The Train Wreck Love Life

I'm starting to develop a severe issue with number-named residents. You know the ones I mean, the ones that set up their accounts to answer to "Julii69" or x09sevengirl90x" or some such. Or proevo69julian Adamski, the new resident I just banned off my property in Lunitarium. He's the first name on the new list. He flew up, banged himself several times against the structure--at which I told him to back off and stop violating my house--banged around several more times, then found a gap in the roofline (I'm still building said house) and darted inside. Whereupon he found himself upstairs in the mini-loft (also unfinished), couldn't figure out how to get down (it's called the connecting ramp, you knuckle-dragging idio--anyway), and jumped on a nearby poseball to attain the main floor. So I asked him why he was there. Nothing. No answer. I froze him in place and asked him again. Still no answer. So I bounced him. I mean, really, what would you do? It...

Rose, Rose, Rose Red Will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will, sire At thy will Fighting my own will, fighting my hands on the controls, fighting my way through. One more step, one more brush-stroke, one more stitch, one more prim. On to the next--next idea, next thought, next word, next project. I am ever most creative when I'm avoiding other things. A thousand years gone by Too late to wonder why I'm here alone If in my darkest hour She-rose that fell a flower-- I should have known... One step forward, no steps back. Stagnation better than retreat. Pushing when I can, resting when I can't, taking comfort in the smallest details. I live, I breathe, I keep moving. It's all I have. Limbo is burning. Rose, Rose, Rose Red Will I ever see thee wed? Only if you can capture me... Occupations I do not lack; time is more pressing. Incredible heat at my back drives me forward, even when I'm being called back to the once-grey, once-soft, once-empty. Finding t...

I no longer live in Rivula. Last night, Hank Rucker did two things I thought he'd never do: take every item back from Rivula, to list it on the open market; and join the Independent States of Caledon. This was where my house stood. This was where my first tree sprouted, my very first home on the grid was here. Rivula, southern continent, mainland--had been my home for two full years. Where Hank's wife stands (to my left), used to be the end of the lands Hank owned, and used to be my small portion of 512 home, rented from Jo Talamasca, back when she owned the bulk of Rivula and held it under Enigma, also the name of her club, and my second home away from home on the grid. Past Alexandra Rucker as we stand in the wasteland of Rivula, restored back to Linden defaults, all trace of our presence, our lives, our loves, our battles, erased--is where the original House of Rucker stood, with the black panel curtains and the coffins in the basement. Just to the right of where their ho...

Came across an interesting bit on the SL Forums in relation to the OpenSpace sim issue. A little thread called Please delete all post[s] advertising other Virtual Worlds . "Hello mods," Magikos Constantine starts off by saying, "please delete the forum posts that advertise other Virtual Worlds, I don't see how they are relevant to this discussion, and frankly watching those vultures post is kind of distracting." Fair enough, I suppose, but that's where it gets really interesting. Vye Graves registers a complaint: "LL is saying "What are you gonna do, leave? *snort*". Well, if they are daring us to leave, other options give us the resources to make that decision. This isn't just about openspaces for a lot of us. LL's disinterest in upgrading the appearance of avatars after this many years is one thing that annoys me. LL has worked themselves into a corner with SL. They will have a great deal of difficulty improving our experience WIT...

So yes, I admit, I left a comment on Baking Cupcakes blog. And was immediately castigated for it, and the owner closed comments. I expected this--the castigation, not the closing of comments--and it's not a surprising move. It did spur me to make additional comments on the topic, though, and especially from the comment I left on Miss Skinkie Winkler's post on the Nightflower Blooming blog. There's so much controversy right now, in so many areas, on freebies. And hunts. And what I'm hearing, over and over again, is that the owners are wrong to prevent people from using cheat sheets, tip lists, hunt locations; that the owners just don't understand how hard it is not to be able to find things, or not to have that much time to spend on the grid. For the first point, I just have to play the cold callous card--because there are ways to make people better hunters, and they're pretty simple, and if, after all that, you still can't find things...good gods, peop...

Vint Falken goes into what (first) life might be like if the Lindens ran things : * Health care, she says, would only be available for citizens filed under "Premium". Others might request health care, but they would never receive it, even if they managed to contact a doctor and explain the problem. * Government funding would be given to the developers of shiny new toys--new .mp3 players, for instance, or the ability to speak and have your voice heard over miles--but serious problems, things like patching the roads, Alzheimer's, neurological destabilization and visual difficulties (think, the way your head shakes spastically at times, or the way your cam zooms in and out rapidly until you're seasick staring at the screen), would be left to citizens to solve as best they could. Should cures for these issues happen to be found, she said, Linden Government would feel no great need, or hurry, to dispense them. * Birth rates would go up, generally a sign of a good, thrivi...

But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks nor made to court an amorous looking glass, I that am rudely stamped and want love's majesty to strut before a wanton ambling nymph, I that am curtailed of fair proportion, cheated of feature by dissembling nature deformed, unfinished, sent before my time into breathing world scarce half made up and so lamely and unfashionable that dogs do bark at me as I halt by them... Welcome to OSGrid . Shakespeare was talking about Richard III--or at least, the version he felt he could best sell to the mob on the sawdust--but I can't think but it fits. OSGrid itself feels half-finished, the guidebooks empty, and the default coding...well. Let's just say that had I known the default skin in which OSGrid's version of Em was clad, wasn't in the official library handed me by the operators...and that neither eyes nor hair actually exist , and will have to be imported in...well. I wouldn't have made the change, I really wouldn'...

Whilst waiting impatiently for the chair to cycle around to E for an especially vibrant J-pop styled Black Maria hair, Miss Linda Poplin dropped by. She is bruised, bloody, battered, there are skinned knees and bruised hips you don't see in this pic, she's got a bullet between her eyes, two black eyes and a split lip, and yes, those are drywall nails through her arms. Her store--called, unsurprisingly, Blood & Scars --is listed in her pics. I had to check it out. This place is...something. Stores in Second Life that contain things that creep me out are rare, and this place has a few. Miss Neome and I couldn't decide if the scalpel-version tic-tac-toe backwork or the words carved into bellies were more disturbing; but also, they have things which are just prime to own for my zombie collection of, err...bits and pieces. Like the stitched-all-over set, or the stitched finger gloves, or the eye scar... Useful. Creepy, undeniably, but...useful. There's a lot of th...

Farewell to all our Scottish fame Farewell our ancient glory Farewell even to our Scottish name Sae fam'd in martial story Doctor Oblensky's Clockspire Cove build is on fire as I write this. He is destroying everything he lovingly hand-crafted, because he refuses to hold an OpenSpace sim with the new restrictions, and cannot abide the new restrictions on the somewhat larger Homestead-class sim. (Aftermath shots can be seen here ; likely more will turn up in time.) Now Sark runs over the Solway sands And Tweed runs to the ocean To mark where England's province stands: Such a parcel of rogues in a nation! Miss Widdershins summed up the situation quite excellently ; Miss Ordinal Malaprop made another earlier post I feel is very worth a reading. Or a second reading, if you've already read it once. (I would also recommend reading once--or again--Miss Malaprop's Shouting into the Void post, as it contains succinct and excellent points.) What force or gile could not su...

Right before I drifted into limbo, I was sent a link to the 15 fps of Fame show, featuring designers inspired by Crimson Rezzable. If you've never been, do look it up--the show gives you a look at the place, inside and out, and it's just astoundingly gothic, start to finish. Most of the designs I really like, and I like that they're picking up both established designers, and up-and-coming fashion sorts as well. Most, if not all of these, are for sale... somewhere in Crimson Rezzable. (Your guess is as good as mine; they keep shifting things around!) This is going to give me nightmares. Blame Mr. Nix Sands for that link, btw--if he hadn't thrown it up in CalChat, I never would have known! The terror, the TERROR! In the meantime, Fuschia's Frocks, currently the secret lair of C.I.R.C.U.S . (Criminally IRresponsible Civil Unrest Society) held a party, to cover up the dastardly deed of...blowing Caledon to smithereens! (Mr. Equine McMillan arrives at the lair in ...

The latest bit of insanity on the OpenSpace controversy . Hitler explains Second Life . Miss Hypatia Callisto shares her opinion of the announcement on her blog. And Miss Ordinal Malaprop weighs in with her understanding of the issue . (It's based on M. Linden's latest post in the SL blog .) Why do I have problems with this? I've been trying to explain this to one of my loves, and we're very carefully trying not to argue about it. Tempers are friable around Caledon and parts of the rest of the grid, as well. But let me see if I can lay this out reasonably: (If you have problems reading this, do pull up the full-size version, but it's just a screen cap of the relevant FAQ quoted at the start of this entry.) All three of the new 'official' sims retain the same size. Setup fees seem as reasonable as they ever did. But that's where all semblance, in my mind, of reason and rationality stop. Prims on the newly reconfigured "OpenSpace" class sim...

Interesting entry on lighting for pics Miss Sphynx Soleil found for me. Sounds worth doing...maybe. (I still have dread of banana-yellow skies.) Let's talk economics for a moment. I've heard far too many people of late saying they're going to sell off their properties and walk away from Second Life. The whole "that'll teach 'em" attitude. I don't, in theory, disagree with the concept, but my big question is: where to? Where is enough like Second Life, without being Second Life, to compete? Worlds like There , VMTV and a host of others just don't live up to the hype. Many flee to World of Warcraft , but it lacks much in the way of user-supported content, free action, plus has a subscription fee just to walk in the door; something Second Life (premium accounts and tier payments aside) doesn't have. ( City of Heroes and City of Villains are much the same way; you have to pay to get in, and keep paying if you want to stay.) There are ...

Well, alas, you're not reading this next bit on the shop blog, which means I can't put it off any more--I never got the Halloween eye pack up for sale. This makes me sad. On the other hand, there's still a way for you to get them--and for far cheaper than I'd planned! Here's the notecard you get if you click any of the signboards in Autogenic Alchemy's main store, Regency branch, or my Morgaine or Rivula homes: Hello, traveler! You'll be visiting four spots to complete this hunt. CALEDON MORGAINE : If you get sent to the central hub, either use the SLUrl again, or just fly west across the bay--look for the Darkhouse. :) Setting midnight works well. You'll be trying to find 13 pumpkins and five black bats. CALEDON PENZANCE : If you rez in at a central hub, just click the SLUrl again, you'll be brought to the shop. You'll be looking for 13 orange pumpkins. CALEDON REGENCY : Head North from the central hub; turn left on the walkway by the docks (y...