Colour Key

I planned to write a post about my new mesh hands and feet this week, in fact it’s all composed in my head, I just have to type it and log in to take a few pictures.  I suppose you could read it, if I had chairs in my brain, but I’m guessing that my words would be projected in reverse on the walls of my skull so that wouldn’t be much help.  My Saturday morning coffee in hand, I sat down to catch up on blogs and saw this post on Inara Pey’s blog and my original plan went out the window.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Rebeca Bashly’s work, but more than that she’s inspired me to do two previous blog posts about The Tower and The Inferno so I was confident this would be no exception.  This newest exhibit,  Colour Key, has a very vague description “It is all about human nature, breaking your spine to find answers that are under your nose.” and that was somehow freeing.  Without a clear idea of what the artist hoped I would think or feel or learn from her work, I let my mind and camera wander freely.

I got lost in Colour Key, quite literally.  It’s huge, a tall building with scaffolding and you can easily wander into dead ends.  The trick is to look for the keys that you can click on to teleport to the next part.  At first I wondered why I was having such a hard time navigating around, and then I quickly stopped being concerned about it.  A few dead ends, followed by a few full circles, and you end up looking at this work in a new way, or at least I did.  How often do we find ourselves repeating the same steps, or stuck in a box with no exit?  It’s only when you look at it differently that you can see the way forward.

I allowed myself a fair bit of creative liberties here, with  windlight, color and framing the pictures.  I always feel a bit guilty about that, uncertain if my job is to capture the work as the artist meant it to be seen, or to try to present what she invoked in me.  I’m hoping these do a combination of both, but I encourage you to visit Colour Key for yourself to see what it says to you.

This last one has the eerily sensuality that I often find in Rebeca Bashly’s work.  Whether it’s my own fascination with the stories of Succubi or projecting something else that’s going on with me right now, I knew exactly what these ladies were saying.

Kiss me.

You can find Colour Key here http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA6/58/37/373

Pangloss

One of the first things I noticed when returning to Second Life was that some of the mainland parcels around my home had changed hands. They seem to have put a lot of effort into their plots so I’m not complaining but there were uneven land boundaries between us now. It shouldn’t bug me, but it does, so I set about trying to smooth the transition between their land and mine. Smooth wasn’t doing what I hoped it would, so then I tried to flatten my land, but it still didn’t look right. I decided that I needed to raise the whole parcel and then work it down to match but I’m far too impatient for this one square at a time nonsense, so I pushed all the sliders to the max and started to bulldoze. This is when I learned ( confirmed?) that I don’t know what I’m doing.

As I stood there wondering if there is some sort of 911 emergency terraforming group I could call it became obvious that half of my objects and plants were now buried underground. It seemed logical to me that I’d should move them all first, then fix the land. No problem right? Just go to your land window and return all your objects. Brilliant, easy, one click and… oh my damn, what did I just do?

Well, at least I had the foresight to name my blog appropriately. Not that I was ever the most technically savvy of SL users, but over the last 6 months I apparently forgot all that I ever knew and am now truly renoobed. The solution, clearly, was to ignore the whole problem and go exploring. Procrastination, what would I do without you?

My exploring often starts in Flickr and from there to blogs and this was no exception. There are a lot of gorgeous photos out there, many of you got so good while I was gone, but everything is Halloween and fall themed which didn’t match my mood. I stumbled on one of the pinkest of the pink photos I’ve ever seen by Caitlin Tobias which led me to her blog post.

Now this is interesting, Honour wrote a thought provoking post about this place as well.  That’s enough for me, off to Pangloss I went.

I do fiddle with my pictures a bit in postprocessing, but the vast majority of what you are seeing here was done in Second Life. I did experiment with windlights, but Pangloss really is this pink.

I’m using Firestorm lately, although Catznip is still by far the best performing viewer for me, especially in crowded places, but the phototools in Firestorm intrigue me. As you can see, I’m teaching myself about depth of field and focal length.

As a large scale landscape, Pangloss is not just surreal, it’s magical, but I found myself captivated by the tiny details. I want to call them minutia, but that word has negative connotations and these details hidden around Pangloss are far, far from inconsequential. They are what kept me there and taking photographs for hours.

Unfortunate really, I like the word, it feels good in my mouth and deserves a better reputation than it has. If I ever make another roleplay character I’m going to name her Minutia. Although, I do like the play on words of separating a word to make a name, like Mala Justed, or Caris Matic…  See?  This is why I get nothing done.

One of the most striking features you’ll see if you go to Pangloss, well, other than the flying whale, are these turtles. They are suspended high above the pinkness with ladders to climb up to them. Being the clicker that I am, I had to go up there and much to my surprise, there is a couch atop one of the turtles.

Now that’s strange. Why would anyone put a couch on a flying turtle? We established in the past that I haven’t met a couch or chair that I didn’t want to sit on, and this was no exception. It occurred to me as I essentially sat on top of the world and let my camera roam around that this was no accident, no whim of silliness, it was one of those moments of creative genius. This is Second Life, where the more important question really is why wouldn’t you put a couch on a flying turtle.

Maybe that’s what I should do with my parcel. Forget the terraforming, forget that clump of no copy objects stuck together in my lost and found, I’ve got a magic couch to find.

Pangloss http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Banana%20Island/116/107/30

Now With More Spine

You know the expression ‘Wearing your heart on your sleeve”?  People say that to me a lot and I’m never quite sure what they mean.  To be clear, before anyone links me the urban dictionary, I know what the expression means, but I don’t always know their intent.  Is it a compliment?  A caution?  An insult?

I suppose it doesn’t much matter, because it is true, although as I’ve mentioned here in this blog before I prefer to call myself an emotional exhibitionist.  Sounds a bit sexier don’t you think?  I am an external processor, I think aloud.  I get from A to B by talking or writing it out.  I process feelings and thoughts by looking at them outside of my own head.  I know sometimes it causes people undue amounts of concern when they find themselves witness to it, but it’s really not necessary.  Chances are if I’m talking about something that upset me, or that I’m going through, I am actually perfectly fine.  It’s only when I get quiet that should be remotely noteworthy. 

Which brings me the long way round to my point, this blog has gone quiet for several months.

The short version of why I haven’t blogged is because I haven’t really been in Second Life since April.  There were a handful of quickie log ins to make a payment, or answer something critical, but that’s about it.  I knew that my spare time and online footprint would be drastically reduced over the summer months due to a few changes at home and work, and some medical situations with my family in my first world life, but I’ll confess, there were a few nights here and there that I could have logged in.   I most certainly could have benefited from the distraction, and having a bit of fun, but just the thought of it knotted my stomach so I didn’t.

You see, there was an unresolved issue that I didn’t want to face, the same unresolved issue that has made me question what to do with this blog. 

You may recall, or if you skip down a few posts you’ll see, an SL friend of mine Mabb Dilweg passed away suddenly in March.  Her death touched many people, even those who never had the opportunity to meet her in SL.  In a moment of shared grief, in an attempt to feel less helpless, a fundraiser was put together to fly her partner Shane Fairlock to her home.  We knew he wouldn’t make it in time for the funeral, but hoped that the trip would still give him closure.  The fear of never being able to say goodbye is one that I think most people who form online and long distance friendships can relate to.

In April it became apparent that the fundraiser would fall short of it’s goal.   I know that quite a few people, both privately and publically in the SLU forum, began to ask questions about what would happen to the money and suspicions even began to be voiced.  At the time he assured me that he was holding out hope that he could still put together enough from other sources, that he just needed a little more time, but in the event he couldn’t make the trip we discussed other options for the money that was raised including giving it to her family or donating to the zoo that Mabb loved to bring her grandchildren to.

That didn’t happen.  Six months later, he either is still holding it or he spent it.  Will it forward it on one day?  Perhaps.  Stranger things have happened.

There is a lot I could say here, but I don’t know how necessary that is.  If you are at all curious what Shane’s version of the story is, it would probably be best to ask him.  I could give my version, but it differs dramatically from the various accounts he’s given Mabb’s other friends so I don’t even know what the truth is anymore.

I do know this, as weeks turned to months, without even the courtesy to update all those who loved her, and who donated, the silence became the elephant in the room.  So much so that the very idea of logging in and seeing Shane on my friend’s list, knowing I had to either confront him or ignore it as if nothing happened, seemed like more stress than I needed or wanted.  I needed an outlet, an escape, but due in large part to this situation Second Life was no longer that for me.

I’m angry.  Not about the money I donated,  I’m angry at myself because in my own need to channel my grief, to do something constructive, I projected my fear of losing people I care about onto this situation and I overinvested emotionally.  I know better, or at least I should.  I’m angry that I let my reluctance to confront him and address this issue keep me from Second Life at a time when I probably needed that outlet most.  I’m angry that I let my uncertainty about how to proceed with this blog, not knowing if I should address this issue or not, keep me from taking pictures and writing.  I dreaded having to talk this out with people, I felt guilty, I was embarassed, so I withdrew from many of my friends rather than risk the topic coming up.

Not anymore.  I finally, with the help and heavy prodding of some friends, logged into Second Life, said my piece to Shane, then deleted him.  It’s done, I’m taking my Second Life back. 

I still have a lot of thinking to do,  I need to examine what part I played in this and find a way to prevent it from happening again.  It’s not the first time a friend let me down, not the first time I misplaced trust, not the first time I got hurt, not the first time I dreaded the idea of confronting a person or situation.  People are so quick to say “don’t let it change you” and I appreciate both the sentiment, and the good hearted place it comes from, but I do think a few changes are in order.  People warn me against becoming bitter, urge me not to build up walls, but from where I sit those both seem like viable options.

I don’t know where my Second Life will take me now and it’s possible that I will continue to wear my heart on my sleeve on this adventure,  but I know one thing for sure… this time I’m packing a little more spine.

Outfit : MetaTheodora Star of Venus Ballgown, Gloves, and Nipple Covers (head piece not shown)
FEET!!!!! Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) M – Mid (a blog post dedicated entirely to my new feet is in the works)
Below eye piercing: .:ellabella:. Helene’s Tears – silver
Above eye piercing: – .HoD. – Fire In The Water Prt. 1 – Midnight
Skin: -Belleza- Ellie Gacha 5 (old Arcade Item)
Hair: Wasabi Pills Lory Mesh Hair Aquatic (old Arcade item)
Make up: -Belleza- Eyeliner 1
Collar: Hello Spacegirl – Ilia Collar (long) M (black)
Eyes: [LeLutka]-Ellis-Lavender/M
Lashes: Maitreya V.I.P. Group Gift  Mesh EyeLashes (old group gift)

Mesh spine attachment is part of the [StG] Neuropuppet RLV Slave Unit on the marketplace.

Are You Watching?

The first thing that came to mind when I read that this week’s Single Frame Story challenge was “Watch” was steampunk.  Steampunk always makes me think of grandfather clocks, pocket watches, and time pieces of all sorts.  I briefly toyed with the idea of putting together a clockwork doll, because I’ve always wanted to do one, but then my mind drifted toward the idea of interpreting the word watch less in the sense of a time piece and more in the sense of a verb.  To watch, watching, an audience and the clockwork doll concept turned into a marionette.  What’s the point of being a puppet master if no one watched your doll dance?

Sometimes when an idea comes together it really feels almost audible.  If I were a cartoon a lightbulb would appear over my head with some ping type sound.  Although I could have tried to put together a marionette look for my avatar, I knew the perfect scene was already created and waiting for me to photograph it at Tims Dream.  I chose not to add a phrase to my story this week and just let the image stand on it’s own.

Tims Dream has been in Second Life for a while now and I’ve visited a few times planning to write about it, but I could never seem to capture the eeriness of this build.  As you walk through the mountain tunnels, following the gatekeepers with the arrows you are taken through the stages of a child’s nightmare.

I’ll admit, some of it is a bit confusing, and some threatens to teeter over the edge of the kind of creepy I like and borders a bit into disturbing, but I’m one who believes that art is supposed to do that.  To make you think, to make you feel, to experience new ideas and perspectives.  Tim’s Dream most certainly does all of that.

You can see some of the machinima that have been created at Tims Dream by going to Romy Nayar’s blog.  http://romynayar.blogspot.ca/

As for the original image and challenge itself?  I think Abney Park is a good match for the feel of the relationship between a steampunk marionette and the audience who watches her.

Herr Drosselmeyer’s Doll
There she is on the stage
Spinning as she sprawls
Thank God the curtains fall
Her spring is sprung
And dances done
Spinning as she sprawls
Thank God the curtains fall

In the morning, he twists the key quite hard
And ticking, she’s brought to boil
“Relevée, my sweet, on point, en garde!”
Her innards twang as they uncoil

Herr Doktor’s fingertips trace by
On craquelature from every fall
The daylight made to race right by
With paint and paste and stitch and awl

“Patient, patient, bumblebee,
Soon your audience admire
A shapely arabesque or three
I’ll wind you up, you’ll never tire.”

You can visit Tims Dream here:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MetaLES/245/212/23

See more of this week’s Single Frame Stories for Watch Here:

Vanilla Dreams

As often seems to happen when I’m taking pictures of a location or outfit, the Single Frame Story prompt emerges from the maze of my mind.  Who knows if this week’s prompt Vanilla played a part in the look or location I chose for my last post, or if taking those pictures reminded me of this week’s challenge, but the two merged so perfectly the reason seemed irrelevant.  I would do both.

My first thought when I read the word Vanilla last week was to do a fetish shot.  I’m sure that’s hardly a surprise to those that know me best.  Then I started to think about the flavour of vanilla; the places we expect it, and particularly the ones we don’t.

Tears for example; they are salty, but what if they were a myriad of ice cream flavours?  Would we cry more? Would country fair stalls sell shot glass sized tear drinks for a dollar?  Would trendy cafes have bottles on the wall and which flavour add in would I chose for my coffee?  Joy?  Disappointment?  Grief?  Would I be tempted to lick the tears off your cheek to see if your flavour was different than mine?

That train of thought was coming dangerously close to the tunnels in my brain where I don’t normally let you guys ride, so I pulled the switch and went down a different track.

Next time I dream, I’m going to take a moment to taste the rain.

You can see the variety of creations Vanilla inspired in others at this week’s Single Frame Story challenge.

http://singleframestories.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/challenge-gallery-32-vanilla/

I’m quite certain no one will think of Vanilla as boring ever again.

I know the song I’ve chosen for this post is predictable, but sometimes if it works, it works.

Credits:

Dress: “reynolds.june” NEW from coldLogic
Pears: “stacked pearls necklace rose” from lassitude & ennui FREE at Free*Style Shop
Skin: “Amberly – Artic – Candy 03 BL” available at Collabor88 from Glam Affair
Hair: “Hollana w/Roots – Barbie from Truth
Shoes: “Ivory Cygnette” from Schadenfreude
Eyes: “Ellis-Lavender” from [LeLutka]
Poses: part of the Vogue-ish set by POISE available soon at Pose Fair
Location Nostos Deer
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/nostos%20deer/131/119/32

A ColdLogic Spring at Nostos Deer

One of the more interesting things about being part of a global community like Second Life is listening to the talk of time zones and seasons.  Who hasn’t had that experience of saying good night just as another is saying good morning?  It’s much the same with seasons.  For some it’s currently spring, and though technically my calendar would concur, there is more snow outside my window today than most get over the entire winter.

It’s not just the weather that varies for those who are experiencing spring; it’s the vision or feel of the season that is unique to each of us.  For some spring is tulips and bunnies and all things green.  For me, spring is a muted inconsistent thing.  One brave tree might have the greenish hint of new life as it begins to leaf out while the one next to it is by all appearances dead, its skeletal branches a reminder that winter has not yet left the building.

As you walk in a clearing the sun is warm on your face, tempting you to remove your jacket, tricking you into wearing summer shoes but when you turn a corner there are the patches of snow lingering in the shade daring you to walk through them into seasons past.

Nostos Deer captures that look of spring perfectly to me.  The patches of snow merging with grass not yet quite fully green; the bravest of buds appearing on trees next to the remains of those who have not yet announced their intentions.  The only part of spring missing from the scene is a dress, no, THE dress.  You see spring was announced in our family when my mother bought me a new dress for Easter mass.  I can’t really feel or see spring without one, but thanks to the new release from coldLogic I am prepared to announce the arrival of spring.

The poses in these shots are by Mojo Skytower of Poise and will be available at the upcoming Pose Fair.  You can read more about Pose Fair on their blog.

http://hottiecooterati.com/events/pose-fair-2013/

I used this same outfit and location for my Single Frame Story entry this week, but I’m going to split that into another post as this one already feels a bit long.  Stay tuned!

Credits:

Dress: “reynolds.june” NEW from coldLogic
Pears: “stacked pearls necklace rose” from lassitude & ennui FREE at Free*Style Shop
Skin: “Amberly – Artic – Candy 03 BL” available at Collabor88 from Glam Affair
Hair: “Hollana w/Roots – Barbie from Truth
Shoes: “Ivory Cygnette” from Schadenfreude
Eyes: “Ellis-Lavender” from [LeLutka]
Poses: part of the Vogue-ish set by POISE available soon at Pose Fair
Location Nostos Deer
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/nostos%20deer/131/119/32