am I guilty or am I just waiting around for the tide to come in so the truth can come out?

this is where I stand.
home is yet becoming
but I can tell by its outline
what it will become

It always scares me a little when Prokovy Neva makes sense.

green and glowing, fire-crackle
on dark timbers, tipped crowns of mushrooms
under the black wheels
it's closer, it's closing in

Joshua Brown illustrates what Coney Island was, by showing us what Coney Island is, now. It does strongly put me in mind of various places on the grid, new and old...I have rarely been to a sim that has bright shining functional rides. Always they're rusted, decayed, collapsed, if they work at all...as a culture, we seem more comfortable with carnivals and circuses that don't quite work the way they're intended, or work negatively, not positively, on us.

What does that say about our draw to these places, these people, the rides, the food carts? What does that say about our dreams and remembrances?

but poison in the veins, and I
am losing strength for waiting
each day, each going back
eats more holes in my soul

I don't normally read the Metaverse Journal, but this week's Watch on virtual worlds captured me. There's a lot going on there, internationally; whole societies could rise and fall based on some of those little news blurbs.

I replace memory with imitation
abode with absence
knowing no one will notice
wondering why it matters

There's more than a bit of history found at the Virtual Neko blog, but rarely am I introduced to a completely new term: "oldcat".

I cannot be described as an "oldcat", because I joined SL in 2006, and I've been everything ever since. But still, about 50% of the time, I'm in neko skin, ears and tail...and I still wear the whiskers I tracked down on SLBoutique in 2007.

And yes, the first set of ears and tail I ever bought were from Outland Tech. I still wear them on occasion, though they've been replaced by the Tomcat series that Miss Kallisti Burns sells at Discord Designs.

and I remember the chain, the mountain
I would have been happy my whole life there
but all things give way before change
history gives way to controversy

SubQuark Hax says Second Life is just a distraction for universities, who should instead through their virtual development teams into an OpenSim grid. Because they're, you know, better.

Is it just me? If SL doesn't work for educational centers, why will OpenSim?

and the wheels roll on
underwater and rising
away from what I knew before
still trying to make my decisions without deciding

While the issues discussed at that site on eminent domain and virtual worlds are worth talking about, I'm still confused on the basic premise. If SL axed my avatar and deleted all my goods tomorrow, would I feel cheated? Yes. Would I be hurt? Quite likely. Would I then sue Second Life? No. If it was justified, I'd have no case; and even if it were unjustified, I'd have little legal recourse; all I have are copies of things I and others have created using their tools. Seen in that light, the content creator is really a collaborator, though it's really a collaboration with software designed for support, not independent action--like using PhotoShop for artwork, or using Word to type your next novel.

the breaking point nears
already I race through turbulence from the shore
and I see no end to this
ever and always, and never over?

Help for Haiti is still ongoing, as that article shows. The SLRFL, running concurrently, seems to be pulling good donation numbers as well.

build your island, I was told
and I had help to make it home
trees and green rises and sunwarmed grasses
I added the bare tree of blood and iron

And interesting news from the BBC on Yahoo's challenge to Google; where I think their challenge falls flat is in assuming search is all Google does. From the intricacies of satellite photography to email, live conferencing and web browsers, Google does more than 'just search' now; wait until they get really going. Then I think Yahoo might have a fight on their hands, frankly.

and the tower of black stone
that surely is mine as well
though we will see how long it stands
on a foundation of grieving

All I know is, it's long past time for me to sleep. So I'm going to go do that.