starting 1st May, no bus will go here anymore

I can't find the thing.

Let me say that again, as it's vaguely important: I CAN'T FIND A SINGLE ONE OF THE PICTURES OF THE LAST THING I WAS GOING TO REVIEW. Worse? I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS IT WAS I WAS GOING TO REVIEW.

Add to that the frustration that I'm not already healed last week, getting a slight cold from the girl, local temps crashing, my own current dissatisfaction with my ability to Em...

Anyway. If nothing else, I needed to just get away from it all.



And tossing out the original review I had been planning entirely, whatever it was, and since I still haven't changed out of the outfit I was wearing two or three days back, I decided, we'll just pick something at random. Which turned out to be the "Elemiah" Illuminated Glass Halo from /Vae Victis\.



Also om nom nom broken bits.

I'm currently at the Snowbound hunt, looking for various baubles (in world, there's a glass ballroom with all the keys where you rez, or you can jump to Flickr for each maker's bauble color and number of prizes), and--of course and always--mourning my inability to buy Lindens. (Why is this such a constant state, Em? Oh, right, depression.) It ends January 21st, so a bit ouch if I don't get to things in time. Still. It's a pretty (and pretty crowded) build, overall.



And there's a train, so you know I'm happy. (Wrote that as "appy" first--and no, no, definitely not appy.)



But now I'm out of gingerdead coffee. Darn. Pepperminthe it is!

(Oh, by the way, if anyone feels like getting a belated gift card for coffee for yourself or a friend, or buying coffee for future me, even, Death Wish Coffee is a good one [I adore their Pumpkin Chai, it's just straight-up good spiced coffee, but their Dark Spirits Chocolate Rum Ball is also amazing]. If you're more into just good, unflavored coffee, Top of the Mornin' Coffee has a lot of really good blends--for dark roast lovers, I can't recommend their Midnight Oil blend enough. For fans of lighter roasts, give their High Noon a spin--that one's responsibly sourced, and organic! Also Dungeon Brew Coffee. [Looks like they have some of their Minty Magic blend still in stock.] I have a friend in Chicago [where one year his cat froze to his apartment window], so that tipped me to Hero Coffee, which bids to serve really excellent cups and donate to charity at the same time. And Many Worlds Tavern--they're not as stellar as Deathwish or Top of the Mornin', but they're good. And they're gamers, so occasionally they throw in dice! And I can't fail to mention Bones Coffee, because OMG, their White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is sooooo good, and I'm dying to try Sweet Tater Swirl, because--sweet potatoes? In COFFEE?!?)

(I'm not sponsored by any coffee company, just FYI. And I am far from a dedicated Q Grader. I just like coffee.)

Just for fun, I decided I wanted to see the minimum and maximum sizes in the halo. Here's the min:



And here's the max:



And it was so big I had to cheat a bit and raise my hover height to the absolute maximum, and then pull the camera way back, just to get it all in frame!



At any rate, I think that's about it. Grabbed a cup of hot chocolate from the next coffee shed I found, and have now found all five of the Winter Edition "Marbas" furs put out here. I'll be reviewing those soon, though at this point, with only one day left AAAAAAAH--you may have to hope to find the Marbas furs as a group gift later on!

as I walk out the door singing "next team, next team"

Eight days since the last entry, ye gods. This is a facet of my "I will do the thing, I will I will, just...later" mentality right now. Well, it's now LATER, Em, so DO THE THING!



Which plonks me full in the 4th Christmas Wonderland event hosted by Rani Rosenhauch, carrying around a heckin' huge staff.



This is the Nix Solis staff, which is a collaboration between Arkivet and /Vae Victis\, designed for the Winter's Hollow event (now open).



Gotta show off the detailing, because that's the best part of any creation from these two--and yes, the inner part of the snowflake finial (is it finial in staves? The top bit, I mean) does move.

It has an animation hud with five poses, and a tinting hud with--HOLY CARP--

Okay, wait, brane can do this. Brane can do thing. Hold on.



All right. Not the most complementary colors--and that is not a knock for Grim or Mesmer, the designers; if anything, that's a knock for my current level of fractured concentration--but I tried to give some idea of tinting possibilities.



And this is it with everything in icy frosted tones.

It took a bit, but I found their booth at the event. Where this will set you back L$450, but keep in mind that's with a fully customizeable tinting hud with an embarrassment of color options, and its own pose hud to boot!

It's so pretty...

If you like to dress for the winter season, if you, say, have a folder of ice-colored skins to wear during the course of December...you need this staff. If you like finely-crafted, detailed accessories, you need this staff. If you haven't yet found the perfect gift for the holiday-obsessed someone in your life, the vendor has a gift option...

...either way, you probably need this staff. Enjoy!

(I never have any idea what I'm wearing in terms of details, but I'm going to start trying, so, in some rough order:

Winter coat: from siss boom, their "Nanook"
Hair: ADE's "Aura" in Large
Eyeshadow: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics' "[mock] Glitter Pop eShadow [Synjari Tierra]" [and I tried every SLUrl in her profile, none of them lead to her, so Mocksoup Graves may be gone for good]
Lips: Jade lips in Purple [which has now become Oceane Body Designs, so--I guess look for it there?]
Body is from Maitreya
Shape is still heavily tweaked from a freebie shape picked up in 2008 from AWESOME DESIGNS [she's now apparently just on Marketplace] (also, I no longer remember the name of the shape, but the description still slays me: "Exotic DD Cup Gorgeous and So intelligent!"<]
Eyes are from Inkheart [now only on Marketplace], his "Hades" line in "Toxic Green"
Skin is from SEVEN's "Noellia" line in Apricot [no longer available, it was an Advent gift several years back, it just became my default]
And I'm wearing FOXCITY's facelight designed for photography.)

I'll place the moon within your heart

Let's have some oddity!



I went to Forever Winter, with the closest I could get to chibi in SL (without actually going Dinkie). What I got turned out to be a not-quite classic shortstack (link included for those what don't know the term, and it's...reasonably...SFW), but I'm still fairly pleased with her. The only place I had trouble was the eyes, so the eyes I ended up going with were a no-copy mesh pair from Ruin, and that's going in the saved-outfit folder, I guess.

Sorry, Ruina.



But lookit! These are the large size of the Perchten horns from /Vae Victis\! Without resizing!!



But yes, she am short. And on non-moderate sims, why yes, this avatar will get me in trouble (because she's even shorter than my usual level of smol).



Oh, I like this bench. Comes with its own blankie. And there the horns are in gothic tones of deep red and coal-black.



Really great aged gold texture on them, too.



And the hud for that final note of closure.

I know I say this a lot about Vae Victis horns, but I really do mean it--I love these. I love their colors, I love that I can go deep haunted darkness up to fluffy pastels, dependent on mood. And I am tickled beyond reason that this avatar can wear the large horns straight out of the box.



You can pick up a copy of Madpea's Advent calendar still (I guess, me for size reference?); it runs L$500 at the /Vae Victis\ store--or any store of the other designers of nifty products in the calendar. And it will function quite nicely as a holiday art piece, so that price tag covers not only the gifts inside, but the gift of the little house. Very neatly done all around.

leave home, feel the wind blow

[15:17] Tree Rat (treerat): Is this thing broken?
[15:17] Iradium Piros (raaseer): No
[15:17] Baran Breen: which
[15:17] Tiana (malkia4657): Nope
[15:17] Bowno Scarbridge: Many things are broken in the world.
[15:18] Riot Hax: the thingermabob is broken the contraption is working well
[15:18] Tree Rat (treerat): Kintsugi makes it all better.
[15:18] Stitches (angrynoob): Every cog in Contraption is mal-aligned
[15:19] Tree Rat (treerat): Keeps things nice and off-beat.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Contraption store group? I really do.

Today and yesterday, and possibly over the weekend too, the SLEA--the Second Life Endowment for the Arts--is having their "Crystal Carnival". The dance stage is amazing. As I'm still recovering, I'm not going to fancy up the shots, but it deserves to be seen.



The main view just using the cam behind me--I'm the person in pale blue you can't see against the pale blue ice.



Violet Scrivener, the DJ, put up the spinning pink tree so people could touch that for ice dances. Neat.



A more complete shot of the stage.



Cam spun to the left to take in more of the build. Front right is a wood-fired pizza oven. I'm amused.



And Violet herself, dancing atop a rocking horse made of ice. Neat.



Finally, camming out behind Violet, taking in the whole dance stage.

This is beautiful. And there's so many little details you really need to be on the ground to pick up. Which, thankfully, we may get more chances to experience, with or without Violet, because--in tracking down the SLEA blog, I discovered the event is running until February 28th!

So plenty of time if you want to traipse by and view the contributions by SLEA artists to the project, dance on the ice, or listen to whomever's playing at the time. Enjoy!

dearly beloved, for your entertainment

It has been a long, strange year.

Technically, it's past Yule, technically, it's the 25th, but since we just filled and hung stockings today, I think I'm allowed.

I think, as much as I can say there were lows, and some of them staggering lows, overall, I'm not displeased with how the year is ending. We've had successes, and I think some good ones, in RL and SL. We haven't gotten COVID. We're still alive and rattling around. We may have a permanent low bar set at this point, but I'm far from it.

So here's hoping you are, too, and that things are at least tolerable, if not stellar. Now is the time of sleeping; the last of the harvest is in, the bulk of the gatherings to dispense the remaining fresh foods are past; now we seek shelter, and dress warm, and wait for spring.

And good health and happiness to us all in the year to come. Merry Yule.


(No, I don't know why all the picture links are broken. Again. I'll work on it, but this is like the fifth time in as many months, I may take up the offer of a friend for him to host the blog under his Wordpress package...which Blogger, well, isn't, but we do what we must.)

there ain't nothing in my hourglass, just sand from a dead sea

The veil between the worlds thins, fades in spots, allowing wandering souls on both sides to peer through--and perhaps cross. A night of wonders and terrors, masks and subterfuge, deception and revelation, becoming its own form of honest expression. And in the thick of it...a wandering soul searching for home in every place but.

Tonight, knowing my mood was not ideal, I tossed over various ways to end the season. Try to find a non-disappointing new ride? Visit the Belasco mansion again? Take the unbelievably gory Linden haunted house tour?



And...no. I needed something less complicated. Possibly even less haunted. So I ended up at All Hallows at Moochie's.



Back when Maia Gasparini owned an in-world store (I believe her nail designs are still sold on Marketplace), All Hallows would frequently feature a hunt. A fairly challenging one, even.



These days, though, it's just what you see here--a half-sim of autumn trees, warming fires, carved pumpkins, and hanging lights, with occasional places to sit and have a cup of cocoa or mulled cider.



I don't know how long it's going to be open past tonight, but I'm fairly sure it should last until November 1st, at the least. Unless Ms. Gasparini was on the sim tonight as I wandered, specifically to take things down. I don't know.



What I do know is it's still a quiet, lovely, perfect autumn sim. Sit and contemplate the flames, have a cup of something warm, listen to the quiet waves wash the rocky shores.



And it accomplished what I wanted, in the end, which was some mood elevation. Gain a bit of perspective, get my feet back on the path, breathe, and ground, and center. And while I left the sim still (relatively) stressed, by the end of the night I was smiling more, feeling better, and, due to some very dear friends, in much better spirits overall.

Which is not the worst way to approach the dark half of the year. Past tonight, the days grow shorter, the nights longer, and this half of the world, at least, slowly sinks into sleep, to wait for the thaw. It's a good thing to remember. The seasons cycle, and we cycle with them, ebb and flow, grow and fall. It's all part of the process.

So have a blessed Samhain if you celebrate such, a happy Hallows if that's more your speed, and a good candy day if nothing else. See you after the veil closes.

carved by the waves, our sacred temple

Why am I even here? You know what, I don't even care how I got this landmark. I'm leaving. There's nothing here I want to see if that's the first thing that rezzes in.



Some days, it's just not worth the effort crawling out of the grave.



I don't know which of us was more surprised, honestly.

Meanwhile, seen at the Salem event...



I am stll not used to avatars being openly used as sim decoration. I mean, I've seen bots as models, I've seen bots behind reception desks at stores, but as haunters or, in this case, just...there...as sort of thematic additions...that, I'm not used to yet. I'm not sure I'm going to get used to that, either.

the jacks and queens have forsaken the courtyard (part 2)

Picking up from the first part, we continue, having basically jumped over the back gate between the cabin and the trauma center.



So, this is the kind of content I expect in an abandoned asylum setting--the guy in the straitjacket, overturned furniture, screaming. Except...this is a bright, modern, well-maintained trauma center, or urgent care center, it just happens to have a mummy jerking and flexing in the reception area. What?

It's also very loud here, and all the noise seems to be quickly repeated howls from another "staffer", the mummy guy. This I could have done without.



And through the loud ER, to another warehouse structure, no attempt at any linkage between the two building styles. This room has lots of fog. Or steam? Freddy's place, maybe?



Upstairs, there's a pretty barren school for some reason. Nothing on the chalkboard, desks sort of scattered about with no attempt at either organization or serious disarray. It's all...way too clean for a haunt.



And then, clown. Just...clown. Doesn't move, just has a spate of green text lecturing me about falling asleep in class. Uh...



And now we're in Derry. This section is actually pretty clever. Watch the little details, if you go. They need to pick a direction for the rain, because the rain coming in diagonally at the same time it's coming straight down is a bit disorienting. But it's a nice set piece to reference IT.

Over to the right, there was a dark tunnel. I went in. This leads visitors into a twisty-windy set of old-style sewers--again, bizarrely clearn--without much in the way of jump scares. There's one very obviously inflatable spider that pops up, but I don't imagine even serious arachnophobes would have an issue with something that is so clearly a toy.



And then I died.

All in all, it's a pretty expansive haunt. Not everything works, some things are way too loud, but there's a lot of variety. Just want to shop? There are stores for that. Just want to enjoy a harvest festival? There are areas for that. Want to take some selfies, or cuddle with friends? There are two areas for that. Want the haunt? That's here too. I'd say it's a solid three skulls, just for the variety, but go in with fairly low expectations on the haunt part, and you won't be disappointed.

the jacks and queens have forsaken the courtyard (part 1)

The blurb for this haunted house and corn maze says

We are now open for the season!! This year we feature classic horror icons in live action haunted house. Do you have what it takes to walk through it?? Immerse yourself in our halloween town and enjoy the festivities.
Corn Maze, Spooky, Scary, Shopping

So...sounds like a haunt and a store? Let's go see.



Definitely a shopping event.



So, couple things. First, having a pop-up haunter made of separate pieces occasionally results in the haunter moving before the pieces they're made of move with them. So that's one issue. (There's also the issue of said haunter boinging around like a ping-pong ball in the room for a bit, which is less scary, and more hysterically baffling.) Second, there doesn't seem to be a way to get through the cabin with the two animated Michael Myers; there's a wall in the way, and there's no clickable point. I even stood directly in front of the wall, clicking every plank, while the second Michael stabbed me through the barrier repeatedly. No joy. So I left the cabin and went another way.


After walking over a very steep hill, I found this charming little path.



There are several nice photo op/cuddle stops over the hill, I'll give them that--the watchtower-style raised platform that one first finds over the hill, as well as a few scattered benches and blankets Some have games to pass the time.



[22:16] Lounge: Welcome to the lounge area mortals! Explore comfy hangouts loaded with animations as well as Halloween games to play! Each hangout has a different game.

Oh, okay. It's basically a wide field, seems to be a former orchard, with scattered shipping containers turned into small shops or more cuddle spots. Also of note: there are (or seem to be) people scattered throughout this haunt/festival/event that apparently...work here? But they don't seem to do much other than play animatronics. They don't talk, or move other than in specific patterns, or interact in any other ways. It's...strange.



[22:20] Creeper: Ready to get corny? Then talk a walk through SL's largest corn maze! Before you enter, dont forget to go into mouselook mode. Need some tunes while you explore? Press play to tune into Halloween Radio.

The option for seasonal tunes? Very nice. The randoms talking about how fat their girlfriends are in voice? I could have done without.

I started lagging out in the corn maze, so in total frustration, I cammed up and out and found a place to sit back in the cuddle zone. There was a black sign nearby saying "exit only", so I took that, and found myself near the emergency center behind the cabin I couldn't find the exit of. Oh.

So we'll pick up there with more pictures.

they read your smiles, nothing but teeth

First, a bit of a swerve for content on this blog. I try my best, my very best, to avoid political discussion. I've slipped from that resolution a not small number of times, but I do try. However, this is an issue I feel must be mentioned, at least once: the National Public Vote is a bad idea.

I freely state my biases: I was formerly for this, until this article and one passed by a friend before it. With great reluctance, I have to agree with the author here: my left-leaning, communitarian, registered Democrat self is seeing the need to preserve the Electoral College.

I'm not going to say much more about it; read or not, as you will, but while I do not agree with every point made, the salient conclusions are unavoidable: going to a National Popular Vote gives us a winner-take-all contest where the worst, not the best, will seize power. We need to fundamentally rethink this entire movement.

Now then. Fair warning, Raven Mist on Luna Isle starts off as a store. Not a terrible one, a touch expansive for the limited amount of items shown, but still, seasonally spooky.



Walk through the market, though. You can stop before you reach the 'Haunted Forest', but if you want to walk through that, that's fine too; there's another bright blue teleport pad just inside the vine-overgrown cave beyond the forest. From there, you have a choice of five other locations.


The "Cemetary" port drops you behind three Reaper statues, and in front of a small cemetary scene, with skulls on sticks and hovering winged skeletons.



The "Castle" stop will require a bit of climbing, as the port drops you off at the base, not within the walls.



The "Ruins" stop drops you at the base of the stairs for a square set of ruins. There's some bad texture flicker inside, but unless you're buying the piece, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.



The "Tavern" stop is fun, but I needed to hop up to reach the porch; I remember that happening before, but...I think that was a different store, wasn't it? Or was it?



The "Witches" stop is fun--I want that half-burned house, which is rather sad, because it's the one structure I've found without a bright blue "Buy here!" box somewhere around it.



Finally, the "Art" stop is an art gallery, seemingly largely stocked with downloads from the net, including a vast number of Luis Royo rips. Still, over the course of porting about through the zones, I found a few items I couldn't live without, and you don't need to wander via the port pads; while it's an expansive space, it is possible to walk from section to section if so desired.

I'd recommend going if you want some seasonal knick-knacks, or just cannot live a moment longer without someone's illegally downloaded copy of a Luis Royo painting, but don't go expecting a full haunted house. It's not there.