My Blog's Been Blogged!

I logged in to SL yesterday to see a note from a friend with a link saying my blog's been blogged. Sure enough another SL friend, Hamlet Au, AKA RL:Wagner James Au, had blogged about my SL New Year's Resolution list, "Open Forum: What Are Your New Year's Resolutions for Second Life and Worlds Beyond?" (see mine a couple posts below) Mr. Au is pretty high profile in SL and other virtual worlds. See his blog, New World Notes: NewWorldNotesHere. (http://nwn.blogs.com/) He published "The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World" in February of 2008 and was SL's primary journalist during it's first 3 years. He's a well established journalist, speaker, blogger and virtual world pro. He's a contract consultant and copywriter for SL projects and advertising, and a seasoned game designer, screenwriter, and freelance journalist who has been interviewed by many including my friend SL Sonicity Fitzroy for her latest book on SL media which I previously covered in this blog.

So after stating some of Mr. Au's credentials you can see why I am pleased he mentioned me. I've actually hit his blog before once when I was pictured wearing a sign directed at him during a SL event and the first time when we met in SL when I was pretty noob and ran around Drowsy with him for quite a while chatting up a storm and even blindly asking if he was ok with me posting a picture of me and him on the sea serpent in Drowsy on my Flickr, stating something like, "It should be ok, no one will know who you are anyway"... then about 10 minutes later I remembered I should check out his profile which led me to his blog and I had to retract that "No one will know who you are anyway" comment as quickly as possible. What can I say? I was new. But the point here is that in spite of all his very professionally handled business ventures he still takes the time to be friends with a random new person to play in SL, have fun, and enjoy SL, which is what it is all about. He even paid me a visit when I moved into my new home not too long ago and jumped on my bed (literally) with me. His blog was the first I'd seen about SL, and remains one I consistently check in on. Use the link above to view his blog which pretty much covers what needs to be covered about all things SL and other virtual stuff.



Drowsy here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Drowsy/186/50/37 or direct link here: DrowsyHere.

Elven Realm-A great Fantasy Explore

“The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” ~ Albert Einstein"



Enchanted of Elven Realm (Elven realm 160/154/21) held their grand opening November 20th and I was on hand with a good friend, Antoinette Guisse, AKA: Ant, Aka: Clover5green in Flickr, both in our matching Vita's Boudoir fairy outfits for some fun pictures. Sim owner is Natalie Montagne. The sim is loaded with fantasy explore areas including unicorns, fairys, a huge fire breathing dragon in a cave filled with treasure, a quest to play, many hidden areas and pose spots to find, shops and overall beautiful fantasy themed scenery. Their information note states in part,
"WELCOME T0 ELVEN REALM'S ENCHANTED

Magical fantasy forest dedicated to the preservation of the unicorn and all woodland fauna

Please take the time to explore and enjoy this beautiful, "enchanted", and somewhat whimsical fantasy world created by Andrek Lowell. Walk the forest in order to discover all the many hidden treasures ! When entering the dark forest, please change your environment to "midnight".

~*~A percentage of your generous donations will be given to the national animal rights advocacy group, Friends of Animals~*~

See our blog:
http://enchantedelvenrealm.blogspot.com/"


Enjoy! To visit Elven Realm in Second Life here is the SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Elven%20Realm/128/128/23
or direct link here:
ElvenHere.
There is even a Flickr group to save your photos if you like: ElvenFlickrHere.
Vita's Boudoir stream here: Vita'sFlickrHere.

Impressive Machinima -Harbinger by Phaylen Fairchild

Ok, I know this has been out a while, but I just had to get it copied here. A must see.

Something Fun to Enjoy!

'Not specifically SL related and I know this is Kara's Korner, SL Adventures, but this was way too cute not to save and share and it was shared with me by a SL/Flickr friend, so kinda counts. Enjoy!

SL New Years Resolutions List in the Making

I'm starting early this year, so that I can be sure not to miss anything important for my list. If anyone has any additional good ideas for my SL new years resolutions list be sure to let me know because this will be a work in progress until Dec. 31st.

For the list thus far in no particular order:

1) Be a better friend. Focus on the one I'm with (which might make it hard to be a better friend to those IM'ing me while I'm focusing on the one I'm with, but I'll work it out)

2) Always remember to wear clean underwear.... errr.. any underwear for that matter. (Stems from finally realizing the hard way that all SL men know how to cam even if they are noob and can't do anything else, and a realization that not all designers make underwear that covers everything)

3) Don't take SL so serious that I allow myself to get overly upset, jealous, angry, or down on myself. I'll try to save those emotions for RL and just have fun in SL, as it should be. Don't worry be happy... and all that.

4) Think of and change my password to something other than "password".

5) Try to be at least a little productive and not all just about me-after all it's the creators, workers and givers that make SL what it is for everyone to enjoy.

6) Exercise and eat right... o wait, that's for the other list. Ah what the heck, I like to exercise and eat in SL too-I'll leave it on the list.

7) Try to organize my abyss of an inventory... Hahahahahaah NOT--*scratching from list as deemed not possible SL*

8) Budget spending--ROFL.. again.. scratching off list ...same reason (see 7). Adds: Continue to be the great bargain shopper that I am! Yay for bargains!

9) Try not to tell the same stories and jokes at every get together... like SOME people I know.

10) Try harder not to keep IMing some ONE in particular in a hopelessly pathetic manner trying to get attention.

11) Try something new as often as possible.
Hmmm turned out to be an even 10, maybe top 10 at that.. once I eliminate number 7 which really really does need to be scratched.

And a quote to keep me motivated:

Mark Twain
"New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."


In looking over my list it seems most of these are good for RL too.

Holiday Freebie Mayhem!

All wrapped up and ready to pose. That was the position I found myself in this evening and fortunately a Flickr friend was feeling the same.

Second Life is going wild with pretty decent quality freebies, dollarbies and gifts from designers this holiday season. Everyone seems to be in the mood to give and receive and there are a ton of great Advent calenders and store gifts all over the place. One of my favorite groups in SL is "Fabulously Free in SL" which is currently actually looking for an additional blogger. FabFree is the oldest Freebie blog in SL. The blog was started in September of 2007 and they now have over 6000 viewers a day! The inworld group chat is often long, tedious, usually hilarious, and occasionally gets temporarily turned off for violations or inappropriate comments and behaviors, but many people I know including myself, like to just leave it up and enjoy the chatter, advice, and tips. I've also found if I have a question about pretty much anything in SL .. someone in the group knows the answer. Anyway today along with their many announcements of freebies they listed a dollarbie from E! Eclectic Apparel and Accessories. I took the Slurl and soon after I landed, in came fellow Flickrite Atreiyu Thorne.. a dude... at least I think. He tried to convince me of that at least even though his mic allegedly is broken. So, anyway I dared him to put on the cute dollarbie Christmas ribbon outfit called "Wrap Me Up" the store was offering in the female section of the store and he was changed into it before I was. He did choose to strategically place a larger bow of his own on his person, but as he pointed out that would not have been necessary. Laine Frye another Flickr friend who also blogs and my friend Dividni Shostakovich also donned the ribbons and we were off posing as all good posers do when they see others in the same outfit. Divi had to leave off early but then Laine, Atreiyu and I decided the outfit was group poseworthy and snapped a few shots during which time I became pretty convinced Atreiyu is a guy after all based on how pleased he seemed to be all wrapped up tight between two ladies.


What's Under Your Tree? Kara, Atreiyu and Laine


E Eclectic Apparel and Accessories here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marsco/76/105/345 or direct link here: E!Here.

The FabFree blog is here: http://fabfree.wordpress.com/ or direct link here: FabFreeHere.

Laine Frye also has a blog (and a better pic. of this shot) mostly about fashion and it can be seen here: http://whatislainewearingtoday.blogspot.com/ or direct link here: LaineHere.

Miss Virtual World

Second Life Terms of Service -December 15, 2010 Update

SL TOS updated today and appears this is primarily to included needed regulations with the inclusion of youth as young as 13 years of age and the various allowances, restrictions and maturity ratings. I did however see some additional wordage changes in other areas when having to review it to sign in today. For full TOS updates check here: http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php or direct link here: SLTOSHere.

The SL teen grid will be closing and youth ages 13 through 17 will additionally be allowed into the SL main grid January 1, 2011. When logging into SL today the new TOS agreement is displayed for all to review and agree to before being allowed in SL. It seems there have been a lot of these TOS updates lately, but I certainly understand their necessity especially with youth as young as 13 entering the grid.

Of special interest to me is the snapshot and machinima section. I didn't see any surprising changes but we will be needing to pay close attention to covenants, land owners, and featured avatars as usual. I've clipped a part of this section here, but there is a lot more info.

"(a) Land Owner Consent for Snapshots and Machinima.
If you wish to take a snapshot or capture machinima of content on another Resident’s land, then:
For Snapshots, check whether the covenant for the land prohibits snapshots. If it does, then you need special permission from the land owner to take the snapshot. If it allows snapshots or doesn’t address them, then you do not need special permission from the land owner as long as you comply with any terms that may be in the covenant.
For Machinima, check whether the covenant for the land allows machinima. If it does not or doesn’t address machinima, then you need special permission from the land owner to capture machinima. If it allows machinima, then you do not need special permission from the land owner as long as you comply with any terms that may be in the covenant.
For Mainland or Linden Homes parcels where Linden Lab is the estate owner, you do not need land owner consent to take snapshots, but you do need special permission from the land owner to capture machinima. The “land owner” is not the estate owner, but the Resident identified as the land owner in the “General” tab under “About Land.” For private islands where Residents are estate owners, you must check the covenant for the private island as provided above.
(b) Avatar Consent for Machinima.
For machinima, you must have the consent of all Residents whose avatars or Second Life names are featured or recognizable in the machinima. This includes avatars who are featured in a shot, avatars whose names are legible, and avatars whose appearance is sufficiently distinctive that they are recognizable by members of the Second Life community. Consent is not required if an avatar is not recognizable and is merely part of a crowd scene or shown in a fleeting background. Consent is not required for any snapshots." SL Snapshop and machinima policy, see link above

Mr. Scrooges Holiday Village---Free Cool Stuff!

Cute place to shop until December 27 for many quality freebies and inexpensive items. I took quite some time and grabbed a ton of quality Christmas items for free with everything from poses to a major amount of great holiday decorations. This is a "must see" for bargain shoppers. Check it out here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cheeky%20Pea/185/68/1024 or direct link here: MrScroogeHere.

Flickr Flash!-My Pummelvision

My Pummelvision from Kara Trapdoor on Vimeo.

My buddy Lowe Runo (LoweHere.)posted how to get Flickr pics together using this Pummelvision (PummelvisionHere.) online tool, so I had to try. I have so many SL Flickr pics that my Pummelvision results are a little over the the 1.30 sec Flickr allows, so guess I will save it here. It's a nice review of what I have been up to in SL.

Merry Christmas-My Second Life Card To You

A Merry Christmas and blessed new year!
Luke 2:9-14
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

FTLO Ice Festival

Direct Link FTLOIceHere. Or travel here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gleaming%20Waters/170/194/54

Adorable huts filled with fun wintery things to purchase line the ice flows. Random snowflakes are scattered about that are filled with freebies. Shop It's Cake, aRAWRa, Real Living, Grixdale/Tyranny, HA!, Zenith Fashions, Acid&Mala, Insanya/MyPinkySkull, Bubble, LouLou&Co, Sonic Death, RezIpsa Loc, EPIC, MY Cheeky Pea,Ingenue,SHOPPING, WINTER, ICE, XMAS, CHRISTMAS, Christmas Tree, SNOWFLAKE HUNT. Check it out for some unique Christmas and winter clothes and other fun things such as my antlers that give candy canes and these cute sweaters my friend, Jonnah Quandry, and I are wearing in the above pictures I took on location.

Explore Second Life

A few more good explores I've been enjoying;

Spencer Art Museum: "In 1945, I. Petrovsky published work[1] on the lacunae that occur in the region where the solution of a hyperbolic partial differential equation vanishes. Decades later, we observed the so-called Petrovsky flux, the effluent that results from squishing a Petrovsky lacuna (a findng involving pliers, single malt scotch, and kitten sausage); the visible residue is a sort of topological gristle[2]." (As taken from the sim notecard) The beauty is in the details and changes... click everything. Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Go KU!.. Direct link here: SpencerHere. Or go here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spencer%20Art%20Museum/207/159/33



Milivus= again a lot to click with pose spots, some pretty cute and unique animations and a lot of various detail--great for photos. Check it out here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Milvus/141/74/21 and direct link here: MilvusHere.

Zone, Mysterious Wave:
Some odd and unusual things to look at or buy: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Zone/128/128/21 or direct link here: ZoneHere.

Empyreal Dreams visualizes famous poems and literature, The Raven, Emily Bronte's The Bluebell, Ancient Mariner, and Les Mis'erables --The Artbox Anthology with tp's to these 4 separate sections where the scenes are loaded with cool pose spots, but you have to click everywhere because you can't tell where all the pose spots are. Very cool.
Check it out here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ctrl%20Shift%20H/52/145/23 or direct link here: EmpyrealHere.
Their blogspot: http://empyrealdreams.blogspot.com/

Fashion Blogger-Burly

Not quite living up to that name Burly there! A dear friend of mine, Burly Tigerpaw, who blogs fashion (Opium Fashion Agency), asked if I was free and wanted to model something with him for his latest post. Of course I was on top of that, but when I landed the tp, there stood Brian in a DRESS! Typical Brian, often a goof, but it was good for a laugh. He quickly explained he opened the outfit and just clicked "wear all" so ended up in the dress which was what I was supposed to wear, as it was a his and her set. We exchanged clothes and he snapped some nice shots. The cute set is a Darkwater Designs Peace On Earth Hunt gift.

I'm pulling over his Flickr shot of him in the dress, because he's just that cute in it. I'm not sure which one of us looks better in that dress actually. All I know is this is just WRONG. He left it on long enough to make a face and snap a pic, so maybe just maybe he kinda liked the swish of the long skirt across in hairy legs and the tight bodice cinching up his chest.. um.. ok.. who knows. If you'd like to see the two of us in the set check out his blog direct link here: OpiumFashionsHere.



BurlyHere. For Brian's Flickr

Split Screen

Check this out! : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Beleza/67/80/20
or direct link here: SplitScreen.

SPLIT SCREEN INSTALLATION SPACE

"The Split Screen Installation Space is part of a sim where artists and builders develop a large installation and exhibit it for a limited time. In general, one or two artists use the space for two months (give or take), and then another artist will take over. The space is meant for large builds that utilize the possibilities of Second Life as an artistic or immersive medium.

December's exhibits are:
Beleza South: Bryn Oh's "Mayfly"
Beleza North: Miso Susanowa's "Chroma"

When you are visiting, please be sure to visit both parts! There is a teleporter near the entrance. Depending on prim availability, there may also be a store where the artists can sell their work. You can use the teleporter to go there too.

Please join the Split Screen group to get updates (there is a group joiner and tip jar near the entrance). If you are interested in becoming a regular supporter of Split Screen's work, please get in touch with me!

Machinimatographers are welcome to film in the space, provided they credit the artist(s) and the Split Screen Installation Space itself. (Please note: my permissions do not extend to the residential areas on the rest of the sim.)

Artists are welcome to ask me about working in the Split Screen space, and I'll be happy to hear about artists who might benefit the opportunity.

Dividni Shostakovich
dividni@gmail.com
http://dividni.blogspot.com"

Check out Bryn's Youtube for a wonderful video: BrynHere.

Check out Divi's blog for more information: DiviHere.

My little version with the addition of Divi, sim owner, Kara Seadryke and dancing Kara:

Split Screen from Kara Trapdoor on Vimeo.