My Brand of Heroin

I don’t believe in destiny.  I don’t believe in a lot of things, actually … and that’s always made me a little different than a lot of people around me.  I believe in things I can hold, see, hear, smell, grab, taste, hold on to …

I don’t know what it was about Second Life that drew me in so deeply.  The fantasy aspect?  A premature mid-life crisis?  I’m amused by those snobs in SL that say they’re nothing like the losers who become so immersed that they don’t know reality from a blip on a screen, yet – like these so-called losers – they can be found logged on and intertwined like the rest of us … for hours, days, weeks, months … logged on and obsessed like the rest of us, mesmerized not only by the seemingly flawless recreation of the physical world, but also in the beauty that this world brings out in the rest of us … a world where our noses, our handicaps, our weight problems, our ages, our skin blemishes, our speech impediments, our social hang-ups, and our pasts no longer hold us back.  In Second Life, we’re all beautiful – in and out – just like we want to be in the Real.

Although blind faith has never been anything I subscribed to, hope has always been a friend of mine:  hope for a life different than the one I had; for a different future; for a resurrecting, transforming love … something different than the shut doors, the “not-good-enoughs”, and the superficiality of today’s consumer culture.  How I ever thought I would find something different in a world where superficiality is the base component of its very existence will always allude me – but, hope was what I had in this world not seen before, the world that made us all more alive than we are in our Real.

But, even though emotions seemed stronger, love seemed more real, and where things seemed more possible than they ever could otherwise … it never amounted to more than grasping at empty pixels.  For those that claim this is the new economy, fortunes have been won (and lost) by the stroke of a pen at a computer lab somewhere in Silicon Valley when economy or real estate has been adjusted for the benefit of the many, or for the corporate image.  It is all elusive, all unreal, all grasping at phantoms who seem so real … so beautiful at first.

So, what does that make all of us … those who have been spending the better part of our lives day in and day out, hours and weeks … pretending in a world of make believe?  Is SL really the next economy, the future of social networking, or has the whole holodeck nature of it turned it into something more tragic?  What do we gain in the world – in life – spending hour after hour in front of a wide plasma screen emoting in a chat box?  Even when we fall in love – as so many say they do here – how does it benefit our lives when that life “together” can only be imagined … never shared, or enjoyed with another sitting beside you?  Is it really the same sitting in a fake hot-air balloon and floating over virtual Venezia … or to hold the one of a very real lover while traveling down the canals of the very real one?  Can it replace seeing the smile of surprise when giving a gift to your husband or wife, feeling their lips against your ear as they whisper sweet-nothings?  And, for those who are here because they have had the real and lost … does it really replace what you had before?  Or does it just keep you from ever having it again?

I came to Second Life on New Year’s Eve one year (the first time) … looking for something.  And, although the ensuing months brought plenty of laughter, smiles, tears, and joy … one thing it never brought me was anything real.  It felt real – absolutely – and in many of my virtual relationships, things still feel very real.

But, it isn’t … and it can’t be … not as long as it keeps us from reaching out and making things real; not as long as it prevents us from enjoying our own real lives; not as long as it robs us of the courage to make those real lives better.  In that sense, SL isn’t an adventure … it is emotional heroine.

And, today … I’m pulling the needle out of my arm.

Those who know and love me know how to contact me … and I hope they will continue to do so.  But, I can’t live in Pleasantville anymore.  It isn’t real.  I’m not throwing anything away … I’m casting my bread on the water … and what comes back (as the book of fables says) … was real all along.

Here’s to Real Life!

Unplugging …

A Change in the Atmosphere

Atmosphere Works has recently moved out to a new location in order to expand their ever growing line of fabulous furniture.  If you are unfamiliar with their work, you are in for a real treat.  It’s beautifully sculpted and textured complete with nice shadowing and a good bit of realism.  Not only that, the prim usage is phenomenal.  A full living room group for the same prim cost as a sofa anywhere else.   They have a really wide variety of styles that will fit in most homes.  Complete with tons of sit options you really can’t choose not to put this place on your shopping list.

This first piece is a Deck Chair set.  Comes with two loungers, the umbrella, the table and the shadows so basically all shown except for the daiquiris I made.  The loungers and umbrella are color changing with the choice of 5 vibrant colors.  Ready for the real steal on this….17 animations per lounger.  Oh and prims for the entire set are 25 plus 4 for shadows if you wish.

This next pic is of a few Rattan Chair Sets they have.  The chairs have 15 animations each and are only 4 prims each.  The table is 3 prims.  Each set includes two chairs and a table.  The textures on these are just amazing and the animations are really nice.

The Orchids of Costa Rica

Orchids proliferate in Costa Rica. Warm-weather-loving, humidity-seeking, exotic, colorful and graceful, orchids are the perfect flower to represent the beauty of the Costa Rican sims.

It’s entirely appropriate, then, for me to point you to the wonderful work of Miko Omegamu, sold on the Laguna Arenal sim. Miko has perfected the fine art of making orchids in SL and she has used them to embellish this gorgeous dress. But a Miko creation is never a quick prim assemblage. Miko has considered the dress from top to bottom, from the beautifully textured prim orchids to the excellently rendered stem running across the elegantly shaped dress to the prim drape with bow on the other side.

I chose an updo from KateForester Akina to accompany this beautiful dress. KateForster has a huge collection of hair—from the every day to the truly fantastic. The color change flower adorning the hair matched the dress perfectly. A beautiful skin that Monicuzza Babenco made specially for this year’s Vanity Skin fair to benefit Care suits the elegance of the ensemble. Finally, I donned beautiful orchid earrings from Caliah Lyon and stylish pumps from Onyx LeShelle, and I am a flower in bloom.

The beauty of an orchid’s perfume:

Hair: Tukinowaguma Deborah ebony by KateForster Akina for Tukinowaguma

Skin: *YS & YS* Kelly “Care” Eb Dark by Monicuzza Babenco for YS & YS

Dress: *ICING* Orchid Delight by Miko Omegamu for *ICING* at the Costa Rica Sims

Earrings: ~Muse~ Elle Orchid Earring by Caliah Lyon for ~Muse~

Shoes: Maitreya Verve Pumps – Black by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

The Nardcotix Man

After last month’s fashion show, I took my guy to shop at Nardcotix … he likes plaid shirts, and designer Nardya Rousselot has a truck full … not to mention a nice assortment and variety of other items in her new but growing men’s line.  Needless to say, we had to leave quickly … we were tempted to buy everything in her store!

Last week, she asked me to look at some new items … and let me tell you … like her women’s line, Nardya is becoming a force to be reckoned with in SL fashion.  Her clothes are more than just paint on prims or sculpties … they’re dynamic, they show personality — they capture the wind!  Didn’t take long to take these shots in my crib … these clothes are awesome for events or just posing!

Stop by her store in either the Costa Rica Sims or her homestore in Einstein … and if you see something you can’t live without, grab what you like, and tell her Phantom sent ya!

TOP – Coat – NX Fielding Wool Coat Khaki| Vest – NX Gordon Leather Vest Brown| Denims – -WMD-”Ronin”Pepper Jeans | Boots – Black Leather Sculpties *REDGRAVE*| Sunglasses – KR Sunglasses M6 Gold| Necklace – *Cobrahive* Kousa Necklace | MIDDLE – Shirt – NX Devon Striped Shirt Blue| BOTTOM – Suit – NX Pierson Formal Suit Brown|

Allure @ Costa Rica

Allure Fashions / Obry Fashions has opened a shop here in the Costa Rica Sims Shopping District!  Filled with women’s casuals and intimates, Allure/Obry is one store to add to your next virtual shopping trip!  Amara is wearing their “Sweet Kitty” outfit.

Shoulder Pads.

你好

This week I’m featuring an outfit made from a range of old and new designers (including a few treasures which I have decided to include to share with you).

Starting with the jacket from the new-ish store ‘Kunglers’; I LOVE the quality of their clothes and I picked out this jacket because of its amazing detail (it comes with its own shadow underneath the belt!). Their gowns and mix-and-match sections particularly stood out for me, have a look for yourself!

Complimenting the red tones of the jacket is one of my favourite skins from Tres Blah by Julliete Westerburg, who is releasing a (fantastic) new skin range sometime in December so keep your eyes peeled (more news on this to come); check out her flickr here.

Here’s where to get the outfit:
Skin – Tres Blah; Girly Chic Light – La Vie En Rose <3

Hair – fri. – Quinn – Moody Brown

Jacket – (Kunglers) Cristiana jacket – Scarlet

Leggings – .:MALT:. Fashions – SLINKY Leggings – Black

Shoes – Maitreya SoHo Boots Group gift (bottom part only)

Necklace – p.c.; Black Orchid Necklace

Hat – Ingrid Elegance Hat in grey (tinted black)

After note:

Music; Ghosts – Laura Marling

Taking It Easy in Mashooka

Aradhana Voight  of Mashooka came into the SL fashion scene like a breath of fresh air. With her elaborate textures and Indian-inspired style, she supplied SL shoppers with clothing from both the East and the West.

Located on Laguna Arenel in the Costa Rican sims, Mashooka provides an alternative to the standard avatar clothing choices. I chose this cute dress for this write up because pushes past the ordinary with its cleverly fashioned sculpty puffy sleeves and bow. It pushes past a girly dress to something more sophisticated with its rich textures and deep color.

 

I styled the dress with a sassy auburn hair from Autumn Hykova, who is cranking out cute hairstyles with an alternative twist. Lorac Farella’s skin from her new “Life” series is a dramatic choice, upping the ante on this ensemble from sweet to sophisticated.

Curry cutie:

Hair: .:[ Tiny Bird ]:. Kissy Kissy – Ginger by Autumn Hykova for Tiny Bird

Skin: Pulse Skin-Life/Tone3 m7 by Lorac Farella for Pulse Skins*

Dress: :MD: Taylor glimmers {red} by Aradhana Voight for Mashooka Designs at Costa Rica

Shoes: SKGShoes – Alina Slingback Pumps – Pecan by Saki Galiazzo for SKGShoes (no longer available )

It’s all fun and games….

I won’t follow this up with the end of that because quite frankly there is very little that you can lose an eye doing here in SL unless of course you’d like to lose and eye and then I’m sure there is some place you can get an dangling eye from.  So this post is more about the fun stuff you can get in SL.  I’m all about laughs here…so today I want to blog about some of the things that bring a huge smile to my face every time I whip them out.

I loved Back to the Future in a million ways….but one of the best things from the movie was the flying skateboard right?  Shown above is Vetox Simboard.  I love it!  It flies about and you can do tricks by jamming on the up and down arrows while you press left and right keys.  It’s also got the standard skateboard ground bound fun.  Vetox has some great half pipes all over the grid and from what I understand there might be competitions.  However, I just  fly mine around the neighborhood.  It does require rez rights as it’s a vehicle.

Next up are these 2 wearable freebies.  On the left we have kirisolemoso.  It’s a fun little bottle you wear and when you say lemoso you dance around while a fun little song goes on.  The most fab part is it listens to everyone so you can choreograph a dance with your pals.  Check out this vid on youtube to see what I mean and hear the tune:  Second Life Lemoso from Greg3457.

On the right are Maracas; these have changed a bit from the ones I have pictured but are still available and mod.  You put them on and say Manbo! (yes it’s spelled wrong it’s the word though).   Then you start a fun little dance with music that goes on until you say stop or take them off.  Both are wildly hilarious and great for those fun wait times at lucky chairs.  Warning the tune will stick in your head, but I don’t think that is a bad thing. 

This fun little red wagon is from REEK!   The wagon shown above is a wearable with a built in AO meaning great for no rez zones.  It’s full of firefires, a blanky, tincan phone, Hobbes, and a baseball bat (some of which is available separately as wearables from the shop as well).   I love the innocence of it.  In addition to the wearble wagon, you get a vehicle wagon that you and two friends can ride in.  Custom animations for all 3 sits.  It’s good clean fun.

After the break there is much much more……so click on through.

The Electric Revolution Must Have Crayons

Or, the CheerNo “Deuil” Winter Collection Exclusive Fashion Show

The CheerNo Fashion show actually showcased two different lines, designer CheerNo Destiny’s “Montage” and “Deuil.”  Montage was released in fall and is available at CheerNo stores everywhere, while Deuil will be released on November 13th.

Narrated by CheerNo Manager (and our own male stylist here at PR) Aristoteles Allen, we were told of the designers influences from childhood that inspired the Montage collection … the bright colors of toys and candies.  The electric hues of the each of the designs caught my attention … rather than being an explosive mess of color, prims, and sculpties, these designs reflected moods and states of mind and were each … in my mind … emotionally honest and playful works of textile art.

Deuil was a much darker exposition … reflecting the starkness of winter, but with each piece still showing that life exists even in the darkest of nights.  Each model wore CheerNo skins to match their outfits of white, silver and black.  For a moment, I thought I had been transported to the set of the movie Pleasantville … but I was jerked back to virtuality quickly as each model illustrated the outfits of party, disco, and business that will be CheerNo’s trademark this season.

Unlike much of the rest of SL’s clothiers, CheerNo Destiny’s releases are always along a certain theme or color scheme … and Montage and Deuil are simply additions to his already extraordinary line of men’s clothing.

You can find these outfits, as well as those of his previous releases, at his home store, Casa CheerNo, in the Costa Rica Sims, or at the GLOOM! Fashion District.

Alpine Death Race 2000

During the last month, when Shelby Robbiani and I were shopping for Costa Rica Sim’s Halloween Ball, we stopped by Rustica to browse.  As it happens, Maxwell Graf is on her friend’s list, and halfway through our spree, she asked if I wanted to meet him.  Of course, I wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity, and within a few moments we were whisked away to a sim called Rune … and what appeared to be a mountain raceway.  Graf was more than happy to rezz a vehicle and give is a personal tour, and since I wasn’t so rude to take pictures that evening … I went back today to snap a few pics of what promises to be the next step in gaming within virtual worlds.

When it comes to vehicle-based gaming in SL, we think of slow-moving vehicles ambling jerkily along predestined tracks, with visible rezz-balls, etc.  Or … “bring-your-own-vehicle” race tracks where one comes to try out the max speed on that thousand prim single-server-powered vehicle you have to wear.  Alpine Deathrace 2000 isn’t about a fancy vehicle, or Coney Island-style amusements … it’s about the game, and the obvious influence on the vehicle and landscape is … well, what it should be … video games.

A simple set of instructions and a rezzing pad get you started (his low prim/low lag vehicles … not yours).  Hopping on, you immediately notice the ease of vehicle maneuvering … this thing was built to turn on a dime, something that’s an immediate obvious need around the corner.

Leaving the starting area, you cross a bridge … and at the smallest suggestion of an incline, you realize this isn’t going to be as easy as you might have imagined.  This vehicle has “physical” elements, which means it isn’t going to sit where you stop … it will obey our virtual world’s physics, and rest only at the lowest possible point.

(More Deathrace … at the JUMP)