I Want To Be An Avatar

Posted on January 27, 2012
Filed Under Music Stuff, Opinions/Gossip/People | 2 Comments

BY SHAUNA SKYE

I think I may have to put JP Lancaster on the payroll, because he gave me something else I can share with you today.

But first, a little history.

Back when I used to co-own a classic rock club with JP, I was trying to recruit DJs, and one day this guy with a load of tattoos, a backwards baseball cap, and huge trousers showed up to audition. From his appearance, I had this feeling that he wasn’t going to be playing the classic rock I was looking for (Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, etc) but looks can be deceiving, and I try not to judge people by that.

So . . . I explained to the guy that the club genre was very specific; we wanted classic rock. He nodded, said he totally understood, then logged into the stream.

Guess what he played first?

Rather than explain it, here’s the video on youtube. I’ll wait.

Yes, that’s right. He played “Rockstar” by Nickelback. Needless to say, when I heard that coming through my speakers I first had a sense of panic, then a stab of mental anguish, followed by this urge to pounce on the DJ and strangle his pixels.

You’ll be happy to know I didn’t end that DJ’s Second Life that day. I kept control of myself, thanked him for his audition, cutting him short just after he played a few more songs which bordered on modern R&B and rap, and let him escape unharmed. I gave one hell of a rant after he left though, and since that day the song “Rockstar” by Nickelback has been burned into my mind as this loathsome thing.

JP, knowing how much I hate the song, thinks it’s hilarious even now to tell new DJs at his club that they should play Nickelback for me. One DJ I had just tipped, and JP laughingly said “Shauna loves Nickelback. You should play some for her.” The lady DJ didn’t notice that I screamed “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” after he said that, or that JP was laughing, so she actually PLAYED that country fried piece of crap of a song. I told her I wanted my tip back. (I was kidding, but she didn’t get the first joke either so thought I was serious; don’t think she was too happy.)

So, keeping the history of this in mind, I present to you a parody of the song, sung by Foolish Frost. JP sent this to me yesterday, and I have to admit I did laugh. Warning: 1. It has adult references in it and exceeds the usual PG rating of Moonletters. 2. The tune itself may cause trauma.

Looking to Rent?

Posted on January 27, 2012
Filed Under Home and Garden | Leave a Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

If anyone is interested in renting a sky platform at Moonletters town and needs between 600-1000 prims let me know. You can put a home or store in the sky.

The music at Moonletters is 60′s and oldies. You’ll be on our parcel, but since your place would be in the sky you can do as you please up there within reason.

The rent will be reasonable. Contact me privately if interested (Shauna Vella inworld) or email ShaunaSkye@gmail.com.

Dove Lady’s Advice: How To Be Attractive

Posted on January 26, 2012
Filed Under Newbie Help, Opinions/Gossip/People | 2 Comments

BY SHAUNA SKYE

Yesterday while exploring the blogosphere I stumbled across a woman giving advice on how to be seductive to men. Ok, I know what you’re thinking: What am I doing reading a site like that? Well, first it wasn’t that kind of site, and second I thought it couldn’t hurt to see what she had to say. Her blog was all pink and girlie, so my curiosity got the better of me.

One tip in particular surprised me. The lady advised her readers to move around a lot in front of a man as in walking, pacing, busying oneself, etc. Apparently a woman who is a ball of energy is more attractive than a calm one. I’m paraphrasing though. The Lady’s words were flowery, and she referred to her readers as “dove” and “pet” (this is why I think of her as Dove Lady) but yes, to sum up her pretty words, women should move around a lot if they want to be noticed.

This made me think of Second Life, and when those active style AOs became popular. Women would pace, primp, stick their chests out, move their hips, bend over, flip their hair, adjust their clothes . . . and sometimes even look like they had to go pee.

I’m not sure the Dove Lady is right in her advice. I once knew a guy who deleted a woman from his friend list because her “active” AO put him crazy. That’s a bit extreme, but I was standing with another male friend not long ago who did not seem too impressed with this woman moving in a flirty “look at me” way. She was obviously trying to get the man’s attention, and she succeeded–just not the way she hoped.

Some women, if they see a man approach, will go from being a normal human being to something like a Mexican jumping bean. Maybe they’ve taken the Dove Lady’s advice? Who knows, maybe Dove Lady is right. My husband does seem happier when I’m active . . . doing the dishes and cooking that is. I think I’ll step up the seduction, though, and pace in front of him while he’s watching football. Will tell you how that works out.

Ultrateque

Posted on January 25, 2012
Filed Under Interesting Items | 4 Comments

BY SHAUNA SKYE

JP Lancaster, my oldest friend in SL, invited me over so I could meet his “new friend.”

That’s right. JP’s new buddy is Alf! (You were expecting someone in high heels?)

Since JP was so pleased with Alf, he gave me the info on him. The creator’s name is geemix Newall, and the store he comes from is Ultrateque. Here’s some things you’ll find if you visit:

Shoulder pets, animals, Lemmings, Furbys, Bunnys, Alien, Danbo, Elephants, Domok, Lego, Penguins, Beanies, vendors, midnight mania, Gacha, Lucky Dips, DJ Animation, Clubs Prefabs, Tips Jars, Advert Boards, Picture Displayers, tshirts, turtle, pets

I love all kinds of pets in SL, from realistic animals to whimsical fantasy/sci-fi creatures. So this store was worth a visit for me. I won prizes from the Lucky Dip, and got abducted by a spaceship that gave me a gift when I escaped. The spaceship was also for sale, along with some unique looking tip jars and other things.

If you like stuff like this, check out Ultrateque. It’s pretty cool.

Visit Inworld: Ultrateque

Dancing Dog and Lennon

Posted on January 24, 2012
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | Leave a Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

Today, I just have two pictures for you.

First up, the dog that dances aka “Hodge.” This picture does not convey how amusing it is to see a dog gettin’ jiggy with it in a club. He does the twist, he does the go-go . . . he dances way better than I do. Seeing a dancing dog never gets old!

Anyway, I recently posted a picture of a headless man, and my friend Seren noticed if I would have moved my cam to a certain angle John Lennon’s head (from a poster behind) appears on the shoulders. Well, Seren, great minds think alike. I thought the same thing at the time, and had actually taken a shot like that. The only reason I didn’t put it in was I wanted to let the headless man have all the attention without John Lennon stealing his glory (ok, I was being lazy too). Since you mentioned it, though, I thought I’d put it up. This one is for you.

Dreaming – SL

Posted on January 23, 2012
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 2 Comments

BY SHAUNA SKYE

Do you ever dream about Second Life? I do, but I’m never staring at a computer in my dream. Instead, the SL people I know appear within a “real” life setting (as real as a dream can be). I’ve been having these since the early days of SL, and they can be quite vivid.

While I believe in the science behind dreams, I do not limit them to just biology. I believe dreams can be spiritual too; some are symbolic, while others reveal things a person couldn’t possibly know. It has happened in my first life many times, but I’ll give you a recent example in Second Life.

Some weeks ago I was seriously thinking of giving up Moonletters, both the site and the inworld location. I had lost the happy feeling of running the place, and began to question what it was all for. Why did I publish this site, and if Moonletters town were no longer there, what difference would it make to anyone? I was being hammered with these thoughts, yet trying to fight them and think positive. It was like I was being hit with arrows though, and it was getting a bit much for me.

I had not told anyone I felt this way, though I eventually sent a note to the Moonletters staff around the time I made changes to this site. Even then I only said what was necessary in regard to writing: I didn’t go into other details. Privately I thought “I’m going to kill Moonletters.”

The next day a good friend who had no idea about any of it logged in and, by a miracle, said the exact words I needed to make me think writing here was was worth it after all. Then they told me about a dream they’d had the night before, and guess what that was? Unbelievable as it sounds they dreamed I was planning to “kill” Moonletters, the exact words I thought in my head but never even hinted to anyone else. Amazing, eh? Because my friend could not have possibly known this, and because other things they said cheered me up, I decided to let Moonletters live.

Usually dreams are not quite so serious. Our minds rehash stuff or just have a bit of uninhibited fun.

Here’s a dream I had last night. It’s a perfect example of combining Second Life with real life:

I was at Soul Mods Club very late, 3:00am in UK time, and there were loads of people coming in and out that I didn’t know. It had turned from a mod club into a madhouse of people who had no idea about good music. I had taken my coat and shoes off for some reason, and decided to nap on the stage. My friend Aston Mindes saw my coat and shoes, and to tidy up she took them to put them away for me. Not long after, she and Dugi Rubble left to go to bed, and since there were people I didn’t know milling about, I thought I better head out too. I went to find my shoes and coat and, well, for the life of me I couldn’t find them. It was cold outside and I knew I needed them, so I searched through two big walk-in closets (my mind added big closets to Soul Mods) with no luck.

Finally, after searching each closet several time, I exited Soul Mods through a door which was attached to a large highschool. I roamed the halls and rooms in search of my coat and shoes, being stopped by teachers and other authority figures now and then who’d say things like “Young lady, what are you doing in here?” I’d then have to explain about my missing coat and shoes. Hey, I’m a full grown woman, but for some reason if I’m dreaming, once I enter a school building I can easily pass for 14 or 15 years old.

Needless to say I never found my coat and shoes.

There were other dreams last night, such as being a member of the 1960′s group the Small Faces–but I won’t go into that. It might make my former band, The Beatles, a bit jealous.

Dreams are funny, and I enjoy how SL friends can get mixed with RL. For some reason they almost always end up in school with me!

0,0,0 Dumping Ground – Find Lost Objects

Posted on January 22, 2012
Filed Under How To . . ., Tech | 1 Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

Did you know that the location 0,0,0 on a sim can be a dumping ground for lost objects? It’s true. When things get lost after they are rezzed, for whatever reason, you can occasionally find them at 0,0,0.

Once I rezzed a rabbit which appeared for a split second then disappeared. Searched everywhere for it, and even rebooted the entire sim. Guess where it ended up? That’s right, the 0,0,0 dumping ground.

Why do things get lost? It could be a number of reasons ranging from the amount of prims on a parcel, rezzing near the offworld border, a script error, or (usually) just Second Life acting up.

At Penny Lane 0,0,0 falls on IsisRea Diavolo’s land. If you click the picture to enlarge you’ll see the arrow is pointing at the coordinates. I’m above 0,0,0 looking for a bed a friend lost.

Before you go to 0,0,0 to find something you should try the usual methods first; your inventory, your lost and found folder, or highlighting transparent (if the item could be invisible). If you can scan for the object name that’s easier, but if you do not have such a gadget or estate owner permissions or, worse, you’ve forgotten the name of your object, it won’t hurt to try 0,0,0.

Headless

Posted on January 20, 2012
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 1 Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

If I cam over to Dear Prudence Rock Club I’m apt to see a lot of strange things, but this is the first time I’ve seen a man like this.

Headless man walking around = news of the day.

Magical Mystery Field At New Location

Posted on January 19, 2012
Filed Under Fun Places and Activities, Music Stuff | Leave a Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

My friend Marianne Shan aka “Lucy in the Sky” gave up her land Magical Mystery Field a while back, much to the sadness of those who loved her Beatles hideaway at Penny Lane. Well, great news everyone. Those who miss Marianne’s place will be happy to hear she has been able to resurrect it at a new location.

My friend Marianne is lovely inside and out, and has a great sense of whimsy and beauty. She and I, along with Magdalena Bing, were founding members of The Penny Lanes, a group of girls who used to host sixties parties in the early days of Second Life while dressing in Sgt Pepper outfits. (Yes, my nickname was Dear Prudence.) I miss having Marianne near me at Penny Lane since she has always felt like a long lost sister, but I’m thrilled she has her place back wherever it may be. I will just have to teleport to see her instead of fly!

If you liked Marianne’s happy little field of Beatles and Sunshine, or are just looking for a place to chill, give her a visit.

Visit Inworld: Magical Mystery Field

Keywords For Grownups

Posted on January 18, 2012
Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People, SL Marketplace | 1 Comment

BY SHAUNA SKYE

If you’ve seen the clothes I make you’ll know that aside from short skirts showing a bit of leg, the dresses are pretty modest. For instance, I don’t make tops with just a strip of tape covering the chest and, heck, even the skirts have real underpants. It’s not that I have anything against being half naked, I just have this obsession with wearing clothes in public.

Having said that, as modest as my clothes are comparing them to most of Second Life, I still have to list a lot of my dresses with a mature rating on the marketplace. Why? Because I occasionally use keywords that Linden Lab finds dirty.

Ok, there’s mainly one word Linden Lab gives me an issue over: Lolita. If I use Lolita as a keyword on one of my products, I get angry red letters shoot up telling me I’ve used a forbidden word. I have to either delete the word, or make my dress assessable only to those who deliberately choose to view mature or adult items.

Yes, I know the image Lolita brings. In western countries we think of the novel by Vladimir Nabokov where a middle-aged professor has a thing for 12-year-old Dolores Haze, who he thinks of privately as “Lolita.” She becomes his stepdaughter and they become sexually involved. Controversial to say the least, and so the term Lolita is often used to describe younger girls with older men.

In Japan, however, Lolita means something completely different. Lolita is a fashion subculture that, rather than being seducing or sexualized, is over-the-top modest and girlie. This is a street fashion which is quite popular in Japan, but has a nice following among westerners in SL as well. I often dress in a toned-down Lolita style.

Some of the clothes I make are what the Japanese subculture calls “casual Lolita” and I’d like to be able to use this as a keyword to attract people looking for this style. Unfortunately if I use the word in any way . . . well, my dress loses its general rating on the SL Marketplace and I have to classify it as “Mature” or “Adult.”

Now I know how those bird people felt when they could no longer use the keyword “tit” on their PG rated sim.

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