I'm no seamstress

I can't believe I've never written about fashion in sl. My gawd. Having grown up with a seamstress granny who taught me how to thrift, I am well obsessed with clothes. I settled in Caledon because of the intellectual scene but, let's face it, the population are some of the best-dressed on the grid. Now and then I'll come up with some idea for an outfit, but I'm not sure I have the patience (or the equipment - hard to make buttons using a touch pad). I think I'll leave it to the array of incredible designers out there. My last attempt at dressmaking was for a Victorian gown based on an 1883 travel album containing albumen photographs from India. The top of the dress includes an image of the Tomb of Altamash in New Delhi, which was built in 1235. See how the architectural forms reflect the feminine, as in renaissance and baroque architecture, which acknowledged the human form. These forms are later seen in the work of the artists of the Art Noveau movement, who reveled in the fanciful, swirling line known as "whiplash", which celebrated the sensual female figure...and why shouldn't we celebrate that figure, eh? Here's an example of a designer whose clothing absolutely adores all figures: Hyasynth Tiramisu.

You are original

Welcome, friends of Achariya who may have found their way here...I started this blog when I started Second Life a little over a year ago...gamely at first, to explain SL to folks who might never try it out, then mainly to keep a record of things that have struck me along the way. On Monday I was invited to a benefit concert for Heifer International which took place at AM Radio's Refuge. Singer ColeMarie Soleil played live. In between self-deprecating comments ("Sorry 'bout all the mistakes in that one") she belted out these amazing, moving notes; spontaneous, kooky, dark, gorgeous. I relaxed into my headphones, cammed about and felt like I was in some kind of charming menagerie, with the music, the wondrous setting, and the intriguing assortment of avatars all in one place...inspired me to look up Darwin's 1858 essay on the varieties of species...

Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing...

...said James Brown

I've always danced...ballet, African, go-go on a box...Being in a club, dancing to music that makes you wiggle, is like having an affair with everyone around you. Everyone in the mood, everyone on the groove. Same works in SL...it's surprisingly satisfying to sit back and watch your avi twirl, grind and jump. Sinewave is the place to pick up decent animations. You may be familiar with the Lindy, Shag, Pogo, and Hustle...in SL you've got Caramel, Sprite, Swoon, Gimme gimme gimme, Jammy dodger, Yipeeeeeeee, Shaken and Stirred - hundreds of choices. You can slow dance, line dance, even reel. It's the best way to bond with your mates. If we in the actual world danced as much as those in sl we'd all be fit as fiddles...now, if I could only master Want Some in the actual world....

Happy Almost Halloween

Versailles meets the end of the world...

The Steampunk Resource Center

Sea Beaumont has pulled together a most comprehensive collection of resources at Caledon Downs. Three floors of freebies, links and landmarks for the discerning steampunk. So you won’t look like a total farb* pick up some authentic textures and artifacts such as a rusty smelter, a hobonet computer typing animation (powered by a sturdy little rat), a giant tesla ball, skybox, even a leathery catsuit and black leather kicks for the ladies. All for free!

Related landmarks are gathered together here, so you may never have to step foot in the 21^st century again. On the second floor you’ll find a brief history of steampunk and punkers, like the British engineer Isamard Kingdom Brunel (who smoked 40 cigars a day, slept less than 5 hours a night, and accidentally inhaled a half-sovereign coin, which lodged in his windpipe – the kind of man Siri would have invited round for tea). Online resources include links to you tube clips, Steampunk Magazine and the Steampunk Workshop.

Visit the Steampunk Resource Center here.

*wiki says: Farb “is a derogatory term used in the hobby of historical reenacting for participants who exhibit less commitment to historical authenticity, either from a material-cultural standpoint or in action.” (Though, believe me, steampunks are far more forgiving then the rev war folk).

Burning Life 2008

I decided to head to Burning Life today and found myself a game companion willing to bear the hippie drums. Wearing our over sized aviator glasses we shielded ourselves from the burning avatars and made our way to a clever diorama built by Manx Wharton called The General Welfare - a lovingly sarcastic ode to back country South; the yard is full of detritus (including a cook book that contains a recipe for squirrel), a worn shotgun shack leans against its creaky wooden steps. Watch out for the swinging carcass draining on the porch. There you can sit on a plastic lawn chair (I could feel the weakened seat strain under my bottom) and take in the many details worth contemplating...Who set the Chevy blazing? We want to know.

Other highlights include AM Radio's installation "Beneath the Tree that Died".... a telescope bisects the land, a story of love lost documented through a telegram. Will the telescope help him sight his memories?

Finally, experience a bit of depressing-but-true political commentary through a "patriotic" installation where you're greeted by a gurning Marilyn Quayle and Lynne Cheney, and further spun and wrung through Warhol-esque portraits of Reagan and Palin...quotes from these brains mimic and taunt..not for the wavering voter this. It culminates via the temple to politics, which offers a soothing hot tub in an appropriate culmination of politics & sex. Let's hear it for Burning Life!