Learning stuff

A friend, Lialynn, creates some lovely-looking photos. They kind of have a soft-focus sort of feel to them. She recently was very obliging and posted a tutorial on her blog giving step by step instructions in how to mimic her effect. So I've been trying it.


Oh yeah, and our neighbours have new roof furniture.

Live action interactive drama

This after I had a very strange experience. I was wandering round a freebie shop with a friend when a conversation broke out. We took a seat. It all happened something a bit like this: (To read this is kinda helps if you imagine us watching TV, commenting on it as we watch it. Kinda)

[19:40] Tom G: hey bitch
[19:40] Kira S: you talking to me ?
[19:41] Rosa S turns around "He better not be talking to me..thats all I know"
[19:41] Tom G: wadup big booty bitch?
[19:41] Marnix Malifozik: i think it's not you, Rosa
[19:41] Kira S: oh hell nah, i don't think so
[19:41] Marnix Malifozik: does my bum look big in this?
[19:42] Rosa S eyes get wide and she giggles "A little"
[19:42] Marnix Malifozik: you're charming, lass
[19:42] Tom G: ty
[19:42] Marnix Malifozik: you know how to hurt a tiger's feelings
[19:42] Rosa S grins wide "You knows you loves it!"
[19:42] Marnix Malifozik: you're very full of yourself since you got engaged aren't ya? ;)
[19:42] Tom G: I loves me some white women
[19:43] Kira S shoves Tom...
[19:43] Tom G: ain't that right hoe
[19:43] Kira S: who you think you are talking to bitch?
[19:43] Kira S: i ain't no ho and i sure as hello ain't yo ho
[19:43] Tom G: I'll fuck you too
[19:43] Marnix Malifozik thinks they're about to get it on here and now
[19:44] Rosa S busts out laughing "Yea well....thats what happens" then she gasps and leans down to Marnix and whispers "I think the girl is winning this fight"
[19:44] Marnix Malifozik: it will end up in nekkidness, i can tell
[19:44] Tom G: you wanna watch us?
[19:44] Rosa S giggles and elbows Marnix gently in his tiger ribs
[19:45] Marnix Malifozik: thanks, but no thanks. hell no thanks
[19:46] Kira S: damn Tom, smile, i can't see you
[19:46] Tom G: you don't need to see me
[19:46] Rosa S sits down with her pet tiger and takes out some popcorn "This is better than SL TV"
[19:46] Marnix Malifozik wonders if the show has finished
[19:46] Marnix Malifozik coughs..."pet?"
[19:47] Tom G: Ima go deep up in ya guts tonight girl
[19:47] Marnix Malifozik wonders if that line ever works
[19:47] Kira S: i want to see you black ass in a noose
[19:47] Kira S: whatchu think about that?
[19:47] Marnix Malifozik is glad racism is alive and well
[19:47] Rosa S gasps and covers Marnix's ears "This is not fer little tiger ears :o"
[19:48] Tom G: you need to shut your mouth bitch
[19:48] Marnix Malifozik: do you think they're IMing secret love messages, Rosa?
[19:48] Rosa S: XD HUSH MARNIX!
[19:48] Tom G: and go make me some mo money
[19:48] Kira S: nice come back you uneduacted fool
[19:48] Kira S: i ain't yo ho
[19:48] Kira S: i din't know how many time i got to tell you dat. i gots me a man
[19:49] Marnix Malifozik decides to hang around malls more ofen if this is the level of entertainment
[19:49] Rosa S gasps and eats some popcorn "This is the part where she reveals she carrying his baby"
[19:49] Tom G: ain't wad ya told me last night
[19:49] Kira S: what i told you last night was "is it in yet" and "what do you mean you are done already"
[19:50] Tom G: watch while i whip this out
[19:50] Tom G: HAHAHA
[19:50] Kira S whips out her magnifying glass
[19:50] Marnix Malifozik: please don't do that
[19:50] Rosa S busts out in laughter "THIS IS GETTING GOOD MARNIX!"
[19:50] Kira S: you noob, you ain't got no pixels yet
[19:50] Kira S: lmao
[19:50] Marnix Malifozik wants wants to see what happens next
[19:50] Tom G: yous knows us niggas have it HUGE
[19:51] Rosa S snorts "I wonder if they are gonna have a shotgun wedding?"
[19:51] Kira S: i know MOST niggas got it huge
[19:51] Marnix Malifozik: i am so blogging this conversation later, Rosa ;)
[19:51] Rosa S: ROFL
[19:51] Kira S: what you got is smaller than yo mama's dick
[19:52] Tom G: and now we rule the world beotch
[19:52] Marnix Malifozik: it's too good for the world not to share in it's glory
[19:52] Rosa S munches on some popcorn then rubs Marnix's tummy
[19:52] Kira S: you don't rule nuthin but your watermelon patch
[19:52] Kira S: and your crack house
[19:52] Marnix Malifozik thinks this is heading towards a drive-by
[19:53] Tom G: you fucking racist bitch
[19:53] Rosa S gasps "ohh...good one!"
[19:53] Kira S: you is the one calling me a ho....and a white bitch...you might as well call me cracker
[19:53] Kira S: you came up to me busta
[19:53] Tom G: ok
[19:53] Rosa S secreatly tosses a AK-47 between the two "this is about to get really good Marnix"
[19:53] Kira S: starting yo shit
[19:53] Tom G: CRACKER AS BITCH
[19:54] Kira S: oh no he didn't!
[19:54] Kira S: i'm show you cracker mo fo\
[19:54] Kira S: you don't want no Kira on yo ass.
[19:54] Rosa S eyes get wide "This is better than CABLE!"
[19:54] Tom G: shut up and put my balls in yo mouth
[19:54] Kira S: what balls?
[19:55] Kira S: is what i'm saying
[19:55] Rosa S gasps "Ohh....burn"
[19:55] Kira S: you ain't got none
[19:55] Kira S: homey
[19:55] Rosa S leans over to Marnix...."Who you thinks winning?"
[19:55] Marnix Malifozik wonders where his chat log is saved
[19:55] Kira S: why don't you go collect your sl "welfare check" and buy yourself some
[19:55] Marnix Malifozik: erm what, sorry?
[19:56] Marnix Malifozik: oh, erm, the one on the left...
[19:56] Tom G: ain't wad yo was saying when yo was sucking my dick fo some crack
[19:56] Marnix Malifozik: sorry, i was reading the paper
[19:56] Kira S: that was yo mama, not me
[19:56] Kira S: i ain't one of your crack hos
[19:56] Rosa S eyes get wide and starts to yell and waves her arms in the air "YOU MISSING ALL THIS DRAMA!?"
[19:56] Kira S: quit smoking your own product ...
[19:57] Kira S: and get some teeth
[19:57] Marnix Malifozik: i'll catch it on the re-run
[19:57] Tom G: beotch, I'll slap you like a good pimp should
[19:57] Kira S: those diamonds on your ear lobes or crack rocs?
[19:58] Marnix Malifozik: now, Rosa, tell me, are they flirting yet? I can't keep up
[19:58] Kira S: you an't no pimp. just a busta on a street corner, laying pretend
[19:58] Rosa S eats some popcorn and talks with her mouth full "you lucky tiger...I dont have SL DVR..."
[19:59] Rosa S blinks and goes silent then hold the popcorn infront of him trying to change the subject "uhhh..popcorn?"
[19:59] Tom G: why you bow legged?
[19:59] Kira S: from riding a REAL MAN
[19:59] Kira S: why you bowlegged?
[19:59] Kira S: same reason?
[20:00] Rosa S leans back and snapps her fingers "DAAAANNMMM"
[20:01] Tom G: so did you two enjoy the show?
[20:01] Kira S: lol
[20:01] Marnix Malifozik: mmmm, it tailed off a bit towards the end
[20:01] Rosa S blinks and leans over "is the TV show talking to us now?"
[20:01] Kira S: my fingers hurt
[20:01] Marnix Malifozik: i was expecting more explosions
[20:01] Rosa S: 0.o
[20:01] Kira S: well we are in a no push area
[20:02] Rosa S: HAHA
[20:02] Kira S: not much for "fireworks"
[20:02] Kira S: lol
[20:02] Rosa S drops her popcorn and begins to clap "THAT WAS FING AWSOME!"
[20:02] Kira S: lol
[20:02] Marnix Malifozik is going to blog it right up to that bit where it stopped
[20:02] Kira S takes Tom's hand and takes a bow

So it was all an act after all. A twenty minute live-action play. I didn't see that coming. I wonder if they tour all the noob malls playing out dumb-ass arguments for on-watchers.

Just after I had that I made a very distressing discovery.


From the look of it, it's cousin Ralph. He went missing about six months and Uncle Bernard and Aunt Meg suspected something like this. He was always hanging about with a bad crowd. We knew he'd come to a bad end. Ever since that Christmas he brought those hunters home to meet the family.

Squawking

The other day I decided that I wanted to find a house-warming pressie for Iss. Something to say welcome to our new home. She's, and I am sure she won't mind me telling you, a fan of cockatiels and has three in RL. I had the thought that it might be a nice idea if they could somehow be presented in SL too. So my search began.

Have you ever thought what a mission it might be to find cockatiels in SL? Take it from me, it's not as easy as it sounds.

I started, fairly sensibly with a search for 'cockatiel'. It yielded minimal results although I did find some fairly decent ones at one place. The rest of the search results were either for avatars or personal profiles containing said word.

I knew there were many pet shops around, and had heard some were better than others but couldn't remember which were good and which were bad so I began the extensive task of pretty much visiting every single one in the SLuniverse. I liked the birds I'd found earlier but I wanted to be sure that they were the best available. Nothing less than the best for my roomie :)

Well, after finding mutliple parrots, and parakeets and cockatoos, I eventually decided that no-one else catered for the discerning cockatiel lover (other than the avatars, but that's not quite what I was after, and heading too far down that line would get quite disturbing quite rapidly). So I headed back to the first place to make my purchase.


Iss arrived home last night to find her surprise. And I think it's fair to say that she was happy with the gift. So mission accomplished there then :)

One more thing though - while I was searching like a nutter, I got the impression I was being watched. I don't know what it was that made me feel like that but I was sure there was something following me, just out of eyeshot. A presence. But whenever I turned round it was...aaaaaaaargh!

Helmet hair...er...fur

I spent a little time as Marnix the tiger tonight. Stopping back at home my scooter was parked by the front door so I decided to have a little ride.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to turn the ignition key with paws.

Couch potato

Every now and then I am reminded that I am an SL noob who has lots to learn. Sure, I have come a long way since those young and naive days back in February but I am still a relative toddler.

Today's lesson involves television. Television exists in SL. SL TV. Not watching RL TV in SL, but SL TV in SL. TV created within SL and shown within SL. Are you getting it yet?

It took a while for it to sink in with me. You really can buy televisions in SL and watch SL content - whether that be fashion (of course!), music, chat shows, travel (of a sort) or even sport. Sport!?! Football, sailing, motor racing, hockey, snail racing, ....

The world's your gastropod.

Just exactly when people find time to slob out in front a TV in SL is a mystery to me. And when people find time to make the shows is another mystery. These are things I need to investigate further, I reckon.

Of lamps and vases

I want to talk to you this morning about vases. And lamps.

A friend on plurk, Nika had posted pretty pictures about her new design, the lamps. I was really rather taken with them so made a mental note to check them out later.

And then, due to laziness, I asked Nika to send me an LM to her shop, Wines and Roses and she duly obliged.

I was unable to head on over right away so I sent the details over to Iss and asked her if she wanted to go check them out for me. She duly obliged (I seem to have a plethora of obliging women in my SLife!), arrived at the store and very quickly agreed with my assessment of needing a lamp for our new pad.

She didn't buy one there and then, but as luck would have it Nika had just installed a lucky chair. Which was on '?' while Iss was there. One free lucky vase coming up! Yay! It looks lovely in our hallway. Somewhere to drop the car keys when we wander through the door.


The next day I was at a loose end so I went and checked the shop out myself. And would you believe it, the lucky chair was on 'M'. Yay for twin vases!

And it broke my lucky chair cherry. I am no longer a lucky chair virgin.


I thought a stick a pic on here of the shop for you. Because it's nice. And Nika's stuff is rather lovely. Check it out, why don't ya.

A search on SL for 'Wines and Roses' yields this: "SL Photography artwork and decorative vases for your home" and lamps. Don't forget the lamps. I bought one for the bedside cabinet. Mebbe you can check it out when we have our house-warming open-house party thingy (landlady dependent!)

Refreshing

Dance pose balls in the shower? Where better to have them?


Oh, and the semi-nekkidness was simply to make sure we didn't get our clothes wet, of course.