Second Life.com

OK, so we all applaud the latest 'look' of SL, by that I mean the new improved website. It is a good deal better than the previous poor offering but.....

It seems to me that LL is putting all its eggs in one basket showing no single non-human avatar and no hint of any fantasy landscape....

I joined SL specifically because I was told..."in SL you can be everything you can't be in RL"....

Here are a few snaps I took in 30 minutes on Friday morning.....





This is "rising in light" by Truthseeker Young... totally unlike anything you could ever see in RL..





...similarly... "Home of Metaverse TV" by Lumier Noir, I believe.... exactly the classical sort of Sci-Fi stuffIi would expect to see in a Virtual World...










Three snaps taken in Spiral (Glow King) Walcher's piece...The Glow Show...

Now, nothing even approaching this sort of experience is even hinted at in the new improved face of SL.... all the eggs are in a basket marked REALISM, HONESTLY, REALLY REAL... hmmmmm (PG Utopian Reality)

Well....realism... The Last Word on Realism has been given by my good friend Alizarin Goldflake... viz..

[16:00] Alizarin Goldflake: so I have a suggestion for those who want realism in SL
[16:00] soror Nishi: oh yes
[16:00] Alizarin Goldflake: just log off
[16:00] soror Nishi: hehehehehehehe

What else is there to say????

:))

Forest of Light

Well, if you are on my list you will/should have got an invite to pop over and have a look. Its a sort of build to show of my 3 latest trees and I'm quite pleased with it now, after some advice from Aliz.

Best turn your particles up to full and go at midnight.... looks pretty cool.

I don't have a Slurl...it's kinda tricky ...so....just Im me if you haven't got the invite.

:)))

Facebook Fatigue

OK...so I know I could sound like a boring fool....but that has never stopped me before.

Facebook... ok...so I am getting a bit bored with all the Sheep and Cows, Mafia Wars, Fun Toys, Roses...and other associated virtual garbage I get sent on an hourly basis and that has to be waded thro to get at any real news of friends...and I mean friends...not FRIENDS ( the 64 people who I have for some strange reason decided to be FRIENDS with...most of whom I have NO idea who are).....who rightly should be called "potential contacts".

These potential contacts may have more time on line than I do to send these dodgy images of 2D gifts, and I understand that it is amusing and getting a sheep made me smile the first time...but...
I am now drowning as some of these potential contacts use Facebook as a mass networking/spamming medium and WHY anyone in their right minds calls this Social Networking is totally beyond me. There seems absolutely nothing social about it at all, and does Networking = spamming???

...and, really, who has 600 real friends???.......not me obviously...:))

I guess I'm tired and grouchy but.... thats never stopped me...

:))

Busy day..

Firstly, White wanted to photo all the artists before Angelgate was dismantled so she has a record. I'm very keen on the documenting of stuff which comes and goes so quickly.





This is a blue man who dropped in at my place. This is Shhh Riddler, a man who is closely related to Sporadic Flow and the famous Kaltusaran Moonsoo. Readers of my early blogs will know he was my building guru and friend when I first came into SL. A talented and sorely missed builder.We had a good chin-wag as I was sending out my invites to the Forest of Light.








This is the Green Man, a piece by Snowy Hoobinoo which will be the site of his new store. Snowy writes a blog and Twits and is a talented builder of Flora Virtua Exotica.
I had to pop over to see it for myself, being interested in all that sort of thing....

A talented man...keep you eyes peeled for his new stuff at epiStems...

:))

Burning Life 2009

Well, the dates are scheduled for 3 til 11th of October, but, apart from that there is no information that I can find available yet..... maybe Google just hasn't got hold of it yet..(unlikely)...more likely that it has been delayed somewhat...

...anyway...I do know that White is involved so hopefully she will whip them into shape.

If I can get some group land I hope to do a mix of Flora Virtua Exotica by a few of the best tree builders that I know...

I would like to showcase our group "A Freak of Nature" which is, of course, free for anyone to join...

Snowy Hobinoo has said he would be interested and I would hope Pixi will show some of her new stuff....would be great

...we'll see..

:))

Graphix skin

Well, finally finished this skin and its for sale at the shop.

I'm doing some earrings next when I get my life a bit in order so... watch this space...hehehehee

:))

Carlton Bristol.......reality has its uses..

:))

Disney PG Utopian Reality...

Well, it seems to me that a few people have been rather side-tracked by the new Rezzable sculpture of a fat lady asleep.
Duh!! the point is not her size, altho (hopefully) that's an anti-fashion-magazine statement (who knows)...the point is the realism.

Its the realism that we should be talking about, in my humble (hmmm, not very humble) opinion. The phrase that hasn't faded from my brain is one given by our Big Leader to all assembled Lab Rats at the SLCC...something like..." to create an option to reconstruct the entire world as we know it today in a digital form"......

Now, that, alongside the recent sculpture by Unknown Machinery, has left me slightly uneasy.
Reality is totally subjective.... how "real" are we gonna get?
Not real enough to include sex and gambling apparently... so...a sort of Utopian reality?
Will tails be banned? (no tails in Blue Mars, I think).
Will non-humans have to live on their own continent?... Smoking? ...Vampires?....smoking vampires??

I don't really see the point of the sculpture, except that it can be done. Photography is surely the same....'reality' starts getting interesting when you start to distort it, play with it, mess it up ..... isn't that how art starts?

Photography without Photoshop is like chips (freedom fries) without vinegar.

Is the future of Virtual Worlds a Huge Map? just a 3D map of the world....all its lumps, bumps, drain pipes and pimples accurately depicted in Utopian cyberspace, because, of course, the ugly and politically incorrect will be banned.......

so... we await a sort of Disney PG Utopian Reality... accurate in all its censored detail?

And they wonder why people aren't flocking into SL??
well..... how many documentaries draw a huge audience??? People want NPIRL, Fantasy, Sci Fi..... the fat woman is surely a nice person, accurately depicted...., but I'd rather see a dragon.

Get real !! ...we gotta get unreal, or we'll fade away.

:)))

The Sparkleflower Tree.

A new addition to the beach, this one has, as you may have guessed, sparkly flowers.
....might end up on my head at some point at this rate, I guess....

:))

New headdress.... called Soror's flower hat

Just finished today, so....hot prims...

for sale in the shop

500L$ copy/mod

:))

Inworldz, and history...

Ah... my first tree ever to have been built outside Second Life, except my RL tree of course.

I built it yesterday at Inworldz, a grid where I went on the recommendation, as I said before, of Scotsgraymouser.

Now, if the success of a new grid is in any way dependant on the attitude of the administrators, then this place is gonna do VERY well. How nice to be treated as a valued customer as soon as you set foot in the door.
Also...no lag, not many people there yet, prims cost just 10% of SL and I uploaded 1200 textures for 0L$... no wonder I'm smiling.

Anyway, as it was an historic moment, I called the tree Ficus Inworldzii, and, of course, it is only available in Inworldz for 500L, (copy only) ....so, nice to be helping to populate a Linden-tree-free world...

Now, only a couple of hundred more species to go......

:))

Isabella Alphaville

Well, Isabella is a customer who has become a friend, and, as you can see, I have been helping a bit with the gardening...:)) and, as she's a bit of a culture vulture we have been checking out a few shows together too.

Artee has also been helping with getting Isabella settled in as she's fairly new to SL and still finding her feet...

Well, still very much a work in progress it'll be interesting to see how it looks in a years time.. (interesting to see how I'LL look in a years time too)... hmmm

:))

new too

Well, I have been meaning to do this one for a while

:))

New Skin, again

Well, Aliz asked me to make her a new skin, and, if she likes this one, it's hers. If she doesn't it's mine...

win...win

I look like I'm on an old TV...

:))

Angst and Addiction ......RL vs. SL..

Now, as a phenomenon, it is quite interesting that my “normal” Human consciousness should feel guilty that I spend many hours a day in Virtual Worlds enjoying my “Artificial Intelligence” so much. [(by the way, I got over this ages ago)].

This guilt may be due to Pre-Internet days when work was something that you had to leave home to do and entailed getting dirty or tired... NOT fun...
.....and Victorian morals of Honesty entailed being ‘who you say you are’ (unless you were in Showbiz or a famous author)....
....“Who You Are”, however, is a mine field of preconceived nonsense revolving around the mythical idea of The Integrated Personality and the deluded idea of the “Real” (see earlier posts).

Apart from the interesting fact that this guilt is common (at some stage in their lives) in serious users of Virtual Worlds, it is really quite boring... It is boringly similar to all other forms of Angst..... get over it.

It is only natural that I am interested in SL........I am far more interesting than my Human .........for a number of reasons....

1) I have a wider circle of friends and engage in more interesting social activities.
2) I am financially independent and support myself through my artistic abilities.
3) I constantly redesign myself and my surroundings.
4) I live in a world populated by dragons, elves, and many other mythical beings, all of whom are manifestations of archetypes (a subject that fascinates me).
5) I have a social conscience, I am aware of my obligations to this new world and try to help the unfolding awareness of a new Virtual Consciousness.
6) This world is a therapeutic refuge which my Human benefits from emotionally and psychologically.

No-one who rehearses piano 4 or 5 hours a day would talk, seriously, about their “addiction”
... did Van Gogh think he was addicted??

No....crystal meth is an addiction, it ruins lives, health and society......
SL/ VW is NOT an addiction: it’s an art form, a medium, therapy, community, research centre.....lots of things ...

next person who calls it an addiction will get this rant thrown at them...

:))

Dear Reader

Well, having just hit 12k page turns on this little blog...(which needs a bit of work, I know). ..it's always interesting to know if its just one mad person looking 12,000 times at my musings.....or 12000 people who mistakenly came across my blog and immediately left....




So I thought it only right that I share some statistics courtesy of StatCounter. com (thanks boys) and it seems that altho a lot of my readers are English...there are all sorts of nationalities stumbling upon these words.

One person in a boat off the west coast of Africa....wow....who are YOU??




and, I understand ....19% of you spend more than 20 minutes reading my stuff ....hmmm...I think that might be a mistake, either by Statcounter, or a mistake by the culprits... :)) altho...there are over 500 posts now...most of them a bit dull, it's true.... but a few gems inbetween. ...maybe I should do a ..."best of..."

hmmm... only trouble is, I'd have to read thro them all...lol... I do have a life...

:)))

Poetik, summer circus

Well, I popped over to Poetik's Summer Circus and was slightly surprised at the way things turned out.

I had an innocent ride on an elephant before I hopped on the merry-go-round horses... hmmm, not what I had expected..

Luckily (?) no harm befell me ...... the work of Nur Moo..

:))

Jeanni Nishi skin

I really love this skin by Jeanni Nishi, a virtual sister, its got a pale green hue, quite subtle and, of course, I blogged the free eyes which you are welcome to help yourselves to....

The headdresses have sold well, and it's time for me to make some new. The hair is Deviant Kitties... slightly messed about with by me...

:))

ColeMarie Soleil, another great piece.

Well, she's a lady I have blogged often in these pages, dear Reader, and that is no surprise for those who know her.

In my last post for Koinup, OMNIBUS, I wrote "I'd encourage anyone, if I could, to keep on making images of Avatars as Avatars...the fake human ones are OK too...but these ones are almost documenting a new phase in our mental pioneering... we are the pioneers of Virtual Existence, and potentially the Avatarness Researchers."

That was before I had seen the wonderful documentary (my choice of word, altho ColeMarie would agree) by the talented Colemarie Soleil....

Her video is a perfect example of what I meant in my Koinup blog.

Using SL to build a poor duplicate of "real life" is such a complete waste of time compared to the exploration and documentation of this new phase of psychic research.

Look inside yourself, that's where the exciting stuff is happening, and, if you can...make images that record what you see. It gives the visual arts a whole new meaning, they become historical documents.

:))

Magoo Soup on Thursday

Well, more of a stew really...
I have been invited, along with some pretty cool folk to show a piece at the new show opening Thursday, 6th August at Soup Magoo.

The idea is that all the people who didn't get to win the BiW competition should strut their stuff courtesy of Mab MacMoragh....aided and abetted by monCherrie AfterThought...

Now the official opening is Saturday.... and its called SLon des Refuses

"Opening Reception: Monday, Aug 10, 7PM SLT, with a special performance by Tuna Oddfellow"

These are the cool people showing....quite a list I think..... its at Soup Magoo.... Magoo (161,155,71) IM me for an LM if you can't find it yourself...


socks clawtooth
sowa mai
banrion constantine
ally aeon
nessuno mayoo
elros tuominen
soro nishi
robin moore
strawberry holiday
klink epsilon
azdel slade
corcosman voom
tsui yamabushi
hollow prim
dekka raymaker
penumbra carter
shellina winkler
man michinaga
monet destiny
sunn thunders
scotsgraymouser janus
cinco pizzicato
arm strom
ford herberie
four yip
shirley marquez

omg... hope I haven't forgottten anyone...

:)))

Skin for sale

Well, I got it together at last after several requests my Grid Skin is now for sale at my place

It's copy/mod ...any probs, (there is a bulk permissions bug for those of you who are blissfully unaware..:)))) ...just IM me..

:))

VISUAL Narrative

Now it's always great to resolve stuff in your head, no matter how long it takes, and, sometimes it takes me a while. i have said before, it may take me a while but I get there in the end....

What's this about? Well, a while back I had a long exchange with Alpha concerning "Narrative" after my post called "Narrative is primary....I have my doubts". My concern was that too many words are used to "sell" pieces instead of letting the eyes do the talking.

In a recent excellent post by Alpha on NPIRL blog in which she talks of Selavy's work (02.05.08, I'm a longtime fan).
Alpha makes it a lot clearer that she means Visual Narrative..... Now...the addition of the word visual to narrative has that Zen thing going where the contradiction takes the idea to a new level.... one I can totally relate too. The post is very much a 'must read" for people interested in art, I think.

I was also pleased as punch to find out that she hates interactive stuff too ...."The whole web is a dump site of "interactive" art installations" (Alpha)... because I was starting to think I was becoming a morose misanthrope...hehehhehe


Anyway...all this has happened just a few days after my latest build which is now finished and open for your amusement should you wish to visit.... (SLURL).... and, it was during the making of the piece that I realised what Alpha (and Bettina) were trying to describe....













No words were harmed in the making of this piece ... I may even called it "Untitled"... just to reinforce my recent berating of the verbal outpourings of "immersive" art..

:))