Well, this is unexpected.

Dear oceanplait,

For anyone who doesn't know, that's my name on Tumblr. I'm not directly linking because the link's in the bottom section of the sidebar.

As part of our commitment to transparency, we want you to know that we uncovered and terminated 84 accounts linked to Internet Research Agency or IRA (a group closely tied to the the Russian government) posing as members of the Tumblr community.

The IRA engages in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. When we uncovered these accounts, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts.

While investigating their activity on Tumblr, we discovered that you either followed one of these accounts linked to the IRA, or liked or reblogged one of their posts:

1-800-gloup
bellaxiao previously known as: blogmadworldlove
bellygangstaboo
blackness-by-your-side previously known as: black-galaxy-magic, fullyfurrymiracle, u4guy, ufo-pilot-and-his-sexy-spouse
cartnsncreal previously known as: feelmydragonballs
coldfirefan
destinyrush previously known as: delightfullyghostlysong
funkycodex previously known as: craftykryptonitedelusion
gogomrbrown previously known as: go-mrbrown, infectedv0ice, todd-la-death
honestlyyoungpersona
hustleinatrap previously known as: thenaturecanpost, tumblercube
info-mix previously known as: americanstatistics, crazypolitician, girlsagainst, illegalmom, just-stat, rochelbarr
lagonegirl
massmedear previously known as: massblog021
mooseblogtimes
morningwoodz previously known as: 5cubes, bangbangempire, empireofweird, gifemprireohh, innerpicsempire, picsempire
nevaehtyler previously known as: laserenita
postingwhileblack previously known as: ghettablasta, heygeraldmartinjohanssen, honestinjun, nativewolveshere
rebellloudwiththecrowd previously known as: massivelystrangetyrant
sassydreamlandcloud
shoutoutworldwide previously known as: blackprideworldwide, krispymentalitycowboy
sumchckn previously known as: blondeinpolitics, blvckcommunity, classylgbthomie, hwuudoin, politixblondie
swagintherain previously known as: blacklivesmatterusa, carzwithgirlz
the-real-eye-to-see
thetrippytrip previously known as: matrixpath, themostpost
thingstolovefor previously known as: the-inner-mirror
this-truly-brutal-world previously known as: awesomewhitepearl, free-mind-and-soul
voteforwest2020 previously known as: mrbadasscat

Near as I can remember, I'm unsure whether I followed any of these accounts (I follow a lot of accounts randomly just to see what they do), but I think I remember reblogging craftykryptonitedelusion, girlsagainst, morningwoodz, and blackprideworldwide. But...now I'm worrying over what I did reblog, and if it was true or false.

You aren’t in trouble, and don’t need to take any action if you don’t want to. We deleted the accounts but decided to leave up any reblog chains so that you can curate your own Tumblr to reflect your own personal views and perspectives.

Democracy requires transparency and an informed electorate and we take our disclosure responsibility very seriously. We’ll be aggressively watching for disinformation campaigns in the future, take the appropriate action, and make sure you know about it.

— Tumblr

So I'm a tiny blog on Tumblr, but this seems huge. Tumblr tends to be fairly free-wheeling, even in the post-acquisition days; they block for child pornography, extreme racism, provable hate speech (and the line for what that is slips, now and again)...this seems like a group block purely by association. It also seems to match the patterns we're seeing elsewhere in the attacks on our government, our industries, our voting system...which of course our highest leaders in office deny. So my question is...how big is this thing going to get?

Oh, boy. More drama from one of my groups. But this time it was from an unanticipated direction.

[12:39] Jxx Lxxxxxx: THIS ITEM DOES IT COME WITH ISIS AND VENUS AND FREYS I ONLY SE IT SAYS BELLEZA [link to template offered, edited for anonymity of group]
[12:40] mxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: only venus
[12:40] Jxx Lxxxxxx: GROWLS
[12:40] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxxx: does your keyboard comes only with caps? ;p
[12:41] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: when it says only belleza its only Venus
[12:41] dxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: look at the contents tab
[12:41] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: what was the weekend special?
[12:41] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [seasonal] costume
[12:41] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: oh
[12:43] Rxxxx Pxxx: that costume is bulky enough it shouldn't matter about the specific sizes of Belleza ... it's not a close to form fitting outfit :)
[12:44] Jxx Lxxxxxx: I CAN TYPE HOW EVER I WISH THIS IS WHY I DONT SPEAK IN HERE TOO MUCH PEOPLE ALWAYS COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW I TYPE
My initial reaction here, and it likely won't ever change: "Oh, she's one of those people."

[12:44] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: caps mean screaming
[12:44] Jxx Lxxxxxx: OK THANK YOU [RXXXX] I WILL TRY IT
[12:44] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: in internet language everywhere

Yeah. Pretty much everywhere, in a ton of languages, even.

[12:44] Jxx Lxxxxxx: NO FOR ME CAPS MES I CANT SEE WELL
[12:44] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: even on texting
[12:45] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol
[12:45] Exxxx Sxxxxxxx: lots of people who do not see well use caps

Everyone with a vision impairment is different. And it did make me, and likely a few others, give her a bit of charity for the caps--at least for the next minute or so.

[12:45] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: people hate when others use caps to talk
[12:45] Jxx Lxxxxxx: ANY WAY THINKS I WANTED TO GET CLARITY BEFORE I BOUGHT IT THANKS
[12:45] Emilly Orr: OKAY JAE, JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT'S GOING TO ALWAYS BE THE REACTION YOU GET. SYMPATHIES.

Of course I was being sarcastic, but I also wanted her to make sure she saw what I sent. Because that is the common reaction when people see lines of uppercase--that the other party is yelling, or just being rude.

[12:45] Axxxxxxxx Lxxxxxxx: [Jxx], you can resize the font and make it larger....
[12:45] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yup
[12:45] Emilly Orr: A lot of folks forget they can do that.
[12:45] Jxx Lxxxxxx: THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION BUT THE CAPS ARE FINE FOR ME

Well, we tried. Can't say we didn't.

[12:46] Axxxxxxxx Lxxxxxxx: *sigh* PAI....
[12:46] Rxxxx Pxxx: YW [JXX] ... AND IT'S FINE, WE HAVE TO DO THE SAME FOR OUR FRIEND IN SL WHO IS NEARLY BLIND. GLAD I COULD ASSIST. OK BACK TO REGULAR TYPING FOR ME.. HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY ALL :)
[12:46] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxxx: YOU CAN ALSO INCREASE THE SCALE OF YOUR UI
[12:46] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: u can get kicked of a group for it
[12:46] Jxx Lxxxxxx: NO I KNOW I CAN BUT JUST USINT THE CAPITOL LETTERS IS JUST FINE FOR ME NO MEED FOR MT TO RESIZE MY FONT ANY WAY THANKS ALL BYE
[12:46] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxxx: HAVE FUN LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE ONLY YOU MATTER ;P
[12:47] Jxx Lxxxxxx: [F*CK] OFF OK

So first, yes, we all know what she says, but I still try to keep cursing to a minimum, at least here. And second, really, that was uncalled for. Was the comment directly before hers snarky? Sure. But snark doesn't usually get us straight hostility back.

[12:47] Rxxxx Pxxx: I don't think anyone would kick anyone out of the group because they have difficulty seeing
[12:47] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no but they would for caps

This is actually the first I'd heard of people being kicked just for typing in all caps. Is that really a thing?

[12:47] Rxxxx Pxxx: Let's not be unkind or rude please... that will be a reason to get kicked out
[12:47] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxxx: ONLY CAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFICULTY LIVING ;)
[12:47] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: u can't even do notices in caps

Actually, some folks do, just like some hosts and hostesses call out tip reminders and such in clubs in all caps. Doesn't make any of us respect those that do for typing in all caps, however.

[12:47] Sxxxxxxx Rxxxx: Is it really that hard to put up with for a bit of time if a person can't see?
[12:48] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: then raise the font!
[12:48] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: Treat people how you want to be treated, YOU typing in caps makes no sense, you know what your saying..
[12:48] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: there's a huge setting on firestorm
[12:48] Rxxxx Pxxx: Sounds like there are those accusing someone of only thinking of themselves perhaps? Maybe that person can't see to make their text bigger or do not know how to do it.

And that's a good point. I didn't know until three years in that I could make text bigger in SL. I haven't, but I know the option's there. It's good to know.

[12:48] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: just saying
[12:49] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: yeah, take it IMs and help them with preferences, this is nuts
[12:49] Rxxxx Pxxx: I don't think we are going to die over a caps lock key for a couple of simple questions.
[12:49] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: if people have problem seeing then raise the size of UI and font
[12:49] Lxx Sxxxxxxxxxx: maybe she does use that and capitals?
[12:49] Rxxxx Pxxx: Exactly [Lxx]
[12:49] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxx: yeah, but when trying to help that person, another was told to f*** off, I wonder who is intolerant

Three guesses and the first two don't count.

[12:49] Rxxxx Pxxx: you can make the font size huge and that isn't enough for some folks
[12:49] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: seriously caps scares me

And that's another problem with typing in all caps. The most common translation for netizens is "you're yelling at me". Which is perceived as generally rude, and bad enough, but some people link yelling (for any reason) with hostility. In those cases, netizens take all caps as "please stop screaming at me, why are you angry?" Which is another problem with typing in all caps.

[12:50] Lxx Sxxxxxxxxxx: i have more problems with unreadable names most of the time
[12:50] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: everytime i see it its like people shouting
[12:50] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: How do you raise the UI font size?
[12:50] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: preferences
[12:50] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: chat
[12:50] Rxxxx Pxxx: Well the rudeness started before the statement... and if capslock scares ya it's going to be a terrifying world the rest of your life

That's also true.

[12:50] Sxxxxxx Rxxxx: thing is, if it's thought of a person typing in caps only thinking of themselves, and doesn't want to look at it and saying to not and lower..ins't that too only thinking of "self"
[12:50] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: visuals huge
[12:51] Sxxxxxx Rxxxx: it goes both ways...
[12:51] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: chat windows font size huge
[12:51] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i don't wanna sound racist but there's a community that does it a lot online
[12:51] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and makes me not like them
[12:51] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and they do it to show off

I admit, I'm wondering what community she was thinking of, and why it might make her sound racist.

[12:52] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: in firestorm -- Avatar --Preferences -- user interface -- 2D overlay and mine is at 1.53
[12:52] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: It worked! I can see the chat windows a bit better now.
[12:52] Sxxxxxx Dxxxxx: thank you [mxxxxxxxxxxxx]
[12:52] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: Thank you!
[12:52] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: your welcome
[12:52] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I need glasses
[12:52] Bxxxx Kxxxxxxxxx: just saying, but didn't have any troubles reading and responding rudely to this... [12:41] Becky Koolhoven: does your keyboard comes only with caps? ;p which wasn,t in caps...

Which is another very good point. Guess it's always easier to be rude, huh?

[12:52] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: but any bigger will mess up your menus
[12:53] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: unless u got a big screen
[12:53] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I do
[12:53] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: Is there a way to make the text bigger in notecards?

Pretty sure there is, yes.

[12:53] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: its not a good idea to raise UI
[12:53] Rxxxx Pxxx: Well someone very close to me has a problem with their eyes that the huge font sizes aren't enough. So in his presence we have to all type in caps so he can see them. I agree that most considering all caps shouting and to the average person it's difficult to read. We just have to be willing to deal with it for a small period of time once we are made aware of a situation. Just my humble opinion.
[12:53] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: Because getting older sucks. LOL
[12:54] Rxxxx Pxxx: yes it does
[12:54] rxxxx Sxxxxx: You don't ask a blind person to "look at this'. live and let live.
[12:54] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Preferences - visuals - onscreen console font size

That's it.

[12:54] Rxxxx Pxxx: yep
[12:54] Emilly Orr: It does, but sometimes it's not a factor of age, just inability to see. I have a friend at the library, she's about twenty-two now, and legally blind. She's still a librarian.
[12:55] Rxxxx Pxxx smiles big
[12:55] Rxxxx Pxxx: Not letting a little thing like sight hold her back... that's awesome :)
[12:56] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: also... in preferences -- user interface -- font -- can also be increased.
[12:57] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: I finally found it in the official viewer under Preferences Advanced UI size
[12:58] Rxxxx Pxxx: Thank you [mxxxxxxxxxxxx], I'm sure there are those here that appreciate it .. thank you also [Txxxxxxxx] for looking that up :)
[12:58] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: i am much indebted to all of you
[12:59] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: Thanks everyone :)
[12:59] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no problem, If it were not for those settings I would be squinting all the time

And honestly, even more than the sudden spate of drama, that's why I'm doing this. Because the rest of the chat did have useful tips--mostly for Firestorm, sure, but some for the official viewer, and really, between those two, anyone who needs it can likely figure out a good area to start searching on their viewers, at least.

[12:59] Rxxxx Pxxx: There are so many little features in the settings that even though I've been around since 2004, I run across new things all the time :)
[12:59] Nxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [gave image link, image below]



[13:00] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: mine is set to huge lol
[13:00] Rxxxx Pxxx: I used to keep mine on small, not anymore LOL
[13:00] Nxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and folk won't reply as shouting so pointless asking for help from others unless you increase font size in your UI

Well, this spate of shouting did get us talking about font sizes and overlays and how to change both, so it wasn't completely useless.

[13:01] Sxxxx Bxxxx: Ummmm...seriously...quite wasting everyone's time with this...take your petty discussion elswehere...this is not the place

As compared to that statement, which pretty much is--keep in mind, this is a place that sells mesh templates for designers to use in their creations. Sometimes, helping those people see? WILL end up helping your business.

[13:01] Rxxxx Pxxx: You are welcome to close the window [Sxxxx] if it isn't helpful to you.
[13:01] Txxxxxxxx Mxxx: This is a lifechanger! I used to keep my setting at default until I needed bifocals last year.
[13:02] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ditto on what [Rxxxx] just said
[13:02] Sxxxx Bxxxx: wow....glad this is a discussion about product...goodbye
[13:02] Rxxxx Pxxx: The whole point of being in this group is to help others and find out about new Meli stuff. If you can't see what you are doing I'd say it's relevant
[13:02] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: bye
[13:03] Rxxxx Pxxx: Back to work for me, everyone have a blessed Sunday

And that was that. All in all, only two people really offended--the visually impaired person, who was far too quick to lash out in the beginning (and even her we tried to help!), and [Sxxxx], the one who couldn't see the point.

Well, [Sxxxx], this is the point. Make things easy to use. Make things easy to understand. Make things easy to see. And you'll have far more happy customers, full stop. What's hard to grasp in that?

Happy Feast of Padraig! Bígi beannaithe!

This year, we're coming into things fairly tired, RL. So we're making things the easy way. We decided to modify this recipe for the slow cooker. We've washed and halved (and occasionally quartered) about sixteen red potatoes, we're using peeled "baby" carrots instead of peeling and chopping larger cooking ones, and we're just using minced garlic from a jar we had of it over peeling and mincing a few cloves on our own.

Rest of the conversion is surprisingly easy--in an empty slow cooker, layer in the potatoes and carrots, then lay the brisket atop them (usually we go for point cuts, this year we went with a flat cut roast, but there's not that much difference). We're cutting two onions into wedges after removing the onion skin, and those go on top. Then we pour over a bottle of Guinness and turn on the slow cooker. Before we add a box of beef broth, we're adding the spices (and generally, a tablespoon of our own pickling spice blend, too) over the meat, and that's it. Lid on, heat high, off y'go.

Maybe an hour before serving, we'll rinse and quarter a small cabbage, and toss that on the very top to steam. Over the course of the day, we're also planning on making a very simple soda bread (though we're American, so of course we're also tossing in black pepper, rosemary and grated cheddar cheese) to go with the corned beef and veg, and Guinness chocolate brownies for after. Plus, there's one other dish (I said we're tired, we're not planning our usual six or seven side dishes) we'll make closer to serving: hashed neeps.

Which takes a little explaining. There's a medieval recipe for bashed neeps we've been using for years. It's endlessly variable and works with just about anything can be thrown in without issue. Traditionally, the recipe goes like this:

Bashed Neeps

Ingredients:

6 large turnips, washed and chopped
2 large parsnips, washed, peeled and chopped
6 cups water
1 pound good butter
1 cup whole cream
1/4 tsp mace
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the chopped roots into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until roots are fork-tender. Drain, and mash with the butter and the cream. Salt and pepper to taste, and add the mace, stirring to mix.

Spoon into a buttered baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees until warmed through (about half an hour). Just before serving, make a well in the center and fill with cubes of reserved butter to melt. Serve.

Now, we've played with this recipe endlessly over the years. We've cut out the cream some years, or replaced it with whole milk or cashew milk. We've added in carrots, leeks, onions, radish, and green onions. The beauty of bashed neeps is it can be endlessly adapted, and it all still tastes good.

This year, we're doing a variation we made last year, which turned out to be something we like even better than root mash, namely:

Hashed Neeps

Ingredients:

4 turnips, washed
2 parsnips, washed and peeled
2 large carrots, washed and peeled

Grate all the roots, patting each root batch dry with a paper towel as you go, sprinkling with salt. After all the roots are grated, heat a pan with a bit of oil (or butter, just be careful to watch the butter so it doesn't burn). Add in spoonfuls of the grated roots, spreading them out to form basic patties. Cook as hash browns. Serve warm.

It's surprising how much crispy fried edges add to winter roots.

And while most years we also throw together Colccannon, again, this year, we just don't have the spoons. So we'll likely have that around October, when it's actually supposed to be served anyway.

In other news, caught a link in world to a Facebook page talking about the holiday:

Undoubtedly today you will hear at one point within a Pagan circle about how today is a day marking a mass murder of Pagans by referring to the snakes that St.Patrick drove out being the Druids. Unfortunately, like most tales brewed by/for the church... its grossly over exaggerated. I am not saying that St.Patrick did not fight Pagans and battle with Druids and even kill some or many in the name of the church (that much we know happened because it was properly recorded), that is how things were. What I am saying is that he was no amazing missionary and he was no especially skilled man in any way shape or form, and like most, his exaggerated stories surfaced hundreds of years after he had already died. The idea of saints driving out creatures from lands did not start or end with him, it was a very common tale they loved to recount to put aires upon a certain saint. Instead of over exaggerating the church's inevitable take over in Ireland... recount and celebrate the strength, perseverance, and resilience Ireland has had as they have had to fight for centuries. Instead celebrate the Fae, The Morrigan, Cú Chulainn, Brigid, The Faoladh and Conroicht and the plethora of Celtic deity and lore. I am Irish Canadian and my Nan was a classic secret keeping feisty Irish woman... these are the things I celebrate today, this is the magic that lurks in my veins. Research it yourself, that is what we are made for. Seek out the truth, but please don't go blindly into perpetuating a tale that only makes the ones hated more powerful. Druids faded with the invasion of the church, but they certainly did not and will not disappear.

Now, I do have a few problems with this, mainly that it completely neglects that Saint Patrick largely was invented from whole cloth to force the Irish to convert.

But, at least according to my researches, Brigid had a consort, named Padraig. And, considering there never were snakes in Ireland, Padraig never rid the Isles of them. So why worry about saints that never existed? Celebrate the faiths that survive. Celebrate that Brigid's Fire has never gone out, even when commanded to be snuffed by the Catholic Church. Celebrate that there are, always have been, and always will be pagans, heathens and Druids in Ireland. Celebrate that even moving to America, in terrible poverty, could not kill the Celtic spirit.

Ignore the rest. It's a feast day!

This is actually a pretty on-point article on why many video game breast physics get so ridiculous, and coincidentally, why so many breast physics layers just profoundly do not work. Good to know, but getting people to actually improve...that's the trick.

And who knew Archie comics were so popular in India? I certainly never considered it, but apparently, they're so popular that there's going to be a Bollywood movie. I'd be afraid, but I've already seen Riverdale, and surely, it can't do worse than that.

At the beginning of March, or the end of February, Hippo Technologies gave up the ghost. As many of us thought that it was no longer in use anyway, it was a surprise to find businesses affected. One of the most surprising was Utilizator, who has set out a fairly detailed set of instructions on how to claim an update with the new cards from Caspervend.

I don't even know what this is all about. Is it a game? Is it an e-commerce site? I don't get it. You play the game, you sell virtual products...that are actually real? And shipped? Does anyone have more information?

In the meantime, I'm noticing a worrying trend on the grid:

CLUB G WILL BE OPEN TO ALL HUMAN APPEARING AVATARS, INCLUDING NON-MEMBERS FOR THIS EVENT

Now, I'm not trying to single Club-G out, they're a great place. Fun energy, good music, some great places to sun on the beach or by the pool if you're tired of dancing. No, it's more that..."all human appearing avatars" line.

I'm seeing that in a lot of places, now, not just dance clubs. Whole sims are back to 'human only' signs. It's no longer just 'no child avatars', which I do understand, but...no non-humans at all.

When did this happen? When did furs become persona non grata everywhere I go? Am I just wandering the wrong sims, going to the wrong clubs? Of course, I didn't think Club-G was one of those clubs, nor the Lowlands sim, nor several other places I've found wandering about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these are bad places, and maybe that's part of the problem. And it's a problem we only notice if we don't have a human face. Should I start wandering the grid more as a cat, would that help? Or maybe the prejudice would just become more obvious. I don't know.

But it worries me. It does worry me.

Prim limits, how I loathe thee...

Okay, to be fair, I'm usually fine on prim limits, but I had a very frustrating day about a week and a half ago, and spontaneously decided to change homes. It's not perfect, and I may change it again, but I'd also thrown down some furnishings I like that I thought might fit the space, and...then discovered I was over my prim limits. So I started checking things out.

Wasn't the house. It's Salome's small Byzantine house, and outside of some alpha issues on the upper level, it's an open, breezy layout for twenty-six prims total. That is tiny for a house. All that it lacks is a good mantel for the fire, and well, the Byzantines weren't given to that sort of architectural distinction.



The bed had to go. Trompe Loeil's "Reverie" bed in Stargazer? Thirty-five prims. Pretty. But had to go. Which means this one:



which is another lovely Reverie bed, in Nightcall? Also had to go. Damn.



Well, how about this one? Storax Tree made it, and it goes pretty well with the colors I have going at present...

Twenty-eight prims. Nope. Gotta go too.



Fine, then. How about this one? Mistique builds pretty tightly, right? But...even it's fourteen...and it only has couples' poses. ARGH!



Fine. The daybed it is. Culprit made it for six prims, it has singles and couples, I can sleep on it...FINE. Now for the rest of the place...why is this so hard?



...oh, right, because I'm trying to make the ground level more natural. Mrph. Okay. So there is a reason to delete all these.

Bah.

Two hundred years ago...

"During the first part of the nineteenth century, the American government policy was to remove Indians from east of the Mississippi River and to “give” them reservations in Indian Territory. The primary argument in favor of Indian removal claimed that European Christian farmers could make more efficient use of the land than the Indian heathen hunters. This argument conveniently ignored the fact that Indians were efficient farmers and had been farming their land for many centuries."
~~Neeta Lind

From genocide to deep-seated racism, the original purpose of the Second Amendment:

"The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says 'State' instead of 'Country' (the Framers knew the difference--see the 10th Amendment), was to reserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia’s vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that...and we all should be too."
~~Tom Hartman (quoted from another article in Alternet

As a rule, I do try to avoid political discussion unless it relates to steampunk alternate history, or Victorian or Edwardian real history...but these articles, I wanted to preserve and offer for the value--and the weight--of their perspective.

While writing this, I also found another take on history, though do perceive before clicking--it is a video documentary, and it clocks in at slightly over three hours. I'm enjoying watching it, but then, I have always enjoyed tales of hauntings, historical or not.

And here...we...go...



Boataom's "Yuri" head looks terrified. Let's see how she changes...



Oh, it comes with separate ears, eyes and teeth...plztexturesrezin, plztexturesrezin...



Nope, that's all I can do with the Yuri, too. What the hell?



All right, Airi, play nice, elsewise I'm giving up on Boataom.



...Yaaay. Okay, Boataom's out of the running, then.



Can I just give up and be terrified now? This is Daddy's Choice Designs's "Misty" Bento head, which I bought on sale at a previous 4meshed event. I am very worried.



I have discovered my inner Keanu Reeves. This is not a plus.

Okay, back to the drawing board, I guess, check out the next round of demos...Damn it, why is it so HARD to find a mesh head that doesn't look scary beyond all reason?

Back to mesh head testing, lo, these many months later, and...hasn't gotten any easier.



This is a demo Vista head, their "Diana" Bento version. Ugh. The chin clipping? Apparently, that's the included teeth, out of the box.



And this was the most I was able to do with. Not enough, and still some clipping. So that head's tabled, I think...



This is a demo Safybelle head, their "Jessy" Bento version. This...won't work.



Well, the included Shape 3 is a good starting point, at least. But I couldn't make it do much past this, more's the pity. I thought this one was really cute, too.



Friend of mine gifted me with Altamura's "Maya" head, and because of that, I really wanted to like it...



...and the above is my total ability to modify the look. Pass.

More to come.

Air kraken are REAL! (Video link; should not autoplay, but it might.)

Found on a random profile under the heading "DEADLY TERMS USED BY WOMEN":

1) FINE: This the word women use to end an argument when she knows she is right and you need to shut up.
2) NOTHING: means something and you need to be worried.
3) GO AHEAD: this is a dare, not permission. Do not do it.
4) WHATEVER: A woman's way of saying screw you.
5) THAT'S OKAY: She is thinking long and hard on how and when you will pay for your mistake.
BONUS WORD: WOW!
This is not a compliment. She's amazed that one person could be so stupid.

Well, then.

And now, from the odder part of the grid...

[13:14] uxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hello
[13:15] Emilly Orr: Hello.

I won't lie, I tend to despise people who open with just 'hello' or 'hi'. Put some effort into it, give me a reason not to just ignore you. Tell me something. Even if it's just WHY YOU'RE MESSAGING ME, okay? It really helps to have more than just the bland, featureless, no-info-given 'hello'.

[13:15] uxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: can u help me?
[13:15] Emilly Orr: With?
[13:15] uxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i need only 56 linden please help me

Oh, good, another beggar. You know, I never begged in SL. In eleven years, I never begged. I got frustrated when I didn't have Lindens, when I got a job then lost it, when I was between homes, relationships, when there was severe RL turbulence...I never begged.

I suppose what's strange is I don't mind RL beggars, and will--when I have extra--support them however I can. I think because in RL, sometimes we have no choice to be poor, to be homeless, to be so down on our luck that there literally is nowhere to turn...but in SL, all that's a choice. I mean, wealth or poverty, these things still exist, but there are options in SL we don't have in RL.

[13:17] Emilly Orr: Do you know, there are places in SL you can actually work? There are also some Linden trees about, and there's a lot of in-world games, like Linden Gold Hunters, LxMix's Lucky Clovers and the like, where you travel about and collect things, then turn them in for L$.

Yes, I was being sarcastic, but also being serious. It's not as easy to dance your way to cash as it used to be, but there's still places you can sit for Lindens, pluck Lindens off trees, hunt for coins, fish, clovers, stars, whatever for Lindens.

[13:17] uxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: nope i dony

Which I highly, highly doubt, because this was a three-year-old avatar. Granted, a three-year-old avatar who was begging strangers for cash, with no picks, no FL pic, no real info anywhere...I mean, this isn't the usual bot behavior, but who knows, could have been a bot for all I know.

[13:18] Emilly Orr: Pull up search. Type in either employment, if you just want general options, or Gold Hunt/Lucky Clovers for their sims. All you need is a hud, though sometimes you'll need to be in their group to collect money.
[13:18] uxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i will see ty
[13:18] Emilly Orr: You're welcome!

And I moved on.

Here's to them finding their L$56, for whyever they need it, but here's more to them learning to forego begging for spare change. Beccause it never works, and more people will block beggars than actually answer them. If not directly reporting them for harassment or fraud to the Lindens and getting their accounts blocked.