27 March, 2022

you think I only think about you when we're both in the same room

Names anonymized to protect the guilty (grins), but name of the store left in:
[10:15] ixxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Hey Debauchery. Would you ever consider making an Adult Yoga mat with th inclusion of Yoda animations?
[10:15] ixxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: *Yoga
[10:16] Cxxxxxx Fxxx: Yoda positions!!! That totally put all kinds of crazy images in my head.
[10:16] ixxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: It was a typo
[10:16] Cxxxxxx Mxxxxxxx: Sex you will :)
[10:16] Cxxxxxx Fxxx: ha!
[10:17] Cxxxxxx Fxxx: Yes, it was obviously a typo, but it was an amazing typo!
[10:17] cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol
[10:21] Jxxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: the kamasutra you still have to learn young sexling
How'ver, I wanted to talk about something else. The gyrocopter.

gyrocopter1

I took these pics months ago--anyone who's been to Gearhaven in the intervening time knows the terrain's changed a bit, and we've gone to non-mesh surround fragments. But Dejah built the gyrocopter.

gyrocopter2

They also built New Alexandria from the ground up. And did a stellar job. It's phenomenal.

gyrocopter3

But this is neat, too. They actually put a winged angel hood ornament on the front of it! (Sadly, yes, the only pick that came out of the ornament head-on, when the building was unrezzed. Rats.)

gyrocopter4

We'd circled around the entire city by this point. (I'm the one with blue hair in the back, btw--Dejah's the one in the pilot seat.)

gyrocopter5

And landing.

I honestly don't know if Dejah plans to sell this one anywhere, but if you're curious, the legacy name is Deebrane String. It's just...perfect.

11 March, 2022

the world's a little blurry, or maybe it's my eyes

I'm turning over this entry almost entirely to Amanda Palmer. This is from her latest Patreon entry:
right now, if you are in Ukraine, please know that we are sending all our love.

i am sure that all of you - my patrons, who are People of the Internet - are all already inundated with news, stories, and harrowing, unforgettable images from the senseless destruction of life, property and peace over there.

we are just a little community of 10,000 or so people.

i have been wondering: what can we do?

i could make the usual speeches and send you links to the red cross and the UNHCR and hope for the best, as we watch our checkbooks flow to the larger and more established aid and relief charities. but then i thought about gaba.
Gaba Kulka

(Editrix insert: This is Gaba Kulka. She's a friend of AFP's who lives in Poland. She'll explain below.)
gaba kulka is one of my old-school touring musician friends. she lives in poland and we have kept up with each other - on stages, in person, on the internet - for a very long time.
Gaba Kulka promomotional photo

So I looked up her music on YouTube. This one came up. I don't speak Polish, so Google Translate it is, and I don't think it translates accurately, but I get the gist, I think:
My ambiguities
instead of explaining, they became permanent
you ask if it's good
ask another time
I'm too busy
I try not to make a mistake

You don't pick up rice from the street when it's sprinkled once
the damn pigeons had eaten everything up, only dust and limescale
why everything is so simple is so simple
it's as simple as that until it happens to you

Your doubts
they will always stay on this topic
no belonging
when I want to gain one, I lose the other
I will lull my vigilance
maybe it will stop bothering me like that
overabundance
when I cannot love, I have no way to cheat

You don't pick up rice from the street when it's sprinkled once
the damn pigeons had eaten everything up, only dust and limescale
why everything is so simple is so simple
it's as simple as that until it happens to you

My ambiguities and
your ambiguities
overlap
Maybe it will be alright
I hear a lot of Amanda energy in that song. I can see why they're friends, I think. This was off her 2009 album, "Hat, Rabbit".
she writer crazy-intelligent punk-cabaret-type songs, speaks better [f*cking] english than i do even thought it's her second language, and has a daughter, matylda, who is almost exactly ash's age.

she and i have been comparing notes as musician-moms since the babies came. we've had a beautiful, slowly flowering friendship, and i treasure her. we have phoned each other every couple of months since the pandemic started, and checked in on one another's mental health. we joke with each other. we mourn with each other. we compare notes about our weird kids.

here we are, performing and hanging out together in 2012:
Gaba and Amanda onstage, 2012

This was probably around the time Amanda was recording with the Grand Theft Orchestra.

Gaba and Amanda backstage, 2012

This picture makes me giggle. AFP with her usual mugging for the camera, and Kulka with the long-suffering expression, but that hint of a smile.
i have been listening to the pain in gaba's voice about the political situation over there.

so when the invasion of ukraine happened, i called her.

she told me that she and her husband were literally at the supermarket, buying nappies, buckwheat and other simple supplies for the refugees that were flooding into poland. she told me that friends in the neighborhood were converting their homes into apartments to house the people landing on their doorsteps. [f*ck].

my first reaction was to want to cover her grocery bill. and to ask her if those friends needed cash. to to ask if we could send her money, to spend on these immediate issues in her neighborhood. but she's one person, and a busy mom, not a [f*cking] charity. i could not ask her to do this.

so i took a deep breath and asked her what, very specifically, we could do to help.

us. right here and now.

this community: what could WE do to help?

after thinking about it for a week, this is what she wrote:
Ever since the Russian army's aggression on Ukraine, Polish people started mobilising at every level to help our eastern neighbours, and that feels like a beacon of hope in this grim time.

But even though the countless, grassroots efforts have been uplifting, they have also been really hard to get my head around, and this fragmentation has become an increasing problem - it may feel overwhelming right now, to find the exact right place where you should put your energy and money.

What we need is better communication, and a more centralized system of support for people affected by this war.

That's why my first thought went to nonprofits that I'd already known for years, who already have the know-how - most of all Fundacja Ocalenie, who has been working with and providing help to refugees in Poland for many years.

Luckily some people have it together, and know that combining efforts is the way to go: There is a huge fundraiser, Together For Ukraine:

#TogetherForUkraine

https://zrzutka.pl/en/razemdlaukrainy

It is based on one of the largest fundraising platforms in Poland.

The organizations benefiting from the fundraiser include Fundacja Ocalenie, Polskie Forum Migracyjne, Homo Faber, Fundacja Dialog and many more.

They post frequent and helpful updates documenting how some of the funds are already put to use.

As an addition: if someone likes to know very precisely what their money buys. Here are two verified fundraisers that gather money for 1) tactical first aid kits https://zrzutka.pl/dlaukrainy and 2) bulletproof vests and helmets https://zrzutka.pl/pomocukrainie The links come from the Euromaidan-Warszawa organisation, which has been active since 2013.

Please consider supporting them.
I looked up Fundacja Ocalenie on Charity Navigator. They tend to judge their reviewed charities harshly, but considering none of us want to be scammed, and we can't all fly over and ask to see the public books of every international effort out there, I trust the work they do. They give them four stars, which in my judgement is kind of amazing--I've listed as worthy charitable efforts on the sidebar charities that come in at 3.5.

Anyway, back to Amanda:
.........

I really trust Gaba, and I hope you trust who I trust, so please consider sending your money over in that direction. I just donated $500.

Like I said above, even if you can only donate $10, it will mean a great deal to the cause that you took the time to do it, and it will send a message of people-power.

If you donate, leave us a comment here, and we will praise and love you.
I didn't donate because I want the praise and love. I am not well off, RL. (This is not a secret.) Hells, I'm not even moderately okay RL, financially. And what I donated--five flat plus the processing fee so the charity effort didn't have to front it, which came, ultimately, to a bit over ten--is not their recommended mid-range of 70 zloty, which works out to about sixteen USD. But I had to help.
...............

and another thing, and possibly even more important....for a more sustainable future in the NEWS department:

THE KYIV INDEPENDENT is on Patreon - one of the only independent media outlets in the country. I supported them last week and I cannot tell you how good it feels to be able to know that my dollars are literally keeping real, honest journalism funded in ukraine.

this is a super powerful place to put your money, and you can become a patron for a dollar. even if you've been cutting back on patronage lately (and i know there's been a lot of belt-tightening lately), this is different.

this is revolutionary beyonf art and music. this is giving funding, a voice, a megaphone to a press that really, really needs the support.

i became the 3,249th patron last week....they are are now up to OVER 6,000 PATRONS, bringing in about $67,914/month. it's amazing.

the newspaper is in ENGLISH. your funding will help then with bills, internet access, office costs, reportage, security, translators, photographers....you name it.....everything you can imagine. this is incredible.

PEOPLE. POWER!!!!!!!!

please become a patron of these guys alongside me:

https://www.patreon.com/kyivindependent
The rest of the Patreon was her thanking her fans, wishing us love and strength, and the never-ending end-of-all-posts tag with all her social media. The only thing about her words I changed was censoring [f*ck] a little, because I still try not to curse on the wee blog. This was the important message, though.

When I get up tomorrow--it's late--I'll code up a graphic and slap this fundraising effort into the sidebar. (Under Zen, of course. Priorities. But it'll be there when I get it done.)

And...that's it. Hang in there, people. Give if you can to a country that's being pounded into dust because Putin was left alone in the archives too long and decided he needed Ukraine 'back'. They are shelling schools. They are shelling hospitals. They are deliberately killing children. They are using thermobaric weapons and petal mines (and believe me, the irony of Russia using a weapon that they reverse-engineered from a US design we used in Viet Nam, which was based on an earlier, larger Luftwaffe one does NOT escape me). We need to help.

So help if you can. I try to avoid politics on the blog, there's enough drama on the grid, but...this was necessary. If you can at all spare it, donate. Ukraine needs everyone's aid to get through this.

09 March, 2022

I'm packing up my things and I'm wiping down the walls

Nothing on this is going to be anonymized, it's too ridiculous.
Ethelred Dehaven (gtphzuqehnzarkayakers@hotmail.com)
Of course it's a Hotmail address.
9:46 AM (1 hour ago)
to [me]

{real name},‌‌‌

H‌‌e‌‌l‌lo‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌m‌‌y‌ ‌n‌‌‌‌a‌‌m‌e‌‌‌ ‌‌i‌s‌ ‌‌E‌t‌‌h‌el‌‌‌‌re‌‌‌d ‌‌Deh‌a‌‌v‌‌e‌‌n,
I doubt that...
W‌e‌ t‌‌r‌ie‌‌d‌‌ t‌o‌‌‌‌ ‌‌con‌t‌‌‌‌a‌‌‌c‌t‌‌‌ ‌y‌‌o‌u‌ ‌‌at ‌y‌‌ou‌r‌‌ ‌‌‌‌h‌o‌‌‌m‌e‌‌ ‌a‌‌‌n‌‌‌d‌‌ ‌‌d‌‌‌i‌d‌ ‌‌n‌‌‌o‌‌‌‌‌‌t ‌h‌‌e‌‌a‌‌r‌‌ ‌b‌‌a‌ck‌‌.
I doubt that, too.
It ‌l‌‌‌o‌ok‌s ‌l‌i‌‌‌ke ‌‌yo‌u‌‌r‌ ‌‌s‌‌‌t‌‌u‌d‌‌e‌n‌t‌ ‌‌l‌o‌‌a‌‌n‌‌‌ ‌m‌a‌‌y‌‌ ‌‌b‌e‌ ‌e‌‌l‌‌i‌‌g‌i‌‌bl‌‌e‌ ‌for‌‌ t‌he‌ r‌e‌c‌ent‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌s‌‌t‌‌i‌‌m‌u‌‌l‌‌u‌‌s‌ ‌‌f‌‌o‌‌‌r‌giv‌‌e‌n‌e‌‌s‌‌s‌ ‌‌a‌n‌‌d ‌‌r‌e‌l‌‌‌‌‌i‌‌‌e‌f ‌l‌‌‌e‌‌‌g‌i‌sl‌‌at‌‌io‌‌‌n‌‌ ‌‌(‌Ca‌‌r‌‌es A‌‌c‌t)‌‌‌,‌ ‌ho‌‌‌w‌e‌‌v‌‌‌e‌‌‌r‌‌‌ ‌‌y‌‌‌o‌‌‌u‌r‌ ‌a‌p‌p‌‌li‌‌‌c‌a‌‌t‌‌i‌‌o‌‌‌n‌‌‌ ‌‌‌d‌‌oe‌s n‌e‌e‌d‌ ‌‌t‌o ‌b‌e‌‌ ‌‌co‌m‌pl‌‌‌‌e‌t‌‌e‌d.‌‌
It doesn't actually. I have no outstanding student loans to forgive.
T‌‌h‌‌is‌ ‌‌‌a‌pp‌l‌‌‌i‌e‌s ‌t‌o‌‌ a‌‌‌ll‌‌‌‌ ‌‌‌l‌‌‌‌o‌‌‌‌‌a‌‌‌‌‌n‌‌ s‌‌ta‌‌t‌‌u‌‌s‌e‌‌s‌‌ ‌i‌‌n‌c‌l‌‌‌u‌d‌‌‌i‌‌‌‌‌‌n‌‌g ‌t‌‌ho‌s‌‌e‌ ‌‌‌l‌‌o‌‌a‌‌‌ns‌ ‌i‌n‌ ‌‌de‌‌‌f‌a‌ul‌‌t‌‌ ‌‌‌an‌‌d ‌g‌‌‌a‌r‌n‌‌i‌‌sh‌m‌en‌t‌‌‌.‌‌
Good? Still doesn't apply to me.
If‌ ‌‌y‌‌ou‌‌ ‌c‌‌‌ou‌ld‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌p‌‌l‌‌‌e‌‌as‌‌e‌‌ ‌‌g‌iv‌‌e‌‌‌ ‌y‌ou‌‌r‌‌‌ ‌‌d‌‌e‌‌d‌‌‌ic‌a‌t‌‌ed‌‌‌‌ ‌‌e‌‌lig‌‌i‌‌b‌‌‌i‌‌l‌‌‌‌ity ‌‌l‌‌i‌‌‌n‌e ‌a ‌c‌al‌l‌‌ ‌‌a‌t‌‌‌‌‌‌: 888-7∙∙31∙9065
This is not a number. But it definitely is a scam number.
and‌ we‌ c‌‌an ‌‌h‌a‌‌ve‌‌‌‌ t‌hi‌s appli‌ed ‌im‌m‌‌e‌d‌i‌‌at‌el‌y‌.‌
I doubt this, too.
P‌le‌ase b‌e ‌a‌wa‌re‌ t‌‌‌h‌a‌t‌‌ ‌‌th‌e‌‌se‌ ‌b‌‌‌e‌n‌e‌‌f‌i‌‌ts‌ c‌om‌e ‌o‌‌‌n ‌a ‌f‌irs‌‌t‌ c‌o‌me‌‌ ‌‌fi‌rst ‌s‌e‌rve‌ ‌‌b‌‌‌as‌is‌ ‌tho‌‌u‌g‌h.‌‌
Oh, I'm sure of that. I'm just wondering what the grift is. We call in, and we're told, so sorry, your application didn't go through, it will just be a $50 fee to resubmit?
Ple‌as‌e‌‌‌ ma‌k‌e‌‌ sur‌‌‌‌e t‌‌o‌‌ ‌‌‌p‌‌r‌ov‌ide ‌your p‌erson‌a‌l‌‌ v‌a‌l‌id‌atio‌‌‌n c‌o‌de #‌34‌36‌3.‌
My "personal code"? Oh, you're so gracious.
Ou‌r offi‌c‌‌e‌ h‌o‌u‌‌rs ‌a‌‌r‌‌e‌‌ 8am-‌5p‌m ‌(‌PST) M‌o‌‌nday-‌Fri‌da‌‌y‌.‌ ‌‌T‌h‌‌‌an‌k‌ ‌Y‌‌‌ou, ‌E‌‌th‌el‌‌red‌ ‌‌Deha‌ve‌‌n
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌And what a name. I'm wondering if a spiderbot just grabbed it from random Google books uploaded to the net.
I‌f y‌ou ‌‌do not ‌h‌ave stude‌n‌‌t l‌oan‌‌s,‌ ‌‌please ‌ign‌ore ‌this me‌ssa‌ge.
Oh, don't worry. I will.
D‌is‌t‌ribu‌te‌d ‌b‌y.‌‌..M‌a‌rket‌i‌‌ng Se‌rv‌ic‌es,‌ PO‌‌‌ B‌‌ox 249 #5‌7‌223,‌ A‌l‌‌‌buq‌‌‌ue‌r‌‌que‌, N‌e‌‌w Mex‌ico ‌8‌‌7‌‌10‌3 ....‌.‌‌..
I doubt that, too, but that does come up on another scam note, so there's that.
w‌e ‌d‌o ‌not pro‌vide‌ any o‌t‌h‌er se‌rv‌‌ic‌e e‌xc‌ept f‌o‌r a‌d‌v‌erti‌s‌i‌ng. If yo‌u ‌ha‌ve‌ a conc‌er‌‌n‌ re‌g‌ardin‌‌g a‌‌‌ pro‌‌‌d‌uct‌ ‌or‌ se‌rvi‌c‌e‌‌ p‌l‌e‌ase ‌co‌nt‌‌a‌ct‌ th‌at compan‌y dir‌e‌ctl‌y u‌sing t‌he‌ phone ‌number ‌ab‌‌o‌‌‌v‌e.‌........... to‌ be‌ ‌remove‌d ‌f‌r‌om fu‌‌t‌ur‌e‌‌ a‌dv‌ertisemen‌‌ts‌ ‌t‌yp‌e ‌i‌n 'no-m‌ore‌-‌a‌ds‌.com' in‌ your br‌owser‌ a‌nd ‌e‌nte‌r your ema‌il‌ a‌‌ddres‌s
Which...would give you the email address as a confirmed active point. Pass.
'‌em‌il‌ly‌.o‌r‌‌r@‌gmail‌.‌‌com‌'.‌.‌‌‌..‌...‌.‌‌....‌‌...‌‌.‌‌....‌...‌...‌‌.‌...‌.....‌..‌.......‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ZW1pbGx5Lm9yckBnbWFpbC5jb20=
And I have no idea what this last bit means.

But this blog has been in stasis TOO long and that needs to change. That, I do know.

02 February, 2022

would you love me more if I killed someone for you?

There are so many things I need to review from Vae Victis, but this, this I had to get out today. Let me show you Aristo's Vow.

aristos-vow1

I am not going to present the best images, I well know--for that you have to go to Vae Victis' Flickr--but I did want to show off this lovely phial.

aristos-vow2

There's a gentle movement of the liquid within. Subtle, but it draws the eye.

aristos-vow3

And then...things got odd. I'd planned on showing off close shots of it, but I also wondered--can one sit and still hold this? The answer is...possibly yes?

aristos-vow4

But the phial will still float in one's left hand (only rigged for the left-hand hold), perpendicular to the avatar, not the orientation. I went through all the poses on this couch, and all but the last--lying on my stomach, one hand (the left, of course) buried in the cushion--worked. But three of those poses? Horizontal. So...it looks somewhat amusing floating horizontally.

aristos-vow5

And this last image was my attempt to capture the gentle, roseate glow this gives off--it, also, is extremely subtle in some lights. In this shot, the low, soft glow can *just* be discerned against the background. Still. The holder will know, and properly appreciate.

You can find this, and everything else Vae Victis brought to share, on Tinseled at Shop n' Hop from today on. And the best part? This is Grimoire's gift for the season. How glorious.

Enjoy, delicious friends.

25 January, 2022

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.

SLEA1

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.

SLEA2

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

SLEA3

A more complete shot of the stage.

SLEA4

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

SLEA5

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

SLEA6

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!

18 January, 2022

I've been pulling for something different, but the same is all we get

Oh, dear.

dollholic1

I am so not in the right place.

Save that this is Dollholic. In all its pink, pastel, twee glory.

dollholic2

Better.

dollholic3

So this is something the folks behind the Kinky event put together. It runs heavily to 'girly' colors, lingerie, and Asian-influenced makeup sets.

dollholic4

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing here that doesn't fit their particular concept--and there's nothing here that isn't well made, with a good eye for detail. Many of the stores I am not ashamed to say I've shopped at--precisely for this reason, they make lovely lingerie that fits well and looks good.

dollholic5

I just...with the name...expected less....

dollholic6

Pink? I guess? Like, the doll community--even now that I'm largely outside it--is more than just twee babygirls?

But hey, if it works, more power to them, I'm just really not in that demographic.

13 January, 2022

it's my pleasure to introduce to you Hell's latest arrival

I don't even anything. Why don't mesh heads make sense?

*breathes*

So, let me get this straight...

what new fresh hell is this?

When I wear a skin designed for LeLutka EVO-X, which I'm informed won't WORK on non-EVO-X heads, on the LeLutka Kaya EVO-X head, I get lips on my forehead and rows of teeth on my chin. But when I wear a skin designed for LeLutka EVO-X, on the LeLutka Lilly head, which is (at least as far as I know) NOT EVO-X...it works???

Make it make sense. Please. What?

lucero-stressed-out


(This is pre-shape adjustment, by the way. Yes. I realize I look like Meg Tilly as a space alien. I'm *hoping* that will improve later on.)

11 January, 2022

I've been playing at self-worth again, ain't it fun to play pretend?

Finally got around to unpacking the new mesh head acquired in December from LeLutka...

lelutka-kaya

Good, good, that's helpful...

...and none of the skins I own that SAY they're for LeLutka EVO X--or even LeLutka original, in case I somehow didn't buy EVO--work to remove that, so...right. Setting that aside until the next time I decide to fight with it.
robert-downey-jr-sigh


09 January, 2022

told you not to worry, but maybe that's a lie

Decided to set out two new KittyCats on the space station, in my apartment. Found a MegaPuss I'd forgotten about, and figured him and a companion would be fun. It's a big enough apartment, right?

Well...

six-days-old

This is them when they're six days old. That little bit of something with the blanket in the upper left hand corner? That's a full-size sectional couch that sits four avatars.

So, you know, small that boy ain't.

tannhauser-apt

Good thing it's a large pod?

07 January, 2022

and I don't wanna be lonely so show me the way home

I have finally gotten around to buying THING, and have installed it (at least for now) in the only place it makes sense: the cathedral in Tannhäuser Gate.

Illogic of Empire by Rory Torrance

Rory Torrance is the artist behind this, and several other pieces I've bought over the past few months (they're all in Krakenstorm's welcome center, this was...bigger). To make the animated pieces move in the ways he wanted, he's said he had to write the code from scratch. I remain impressed.

He has two studios of his work: the Strangelands main studio, and the smaller Strangelands gallery in Elysium (as well as his work being part of the World Culture Hub, I believe, and I thought Soup's art gallery in Stormhold--though that may be devoted to Zenmondo Wormser's set of exhibits).

[Note from the Editrix: just learned he also has an exhibit at the UASL.]

At any rate, he's worth checking out. Definitely an eye for movement, pattern, and shape, and some strong messages in his work. I'm biased, sure, but I don't think I'm wrong.

01 January, 2022

the new cats are a bit odd

So, I decanted a cat bought some time back, because I wanted to see if I could get the incredible bicolor eyes in something without the high-shine fur:

angelkitties2

See how pretty those are? But that's not the point of this. I want to talk about the Angel Wings sets that were a limited promotion from KittyCats:

angelkitties1

Those are the parents, Alexei (in the Teal wings), a Tonkinese Blue Mink Tortoiseshell, and Moira (in the Pink wings), a Genesis Diamond fur.

angelkitties3

And this is Laila, their kitten! For the special births of Angel cats, you get either a black rainbow set of wings and halo, or a white rainbow set of wings and halo.

She's also a Genesis Diamond fur, though she seems slightly paler than her mother? That could just be the lighting, though.

angelkitties4

Of course, there are some glitches with the Angels...

angelkitties5

And this is her while she's still young enough to be a shoulder rider. (That should last another couple of weeks.) And keep in mind, I'm only in there as a reference for size.

But still. Pleased overall. I may permapet Laila when she's old enough.

this could be a case for Mulder and Scully

These last few days have been...fun... First week or so, bad head was bad. As much as I loathe that that's still a factor, it is. It...