entangled in the loneliness, the memory of innocence

I seem to have really awful luck this year on finding good haunts, so--finally decided to go with what the Lindens recommended. And now I'm at Laurel's Nightmare.



So the first room told me the conceit of this haunt--namely, pretty accurate reproductions of horror films. Each one has the movie poster, or something representing the movie, and then a scene suggestive of same.



This is ostensibly the Mummy room, but--arachnophobe warning. I did my best to crop out the actual spiders hanging in the webs, but hoo boy, are there a LOT of webs.



Of course there's going to be a room referencing the Exorcist.



So, after my first reaction, I got what this room was--namely, reproducing a section of the Nostromo from the first Alien film--but at first, I blinked and went "wait, did I port back to Tannhauser Gate accidentally?"

Because somewhere, on Tannhauser, there's a set of rooms that are very similar to this set piece...



And now we're in Jason territory, and this area is just rife with the jumpscares. It's also the first room I remember that you will actually get stabbed, sawed, wounded...It won't be the last, but it is the first.



And I won't lie, I'm pretty sure it's due to having recently seen the Hellraiser remake, but this room seriously made me stop breathing for a moment. But it's also really gorgeously done--the moving floor is stellar, and it very much feels like we're in a puzzle box, looking at a puzzle box, standing on a slowly solving puzzle box.

Neat.

All in all, there's a lot of different rooms, and while it's mostly a walk through various horror films, over being a more traditional haunt, that's not a bad idea. I liked it, I'd say seriously four out of five skulls. Worth a trip if you have some time to kill.

Can you solve the puzzle of Room 1408?

So, this one's a little tricky. First, there's a default port-in-point, so you need to go there, and then follow the beacon to the haunt. If that doesn't work, then when you port in, hang a left, and run along the tracks towards the back of the attraction. When you see the big white building? That's it.



The instructions are simple on how to get into the "ride". The thing is, it's a wholly unique concept, as far as I know. Insteada of the typical scripted chain rides, you click to get in, and you (and up to three friends) will immediately go into mouselook on a bed. And the room moves around the bed. It's fascinating.



There's a ton of movie homages here, but there's also a fair bit of originality, and both are paired rather brilliantly.



You have full view--if your mouse can go there, you can 'see' there. Up, down, sideways, behind you--and do look around, there are so many little details to catch. I've been through this four times now, and I see something new every time.



Marvelous use of just a single red balloon, too, to cause dread and unease.



Have sounds on, if you can, there are sound cues as to what should draw your attention at any given time. I don't know if it matters if you have your music on or not, but that may make some of the effects harder to hear.



And did I mention, there's also a story to this one? Because it's not just ooh-spooky-gotcha moments, there's an actual linking tale for this. It's not hugely complicated, but it doesn't need to be.

All in all, highly, highly recommended to check this one out before the spooky season ends. It's very well done.

it's 3 AM and the moonlight's testing me

Not my usual gig, but this made my jaw drop so hard, I had to cover it. And there are likely many, many people who won't entirely get this, but...it must be said.

So I'm fairly behind on Critical Role, which is an online show featuring a bunch of professional voice actors (and at least one child actor turned adult) being filmed while playing Dungeons and Dragons.

But I'm up to Episode 78 of Campaign 2, and...let's pause a moment and explain Sam Riegel.

...

There's no explanation for Sam Riegel. Let's just sum up what he's doing here. For the...two years? Two years! Critical Role has been running (at the time of ep. 78, at least), Sam has been doing on-the-spot comedy promos for DnD Beyond, the official digital support program for keeping track of character sheets, spells and the like for paper gamers.

In this episode...he went...well, his version of goth. And as the "Web Weaver", he essentially did a surfer dude's take on what goth culture is. Taliesin's face during this...abomination...was intense.

Now, that video gives you the exact play by play, but I wanted to pull out a few screen captures to focus on.



But Sam, Sam, Taliesin is right there! His Twitter handle is @executivegoth, for the love of all things! How can you say that?



Because what else would he say? It was a staggeringly disconnected statement from Sam's everyday reality, which includes a goth person.

Sam retorted in response, that Taliesin seems so normal, and:



I bet. After Surfer Goff Emo Boi...



It was indeed. This would be a shock of cold water to the gothic soul.



Anyone would.



AND THIS WAS THE BIT THAT BROKE MY BRAIN, because--



They were all at a live show of Critical Role in Indiamapolis! In August!



EVERYONE made the choice to go goth for the live show! So Sam...Sam...YOU SAW TALIESIN'S GOTH SELF! How can you have forgotten from August to October??



How could you have MISSED this, Riegel??

I'm baffled. It's baffling.

I...I have no words.

my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder (part I)

This entire thread on silent films and 'mansplaining' is genius, and I ended up retweeting not even a third of it before I realized I just needed to slap the entire thing in Twitter bookmarks. Plus, all the art is correctly attributed.

And I wish I'd gotten to this sooner, but...I wrote this entire entry, thought I saved it to publish, then had to restart my computer. When I pulled the blog back up...the entire thing had erased. So...this is a reconstructed review.

Of the two new things to review, we're starting with the fashion bit today--which is "Solitaire", a lovely, slinky, glittery minidress collaboration from Miss sachi Vixen of Adam n' Eve, and Deep Static of Deep Static (of course), for the Liaison Collaborative event.



It's a form-fitting number with a plunging, draping cowl neckline, and is also very low-cut in back (more on that later). This is a glimmering iridescent tone I don't have a better name for.



There's also a glistening snow white, very bright, very vibrant.



This is the set's gold, not the bright, glittering flash of new gold, but the burnished warmth of gold coins well handled.



I adore this shade--I'd call it a merlot, honestly, but it might be simply wine. (sachi, why you no name your colors? Why?)



The turquoise I snapped from the back for two reasons, this being the first. Normally, I think it's very tacky to have lingerie that peeps over the edge of an outfit, unless it's designed to do that? But this I left, because it shows just how low-cut the back is.

(That particular thong, by the way, has been a lifesaver since I'm still struggling to figure out why applier-layered lingerie now doesn't work for me? It's made by Kaithleen's, about the only thing it fails at is a solid blue, and even though it has a delicate chain detail for the straps it fits under 99% of everything I wear.)


And this is a close-up of the little charm detail that fits the Las Vegas theme of the Liaison's event. I'm showing it in the black, but there's six different metal options for each dress.

And that's all for part I! Part II coming soon!

(All pictures taken at the City of Elysian, which is absolutely beautiful, BUT also a capture/prey Adult sim. So know that going in. I didn't get overly accosted [and I wasn't looking to be], but it's still wise to be careful if visiting.)

and there is more than just diamonds and rubies hidden beneath the concrete below

Any song that features the lyrics "Desecrate the tomb, to the rhythm of the rumba" is good in my books. (And if you've never heard of Nanowar of Steel, well, there you go. Perfect introduction to their battily insane musical stylings.)

Meanwhile...

[23:01] Nyree Rain: Calla, WHY is my guard robot trying to stuff you into the fuel tank?
[23:01] Nyree Rain: you didn't try to take something again?
[23:06] Calla Iris Waydelich (callidus.waydelich): No??
[23:06] Calla Iris Waydelich (callidus.waydelich): ....Yes...
[23:07] Nyree Rain: sigh

Now really, are you that surprised? One cannot remain Pirate Queen and rest on her laurels, after all, so...it's kind of expected.

This is very interesting: the founders of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival have decided this year to go virtual. Drawing on a host of international film resources to prevent both well-known creations and never-before-released-widely films, I think it's a magnificent effort, both logistically and creativity. (Oh, and the accompanying blog is already up and running.)

There are nutritional psychologists? That's fascinating. That's also a list of recipes that supposedly elevate both physical and emotional well-being. (Of course, YMMV, obviously special diets weren't considered with the list.)

In the meantime, We RP is open! And I got sent another jewelry pack from Adam 'n Eve, which I can finally, I think, do justice to regarding pictures. Because I no longer own a potato to log into SL.



This is the left armlet from Ms. sachi's Priya collection. There's an inherent soft, shimmery glow to the pieces, and this one I'm showing in the bright gold for metal, the emerald green for the gems. It's unrigged, as I discovered because I wanted to adjust it juuuuust the slightest bit--in my case, to be slightly to the left and slightly farther up on the arm.




This is Priya's right armlet, shown in black metal, with pink gems. There's still that soft glow to this, unobtrusive, but definitely noticeable.



There's a pendant with the same design (just the pendant; the collar and the back necklace with the amethyst gem are mine), still unrigged to match the rest of the set. There are two metals on the top of the metals HUD; the one on the left is snowy white, the one on the right (shown here) looked like it would be a white metal, but I'd actually call this silver, maybe? Either way, it's lovely.



This is the bindi piece, which I do not, as a rule, wear in SL (or RL) because I'm not Hindu or Jain, and the actual bindi mark itself has significance in the culture. That being said, in a fantasy environment, I think this is sufficiently 'ornamental' beyond the religious/cultural connotations, and it is another lovely piece.

I forgot this was in the set, so the bangs do slightly interfere; I got the best shot I could. I'm showing it in the rose gold metal, and the ruby-red gem.



For the diadem, I realized the bangs were really going to interfere. So I switched from Calico's Thedra hair to EscalateD's Lovey, with the trailing strands removed. Keep in mind this is adjusted slightly higher than I think it should naturally rest, because I wanted to clear the hair. (It, like all the other pieces in the set, are unrigged mesh.)



And finally, the right armlet again, shown in the last gem and color setting, both white. It seems the white and the gold metal choices, interestingly enough, show the glow effect best, but even with those two, it's still not a scream-in-your-face level of glow. Just enough to look...well, magical.

I'll go back later and track down the actual booth SLUrl for Adam 'n Eve, but when using the "updated" landmark the We We RP group sent out, I ended up in a wall:

[14:51] Emilly Orr: Also, aaaack. Designer friend of mine sent a jewelry pack for review for We RP? So I've been taking product shots for a blog post. Last thing to do was go to the site, using the handily supplied 'updated landmark'
[14:51] Emilly Orr: Ended up in a wall.
[14:52] Emilly Orr: While I was trying to get OUT of the wall, I realized at least three people had on vocal bumpers
[14:52] Emilly Orr: So it was a sudden cacaphony of "You think you're BETTER than me?", "Dude, I'm sorry" and (the sole female-voiced one) "Ooh, Daddy".
[14:52] Emilly Orr: Very cringeworthy.
[14:54] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: those seem unrelated :)
[14:55] Emilly Orr: They do!

Yeesh.

So use this one until further notice.

(Further notice, because I had time to run and check: For this set, they're being sold in single metal colors with a HUD to shift the tone of the gems. Each set includes all five pieces, and they run L$185 each. Or you can buy the fatpack, which includes all the metal colors and the gems for each piece, for L$500. Which yes, is a steal, considering the quality. If you're using a browser that supports direct ports, here's the booth, and if you only have beacons to go by, that should tell you where to walk from the center hub.

(Other bits of information:

(I'm wearing the Rheia fantasy skin from Ritual (sadly, the closing-off-the-grid sale has ended, the store is now gone; I was hoping the sale would still be going) and the "Intense Power" outfit in green from Belle Epoque. And of course, all shots were taken on Luane's Magical World, because the scenery really seemed to fit the set.)

through my window. I can see the world from there

Dropped sidewise into an extended conversation elsewhere was this little gem--a minor ton of Finnish silent films that have been subtitled into English. So, if you're a speaker of English OR Finnish, you're covered. And even if you speak neither, it will likely be enjoyable. So enjoy.

Meanwhile, why does Disqus think I'm Slovakian?

Ahoj emilly,

Nedávno sme od vás obdržali požiadavku o obnovu hesla. Prosím nasledujte tento link : {{link omitted on the off chance it's spam}}
(V prípade, že kliknutie na odkaz nefunguje, skúste ho skopírovať a vložiť do vášho prehliadača.)

V prípade, že ste nepožiadali o obnovu hesla, považujte toto hlásenie za nepodstatné. Platnosť tohto linku automaticky vyprší za 72 hodín.

This (roughly) translates to:

Hi emilly,

We recently received a password reset request from you. Please follow this link: {{again omitted}}
(If clicking the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it into your browser.)

If you did not request a password reset, please disregard this message. This line will automatically expire in 72 hours.

Since I didn't request one, and wouldn't have because I haven't commented on a Disqus-engine blog post in a good six months, easily, I'm just going to ignore it. Because even if it does seem to be a notice sent directly from Disqus itself, it could be spoofed, and I'd have no way to know for sure. But why Slovakian? I'm nearly nine thousand kilometers from there. It's baffling.

Heir of meanwhile...

[23:17] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: i am reading about books being taken off the curriculum in an alaska school. And...while it is stupid..I am not sure how that is a book ban. The story even notes that the books are still available..
[23:17] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Just not going to be taught as part of the curriculum.
[23:17] Emilly Orr: What sort of books are they?
[23:17] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: classics..
[23:18] Emilly Orr: If they're standard textbooks, that are available elsewhere, what are they being replaced with?
[23:18] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: great gatsby..etc
[23:18] Emilly Orr: Hmm. So no longer teaching the classics of American (and some British) literature, because...?
[23:19] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: i am just not seeing a book ban here..no one seems to be saying you can't read them..just that they won't be on the curriculum.
[23:19] Emilly Orr: No, in fact, they seem to be saying that if a student or parent requests it, they will buy the book requested so the student can read it.
[23:20] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: well..that is Portugal the Man.
[23:20] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: A cool move
[23:20] Emilly Orr: That's not a ban, that's more of a...civilized restriction. The school saying, we realize these issues are harmful un society, but we don't want to be the ones insisting everyone reads about incest, rape and murder.
[23:20] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Yes
[23:21] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: I don't agree with it , but..it isn't prelude to book burning.
[23:21] Emilly Orr nods
[23:21] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Catch 22 is a wonderful book.
[23:21] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: The great Gatsby, too
[23:21] Emilly Orr: I don't agree with it either, but I would much rather have something like that, then a total ban that means any student caught with X book gets expelled.
[23:22] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: yea
[23:22] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: I feel like the people commenting..and the title of the article..didn't read the article
[23:22] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: or..just read the title..
[23:23] Emilly Orr: While I see a HUGE problem with not teaching teens about their bodies, so that they actually know enough to make decent informed choices about sex, there are other places to read books. Libraries. Bookstores. Online in some cases.
[23:24] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: yes.
[23:24] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: And..i maintain it is the role of the parents.
[23:24] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Not old ms mcgillicudy putting a condom on a zucchini
[23:26] Emilly Orr: I'd agree, but...the problem is, the rise of that certain stripe of fundamentalism that says, if we remove knowledge from children, they will remain innocent and never engage with sex, drugs, acting out, foul language--that is an entire branch of religion essentially going LA LA LA YOU'RE WRONG THEY'RE PERFECT ANGELS LA LA LA LA
[23:26] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Still.
[23:26] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: their children
[23:27] Emilly Orr: So...if you have parents that understand that kids will get hormonal, and are kind of dense at times, and is willing to honestly explain things, great. But if your parents are more the "abstinence is the only solution", then...you're going to get pregnant kids and young fathers and the next generation with STDs, because no one just talked with them.
[23:27] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Theirs to lose.
[23:27] Emilly Orr: I guess. It just seems like such a waste.
[23:27] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Yes.
[23:27] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: But..that is life, sometimes
[23:27] Emilly Orr nods.
[23:28] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Unless we want to just say we know better, so parents should shut up
[23:28] Emilly Orr: Marion Zimmer Bradley said it best: "The world goes as it will, and not as you or I would have it."
[23:28] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: i....would not trust her on child rearing..
[23:28] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: or anything..
[23:28] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: she abused her kids
[23:28] Emilly Orr: Amusingly, she raised...what was it, six? Of course, not all of them were hers.

I know two were related to her, the rest sort of cycled in and out of the house.

[23:28] Emilly Orr nods
[23:29] Emilly Orr: So often, people we admire for other reasons are problematic in the main.
[23:29] Emilly Orr: It's a struggle.
[23:30] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: Well...when it veers into criminality..there is an issue.
[23:30] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: A world of difference between being an asshole and diddling your kids.
[23:30] Emilly Orr: I think of it as the John Denver effect. Brilliant songwriter. Great voice. Very talented musician. Beat his wife.
[23:30] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: yea.
[23:31] Emilly Orr: So...yes, the songs are timeless, and beautiful, but...the other side of that is criminally bad.
[23:31] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx nods

There are no answers. Sometimes, there never are with conversations on these topics. But it's good that the school is providing the option to get the 'banned' books into student hands. That's something, at least.

the fiends nail time bombs to the hands of the clocks

Same complaint, same response, it's getting old...

[11:52] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I have to say beautiful work by the makers, 1 out of 10 I would give it a 8 but you know what would give it a 10? Hmmmm lets see. what could it be? what would make it a 10 out of 10.? If there were stuff for Guys to use more important us Gorean guys. Vikings Guys medieval....
[11:54] Emilly Orr: We've heard this before, and my response is the same: there are makers of Gorean clothing on the list, they do show up, you've just bought all of it. So find new stores and talk to them about joining the 25L list.

I mean, really. Want more makers of mens' attire on a sales list? Talk to the merchants who make them. If he doesn't know any, this is not my--or the sales list's--problem.

In the meantime, I finally saw Annabelle: Creation. While I very much enjoyed The Conjuring and The Conjuring II, the rest of the films in the series have been a disappointment. The Nun was nigh unwatchable, the first Annabelle film was tedious, and La Llorona was just ridiculous in every way. And pointless, to be blunt. Too much emphasis on jump scares over plot, on cranking films out over actual integrity of character.

But I liked the trailer for Annabelle: Creation. And while I knew it wouldn't be a great film, I thought it had a chance to be an okay film. But after seeing it, I'm just confused.



Don't get me wrong. They actually picked a good team of actors. That's not the issue. And the plot seems...well, it has iffy moments, but it seems (at least structurally) sound. And the setting definitely works--most Americans can easily believe the midlands, the so-called "flyover states", are haunted--whether they live in one or not.



No, I think it comes down to direction. John R. Leonetti had directed the first iteration of Annabelle, and the results weren't stellar. To be fair, while he has a solid footing in horror, most of his horror credits have been as a director of photography, not an actual film director. He did a capable job on The Conjuring, a film I liked very much, and had taken the first Annabelle, which...wasn't as good.

And he was attached to the project at first, but...not that long after, he was replaced by David F. Sandberg, who, while he has several directorial credits to his name, is mainly known for three: Lights Out a film with a strong plot and weak direction, Shazam!, a film that doesn't even start to become likeable until the last ten minutes, and...Annabelle: Creation.



So what's wrong with it, other than the emphasis on jump scares, which reduce all build-up of tension in any horror film, over actual dread? That's where my confusion comes in.

I truly can't fault the acting. There are some big names attached, and they're great, but even the unknowns are good--honest, heartfelt, we know their characters, we understand them, we feel for them. That's not the issue.

The issue really is the direction. In the sense that...how do I describe this? It almost feels like it's a two-director film. It's like Alfred Hitchcock and Eli Roth decided to make a film together. There is a build-up of creeping dread, long, drawn-out shots that generate tension, and then...JUMP SCARE. There's the revelation of a plot point, and several breathless moments where we try to figure out--did we see something in the shadows, or is it just human brains trying to pattern our way through the darkness? And then...JUMP SCARE.



It's not a coherent whole. The two sides--the two stories, the feeling of twin directors, whatever it is--keep tugging at each other. It's..bipolar. It's a bad mix.

And even with that, it was a far better film than Annabelle, and received much more box office than its predecessor, and...I just don't understand why. All right, in the very basic sense of the term, it was a better film, because the original independent Annabelle movie was terrible. But this? This isn't good. It has good moments, but...that's all they are, a collection of moments that do not, on their own, add up to a decent film.

It relies on jump scares over storytelling. It's plebian. It's mediocre. And ultimately disappointing overall, because it could have been so much more.

and as I watch you disappear into my head, well, there's a man who's telling me I might be dead (part two)

(Continued from part one.)



On the second floor I found mostly empty rooms, with a pinball-bouncing Chucky doll triggering every time I came out to the center area that all the rooms open onto. That...was annoying. But of the two rooms that had anything, this was definitely the more visually interesting--the other being the same bed with a bloodied red blanket, a cut-out wavery butler, nine feet tall, and a floor candlestick.



There's very little on the second floor, and very little in the attic. But the attic is confusing: rip clown, devil's head, the Jigsaw puppet, and Tiffany in a T pose. Why?



The last structure I found before I left was a barn, complete with jumpscare clown, drifting spectre, and hanging man.



And there's nothing upstairs in the barn loft.

All in all, this isn't terrible. It's sufficiently atmospheric. I'd honestly give it a solid three skulls if not for the fact I had to open the map and peer at a poster to get the correct coordinates for the haunt. It wasn't arduous, in the sense of having to move a car or anything, but it was irritating, and it didn't need to be.



In the meantime, I'm just not getting used to this new let's-rearrange-all-the-things style of logout screen. (The red arrow is due to my using a screencap service to grab this, and it grabbed where my mouse cursor was, too.)