Steampunk Mermaid Elle

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...

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...

"Avatar"

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.

Remembering the Middle Passage

There are times that surprise you with the emotions you feel inworld. For me, this was one of them. On a tip from NWN, I thought I would go to the Saminaka sim after hearing about an interactive experience that allows you to experience the Middle Passage--when almost 20 millions Africans were enslaved and sent to points overseas. Upon my arrival, I was instructed to choose a persona box, which came with clothing and information about the person you were portraying. Mine, "Nzinga", was a 36-year old Kongo married mother of six who was captured by the Portuguese traders in 1619...You are instructed to go to the Door of No Return--which represents the last time that most stood on African soil before being loaded onto the ship. You are instructed to strip down to only your loincloth undergarment and I also put on the shackles that were provided. What I did not expect was my RL visceral reaction to doing so. I stood there and hesitated. I did not want to...
I found myself actually taking a deep breath and stepped through. I passed the Egungun--representing the ancestors. As you walk along the representation of the ship there are large flowers to touch, each containing RL narratives/accounts of experiences. When you get to the end, more boxes await and you choose the one with your persona...this time it is for when you have arrived in America...
Now in my new garments of an American slave and with the name "Mary", I find that my persona was sold to a captain in Jamestown, VA. To find out what happened to her and others, you must go and visit for yourself. I found it to be a very moving experience. This is the kind of thing SL is truly meant for and I commend Tamsin Barzane for creating it.
I felt this inworld experience was worth it. I know that many of my RL ancestors experienced this and I am here today because they were strong enough to survive it. In 2001, RL me got a chance to stand Goree Island, Senegal's museum and memorial "Door of No Return". For me, it meant a lot to me that I did...

Mermaid Places: Mermaid Temple and SL Botanical Gardens

After getting a beautiful tail and AO for Steelhead's themed dance tonight, I found that I enjoyed being a mermaid so much that I wondered where else I could go. I'll add to this list (and the SLurls) as I find more mer-friendly places. Browsing Search, I ended up at the Mermaid Temple...
Its underwater areas were lots of fun to explore and I found this cadre of sunken statues...I then found my way to the SL Botanical Gardens and its mermaid grotto...Then I thought my blue skin would look really nice in this form...And I swam cross-sim through this really pleasant creek. I think I surprised some folks, but they were polite and didn't bother me or anything...

Yoa Ogee Avatars and Roaming Extropia Core

I loved creator Yoa Ogee's installation at the NPIRL Garden and had a great time stocking up on the fun, inventive avatars at Yoa's shop such as this tiny steampunky hovering hamster...I wore one of Yoa's avatars, and feeling very "Sputnik"-like, I thought Extropia would be the best place to explore in it! The architecture and feel's a bright shiny positivity, so different from the dystopic, post-apoc feel of a lot of future sims...
I paused at the Gort statue ("The Day the Earth Stood Still")...peace and robots...
And talked to Extropia's co-founder Vidal Tripsa about Extropia's vision and I enjoyed her hover device...
I realized it was my first time meeting her and switched over to my steampunk cyborg kitty look. She switched looks too and was wearing a very interesting training corset that reacts in terms of how long it's worn. I had a really nice time in Extropia. Visit if you get the chance...even if it's in "Sputnik" form...

Does My SL BF Make Me Look Fat?

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I shapeshift on a regular basis, so when Phin said he'd like to see the world as a female avatar, I was like, "Okay!" His RL sis, Zoe, and I have been helping him out with his look and advice and I think it's given him an interesting, fresh perspective on both SL and women in general. He's been happier lately inworld than he has in months. I mean, we know plenty of guys walk around in SL as women, but how many have been willing to openly talk about what that's like and the things they notice/experience?

It's been fun seeing him wrestle with things that I, as a RL woman, take for granted/common knowledge...like shoes, clothing variety, and more. To me, it's still my Phin. It's not like his male form has gone anywhere and this is just another form, you know? Besides, in a world where you can be anything, why should it matter?

Here's a pic of femPhin below...You can follow his adventures out in the world HERE...

Of Blue Skin & Moon Elves...

Anyone who truly knows me knows that when I'm not my steampunk kitty self, I shapeshift. Phin has said that he never knows which Elle he is coming inworld to. I love different skins and avatars and thanks to fellow Plurker Peter Stindberg, I am finally blue. I have always wanted a really pretty blue skin like this and I am tremendously happy with it. Even has freckles! Yay! Thank you Peter!Lunar is wonderful to me and I thought I'd repay that kindness by making a surprise for him. He had been talking about wanting elven armor. I've never made any before, but armed with RL references of Chinese, Russian, Japanese armor and medieval platemail, I decided to make a go at it. He, like I, was pretty amazed at how it turned out. It is named "Lunar Yugao" after Yoshitoshi's "100 Aspects of the Moon" woodblock engraving inspired by the Tale of Genji. A part of the engraving is embossed on the metal. I think it is one of the most beautiful things I have made in SL so far...

Celebrate Mandela's Birthday in Virtual Africa!

Nelson Mandela turned 90 years old today! As a way of celebrating the life and legacy of this inspiration to so many the world over, the folks at Uthango and Virtual Africa will be holding events and parties inworld today!

They are also going to have an entire month of events and are asking for participation from the SL community to help create builds and artwork! You can find out more information here!

Exploring the SL5B Sims: 2nd Half

What the heck am I doing here? Starting the second half of my adventures in the SL5B sims by doing a circus-style handstand on a pedestal at the ChangHigh Freeshow of Life Light and Love exhibit...
Stopped to marvel at this tower at the White Lebed Visual Thoughts exhibit...
And looked at the dioramas at the PrimTings exhibit, which was really fantastic...
I also stopped by the Luskwood exhibit, which was interesting to me as a builder as it discussed the evolution of the look and builds of their sims...
The SL5B Dwell sim seems to have a theme of RL communities and cultures within SL such as this exhibit by the SL Portuguese speaking community...
And this exhibit about Florida...watch the gators!!

Sophrosyne's Salon: Between the Covers w/Tom Buchowski & Hamlet Au

At today's Sophrosyne's Salon in Extropia Core, as promised, both Tom Buchowski (RL: Tom Boellstorff) author of Coming of Age in Second Life, and Hamlet Au (RL: Wagner James Au) of New World Notes and author of The Making of Second Life came to discuss their books and inworld insights...Tom is an anthropologist at UC Irvine and Hamlet is a journalist. Different methodologies, but both have to be observers of their world. To me, they both really touched on two common things about SL...that it is both a culture and a place. SL does have its own culture/s and standards, despite our language, ethnic, national or even species differences. And it is also its own place in a way as well as to come inworld, it is like consciously choosing to go to a destination (despite how hard it can be to do so sometimes!)

On Turning Another Year

I am waiting for a thunderstorm to subside so I can go out into the world. I got to thinking , "Screw it!" Why not let everyone see the typist behind the avatar?

Here I am at 21, when local runway modeling paid for my college books... Here I am at 33. I wear less makeup now than then, go fig..
And today I am 34.

Why show my RL pics? Because behind every avatar is a RL person. How and what we choose to present in terms of ourselves inworld could be dismissed as irrelevant, but we make very conscious choices about it--whether the year-old resident who clings to their newbie skin and hair, a model-like fashionista, a kid, a furry, an elf, or that buff guy wielding a sword. We all have our reasons for being here and last time I looked, we're all adults here. And if you are not over 18 and you're in the main grid (which is rare), you're wrong, you deceitful little idiots. Where the F are your parents?

I can't change this RL avatar, but inworld I can be literally anything. I know I reflect how I feel and who I feel I am through my inworld avatars. There are plenty of things that make me raise an eyebrow, but I respect a resident's right to be who--or what--they please. That's the way it is in RL, for good or bad. Why should our virtual life be any different?

My RL storm has lessened a bit and I'm going out. I get the feeling an inworld one is just beginning...

Stars and Monsters and Quiet

I Heart Madcow. He is always so much fun to talk to. We were discussing art and astronomy and how beautiful the universe is and how it inspires our work. I gave him a piece of my RL "Starbirth" art series and he gave me a "Solar Dragon" AV as an early birthday present (it's this Saturday). He had created it for himself based upon a piece at his NMC installation, "Ars Simulacra." You can see a shot of the original sculpture here, although photos just don't do justice to how beautiful it is...Kheph is the creator of the Lovecraft god-monsters at October Country and invited me to a surprise birthday party thrown for Taliesin Morgath. Of course we showed up as the Deep One and me, as a Mi-Go. Another partygoer came as an Elder Thing. Seeing us dance was pure comedy. Only inworld...
I ended the evening with Lunar, talking at the SL Botanical Gardens. That's a quiet place I hadn't been to in a long time...

Ghosts of Landmarks Past, Pt I

I thought that I would be good and do some inventory cleanup. Looking through my landmarks, I realized I had some really old ones and thought I'd bounce from LM to LM! A lot of places moved or changed hands, especially a lot of my fave salsa dancing haunts, but some were still there like the Gardens of Apollo in Acropolis...I landed on my head a lot. Barely escaped banlines and security orbs. Rezzed into water...a LOT. I popped by my first home, the island of Digital Nirvana. My former corner lot now has a treehouse on it. I smiled as I remembered really good times with a handsome neighbor there. I moved on...
And rezzed on a pier in the island of Ibiza to a wand wielding woman and two Mr Potato Heads. Dear God, did she do that to them? I took a snap and Tp'd out just as one put on his tongue and came a little too close to me. But at least it isn't as bad as TP'ing to a LM and surprising a brand-new club owner in the middle of building and the lovely lady beside him holding a clipboard and wearing just a strap-on. All of us laughed actually when I explained that I was just popping through very old LMs. The bouncing around was actually a lot of fun and made me recall my wide-eyed noob days, when I explored constantly and lately, I've been doing that again. It's a big world out there with lots to see...even Potato Heads.

Sophrosyne's Salon: "Coming of Age in SL"

Being a SL explorer, I am always interested in discussions about interactions and the various sub/cultures that exist here in SL, so when I saw a notice for a salon held in Extropia Core by Sophrosyne Stenvaag, I had to attend. The speaker was Tom Buchowski (RL: Tom Boellstorff), who is a RL anthropologist at UC Irvine who did an ethnographic study on SL and as a long-time resident himself, wrote a book entitled Coming of Age in Second Life.

He found that he had to change very little about his research methods and that it has been hard to get his colleagues and others to see past what they think SL is, as well as the stereotypes of people inworld as such things as "geeks, loners or elitists." I asked him to tell us about the broader patterns that he saw and he was excited, saying the following (in brief):
1. Place: Our world is a persistent environment that goes on whether we're logged in/out and it is not bound by physical law
2. Time: "Synchronic sociality" and how despite our worldwide physical locations we have to come together at the same time. PST is the virtual worlds' GMT.
3. Embodiment: Flexibility of how we can present ourselves literally in any form and how alts challenge that by being multiple embodiments.
4. Techne: I personally found this concept the most fascinating point."Techne" is a Greek concept of "craft", as compared to "episteme", which is knowledge and science. As a RL & SL creator myself, his notion of how the virtual worlds' emphasis on "techne"/creation could become central to social relations and interactions/beliefs was really thought-provoking to me.

Please visit his site (above) for more information about his work, and if you would like more info about the salons and Extropia Core, please visit their site as well.

SL Africa Day!

To celebrate the opening of the Virtual Africa sim and the 1st SL Africa Day, there were events and panel discussions at Orange Island today. As you go went the stairs to the main stage, free men's and women's outfits by Senegal-based (Yay Senegal!) Solylence Houston were available. I could not resist her pretty boubou. I unfortunately came in at the tail end of a panel discussion about web accessibility and Africa, but was able to catch master percussionist Sage Duncan (RL: Stacey Fox), who encouraged us to get up and dance...
Afterwards, there was another panel discussion about "New Media & A New Voice for African Cultures/Ideas", moderated by Alanagh Recreant, head of the Cape Town-based Uthango Social Investments (who are the driving force behind the VA and SL Africa projects). The other panelists were (l. to r.) SLInworld4 Planer, the software developer responsible for VA's AI meerkats; Anna Annenberg, a fellow with the int'l tech nonprofit iCommons, who did a recent analysis of cross-cultural interactions within SL; and KhoisanMermaid Afarensis (RL: June Bam Hutchinson), who is the CEO of the South African History project and director of Diversity for the London Museum. Jean Miller, former director of Linden Labs' International Intiatives, gave the introduction to the insightful discussion about how SL can help to be not only a gateway for African citizens' involvement in SL, but how it can help to promote cross-cultural dissemination of ideas and understanding...We were all very excited to see the sim declared opened and adopt a meerkat. The HUD is free and then you buy your meerkat, which lives on the sim and will respond to you, depending upon your treatment of it. DJ Doubledown Tantino was spinning the tunes and I had a great time talking to everyone...
Codie Redgrave and I were finding that our meerkats ("Rafetna" and "CodieKat" respectively) seem to have quite a mind of their own...

Have You Hugged a Dino Today?

I did! "Maybe I should just have primordial jungle and swamp!" my handsome neighbor Vittorio said. "Who needs a house and a yacht anyway?"

Suffugium and Monster AVs

Chilling in Suffugium, still dressed from Doc Mason's Matrix-themed party, with Kharon Hinson and Dia...Kharon is also a tiny, and makes incredible things (such as this bomber) and outfits for the not-so-cutesy...Later, I couldn't wait to wear Kheph's "Mi Go (Fungi)" monster AV! I love it!
I (and Dia too) also love this one--the "Elder Thing"! He did fantastic work on these between the textures, anims, and sounds...I have too much fun wearing these. Now, where to go in them? Any suggestions?