Stokame!

my neighbor SarahtheRed's Puppy (above) & working on my show

After a hiatus I’m back at work on another exhibition for the H.G. Wells Library in Caledon...content & title to be announced soon. I have to thank Halfpint Pennell for providing an inspiring work environment at the Stokame Artist's Colony....a big lofty skybox to build in, a shack on the beach to mull in, a shop to show work in. A good patron knows how to keep her artists happy, and Halfpint shows she knows the artist’s mind by providing a bakery, market square, windsurfing, cozy nooks, even a drive-in theatre. I’ve such happy memories going to the drive-in on Cape Cod – was where I was first traumatized by Jaws. There’s a real Provincetown vibe in Stokeham. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for dreamlanders Cookie Mueller (one of my heroines) and John Waters...

Moving House

Moving House

”Once you open your mind to the possibility
you're lost.
At least some part of you is.
You flirt with infidelity,
abandon the perfectly acceptable place
you've lived all these years
for a dingy photograph in the property finder
that promises an easy walk to the beach,
or a level lot with good sun.
Your mind turns...”
-by Mairi

After two years I’ve decided to part with the place that kept me in SL in the first place, Stormhold in Caledon. A few notecard exchanges after I posted my ad on the real estate forums, my house and other possessions were lobbed into my lost and found folder before I could blink...no turning back. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if one could shift as easily in rl? Such good practice it is, learning how to not talk oneself out of making a move.

Anthropomorphy

When I was 16 I went to my first sci-fi convention somewhere (I think Troy, NY). I drove there in a red VW van full of D & D players, including a guy who spent hours in his garage making chain mail armor (when he wasn’t crafting sundaes at Friendly’s). Besides the thrill of getting away from home and staying in hotels with my boyfriend, I was thrilled with the characters we met along the way. One of my first memories of the con was skulking down a hallway, around 3 a.m., and coming across two people in white bunny suits. One was slumped against the other, receiving a shoulder rub. S/he turned to me, with big black eyes and drooping whiskers, and offered me a slug of cherry brandy. They were so striking, and so strange to me (in a good way). The memory is kinda hazy now and reminds me of Aphex Twin’s vid for Donkey Rhubarb.

Furry fandom is a whole scene in SL, and one I’ve hardly explored. For those of you that don’t know, furries are role players, artists, writers, and other appreciators of anthropomorphic animal characters with human traits. The scene is noted for its anime styled artwork, handcrafted customized fursuits, and, some think, kinky sexual practices (I have to read up on plushophilia). Anyway, a friend of mine is writing a paper about furry fandom so I offered to make a reconnaissance mission into Luskwood, the capital of SL furrydom, to see what I might learn. I donned a steampunk tail and ears and landed in the middle of a small dance party. No one greeted me, and, like most anthropologists making first contact, I felt a bit like an intruder. Then I got to thinking, most animals don’t talk....After a few minutes however, there was some chat, mainly about cheeseburgers. I began scrawling in my notebook and snapping pics of a lovely large chested red fox with a serpent’s tongue, a foxy white wolf with swinging hips, and a twee little raccoon with librarian’s glasses and a brownie camera round her neck. I noticed that most of them were from Texas...then I started imagining W having a secret life as a brandy sipping bunny and got distracted...Luskwood definitely warrants more investigation. Stay tuned...

Poetik

One day I was approached by a newbie in a superman outfit who shouted in my face (even though he was standing right next to me) “Where’s the party at?!” I’ve been to some really great parties lately – the closing for the Pornosophy exhibition organized by LogLady Loon (you can imagine what went on there) and most recently at Poetik Velvets.
The Poetik sim was conceived by Nur Moo and Juju Dollinger, patrons of some of the best artists on the grid, as a place to immerse visitors in art, “concept sound and light reveries” (as described by Bettina Tizzy). Artists are chosen to create something site specific, like the sculpture above by Bryn Oh, and the work is celebrated, animated and complimented with music and visuals through Poetik Parties. This concept works better in SL than at a RL art opening. In the actual world, at an opening that purports to support both art and music, crowds press up against the art so works can’t be regarded, damaging wine is spilled at the feet of sculptures, and no one can hear each other over the booming echoes bouncing off white gallery walls. People self-consciously tug at their short skirts and trendy beards, distracted by everyone but the person right in front of them. And when the booze is gone, so are the peeps. At the Poetik Party the other day I could cam the craquelure of Oh’s sculpture at my leisure, chat to individuals and the group, and boogie all at the same time. And I only spilled wine on my typist. Satisfying!

Black Eyed Dog part 2

When you're not up for it, SL can feel like a horrible vacuum...you sign on, throw some chat out into the metaverse and it feels like it's disappearing into a black hole. I was just about to erase my account when I wondered, could SL offer some form of respite from the blues? I crept along to Aught's field of flowers (discovered through Wyatt :) ) and threw myself down into the cosmos. I thought about Susan Weed and her healing tinctures made from dandelion and nettle. I took a long look at this sim, the ruins being overtaken by riotous growth and sat down in the darkest spot I could find, feeling ruined. Erase the account or not...? Then I felt the glimmering hand of a friend, was lifted up and out of the dirt, and was connected again.

the unexamined life

is not worth living...said Socrates. Gordon Bell takes it to the extreme as a lifelogger - documenting every single moment in his life through audio and video recorders he wears around his body. Molotov Alva documents his disappearance as he moves away from the actual world and is fully absorbed into Second Life.

The Birds and the Bees

The birds and the bees, aka true love(some lines overheard):

SEX HUD (wear me) whispers: Balls ready
[10:53] CR: you're pretty new to sl - are you having fun?
[10:53] LT: yeah
[10:53] LT: it's great
[10:53] CR: it's addicting - haha
[10:53] LT: yeah
[10:53] LT: i now
[10:53] LT: and the sex....
[10:53] LT: puff
[10:53] LT: you can made things that never imagine before
[10:53] CR: oh i know
[10:54] SEX HUD (wear me) whispers: Balls ready
[10:54] LT: yeah
[10:54] LT: u know?
[10:54] LT: i have a lover
[10:54] LT: he is crazy for me
[10:54] LT: and buy things for me
[10:54] LT: and give me money
[10:54] LT: and that's amazing