't." (pause) "You should say something." (pause) "Do not feed the crazy."

"How To Take A Punch" (an epic tale about complete and total bullshit) Long ago, when the world was new and the night was young, I was a bored and restless kid in public school. My brother had been, too, and he was moved to a private school. Poor bastard. There goes your 4.0 and cakewalk to OSU, man. Riding high on the road to Westerville Hig- Then, I was moved over to the private school. Thud. Well, there goes my wrecking the curve and carrying around a sack of books I never opened, using a calculator to bullshit answers for the pointless multifigure multiplication wastes of time. As part of the move, the school put students through summer school to see how much of a mess they were from the public school experience and to play catch-up. I was solid on math skills, so all four of the summer school remedial head-smashings were in language and writing and reading. ("Alive." Bleh. Gross. To this day, I can't watch a soccer match without thinking "Yes, but how do they taste?") Summer school was also used by the rich kids to clean up their dismal records so they could play sports and limp along to graduation so they could buy their way into Duke, Harvard, Columbia, etc. (Nobody ever bought their way into Cal Tech, MIT, or Rice, Harvey Mudd, or Carnegie Mellon, though.) Since it wasn't convenient to just ship me off for the classes, I was stuffed into the summer camp in the afternoons at the school. Most of the rich kids got picked up before then, but a few of the serious head-cases were stuck wasting time in the camp. Lovely. Gulag for the goon squad. One of them took an instant disliking to me, a lanky gawky nerd-glasses white-haired dork, but somehow he was the alpha male cock-of-the-walk cool kid, and he decided to do his best at bringing me down. It takes two to abuse: one to abuse, and another to allow the abuse to happen. It's always somebody, right? This is why I had a solid steel Pall Mall ruler in my bookbag all those years... no sharp edges, but perfect for breaking wrists. My trusty weapon/measuring implement was seized immediately. "Bookmark, right?" I nodded. "Nice try. We're not reform school here, Public." Bitch. Without a weapon or a staircase far away from witnesses, I was left without a plausible deniable violent solution. He failed at getting my goat and one-upping me in the classes because I was using my brother's marked-up books (a tactic I used all the way up until graduation, learning quickly that he used red ink for fake notes meant to get me discovered and burned. What a guy, right?). Better than Cliff's Notes, and not as yellow-and-black stripey. That, and the fact that he was a spastic retard. Some rich dude must have fucked his cousin, spawned a mutant brood, and then interbred them to create this damaged heir to the family fortune. Serial summer school strikeout king, getting by on his daddy's contributions to the school instead of his academic or athletic prowess, because money can't buy you brains for the one you love. So, after another attempt to get me to react, I shrugged him off and said: "What's your problem?" "You." No, jackass - the problem is you. And you can't handle that simple fact. He and his constellation of less-than-stellar student bozos weren't going to beat me at the books. They were barely keeping their heads above C level, and I was making waves around them big time. But in the camp, well, that was another story. Every boring Popsicle stick cabin got busted, every clay pot smushed as it was placed in the kiln, every food tray spit on, and every book I read while everyone else swam splashed on. (I don't like swimming. I can swim, I just don't like it.) He got laughter. I got bored. Whatever. Is it four yet? This kept up for a while. He probably saw it as some geekthreat starting the day making his treading-water life a living hell, then his taking revenge on me with the daily afternoon attempts at torment. I saw it as a horrible waste of time. If this is meant to build character, then you're building an army of assholes. (guilty as charged.) Then, he made a big mistake: he walked into a perfect situation for plausible deniability. "Accidents can be caused," my uncle used to say, and the opportunity for an accident came up. The afternoon's sport was kickball, and he started by shoving me to the other captain. "He's your pick, now I get two." The counselor didn't do anything but watch the process. This wasn't the first "He's your pick!" and he was just trying to get through the day without breaking up "the little kids." The picks continued until the kid with leg braces hobbled towards me. The counselor woke up long enough to tell the proto-bully that he had picked first by shoving me to the other team, so my team would kick first. Tantrum Time... yelling, finger-pointing... what, is this asshole three or something? For once, he didn't get his way, and he stomped his way to the center of the bases. Always the center of attention, a total given, right? "I want to go first," I said. I didn't listen to anyone's bitching or objections. I just walked up there, told the kid behind the plate to step back, and he did. He monkeyed around on the pitching mound, tossing insults and taunts while his buddies laughed along with him, and eventually rolled a "granny roll" in my direction. That's one hand on either side of the ball, and an over-dramatic gentle roll towards the plate. Being a soccer player since the age of 4 with a habit of bouncing goal kicks off the crossbar of the other team so the strikers could mop up and score fast, I ran over the plate at a full sprint, took a kicker's angle on the ball, and blasted it over the screens and into the tennis court. Fetch it, fucker. I'll just walk these here bases. I got branded a showoff by the clown-bully. A bigger showoff than him. Nothing pisses off a bully worse, getting his shit one-upped on him out in the open in front of his friends. I sat down, no patting on the back or "Way to go!" Silence. Pffft. Whatever. When it was our turn, we went out in the field. Dork-boy grounded one past third, but the next two were in the air. At me. I ran and caught the first, hurled it in. Dork-boy pinned on first. The next one got snagged by the pitcher. Dork-boy pinned on first. The third one, right at me. No running at all. I caught it. Three outs. Done. Dork-boy tried to claim I had dropped it. I had run in with the ball, hadn't handed it over yet. So, I dropped it in front of him. "Like that?" I said. And walked away. More of that shit, back and forth. Then, next time I came up to the plate, he bounced it hard to annoy me, like he was on the playgound playing four-square. Slamming it on the ground, it bounced and popped and crazy-spun... I could have just said "grow up" and made him roll again. No. Not going to give him even an inch. This was no problem. I've been fielding this shit for years on traveling teams. *bam* Half-volley shot right to his head, bounced some random direction away from everyone. Nobody runs after it. Just staring at the kid, like I'd pulled out a gun and shot him. I walked to first as he picked up his dork glasses and dusted himself off. Did this shut him up? Nope. Yelling and screaming and fussing, he picked up the ball and hurled it at me. *pong* What is this shit? Dodgeball now? Is this how spoiled rich kids deal with their anger when they're too young to rape the maid? My instincts said "Pick up the base, throw it at his face, and when he ducks, kick him in the head." Instead, I just smiled. Fucktards hate it when you just smile and stare. Pisses off jerks even more than kicking their ass or, if they're bigger than you, blindsiding them face-first into a metal locker or pushing them down a flight of stairs. No lockers. No stairs. Just grass and dirt and a bunch of kids wanting to go the hell home to watch TV or sniff model airplane glue. (TIP: Always sit in the front of the class so when papers are being handed to the front, you can stick a bully's quiz in the "special" folder in your notebook and pretend they never passed it up. Teachers NEVER think that shit is possible.) "Take your base," said the counselor. So, I walked to second. He tirade continued. *pong* This shit again? "Take your base," said the counselor. So, I walked to third. I figured, this shit ends now. I'm going to say something, like "Could someone else throw the ball at me, I can barely feel it when this fag throws it. Thanks." Nope. No point. Just walk. Kid can't hear it, anyway. More freaking out. More yelling. More assholery. Builds character, right? In the middle of it, a ball was thrown at me again. *pong* "Take your base," said the counselor. "Score a run." So I walked to home and then sat down. "Well, that was easy," I told the team. For once, they were patting me on the back, calling the kid an asshole. Whatever, fuckers. That's your friend out there being a dick. Took you this long to figure out he's an asshole? Fuck. You. All. As I was sitting down, sure enough, a ball bounced off my head. *pong* "Take your base," said the counselor. "I'm sitting down," I said. "Take it anyway," said the counselor. Shit. Gotta get up. One second... shake the dizzies out of my head... dipshit's throw clocked me a bit... and... Okay, clear. Back to first. The kid wasn't given the ball back, so he couldn't throw it at me. Didn't mean he'd let up any. He went all Billy Martin, kicking dirt from the basepath. Now, I was just getting dirt kicked on me. But it took a lot of it before I was told to take another base. When I got to second, the other team was dragging the kid off and yelling at him. The counselor looked at me. "Why didn't you fight him?" "Is that why you're a counselor?" I asked. "To make kids fight with each other?" He looked away, then got the game going again. Asshole. When the day was over, so was the kid. He never went back to the camp, never came back to the school, and to this day I can't remember his name, nickname, or anything about him except his white hair, general lanky gawkiness, and thick black (taped-together) glasses. I just assume that someone poured gasoline over him and set him on fire at some point. Maybe the counselor, too. Pricks.

So, what's this got to do with anything? It's just a fucking game of kickball-turned-dodgeball played by a bunch of spoiled rich kids and "townies" at a daycamp, right? But I learned something that day, and that's what to do with a fucked-up, out-of-control pain in the ass. I just see a scattering of traffic trickle in, a few IMs and emails from folks who like the post, and a few "What the fuck is that crazy bitch's problem?" here and there. *shrug* Whatever. I don't even need to look at what you've written, Prokofy. Haven't read it, don't give a shit what you think, say, do, or feel. You make six-sigma look sane. Tinfoil hats can't block the voices in your fillings driving you mad. Take all the shots you want, really, because after megabyte after megabyte of rants, tantrums, freakouts, arguments, conspiracy theories, cries of WOLF!, and claims of victimization: you throw like a fag, and your shit is so yesterday. Scribble your ABCs and FICs, wage crazy wars in your head and scream that you're a victim while everyone around you is stupid and worthless. Waste of pixels, waste of hard drive space, and a waste of time. Come on, loser. Throw the ball again. Keep throwing it, over and over, if you want. Do your fucking worst. I'll just take my base... and the next one... and the next one...

Missing

What Is This Crap? — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:16:38 +0000

I miss my Kyle O'Clock fix, because it's not just music. It's people. Together. Winding down for the day. Relaxing. A glass of wine, a good tune or ten. Just not the same, listening to his albums... or chatting folks up here and there. Just not the same. I've been pondering the StreamJam applet for the past few days, now that SL-ers are helping beta-test it for the Electric Sheep/Sibley Crew. Using UStream and the video, there's less lag between the performer and audience, but the reaction/reflexes aren't quite there yet. And the banter among audience memebers isn't quite at a Graceoclock or Meatspace level yet, despite the inherent socialnetworking/buzz among cliques in Facebook. But I think it has the potential for that kind of connection/banter/reaction. (The true power of every experience is between the people, not the pixels.)

And now for the news Part 2: Sweating to the Oldies!

Dancien — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:11:59 +0000

Happy Thursday kids! It’s me again with a recap of some of the news floating around Second Life with an extra helping of my two bloody cents. And boy howdy y’all been busy. So let’s get to it shall we?

Number A: The Lindens Fuck Up…..again..

So y’all know Hybrid Ansar right? She owns the shops: Savoire Fair Shapes, Not too Shabby, and Tendrils? Well she’s been banned from Second Life as well as somebody named Ikaru. Apparently this banning was the result of one ass clown and her partners in stupid filing false abuse reports against them as some form of “revenge”. This of course is bullshit as Hybrid is one of the most up and up people in the community. So hey Lindens, way to drop the goddamn ball on doing some research before hitting the ban button. Jesus Slam Dancing Christ, you clowns are like the Barney Fife’s of the internet. Never there when we actually need you (Being griefed, copybotted, or otherwise have a legitimate complaint) but hey, when you have your facts wrong you’re all over it like a fat kid in a candy store.

The Letter 2: Second Life Advocacy/Charity Group Formally Notifies Just About Everybody of a TOS violation.

Second Pride is a group in Second Life that centers around the LGBT community. Starting in 2007 they picked a real world charity to help out every year and they hold monthly fundraisers and also have a big Second Pride event. Overall after reading through their charter, about us, their forums, etc they seem like a very upfront and good organization. Now as you can probably guess this charity group handles a lot of money. In order to do so they created an avatar just for the purpose of handling the money. The avatar is of course controlled by the Treasurer. Well apparently this year, there were some problems getting the avatar back from the former treasurer Lemonodo Oh. The hows, the whys, the whole drama there isn’t the issue as that seems to be a rather internal affair and frankly I piss enough people off just by saying “Hi” I don’t really need a whole well organized group coming after me. While yes, may be fun it would be total headache after awhile. The story here is this: YOU ARE NOW ALLOWED TO SHARE AVATARS!! Look, as stated in Number A the Lindens are not the sharpest tools in the shed (Read: They ain’t bright folks). They will see a good charitable organization breaking the rules and they will come down like a ton of bricks instead of going after things that need to be addressed. Y’all need to be smarter than that. Seriously.

The Number 3: The Internet Police say you can’t sell shit you’ve purchased.

You know what the Transfer permission is for? It’s for giving stuff to other people. Also, it can be used for reselling items that frankly you no longer want in your inventory. That is why they have these things called Yard Sales. Shoot, if I remember correctly they even used to have a search feature for Yard Sales. Everybody who has transfer items can have a yard sale. It’s actually fairly easy to do. Yes Virginia, even bloggers can have a yard sale. It’s okay, really it is. It’s not unethical. Sometimes bloggers acquire a lot of inventory from review copies to simply out of tendency to go “OH shiny want now!” Sometimes we need to clean out our inventory, I mean once a day I see somebody on plurk post about “Cleaning out their inventory.” So somebody had the idea to charge a small fee for furniture and home decor they don’t even actually blog. That’s okay. Actually it’s pretty goddamn smart. Especially for such cheap prices. It’s not like this person went “Hey, great idea! I am going to charge a shitload for stuff and make a mad mad profit”. So you know what? Lighten the fuck up. Lay off your overblown sense of “Ethics”. Tend to your own very glass house before you meddle in others and you know what will happen? Life will go on, people will be happy, and like so to the overly pixelated sands through the bad sculpty hourglass so too the days of our Second Lives.

The Great Photo Shoot Escapade .. a really really true story and although no-one died .. it really is all Rob Moonites Fault.

Bliss Windlow — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:25:00 +0000

I wrote some time ago about why I sucked at being a model … (Click here..)

Well now I am in bigger trouble.

After the Fabulous Fashion Show this week (check it out here when it is posted or check out some of the pics here), I thought it would be fun to convince some of the guests and staff to come out and get pics of us all in the freebie gear that Rob Moonites left as a gift. It was men's wear but come on .. You know the Irish … who cares what you are wearing , anything goes … (and hence the reason it is all his fault .. those Irish are always at the bottom of people running amuck .. Jennaa told me ...)

Well … I put on my little outfit and thought .. hmmm .. a picture in a school somewhere … and so I started looking for a "school." Well … you could go for straight - here is the desk and your computer type of serious school ..generic …boring …square, suitable, dependable school…but that was not what I was looking for. I wanted some real feel to it .. grafitti …grunge … teenage angst …. and there was none to be found. I would have even settled for cute Little House on the Prairie School. Disturbingly there were lots of offerings for school in the sex sims ….

Evidently sexy people are very much into higher education, or maybe it is remedial education, or maybe they just dig the cheerleaders .. who knows … but it was perfect!. Made me kinda wonder though … the last place I would want to reinvent sex would be in highschool .. all that fumbling and awkardness .. No thankyou …. but I digress. I asked around and thought hmmmm… I'll ask Jennaa .. she is up for almost anything and so I was like" hey Jennaa .. .wanna dress up?" and she was like, " ya for sure, and I'll bring Mainit," and I was like, " ok." (copied illegally from the texts of SL)

I guess I should have told her that the same request sent to the fellow PWPers was pretty well ignored (I hate it when Angie tries to pretend she is asleep) …but saying things like …"Hey, I asked everyone else and you are my last hope .. wanna come ?"… well in my experience .. THAT is not always effective so I negated to divulge that part to her. BUT in the end I managed to black mail two of the staff, and then with Jennaa and Mainit .. It was a gang .. I TP'ed them in …. to an adult sim …(it would be cool if you had dramatic music to put in here but if you don't just ask one of your co-workers to trot on over and do the Beethovian "duh duh-duhduhhhhh" sound at this point … read it over again try it .. Effective right?)

As we gathered around the bus Mainit was whimpering and Jennaa had to hold his hand .. he was really scared … I am not saying anything, but Jennaa was explaining all the big words to us and she even had a picture book to show us things none of us knew much about … those home furnishings people have everrrrrything in their inventory ….and Mainit .. he seemed to perk right up then. I had to keep convering Delinda eyes to protect the innocent and Brigit .. well I am not sure where she was, but she got a gold star from someone for something … It said "Brigit's the BOMB."

Lots of other people suddenly showed up in my deserted sex sim and I was feeling kinda bummed .. I had found it .. It was mine!!! But then in fairness I did have my eyes closed and turned the sound off and trying to type like that with both hands over your eyes … well my nose is still in a cast ….so I might have missed the people there when I checked earlier. Of course everyone that showed up while we were there were going "Oh hey … hey .. oh ya .. us too .. (shuffle feet look at ground, button clothes, do up fly, stuff panties in pocket) ya ... just here for pics … " and I had to reassure them. I said "Come on Rob, it is fine …. no-one is going to judge you … you just carry on .. I think the girls locker room is free …"

Then while we were doing photos .. We could hear screaming and then words that I can't even repeat cause I have no idea what they meant and we were all whispering and trying to just get the shoot done …. We got delayed a bunch of times cause we had to keep coaxing Mainit out from under the bus … and Delinda kept asking .. "What does THAT word mean…" AND then….

The gang rumbled right up to us … They were flashing their colours and calling us names and telling us we were dead. Then they jumped all over us and on the bus and made obscene gestures and laughed and we just could not get anything done so we did what all Canadians do in wartime situations … I spoke French and sang Kum Ba Yah … as we teleported out ….

Thank Heavens Jennaa is a girl of some resources. She goes " wait wait … I have a school … "(who keeps an entire school and desks and poses and bitchy teachers and the tether ball and playground in their inventory???) And so we waited and we posed and THEN Mainit brings out his gun .. Like hello .. We could have used that back there … you could have passed it to one of the girls from under the bus …..And of course, Delinda is ALWAYS packing and I heard Brigit saying something about resigning and she seemed even more scared but hey … we got the pics and that is what a professional does … gets embedded into the operation and gets the pics …

Oh and there was a memo from Paisley when I got up the next day … I am not allowed to take the models on field trips anymore …. I bet it is because we lost the bus in that sim ….

Gimmee at Gatcha

Tymmerie Thorne — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:09:00 +0000

This is a photo of me sticking my tongue out at lag while enjoying a delicious twist cone at the Albero Gatcha Festival.

I have a mini-obsession with the Gatcha Festival at the Albero shopping center. Gatcha is basically a random vending machine full of a variety of transferable items. You have no control over which item comes out.

I've spent a significant amount of money trying to "win" items. That's the appeal in a nutshell - it turns one addiction (shopping) into two (shopping + gambling)!

To me, the most appealing machines are the ones at low prices -- who wants to gamble $100L that you'll get the color you want? Not me. But I'll happily gamble $25 or $35 to get a trinket. Or a whole set of trinkets.

Now, there will be a trading party at the end (August 14th, 5 PM SLT), but, just in case, if you need an /artileri/ turquoise radio, I have 3 extra. If you want a pink beach towel, I have 2 extra. I also have a selection of duplicate Duck Soup protest signs. (Why do I need protest signs? I have no idea, but I must have them! Gah!) Just IM me.

Paper Dollz!

Clementine Ishtari — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:09:26 +0000

There’s a new blog in town and it’s called Paper Dollz! Now, before I go extolling it’s virtues, let me start this post off by saying that this is a joint blog between myself and my homies Aranel Ah, Bethany Heart, Marc Gellner, Phemie Alcott and Rosie Shark. The idea behind the blog is pretty simple but kinda unique if I do say so myself. The goal is to use items that we already have in our inventories to recreate looks from the website Polyvore.com and bring those looks to our readers, like with the picture and accompanying post below.

But that’s not all we’re doing with this blog! We will be selecting one look per week from submissions to our Paper Dollz Flickr group and featuring them on the blog! We also have some cool challenges and contest ideas in the works as well as some designer challenges. So join the Flickr group today and start submitting your own looks! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

PS – Boys or girls… whatever your fashion style is, we want YOU! Just make sure you’re using existing items from your inventory to create your Polyvore based looks. Now ON TO THE FASHION!

270 of 365 College Radio

chestnut rau — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:41:00 +0000

When I went to college I experienced the thrill of musical discovery via WHRW, SUNY Binghamton's college radio station. The station is run by students and as a result the music played on the air ranges from the alternative to the classical to the absurd. I learned a lot hanging out at the radio station and to this day I think my musical tastes are influenced by the early exposure I had to alternatives to commercial radio. Of course, this statement dates me because clearly I went to college before Youtube, satellite radio and the widespread availability of musical alternatives via the internet. Shaddup.

I think I will always have a soft spot in my heart for college radio. When I am in my car I tend to listen to WFUV, which is Fordham University's radio station. When I travel to a new place one of the first things I do is explore the lower end of the radio dial to see what the local college students are playing on the air. Today I have been enjoying the Ithaca College Radio station WICB. Most college stations stream online so if you are looking for a fresh look at music check out these links and if you have your own favorite please let me know in a comment.

Search Release, it’s an Event

communities@secondlife.com — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:42:40 +0000

We had a small release last week and have been fine-tuning performance in preparation for our next release. Improving performance is a major concern of ours and if you haven't yet, please download the latest Viewer. Search performance depends, in part, on Viewer performance and every Viewer release improves Search performance.

Just released!

You may have already noticed this additional option appear on your in-viewer Search last week. If not, check it out! You now have the option to browse events straight from the Find window in Viewer 2.

Some features of note:

1) Featured
The editorial team at Linden has stumbled across a few events we wanted to bring to your attention, so we've include one of their selections up top. If you have an event worthy of notice, please send in your suggestions!

2) Choose a date
By default, you'll see events listed starting with the top of the current hour. If you're planning ahead, we have a convenient drop-down calendar for you to choose another date.

Browse by interest
3) You also have the option to simply select an Event category. We’re looking to expand categories as well and we welcome your suggestions.

Additional fixes included:

Performance tweaks
Teleport not triggered for specific locations in viewer search
Changes to filtered words (Which included this fix WEB-2023)
Multiple repeat Destination guide entries on web search
Profiles missing images

Release next week!

The fix for WEB-2378, finally, is coming along with a number of tweaks to the world pages, like visible html tags, table misalignment, classifieds tracking, and broken group links. Also coming next week, is an updated FAQ with additional information on how Search works, including suggestions for all of you who would like to appear higher in listings for your keywords.

We're working hard to increase the frequency of releases and enable the Search team to deploy when needed in order to fix bugs in a more timely manner. Thanks for your ongoing patience and understanding.

On a related note, thank you to everyone who is talking about Search publicly, in social media, comments, and in forums everywhere. It's a tremendous resource and we value your input highly. Please keep it up!

New Truth Hair

Joonie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:08:00 +0000

When in doubt, tell the truth. --Mark Twain

Keeley - champagne

Keeley is one big surprise. From the front, it looks like a cute, sassy Summer do. But from the side, it becomes that and more...a SMEXY, cute, sassy Summer do.

Marissa - champagne

Marissa is a romantic, falling tendrils, storybook Princess kind of style. If you're looking for something to make you feel like the prettiest girl in the room, this style is for you. Absolutely gorgeous.

The back view reminds us why we love Truth hair. No one but Truth does hair that looks like that with the perfect amount of movement and placement of pieces.

Vera in champagne

I don't say this very often, but I'm going to say it again now. I know I love a hair when I look at myself and want to "do me." This is one of those hairs. It is so amazingly smexy. You know how your hair can fall down onto your face and you reach up and run your fingers through your hair to move it back away from your face? This is like that and was captured the moment after you move your hand away.

From the back, you can see more proof of why Truth hair is so well-respected an sought after. And why his sim is always busy, even on non-release days. His attention to detail and his obvious knowledge of the way hair falls is shown in all his hair, but especially this one. Love it.

That's it for me, hair lovers. Another happy Truth day!

Now go get them and be gorgeous!

Hop on the Truth Train here: Truth Hair

Man I hate coming up with blog post titles

Dancien — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:14:29 +0000

Apparently my Wednesday is my Monday so here are some “Fashion” pics and stuff.

I know I know, I am late to the Elf Ear Party. But I like these.

Also, I like it when stores release complete outfits. Because A: I am lazy and B: I know it’s supposed to match. (types this as he’s wearing olive drab socks, purple gym shorts, and a black wifebeater) because I apparently have a matching problem.

It even came with shoes which is more awesome than a kick in the shin because I like shoes. They cover my feet. Which are not so hot.

Yeah really, I got nothing today. Sorry for the lack of wit, offended delicate sensibilities, and what not. I’m sure it’ll be back tomorrow.

I am wearing:

Skin – Noam Skin China White Clean Lined – Nomine

Outfit – Oxford Set – Avid

Glasses – Arcadi - Role Optic

Ears – Abyssal Drow/Naturals – Illusions

Eyes – Tetra Eyes Naturals Mist - Exodi

Hair – Mark – MADesigns

Poses – Uh, I think Get Bent, Olive Juice, Exposeur. If I missed any be sure to send me a cleverly created jpeg image detailing the injustices I have committed against you and I will get right on it.

Peace Tower catastrophe

What Is This Crap? — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:57:29 +0000

Yoko Ono's Peace Tower is a replica of a RL construct. However, unlike the RL beacon, it has a propensity for tearing the fabric of space-time and opening portals to alternate dimensions. OH MY GOD! A NEGATIVE ENERGY PLANE CREATURE HAS BROKEN THROUGH TO OUR DIMENSION! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! DAMN YOU, YOKO! DAMN YOU!

Baiastice releases Pulchra! (Part 1)

Sylvia Olivier — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:42:36 +0000

A few days ago Sissy Pessoa the creative genius behind Baiastice released this completely GORGEOUS new skin line called Pulchra. There are 30 different makeups in each shade and there is a make up type for everyone or any look that you would want to achieve. My favorite are the skins with the deep red lips. Mmmm. Can’t get more glam than that!

The skin comes with the option to have cleavage as well which I am showing with a very sexy and glamourous bra and panty set made by Baiastice. Seriously. If you have not looked at her lingerie.. you are missing out. Its the stuff of sirens and glam girls.

Not only did Baiastice release a brand spanking new skin line.. she released hair attachments as well. See the skins also come with the options to have a blonde, red, brown or black hairbase and of course the option not to wear it as well. The hair attachments is the hair that I am wearing in the post and I absolutely love them and think it is such a wonderful and innovative idea to release them both at the same time with all this diversity.

One more thing to note.. there is a free group gift of a brand new skin from the Pulchra line and a hair attachment. If you are not in the group send Sissy Pessoa a polite notecard and she will add you to the group. Once you are in look in the group notices and you will be good to go. I’ll be back tomorrow with more of this beautiful skin line and hair.

The Shadow

What Is This Crap? — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:08:04 +0000

Lauren did her schtick at 5PM yesterday, but I didn't feel like putting on my headphones to say anything. Instead... Who needs Kristen's Viewer for shadows, right?

Despite the fact that I'm going to a baseball game this afternoon (Astros vs. Cubs at 1PM Central), I should wake up from my communal nap in time to get home for the usual 5PM SLT reading of 100 word stories in the Clocktree on Edloe. Hopefully, I'll get the second batch of sound loops loaded and ready for today's gig. I still don't have all the moods and environments I want, but I'm getting there. (I suppose I should ring up a few musicians for assistance with this environments project... hrm... Guy David/Bluesmoke Hextall did my podcast theme and he's done music art, so that's the first road to check...)

Just Chillin’

Tymmerie Thorne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:27:00 +0000

I'm relaxing while I wait for Jerremy to log in tonight. We had a wonderful anniversary celebration last night. I didn't get a chance for a photo - but maybe tonight. I'm a little sad we weren't able to throw a big party like we had originally wanted to, but such is life. I'll just tuck the "Love Boat" party theme away for another time.

I love being on our little island -- it really is peaceful here. I had a really great picture of the water - or so I thought. What is it with Linden water that makes it "tile" or take on weird textures in pictures even when it looks perfect and gorgeous on my screen?

269 of 365 Guest Photographer Mike1 Shamrock

chestnut rau — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:12:00 +0000

Question: How lazy am I?
Answer: Very

Mariko Magic: We’ll Always Have Paris

Mariko Nightfire — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Paris by M.E. Fashion

Paris, La Ville Lumière - the City of Light, so named because it was the first city in Europe to illuminate its streets with gas lamps, beginning with the Champs De Elysées in 1828. To the world, the light of Paris is also its cuisine, its artists, museums and monuments, the Opera House, the café society, and, of course, fashion and the pursuit of romance. But, foremost on our minds when we visit the City of Light in Second Life is 'What shall I wear when strolling these Parisian avenues and parks?' My advice is to wear Paris, a delightfully flirty and very Parisian little dress designed by Malegria Ewry, owner of M.E. Fashion.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing.

At M.E. Fashion, you’ll find fashions with an emphasis on Fun and Sexy. Wander through the main store and put item after item on your wish list and find Paris on the second floor. Paris comes in six colors - Red, Aqua, Gold, Purple, White, and Silver. Paris is very reasonably priced at L$195. At that price, I bought three colors and will go back for the other three.

Paris Gold on Avenue Montaigne

Avenue Montaigne is Paris' renowned fashion boulevard. Here you'll find elegance, luxury, and a who's who list of prestigious labels like Christian Dior, Valentino, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Inès de la Fressange. Don't even think about the prices. You'll become apoplexic. However, we can always window shop. It's a pleasant and inexpensive way to experience this grande dame of fashion.

Paris Aqua at the Moulin Rouge

When we picture the gaiety of Paris’ nightlife, we think of The Moulin Rouge, the world famous cabaret immortalized by the painter Toulouse-Lautrec and the birthplace of that quintessential Parisian cabaret dance, the Can-Can.

Paris White at night

The hair that I am wearing is from DrLife and is called Bo. Bo was designed by my dear friend Leena Ying, owner of DrLife, and sells for L$350. Bo comes with 9 colors - red, silverin, platinum, honey, blonde, black, brown, golden brown, dark brown - which you select from a menu.

It was fun exploring the Paris sims of Second Life, and I hope that you enjoyed this look at M.E. Fashion's Paris. Don't you just love those peeks of lace. So dress in Paris, and let's catch the show at The Moulin Rouge.

M.E. Fashion Mall
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fusilier/225/220/24

DrLife Skins and Hair are available at Mariko in Mont Saint Michel

Mariko
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mont%20Saint%20Michel/228/117/31

Photos were taken at Paris and Paris 1900

Paris - La Tour Eiffel
http://slurl.com/secondlife/La%20Tour%20Eiffel/216/39/30

Paris 1900
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Paris%201900/99/147/25

Related posts:

More or Less (May 14, 2009)
http://marikomagic.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-or-less.html

Moulin Rouge: Can-Can

Bogart and Bergman: 'We'll always have Paris' from Casablanca (sigh)

[QUICKTIP] What do "MKT2" and "MKT" mean in your Transaction History?

communities@secondlife.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:34:33 +0000

In case you were wondering... your Transaction History, found in your Account section on http://secondlife.com, shows "your Linden Dollar (L$) transactions for the previous 30 days". You can filter by date range and export your transactions for record-keeping purposes.

What do "MKT2" and "MKT" mean?

Since your transaction history includes Second Life items you've purchased on the web, "MKT2 Item Purchase" refers to items purchased from the Second Life Marketplace, which will eventually replace Xstreet (the old marketplace), whose purchased items are shown with "MKT Item Purchase".

To see exactly which items were purchased, go to Marketplace Order History (still in-progress so stuff may be missing) or Xstreet Order History.

Here's an example of what it looks like:

Keep up-to-date with Marketplace & Commerce news!

I've put the above info on a wiki help page. More video tutorials coming this week (Yoz got videos working on the blogs again, yayzerama), stay tuned fellow avatars.

Head Full of Doubt

Joonie — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:51:00 +0000

The artist, Jason Ryan Mitcham, changed the painting 2600 times. Ten alterations to the painting equaled one second of film.

Fig chutney, sculpts and a tiny bit of frustration

ARIADNE KORDA — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:38:00 +0000

No really, this doesn't look like something rather awful, particularly when you see the figs all chopped up ready to make....

Fig Chutney (yes, another adventure thanks to our neighbours-with-fruit-to-spare). It tastes wonderful. Check out the recipe in the link.

So, fresh from putting it into jars (lovely waft of balsamico), I came up with this...

The VENT DU SUD FIG CHUTNEY COLOURED "Curve it!"

...(amid much hilarity from various sources). But seriously, they are such LOVELY colours.

Seats up to 5, 9 prims in total, lots of anims, couples poses too. Get it HERE for the next 48 hours only, and 100L instead of 199L.

Also, I am too broke to buy some fun-looking sculpt maps of jamjars with fruit preserve textures, which I rather like the idea of giving out as freebies. It may still happen. So yes, this is a compromise at half price and then I may go sculpt-hunting.

And I can feel a rant coming on but will TRY to make it short.

I've heard a few derogatory comments recently about 'hmph, that's just a sculpt bought on XStreet with a texture slapped on'. Well, I've seen stuff like that, yes. But there is 'slapping textures on', and there is fiddling endlessly with textures, offsets, tints, not to mention putting poses in, adjusting them, or combining and tweaking various sculpts to make a 'whole' that has some of your own skills in there too.

Few people in SL can do everything. And what is wrong with finding (or paying) people to do the bits you can't (scripting, making sculpts, poses, etc. in my case)? Personally I'd rather have something made using GOOD sculpts I've bought (from somebody I know hasn't ripped them) than battling with software I don't master and producing clunky ones.

Yes, it's good to learn new things. I'm not saying it isn't. I am slowly getting to grips with making textures, modifying scripts, and adjusting poses. Scripting is currently scheduled for around 2014.

At the moment, however, I love playing with colours and shapes and moods, and that takes up my SL building time.

Ah, got that off my chest.

So once more... FIGS (and Vent du Sud... and honestly I've redone my LMs so nobody lands in walls out by the patio store any more - sorry!). That one is the main square, the other one is for the pool where you find the offer. Really.

And admire the Kookie 'Lazy' shoes I shall probably still be wearing next week. Well, one of the three colours I bought (another reason why people may have to wait for the jam jars: it was tier time and they were such lovely shoes *sigh*). I need them in a sort of darkish, figgish aubergine now.

Ermmm.... the neighbours bought green beans today. And yellow ones. Watch this space.

However (and really, I'm going now), if you do want a 'custom CURVE IT!, just ask me, Ariadne Korda.

I can do green. Or whatever :)

Possible space on Camalot

What Is This Crap? — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:49:01 +0000

When folks come by the Five Islands neighborhood of islands, the first thing most say is how nice it is over at Camalot and Woodbridge. The four islands I administer are currently full, but Jack's pondering renting out space on Camalot. The area is wooded/rustic, plenty of water and walking paths over to Woodbridge, Corbenic, and points beyond. IM Jack Pitts if you're interested.

Jack had himself a big scare last week health-wise, and he's joining me in the War on the Waistline. I wish him better success than I have been experiencing during this Month Of Hell. (215-220 is a goddamned prison at this point. I'm going to be stranding myself a bit further from home than usual in the evenings, and the 30-minute situp drills might just become 10 every 10 drills.)

NYYYYYAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! *ugh* =whew= (Jesus H. Christ, that must have been good for a pound or two.)

"Hey." "What?" "Psycho's bashing you again." "And I give a shit why exactly?" "Well, she says-" [MUTE] zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sexy Newness…

RylanCarling — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:26:01 +0000

Check out these incredibly sexy boots from I.O.!!! I am in love with the design and texture!!! There’s also a new outfit release, of which, I am wearing the undies. The shirt is from ROOTS, and comes with nipple action and no nips. I, of course, chose appropriately =) What? It’s early in the morning!

Of course, I have TRUTH hair on and my lovely Belleza skin…I will never part…NEVER…well, not until he comes out with newness.

WEARING:
Eyes – - Glam Affair – Stella Eyes n4
Skin -Belleza- Elle BR SK 2 (cleavage)
Hair – >TRUTH< Roxana – espresso
Shirt – >>ROOTS<<00T10034.F/w.Nipples
Undies – Indrya Originals - Jasbon string-kini bottoms: Black
Boots – Indrya Originals - I.O. Coquette Noir: Addiction Boots Black/Black Laces

Pose - Olive Juice

Christmas in July? (or Wakey Wakey, Eggs and Beacons)

What Is This Crap? — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:46:00 +0000

There was no Cypress O'Clock last night, so my new routine of setting the kitchen timer for 30 minutes and doing 20 situps with each alarm went smoothly for the first night.

Play me Old King Cole That I may join with you, All your hearts now seem so far from me It hardly seems to matter now.

We'll see if I can keep up that routine.

And the nurse will tell you lies Of a kingdom beyond the skies. But I am lost within this half-world, It hardly seems to matter now.

My shadow didn't want anything to do with this exercise crap, and decided to just lay back in the park and watch the smeary sunset as it often does. That's when it told me it was hearing tunes in a loop.

Play me my song. Here it comes again.

"Yeah, that's the wind chimes. They're in the barrels in the platform in the tree."

Play me my song. Here it comes again.

I turned those off, but the tunes continued.

Just a little bit, Just a little bit more time, Time left to live out my life.

Christmas tunes? This is usually when I look for the sound source using Beacons.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he. So he called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three.

But I was on Viewer 2.1... where are they?

But the clock,

It was late, I was tired. I can't remember stuff so easily when it's late.

tick-tock,

And didn't feel like screwing around with a new window for F1 Help or hunting through Google (Beacons "Second Life" "Viewer 2" I figured) so I looked through the menu options, item by item, but I couldn't find "Beacons" there.

On the mantlepiece -

Went back through them again. Nope. Didn't see it.

And I want, and I feel, and I know, and I touch,

(Only now, when I look at the Wiki page, yeah, it's there under Show and it's control - alt - shift - N for a key combo. I know a lot of key combos by heart through mnemonics and symbol-association, like Ctl-Shift-Y for Midday because it looks like a guy throwing his hands in the air at High Noon... REACH FOR THE SKY! and control - alt - shift - = for particles because equals sounds like particles, but some elude me like Beacons.) Okay, so I couldn't find Beacons... hrm... is there a beacon for Beacons?

Her warmth...

Pfeh.

She's a lady, she's got TIME! Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your face.

That's when I undocked my camera with the SpaceNav and swooped around, listening as best as I could. (As the evening gets late, by ears ring a bit more. Add to that the headache from doing all those situps every 30 minutes. Harder to hear things clearly.) Swoop... swoop... swoop... Hold on... It's coming from around the well.

She's a lady, she is mine. Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your flesh.

I checked every prim in Max's well, but didn't see anything but a MultiSit script and poses (I really need to get one of those and learn it for the boat.) Not a prank by Max. Hrm.

Ive been waiting here for so long And all this time has passed me by It doesn't seem to matter now

I swooped around a little more... is the sound coming from the plants? I set draw distance to 32 and looped the ground-cover and... There was a tiny box in the plants, 10 prims and playing the tunes... it looked like... a music box. Christmas tunes? Music box?

You stand there with your fixed expression Casting doubt on all I have to say. Why don't you touch me, touch me, Why don't you touch me, touch me, Touch me now, now, now, now, now...

Wait! Is this a music box left over from when I rezzed all of my Christmas cards and gifts in the park?

Now, now, now, now, now!

It's freaking July and this thing pops back into existence from December? What. The. Fuck?

Now, now, now, now, now!

I grabbed it and stuck it back into my Gifts folder, confused and tired.

Now, now, now, now, now!

Leaving my shadow to watch the sunset, crickets welcoming the darkness and the night. (EXIT ROBOT)

Remember Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers series, where the space-time continuum was full of flotsam and jetsam from various parts of the universe, popping in and out here and there? The infinite improbability drive engine The Heart Of Gold appeared out of nowhere, the Chesterfield sofa wobbling across ancient Earth and popping into Lord's Cricket Ground, the Perfectly Normal Beasts, etc... Well, this music box reminded me of that phenomenon, junk seemingly just reappearing out of the blue, popping in and out of existence.

Now, now, now, now, now...

(And, I suppose, it also reminded me of "The Musical Box" by Genesis, but now that I think of it... it... hardly seems... something something... whatever.)

Lourdes’ SLife of Luxury: Adam & Eve and Aoharu

Lourdes Denimore — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:05:48 +0000

Sachi of Adam and Eve recently released the Sophia skins. I love the face and the make up. Sophia darker toned with the tone I’m wearing being the lightest. Aoharu released the ruffled rompers and I had to get one of the fat packs. It seems like the perfect outfit for flats, which I don’t get to wear very often.

Be sure to head down to Adam and Eve and demo Sophia.

Credits:

Skin: Adam n Eve Skin Sophia t1 Toffee
Hair: [ploom] Zoey – Ink
Outfit: AOHARU_BT_RuffleRomper_Washed
Earrings: :+*R*+: Candide Pierced Earrings Silver
Shoes: ANEXX_BowBalletFlats_White

Poses: *EverGlow*

This is not my wedding dress.

Tymmerie Thorne — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:04:00 +0000

I wanted to wear something "wedding flavored" (meaning festive and white) today since it is the second anniversary my wedding to Jerremy! Hopefully, tonight, I can get a few pictures of us together.

I bought this dress at the grand re-opening of the shop ::Aleida::. Here is where I name drop: I met designer Aleida Rhode back when we both modeled for Dream Models before she started her shop. So, like, I knew her back before she started designing.

I got her store notice that she was having a party at her sim to celebrate, so I TPd over to see her new stuff. I chose this dress because of the sexy back:

So what is my handsome groom wearing today? He was naked when we logged out last night. But, he promised to put on swim trunks if we went out in public. Do you have any idea how much I adore that man???

In any case: Happy Anniversary, Jerremy! The honeymoon still hasn't ended for me. I love you!

268 of 365 Guest Photographer Zha Ewry

chestnut rau — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:04:00 +0000

I am tired and lazy so Zha took a photo for me. Its lovely I think.

Second Style Island Welcomes LaLaFooFoo

Felicity Blumenthal — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:59:05 +0000

Second Style Island is excited to welcome our newest addition – LaLa FooFoo!

To celebrate her opening of the new location there is a fun freebie tank located in the store…

How cute is that?!?!

So stop by Second Style Island, and visit LaLa FooFoo today!!

Strut it Hud – Update

kryptonia — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:55:11 +0000

Are you one of those who are using STRUT IT Hud created by Mango Splash? Are you one of those who requested a default pose on Strut it? If yes….well we got a good news for you, we updated STRUT IT HUD which is ready to be distributed the updated one directly to all lovely [...]

Curation

What Is This Crap? — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:05:39 +0000

Posts like this one about SL Marketplace are more valuable than diamond-encrusted gold. It's a customer who has tried to use the product/service, has issues with it, lists those issues, and makes suggestions to resolve those issues while explaining the benefits of each suggestion or the costs of failing to resolve those issues. So, are they just being critical and attacking, as some might say? No. As many loyal critics do, they're not just bitching:

I sincerely WANT the Marketplace to succeed. If the Marketplace succeeds, I'll make more $L, customers will be happier and Linden Lab will make more real money. So my suggestions and comments are really designed to push in the direction that I and a lot of my fellow merchants see as necessary for that success.

Now is the time to listen and plan and rethink roadmaps, because when folks like these stop bitching and complaining and making suggestions, that is the time to worry. Because they no longer have the time to complain. They've rethought priorities... downsized... researched other platforms... Ones who actually listened. Here's hoping that Wallace is no longer just a retweeting engine and is actually curating good feedback from the blogosphere/twittersphere/forumspace/facebookspace so that the staff can sort through the helpful/meaningful suggestions while tossing out the usual meaningless noise/chaff/crazy/bullshit. After all, there's a hell of a lot of this out there, good and bad, and someone's got to wade through it, right? The fewer staffers there are, the more valuable their time is. Would you rather they waste that time on being their own secretary and filters, or someone dedicated to that and sorting the wheat and the chaff for them so that time is spent on projects and solutions? One two three... show of hands here... five six... yeah, looks like people really want a focus on projects and solutions instead of glorified inefficient punching-bags too confused to code and fix issues, right? That's happening, right? Daily rundowns, flagging the affected departments/staff/projects? Otherwise, well, what good is he... or any of the helpful observations that folks like Snickers posts? But most of all, if nobody at the Lab is curating the vast amount of information, valuable and worthless, I've got news for them: Their competition is. And if you watch each new product/service/platform showing up, it's obvious they're paying attention and picking out the gold from the dirt in this torrent of opinion, conjecture, and marketing research. Oh well. In the end, the customers win. Yay customers.

Join Philip and BK for an Inworld Meeting and Q&A

communities@secondlife.com — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:28:50 +0000

Recently, I posted an update here on our blogs about on Linden Lab’s strategy. I mentioned my desire to hold an inworld meeting for questions before the end of July, and today I’m happy to share some details on how you can participate!

On Friday July 30th, join myself and COO Bob Komin (BK Linden) at 10am SLT/PST at Linden Estate Services for an Inworld meeting with the Residents of Second Life. It was announced this June that I would be returning as interim CEO and I’d like to take this opportunity to address some of the excitement, concerns and questions that have been circulating for the past few weeks. The overall goal is to open up the conversation with the community about our upcoming plans around the development and future of Second Life.

If you would like to attend, please fill out this form with your Second Life name and email address no later than 5pm SLT/PST on Wednesday, July 28th. Admission to the live event will be decided by a random draw and the winners will be notified on the 29th by either an email or notecard with instructions on how to RSVP. Please keep in mind that the event will be in English and that both myself and Bob will be using SL Voice.

We are attempting to make this event as inclusive as possible so that those who are interested will be able to participate. We have partnered with TreetTV in order to provide live video and audio streaming of the event. In addition, we have asked Virtual Ability Island to provide a transcription of the event so that those with hearing impairments can follow along. You can also submit questions throughout the event to the SL Twitter account. The final 20-30 minutes of the event will be devoted to answering some of those questions.

I'm looking forward to hearing from the community on Friday, and keeping in touch with you as we move forward.

Thanks,

Philip

UPDATE: For those who didn’t get drawn in the lottery to attend, you’ll be able to watch, listen, and read the video, audio, and text transcription of the event live as it happens at http://slevents.treet.tv/slmeeting/. Treet.TV will stream the entire event, and Virtual Ability will provide a live text transcription in a dedicated IRC channel on the Treet.TV page.

Attendees will be able to direct questions to Philip and BK via an inworld IM to our moderator, Wallace Linden, and we’ll also be taking questions on Twitter: just direct a Tweet to @secondlife.

For those who were selected to attend, please arrive at the event a few minutes ahead of time and plan to get started at 10am PST. As noted above, Philip and BK will speak for approximately 30 minutes, and the second half of the hour will be devoted to questions, before we wrap up at 11am. We look forward to seeing you inworld!

Thanks,

Wallace

The Wall

What Is This Crap? — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:08:40 +0000

I've never liked the retaining wall at the base of the clocktree in the park. So, after searching and tweaking and hunting, I finally found what might work for that location: That's the sculpty circular stone wall from Organica, normally surrounding a fountain but I've removed the water and filled it with the mulch and flowers I picked up from Callie Cline (ZOMG CALLIE CLINE ZOMG!) a while back. Sure, sitting on it results in weird sculpty artifacts, but if I get up off my ass and actually learn the multi-sit script, I could make it work. Or I could just put basic sits in it along with the usual Pillow Talk pillows.

Why Organica all of the sudden? Because I was scouting around the Five Islands for ideas and saw the retaining walls Shini had used on Piper Point. I may not be wandering the grid as wide as I should, but I do know when others do it... and bring back the riches of the East... the West... the Elsewhere.

I also removed the 12-prim picnic table from MudHoney and put a 2-prim Tobias Novi bench back. Why? Because there's never 12 people sitting around the place, so why waste 10 prims and scripts, right? Every prim... is sacred... every prim... is blessed... if a prim is waaaaaaaasted... God gets quite irate!

365

What Is This Crap? — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:43:16 +0000

Shini has roamed the grid for 365 days straight, reporting back her findings:

So now.... if you have read this blog for a while, please please please comment. I want to so badly hear from all of you. Even the individual who used my site for ideas to post to the Lindens Showcase. Cause today marks the end. I achieved my goal. I will go on exploring but foresee other new and exciting challenges ahead for me, and don't any of you stop exploring. See the music, art, design....and all the wonderful people in Secondlife. In one year I barely scratched the surface of all that is out there.

Me, I've been so lazy... Even my shadow just sits and watches television because I don't have the energy to.

It looks like StreamJam is kicking things off into a higher gear, and I'm seeing quite a few invites to events on that Facebook app:

Hi Laurence, Eva invited you to "Eva Moon Live on Facebook! (and Second Life too!)" and says "I'd like to invite you to something brand new. For the first time you can watch live music performances directly on Facebook. Simply click on the link at showtime! (Thursday, 5 pm PDT). http://apps.facebook.com/streamjam/". Event: Eva Moon Live on Facebook! (and Second Life too!) Start Time: Thursday, July 29 at 5:00pm End Time: Thursday, July 29 at 6:00pm Location: http://apps.facebook.com/streamjam/ -and- http://www.facebook.com/l/d8010;slurl.com/secondlife/Wichi/90/219/22 Matthew Broyles, Harrie Skjellerup, and 33 other friends are also invited. Thanks, The Facebook Team

The interface and interactions may be rudimentary, but it's simple to use and better than nothing. Plus, it's easy to share events through Facebook's social network structure. (I don't even bother with Avatars United and Search - Events in Second Life anymore. If it's not a regular gig or announced through a group or Twitter feed I follow, I'm going to miss it. Oh well. Shucky darn.)

Spilled iced tea on my white shirt. Didn't slice my finger open while cutting the lime. Opened the yogurt. No mess there. Banana's easy enough to keep from making a mess with. The scale says 219. Way too many mistakes and self-sabotages and missed opportunities to do the right hings. Far too many "Just this once..." which is a phrase that always leads to disaster. I go back through labels and realize where I've made my biggest mistake. I go back over my food diary and I'm horrified by some of my choices. Eating before bed? I go back through my exercise log and see time after time the "evening walk" without a checkmark. Just forty goddamned minutes. Once around the block. Can't I find just another forty minutes to get the fuck away from everything? My goal was 214, but I thought I could make 212 at the rate I was going. 219 now. No way, no how. I've failed for July. I feel sick. I feel tired.

I make a list of things to do when I get home. Shit's going to change. Now.

Bored today? Try Vic ZuZu!

Tenshi Vielle — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:43:14 +0000

Alright, seriously, this guy is epic on the scale of Epically Stupid Trolls. Check it:

“I really dont know why they all think that I want to present myself and behave as Best male stylist? ^^ Lets allow Frolic Mills decide who is best in SL! Hehehe. Maybe I wouldnt mention this comment but I was wonder who is that winners – Toky and Roland. Well Toky hasnt any blog or flickr in his profile so I know nothing about his taste or style but ROLAND FORCED ME TO LAUGH! =))) Maybe it was he who wrote that! Sooooo funny! If he is the best stylist in SL now I can understand why many guys looks like him! ^^ Heeeeeey! I remember him, he was my student 2! =)))) I remembered him by this pic on his blog, he came in (sic)

You see? How angry people can be! ^^ No wonder if he spam himself everywhere! =) Even in a nightmare I would never choice this jacket even if it would be Sartoria and Aoharu! Even if it would be Saoharu or Aotoria! ^^ What can I say more?! Jealous and stuck up people everywhere! ^^ As I said before, why he need such classes?! =)

I guess James dont know that there are a lot of guys who are not so skinny and messy! And there are a lot of different styles to use! ^^ Hipster style is good for skinny boys + emo boys when they are yong, untill 19 maybe, because they have nothing to do in that ages. Originally its the style for elite yoth who dont need to have a job for instance so they can afford to look like little boys in their 22 or even 27 because its definitely not the clothes for any enough old and serious guy! Hehe.

If this is it and these is the best stylists in SL I am going to believe I am the English Queen! =))) Where are you guys? Trully best stylists in SL? We need to be closer because we are very few! Hehehehe.”

Yes. “Best Stylists” in SL should get together, and Vic really is the Queen of England. (Engrish) Despite this wonderful egotistical fart of a post, Vic had a post last week that damned pretty much all gay men in Second Life, and said that women can’t style men.

“I so enjoy these responses! I thought they would write something very simple like “it was crap” or “he was adorable”, but as you can see they find the time to write such long responses which I just adore! ^^ I think its a huge success! =) Well I was trying to be professional and not waste my and their time on simple conversations about nothing, but the Dean told me I need to have friendly blabbing with them during the class! ^^ Well ok, I can do that! I do it all the time, so I can do it again and again, especially if they pay for it! ^^ And still I cant just stay out of the comments on these responses! Hehehe.

Student 1 believes I am bad Russian, very bad because my behavior was professional! =) I am so sorry I hadnt put any jokes between the lecture, because you came for them right? ^^ I was so silly when decided to give away some very important information about the manners, behavior, first impression, attitude, nonverbal communications, AO tips, the perception estimation of appearance, literacy of speech, reaction on a praise and criticism, charisma, sense of humor and sense of taste, emotes expression etc. I was more silly when recommended to read the books and watch nice movies about fashion to feel the atmosphere. And of course I was extremely rude when decided to talk openly with them about usual faux pas in styling. ^^ Yeah! All I needed to do is just some jokes and compliments – you look very nice! Thank you, thank you! ^^ And responses would have been – he said am gorgeous! He is so nice! =)

I can tell that when I needed to tell the truth to students about their outfits I was sweat because I was sure it would sounds rude. But who will tell you the truth if you want to improve your skills if not me especially if I am instructor? I am not here to wasting my time with playing in children garden you know. ^^ As the Dean said it comes from my RL work. ^^ Well I will follow her advice to be more easy going in teaching, because I take it too serious. ^^ No wonder because in RL if you would have such behavior you would not be consider as professional.

I never thought that one earing can offend the gay community of SL. You dont want to wear just one earing? Fine! You want to wear simple shirt and freebie jeans with bad texture from Make Him Over Hunt (MHOH)? Ok! I dont know why you need such classes then if you already know everything about the style. ^^ Of course gay community handle some (not sure if huge) part in SL fashion scene since male models are gays. Its not about the style. Many people believe that fashion industry (even in SL) and style are the same definitions! ^^ Believe me its not and you would learn it if would like to attend one of my future classes! ^^ And yeah I dismissed one of the female students because it is styling for men course and it was hard for me to talk about her outfit (I tried though) because I am not into women styling, its not my specification, and still I mentioned that her shoes were fine, but not her outfit in common because of bad textures. It was just an illussion that her shoes were wrong because couple of the students said it, I was not agree. And it become funnier when I sent him IM later and said – thank you for your compliment! I am sorry yesterday I was kinda nervous! – he said its fine and he ENJOYED the class! ^^ They are always so brave behind your back! ^^”

WALLOFHOMOPHOBICSEXISTTEXT, but anyway, I’m linking over to his blog because it’s just so full of lulz. Last week, there were too many lulz for poor Vic to handle, and he password-protected his blog so that no further comments could be made. http://viczuzu.blogspot.com/

Summer of Love Fair #6 – Addiction and Dependency

Joonie — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:39:00 +0000

"It’s important to note that addiction has nothing to do with either a lack of willpower or intelligence; people with addiction problems often have above-average quantities of both."

:: ADDICTION AND DEPENDENCY ::

*What is addiction?*

Addiction destroys lives. It affects not only the people who suffer from it, but also the family and friends who are close. It’s important to note that addiction has nothing to do with either a lack of willpower or intelligence; people with addiction problems often have above-average quantities of both. It’s also important to remember that the words addiction, dependence and dependency are all referring to similar patterns of behavior, whether it be physical addiction or emotional dependency. For many, it simply starts as a way of coping with emotions. Or it may have started with peer pressure. Regardless of the reason for the start, or the type of addiction, it eventually gets out of control with time and the result is a lower quality of life.

*How do you know if you are addicted?*

For example, if you find that you have a strong desire or compulsion to drink, difficulty in controlling the amount you drink, develop withdrawal symptoms if you stop and must start drinking again to relieve them, develop a tolerance to alcohol and need more and more to achieve the same effect, lose interest in other things that used to give you pleasure, and/or are unable to stop drinking despite the negative effects it is having on your life, there is a good chance you have developed an addiction. But alcohol is not the only thing people can develop dependencies or addictions to. It could be prescription or illegal drugs, tobacco, gambling, eating, internet, gaming or working just to name a few. Anything can be subject to addiction and become a compulsive behavior you can't seem to escape from doing. It becomes part of your life as if you completely ''depend'' on it for survival. It becomes addiction when it gets out of control, when your life is at its mercy. It becomes the main focus and everything else is neglected. That is usually when addicts starts to lose control of their life and where they begin to think about stopping the vicious circle.

*How do addicts stop?*

For many, it takes a serious realisation of how greatly it is affecting their lives – a veritable ‘rock-bottom’. Depending on the addiction, it may be a number of things – a loved one leaving or financial ruin. At this stage, the addict may try and take matters into his or her own hands and try to cut down or stop their addiction. More often than not, this doesn’t work, and this is the time when the addict will seek outside help from other people and/or organisations.

*What can you do to help a loved one suffering?*

The most important things you can do is to remain positive and urge the person suffering to seek help for their problem. Remember that once the decision is made to seek help – the faster it happens, the more likely the afflicted will be successful in overcoming their addiction.

*Where can I find information/seek help?*

UK:

addaction – http://www.addaction.org.uk/ – Drug and alcohol treatment charity

AddictionsUK – http://www.addictionsuk.com/ – Home-based addiction treatment

Addiction Today – http://www.addictiontoday.org/ – For a free list of treatment centres

Adfam – http://www.adfam.org.uk/ - Help and advice for families affected by drugs and alcohol

Alcohol Concern – http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/ – Agency campaigning for improved services for those affected by alcohol-related problems

Alcoholics Anonymous – http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/ – Support group

The Alliance – http://www.m-alliance.org.uk/ – Advice on drug treatments

Beating Addictions – http://www.beatingaddictions.co.uk/ – Advice on how to overcome addiction

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) – www.bacp.co.uk – For a list of therapists

Drinkaware – http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/ – Facts and information on alcohol

DrugScope – http://www.drugscope.org.uk/ – Information and resources. Has a database of local drug and alcohol treatments and services

UK Drugsline – http://www.drugsline.org/ – Independent drugs crisis, information and support charity

Frank – http://www.talktofrank.com/ – Advice, information and support on substance misuse

Gamblers Anonymous – http://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/ – Support group

Hope UK – http://www.hopeuk.org/ – Drug education charity that enables young people to make drug-free choices

Mind – http://www.mind.org.uk/ – Mind helps people take control of their mental health. We do this by providing high-quality information and advice, and campaigning to promote and protect good mental health for everyone.

National Association for Children of Alcoholics – http://www.nacoa.org.uk/ – Information, advice and support for children of alcoholics

National Drug Prevention Alliance – drugprevent.org.uk – Promotes drug prevention

Release – http://www.release.org.uk/ – Drugs, the law and human rights; help and information

Smokefree – smokefree.nhs.uk – Support for quitting smoking

Turning Point – http://www.turning-point.co.uk/ – Social care organisation for those with complex needs

United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) – http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/ – For a list of therapists

US:

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America - http://www.drugfree.org/ - Drug prevention, drug abuse, drug intervention, drug treatment, and recovery. Guidance, tips and stories.

Join Together - http://www.jointogether.org/ - Advancing effective alcohol and drug policy, prevention, and treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous - http://www.aa.org/

Narcotics Anonymous - http://www.na.org/

Substance Abuse Solutions - http://www.substanceabusesolutions.com/ - Online directory for substance abuse centers in North America

**Remember that the internet is a great source of information, but before starting any treatment, refer to the psychological association of your country. They are here to help, give you information on where to find reliable professionnals that are well train to give treatments on each particular dependency.**

Joonie is wearing:

NiCO - Ileana (Purchased at Summer of Love Fair - absolutely gorgeous)

Hair - Maitreya Green II

Skin - Curio Battle Royale - Sundust

It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s delectable, it’s delirious

Sophia Harlow — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:37:54 +0000

L.Fauna’s new release Lola is just lovely!

I can’t lie, I always liked Launa Fauna’s skins, but they didn’t look as good on as as they did on others. It never stopped me from buying them though..I guess I was hopeful. Until now… I love how soft and delicate it is…she totally scored with this face.

Oooo, and get used to my jeans…I adore them and wear them often! I can’t help it..they are perfect! If you don’t own them…tp your hot little pixels over to LeLutka and get a pair!

Until next time!!

xo- Sophia Harlow

Blouse:[LeeZu!] Mailiin Blouse /black
Jeans: -[LeLutka]-NORA Jeans/Denim
Hair: >TRUTH< Sophia
Shoes: [LeLutka]-Pow Pumps
Flower: Curio from an older hair style

On the Road: Binghamton and Ithaca

chestnut rau — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:06:00 +0000

There must be one of those unwritten laws of the universe that holds "if you drive on a Thruway, there will be a major thunderstorm during the exact hours you are hurtling down the road at 70 miles an hour." Two weeks ago when we went to western Pennsylvania to see my cousin it poured and today as I drove west across upstate New York it poured.

When I got near Binghamton the grey skies parted and the sun came out. They sky was the color of my son's eyes and there were big white fluffy Simpson clouds. Now, Binghamton New York is one of those old industrial cities that has had its ups and downs. It has spots that shine and other places that have a veneer of dirt and age and poor. I happen to love Binghamton because I went to college there. I spent four years learning about music and reading great books. I developed friendships that last to this day in that beat up old city and the memories of those days are cherished.

Having said that I have had no reason to go back to Binghamton for many years. The only way to get to Ithaca from my house means you drive right by Binghamton and I just had to stop this afternoon. When I pulled off the highway I had no real destination. I wanted to see what I could see and grab any memories that came my way. It was funny. I drove down a main street and the street names were suddenly familiar. I realized I was about three blocks away from the house I lived in on Chestnut Street near the corner of Leroy Street.

We lived on the first floor -- our front door was to the left side of the house. The two front windows leaked like crazy and my bedroom was freezing. Lynn's room was in the center of the house and while she had to put up with a LOT of noise it was warm, which in Binghamton in the winter is a major consideration. Our other roommate used the dining room as a bedroom because we were poor college students and that is just how things went back then. Lots of ill advised things happened in our place, some of them stupid and others just plain illegal. College.

I looked at that house for a moment, said a few silent thank yous to whatever guardian angel helped me live through some of the things I did. Then, I drove down the two lane highway that takes you from Binghamton to Ithaca -- passing signs for pig roasts and Sunday pancake breakfasts. I drove by bored looking kids throwing base balls and grandmas in old house dresses watering the flower pots hanging from peeling porches. This part of upstate New York is beautiful. I could so easily live out in the country, provided I had good connectivity of course.

Ithaca is a vibrant collge town. There are fabulous restaurants, interesting shops and the Commons is alive with music and people on a Sunday evening. I enjoyed a walk through the city picking out which house I would buy as is my habit every time I travel. I think I will always want to uproot my life and move somewhere new.

(This was painted on a construction site I passed on the Ithaca Commons during my search for dinner.)

Why Amateurs Should NEVER Try to Explain the Gorean Way … Especially to a Femininst.

Bliss Windlow — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:11:00 +0000

So my friend came over the other day and was watching me work and happened to see a Gorean couple in all their "I- am-your- long haired,- over muscled,- bare chested- master --- kneel-and-worship-me-half naked-while-you-wash the floor-and-practice-the-fruits-of-your- gorean masters degree in kneeling-while-thrusting-breasts-out-poses." And then … for some strange reason he also had a chain and collar for her????

My friend was like "OMG what is THAT?" (helps if you do this voice in a shocked I-just-stepped-in-dog-doo doo type of scream while holding a cup of coffee that is now half in the cup and the rest on you, the floor, me, and the computer keyboard - oh and if you are a stickler for realism .. really scream and then swear a lot here (in a very attractive female's voice of course)….or have your co-workers play those roles)

We were clearly on two different planets here cause I answered. "I think it is dope on a rope."
"Huh???"
"Well you know like Old Spice …. soap on a rope? BUT this is DOPE on a rope … only spicier …"
"But he is dragging her?"
"Ya…. she must be really slow and need remedial obedience classes .. They normally follow along quietly and no-one gets hurt."
Are you freaking kidding me? That is disgusting!!
"You are telling me .. I don't think people should be allowed to mix their role plays like that .. There should be the metaphor rule in role play cause it gets very confusing … you know especially to people like you who are seeing it for the first time ….I mean unless of course that was the point .. Maybe they are trying to say , "Hey I am Gorean and I am also heavy into BDSM so that should solve any questions any of you viewers might have YES YES YES I also have a hud and yes this is also about sex." .. You know that could be it … OR it may be they just got tired of the Gorean costumes and are trying to introduce latex into the clan …."

"People have sex in here?"
"In my office? Well by people do you mean other than me and my hubby? What were you thinking … the tour bus groups ? … you know that was only that one time …and…"
She interrupted me with a snort (feminists do GREAT snorts) … "I mean on there …" and she was pointing at my screen with complete disgust … I followed her finger to the Gorean couple .. She was purring …. (the Gorean lady ...not my friend. She never purrs .. It is against the feminist code of the burnt bra) I sat dripping my coffee quietly … now in fear of my life .. those feminists can turn like that (insert one of your coworkers snapping their fingers here … sound effects make these things just so much more real)

"Why aren't other people rescuing that poor girl?"
"Who said she was a girl?"
"WHAT???"
"Well she might be a man….."
"Don't worry," I quickly inserted, trying to defuse the growing tension as she snapped the stapler she was holding in her hands in two …. "She LETS him own her …" I swallowed my words into the silence made by someone sucking in all the air in the room in a sort of slow hissing sound of strangulated principles …..

I spent some time admiring her recent dental work and the nice job the surgeon had done on those tonsils twenty years back before she continued …

"Ok .. who is THAT Woman …. "She was pointing to a woman dressed in black from head to toe standing to the side …
This was not going to get any better .. "That is a free woman …"
"FREE?"
"Yes she is the Muscle masters real main squeeze. She gets to help him boss the slave girls around but they don't let her play in any reindeer games, if you know what I mean."
"Wait … so if you are a slave you get to be naked and have sex and if you are free you keep indoors in the black tent and stand off to the side and watch your partner have sex with whom ever he wants?"
"No- I don't think they get to watch …" I was doing the tap dance of fast talking trying to move my partner cross the dance floor of life to something not known to send feminists into anaphylactic shock... "um .. and think how clean their floors are ..and um …how wonderful to have live in help like that .. so .. um ...."

I made mental note to keep a towel handy in my office for when people come to visit .. I could just throw it over the screen …. or me .. whichever was closest ...

She continued … "And HUD? What is a hud?"
I demonstrated for her with my walk and pose hud … happy to move the view away from the Gorean couple as her clothes (or strips of string across her body) started to magically disappear while HE was now purring …
"See how my avi moves so fluently …. That is with hud .. Now look at sans hud …," and I deactivated it and let her watch me try to walk.... "so the thing is they have them for sex and stuff so you can do … um .. sex …um .. fluently .." Sigh …..(Note to self - there is a reason they say never discuss sex in the conversational etiquette books of appropriate office and dinner table discussion side note .. my box and chair in the closet constitutes office and coffee constitutes dinner)

"Right, cause heaven knows you wouldn't want your pixels on the screen to have jerky thrusting … I am sure you have the sex monitors come on and judge your efforts for the sex hall of fame … MY GOD .. This is just so .. so ….."

I thought it best to let her have a moment .. And I couldn't be sure but I thought I was detecting some growing sarcasm in that last remark ...

"Why Bliss? Just tell me WHY?"

"Because we can ..."

…oh…..and our parents are asleep ….

Can you spare a linden?

Tymmerie Thorne — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:12:00 +0000

My friend Scarlot Verrazzano and I decided go exploring today and see what treasures we could find.

We thought we had hit the jackpot when we found a box of money for sale for $10,000L!! Tragically, we only had $9,999 between us. So close and yet so far. So, I decided to sit on this blanket and panhandle while Scarlot dug through the trash looking for recyclables.

OK we did other things too -- like actually explore, test outhouses and shop. I picked up an item or two for Jerremy that I think will look good in his office.

I would have bought more -- if only I had a box of money!

White Tank and Jeans

Darkley Aeon — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:00:41 +0000

Most of us have them, in RL and in SL, and probably a variety of combinations. I wanted to show something basic this week in idea, and dress it up in execution.

I’ve been spending lindens again….. First one hair from Truth (not the very latest) and I love the streaks in it.

The shoes are new from Kalnins, and on offer this weekend, the straps are colour changeable as well as the skin and toenails.

The eyebrow piercing is another new buy from Skream! and I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of her stuff.

Credits

Hair – Truth

Ears – Slink

Skin – Curio

Eyes – Poetic Colors

Eyelashes – Glam Affair

Eyebrow Piercing – Skream

Tank – CandyDoll

Necklace – SISSI

Belt – Dark Mouse

Jeans – Equilibrium

Shoes – Kalnins

Tattoo – Inflict

Poses – Miyoko Magic

Location – the tunnels under Ugly Duck

Strategically placed fruit and other things of interest

ARIADNE KORDA — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:14:00 +0000

It's a lovely summer day here in RL southern France - and blue is really a part of Provence.

So let me show you the GEO set called 'seaside blues'. I love blue and white and yellow when it's hot, so I thought this might be an idea as a special.

As my subscribo group know, there's a HUGE deal on it, in a box that includes the whole lot - couch, chair, (both with singles and couples poses, colour change cushions), table, rug, pillow set (top pic), glassware plus a little extra (hint: it's yellow).

Where?

At Vent du Sud, obviously. See the set in my mainstore opposite the tp point here but THEN...take yourself off over here to find the WHOLE lot for 120L. Only until about 12 hours from now (i.e. when I wake up tomorrow morning).

And as I'm sure some of you are already missing the regular fruit references...

I have a friend with a sense of humour who sent it to me as a gift, see. Quite... er... a fashion statement. It's called 'Eat Fruit' and is by Gumi Yao.

Takes a little strategic placing, I tell you.

Have a great Sunday, all... OH.... and another quickie. Superb new 3-prim parasol in FIVE colours outside the Vent du Sud mainstore. 50L only (again until I wake up tomorrow and change it to 129L).

(Please note: this is a non-rambly post - I have a RL man doing a barbecue, which mostly involves him standing watching things cook and me running around doing marinade, table, salads, sauce, drinks, etc. (and clearing up). Does this sound familiar?)

Lovin You Against My Will By Gary Allan

Joonie — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:06:00 +0000

Gone fishing

What Is This Crap? — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:22:03 +0000

While I was busy working on the 100 word stories weekly challenge, my shadow got bored and went fishing. Now that I'm done, it's time to do my daily walk. Yeah, it's hot out, and I'd be able to walk more if I got out earlier. Instead, I'll just walk over to best Buy to pick up some stuff on my list and then wander around for a bit before walking home. I've got plenty of TED Talks and some Science Friday left over, so I should be entertained while stumbling along.