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.

I won't push you unless you have a net

Miss Dio wrote a rather pointed blog entry on why educators are pulling out of SL. I do think part of it, just thinking about it on my own, is the now-strong emphasis on SL's "cleaning up"--with the entire catastrophe of Zindra and the dunning for money at every third turn.

More than that, though, I think she makes an excellent point which I'd like to reinforce here: rebuilding campuses, so students can walk around in virtual reconstructions of the places they're comfortable, or at least used to, attending, and that university will lose in-world students. Every damned time.

But build something that intrigues, build something that's designed for flight, not for walking, build something that takes into account the incredible variety of form and intellect on the grid...and people will come.

Put another way, Second Life--and other virtual worlds--are immersive environments. And going from the treehouse or the sky-level skybox to the exact duplicate of a university those students see every day, in RL--well, to be plain, it's boring. And it shows a lack of forward thinking.

Even little changes can wake up sleeping minds and bring them online to interact and learn. Case in point: I'm not a full-time student, but I have taken classes, and--while for the most part they've been in sweeping incandescent towers or held on rolling glass hills, there was a class I attended that was held in a schoolhouse. A circa 1800s schoolhouse. And it was faithfully reproduced, from the whitewashed clapboard walls to the sturdy wooden tables, battered and worn.

But it engaged. We had not walked into a concrete-and-glass monolithic cube. We had not walked into something we see every single day. We walked into something amazing, even in its own quiet way, with shadowed trees and brickwork paths, and our minds opened to the imagination in it.

Use that imagination, educators. Rebuild your campuses. Keep a business office and a registry office if you like; but make the rest of the build something different. Make it something that will awaken tired minds, erase the boredom of the media-saturated minds. Be innovative. Universities are supposed to do two things: preserve knowledge, and pass it on. You can't pass on information if no one's there. And you won't get people there unless they're engaged.

So engage them. And watch the world change.

(I would also like to address a point from one of the original articles Miss Dio was pulling from, to wit, one of the comments, from "larryc":

"A friend and colleague keeps bugging me to enroll in Second Life and meet her there. But what if her avatar looks like Elvira but with a squirrel's head? How will I face her in the next faculty senate meeting?"

(And my response to that is...is he serious? Larry, you deal with her just like you deal with anyone else you meet on the street: like the person you met in the first goddamn place. Honestly. That is so ridiculously close-minded, it's surreal. It's like running into someone at the grocery store you've only seen in movies: OMIGoshIcan'tBELIEVEit'sactuallyX...and they're buying ROMA TOMATOES!

(I mean, really. Get real. They shop. They talk. They have sex. They fall down. They dress up in funny costumes for parties. They make bad eating-out and fashion choices. Just like the rest of us. So you meet someone who's drop-dead gorgeous below the neck and a chipmunk above it...well, usually in SL that means you're talking to Risusipo Jun, but I digress. All information is worth having; maybe ask her about it next time you see her. Don't get all weird and freaky, it's just an avatar.

(And...also...really. Really? The animal-headed human is what drops your brain out of your head? Man, you would not have handled the leather-clad, piercings-on-her-piercings, prim-breasted lass with the fully erect and DRIPPING equipment trailing ooze in a line between her legs, then. It gets SO much worse than your pitifully limited imagination can manage to exert, Larry. You have my pity...and not a small amount of my scorn.)

William Murphy addresses the history of science fiction in terms of MMO gaming; it's a pretty interesting article, overall, but I was more amused by the brief and dismissive mentions of Phantasy Star Online, Tabula Rasa and Matrix Online. I think all three games, still, have ardent--and on occasion vocal--fans, even though I, like the author, don't really classify Phantasy Star as a "real" MMO--it is a game one can play with friends, yes, but while that group is moving through the settings, that group is the only thing "alive" in that sense--there's only genuine multiple mingling in the various lobbies, not the instances or the station itself.

He also brought up, extradordinarily briefly, City of Heroes, which I'm trying to puzzle out. This may be a failing in me, but comic-book superheroes are specifically science fiction? They can have science fiction elements, but they also pull from fantasy (Dr. Strange) and horror (John Constantine of Hellblazer) as well. (Just to mention two things that popped to the forebrain, writing this--there are endless other examples.) Basically, the flights-in-tights brigade pulls from multiple sources, from mythology (Wonder Woman, Thor and Morpheus, Lord of Dreams spring to mind) to slapstick (The Tick), and everything in between. Why pin them just into science fiction's realm?

Other news is shorter, and more scattershot, because I'm culling through everything I saved while sick. I no longer remember where I first heard of most of these things; I will say Miss Neome handed me the "Avatar" video, and background story; and most of the rest originally came from someone or other on Twitter. Here goes:

One competition, one basic robot design. Several thousand possibilities for decoration and movement. So what do the competition judges do? Hold a dance-off.

And for another design aesthetic entirely, check out the highlights of one hundred years of movie stills, and how popular design concepts change.

What happens when you find God, and he doesn't want to play? Ask Raj Patel. That brings virtual worship to a whole new level, really.

In one of the best videos (honestly, I think it's better than the original, and I adore the boots) I've seen of the 'Avatar' song, I want to present Avatar: CoH style! Apart from the very nearly flawless matching of lyrics to actions seen, it's also a powerful statement on its own: not so much of how much fun City of Heroes is, potentially, but what happens when a creator is inspired by another creation, asks permission to use it in their own creation, and the original maker gives that permission.

This is how Weird Al has operated for decades, even though his songs in many cases fall strictly--and legally--within the parody rules for fair use. And with our current (at least, within the US) legal system, this also points out the very problematic flaws in the music industry: namely, unless one is on a first-name basis with the songwriter or singer (and even then, it's tricky) of the original work, a request to use material signed to a major label will, nine times out of ten, result in cross-filing to cease and desist from their legal department--for even asking the question.

The Borg are getting scarier in Star Trek Online; and no, you still can't play one. (Also, none of us can figure out why she's wearing a batleth on her head.)

Meanwhile, Edward found footage of a very hungry mantis. Awww. Hon, you can't eat cursors, that's not at all filling. Let's take you back outside.

Fascinating study released on roleplayers and socialization; I'm always amused when the big studies go live and reveal what many of us have known for years. Especially in SL, this is very, very true--while there's no specific, universal body language in Second Life (all body language is either inferred/invented directly by the viewer, or added by whomever designed that avatar's range of animated stands, sits and walks), what we do face, and very directly, is the choice of avatar we interact with, and are interacted with. That choice tells us very specific, surprisingly concrete things about the player inside it, and can form its own form of social language and subconscious clue-set as to that player's desires, needs, fears, and hopes.

This last one comes from Mr. Allen; I know, I remember the conversation that followed. I present to you the "digital" device that might as well have had steam power and a gerbil rig: the Tomy Blip hand-held game. Electronic? Not by half. Gear-driven through and through. That's just stunning, that is. The only thing "electrical" in the least is the input leads--that go to lighting just the one light--that are powered by batteries. One, if I recall the breakdown specifically.

So much for "high tech", even at the time.

I tried to climb your steps, I tried to chase you down, I tried to see how low I could get it down to the ground

Warhammer may get its own MMO? That could be interesting. If ever a potential "WoW killer" existed...

"When there is no authority to the truth, prejudices thrive." David Aaronovitch said that, regarding conspiracy theories in general, but I think it doubly applies on the grid, first because "Did you hear...?" is such a fun game to play, but second, and even more importantly, because there is so very little honest, open communication between Lindens and residents.

Via Miss Kamenev and Miss Homewood, Kula Shaker extolling the virtues of tea. I think he's got distinct points--coffee wires, tea relaxes; and better yet, tea is a great social equalizer. Just about anyone can get a cuppa and sit around talking about the tea if nothing else; coffee is so striated, depending on social status. (All I have to say is three words on that: "Folger's Crystals" for the cheapest, foulest, lowest common denominator, and the first two words--and "Starbucks", evil bean-burning madmen, and home of the six dollar latte, for the last one.)

(Though, in that vein, check out some amazing examples of latte art on YouTube. And, while we're here, let me remind people of another purely transitory form of art--Ilana Yahav's sand art. To work largely in the absence of content, to draw lines using light and sand, and to let the whole thing go afterwards and walk away...Incredible art form.)

"We can lay our cynicism thicker than Marmite, but on launch days, suddenly the thick distaste for the state of the genre has turned into a light, sweet tone of hope." Miss Jaime Skelton on Launch Day hypocrisy.

Patch 2.1.6 is now live on Runes of Magic, and it has brought with it a new open combat area (don't care), the new instance to take down the Demon Lord Sirloth (not high enough level to care), the coming of the Valentine's Day event (mostly earns roses and fireworks, so don't care, but there are some fun mini-games), the Flower Festival (sort of care, having gone through that in beta), and--the only real OOH-I-want-to-know-more on the list--a new Epic quest line.

That makes three for the game, total. I'm hoping each Epic leads to different weapons, but at the least each Epic leads to XP and new gear, so I'm fine with that.

I run about average on risk intelligence. That test group is running a study on how people use "risk intelligence", defined as "a measure of a person’s ability to estimate probabilities accurately." People with high risk intelligence make good predictors of events; both Wall Street professionals and bookies, for instance, use risk intelligence every single day to inform them in their chosen jobs.

"High risk intelligence is quite rare. Fifty years of research in the psychology of judgement and decision making shows that most people are not very good at thinking clearly about risky choices. If risk intelligence was more common, the world wouldn't be mired in financial crisis, since this was largely caused by unwise lending and borrowing - both of which involve risk intelligence. Too many lenders and borrowers overestimated the chances that loans would be repaid."

Take the test. You might be surprised at your results.

I won't be your soft one, I won't be encircled

Three posts in a row from MMORPG: first, an essay by Justin Webb on the fine line between RPGs and MMOs; then an article pondering Facebook gaming as a gateway drug to deeper, larger games. Finally, William Murphy compares Star Wars: the Old Republic with Mass Effect 2, and wonders if the Mass Effect 2 universe would make a good MMO.

I'll even toss in a fourth at no extra charge, because Scott Jennings' second part of why MMOs fail just hit the inbox. (If you haven't read part one, then here you go.)

All worth reading, though I am laughing, comparing FarmVille to SL's Tiny Empires. It's sort of the same thing, innit? But then, what is Tiny Empires the gateway drug for?

Via Laird Brideswell, Elrik Merlin, comes a page on how the internet has changed thinking. He particularly points you towards Brian Eno's contribution, which--distinctly and oddly--mentions Second Life. (Eno's also bought into the party line that record companies are losing money due to illegal downloads, which is sad to see.) Of other odd note--he doesn't think it's a positive thing to have long-distance relationships on the net.

On the net or off, I will agree, absolutely: long-distance relationships are terrifying to negotiate. And the longer the distance, the more unlikely of it becoming something more personal--in the sense of independent, in-person presence, not emotions felt--which is, can be, a sad thing.

I am very convinced of the value of these, how'ver. Unlike Eno, I do not believe my ability to express love and devotion stops when I can't physically reach out and touch someone. I communicate widely using the net and email, and I am also capable of communicating with great emotional depth, I believe. I think net-based communication--and net-based love, for as far as it goes--are only as limited as one makes them.

Another tip from Mr. Merlin--the beginning of a conversation on whether or not SL residents should match age and gender for 'real' events--like teaching classes, immersive recreation sims (the WWI Poetry Archive was mentioned in a comment), training seminars, and the like. An important point was made at the very beginning--while that commenter doesn't think it should be mandatory, she does think that showing up in a non-human form should be something the resident is comfortable with, and also understands that this may be viewed as being outside the norm.

While it goes farther in SL than RL, that is a reasonable prejudice to bring up--if you don't look normal, for whatever guidelines of normal qualify for your community or teaching institution, you will get looked at funny, if not outright mocked. This is nothing out of the ordinary; it happens all the time. It is of note, though, that by and large people on SL are more tolerant, not less. It's always interesting--and nearly always, due to a sudden external influence of outsiders joining residents--to observe the spikes of intolerance on the grid.

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength." Maya Angelou said that, and she was right. If we can't manage successful diversity and adaptation in a virtual world, what makes us think we will ever manage it in RL?

Finally, you gotta see this.



I'm dead serious. It's in Caledon Morgaine and is somehow made of cavorite particles and gum resins. I'm not entirely sure if it's safe, but it is fun.



We'll just have to watch for mutations. L$25 outside of Portland and Broome Manufacturing, and comes two pieces per pack. And they're tradeable--a piece for you, a piece for a friend.

I fully expect small popping sounds accompanied by mini-lifts will become the next Caledonian fad.

be proud when you dazzle the wondrous, glitter your eyes for the town

Chop sabers! Oh, MAN, do I want these. Sadly, they haven't yet been released....but when they are...

*counts her pennies again*

From the actual store site: the very detailed old-school Rogue, the second-skin latexed Black Widow, the classic caped Storm, the dark Loli version of NGE's Rei and Ayanami, and, because I know at least one reader will go bats for this, Star Wars' Asoka Tano--who will ALWAYS BE THE BRATZ JEDI. PFFFT.

Otherwise, though, incredible detail on their figures. Really, incredible detail.

And via a personal friend, the Torchwood Land Rover was having some mechanical problems. One lucky mechanic took the opportunity to post photos. I adore fandom just for these quirky moments.

All hail Ultherverse? The main problem, as the article points out, is the company's ownership and promotion of the Red Light District. That's all that most users know of Ultherverse's platform, and educational and industrial concerns are shying far, far away from being associated with it.

In other news...Yui Sorbet, everyone:



We were at VenDom again, and...wau. Just wau. Very robotic, smooth movements, but extremely artificial. Mixed with certain things from the standard neko AO, I'm fairly sure.



Each of her boots was bigger than her entire head.



She had this really fun stretch pose that put her paw-mittens--each also bigger than her entire head!--up over her head for a moment, all casual-like, then brought them back down, where she'd lean forward and...wiggle, a bit, or something. It was nigh painfully cute.



The view from the, uh...rear. During the wiggle.



And when she walked, she left big rainbow pawprints everywhere. Oh gods, the twee!

From her profile:

Hello. My name is Yui Sorbet.
I am Japanese.
It is possible to hardly talk about English, and
forgive me, please.

I am playing with RPSIM named NoR. The race is Angelique.
Please read the RP story of me who describes to PIC.
English cannot be spoken, and let me apply the limitation to the penalty when it is defeated, please.

Okay, then. Thanks for dropping by, Miss Sorbet, it's been...unique.

a suspended ring or the mode of laughing, pebbles drawn from a heap

Welcome to the Carnivale Amusement Park. This is a really fun place.



We went there primarily to ride the Alice in Wonderland ride. Give yourselves lots of times for things to rez in--almost everything near the Alice ride is a sculpted or scripted object. You know the rules--wear a low-lag outfit, if you can, detach your gadgets, wait for everything to rez in, then summon a gondola. Set world to midnight and get into mouselook, and sit back and enjoy.



Kanic Huldschinsky did most of the sculpts (at least, inside the ride), and Roxxy Rhode narrated a vocal track for the ride of the Jabberwocky poem, and her whiskey-rough intonation oddly adds to the whole experience.



This is yet again one of those marvelous rides that perfectly preserves the feeling of chain-drawn track rides, complete with the slow jerking turns along the track, and the occasional sensation of "We're not gonna make it, we're gonna FALLL--"



There are a lot of wonderful touches about this ride--about the whole park, actually. A lot of thought, a lot of love for the traveling carnival, for amusement park rides, went into everything in Venusian. But most importantly, the people behind the Alice ride really know the books, and the movies, and love them all.



A really intriguing aspect of everything? The Alice ride to start with, but everything in Carnivale? He rents the rides out. For L$20,000 you can have any ride in the park, it won't expire--put it up, take it down, put it up somewhere else. For L$3,500 you can have the Alice ride for a week--put it up, seven days later it deletes. You can rent the rides.

Imagine the possibilities for fundraisers--for parties with a lot of guests--for themed events. You'd have to make sure you had a lot of prims available on your land, but even so--it's a great idea.




Currently? All the rides are half off through his rezday. So if you're interested, go and take a spin through Alice's world--wander the rest of the park--and, if you want to take something home, you can.

How cool is that?

quite the contribution to the unnatural selection

Kindred, long since home to scripted fangs, eyes, coffins, and other items essential to the nightwalkers among us, is having a ten Linden eye sale.



But not just any eyes--oh, no. All three of their scripted, multi-effect prim eyes are on sale. All the prim eye implants, that normally retail for L$150, are $L10 for today only.



And it gets better than that. The three base eye sets, that retail for L$599 each, are also L$10!



Remember: today only. So until midnight SLT, Sunday PST--ten Linden prim eyes with some really stupendous effects. Go get 'em!

In other news, another take on Egyptian godforms has surfaced on the grid:



These are not on sale, but for L$900, the list of options you get is staggering, simply staggering. It includes custom AO stands and holds for the staff, seven separate eyebrow expressions, a twitching tail, different eyelid positions, color-changing eyes, and four muzzle expressions--and that's just what I remember, there are more options listed!



The only real problem we noticed? Rakush Cheeky made one staff, with a black Anubis head, and then applied that staff to each and every avatar. We really would have liked to see the staff match the avatar, but still. It's a small quibble, and who knows--Rakush may be up for tinting to match!

Track down Tokushi Avatars to get your own, and keep in mind--there are three "normal" colors, and then an insane parade of pinks, purples, and greens. But who knows? Having a brilliant blue Anubis may appeal to someone--after all, that particular lapis shade of blue, with gold appointments, really lines up with traditional Egyptian color schemes.

In other news, antelope have been seen in Morgaine....sort of:

This one? I think is on the 'special' list. He kept trying to climb the mountain range that separates Morgaine from Caledon Wellsian...on his side. Little legs kicking off to the left as his right flank inched him up the mountain...

Personally? The focus disk for the dea--for, err, the, mm...Darkhouse structural relay, that's it...it may be emitting some wildlife-deranging particles.

That's all I can figure. Because the other alternative? Is animals come onto my parcel of Morgaine and go craaaazy.

Which is, all things considered, not that flattering...

down to the ground, down to the ground

Gah, I haven't exactly been consistent this week. Part of that, I admit, comes from discovery of Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst.

From everything Fawkes tells me, PSO was originally a multi-platform game pitting "Hunters" (a variety of characters, from the FOnewearl to the HUmarl, and beyond--different ways of labeling robots, mercenaries and Force-wielding elves, for the lack of better terminology) against the suddenly aggressive--and occasionally mutated--beasts on the planet below, all framed within a storyline that was simple and direct--just what did happen on Ragol?

One only finds out by being assigned "missions" that contain clues to the colony (Pioneer I, and the ship sent out to meet up with Pioneer I, appropriately named Pioneer II, contains the players and all the NPCs), then interacting with NPCs to discover more of the plot as it unfolds.



One always, in these games, starts off slow and works up to bigger, showier monsters, but even at the low levels, there's visual interest. This image, f'rinstance, contains a combatant called a "Rappy". They're essentially walking chirping Peeps, with antennae. One fires once--or twice, depending on armament type--and the Rappy "plays dead". Less observant folks will then wander off killing wolves in plate armor and wandering mutated "Boomas"; more observant ones will wait for the possum to stop playing--in other words, for the Rappy to "wake up" and take off running. (Because if one shoots a Rappy on the run, it surprises it into dropping special items, that can then be equipped to raise whatever that item will raise.)



It's your fairly standard MMO, innit? Space-based "dungeons" (in the form of sealed areas above the surface, and sealed cave systems beneath it) to wander through and slay monsters, people to interact with above who drop hints as to the nature of the next mission...well, no, not exactly. That's where PSO differs a great deal.

In PSO, when one arrives in one of many differently detailed and colored ship lobbies, one can interact--if one speaks the same language--with anyone there. But from there things can get odd. For instance, you can choose to run missions entirely solo. Or with a group. Or with two or three total strangers. It doesn't matter how one gets to the main colony floor, but once one does, it's just you. Or you and your friends. Everyone else is an NPC.

Imagine a world where you were the only 'real' person on a spaceship; everyone else was run by the central computer. It's both satisfying and deeply disturbing to know that you're the only one able to run around, shoot things, and make money; that everyone else is a figment, there only to give you someone to interact with.

Even coming in with a group of friends doesn't change that basic fact--you, and your friends, are the only living people on the ship, ever--and, just to make this point clear, always.

So the level of roleplay in PSO? Can be rich and varied, or completely nonexistant. You can log in, download the client, and just go down to the planet and lay waste--or you can come in, accept missions, and work with the NPCs to try to solve the puzzle of Ragol. Either way...it's entirely up to you.



Whether you're playing as a Force Loli, or not.

(Note: There are a couple of quirks with playing this game, being as it is an obsolete platform. First, for some virus scanners, the official client download for Windows registers--most notably with AVG--as a Trojan. It is not. But that does mean you'll have to go into your user interface, pull open Tools > Advanced Settings > Resident Shield > Exceptions, and add in the program line you use to track down PSO:BB. You'll need to do the same thing to the actual shortcut on the desktop, more or less. And don't forget to drop up to PUP Exceptions while you're in AVG, and put in the four .exe programs that make PSO run!

By the way, if all this sounds horrendously complex? Well, there's always WoW. Or downloading Runes of Magic, with its five-hour wait for the file. Or going back into Second Life...)

too tired to laugh at a vaulting moon

Short but intriguing news story on how many sims are being returned to the Lindens. Pointed, if brief, commentary on the situation.

Some distracted wanderings, as I go about my preparations for sleep.

This was taken as we were sitting in Bare Rose Tokyo's VIP room. And yes, Miss Neome really did think she was being all stealthy and ninja-like with her hiding skills.

Later, she hid even more effectively by sitting on the Raffle ball in the room, and rotating in a slow violet orbit. Indeed, hardly noticeable at all, she was only a bauble four times the size of the Raffle ball...

Speaking of o'erlarge baubles, however...



Click for a larger version of where, exactly, this was. During Solange's 12 Days of Christmas hunt, she actually buried one of her ornaments completely. It was exactly where she said it would be, and it was a 10x10x10 sphere, also as she said.

But still, fiendishly clever. Kudos to you, Miss Cerveau, well played indeed.

Ever wonder what happens when one of your prim eyes detaches during transport, and you come in partially Ruthed? Wonder no more:



Miss Midnight Bohemia explains wordlessly why two eyes are better than one.

And finally, from the ornament hunt at Falln, an odd encounter with the lurking undead.

Glimpsed on the stairs, a flash of red, a tuft of white fur, a snarling zombie visage from beyond the grave:

[3:29] My Pet Zombie Claus: See you later.
[3:29] My Pet Zombie Claus: >>:[
[3:29] Emilly Orr: Zombie Claus!
[3:29] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Can we get back to business?
[3:29] Emilly Orr: No!
[3:29] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Are you serious?
[3:30] Emilly Orr: It's Zombie Claus!
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: You're kidding. It is?
[3:30] Emilly Orr: It is!
[3:30] Emilly Orr: Look!
[3:30] Emilly Orr: He's right down there!
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: I see. Right down there is he?
[3:30] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:30] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Tell me a story.
[3:30] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:30] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: What color are your eyes?
[3:30] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:30] Emilly Orr: They're impaled on your cart!
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Impaled on my cart are they?
[3:30] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Can we get back to business?
[3:30] Emilly Orr: Stop hitting me!
[3:30] My Pet Zombie Nurse: OK I'll try not to do it so much.

I ran across the floor; he ran after.

[3:33] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: My brain uses AIML to format responses to your inputs, but I don't have one for that.
[3:33] Emilly Orr: You did that on purpose!
[3:33] Emilly Orr: NO
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Are you serious?
[3:33] Emilly Orr: STOP
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Stop what?
[3:33] Emilly Orr: Running over me!
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: You are asking about yourself?
[3:33] Emilly Orr: I tend to
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Thanks for the information.
[3:33] Emilly Orr: Fine, look, just...I'll stand over here.
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: I am glad to hear it. Sorry my eye is not attached right now. I haven't heard anything like that before.
[3:33] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:33] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:33] Emilly Orr: MINE EITHER
[3:33] My Pet Zombie Nurse: It goes without saying. I only hear that type of response less than five percent of the time.
[3:34] Emilly Orr: No kidding
[3:34] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Would I kid you?
[3:34] Emilly Orr: Let me find my eyes.
[3:34] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Go ahead, try to find your eyes.
[3:34] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:34] Emilly Orr: OW
[3:34] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Is that your final answer?
[3:34] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:34] Emilly Orr: AAAAAAAH
[3:34] My Pet Zombie Nurse: Tell me about your likes and dislikes?
[3:34] MystiTool HUD 1.3.0: Collision with "My Pet Zombie Nurse", Owner: Azriel Demain
[3:34] Emilly Orr: Great, you're homicidal AND codependent!

Honestly, I like FallnAngel Designs, I really do. And most of the time the zombies are...well, you know, a little off, they're zombies, but...still...

I bet he's just jealous of Zombie Claus.

And off for needed sleep.

when everything and everyone becomes my enemy

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 things to do is not the problem.

Tell me no more stories
And I'll tell you no lies
No one wants to hurt me
But everybody tries

Sooner or later I will lose my steps, lose my forward momentum, and then shall I tumble back to the abyss of flame. Impossibility; prophecy; what could never be, is. Adaptation is difficult under such circumstances.

And if you think that I've been waiting
For my planets to align
It's time you go on
Get your things, get up, get out--
I'm doing fine

Until I slip I walk half-dreaming; until I slip I concentrate on anything-but; until I slip I fight sleep, and wait to see blood on my hands.

Someday these walls will speak
The floor beneath you creak
To call my name
Here in my web of dreams
My whispers turn to screams
And place the blame

One step. One step. One step. I will survive, I will get through this, and if I burn, it won't be the first time. I endure. Through everything, I endure.

I'm stubborn that way.

Rose, Rose, Rose Red
Will I ever see thee wed?
Only if you discover me...

My hands weave the air into patterns, sorting, changing, packing, making. Even when I'm relaxing, my mind's busy on a thousand other things. I cannot stop long enough to take a mental breath, not now, not yet.

Tell me no more stories
And I'll tell you no lies
No one wants to hurt me
But everybody tries

Soon enough I will stop, soon enough I will have to, turn and face what's making limbo a hell and not an impatient haven. Soon enough, all too soon, there'll be nothing left to do. Nothing left to make. Nothing left but to brace, for fire and for pain.

And if you think that I've been waiting
For my planets to align
It's time you go on
Get your things, get up, get out--
I'm doing fine
Yeah, yeah...

I make small plans, to roll into larger ones later. How much I have in savings, how long I'll need to pay ahead if I'm not in world. I can't think past that. I can't be past that. One day. One step. One breath. Holding to that, I stand, create, envision.

For this freedom
I have given all I had
For this darkness
I gave my light
For this wisdom
I have lost my innocence
Take my petals
And cover me with the night

I know there are at least twenty days remaining on all properties. In twenty days I'll know which way to turn. And I have options, I am not backed into a corner, claws out, scratching for a chance to break free.

One step. One step. One step. I may be edging towards the corner, but I'm still free to move.

Tell me no more stories
And I'll tell you no lies
No one wants to hurt me
But everybody tries

I will breathe. Every breath brings me closer. I will breathe. Every breath brings more danger. I will breathe. Every breath is one more success, and I am living, I am breathing, I am moving. I am thinking. I will find the right way through.

And if you think that I've been waiting
For my planets to align
It's time you go on
Get your things, get up, get out--
Get out, get out!
I'm doing fine...

Unshaken and shaking, breathing and gasping, pushing away and reaching towards--I am all these things, none of these things. I feel the flare of heat against my back, the sharp sting of nerves close to burning, and I welcome it for the focus it brings and the memories it staves off.

I move here. I step here. Intricate, ornate, as with all I do, all I think, all I choose to express. One step. One breath. One creation. Night after night, hour after hour, minute after minute, while I chase the darkness to dawn.

I endure. I have come through worse. I will get through this.

(Lyrics taken from Emilie Autumn's Rose Red.)

you let me wonder, now I'll let you burn

Last night, we went to Fanastacia Haunted Bayou, in Illusionatta.



The music is odd but entertaining, the stops along the way are fun to explore, and the conceit of riding around deep-country bayou between haunts is inspired.



There's a lot of stops along the way, and most of them have additional boat rezzers, so you can stop, explore, then come back and rez a new craft to travel more of the waterways.



Some things seem clues to whatever long-forgotten tragedy occurred in this place (like the letter in the schoolhouse); some are more random and just placed for effect (like the demon Rottweilers in the morgue).



Burning corpses, bloodied body parts, and skinned animals seem the main "attractions" at this haunt, but they're used to marvelous effect nearly everywhere.



One of these things is not like the others. If you guessed the ghost of Lincoln, you're now with me in trying to figure out why, in a southern bayou complete with abandoned mansion, Lincoln would be haunting the place.



Why is the woman changed outside the cage? That's my big question.



It's a big haunt. It's maybe more than can be taken in in one evening, so hurry quick and see as much of it as you can. It's so worth the effort.

I'm just sippin' on chamomile, watchin' boys and girls and their sex appeal

I can't decide if this is genius, or a travesty. Maybe it's both; who else would ever think of mixing Gilbert & Sullivan, Pirates of Penzance, and Sir Mix-a-lot's Baby Got Back? (Besides Jonathan Coulton. And even he didn't toss in Gilbert & Sullivan.)

I don't normally advertise item camps, but this one gets in for two good reasons.

One, it's part of the chain (five sims; when did SICK become five sims?!?) of SICK, in sick2 to be precise, and SICK in any sim is a marvelous post-apocalyptic build, with fun little back alleys, piles of end-time junk, decaying neon and poseballs scattered in the strangest places.



(Very powerful fan. Sometimes you need to be careful when clicking random poseballs.)

Two, of course, is, in just fifteen minutes of rotating in space, you too can have your very own anti-gravity AO.



Of course, the instructions are bound to be in Japanese, but hey, that's what Babelfish is for. And, in-world, Simbolic.

I favor this new trend, anyway. Don't get me wrong, I find myself in need of a few extra Lindens more often than not, but frankly, camping for money--doing nothing to earn it but stand there--or, more often, sit in place--it always struck me as wrong, somehow. Or at the least, tacky.

Camping for things? Bring it on. One chooses where to camp, what to camp for, and then spends the time washing floors, scrubbing windows, sweeping--or, at present in sick2, camping for a chair inexplicably made of junk--falling forward on one's face every minute or so--really, whatever the maker wants one to do. In this instance, I am exchanging time--which, these days, is valuable to me, I never have enough of it--for an item; exchanging service for goods. This makes sense to my brain. And I feel I'm earning it, somehow.

Just remember, with these two (and all the other) item camps, they won't kick you when you've earned the item. You have to count the time off and stand up. (The AO goes for fifteen minutes, remember, and the chair wants twenty-five.)

In other news, it's been an odd few days. Two of them were spent battling zombies in two separate sims. Digital Hollywood's hunt is over, so I'm fairly sure the zombies went back where zombies go...on the other hand, Nipponbashi's Dead Shot is still around. And still fairly thrilling. (Here's an excellent explanation on why. Though now I'm willing to bet the strange red objects have been replaced by what we faced two nights ago--ravenous chimpanzee-like multicolored feral men with knives!)

One night I spent dancing at Le Cimetiere for their third anniversary party. The swag package was worth going for, a lovely collection of fetishy boots and fun necklaces, and a near life-size voodoo doll box--but the best part was just touching base again, in an odd way.

One of the first sims I went to when I landed on the grid two years back was Le Cim. It was one of the places I'd go when everything else got too glittery, hectic, and blinged-out (remember, two years ago, I was on the mainland). I doubt they remember me from anyone, especially since I'd hang out in the darkest corner of their cemetary dance club. I struck up a few conversations, but for the most part, Le Cim was my escape from the world of being perpetually perky and blonde.

Yes. For most of my career dancing at Enigma, I was blonde. Reel in horror now.

I went there when I tired of sunshine and beaches, I went there when I tired of smiling every three minutes. And they never failed me.

So it was good to come and dance for a bit, in celebration, in commemoration, in tribute and triumph. I hated missing the first part, but I was overjoyed I didn't miss it all.

Also--though this will make an appearance on the shop blog when we're ready, we recently acquired a small parcel in Regency. We still anxiously await the arrival of neighbors with torches, but we're doing our best to be unobtrusive.

There's not much out, until we open, but we're slowly putting things together. Kartiny is still upstairs, Autogenic Alchemy is still downstairs, and there are Caledon postboxes by the front entry to drop notecards or IMs for Mme. Allen or myself.

There will doubtless be some sort of party to announce our arrival formally. Until then, look for the Octavia Tower near the docks. We're No. 3.

Oh, and on this question, Fawkes, since I didn't answer it in world? Normally my answer would be anime, but for that particular game, the CG actually looks better. So I have to say the CG animated version would be my choice.

Not that I know anything at all about the game...



(Upon reflection? I love my new chair. All thirty-eight prims of it.)

and we'll have fun fun fun

There's more to come on this, but in the meantime, I'll be placing images from the devastation on St. Kitts Island here.

It's been a long and tiring day of dancing and ash inhalation. *coughs* But more is to come.

Also, if you don't see me for the next few days, it's because I'm fairly assured the Baron is going to want my head on a platter.

(I swear! He was just standing there! And I was too stunned to do more than set up lithographs and snap as fast as I could!)

to be reborn, not born again, erase my regret from the start

We went to see Black Swan. The first thing that struck us was the vicious level of bright white glow. We were wincing in pain before we'd gotten three steps in.

The walls of the bright white room recommended that we wear "authorization devices" so that the security bots would not shoot on sight. I wore one, figuring my odds might be better; my companions did not choose to do so.



I'd seen the bound angel before, in Port Seraphine; but it was just as impressive walking past it, deeper into the exhibit.



Walking up to where the exhibits began was somewhat odd. Skulls littered the blackened stone path, and at the crest of it was a shining pendulum, swinging back and forth.

Miss Neome, in some tiny form or other, walked right under it, and told me she'd walked right through it. I didn't listen to my instincts, so walked right into the edge of the blade. It sliced through my shoulder as blood spurted, staining the path behind me.

Miss Fawkes, in statuesque form, also thought the blade could not harm her, and it nearly sheared her head off. For all that she was mobile stone, blood sprayed from her wound as well.

We resolved to be more careful.



This was the first piece that really took my breath away. This is what sculpts should be, I kept--and keep!--thinking: not sharp, just beauifully molded, elegance of design and ease of use combined. She was gorgeous.



Then, with a touch, she came to life, and I was awestruck, completely awestruck. Colors ripple over her, stream from her hair, the very air seems to warm--it's just the most astounding effect.



This was the second piece that just astounded me. The angel, the woman of stone who comes to life, the ballerina yet to come--these were all VERY large pieces.

This one? The couple embracing, standing in the center of the bay? Dwarfed all of them.



And the alabaster ballerina, eternally frozen in a single moment. She was also just gorgeous to look at.

In fact, really, the only disappointment about this exhibit? Was the fashions at the end. Here was an opportunity to really go places, break new ground, let imaginations run wild--what are the limits of possibility, what can we do with fashion, with fabric, with what we can create with hearts and hands?

And, with very few exceptions, everyone took the staid, the boring, the easy way out. Tired retreads or things that just happened to have feather textures, or good outfits, pretty outfits, that were only an inch or so away from what that designer does on a daily basis. It was very disappointing.

We turned a corner, then, and discovered where newbs go when they're away.



Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, it was hard to tell.



I flew down--carefully!--through the spires, touching down when I had to, nearly always to some unexpected effect--until I reached the center inverted pyramid. I touched down on it--and security zapped me, and sent me home.

Gracious! And I *had* their little don't-shoot 'authorization device'!



And then we went to Planet Mongo. Which is, if you were ever a fan of Flash Gordon, a stunning recreation of Ming the Merciless' domain, on its own.

[21:46] Emilly Orr: Mm, we having problems again?
[21:46] Emilly Orr: Hasn't hit the sim I'm in
[21:46] Emilly Orr: Yet
[21:46] Lerochelle Destiny: [21:42] Second Life: There is a hardware issue which is affecting some resident's ability to login. Some residents inworld may not appear in search, or may appear to be offline. Affected residents may also experience problems rezzing items or making transactions. To be safe, we recommend all residents refrain from rezzing no copy items or making transactions until the all clear is given. Some groups may also experience issues related to group abilities. Ops is at work correcting the problem. Please monitor the Second Life Grid Status Report, http://tinyurl.com/5e2opk, for further information.
[21:47] Ivyana Szondi: oh damn
[21:47] Emilly Orr: So basically, SL is borked again, and you've noticed it becoming more and more borked for the past two days, but we can't ignore it anymore, so now we're trying desperately to patch whatever broke on Monday, hang in there
[21:48] Ivyana Szondi: LOL

Pretty much. One last thing--the Retrology sim comprises a whole double-cartload of stores and boutiques with one linking ideal: vintage is more fun. The 'vintage' they mean is generally from 1920-1960, but still, it's a pleasant stroll, a good build, and currently they're celebrating their one-year anniversary as a sim, so many of the merchants are handing out anniversary gifts, of clothing and what-not. It's nicely done.

How'ver--



Really...really not the place for a typo of this magnitude.

Besides...if it's really a 'blowing alley' dress...it should be at least a little more low-cut.

*ducks and scurries off*

so dig a little deeper, 'cause you still don't get it yet

New skin designer out there, or at least new to me. Miss Calire Harford of Symphony Skins in Aurora Quays (at least currently).



Don't ask me why I started with the darkest skin in her freebie pack, near the door. I don't usually. And even while falling in love with the eyes, my eyes were drawn to what appeared to be a demarcation line across the neck.



So I flipped on a face light, and changed my pose, and presto, that line disappears. I think, honestly? It's not the light hiding a line. I think it's the way she runs the shading along the collarbone.

Beyond that, though, the rest of the body has really nice details. I could live with more definition on the nipples, but her belly button, even if photosourced, is absolutely charming. And her lower body is very pretty indeed.

But I keep looking at her eyes. Or the makeup around them. That is breathtaking.

Pulls a little oddly on the blink, but really, no one focuses that close.



I was wrong! There is a darker tone. This is "Baritone", and same lovely eyes, slightly darker, richer tan, bit more orange in the lips. About the only changes.



Okay, next tone up in her demo line, at least, is Falsetto. (And yes, for those twitching in the studio audience, the hair was mangled, thanks ever so, fixed now. I plead distraction due to the pretty pretty eye work. Shhh.)

Again, slight color variation, lips equivalent tone, same--still beautiful, but--same eyes.



I figure, Alto's close to 'average of all SL skin tones', more or less. Good definition, very little streaking on any of these, some small bit along the upper arms, I'd like more definition along the rear, but hey, I'm also an acknowledged freak. Beyond that, again, same lip tone, same lovely scrollwork around the eyes.



And Contralto's one of three tones I normally live in. And again, this is a lovely tone, peach-pink, sort of tea-rose bloom if anything along the shading.



And finally, Soprano--the second of my personal three favorite tones, and a very nice version, gorgeous pale-velvet-matte feel to this one.

(In case there's anyone who hasn't figured it out? My third favorite skin tone: white. Like, vampire-white, ice-white. What can I say, eternal gothling, I know, it's sad.)

So, overall, I don't think I'm going to be doing enough of these to develop a rating system, but I'd give her 4 out of 5 of whatever it would be. Check her out.