An Avatar By Any Other Name, Is Not The Same.

Not so long ago, A Real Life and Second Life friend of ours successfully converted his lady friend over to the grid.  It was fun, all of us sitting around my living room, watching as she went under the same initiation process that we all go through, chosing both a first, *and* second name that she would have to live with for the rest of her second life. With much wailing and gnashing of teeth she was eventually successful.  Little did we know that we were on the cusp of the end of an era.  The Era of surnames in Second Life.

Now, if you look about the sims,  interesting last names on people with recent rez dates have been replaced with "Resident"  This is all part of the new display name system that allows users new to Second life to create a user name, while enabling them to use a different display name.  Don't get me wrong,  I was in favour of the ability to change one's display name, even with my reservations that it would be a way for people to try and grief by appearing to be someone else, a time and tested trolling technique used all over the internet since the general public was allowed access to it.

But I also understand people who greif, are not detured or encouraged by anything other than their own intentions to cause grief. And even in the group of people who do create alts, those who do so to start shit are in a minority.  People who want to cause trouble will do so no matter what measures or features are in place... but I digress.

I know that being able to change a display name, could have made my life a little more... singular. Rather than having a few alts I need in order to be different people in Second Life, I could use just one, change my clothes, my skin, and a display name, and presto! A new character all in one avatar. This would have reduced my need to try and shuffle transferable items from inventory to inventory, and would save me a ton of money in the process.

However, this feature, (in my personal opinion,) was not worth the loss of a very special and distinct feature of Second Life. The Surname.  Sure, the selection sort of sucked at times, but with determination, one could scour SL Name watch, and then hit the "Change name" button until a desirable name came up for them.  Hell, it was this ability that took one of my alts out of an unused table top Dungeons and Dragons game, to the grid, allowing me to define what they looked like, and how they behaved, without a sheet of paper or a table full of other players.

Thanks to surnames in Second Life, the members of my Second Life Family were all able to obtain the same surname,  like a real family has.  That's a special sort of thing, because the surnames are eventually retired.  I'm now just thankful, everyone got the surname they needed for us to be a proper clan of Tauruses.

And so what if some random stranger also had your last name.  This is the way it is in the real world, isn't it? I have a very common last name in the real world.  It doesn't bind me to strangers with the same last name, but it does with my family.

Now, with the last name "Resident" the value of family or individuality in the username, is lost.  Gone are our delightfully pretentious last names, and our ability to use a first name to make a pun, a joke, or something poingiant.  In comes the generation of "Amanda resident" soon becoming "Amanda1975 Resident" because their desired first name is already taken, A thought I had not considered until a good friend pointed it out. When so much of Second Life is about being immersed in a virtual reality, we will now be constantly reminded by cold usernames, that this is just the internet, and now we are all reminded to go and check our email account, with the similarly formatted, dreadful username.

I really hope that the Lindens will reconsider this move (even though I won't hold my breath).  I really hope that there is outrage among new and old "residents" about this special little thing that has been taken from them. I really hope this new feature is the "New Coke" that spawns the revival of "Classic Coca-cola."

But as I said, I won't hold my breath.  For as much love as I have for Second Life and all it does for me, The Lindens do not have a great track record of listening to the masses.  We can't fool ourselves in believing the grid is a democracy. Those who have to worry about paying tier every month know that better than anyone.  If you have ever had to call Linden Lab in order to fix something gone wrong with your sim or account, you find out pretty quickly that they are interested in being paid for their free service.

Because, regardless of our first or last names, we are all still assigned a number.  Names aren't as important to the Lindens, as they are to the users. The users who have literally created this world with the tools that were given to us. Because we are numbers to the system, there is no reason why people should be denied their first or last names, or the ability to change their avatar names completely. Which is another little cause I support.

So not having faith that this will change, I am left mourning the loss of a special era, that new comers will not have the ability to share. Sure, we can all look at their profile and see how old their avatar is, but they will forever be a little bit left out, and will have a glaring reminder before all,  that they are late comers, the new kids, and I bet you, they will be marginalized and taken advantage of.

There is no point to this blog post, other than to express my feelings and thoughts on a major change.

I wish I had not told our recent convert, that she could start a new account with a better name later, if she grew to hate the one she chose.  Even if she was one of the very last, to sign up just in time for the last named avatar era.

Avoiding Gangrene.

One could say that I very rarely post to my SL blog, unless I have something to obsess over that makes my avatar look a certain way.  Hair, skin, clothes.  You name it,  if it goes on my body I have kvetched and ranted about it.

But you know something? I'm done caring about the substance of my content here.  it just so happens that one of the things I love about Second Life is customizing my avatar, and building a very unique avatar that expresses my inner geekness.

It seems that once I get something right, it stays put.  After all that hair I purchased, I wear the same hair just about every day, and I hate it when I take it off.  Inspite of skin tinting issues in different lighting and on different computers, I have dearly loved my prim feet.  But cold weather comes...  and I must consider wearing shoes again. sure, my leopard skin maenad cloack, will bea easy enough, as will be lengthening my chitons,

So being the tool that I am,  I have been researching online just what the greeks, who prefered not to wear shoes at all, would wear during the winter, and it turns out it is just a fur lined sandal really (snow not being much of an issue for them)  But oh...  if only I could reproduce some of these shoes.

I'm in love with both pairs! so naturally to the marketplace I went with my keywords, expecting nothing,  but imagine my surprise when I found this!

Toes and everything!  (as the only toed being in my family,  I have come to really love prim toes.  And I can have these sandals for the low, low price of L$3999

*sigh*

Alas,  I already have something very similar to this:

But

In my inventory from Caverna Obscura.  They were pretty much my staple before I got the prim feet,  but oh, how I shall miss toes.   But my old leather sandals are copy/mod, so maybe if I find some bargain toes...

Speaking of prim body parts, I have decided to "make" my own prim infant.  I found a full perm kit on xstreet for less than most scripted baby.  And since I don't need a super scripted baby, this is a good alternative.  Like an almost real newborn, it will develop as we go.  Though I am a little intimidated by the project now that I have all the sculpt maps.

So naturally, as I work on my most narcissistic accessory. there will be something to post about again!

At least these come with instructions

Recently, a dryad and her husband went off to a quiet place, in the privacy of their travels, they let nature do what she does best. No pretend clinics, midwives, doctors or expensive pretend packages. Just using the opportunity of moving in Real Life, to do a fade to black birth, the purchase of the best prim baby I could find and a few edits to my skin made it all possible.

The Prim baby I chose is what most prim baby manufacturers consider a sort of filler product. It's basically a baby, minimally scripted. It makes some unoffensive noises at random intervals. And does nothing. While my purchase is intended for the brief period of delivery and care of a newborn, This is pretty much all I need in a Prim baby.

There are several reasons people find prim babies annoying, or creepy. But some of the reasons *I* personally (a consumer of such products) find most of these products so despairing, is not just due to the spam, or the way the soviet baby plays you. It is the lack of care that go into these highly scripted, meticulously built systems.

I will give you actual examples of things I have encountered during demos, and being around gigantic pregnant barbie dolls. I'm not going to name product names.

[Prim baby] starts to feel tired and very sleepy

[Prim baby] whines cause her diaper needs to be changed.

[Prim baby] feels her tummy growl...is hungry

Now, I'm no spelling or grammar nazi (far, far from it) but I do draw the line at spell checking a product that took so much effort to sculpt, build and script. This must be done, otherwise you get tosh like you see above. Someone went to all that trouble, and didn't feel the need to correct these errors? Such as.

Baby is feeling tired. (and/or sleepy)
-surely no one is so stupid that they need both "tired" and "sleepy "to get the message across that someone needs a nap.

Baby fusses and needs to be changed
- seriously, we all know that means she shit her pants. We don't need such intimate details spamming an RP session. But even worse... "cause?"  Seriously?  We couldn't crap out a "be" for that "cause?"  not even an apostrophe ('cause?)

Baby: I'm hungry
-And surely there must be some way to convey an infant is hungry, without "Tummy growl" and an ellipse that appears to cut out the rest of the sentence. Believe me I am the QUEEN of over used, and inappropriately used ellipses, and I can tell you this is taking the piss.

There are plenty of other instances, where I have seen something that made me want to go put my old body back on. I remember once, a woman with a talking tummy landed with something of a thump, and her tummy responded

OMG (name) be careful! your pregnant!

Yeah. Apparently tummies not only know how to talk, but also know internet slang, but not the difference between your and you're.

(for the record, the only "tummy" I wore was one I made myself, out of a prim, and a very easy script that reminded people it did not talk, when it was touched. No one touched, unless I asked.)

Like I said, I am not a grammar nazi, in fact I am kind of the opposite of such. I figure if you know what someone is saying, it is good enough for me. You sort of *have* to be that way when you have real life kids with disabilities. But even so, my kids will get help with spelling and grammar if doing a report, or a review online. Which just goes to show... there are times when you need to pay more attention to these things.

I wish I could say my prim offspring search was over. I figure I can get more miles out of my delivery baby, because we mythological types tend to think we live and stay young forever. But eventually, I will need to upgrade. Zooby's could be the winner (If I purchase, still debating other options!). *shrug* They are at least somewhat modifiable, unlike the infant I purchased. In order to give her a crappy set of twigs and a pacifier, I had to create a separate attachment for lower left arm. It works alright for now, but not in the long run.

So they all rolled over and one fell out.

I haven't put in an entry in a really long time, and I have a long list of excuses. My favorites are that my husband suffered a bout of serious illness and needed surgery to unblock an artery (at the ripe old age of 40!)

...and we moved to across the Atlantic to an island where it rains a lot, and the letter 'U' is used gratuitously. In the words of Lisa Simpson "It's a bit of a mystery, yes. But if you look at the clues, you can figure it out." Needless to say I am missing my friends terribly!

So, a lot of change in our real life, and some changes in our SL too. one of our SL kids, decided not to be a SL anything, anymore. It was a drama free departure (if not a little awkward for us both, I would imagine) And she has our blessing, of course. However it does leave us with a sticky situation as far as storyline, and just general "Hey, how is/where's your kid?" I guess good old fashioned (( Out of Character parenthesis speak indicating that she has moved on and we wish her the best, lets not speak of this again)) will have to suffice. I do wish she had chosen a way to write her own exit, however.

Chapter opened and closed, with good times had. The problem *I* am left with, is I did that thing that mothers (In Real Life as well as Second Life) should never, ever do. I allowed too much of my Second Life fall around being a mother. In the process chipped away from the nymph, and the Maenad/Bacchante became things 'I only am, since I once was." In some ways it can't be helped, a tremendous amount had been written to include every member of our family, and make sure everyone and everything had a place and an explanation.

I realize now, that a few weeks have passed, that a lot of the reasons I chose Second Life motherhood, is my husband and I are often too busy to meaningfully connect in Second Life, even though our real lives are very happy, and we both enjoy the work we do in Second Life. Technically we shouldn't need to have a romantic relationship in Second Life, but, a sucker for RP is not much more than a cry for in character attention!

At times I think "It would also be nice to be nymphy, and seductive (of my Centaur) and wild without the example I am laying out for my children." Lots to consider.

I realize that depending on how I go about things, I have an opportunity to try something new, find a new interpretation of myself. What those things are? I don't honestly know. I can say this much, I will not be adopting again unless the other party was an existing friend and confidant, and I am hesitant to carry on with my prim-pregnancy (though at this time I have plans to carry on through the month of September as planned. A lot of work has been done towards this.)

But damned if it isn't hard to "unwrite" or "write-out" a kid in SL. Or a little sister, or an aunt. Writing out a lover (even a long term one) is less complicated than moving on sans child. I could go for heavily melodramatic excuses such as kidnapping, loss of life, mystery of unknown location, but these things would require me to be melancholic at best, and that is not why I log into Second Life. I didn't create a reveler so I could sulk.

In Second Life, we are lucky to be whatever it is that we want to be, but in many ways it is so difficult to erase, or tear up those portions of a character that just didn't work out the way you had thought, like you can on a paper character sheet. As I said before; Out of Character parenthesis speak indicating that she has moved on and we wish her the best, will have to suffice for the time being.

The Village Blacksmith

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.
He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling, -- rejoicing -- sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

-The Village Blacksmith
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Before my Husband even revealed his smithy soul to me, (Which is a real life thing too, btw. He's a metal smith without a smithy) I've loved this poem since I first heard it. I swear I can smell the leaves of that spreading chestnut tree, feel the coolness of the shade and the heat from the forge.

My poor brain and alternate personalities.

I was going to try and pimp up my blog a bit when I moved to Wordpress, do some IC posts, that sort of thing. But I am finding myself very self conscious about writing in public. You see, I used to be a very, very good writer. No, seriously, I was. I have several novels sitting on my hard drive, and just because they are not published does not make them terrible. For a while, I even had a following of readers, and while it was not many, they were all intelligent people who I was flattered to have the attention and praise of.

Whether it be my medications, or the inevitable slight decline of my cognitive function as a result of my illness, I notice I don't write as well as I used to. Every time I write a sentence that only makes sense to me, or reads wrong to someone else, I cringe. This is just in day to day communications. Then again, there has always been a difference between how I write/blog, and how I write/storytell. I think I am as good a Storyteller as I ever have been, it's just the technical function I struggle with these days.

So I don't know. Maybe I will give myself the permission to suck again (as I did when I first started writing in front of people) and give it another go. Given that I am also trying to teach myself how to spell in a different dialect, I might just need to choose my battles carefully.

But in Second Life we live in a very shallow world. Even those of us who are deep beautiful people snigger at other people's faux pas and "Fashion don'ts." So giving yourself permission to suck is about as bad as walking around with a freenis sticking out of the front of your poorly adjusted prim tutu.

Anyway... Second Life has been quiet for me, and yet busy. I am craving some RP really badly, and while I am not calling anyone out^**, I wish all the people who complain about the lack of RP would show up and do some. Mmm Kay, we don't have grid cryers, guilds, (Or dozens of micromanaged social groups for those guilds) we do not fight except in designated places, and then, rarely. These are the things that supposedly define "serious RP" and if I wanted "Serious RP" there would be dozens of other places I could go.

But I wouldn't be happy, just as dozens of people in Second Life are not happy with the politics and drama and bickering that happens in their RPs. You people are out there, I know you are, I've spoken to you. I'm just not seeing you, in order to create this alternate RP environment we want to provide and enjoy.

Seriously, people don't realize the impact they have on RPing, just by showing up and doing some. or Showing up and being *available* for some. I have learned that in Second Life, the Best RPers happen to be the ones who are most excluded from RP.

Child Avatars. Yes, they can be annoying when they are done with a lot of baby babble, yes, they even creep people out (though I theorize that has more to do with the Elder individual) but they never let down the RP, because to do so, is to walk away from what their Avatar is. I don't mind confessing that recently Eacen and I created a set of Child Alts so we could participate in some of the kid activities happening around the isles. And what an enlightening experience it has been, to see what good RPers other Child Avatars are, even if they are just dancing or splashing around in a puddle, after all, this is what children do.

My Point? I wish adults had the ability to let go of themselves a bit in world, and get in touch with the avatars they spend so much money and time on pimping out. I am as guilty of this as anyone (and it is hard when work is involved, to be a tree-lady) but I am trying. I don't know who reads this beyond a few close friends, but I would hope that if someone does, they'd realize how valuable their character ideas and imaginations are In world. Yes, your Real Lives are important too, and I like knowing the Real Life people as much as anything.

I just wish I knew some of your characters. :p

** ^{I loathe passive agressive cattyness on blogs. Was involved with a group of bloggers who excelled at it for years. What a way to ruin someone's sanity. Please note this is not my intent.}

ProudFEET

Skin tinting difficulties or not.



There is no question which looks better. I already have prim ears, why not prim feet? Look at my SLKankles disapear

Awesome picture (OoC)

Just found this stumbling around the internet



If he'd have gone to a Centaur Blacksmith from the beginning, he wouldn't be having trouble with his shoes.

Lamentations of a Maenad Mother (IC)

^{((Only people who would be close to Korinda, and have been around her while drunk and venting these sorts of frustrations would know these thoughts. Which means anything her children read here, is player knowledge and can not be used.))}

When I was younger, I often thought that those who say "parenting isn't easy" were those who came from cultures that worked hard to suppress the natural energy and curiosity of a child and turned their energy towards labor at an early age.  Those sorts of people who work too hard themselves and don't take the time to indulge in the pleasure of life.

Those who do not understand that while work is noble, it is only noble in moderation and necessity.  Those who also seem to think, that to enjoy one's leisure more often than they toil, is not a life well lived.  As my mother once said, "No one lies on their death bed, regretting the finer things in life. No one dies, wishing they had worked harder."

Of course, everything is harder when you work against it's nature, (I know this well) but what about when nature has yet to make the connection?

Oh, you think you know everything about parenting before you become a parent. It seems so straightforward, Love them,  feed them, teach them what you know, and learn what they have to teach. Allow them to simply be.  Show them the ways to be kind and respectful of others and nature, unless of course, their actions prove threatening to themselves or others.

But I suppose, no matter how confident the mother, every mother frets, every mother flounders. Every mother is critical of what she has not done right, or wonders what she is doing wrong.

Take for instance, the issue of wine. I've heard it said that the mothers of human children fret over their consumption of greens and oranges, that they pluck colorful rose petals and carnations out of hungry, curious mouths.

But what am I to do with my son, and my daughter? They eat their greens, and hold attention long enough to clean their plates!  This is all well and good in moderation, but such pervasive order, in children? Where did I go wrong?

Not so much as a drop of wine! It's like watching a fish reject water. To watch a satyr, or a centaur reject the very blood of life, that every edible fruit and flower secretly yearns to be rendered into, it is vexing to say the least.

I was a lucky child,  my mother produced more than the milk I needed to grow,  she produced cherries and from her cherries the wine I was raised on was made. Not all wood nymphs can say the same. It's true that I had to drink so much of cherry wine that I grew a little tired of it, but it was what I was raised on from the time I could hold a kylix!

I remember it, my first kylix, my own size, with a handle each size so I could hold it steady. Perhaps if I had kept it to use with my own children, I would not be in this troublesome position. I'm a potter,  so I could make them one,  but when they already reject the wine, why should I set myself up for the disappointment of rejecting the cup?

I shouldn't even begin to fret about all of the chores they do. Without being asked!  Helpful? indeed. Noble? Of course.  but when a nymph, satyr or centaur of any age puts work before play without a struggle it is cause for an intervention.

I suppose many parents would say I should be grateful, and I am.  I do not crave disobedience, disrespect or irresponsibility  (I met a young faun recently who made me appreciate the dispositions of my children more than ever) but is it so much to ask that just a little bit of wine with dinner? Or if they could at least suffer a few sips in front of others to spare me looking like a terrible parent, until they get a taste for it.? If only they looked towards their cousins  the way I  look to and up to my sister. Her beautiful girls, wineskins in hand so confident and carefree. I wish I could give my own the same liberation I myself knew as a child.

I wonder, if Eaken's understandable caution when dealing with wine has not been overplayed in our household. We only ever meant for the terrible tale of  Thessalian Centaurs at that wedding to be a warning against overindulgence!  I would never preach such indulgence to a child...

..Only an adult.  But my pedagogy on the matter can not be helped.  I followed a great reveler until well into my early summer before I met Eaken. I might ask him to work his thaumaturgy in my favor in this situation, but he never stops bloody moving long enough!

(OoC) So I moved... again.

And here I am.  I was debating it all afternoon and evening after Cherno and I started working on The Official Seven Isles Blog

But then a line from a poem by Ovid (that Eacen read at the last bard circle) inspired me.

"When, look! here comes Corinna in a loose ungirded gown"

Corinda, (being a variant of the Greek name "Corinna)" is just too synchronistic to avoid. A new, better name for a journal was born.

Now if only Wordpress would show the Icon I uploaded. ::Marge Simpson grumble::

Avry's Blog

My little 'taur (I'm sorry, "Officer") has started his own little blog.

http://avrytaurus.wordpress.com/

((for those of you who don't know... we do not alt Avry. A friend whom we trust with the lives of our RL children, took him over and I honestly think it is the best thing that has happened to our little family since we met Neria. So check out his blog. He really makes Avry come alive and makes me realize that alting him just didn't do the character justice.))

So go check him out! add him to your blog rolls. Frolic in his read-ability!

::is so proud of her 'taurians!::

Ataraxia in Edit

Lately, my Second Life has consisted of the following:

Being sick in Real Life, which makes me ineffective and inefficient in world. (lots of starting things and then not finishing them. I hate that.)

Trying so very, very hard to be patient. Which is zapping my social energy. Which I hate.

And building/fiddling:

Building/fiddling has become the equivalent to doodling during class. A sort of zen state I fall into that makes me calm, and serene, but a social jerk. I don't mean to shun people socially, I'm not hiding in my alt, so much as I am building her house down to the finest detail. But I find, I need that sort of ataraxia

RP has always been a sort of Ataraxia for me too. I want to be running around and RPing until we all die, because I love our sim so very, very much. This is where the patience part comes in, I can't do much of that until other stuff is done.

Friends of mine (you know who you are) suffer from builders guilt. Which is described to me as feeling as if you could be busy building something, and guilty for not doing it while socializing. I have something similar, I have a social guilt that comes when I am lost in building and fiddling with things.

That's all I have to say about that.

[Edited to add]

I am trying to figure out what goals, if any, I want to acheive when it comes to the things that I build. Do I want to be a merchant, or just create for myself? I'm not so much torn over the subject, as I am confused based on my own fears, desires, actions and thoughts.

There seems to be some sort of satisfaction that comes along with making a product and having it in a shop, and maybe selling enough to make rent. at the same time I recoil from the idea of having to support my products, my relaxation time being interrupted with complaints or requests.

The worst, is a fear that if I make something, and for some reason that script fucks up in the package (It's happened to me before!) I look like an ass and I have to fix it and I might not have the nerve or time.

I opened a group for a store with a cheesy predictable name I might change. I have a shop space rented in RPM. I don't know if I am ever going to use them, if I should get rid of them so I can focus on personal and sim projects only without the pressure of doing nothing.

That's all I have to say about that.

On this edition of "Pimp My Goat."

Sorry for the two posts in one day, but I forgot that I intended to show the before and after pictures of Maebell.

The goat in the foreground is the original, as it came out of the box, with the plastic-y texture, and restrictive looking reigns, and the full bright puke green saddle.

This next picture is a close up of Maebell's face.

Doesn't the other goat in the background look pissed off and jealous? I am still quite pleased with how something as simple as a tile-able fur texture for pillows can look more realistic. She's so soft and huggable. She has plums, plum blossoms and leaves on her wreath. She also has an adorable bell meant for cows. Light blue seems to be her colour.

I took of the reigns, because a familiar doesn't need to be tied. I lengthened her horns (since she is a supernatural goat, she's old, but spry!) and the animation kind of lines up as if I am loosely holding her horn in between my fingers for the purpose of gently steering.

I am gradually making copies of my skirts, and having those copies attach to my stomach. Since Maebell attaches to my pelvis. That way I can ride her without being lewd.

My next project(s) for her, is to take the static version I made (No scripts, and much lower prim) and put a milking animation in her udder, and a hug animation around her neck. I think I have a passable kneeling hug animation, but the tricky part is the milking animation. Sure, there are a lot of Gorean chore milking animations out there, but a goat is much smaller. I need a kneeling milk, rather than a sitting milk. I'd love to animate her head to graze, but that seems pretty ambitious. Its nice that she is copy/mod though. Because I can always add features later.

When our sim upgrades, I am going to buy enough prims to keep her out all the time. The static-lower-prim Maebell, anyway.

Also need one of those scripted things, that allows you to type in text, using a different name or something. Hmm. So I can emote for her.

GUESS WHUT?

Muahahahahahahahah

I found some nice Medieval Tunics in the Role-Play market the other day, that reminded me *just a little* of a provincial Chiton. I think part of it was the trim, SO I bought one, and I modded the hells out of it, and I have what appears to be... the closest thing to the Grecian article of clothing I have long desired.

I don't have a picture, because I am not done tweaking. So happy was I, I went and bought one in every colour. (The one time I needed a fat pack, none to be found ::lament::)

So I have much tweaking to do yet, but I feel confident that I have enough clothes that suit me now that I won't have to shop or whine for a while.

And the fact I still want to make sweet, sweet love to my hair, and the fact I have a beautiful goat, makes me think finally, a year and a day past Corinda's Rez date, we are at last settling down.

I just need to get me some bare wiggly Faun/Satyr ears... and I might be *gasp* Perfect

I'm on a GOAT!!

I'm on a goat!
I'm on a goat!
Everybody look at me cause I'm ridin' on a goat.
I'm on a goat!
I'm on a goat!
Take a good, hard look at the motherfuckin' goat!

I'm on a goat motherfucker take a look at me!
Straight ridin' on a goat near the deep blue sea!!

Bustin 5 knot wind, whippin out my coat.
You can't stop me motherfucker cause I'm on a goat!

Her name is Maebell!  And I retextured her myself (the one she came up with was gawd awful)  I love her so much!  I haven't figured out her story just yet, but she officially counts and Korinda's Familiar. Ironically, it's a kids rideable from AKK.... and it fits me.  haha being short has finally paid off!

Today... (edited later to add)

I finished the arena. :p  it was a much bigger job than we thought it would be. I must say, I'm mostly happy with it, and there will be a resale version of it. However, I like things I make for the sim to be special for our sim,  so I need to pull a copy up into the sky and tweak it before I put it out there (You know... just like the kiln, and everything else I have ever made waiting to go into my empty shop.)

We are busy as shit!  Trying to get the underground ready to go.

I got the hair... I love it.  I got the wrong hair colour pack though so I had to tint it anyway, but maybe soon I will buy the *right* colour pack.  But I love it. I don't think I have ever loved hair so much.

Now I just have to decide which Goat to get... and decide on a goat name.  Black or Brown? Choices... choices.

(edit)

So,  when is it ok for your ass or your hips to stick out of a prim skirt? Seriously.  Is there a rule I am missing here?  I always spend so much time arranging every little prim around my un-stickfigure-d body  So no part of my ass or hips stick out... but I see so many other people walking around with a tuft of skirt hanging out of their ass cheeks and I can't quite tell if they are dressed badly,  or if they know something I don't.

My mother made me wear clothes from fabric left over from the drapes! (and hair!)

or.. "Things that look more like greek clothes than any shit you find in SL"

 

Sheer! With colour! What a concept. Indeed. Not all Chitons were white, some had colour, and living in the mediteranian meant that the fabric was often thin!

 

This one even has the tied waist

 

OMG COLOUR!

By now, you get my point.  There are some great sculpties of curtains out there that would almost work... if wearing a big sculptie on my body wouldn't make me look like a total douche.  It is seriously depressing to me that the easiest garment into the world to make (no sewing involved) is the hardest to find in SL.

There are a lot of togas, even some good ones I think I own almost all of them, but I only wear a few.  Maybe I can get some curtain textures with swags, and tinker.

I'm like that with hair too, I have so much hair but I really only wear a few of them because the Greek hair is not good and the good hair is not Greek. (Yes. I am obsessed, mkay?)  but I did find one I kinda like...





So not the Greek-y hair I sort of lust for,  but it is a little Pre Raphaelite... which almost counts, right?  So anyway, I got the demo... and of course I took some pictures.

^{Korinda takes pictures like Forrest Gump.}

It's nice... but is it her?  Con: it covers up the bark swatch on my face, but I can fix that by mirroring my face texture.   I like how it is sort of pretty and messy at the same time. And long bangs are better than most bangs.  But is it really her?  Will I buy this hair, and then leave it in my inventory because it is too glamorous and not earthy enough?

Lately I have been entertaining the idea of flesh toned faun ears (might be a little more accurate than elf ears...) and sometimes I wonder if I should just give up the ghost on trying to tint plum hair, and go brown.  But, that would be compromising, wouldn't it?

(edit)  or oooh, what if I went black with plum highlights on certain strands? oooh...

So how is that arena coming?

A lot slower than I'd like, all the fidly bits like texture aligning and changing are left... but here is the preview.  Best viewed at full size.

Thoughts? (Re: Speed Rezzers)

From: Modular System's Blog
[Emerald] Concerning "SPEED REZZER" or similar gestures

Posted by: Phox on Apr 14, 2010
Tagged in: Untagged
Phox

It has recently come to our attention that there is fierce competition surrounding certain gestures which claim to "Speed up" your rez time by changing your draw distance incrementally.

While these gestures do cause objects near you to be rendered first, they also cause you to re-render the same objects, increasing network lag for you, and for everyone else in the sim with you.

Anyone selling or distributing these gestures and claiming ANY affiliation with Emerald is misrepresenting their product. We do not endorse any commercial products without prior approval.

You know what? honest to gods, I forget to use speed rezzer most of the time,  but when I do, objects from afar that I have already rezzed, rezz back in so quickly it's not like they were unrezzed at all.

I'm not techie when it comes to these things, and I guess I can see the theory behind this causing lag issues, but... where's the proof? Anyone know?

Avatar boredom.

It has been a long time since I updated, but to prove I have not abandoned or forgotten this blog, here I am!

Not a lot has been going on that really makes interesting blogging (even if only interesting to me) lets see... busy? (check) ... tired? (check) ...doing what I can when I can? (check) ... working on a project or two? (check) ... having a hard time sitting still while I await changes? CHECK.

I am going through quite a nasty phase of avatar boredom/hate right now. Thooooouuuuuusands of lindens in clothes, and all I can do is find what is wrong with all of them. Thooooouuuuuusands of lindens in hair, nothing seems right, and nailing down a consistent color with tinting is a joke. Oddly it seems the things I was most dissatisfied with about a year ago are the things I am most content with now. Skin, and AO.

I love the concept of what I am in SL, but I have to tell you sometimes, I envy fauns, and Centaurs, and yes, even elves. I even sort of envy shape shifters, and yet can not commit to such. (How's that for Irony?) I think all the time "Wouldn't life be easier if I was just a Mermaid?" The answer for me is really no... because I would have to find *something* to bitch about... like my tail isn't swishy fishy enough or some shit.

I want Ancient Grecian hair that meets my standards, I am not going to get it. I want Ancient Grecian clothes that set me apart from togas and silks and are still good quality without being too fancy, I am not going to get them. This acceptance has lead to a certain blah. I have the Centaur companion, but we never have time to be close (in character and out) and relax together in SL.

It will pass, I'm sure. The mood will shift and I will go "hey, I have some good hair and shit in here!" (well maybe) good news is a friend found me a ride-able goat, so on linden pay day I am so THERE. You won't be able to get me off that damn goat! I do have an idea I am mulling over though, a personal social second life project if you will. Where I will (possibly) set out to do something very annoying and expensive, in a very classy, cheap way. In fact I am pretty sure I am going to do it. And I am going to do it well.

But anyway, and the need to *work* with Corinda's avatar is part of the reason why I am spending a bit more time in my other avatar. She's easy to dress, she's a true escape because she doesn't have responsibilities, and has quite a different personality to Corinda. ('course I am at a stopping point with her too, until Linden pay day which was put off because we had a grownup night IRL, which came out of my personal L fund. And was worth it!)

Not that I don't like my responsibilities... (I do!) but I think whether in Real Work or Second Life Work, we're all a bit saner with a bit of fun here and there.

Dragging out the soap box, the preach to the choir.

^{Edited to add a couple of forgotten thoughts...}

I wonder when the world will accept that the internet and the relationships it builds are valid forms of communication and interaction. Here we are,over 15 years past the scandals of meeting people in *gasp* other countries, we have accepted that filling out a form online and paying a fee can find us a soul mate we would have never of otherwise met, and yet we cling on to the idea that a lot of internet usage, is bad.


What sparked this entry? I was sharing an email with a second life friend this morning, and -- as is common for me -- I sort of went off on a passionate treatise on SL vs RL.  Some of it is copy and pasted right out of the email, as they are my thoughts, and invade no one's privacy.  Most of it, has been said by someone, somewhere, before.

I know a lot of people worry about SL taking over their RL,  and in many ways, mine has; if you want to look at it that way. It's easier for me, as my husband is in world also, so he doesn't have many complaints about my being there.  But I didn't have much of a social life before, I spent so much time being frustrated that my husband could always find ways to entertain himself, when I just couldn't.  For a while it was really rough on our relationship, but I accepted it as I do him and tried to fill my own time, how I could, This was called "The Sims 2" and Writing... a lot.

I wanted to RP as he and I have always done, but he being a very tired hard working guy (and, perhaps, under-stimulated) and us never had a group to play with, it just didn't work..  I wanted to be a part of something, doing something and I was doing nothing. (In the past, I have involved myself with everything from the Autism groups, Girl Scouts, even a spiritual group of sorts, and I put my everything into those things, ending up burned out, and jaded for not being appreciated.)

But it wasn't until Second Life that I felt a true satisfaction, and a lot more appreciation, even though helping to run a sim is a thankless job at times.

In Real Life,  I have a disability (or two) Some of my family members do as well. And while it does not define me as a person, it does significantly limit what I can and can't do in this supposed 'real world'  That minority of people out there who have disabilities but can still do everything are a minority because, not everyone can do it, realistically.  Those of us who can't have to bear the additional burden of being super people too, because the few that can, get exposed and become the yard stick by which all disabled people are measured.

but I digress.

In my case, one of the areas that suffers the most, is my social life. The care giving and teaching aspect of my life, make it hard for my husband and I to have much respite and needed time together. Second Life, is for so many people with chronic illnesses and disability, the way they connect with the world, and feel useful.  The way they get so many of the things Real Life denies them. In fact, I am sure that if these folks struggling in Real Life with a life altering challenge told their doctors, care givers, therapists that they were dancing, and visiting exotic places, shopping, crafting things, that they might stamp their patient files "CURED."

But that would never happen because a) medical communities still refuse to see a lot of internet usage as being healthy, or real and b) because those RL limitations exist in the doctors office, where they don't in SL

So, I'm not so sure that SL taking over is such a bad thing, for me and for many. Or that it even takes over as much as it fills a very valid void.  Don't get me wrong, Real Life does come first. Always.  But as long as no one is loosing jobs, or friends over it, if family and relationships are suffering, this might be a clue that there is a deeper cause for that. Non playing partners are probably the biggest faction of people who do call those of us heavily invested in Second Life "addicted." 

But, they have to understand (hopefully) that it is no different than meeting friends RL for RP, or a drink, or to listen to music or go dancing. Some folks live in areas where there is very little to do (I live in a metropolitan area, and it is hard to find interesting things to do here even for the "abled.")

In my situation I figure happy kids, getting what they need, taking care of their education, getting the phone calls made and the errands done, is a good indication that it isn't taking over where it shouldn't

These are the things I want to say to people who worry about getting addicted, or SL taking over.  Are you really addicted, or have you found a way to meet some personal needs that are not getting met? Naturally, if that is the case you want to spend free time doing it. Naturally, it draws you to it.  Is it fear of addiction, or is it fear of finding that niche in a venue, not everyone accepts as a valid form of communication.  Where real relationships are formed.

I know, in my case, the introduction of Second Life into my Real Life... has been a blessing, and from this, I have healed some things about me that were wounded.  I have friends again,  I have a purpose I could never find in a job I can not hold. I have overcome some social issues, by learning how to use this format to adapt to my needs, rather than adapting myself to someone else's rigid and unforgiving framework.

No one, has called me addicted yet, (though they have teased me in good spirits) But someone can call me addicted if they like. I'm going to call myself happy.

St. Patrick's Day (IC = Korinda)

I've traveled parts of the world, here and there, but never very far north. So I have never been to this place called "I are land," but as I hear it can get quite cold there, it made sense that people were apparently wearing green.

Told to wear green as I was, I donned my new togs that Neri gave me (I gave her a matching set, we're a little odd that way) as Eacen set about to prepare a little celebration. He, being a little more world wise than I, seemed to know what he was doing. He said this was the sort of day one celebrated in a Pub, but since we did not have a pub, our Tavern in Brenn would have to do.

I took my self to go see Clover, who was unsurprisingly in her kitchen. She had told me on more than one occasion about "I are land" and as she knows all about it, I suspect she comes from up that way. In any event, she had just what I needed to feed the guests in the traditional way.

By the time I returned, the place looked as if a leprechaun had been about vomiting up clovers and rainbows, but Eacen assured me that such tacky decorations are actually bastard traditions in some parts of the world. Who knew? It hardly mattered to me, I'm a very simple nymph, alcohol and loud music to dance to is really all I need to be happy.

And I was very happy. A great number of people turned up, new friends and old alike, I'd never had boiled bacon before, (I hope it comes out of my new clothes) I skipped the green beer and washed my dinner down with more bottles of Clover wine than I should admit to. So much so that I ended up dancing on the table near the horses (yes, the horses were dancing... at least, I think they were.) and by the end of the evening, I could barely hold my eyelids up, much less myself!



It's a good thing I have someone to hold me up, given the way I get at a good revel. And it's an even better thing...



That he doesn't seem to mind.

All in all, at the end of the day... I don't know where the "I are land"ers are, but they can throw a good party of which any Maenad would approve.

A question of the ages...

Tonight I have been reworking my character information, I have done this several times now, and I am hoping that this will be the finali-sh draft. I have needed to do this for a long time. As a character grows and evolves, so does their information/character sheet.

^{Though I seem to have noticed I have done this more than anyone else. *cough* Not that I am self conscious about it, or anything *cough*}

But now that I am here again, I am reminded how you can get hung up on something as simple as an age, particularly with playing fantasy people and creatures.  There really is no book or science that has been able to put a set aging process of life span on any creatures. You can look at the animal half of models, which tend to age and go through life cycles much, much quicker than their human counterpart and try and balance them, and then you have to kind of find a space within the glamor of being fantasy creatures which are generally accepted to live longer, due to their fantastical-ness.

Ages, years and life cycles get spread all over the map, once you get us all together... you can be 6, or 106 and still be an elven or a fae child.  You can be 4, or forty, and still be a child faun. Then again,  I have seen adult elves at 80, and adult fauns at forty.  Even if it would be fair to force everyone to adhere to the same age scale for the species they are, it would be pretty hard to do!

So I sat here with this dilemma, trying to fill in that age space with something less ambiguous than what I had before, and less specific than a number, when it occurred to me, the most rational way of describing my character's age, was to do so by seasons.  Because as the revered Cherno once said to me,  years, calendars, time in the form of numbers probably are not things that nature creatures are terribly concerned with.  But being nature creatures would make them very in tune with the cycles of seasons.

And, it is a pretty easy scale to work out on your own, I know I am not the first to use this sort of scale, or define my own but I am going to do it anyway.

You can summarize most mammals in the various life stages, and even other animals in similar life stages.

Spring:
Infancy - toddlerhood  = Early
childhood = Spring
Adolescence = Late

Summer:
Young adulthood, = Early Summer
Adulthood  = Summer
Early Middle Age = Late Summer (tick tock, my harvest clock is ticking!)

Autumn:
Middle age = Early (my harvest clock is running out!)
Old age = Late

Winter:
Venerable old age.
Verging on death/rebirth (if you're into that sort of thing!)

Using these values, I, personally, am better able to describe the life phase of my character, without depending on years, or even using terms such as "The equivlant of a 35 year old in human years."  I think my previous, confusing answer was "Early middle age,"  which I define as being around 35 human years... but others define differently, and it doesn't really *explain* anything to anyone.

But, if I said "Corinda is in her late summer" or Corinda said "I am in my early fall," people would kind of get the point, with a lot of explanation, don't you think? If she said "In my late spring, I ran away from home." People would pretty well get the idea of a person in their late teens, about to grow up very quickly.

It's simple, and I would like to share this as an idea for people to use when defining their characters age, as an alternative, or even a way for people with numeric ages to relate to other characters that just don't have that frame of reference.  But I also tend to over complicate things which should be simple, and it has been my experience that the more information you give a lot of players to help them, the more confused they become. So I want to tread softly

But I think it is a worthwhile thought, and worth some exploring... and I am talking about it, here, now, because I am supposed to be finishing my character application/sheet/information.

But it also holds some potential for the way Fantastypeoplebeingtypes could celebrate certain rites of passage, instead of a birthday every year, someone could celebrate their own "equinox" or solstice.

Yup. Still workin on that damn notecard. No closer to it than I was when I started this.

I just won't be happy until I acheive...

People tease me for always shopping for hair in SL, and it is true I do shop for hair, but I don't buy hair as often as I shop, and when I do buy hair, chances are I only wear it a little while before I decide it isn't right (Demos just don't give me enough time to decide)  Why is it I constantly shop for hair?

Because I still haven't found anything that I find both flattering, and "Greek" enough for Corinda. So, I've been researching hard lately, about what sort of Ancient Grecian hairstyle would look right on my avatar, while expressing both culture and personality, and this is what I have decided on (or rather, fell in love with as if it were meant to be)

^{Ganked without permission from here. hey it's better than hot-linking or waiting for a yes or no email.}

 

Yeah, I know. It just isn't going to happen like that.  I think the only chance I have of getting this hairstyle, is moding something I buy.  I end up heavily moding any hair that I get anyway, it seems.  So I don't know why this intimidates me so.

Another thing I must deal with when it comes to hair, is putting a hair base on my skin.  Now that I have a trail version of photoshop reinstalled, I can see that there is an optional hairbase layer on the skin templates I use,  but it has no actual hair texture,  so I guess it will be clone brushing for me.  Once I find a suitable base texture.  New skin is *not* an option for me. I finally love the skin I am in, I love my bark, I will not change it except to mod my existing one as I go.  That is what makes Open source high quality skin templates so fucking awesome.

One of the obstacles here, will be getting the right colour,  which, I struggle with anyway. I have found the only way I can reasonable get the redish-purple colour that plums are... is by buying browns, and tweaking with tinting. Which means I always have some messed up color on my head before the hair texture rezes, and I never know how PINK my hair looks on other people's screens and in different lighting.  Because, the secret to plum-ifying brown hair, is hot pink.  And I *hate* pink.

So I am sure there is a lot of inconsistency when it comes to what colour of hair I am displaying and when, and it flusterbates me.

I also need to get my body shap down to a suitable grecian woman form.  I feel like I have compromised a lot of those soft, curvy features for the sake of skirts. I need to strip down naked,  resculpt my body, and figure out how to put my clothes on later.

Moving on. If after nearly a year with this avatar, having purchased more toga-type clothes than I wear, I realize I am going to have to get real on Chitons, even if I have to make them.  That's the part I can't do, make them! I can put a texture on a shape, sure... but it's the fold, and wrinkles, and boobie shadows that are a challenge, especially since my working ability with photoshop is very limited.

But I dream of knee length Chitons, held together with cord, and pins at the shoulder, with flexy tufts of fabric that never quite make a sleeve or a mantle.  I want colours,  but not bright colours. unbleached linen/cotton, brown, sage green, with woven greek key on the trim. maybe even some subtle monotone pattern in the fabric.

And ripped! and just a little dirty.  The Goreans are good for providing ripped toga-esque clothes. (Though my favorite is Chernobyl Rasmuson's Wine and grass stained toga.  Only another wino-nature creature could truly capture a pure sort of dirty.)


So how am I going to do all this? I don't know, but I have been whining about it for nearly a year if you count the old wordpress blog... I have to do it.  once upon a time, I never thought I would be able to build a working kiln, or houses, or skins (well I still need a template for those I can't really make them, but edit them)

So, maybe I need to search out templates for bateau and draped necklines, to see if I can combine them.  It's insane though, how the easiest costume to make (literaly a sheet of fabric) is so hard to make in 3-d. Allt he more reason it seems so vein of me, to even attempt to make something so complicated.

Nothing hairy about me!

Alas! My life as a potter can begin.



It is nearly finished. Finished enough to go on the ground and be seen by others. Not finished enough to put the wheel out (tweaking that), or to sell. But I do intend to sell it (just the kiln, two versions) as soon as I get a hold of a full perm sound for the door, and a couple of scripts I can't seem to find. Also, a new roof texture.

It's funny how you can have literally hundreds of scripts and not one of them does what you want... or how one script that has the same basic purpose as another, can be so different.



 
This photo has nothing to do with this post, except that I am pleased with the results of the new kid's clubhouse, which is only partially pictured.

Way overdue, but the memories are fresh

On the 21st of February, the lovely Una Woodrunner threw a lovely Mardi Gras party,  I don't know how eloquent I can be about it, three weeks too late,  but I do have some memories, and pictures of costumes, and what is Mardi Gras without the costumes? (Also, I take hella big pictures, so clicking on them and getting the full sized picture from flickr will grant you the best view.

When I walked into Illusions looking for a Mardi Gras mask,  there was one, that I knew if I did not let Eacen have it, he would feel betrayed by me forever.



And since V gains more presence and power the more masks are worn, I, of course, had to put one on too.

Neria looked lovely (as she always does) in an adorable Queen of Hearts costume:


And tel pretty much showed up in his every day clothes:



But none of us would have been there if it were not for a true Queen, (or at least a very emphatic Queen fan!)



The lovely Una herself, the queen of her castle...


And her dashing Lion King, Rat.  Who has a taste in women that rivals.



Her taste in clothes.  She's a good shopper, but an even better dresser.

I have to admit I don't know most of the people at the party very well... but like Una, her friends are always a hoot to be around.



But honestly, I *love* dressing up on Second Life almost as much as I love listening to music and sharing that time with my friends (which is what the RL side of dances really is, isn't it?)



"Nothing else existed... until I saw you. Then everything changed. I fell in love with you"

Corinda, in a Plum-pit. (NSFW for Classical Artistic Nudity Lots of Pretty Pictures)

Hamadryads, are a certain sort of tree-nymph who is forever bound --physically-- to her tree.

^{"A Hamadryad" - J.W Waterhouse}

There were (at least) eight of them in Greek mythology, daughters of Hamadryades, and Oxylos (a forest spirit of the mountain) Each of the eight Hamadryad-nymphs presided over a particular type of tree; One of them was named Kraneia, and she was the Hamadryad nymph of the cherry tree.

Cherry Trees fall into the "Prunus" genus, as do many pit fruit such as peaches, apricots, and yes... plums. Plum trees and Cherry trees are very similar in many ways, even though they are not the same fruit, it is very similar fruit with similar effects on your digestive system. Even though they are not the same tree, the texture of their bark is similar, and the way they bloom in the spring, is also very similar. So similar, that a plum blossom is very difficult to distinguish from a cherry blossom, when both are removed from the tree.

^{Can you tell the difference? I'll reveal it at the end of this post.}

Even the Black cherry and Black Plum fruit is astoundingly similar, and yet, so different.

^{A side note, see how black plums are redish-purple? Purple is simply not enough! That's what I go for with my hair! sadly this usually means tinting, which is a fiddly process at best and usually makes my hair rez hot pink before the textures come in. and I *hate* pink!}

Similar, but not the same, like a mother is to her daughter.

^{I'm still working on her textures, and I have a few attachments to put on her too. But I loves my Cherry tree momma! But I will I ever know what turned *all* of her to wood while I was away?}

What I share with my mother is tree nymph-hood, and as a fruit tree nymph I am what would be called a Meliad/Meliae, a "genus" that are known for many things, a few of which are the protectors of sheep and goats and of fruit-trees. ( think I need me a goat, maybe!)

Now, Nymphs are well known for being the consorts and companions of Satyrs...

^{Satyr and nymph. Roman mosaic - Pompeii}

Since Hamadryads are a type of nymph, I don't see that they would be any different, in fact, I think it might have given a Satyr an advantage... since she couldn't really run!  Shimmy away maybe... but through the soil that could take a while. XD

^{Tile Mosaic, Pan & Hamadryad, from Pompeii}

At any rate, this, is the inspiration for how a plum tree with a Satyr father, came to be. How a little baby meliad, might have a tree for a mother.

^{can not credit for this amazing and lovely picture. It was found on myspace.}

Something that is lesser known, is that nymphs were often companions for centaurs also Particularly Lamian Centaurs..

^{It also seems to me by this picture... that a centaur can have his junk in the front. Thank you vereh much! Now you know why my man wears a toga, and why I can walk. You know you'd always wondered how I had them babies!}

So it is also, the inspiration for how a nymph born of a Hamadryad, and a Satyr can marry a Centaur and have both a centaur for a son and a faun for a daughter. ((In greek mythology, anything could pretty much give birth to... anything! But even I desire some consistency here.)) Forgotten Realms (AD&D SE) explained it something like this (paraphrased) When a Daddy Satyr and a Mommy Dryad love each other very much  --or are at least horny enough, which is all the time-- they either have a Satyr or a Dryad baby! and yet, in mythology, Nymphs were always having babies with men. It seems to me that a nymph almost has a genetic neutrality about her.  Forgotten realms also says that female children between a Satyr/Dryad women are Dryads, and males are Satyrs.  But you know, limiting it to gender just isn't even realistic. I think men can be nymphs and females can be Satyrs or fauns, if this is what calls to them!

So, Satyr father = Faun Daughter. Centaur Husband = Centaur son.  And in a way, we're also just kind of mutts classified by characteristics.  Just like genetically strong people should be!


<sup>- Left: Plum. Right: Cherry.
- I can source all this, but I'm not going to unless asked.</sup>

Mother said...

... very little. She's a Tree.

But if she could talk, she would say there would be days like these, where one is nearly prepared to comply with waif couture, just to get something to fit right.

::Shakes fist::

::gets over it::

::Will post pictures from Una's Mardi Gras party soon!::

It's not easy being short in Second Life

I exist in a world where 5'10" is considered an acceptable height for model, and then I exist in another world where 5'10" (My avatar's height according to several measuring devices) is down right shrimp-y.

Second Life is just not made for short people. Earlier, when working on my new IC work tools, I realized my feet did not reach an important element needed to operate the device. Kisses never line up, When I dance with my husband I float several feet off of the ground. My four-year-old... comes up to my elbow.

So it makes even less sense that I am married to a big ol' Centaur Blacksmith, one would think. I mean, look at our scale difference.



But, I kinda love that. I like a big strong guy. Broad shoulders, and tall enough to give me a neck cramp. I like a man who works hard... woof woof.


^{Until he mocks me with the Lolipop kid song and dance.}

But I have to tell you, I do love being a short avatar despite of all the drawbacks, I like it since I try to be somewhat authentic with Hellenic women (who nymphs were modeled after, after all in fact I'd be a little chubbier if Prim skirts didn't make one's life hell.) I specifically enjoy having short legs... I like a shapely leg, not a sticky one... and I find that even average length legs in SL look like chop sticks.

I like to be unique. That's all. Just sayin'

This space left intentionally blank.

My RL has been sort of crazy, well, my RL is always crazy. (It should say something when one escapes from the crazy by going to SL haha) What I mean is I have somehow picked up a sort of "social" family life IRL again. I am NOT complaining about that, it's just changed my schedule a bit, and made my SL time in world a wee bit unpredictable, and I haven't been able to spend time in world in the evening much.


^{Hardly enough time to spin a leek.}

Looking for balance in world and out has been a theme, but I am starting to regain focus and direction in SL, and even if I have not been world as much lately, I feel like I am accomplishing something. And that is worth something.

/redundant

Happy Valentines Day

This Candy Heart on my lip says "Kiss me." Care for a nibble?


<3

Busy busy.

 That;s what I've been.  I am switching (IC) careers,  and much building needs to be done.


While visiting the lovely ladies two doors down, I caught a very sweet picture:








They look pretty happeh.

Well, now then.

Today has been a really rough, weird day. I'm feeling a little self conscious, and a little like you do when you rez in a crowded sim, with no clothes or hair on.  Not sure how I am feeling about some things (Which means vague post for you! haha!  Don't read too much into things.)

So I wasn't on much today.  And things are a little weird with me atm.  But this is just a heads up. I will be back on my bearings before you know it.

What's wrong with the corner store?

On a weeknight in October of 1990, when it was too cold for a handful of broke teenagers and young adults to do anything until the weekend, my life changed.  I didn't know it was changing at the time, but it was.  My boyfriend at the time and his friends had cleared out a room in his parent's basement,  put two card tables together to create as much seating as possible, and a pile of glossy covered paper back books that looked more like workbooks for school than anything fun, were scattered around them.  That night, I rolled up my very first role-playing character, and while it was not a character or game that stuck with me (Glitter boy; Rifts, for the record) I discovered one of the first things I would love for the rest of my life.  The door in the dark closet I used to write "silly stories" in, and keep them to myself, creaked open... (dramatically, of course...) and I learned there was life after "You're too old to play pretend."

When I was not yet 18, with one, or two kids,  I had a handful of friends I could count on to come to my house.  Other girls my age were partying while I was parrying. Other parents were zoned out in front of the television living vicariously through someone else's story, and direction.  My friends and I, were making our own.  When I was working and going to school, I didn't have energy to go out,  but I could always count on the fact someone was desperate enough for game time, that they would come to me, and even pick up a gallon of milk for me, if it meant I could share some of my time with them.

Role-players, particularly those who are of a tabletop variety, take a lot of shit.  Everything from being pawns of the devil, to socially inept,  but we, the gamers, bear it with a smile, because we know exactly what they are missing.  They are missing out on their own creativity... and their own control of their own lives.  While gamers are shoveling down fistfuls of popcorn with one hand, and rolling dice in another, others of a less playful persuasion are stuffing their faces and their minds with other people's junk food.  What they are *told* they should consume.

I have never been a role-player,  because it suited me best to be one of the masses.  I have been a role-player, because I value storytelling, and my own individuality. Even when it comes to core rule books and supplements for game settings... my books are scribbled in the margins, with rule variations, and changes we made to customize that guideline book into our worlds. ((are as any good RPer's books ))

Now I could sit here and tell you what systems I have played, my favorite sort of character to play within them, tell you the systems I hate/loved and why.  We could sit here all day and talk about what editions of certain RPG games are valuable, and which ones are shit, and we can disagree or agree, but it doesn't really matter, because it is more about playing than it is ever about the game.

I have played in big groups and small groups, and I can tell you which ones work better.

Tabletop, LARP, Online and off, There is really only ever been one time of RPing I had never done until about a year ago...  take a guess at what that is.  I came to this format for a lot of reasons, one of them was for a change of scenery, a new set of challenges after being an old dog at too many things.  I wanted to be able to use the visual medium along with gathering a group of folks to RP with...  this has never been hard for me. ever.  I have never been unable to find someone to game with.  I could go down to the game store right now, and pick up a fist full of strangers right now if I wanted. (The thing is, I don't want to, droolers whore themselves out from game stores for a good reason... they can't keep a solid game elsewhere, but I digress)

Maybe I fit in a lot less with Second Life than I am comforted to think that I am. Because It seems to me that people measure the success of an RP in SL  on the yard stick of member numbers, and traffic, and how busy it is at any given moment of the day...  As I said before, I have played in big groups and small groups, and I can tell you which ones, I prefer.

It's not like there are not RP opportunities in SL, oh my, there are oh so many places I can go and bicker all day and spend more time being a rules-horse than gaming.  I can find a sim to wander around and act like a twink if I want to.  I can power game, if I want to. (I don't want to.)  and I can hack and slash if I want to.  There are plenty of places on SL for that.

But I don't want to do that.  Which is why I am in a different place.  I am weary, very weary, of hearing complaints and veiled comments about how we are not successful because we are not [inset name of mega super themed sim here]. Well frankly, it's  a little bit like saying "You can't possibly be successful, unless you are wal*mart, chewing up and spitting out the competition."

No.  That isn't what makes good gaming. Not for me, anyway.

Any good gamer, or anyone with a sliver of imagination should be able to understand when they are confronted with that analogy.  Bigger, and busier, is not always better.  It doesn't serve everyone, we are just lead to think that it is, and... I dare say, quality suffers.  Too many cooks in a kitchen makes a hell of a mess.  If you bite off more than you can chew, you choke.
 
I am under the impression (based on the complaints and the comments, and the downright insulting tid bits of information that come my way that I have known since I was 16...)  people must want Wal*mart. Because surely, we are not successful if our traffic dips below 2000, and there are not people there every single moment of every single day. I guess people want the clusterfucks that happen out of huge gaming situations... (Which when the clusterfuck happens, they certainly are the first to say that they didn't want the drama!)

I don't. I don't want to be Mega super themed sim. I don't want to be wal*mart.  I want to be the corner store. I want to know everyone's name, and their family, and their history.  I want substance made from people's souls, not plastic crap made in China. I want to say we are a family, and I want to *mean* it.  I'm never going to get to do that on Mega super themed sim.  I don't want to tell people who they can and can't be, or be heavy handed about what is or isn't allowed. Mega super themed sim has no choice but to do that.  If that means there are only ever ten, of us, as long as we are breaking even, who cares?

Why is it shameful to be anything else than a corporate box store?

I don't want to work at walmart.... in fact, I *won't* work at walmart.

I'm fine with being the corner shop.

Have you seen me?

I am so desperate for this hair, and yet can not find it anywhere.



(Product found at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ZARA/58/73/30  But not the hair.)

Also, this hair, which is so similar they might be the same:


But even though this kindly vendor offers a note card filled with hair locations from their models,  this one is not included in the list. (Product found here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chinook/253/128/38) but not the hair.

I have bought a lot of hair lately, which always means a lot of fail, even when you try on the demos firest.  But, such is second life.

On the wise words of my dear brother,  I realize somethings have to change about how I spend my time in SL,  it's about balance.  It didn't occur to me until this morning that perhaps if I played more in the land that I love, that more people would be playing with me, and thus, my work would be done.

Today,  I need to spend some time in the RPM, and Brenn though. fortunately it involves shopping for things. Yay shopping!