I bet your heart'll be broken, I bet your pride'll be stolen

100% hand-crafted? Check. Several puzzles that must be solved to open secret drawers? Check. Programmable computer with on-board memory? Check.

Made entirely out of several different exotic woods? Check. It's an amazing, amazing piece of furniture, and yes--the lignum vitae screws, once turned and locked, "remember" the tune that must be played to open the desk fully, so yes, it's a computer made entirely out of wood. In addition to being an amazing puzzle piece and a phenomenally beautiful desk.

RL pony play is about to take a turn for the psychotic. I fear for the future.

I found kippahs on the Marketplace! (Now, that's not the unusual part. There's actually a few on the...well, okay, four to be precise...on the Marketplace, including this one, which...hurts my brain...but that's still not the unusual part. The unusual part is I turned up Snow's version on a search for items labeled "dolly". I...still don't know how that works.)

So, there's yet another MMO being designed from the ground up--or, at least, Marian Churchland is dreaming about MMO ideals--but this one may be just a little different when (and if) it launches. The Crossing promises to be your usual fight-monsters-solve-quests MMO, but Marian has discovered that her biggest complaint in games is the extraordinary gender separation. In her game, if a character levels up and gets a new armor piece, she wants it to look the same on women, as on men.

This idea? Sad to say, but it's kind of revolutionary.

Based on a mention on Nalates Urriah's blog, I read up on the Dream Promenade project. There are things I like, and things that make me wary. Let's take the good stuph first.

1. Adult = Sophisticated
Adults explore incredibly developed ideas and affect the world around them, inspiring others and shaping the future. Imagination coupled with Responsibility.

I like that a lot. That the main emphasized difference between the underage and the over-eighteen is the level of sophistication. That makes me happy that this project might change the way people on Second Life comprehend the Adult sector.

2. Sensuality
Exciting, compelling and alluring

This is also a great redefinition of "sensuality", in that it's not all about the base definition of "involving the senses", and it's not all about the leap forward to "all about sex", but the comprehension that sensuality--and erotica--involve things that thrill us as whole individuals, not necessarily just things that arouse us sexually.

3. Positive Creativity
A healthy Second Life means a healthy adult SL, which is one filled with the positive energy that comes from creativity and imagination.

On the other hand, this one feels...squicky. How exactly are the owners of the Dream Promenade defining "healthy adult SL"? I'd be comfortable making the broad assumption that girls on spits is not part of what they mean, and I think we can even safely conclude that animation sets like the Predator HUD would be right out...but what about shibari restraints, say? Or facial bruising? Or women in bandages? Or claw marks? Or cuff marks?

(And yes, all those links are quite likely Adult, and potentially NSFW--click at your own risk.)

Remember, this is (supposedly) an art project. As stated here:

1. NO ageplay depictions: includes roles of minors under the age of 18
2. NO nonconsensual sex (rape, sexual abuse) depictions: Domineering sex depictions are permissible as long as they are not obviously promoting nonconsensus...

Now, let me also break these down in terms of products already existing on SL (because, again, this is an art project, so props, clothing layers, settings and the like could easily be used.)
Things like this (the slutty version) or this (the cute version) can easily be understood to reference those over eighteen choosing to play younger--the seduction of the innocent remains big in all worlds, so I don't think that would cross specific lines.

But what about things like the TeenTastic shapes? If I'm understanding properly, this is a skin and shape set based on Yabusaka's Petite mesh avatar, which would--eighteen or not--put someone squarely at maybe a single head height over the belt-buckle of a partner. To my mind, with the skin shown, at least, that makes my brain think "twelve", not "eighteen".

Or what about EGL fashion? Say, shapes like this, designed to be worn with outfits like this, would clearly fall in the below-eighteen bracket, and as such would not be allowed in artistic depictions.

But outfits like this straddle that line, I think. Worn by someone who's clearly emphasizing their adult nature--through that aforementioned sophistication (of text comments or poses), the level of makeup they're wearing, even down to things like the hairstyle or the shoes chosen with this--that would be clearly on the side of above-eighteen depictions.

It's a very thin dividing line they're trying to draw, and thankfully, they seem to be approachable in terms of resident concerns. And I'm sure they'd like "healthy adult interaction" to never include concepts like chosen force, or BDSM in general.

I'm intrigued enough to go visit, and see what's on display. Not sure how much of it will be able to be photographed after, mind, but willing to look.

smash the radio, no outside voices here

2010 arrives tonight, and with it, predictions abound--Dusan Writer sent out a list riffing from Gwyneth Llewelyn's predictions. So far, I'm willing to let them lead with predictions on either side, but I do think Miss Llewelyn is wrong on one, completely--that RL info will be tied, more deeply than ever, to SL info in 2010.

I don't think that will happen; more to the point, I think we'll lose more people if the Labs somehow push for this to happen. I think it reflects a deep disconnect with the world the Labs created, if somehow, Facebook-style "privacy" catches on.

I do think many people were willing to compromise--after a year of protesting--in making sure we retained the Adult access we started with, by giving out some RL information. Some of us more than others, and based on the fact that Integrity still doesn't check anything, there are a whole lot of Elvis Aaron Presleys running around, validated completely. But even with that, pushing for more tie-ins hobbles the entire process, and SL will--not may, but will--lose users based on it.

Metaverse Journal did a list of predictions for all virtual worlds, and again, I'm mostly willing to let that stand save for some worries, not complications, with certain of the predictions--Australia's mandatory IP filter/blacklist system is in development, and I, as others, are fairly sure SL (by reputation if not personal observation) will be blacklisted in Australia. I'm really hoping--likely naively--that the bleating of those in power fades away. But even I think that's just not going to happen.

And I'm also not keen about SL integrating with Facebook, mostly because, of all the social media platforms out there, Facebook is the one I want lit on fire, the ashes salted, and launched into space. To say I really, really, really don't like them doesn't go nearly far enough. To say on darker days I contemplate involuntary lobotomies given to Facebook inventors brings it closer to how I feel about the app in general.

The thought of SL redesigning to look more like Facebook cripples my desire to continue on in SL. To be blunt.

Moving on, I'd also like to mention Miss Dio's year-end round-up (of sorts). I'm even going to toss her a li'l help, here (in addition to highly recommending John Carter McKnight's essay on why virtual worlds haven't gone mainstream yet), not that she needs it, really. To wit:

To get to Lora Chadbourne's Mayflower, go to the Southern Cross sim; you can't really miss it.

Devoted readers of the blog should recognize Miss Chadbourne's name, but if you don't, I'll give this one to you--in addition to amazing ship-building skills, she's the one who puts up Haunted Saddlemead each year--in the Southern Cross sim. So there you go, a double recommendation to go see it in her sim.

Next mentioned: Miss Astolat Dufaux of Montaigne Noir. She does excellent menswear, ladies' wear, and mourning gowns from at least four major historical periods. She has her main store in Caledon Oxbridge Village, and one in the Victorian Village in Fatima's Desire; she also has two satellite stores, one in Antiquity Township and the other in Deadwood. I'd say go to any of the others over Deadwood; it's not that the Deadwood one isn't good (it is). But if you really want to see the shop in Deadwood, you might want to drop Miss Dio a line first; technically people not in the Deadwood group aren't allowed in the sim. But they do make concessions now and again, and as I've said before, the sim of Deadwood is amazingly historically accurate.

As mentioned in the article, Miss Dufaux and Mr. Caed Aldwych are currently plotting out a line of late-1800s military uniforms--you can check out other offerings in his shop in the Deadwood Market (which is freely accessible if you're not in the Deadwood group, and has many Victorian/Western merchants to boot), if you're of a mind to, or just drop Miss Dufaux or Mr. Aldwych a line asking how the uniforms are coming.

The NOAA sim Miss Dio mentioned is still running--not that it would have evaporated in the couple days she's put that out--and I agree with the clunky look of it. Still, it's interesting, and at the very least, more seas to swim in? Never a bad thing!

So you're welcome, Miss Dio, hope that helps. I am more than happy to SLUrl with abandon, when the need requires.

Excellent article from the i09 blog on known takeover tropes--in other words, not-of-your-race-but-I-shall-lead, I-am-child-or-insane-yet-you-will-revere-me tales. With the popularity of Avatar currently, this ties right in with a retrospective of current and past sf that's dealt with this, and dealt with it well. They cover nearly everything--movies, television, and books--that's dealt with the topic in any depth.

MMORPG reviews the decade in gaming. The last ten years in gaming were more than phenomenal, they were foundational--in that, without the work going on in pioneering games between 1999-2002, we wouldn't have World of Warcraft, a burgeoning class of free-to-play games, or likely Second Life.

And Sony, in another staggeringly bad decision from corporate, has chosen not to support Moon, Few in the US even know what that means, but any reader from shores beyond might--and to help US sympathy, watch the trailer. Many have said before this month that it may well be Sam Rockwell's finest work to date. And it would be a tragedy indeed were it not considered for an Oscar.

There's a petition at the first link; please sign it if you can.

Last, why junior G-men shouldn't be trusted with the big assignments. Or shouldn't take breaks on the job with the big assignments. Not sure which. Maybe don't eat on the clock. Or something.

It's about pigeons, just click it.

And I have to give William Shatner props for being on the ball, as this missive from his website details. Love him or hate him, there's been a lot of Shatner-bashing about the Chicago appearance, and he's being forthright and standing up that it was not his fault, he was ready and able to appear.

Even if the statement came from a production company that uses WAAAAAY too many emphatic capitals--Because They Think That Makes Them Sound Smarter--it's still out there. What have we heard from Prestige lately? Not that much, and the CEO's comments in that article do make me wonder, because I've seen both sf authors, and sf actors, appear in town on speaking engagements, and by the afternoon of the morning I've heard about it, they've sold out the entire venue (and/or booked additional days in town).

This includes Shatner, so the only thing I can conclude at a distance is either Prestige didn't advertise the event well enough (and with them insisting "small intimate venue", they may not have wanted to advertise it widely, or the bulk of the Chicago fen were at Dragon*Con that weekend.

It's an odd story either way, though one additional thing does strike me--if only one ticket was sent back--after having been redeemed--requesting a refund on the event, why does he mention being $3800 in the hole after the event? Something doesn't add up.

The Pixel Group blog mentions an open-source script resource on the grid; in fact, it goes beyond that, offering objects, scripts, and textures to play with, most of it available with no cost to the builder or merchant, so yay for that! You can go directly to the Morels sim hosting this, if you just want to get there now and not read the entry on it.

Finally, Edelweiss has recently redesigned their store; it looked like a small French boutique in the back of an abandoned island fort, before it shifted to dark woods and pools of amber light, post-boulangerie; now, it looks like one of those large 'label shops' in a major city.

For anyone who doesn't know Edelweiss by name, they started by making faithful recreations of Japanese maid costume outfits, complete with accessories and shoes. They moved to Loli-fied Alice dresses (as in, Alice in Wonderland), and now they're branching out into Japanese school fashions.

They're still in Mont St. Michel, if you want to take a look. (That SLUrl, btw, leads you directly to my current object of fabric lust, the Edelweiss holiday coat (scroll down from the top entry, you'll see them). Oh, for Lindens. I'm currently contemplating how best to gain more, because I have no idea when the holiday coats are leaving!

(And keep in mind most of Miss Kohime's blog is in Japanese, being as she's Japanese...but the pictures tell the story in any language.)