do you think, do you think that they notice? (part CX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CIX.)

Artifact recovered from Gray Area data files:



Margin note: rational vectors of protection, eroded by the Blight.

FILE ENDS

(Continued in part CXI.)

there's a lot of trouble lately (part LXXI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXX. My gods, everything queued for today, WHYYYYYY...)

"My gods," Emilly said. "Everyone's taking potshots at the poor thing, it's going to get a complex."

"So sorry," Deebs called out over her shoulder.

"So, there's a round stone circle behind you..." She and Justine watched as Deebs rapidly walked away. "Or...she could walk..." She shakes her head. "Well, I'm going by port circle."

She arrived on the rift circle pad, half a floor below the tower room, taking the stairs quickly. Deebs looked up as she opened the door.

"...Not sure how selective this will be..."

Emilly peered as Deebs unleashed bolt after bolt from the energy bow. "I'm not sure it's doing more than cracking the dome..." Which was worrying in itself.

"Nor I." Deebs furrowed her brow. "Hhh..."

Emilly looked closer. "And it's still able to push out, here and there...Eep. That's not good."

Deebs thought a moment. "What if an irresistible force...Let me see if I can shove it down the wormhole..."

"Okay," Emilly said, then "What??"

"More...power...TO it..." The golden woman seemed to brace herself, gritting her teeth.

Was the energy in the bolts coming from her, Emilly wondered.

"Urrmffff...." Deebs finally said, dropping the bow. "Not enough Ens in the local aether streams."

Emilly thought. "Localized wormhole, or--do you mean the rift behind me?"

"Localized wormhole," Deebs murmured, but looked up at the shimmering rift.

Emilly bent forward, fretting as she saw the dome rise a tad, more of the tentacles pushing under it.

"Given the absolute lack of response to blasts into the big rift, I doubt I can jam the rift closed with this shield," Deebs muttered.

Emilly nodded, thinking. "Mmhmm..."

"Let me nudge it..."

Emilly lookd up. "Does the color change mean anything?"

"Umffff," Deebs groaned. "Just...eddies...in...the local...streams..."

Emilly blinked. "Wait. You're trying to move the rift to IT??"

Deebs shook her head. "More...no...I--"

Emilly's eyebrows shot up as the thing hissed loudly and phased through the floor.

"ACK--"

"I thought to look and see if I could collapse the rift into itself--" Deebs said, turning.

Emilly looked around wildly. "Where--"

"Yes, where indeed?" Deebs mused. She looked up. "Not up there--"

"Ah, hell--and not anywhere here..." She pulled out the hand unit again, setting the drone for local scan. "GAH--" she shouted. "Found it--" She bolted out of the tower room, heading down the stairs.

Deebs sighed. "We're going to need that bigger gun..."

Deebs reached the doors to the science lab just as she flung them open. The multiple-tentacled thing hissed at them.

"Ahem," said Deebs.

"All right," said Emilly. "It doesn't seem to be moving much. Maybe we can just lock the doors and see what we have." She reared back as it reached out, slamming the doors in her face. She opened them again.

"What is it trying to do with the color shifts, blend in?!"

Deebs shrugged. "Possibly."

Emilly watched Justine walk down the stairs. "Justine, be careful!"

"What's going on? Is--there something in the lab? I--I was just in there!"

Emilly grimaced. "Damn thing phased under the dome. Through the floor."

Deebs added helpfully, "M. Tentacles is locked in the lab."

Justine blinked. "Mother[F**KER]."

"Not averse to that, but not now," Deebs said. Both women turned to look at her.

"Focus."

Emilly blinked. "Right. I've never seen anything like that. And it attacked you, Justine?"

Justine nondded. "Yeah. upstairs. Are--you sure this is the same one? Have you been up there? And..." She paused, fidgeting. "I have seen somethng like this before."

"Oh?" Emilly asked. "Where?"

"We were just there, trying to whack it..." Deebs said. "And then trying to implode the rift with the full Shield Protokol."

Justine looked down, whispering. "In the cargo bay of the Prometheus. Supposedly sealed in."

Deebs stared at her. "...Oh. Glorious."

Emilly stared at the door, thinking. "Yeah...I think things were more or less in place until she hit the rift--" Then she paused. "Void stars, the room-filling pod of tentacles?? Or--the other one?"

Deebs shrugged. "No sae sealed, then."

Justine looked at her feet. "The grabby one."

"Oof," Emilly said. "Great. Now we have our OWN grabby one. Perfect."

Deebs looked sympathetic. "Well...now what? I left the samovar elsewhere."

"Samovar?" Justine asked. "We're thinking of coffee now?"

Meanwhile, Emilly was ticking fingers off on one hand. "Your laser pistol took out one earlier, the Martian flyer took out one. The Prometheus' solid plasma bolts took out two."

Deebs nodded. "Surely."

"Can I peek into the lab?" Justine asked.

Emilly frowned. "I thought energy blasts WORKED--" She looked up. "Sure..."

Justine opened the door and grimaced. "Oh, [f*ck]...Yep, yep, that's the one..."

"Let me change up a bit," Deebs said.

Emilly heard the hum of a comm channel opening. "Duchess...question..." she heard the Duke say. "The dark carnival...can it appear in spring?"

Emilly stopped breathing. What??

"Shields," Deebs said, re-engaging them. She positioned the new weapon and fired.

"What was--" Emilly began, then yelled in frustration as the doors slammed shut once more. "Stop closing the doors, you stupid thing!"

"Tightly focused bolts," Deebs murmured.

Emilly watched the tentacles turn red. "Is it just me? It looks--angry--"

"Emilly, keep opening that door," Justine said. "I'll prop it."

Emilly pushed hard on the door. "It's holding it shut!" She pushed harder, and with a crash, the door flew open. "There it goes. Damnable thing..."

Justine nodded. "Got it--" She tapped something on her hand unit, and the door folded back and stuck open. "That was...hard..."

Deebs began to visibly sweat, her arms shaking. Emilly watched the thing disappear, running forward to make sure.

"Yay!" Justine said."

Deebs shrugged. "Yay, or did it phase?"

"Oh, [f*ck]..."

Emilly stepped where the monster had been in the lab. "I have no idea. What's under here?"

Justine turned to leave. "I'm going to check downstairs!" She thought for a moment. "The arcana library?"

Suddenly a tentacle wrapped around Emilly's ankles. She felt dizzy. Then she felt herself falling through the floor.

"AAAAAAH--" Emilly yelled. "Pulling me through the--flrm..." She coughed as she was pulled through brick and mortar, through a somewhat nauseating spinning energy field in a cage, she could only assume part of what powered Steam, and then fell through the ceiling onto one of the leather library chairs while the thing hissed and reached for her. She half climbed over, half fell over the back of the chair, scooting back, and falling to her knees.

Justine ran in to find her blinking on the floor. She looked up.

"I didn't think *I'D* phase WITH it!"

Justine threw up her hands. "[F*ck]!"

"Though, I can now inform you, part of the power generator to the house? Is between the library and the science lab, so....it dragged us both through that--"

Justine blinked at her. "Okay..."

"Plus side, being here?" Emilly stood, brushing off her dress. "That is a rug, but it's also an active holding circle, just in case." Though she wasn't entirely sure it was tentacle-monster-proof.

Deebs walked in, shaking her head. "MOAR power to you, beastie." She pulled out a projectile gun and rapidly fired into it while it howled in a thin, unearthly voice.

"Well, the one in the tower didn't hold it!" Justine yelled.

"Okay," Emilly said. "Solid bolts don't work, the energy bow didn't, I do NOT want the Prometheus to arm and fire into the house--what's--oh dear--"

There was a burst of light. Justine covered her eyes.

"Oh [f*ck]!"

"What--was--that?" Emilly asked. "And did it go somewhere ELSE??"

(Continued in part LXXII.)

I always seem to wind up where I'm meant to be (part LVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LV. Written by Lina Starscale, with edits.)

The build-up of Higgs-Boson particles was not only causing registered and growing anomalies near the ground, but anomalous behavior around the Prometheus. The med lab was fairly quiet until a quantum wave passed through space, interacting with the stabilized rift, causing light turbulence and some brief timeslip effects...

Several days ago...

On her way to the kitchen to fetch coffee for the researchers, Lina suddenly staggered, dizzy. Everything went dark. When she woke up, she found herself not in the Gearhaven kitchen, but in a very large bed. And wearing some slip of red satin that barely came to her hips!

"What the hell?" she cried out, and from the shadows, a sensual male voice said "Why, yes. Yes, you are."

She picked up the nearest thing as a weapon, grimacing when it turned out to be a pillow. A light in the corner slowly lit, revealing a dark-haired man with dancing eyes, a sardonic grin, dressed in a finely tailored red broadcloth suit. He seemed to be memorizing her, his eyes traveling up and down her form.

"Who are you and where the hell am I?!" she yelled.

He smiled, as if pleased. "Funny girl."

She repeated herself, louder, and watched his face grow concerned. And then he sighed.



"Did the two incompetents harm you, dear? I'll have them filleted."

When she just blinked, dumbfounded, he leaned forward, setting the glass of rich amber liquid aside.

"Did they hit your head? Rob your memory of...here?" He gestured to the room at large. "Of me?"

"What in the name of the Verse are you talking about?! And where are my clothes?"

He sighed. "My dear, you're quite safe, I assure you. Safe, and well, and your clothes are being cleaned, though...from your apparent state of mind...I fear you may not trust the help I offer by doing something as simple as that."

She leapt up, assuming a fighting stance. "Sir...who in the HELL are you? Why am I here?"

He placed an elegant hand on his chest. "My dear, have you forgotten me? Your dear uncle?"

"What? What are you saying??"

He stood as well, dark eyes flashing with just a trace of red. "Lina...it's me. Lucifer Morningstar? Or as you always used to call me, 'Uncle Lu'?"

Lina's eyes opened wide. "No...no, no, I NEVER met you...I've never been to Hell!"

He tsked in disapproval. "Lina, what are you saying? You were born here."

She reeled back, and the room went dark. Two days later she sat bolt upright--in her own bed. To wake up in her own home, when she'd been in that bed--with that man--and moving through Gearhaven's halls before that...It was jarring, to say the least.

Was it all a dream? Lina thought. Did I hallucinate the whole thing?? She thought frantically, and her eyes landed on two objects on the bedside table. A book, and a letter.

The letter was addressed to her in an elegant dark script, signed "From your Uncle Lu". And the book...She picked it up, inhaling. The cover said The Diary of Lina Starscale.

Lina blinked. I have a last name, she thought. Her blood ran cold. And then the alarm bells went off.

"Gearhaven is under attack!" said a female voice.

"Not on my watch," she growled. She tapped her wrist computer. "Alice!"

"Yes, mistress?" said the same female voice.

"Armor mode one!"

"Yes, madam."

"Next stop Gearhaven!"

The Higgs-Boson particles drifted on, obscuring the past again...

(Continued in part LVII.)

hiss goes the radio, vicious, malicious, a voice we know (part XXI)

(Roleplay entry, a'course. Continued from part XX.)

She was just waking up when her comm went off. "Hey, love," she heard. "Got a minute? Can you drop by the docks?"

She agreed and tapped the device to end the call when shock flooded through her, pulling her upright out of bed. The Duke was back?!

When she got to the docks, she stumbled, her tail failing to help her with balance, and she only recovered when she fetched against a steel-plated curve, studded with rivets. What on earth...She stepped back and tilted her now human head, very confused. She'd seen historical pictures from the second world war of German-designed circular craft, and...this certainly seemed to fit.

She followed the curve around to an inset door on the other side, and the small metal ramp leading in, following it up to the second deck, her shoes ringing on the riveted floor. And there he was.



She just stared at him for several moments. Perfectly relaxed, gearing up for a flight, she thought. Standing there in his Napoleonic best, burnished gold fur gleaming under the lights.



"Where did you find this?" she asked. She looked down. And what on earth was she wearing...?

The ship lifted off and tilted alarmingly. The Duke stayed relatively steady; she fought not to fall down. "What do you mean?" he asked, distracted.

What?



She stepped closer to the central panel. Good thing she knew how to walk in ballet heels, though it was more difficult on the ringing metal surface. She watched his hands move confidently over the switches.

"Why are the buttons labeled in German?" she asked.

"What do you mean, love?"



The ship tilted again before it evened out, and she slid closer to one of the walls. She looked up at a fuse panel, confused again.

"This one's labeled in kanji," she murmured. He looked over at her briefly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. He sounded concerned.



She felt dizzy again as the craft tilted in the opposite direction. "Are we going up or down?" she asked. "I think down..."



She heard the splash of water against the metal hull. Sparks began to fly from a side panel. Water filled the chamber. She looked over at the Duke.

"We're flooding!"

The Duke just looked puzzled. "Well, that's not supposed to happen..."

She watched as he sank calmly beneath the rising water, and when it rose to her, she kicked out from the wall, searching for the exit, searching for him...and finding neither. There was a swirl of dark water and she lost track of direction for a moment, and then surfaced, gasping.

She was floating in the bay of Gearhaven. She had fur again. What in all the hells had just happened...

Midway between panic and exhilaration, she swam for shore, ran to the marble bathroom in Steam for a towel, and then ran for the shuttle she hoped was still in the garden. She touched her ear to send a signal to Justine.

"Duchess?" she heard. "What--"

"What do you know about quantum ghosts?"

There was a pause. "I've been doing some research into quantum states, actually..." Justine said slowly, and she just nodded, strapping into the shuttle chair and programming in coordinates. "Meet me on Tannhäuser!" she said. "I may have a theory!"

(Continued in part XXII.)

I’ve seen your junkyards of tractors and barbed wire

A short, maniacal snippet.

[21:26] Exxxxxxxx Pxxxxx: Why bother with developing nuclear weapons when a sufficient quantity of cavorite excited in a steam-generator powered magnetic field can blow the entire planet's atmosphere right off? It is almost like some of the country are not even trying with their doomsday machines.
[21:26] Dxxxxxx Sxxxx: yea if you are gonna be evil, have some style, seriously
[21:27] Exxxxxxxx Pxxxxx: I must give the current Tsar credit there. He seems a bit of a thuggish chap, but he does do doomsday machines better than the rest.
[21:27] Exxxxxxxx Pxxxxx: A super-cavitating doomsday tsunami generating torpedo is very steampunk.
[21:28] Dxxxxxx Sxxxx: seeing that... would be worth the price of admission! (probably death, but yea)
[21:29] Dxxxxxx Sxxxx: a more targeted weapon might be better... just think if you had a weapon that slowed down wifi 10% per day. All millennials would kill themselves in a week

Sadly, I can wholeheartedly agree with this. I moved into a new place once, and it was fourteen days before cable--and internet with it--was established. I nearly went mad inside those empty walls, with only unpacking and sleeping to do.

(Though to be fair, I also acquired some virus just before moving in, so in those fourteen days, I was also terribly sick, which didn't help. Amusingly, the last day we spent moving out of that place, a wasp stung me, so for several days after we left that house, I was also sick and feverish. Life is synchronous.)


In the meantime, the farm at Nythorvaldshavn, named Kildal Indre, is coming along very nicely.

This is the worship altar, for rituals that center on farming, fertility, basic household rituals--it's not a fancy, formal ritual space, and it's not intended to be.



An overview of the farm behind the altar area, showing some of the livestock.



The sheep and cow pens.



Finally, there's a small apple orchard, and two small homes--one for the farm girls caring for the farm, and the other rigged for storing and making cheeses, cream and butter, and general cooking.

Nythorvaldshavn is also shaping up, but it's all part and parcel of things--as the sim grows, as it gets more lived in, it starts to feel more natural. Just like the farm--it started out as just a flat green plain with crops. Now, it's a working farm--outbuildings, orchards, crops to tend, animals to milk, shear, and feed. Structures taking the place of simplicity. All things grow in this way.

you are the silence in between what I thought and what I said

And another of the clip post variety--I'm building up far too many links and just leaving the tabs open until I get around to mentioning them here. This really needs to stop.

First up is a treat for horror fans--if you're a fan of the genre as a whole, you'll understand the deep frustration involved in feeling like there's been no really good horror films released in a while, just tepid, insipid remakes or sequels, neither doing the originals justice. This may help with that--it's a list of twenty-five under-appreciated films, with various takes on horror as a theme. Some are amusing, some are gory, some are bizarre, a few are outright bleak and nihilistic--but I guarantee you'll find something you'll treasure on that list, if you give them a chance.

My personal recommendations:

• Darkness: Evocative, subtle, unnerving, and it works on more than one level--the over-arching occult trope playing well into the concept of the haunted house, the haunted family, and everyday standard familial disintegration.
• The Woods: Gorgeously filmed period piece about coming of age, with all its myriad horrors--with, of course, grace notes of insanity, haunting, paranoia and the darkness at the heart of old forests.
• $la$herS: Don't let the bargain-basement, reality-TV show concept put you off. While everything about this is low-budget, and there's not one actor you'll recognize, start to finish, the entire film is so damned earnest--and well-done--you really won't care. Add the further unsettling realization that at this point, we're really not far from the future posited in this 2001 film.
• Pontypool: Slow-paced to the point of causing shivers on its own, when this little gem picks up, it picks UP--right into a wall of razorblades and hooks. While that description may seem to imply massive gore, there's really not much; the main strength of this is in its bizarre, surreal linking theme: language, after all, is the virus passed over the airwaves.

While we're on the horror kick, Silent Hill as a concept has now spawned multiple games, mini-games within those games, two feature films, and a host of soundtracks in full release (as well as numerous limited editions). For some reason, one of the most haunting monsters from Silent Hill never had her own action figure...until now.

Personally, I think her head looks too much like a puppy whose features have been rather thoroughly erased, but she's excellently done. Even with the strange puppy symbolism, she remains evocative, disturbing, and compelling.

And still creepy.

(For anyone who's wondering still, this is why the nurses are creepy. This might also help, as well as one of the best fan tributes from the Anime Boston convention in 2007. Note that all of those reference horror games, along with the original action figure mention, but hey, we were talking about horror beforehand anyway.)

Jumping from horror to media in general, have a ten-year retrospective of Firefly. You're welcome.

Oh, so she really is a fake geek girl. Yeah, fine, I can deal with that. But nobody else gets a pass using that term.

Recently, Mr. Allen and I went through an inordinately long Let's Play series for something called "Deadly Premonition" (it starts here if anyone's interested, but I'll warn you now: it goes on for forty-sevenparts, most clocking in at either half an hour or a full hour in length), by a new LPer (to us, anyway) who goes by "supergreatfriend". Mostly, it's a long, rambling, Japanese video game that is oddly paying tribute to Twin Peaks (Twin Peaks having found even greater popularity in Japan than in the US). If you're unclear on the concept of the Let's Play video trope, think of it as watching a friend play video games. You're not actually playing, but you can get enjoyment out of watching someone else play. (Sometimes even if they play badly, and yes, while that video makes me giggle, it also comes with a HEAVY language warning.)

After all that, though, I found I'd actually developed some mild interest in the game, as bizarre as it was, so I went looking for more information. The first thing I tracked down was also the most hysterical, so I am now sharing that review with you, because it's just too funny not to spread around.

Some particularly beautiful lines from that review:

• "The game starts off simple enough: you step into the shoes of FBI Special Agent Francis York, an astute and intelligent man who chooses to only investigate homicides involving red plant seeds. Oh yeah, and he can also tell the future by looking into a cup of coffee. And he talks to invisible, possibly imaginary characters nobody else can see. And he eats raw potatoes, sleeps on a mattress in the middle of a cemetery, and stores giant fish inside his suit. Let me take this opportunity to point out I am not making any of this up."
• "Like any responsible FBI Agent concerned with tree-related justice, Agent York approaches the small town around midnight, driving his muscle car through pouring rain while simultaneously talking on his cellphone, listening to music, looking at a laptop, and smoking a cigarette."
• "A definite lowlight of 'Deadly Premonition', the combat missions require you to walk through countless identical hallways killing countless identical zombies while picking up valuable items such as 'country ham' and 'sugar donuts'. These enemies attack you by either walking backwards and sticking their hand in your mouth, or walking forwards and hugging you until you decide to die."
• "During the murder investigation (and lack thereof), you'll find yourself in very odd situations punctuated by Agent York's equally odd demeanor. This is where the game absolutely shines; the surreal interaction between York and the townsfolk (as well as the interaction between York and himself) can only be described as a work of art. In a town where crimes can be solved by shooting bird nests with shotguns, trees drop severed hands that can be used as doorknobs, and countless giant dogs fall out of the sky at midnight, the choice to behave illogically is simply...logical." 

Ah, yes, Japan. You either understand American culture in totally realistic ways (making me scared of my country), or you miss understanding American culture in a way that's actually breathtakingly surreal (making me scared of Japan, but in awe of your cognitive skills). Never change.

In other news--I don't watch a lot of Jim Sterling's output, mainly because he makes my elitist snobbery look like Rebecca-of-Sunnybrook-Farm-level philanthropy. On occasion, this is a shame, because every once in a while, something rolls across my dash like this, which is a precise diatribe against the sort of gamers who complain about the OTHER sort of gamers, when these additions to "their" games do not change their gameplay in the least.

Towards the end, he also makes a very subtle and brief jibe towards people who fear gay marriage because it will somehow impact their "real" marriages...to which I have to say, first, brilliant, Mr. Sterling, and second, if people protesting this are really so easily swayed from their heterosexuality that they would be influenced by hearing about someone else's marriage...well, maybe they shouldn't be married, honestly. Maybe they should just stay at home wrapped in a blanket with a warm bottle of milk nearby.

Forever.

I'm thinking this is getting officially longish, so let me wrap up with a technological advance first heard on Gizmodo. This is both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Let me explain the precise advance.

A group of scientists a couple of years ago started trying to teach a computer basic comprehension skills by giving it full access to Google Image Search and YouTube. Essentially, what they wanted was a computer who could be told one basic concept--"apple", say--and would access images and videos until it came across a representative fruit. It might not be an apple, precisely--it might be a pear, or a coconut cracked in half on a beach, or seven frantic little sausages wondering how to fix their submarine--but there would be some relationship between "fruit" and "consumable food".

What they got wasn't exactly that, but it was even more amusing. Their computer, when fed any basic concept, would find something reasonably approximating, register the find...then go off and watch Youtube videos of cats.

Totally not kidding. That's what happened.

So, another group of scientists started thinking. If we can teach a computer to associate one thing with another approximate thing...what if we remove the middleman? This is what they did: they created a database comprised of literally millions of media slices--some just various colors all the way up to microfragments of an original moving image. Then they set up a group of experiments. This was their result.

So why is this so cool? Think about the possibilities. In the future, I could plug into one of these machines, and think at the receiver. The receiver would access its database and translate what I sent into understandable data. That data would then be re-translated to a display screen where an image that was somewhat close, but not exact, would display.

Oh, sure, it's not that realistic now, you say, but wait. Wait until someone gets the bright idea to film their nightmares, and then make horror films based on them. This will change the WORLD.

I feel it like a wave of love, come and cover me

It's getting towards another span of time where I go through my tags and decide whether or not to delete the tags that are only tied to one entry. I haven't done this in about a year, though. It may take some time.

In the meantime, the latest snapshot (think of Minecraft snapshots as release candidates for the game; they're the quickest way to test new features) features iron golems. Iron golems are somewhat akin to snowmen--you put down two snow blocks, and a pumpkin, you get a snowman. If you put down two iron blocks, and place a pumpkin on top, you get an iron golem.

Snowmen pretty much wander around aimlessly, making the ground ice over and irritating enemy mobs around them. That's all they really do. They're fun to make--especially if you're in a snow biome--but they're not very effective.

Iron golems, on the other hand, defend villages. They also give roses to villagers they saved, so that's doubly cool. So what could possibly go wrong?

Well, there's now at least two ways that folks have discovered to farm the defenders into nonexistence. For what? Well, if you set up the traps right, a nearly endless supply of iron.

I don't actually think this was what Jens had in mind for this development, how'ver...

In more Minecraft news, THE MELON GOD DEMANDS SACRIFICES! Bring him melons! Or suffer his explosive wrath!

Also in the latest snapshot, something else that may well come to the game: oppositely-rotated staircases. Sure, we're still limited on the materials we can make staircase blocks from, but I don't care--architecturally speaking, they're going to make some really, really pretty builds.

In non-Minecraft news, Japan says they're going to have a space elevator by 2050. Whether or not it works, I am really, really excited by this. (And vaguely reminded of the "skyhook" concept in Robert Heinlein's "Friday" book.)

Also from Gizmodo, you might want to check if the FBI will shut off your internet on March 8th. Not kidding. There's a link there and it's dead easy, it's just clicking a button and seeing if the background turns red or green.

You want green. You also want to do this. Because the FBI's fairly serious about cutting off access.

And from Macworld comes an article on how many really ancient computers are still in operation around the US. The list is kind of scary. And I thought the catputer was bad for having 2006-era parts.

I am both astounded and worried at the potential involved in the new super-glue that's been developed from flesh-eating bacteria. For one, flesh-eating bacteria, that cannot be a good idea. But for two, this could become a non-invasive way to seal wounds, repair bones, reduce the need for invasive sutures...and that's just the human-based uses that come to mind.

And now all the recent prim breast posts have their own blog, and all new entries that are devoted just to that topic are going to be parked there as well. Still no real idea why--maybe I'm just that bored in SL at present--it's a continuing interest, but it is. And those gentles who raised the point with me are right--this really isn't an Adult-rated blog, for the most part, and it's not really designed to be.

Despite former jobs in the past.

So, demos, testing, outfits, if I actually get it together enough to start another business, future hunts, and anything I do involving primwork and employment (if I do)--it'll all be over there. Feel free to wander over if you feel like it, but--while I promise I'll do my best to stay clothed--one or two not-quite-clothed photos may emerge. (One, in fact, this week.)

Finally, this is one of the most baffling songs I've ever heard, this is one of the most innovative table designs I've ever seen, and a seamstress suing Facebook found out that they're not nice people. Gosh, what a shock. That sort of alarming naïveté really requires her to lay down for a few weeks, rethink her life experiences to date.

make the same mistake, I'll be here all night

Was Megaupload targeted simply for the actual criminal acts key members performed, or was it also to stop them from launching music and movie sharing services later this year? I don't know if we'll ever know for sure, but it's intriguing that they'd started to make announcements on what was coming--and soon after, were indicted and shut down.

Keep in mind that in the wake of Megaupload shutdown, both FileSonic and Uploaded.to have closed down access from American accounts. FileSonic has gone one step further and declared that users now can only download items they have personally uploaded--so no sharing large videos with family or sending big-packet extraps to fellow law partners, for instance.

And I really don't think they'll be the only closures or changes in services. I think this entire thing is going to end up having a very isolating effect on American media and media sharing--legal or not.

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from that legal battle, ocean waters are turning into froth. Cappuccino-colored froth. Ecological changes in our oceans, you say? Surely you jest.

And have I mentioned scientists are currently trying to prove if multiple universes exist? That's just wild. (And what will such proof, if we get it, do once it percolates fully into the culture?)

From the so-not-safe-for-work department, the newest edition of sexy fairytale pinups. There's a lot of Ariel, a rather curvaceous Elphaba, a Cinderella straining at the seams, and a rather more adult than anticipated Wendy, from Peter Pan. (Among many, many others.)

And, though I rarely touch on religion in this blog, here's a disquieting link on why Biblical literalism can be a very bad thing, using as example the new American version (though with references to the original version, and the book) of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Finally, though this goes out only to one or two readers, Tom Banwell's now made a plague doctor mask. It's available both in brown, and in a "doctoral" white version with red lenses. (The white is less expensive because the design choice turned to rivets, not hand stitching, but either one will set you back a fair chunk of change.)

close enough to start a war

Artist Jan Voorman is patching the holes in the world--one Lego block at a time. He's calling this freeform art installation in and around Berlin's damaged walls "Dispatchwork". Fascinating concept.

And Julianna Santacruz Herrera, an artist working in Paris, is patching the potholes with yarn. Keen.

And someone's paired LED lamps with crystallized sugar to make power-efficient, muted light sources. Wonder what would happen if someone dyed the sugar bath? Think of all the candy colors you could get for your lights!

[05:31 PM] Lalinda Lovell: emilly did you hear about the elfclan/LL thing?
[05:32 PM] Emilly Orr: Uh-oh. No, what happened?
[05:33 PM] Lalinda Lovell: they said they were leaving sl on twitter, the ceo of LL saw it and offered them a 700 USD discount
[05:33 PM] Emilly Orr: Dang.
[05:34 PM] Emilly Orr: Now, Elf Clan or Ill Clan?
[05:35 PM] Lalinda Lovell: elf clan, they have 2000 members
[05:35 PM] Lalinda Lovell: they were leaving to go to inworldz, said they couldnt afford tier, and they got 2 free months of sim use now
[05:35 PM] Emilly Orr: Because Ill Clan did all their recent machinima promos.
[05:36 PM] Emilly Orr: Ah-ha. Key thunder, lightning, and the ratscrabble scratch of desperation.

For more information on the story, in the Elf Clan's own words, see their posting on the situation. It truly sounds as if they are taking this action not out of self-aggrandizing or drama, but because their members want them here. The upper management is swallowing a huge loss every month--and that's not okay, but that's tolerable (barely) because that's how roleplay sims go. But even knowing that, the current grid instability, the rash of invasive programming, the even larger rash of merchant and group closures all over the grid...all these things point inescapably to the fact that Second Life doesn't seem all that stable, once you're past the "refreshing and fun" intro experience.

And I do tend to agree with them...if Linden Labs don't change their policies, and reconfigure away from pure profit, and back to more customer service...they're going to lose more merchants, more estate owners, more sims, more of the society that draws people in...and we'll be left with a bunch of Residents who won't stay because there's nothing to do anymore.

Okay, enough sturm und drang, more Minecraft!

(from the Minecrafting album)

Aren't they cute? A happy dancing trio of slimes in front of a glowing lava pool. They wanted to get out of their little enclosure so badly...

(from the Minecrafting album)

And they went just mental when Fawkes and Hank got close! Sadly, this is the wrong image, and the right image was deleted in error. Oops.)

(from the Minecrafting album)

And I crept close enough to get footage of the big one...um...jiggling?

(from the Minecrafting album)

Back to the wildgrass mod...The reconfiguration didn't...exactly...work out.

(from the Minecrafting album)

Let me just say this. If you ever decide to run the wildgrass mod, and you enable the wildgrass mod provisions in the Painterly pack...for the love of all things, don't select wildflowers as your wild grass!

It's...not pretty.

Jesse with the long hair hangin' down

Ah, Analog Dog, how I love and loathe thee...

Don't get me wrong, I practically live in Maddy and Milli some days. But some of their stuph alphas in the extreme now, and just looks unflattering. It's a case by case basis whether they're my beloved, or I want them to die on fire covered in irritated scorpions.

[06:50 PM] Sphynx Soleil: oh wau... flexi demo box!

[06:51 PM] Emilly Orr: Weiiiird

I'm kind of using that as an intro to my photographer for the next dozen-plus entries, Sphynx Soliel. Because taking intensive pics on the netbook is the definition of no fun.

I swear, if I ever get into making hair, I am soooo cribbing that and making my demo sign flexi.

(Actually, that's not so much idea-stealing--my product boxes used to be flexi. Boxes. That were flexi. It was like staring at a Yule gift made of Jell-O.)

This is BAM! in Cocoa. She's either making it in much brighter colors, somewhere, or she's been watching waaaay too much Emeril.

[06:52 PM] Emilly Orr: This is just...mental

And then...Bliss. This is Bliss in copper, and...I'm weirdly tempted to get this one. I could do nothing in it but hang out underwater or upside-down in trees, but...it's just too damned strange not to own.

This is it from the front, and...

...this is Bliss from the back. Where it is just as strange.

And then we hit Seraphena. For some reason, this year is HUGE on two-part hair. (No, I have no idea why.) This was another one.

This is Seraphena (with the Sera Shoulder addition) in Mahogany, from the back.

And then things start getting odd. This is a shot from the side...

And a shot of the chin-clipping. I'd say this is a great pic hair, still photography hair, but it doesn't handle movement at ALL. Still, it doesn't--even when clipping through the chin--clip through the shoulder, which is actually good.

Don't move, and you'll look posh. Move, and you look wonky. There's a lesson in that...

They can be found on Hair Fair 4.

twenty years, sinking slowly

Oh, this post is exquisitely devoted to too much caffeine. I really need to stop making a pot of coffee...and then drinking all of it. It makes me vibrate for hours.

The Ratemyava post is back up; and that, I'm fairly sure, is enough of that.

So the buzz today (on Twitter, at least) was all about privacy, and what expectations we should have for privacy, online. (Apparently, according to leaders at Apple, Google and Facebook...the only reason we'd have to prevent full access to every single detail of our lives, is that we're perverted criminals seeking to hide awful details.)

I can't speak to anyone else; but while there are things in my life that are well within the province of the traditional open book, there are things (exactly where I live, things that tie to my actual real name, my phone number, my browsing history, for example) that I do not want to, nor do I expect to, reveal in toto to the world. Do I think anything I'm doing is morally, ethically, or technologically wrong? No. But these things should be my choice to reveal; not Google's, not Apple's, and most certainly not Facebook's.

In more Apple news, the company is researching how to bring us several steps closer to the future. Personally, I'm looking forward to the heads-up display. Because a hop, skip and jump past that are headjacks!

....at least, I'm fairly sure. At some point. There will be.

Though one wonders when one can blink and access the internet, what privacy issues we'll be dealing with then.

Moving on...

Just as an aside...I don't intend to pull my blog into Solace Beach land sales, but I have to share this one...

Meet Parcel #1594. It's called Annabel Lee, and is currently tropical, though for L$8000 per week rental, I'm fairly sure it could be made any terrain style desired. For that fee, you get 65,504 square meters, and a grand total of 3,746 prims.

Someone needs to pick that up, or toss me L$8000 per week so I can! Because it's amazing, and it's an island, and it's for sale...and Miss Ayesha Lytton, who owns Solace Beach? Gets the reference, because that posting starts out, "Build your own kingdom by the sea on this beautiful sim."

And you really could. You really, really could.

I am so in the wrong tax bracket, I know--even ditching my Winterfell isle and Morgaine wouldn't put me towards renting one-third of that place. But still. Briefly, I indulged a little dream....which is also part of why I'm telling people about it here. Who knows? Someone may think it's perfect!

That is the hope, anyway, and we move on again.

Article on neurochemistry and response bears some looking at again, despite being written in 2009: "It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger."

It is a valid question--just why are placebo effects displacing actual medication? What does that mean for human brains in the future?

Peter Serafinowicz has an excellent article up on Gizmodo about the relative ease of downloading versus buying--the triumph of the digital over the physical, in one sense. (Though I did and do adore his description of iTunes as 'better than free', because it's cheap, it's easier to download, and subsequently access, and it's easy to upload to new media after initial purchase.)

I really think if more sites made it so easy, there'd be more sales, and I don't think that's just a pipe dream. A lot of internet music sites went to pricing their songs anywhere from twenty-five cents to ninety-nine cents per tune--those places are selling songs legally, by and large. And even big bands who sell their own CDs are learning to change levels of buy-in--for example, on OKGo's site, you can buy just the songs alone for nine dollars, songs on a physical CD for ten plus shipping, or get an all-in-one package of t-shirt, tour poster, behind-the-scenes video diary, plus the songs and all related bonus materials, for something like two hundred and fifty.

Some artists have gone beyond that--I believe it was Evelyn Evelyn who offered dinner on the moon with Evelyn Evelyn for thirteen million dollars. That's probably only within reach of one collector...maybe.

"Frank Zappa once said that Communism could never work because people like to own stuff. I felt a similar way about CDs when music began to arrive in MP3 form. Now, my music happily resides in my iTunes library, spread over various computers and iPods."

And while Serafinowicz--and Frank Zappa--are right, there is a definite feeling of ownership of virtual goods. Just ask the couple currently suing Second Life because the Labs canceled their virtual accounts, thus deleting their access to all their digital worldly goods, plus their digitized lands. All bought with real money, of course, which they're claiming as a classic bait-and-switch, and the Labs are saying was no big deal, because anyone should have understood their use of the phrase "own your own virtual land" was intended as a metaphor.

(I'll go out on the limb and assume that metaphor translates as, "Give us all your money and don't ever complain. Thank you, here's a Linden home.")

Another very relevant (I think) passage from the article:

I recently directed the music video for Hot Chip's "I Feel Better". Contractually, the video had to be hosted on EMI's official YouTube channel, which disabled non-UK users from viewing it, limiting its audience by around 80%. Frustrated, I put it up on my own YouTube channel with no region restrictions, and at time of writing is just shy of a million views. EMI then remotely disabled embedding on my version, thereby limiting its audience again. If you're in the business of promoting a band, why would you want to stop people watching their promotional video?

That's what I have forever wondered. Does it prevent downloading that video? No, people will just find a way around that. Does it prevent new ears hearing your band's music, though? And that answer is absolutely, so why would a music company ever want to restrict access?

There's also something of a buzz behind Kathy Sierra today, who's not only closed her Twitter account, but also stopped updating her blog. It is a shame--she was clever, bright, and funny. She will be missed, at least until we figure out why she's folded up shop. Then there will likely be mass screaming.

Speaking of mass screaming, I realize the point of the art of Francois Robert is to reinforce that violence is bad, but...it's just so pretty.

And this? Cutest. Cover. EVER. (Save for Scala's "I Touch Myself", of course.)

she will never learn your tranquility, she will never learn to let things slide off her

Zombie haiku!

Though some of the best ones are found in the comments. Among my favorites:

From Micheal0559:

Nothing hurts me now
Normally the screwdriver
wouldn't have gone there

You are so lucky
I cannot remember
How to use doorknobs

From IrmaCerrutti:

To express oneself
In seventeen syllables
Is very diffic.

From goverlord:

Recent fallen dead
Should not climb escalators
Zombies are clumsy

From Garth432 (seriously, what IS it with people with numbers in their names??) comes a triptych:

Endless Zombie hoard
groping hands and soulless eyes
We've run out of shells

Hiding in alley
Flare gun goes off by mistake
Oh no they see us

Blaghurauhuwaugh
Hurughwhua Grawwaghurugh
Blam Blam Blam Blam Dead

From technologysucks:

I stagger as they run
But beating hearts grow tired
I will never stop

And finally, from notanotherwizkid:

my dentist is dead
he was proud when I ate him
with my strong white teeth

Much, much fun.

In the meantime, in preparation for Thursday night hijinks, there is now a little crystal orb one can touch anytime at der Hut des Jaeger to find out Thursday's poetry theme:

(That's Mr. Liam Bean to the left in the top hat; proprietress Frau Annechen Lowey behind the bar; Mr. Zaltman Romanas in the dark suit, and new lady Jager Rozas Gartner to the right in the big picture, and Mad Lab Ale--green, on the left; Wolf Creek Feteasca Neagra in the middle; and WCW's Dominacynthe Absinthe in the darker green bottle to the right below the crystal orb in the small version.)

It is located behind the bar, on the upper shelf, right-hand side. (When standing in front of the bar.) Just touch it, or mouse over it, even, and you'll find out what next week's topic will be. Lovely little invention.

Finally, a brief mention of a new find: the Painted Lily. Womens' and mens' medieval fashions, plus flower wreathes, jewelry, and some period-appropriate hair. And this little gem in five colors:

It's L$500, and I wouldn't have purchased it before today, had I not sold that lovely little secondary bit of Morgaine. This is my celebratory impulse buy, and I will not lie to you, I used to have outfits very, very close to this RL (and am determined to have again!), only they were green and brown.

The Persian coat comes with jacket, pants, sculpted prim pants bits, flexible coat 'skirt' with flexible sash, flexible sleeves, turban with flexible ends, a face mask (to keep out those desert winds), and sculpted traditional shoes. A total of thirteen items.

I may even break my struggling-to-save-Lindens habits, and buy at least the purple, if not the purple and the cream. They really are amazingly well done, and they're the only styles like this I've found in recent travels.

And the face mask doesn't kill my whiskers! Yay!

It comes in blue, brown, buff, purple, and the grey I showed off, which Miss Meriman actually terms 'black'. They're very, very traditional in appearance, perfect for medieval and desert-land roleplay sims. Also jaunting about anywhere, I would assume...Don't be surprised if those of you who see me, see me around in this over the next week.

tell me how's the way to be, to evoke some empathy

A brief bit of RL in your SL coverage, but I guarantee you, if you like chocolate, you will love LuLu's.

They are boutique chocolate, they are decision chocolate--for their prices, you can buy a new book, or get a bar of their batch-crafted chocolate. You can go see a movie, or get a jar of chocolate. You can get a sample vial, plus shipping, of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Candy Butcher (if they ever decide to make another batch), or get a vial of LuLu's Pure Cacao Essence (to use as a perfume, or to flavor food--how cool is that?).

But. Consider: for what they charge, you get:

* organic chocolate bought only from fair trade farms
* wrapped in origami paper, can be used for art projects or wrapping other gifts
* wrapped then in paper made in ecologically sustainable ways, infused with wildflower seeds--to encourage people to plant the wrapper, over simply tossing it away in the trash.

A lot of thought went into this, and most of the chocolate bars hearken back to the original flavor of dark, hand-harvested, hand-crushed xocolātl, with a little added low-glycemic coconut sugar.

(In case that doesn't set your brain on fire? Coconut sugar--in moderation--can be consumed by diabetics because it won't spike their sugar levels. Yes, that means what you think it does.)

They are dedicated to being rarities, even in an industry surfeit with the rare and distinctive, using flavors as distant from each other as holy basil, waterlily and red cedar. They are, so far, only on the West Coast, but more than worth ordering to see if you'll become a fan.

MMORPG ponders virtual goods in the UK and the US. Interesting comparison.

A few days back, Miss Muse Carmona tipped me to what was put as an ongoing court case involving BMEzine.com and Greg Ricks, who apparently has a history of doing this kind of thing.

Now, at this date, they've finally gotten BME.com as a domain under their control, pursuant to this legal decision with the specifics of the case. And while this case proves out good uses of IP rights to guarantee consistency, I'm wondering why it's coming up now.

Something else that started out in Twitter, ended up on the blog: Data vs. Every Other Android. Fun article, and I'm amused by Data's sole loss--to Gort, because Gort could "destroy everything on a whim" and Data can't. Hee!

The Information Age blog covers Life 2.0, with a special emphasis on why Second Life is ideal for thinking outside the box. And I believe that; at the end of the day, that's my sole singular truth about SL.

Pity M Linden doesn't see it that way.

(If you haven't heard of the film, try their website--you can see teasers of the film's content, learn more about the production behind it, and read reviews. It is not, at least yet, available on DVD.)

There's an SL Register of Historic Places? Not officially; but this is a pretty comprehensive list of all major RL-themed historical builds, with emphasis on accuracy and history. Well worth the wandering time it will take to explore them all.

It's now February. Gear down and brace yourselves--SLRFL is coming. The trick to surviving RFL is remembering it could be worse. (Seriously: your dance had low attendance? The Regatta across the Kingdom of Sand fizzled? Your event didn't go quite as planned? Keep in mind we could always be at war again.) Things go live on the grid closer to March, but start saving your ha'pennies now, and decide what you want to support. (And yes, yes, rah rah rah to Caledonians, but it all goes to a good cause, and there's nothing wrong with supporting more international causes. Fighting any disease that takes so many lives is worth your time. Just don't go overboard and do everything.)

Sort of in the same vein--only not--are you tiring of your local Mad Scientist in Babbage, Caledon or Steelhead? It could be worse. To date I don't think anyone on the grid has experimented with sewing two avatars together, but I do note there has been a groundswell of studies all over on the causes of genetic mutation, as well as using avatars for live test fires of weapons.

I suppose it's a good thing that, by and large, avatars don't die, unless their guiding spirit does.

Focusing (no pun intended) again on RL manifestations, I present an unordered list of wild contact lenses. I remain amused that two of the creepiest contacts on that list feature Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty. (Though, can I track down where to buy either set of contacts? No, I could tell you where to buy a Hello Kitty vibrator faster. It's annoying.)

I will say that if bling eyes catch on in SL? I'm figuring out how to mute bling once and for all.

I ran across a mention of Dina Goldstein's Fallen Princesses series again, and I have to admit, the original criticism of the series still applies. Some of the photos--Jasmine and Ariel are the two that come to mind immediately--are startlingly relevant, now as they were when they were initially exhibited. But some of them just tragically fail. Why is Cinderella in a bar? Why is Belle under the knife? Snow White only makes sense if you take into account that she was a young girl living with seven dwarven men, but even so....It remains a compelling, but flawed photographic effort.

Finally, someone else addresses M Linden's social issue, regarding the acquisition of Avatars United, and Second Life in general. This is a point that cannot be emphasized enough, and it should penetrate with startling clarity: if SL is to make money--serious money--then SL needs to concentrate on things that people want to do.

And in Second Life? That is, in large part, look at cool things, listen to good music. Live music is a godsend that M Linden should celebrate, and I'm not the first, I'm not even the thousand and first, to say that. And digital art is so relevant, year after year--Second Life should be showcasing art, music, educational efforts, and why aren't they doing this?

What will save SL is not big corporate contracts, unless they're endorsing sims that people will like. What will save SL is not sequestering all the "naughty" people--who spent an amazing amount of money on naughty things--to a big empty wasteland separate from the rest of the grid. What will save SL, in the end, is art. Is music. Is making wonderful, beautiful spaces for people to gather--to listen, to learn, to appreciate all the creative potential that we have as avatars, as individuals.

Anything less will sink the company. Anything less is a goddamned waste of effort. Anything less is "Oh, yeah, whatever happened to Second Life, anyway?"

And no one wants that.