Holy Jeebus, Where Did the Time Go?

To say that this has been a busy summer/autumn would be an understatement. Between travel, an illness in the family and changes in my own life, SL and posting have kind of fallen to the wayside. I mean, I still come in to attend town meetings, chat/visit with friends and tend to my shops and Lunar's requests regarding Steelhead, but I haven't been in as much as I used to be.

I'm starting to feel creative again, which is a good thing. I'll start posting my thoughts on the world again too. I've kinda missed doing so.

RFL Day 2: Dancing at Alice

I missed the closing ceremonies in the morning, but came in later on to a post-relay celebration at Lunar and Tensai's stunning Alice sim, which has great things like this sculpted neon dragon...
Like an Asian Steampunk surrealist painting, Alice is filled with mindbending imagery such as windmill blades and floating tiles and, of course...flying trout!
And even a mecha-caterpillar smoking an electro-hookah...I spent most of my time dancing with my very good friend, creator and builder Eclectric Breitman, catching up as we talked about creativity and life...
But of course, I always have a dance saved for my favorite elf...
A lot of Alice's build will be incorporated into Steelhead's sims. If you haven't seen Alice, go ASAP as it has to come down on Wednesday.

RFL Day 1

From 4pm to 5am EST I ran the SL Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society. My RL husband actually suggested Pinocchio as the theme for what became Steelhead's fun "Pinocchio the Automaton"-themed campsite...You can see my "Island of Lost Clanks" in the foreground of the pic above, but I also created this whale airship surrounded by flying trout...So many old friends came back just for today, like Lapin and Darkle, who I talked to for at least a half hour before hitting the track!
We always try to have someone at the campsite to cheer folks on as they go around--like Hawc here in his "Purple Cancer Eater" avatar...I think the organizers did a wonderful job with the track's design this year--a simple oval--and they had great TP stations and sim status markers so you could jump to the next one easily. Sure, there was lag, but nowhere near as bad to me as the past 3 times I've run this...I ran most of the track alone. While I actually enjoyed the group chats for the "company", I use the time to reflect. I will not deny that by the time of the luminaria ceremony I was feeling a bit emotional. I sat down by my Uncle Jack's luminaria at Lunar & Tensai's beautiful Alice sim and they played some pretty song on the main RFL stream and I cried...I got back on the track afterwards and when I finally made it back around to the Salmons campsite, I joined Lunar, Tensai and Denny Kozlov in some walk and talk laps...I love the walk n talk as you don't need to direct yourself (Lunar was the puller) and the conversations as we walked were fun. We made it back and was greeted by Softpaw...80731.7m and 13 hours later I needed to stop. We all raised over $200K USD and should be so proud of that. There is purpose for this as so many of us have been touched in some form by this disease. For those who are currently going through treatment...have hope. For survivors and their loved ones...stay strong. I love you Mom, Denise and Robert. I miss you Uncle John, Uncle Jack and Aunt Rose...

A Waste of Time?

A RL friend recently asked me "Don't you feel you are wasting your time playing video games in lieu of doing something creative instead?"

In addition to SL, I play Aion and also love console games (I have a 360 and a PS3) that I enjoy playing with my sister. I'll admit that we even wear matching headbands and have an absolute blast together! Call it family bonding with controllers in hand. That's not a waste of time to me.

My answer to my friend was that I enjoy it, it makes me happy and I'm good at it. I also told him that I suppose the time he spends watching lots of TV shows and movies and dissecting them to death online is time he could spend doing something creative as well, such as his own artwork. How is gaming different than any other hobby? Some folks like to read or scrapbook or make duck decoys. I like to wield a sword or run amok as a tiny bunny sometimes. Big deal. To each their own. I'm sure as hell not going to knock what brings someone joy.

If I wasn't doing anything creative at all in RL I could see the problem, but the funny thing is that I find inspiration from my gaming instead. It fires up my imagination and can help with a story or something I wish to draw. And my SL friends, for instance, have been just as supportive and encouraging of my RL creative endeavors and get on me if I slack.

Besides, as the artist Auguste Rodin once said: "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

New Builds in New Taloo

My friend Eclectric Breitman, maker of the Ollipog tiny avatars, has been busy at work in New Toulouse creating new builds to be placed throughout its sims. He invited me to come along on a tour of them and here I am standing on a balcony of one with Gabi and Francesca Alva. They really are nice and will stand out among the other builds already in place in Taloo.

A Moment of Speechlessness

That is all I need to say.

SL7B

I attended SL7B this year and well, something felt...lacking. Other persons perhaps?
As usual, I could count on fun, crazy displays such as Extrovirtual's huge dragon. So cute...Or this fluffy bunny thing...The cake confounded me though as it seemed to be part of a Linden official area...really?And once more...the fluffy bunny thing...I could go into a post reflecting about the changes in SL over the years blahblahblah, but I'll save that for another time. Enjoy the fluffy bunny thing.

Striking SL7B Build

Just in case you may have found a lot of the SL7B to have been kind of a hodgepodge wasteland too, I found this beautiful provocative build. I have misplaced my notes on its title and artist, so if someone knows, could you let me know?

Mechabennie

SteelCobra had made the mistake of squooshing Bennie, one of Tensai's pet spiders. Let's just say that she made him better, stronger, faster...
At one point I got pinned down a bit too close. After the night's excitement, it was a relief to relax back at home...

Shishen Guardians at the Shanghai Pagoda

I always have some Steelhead-related project going on like the manholes, for instance. If you stroll around Steelhead, you can see two different versions of them: leaping trout throughout most of Steelhead's sims and for Shanghai, it moon bridges.

Lunar asked me to do another project for Shanghai: A shishen/si shou guardian compass in the pagoda. If you visit the pagoda, which you can't miss, you can find it. The Chinese characters for "Shanghai" mark the very center of the sim. The shi shen are as follows: the "Black Warrior of the North" (which is a tortoise fighting with a snake), the Green Dragon of the East, the Red Bird of the South and the White Tiger of the West. I based them upon ancient tomb markers and created them with the "woodcut" look like the manholes. Go see it for yourself!

Protecting Mah Property

One thing is for certain: Steelhead meetings can always be counted on to have something unusual happen. SteelCobra's arriving as Cookie Monster being no exception...I rezzed out a HUGE two-story chocolate chip cookie for him in Harborside and things got a little serious...Sheriff Fuzz came over to handle the situation...
The conversation that ensued?
[21:16] Fuzzball Ortega: Cobra, what are you doing?
[21:16] Eladrienne Laval: For once, I am not the one causing trouble, lol
[21:16] SteelCobra Calamari: protecting mah property, Sir
[21:17] Fuzzball Ortega: CAn't you protect it in Steeltopia? You're like close to Doc's property
[21:17] Fuzzball Ortega: You're gonna hurt yourself with that gun
[21:17] SteelCobra Calamari: Well, this cookie is just too ... heavy to move
[21:17] SteelCobra Calamari: :(
[21:18] Fuzzball Ortega: Have you tried.......Oh, I dunno.......eating it?
[21:18] SteelCobra Calamari: Im full!
[21:18] SteelCobra Calamari: And im saving it for later!
[21:18] Fuzzball Ortega: Ok....just be careful with the gun. You'll shoot your eye out
[21:18] Eladrienne Laval: I love Steelhead!

1001 Nights Event

As part of Steelhead's activities, there was a 1001 Nights reading over two days. Lunar convinced me to read for the first night and I selected Sir Richard Burton's "Tale of the Lover Who Feigned Himself A Thief". I had a really nice time and those cushions sure were comfortable...
And um...Lunar has a mom. I didn't think he was spawned or from a stork or anything, but seems she has arrived to town out of the blue. One thing's for certain is that the resemblance is pretty strong...

Not-Lunar and Not-Tensai

Lunar and Tensai were away for tonight's meeting, so Veles and Mrs P thought they would act as stand-ins for them...

Shotgun Elle Roams Steelhead

Got my rifle.

Got my cigarillo.

Yeahhhh...

At the Artwalk

While roaming the ArtWalk, I came across these great sepia-toned photos by Lorimae Undercroft. Look! The Steelhead Shanghai pavilion!

Return to SLeezyWood

Ahhh, SLeezyWood...it's been two years since my last visit...
What started out with Lunar on the lookout for interesting campy junk cheesiness for his new Linden home (or, as he named the land, his "stupid F'ing Linden home"), turned into us finding a "Truth or Dare" game that was so much fun we couldn't stop playing!SLeezyWood is still hilarious and creative as hell. Go visit if you haven't before.

Steelhead St Helens Goes Kaboom

On May 18, 1980, Washington state's Mt St Helens exploded...On the same day, Tensai was born...
We Steelheaders are beginning to wonder about the coincidence, but to commemorate both occasions, Tensai decided to make Steelhead's own scale version of St Helens do the same...Ohmilord...

Tensai Kaboom!

I have been working on a machinima called "No Coffee for Bunny!" and this is an excerpt from it called "Tensai Kaboom!" She's pretty notorious in Steelhead for her love of explosions and demolitions. She's pretty dangerous even as a tiny. I think this just about sums it up...

Rubber Duckies...of DOOM!

I can count on my times in Steelhead to bring about some unusual things, and tonight was no exception. Thadicus Caligari asked us in main chat if we wanted "killer rubber duckies" that he had made. Um, YES! I set sail on Steelhead's waters in search of prey...
It seems Lunar and Linus Lacombe were roaming the waters too. I shook my fist in the air as Lunar's "Duck of Destruction" shot me down more times than I was comfortable with and once Linus figured it out, oh boy...it was FUN. Move your duck over Cottontop! MOVE IT!

Dancing at the Blue Mermaid

It has been a long time since I have been half-dressed in Caledon. Probably not since the infamous "shirtless o'clock rave" days in its past. I was somehow convinced by both Capt. Starling Alecto and Lunar to join them in Caledon by the Sea, at the Blue Mermaid. On Wednesdays, Hypatiaa Callisto's freewheeling club and lounge is lively and fun with an anything goes vibe. I came towards the end of DJ Magdalena Kamenev's lovely tribute set to Lena Horne, but the stream afterwards was also nice. I love bossa nova and one of my faves "Corcovado" played. This being me, I somehow ended up on the table...Lunar does not seem to mind!

Bunnying Down

Extrovirtual, which famously specializes in all things tiny, recently built a new shopping area open to other tiny creators in their sim (which is part of the Raglan sims). Here I am setting up my little E.Laval Tinies cart as Noramyr--one of Extrovirtual's founders and creators--helps...
Shady Fox (on the left) told me that Noramyr was super-tired after all of the building she had been doing to create it...And I got Lunar to bunneh down and come with me to the ArtWalk! OK, I love that artist's belt he has on...

Raglan Shire ArtWalk 2010

Over 100 artists have descended upon the sim of Raglan Shire to participate in its ArtWalk 2010! If you visit Raglan Shire until the end of May, you will find yourself surrounded by artwork of all types. You can find 2D works in Raglan and sculptures in its neighboring sim of Heron Shire. Also look out for the fantastic topiaries sprinkled throughout it...
Here I am (on the left) with organizer (and Lady Tigress) Teal Freenote, creator 1wuz Gray and Raglan's bunneh-in-chief Zayn Till...
There will also be live music events throughout the month as well. I was so excited about participating that I made sure I was there early to claim a hedge to hang my pencil sketches up on. You can visit them HERE and I hope you'll enjoy my pieces, as well as the other artists on display!