my girls ❤, originally uploaded by bethyheart.

Mia, Phemie, me and Bethy.
<3

Of course, I never fully checked out; I still keep SL feeds in Google Reader, and am mostly up to date on what’s happening in-world and in in-world fashion (grammar?). In particular, I am enamoured — pure deep love, I say — of the styles put together by Nana Minuet and Dailyn Holfe’s Daily[n] News (both old and new sites are linked there), which I find extremely inspiring and drool-inducing. I can specifically cite Nana’s look in Vive9′s recent Ginta skin for making me log in and buy Lindens in June, just so that I too could be that cute.

Here’s a brief list of other things off the top of my head:

• Oldbies. For some reason, many old friends who had mostly been away from SL have been dipping their toes back in lately (or maybe it’s just me being around enough to run into them again? ). Maybe we’re all in a stage in life where we need old friends again? Or to have that personal connection we once felt in SL?
• Outfits. This is silly, but I love the versatility and practicality of outfits in Viewer 2.x. I never had the discipline to make outfits before, and the few times I did, they’d always include some item that was No Copy, and then my inventory would slowly get out of whack, and I’d never recall where I’d put those damn shoes. You know. So now, on a lonely night when no one’s logged in, I will rummage through my inventory and pull together a complete outfit and shop around until I find the perfect accessories.
• Better performance. Say what you will about the Viewer 2.x UI, which I’ve gradually grown accustomed to. In early versions, its performance on my two-year old iMac was hideous to say the least: 2-4 FPS, hideous load times for textures, freezes every 15-20 seconds or so… But recent releases have really stepped up the game, greatly improving performance and just generally being more stable. I alternate between Firestorm Beta and the official viewer, and am satisfied with the advances I’ve seen in SL’s technology coming from Linden Labs for the first time in forever (I wish I had the hardware to actually run shadows and DOF, but it’s not time to upgrade yet). They are truly giving us our money’s worth as residents, even if said residents remain as bitter as ever on the LL blog and similar fora. This is doubly so if said residents don’t actually PAY any money to play the damn thing…
• Less voice. This one I can’t really explain, but it seems like fewer of my friends voice anymore in-world. Since I rarely can voice because of the hours I keep, I’d always felt a little left out and marginalized, but beyond that, I enjoy the chance that text gives me to craft what I’m going to say, and sound a little smarter, or a little wittier, than I would if it were just the first thing that came off the top of my head.

In all honesty, for the first time in a long while, I have fun every single time I log into SL. I hear my old voice, I can enjoy being silly, I’ve met new people… so for the moment, SL is really working for me.

Here’s to having that continue to be the case for a while.

Bethy was asleep and logged in, which is just a terrible terrible habit. I logged in to try and wake her up. But no amount of poking, IMing or loud rude gestures were able to get her to budge.

Maybe public shaming will work?

]]> http://aeneaideas.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/aenea-2011/feed/ 0 Aenea http://aeneaideas.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/testing-testing/ http://aeneaideas.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/testing-testing/#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:33:49 +0000 Aenea http://aeneaideas.wordpress.com/?p=290 Continue reading »

So.

I’m back for another swing at the this SL thing here, and figured that it’d be nice to dust this puppy off for a while.

What do people talk about on SL blogs these days?

]]>

I left because it had lost meaning for me. I’d lost friends, lost my purpose, lost any sense of fun.

This was, and is, a reflection of my feelings RL now – how could it be otherwise? – the pressures of daily life, of frustration with work, and needing to find new direction in my life.

For me, SL was, and is, a distraction, a time sink.

At its best, it’s a time sink that can enrich you and help you find companionship when you most need it. At its worst, it’s the most diabolical tool for lost productivity ever devised.

I came back three weeks ago, because Bethy asked me to, and because I missed her very much. Since then, it’s been a flurry of bonding, shopping, dressing up and contacting old friends. It’s made me want to write again in here, even if no one’s really listening. Being back feels like being with an old friend again. And this blog is such a boon, having the opportunity to touch my self as I was two, three years ago, and to feel that joy that I felt every day when I logged in to get my fix.

It’s still a terrible time sink. I’m still in a not-so-good place in RL, and I need to keep SL in check before it becomes a crutch and distraction from dealing with the things I need to.

But SL still gives me something that I deserve to have as part of my life, and I don’t want to burn out again, and I want my experience here to be positive and fulfilling, just as it used to be. I need a purpose here, so that it’s not just hanging out, and that I know that this too has a path to follow.

I’m not sure if she ever actually used what I wrote, but I really enjoyed doing this — I don’t often go out for creative writing — and hate to think that it was just going to languish there in my Docs folder.

For the record, I was especially enamored of Ernie. I think it’s evident in his profile.

– o –

Tom
Tom was president of the Young Republicans at Texas A&M until he was expelled from the organization for public indiscretions involving a bicycle, a garden hose and a large badger. Dejected and driftless, Tom found his lifepath through transcendental meditation and veganism, and today has a thriving business doing deep emotional release bodywork in Toledo. Customers there don’t really understand his affinity for boots and cowboy hats, though.

Ernie
As lead bassist for hot Nebraska-based emo/post-Radiohead band “The Neuron Machine”, Ernie has seen his share of heartbreak, hotel rooms, and hot groupie backsides. His bandmates are envious of his obvious talent, but are also concerned about their careers if Ernie were to seriously consider going solo (“VH1 Where Are They Now?” anyone?). Ernie’s delish bubble-butt can be attributed to a pre-band career as a bike messenger, and his succulent bee-stung lips can be attributed to monthly collagen injections and daily Lip Venom lipgloss.

Bob
As a child, Bob got his ass kicked almost every day before, during and after school, and frequently on weekends too. Years of deep-seated insecurities finally found an outlet when Bob had his first training session at the YMCA and loved the feeling of power it gave him. Today, Bob can bench-press 250 lbs, and frequently lifts his lady friends to show off.  Bob’s ex-girlfriend Sharona convinced him to tattoo her name across his chest; when they broke up, he got the tattoo guy to cover her name over with tribal designs (with only moderate success).

Lee
Single Asian hetero male seeks pretty single woman for pretty much anything. I like women who are intelligent, confident, and sure of what they want. I also like a woman who wears pantyhose. I find the sensual feel and look of a woman in pantyhose to be quite exciting. Really high heels a plus. I’m 26, a college graduate and a San Francisco native. You can be slim or full-figured as I appreciate the beauty of both, but really prefer slim.

Sam
Sam was born on the Right Bank, but definitely aspires to the Left.

Eli
Mild-mannered research assistant by day, when night falls, Eli becomes *Magnetomic Man* to face the evils of the Emerald City! Clad only in his bright green tighty-whiteys, and accompanied by his sidekick Emo, they fight crime through their amazing psycho-energy powers, well-synchronised high kicks. and finely-honed sense of the absurd. Criminals and evildoers of Seattle quake in fear!

Ty
Naomi? Check. Cindy? Yep. Tyra? Been there. Kate? Did blow with her. Gisele? CALL ME BABY!! So yeah, you could say Ty’s done the fashion world.  And Hollywood too: Salma? Needs to get over herself. Gwyneth? A lousy lay, limp as a dead trout. Penelope? Memorable lips. Madonna? Flexible!

Ty’s been around, I guess. He’s also a major STD vector.

Chad
Let’s face it, girlfriend! Chad’s sooooo full of himself!! Seriously, like, get on the cover of GQ just once, and he totally thinks he’s God’s gift to women!! And he’s so insensitive in bed! — he keeps getting distracted by his own reflection in the mirror. He just never seemed interested in satisfying *my* needs. O. M. G.!

But, well, on second thought… he *is* loaded, and he *is* luscious to look at, and he feels *so* right once you get him into bed….

Max
Max is a simple guy. Max likes fish. Max likes goldfish, koi, guppies, swordfish, blowfish, marlin, trout, salmon, clownfish, surgeonfish, razorfish, barracudas, and groupers, but Max is especially fond of mahi mahi. Max drinks Pabst when he thinks about his fish. Mmmmmm… fish.

I sometimes agree that Obama relies excessively on his oratory and rhetorical skills. At the same time, I believe it’s fundamental that the next leader of this country is someone who can galvanize people around common goals, while working to build up our confidence and self-reliance. That is something that requires a leader with the ability to express him or herself effectively, and to rally people together; it is my hope that Obama will be another leader like those at various critical junctures in our history have come to power: Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy.

I was asked to participate in a short survey by Barack Obama campaign, since I’ve been supporting him since the primaries. I’ve become disenchanted with the campaign since the primaries concluded. I still have no doubt that Obama is the best choice for president, but I would like to see him get there staying above the fray, and not getting down in the dirt with the lowest-common denominator tactics the Republicans have used for the past 20 years.

So I told him so:

I’m concerned that Barack isn’t expressing enough about the policies he plans to support, spending his campaign days engaged belittling McCain. I understand that you have give as you get, but in the process, this has descended to become a regular presidential campaign again. There was a great deal of pride in seeing a candidate who was above the fray and the small-mindedness of the Republicans and the Democrats in general, but we seem to have lost that.

Furthermore, it seems that the only communication those of us who’ve supported him since the primaries receive anymore are attempts to convince us to keep on donating. Give us ideas! Give us hope! Give us something to believe in, messages to share, ways to add value. I can’t believe that all Barack needs from me is my $25. I hope to see him get back on track, and not wallow in the mud with his adversary.

I’m not sure why I wanted to post this. It seems important to say *something*, especially since I’m in Mexico, and can’t do many of the things I could do in the US to support Obama in this election. I understand *why* I’m voting for him, and I think the least we can all do is to reason our votes, and not allow them to be taken with lies, tall tales, or force of habit (the latter has been my eternal argument with my parents, where they’d simply vote Republican as a knee-jerk instinct, without any reasoning as to which candidate was better for the country).

.

Ceci n’est pas une poste

His latest post talks about the distractions that we use to fill up whatever remaining “leisure” time we have left. For him, it’s GTA4 (um, Grand Theft Auto has a 4?) and his PS3 and some leftover time for SL.

What’s kept me away from SL for most of the last month and a half (aside from the traveling and the family things) is my most favoritest show ever, the new Battlestar Galactica. It has killed Lost for me, superseded however much I ever loved the Sopranos, and my friends know that I was a confirmed addict.

In March, my friend Killian introduced me to Surf the Channel, a most dangerous time sink if there ever was one (especially for someone who lives in a country where most of these shows aren’t on cable here, or show up months-to-years later). I started watching Lost there, a movie or two, then a bit of Sex and the City, and then, out of curiosity, I stumbled onto BSG.

I was *riveted*.

Yes, I know I’m a geek (um, you read me because you play Second Life, right? Mhmm. Just checking.), but hear me out:

This is awesome drama. Don’t let the sci-fi thing throw you. The show attacks politics, religion, culture, relationships, family. It takes on everything that TV is afraid to talk about and, by couching it in a sci-fi scenario, makes it something we can explore without taking offense. The writing is exceptional, theactors are brilliant and, in most cases, beautiful to look at, too.

It’s taken me about a month or so of late nights to work my way through the first three seasons (and in the process also become *intimately* familiar with Chinese video-sharing sites like 56.com and Tudou when STC gets a bit too overwhelmed to feed my addiction), watching one or two episodes a night.

Now that I’ve finally caught up with the real world (the show is halfway through its fourth and final season now), my routine has changed. I watch a Season 4 episode, and then I download Ron Moore’s podcast/producer’s commentary track, which I listen in the car on my way to work or while running errands. I love the depth that it adds, especially as the show keeps throwing me increasingly hard with surprises. I savor each episode as I feel it on my palate. This is the way (good) television should be experienced.

So. That’s where I’ve been. I’m almost caught up to the airdate (only three episodes to go), which violates my cardinal rule for enjoying television on the internet: *never* start watching a series til it’s already aired most of its season. Now I’m going to have to wait til the fall or maybe even next year to see how this show ends.

I will most likely die in the meantime. Or maybe even log into SL.

PS – This is another of those posts that has nothing to do with SL, but I desperately needed to write a loveletter to this show for those who haven’t seen it. We now return you to your occasional regular programming.