Thursday, December 14, 2006

Joining the club

So I ran my very own Celebrity Look-a-like today...here are the results...I am not familiar with a couple of these people...and I'm really surprised to have match Kelly Hu's face so much. Not complaining at all, she's beautiful.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Drama Mama

Recently, I thought it would be kind of fun to request that the GBUOSLblog do a write up on a couple of costumes that came out at about the same time. In a way, yeah, I was stirring an already boiling pot.

Personally, I shop at both places and like different things about both the creators items. Just wanted to see where KIR!!! would take it... I love a good satire. And with Halloween on the way, I know we're going to see duplicates and triplicates of stuff in SL. We see all the time with all the products we come across in both lives. So that wasn't the issue. I was interested in how KIR!!! would do a comparison type blog of like items.

So it seems there are a lot of insecure people stomping around in Second Life and they're the first to cry, "You're starting Drama!!" Hmmm, ever think about how your reaction to what another person says could actually be the start of the drama?

I'm constantly amazed at the current mindset of most people living in the more priveleged* parts of the world. So many think they are entitled to special treatment of some kind or another. And taking responsibility for THEIR part in an event? OMG no way! It's ALL someone elses fault...they MADE me do it.

I've made mistakes here on this blog and on other blogs too...hell I'm made mistakes in Second Life too...and ya know what??? I've made a shit load of mistakes in my First Life!!!! Holy Crap!!!!!!

Difference is, I fess up, I try to make it better...and I try not to make the same mistake. (not perfect tho, I can make the same mistake a few times before I actually "get it").

That said, I'll admit I am sick and tired of all the entitlement and lack of self-responsibility I encounter in life in general...especially on the many SL blogs of late. All the anonymous posters crack me up. Grow some courage to stand up for what you believe in and say what you have on your mind. Yep, people will crucify, people will agree with, you'll have to apologize sometimes too! It takes courage to face that.

I'm here, being me...saying what I think, sometimes I'm actually wrong!!! Imagine that!

What about YOU? Who are you being today and how much courage do you have to stand up for what you believe?

*priveleged = your basic needs are met - food, shelter, clean water and air, socialization.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Ramblings of Texture theft, drama and karma...

I'm so sick of all the designer's pointing fingers at each other and crying, "Thief!!!"

A certain couple of designers, who I will not name, seem to be on a rampage lately, attacking any designer that has a PIECE of a skin that resembles theirs. Now, don't get me wrong, I do think it's wrong to take someone else's hard work and use it for your own gain...welcome to real life where it happens all the time, Knockoffs EVERYWHERE. Yep, hurts sales, but only for the folks that are ok with owning a knockoff...

I bought a whole set of skins, and the creator spoke to me about it, turned out she'd made the same mistake a couple other designers are currently accused of, and this designer was also crucified by a few designers...Including the two of the first paragraph. What I admired about this designer is that she admitted it to me, she admitted it was a mistake and she'd learned from it and moved on. That's growth. So I bought the skins. They are my absolute favorite right now.

The real culprit here is Linden Labs. They KNOW this technology exists, they ADVERTISE that what you create is yours, and yet they don't support the creators in a way that makes them comfortable creating. So, if you are really worried about your stuff being stolen...don't create it in Second Life. You are NOT Protected in any way from theft. And they lie outright when they tell you otherwise.

If you continue to create, knowing the above, then you deal with the issues that follow...over and over again. Stand up for yourself privately and KEEP IT THAT WAY. Let the SL community babble about what they think so-and-so did to whom, and keep your communication with one another private. Too many went public with the most recent issue. And people are getting hurt. meh.

I think what bothers me the most about all that is going on is...well, one person has decided to take a break because of all the negativity. Great, take a break, breaks are good, brings you back fresh to SL and let's the drama die down...and if your health is in danger, you better believe it's time for a break. Do it, do it NOW.

What bothers me about that is how it's so dramatic. I realize feeling are hurt and really cruel things were said, that sucks.

I posted early in my blog about an issue I had with a modeling contest...and what my opinion was of why/how the model was chosen. The person in question addressed me with a comment and was very diplomatic and kind in telling me what she had to say. That was cool. What made me wonder about this person, were all the posts that followed...all her friends blasting me about what I said, in not so kind ways. How can you be a "nice" person and hang out with people who post mean things like your friends do? Now I do understand defending those you care about, and I said some shitty things, but how does attacking me for what I've said, make it right? It was humbling and hurtful and made me rethink my post, and acknowledge that I was emotional when I posted it, (probably had a glass or wine or two as well), and I apologized. None of the original attackers came back to see that and if they did, they never said anything in return. I was mentioned in an interview, though not by name, only situation, where my apology was accepted. I guess I should be grateful and to some extent I am. But the term, "birds of a feather flock together" just keeps haunting me.

All I can say to the person taking a break is this: Shit happens in Real Life and in Second Life. You learn from it, take the good and the bad and you grow. I got over being verbally attacked by your friends. I think you can understand, as I did, how friends do stupid things to protect each other, and get over what happened to you as well, and yeah, it'll take some time, so do take what you need. But stop adding to the drama. Just get better.

It goes with being semi-famous that your second life will be in the public eye...but, No such thing as bad publicity, right?

To all your defenders, yep this one comes off a little bitter, you bet. I love how my line of apology got used in her latest blog too...I'm human and I make mistakes...yep, it sucks when you get attacked for it too. Face it and move on. That's what I did.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

GAWD I LOVE THIS OUTFIT!!!



I was out shopping in my first life last Friday, just to pass some time while my son was getting his hair cut. Walked into Macy's and saw the absolute coolest shoe I have seen in a long long time...well...I took pictures, but they weren't sufficient. (I really dislike the camera on my cell phone...shoulda got a Razr)...

I made a request to my dear friend Sylfie, PLEASE MAKE THESE!!! She did!!! (I love that woman.)

Well, today, I found a PERFECT outfit to wear with my new favorite shoes...thanks to RPD. Take a look! I love this, I may never change again. :D

Sunday, May 28, 2006

The People's Brow Finale

So here is my fine skin. LMAO...

I'll note the brow settings in a future edit, I need to get these posted and vacate the PC so my son can do what he needs to do here. Keep watching.

For a hint one is set the same as all the others. 0/0/0/50/50/50 and for the rest, all the first three settings are 0 with the last three being the only ones listed.
One of them was set to 100/100/100, one to 75/25/35, one to 0/0/0 and another that I'll to have to log in and wear to remember.

So, tell me Creator's of skins, I am really wanting to learn...I am of the opinion that the scribbles I placed are in the right place with the most freedom of movement. But many of the skins I am wearing further down the blogposts don't give me that kind of variety. I know faces are different shapes and all that may affect it, I am just wondering if there might be a universal placement for eyebrows that work best on all faces. Discuss...

And one more thing to consider when drawing your brows, when shaping your brow (RL) hold a pencil beside your nostril and follow the line of the pencil that touches your nostril to line up with the inner corner of your eye. Where the line hits your brow is where the brow should begin. Do the same at the outer corner, holding the pencil against your nostril, follow the line to the outer corner and beyond to see where the brow should end. Of course...every face is different and that's why we try the demo's on...so I guess I'll just keep buying skins and finding ones that fit the way I want them to.

Keep making those lovely skins!!!





The People's Brow

I'll admit it, I'm a skin whore...trying desperately to keep up with Willow Zander, I've bought my fair share of skins, been given quite a few from dear friends who create them and checked out a million demos for skins I've yet to purchase. I love the way you can look like an entirely different person just by changing skins, and I love the skins that make my SL av look most like my RL av. :) I also love the skins that maintain the features I've given my avatar. So, basically, I love skins. :)

I know creators of items in SL create what they like, and I fully support that, it's that diversity that makes the wares in SL so fun to shop for! I can try on different looks that I would NEVER wear in RL, due to work/society/figure constraints and play in them, I can find things I would wear in RL, and I can be a total fantasy character like a faerie or a dragon or a tiny critter or even my favorite Penguin - Feathers McGraw.


But let's talk about eyebrows. I notice that for every skin I buy, I have to create a different bald wig and adjust the eyebrows...ok, that's cool...but some can't be adjusted much and I'm not sure if it's because the brows were created to fit the creator's avatar or if the placement isn't right, sooooo

I experimented. I made a bald wig with eyebrows set at 0/0/0/50/50/50 to get the absolute middle setting for a brow. Then I took pics of each of the maker’s skins I have and I'll post them here without naming them, you who wear skins will know them anyway. Then I created (this is where is becomes HILARIOUS) my own face skin, I used Chip Midnight's Template to create it, and I drew the brows just a bit higher than is recommended on Robin Sojourner's Template. (If anyone wants a copy of the jpg to see where I placed the brows, just IM me, I'll make it downloadable.)

After I wore the face I created, I took a pic of it set the same as the others, but then I wanted to show the variety of movement one gets with brows created at this range. I'll tell you what settings as I go along...





The People's Brow continued





The People's Brow continued





The People's Brow continued





The People's Brow continued





The People's Brow continued





Monday, February 13, 2006

Tiering down brings the fun back

Back in May of 2005 - when Jef and I were noobies to Second Life, I got land fever and grabbed up all that I could of the Sim we settled in. That sim is Scafell and it's still home.

I had big plans for all the land, had a park, a pond (an event center that no one but I used...although I got many compliments on the look and feel of the place.)I miss it still. I had a mall called The Menagerie that was quaint and helped a few new people move on to bigger and better things. Jef was building a museum but requires HTML on a Prim to be able to complete that task, so the museum is back in his pocket waiting for HTML. I purchased the Sea Gardens Resort for a great price and then totally missed the boat with it to the point we had to close it and tear it down. (I am sorry Dolce, I just botched that one up big time.)

So there we were, sharing the expense of all that tier, holding more than half the sim, and due to the rules that Linden Labs has set up, we couldn't get concierge service!!!

After a few disappointments with the game, (mostly on Jef's part) and the botched attempt at casino ownership..(dunno what I was thinking tho, I really hate casinos...I was hoping to make it something special with a small casino I think...but I digress.), we decided it was time to drop our land ownership to something more manageable.

That was really hard for me, I literally cried the night I finished dividing it up and pricing it for sale. I came to realize it was just the pain of change, and that I would be ok with it once I settled in to the new spot we picked for ourselves.

It is getting better! I have Great Neighbors! The Penguins!!! I love this couple and hope we'll be neighbors for a long, long time. Right now I'm rooting for Salem's Game SLictionary at the Arcadia event coming up in March. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Salems' (she's the female birdie of the couple) art gallery and garden will evolve.

I'm holding a regular event on Sunday mornings at 10am SL time, my Jef comes into the world now (!!!), more often than he did before he became disillusioned with SL, and for that alone, I have cause to celebrate. It's nice to attend an event with him there too. I love him, what can I say?

All in all, Tiering down was the best thing we've done in a long time in SL!

Monday, January 09, 2006

A decent conversation

I had a private message conversation with the bane of second life today. Not the bane for me, exactly, I just ignore the ugly signs and try to encourage others to do so, along with banning them from your space. I figure, if we all band together to ban the "rule breakers" that LL won't deal with...ban them from your cool spots, places to explore, hang out, do stuff...then eventually, the message will be clear. As it is in many groups, both human and animal, follow the rules or be shunned.

I noticed that Mr. Lazarus Divine is very covertly hostile in his interactions with those who disagree. Many people get angry...I matched his mood and found that we were soon having a very interesting conversation. Read on:

Lazarus Divine: Hiya Ms. Marlowe. Have you got a second to talk?
Lazarus Divine: Awww...sorry I missed you. I just read my first forum articles today, and yours got my attention.
Lazarus Divine: It seems you think that people are aiding me by buying the land I post signs to. This is not the case. I have had a few supporters donate land, but for the most part, I own every plot I've bought in months.
Lazarus Divine: Just a little fact to go with your assumptions.
Lazarus Divine: Take care, and enjoy your Second Life. (oh, and Impeach Bush!)
Lazarus Divine: OOps, one more point...No alts. Just lil ole me. ;)
Lizbeth Marlowe: Hello Mr. Divine...you still around?
Lazarus Divine: HI. I'm in another interview.
Lizbeth Marlowe: good luck, talk another time then.
Lazarus Divine: Alright. Thanks.
Lizbeth Marlowe: it is an amazing feat how you manage to have a group with no alts and no one helping you. I'm in awe.
Lazarus Divine: Busy busy busy!! :D
Lizbeth Marlowe: You are amazing. :D
Lazarus Divine: If you're around in 15 minutes, may I speak with you?
Lizbeth Marlowe: sure thang
Lazarus Divine: Hi Lizbeth. Are you free?
Lizbeth Marlowe: I can be
Lazarus Divine: Just wanted to chat for a moment. No need to interrupt you excessively.
Lizbeth Marlowe: oh certainly, I understand.
Lizbeth Marlowe: how did your interview go?
Lazarus Divine: Oh fine, I was interviewing a resident for an interesting opportunity. I'd like to offer a similar opportunity to you.
Lazarus Divine: WOuld you hear me out?
Lizbeth Marlowe: let's hear it sir.
Lazarus Divine: Well...I was reading my first forum postings today, and followed through a thread that I believe that you began.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I believe I know the thread you speak of.
Lazarus Divine: You proposed a method for "dealing" with the infamous Lazarus Divine.
Lazarus Divine: Is that you?
Lizbeth Marlowe: that would be me yes
Lazarus Divine: As I read through the thread, I asked myself, "What would it take to getthese people to believe that I'm not into this for money?"
Lazarus Divine: I was reading another poster's article about definitions for extortion, etc.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I am trying to get the community to realize that constantly bitching and moaning is only castrating their power.
Lazarus Divine: I understand.
Lizbeth Marlowe: yes I saw that and I agree with that post as well,
Lazarus Divine: The idea dawned on me....
Lizbeth Marlowe: I would agree that you are profiteering.
Lazarus Divine: "Walk a mile in my shoes."
Lizbeth Marlowe: but you can do that in here and that's cool.
Lazarus Divine: I thought, what if I let one of these folks rind my account for a day or two.
Lizbeth Marlowe: rind?
Lazarus Divine: ride, occupy
Lizbeth Marlowe: how would you propose to do that?
Lazarus Divine: Be Lazarus Divine. Full disclosure to an unassociated, unbiased party.
Lazarus Divine: There would need to be a certain level of trust established, and I would have to take several precautions to protect myself financially, but essentially, I'd let another resident log in as me.
Lizbeth Marlowe: well, Mr. Divine, I am hardly unbiased. There is no such thing.
Lazarus Divine: Surf my numbers, meet my contacts. Pla with my toys, talk to my friends. The whole schmere.
Lizbeth Marlowe: and I do believe that is against TOS, so I would be careful who you made that offer to sir.
Lazarus Divine: The burden of proof lies with the accusor. Nobody would be any the wiser.
Lizbeth Marlowe: So, you are either testing my integrity, whish is in tact, as always, OR you have shown your card. Which is it sir?
Lazarus Divine: As far as the information that was collected, and how it were published, that would be the important part.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I would rather not be breaking the rules. I like my second life and will not consider any proposal the may jeopardize it.
Lizbeth Marlowe: But I can appreciate what you are trying to acheive here.
Lazarus Divine: Certainly, I'm interested in your concerns, and if you feel that strongly, I wouldn't want to press you.
Lazarus Divine: Are you sure?
Lazarus Divine: (that you follow my intent?)
Lizbeth Marlowe: I do follow your intent..and if it weren't against the rules I would consider it, but they don't so I won't
Lizbeth Marlowe: May I ask you something?
Lazarus Divine: How about this proposal, to limit your exposure to any sort of risk...
Lazarus Divine: My avatar would be used jointly, via wevex or a remote desktop session.
Lazarus Divine: It would be no different that the two of us sitting sife by side.
Lazarus Divine: I drive? You drive? There's no difference.
Lazarus Divine: Each sees what the other does.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I would not open my pc to someone I do not know, nor would I wish to do that to another.
Lazarus Divine: That actually minimizes the risk to me as well.
Lazarus Divine: That's not what webex or remote desktop is. You access my PC via a web browser. See webex.com for details. I use it in business every day.
Lizbeth Marlowe: may I ask you something?
Lazarus Divine: You onmly see what my screen sees.
Lazarus Divine: Your keyboard can act as mine. There is no way to touch the internals of the PC itself.
Lazarus Divine: Of course.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I know how thos programs work, I use them too, and again, it's not for me.
Lazarus Divine: Alright, enough said, then. No harm done.
Lizbeth Marlowe: my question to you is: how much of an affect do you think you are having with you signs in here, and what are you doing in real life to make this same statement?
Lazarus Divine: I've also proposed the ofer to a reported from the Dallas Morning News, and another poster to the thread that brought me to you.
Lazarus Divine: Where shuld I start, RL, or SL?
Lizbeth Marlowe: wherever you like.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I certainly am not in disagreement with your sentiment...just not sure about the delivery and it's impact in SL...so what else are you doing to make your point known/heard
Lazarus Divine: In the interest of personal provacy, I won't name the cities, however, I attended a conference in my home town, 800,000+ residents this past weekend regarding efforts to end the war in Iraq.
Lazarus Divine: Next week, I'm travelling to London to attend a similar conference.
Lazarus Divine: I am active in local elections, community service, and an active supporter of the American Disabled Veterans association.
Lazarus Divine: I donate blood, and am a registered marrow donor.
Lizbeth Marlowe: again I am impressed
Lazarus Divine: I support two local shelters. One for displaced women and children, another for homeless adicts.
Lizbeth Marlowe: And I am sure that our residents in SL who are not US citizens are impressed as well
Lizbeth Marlowe: support how? with your money?
Lazarus Divine: The shelters?
Lazarus Divine: Or the Vets?
Lizbeth Marlowe: either.
Lazarus Divine: Vets, mostly money. The family shelter, I mentor/tutor kids in math and schence, also provide financial and material support sucj as clothing, toiletries, food, and the like.
Lazarus Divine: The adicts shelter, mostly money and support at fund raisers.
Lazarus Divine: (I don't tutor typing)
Lizbeth Marlowe: heh, me too neither.
Lazarus Divine: My wife and I both protest in support of the Planned Parenthood organization.
Lazarus Divine: We stand toe-to-toe with the anti-PP folks.
Lazarus Divine: Also money and time with them.
Lazarus Divine: In SL?
Lazarus Divine: Signs, signs, signs, and a few more signs.
Lizbeth Marlowe: an active citizen.
Lizbeth Marlowe: one last question if I may?
Lazarus Divine: Please.
Lizbeth Marlowe: Why is the land at most sign locations for sale? why not uncheck the box?
Lizbeth Marlowe: you have it priced so high...if you don't mean to sell so high, why put it for sale?
Lazarus Divine: When land is not for sale, it does not appear in the land finder. Next time you look, open the land finder and sort the entried in decending order by price, or $/SQM. You to this by clicking on the column headers.
Lazarus Divine: Then you tell me where I learned that and who I learned it from.
Lazarus Divine: Free advertising. The very best kind.
Lizbeth Marlowe: do you mean to sell this land then?
Lazarus Divine: Nope, and I have records to prove that I haven't. You're welcome to review them.
Lazarus Divine: That is the kernel of my offer.
Lazarus Divine: If you're reluctant to log into the system as L.D. You might consider a webex of the account data web site?
Lazarus Divine: It would be much more credable that screen shots.
Lazarus Divine: (than)
Lazarus Divine: AND a lot less work.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I figured it was something simple, but if it irritates so many people...why do it that way? why not find a peaeful way that isn't inducing so much angst?
Lazarus Divine: Discomfort, my dear, and I don't mean that disrespectfully, is something too many folks in the US don't understand. They don't know how to deal with it well. It releases the old hormones.
Lazarus Divine: Making meople uncorfortable (or comfortable) is a large part of the art of persuasion.
Lazarus Divine: My goal is not, and never has been to change anyone's mind.
Lazarus Divine: I'm not concerned whether people are pro or anti-Bush.
Lazarus Divine: I'm just trying to poke them in the ribs and make them pro or anti-Anythink. Even Lazarus Divine.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I agree, however, you are trying to reach people who are BORED and you are using covert hostility, that brings about anger, not and interest in what you have to say. you are bringing the m down, rather than building them up.
Lazarus Divine: Of course I have strong feelings about the War, about Bush, and abut how the US presents itself to the rest of the world.
Lizbeth Marlowe: to get people into action, you have to inspire them...yes anger can be useful, but never constructive
Lazarus Divine: As I said, I am not trying to get people to rise into action. Only to think about it and make a decision.
Lazarus Divine: More brains, less Barbie.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I agree with that too. I think we look pretty bad to the rest of the world. Yet...didn't we look pretty bad to Brittain when we fought to break free from their oppression?
Lizbeth Marlowe: well, you've seen what they are thinking about...did you reach your objectives?
Lizbeth Marlowe: if you read thru the forums that is.
Lazarus Divine: LOOOOONG discussion there. None the less, I think we'd both agree, the US is a little different than it was when we were being "oppressed."
Lizbeth Marlowe: nods
Lazarus Divine: It's an ongoing mission.
Lizbeth Marlowe: well, Mr Divine, I wish you luck. If you read anymore of my posts you will see that I am for your freedom of speech, but I do think you are going about it the wrong way.
Lazarus Divine: I have a collection of email/IM's demonstratingthat I have an impact.
Lizbeth Marlowe: I am sure you do. :)
Lazarus Divine: ENough said. Thanks for your time. Keep your eyes peeled for an article disclosing my finances.
Lazarus Divine: Oh, and Impeach Bush!
Lizbeth Marlowe: That means nothing to me. I just want the griping to stop and everyone to get on with their second lives...and do what they can in their first lives
Lizbeth Marlowe: you got a petition I can sign? hahahaha
Lazarus Divine: ;) take care and enjoy yur Second Life.

In closing, again I will note that the conversation was pleasant, with a few barbs tossed back and forth, but inviting me to use his account? I want to believe he thinks he trying to do the right thing and show the residents of Second Life what he's really about, but I find it hard to trust someone that invites me to break a rule that is clearly stated in the TOS as grounds for bannishment.

The problem, Mr. Divine is you have become a public nuisance and you are taking advantage of the commons. I searched the land for sale as you stated I should, the other resident is promoting a business venture for networked advertising. What w yas it you are promoting again? Oh yeah, more brain, less Barbie. You obviously didn't know Barbie very well, that bitch has everything! ;)

Second Lifer's, again I urge you to resist the need to make the signs go away. Don't buy the land, you only empower him to bother someone else. Don't!