SL Hallowe’en — Enter freely and of your own will….

“‘Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring!… I am Dracula; and I bid you welcome….’”

“I was not alone. The room was the same, unchanged in any way since I came into it; I could see along the floor, in the brilliant moonlight, my own footsteps marked where I had disturbed the long accumulation of dust. In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner. I thought at the time that I must be dreaming when I saw them, for, though the moonlight was behind them, they threw no shadow on the floor.”

Bram Stoker
Dracula

Feeling a little…undead lately?  Want to dress appropriately?  Why not try this combination?  My good friend Nanceee Sinatra, co-owner of Frank’s Place (which I’ve written about several times here) also does the occasional dress under the Sinatra label.  She kindly gifted me with two colors of her Resurrection gown — appropriately named, don’t you think, for a vampire?  Especially one as sexy as this!  The skirt goes down to there on the right, and is cut up to here on the left, while the bodice plunges almost to places unknown in front, and sure does so in back.

If you’re now one of the walking dead, you have to look the part, don’t you?  No glittery skins, like those poseurs in Forks, Wash.  No, ice-pale is the way to go; and Adam n Eve had a nice super-pale geisha skin I chose here, called Mei Li 2 (the particular skin is the Geisha 1 makeup).  To go with that, a friend in the Fashion Emergency gifted me with a set of thick, black lashes you have to try on to believe!  They’re Artemis from the oBscene, and they’re excellent for the dramatic look I was aiming for here.

If you want a look like this, your shoes need to ascent to the stratosphere.  I’m not in ballet heels here, but Adam n Eve’s Babii pumps — in black, of course — fit the bill nicely.  Topping it all off, the jewelry is almost all in black pearls — Primalot’s Luna black enamel bracelet with inset pearls; Muse’s Catherine cocktail ring in gold; and Dahlinks’ Chloe back-knotted pearl strand make up most of the bling here.  I wanted a bit more color, though; a rich vampiress should have her share of diamonds, too.  So I threw into the mix a pair of platinum earrings with diamonds by RH Engel, and a favorite cocktail ring from a season or so ago by Paper Couture.

The crowning touch:  the hair is Sirena Makayla (in jet black, of course).  This is another of Sirena’s recent new releases, and is animated like so many of her ‘dos.  I’m wearing it down for this shot, but the updo is excellent as well.  (One note on the updo — when I tried it out, the hair didn’t go all the way immediately.  I had to do a teleport to get the down strands to derezz properly.  Your mileage may vary.)

Anybody know where I can find Jonathan Harker, now…?

The Joys of Writing by Hand

Did I ever say this blog was going to be exclusively about Second Life (grin)?  Since I’m knocked out of Second Life until I get my main computer fixed, and Linden Lab hasn’t made any policy moves lately that have the Grid in an uproar, why not do a little more personal writing, as the spirit moves me?  (At least if I can get used to this laptop’s keyboard [mumble mumble growl....].)  This won’t necessarily be about Second Life or any other aspect of the digital world, though this can be a way for me to reconnect with some of the many blogs I’ve kept in my sidebar for a long, long time. 

For today, though, a piece of writing…about writing.

How many people remember the book (not the movie) The Postman, by David Brin?  The main point of the book, stripping away the apocalyptic setting and the battle between supermen at the end, was how people could connect, and reconnect, and reunite, by the simple act of communication with each other.  And, when our modern forms of technology finally fail us, there is still one that could get through:  the written word.  The lead character is a drifter who’s simply trying to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic world, when he stumbles across an old mail Jeep, with the body of a dead postman inside.  He takes the fellow’s jacket to stay warm, and also some of the letters, planning to use them to acquire food and shelter along the way.  But as he goes on, and delivers the letters to people still alive, what starts as a survival ploy becomes more, resulting in a re-integration of community in the region he is walking through.  The simple act of communication draws people together, in a way that even the worst disaster can’t overcome.  And it isn’t by E-mail, or fax, or telephone, for those forms of communication have disappeared; but by words written with a pen or pencil on a piece of paper.  What served our ancestors, and even our parents or grandparents, helps to bring people together, and perhaps to start rebuilding a nation and a world.

My generation is probably one of the last to regard longhand cursive handwriting  as a valid method of expressing thoughts, unless some sort of smash or philosophical change comes along.  I used to write this blog in longhand before transcribing it into the software, and I still write fiction that way.  Most professional authors, such as David Gerrold, would despair of me; others, such as Dickens or Shelby Foote, would have applauded me for my dedication to the ancient tools of the profession.  And I still write fiction with a pen to this day, scribbling at loose points such as lunch and break time in ecosystem or Moleskine notebooks, or whatever I have at hand at the moment.  I don’t need to do it this way; I can write by typing, as I’m doing at this moment.  But my writing seems so much better, and more productive, when I’m doing it in longhand.  (It’s also kept my handwriting skills in trim; unless I’m in a hurry, or writing my signature, my cursive is still quite legible.)

But it doesn’t have to be “important” writing to justify breaking out your pen or pencil.  You don’t even have to write quantities in order to justify the act; why not just write a simple note to a friend or loved one?  Use a Bic pen and a piece of loose-leaf paper, and send them a little letter, and send it by post instead of by E-mail.  And take your time about it; slow down a little, instead of being locked in the world of fast-moving electrons or hustle-and-bustle.  Think about your words, and what you’re really trying to say.  When you’re doing something like this, you’re not on a deadline; the only deadline is expressing what you want to say, clearly and accurately.  You may find, especially as you get older, that you enjoy it quite a bit.

My 2nd Rezz Day was Yesterday!

Whew!  Between RL work, family, trying to get that photo spread on “Olympian Oracle” done, and then discovering my computer may have a fresh virus, I forgot that yesterday was my 2nd rezz day in Second Life.

Technically, I’m not really an old stager yet.  There are folks around who have been on the grid since the days of Linden World, and who remember when Ruths covered the land — at least until they rezzed up fully.  I’m starting to feel like an old hand, though, as my knowledge of the Grid and what I can do in it gradually grows.

In about a month, it’ll also be the 2nd anniversary of this blog.  I’ll do some actual navel-gazing at that time, assuming my home machine makes it out of the shop.  Until then, have a piece of (virtual) birthday cake on me.

Something’s Chewing on My Computer Again

Writing from Hoover, Ala.:

When I woke up this morning and booted my computer, it refused to boot.  It seems to be acting like it did earlier this year, which suggests something’s chewing on it again.  It’ll be off to the shop for several days, hoping nothing vital’s been compromised.  Wish me luck, and I’ll try to get in with comments on things from library hookups periodically.  Getting on to the Grid is probably out of the question.

SL Hallowe’en — Olympian Oracle

Far-seeing Sybil, forever hidden,
Come out of your cave at last
And speak to us in the poet’s voice
the voice of the fourth person singular
the voice of the inscrutable future
the voice of the people mixed
with a wild soft laughter–
And give us new dreams to dream,
Give us new myths to live by!

From “To the Oracle at Delphi”
Lawrence Ferlinghetti

I Am Imix, Primal Mother.
Still, dark womb of the patterned potential of becoming,
sacred, interstellar genesis, I Am.
Nourishing, fertile abyss, I birth you.
Benevolent, my mighty cauldron of primal waters,
enveloping the living seed.
Eternal is my embrace.

From “Imix”
Ariel Spilsbury and Michael Bryner

=====

The details:

Standard shape/skin combo Type 5, except: SG Fashion Yarosh skin, coffee tone, Melon Jam makeup (Kauri Darkstone)

• Nails: Skin Within (Gilded) (Ayesha Bisiani)
• Gown: Aeclectic Goddess Sun Goddess costume (something that’s been sitting in the depths of my Inventory, unpacked, for maybe a year; I’m glad I found this!) (Elisandra Ree)
• Shoes: House of Nyla Golden Empress mules (not available separately; purchase as part of the package with Nyla Cheeky’s Red Dragon corset gown)
• Hair, jewelry, staff: Tekeli-li Inanna (all scripted; and be prepared for max lag if you dare to wear all of these!  You can mod the pieces, though, so you can shut off the scripts once you have the colors set as you wish.)  (Tekelili Tantalus)

Dark shots were made with Euphoria realm WindLight setting; this may be available standard on the current release of Emerald Viewer.  Face lit with FaceFX face light.

I photographed this spread at the Temple of Zeus in Virtual Olympia, a remarkable sim which is part of a complex of Periclean Greece sims set up for combat systems.  The temple, including its recreation of the famous statue of Zeus from the temple at RL Olympia, a work of art now lost to the world, was built by Qeux Serge over two months of work, according to Socrates Dionysus, my contact.  Be sure to stop by and look at the region; but remember to observe the rules of the sim, and keep in mind that these regions are combat enabled.  That may be forbidden in Olympia, but be aware of the possibility.

Call for Pictures of SL and Veterans or Veterans Day

The American Veterans Day is coming up in a little under a month.  As I believe I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I have a special appreciation for this day because of my late father, who served in World War II and was wounded in Europe.

Last year, I founded a Flickr group dedicated to photos of veterans’ and similar service memorials in Second Life.  Please consider this an invitation to add your own photos to the group if you’re a Flickr member.  Pictures can be your personal tribute to their service as a whole, or for an individual in your own RL, or simply a shot of some memorial area on the Grid.  My only criteria are that they be on the Grid, appropriate to the theme, and no nudity or advertising.  Submissions don’t need to be restricted to American servicemen; there’s one shot of a recreation of the British Cenotaph from World War I — now apparently gone, as I understand.

New Flickr Group: Wizards and Sorceresses

It seemed like a sad lack of Flickr groups to fit the bill for my photos in my previous article — so I created my own group.

If anyone has a picture of a Second Life mage of any kind or either sex, preferably going about an interesting (but clean) activity, you’re welcome to join the group and add it to our pool.  I’ll start hunting through other groups to issue invitations, as well.

I know there’s tons of creativity out there; I publish some of it periodically here, after all, and I’m not talking about my own.  Let’s see what you’ve got!!

Supplemental: I’ve started a similar group on Koinup, as I promised.

SL Hallowe’en — The Sorceress

La Belle Dame sans Merci

(The Visitor speaks:)

O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

(The Knight answers:)

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She look’d at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery’s song.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
“I love thee true.”

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sigh’d full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dream’d—Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d
On the cold hill’s side.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side.

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
John Keats

=====

The details:

• Standard shape/skin Type 1, except for Skin — Chai Diabla 05 (no longer available)
• Lashes: the oBscene Artemis
• Hair: Tukinowaguma Storm (ebony)
• Gown: Innovations Gothika (Amber Glow), with cape
• Jewelry: EarthStones Karuka series (purchased a la carte)

Wizard’s staff by Damanios Thetan (may be available as a freebie)

WindLight settings by Torley Linden — Dark Came Over

My Photo in the Koinup Blog!

Once in a while, I do something right.  My photo of the White Taj/Black Taj regions seems to be one of those times; and I have proof.

What is that proof?  I’ve been featured in the house blog at Koinup, along with some other pictures of White Taj.  If you want to leave a comment on the picture, just click on it, and you’ll link to my Koinup stream.

“Oh, We Got Trouble, Right Here in River City….”

Actually, Sascha Frangilli of Sascha’s Designs has Trouble; and now I have it.  I think I’ve seen someone wearing this in another blog that I can’t remember now; but it’s so pretty that I figured I’d give it a shot.  As it turned out, I went kind of hog-wild today at a few stores, so I had some new stuff as well to try out.

Sascha’s fabric here is a lovely royal blue silk with either a flower print or embroidery in the weave; I can’t quite make up my mind which.  Either way, it works wonderfully.  The waistline is nearly empire height; it probably would qualify, except for the flower-covered breast cups.  I like the buttons up the back as well; a nice little detail.

When you purchase this, in whichever color you prefer, you’ll also get a variety of skirts to choose from.  I went for the “sleek transparent” skirt by preference this time.  But you also get one with a normal train, a much heavier train, and then an addition in front of that (picture 9)!  It reminds me of Pink Splendor, a collectible Barbie doll from the late 1990s.  The only dress I’ve seen with a bigger skirt was Princess Diana’s wedding gown!  It’ll probably be rare to want a skirt that big, unless there’s some super-formal ball going on some time, but it looks beautiful.

A note on the hair:  I can’t make up my mind if this style is the best choice; still, I thought I’d give it a try here.  It’s also new, from Sirena, and is called Drucilla.  Like many of Sirena’s styles, this is animated.  When you wear the hair sticks, the style goes from big and loose to looped up and secured with the sticks.  The animation even has you running your hands through your hair to “do” it up or down, which is a nice touch.  I’m thinking this style is just on the borderline of being acceptable for night wear like this; your mileage may vary, and I’d like your opinions.

The details:

• Standard shape/skin Type 1
• Hair: Sirena Drucilla (scarlet), with hair sticks
• Lashes: the oBscene Artemis
• Gown: Sascha’s Designs Trouble (royal blue)
• Shoes: Adam n Eve Seductress (silver)
• Jewelry: Caroline’s Sesen suite (necklace, earrings)
• Gloves: Mimikri cloud, with cuffs