A Former N00b's Progress

Indian Paintbrush

2009-10-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

Taken at Olympic National Park

Skye Galaxy

2009-10-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

I've been tinkering around with building stuffs and trying to figure out what I'd be interested in making, being, doing in Second Life (rather than continuing the highly scattershot and random existence I currently have) and also I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for inspiration.

Well, have a look and listen to this:

This kid is going places - it's clear from his voice and piano playing that he's going to be a major talent, maybe even break out of Second Life and into First Life. Yet the video appears at first to be amateurish screen-cap machinima - but watch and wait. It's one take, no edits as far as I can tell, and after the camera finally finds the performer after following a few awkward dancing Lego men and seated avatars all using the same "sit-low-priority" animation, the camera pulls away and up, up, up. You'll probably gasp at some point when you realize what locality the Second Life venue mimics - and it's pretty impressive. At that point, I realized that the machinima director actually got exactly the shot (and feeling) that was needed for the song.

I'll definitely have to look this Skye Galaxy up on Monday - that's 8pm for me, so I should be able to catch the show. Maybe see you there?

Monday 10/12

Skye galaxy 6PM - Skye Galaxy Live at Gwampa's Dance Kamp

If you listen to live music in SL by now you have probably heard the buzz about Skye Galaxy. This young man has a voice that is impressive and a following that is growing by the day. He plays keyboard and guitar which you can sample here. If you can't make this show, then do yourself a favor and make sure you catch him soon. Go early, Skye is filling sims. In Zeide Kamp. [SLurl teleport at this link]

I Builded Me Something!

2009-09-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

If anyone is reading this, you'll know I haven't had much interest in actually making or building stuff, just shopping and socializing. Well, after the exertions of the STEAM hunt, and seeing how people have created amazing things, I was suddenly inspired.

I can barely rezz a box, but somehow I managed to make a primitive type of step tansu, with a texture I'd gotten from somewhere. I managed to box up stuff I'm not using, and then put those boxes into the tansu steps. I have a lot of clothes and "furniture" and funny party props that just take up space (and then my inventory takes longer to load). And I'm about to have a ton more, because I have about 100 boxes to unpack and sort from the hunt.

I got the idea from one of Torley Linden's helpful video tutorials, YouTube - How to manage your inventory. In it, he mentioned the simple idea of creating and decorating a gift box and putting stuff in it (or as the running joke on SL has it, "stuffs").

I had to struggle and fuss to figure out what is and is not possible (why can't there be folders to organize objects in boxes??) and had to figure out how to put hovertext labels on, but eventually I ended up with something that looks approximately like a step tansu. Yes, yes, sure, sure, I'm coming up on my 2nd year as a Second Life resident. Mock me, I don't care; it's the first thing I've built completely on my own was my idea. I know there are more advanced ways to do this - I actually HAD a freebie organizer at one time, but couldn't figure out what to do with it (should have kept the script, oh well). It was a stupid looking heart that I got in a hunt, and I can't find the shop now to go back and look at other examples.

Yes, I know I could do it in 1 big prim, or in 3, but I didn't know how to handle the sqaure texture that well, so I stayed with the plain square box. To be usable, the prims have to be unlinked, but they have to be linked to be moved in one piece. I may link them once I'm done putting stuffs in the boxes.

Steampunkery

2009-09-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes. I've been hunting again and have nearly finished the STEAM hunt. Some recent experiences while online seem to be leading me in the direction of adopting a more steampunk-inspired persona, or at least to get out of my comfortable habits (and out more).

I enjoy light role-play and can crack on a bit in Victorian idioms, and the little puffs of steam coming from my hat amuse me no end.

I recently bought a car from the famous Curio Obscura shop and have been teaching myself to drive; this hasn't been terribly successful but it has been a lot of fun.

Here I am with my little car at the recent Cafe Wellstone Dancing Liberally event, where everyone came with (or as) their favorite guilty pleasures. I should have taken more pictures - my favorite costume spotted was the cute Hershey's Kiss one.

Actually, I spent quite a lot of time at Curio Obscura. It's a very entertaining place, especially when the trick posing stands (used to immobilize one's avatar so clothes and accessories can be tried on and adjusted) turn a person upside-down and dump them in the middle of the floor below.

This is what the shop looks like from outside - when I went there, the link I had takes you straight inside, and there are no windows, so you have no idea of what the structure looks like. But when browsing upstairs, I came on a kind of control panel with lots of knobs and buttons and stuff that looked like organ stops. The seat said "sit here" so I figured it might end up having me play a tune. No, what happens is it forces your perspective so that suddenly you seem to be outside, looking up at the shop, which is revealed as a rather scary self-motive prim-harvesting mechanical crustacean. At least, that's what I presumed from the look of the big sawblade and pincer. Anyway, the eyes glow and change colors, not sure why the effect shows the eye color in two places.

I'm close to hitting my limit on my Flickr account, and realized that some of my uploads to Blogger seemed to be hitting a free Picasa web album, so today I downloaded Picasa onto the new computer and struggled a bit with figuring out the file structure, organizing pictures taken inworld on the new machine, and so on.

It's not perfectly easy to use Picasa/Blogger, and I wish my image settings were "sticky" on the web album page, but I'm getting used to it.

Netroots in Second Life 2009 Builds

2009-09-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

These are just a collection of shots from the recent Netroots in Second Life 2009 build, including some of the booths members of the Cafe Wellstone Democratic Club made to publicise different groups and causes that had a presence either at the real life convention in Philadelphia, or in Second Life itself.

The avatar created for Markos Moulitsas' appearance in Second Life.

The Books for Soldiers booth, a charity that donates reading material to active duty military personnel.

One of the booths.

A Catamount From Spain

2009-08-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

I had an intriguing and creative Second Life dream this morning, so in the spirit of Torley's dream journals (but not so entertaining) here's what I remember.

It was early morning, and I was still in bed, but had a computer and was looking at Second Life. I stumbled upon a group of costumed actors preparing to perform some kind of Shakespearean play in both Second Life "machinima" but also with live-action scenes. There were images of a bearded man in costume, practicing lines in both close-up and as part of a scene, along with avatars of men and women in abstract, moving in smoothly animated, choreographed scenes to "warm up." I remember thinking, "These people have been doing some SERIOUS scripting, those are the most lifelike acting anims I've ever seen." I was comparing it in my mind to a recent production of Hamlet that was ambitious, but choppy and un-emotive in performance.

And then it began - a king in his court is receiving gifts and emissaries. A gorgeous quadruped snow leopard is led forward, but it's a Second Life hybrid boi, with gorgeous pelts hanging down his sides but not completely covering tanned, tattooed skin. He was definitely walking on all fours, and the fur on the pelts was dappled with stripes and spots, and they ruffled in the breeze as he moved. In my minds' eye the "camera" panned along his side as he walked. He wore the typically disdainful expression of a really expensive kiti boi on his face, with big pointed lynx ears and rock-star dirty blond hair. He did not look happy about being given away as some kind of "pet."

The dialogue indicated that the hybrid was "a catamount from Spain" being given to the king. A shabby looking character came forward and warned the king - this character carried a battered samurai sword (sheathed) in one hand at all times, and seemed to be called "Cod" or "Coda." I seemed to have access to program notes and knew that although he was dressed as a peasant, he was actually the king's most trusted bodyguard. They seemed to have a long history.

People on the screen moved and spoke in very smoothly animated Second Life style, and then the action broke down into more abstract shapes, with several figures twirling and dancing, including a woman with dark hair and a long medieval dress.

There was music, but it was some song I heard on the radio or online yesterday, not what you'd think of "court music." It was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More," in fact. I wonder if it was a clip on NPR's Saturday Edition this morning? Sometimes my early morning dreams are influenced by whatever the radio is playing. I visited a couple of dancing venues last night in SL and several little details were adapted and given a Shakespearean twist - people dancing, and so on. There seem to be some new dancing anims at Spacejunky Island's club that are VERY good, very lifelike.

Anyway, the king decided to leave his court and go into exile, and suddenly the dream was in live action, as he walked along a road in a forest covered with snow. Still in costume, he and the Coda character looked like ordinary people, not quite as handsome as their avatars in Second Life - the king was older with shorter hair but still bearded, and his bondsman was younger, slighter, and carrying a REALLY battered wooden practice sword. It had a katana-like hilt wrapped with cordage, and had fabric tape similar to that used on hockey sticks wound around the blade, probably to keep it from splintering.

The catamount paced along after the king, who walked ahead toward a stand of trees. Coda called out that the animal/human was actually communicating with a rival king, and was meant to keep the king under surveillance. There was even a tracking device or bug or phone in its collar... anyway, the catamount was a threat whose actual motivations were as yet unknown, because he was an independent player-character, not just an animal or a robot.

But the king seemed not to think it important and allowed the hybrid to stay with him, telling Coda to remain behind as he had to go on alone. I remember thinking that Coda was very frustrated with his liege's behavior and, then watched the king and his snow leopard as he walked toward the bend in the road.

The image in my dream of the king walking away was still in live action, but beginning to go back toward Second Life's beautiful unreality, as the sun backlit the trees with gorgeous golden light and made a very Japanese woodcut-like tableau. Coda was left swinging his sword in great sweeps, forbidden to accompany and protect the king as he wandered away with a potentially dangerous enemy "catamount" padding along at his side. I remember thinking that the lighting and camera angle were breathtakingly beautiful and very cinematic, and wanted to take a still picture. That's often my reaction inworld when I see something interesting or there's a pretty particle or lighting effect, but I've been somewhat disappointed with my image captures with the new machine, due to the lack of detail on movement shots.

At this point the dream shifted and I was Coda, practicing holding the sword properly. It wasn't very well balanced for me, as it was heavier and more curved in the "blade," and the hilt was a bit too broad for my hands in the dream. I tried to chop at some overhanging branches, but the length and weight of the blade were difficult to control and maintain a proper grip. "It was really easier to do this stuff in Second Life," I remember thinking, and then I woke up.

What does it all mean? I have no idea. But on re-reading, it seems hilariously Freudian.

I've been frustrated with my SL experience the last couple of weeks because a brand-new computer I just purchased just can't handle the heavy-ish 3D display that SL demands of my video card. I'm otherwise very happy with this computer, but it has a small, sleek case that can only accept a low-profile video card as an upgrade. Also, there are power constraints, as this is a very efficient but low-power system. Otherwise, I like it a lot and it's an improvement over my former system, which died (my partner was able to copy over essential files). It's very irritating that this computer gets such high marks from reviewers, but they all mentioned the crap Intel onboard video and I should have known better.

I've been doing a LOT of research and determined that there's only one video card that will "fill the bill" on this slick little beast, and will blog further if it's a successful upgrade.

With any luck, my dream-machinimas will be a lot more detailed and beautifully rendered.

Netroots Nation, Virtually Speaking, Dancing Liberally W00t W00t

2009-08-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

I'm not at Netroots Nation, I'm watching a live stream via Dailykos' live video feed. And then in Second Life, I'm about to watch Kos do an audio streaming appearance (with a typist standing in for him inworld).

Live broadcast from Netroots Nation 09 - Daily Kos TV (beta)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13

5:45PM: Idella Quandry sings blues, funk and soul, with a little jazz thrown in for kicks. Come to Virtually Speaking and listen to a mixture of original music and favorite covers. Then stay for a conversation between Jay Ackroyd and Markos Moulitsas. Virtually Speaking’s InWorld Amphitheatre

And then I'll be moving along in my busy social calendar:

7:30PM: Opening party – NNSL 09 Opening Party. Come party with us on Netroots Island, immediately following Virtually Speaking’s interview with Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos. Tour the new sim and discuss the days convention event. Zathras Afarensis will be playing a set of live music, and DJ Pb Recreant will close out the night with his superb, eclectic brew. Netroots Nation Ballroom

UPDATE: Change of plan. Some guy sat on me at Virtually Speaking, I tried to move to another seat but got lagged out (this sort of like logged out, except lag is involved. I just made it up).

Then I couldn't get logged back in, and when I did, I was stuck in my little room. Thanks, Second Life! I'll play MahJongg now.

Erika Ordinary: Extra Ordinary

2009-08-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

Random serendipity seems to be my rule for finding things to do on Second Life, and I happened upon a listing for music in the Search window that looked interesting. Here's the Community Events listing:

Second Life | Community: Events

Erika is an Austin, Texas based singer/songwriter, with a diverse range of influences from Patty Griffin (another Austinite!) to Nirvana to Etta James to... Come out an join us at Crystal Gardens and hear some amazing new talent to SL music scene

Yeah, astonishing is the word I'd use for Erika's voice and playlist. And she plays a uke on some tunes, which seems to be her musical attachment of choice for her avatar. Her singing and playing is assured, powerful. Her stage presence needs a little polish - still a bit tentative and cutesy-poo about acknowledging tips and shout-outs in open chat. That'll probably be overcome fairly quickly as she gets used to SL performance. She's already awesome as a performer, so I expect she'll become one of those "name" performers on SL, but she really has chops. It would be interesting to follow her musical career via in RL, too.

I had one of those "ohhhhhhh... I love this song" moments when she played "Mad World" from the Donny Darko soundtrack. I'll have to keep an ear open for more from the extraordinary Erika Ordinary.

PS... I wish people with hotcha-cha attachments and "naughty" chat sounds and gestures would turn them the frack off in performance venues. Also, the guy that recorded and distributed the annoying "HOOOOOO!" sound effect/chat gesture deserves to be dressed up in badly fitting

Listening to Orcinus

2009-08-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

I missed this event on #secondlife last week because I was traveling: Dave Niewert discussed his book The Eliminationists with @JC_Christian, the General.

Jackson Street Books: David Neiwert in Second Life

David Neiwert, founder and award-winning journalist and blogger at Orcinus and of late, at Crooks and Liars discusses his latest book The Eliminationists with Jesus' General, GenJC Christian. Eliminationism: a politics and a culture that shuns dialogue and the democratic exchange of ideas in favor of the pursuit of outright elimination of the opposing side, either through suppression, exile, and ejection, or extermination. Rich in historical and journalistic detail, the book offers a fine overview of the uglier strains in American politics.

The plan was after the interview, our intrepid progressive Residents would dress as clowns and march around a fascist European sim, but that didn't happen.

Musical Space Odyssey

2009-08-08T02:31:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when inworld, I don't care for whatever music is offered by shopping sites - especially when "on the hunt" for good quality freebies, popping in and out from one location to another. Some time ago I tinkered with various media players that can access Internet radio, and eventually settled on WinAmp (which has some rather annoying features, but it works for me).

I have a fairly long playlist now of "My Stations" that include several favorite Real Life items, some encountered from trips. Recently via BoingBoing I found out about SomaFM's amazing Mission Control project.

It's the ultimate in "space music;" lengthy samples of Apollo lunar mission radio feeds mixed on top of ambient (electronic) music. It's very nice to listen to while working, as it's both relaxing and "mission focused." Please toss them a few Lindens/real world ducats if you like it, too.

SomaFM: Recently Played Tracks

Our fundraising for the first half of 2009 has been $30,000 less than we need, and we can only put off the bill collectors for so long. Please support SomaFM today and keep commercial-free radio on the air.
Mission Control: Celebrating NASA and Space Explorers everywhere.

New Things To See and Do

2009-06-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

New World Notes: Weekend Open Forum: What SL6B Exhibits Should We Make Sure To Catch?

Next week Second Life celebrates its sixth birthday, and I've been painfully slow to follow all the activities and exhibits planned. (Then again, I usually space on real world birthdays too.) There's over 300 SL6B exhibits listed here, based around the theme of "The Future of Virtual Worlds". One of them is featured in the machinima above, Loki Eliot's ambitious time-traveling information kiosk. What others should we make an effort to visit? Post descriptions and SLurls in Comments. (Yes, rampant self-promotion encouraged.)

I really need to get up to speed with this year's big event, I can't spend all my time dancing and changing clothes. Or, I could, but there's more to Second Life than that.

The other day I attended a really nice music event: Jana Kyomoon did an exhibit opening at the Pyramid Gallery - really must make an effort to attend more of her DJ gigs, her electronic music is so great. And ooh hey, she's on iTunes...!!

The Big Sort

2009-06-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I've been hunting treasures again, and now I think it's time to knock that shit off for a good long while, because I've got a ton of stuff to sort through. I also have a lot of pictures to upload from fun events in the last week or so. So I'll be online a lot, going through boxes and getting rid of unwanted stuff.

Kidnappings, Mayhem, Parties: Just Another Day In Northfarthing

2009-05-05T21:48:00.001-07:00

My SL neighbor Mist started a blog for our home sim, and things are already starting to happen over there.

Welcome new people… « Northfarthing

I’ve got a handful of invites sent out, and a few new folks here at the NF blog and on WP. Welcome welcome, make yourself at home. Clean my kitchen. (Can’t blame me for trying…)

Here’s a question, to get some conversation started: what do you like best about NF?

It's a quiet sim... not much happens there. People peacefully go about their business and nobody bothers anyone else, except for the odd kidnapping, or that time a real red dragon came to the Green Dragon pub. Oh, and Mist turned evil.

Nope, nothing much going on in quiet, peaceful Northfarthing, except when pirates bellow for everybody to come over to the castle for an impromptu party on the roof. It's kind of hard to ignore the summons when a pirate bellows, of course, and I was more or less dressed for an event or a happening, since I was planning to go to an okiya (Japanese geisha house) for a celebration of Kodomo no hi (Children's Day, or Boys' Day).

So I left my simple cell in the Abbey of St Christopher (where I spend my time in contemplation of all the crap in my inventory, incessantly trying on outfits and hairs) and walked over to the castle.

On entry through the open doors, it's an impressive place... I bumped into furniture for awhile, and then stumbled up the stairs. As it was Rhianon's birthday, the party was on the roof, according to the shouted instructions... nice place, with a beautiful tree in bloom, an elven drum circle, and a fire. I was relieved that I managed not to crash-land in the middle of the bonfire.

And then something magical happened.

That's me, somewhere in there, with the wings on, doing the "flying dance" (also known as the "horizon loop" with our pirate host. I usually don't go in for performance art, but this was exhilarating.

It's all done with poseballs, animations, particle attachments, yadda yadda blah blah blah.

No... it's magic.

This is what it looked like with the camera view at maximum distance. Pirate Braveheart's particles were the rod-shaped ones, and the ones I had were the fuzzy globular once. I had no idea what mine looked like when I found them in my folder; they were a freebie from some hunt or other. Fortunately, the colors were pretty much the same.

Maybe I should really re-think my whole "I'm not a creative person" stance, as this was way more fun than changing outfits all evening in my little cell.

After "sunrise," everyone started in on the elven drums in earnest. I've done this before with friends, but not with such a purpose in mind - to produce dance music for someone. Soon enough, the Pirate and his lady began a couple dance, and the rest of us played on for them for awhile, before drifting away to other events. It was a nice beginning to the evening.

From there, I went on to the geisha event after a quick stop at another birthday party. So many great, fun things to do, but the most colorful event was the impromptu party in my home sim.

LOLCats Roleplay: Ur Doin It Rite

2009-05-04T16:45:00.001-07:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Yes, the roleplaying has begun at my home sim, Northfarthing. So far, it's playful and not too serious and there's a lot of banter, so don't be shy, drop by and bust a medieval move.

Greetings my lovely gray maiden. « Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Hunting Shamrocks

2009-05-03T17:01:00.001-07:00

This is the kind of activity I find pretty relaxing and/or frustrating - treasure hunting in Second Life. Not sure why, except that I enjoy 1)free stuff and 2)figuring out puzzles and looking for free stuff 3)experiencing creative new places that I might like to visit again, that put out free stuff.

Okay, I do actually have some scruples - it's not actually ALL about the free stuff, because during the sorting-out that I do after a big hunt, I typically delete at least half of the items after trying them on, sometimes without even bothering to open the gift box, if it's definitely something I don't want or need.

I started a new hunt the other day and was so taken with the creativity and pleasant scenery I encountered before I had to break off that I decided to go back and try to blog each location. The last few hunts I did were to mostly-forgettable mall-type places, and there were only a few places that I actually remember. This one is shorter, so we'll see how far I get before pack it in and start taking photos of the best "finds."

The starting point was helpfully blogged by Rowan Carroll:

She's So Unusual: NCI St Patty's Day Hunt!

This is a grid-wide hunt, meaning stores across many sims are participating, and all are owned by NCI members.
The hunt will begin on March 13, and end March 20.
To begin, start at the landmark given from this sign- "Where The Sidewalk Ends"
While there, find the shamrock "NCI Shamrock Hunt #1"- It will give you a gift, as well as a landmark for the next shop- follow the shamrocks till the end of the hunt- there will be 42 in all!

START HERE

Here I am at the beginning of the hunt, The Brickyard. It's an outdoor art gallery with a lot of "rooms" that feature sculpture, wall art, garden features, and so on. I wandered around a long time looking for the shamrock item that was... not that hard to find, actually. This all took place months ago, of course, but I realized I had a draft post started, so decided to plunge back in to catch up. This is my "treasure hunter" getup - very low in "prims' thus very low drag on the servers. The punk hair is pretty minimalist and doesn't add much to the load.

Next, on to a sort of gaming place that had a little of everything, Terra a venda! A lot of my time is spent waiting for everything to rezz, but the horses were nice. The shamrocks were not too difficult, and I always appreciate "fair play."

On to a Steampunk animal merchant in Ethereal Isle. The gift turned out to be totally cool, a self-motive steam-powered camera! I'll definitely wear this to parties! And I have to return to this locality and really explore.

And now I'm at the place I stopped before, a shop called Primwynly. I took a photo here that hasn't rezzed yet, and I'm standing at some sort of crossroads. This could take a while, but first I have to make sure the gift shamrock isn't sitting out in plain sight, unrezzed for the moment.

I'm going to tune in something on Winamp (iTunes not installed on this computer) while I wait. Oh, crap... it's a furniture store. I hate furniture stores, because I don't need furniture inworld, and they're hard to find things in. However, they have medieval stuff, the theme of my home sim, Northfarthing.

Camera control can be key - it's handy for looking under and behind things. Also good for looking in a lot of boxes at once.

Whew, got it. Missed it in the area I checked first - there's a modern area, and then a medieval area.

Now, on to someplace in Blackmount that makes me want to sing show tunes while wearing Arthurian drag...

Whew! Easy one, with the lights on. Thank goodness, I was in the furniture store for almost 10 minutes.

Now: Pax et Bonum. It's more scenic, there are trees, and it takes a while for stuff to become visible.

Well, dammit. It's pretty, and I've been outside and inside, and nothing. It's going to really be embarassing when I find it, because some people came and went already while I was wandering around outside. This is the frustrating part of treasure hunting.

AUGH!! Yes, it was in plain sight. First of all, this is an artist's shop, so it had to be someplace that wouldn't mess with the aesthetics of the place. Second of all, this was placed by a person with good color sense, for better camouflage. Third, it didn't really rezz until I was quite close.

On to Paperdolls, which seems to be a garden shop... no, it's a cute little dress shop. Nice freebies set out, too - I like these dresses. Don't be scared by the hair, it's this thing I do when treasure hunting.

Yay! Found the shamrock after a minute or two. It was reduced in size and somewhat hidden, but I caught a glimpse while moving the camera ("camming") around. On to Minkartah.

Ohhhh. Been here before on another hunt, it's a little marketplace. Fortunately, the sound effect I heard was a clue, and happened to spot the shamrock early (they sometimes rezz before other objects, so it's a good idea to look around quickly. Good thing I had the music off at that point.

Here we go to something called LYtD. Which seems to stand for "Love You 'til Death." And they have a little animated hedgehog! Too cute.

However, the shop seems to sell funerary goods - headstones, tasteful urns, and stone plinths. Well, there's a market for that in the vampire territories, I guess. It's tasteful, and might be by the same artist as at that art gallery that was so hard, so I have to think like that again.

Grrrrr. Starting to get frustrated; there are two shops - beside the funerary one, there's a joyful, "love you" type shop. I'm guessing the former shop is for people grieving the death of love, as opposed to the death of a loved one. Meanwhile, there's an emitter thing here that's pumping out butterflies and heart shaped bubbles, and the lag is so bad that I can't physically reach one corner of the plot.

Hmmm. AUGH!!! 20 minutes shot. It was pretty well hidden. It wasn't in the pretty, lovely, flowery area at all.

I whipped through the next place, Gateaux Boulevard, in a few seconds, it was RIGHT THERE, thank God. So here I am at Mountain Mall.

I notice there's a landmark notice: "NCI Hunters: Click here to get a landmark to #13," so maybe I'd better not waste much time - I'm currently on #11, so this probably means the next shop/gift/ongoing landmark is "dead." There's nothing in this very small shop, although the landowner does have a very cool "Dancing Waters" fountain outside.

So now we go to GONE COUNTRY. Which was a country and western bar, but fortunately it was just a matter of walking around and looking at everything from the back of the room instead of from the front. So often, that's where you'll find what you're searching for; such as just over the inside of the door, so you have to look BACK and UP or go through the whole shop seeing everything for sale.

And that brings us to Get Framed. Uh, oh, it's the end of the world as we know it - and it's decor. But there's animated cats - one of which is a dance ball! And a money tree... wow, haven't seen one of those in a while. They're only available to new AVs, usually less than 30 days old.

So that took us to King Parrot Freebies, and I think I just paid $L2 for a "free" shamrock because I walked toward the type of sign that's usually near the gift shamrocks, and found it pretty fast. And then a sign rezzed that says "there is a free shamrock hidden here, for those of you who do not wish to search: this one is available for $2L. The waterfountains are all for sale!" The rest of the stuff here is pretty unfinished looking.

Okay, well, at least it was only 2 Lindenbucks. So now we go someplace called Earth Jewel. And whew, it was a quick and easy find in a jewelry store.

Time for a break, clear cache, and open some boxes... also, Compline starts at Epiphany at 6pm SLT so now is a good time to get out of my punk gear and put on something a little more ordinary.

Back. So I'm now at DL's Dream Designs at a place called Hawaii Ohana... my kind of locality, anyway. This seems to be kind of fun Gothy, with dragon eggs. I eventually got out of there, as the shop was kind of a weird skybox, all in black. Finally "found" behind something.

So: now past Darkly Cute, a furnishings place... yes, it's sometimes a good idea to take local transport when a shop offers it.. I'm at Blue Ribbon Showcase briefly, an art gallery where I was actually welcomed, and landed at a very colorful arty venue called Azelle's Spot. Ohh!! Tinies!!! And a dragon!

I got welcomed there as well, and got a landmark for events. So I had to get tiny for a while, and chat. It was a very pleasant time, I'd like to go back again.

Quick spin through Art of Eiran, Space for Dreams, and off to Cheetah Valley. As I'm currently a small Siamese cat in a kimono, this could be perilous. But it turns out to be a quick grab-and-go, as are Blue Mountain, Fortinbras, M. Blue Coyote, and Cherokee Inc Hollies in Busby.

And that's where I broke off, because I'd been at it for several hours, and I had completely lost the hunting instinct after becoming tiny.

I really enjoy hunting for stuff, but it's more of a seasonal thing, and more recently I've been more into socializing and spending time talking to friends. I'll never pass up a good freebie hunt, though. This one sponsored by NCI was better than some, because some of the venues were clearly newer, and the gifts were inventive, creative, and somehow more interesting than the more commercial offerings at the big "mall store" treasure hunt locations. I'd actually return to some of these places, except that in my desire to not give away the clues, I didn't make note of the links. That's what Google is for, I suppose.

Here are some photos of some of the St Patrick's Day themed outfits that I did end up keeping from the main, gridwide hunt.

Second Life has this way of messing up or distorting the body animations sometimes. It'll never fail to make you look stupid now and then. Otherwise, I quite like this Celtic dancer outfit.

This one is amazing - it's called "Shabby Chic," but I'd wear it as a barmaid any old time in my local online pub.

This last one can also be worn at any formal event (and I do have them to attend in my virtual life). It even has a fishtail and a transparent cowl or hood. Very snazzy.

I have more St Patty stuff but that's really the high notes. I tended to keep stuff that wasn't specific to the holiday, and then of course there were later hunts (oh, God, the Bunny Hop) that kind of cured me of the whole hunting thing for a while. Maybe later...

Dancing Liberally on Second Life: Pink Overload at a Very Swell Party

2009-03-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Scott Simon discussing Second Life this morning, with someone who's running one of many "virtual classrooms" in the virtual world. Scott gamely tried to describe the setup and what people were able to do.

Well, he sure didn't make it to one of my favorite things to do, a Thinking Liberally event. This is part of the Cafe Wellstone/Donkey Club group that gelled a year or more ago around politics, crazy outfits, and dancing to great tunes. Our fearless leader is The General himself, who's an enthusiastic documentararian of hypocrisy (and occasional producer of Second Life machinima featuring a nearly naked Dick Cheney).

Well, Mr. Scott Simon, THIS is what you were missing. And you probably didn't make it to the Giant Snail Races today, either.

This event is billed as a Garden Tea Party in Pink, hosted by Serenity Wobbit, AKA Super Pink Thing/Bunneh, from the Fortress of Pinkitude

And I am wearing a confection of free Valentine's Treasure Hunt crap that's about to put me into insulin shock. Also: punky neko ears and tail, with a pack of ciggies tied on as my virtual outfit doesn't have pockets.

The tunes by DJ Serenity have been TEH AWSUM, including Patty Smith, various rock songs referencing the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and a duet with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra about what a swell party this is. Every song is new to me, or well-chosen if famiiar, and so it's fun to play with dance animations, chatter snarkily with my fellow group members.

And drat: there's a cherry blossom viewing event happening now with some virtual geisha, and I was hoping to go to that, but will stay here. And only earlier this afternoon, I was thinking that Second Life wasn't any fun for me anymore, since I'm not interested in building stuff and only really like to chat and listen to music and hunt for free clothes. But the music here is so good: who knew there was a mashup of Heath Ledger's Joker with Duran Duran?

Now and then, there are these moments of transendance inworld, and this is one of them. Time to just trance out and go with this most excellent groove.

Meanwhile, visible over my shoulder are some adorable tinies: our hostess as a Super Pink Bunneh, and her partner, who is a ferret in a cowboy hat. On the other side, the colorful stack of hula hoops is another acquaintance, but other couples out of sight are in more conventional garden party attire. After an invite like this, how could I resist?

Come follow the Super Pink Bunneh down the rabbit hole and land on the lawn of the Fortress of Pinkitude for a relaxing afternoon chatting and dancing to DJ Serenity's musix. Contest for most surreal or prettiest outfit(s). LM attached. Starting NOW!

I think I'm going for something midway between surreal and prettiest.

Torben Asp's Music Page

2008-12-13T15:20:00.001-08:00

Torben manages a club called Ethereal, and today he filled in for a performer who couldn't get online. His music is very good, very listenable, even danceable electronica.

I have tried several pieces of software Ejay, Magix, Acid Pro, Fruity Loops, Logic and now I am using Reason as my favorite program. Together with a keyboard this software has brought me a long way and should be better in the future...but I will let you be the judge of that.

I have been performing live concerts in Second Life since October 19th 2007 so come join me there.

I compose and arrange my own original music with a lot of inputs from the different genres in my compositions.
I want to create pictures and set you in a certain mood instead of being the next superstar and I like to call it Recreative Music.

Really nice stuff. Also, he's filled the performance space with an amazing array of particles and lighting effects... makes for a very relaxing place to just "be" during a performance.

Via Torben Asp - Make People Happy! - Music Is The Key! - MUSIC

Finally Getting Back

2008-12-13T13:59:00.001-08:00

I haven't been inworld in a while... now Twittering as LelaniCarver, too. I'm in a very trippy, spacy venue listening to some trance/chill/electronica music played and improvised by Jana Kyomoon. Had to find her upcoming events page...

Via JaNa KYoMooN LIVE SHOWS

Asagao Memorial: "We love you. We miss you."

2008-07-14T21:46:00.001-07:00

After an enjoyable evening as a tiny audience member at the geisha performance at Asagao Treasures, I "got big" so I could walk around more easily, shopped, and then discovered that there was a treasure hunt. For a change, it involved looking for "photos" that had been taken at various spots - very arty, pretty photos, so that it was a pleasure to walk around looking at the lovely garden area, which was called "Asagao Memorial Park." The first few "finds" are in the more commercial entertainment area, but then you are gently led toward the serene parkland; a good eye for plants and landscaping helps, as the photos were taken where the boxes were planted.

I listened to music and searched the gardens, and then realized there were some rather good windchimes and decided to turn WinAmp off and just drift. That's when I found my way to the temple, which is a memorial to people who've committed suicide.

The candles flicker, the messages to loved ones float above the flames. Many languages, all saying the same thing. "We love you. We miss you." So sad.

I found a blog post about the installation:

Asagao Memorial Park at Second Seeker - Unofficial Second Life Reviews

And that is what Asagao Memorial Park does: it gives some time and space to reflect on those we love who have “lost their lives to suicide,” as the plaque at the start of the park phrases it, as well as offering a place for healing and support for those of us affected by the suicide.

The park itself is lovely: as soon as you arrive, you hear birds singing, the sound of waves nearby, that complement the soothing and graceful views of flowers, trees, lighted pathways.

Story and Dance and Being Maneki Neko

2008-07-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

Second Life | Community: Events

Asagao Treasures is proud to host the exquisite ladies of Little Yoshiwara Okiya as they perform their dances, stories and poetry to the sound of beautiful Japanese music. For a wonderful cultural experience, or just a truly fine entertainment, join us at 7pm SLT, every Monday, at the Asagao Treasures venue!

While listening to the tale of Hime-Hase and her evil stepmother, it became apparent that somewhere near by, people were playing with battle-enabled weapons.

[19:44] Devi Agrawal: But the old servant knew that the young Princess was quite innocent of all the things her step-mother had invented to him as reasons for her outrageous orders, and he determined to save her life.
[19:44] Lelani Carver relaxes a bit
[19:44] Free Radar HUD v1.1 by Crystal Gadgets
[19:44] Devi Agrawal: Unless he killed her, however, he could not return to his cruel task-mistress, so he decided to stay out in the wilderness.
[19:44] Mad Thunder Combat HUD (ADMIN) 2.8 shouts: Lorrie Paine has entered Tombstone!
[19:44] Devi Agrawal: With the help of some peasants he soon built a little cottage, and having sent secretly for his wife to come; these two good old people did all in their power to take care of the now unfortunate Princess.
[19:44] Eru Males: lol
[19:45] Bronze Peacemaker (Left Handed) 2.0: Lorrie Paine has drawn a weapon!
[19:45] Devi Agrawal: She all the time trusted in her father, knowing that as soon as he returned home and found her absent, he would search for her.
[19:45] Eru Males: My word Lorrie Paine what are you doing?
[19:45] Devi Agrawal: Prince Toyonari, after some weeks, came home, and was told by his wife that his daughter Hime had done something wrong and had run away for fear of being punished.

And so it went. The story ended happily, but not without some sad events. There was no music, but the dance animations were very pretty and nicely done. Tonight there seem to be several Japanese themed events at okiya (geisha houses) and so I'm tricked out in my good kimono.

It only fits my cat avatar, though, so I'm very small, and had to hop around trying to find a good place to stand, as "sitting" just looks dumb when you're a tiny. Someone remarked that I was an ascended neko, and so I obliged by hovering for a while. I hope that I brought luck to the performance.

Cliff Schechter at Virtually Speaking

2008-06-26T19:00:00.001-07:00

Author Cliff Schechter appeared on Second Life's, "Virtually Speaking with Jimbo Hoyer," but so did some idiot griefer. Cliff was touting his book The REAL John McCain: Less Jobs, More Wars.

They ignored the disruption and the talk was really interesting. But now I'm jonesing for one of them virtual cameras.

Teahouse of the Moon in June

2008-06-24T21:41:00.001-07:00

Teahouse of the Moon in June by Lelani Carver

You really, really had to be there, but the music and dancing were really great. And the horse was extremely funny. And the bunny-human maiko was about to play the koto, but the region was about to go down for maintanence. Dammit. It was a wonderful end to the evening.

Mitsubai Ochaya's first performance evening. A horse, a cat, a geisha, and a bunny maiko walked in a teahouse...

Mics and Minds Open

2008-06-24T20:10:00.001-07:00

Second Life | Community: Events

Open Mic Night @ The Slow Rezz Cafe

Location: Athena Isle (203,179,23)

The Slow Rezz Cafe presents Open Mic Nights on Tuesdays starting this week! Try out those new songs and/or gain some exposure. Not performing? Show up and enjoy live music by the shore.

This is a brand new venue - a small and cozy coffee house - a comfy atmosphere with pillows on the floor, a fireplace and the soothing sound of waves in the background.

This Week's Schedule:
7:00 pm - OPEN
7:30 pm - Anek Fuchs
8:00 pm - Ceedj Beaumont
8:30 pm - Quinton Whitman

That open spot at 7pm SLT was taken by a performer named Naga Flow, who was making only his second appearance ever playing music (sounded like originals, but I arrived late). So far, I've heard his short set, now followed by Anek Fuchs. Both great rock-singer type male voices, good guitar work. Some technical glitches, and the kinds of problems that better streaming equipment as they progress will correct.

But musically, really accomplished stuff, whether covers (with very original treatments, so far) or their own songs.

The venue is a pleasant, homey little coffeehouse on the waterside, and everyone is "sitting" on cushions and oriental carpets. When I arrived, someone was running a particle animation, and hundreds of little green 5-lobed leaves were drifting in the air, along with virtual smoke. Jokes about "not inhaling" were made by yours truly and others.

In Second Life, you don't have to breathe unless you're animated. Kind of bass-ackwards from First Life.

This seems like a great place to work out the kinks before going out on the SL live music circuit, which goes pretty much every night of the week, with some popular performers going from gig to gig every hour or 90 minutes, most of the afternoon and into the night. They survive on tips, mostly... and with SL currency being the pittance it is against the US Dollar, they're probably not clearing gas money... but they don't need gas to get from gig to gig, dig?

Earlier tonight I was at another really nice venue at a place called Cascadia Harmonics (SLurl, direct link to location in Second Life). It was part of a sim that's like a state park out on an island. Very pretty area, very into putting on live music and spoken word/poetry events. I'll definitely return there - I heard the last couple of songs of Ray Weyland's set, a performer who's been around long enough in RL that he doesn't need to put on a big muscled male AV and sport dreadlocks; he played 12 string guitar, sang standards, and had the audacity to be bald. And slightly built. Very gracious performer, too - there were only about 6 people there, and he played as if it was a concert venue full of hundreds. I look forward to returning there again. And this place, too.

Second Life isn't just shopping and sex and camping for $Lindens... it's about music and art and dance and theater, too. And I'm interested in experiencing as much of it as possible.

Next up, a performer that is somehow lagged so badly that his voice sounds like Darth Vader on Prozac. Oh, dear, he's singing and playing and... it's Take it Easy by the Eagles...

This is excrutiating, poor man. Or, it could be a woman.

OH! Problem solved. All I had to do was turn the media stream on and off. It happens in the opposite way when I hear a speaker at the Virtual Anglican Cathedral - it must be a function of the various ways media connect to Second Life. Sometimes our vicar preaches like a very earnest Christian chipmunk.

Anyway, we're now on the right track for this performer, Ceedj Beaumont. And we're off for the next part of the evening's entertainment. So far, he seems to be doing folk-rock standards; next song is Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit."

Now Playing: davecorbett Darwin at the Minor Fall Coffee Shop

2008-06-22T11:29:00.001-07:00

Concert Schedule

Minor Fall Coffee Shop This is one of Dave's favorite venues. A great place to meet

friends and make friends. Check out the whole sim. You'll find

all sorts of hidden treasures. Orb Thursday has done an

amazing job in the creation of this SIM. Dave plays at Minor

Fall every Sunday at 11 am slt.

davecorbett seems like a really engaging performer - he's only played one song but is already an engaging artist. He's involved with a big Amnesty International fundraiser.

I'm over to the right, in the purple hair. This kind of concert photography doesn't mess with the performer or disrupt the concert. I like that - it's not possible in real life. Technorati Tags: Second Life

More Live Music Plz

2008-06-21T15:40:00.001-07:00

I spend a lot of time on Second Life looking for and listening to live music... sometimes that's all I'm really interested in doing. I'm listening to a performer now called Niko Donburi, who's billed as "The Weird Al of Second Life." Pretty good stuff, actually.

UPDATE: using a new gadget called "ScribeFire." It's pretty nifty and light for use on a computer where I don't have a third-party editor for my various blogs.

UPDATE II: Live music radio from Second Life: SL Live Radio

Niko Donburi's website here. And he has very good taste in design at his blog here

UPDATE III: this gadget is really, really awesome. I'll continue playing with it and perhaps use it for other blogs.