Eladrienne's Other Life!

An Update From Eladrienne

2011-12-08T18:11:00.001-05:00

This is what I saw when I logged into SL a few days ago...

My lighthouse was gone. My bunnehs, my roses, my little tiny stump, my home. And yet, what did I expect? It was my own fault. Time had slipped by me and I hadn't realized how long it had been since I had been in SL last. All of my properties--from my shops in Regency and Raglan to my museum to my place in Taloo. All gone. I felt a little heartbroken in a way, as I had worked so hard for all of those things inworld. While I really missed my friends, I had become discouraged about SL. Between not being able to keep up with designing and definitely not being able to compete with learning how to do sculpties and now mesh, I watched my lindens dwindle and dwindle. Logging in was starting to make me sad, and that's not what I wanted from my virtual life. I do apologize to Lunar, Tensai, Des and Gabi for not being more proactive about my properties, but a certain someone genuinely had me distracted...

Yup, that's him!!!! Around this time last year I was about to enter the hospital and experience the most harrowing and nervewracking ordeal of my life so far, but he has been worth every single moment. He is now 20 lbs (after starting out at 2 lbs! Wow!) and is 9 months old. He is one of the happiest, sweetest babies you will ever meet and I am so thankful for him every day.

My husband has suggested that perhaps there is a certain measure of freedom to being propertyless in SL now. "Maybe you can go on a walkabout," he said. "Explore its world again and what you used to love about it."

See you on the Grid.

An Update for my SL Friends

2011-03-13T13:07:00.003-05:00

Yes...those are his little feet...

Those who know me very well know I am a private person--especially when it comes to my real life, but I wanted to update you all on what has happened since the last post. The day I found out via ultrasound at 19 weeks that I was having a little boy was also the same day I was admitted to the hospital to be on strict bedrest. I went in on a Wednesday at the end of December. My docs thought I'd be home by that weekend--without a baby. I proved them all wrong. It was a very scary time for us, but I refused to believe that would be my reality.

I went on for another month to week 24--when docs consider a baby truly viable and able to survive. It was like a celebration by everyone that day. And then my water broke a few days later. Despite that, I went on for yet another month in the hospital like that and at almost 28 weeks and 3 months early, I had my son Alex two weeks ago. The staff and my docs call us a "miracle". I agree. We are a testament to positivity and what it can do.

He is doing very well in the NICU. He is strong, healthy, loud and feisty and almost 3 lbs now. He just needs to get bigger and master a few things like breathing air correctly before he can go home with us--hopefully next month. I am so thankful and happy that things worked out as they did.

I want to thank all of you so much for your support and well-wishes and good thoughts. My husband, family and I were truly touched and want you to know how much we have appreciated it. Hope to see you on the Grid again sometime. :-)

To My SL Friends

2011-01-07T23:46:00.003-05:00

For those of you wondering where I have been lately, RL has truly had my focus...

In RL I am 5 months pregnant and recently found out I have a complication. The above pic is the view I usually see from my window as I'm writing this from the hospital. I've been here for over a week so far on bedrest and do not know when I am going home from as it depends upon how much longer I can continue to carry my baby. This has been a shock to my husband and family as it could be weeks or it could be months...I don't know. We are staying positive as being negative serves no purpose.

What I do know is that all of my SL-related activities are currently suspended. Perhaps someday I'll be back, and I hope that at least my little lighthouse home and bunnies in Steelhead will still be there, but right now my concerns are with the health of my baby and my family. They have to be.

Please think good thoughts for us...I miss you all.

Holy Jeebus, Where Did the Time Go?

2010-10-18T13:17:00.005-05:00

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

2010-07-18T23:59:00.001-05:00

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

2010-07-17T23:59:00.001-05:00

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?

2010-07-12T14:08:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

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

2010-07-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

That is all I need to say.

SL7B

2010-06-28T23:33:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-16T23:28:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-10T10:08:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-02T23:59:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-01T23:59:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-30T23:04:00.000-05:00

Got my rifle.

Got my cigarillo.

Yeahhhh...

At the Artwalk

2010-05-26T23:02:00.000-05:00

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

Return to SLeezyWood

2010-05-24T23:59:00.002-05:00

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

2010-05-18T23:59:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-05-18T22:39:00.003-05:00

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!

2010-05-13T23:49:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-07T14:35:00.001-05:00

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!

Shoes to Nom For...

2010-05-05T23:59:00.000-05:00

After the town meeting last night, Lunar and I decided to take a stroll through Seraph City, a dieselpunk-themed sim with a 1920s-30s deco flair to it. As we were walking by the Grim Bros. shop a cheery voice called out to us Steelheaders. It was creator Cutea Benelli...
If you have never met her it's a shame, as her personality could best be described as "ebullient." I love her perky bubbliness. After a great chat about creating and how she has been prepping for a baked goods themed show, she gifted me with an exclusive pair of shoes--the super-cute "Antidepressant Heels." Look at the little yummies all over it!Thank you Cutea! They are so much fun!

Emerald City set

2010-05-04T23:22:00.000-05:00

Tensai had created this fantastic L. Frank Baum (of Wizard of Oz fame)-themed set for a for a Steelhead dance. I couldn't resist looking like Miss Gale and having a look around.

Steelhead SWAT Nun Bunny

2010-05-02T23:10:00.001-05:00

I popped in to Steelhead to pay a rent, and ended up with a rifle and a habit for a Primgraph Golden Prim story photo shoot. Tanwy (to my left) made a fantastic set of the different orders (we're wearing Benedictine) and Chaffro provided rifles for us. It was a lot of fun. I'll let you know when the issue is out!

Walpurgisnacht in Steelhead 2010

2010-04-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

It was time for the annual Walpurgisnacht celebrations in the Steamlands, where we celebrate it with bonfires and come out as assorted otherworldly (or infernal) types. This is my third year attending these celebrations and this year in Steelhead, Tensai built a rather fantastic set for it...
As I have done every year since the first one, I danced with Lunar. At least Linus did not end up in the fire again like last year!

Spring is in the Air

2010-03-18T15:06:00.006-05:00

I've been away from SL for a bit. I've been lucky if I'm in more than 2X a week. A lot has been going on in my RL and frankly, I really needed the break. I always come in to attend Steelhead town meetings on Tuesdays and tend to Steelhead things such as building the new Embassy in Winterfell...
As I stated in my last post, I had become disillusioned and disappointed of a sorts inworld. We grow as our virtual selves, and creatively I felt empty, drained and unproductive. My SL started to feel like a shell of itself. I have been enjoying being in Aion with my RL husband and best friends, but I realized that I really missed my friends in SL too...And they told me that they have been missing me a lot as well, which truly touched me...Even my buddy Newbe has returned to SL with a new outlook after a long hiatus. Bit by bit, I have been making small steps towards coming back and even felt inspired to create this:It is spring after all. A time of new things. Change in so many ways. I can feel it...I'll be back.

Miss Malaprop & Ennui

2010-01-31T15:24:00.006-05:00

I have been reading about the situation regarding Ordinal Malaprop's departure from the Grid with both sadness and interest. Mainly because as of late, I have often felt the same way.

Her concerns about the recent LiLa acquisition of Avatars United aside, I can understand the sense of logging in and feeling as if you are unproductive as a creator. Or unwilling to deal with whatever the latest drama the Grid or its citizens throw your way. I know that for me, logging into SL lately has been bringing more apprehension than enjoyment and I have always said that when it gets that way, why bother?

I used to love being inworld and creating and blogging. I used to love attending social events and exploring the Grid. I've gotten so tired of hearing about other people's dramas as they rant/complain/gripe their way through their time inworld. Why are you even in SL if it all sucks that much for you? That, combined with my own lack of motivation to create, has been a great source of inworld stress for me and you know what? I've been doing other things instead. I'm sure that it'll kick in and I'll be creative again. At least I hope so. Dia and I have talked a lot about "reclaiming one's SL", whether through downsizing, reinvention or taking a break from it (as I have been lately) to make it fun again. We can't be the only ones that have felt this sense of ennui.

As for Dame Ordinal, she's quite the inventor, scripter and personality. I took the pic above when we both got stuck at her shop in Caledon about 2 years ago. I was so excited to meet her for the first time. We had a great conversation and she demonstrated her latest product for me. Her presence--especially in the Steamlands of SL--will be missed.

Adventures as an Avatar

2010-01-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

When Lunar sends me a message saying "Elle, come join me!" I should know better by now. Two nights ago I ended up roaming around with him looking like a certain blue feline-esque alien species...We were looking for RP sims or forests, whichever we found first. We were surprised at how many others there are out there and it's ripe for RP inworld. While in Chakryn Forest, we found a sleeping odalisque that was a marvel of sculpted prims...
Being silly in the Mexico sims...
Don't go afk around us...

Elle in Aion: Just Another Place to Travel with Friends

2010-01-08T23:47:00.001-05:00

These are my best friends in RL that I literally travel the world with. When they asked me to hang out with them in Aion, I saw no reason not to travel that world with them too! It's just another place for us all to explore and have fun in together. My friend in the middle is a much higher level than the two of us and head of our legion. We just all happened to be in the capital city at the same time. They also help to keep me from getting myself killed in there. Who's the one below with her weapon already drawn? Yup...In there, I'm a templar...a "tank", which means that I'm usually the first to go at the enemy and keep them mad at me because I can take a hit. My job is to essentially distract aggressive enemies from the folks who heal us. As I've never played something like this, I've been finding the dynamics of how the different "classes" work and work together to be really interesting.

Balancing Bunny Act

2010-01-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Baron, there's a pic of me out there in the world balancing on a ball during the Christmas party...

Elle in Aion: And So It Begins...

2010-01-06T14:28:00.004-05:00

What have I been up to? Lots of fun and holiday excitement with my husband and friends. Our friends had recently started playing Aion and knowing I'm a gamer, had encouraged me to join them. I've always called my husband a "backseat gamer" as he has always been the type to enjoy watching and coaching, but not playing himself. To my surprise he decided to play too as he didn't want to feel "left out"...
Now that my new computer came in, it can handle Aion's stunning graphics. Like Blue Mars, it uses a modified version of the CryEngine. I've never played a fantasy, quest-based, levelling-style MMO before and I'll admit that I am really really enjoying it...Aion is the story of two races of people--the Asmodians and the Elyos--who are now enemies after a cataclysmic event that split their world apart. At level 10, you ascend to Daeva status and get your wings and can fly. In the above pics, I am as my Asmodian templar self. Below, my alt Rafetna, who is an Elyos sorcerer... And there really is something to be said about coming into a game like this and your best friends are already there. Even when I cross paths with one of them or my husband, it's always like "HEY!" Forget the fighting, sometimes I find myself just exploring its world because this game is gorgeous...If you ever decide to come in, I am Asmo on the Israphel server and Elyos on Fregion (as you can't play both races on the same server). For those who like RPing, I've heard that Lumiel is the server to choose.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2009-12-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

A very Happy Holiday season to you all!

A Silly Moment

2009-12-23T16:17:00.001-05:00

One thing about SL is that sometimes you can have truly silly moments..like me riding a rat car around the ballroom in Steelhead.

Metaplace Closing

2009-12-22T18:43:00.004-05:00

I got a notice that Metaplace would be closing on January 1. I took part in its beta months ago after signing up on a whim...
I've heard it described as "retro" and coming from SL, it certainly had that kind of feel to it, but for some reason I kept returning. I enjoyed exploring all of the little worlds that folks created out of simple graphics and items pulled from Google's 3D warehouse. Browser-based and very easy to use, but it really did have a throwback feel to it though. The fun for me was finding worlds were people were doing interesting things, like this Victorian Jack the Ripper mystery-based one called Whitechapel 1888...And you know that I could not resist visiting "Steampunk"...There are/were a lot of creative folks in there who pushed the boundaries of what could be done in there, such as the "Wonka" world by Xue Mei...Whose "Happy" was also a standout to me...My own little place evolved during the time that I was in there and I essentially rebuilt my beloved gardens that I used to have in SL. I truly enjoyed creating this and I am sorry to see it go...

An Evening Chat

2009-12-17T23:45:00.000-05:00

I had a very nice time chatting with Lunar and fellow Steelhead resident, his friend Redsonja Congrejo. I teased him that I was shocked he had furniture for once.

And He Played the Violin

2009-12-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

I was in a pretty bad mood and stopped through my shop to pay my rent and adjust some things when a man walks over to me, violin in hand, and asks if he could play me some songs. A wandering musician, he told me that he travels the Grid, playing for those who will listen. I felt much better afterwards.

Caledon in Blue Mars

2009-12-16T15:18:00.008-05:00

Well, I suppose I can finally talk about this now...

Desmond Shang has announced Caledonia, Caledon's "colony" in Blue Mars. Reactions about the upcoming 4 million sq m Caledonia have ranged from "What?!" to "Oooo" to "Whatever." Its preview will be available in a few days. As Caledon is one of SL's significant "showcase" regions and he is one of its most well-known land owners, this is a big deal.

I've been a part of this project since May and for me, it has been interesting to see the evolution of a brand new virtual world. I've been exploring Blue Mars in general due to the fact that checking out other virtual worlds is what I like to do. I will not sit here and tout it as the end all to be all, because as I have said in previous posts, it still has quite a long way to go until it's truly ready for primetime. In the meantime though, it is the possibility of what it can do that is intriguing.

Will Blue Mars be a SL killer? No. I don't think so. SL has more danger of killing themselves off due to their company's practices and general perception than another virtual world popping up. And I seriously doubt SL is going to go anywhere for quite a while. Its draw--as it was for me and for others who are content creators--is still the ability for anyone to be able to make something using its built-in tools. I've always loved SL and still believe in its possibilities as well. Those who like SL will continue to be in SL, or they might be like me and check out both worlds. Right now, the two worlds are like apples and oranges and it's still way too early to guess at an impact one way or the other. In the meantime, can't blame a person for checking out the other options out there.

Groovy Man! Raglan Shire's Wootstock Festival

2009-12-13T23:59:00.001-05:00

For two days, the tinies of Raglan Shire had their Winter Wootstock music festival featuring live musicians, DJs and lots of fun...
Ohh groooovy man...don't bogart the wootberries...Musician Gina Stella returned to Raglan and finished the weekend's performances with her tiny crowd pleaser "Wafflelujah"...All of us even had our lighters out. Nobody parties quite like tinies!

Kenroku-en Gardens

2009-12-12T23:59:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I like to wear an avatar that makes me really happy and go to a place inworld that seems...peaceful. Tonight, I wore my "Wabi Sabi" Ollipog tiny steampunk Japanese doll avatar and went to Kenroku, the sim of the Able Seed garden shop. Here I am at a re-creation of the Ishikawa-mon Gate...
Based upon the 300-year old Kenroku-en gardens in Japan's Ishikawa prefecture, the gardens are beautiful and the architecture has fantastic texturing... Here is the Kotoji stone lantern that sits on the pond, which is named Kasumiga-ike in real life. The gardens are considered one of the most beautiful in Japan. This is one of the wonderful things about SL--being able to visit wonderful re-creations like this inworld!

Chaffro's Wedding in Raglan Shire

2009-12-06T21:28:00.001-05:00

My friend Chaffro is getting married in RL. He and his fiancee Kitti thought it would be fun to have an inworld ceremony in Raglan Shire as well. Here is the nervous bunneh groom...
All of Raglan turned out, including tinies creator Wynx Whiplash herself, to hear their genuinely sweet exchange of vows...Afterwards we all went to the reception and partied like only tinies can!Congrats to the two of them in both lives!!!

Laval Point Decked Out for the Holidays

2009-12-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Mrs P made some beautiful holiday wreaths and swag, so I thought I'd make Laval Point a bit more festive. I was going to set out the mistletoe again this year. Hm...

New Steelhead Sim

2009-11-30T23:59:00.002-05:00

Steelhead's latest sim, St Helen's landed. Lunar and Tensai are hard at work on it, but it is already shaping up to be a really pretty rustic sim. I'd say that it is the most rugged looking of the six so far...Lots are still open in it, so if you are interested, please contact TotalLunar Eclipse...And of course I explored it as a ferret and chased after the deer...

Writing in Both Lives

2009-11-21T00:23:00.003-05:00

I am particpating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in RL, so I thought it'd be fun to have a writing desk at my home inworld.

For those of you who are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, you essentially have to knock out a 175-page, 50K words manuscript in one month. I've fallen a bit behind, but I think I'll at least come close this year compared to back in '05, when I only got to 161 words. I've become much more efficient as a writer since then.

I think there's something nice about SL me writing while RL me is too...

Raglan Tinies Fashion Show Video

2009-11-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

The tinies of Raglan work the runway in the recent Raglan Fashion Show! Thanks to Daveypup Nirvpaw for creating this video showing off the talented designers! Work the runway!

Find more videos like this on Puppy of Raglan

Steelhead Shanghai featured on Treet TV "Designing Worlds" show

2009-11-18T10:45:00.003-05:00

Steelhead Shanghai was featured on the "Designing Worlds" show. Hosts Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin joined Lunar, Tensai and resident Elegia Underwood on a tour of the sim. For those who might have a problem viewing the video below, you can view it HERE...

World of Goo

2009-11-17T09:24:00.000-05:00

I got 2DBoy's "World of Goo" game through their recent promotion, thinking it looked fun and cute and boy, was I right. One of the most quirky and original games I've ever played. For those of you who have played it, you will totally get this video...

Elle in Farmville: Chickens and Peppers and Squash...Oh My!

2009-11-16T15:44:00.008-05:00

Screw it. I'll admit it...I play Farmville. You've already read about why I think people really get into games like YoVille (which I've found that I'm disinterested in), and I like this one even more. Essentially, you are a farmer (obviously) and plant crops with a certain harvest time, like 2-day squash or 4-hour blueberries. When planting or harvesting you get currency coins and XP. You can also harvest trees and collect from your livestock. Like other Facebook-based Flash games, your friends can send you gifts for your farm and vice versa. You can help out on their farms for XP. It's simple as hell and really easy to use and fun...I've found that I don't care very much about levelling up quickly. I just like having the plants grow? I had created this little heart out of hay bales even before I knew there was a whole forum devoted to FarmVille art out there!Recently, its parent company Zynga has been called out on lead-gen scams. What's that? In FarmVille, you can buy coins or FV bucks outright. For those of us used to MMOs like SL, no big deal. It's like buying Lindens. Seems FB cracked down on it and Zynga removed the option, but there used to be things like "Get 15 coins if you sign up for a subscription with so-and-so", which I thought was a ripoff since you could just go ahead and buy the currency.

Despite those issues, I still think Flash-based games like this are worth a watch...especially if they become more interactive. And you have better believe I'm keeping my eye on City of Eternals, which is still in its testing phase.

Watching the Clouds

2009-11-14T23:59:00.000-05:00

There are times when I am happy just to sit with Phin at our place in Caledon Mayfair and just watch the clouds go by...

Just Another Night in Steelhead

2009-11-13T23:59:00.001-05:00

There's nothing quite like logging in to presents, and this time a really pretty necklace was awaiting me...Lunar had just put down the new train station in Steelhead, based upon this one, so I went over to check it out...While inside, he asked me "Did you just see a big robot go by?" I said "This is SL. Anything is possible." But sure enough, the large robot peered into the Steelbucks coffee shop in Harborside and continued to explore the town...
Lunar asked me to join him on a quick errand. We both looked down at a deer sprawled out on the ground in Port Harbor. We figured it strayed from someone's property and he returned it to its owner to graze some more. I joked that the evil tiny kitty next door would've been eating venison for days if she found it first...

C'mere Fishie Fishie

2009-11-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

What's a tiny bunny do to relax? Sit on her dock and fish, that's what...

Transformation & Transcending

2009-11-04T15:58:00.005-05:00

Bettina Tizzy decided to cease posting on her NPIRL blog yesterday. It was always one of my faves because being an explorer like I am, I enjoyed visiting a lot of the places she discussed. It was also a great showcase of the imaginations of SL's content creators. She also gave me the opportunity to participate in the Rezzable Garden of NPIRL Delights last year. I know I was thrilled to be among some of the most creative folks on the Grid. She has said that she will continue to tweet what she finds and the inworld groups themselves are not disbanding. She has been busy in RL and I also get the feeling that she is working on something else great.

I can absolutely understand the feeling of wishing to move on to something else in a way. Blogging and keeping up with the social media of SL in addition to your RL can be demanding. I know that my friend and virtual sis-in-law Zoe Connolly recently did the same, deTwittering and dePlurking and unblogging. I do believe there is a point that one has to make a choice as to how much they wish to manage their time on SL-related activities, even if it means leaving SL altogether like Eshi did recently.

SL--and virtual worlds in general--are meant to be a complement to one's RL. We change. Our needs and wants, both inworld and out, do too. We transform and sometimes transcend them. And there is nothing wrong with that. I wish much luck for all three of them in their future endeavors, and I'm sure it's not the last any of us will hear from them.

Friendly Greetings from Torley's Tiny Bunneh Heaven!

2009-10-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

Everybody in SL knows Torley Linden. He who loves pink and green watermelon-y goodness. I had never been to his sim Here Island, and thought it'd be fun. At first I had my own little raincloud, but it soon went away...
Due to the sheer crazy fun of the place!Watermelon monster! YESH!Even the water was filled with things to see...And just when I thought I had found tiny bunny heaven...I REALLY found tiny bunny heaven!!!!

Um...

2009-10-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

I can assure you that I am unable to walk on the walls, and my tiny bunny AV isn't wearing suction cups on its feet.

I have no idea how this happened...

Learning is Fun in Raglan

2009-10-27T19:20:00.004-05:00

Heading over to Raglan U. for the second part of the machinima class in preparation for the big Raglan Machinima Festival in February...
Daveypup Nirvpaw's goal today was to teach us about basic editing in Movie Maker (since it's free and most of us have it anyway)...
Looking at my fellow tinies in attendance was a lot of fun too. I noticed Bith's rings on her horns. Very chic! I had the pleasure of meeting Bith in RL at the Baltimore Comic Con recently. She was there with her husband, who is an artist, and both of them were very nice!
I noticed zoe Reymont's toilet paper roll and wondered what she had been up to...
And Teal, well...I am probably not going to post it as it was just a godawful test, but my practice machinima that I made was called "Bloodsucking Squirrel." Yup.

Elle in Blue Mars: Golfing & Shade City

2009-10-25T09:40:00.000-05:00

Was exploring Blue Mars today and well, let's just say that I need to practice my golf swing...
I also stopped by Shade City and walked around...I don't know if the sky above the main area is really like this or this was just my computer on the blink, but I like it...

Elle in Blue Mars: Grid Rock & Soswaewon Garden

2009-10-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

With the latest version of Blue Mars the other day, new areas were added like Grid Rock City...I wandered through the landscape...
And admired the structures. I love when places are brand-spanking new...
Such as another new area: Soswaewon Garden. I can't wait to explore this more. Remember, you're seeing this on my low budget graphic card so what I'm seeing's much rougher, but gives you an idea for folks with older PCs like mine. For those of you with better ones, your mileage will vary!

Raglan Gearing Up for the Machinima Festival

2009-10-21T18:32:00.000-05:00

I was so busy groaning about prim feet that I totally forgot to talk about a recent class that I attended in Raglan recently. Tinies (and some biggies) came out to the Raglan U. platform to learn more about using Fraps and making machinima. Daveypup Nirvpaw was brave enough to get us new tiny machinimamakers started in preparation for the Raglan Machinima Festival in February that Chaffro announced. As you can see here, some of us (TEAL) came ready for our close up!

Adventures with Prim Feet aka Die Prim Feet DIE

2009-10-18T16:14:00.005-05:00

I have a weakness for beautiful shoes and these were no exception, except for the fact that when I tried them on, they were shoes with prim feet. Now, I have avoided prim feet and shoes with them like the plague, but I was like "Oh well, they're nice shoes, I'll go for it." Don't mind my pose stand (which sinks my toes into it), I just wanted to fit them well and this is the basic skin color for them... I checked the options and there was not a way for me to easily do the color match way of tinting one's feet that I prefer, so I had to toggle dark, light and RGB +/- buttons. To get anything close to my skin color took the following clicks: 24 dark, 8 red+, and 1 blue + and even then it wasn't quite right as my skin has this lovely luminous realistic look that contrasted with the flat look of the feet...
And I'm not even going to talk about the fact that the shoes were no mod with no EZ sizing or way to adjust those cool black bands. Arrrrrrgh...I had to toss them back into my inventory as they're unusable to me. Well, I really did try. Damn! OK, my fashion moment is over, back to exploring and such.

Elle in Blue Mars: Meet & Greet in Beach City

2009-10-14T17:59:00.003-05:00

I heard about the Meet & Greet in Blue Mars today and headed over to Beach City. One thing I have noticed about being in beta is that we tend to be pretty spread out under normal circumstances, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what it was like with a bunch of us together at one time. Glenn Sanders, Avatar Reality's Community Director (to my right in the T with the design), was on hand to answer questions...
And as you can see, we had a lot of them! I'll admit that I hope the chat bubbles will be optional as you can see how confusing it can be in crowds. It was good to see another familiar face in there, and this time it was SL's NPIRL arts maven Bettina Tizzy, who is highlighted on my right...Some things discussed was Blue Mars time being Hawaii Standard Time, which is GMT-10 (and where Avatar Reality is based), name tags, fps rates and Blue Mars as a platform for developers. Bettina said something that struck me as hilarious. Someone said how they would IM her inworld (meaning SL), and she said "We ARE inworld!" One of the funniest things was something we did on a whim. Group hug everybody!

Another Year with Phin!

2009-10-14T17:26:00.004-05:00

Phin and I have been together ever since he stumbled out of my shop two years ago. We also celebrate being partnered inworld for a year today as well. We went back to the SL Botanical Gardens where we had our first long chat two years ago and were glad to see the chairs were still there. There's a comfort in familiarity, isn't there? Even inworld...
He is very funny, smart and sweet and has become a great friend to me in both lives. Thanks Phin...You are my favorite squirrel...

No Dirndl Dry Cleaning

2009-10-08T23:59:00.002-05:00

As we sat on the wall talking in Steeltopia, I joked with Lunar that I could "accidentally" knock him backwards into the bay. He said that if that happened he would be taking me with him. The suspicious look on his face is priceless. After all, tiny ferret me did bite the emperor of Steeltopia earlier.

But mess up my dirndl (I'm dressed for Steelhead's Oktoberfest celebration)? No way!

Tinies Jousting Video

2009-10-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

A fun video from Chaffro made for the Lone Star Ranch/Equus as a promo for their jousting system. You can find me around 0:12...

Visiting Syncretia

2009-10-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

I am not usually one to pay attention to the main page of my viewer (I have Emerald), but an image on it caught my eye and I followed it to the Syncretia sim...
Owned by NPIRL blogger and SL art maven Alpha Auer, Syncretia is an island of art installations...Such as this one...I recognized Truthseeker Young's "The Singularapture is Near" installation that was originally in the Rezzable Garden of NPIRL Delights...
Hey, where's my treat?!

Tinies Jousting In Raglan Shire

2009-09-29T23:24:00.001-05:00

The month-long medieval festival in Raglan wrapped up this past weekend with one of Raglan Shire's most popular annual events--the jousting tournament! I, Lady Fluffytail of Acorn, joined milord Fluffytail Phin to witness these courageous tinies for ourselves...

The spectators lined up in the stands as tiny by tiny jouster fell from the blows of their challenger's lances...Snakes...on a horse! It came down to two brave tinies. ReignShadow waits for his turn in the deciding joust!Reign's horse thundered down at his opponent, the bobcat Iwanta Salamander, who unseated him for the tourney win! Iwanta wins it all!Zayn awarded the tropies to Iwanta and Reign...And after the excitement, I visited the main fair square and donated to the wishing well, whose proceeds are going towards RL animal charities. Until next year!!

Tinies Video: "Highwaybunny: The Trailer" & Machinima Festival Announcement

2009-09-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

Oh my God, how did I miss this one Chaffro...how do you come up with these?

Chaffro also announced the first ever Raglan Shire Studio Films Festival. He is inviting Raglan folks to create or submit their already created machinima featuring tinies by Jan 31, 2010. It should be a blast! For more information, please check it our HERE.

Elle in Blue Mars: Community & Beta Testing

2009-09-27T08:35:00.003-05:00

So Phin and I both decided to explore Blue Mars together yesterday. Oh dear God, look...at...us. We look like Blue M Noob Examples 1 and 2...
Our moment of laziness as we sat at a table in Beach City turned into a good discussion about how important community and social interaction is in a virtual world. As this is not a MMO where leveling up would be important and content is already created, to us it seems that having things to do (not just alone) and socializing will end up being very important. We will explore the world with our friends, talk, shop...whatever we want to do to feel connected inworld. So it is important to be able to find each other and like-minded individuals as well. I am interested in seeing how Blue M tackles this...There are some basic animations that you can do such as shaking hands. I'll admit I was like "Ugh" when I was offered a caress once. A caress...really? Well, at least you get asked first. Phin gave me a "lovehug". Hey, at least I know him! I "raced" Phin to the bridge. OK...it wasn't much of a race at all as Phin's computer's much faster. Due to the LOD, he'd disappear almost right away to me. Thought it was a fluke on my end, but Phin would get the disappearing too. We ran into Dale Innis and he mentioned the same thing. We ended up having a really good conversation with him about Blue M. One of the things we talked about was being a beta tester. To us, this is the time to be critical. Let them know about this or that feature that seems off or could be improved. That's what you are in there for. I joked about how I'm being like that little old lady who calls the police about everything. You wanted to know our feedback, you're going to get it!We all also talked about coming into it and trying to leave our preconceived notions based upon other VWs behind. It can be hard, as the bar has been set high and there are big expectations. It's just not there quite yet, so we'll just have to see once there is more content and more folks. Oh, and look...I've got on jeans. Whew. Who wears short shorts? Not me. Phin made a short video about his experience so far in Blue M, if you want to get a feel for it as it is right now...loads and all.

Steelhead Steampunk Animals Build Contest Entrants

2009-09-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

After I managed to fall into the apple barrel last night, I headed over to the Steelhead Harvest Festival Steampunk Animal Building contest to see the entries...There were some really fantastic (and hilarious) ones...
If you've like to see these really fun builds yourself, head over to the barn in Steelhead City!

Apple Bobbing

2009-09-25T23:59:00.001-05:00

Let's just say that bobbing for apples didn't go quite as I expected...

OK, yeah, I fell in. Somewhere I can hear Lunar laughing about this right now.

Why Tinies Shouldn't Have Magic Wands

2009-09-23T16:40:00.003-05:00

I was sitting at home twiddling my paws for a moment, deciding what I wished to do next...What to do...what to do...
I rummaged through my things and found a magic wand. I pointed it at the ground, said a few arcane words and POOF!!! Waffles. Lots and lots and lots of waffles. YESH.

Elle in YoVille: Virtual Worlds and Ease of Use

2009-09-23T14:07:00.004-05:00

Yes, that is me. And yes, I am in Facebook's YoVille. "What the hell Elle?" some of you might be wondering, but I'll tell you it was simply curiosity. See, in RL I have a favorite cousin who is one year older than I am. She never plays console or PC games or participates in MMOs. I couldn't possibly imagine her being in SL or Blue Mars and definitely not somewhere like WoW. So when I saw that she seemed to be really enjoying YoVille and had been for a while, I took note. I asked myself "Why?" and figured the only way was to see for myself.

I realized that it's because it was simply easy to use. Simple controls. Basic and straightforward and because it's based in FB, you already have your friends who play built-in (although you can interact with strangers as well). And for any of us who have gotten all caught up in playing simple games like solitaire, you can understand the appeal of a quick game of tic tac toe or fishing. There's no graphics card straining and trying not to implode. There's no complicated orientation needed or difficult user interface to master. You just jump right in and go off. For someone like my cousin, this was perfect. All she needed.

I mentioned in my last post how important usability and community is for a virtual world to not be static/stagnant. Folks need to be able to easily get in and stay in and see what everyone else is seeing as well--for their experience while inworld to be no less different. For instance, I have no idea what glowing things look like inworld. I don't even use glow because I can't see it and would probably blind everyone or something. Sorry, my card won't render it and it's as upgraded as this card gets. No one wants to feel like they need to seriously upgrade their computer just to participate--especially if they don't wish to be a power user.

Knowing me, I'll get bored of this very quickly given what I've been used to and YoVille isn't exactly my cup of tea mainly because of its simplicity, but I'll admit that I'm looking forward to hanging out with my cousin in it. Perhaps that is the appeal.

Elle in Blue Mars: New Venice, Static Worlds & Content Creation

2009-09-22T13:35:00.009-05:00

Finally able to get into Blue Mars again and explore some more. OK...I'm not sure if the sky's supposed to be neon pink or the water dayglo turquoise, but this is how my piece o'crap computer with its piece o'crap card renders it. In my case, I'm laggy as hell due to my computer being a POC, but I'm in here. Today I visited New Venice, which actually is really beautiful. Blue Mars in general right now reminds me of the excitement I feel when a new sim lands in SL--that feeling of "Ooo...what now?!" For now, I see it as a complement to SL. It's like apples and oranges in a way though.

Phin and I recently had a discussion about how Blue M is developer-centric as compared to SL and its user-created content. "Will that create a static world?" he asked me. My answer was that it was too early to tell anything. To me, a virtual world's only as static as the communities within it. There are plenty of folks who are more than happy to not build/create a thing and buy from others and socialize with friends. A part of me feels like Blue M might have a lot in common with Sony's Playstation "Home"? Anyone out there who has visited both?

For many of us used to console games and other MMOs, that is the norm anyway. You're not creating. It's already there and you are free to just be a participant. I'd like to imagine that it also creates more of a sense of a control within a region, but I think about the fact that SL griefers didn't create flying freenises. They just figured out how to use already available content in...unusual ways.

As a content creator myself, it brings up other questions. For those who are successful in SL as content creators, Blue M could be somewhat daunting in a way. You'd have to set up shop under a current developer (if you can), it might be a totally different skill set for you to learn content creation-wise, and would your popularity in one world transfer to the other? Many things to think about, especially if SL was my RL living.

In another post, I'll talk about something else that I thought about while tempted to kick my computer: basic usability. And oh, I think I'll refer to this world as Blue M instead of its acronym. Sorry...but expect cracks along the lines of SL's whole "Get a first life" in the future...

Wafflelujah! Live Music to Hype Tinies

2009-09-21T23:57:00.002-05:00

Live musician Gina Stella stopped by Raglan Shire yesterday to perform as part of its Medieval Festival. We tinies love live musicians and they enjoy performing for us as we are a really fun crowd. She also found out about our obsession with waffles and had fun performing this special cover song just for us. Thanks Daveypup for recording this! Enjoy "Wafflelujah" in all its glory:

Tiny Fun at the Raglan Shire Medieval Festival

2009-09-20T23:59:00.002-05:00

I love the Raglan Medieval Festival. Now in its third year, it is a celebration of all things tiny and medieval and fun. There was much fainting, waving of foam fingers and tossing of waffles onstage during a performance from Raglan's very own cover rock band, the Fuzznutz...
Live musician Gina Stella then performed for us, with Anek Fuchs keeping her company onstage. Her performance of "Wafflelujah" really brought down the house...Tinies were in the stocks. Freeing them helped go towards an animal charity...
We all lined up at soothsayer Clowey Greenwood's tent, nervously awaiting our turn...I held out my paw and was told that I needed to write more so that others could read my work, and that although being a fluffytail was my true self, I struggled with wanting to be biggie. I was given a "Don't Be A Biggie-Sicle" to combat that and sent on my way...

Into the Woods

2009-09-20T16:24:00.001-05:00

Since I was squirrelly, I thought that I would explore the beautiful sim that makes up Chakryn Forest...I roamed through the lush woods and came upon one of the sim's founders, arts maven Bettina Tizzy of NPIRL (Impossible in RL) group preparing for a new show. She was wearing a fantastic mechadoll wireframe-inspired AV by Cutea Benelli of Grim Bros. It was very nice to see her again and we chatted for a bit before I went off to get lost in the vegetation again. I was only knee-high after all...

Children of the Steelhead Corn

2009-09-19T23:59:00.001-05:00

I've done my share of mazes here in SL and last night's dance in Steelhead, you had to go through a corn maze first...
I got there at the very very end of the dance, but wanted to see the maze build for myself. And promptly got lost...And found an eyeball. Yes. An eyeball.

Underwater in Steeltopia

2009-09-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

What started out with a chat with Steel about a new personal uniform for him led to my asking him about the water quality in Steeltopia. "It's not as bad as Babbage's, but it's...OK," he said. I cringed, thinking about Babbage's notoriously unclean waters. One word: wiggyfish. I wasn't taking any chances and figured that compared to Steelhead's pristine waters, I'd still need to wear a filter this time...
Obsidian Bay turned out to be a fun place to swim around in as a mer. Steel has a great sense of humor and seems like he has a tendency to sink things too, so there were things down there to see such as these eels. Knowing him, I assumed they were electric or something, so didn't get too close to them...I was exploring some large wreckage and all of a sudden three large tentacles sprang to life. "ACK! TENTACLES! What the HELL?!" I said. I should have known...Steel, being alien, came and joined me underwater. Seems I found his pet kraken by accident...

Steampunk Mermaid Elle

2009-09-15T23:45:00.000-05:00

I actually love being a mermaid as much as being a tiny. I find swimming through SL and seeing it from an entirely different perspective to be calming. I found this gorgeous steampunk mermaid fin set and was like...this is it. I've found my ultimate mer look. I swam around Steelhead's waters. I think it would be fantastic if Port Harbor had an underwater place of interest to mer folk...
After all of that swimming I was a bit tired and thought I would go and relax in my bowl on the lawn. I am looking forward to exploring the waters of other places.

Get Out the Eye Bleach...

2009-09-13T23:59:00.004-05:00

I respect the right of other SL citizens to be able to be and look like anything and I've shown some skin before at a themed party...but damn. I'd love to say that these are all dudes pretending to be women, but I've met way too many women who like the "ho-chic" look in here. A guilty pleasure of mine is the SL site "What the Fug?" Looking through my pics, I realized I actually had enough to do a homage post of sorts. Can't say I didn't warn you...

While out shopping a while ago, Lunar tried to shield my eyes from the one on the right, I couldn't help but notice the one on the left too..
I'm all for curves and think voluptuous women are gorgeous, but this old pic I took is like "Attack of the Blinging Oiled Badonkadonks"...Saw these two last night. The one on the left speaks for herself, but what you can't really see from the woman on the right (who I actually thought was pretty) is that you can see her prim nipples under her prim top because it doesn't fit close enough. For the love of God, WHY? OK, we get it. You are neko BDSM twins and like to spank or be spanked. We get it...Now I'm going to need some eye bleach...And yes, Tensai clicked on this pricelessness below...

Mont St Michel in SL

2009-09-12T23:59:00.003-05:00

I have been very busy and haven't been doing one of my true loves in SL: exploring. Tonight, I thought I'd go and visit the re-creation of Normandy, France's medieval Mont St Michel finally...
I made my way upwards, past the charming buildings of the island's village, which contain shops...I was chatting with Lunar via IM. "Isn't that the one with the parking lot?" he said. "Parking lot? Do you have the right window?" I asked him--thinking all of that building had finally gotten to him, and then I turned around and saw it...I wound my way through twists and turns and corridors and made it to a courtyard at the very top, where upon entering a doorway...I found a beautiful and well-built Norman chapel inside...
I took a break on a bench among the trees on one of the lower levels upon my descent. If you'd like to visit yourself, click HERE.

Empress Elle

2009-09-08T23:58:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I feel like getting all dressed up just for the heck of it and went through my large collection of cultural and international clothing. SL makes it very easy to find traditional and historic clothing from around the world. Tonight, I thought I'd take a picture at the Shanghai Pagoda wearing my new ensemble from Legends of China. I am dressed as Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Xetian, China's only female emperor who ruled the country for almost 50 years. Was she ruthless in her acquisition of power? Perhaps. Did she successfully and peacefully rule? Definitely.As I am usually in 19th c. clothing, I totally enjoy wearing things that are beautiful and fantastic such as this...

"Avatar"

2009-09-08T12:26:00.003-05:00

Coming across this oldie-but-goodie Lainey Voom machinima reminded me of how much I love to shapeshift in SL. Some folks are cool with being "themselves", but I love the concept of being able to be anything:

Avatar (Mini Project 1) from Lainy Voom on Vimeo.

Life On Blue Mars

2009-09-07T14:12:00.004-05:00

Seeing all of the other posts about Blue Mars lately, I'm finally getting around to posting this as I took this a while ago now and someday I will look at this 1st day pic and laugh at my utterly fresh-faced innocent noobishness before I became corrupted and jaded and so forth and so on.

I've had my Blue Mars account for quite a while now, but now that my RL travels and SL inworld life's a bit calmer, I just started being good about actually truly figuring out how to run it all on my piece o' crap computer without it either a) imploding, b) exploding or c) both.

Here's a news flash: It's still beta, folks! There isn't much to do or see or buy yet because the development phase is still going on. However, if you are willing to be a pioneer and just check it out, then hey. Even my laggy POC (piece o'crap) still brought up great graphics and I love my bouncy swingy hair. Avatar customization isn't what I'm used to (although tweaking the makeup and selecting clothes is a breeze). I can't wait to change my avatar's face shape and features. Right now, I look like singer Toni Braxton or something.

If anything, I just remember what SL was like once upon a time. Even when I joined, SL flexiprims were brand new and like "WOW!" Innovations will come soon enough, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to exploring it and telling more about it in the future.

Opening Celebration of Steelhead Shanghai Sim

2009-08-28T22:24:00.001-05:00

I would like to invite you all to join the citizens of Steelhead for the official opening celebration of their latest sim, Steelhead Shanghai! The architecture and narrow, mysterious streets of this Steampunk-meets-Asia sim are fantastic and a must-see.

WHERE: Behind the Shanghai Slums on the isle across from the pagoda
WHEN: 7 - 9 PM SLT

Teal's Rez Day Party

2009-08-26T23:59:00.000-05:00

My friend, artist and Lady Tigress Teal Freenote, celebrated her 2nd Rez Day in Raglan Shire yesterday. As you can see, there was a huge turnout of tinies and no one quite parties like we do!

Distracted by a Blue Emperor

2009-08-25T23:59:00.000-05:00

After the Steelhead meeting, I was planning on having a quiet evening working on projects...But after SteelCobra got me to visit his new arcade in Steeltopia, I ended up doing that instead!

Steampunk Meets Asian Influences in Steelhead

2009-08-21T11:44:00.004-05:00

The Steampunk Asian-influenced sim of Steelhead Shanghai is now open to the public. Parts of it are still under construction, but you can now see for yourself that it is certainly shaping up to be a stunning sim...I paused for a moment on one of its moon bridges...
This is Steelhead...so of course there is a trout temple...Lunar, the "Mad Elf Builder", takes a break from his work for a moment...

In the Gardens

2009-08-19T01:43:00.002-05:00

I sat in the pretty little gardens opposite my shop in Steelhead City. I've been going-going-going so much inworld that I realized I couldn't remember the last time I went exploring inworld. That's so unlike me.

I also got to thinking about how mean people are to one another in here. And so often. For what? Where does it get you? What purpose does it serve?

SL can be whatever you make it and is often such a beautiful world...why do you have to be so ugly in it?

No Phin, No!

2009-08-13T23:51:00.000-05:00

I told Phin to stop taking food from strangers, but no...

Steelhead Shanghai's Landed

2009-08-13T21:59:00.002-05:00

The spanking brand new "Asian Steampunk"-inspired sim of Steelhead Shanghai landed while I was away. It is still in the terraforming and construction phase. I love when sims are fresh out of the LL oven like this. It's so extremely interesting to me to see how they evolve and what builds end up there. There are only a very few lots left, so if you're interested, please contact TotalLunar Eclipse...

Elle's RL Across the Pond: Paris

2009-08-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm all settled in again, I thought I'd share some pics from my recent trip overseas. The first time I went to Paris, I swore I wouldn't return. This time though, I came away loving it. I took a deep breath and went up into the Eiffel Tower. For me, mercifully, the very top level was closed. This is a view of the Champ de Mars...I think I enjoyed the overall collection at the Musée d'Orsay better than the Louvre's (*gasp*)...We got off at the Abbesses stop, which is one of only two Hector Guimard-designed Art Nouveau Metro stops with their original glass roofs. We also found out the hard way (and 285 steps later) that we had walked up the deepest stop in Paris...After wandering through the narrow streets of Montmartre with visions of artists dancing in my head, we made our way down the hill to Pigalle to see the famous Moulin Rouge. Given where we were, we all visited the Musee de l'Erotisme, which was actually really interesting...Not as ultra-exciting, but interesting in its own way, was the Grande Arche of La Défense, which was near our hotel. I had a great time in Paris, and yes, I did try escargot...

Elle's RL Across the Pond: England

2009-08-12T12:10:00.002-05:00

OK, yes, I'll admit that we visited Buckingham Palace and did the State Rooms tour since it was open for the summer...
We all then piled into our friend's cars and when South to Stonehenge! And then went West to Glastonbury, the legendary "Avalon." This is High Street, filled with shops--lots of them catering to the pagan/Wiccan folks that flock there due to the town's reputation of being an energy center...Supposedly, this spring--the White Spring--has its source in the Tor and is a spot where ley lines cross...This is what is left of St Michael's Abbey of the top of the 520-foot high Glastonbury Tor (Celtic for "hill") itself. I dragged my carcass up the Tor--in the pouring rain. My moments of misery were rewarded with a spectacular view though...

Tinies Machinima: "Le Squabbit et Les Admirateurs"

2009-08-05T08:44:00.002-05:00

I love Chaffro's tinies machinimas!! Having just come from the City of Lights, I couldn't stop giggling at this ode to French cinema. Enjoy!

I'll be back in the States on the 7th...see you all then!

On Travel!

2009-07-29T09:37:00.003-05:00

Hopping "across the pond" to visit Paris again. Essentially, taking up my own challenge to return there again and give it another try after swearing I wouldn't after the last time (long story). I'll also be spending time in London--which I love--and will be visiting friends, who will take us on a side trip to Glastonbury. Looking forward to it. At least now that I've been to those cities before, I won't have to do the truly tourist-y things. I see more chill-time, cafes, and people watching in my future.

See you in 9 days! Keep the Grid warm for me!

Yard Critters

2009-07-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

Yes...I am one of them...

I now have another bunny--named Hunneh--hopping around like crazy in my front yard in Harborside to keep Sunneh (on the left) company. It is actually a lot of fun to watch them. They were hopping all over Lunar when he stopped by for a visit. I tried to tell him they are vegetarians, but he is convinced that they were trying to eat him.

Steelhead Museum of Historic Preservation Open!

2009-07-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

I've been hard at work for the past month making the Steelhead Museum of Historic Preservation, which is located in Steelhead Harborside. It is in a re-creation I built inspired by the real-life 1897 Antelope Community Church located in Antelope, OR. Its exhibit--showing Steelhead's virtual builds and their real-life counterparts--also includes preservation information and links to national and Pacific Northwest historic preservation websites so that visitors may find out more information...Steelhead is a town with beautiful architecture. As you stroll through it, you will come across many buildings that are inspired by real life structures. Look for the site markers that allow you to click on them to find out more about its RL inspiration...SL is a fantastic medium for builders and architects, enabling them to use it to re-create historic buildings and structures. In turn, this allows citizens from around the world to visit and appreciate them as well. I created this museum so that others can learn more about these historic structures and perhaps become inspired to look at, or even help to preserve or save, the ones in their RL communities. To visit the Museum, click HERE...
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelhead%20Harborside/117/90/25

Relay for Life: Final Recap

2009-07-21T16:00:00.003-05:00

37 sims...Almost 2000 participants...
and 130 teams supported by friends, community, team leaders and captains and RFL organizers such as Event Chair Fayandria Foley...Raised $62,114,357L, which is $270,388 USD for the American Cancer Society as of today! For more information about the SL Relay for Life, click HERE.