Walpurgisnacht: Caledon

Headed over to Caledon Kittiwick for the Europan Consulate's 2nd Walpurgisnacht celebration...
And like last year I had a great time dancing with and talking to Lunar. He is one of my truly best friends in SL now thanks to last year's dance. If anything, I was just trying not to accidentally gore him with my horns...

Happy Rez Day Dia!

My fave redheaded partner-in-crime turned 2 today! I bought her a rusted tire iron to crack skulls with. I figured she might need it in the Wastes...

SL Simple Pleasures: Pets

I don't know what I was upset about enough to lie down on the grass like this, but my little pet bunny Sunneh hopped over right next to me and promptly fell asleep. I will admit that I thought it was extremely cute. Lunar said I looked drunk. Nothing like friends sometimes, huh? As far as I am concerned, if I am on the ground and my glass of whiskey (that works even while down) isn't in my hand? Not drunk.

Paso Doble at the Point

One fun thing about SL is being able to pull others into the things that you do. Phin was game enough to don the traditional Spanish "traje corto" suit of short bolero jacket and wide-rimmed hat that is worn by riders during the horse parades of the Feria de Abril (his is a deep blue). As there aren't flamenco/sevillanas couples danceballs (that I know of), I set out paso doble ones instead...
Paso doble is based upon the movements in Spanish bullfighting, with the man acting as the matador (bullfighter) and his partner acting as his cape or the bull itself...It is a really dramatic dance with a lot of spins and flair (a backwards kick leap and what looked like very low, almost upon his knee steps included!). We had a great time...

Dance! Flamenco and Seville's Feria de Abril

I visited the sim of Al-Andalus Caliphate, which is inspired by Moorish Spain, to attend their Feria de Abril activities. In Sevilla, in the Andalusia region of Spain, there is a week-long cultural festival with bullfighting, horse parades and of course...flamenco. The women dress in their beautiful traditional gowns and there's lots of dancing and fun...I love Spain and while there in RL a friend taught me the basics of how to dance sevillanas. Coordinating my arms and learning to mirror one another was tricky! Of course, here in SL--armed with great animations--I can dance it much better so I found my way to the Cafe Flamenco, where you can listen (and dance!) to fantastic flamenco music...
I found this great flamenco music stream to play on my parcel, and in my beautiful flamenco dresses by CANDELA Pfeffer of Mercandillo de Candel, I thought I'd dance for a while...
I love the way the dresses move and swirl...
...wouldn't you?

Raglan Shire Wild West Video!

Shot by Chaffro, celebrating two years of tiny fun and silliness in Raglan Shire!

Relationships & Family in SL

I have fussed in this blog before about how the press focuses on the negative, especially when it comes to relationships in SL. Yesterday, Newsweek released a really nice positive story (for once!) about a couple who met and fell in love and have made it work. If you read the comments on the SL main blog, it'll make you smile with the stories. Thing is...that's not news to me! I have always heard stories of folks with positive relationships within SL and/or in RL as well. For me for instance, yesterday marked my being with Phin for 1 1/2 years in SL. We've been together in here since Oct '07, and partnered for 6 months now. He makes SL a joy and is my favorite squirrel...Let's take Steelhead, for example. Its managers Tensai & Lunar are married in RL. Hawc & CeAire DeCosta have been married in RL for 24 years (Happy Anniversary!) and like Remington Pinion & Krystine Qinan--who are also married in RL--have a great time together in SL doing things as a couple. Rem & Krys are my neighbors and I remember watching Krys swim by in mer form as Rem followed nearby in a small boat. How often can you do that in RL?

Riding the log flume w/Baube (front)

But it's not only about partners and marriage...Family too! Phin, for instance, is Zoe Connolly's RL brother and they have a great time exploring everything aviation-related. My own RL sister (Baube Laval) comes in from time to time. In Steelhead, Tensai's dad has come in and so has Lunar's sister and mom. The Davies Sisters (Myfi & Tanarian), separated by distance in RL, have a great time together inworld. People have also made great friends inworld as well that have come to mean a lot to them in RL. I know the same is true across SL. SL is more than the stereotypical destroyed relationship stories. It's also about love, caring, friendship and family that transcends both the real and virtual worlds.

Steelhead Bunny Hop Dance

Steelhead has always been a place where wackiness and the 19th c. seem to coexist just fine. Our dances are no exception, with the citizens always thinking of fun costumes. Tonight was the Bunny Hop, as it's Easter on Sunday. I wish I had a pic of Hotspur's plucked chicken AV and folks riverdancing with peeps. Pure comedy. I am a tiny black bunny raising hell on a regular basis there, so I thought I'd wear my Kani AV instead...

Shotguns 'n' Critters

Shotgun Phin and me, Bad News Elle, in Raglan's Wild West...

Fluffytail Gang at the Raglan Wild West

Wild West Week in Raglan Shire to celebrate its 2nd anniversary kicked off today! "Shotgun" Phin & me, "Bad News" Elle, headed over to see what we could get into and found this here crate o'carrots...
I went on a bit of a bender...Shotgun Phin thought this'd snap me out of it...ha...HA..."Think there are acorns in here?" Shotgun Phin asked...We were so wrong...

SL and Positivity

So many times when SL is discussed, negative aspects of it are often mentioned. Whether it's a shaky infrastructure or the latest resident rebellion or bad publicity of the moment, it makes you sometimes wonder why folks are even bothering to continue to be inworld at all? When trying to describe SL to others who aren't involved in it, I find that I tend to think of the good things about it and how it's helped me in my RL:

It's made me even better at Photoshop.
I was a graphic designer for years, but the things I've created inworld have challenged my skills in PS and helped me to become better at it.

I've met and made friends with some very interesting people from all over the world.
If I walked away from SL right now, I know that I have some positive, encouraging friends that I'd be happy to count now as RL ones as well.

It makes conversations about difficult topics easy to have.
Often in RL, we might feel reluctant about bringing up difficult subjects due to a feeling of being judged, embarrassed, or retribution of some sort. Due to our relative anonymity inworld, it just feels easier to more freely discuss hard topics. Technology like this has the power to help us understand each other better...not drive us apart.

Creativity inworld spurs/inspires my creativity in RL.
I find that building and creating inworld inspires my writing and artwork in RL. Being surrounded by so much inventiveness gets me going!

The altruism that others exhibit is often amazing.
My experience over and over again in SL has always been that people are more than willing to explain, give, and share with one another and their inworld community. Can you imagine if more or us behaved like that in RL too?

I feel more "plugged in" tech-wise.
I've always had a love of all things tech. My involvement with SL has made me more aware of things trend-wise in that regard, and not in a bad way.

Learning about yourself and what you're capable of inworld can be transferred to RL if you are open to it.
I think a lot about using the lessons I learn inworld about myself to benefit RL me. Why not use the positive aspects of SL you for RL you and make it work for the positive?!

It's can be absolutely fun-filled.
In the end, SL can be just plain fun and I still see it as a big world filled with interesting places to explore and learn.

So, what has SL done positively for YOU?