Tuesday, November 10, 2009

7/365 Artist Within?




Doubtful. But it's fun to pretend. Actually, I have my studio setup and waiting for me to unpack my paints and brushes in RL. For some reason, I'm just paralyzed! Fear of failure? Fear of success?  I dunno. Hopefully, I'll unpack soon. In the meantime, I'll just paint in SL!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Buckley Moonwall


This man is so talented and fun to listen to. If you haven't heard him yet, you're really missing out.
IM Charmm March for his calendar and to join his group.
Check out his website: Buckley Moonwall aka Gorden Vincent

Night Buckaroos!

JJ
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6/365 Impermenance II


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Sunday, November 8, 2009

5 of 365 - Sleepy

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4 of 365 Impermanence

Main Entry: im·per·ma·nence
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)im-ˈpərm-nən(t)s, -ˈpər-mə-\
Function: noun
Date: 1796
: the quality or state of being impermanent


Main Entry: im·per·ma·nent
Pronunciation: \-nənt\
Function: adjective
Date: 1653
: not permanent : transient

— im·per·ma·nent·ly adverb


Main Entry: 1transient
Pronunciation: \-sh(ē-)ənt, -zē-ənt, -sē-; -zhənt, -jənt\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin transeunt-, transiens, present participle of transire to cross, pass by, from trans- + ire to go — more at issue
Date: 1599
1 a : passing especially quickly into and out of existence : transitory b : passing through or by a place with only a brief stay or sojourn
2 : affecting something or producing results beyond itself

— tran·sient·ly adverb





Recently, the impermanence of people, places, and things has been like a glaring light in my face in RL and in SL. My doggie died, friendships have ended, places have disappeared. All as it should be according to some philosophers and religions. However true that might be, and I am up for a debate, it still sux. I know many of you have lost people that have come to mean a lot to you. They have left SL for one reason or another. Some understandably so, like for RL, others we don't even know what happened. All we know is that they are no longer a part of our SLives.

What happened to Chou Chou? Where did it go? When I try to tp there, I arrive in a vacant lot in Uglyville Mainland. *cries*

But what part does acceptance play in all of this? Should we expect things to last? Especially in SL. I used to look at SL as an extension of my RL. There were people behind those gorgeous avatars. I didn't really care what they looked like as long as we had a connection and we enjoyed each other. After some time, a friendship would develop and perhaps more. I truly believed I loved these people and that some were truly my friend in the real sense of the word.

I don't feel that way 100% any more. Of all the people I have met in SL, I would say only 2 or 3 I consider my 'real' friends. Of all the places I have found in SL that have come to mean 'home' to me, only a few still stand. This impermanence is what has caused me to pull back a bit and not take people, places, and things too seriously. I have to accept that everything changes, nothing stays the same. The impermanence of all things has to be faced and accepted, especially in SL. People come and go, places come and go, misunderstandings don't get resolved, distance in RL cause relationships to end....the list goes on and on.

Out of self-preservation, I have had to learn to let go in SL. Not 100%....I care about my real friends there deeply. I miss people who have left. After a few years, I still wonder what happened to this or that person. And I feel the loss of what they brought to my SL. But, if I am open to it, there are new people, new friends, new places to see, and a new beginning for all of us. It may not look or feel like the former friends or places, but they carve their own special niche.

Today, I am working on letting go of the things that no longer feel right and embracing the new things that come along. There has to be a period in between, to regroup, lick our wounds, and grieve the loss before going forward. I'm finally ready to move forward and listen to what my heart tells me. Hope to see you out there!

As a parting thought to ponder, I will quote from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous, but if you know him at all, you'll know who it is:


Friend: I look like I just got off a horse
Friend: turns out meeting people in RL is a pain in the ass

Namaste

Saturday, November 7, 2009

3 of 365 Simplicity





Friday, November 6, 2009

2 of 365 Giggle for the Day




I didn't write so it's not original. But I thought it was giggle worthy. =)

Subject: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Here's a prime example of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"; offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado for an actual class assignment:
The professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right.

As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me. The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on, back and forth.

Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of his English students: Rebecca and Gary.

THE STORY (First paragraph by Rebecca):
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma would act up again. So chamomile was out of the question.

(Second paragraph by Gary):
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," he said into his transgalactic communicator; "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far." But before he could sign off a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.

(Third paragraph by Rebecca):
He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterward, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities toward the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel" Laurie read in her newspaper the next morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.

(Fourth paragraph by Gary):
Little did she know, she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty through Congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty, Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam , felt the inconceivably massive explo! sion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.

(Rebecca):
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.

( Gary):
Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh, shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F**KING TEA?? Oh no, what am I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels!"

(Rebecca):
As*hole!

( Gary):
B*tch!

(Rebecca)
F**K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL! !

( Gary):
In your dreams Ho. Go drink some tea.

(TEACHER):
A+ - I really liked this one

#1 of 365

I read about what Ches is doing on her blog - here - and knew I wanted...no needed.. to try this:

Chesnut writes:


Why would someone do this? The idea is to keep a photo journal of your life, recording the things you have done, your feelings and moods. A huge side benefit of the project is it forces you to improve your photography skills. Doing a project 365 Days in SL provides me an incentive to explore so I don't end up posting 300 photos of me standing in my sky box, which seems to be where I spend most of my time lately.

Some days I expect my 365 days will include words and maybe even music. Other days my posts will just be a photo. It is a huge commitment to post every day for a year and it means I have to at least pop into SL every day, which believe it or not I don't always do. I am sure I will miss out some days or in a time I may post a red-faced "365 Days? No idea what you are talking about." We shall see, won't we?


I've been in a slump since my dog died and nothing seemed interesting enough to write about. But this would be simple and I could write as much or as little as I wanted. Hope you try it, too.

Sounds easy enough! I'm a few days behind, as usual, but better late than never...so you try it, too! Let Chesnut Rau know if you are joining us so we can follow along.

So let's begin!


“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"
Ron Koertge


Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave
your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap
one is best, with pages the color of weak tea
and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than
three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware
any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks
across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.
And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle
where a child a year or two old is playing as his
mother browses the ranks of the dead.

Often he will pull books from the bottom shelf.
The title, the author's name, the brooding photo
on the flap mean nothing. Red book on black, gray
book on brown, he builds a tower. And the higher
it gets, the wider he grins.

You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

Then start again.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

In Memory of Kipper


My sweet boy died today. It was sudden and unexpected. He will be terribly missed.
He was just pure love.

Goodbye, my sweet sweet boy.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Crighton!

Sometimes it's not about me. Shock huh?! And today was one of those days. Today was my friend Crighton's RL birthday. It was about him today. YAY Big C! *hugs* Happy Birthday!

If I have one character flaw I really see stopping me from being the best me I can be, it's my sensitivity. It makes me get into a real "poor me" place that sux. lol So I have to remember it's not always about me (rarely even!) and getting my feelings hurt over some imagined or real hurt is being totally selfish and self-centered. Yuck!

So to any of you I have been this way with, I apologize. I hope you didn't get any on you! LOL

Isn't it fun growing up in front of people!? :P

Hugs !!

...and happy birthday, C. Hope you had a blast! <3