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.

Transformation & Transcending

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.

SL Bloggers Mix 'n' Match

The SL Bloggers group is having a mix 'n' match blog swap that yours truly is participating in. On Nov 12, participating members will be blogging on one another's blogs as guest bloggers. You'll be able to read my post over at "Samantha Speaks", and here's a teaser photo...

Otenth's Meme

Well now...Otenth wants me to do a quick meme huh? Here are the rules:

1. write the title to your own memoir using six words.
2. post it on your blog.
3. link to the person that tagged you.
4. tag five more blogs.

The title of my "memoir": Adventures of a Steampunk Brass Kitty

My victims? I mean, other tagged folks: Zoe Connolly, Diamanda Gustafson, Phineas Messmer, TotalLunar Eclipse, Darien Mason

SL Bloggers Party: Camping of a Different Sort

This month's big Bloggers party was hosted by Tymmerie Thorne and her partner Jerremy Darwin, who I called the "Bear" and exchanged much trashtalk ("I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN POSSUM!" "BRING IT, BEAR!!" with...Which is really saying something as I really was a tiny opossum. I whipped up the outfit myself, so I was tickled to later tie for the costume contest. And yes, my nametag says "ROADKIL"...There was a great turnout. Rosie rocks, Zoe had on her Daisy Dukes and Kitty Lalonde...well, Kitty barely had hers on. *winks* There were some Greenies aliens and we were all having a great time...
There was chocolate wrestling. The "Bear" and I were scheduled for a match, but my tiny AO doesn't work with regular anims. Damn. I teased Crap Mariner about not wanting to get his white suit dirty, but he changed into something more wrestle-worthy for a match we all wanted to see: Crap vs. Vint Falken. Vint ended up being the victor...
GoSpeed Racer looks on as Crap lays there afterwards. I poked him with my hiking stick. Quick! I think he has chocolate in his gears! We bloggers know how to par-tay.

Put Your Rock Down Codie...

I'm back baby! Man, were my arms getting tired from holding that sign!

Well, LiLa has issued their latest on the trademark issue. It's a lot clearer than it was before, and it seems we made enough of a stink about it all that they even specifically mentioned "bloggers" and addressed our concerns about posts. Of course, it's not perfect, but for now it'll have to do I guess. Gwyneth, in all of her "stickin' in to da man" glory, lays it all out in one of her most recent posts.

I can breathe a bit easier about not getting permabanned or a cease and desist (for now), but I'm with my girl in red CodeBastard Redgrave, who--when we tweeted about our throwing rocks--told me to "keep em close, we never know."

I'd also like to give a shoutout to all of my other striking colleagues out there who were probably twitching like me while not blogging and to the large contingent of Portuguese bloggers! You can find a list at Rheta Shan's blog of all of us rabblerousers (who are probably on LiLa's s/hit list now)...

Bloggers on Strike

I'll join my blogging colleagues by letting elinsl go silent for 3 days in protest of the trademark and branding policies. You can read more about the strike here...

I am in agreement with Gwyneth Llewelyn and others that the policies are a bit dodgy in that what we publish in our blogs is subject to all sorts of legalese yaketysmakety in terms of what we say about LiLa and its product. As a noob, I learned so much from visiting related blogs and even now, they are a good source of both entertainment and inworld news. We bloggers helped and continue to help promote the product, but if we can't even use the product's name after all of this time of being encouraged to do so, then what the hell?

But then again, seeing all of the other issues going on inworld, at this rate sometimes I wonder if there will be an inworld to continue blogging about?

Dancing Through It All

Went to the SL Bloggers Party at Crap Mariner's incredible clocktower build at Edloe Island, where we danced our way through a big server meltdown. How we all managed to stay inworld, who the hell knows. I came as my half of Connolly & Laval LLP, complete w/briefcase and cease and desist orders that Zoe and I regularly threatened to serve...
Here is Crap, our fabulous host, getting his robot groove on...
Me defying gravity doing the "fanbelt strut"...
I safely was able to tp back to Vista, where I sat contemplating a big decision regarding it. It has been my home for almost a year. No matter where else I put down roots in SL, Vista and the Moorings Gardens is my home. Such a long complicated story and it really makes me think about issues of home in a virtual world...

8 Things About Elle--the AV Version

Jenn Heinrichs of the Best of Second Life group tagged me for the 8 items meme (thanks darlin'...glad you enjoy the blog!) I've answered this in my "Stroll" blog HERE, so I won't go through the tagging others part since I've already threatened--I mean, convinced--them to do so. So, here in elinsl, I'll do an "Eladrienne"/SL version of it!

1. My AV's middle name is "Melinde". My RL nickname really is Elle.

2. I once got into an argument in SL in Spanish and, while passable, I am not quite fluent in it...I may have been calling him a "purple deer-eating bowl of hairclips" for all that I know!

3. My favorite architect is Santiago Calatrava. There's an "airiness" to his work that I love and SL seems like such a great medium to recreate or create builds inspired by his.

4. I miss my RL sister Baube Laval. She does not come into SL as much anymore. *frowns*

5. I like my men w/dark hair. Ooo. And red-brown. Light brown works too. And white hair! Ooo! Oh, forget it...I'm hopeless.

6. I have always wanted to be blue or a glowing ball of light as an AV. I like dark elves/drow too. And I love being a tiny.

7. I have a male shape that I use for my fashion design fitting purposes. No, I do not feel myself up. *rolls eyes*

8. I really enjoy art exhibits and talking to artists. Builders and scripters intrigue me and I always learn new things. I am always in awe of the creativity that I find here in SL and look forward to more.

SL Bloggers Party: Tribute Island

This month's SL Bloggers party was hosted by Nikk Huet at the new Tribute Island sim, which is comprised of interactive memorial displays...Here I am grooving!
An overview of the sim...
And Otenth and I taking a ride on the really nice (and working!) monorail!

SL Bloggers Party: Guns 'n' Car Chases!

Headed over to the Topgol sim to hang out with my fellow SL Bloggers for our monthly themed party. Hosted by Mygdala March, this one's theme was "Guns & Car Chases". I threw on my best tight blackness and rushed over. "Hurry!! Come on the roof!" Zoe said, and a tp was quickly sent down to me. Good thing, as everyone was strapped and anyone down below was fair game! It's always nice to see a bunch of us in one place like this...
I wish the Victorian/Steampunk bloggers would come out more. As much as they like to party? And c'mon...Hotspur...guns are your thing!
Afterwards, I thought I'd sit quietly with Marcell in his store, Kakita's, courtyard...

SL Bloggers Party: Superheroes Kick...You Know...

As if Caledon hasn't been keeping me running enough all weekend, I headed over to the SL Bloggers party hosted by JellyBean Madison and her husband, HawksRock Gunawan (as Super Girl and "V" in the center). Everyone looked great in their superhero (and villain!)costumes as we grooved away in the "Hall of Justice." Wish I could've stayed longer, but I had to hop to the next party! You can check out Tiana Meriman's video of it here.

(Like I needed an excuse to wear my skimpy Wonder Woman costume...How does she kick butt practically half-naked like that???)

TWO SL Blogs? Are Ya Crazy?

Someone once asked me, "Why two SL blogs?" Easy...This one was actually the first, older one that I've been keeping since I started SL and I really like to write. Doing a posting doesn't take forever, you know. In this blog, elinsl, it's a more general one. Relaxed rules. I cuss. I wear jeans and show more skin. Sometimes I have photos that just aren't right for the other. I work out and through things in this one. It's the equivalent of my true SL diary and I'm not as...polite.

In my Caledon one...I am Miss Eladrienne Laval. Still me personality-wise, but more polite. While Caledon isn't necessarily RP, certain "rules" do apply more or less and the "voice" of that blog is different. You won't find a photo of me laid out on the ground with a shot of whisky in my hand on that one (maybe). I spend a lot of time there and found that I wanted the split so that it was very clear.

So, ta-da, that's it and that's why.

SL Bloggers Group Party! (YARR! There Be Pirates!)

Ahoy me mateys! Had a chance to hang out with the folks from the SL Bloggers group at a pirate themed party! The Caledon contingent was well-represented with Zoe Connelly, Hotspur O'Toole, Otenth Padenborn and me. Sir Telemachus showed up just to dance with us all. Hotspur's a whole lot of fun to dance with, but watch out for that kick, lol!

Tiana Meriman took video so you might be able to see for yourself! There was a really good turnout--enough to crash the sim! We all just came back and kept on going! After all...a party in SL just isn't a party until you've crashed the sim!